Higashimacho was lifeless by day, but at night, it was cloaked in desolate unease.
Even before nine o'clock, despite streetlamps still glowing, shops had shuttered early. Every household sealed its doors tight, too afraid to venture out, as if dreading something lurking in the darkness.
In this deathly silence, a knock sounded at Shintaro's door!
The sound jolted both father and son, Shintaro diving into his father's arms in panic.
They both knew what awaited Shintaro.
A second knock came. Shintaro, trembling with fear, had no choice but to pull away from his father.
The despondent man looked at his son, forcing a reassuring pat on the head.
"Don't worry, it'll be alright!"
The boy held обратно tears, walking uneasily to open the door.
Outside stood a scrawny, sallow girl holding a lantern, her expression fraught with anxiety.
Seeing it was her, Shintaro felt a slight relief.
"It's you, Hana."
The girl named Hana nodded, casting a pitying glance at Shintaro before speaking.
"Lord… Lord Ro wants me to bring you."
Shintaro shuddered, clenching his teeth.
"Those bastards—they told Lord Ro about my father?"
The girl timidly nodded.
"Damn it!" Shintaro's fear turned to rage. "My father only chatted briefly with a stranger! And those creeps went and snitched!"
"It's not just your father," Hana said. "Grandpa Naruta, Aunt Takagi—anyone who's had contact with an outsider, Lord Ro knows about."
"What!?" Shintaro was shocked and furious. "Then the kids from Grandpa Naruta's and Aunt Takagi's families are also…"
Hana nodded, confirming his grim suspicion.
"Damn it!" Shintaro cursed again, this time directing his anger at Horitake. "That outsider too! Why'd he have to question so many people!? Doesn't he know how many families he's dragged into this!?"
From the rooftop, Horitake felt a twinge of embarrassment.
Can they blame me?
Well… maybe they could.
My apologies. To make up for it, I'll take down that so-called Lord Ro!
Still fuming, Shintaro turned his ire on the children who snitched.
"And those bastards! Snitches deserve to die!"
"Don't… don't be mad at them," Hana said. "If they don't report truthfully, they'll…"
Her words cut off, her body shivering uncontrollably from fear.
Shintaro, too, paled as he realized something, his face turning ghostly white.
Hana, unable to wait any longer, urged him.
"Shintaro, we can't delay. We have to get to Lord Ro on time."
Terrified but helpless, Shintaro agreed.
"Alright… let's go."
Hana led the way with her lantern, Shintaro trailing close behind. On the silent streets, the sound of their small footsteps felt eerily out of place.
Shintaro's father, the despondent man, stood by the window, watching his son's retreating figure, his heart wrenching.
Sighing deeply, he turned—only to find someone standing before him!
In abject terror, the man screamed, stumbling backward and collapsing onto the floor.
When he saw who it was, he exhaled slightly.
"It's… you!?"
Horitake stood before him, smiling and gesturing toward the room with a calm invitation.
"Sir, may we have a detailed talk?"
The man, still rigid on the floor, hesitated.
Horitake revealed his identity, giving him a shot of confidence.
"I'll be frank, sir. I'm a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps, here specifically to slay demons. This 'Lord Ro' you speak of is most likely a man-eating demon, and my job is to take him down!
No false modesty here—my strength ranks among the Corps' best. There are few demons in this world I can't handle!"
The man was infected by Horitake's powerful confidence and commanding presence.
Struggling to his feet, he invited Horitake into another room. They sat face-to-face and began a detailed discussion.
"Sir, to know your enemy is to win every battle. I need to know everything about this demon. Please tell me all you know."
Clinging to this lifeline, the man eagerly recounted everything.
"That so-called Lord Ro, his full name is Shikeji Ro. Green-faced, fanged, he doesn't even look human. Every few days, he eats people to sate his hunger. He's got to be the demon you're talking about!"
"Sir, please calm down. I need to know how this Shikeji Ro appeared. Did he just materialize in Higashimacho, or did he come from elsewhere?"
The man thought for a moment before answering.
"He's probably an outsider. Higashimacho's been here for years, and we'd never heard of such a monster before."
Horitake pressed seriously.
"When did he show up?"
"About half a year ago!"
"And how has he held sway over Higashimacho these past six months?"
At this, the man grew agitated, recalling painful memories.
"At first, we had no idea a monster had appeared in Higashimacho.
Then, young couples started dying or vanishing, and we began to notice something was wrong.
But by the time we realized, it was already too late…"
His voice heavy with anguish, the man continued.
"In less than a month, that monster used some kind of sorcery to control the life and death of every child in town!
For us poor folk, our children are our lives!
With our children's lives in his grasp, he essentially controlled our entire families!
Using this sorcery, he dominated Higashimacho by holding our children hostage.
We had no choice but to submit. When he occasionally ate a couple, we could only turn a blind eye, pretending we saw nothing.
The whole town has been trapped in this terror, never knowing who'll be eaten next!
The children who lost their parents are kept by that monster, forced to 'play' with him!
If an outsider passes through briefly, it's fine. But if they interact with anyone in town, that outsider will surely be eaten that night!
That's because the monster fears his presence leaking out, that word of a demon in this town might spread.
When too many passersby or outsiders were eaten, the government came to investigate. We had no choice but to claim they'd gone missing.
The officials found no leads, so the matter was dropped.
Sometimes… we secretly felt relieved.
If the monster ate more outsiders, would he spare the townsfolk?
But no—he kept devouring our couples all the same!
How long can this go on? The town's population is dwindling, the fear growing, until we all collapse completely.
If it comes to that, we might as well die…
But we can't! The lives of all our children are in that monster's hands. If we die, what happens to them!?
We can only endure, dragging on in this sunless, living hell…"
The man's voice grew more pained, his words increasingly anguished.
His recounting was chaotic, muddled by trauma, but Horitake pieced together the thread, grasping the demon's deeds and the origin of Higashimacho's calamity.
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