Masachika POV
My face paled.
Why was he looking away from the demon!? What's going on?
"Sanemi! Not there! Behind you!"
The reflection on the mirror showed Sanemi with a raged expression, pointing his sword and not facing the demon.
I turned around. They weren't there...
How is this mirror not reflecting my face back though...? Is it reflecting the scene from another room? What is going on?
It was supposed to be showing my own reflection and the.. the display cabinet behind me.
I leaned closer to the mirror, and my own reflection suddenly reappearing on it.
"...Huh? Where... where did he go?!" I grabbed the two sides of the mirror desperately, shaking the mirror hard before I abruptly stopped.
I spotted something in the corner of the mirror. A display cabinet...? Is that an incense burner on top? What is that doing here?
I turned around, and the display cabinet was empty.
Huh?... It was... just here...
I blinked with confusion, feeling troubled. Just what is going on?
I stared at the mirror hard, to the point that my gaze felt like it could break through the mirror. Then it hit me, I could see faint red smoke being emitted from the incense burner, and that sick bittersweet scent had always been present all along.
Could it be?... This smell..
The red smoke started to sway in the reflection of the mirror, and I thought I heard faint whisper calling out.
"Help me."
I flinched, even now, the already dead girl kept whispering for help. Using all her strength to do so.
Sanemi POV
"Damn it... why doesn't it work?" I whispered to myself, veins ticking on my arms at how hard i'm gripping my nichirin.
"Silly child. I did mentioned it didn't I? No one can hurt me, this is the inside of my belly." The demon woman cackled with delight, her crimson red eyes glowing intimidatingly.
The tone she was using was as if she was lecturing a child. My arms tensed hard, I couldn't help but feel alarmed at the way she deflected my attacks so easily countless of times.
I slashed at the fleshy wall suddenly. No damage.
This is concerning. Why.. or, how is this happening? The first half of her statement sounded disturbing.
The room bubbled again, my eyes widened as I watched Uraga's body get sucked into the walls, and I was too far to even get to it. "Fuck!"
I grit my teeth hard. I blamed myself deeply for my failure, I couldn't even send the body back to the man's lover now.
"Oh dear, you should really give up already, my child. Mother will always be by your side. Just cease your meaningless struggle." She smiled, placing her hand over her chest calmly.
"Come here and let your mother hug you... or do you want me to sing you a lullaby instead?" She smiled softly.
"Shut up." I hissed, my eyes locked onto hers. 'Damn her, she's just fucking toying with me. She hasn't even tried attacking me herself.'
My energy felt like it was draining awfully quickly. And she just stood there watching, slowly chipping away at my strength and getting me fatigued. 'Fuck... what should I do?'
I looked back behind me, the expressionless girl and the shivering boy still on the fleshy lumps. At the very least, I have to get these brats out of here.
However, I know damn well I can't even touch a hair of this demon's if I keep this shit up.
The demon woman gave me her mocking look of pity and delight, which disappeared quickly off her face.
"...Why?" She murmured with disbelief.
My brows furrowed. "Hah?..." Is she talking to me?
The demon stared into the distance with surprise on her face.
'?' I paused.
"What is up... with that child?" She blinked, looking like she lost her composed expression. She mumbled and whispered continuously. "There's no way he can see this..."
"Hah? What the fuck are you on about?" I spoke, feeling astonished and confused.
Suddenly, the sharp sound of ceramic breaking came from across the hall.
What's that sound? I frowned, not understanding the situation at all. The fuck... did something happen?
Suddenly, the fleshy walls dissipated gradually, the concrete walls of the hall returning again, the demon woman in front of me suddenly vanishing and reappearing behind me.
I leapt back suddenly, clenching at my katana. What's going on?
I looked around with confusion, the six beds which were present earlier were now gone, the children on top were now on the tatami mats on the floor. That's when I understood.
'An illusion?'
No wonder my attacks didn't do anything. The disgusting sweet scent was also suddenly gone.
'Did she do that?'
The moment I understood made my veins tick. The way I'd fallen for such an illusion made the rage burn angrier within me.
I actually believed I was in the belly of that demon for a moment. I was single-mindedly focused on beheading her all along.
'But why was the spell suddenly lifted?' I grit my teeth hard, seeing that the demon was still in that state of surprise.
"SANEMI!?" A bright voice shouted. Masachika..!
"Masachika! I'm over here!" I called back out. I haven't heard his voice in a while.
And after a few seconds, the sound of running became audible. Masachika came rushing in through the door.
"Did I make it in time?" He took a deep breath, his shoulders heaving as he walked closer and stood next to me. "Thank goodness..."
His face was all scrunched up with franticness and concern. And I felt my anger and anxiety settle down slightly at his new presence.
Masachika smiled with relief, and seeing that smile made me understand that he'd done something to break the illusion. I sighed.
"...Thanks, Masachika." I murmured, my grip on my blade relaxing slightly.
"Of course." Masachika grinned
I smiled back silently.
Masachika POV (Flashback)
I stood in between the mirror and the display cabinet and swung it towards the display cabinet. Then with the sound of pottery breaking I checked the fragments of the incense burner before I ran out of the room.
'I hope Sanemi's okay.' I thought to myself before running through the corridor and shouting at the same time.
"Masachika! I'm over here!!"
"!"
I sprinted down the corridor to where Sanemi's voice came from, I barged in through the opened sliding door where I found the demon woman and two children who looked unhurt.
I observed Sanemi as I ran to his side. No new injuries.
"Thank goodness.." I sighed as I propped my katana up steadily.
Sanemi smiled, and so did I. I'm truly relieved that he's okay.
"So what happened? How'd you break the blood demon art?"
I gave him a summarized explanation of everything, from the story the old man told me to the actual truth and the incense burner.
"...And this demon... this demon is the one who killed her own daughter." I grit my teeth. Who would do such thing!?
I glared at the demon woman, who gave me a cold smile in return. She brushed her hair back behind her ear gently, revealing her other crimson eye which was hidden beneath.
'Lower One.' One of the twelve kizuki. A demon closer to Kibutsuji compared to any other demon we'd faced.
What was strange was that I didn't feel frightened, nor impulsive at all. I felt like my heart was burning quietly with rage, a fire that couldn't be extinguished.
That woman killed Sae, her own daughter.
It's like she was a demon wearing human skin even before.
"When I was still a human, getting beaten by my husband. That mirror did not help me. That's the time I thought the mirror was just another useless piece of trash." The demon woman began.
"...That's when Sae saved us."
"...."
"That ungrateful child only betrayed me again." She whispered, and all the pent-up anger inside me suddenly erupted at the self-pitying tone she had.
"You dare say such things!? The traitor is you!! You were killing your own daughter little by little and you knew it! Your daughter managed to recover but you worsened her! Poisoned her, made her mute, made her deaf! You broke her bones! How could you do such thing!? What kind of mother are you!!? Have you not gone through the pain of childbirth?!"
I raised my voice, the rage present in my words.
The demon woman didn't flinch, she maintained the same cold eyes and expression, no regret nor sadness in those crimson eyes of hers.
I lowered my voice, feeling my anger slowly turn into sorrow.
"....Yae... I won't forgive you."