Earless Hoichi [Episode 5] Gion's Demon Eater (6)

—The sound of the bell, the echo of impermanence...

Click here for the beginning

Click here for the previous episode

Chapter 6: The Sword, the Mask, and the Gates of Hell

◇

The wind had grown cold. It was not the end of summer, nor the deepening of night, but a chill that seemed to crawl up from the depths of the earth. Miyo took the wind head-on and ran along the road leading to Gion. Kakuichi and Hikoshichi followed behind her.

“...Are you truly certain, Lady Miyo...?!”

Even as Hikoshichi called out, Miyo did not look back. Instead of answering, she tightened her grip on the cane sword she carried. It was Miyo who had requested this. She would exorcise the demons of Gion. The monk closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded quietly. From the sleeve of his ink-dyed robe, he produced a single cane sword and an old Hannya mask.

“These containfragments of Taira no Masakado's soulwithin them. As a shrine maiden, you are prone to harboring such power. ...Therefore, learn to master it.”

Then the monk continued, “However, no power will work against the woman of Seikan-ji. She is... different.”

No one understood the meaning of those words. Only the weight behind the monk's voice remained in their hearts.

“Our duty... we wish to fulfill our duty!”

Kakuichi shouted. “We wish to repay the debt of having been saved!”

The monk nodded once at these words, but in the next instant, his gaze turned slightly stern.

“You two... are you sure? If you push yourselves too hard, you will be devoured.”

Kakuichi had sweat on his brow and his fists were clenched.

“...We are aware. But if we turn back now, we shall regret it for the rest of our lives.”

Beside him, Hikoshichi also nodded deeply. The two were officials of Musashi Province, men of some standing, but they had also trained in swordsmanship in their youth. Kakuichi held a katana in his hand, and Hikoshichi carried a short spear on his back. Yet, both of them realized that the demons nesting in Gion now could not be exorcised by ordinary strength.

When the path opened up, Kakuichi gasped. “...There, a demon!”

By the side of the road, a staggering shadow appeared. It looked human, yet it was not. A body distorted like mud. Glaring eyes. Only groaning, gnashing sounds leaked from it.

Kakuichi drew his sword and stepped forward. “You won't get away with this...!” He slashed at the same time as he spoke, but the demon dodged. With a leap that seemed to ignore the laws of gravity, it escaped into a tree. Kakuichi was taken aback by the movement.

“...This one is not normal!”

That was when it happened. Miyo stopped and placed the Hannya mask over her face. The wind stopped instantly. The presence emanating from her back changed.

“Leave it to me.”

A withered, deep voice leaked from the mask.

As Masakado's voice echoed, Miyo's feet kicked off the ground. There was no wind, no sound. Yet, the figure that appeared before their eyes was like mist. The demon lurking in the tree branches had its head severed before it could even notice.

With a heavy thud, the headless demon collapsed to the ground. Its head was already gone. Both Kakuichi and Hikoshichi were speechless for a moment.

“...Well done.”

The moment Hikoshichi whispered that, another strange groan rose from a different direction. A sound like something crawling on the ground, or claws scratching at the depths of one's chest.

“...More are coming.”

Kakuichi gritted his teeth. Deep in the woods, and in the direction of Gion. Gion should still have been far away. But as if gushing forth from there, the shadows of demons were rising up.

Masakado's voice echoed again.
“The rotting earth is filled with resentment. Because that woman devours demons. Souls that harbor grudges are drawn to her.”

Miyo's cane sword sliced through the air again. It was as if it were not a blade, but the wind of exorcism itself. The demons she struck collapsed without even a sound.

“When the shrine maiden dances and the soul dwells within, my sword dances as well. The road ahead is still long.”

Kakuichi and Hikoshichi nodded to each other and readied their weapons. The demons did not stop. As if a wave of resentment were flowing back from Gion, the shadows swayed, and groans began to seep into the sky.

“Get back!”

Along with Kakuichi's voice, the sound of a demon's arm being severed rang out. But the shadow, still groaning even after being cut, writhed with resentment. While it kept the shape of a human, it was not human. It was like a beast beyond pity.

Hikoshichi thrust his spear from behind, managing to deliver the finishing blow. No matter how many they cut down, more appeared. At the end of the road, in the shadows of the cobblestones, behind the decaying walls. From here and there, as if flowing toward Gion, the presence of demons was welling up.

“At this rate—”

Just as Kakuichi groaned, Miyo's cane sword was swung again. Her supple body swirled like the wind, and one of the demons was cut in two from behind.

From deep within the Hannya mask, Masakado's low, gravelly voice echoed.

“Listen well. Cutting them down is not exorcism. If you do not sever the 'resentment' at the source of the demons, they will keep gushing forth. Eventually, this entire land will be devoured.”

No one could answer that voice. It was not that they had no words to reply, but that the weight of it swallowed everything.

◇

Meanwhile, at the Modoribashi Bridge.

Hoichi was on his knees, sitting in silence. Behind him, the monk was moving his brush. The ink did not smudge, and the wind had stopped. Under the quiet sky, only the sound of the sutras echoed.

“You are still immature. If you touch that woman, your very soul will be swallowed. Do not move.”

Having said that, the monk continued to write the sutras even onto Hoichi's ears. The monk's brush did not tremble. The sound of the wooden fish did not ring. Only his prayer and resolve as a monk flowed out as ink.

◇

The scent of ink dissolved into the night wind, seeping into the silence.
Hoichi just sat still. With his back straight, holding his biwa to his chest.

The wind swayed his sleeves.

Somewhere, something was about to begin—he had that feeling. It wasn't that he had thought about it deeply. It just seemed to be so.

Why was he remaining here?

He could not put it into words. But something was coming. Only that premonition seeped into the depths of his chest.

The wood of the biwa was faintly warm.
He tightened his grip.
Without a sound, the night deepened.

◇

About half an hour passed, and the monk stopped his brush.

“...This will do.”

It was just as he said that.

Gwooooon—

A sound rang out. The sound of a bell. Low, heavy, as if tearing through the sky.

It did not resonate in his ears, but in his chest. A sound that shook his bones, gripped his heart, and soaked into his very soul.

Hoichi looked up. A wind blew there.

A night wind. A wind like damp, ancient incense. And in that wind, a woman stood.

Her black hair swayed gently. Her skin, like white tabi socks, floated in the darkness. Even for Hoichi, who could not see, her presence was clearly felt.

The woman of Seikan-ji—.

She was smiling. Somehow sorrowfully, yet bewitchingly and quietly.

※I post around 7-8 PM every day. I would be very happy if you could press the heart mark (Like). Thank you.

Please take a look at this as well