Collapsing onto his futon, Yuuji groaned lightly.
He had managed to eat his fill as thankfully the shrine hadn’t skimped on his food, but he was still utterly exhausted from the long day.
When he was told about the job, he assumed he would be taken into the fold during the day, and investigating any signs of the demon during the evening, but he had instead been worked to the bone without so much as a word about the potential threat of a demon.
For a moment, he wondered if the shrine had made a false request just to get a dedicated servant for a time, but his grandfather would never be fooled by such a thing. As callous and apathetic as he was, the old man was sharper than a blade and calculated his every move with frightening precision.
Praying he hadn’t missed any obvious clues while distracted by his servile tasks, his mind wandered to the hut once more as he began to drift away.
‘There’s something in there… I know it….’
Darkness fell over the mountaintop, and the gentle glow of the shrine’s lanterns slowly faded into the twilight.
******
“...!”
Yuuji’s eyelids fluttered as he rose from his slumber, hearing a commotion outside. Seeing the gleaming sunlight filtering through his window, he scrambled to his feet.
“Shit… I can’t believe I slept in so late!”
It had been years since he last overslept like this, and he knew the Guji wouldn’t let him off easy. Cursing his exhaustion, he threw on his clothes and dashed outside, only to be greeted by a crowd and a bizarre sight.
Tens of people were swarming the main grounds, crying out towards a veiled figure who stood motionless in the centre.
“Divine maiden, please, bless us!!”
“Rescue my family, I beg you!”
“Give us guidance!”
The maiden wore a beautiful miko outfit, with blazing red hakama and snow-white kosode, but a hooded veil covered her head and face as she stood silently listening to the crowd’s woes.
From behind her, the Guji stepped forward and addressed the people.
“The divine maiden has blessed you all with her presence! The evil creature haunting us shall be exterminated, and all of your missing loved ones will be returned!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd as a bottled fury burned in Yuuji’s chest.
“What… is he doing!”
He was clueless as to what this ‘divine maiden’ was supposed to be, but if the Guji was truly talking about a demon, then even killing the monster wouldn’t bring anyone back. At best, some creatures abducted people rather than killing and eating them outright, but if they were safe and sound they would have returned by now.
They had come to him for salvation, and he had sold them false promises.
After much cheering and people prostrating in reverence, the so-called divine maiden seemed to tremble slightly, and the Guji spoke up once more.
“Our lady is tired now, so she must return. Keep our saviour in your hearts, for she is the child of both angel and man!”
“Divine one!”
“Our miko!”
“Save us!”
Leading the maiden away, the Guji nodded to two other priests at his side, who set about dispersing the crowd.
Watching this charade, Yuuji was done playing along. He needed to discover whether there really was a demon here, and if there was, he needed to kill it and leave before any more disasters happened.
He cautiously slipped out of the shrine grounds out of sight to catch up with some of the worshippers he had seen moments ago. They were clumped together on the descent down the hill, so he approached an older woman at the back to try and get some answers.
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And the more he heard, the worse it got.
He wrote down what notes he could, before escorting her down the rest of the passage and returning. He didn’t particularly care if the priests were upset with him when lives were on the line - his true objective was to hunt the demon.
He peered through his memos, circulating the information in his mind as best he could while on the climb back up.
‘So, to summarise. There have been disappearances in the nearby village to the southeast over the past few weeks, regularly every two or three days. It has been almost three days since the last, so the villagers came to beg for safety in the coming night.
The disappearances all seem to be from the northern edge of the village but have been getting closer and closer as time goes on. No sightings have been reported, but many disappearances were accompanied by screams and damaged surroundings.
The shrine claims the ‘divine maiden’ is protecting the area, and the locals have been honouring her for close to a decade, but although she has grown considerably in stature since those days, nobody has ever seen her face.
Why is the shrine doing nothing? Who is the divine maiden really, and what exactly is the shrine concealing?’
“Are they related? Or just bizarre coincidences?”
He couldn’t figure it out yet. He simply didn’t have enough concrete information.
As suspicious as the hut in the shrine grounds was, he couldn’t barge in without experiencing some resistance, and if a demon was in there, he couldn’t simply sneak in and deal with it without a fight.
“I need to find out what’s in there before nightfall, or else people’s lives will be at risk.”
Arriving back at the shrine grounds, he quickly headed towards the garden. He didn’t have explicit orders for the day, but it was the best place he could go to seem busy, while also scouting around.
As he patrolled the gardens, he watched for the Guji, or anybody else heading over to the small hut. There was a slight movement, but to his frustration, none of the priests even glanced towards the doors - if anything, they seemed to be actively looking away from them.
He gradually made his way closer and closer to the shuttered windows, but he couldn’t make out anything from a distance, and the area next to it was barren: he would be standing in the open if he got any closer.
It was at that moment, he swore he saw it.
Through a tiny gap in the shutters, something was there. A purple glint he hadn’t noticed before… a strange, entrancing glow that seemed to soothe him and beckon him in.
Until it blinked.
He recoiled and stepped back.
The purple glimmer vanished into the darkness, but he knew now that he couldn’t let this stand any longer.
As he suspected, something demonic was in the hut. Why exactly it was being kept on the shrine grounds wasn’t important right now, he simply couldn’t let it leave and hurt anyone else.
He dashed back towards his room with his head spinning, as the sunlight was beginning to fade, and he was unarmed and unprepared.
He grabbed his bag and began to sort through the contents. A huge range of spiritual items was contained, from a beautifully ornate golden cross to the most simplistic vial of salt, and they were delicately organised in a spread before him.
Alone in his room, Yuuji inhaled deeply to settle his thoughts. Time was limited, but he would need a steady mind and a steadier hand: rushing headfirst would get him killed, and he would end up protecting nobody.
‘Calm the storm, still the heart, and sharpen the soul.’
As he exhaled his mantra, his eyes glowed with determination. Once more reaching into his bag, he pulled out a large wooden box, unclipped the thick golden latch, and gently lifted the lid.
Inside was an outfit so dark it pulled in the light like a gaping maw, devouring all who lay eyes on it. The thick leather padding jutted out like jagged scales, while thin golden threads coursed along the cloth like shining veins.
He wasn’t sure what kind of demon he was approaching, so he took as many precautions as time allowed before he opened his eyes wide once more.
He was ready.
He donned his garb and stepped out into the twilight.
A cool breeze met him, causing his overcoat to twirl behind his back as he stepped resolutely towards the main building.
He stood before the door and chain and held his hand up high.
“Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Doujigiri!”
From his words came strength. A power coursed through the air, as the golden threads along his body shone like dazzling constellations in the night sky. From his empty hand grew a gleaming blade of light nearly a metre long, which swung effortlessly through the solid metal chain, whistling as it fell.
The heavy metal crashed into the ground, as the world stood still. Yuuji held his blade straight, prepared for the monster to rush him at any moment, but it would not come.
He took a half step forward, then swung thrice with flowing motions like rushing water. The wooden doors stood no chance, and collapsed to the ground in beautifully sliced chunks.
But before him in the open room was not what he was expecting.
“A-Aah!”
A beautiful girl with hair the colour of deep violet, and eyes that carried an enchanting glow. Her skin was pale and delicate, and though tears were streaming down her face she bore an ethereal beauty like a lily blooming in the dead of night.
“P-Please don’t hurt me!”
What Yuuji couldn’t quite take his eyes off though, were the two amethyst horns that adorned her head.
A sure sign of a demon.