The hunters made camp at the village edge, where smoke still curled black into the night sky.
They worked in grim silence, laying the dead in shallow pits, covering blood with earth and prayers. The stench of charred timber and yokai gore clung to their clothes, but worse still were the sounds of the survivors—few as they were—sobbing softly in the dark.
Aya moved among them, blessing what remained of their homes with beads and salt. Taro and Jiro built pyres for the mangled, those too ruined to be lain properly in the soil. Shiba Kenzō oversaw it all, his face carved from stone, his eyes drawn again and again to the mountain above.
When the fires burned low and the survivors had been fed with what little could be gathered, Shiba finally spoke to his hunters.
"Two will stay," he said firmly. "Keep watch on the man in the cave. If he stirs, follow, but do not engage. Do not test him. My intuition tells me he fights like a man with no fear of death. We'll gain nothing by pressing him now."
Taro and a younger hunter, Ren, nodded grimly. The rest continued their duty in the village, guarding what remained of its people through the long night.
By dawn, the fields were heavy with smoke and ash.
The survivors—barely a dozen souls—huddled together, eyes hollow, voices hoarse from weeping. To them, the hunters promised safe passage and protection. Yet Shiba's gaze never left the forest trail that wound upward, toward the cave where Ranmaru had last been seen.
When at last their grim work was done, Shiba led a small band back up the mountain path. Aya followed, her prayer beads whispering in her hands. The earth was still scorched where the oni had fallen, the trees blackened and leaning like broken men.
They stepped into the cave.
The air was cold, damp, thick with the stench of yokai blood. Torchlight licked across stone walls and rotting webs.
At the back, the half-breed Jorōgumo child still hung tangled in bloodied silk, its chest faintly rising and falling. Its eyes twitched beneath closed lids, but it had not woken.
But Ranmaru—he was gone.
Shiba's jaw clenched. He scanned the floor, the disturbed earth, the faint drag of footprints at the cave mouth. "He left…"
Aya stepped closer to the suspended yokai child, her eyes narrowing. "Yet he left this one behind. Why? He went to such lengths to capture it."
"Because," Shiba said slowly, "his hunt was interrupted. The oni may have soured his mood…" He trailed off, gaze shifting toward the forest beyond the cave, as if expecting Ranmaru's shadow to emerge from the mist.
Jiro muttered, spitting to the side. "So what now? Do we chase him? Drag him back in chains? He's walking with a curse in his belly, and who knows what kind of trouble a man like that will bring."
Shiba shook his head. "No. We cannot bind what we do not understand. To chase him is to invite his steel across our throats. For now, we leave it be." He turned to Aya. "But mark this cave. Mark the child. When we report to the shrine, they must know what we found here."
Aya bowed her head. "The priests will want the child alive. Proof that corruption walks this mountain. But the man…" Her voice lowered. "…he is a shadow they will not ignore."
The hunters stood in the cave's stillness a long moment. Then Shiba exhaled, harsh and final.
"Gather what we need. We leave by dusk. If the man wishes to walk to a shrine, he will find his own way there. And when he does, the priests will see what we already felt—that he is no ordinary swordsman. He carries something blacker than the oni we buried."
With that, they turned from the cave, leaving only the faint flicker of torchlight to mark their passing.
Behind them, the yokai child stirred faintly, eyelids fluttering—its first breath in waking since the night of slaughter.
And Ranmaru's trail vanished into the mountains, as though the cursed man had dissolved into mist.
****
Author's Note
As you all know, I've recently started a new novel, and most of my energy and time is going into writing that one. Don't worry—I'm not going on hiatus here. I just can't update as frequently unless…
…I divert you over to my second novel.
I had originally set powerstone goals over there, but frankly, they aren't being met. Still, many of you here are supporting this story, and it feels unfair to leave you out. So, I've come up with a simple solution: a twin goal system for both novels.
Powerstone Goals (on Legacy of the Demon King's Heir):
10 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter (for both novels)
15 Power Stones = 2 Extra Chapters (for both novels)
20 Power Stones = 3 Extra Chapters (for both novels)
Hopefully this gives you the perfect incentive to check out my other story. But if it's not your cup of tea and you're only here for this one, that's fine too! Just leave a review, and I'll post an extra chapter as a thank-you. (Not all at once if I suddenly get more than five, though!)