Chapter 4: At the Oni Village — The Intruder —

One night.
At the dōjō presided over by the former Shuten-dōji—Sekiren, who served as its master—the usual clamor echoed as always.

They train, then drink; they drink, then rampage; they rampage, and then drink again.
That is the oni’s everyday life.
Tonight as well, the unchanging revel continued.

Homuramaru and Sekiren, too, were exchanging cups and laughing together.
It was supposed to be a peaceful yet rough, ordinary night—

The air changed.

Before anyone realized it, something was standing in the middle of the dōjō.
Shrouded in black haze, it had a human shape, and yet something about it was wrong.
The aberrant form remained silent, pointing the single stick it held straight at Homuramaru.

“…I don’t know who you are, but—”
Homuramaru stood up, the corner of his mouth lifting in a grin.
“If it’s a fight, I’ll take you on.”

A disciple offered him a staff, and Homuramaru took it and set his stance.
The aberrant form, too, quietly raised its stick.

The oni formed a circle around them without a word.
Everyone sensed it instinctively.
—This was not just a match.

The aberrant form raised its stick into a high overhead stance.
Homuramaru stepped in at once.
A thrust with all his might— or at least, it should have been.

But in the very next moment, Homuramaru was somehow on the defensive.
He should have been unleashing a thrust.
But in reality, he was blocking the aberrant form’s attack.
It made no sense. His will and his movements were at odds.

He couldn’t attack.
Even when he tried to press forward, his body refused.

Frustration surged up from within.
Homuramaru’s skin began to slowly take on a red hue.

Watching from the side, an old legend suddenly crossed Sekiren’s mind.

—The legendary Shu appears before mighty martial artists.

That tale, whose truth was doubtful, now alone seemed to take on an unsettling sense of reality.

Homuramaru was one of the foremost martial artists in this village.
And yet that Homuramaru could not land even a single attack.

Anger burned away his reason.
His skin shifted from red to black. Madness gleamed in his eyes, and his breathing grew ragged, like that of a beast.

In his own perception, there had been many chances to launch an attack.
Thrusts, downward strikes, sweeping blows—attacks that should have gone through without fail.
And yet, in reality, not a single one had been delivered.

At that moment, the outline of the aberrant form wavered slightly.

Without hesitation, Homuramaru thrust his staff forward.
His all-out strike pierced straight through the aberrant form’s chest—
accompanied by a definite, unmistakable sensation.

“…!”

Clatter.
The sound of a stick hitting the floor echoed through the now-silent dōjō.
In the next instant, the aberrant figure vanished, as if swept away like mist.

All that remained was a single stick.
Breathing heavily, Homuramaru bent down and picked it up.

In that instant, everything became clear.
It was the moment when the legendary Shu acknowledged Homuramaru as its master.

“…So this is the legendary Shu…!”

Homuramaru murmured quietly.