Chapter 134: I Am Fear
The roaring motorcycle came to a stop on the road of the village.
Here, a fierce fire burned fiercely, with thick smoke rising into the sky. Even from several kilometers away, it was hard for anyone not to notice.
Bai Wei found traces of the shrine's escape, with dead bodies and bloodstains leading all the way to this village.
Unfortunately, he arrived just a little too late.
Even if they traveled day and night without stopping, humans have a limit to how fast they can move. Without an aircraft carrier like the Dark Night Ark, it would be very difficult to achieve a speedy evacuation.
Space travel is not an extremely advanced mystery, but in this world, there are multiple spaces. On the same simple space coordinates, perhaps after layers of encryption, it also covers more than one spatial dimension. Therefore, only the ancient forging gods can create space gates that can traverse different dimensions and photon leap bridges to travel to the stars. It is clear that we cannot rely on that.
Bai Wei arrived at the edge of the road and stopped his motorcycle. He took off his helmet and looked at the cold bodies and burning flames in the village. It felt like he was transported back to his memories, once again becoming a demon slayer.
By a strange coincidence, these cannibals were remarkably similar to the ones he had slain before, both in appearance and texture. They were almost indistinguishable.
As he chopped off the fifth demon's head, the other cannibals finally noticed him.
Immediately, they swarmed towards him and blocked Bai Wei at the entrance of a house.
As Bai Wei raised his sword, the expression on the demons' faces froze.
Strictly speaking, these creatures don't have much change in their facial expressions, but in reality, they do have some emotions to a small extent.
Although very subtle, they were not completely devoid of it.
When someone is scared, they cannot hide what they are thinking in their heart, let alone these simple creatures that only know killing and devouring.
When they wavered, it was easier to understand than a Hell demon, as if robots that followed orders suddenly started crying and laughing.
Bai Wei also noticed their change and immediately narrowed his eyes. "Have you, recognized me?" he asked.
The cannibals didn't answer, but when Bai Wei took a step forward, they took a step back.
Bai Wei became even more certain that the Rashomon gate he saw in his dream didn't appear for no reason.
Why are they stepping back?
Naturally, they were afraid.
Why were they so scared?
Because he had killed too many.
Bai Wei only just realized at that moment that he seemed to have really done something very bloody.
Since kicking Yagyū Saizō out of the RashoMon with one kick, he decided to keep the experience of killing all to himself.
Therefore, he stayed locked inside RashoMon and killed demons for a whole ten years.
In the span of ten years, how many evil demons were slain?
Ten thousand? A million? Ten million?
It was difficult to count.
He forcefully blocked the gate and mercilessly killed evil demons for ten years. Even newly born demons would be swiftly and fearlessly slain by this demon slayer!
Until later, when he was infected with a miasma, lost his sanity, and transformed into an evil spirit, only then was he released from RashoMon.
Even though those evil demons were emotionally distant, they would surely remember him deeply, making it hard to forget his remarkable presence.
Fear, as expected.
He was a legendary figure among the Demon Clan, like rabbits encountering a tiger.
Once such a conditioned response is formed, when Bai Wei stands here, the cannibals can only stand steady because of their emotional distance. But if their fear is even slightly stronger, they might already be trembling and fleeing in terror.
Fear, the greatest enemy of all.
The enemy didn't stop his blade just because they felt scared, because... it was a massacre.
Bai Wei, still, kept swinging his sword.
No need for sympathy!
...
Bai Wei cleared the evil demons from the path, causing each one of them to freeze in fear when they saw him. Swinging his sword to kill them was no more difficult than chopping wood. Even when he encountered an occasionally courageous spirit that dared to resist, it was still just one swift strike to defeat them.
He saw the shrine maiden, approached her, gently crouched down, and helped the Chamberlain who was burning her life until the very end.
Her body, very light.
"You are..." Fuma Tsuru's voice was equally soft.
"Bai Wei," he said, "a man from the Ming Country."
"They, they seem to be afraid of you..." Fuma Tsuru asked weakly.
"Yes, I have killed many of them," Bai Wei nodded.
Fuma Tsuru looked at the young man's profile and said, "Thank you. Seeing you makes me feel at ease."
"You need to get better."
"No need, it's too late," Fuma Tsuru said softly, her breath calm. "My time is running out."
Bai Wei hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you have something to say?"
"There's one thing," Fuma Tsuru's eyes were losing their sparkle. "May I... ask you for a favor?"
"You said."
"Many people were still there... I want to ask you, please take them back with you."
Bai Wei replied, "I came specifically for this purpose."
Fuma Tsuru closed her eyes and smiled, saying, "That's really wonderful."
Chamberlain's breathing and heartbeat ceased, and she departed this world with a serene smile, her soul ascending to the heavens.
Another shrine maiden passed away, she was not the first, nor would she be the last.
In Bai Wei's arms, the Chamberlain felt incredibly light. It was hard to imagine how she had carried such a heavy burden for decades until now.
Bai Wei is a wanderer of the ages, a passing guest of the millennia. He can observe everything from the perspective of a bystander, without having to bear too much responsibility and obligation. But sometimes, it is only by getting closer that one can truly see and feel. Their finite lives burned so passionately.
Fuma Tsuru showed him the way, and Bai Wei became even more certain of the path to the mountains.
He dared not waste any more time, chasing after the scattered man-eating demons was only a temporary solution. If RashoMon had truly reappeared, it had to be sealed as soon as possible.
Otherwise, the former event that happened on Oeyama might come back to life, with piles of bones forming mountains. No one wanted to see it again.
...
In the old shrine, Mizuko struggled for several hours, but in the end, she collapsed.
She said she would save some strength for herself, but in reality, she didn't save any at all. She fell to the ground and slipped into unconsciousness.
The sword witches nearby struggled to get up and embraced her, attempting to warm her body. But everyone was already extremely weak.
Saki Jingūji took the weapon, planning to cut open her palm and continue maintaining the barrier.
"Jingūji," a sword witch said, gripping her wrist gently, and urged, "You should go."
"What?" Jingūji thought she had misheard.
"Even if you keep going, we won't last until dawn. Take this chance now and escape on your own. Maybe there's still hope for you. We are already incapable, and if you stay, you'll also be caught in the net."
"Are you telling me to escape alone?" Jingūji's voice grew louder, as if trying to dispel her own inner turmoil and wavering compromise.
"Yes, running away is shameful, but someone must survive!" The older sword witch looked into her eyes. "Survive, carrying the burden of all of us. Right now, you're the only one with the strength to break free!"
No one spoke. Everyone gazed at her, their eyes showing no blame. Each sword witch was prepared to make sacrifices, not because they were not afraid of death, but because they had already accepted it. However, this didn't include her.
Jingūji stood in place, looking dazed. The protective barrier began to tremble once again. But then, everyone urged her to escape quickly. This unexpected gesture punctured through the emotions Jingūji had been desperately hiding. It was as if everyone could see the lingering attachment in her heart, the unwillingness to sacrifice her life for the sake of being a sword witch.
"You, you deliberately kept me till the end..."
She understood, but she was not happy at all. Instead, these gentle eyes pained and hurt her deeply.
She felt sad and closed her eyes, torn between two difficult choices, her heart struggling.
If she chose to stay, she would die.
If she chose to leave, her heart would die.
She really wanted to escape, to forget everything by tossing it away and leaving it all behind. She covered her ears with both hands, hoping to block out the intrusive noise from all directions.
If someone were here, can someone tell me what to do?
If it was Simozi here, how would she choose?
If it was him here, how would he choose?
If it was them...
Saki Jingūji lowered her palm, feeling a warm surge in her heart that drove away her worries, pain, and restlessness. She compared herself to a friend and whispered to herself.
If she were here, she would definitely say...
She stayed calm, and mockingly said to the sword witches, "Dream on!"
