Onmyōza Hyakumonogatari Story X "The Misshapen Moon"

(Yugamu tsuki begins at 01:30)

At the bottom of a cold, murky lake located deep in the heart of the forest there lived a hideous creature. A long time ago, there was a time when that creature had still been a human. Her nails whose beauty people compared to that of cherry tellin^[1] turned dark and twisted like the roots of a tree, her teeth that were charming like mother-of-pearl became sharp like the fangs of a beast, and her skin that was as smooth as a white peach became completely covered with hard scales. The thing she changed into was something utterly gruesome. To hide her hideous body, the creature resided at the cold bottom of a lake, where it had lived for a length of time that defies belief. All the while being tormented by the weight of her sin and punishment.

It happened on a night when the silvery light of the moon shined brightly all the way to the bottom of the lake. So bright was the light that it made the creature look up at the surface, and there, slowly dancing on the water, she saw the silhouette of someone peering down. How many years had it been since a human last visited the lake? Having once been a human herself, out of nostalgia and without giving it much thought, the creature strained her eyes to take a close look at the person's face. Oh, what a curious coincidence it was! The young man who had stopped to draw water from the lake was the spitting image of the man she had loved long ago when she was still a beautiful human girl.

Could it be possible? Startled, the creature leaned forward, and at that very moment it just so happened that the refulgent moonbeams grew ever so brighter, and the bottom of the lake was illuminated with dazzling light. That was when the traveler noticed the monster illuminated by the moonlight and with his face distorted in fear he gave out a cry of horror. Having been seen, in the twinkling of an eye, the creature leaped to the surface and struck its sharp fangs at the base of the traveler's throat. Like the blood of the man she loved had once soaked her hands, the creature's throat was now dyed bright red with the blood that flowed from the traveler's neck. Once the man eventually stopped breathing, she quietly dived back to the bottom, carrying the traveler between her teeth.

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[1] 桜貝 - A glossy pink type of clam.

陰陽座百物語　第拾話「歪む月」

深い深い森の奥、暗く冷たい湖の底に醜い物の怪が住んでおりました。遥か昔、まだその物の怪が人間であった頃には、丸で桜貝の様だと称えられた美しい爪は木の根の様に黒く捩じれ、螺鈿のような愛らしい歯も獣の如く鋭く尖り、白桃の様に美しかった肌には硬い鱗がびっしりと生え、それはそれは恐ろしい姿へと変わり果てていました。物の怪は醜い身体を隠す様に、気の遠くなる様な長い年月を冷たい水の底で唯、永らえていました。己の犯した罪とその罰の重さに苦しみながら。

ある夜の事です。その夜は月が眩しく、物の怪の居る水底まで白い光が射し込んでいました。その光の眩しさに水面を見上げると、ゆらゆらと揺れる人影が一つ、こちらを覗き込んでいるではありませんか。この湖に人が訪れるのは幾年振りでしょうか？かつては人であった物の怪は懐かしさから思わずその人影の顔を良く見ようと、目を凝らしました。嗚呼、何と言う事でしょう！旅の途中、水を汲みに来たその青年は、遠い昔、物の怪がまだ美しい人間の娘だった頃に愛した人に瓜二つだったのです。

もしや！と物の怪が驚き、思わず身を乗り出した刹那、月の光は無情にも燦然と輝きを増し、水底を煌煌と照らしました。すると旅人は月光に照らされた物の怪の姿に気付き、恐怖に歪んだ形相で大声を上げました。姿を見られた物の怪は瞬く間に水面まで躍り上がり、旅人の首元に鋭い牙を突き立てました。かつて愛しい人の血が自分の手を紅く濡らした様に、物の怪の喉元は旅人の首から流れ出る血で真っ赤に染まり、やがて息をしなくなった旅人を銜えたまま、唯静かに水底へと帰って行きました。