My heart is pounding as I aim my arrow straight at the demon's heart. Or do demons have hearts? It doesn't really matter; I just have to kill this one. It hisses at me, making horrible, gurgling sounds. This one is especially ugly, like a huge, floating worm. It's also especially large – I'm a little worried about how much effort it will take to slay it.
It's nighttime in the tiny village where I'm staying. I ended up here this morning, dead on my feet because I had been traveling for two weeks straight with no work in any of the villages I had passed through. My supplies had been running dangerously low, so I guess I should view this demon as a blessing. Looking at its disgusting face, however, it's a little difficult to think of it that way.
This village has recently been plagued by demons, or so I've heard. The villagers were almost hysterical this morning when they begged me to kill this particular one. Apparently the demons are after the sacred bowl of Saint Masanori, which the villagers keep locked up inside their shrine. It's a fairly large and impressive shrine for such a small village. It really is a shame that I've caused so much damage to it while trying to fight this demon.
It's nice that this demon can't talk. Some of the one's that I've fought have had pretty foul mouths. Its hissing is getting pretty annoying though, along with the fact that it now seems to be spitting at me. I get a face full of foul-smelling demon spit as I aim my arrow. Okay, that's going too far, worm demon. I let go of the arrow, and miss.
"Damn it!" I yell. The worm demon looks like it's grinning. Now furious, I pull out another arrow and aim at its neck. This one thankfully hits, but my pitiful sacred arrow isn't strong enough to do any real damage. Damn it all!
The demon is spitting again. Thankfully it doesn't seem to do anything el… Oh man. It floats higher off the ground, and then suddenly dives straight for my neck. For the next few minutes, it's all that I can do to fend it off, flailing around with my bow in an attempt to protect my face. That plan is not very effective. Soon my arms and face are covered with scratches from the demon's teeth (who knew that worms have teeth? Or at least worm demons). I'm now about angry enough to spit at the demon myself, but I suddenly think of my sister. Kikyo always kept calm, no matter what the situation. She never grew flustered, not even when she was fighting. The only thing is that she would never be losing so badly to a pathetic worm demon, so it really is a conundrum.
I take a deep breath. It is my duty as a priestess to protect this shrine and to protect these villagers from demons. Whoever this Saint Masanori was, I'm sure that his bowl is very important to this village. I must protect it. I must slay this demon.
With that though in my mind, I abruptly smack the demon on the head with my bow. While it's momentarily stunned, I pull out another arrow and nock it. I take a moment to gather my strength, picturing the faces of the village children that I saw earlier today. I also picture Master Hiroshi, and the long-dead saint whose possession I have sworn to protect. Lastly, I picture Kikyo standing with her bow. Strong and graceful, the thought of her gives me the strength I need to pour all of my power into this arrow. This shot is straight and true, and the arrow goes cleanly through the demon's neck. My sacred arrow purifies and kills the worm demon instantly.
Smiling, I wipe the sweat off my forehead. This shrine and its sacred contents are safe for now.
I say a silent prayer to Kikyo to thank her for giving me strength. I think that I'll head back to my own village soon. I've been gone for several months now, so it's been a while since I've visited her grave.
"Thank you, Kikyo," I whisper into the darkness. "I hope I made you proud tonight."