Fireflies of the Dark Night

The "Great Human-Demon War"... It was a catastrophe that, for the eastern nations at least, rivaled the collapse of the continental dynasty in its sheer horror.

It was no surprise for powerful or malevolent demons to lead groups of hundreds or even thousands. But what if those numbers swelled to hundreds of thousands, or even millions? And what if those demons, like a human army, were organized, disciplined, and driven by a clear strategy?

Moreover, "Kūbō" possessed high intelligence and a deep understanding of human society and its workings.

Using its power, Kūbō obscured the skies and commanded its demon subordinates to ravage farmlands and attack trade routes, disrupting food production and logistics. This led to widespread famine and countless deaths by starvation.

On one hand, those with spiritual power or skills had their limbs severed and their minds clouded by illusions, turning them into resources for the infamous "human farms." On the other hand, those without power or skills were deliberately left as refugees. Among these refugees, demons disguised as humans or parasitic demons were planted and sent into heavily guarded, resource-strapped cities.

Mines and industrial areas, no matter how small, were burned to the ground, and miners and craftsmen were devoured, crippling the production of armor and weapons for human soldiers.

After cornering humanity in this way, Kūbō declared, "Now, humans, surrender everything. In my name, I promise you a life free from hunger, labor, and the fear of death. A life of happiness from beginning to end, in a wonderful world." And in a way, this promise was true... albeit at the cost of stripping away all human dignity.

What made it even more despairing was that Kūbō's proposal was considered relatively "moderate" among the ferocious demons.

...With a strategy that was both ruthlessly cruel and coldly logical, Kūbō terrorized and绝望 humanity on both physical and psychological levels. At the same time, it used devilish sweet talk to push them toward "surrender." This strategy led to the destruction of several small nations and forced others to capitulate. However, it also solidified the resolve of Fusō, the largest power in the east after the fall of the continental dynasty, to resist to the end. Many demons mocked this choice, but their laughter soon faded.

...The demons had underestimated human malice and hostility. Fusō, in turn, adopted equally ruthless strategies. They dissected captured demons alive to study them and used volunteers, criminals, orphans, and refugees as sacrifices for forbidden rituals, decoys, or subjects for human experimentation to develop new weapons and techniques to counter the demon onslaught.

In the end, humanity won the war by a razor-thin margin, surpassing the demons in sheer malice and hostility.

Fusō's victory in the Great War—a victory on thin ice—reversed the balance of power between humans and demons in the east. Kūbō itself was a powerful anomaly, and many of the ancient, infamous "malevolent demons" and "great demons" under its command were also defeated.

Of course, dealing with the surviving demons remained a national challenge for Fusō, and they were not easily dealt with... but it was also true that the demons, having suffered immense losses, could no longer easily attack humans. Even now, it wasn't uncommon for demons to attack travelers on roads, devour woodcutters or hunters in the forests, or wipe out entire mountain villages. While humanity's territory appeared vast on maps, in reality, it was mostly limited to scattered points and lines, with only a few areas being truly secure. Still, only the most powerful or foolish demons dared to attack larger villages or towns.

For many people... especially in urban areas, demons had become a distant memory. It had been five hundred years since demons last appeared in cities or were repelled before they could enter. This led to a diminishing sense of the demons' terror, particularly in the capital. The imperial court continued to view demons as enemies, but in urban areas, this hostility shifted toward another group.

These were the outcasts born from the war and struggle for survival between humans and demons—beings rejected by both worlds... the half-demons.

---

In an era without electricity, people relied on candles, lanterns, and bonfires, but they generally woke with the sunrise and slept when it set.

A young woman with long chestnut hair and amber eyes—at least in appearance—Azuma Hibari woke up around 5 a.m., during the hour of the tiger. As she rose from her cotton futon, the sounds of crows and roosters outside gradually reached her ears, pulling her from her drowsiness. She was about to get up to prepare for the day when she noticed something.

"Hmm? ...My, my, you all have such bad sleeping habits. Come on, let go of my clothes."

With a gentle tone, she coaxed the children who had crawled into her futon and clung to her clothes. None of them were older than ten. To make the most of the small room, futons were spread out horizontally, vertically, and even stacked... but even so, it was cramped, especially in the summer.

"Do you really want to sweat like this? Come on, everyone, back to your own futons."

She scolded the half-asleep children, some with horns, wings, or animal ears, and guided them back to their respective spots.

"No... Mama, sleep with us..."

One particularly stubborn child clung to her clothes, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Azuma Hibari smiled with maternal affection but gently chided him.

"There, there, you're such a sweet child. But I have to go make breakfast now. How about this? I'll sleep with you tonight, so can you sleep on your own for now?"

After soothing him with a pat on the head, she finally began her morning routine. First, she replaced the water at the household shrine and offered a prayer. This shrine served as a key point for a protective barrier around the building, warding off evil spirits and misfortune. It was especially effective in preventing illnesses among the children and purifying demonic energy.

Next, she checked the small garden and the animal pen, watering the plants and feeding the animals. After tidying herself up, she used an illusion to hide her raccoon ears and plump, round tail before heading to the well in town to fetch water...

---

"Did you hear? Apparently, yesterday..."

"Yes, that's why soldiers are patrolling the old district. I wish they'd come here too."

"I'm too scared to walk the streets at night now. Is there anywhere selling protective charms?"

"My shop's busiest at night... This is such a hassle..."

The women gathered at the well for their early morning gossip suddenly noticed a shadow and quickly distanced themselves.

"..."

Azuma Hibari, holding a large bucket, bowed slightly to the women. They responded with forced smiles, though their friendliness was far from genuine. She didn't press the matter. Silently filling her bucket, she hoisted it onto her back and left.

"That person... isn't she from that orphanage over there?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"She doesn't seem like a bad person, but considering the times, you know..."

"Taking in all those creepy children... What could she be thinking?"

"Still, it's better than having them scattered in the back alleys... At least they're all in one place now..."

Ignoring the women's conversation, she hurried back home. She knew that anything she said would be pointless and might even make things worse for herself and the children.

...Upon returning home, she poured the water she had fetched into the household jars and finally began preparing breakfast.

"The rice... I'll need to go to the rice shop today."

Azuma sighed as she checked the rice bin in the kitchen. Inside was mixed grain rice. Raising over ten growing children meant food expenses were no small matter, and serving pure white rice was a rare luxury.

"Ha, back when I was working, I ate it every day..."

She reflected on how extravagant her life had been back then. Even during the Great War, her meals had always included white rice and a proper spread of dishes. It was likely to prevent valuable personnel from rebelling or breaking down... She couldn't help but feel grateful to the supply officers of that time. And now, despite living in a more prosperous era, she couldn't even afford to give the children white rice. It was a humbling thought.

But she couldn't dwell on it forever. She washed the mixed grains, put them in the pot, and lit the stove to steam them. At the same time, she prepared miso soup with green onions and thinly sliced fried tofu, adding beaten eggs she had collected that morning.

Summer was the season for eggplants and cucumbers. The former had already been harvested and pickled, while the latter, fresh and plump, had been picked that morning. She sliced them into bite-sized pieces for the children to eat with miso.

After about two hours, breakfast was ready, and she began pulling the children out of their futons. Just a short while ago, they had been clinging to her, unwilling to let her go, but now they resisted getting up, cursing her as if she were some villain. Exasperated but amused, she helped them get ready, and by a little past 8 a.m., she finally managed to get everyone seated around the table.

"Alright, let's eat. Come on, put your hands together."

She smiled and gave the signal to start the meal, and the children clumsily followed suit. Then, like a dam breaking, they eagerly dug into their breakfast. Azuma watched them with a small, affectionate smile before picking up her own bowl and savoring the meal.

After breakfast, the older children helped with the cleanup while the younger ones played in the room or the yard. Azuma began preparing to head out to the temple school. Unlike the old district inside the gate, which was filled with shrines and temples, the new district, though equally populous, had originally been settled by refugees from the Great War. The imperial court had eventually recognized its existence, but the haphazardly built area lacked proper infrastructure, and its living standards were lower than the old district. Day laborers and manual workers were common, and while it wasn't a dangerous area, the治安 wasn't exactly ideal.

As a result, temple schools in the new district were few and far between, and educated individuals capable of teaching were rare. This made Azuma, a former Onmyōryō official, highly valued, and she herself enjoyed the work. The tuition fees from individual parents weren't much, but the number of students made up for it.

She knew that by supplementing her savings, she could cover the children's upbringing costs until they reached adulthood.

"Mama, are you leaving?"

The lisping voice came from a little girl who had been playing tag in the yard moments ago. Though, unlike most little girls, this one had a lizard's tail.

"I'll be back by evening, as always. Can you keep an eye on things until then? If you get hungry, you can all share the rice in the pot. Just don't eat too much, okay? I'll bring back some dumplings on my way home, so look forward to that."

She comforted the teary-eyed girl and left the older children in charge, reminding them to lock the house and not to follow strangers. She also summoned a few shikigami to guard the place while she was away... just in case.

After hiding her ears and tail with an illusion, she left the orphanage, which also served as her home, and made her way through the unpaved, chaotic streets of the new district toward the temple on the outskirts.

Along the way, she was occasionally stopped by street vendors hawking their wares, but she managed to fend them off and eventually reached her workplace. There, she greeted the elderly head priest, a man dedicated to charitable works and highly respected, before starting her duties.

"Good morning, everyone. Are you all doing well? Is anyone missing?"

"Yeees!" came the cheerful reply from children around the same age as those at the orphanage. Though, unlike her charges, these children were entirely ordinary, with no horns, wings, or other non-human features.

At the temple school, Azuma taught basic literacy and arithmetic—skills that were all that was needed in the new district. Of course, she also included lessons on culture, history, and ethics.

The ethics lessons, in particular, were popular. Centered around moral tales, they were entertaining for the children simply because they were new stories.

After finishing the lessons, the children would either beg for more stories or start playing among themselves. It was also her job to keep an eye on them until their parents came to pick them up, ensuring no one got hurt.

"Teacher, tell us that story again!"

"No, the teacher is playing with us!"

"Teacher, teacher! Play house with us!"

Pulled in every direction, her outer clothes nearly torn, Azuma smiled wryly as she exhaustedly looked after them. And she thought to herself... Children are the same no matter where they are.

"I'm the demon slayer! You're the evil spirit, got it?"

"Aw, again?"

"I wanna be the demon slayer too!"

"I don't wanna be an evil spirit!"

"Yeah, yeah! You always get to be the cool one!"

The lively boys were arguing over their roles in a game of demon slaying. Naturally, the most popular role was the demon slayer, followed by soldiers, villagers, and then...

"..."

Even though she knew it was inevitable, the innocent conversation of these pure-hearted children pierced her chest more deeply than any wound she had suffered on the battlefield...

After finishing work, seeing the children off, and reporting to the head priest, Azuma left the temple school. It was past noon, and the sky was beginning to turn red with the sunset as the ground grew darker...

"...Ah, that's right. I promised to bring back some dumplings, didn't I?"

As she absentmindedly gazed at the sky on her way home, she remembered the promise. She also recalled that the rice was running low. She needed to go shopping. Or rather, she used the immediate task as an excuse to escape from reality.

At the rice shop, she had the clerk fill a bag with mixed grain rice using a measuring box, then headed to the main street lined with stalls.

Compared to the walled old district, the main street of the new district was much more chaotic, but it was no less bustling or crowded. In fact, in some ways, it was even livelier than the old district, which was mostly inhabited by the middle class and above.

There were izakayas, noodle shops, udon stalls, miso soup vendors, tempura stands, tea-and-rice stalls, grilled fish sellers, skewer vendors, fruit sellers, and ice vendors, all loudly advertising to passersby. The enticing smells of various foods wafted through the air. A country bumpkin fresh from the countryside might think it was some kind of festival, but in the capital, this level of activity was just another day.

Among the stalls, Azuma made her way to a dumpling shop sandwiched between an izakaya and a tea-and-rice stall. A middle-aged, balding man fanned himself to endure the heat while grilling dumplings over a net, giving them just the right amount of char before dipping them in sweet soy sauce or red bean paste.

"How's business, shopkeeper?"

"Oh, Teacher! It's... well, it's manageable, I suppose."

When Azuma greeted him, the shopkeeper smiled warmly and bowed respectfully. His son attended the temple school about once every three days.

"Something wrong?"

"Well... There's talk that demons attacked the capital yesterday. Apparently, the authorities drove them off, but some survivors might have slipped into the city... By tomorrow or the day after, the rumors will spread, and customers will probably start avoiding the streets."

The shopkeeper sighed. Like many in the new district, he wasn't particularly well-off. A drop in customers could mean financial hardship. While he didn't live hand-to-mouth, even a few days of reduced income could spell trouble for the residents of the new district.

"That sounds tough. Well, let me help you out a bit. Give me some dumplings. Let's say... twenty sticks. Ten with sweet soy sauce and ten with red bean paste."

"Coming right up, Teacher!"

The shopkeeper smiled warmly as he wrapped the skewered dumplings in bamboo leaves.

"Hmm? Shopkeeper, you've given me two extra."

"You've got ten kids at your place, right? Two per child means you'd have none left for yourself. Consider it a bonus."

"But..."

"Don't worry about it. ...I might not like those brats much, but we all owe you, Teacher."

Though her past as the head of the Onmyōryō wasn't widely known, many in the district were aware that Azuma, the woman who had arrived a few years ago, was a former government official knowledgeable in curses and the like. She taught at the temple school, where teachers were scarce, made simple charms and medicines for her neighbors, and even took in those troublesome half-demon children. No one bore her any ill will.

Of course, the fact that she lived with half-demons did cause some concern and unease...

"I see... Well, thank you kindly."

She paid for the twenty dumplings and smiled in gratitude. There was no doubt she was genuinely thankful... though a swirl of complicated emotions also churned within her.

(If they knew I'm just like those children... would they still treat me the same?)

She knew the thought was a bit twisted, but she couldn't help wondering.

---

The sky had grown much darker by the time Azuma hurried back to the orphanage that also served as her home. Once there, she would have to do the housework. Managing everything alone while raising orphans was tough, though it was nothing compared to the life-and-death battles she had once faced.

"...Was that a scream?"

Suddenly, her concealed beast ears caught the sound. It was something no ordinary person could hear, but she was half-human and possessed the heightened senses of an exorcist. Even the faintest whisper in the darkness was discernible to her.

'It hurts... I'm scared... Help me...'

"Tch...!!"

The moment she recognized the faint, weak voice, she broke into a sprint. She dashed at an incredible speed, leaping and running while staying hidden, as the area was sparsely populated.

When she reached the back alley, her expression hardened. There were two figures. One was a man, cloaked and carrying a spear. At his feet lay a crumpled form...

"What are you doing!?"

The figure turned sharply, noticing her. The cloak, designed to obscure recognition, hid his face, and even if it hadn't, a perception-blocking spell would have made it impossible to remember.

However... Azuma's keen eyes could read his intentions from his movements. And she also noticed something else: the figure was stunned, as if he knew exactly who she was. More than that, he seemed to realize he had made an irreparable mistake...

"Wha—!? Tch...!!"

The spear-wielding figure instantly used a burst of spiritual energy to leap onto the roof of a nearby house. Without a sound or any sense of weight, he dashed across the rooftops, fleeing at full speed.

"Wait... damn it!?"

Azuma started to chase him but quickly realized there was something more important. She rushed to the child lying on the ground, battered and bruised, wearing tattered clothes.

"This is..."

For a moment, she froze as she saw the child's true nature. The girl had silver hair, styled in a delicate, almost fragile-looking braid. She couldn't have been more than ten years old. It was heartbreaking to see such a young child covered in wounds, as if she had been abused. Her breathing was labored, and her small chest rose and fell with each painful breath.

But that wasn't what truly caught Azuma's attention. No, what truly stood out was the girl's head. Large fox ears, the same color as her hair, and a single, slender fox tail protruding from her lower back...

The child Azuma had just rescued was undoubtedly a half-demon, with the blood of a fox spirit running through her veins...

---

"...Crap. I messed up the timing of my intervention."

In the darkness, in a place where no one could hear, a reincarnated mob soldier groaned in despair as he realized the situation had just gotten much more complicated.

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