“Why do I feel like this was a bit too easy?”
Holding the Book of Heroic Spirits and witnessing all this, Mitsuyuki couldn’t help but mutter.
Easy?
Indeed, it was.
But it was normal; although Mitsuyuki’s projection was only thirteen, he was already a Great Swordsman and possessed the secret profoundities of swordsmanship.
Not to mention his blade was an onikiri, a divine sword specifically meant for slaying ghosts.
After Mitsuyuki finished off the ghost, the girl who had been hiding behind a large tree ran out.
Before Mitsuyuki could say anything, he saw the girl rush toward the clothes…
No, they weren’t just clothes.
Mitsuyuki took a few steps closer and, with the help of the moonlight, saw clearly: those piles on the ground weren’t clothes, but mummified corpses.
They were corpses whose essence, energy, and blood had been drained by the female ghost.
Mitsuyuki understood why the girl was so agitated.
At that moment, the girl’s frantic searching stopped, and she froze in place.
Clearly, she had found the relative she had been searching for but had dreaded finding…
In truth, the little girl had long expected his death.
After all, he had been missing for three days.
[Some time later, you and the girl returned to the village under the cover of night.
At first, the villagers were terrified, thinking you were spirits returning from the dead, until multiple verifications confirmed the news of the female ghost’s death.]
[Later, while the whole village was immersed in the joy of the event, you went to the little girl’s house.]
[To your surprise, you found the little girl sitting blankly on the floor staring at the ceiling, and an old woman hanging from the rafters, dripping with blood…]
Mitsuyuki was stunned.
His hand rested on the text as he felt the memories flowing from the projection.
For a moment, even he was slightly at a loss in the face of this situation.
The old woman’s death was unexpected but made sense upon reflection; they had returned too late, and almost everyone believed they were dead.
[The next day, you left the small village.
This was your first time slaying a demon ghost; the process was easy, but it left a profound memory in your heart.]
[For a long time, you couldn’t forget the girl’s eyes…
they were eyes that no longer held a spark of life.]
[News of your ghost-slaying quickly spread.
Because your reputation as a thirteen-year-old genius Great Swordsman was so prominent and easily recognizable, your clansmen found you, and you met that Old Swordmaster once again.] Get faster updates on g.com.
[You originally thought he came to scold you, but you didn’t expect him to marvel at the fact that you had indeed stepped onto such a path.]
“The Divine Blade Onikiri is famous throughout the world for slaying ghosts.
It is renowned not only among humans but even more so among demons.”
The white-haired but still spirited Old Swordmaster said to Mitsuyuki.
“Furthermore, it has been passed down since the Heian period.
Countless demon souls have fallen to its blade!
Consequently, every time it appears in the world, it triggers frenzied retaliation from demons.
To this day, several generations of onikiri wielders have died at their hands.”
“In the end, wielding this sword gradually evolved into a curse.
This is why it was enshrined in the family’s kamidana, remaining without a master for over a hundred years.”
“When the clan gave you this sword, it was mainly because demons were almost nowhere to be seen, and only this blade was worthy of your talent.
I didn’t expect that even in an era like this, the curse on the blade would still persist…”
[He has come now to ask if you will return the sword or return to the clan in Kyoto.
Your choice is…]
[A: Return onikiri; B: Return to the clan; C: Slay all demons; D: Intervene personally.]
“So there was such a secret…
Speaking of which, the destruction of the clan I saw in the first simulation wasn’t a coincidence, but an inevitability?”
Mitsuyuki suddenly understood why the relatively powerful samurai in his clan had all perished in that Kyoto fire during the first simulation.
He even began to understand what Shishio Makoto wanted to do.
Gathering an army of spirits and demons to head for Edo wasn’t just to destroy the heart of Japan, but also to restore the era of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
Snapping back to his senses, Mitsuyuki chose to slay all demons without hesitation!
The reason was simple: he couldn’t forget the little girl’s final gaze, and the matter between him and Shishio Makoto naturally needed a resolution.
Moreover, after experiencing this and hearing so much from the Old Swordmaster, a realization suddenly dawned in Mitsuyuki’s heart.
He felt he had finally grasped a clue to what he was looking for!
[You made your choice, but clearly, the Old Swordmaster before you was not satisfied with it.
He felt you were too young to take such a risk and should grow for a few more years, so he prepared to take you back to the clan.]
Reading this memory from the projection and seeing the scene of the Old Swordmaster standing before him with a sword again, Mitsuyuki couldn’t help but smile.
[You didn’t say much in response, because communication between swordsmen is never through words, but through the swords in their hands. New chapters come out on g.com first.
You won him over with your sword once, and you would do so again!]
[You brandished your sword and demonstrated your profoundities to the Old Swordmaster.
That instantaneous strike proved your reputation was no lie.]
[The Old Swordmaster was defeated, and so you embarked on the path of slaying demons and ghosts.]
[You walked a path completely different from your previous life, searching for a way to defeat the ultimate Evil of This World!]
Mitsuyuki’s goal for this Spirit Simulation was undoubtedly clear.
Besides leaving behind corresponding legendary deeds to complete the Spirit Inscription, he wanted to slay Shishio Makoto’s true body and complete his revenge from the first simulation!
Mitsuyuki’s current projection was thirteen and a Great Swordsman, which naturally seemed like infinite potential, but in reality, only Mitsuyuki knew that time was simply not enough!
Because he had only five years left before the events of the first simulation!
In those five years, let alone becoming a Sword Saint—a rank not seen for centuries—even becoming a peak Great Swordsman wasn’t guaranteed…
At the end of the first simulation, he had faced that ‘Evil of This World’ which had completely transformed into a Great Yokai.
And this was the reason Mitsuyuki chose once again to wander this land.
Last time, it was to seek Sword Intent.
This time, Mitsuyuki was searching for his method.
Originally, Mitsuyuki was somewhat lost and didn’t know which direction to take.
But through the awakening of the Divine Blade Onikiri during the female ghost incident and the Old Swordmaster’s words, Mitsuyuki suddenly realized something.
Although the mystery of this world had faded, even the era he lived in had the Holy Grail War and the existence of things like the Clock Tower.
Therefore, how could there not exist a power on this land capable of slaying Shishio Makoto?
[You brandished onikiri, slaying the demons and ghosts you encountered along the way, while absorbing various mysterious legends in search of the power you needed.]
[Two years passed in a flash.
You traveled to many places and had some gains, but none were what you required.]
[News of your demon-slaying gradually spread, and you were hunted by more and more monsters.
However, this was the end of the shogunate era and you were the youngest Great Swordsman in history to hold onikiri; thus, while you encountered trouble, you always managed to turn danger into safety.]
[Three years later, you happened to hear a legend about a Heavenly Spear that descended from the sky to seal a Black Serpent, so you headed into the deep mountains.]
[You searched the deep mountains and found a dilapidated shrine.
Just as you were looking for information regarding the Heavenly Spear in the shrine, the onikiri at your waist suddenly trembled incessantly, frantically issuing warnings.]
[Not only that, you even felt a hint of fear from the emotions it transmitted!]
[While you were dazed by this, you discovered a figure had suddenly appeared before you in this ruined shrine, and she was now quietly watching you…]