The massive castle that dominates the night of Yoshiwara, Mugenrou.
Its top-floor banquet hall was a world apart where worldly ethics and morals did not apply.
Gilded wallpaper that glittered like sprinkled gold, red silk draping from the ceiling, and the dense, paralyzing scent of sandalwood mingled together, melting human reason like soft wax.
At its center were two courtesans.
"Oh, my lord. Your cup is already empty? Shall I fill it with my mouth?"
Suma, wearing a purple kimono with her cleavage boldly exposed, was no longer the timid, crying ninja of the past.
Sitting on the man's lap, her technique of transferring wine from her mouth to his was the epitome of sensuality.
Her memories of Tengen had been sealed by Tamamo-no-Mae's spell, and the void was filled with an instinct to please men and seek pleasure.
"Hahaha! Suma-chan, you're truly a heavenly fairy!"
"Oh, a fairy? I'm just your cute little kitten, my lord."
Behind them, Makio in a red kimono held a pipe and smiled lazily.
"Lord, if you only dote on Suma, I'll feel left out. Won't you massage my legs a bit?"
Makio's brain had been pickled in Shuten Douji's brew.
Her once blunt personality had transformed into provocative, sadistic allure.
She wrapped her arms around the man's thick neck, licking his earlobe as she whispered.
"I won't let you sleep tonight. I'm going to suck you dry to the bone, so be ready."
The two were a perfect duo. The coordination they had honed as Tengen's wives and ninjas had now become a deadly weapon for seducing men in bed.
Of course, out of consideration for their married status, they avoided that main area, sticking to plays with the mouth, chest, or sumata.
In their eyes, not a speck of Uzui Tengen's existence remained.
There was only the pleasure before them and blind obedience to the Masters who ruled them.
Some might say this was too harsh. No matter what, turning them into sex slaves was wrong.
But they were enemies.
Spies who had come to gather information on the company and kill its executives. Sparing their lives at all was an act of mercy.
Even if it was brainwashing, they were happy.
Moreover, they were treated as well as the other courtesans.
Doing this to innocent people would be a wrongful mistake. However, they had clearly come as enemies with the intent to kill company personnel.
Showing this level of leniency to enemies went beyond mercy. And as a maximum concession, there was no penetration.
Of course, ordering such acts in itself could be problematic.
They had nothing to be ashamed of. What king in the world would hire, feed, and clothe assassins who came to kill him?
If there were any, they would be few in history.
In that sense, Akira's policy was considered eccentric among the Servants. Perhaps it was his way of maintaining a minimal line of decency.
At the very least, it was a clear fact that their lives were saved by his mercy and theirs.
Meanwhile, Hinatsuru leaned against the window of Kyogokuya, her complexion pale.
'No doubt. That's… Suma and Makio.'
The rumors she heard, the descriptions from customers of the new stars at Mugenrou—their appearances.
They were undeniably her comrades.
'Their eyes were dead. They must have fallen victim to a powerful Blood Demon Art.'
Hinatsuru was intelligent and cautious.
She sensed that rushing in now would only get her killed or turned into a puppet like them.
'I have to tell Tengen-sama. This Yoshiwara is beyond our capabilities. This is… a trap.'
Getting caught was too quick. Setting aside why she was caught, the sight of the two looking brainwashed.
It meant that Hinatsuru herself was likely already exposed.
She made a decision.
Tonight, she would use her ninja stealth to escape this den of vice.
Hinatsuru threw off the gaudy courtesan's robes and donned the hidden ninja attire she had prepared.
She tightly fastened kunai coated with Wisteria poison to her waist.
"Sorry, girls. I'll definitely come back for you."
She opened the window and leaped into the night sky.
Her movements were like the wind as she ran soundlessly across the tiled roofs. The massive gate of Yoshiwara came into view.
Just past that, she would be free.
But the moment she jumped toward the gate.
The invisible mark engraved on Hinatsuru's nape burst into red flames.
"...Huh?"
The world spun. The cold night air vanished in an instant, replaced by blinding light and deafening music pounding against her eardrums.
"Oh? Hinatsuru-nee, welcome back."
When Hinatsuru opened her eyes, she wasn't in front of Yoshiwara's gate but in the center of Mugenrou's grand banquet hall.
Amid the flickering of hundreds of candles, dozens of courtesans surrounded her with mask-like smiles.
And right before her stood Suma and Makio.
"Hinatsuru, why were you trying to run?"
"It's so nice here. Come play with us."
The two approached Hinatsuru. Their expressions were eerily cheerful.
"Suma! Makio! Snap out of it! It's me! Don't you remember why we came here? What about Tengen-sama!"
Hinatsuru screamed, grabbing Makio's shoulders and shaking her, but Makio only stroked Hinatsuru's cheek with a dazed look.
"Tengen…? Who's that? Some kind of tasty sake?"
"Ah...."
Hinatsuru staggered back in despair.
Then, the crowd of courtesans parted like a red sea, and an overwhelming presence emerged.
"Mikon~ Welcome, Hinatsuru-san. The spell I cast worked quite well."
Tamamo-no-Mae appeared, elegantly waving a fan, and beside her, Shuten Douji walked out with a vicious smile.
"Kyahaha! Fast little ninja, aren't you? The game of tag is over now."
"You! You're the masterminds!"
Hinatsuru immediately drew her kunai. It was do or die.
Thinking that being captured here meant the end, she emitted killing intent and poised herself toward Shuten.
"Come on, give it a shot. Show me some tricks."
Shuten Douji took a sip from her gourd and blew it into the air with a whoosh.
Instantly, the entire banquet hall was enveloped in a thick purple mist. It was a strange fog mixed with the scent of alcohol and sweet fruit.
"Guh…! Poison mist?!"
Hinatsuru held her breath and widened her eyes. But in the mist, dozens of Shuten Doujis appeared, laughing and dancing around her.
"I'm here~ I'm there~ Where will you strike?"
"Hya!"
Extreme tension, fear, and the hallucinogenic components in the fog clouded Hinatsuru's judgment.
She desperately threw her kunai at the Shuten Douji figure looming before her.
Whoosh! Thud!
With a dull sound, someone fell. Simultaneously, the purple mist lifted as if it had been a lie. Hinatsuru gasped for breath and checked her target.
And in that moment, her heart seemed to stop.
What lay collapsed on the floor was not a demon.
It was Suma, with Hinatsuru's kunai embedded in the center of her chest, coughing up blood as she fell.
"Un… nee…?"
Red foam bubbled from Suma's mouth.
She looked up at Hinatsuru with a pained expression, reaching out her hand.
"It hurts… why… did you… kill…?"
"Ah, aaaaaah!!!"
Hinatsuru clutched her head and screamed.
"No! No!! I killed Suma… Waaaah!!"
She crawled on the floor to hold Suma. Guilt shattered her mind.
Her ninja composure was gone, leaving only the horrific reality that she had killed a precious comrade and family.
Then, Tamamo approached from behind Hinatsuru. Her voice was impossibly merciful and gentle.
"My, what a terrible nightmare you had, Hinatsuru-san."
"I… killed…."
"No. You didn't kill anyone. Look."
Click.
Tamamo lightly snapped her fingers. Then, an unbelievable miracle occurred.
The kunai embedded in Suma's chest pulled itself out, and the spilling blood reversed back into the wound, the torn flesh healing instantly.
"Huh? Why was I lying down? Did I doze off?"
Suma blinked as if nothing had happened and stood up. Her skin was clean, without a single scar.
"What… what is this…?"
Hinatsuru stared dumbfounded. It felt unreal.
Tamamo picked up the fallen kunai coated with Wisteria poison.
And in front of Hinatsuru, she slowly licked the blade with her tongue.
Slurp.
The Wisteria poison entered Tamamo's mouth, but she didn't even frown. Instead, she savored it as if tasting a delicious candy.
"Wisteria poison… a cute seasoning for catching demons. But for me, it's just a bittersweet spice. I'm a being closer to a divine spirit, far beyond mere blood demons."
The overwhelming difference in power. An absolute existence immune to poison, force, or strategy.
Hinatsuru's pupils shook. She felt all hope being cut off.
Tamamo lifted Hinatsuru's chin and stared deep into her eyes.
"Hinatsuru-san. Be honest. How lonely and scared have you been all this time?"
"N-no… I'm a ninja…."
"A ninja? A tool? Tengen said he loved you, but in the end, he sent you to your deaths. In this hell swarming with demons, he threw his vulnerable wives as bait—where is he now?"
Tamamo's words pierced the deepest unconscious part of Hinatsuru's heart.
Her brain, intoxicated by Shuten's mist and her judgment clouded, began to accept Tamamo's whispers as truth.
"He abandoned you. He thought it didn't matter if you died. Why risk your life for a man like that?"
"Tengen-sama… abandoned… me…?"
Tears streamed from Hinatsuru's eyes. The walls of her heart crumbled.
"Now, let go of that burden. Here, there is no pain, no fear of death. Look how happy Suma and Makio are."
Tamamo's hand stroked Hinatsuru's hair.
It felt as warm as a mother's touch, but that energy was a venom corroding Hinatsuru's self.
"You deserve to be happy too. Be loved as a woman, indulge in pleasure. Mugenrou is your new home."
Hinatsuru's resisting gaze gradually dimmed.
Her loyalty to Tengen, her pride as a ninja, her will to escape—all vanished into a white mist.
Strength completely left her body, and she slumped, burying her face in Tamamo's thigh.
"…It was so, so hard…."
"That's right. You're a good girl."
A moment later, Hinatsuru raised her head. Her eyes had become dull and lifeless, identical to Suma and Makio's.
A slack, doll-like smile hung on her lips.
"Tamamo-sama… thank you… for saving me…."
"Welcome, Hinatsuru. Now the three of us will be together forever."
"Nee-san, try on this dress. It's really pretty."
Suma and Makio came over and embraced Hinatsuru. Hinatsuru didn't resist, blending in with them as she burst into laughter.
"Yeah… I'm so happy…."
And so, the three excellent kunoichi Uzui Tengen had planted in Yoshiwara were all subjugated.
They were no longer ninjas. They had become the most beautiful and expensive living dolls adorning Akira's empire, Mugenrou, destined to live new lives as succubi sucking men's vitality every night.
The lamps of Mugenrou, the city that never slept, burned even redder.
That light devoured the darkness of Yoshiwara, mocking the absent master, Tengen.