"Boss! Our pursuers are [unclear]!"
Receiving the report of his out of breath servant, Akuro-ō, the arch-villain known as the Demon of Hiraizumi sat with a sharp look in his eyes and his long sword in hand.
"I see. Again the same bastard? Today I'm going to settle the score for good."
Having jumped to his feet, Akuro-ō was stopped by the woman next to him.
"Dear, this is the right time[1]. If we quietly yield to the emperor now, they might just spare the life of this child."
The woman stroked her plump belly as she said so.
"Besides, rebelling against the emperor and playing bandits like this, doesn't that make us just as bad as them?"
"I don't care. I'm just letting those guys who massacred our comrades taste their own medicine. I'll become a demon that torments them until their deaths."
The woman was at a loss for words and drooped her head. Walking onward without looking back Akuro-ō said: "You just stay right here. Take care of the kid."
Those were the last words of Akuro-ō the woman heard. Their clan was one-sidedly destroyed by the Imperial Court and the villain who had vengefully wreaked havoc in the region was slain like a demon.
[1] This is the dictionary meaning of the word, but people often mistake it to mean "the time to quit".
陰陽座百物語 第拾玖話「悪路王」
「お頭！追ってる奴らが[unclear]きやした！」
手下の者が息急き切ってそう告げた時、平泉の鬼と呼ばれる大悪党、悪路王は既に抜き身の大刀を手に血走った目を光らせていた。
「おお。またあの野郎か？今日と言う今日は白黒つけてやるぜ」
すっくと立ち上がった悪路王に傍らの女が声をかけた。
「あんた、もう潮時だよ！おとなしく御上に従えばもしかしたらこの子だけでも助けてくれるかも」
女はそう言って、自らの膨らんだ腹をさすった。
「大体、御上に反抗して、こんな山賊の真似事してたって、それじゃあいつらと同じじゃないか？」
「同じで結構。わしらの仲間を皆殺しにしやがった奴らを、同じ目に遭わせてやるんだよ。わしは死ぬまで奴らを苦しめる鬼になってやる」
女はかける言葉を失ってうなだれた。そのまま悪路王は振り返りもせず歩きながら言った。
「おめえは下手に出るなよ。ガキを頼むぜ」
それが女がこの世で聞く悪路王の最後の言葉となった。朝廷から一方的に一族を滅ぼされ、復讐の為に近隣を荒らし回っていた悪党は、鬼として退治されたのであった。
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