Whew!
A gentle breeze was blowing inside the room...
Sanemi did not fully unleash the sword's form, but instead stood inside the house holding the Nichirin Blade in one hand.
Then his body kept spinning in place, and his gaze followed his movements in all directions.
"N-nothing...?" A vein throbbed lightly on Sanemi's forehead.
At the doorway, Giyu slowly stepped into the house.
After hearing no sounds of fighting inside, he realized that it wasn't that he hadn't heard anything, but rather that there was no movement inside at all.
Without going too far inside, Giyu stood at the doorway, scanning the room, but he still couldn't find any trace of Doma.
"Isn't Doma in this room?" Giyu asked calmly.
Upon hearing Sanemi, Sanemi's face contorted slightly.
To him, Giyu's words sounded like a reproach, since it was he who had just interrogated the bald cult member.
He said somewhat irritably:
"Damn it! That bald guy must have lied to us; he really doesn't want to live anymore!! I'm going to drag him in and kill him right now!!!"
After saying that, Sanemi walked outside.
When they passed Giyu other, Giyu did not reach out to stop Sanemi.
If Sanemi meant that he would go out and kill the bald man, then he might have stopped him.
But Sanemi said, "Go out, grab him, and kill him."
"It won't be too late to stop it then..." Giyu thought to himself, slowly walking to the center of the room, then turning his head again to check on Ali.
Finally, he focused his gaze on the only relatively conspicuous spot in the room.
There was a simple curtain there, and beneath the curtain was a huge soft cushion.
Giyu lifted his foot and walked towards that place.
After a while, Sanemi grabbed the right foot of the bald cultist who had led them the way and dragged him to the center of the room.
Then Sanemi put down the bald-headed cult member's feet, came to his side, and squatted down.
He reached out and grabbed the bald cult member by the collar, lifting him up.
The bald cult member, having just been knocked unconscious by Giyu, had his head drooping limply backward.
Sanemi chuckled coldly, unconcerned. He had plenty of ways to wake up this kind of person, just like now...
Snap! Snap! Snap!...
The series of slaps accelerated the bald-headed cult member's awakening.
He opened his eyes in a daze, his head still drooping weakly backward. He opened his mouth, only to feel a burning pain on both sides of his cheeks.
"What... happened?"
"Hello!"
Whispers, like those of a demon, echoed in the ears of the bald cult members.
Upon hearing this, the bald cult member propped his head up and looked at the white-haired, scarred man, as the memories from just now flooded back.
He remembered now; he had just brought these two people to the cult leader's place, and then... and then he couldn't remember anything!
Was he knocked unconscious?
Then... how come I see him again now?
Whether they succeed or not, I shouldn't even be seeing him!
Oh no, I woke up and saw them again. It seems the cult leader was killed by them!
Damn it, they killed the cult leader and now they're coming after me? Are they planning to kill me too?
Thinking of this, the bald cult member's heart leaped into his throat. He looked at Sanemi with some fear and said in a trembling voice:
"W-what's wrong?"
Sanemi grinned maliciously at the bald-headed cult member. "You think you're so great? You dare to lie to us? What did your leader give you? You're not even afraid of death?"
Upon hearing this, the bald cult member quickly scanned the room but did not see his leader. He immediately felt much relieved.
Thank goodness, they weren't here to kill me!
Seeing that the bald cult member did not intend to speak, Sanemi grabbed the bald cult member by the collar and shook him violently a few times.
"If you don't want to die, tell me!"
"Say... say what?" the bald cult member asked fearfully.
Sanemi sneered at the bald-headed cult member, "Even now, you're still playing dumb with me? Looks like you won't tell the truth unless I teach you a lesson!"
Upon hearing this, the bald cult member realized what was happening and quickly waved his hand, saying:
"I'm not lying to you, the cult leader really did receive his followers in this room just now!"
"Looks like you really want to die!"
Sanemi looked at him with a cold smile, loosened his collar, stood up, placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, and prepared to draw his Nichirin Blade.
Just then, Giyu spoke up.
He didn't lie to us!
Sanemi looked in the direction of Giyu and saw Giyu standing bent over at the edge of the cushion, with one hand gently resting on it.
"What? Did you find something?" Sanemi asked.
Giyu stood up and replied, "This cushion is still warm. Not long before we arrived, Doma must have been sitting here!"
Upon hearing this, Sanemi's brows immediately furrowed.
"Where is he now?"
Swordsmith Village, nestled in the woods.
Kotetsu walked alone on the way back to his residential area from the workshop.
He crossed his arms, his mind replaying the scene from earlier, and angrily said:
" Uncle Tetsumoto is really something. He actually said I wasn't strong enough to help with the grinding process, and that I was just distracting him. He told me to go ahead!"
"Damn it! Uncle Kato's sword was just one step away from completion, and he wouldn't let me watch!"
"Hmph! How stingy!"
"So what if he's eaten a few more years' worth of food than me?"
"When I grow up and I'm forging swords, I'll call Uncle Tetsumoto over, but I won't let him participate in the last step!"
Thinking of this, the image of Uncle Tetsumoto asking him to participate in the final stage of the Nichirin Blade forging process seemed to appear in Kotetsu's mind, and Kotetsu couldn't help but laugh.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
"Little friend, what are you laughing at?"
The sudden words abruptly stopped Kotetsu's laughter, and he looked warily in the direction from which the voice came.
There stood a man with hair as pure and flawless as white oak, his colorful pupils gleaming in the moonlight.
"Who are you?" Kotetsu asked, frowning and somewhat wary.
"Me?"
Doma repeated the question, his right hand holding a golden folding fan and gently tapping it against his left, as he pondered how to answer it.
A moment later, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Kotetsu with a light laugh:
"I'm a ghost!"
The familiar words startled Kotetsu for a moment, but he instantly forgot his earlier wariness and laughed.
"Ha! Liar! I don't believe it!"