In a village on the outskirts of Tokyo.
There was the headquarters of the Eternal Paradise Cult, which promised to make one forget the pains of the mundane world.
Piercing through the thick fog enveloping the mountainside, a high-end rickshaw quietly stopped at the entrance of the temple.
"We have arrived, ma'am."
The rickshaw driver said cautiously, wiping his sweat.
Stepping down from the footboard he offered was a woman so beautiful it was blinding, yet drowned in deep sorrow.
She was Kanae Kocho, wearing a black silk kimono.
"Thank you. Shinobu, come down carefully."
Kanae reached her hand towards the inside of the rickshaw with a worried voice.
Grasping that hand and struggling to get down was Shinobu Kocho, with a pale complexion and bloodless lips.
She coughed and leaned on Kanae's shoulder.
"Sister… if we go here, will my illness and your nightmares really disappear?"
"Of course, absolutely. I heard the leader of this place is a living Buddha."
The sisters' act was perfect.
Kanae was a widow who had inherited a vast fortune but was immersed in the sorrow of losing her husband; Shinobu was a sickly younger sister suffering from an incurable disease, waiting only for the day of her death.
They were the perfect targets and prey for a cult, with money but no one to rely on.
"...A disgusting smell is pervasive."
Shinobu whispered in a very small voice, pretending to embrace Kanae.
In their sensitive demon sense of smell, amidst the thick scent of blooming lotus flowers, they detected a fishy blood odor and the decay of old corpses.
"We have to endure, Shinobu. What Akira-san wants isn't just a simple hunt, but to take over this place entirely."
Kanae covered her mouth with a fan and smiled with her eyes.
Above their heads, among the branches, a sparrow sat in a spiritualized state, surveying the entire temple with sharp eyes.
It was Benienma, shrunk to the size of a sparrow and in a spiritualized state.
The procedure for joining the cult went smoothly as expected.
When the cult's officials saw the thick donation envelopes the two presented, their mouths stretched to their ears as they bowed obsequiously.
Thus, the sisters took their place inside as special devotees of the Eternal Paradise Cult.
The true nature of the cult, grasped through a few days of living there, was more bizarre than expected.
The number of devotees was about 250. They were all people who had been abandoned by the world or bore unforgivable wounds.
"Hahaha! Today is also joyful! Let's not think about painful things!"
"That's right! After all, life is fleeting! It's enough to be happy by the leader's side!"
In the main hall, strange banquets were held daily.
The doctrine here was simple.
There was no painful asceticism or restraint. It was enough to praise the leader and escape reality.
"It's a perfect livestock farm."
As night deepened, Shinobu reported while drinking cold green tea in their lodging.
"The devotees have stopped thinking. They're just intoxicated by the sweet bait the leader gives, fattening themselves up without knowing when they'll be eaten."
"Did you figure out the funding source?"
"Yes, the ledgers are in the underground vault of the main hall. Records of devotees' property donations, lists of influential political supporters—it's full of information that smells like money, which Akira-san would like."
Then, red feathers scattered in the air, and Benienma revealed herself.
"I found it. The separate building behind the main hall, that's the leader's slaughterhouse and refrigerator."
Benienma's expression was twisted with disgust.
"If you go there, bone fragments are piled up like mountains. Hair, clothes, accessories…. He only picks young and nutritious women from among the devotees and eats them under the guise of salvation. It is, in every sense, gluttonous overindulgence fitting for the realm of hungry ghosts."
"Just as I thought. Just as Akira-san said."
Kanae nodded.
Doma was operating this cult as his own human farm.
Pretending to listen to the devotees' worries, he checks their psychological and health conditions, and eats them when they are most deliciously ripe.
"Now we have enough information. We've grasped the cult's operating system and cash flow… It's about time to change the owner."
Kanae stood up from her seat.
Her shadow cast long on the wall, forming a shape as if a giant butterfly had spread its wings.
The next day, during the morning sermon in the main hall. The gaze of the leader Doma, sitting on the podium, kept drifting to one place.
It was Kanae, sitting in the front row shedding tears while praying, and Shinobu sitting beside her with a pale face.
'Hmm~ Really, every time I see them, I can't help but admire.'
Doma licked his lips while covering his mouth with a fan.
'Such grace, such beauty. They're on a different level from ordinary humans. The smell is too good. It's like a floral scent…'
He was an Upper Moon demon, but he couldn't see through the true nature of the sisters who inherited Akira's blood.
He only recognized them as beautiful and tasty humans.
In his empty emotions, curiosity named appetite squirmed for the first time in a while.
When the sermon ended, Doma naturally descended from the podium and approached the sisters.
"Oh my? Kanae, Shinobu? You're praying diligently again today. How admirable."
"Ah, Leader…!"
Kanae was startled, and bowed her head as if shy.
"When I hear your words… I think of my dead husband and my heart breaks, but on the other hand, I feel at ease."
"Oh dear, the sorrow hasn't faded yet. Poor child."
Doma took Kanae's hand. And casually, he placed his hand on Shinobu's shoulder as well.
"Shinobu's complexion is very bad. Has your condition worsened?"
"Cough, cough! Yes… every night, my body feels like it's burning. Rather… I want to go to paradise soon."
As Shinobu staggered as if she would collapse any moment, Doma quickly supported her.
'Warm. And the pulse… it's very strong and fast. Contrary to appearances, she's overflowing with vitality?'
Doma's eyes flashed with a rainbow color.
Along with pity for the two, a strong appetite was felt.
He solidified his determination.
"I can't leave you like this. I must make a special effort for you."
With the most merciful expression in the world, Doma made a devil's proposal.
"Tonight, after all the devotees have fallen asleep, come to my quarters. I'll perform a special salvation ceremony just for you sisters."
"A, a special salvation ceremony?"
Kanae's eyes widened.
"Yes. It's a ceremony where I share my blood and flesh with you, and I take away your pain. After this ceremony… you will no longer hurt or be sad. You'll become one with me forever."
Of course, it means entering his stomach.
"Ah… Leader! To bestow such grace upon humble beings like us…!"
Kanae, as if overcome with emotion, kissed the back of Doma's hand. Shinobu also expressed her gratitude with a trembling voice.
"We will definitely come. Please wait, Leader."
"Alright, I'll leave the door open and wait. Come with clean, washed bodies."
Doma left a satisfied smile and vanished leisurely. Anticipating tonight.
As Doma disappeared, the emotions vanished instantly from Kanae and Shinobu's expressions.
"Did you hear that, Shinobu? 'Come with clean, washed bodies.'"
Kanae smiled coldly and vigorously wiped the back of her hand that Doma had just touched with a handkerchief.
"Disgusting. Is he telling us to prepare the ingredients ourselves? What a lazy cook."
Shinobu also showed disgust and shrugged her shoulders.
"But thanks to that, we have an opportunity. An opportunity to deal with him in a secret room, with no one knowing."
"Yes. Tonight, what he calls eternal peace… let's teach him personally."
Kanae and Shinobu smiled at each other. That smile was no longer that of pitiful sisters, but of cruel managers tending the night garden.
"Then, shall we start preparing? Since Akira-san is waiting."
In the deep night of the Eternal Paradise Cult. Into the trap laid by the false god, the real monsters were walking on their own feet.
The moment the gates of paradise close, that place will become a slaughterhouse where not even a scream can leak out.