"Why ask that all of a sudden?"
Tanjiro asked as he instinctively looked up. Stars filled the sky, and the moonlight looked as clean as if it had been washed.
But Tetsu no Sosuke said, "Tell me... is this sky real or fake?"
"..."
Tanjiro figured Tetsu no Sosuke must be under too much pressure. Otherwise, he would never say something so strange.
Then he grew frustrated with his own immaturity. If only he were more mature, more composed, able to shoulder more of Tetsu no Sosuke's burden.
He was about to say something to ease the pressure on him.
But Tetsu no Sosuke had already stood up. He stared unblinkingly at the moon overhead.
The moonlight was white—far whiter than usual!
Its white surface was like a mirror. Not a trace of the moon's markings could be seen.
"Sosuke?"
"Shh!"
Tetsu no Sosuke raised a finger and pointed at the moon. "It's about to blink."
"What?" Tanjiro looked up in astonishment. A shadow swept across the moon's surface for an instant, then vanished.
"Something's wrong with the moon!!!"
Tanjiro's expression changed drastically. "But how is that possible?"
The instant he finished speaking, the entire world turned bloodred!
The sky and even the air seemed steeped in a ghastly red, while powerful waves shook the whole world.
Tanjiro's legs buckled, and he nearly fell. Tetsu no Sosuke caught him by the shoulder, still gazing coldly at the sky.
At some point, the moon had turned bloodred. Then it rolled, like a turning eyeball!
Within that dark-red eye, the blood-soaked numeral "one" gave off an eerie glow!
"The moon... is an eye!?"
Overwhelming terror seized Tanjiro. How horrifying was that!?
If the moon in the sky was an eye, then just how enormous must its owner's face be?
"The moon isn't