Night fell completely in an instant.
In this peaceful era, there was truly no nighttime entertainment. The moment darkness arrived, the entire jōkamachi (castle town) quickly grew silent. Most residents retired into the dark. Only one or two samurai patrols rode through the streets on horseback, carrying torches.
Thus, leaving the town proved effortless for Naoki and Musashi.
After confirming no one was watching, the two shot into the sky with the aid of wind, heading straight for Hitachi Province.
"We're really flying."
Though she had experienced it for the first time last night, soaring through the air with wind assistance was still a thrilling novelty for Musashi: "At this rate, we'll reach Hitachi Province in no time."
"Yeah. Walking might take a full day, but like this, just a few minutes."
Sitting in front, Naoki asked: "Have you tried your swords yet?"
"Not yet." Musashi touched the two blades at her waist.
After Naoki finished dinner, he had begun reinforcing both swords.
Specialized Anti-Spirit Attack Magecraft, Quasi-Eternal Slaughter Magecraft, Mana Barrier Magecraft—every spell that could close the hardware gap between Musashi and the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen in battle, Naoki poured his effort into installing.
Beyond Magecraft, Naoki also bestowed Fairy Protection on both blades. As long as Musashi held them, she would receive his protection—an effect practically equivalent to granting her an A-rank Mana Burst.
Musashi, of course, knew nothing of these enhancements. All she could feel was that the two swords at her waist now brimmed with an overwhelming Sword Aura and Sword Intent, ready to explode the moment they were drawn.
Musashi planned to turn this into a Battōjutsu (Iaido) surprise, delivering a massive shock to the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen upon meeting them!
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
After a short flight, crossing the Tone River below, the two officially entered Hitachi Province.
Landing with wind assistance in Hitachi Province—
"..."
"..."
Naoki and Musashi fell silent in unison.
The rumor they heard in the jōkamachi was that Hitachi Province had been burned to ashes by fire summoned by]{\ the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen, the entire province reduced to a desert.
But what they saw now...
"The rumor might have actually sugarcoated it." Naoki sighed. "This isn't a desert at all—it's a battlefield."
Unlike the village they saw near Shimōsa Province last night, what stretched before them now was an endless battlefield.
Though scorched beyond recognition, faint traces remained: charred earth littered with fragments of wooden barricades. Countless samurai corpses were impaled on sharpened stakes; countless more lay dead on the ground, riddled with arrows.
Heads, torsos, arms, legs—innumerable arrows pierced the fallen samurai, as if trampling the dead, defiling their bodies as thoroughly as possible.
"Is this the work of a Heroic Spirit Swordsman?"
Musashi tightly gripped her sword hilts.
"Unforgivable... Doing something this vile is truly unforgivable!"
"Calm down, Musashi." Naoki patted her shoulder. "Rage here is useless. Save your anger for when you face the Heroic Spirit Swordsman. That's when you'll need a furious heart to fight with everything you've got."
Anger might rob someone of composure, but undeniably, when enraged, raw power surges to a certain extent.
At that very moment—
*BUZZ!*
Without warning, the entire world around them plunged into darkness.
Though already deep in night, Naoki and Musashi distinctly felt their surroundings dim further. Moments later, the clear moonlight vanished, replaced by a crimson moon radiating an ominous blood-red glow.
On the night of the blood moon, black Oni ride in on black clouds, executing heavenly punishment under the Oni General's command—the intel about the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen they'd gleaned from Princess Kiyohime at the shop that afternoon flashed through both their minds.
"Naoki, this situation..."
"Looks like the Heroic Spirit Swordsman has appeared."
Naoki smiled, raised his hand, and snapped his fingers. Centered on him, a brilliantly lit area instantly replaced the domain of darkness. Thanks to this sudden light, the scenery hidden in shadow revealed itself before them.
A black army.
Just like the evil spirit Naoki destroyed last night, hundreds—no, thousands—of evil spirits stood in perfect formation in the darkness, unknowingly surrounding the two in the center.
"There are so many!"
Musashi gripped her sword hilts, ready to draw: "That many will be a real hassle. Should we retreat, Naoki?"
"No need—leave it to me."
As Naoki's words fell, the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled violently—and then, beneath the feet of the thousands of evil spirits—
*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*
A chorus of piercing sounds rang out.
Iron spikes erupted from the earth in unison, instantly impaling every evil spirit. The moment they were skewered, the densely packed horde transformed into black mist and vanished into the air!
In a single instant, the entire encirclement of evil spirits disappeared!
"Numbers mean nothing before me."
Facing the now-empty front, while Musashi still reeled from shock, Naoki shouted: "Come out, Heroic Spirit Swordsman—Demon who burned this land to cinders with fire—Archer Inferno!"
*BOOM!*
A burst of flame ignited in the darkness. Accompanied by faint footsteps, a silhouette emerged before them.
A figure Musashi had never seen, yet intimately familiar to Naoki.
White robes, red armor, a massive red bow on her back, a sword at her waist, and a naginata (long spear) clutched in both hands.
Hair white as snow, a beautiful face, a pair of sharp Oni horns on her head, and tears of blood streaming from both eyes.
Armed to the teeth, that was the woman who approached them.
"A-a-ah... I found it... I finally found it..."
Eyes brimming with blood-tears fixed on Naoki before them. Tomoe Gozen—her sanity lost, consumed by the karma of slaughter—felt, in this moment, an emotion called Serenity in her heart.
She had found it.
It was right to stay here. As long as she remained, she would surely meet the Great One who followed the trail she left behind.
"At last, I've found you, Lord ■■!"