“A demon blade?” Onimaru Masa paused and looked up at Kamamara, his voice turning grave.
“Are you hoping to have a true demon blade forged?” “That’s right.” Kamamara nodded openly.
“I do have that intention, but I don’t know any demon swordsmiths.
I was wondering whether you might have a lead.” “Humans cannot wield demon blades.
The demonic power within the weapon will corrupt them until they become nothing more than the blade’s puppet.” Onimaru Masa stared intently at Kamamara.
“Are you aware of that?” “You don’t need to worry about me, Onimaru-sama.
The demonic power inside a demon blade won’t have much effect on me.” Kamamara waved his hand and answered calmly.
Onimaru paused again.
His gaze settled on Kamamara’s silver hair and golden eyes, and understanding appeared in his expression.
“So that’s how it is.” No longer hesitating, he turned and sat down on the tatami in the corner of the room.
He picked up the sake flask from the low table and poured himself a cup.
Kamamara sat across from him and waited quietly.
Onimaru lifted the cup and drained it in one swallow.
A distant look entered his eyes as he slowly began to speak.
“I do know something about a demon swordsmith.
It happened several years ago.
“At the time, I believed my sword-forging skills had already reached their peak.
“The swords I created could cut through the bodies of yōkai, allowing skilled human warriors to slay them through sheer martial ability.” Kamamara was not surprised to hear this.
In the original story, there were indeed ordinary humans capable of fighting yōkai.
One example was Setsuna no Takemaru, the human general who briefly fought the Great Dog Demon on the night of Inuyasha’s birth.
There was also the Band of Seven, whom Naraku revived using shards of the Shikon Jewel.
They had been able to fight Inuyasha head-on even while he wielded Tessaiga.
Of course, Setsuna no Takemaru had lost an arm to a single attack from the badly wounded Great Dog Demon, while the Band of Seven had relied on the power of Shikon Jewel shards.
However, their opponents had been the Great Dog Demon and Inuyasha, both among the most powerful yōkai in existence.
Against ordinary yōkai, warriors of their level would have been more than capable of handling themselves.
Furthermore, none of their weapons were demon blades.
They were ordinary swords forged by exceptional human craftsmen like Onimaru Masa, yet they could still withstand clashes with Tessaiga.
That alone proved their quality.
Compared to demon blades, they merely lacked demonic power.
It was the difference between a lifeless weapon and one that was almost alive.
Onimaru poured himself another cup of sake.
After drinking it, he continued in a complicated tone.
“I eventually became dissatisfied with forging ordinary swords.
I wanted to create a demon blade that possessed tremendous power, so I began searching for one of the legendary demon swordsmiths…” As he reached this point, fear appeared in his eyes.
The hand holding the sake flask trembled slightly.
“Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, I truly found one.
His name was Kaijinbo.” “Kaijinbo?!” Kamamara could not help exclaiming when he heard the name.
Of all people, Onimaru had actually found that lunatic.
“You know of Kaijinbo?” Hearing Kamamara’s reaction, Onimaru emerged from his memories and looked across the table at him.
“Yes.
I’ve heard about him.
He’s a thoroughly wicked man.” Kamamara nodded, recalling what he knew about Kaijinbo from the original story.
“That man is nothing less than a demon!” Onimaru’s eyes filled with fear as he spoke through clenched teeth.
“He told me that to forge a powerful demon blade, I would have to slaughter ten children and mix their flesh and blood into the metal.
Their resentment would then grant the sword its demonic power!” At those words, Onimaru tightened his grip around the sake flask.
“Of course, I could never do such a thing merely to forge a sword.
I fled immediately.” “I see.” Kamamara nodded.
Knowing what kind of person Kaijinbo was, he was not surprised in the slightest.
“Tell me where I can find him.” “A demon blade created through such a method would inevitably be evil.
It would eventually turn against its owner.” Hearing that Kamamara apparently intended to seek Kaijinbo out, Onimaru hurriedly warned him.
“I understand.
Don’t worry, I don’t necessarily intend to have him forge anything for me.
I don’t want a blade created through such vile methods either.” Kamamara explained calmly.
“I only want to ask him about someone.” Onimaru carefully studied him for several moments.
Seeing the determination in his expression, he did not try to dissuade him further.
“Back then, he lived in a poisonous swamp somewhere in Kazusa Province.” He paused before adding, “That information is already several years old.
I don’t know whether he still lives there.” “Thank you for telling me, Onimaru-sama.” Kamamara rose and bowed politely before turning and leaving the smithy.
— “Have you ever seen an old demoness named Urasue?” In the dim mountain forest, Kamamara had one foot planted on a yōkai’s chest.
His newly forged katana rested against its neck, the blade gleaming with a chilling light.
“Don’t worry.
Give me useful information, and I’ll let you live.” The yōkai beneath his foot had only a single vertical eye in the center of its face.
Terror filled that eye as its body trembled uncontrollably.
“Y-you mean the ogress Urasue?” “That’s right.” Kamamara’s eyes brightened, and he nodded.
“It sounds like you know where she is.” “On the mountain over there!” The yōkai hurriedly pointed in one direction.
Feeling the cold blade against its neck, it immediately revealed everything it knew.
“Her lair is where you’ll find countless clay figures scattered around!
“That woman collects corpses and uses them to make clay soldiers.
All the nearby yōkai despise her.
We were the ones who drove her onto that mountain!” “I see.” Kamamara nodded and raised the blade slightly away from its throat.
He looked toward the direction the yōkai had indicated.
Sure enough, a tall mountain peak rose in the distance.
The moment Kamamara looked away, a vicious gleam flashed through the yōkai’s single eye.
It suddenly raised its claws and thrust them toward his abdomen.
“Slash!” A cold gleam flashed through the darkness.
The yōkai’s movements abruptly froze.
The next second, its head rolled to the side.
Blood sprayed from its severed neck, staining the soil beneath it crimson.
Kamamara glanced down at the headless corpse and allowed the demonic power escaping from it to flow into his body.
Feeling himself grow a little stronger, he deliberately sighed with regret.
“I was already planning to spare you.
You just had to throw your life away.” He kicked the corpse aside, then turned and walked toward the distant mountain.
— “Hmm?
Looks like I found the right place.” Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Kamamara looked at the clay figures scattered throughout the forest.
They came in countless shapes and sizes.
A smile appeared on his face.
Ever since leaving Akegawa Castle, he had been searching for traces of Urasue.
The original story had never clearly revealed where Urasue’s lair was located, but several details made it possible to estimate the general area.
Urasue appeared early in the story.
Inuyasha and the others had departed from Kaede’s Village, spent only one night camping outdoors, and then reached Urasue’s kiln.
That meant it could not have been especially far away.
Her lair was most likely somewhere within Musashi Province or one of the neighboring provinces.
Kamamara had therefore traveled directly to the border of Musashi.
Along the way, he questioned yōkai for information while also investigating whether any nearby villages had reported missing remains.
After all, Urasue required the bones of the dead to fire her army of clay soldiers.
After searching for more than a month, Kamamara had finally located the lair of the ogress Urasue.