The elderly midwife's clouded eyes stared into the void, her voice raspy as she recounted a tragedy: "That girl... her name was Shima. She was a young lady from a wealthy merchant family in Osaka. A high-born daughter... but she had a stubborn heart."
The old woman sighed. "Her family arranged a marriage with a powerful man, but her heart had already been stolen by a poor painter. He had nothing but his brushes... but Shima was determined. She fought her family until she eventually eloped with him under the cover of night."
"They fled to Tokyo. Shima pawned her jewelry to buy a small, broken shack. Back then, she still had a smile on her face, thinking love and hard work were enough. She had no idea the real suffering was just beginning."
"Soon, she was pregnant. It should have been a joy, but fate played a cruel joke. The painter was swept away by a cholera outbreak six months ago, before he could ever make a name for himself."
"Shima was left alone with a heavy belly and no kin. She tried to go back to her family, but their doors were barred. No employer wanted a woman about to give birth. She endured cold stares and went hungry day after day. I pitied her and helped with the delivery. But the child... it was born on a freezing, rainy night. It was a stillborn."
The midwife's voice dropped. "Shima went mad instantly. She ignored her own bleeding, took that cold little body in her arms, and ran to every clinic in Takinogawa, banging on doors, begging someone to save her child. But what doctor can save a baby that never drew breath?"
"After that... she vanished. Some say she sat in that shack, cradling the child until all sound stopped. Who would have guessed..."
The room fell into a heavy silence. Kanae's eyes were red, shielded by a veil of tears. "A month ago... I remember now! A woman, gaunt and ragged with matted hair, knocked on our door holding a bundle. She said nothing, just thrust it toward my father. When he looked inside, his face turned somber. He had to tell her the child was... then she just turned and walked away like a ghost. That was Miss Shima!"
Takeshi clenched his fists, his knuckles white. "What a mess! Cast out, husband dead, child lost... no wonder she targets pregnant women! She hates everyone who still has what she lost! She's taking their living children to replace her dead one!"
Tatsuya listened, his expression complex. "No, Takeshi. It's not 'other mothers' she hates. She hates herself. The mother who couldn't protect her husband or keep her child alive."
"She craves her 'child,' and that obsession turned into a nightmare. That 'infant' she holds... I doubt it was stolen. It's the manifestation of her obsession—an eternal void and the source of her pain." He gripped his hilt, a cold killing intent radiating from him. "To twist a mother's love into this... Muzan Kibutsuji, you truly deserve to rot."
Takeshi slammed his thigh. "You're right! So she's definitely at that shack, isn't she?"
"The obsession is rooted there," Tatsuya agreed. "But as a demon, she knows the sun. During the day, that place is just a house. If we charge in now, we'll cause a scene, the police will interfere, and we might hurt civilians. If she gets spooked and moves to a different hiding spot, how many more women will die before we find her again?"
Tatsuya made a decision. "Takeshi, contact the Kakushi. Have them evacuate everyone within a hundred paces of Shima's old shack—quietly. We strike after midnight. You tear down the walls; I'll take the head. We end this cycle tonight."
Late at night. The area around the shack was unnaturally quiet. Only the pale moonlight hit the decaying wood. Tatsuya and Takeshi approached like shadows. Tatsuya activated Silent Listening.
Inside, a spine-chilling voice whispered: "Are you cold, my baby? Mommy has you... It's my fault... I didn't protect you..." The sobbing turned into a distorted shriek. "Why won't they help me?! They called me low... they lied about my husband... why do they get healthy children and I get nothing?!"
Then came the familiar, glass-shattering cry of the infant.
"Inside! Move!" Tatsuya hissed.
Takeshi erupted like a volcano. He swung his heavy axes with the power of Stone Breathing.
Stone Breathing, Fourth Form: Volcanic Rock—Rapid Conquest!
BOOM! CRASH!
The outer wall collapsed like wet paper. Dust and debris flew everywhere as the shack shook to its foundation. In the chaos, the pale, twisted figure of "Shima" appeared, clutching her baby. Her matted hair flew wildly as she wailed in agony: "My home! My last home! You thieves! You destroyed my child, and now you destroy my home! UNFORGIVABLE!"
In that moment, Tatsuya's Silent Listening caught a detail—the "baby" had no heartbeat. No breath. It was a demon construct.
"The baby is a demon too! Don't hold back!"
Tatsuya became a streak of golden lightning.
Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!
His blade aimed straight for the throat of the wailing "baby." He would sever the core of her obsession first!
CLANG—!
The sound of clashing steel rang out, sending sparks into the night!