Akai Sato no Tengu

For generations, a remote mountain village has upheld a solemn and ancient tradition: once every decade, a young woman is offered as a living sacrifice to appease the local mountain god. Bound by duty and superstition, the community prepares for the ritual while the tengu, the fearsome guardian of the peak, descends to claim the offering. However, upon arriving at the sacred site, the supernatural being discovers that this particular ceremony defies all precedent. Instead of a terrified maiden forced into submission by her elders, the tengu encounters an unexpected volunteer who willingly stepped forward to take on the sacrificial role. Even more startling is the true identity of the offering—the supposed young woman is, in fact, a boy. This revelation shatters the rigid rules of the centuries-old pact, leaving the mountain spirit to confront a profound mystery regarding the youth's motives and the fate of the village's long-standing custom. Akai Sato no Tengu is a one-shot manga that earned 3rd Place at the Fresh GanGan 2011 Autumn Event.