Tetsu no Sosuke silently looked at him, then turned his gaze to his right hand.
That arm, twisted who knew how many times, its bones long since shattered, pointed in one direction.
He stepped forward and headed that way, toward the backyard.
As he stepped onto the covered walkway, sunlight shone all around him. Tetsu no Sosuke wondered where his opponent might be hiding.
The Hammer Hut was huge!
In the past, Tetsu no Sosuke had only thought it was wonderful to have such a large Hammer Hut. He could hide plenty of things and store plenty of treasures there. His family could also live here in comfort...
But now he realized that demons hiding here could be just as difficult to detect.
He missed Big Hammer a little, but considering Big Hammer's vigilance, staying by Kanae's side was indeed the better choice.
At that thought, a gentle smile slipped onto his lips.
That woman... she was his sole reason for fighting, for facing life and death again and again.
At the end of the covered walkway stood a door, with a member of the Hidden hanging from it.
His face was pale, and traces of tears still lingered around his eyes. His body had been split open from the neck down, yet his internal organs had burst out through his mouth. The horror of his death wiped every trace of a smile from Tetsu no Sosuke's face.
He knew this man.
He had often asked him to deliver letters, and the number of trips he had made was beyond counting.
Tetsu no Sosuke had never imagined that one day he would see him like this, under these circumstances.
Silently, he took the body down from the door, gathered the man's organs back into their proper places, and closed his