The disintegration happened without a sound.
Two currents of cursed energy, cold and hot, converged inside Niezaki's chest, grinding through its hardened shell and pressing inward.
In the blink of an eye, a basketball-sized hole replaced his chest.
"...Live..."
Rihito stood still, watching the mangled body gradually lose its last signs of life and topple straight backward.
"...Live... on..."
As the last syllable fell, Niezaki breathed his last, becoming a cold corpse.
His hand stretched outward with all its strength, as though trying to grasp something.
Kugisaki leaned against a tree, hammer in hand, a streak of dried blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Let's head back," Rihito said softly.
Kugisaki nodded, then turned and walked toward the girl.
The mountain wind scattered the last of the ashes. Sunlight fell once more, illuminating the gloomy forest.
The little girl lay in a patch of trampled weeds, dried black tears streaking her face.
Kugisaki crouched down, slipped one hand beneath the girl's neck and the other beneath her knees, and gently lifted her.
The girl's head rested against her shoulder. Her breathing was shallow but steady.
The owner of the cursed technique was dead, and the poison had vanished with him. The little girl's life was no longer in danger.
The two retraced their steps.
The stone steps on the mountain path were more broken than before, probably cracked when Niezaki released his poisonous mist.
Large patches of corrosion marked the cedars on either side. Their bark had peeled away, exposing blackened wood beneath.
The shrine's outline appeared again through the gaps in the leaves.
Inside the Worship Hall, dozens of villagers were still huddled in a corner.
At the sound of footsteps, everyone looked up.
Their eyes settled first on Kugisaki, then on the little girl in her arms, and finally on the empty space behind her.
As Kugisaki walked in, every gaze turned toward her at once.
Someone shrank back. Someone's lips moved, only to swallow their words. Someone stared at the girl in her arms, eyes reddening.
The old man who had cursed at Kugisaki earlier sat cross-legged in the corner, his head bowed low, afraid to meet her eyes.
Kugisaki looked at none of them.
She walked to the center of the hall, knelt on one knee, and gently laid the little girl on the floor.
Just then, the little girl woke.
Her tiny lashes fluttered before her eyes opened, their cloudy, unfocused pupils wandering blankly.
A woman rushed out of the crowd, dropped to her knees, and gathered her into her arms.
"Mommy..."
"Mommy's here. Mommy's here." The woman pressed her daughter's face against her shoulder, tears streaming down.
The little girl rested in her arms, quiet for a few seconds, then raised her head and looked around with wide eyes.
"Mommy, why is it dark?"
The candlelight flickered against the Worship Hall's walls.
Kugisaki abruptly went rigid.
Realizing something was wrong, Rihito quickly crouched and waved his hand twice in front of the girl's eyes.
Her eyes were open, her pupils round, the reflected candlelight sparkling in them.
But deep within them, a few black threads spread outward from the back of her eyes like capillaries, entwining her entire irises.
At the sight, Rihito's heart slowly sank.
He stood, looked at Kugisaki, and gently shook his head.
Silence fell over the Worship Hall for a moment.
Then the old man's disgusted voice rang out again.
"...I told you."
The old man who had been sitting cross-legged in the corner with his head bowed stood up.
He jabbed a withered finger toward Kugisaki, loose skin sagging over his knuckles.
"The Kugisaki Family brought all this on us."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried clearly through the silent shrine.
"Hua is only six. She's only six!" The girl's mother clutched her daughter, her whole body shaking with sobs. "She's only six..."
The other villagers began rising too. Fear, anger, blame-all of it mingled, twisting their faces.
Only gratitude was missing.
"If that curse user hadn't come after your family, why would our village have suffered like this?"
"We've lived here for decades, and we've never seen a monster like that."
"Why should we suffer for whatever your Kugisaki Family is guarding?"
The voices came one after another, growing louder and more self-righteous.
Kugisaki stood motionless.
Her expression was calm, just as it had been when she faced their accusations in the shrine.
She offered no explanation and no rebuttal. She simply stood there, listening to the voices she had heard all her life.
"Are you done?"
Rihito's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the entire Worship Hall.
He stood in front of Kugisaki, facing them all.
His brand-new school uniform was torn, and bruises still marked his exposed skin.
There was no particular fury on his face, but as his eyes swept over each villager, not one dared hold his gaze for more than a second.
"If not for Kugisaki, you'd all be dead."
The old man who had pointed at Kugisaki instinctively took half a step back.
"While you were cowering in this corner, she was outside risking her life."
"Her grandmother is still lying back at the house. Not one of you went to check on her."
"Her father died on the mountain behind the village sixteen years ago. For you, too."
As he spoke, Rihito took a step forward.
"You blame her? What gives you the right?"
No one in the Worship Hall answered.
The old man's lips trembled. He tried to say something, but managed only a few muddled syllables.
The girl's mother held her daughter and buried her face in the child's hair, afraid to look up.
The other villagers looked at the floor, at the corners, anywhere that spared them from meeting Rihito's eyes.
"Enough."
Kugisaki's voice came from behind him.
Rihito turned to look at her.
Kugisaki was still standing, her expression still calm.
She glanced at Rihito, then tilted her head toward the exit.
"Let's go."
Rihito looked at her in silence for a second.
Then he nodded.
By the time they left the shrine, dusk had settled below the treetops.
The stone lanterns beside the steps, from beginning
to end, had never been lit, but Kugisaki walked steadily, each foot landing on the smoothest part of the steps.
She had walked this path all her life. She wouldn't stumble even with her eyes closed.
Neither spoke.
The mountain wind passed through the cedar grove, rustling the dry grass beside the path.
Rihito walked half a step behind Kugisaki, just as he had on the way there.
When they returned to the house, the oil lamp was still burning.
The flame swayed gently on the wick, making the shadows on the walls sway with it.
Her grandmother leaned in the corner, her graying hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, but her breathing was much steadier than before.
The edges of her blackened wounds were beginning to regain their healthy color. Rotting Poison had dissipated with its caster's death.
Hearing footsteps, her grandmother opened her eyes.
Kugisaki stood in the doorway for a moment, then walked in and crouched beside her.
"He's dead," Kugisaki said.
Her grandmother said nothing, only nodded slowly.
"The Scorpion Mound is gone. You don't have to keep guarding it."
"...Good." Her grandmother's shoulders relaxed, as though a heavy burden had been lifted.
Kugisaki stood and tightened the strap of the bag on her shoulder.
Most of the nails inside had been used up. More than half empty, the bag felt much lighter.
"I'm leaving."
Her grandmother raised her head to look at her.
The oil lamp shone on Kugisaki's face and her grandmother's, though neither was very clear in its light.
"Nobara." Her grandmother slowly raised a hand, then lowered it again, as though the gesture had never happened.
Kugisaki paused.
"...Take care."
Kugisaki didn't turn back.
She walked to the doorway, stood beside Rihito for a second, then stepped over the threshold.
The two followed the mountain path back out.
Night enveloped Scorpion Village, swallowing its dusty gray rooftops, closed doors and windows, and half-withered persimmon trees.
The tap at the village entrance was still dripping. Each drop struck the moss-covered stone basin, the sound unusually clear in the quiet village.
"Rihito."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
Rihito turned to look at her.
But Kugisaki wasn't looking at him. Her gaze rested on the mountain path ahead, pale gray beneath the moonlight.
Rihito looked away and kept walking.
"Come on. Time to head back."
In the distance, the lights toward Tono City formed a small, hazy glow in the night.
The mountain path curved ahead, and their figures, one behind the other, walked into the reach of that light.
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