Chapter 12 - The Ghost

The wind was crisp that morning. It brushed past my face as I stepped into the forest trail, my new Nichirin blade tied securely at my waist.

"Caw! Ryo! Your first mission! Don't die! I just got used to your smell!"

That was my Kasugai crow.

He was loud. Dramatic. Annoying.

But useful.

He circled once, then flew ahead. "Target is a demon hiding near an old shrine. Sightings of missing girls in the area. Likely culprit is female demon. Caw!"

I nodded and followed. The path wasn't difficult, but the silence was strange. No birds. No animals. Just trees swaying like they were watching.

After an hour, I saw the shrine.

Old. Crumbling. Wrapped in thorny vines. Its gate barely stood.

And the stench—

Blood.

I drew my sword and stepped through the threshold.

Inside, the floor was cracked stone, and broken lanterns scattered the ground. At the center stood a woman.

Or… what was once a woman.

Tall. Sharp claws. Face stretched into something terrible.

But I saw it.

Her kimono was once bright. Her hands still had the softness of someone who used to pray.

She was humming.

There were bones in the corner. Skulls. Small and delicate.

She turned her head. Eyes locked on me.

"You're… pretty."

I didn't answer.

"You'll be the first man I eat. The women are so boring."

She lunged.

Her movements were fast. But not faster than mine.

"Shadow Breathing. First Form—Veiled Fang!"

I dashed beneath her claws, slicing upward. She dodged, spinning, and her claw slashed my shoulder.

Pain. Warm and sharp.

I backed off. Her voice echoed.

"Do you know why I eat them?"

She smiled. Broken. Sad.

"My husband left me. For a shrine maiden. Said I was plain. Ugly."

Her face twitched.

"So I came to this shrine. And I waited. I prayed. Then the voice came. It offered me beauty. Power."

Her skin rippled. She was becoming something else.

"I only eat the beautiful now."

She shrieked and charged.

I didn't pity her.

But I understood her pain.

"Shadow Breathing. Second Form—Ghost Step."

I vanished. Reappeared behind her.

Slash.

She turned, roaring.

Claws grazed my side.

"Third Form—Eclipse Fang!"

My blade spun like a wheel of moonlight. Her arm flew off.

She screamed.

And in one final motion, I leapt, blade high.

Then silence.

Her body crumbled into ash.

I stood there.

Breathing.

Bleeding.

Alone.

Later, I walked. No mission. No path. Just the wind and the quiet.

I followed a rabbit. Don't ask why.

It hopped through wildflowers, then into dense trees.

When I looked up again, the forest had changed. Darker. Still. Heavy.

I stopped.

There it was.

A temple. Half-buried. Broken. Covered in moss and memories.

I stepped closer.

Inside, someone stood.

He looked like a swordsman. Calm. Still. But something was wrong.

Too still.

Too quiet.

He turned before I could even move.

Eyes sharp.

And then I felt it.

That presence.

Demon.

I drew my sword.

He didn't.

I struck.

He parried. Effortlessly.

Another slash—he dodged.

"Wait," he said.

I didn't listen.

I attacked again.

He spun, using the flat of his blade to deflect. Not once did he try to hit me.

He was strong. The strongest I've faced.

Still… I couldn't stop.

"Shadow Breathing. Second Form—Ghost Step!"

I disappeared—he followed.

Like he could see through it.

He blocked me mid-strike.

Then said—

"That style. It's like Moon Breathing."

I froze.

"What?"

He looked… not angry. Not curious.

Something else.

"Where did you learn it?" he asked.

"I made it," I said.

He studied me.

"That's impossible. It's too similar."

I gritted my teeth.

"Are you mocking me?"

"No," he said.

There was silence.

Only our breaths.

"I used to know someone. Long ago. A swordsman. He had that breathing. But more refined. Elegant. Like moonlight itself."

He paused.

"I was his companion. Once."

I frowned.

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

I didn't lower my blade. But I didn't swing either.

He stepped back. Slowly. Careful.

"I don't fight anymore. Not unless I have to."

"Why?" I asked.

He turned toward the temple wall. His voice quiet.

I watched him.

He wore a mask. Demon-styled. But under it, his aura didn't feel like the others.

There was no hunger.

Only shame.

"I feed on corpse blood," he said. "To survive. I don't want to hurt humans."

I didn't say anything.

"I know you don't trust me. But I'm not your enemy."

The wind moved through the temple. Dust rose. Light filtered in through a crack in the ceiling.

He looked up.

"I don't have a name anymore. But some demons call me 'Ghost.'"

I lowered my sword.

But just a little.

"You could've killed me," I said.

"I didn't."

That was true.

He turned to leave.

"I'll be gone by morning."

I didn't stop him.

But I watched him go.

And I wondered—

How many more demons were like him?

To Be Continued…