The old man's voice was very low, as if afraid of being overheard.
"That god said that as long as we offer a sacrifice every month, he will bless us with favorable weather and good harvests."
"We believed him."
"But..." His voice began to tremble.
"The offerings became more and more frequent. From grain to livestock, from livestock to..."
He could not continue.
Hikaru glanced at Kikyo.
The shrine maiden's brows furrowed.
"Into what?"
"People."
The old man's eyes reddened.
"Every month, we must send one person inside."
"Once they go in, they never come out again."
"We do not want to send them, but that god said if we do not, he will bring disaster upon the entire village."
"Last month, Goro's son at the village entrance was unwilling to go. That night, his house collapsed, and all five members of his family died."
"Since then, no one has dared to resist."
Hikaru listened to these words, his eyes narrowing slightly.
A god?
Eating people every month?
"Where is that shrine?" he asked.
The old man looked up sharply.
"No!" His voice grew sharp.
"That place cannot be approached right now!"
"Why?"
"That god said that anyone who is not the offering cannot enter the shrine, or else disaster will befall us!"
"Lady Kikyo, you are an honored guest. Unless the time is right, you absolutely must not go to such a place!"
"In half a month, it will be the day of the sacrifice, and the god will walk out on his own... We only hope that when the time comes, you can communicate with the god and ask him to relax his requirements slightly... Even if he wants people, he should start with us old folks!"
Hikaru had an unreadable expression upon hearing this.
Kikyo did not speak either.
She just stood up and walked to the window.
Through the dilapidated window, one could indeed see a building deep in the village.
That building was completely out of place with the surrounding dilapidated huts.
Vermilion torii gates, neat stone steps, and wisps of rising smoke.
It was a shrine, something she was all too familiar with.
That was not a god.
Kikyo made a judgment in her heart.
That was a demon.
Hikaru also followed Kikyo's gaze, sensing a thick Demonic Qi.
Pretending to be a god, tricking people into giving offerings, and devouring human lives.
This sort of thing was actually quite common in these chaotic times.
Demons would pose as deities and then use offerings to strengthen themselves.
Not to mention being able to eat one person every month.
It was simply killing two birds with one stone.
But although they saw through it, neither Kikyo nor Hikaru spoke up. The old man before them hadn't even thought of asking Kikyo to 'exorcise the demon' even when pushed to his limit; he didn't realize it wasn't a god at all. If they told him, he probably wouldn't believe them.
So Kikyo just nodded to the old man and said, "I can stay away, and I can also help you communicate with the god you speak of."
"However, not right now."
The old man understood. He quickly stood up. "Lady Kikyo, and... Sir Samurai, please rest first. Once you have rested enough, anytime is fine."
"There is an empty house next door. Please rest there."
Hikaru and Kikyo followed him out.
Walking to the door of the house next door, Hikaru stopped.
He looked back in the direction of the shrine.
The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the vermillion Torii, looking as if it were stained with a layer of blood.
"The true Sengoku Period..."
He whispered.
Kikyo stopped beside him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Hikaru shook his head.
"I just feel that your village is already like a paradise on earth."
Kikyo fell silent.
She looked at this dilapidated village, at those gaunt villagers, and at that man-eating shrine.
"Yes."
She said softly, "This is what most people look like in this era."
That was why.
That was why Hikaru wanted to become stronger.
In a desperate era, whether human or demon, it was all the same without the power to protect oneself.
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