The walk to the mission took an entire day.
The morning, the day after, Akuru followed the well-maintained dirt path that Huginn led him on. Summer had arrived, but today the sight of the sun was hard to come by. Light clouds covered the entire sky, not a blue speck in sight. Even then, everything remained bright; it wasn't the type of day one was worried about rain. Just a dull day walk through the sparse forest. Though not a single carriage or human was seen throughout the entire journey Akuru took. That set off some alarm bells in his head, but nothing that screamed concern.
After a few more hours, when the sun would be at the peak of its apex if it was visible through the clouds, was the first time Akuru saw the village. The day had gotten brighter, but the dull colours that the cloudy day brought remained. The wooden posts that signified the entrance to the village looked less inviting and more muted under the blanket of the weather.
Huginn landed on his shoulder, tired from his continuous flight. Akuru reached up to lightly brush the adorable crows chest with his fingertips in quiet thanks. Huginn let out a single hoarse croak in response, too exhausted for anything more.
Akuru's gaze lifted to the village ahead.
From the first step into the village, something felt wrong.
Yet everything looked fine.
It seemed to be a rather small farming village, maybe thirty to forty homes. Akuru let his gaze wander over the small market square. Beyond it sat a shrine at the far end that led to stretches of green rice paddies beyond the last row of houses. Smoke drifted lazily from cooking fires. The wooden homes were weathered but looked sturdy. A couple of dogs slept near the road.
All normal.
But Akuru's skin prickled.
There were too many people outside.
And none of them moved around like they weren't in a play. A play written by something disconnected to human understanding.
A middle-aged carpenter, judging by the toolbelt and callused hands, was sweeping dust away from the well. He wasn't trying to repair it, nor was he inspecting it, simply stood sweeping of all things. He moved like he was on strings. Akuru hadn't seen someone ever clean with such delicacy. Almost like someone who had been told to clean but not told why.
A young mother and her child walked down the main road carrying stacks of firewood far too heavy for them. Their strained arms trembled, yet they never seemed distressed. The mother wore no expression, almost as if she were sleepwalking. The child moved far too repetitively as well, not a single protest.
That much fire wood during summer and moving towards a home that already had smoke spreading out from inside was odd.
Akuru walked through the market observing everything.
An elderly man stood infront of a tailor's shop, staring at a roll of fabric through the window as though mesmerised. His hoe and straw hat lay abandoned at his feet.
Another group that looked like the farmers from back home was painting wooden charms near the shrine, carefully tracing circles and symbols Akuru didn't recognise. Farmers didn't paint charms in the middle of the day. Certainly not in such off-putting perfect unison.
Akuru slowed his steps, taking it all in with a quiet breath.
It wasn't chaos. Far from it
It was...
Misalignment.
Like gears in motion, steady but out of rhythm.
Not a single one looked over towards him. Akuru didn't know if that was more disturbing or less.
Huginn ruffled his feathers uneasily.
Akuru silently made his way deeper toward the village centre. This time, he moved off the main path and kept away from any line of sight. Nothing he saw confirmed a demon. Nothing confirmed danger.
But just observing everything, Akuru couldn't place it, but everything felt so dreary.
After trying to see if he could find anything else out of place in the shadows, he gave up. Deciding the best course of action now was to try and communicate with someone who lived here and see if he could glean something from them.
He approached a woman selling vegetables under a lazy canopy.
"Excuse me," Akuru said politely, bowing slightly. "I'm travelling through. I heard there were… concerns nearby. Has anything happened recently? Any troubles? Anyone missing?"
The woman smiled nicely and blinked at him.
"Missing? Ah, no, not that I know of. Everything is very quiet here."
A simple answer. Straightforward. Reassuring.
A farmer at the next stall echoed her words almost instantly, as if he had been waiting for the same question.
"No trouble at all. Nobody missing. We are quite fortunate."
Akuru had shivers run up his back.
He tried again.
"How about travellers? Merchants? Has anyone passed through in recent times?"
"Oh yes," said the woman, nodding with exaggerated certainty.
"Many travellers pass our way."
"Just yesterday a few came," added the farmer beside her.
Again, a simple answer. Straightforward. Reassuring.
But the answer didn't match the reality.
Akuru had just walked a full day's journey along an open path.
He hadn't seen a single traveller.
"Did they stay the night?" he pushed a little.
"They left already," both villagers said in eerie synchrony.
Akuru stepped back, bowing politely so they didn't sense his suspicion. But his mind sharpened.
The mission report was clear:
Multiple villagers are missing.
Reports of strange behaviour.
Demon influence, possibly.
And yet not one villager acknowledged a single disappearance. No panic. No confusion.
Confidence delivered monotonously.
Too perfect.
He turned away from the stalls, Huginn's claws gripped tighter on his shoulder.
"You're feeling it too," Akuru whispered.
The crow cawed softly, almost comfortingly, but the note of warning was there.
For the next few hours, Akuru explored.
The village was alive with activity but quiet in mood. No laughter. No arguments. No idle chatter. Everyone worked diligently, but none of it fit together.
A blend of confusing human behaviour continued till the evening. The sky now dark, the clouds a lacklustre grey. The sun really never came out today, almost like a sign.
A blacksmith hammered at a glowing horseshoe, but the fire was far too faint to shape metal. The steel wouldn't bend at that temperature. A task engaged in mindlessly.
A fisherman mended nets beside rice paddies, far from any river. Hyper-focused on the task even when the nets were pristine. Still, he shuffled it around and around without pause.
Akuru paused near the centre of the village, heart beating firmly.
He watched a seamstress fold stacks of clothing with such mechanical precision that her hands seemed to move independent of thought. She repeated the same motions, expression unchanged, gaze slightly unfocused.
It was like seeing puppets performing tasks.
Akuru's fingers brushed the hilt of his new white blade, hidden in the dark amber wood around his waist.
Everything screamed the presence of a demon.
His breathing steadied, slow and deep.
Not yet.
He needed more details.
Charging blindly into battle against an unknown foe was suicide.
Parasitic control was his best guess. A guess that was far more terrifying than the blood thirsty demons he had experience killing. A demon that held human lives in its hands would require a far more delicate approach.
Huginn stirred on his shoulder, ruffling his feathers on Akuru's neck.
Akuru whispered, "We'll figure it out," then added, "Observe a little more."
He continued walking. After another loop around the village, he made his final conclusion.
The village wasn't getting ready for anything.
The village was being readied.
Every task, every misaligned action, every misplaced villager, all resembled pieces being moved into position.
But for what?
Akuru wanted answers. He stopped an elder passing by carrying a little box of dried herbs.
"Sir," Akuru asked politely, "may I ask where the village chief is? I was hoping to speak with them."
The old man's lids flickered, his smile swift and light.
"Of course, of course. Our chief is at the shrine today. Preparing for the festival."
"Festival?" Akuru repeated.
"Yes, the festival," the man answered, voice unwavering. "It's very important. We're all helping."
"What festival is it?"
The elder's smile did not change.
Not one muscle moved.
Exactly the same smile as the vegetable seller.
"The festival," the man calmly repeated.
Akuru's pulse skipped.
Something was deeply wrong with this place.
He thanked the elder and let him pass. The man walked away with measured, slow steps. Turning toward the tailor's shop instead of the shrine, he clutched his box of herbs like it had been glued to his palms.
Huginn clicked his beak irritably.
Akuru nodded.
"Yeah. I saw it."
Whatever controlled the village was subtle but incomplete. As if the demon's parasite control were being stretched across too many minds, there were bound to be slips.
Parasitic abilities might not even be the answer. It would be foolish to get stuck thinking it could only be one possibility. After communicating with the three villagers, their eyes were the most expressive part. An ability that affects using sight?
His jaw clenched.
Every person here held no control of their actions.
At last, night was approaching.
Demons loved the dark.
This would be his best bet for finding where this demon hid. Or else the demon would go back to hiding, achieving whatever its goal was, using the people as puppets.
As the sky dimmed into a dim twilight, Akuru circled back toward the entrance of the village. Intending to find a place to observe from without being seen.
He had barely stepped beyond the wooden posts when Huginn suddenly lifted off his shoulder with a loud flap.
Akuru turned sharply.
Then, a figure appeared from the forest path.
Reddish brown hair, short, almost to a buzz. A practical, generic dark demon slayer uniform. Two swords at his side. Eyes sharp and curious. A bulky figure that was shorter than him. Akuru grinned in his head.
Haruto.
Akuru's chest relaxed just slightly. Haruto was a known face. Maybe not the greatest fighter, but his presence was invigorating, considering he spent his entire day with people who acted dead walking.
Haruto raised one hand in greeting.
"So you're the one my crows said I'd meet at the village," he said, voice low but friendly. "Perfect. I was kinda worried I'd have to handle this alone. It's good seeing you again Akuru"
Akuru nodded with a smile on his face.
"It's nice seeing your face, it's been a minute."
Haruto grinned but only for a moment before his eyes darted towards the village behind Akuru, narrowing in immediate suspicion.
"It feels wrong," he said.
Akuru sighed with a nod.
"You picked up on it rather quickly."
Haruto nodded with a shiver.
"A few villagers passed me on the road earlier, didn't react at all. Like they didn't see me. Then, as I went to talk to them, all they did was look past me as they walked in unison back into the village"
Akuru's shoulders straightened.
"That fits everything I saw inside. Though I haven't seen a person try to walk out of the village, that's new."
Huginn landed again, but not on Akuru this time, on the ground between both boys. He hopped in a semicircle, feathers puffed, then looked sharply toward the village, then back at the two Demon Slayers.
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"Your crow's unusually expressive."
Akuru crouched slightly, reaching out.
"I think it might be time for us to run into the village; there has to be a demon that is controlling these people somehow. My best guess right now is sight, so watch out for that," Akuru picked up Huginn "He must have found something, so let's follow him in."
Huginn croaked once, sharp and direct. Haruto looked toward the village again.
Akuru stood beside him.
The moment they started to move, the air around them seemed to shift. Just a small tremor, like a ripple across water. Not visible. Not audible. But felt.
Haruto's eyes sharpened.
"You feel that?"
Akuru nodded slowly. Huginn's feathers bristled as he took off into flight.
The village behind them remained quiet. People moved in the same steady routines, the same off-rhythm. Preparing something for the night.
Akuru inhaled.
Haruto rested a hand on one of his swords.
"Let's move," Haruto said. "Stay sharp. We shouldn't separate if the demon has some blood demon art that lets it control someone."
Akuru agreed. It seems Haruto had already been on some missions. They turned toward the village together.
The village stood still, waiting. Perfectly quiet. Perfectly ready. But for what, neither could yet see.