The sky was clear.
Beneath the azure heavens, white clouds drifted slowly by...
Flocks of birds flew past, while the lofty mountains reaching into the clouds gazed peacefully down upon the earth.
Everything seemed perfectly peaceful.
But...
The end brought about by the miko's prophecy...
had left everyone tense.
The ordinary people's guards were no match for Mōryō.
Miroku had sent them away to avoid needless sacrifices.
However...
Not one of the guards retreated.
They remained steadfast at their posts, willing to die for their goddess... Lady Miko.
Although they were ordinary people,
they too possessed the spirit to face death without fear.
Perhaps their strength was weak... but the power of their hearts was immense.
"Claude..."
Yugito Nii should have been patrolling with her companions.
But she kept thinking of the Demon Hunter's battered appearance.
Unable to put her mind at ease, she ultimately made a decision.
"I'll go check on Claude... for a little while... yes, just for a little while..."
Yugito Nii found herself an excuse.
Her concern for the Demon Hunter made it impossible for her to calm her mind.
Because the palace complex was far too complicated,
Yugito Nii took several wrong turns and walked for quite some time.
Eventually...
she arrived at the Demon Hunter's resting place.
At the same time, the figure that had been weighing so heavily on Yugito's mind entered her clear eyes.
Yugito wanted to quicken her pace and rush over.
But in the next instant, she stopped dead.
Yugito vigorously rubbed her eyes, then focused and looked again.
What lay before her was almost impossible to believe!
This can't be...!
Claude...
To keep herself from unconsciously crying out, she could only cover her mouth with one hand and press down hard.
The surrounding scenery vanished in an instant.
Unimaginable