"Cackle... do you want some water?"
A monster wreathed in soul fire appeared, its body wrapped in white cloth, and asked Yae Sakura and the other two.
"Yes."
Just as Yae Sakura was about to say something, Kikyo agreed outright.
"This is the yokai Kyōkotsu," Kikyo introduced it to Yae Sakura beside her.
"Kyōkotsu..."
Yae Sakura immediately thought of a certain Kyōkotsu Daughter who played with snakes.
Kyōkotsu was a terrifying skeletal yokai that lived in ancient wells. It appeared late at night and told passersby, "Have some water." If they drank as it asked, it would disappear.
If they refused, it would twist its whole body and begin to dance. Anyone who saw the dance would immediately go mad and throw themselves into the well to die.
"Drink up!"
A wooden ladle suddenly appeared in Kyōkotsu's hand, filled to the brim with water.
Except... the water was black.
"Black water..."
Yae Sakura and Kikyo approached Kyōkotsu and stared at the water in its hand. No matter how they looked at it, it was clearly nothing good.
"Drink my ass!"
How could anyone possibly drink something like that? Who knew what it was?
"Cackle... if you don't drink, you'll die."
Kyōkotsu's ear-piercing voice rang out again. The sound it made was like the unpleasant rasp emitted by Kayako from the Ju-On films after her throat had been slit in life, an indiscriminate avenger.
It was a curse-type yokai that dwelled in wells.
Yae Sakura finally couldn't take it anymore. All four of her ears had been subjected to that torturous sound... she was about to go insane.
"Then die."
A flash of pink blade light streaked out, and Kyōkotsu, still holding the wooden ladle, was instantly slain by the Spirit Blade.
Due to the Spirit Blade's specialized nature, the slain