"I never said that."
Red light drifted through Minamoto no Raikou's eyes, and even Shuten Douji involuntarily trembled for a moment at the aura emanating from her.
"But I've said it now, so there's no problem, right?"
"Move your claws away from me, or I'll cut off your head."
Raikou's tone remained utterly calm from beginning to end, but perhaps precisely because of that—it was all the more chilling.
".Honestly, compared to the Madness Enhancement cast on me, the mental corruption you've suffered is obviously much worse, isn't it?"
"Besides, what's with Rider? Wasn't your horse instantly—slain by you yourself? You even said something back then about absolutely not letting Karma be implanted into it."
"Yet even in a situation like this, you still call yourself Rider. Isn't that a little too strange?"
It truly was very strange.
She was clearly Rider, yet had no mount she could ride. That alone was an absurd thing.
As she spoke, Shuten Douji reluctantly withdrew her claws.
"There, there. See? I've put my claws away."
Unable to eat the child, Shuten Douji looked quite regretful.
The child trembled in his sleep. Perhaps he also knew that he had nearly been eaten by a demon long gone mad. Terror left his body beyond his control, but—
What of it?
In the end, he had no power to change his circumstances.
"I won't kill children. Nor will I watch children die before my eyes."
Minamoto no Raikou looked at Shuten Douji and spoke slowly.
There was an inexplicable firmness in her voice.
"Children are the most wonderful things in this world. Absolutely, absolutely no child will be allowed to suffer harm."
—So she said.
But when you massacred Sagami before, hadn't you also killed so many children you couldn't see?
Shuten Douji stood to one