━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 —PROLOGUE the green-eyed demon
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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WARNING !
This chapter contains explicit details of a child's death.
If this triggers you in any way, feel free to skip this part of the story. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Something was inside her room.
Chiyo stared at the huge shadow that belonged to whoever was on the other side of the fusuma. It was too big to be human. Maybe it was a bear? She couldn't tell. Its shape wasn't defined well enough.
How did it get inside?
Dread crept down her spine like a spider leaving a trail of silk. Her stomach felt heavy and her hands had begun to sweat.
Her daughter was inside.
She willed herself to move and cautiously walked forward. Sliding the panel open a few inches, she peeked inside. It was dark, but the lit candles she had left behind earlier that night shone brightly enough to illuminate the macabre scene.
It was everywhere. Splattered on the walls and soaked into the tatami. It even dripped from the ceiling. The nauseous stench of blood filled her lungs so strongly that she could taste it.
There was the shadow, standing above the carnage as it feasted on the bloody remains of her baby's corpse. Gore clung to its teeth while it chewed, its catlike eyes rolled back in pleasure.
Chiyo gagged, a hand rising to her mouth to smother a scream that wouldn't come. Tears flowed down her cheeks in lazy rivers as her mind was torn between horror and grief. It eventually settled on fear.
And with fear came rage.
It set her body ablaze. The hot scorching anger that sought to harm. A raging inferno that ate her alive, making her whole body tremble in want. A want for revenge. For justice.
That monster had eaten her daughter, her only child, alive like she was nothing but a tasty snack. Like the slaughter of a baby didn't matter. She could hear it laughing in delight, the raspy sound grating her ears.
As fast as it came, the fire died out. A cold numbness took its place, slowing her erratic breaths and letting her limbs relax. With empty eyes, she turned away from the beast. It was so focused on its current meal that it hadn't even noticed she had been standing there.
In a haze, she headed for the room where she knew her husband kept his sword. Stepping inside, her gaze settled on the ancestral katana that had been gathering dust in the estate for as long as she could remember. Body moving on its own, she unsheathed the blade. She examined it, throat swelling up at how dull it looked. Her fingers clenched around the tsuka, knuckles turning white from how tight she gripped it.
Chiyo knew what she had to do.
In the blink of an eye, she was back at Hell's door with a thirst for vengeance. The young woman pushed the fusuma open in one swift movement, finally catching the monster's attention. Its disgusting, sea-weed green eyes widened in surprise before crinkling in delight.
"Two in one night?" A black tongue swept over deathly pale lips as it spoke, "I'm so lucky."
The hilt of the sword dug in her palms as she held it even tighter than before. Clenching her jaw in fury, she spread her two feet apart for balance like she had seen her father do once in a fight with a western merchant.
It could talk. How could a being with intelligence kill a child without any remorse whatsoever? How could this creature eat human flesh like it was the most delicious bowl of udon it had ever tasted?
In a distant echo, her mind supplied her with an answer.
Demon.
That was it. All those stories she heard during her childhood. The people that went missing without reason and were never found again. Her mother's numerous warnings.
"Never go anywhere alone once the sun sets."
"Ask your brother to come with you."
"Don't open the door when it is dark outside."
It all made sense now.
A demon had invaded her home and killed her daughter. She was dead. If only Chiyo had not left her side, maybe she could've saved her. Or maybe, she could've at least died with her—
No.
It was done. The past could not be changed. Her life was over the second her daughter left this world.
The woman's brow furrowed as a determined scowl settled on her face.
If this was the end, she would bring this Devil down with her as payment for taking her child's life.
Or she would die trying.
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JAPANESE TERMS !
FUSUMA In Japanese architecture, fusumaare vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors.
TATAMI A tatami is a rush-covered straw mat forming a traditional Japanese floor covering.
KATANA A katana is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. It was used by the samurai of ancient and feudal Japan.
TSUKA The tsuka is the hilt/handle of a Japanese sword.
( say thanks to wikipedia for these definitions lol )
