"Anything on your end?"
"Nothing here."
"Same here. Dammit, the darkness makes it impossible to see."
We began our search on the mountain where the six-year-old girl from the request was said to have vanished.
The previous boy had also gone missing here. Despite Uzui and me scouring every inch of this place like hunters hunting rats, we found nothing.
It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since the child disappeared. We questioned every soul in the village... yet from the moment she went missing, no one had entered or left these woods.
Uzui, a woman born of shinobi stock and a professional at rooting out hidden human trafficking remnants, had searched high and low, yet the trail was cold.
It was exactly the same as when we received the request for the missing boy.
Well, Uzui isn't exactly some 21st-century forensic unit; even she has her limits.
Still, whether it be man or beast, there should be some kind of trace left behind...
"Could it be... kamikakushi? Spirited away?"
"As if."
A modern man from the 21st century doesn't believe in such superstitions. I'd sooner believe a mountain cat made off with her.
Uzui pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.
"A flamboyant idea has come to mind."
"What is it?"
"It is a fact that we have combed this place like rats, yet it is also a fact that not a single mouse has shown its face. For a child to vanish alone without leaving a single trace is impossible... It must be a kidnapping by an outside force."
"I know that. It's not like we didn't consider it."
"However, there is a common rule. The victims are all children under the age of seven. And they are always alone."
Ah...!
"I see what you're getting at. So the culprit is some piece of filth with a preference for lolis and shotas."
"Lo-li? Sho-ta? I don't know what those words mean, but searching is pointless. How about we make the target come to us instead?"
"Make it come to us? Surely you don't mean..."
"Yes, exactly that."
"You're going to use another child as bait? Wow... you're a real piece of—"
Whack!
She hit me! Even Yoriichi has never hit me!
"What kind of nonsense are you spewing?"
With a series of sickening cracks, Uzui manipulated her joints... shifting her form back into that of the seven-year-old child from her days as my kagemusha body double.
Truly, no matter how many times I see it, it's surreal... How does she even do that?
The plan was simple: Uzui would transform into a child to lure out the pervert, and I would wait in ambush to suppress the target instantly.
My IQ of 150 plus Uzui's IQ of 150. A brilliant strategy born of a combined 300 IQ.
All that was left was to castrate the moth that flew into the flame.
Uzui couldn't just stand still or the trap would be obvious... so she wandered like a frightened, lost child. I trailed behind her, holding my breath to remain as invisible as possible.
About an hour passed...
Uzui suddenly stopped.
Realizing it had appeared, I stifled my presence and gripped the hilt of the Nichirin Blade at my waist.
By learning Uzui's 'Score,' I was now able to visualize space through sound to a certain extent.
And yet, my ears were telling me something impossible. The sound approaching us now belonged to neither man nor beast.
In all my 14 plus 20 years of life, I had never heard such a sound.
It soon manifested before Uzui.
The entity that appeared was a white-haired girl with sanpaku eyes. But both Uzui and I were struck with shock.
She was floating. No—to be precise, incredibly long strands of hair were stepping on the ground in place of her feet.
"You... look delicious..."
It could speak.
There was no way a human like that could exist in this world.
God dammit, so Demons really do exist?
The Demon gave a sickly grin and attempted to snatch Uzui with her hair.
I wouldn't let that happen.
Hooooooo.
Moon Breathing, Third Form.
「Loathsome Moon, Chains」
With two massive swings of my blade, I intercepted the hair rushing in from both sides.
Clang!
A sound erupted that was impossible to attribute to hair hitting a sword.
The jarring, metallic ring heightened the tension of the moment.
The strength behind the strike was far beyond that of the samurai who had taught me when I was seven.
This was a Demon.
With a freakish monster like Yoriichi around, I thought it wouldn't be strange if Demons existed, but to think they were real.
But the most surprising fact was...
It's weaker than I thought?
Compared to its grotesque appearance, it wasn't that strong.
In that short interval, Uzui dispelled her disguise and drew her dual blades connected by a chain.
"It actually showed up, but to think Demons truly existed."
"Eh? You're not a child? Lair, liar! You're a liar! You won't be delicious at all!"
The Demon's mouth split wide, and her sanpaku pupils dilated to a grotesque degree.
She extended her hair even further, sharpening the tips into lethal points.
"Die! Just die!"
"Don't use such strong words..."
Moon Breathing, First Form.
"It only makes you look weak."
「Dark Moon, Evening Palace」
It was a hunt.
A simple, mundane hunt.
I had settled on a certain mountain. Three days ago, I caught a boy. Yesterday, a girl.
I liked children. Their meat is tender, and their bones crunch so satisfyingly between my teeth.
Someone was trying to find me, but just let them try.
My hair could erase all traces and tell me exactly where an enemy was coming from.
Adults are tough and taste terrible. Fighting them is a chore.
I'm still keeping the girl I caught yesterday inside my hair.
Meat is best when eaten fresh, so she's still alive.
A child's scream is the finest side dish.
I came out because I saw another delicious-looking prey, but that girl turned out to be an adult, and then another adult popped out.
Die, die. The only reason I didn't hunt adults was because they were tough and troublesome. It wasn't because I couldn't kill them.
Humans really are stupid.
Huh?
Where did that human who blocked my attack go?
Where...?
"You're slow."
Why am I falling...?
"Even in your collapse."
Uzui rescued the young girl who had been wrapped in the Demon's hair.
Judging by her appearance, she looked about six—likely the missing girl from the request.
"It seems she's merely fainted. She is still breathing."
"Wh-what... how did you do that?"
Hmm?
The Demon, whose head and body had clearly already said their goodbyes, was speaking.
"You're not a Demon Slayer, are you! What a pity for you!"
Demon Slayers? There's such a thing?
"Unless it's the sun or the blades carried by those Demon Slayers, I won't die even if my head is cut off!"
A very kind Demon sensei, lecturing us on her own weaknesses.
Seeing how clearly she explained it, you might actually have a talent for teaching.
The Demon used her hair to lift her own torso and snapped it back onto her neck.
With a squelching sound, head and body were reunited.
I thought I gave them enough time, but apparently, their farewell wasn't quite finished.
Is this brat some kind of Guardian Ape?
Anyway, she won't die unless it's sunlight?
It's still a long time until dawn.
"Give me something delicious! I only got to taste one so far!"
"What?"
I swung my blade, parrying the downpour of hair.
"Uzui, cover the girl's ears just in case."
"I've already done so."
"I ate him the day before yesterday! He screamed when I bit him! But I blocked his mouth with hair, so no one heard! Someone was passing by right then, too. But they didn't hear! So I ate him comfortably."
...
"You."
"Shut your mouth."
Truthfully, I didn't expect him to be alive.
There was no way a child under seven could survive in the mountains for two days.
Still, I wanted to find him. Uzui and I had searched until our hands and feet were raw. I wanted to find even just his corpse after scouring the whole mountain for two days, just so we could return him to his parents.
Congratulations, Demon.
"If you have business in hell, I shall be the one to sever you and send you there."
In all my 14 plus 20 years, I have never been this angry.