Shinobu froze. Something seemed to ignite in those purple eyes.
"Use poison... to kill demons?"
"That's right." Rokuya stood up and looked down at her, an arrogant smile curling his lips. "From today on, you don't need to envy anyone else's Flower Breathing or Water Breathing. You're a one-of-a-kind apothecary, a master of toxicology."
"Do you really think... I have that talent?" Shinobu's voice still trembled, but no longer from despair. It trembled with the excitement of seeing hope.
"Of course," Rokuya answered without hesitation. "If you don't even have that much confidence, then go back to the Butterfly Mansion and stay there. Don't come out and embarrass yourself."
Shinobu bit her lip and stared hard at Rokuya. Suddenly, she burst out laughing, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.
"Even when you're comforting someone, your tongue is still so sharp."
As Shinobu's smile blossomed, the oppressive atmosphere in the dojo instantly vanished.
Rokuya knew she had overcome this hurdle in her heart.
In this past woven from dreams, Rokuya's appearance had directly replaced the painful struggle through which Shinobu had originally found her own way in reality, becoming the unwavering light that guided her forward.
But Enmu's malice clearly did not end there.
The light in the dojo suddenly began to dim. The wooden boards around them rapidly rotted and became covered in moss.
"Again?" A trace of impatience flashed through Rokuya's eyes.
The scene changed for the third time.
Cold, damp, and filled with a nauseating stench of decay.
Towering trees blocked out the moonlight, and a muddy swamp stretched around them.
Mount Fujikasane. The Final Selection!
Rokuya stood on a thick branch, looking down at the scene below.
Shinobu held that specially made, edgeless Nichirin Blade. Opposite her lay a demon that had just fallen