The Cult

The homeless man who had been urinating by the roadside just moments ago had somehow caught up with her.

"Hey, where the hell did you come from? How come I've never seen you before..."

The homeless man reached toward her with an unfriendly look. His hand was about to land on her shoulder.

Yuko was just about to dodge when the homeless man suddenly froze, his words trailing off as well. His bleary, drunken eyes turned toward Yuko's chest, widening instantly.

"Heh heh, miss, are you lost?"

"How did you end up in a place like this all by yourself?"

The homeless man's body odor, mixed with the stench of alcohol, reached Yuko's nose and made her feel slightly dizzy.

"Want me to take you home?"

The man spoke lecherously and even raised his arms as if to hug her, reaching out with his greasy hands.

Yuko lowered her eyelids slightly, turned aside, and dodged the homeless man's attack. Then she extended her right foot.

With a bang, she tripped the homeless man and sent him crashing to the ground.

The pain from the fall sobered him somewhat. He turned around and angrily shouted at her.

"Hey! You stinking bit—"

Yuko expressionlessly planted one foot on his face and viciously pressed him into the ground.

On the ground, suspicious liquid flowed along the road and onto his face.

The nauseating stench, along with the pain of having his head slammed against the ground, instantly drove away the last of his drunkenness.

"Ah!!" the homeless man screamed, viciously cursing through his pain. "You damned bitch, I'll—"

Yuko gradually increased the pressure of her foot. The homeless man struggled, realized it was useless, and hurriedly begged for mercy.

"I was wrong, I was wrong! Miss, please be magnanimous!"

The foot on his face did not move. Without easing the pressure, Yuko said calmly, "I want to ask you something."

The homeless man hurriedly replied, "Go ahead, go ahead!"

"I heard some girls have gone missing around here. Do you know about it?"

"I know, I know!"

"I heard man-eating demons did it?"

The homeless man first cried out pleadingly, "Miss, I'm about to die from the pain~"

Yuko withdrew her foot. The homeless man hurriedly crawled up, then knelt on the ground and rubbed his cheeks.

"You're taking too long."

Yuko's cold voice made him shudder. Without even raising his head, he hurriedly answered, "It has nothing to do with man-eating demons."

"Oh? Then what happened?" Yuko narrowed her eyes slightly. Although the various mingled odors along the way had dulled her senses, she had not detected the slightest trace of an evil demon's presence.

The homeless man did not dare hide anything. "I don't know the details either. I only know that the girl's parents sent her away."

"Where does that family live?"

Yuko frowned slightly. Human trafficking?

In this era, people often blamed human trafficking on spirits and demons so that those involved would not dare investigate further.

Back when Yuko had been in the Demon Slayer Corps, she had encountered similar cases of false reports.

Only after arriving at the scene did she discover that the supposed evil demon was actually a false rumor spread by villains to cover up their own deeds.

Human trafficking in ancient times was difficult to investigate because news traveled too slowly.

Besides, this had been done by the family themselves.

They had clearly sent their own daughter away for money.

There were countless people in this era who would do such things, and even the authorities turned a blind eye.

Bringing the girl back would be meaningless. Her parents would not acknowledge her and would instead think that someone was meddling in their affairs.

"It's just ahead. Turn left, and it's the house with the stone table in front." The homeless man first pointed Yuko in the right direction, then asked timidly, "Um... can I leave now?"

Yuko was thinking about something and waved her hand without a second thought.

She had no interest in bothering with a hooligan.

The homeless man scrambled away for two steps before suddenly noticing a stone by the roadside.

An idea suddenly began to grow in his mind.

After all, she was just a woman. He had merely been muddle-headed before and caught off guard.

As he recalled being pinned beneath her foot, the hatred in his mind grew deeper and deeper.

You insignificant slut!

He picked up the stone by the roadside and quietly approached Yuko from behind. Licking his lips, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he swung the stone at the back of her head.

Sss~

A jet-black line of blood shot into the air.

The homeless man froze for a moment. When he realized the stone in his hand had failed to strike Yuko's head, he instinctively waved his arm.

Sss~

Blood gushed from his arm and sprayed across his face. The belated pain instantly swept through his mind.

"Ah!!!"

The homeless man's loud scream drew the unconscious gazes of the other homeless men sleeping nearby.

When they realized it was merely a personal dispute, they hurriedly lowered their heads and played dead, pretending they had neither heard nor seen anything.

After all, in a place like this, it was hardly strange for a corpse to appear at any time.

No one paid it any attention.

A little blood slowly seeped into the snow-white blade.

It was a sword formed from her flesh and blood, so it could naturally devour living beings as well.

Yuko raised the Demon Blade and held it beside the man's neck.

Only then did the homeless man notice that she had two Katanas at her waist.

Compared to life and death, the pain in his arm suddenly seemed insignificant.

"P-please spare me..."

Yuko raised her head slightly. A streak of Red Light flashed in the eyes hidden beneath her hood.

"Get lost!"

The homeless man stared blankly at the Red Light for several moments. After confirming in his mind that he was not hallucinating, his expression immediately began to crumble.

"A demon!"

The homeless man's mind collapsed. A foul stench came from beneath him as he rolled and crawled away into the distance.

Yuko did not mind giving someone like him a little punishment.

As for whether he could survive with his financial means after losing an arm, that had ceased to matter the moment he picked up the stone.

Because of the man's shouting, more people began paying attention to this place.

It probably had nothing to do with an evil demon... but since she was already here, she might as well go take a look.

Yuko sighed inwardly, put away the Demon Blade, and headed in the direction the homeless man had indicated.

There was a stone table in front of the house.

Yuko saw it as soon as she turned the corner. Candlelight flickered inside the house, and noisy voices came from within, as if someone were arguing.

Her eyes flickered. She pressed herself stealthily against the side of the building and listened.

There seemed to be a man and a woman inside.

"How could you send Kyoko away without my permission, you bastard?" a grief-stricken woman's voice rang out.

"I did it for Kyoko's sake! What do you know?!"

Hearing this, Yuko lowered her eyelids. So it really is human trafficking?

Although she felt sorry, there was nothing she could do about this sort of thing.

Yuko turned around and was about to leave.

"That cult is nothing but a bunch of swindlers! Aren't you pushing Kyoko into a pit of fire?"

Yuko's footsteps halted, and she stopped.