The Curse of Kiyomizu-zaka Slope

The Curse of Kiyomizu-zaka Slope begins after Careful What You Wish For grants Yorimasa's power. This route covers the barriers, rooftop plants, two Rifts and Byakue fight through the area's cleansing. Nearby loot and later Chance Encounters are outside this route.

Inputs follow the displayed PlayStation layout: Cross (×), Square (□), Triangle (△) and Circle (○). Follow your own displayed bindings if remapped.

Break the barriers on the way to Kiyomizu-zaka Slope

From Yorimasa's monument, follow the garden's stone path toward the torii exit. Approach the twisted Malice Barrier blocking the way. When Use Oni Power appears, hold Cross until the action finishes and the barrier tears apart.

Continue along the residential street, passing the stone Jizo with a red bib and the houses lit by standing braziers. A shielded Genma introduces Oni Strength. Press Triangle + Circle to break its shield, then follow with sword attacks once its protection is gone. Oni Strength can destroy armor and shields and is particularly useful when an enemy keeps blocking your ordinary attacks.

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Clear the street and follow the low stone wall to the next Malice Barrier. Hold Cross again to open the route. The scene ahead reveals the plants hanging over the corrupted district, followed by Seal the Rifts — 0/2.

Cut the first rooftop plant

The Malice Plants tutorial warns that exposure gradually reduces your health. Cut down the nearby plants to clear their surrounding Malice; do not linger in the red haze to search every container.

At the street blocked by huge roots, look beside the house for a ladder next to stacked woven baskets and boxes. Climb onto the tiled roof and deal with the enemy at the top.

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Walk along the tiles to the plant growing out of the roof. Attack the red bulb at the base of its pale twisted stalk with Square until it breaks. The air around this roof clears. The Rift counter remains 0/2 because cutting a plant and sealing a Rift are separate actions.

Stay on the connected roofs and follow the ridge past the white gable toward the broken wooden roofing. Drop from there into the courtyard below, where another shielded enemy waits. Break its protection with Triangle + Circle and finish the fight.

Cross the courtyard barrier and reach the next rooftop

Beside the courtyard house is another Malice Barrier. Stand at its interaction point and hold Cross to tear it open. Beyond it, climb the ladder on the tall wooden frame with diagonal braces.

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From the tower, step onto the adjoining tiled roof and drop to the narrow lane beside the stone boundary wall. Follow the lane around the fenced corner toward the red haze and the open house frontage. Climb the ladder against that house, beside the huge roots crossing overhead.

At the top, you can see a Rift beyond the neighboring roofs. Follow the tiles and wooden roof section beside the curved root to another red-bulbed plant. Cut its base with Square, then clear the Genma approaching across the roof connections.

Absorb the first Rift

Continue over the connected roof ridges toward the stone-paved street with a Rift against the root-covered wall at its upper end. Drop down to the street and defeat the shielded enemy. Use Oni Strength to open its defense rather than repeatedly striking the shield.

Walk uphill to the floating red Rift. At Absorb Rift, hold L2 until it breaks apart. Check that Seal the Rifts changes to 1/2 before leaving.

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Follow the ladders to the second Rift

Turn back down the same street and climb the ladder against the house beside the Rift route. Cross the roof and drop into the small yard with large pots. Leave through its narrow passage and look for the next ladder against a house's stone base.

Climb back onto the roofs. Follow the connected tiles and use the next short ladder to reach the higher ridge. From there, drop toward the red-hazed street beside a standing brazier and stone lantern.

The route up is the ladder on the pale plaster wall next to two barrels. Climb it to the lower roof, then climb the second ladder on the house's gable to reach the ridge above.

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A Malice Plant grows from this rooftop. Cut its red bulb until it collapses, then look down over the roof edge toward the wider junction and glowing Rift. Drop to the street to face Byakue — Hundred Defilements.

Defeat Byakue, Hundred Defilements

Use R3 to keep Byakue in view and leave room between yourself and the roots around the junction. His long blades can catch you after the first swing, so wait for the attack sequence to finish before committing to a short counterattack.

Use L1 to guard blade attacks, or time L1 just before contact for a Parry. Answer a recovery opening with a few Square attacks, then return to defending. Use Circle to evade when you need to leave a lunge or a wide attack's path; avoid trying to trade blows through his full sequence.

When he exposes the red weak-point marker with a Square prompt, press Square to strike it. This does not necessarily end the fight: be ready to defend again after the animation.

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Absorb available souls with L2 during a safe gap. Yellow souls restore health, and blue souls build Oni Power; R1 activates your selected Oni Armament when enough power is available. Keep the fight going until Byakue falls and his reward appears.

The Rift is still a separate objective. Move close to the floating red mass at this junction and hold L2 — Absorb Rift. Wait for it to dissolve and for the counter to reach 2/2.

Destroy the final plant and finish the story

After both Rifts are sealed, the objective changes to Destroy the Malice-emitting plants. Shizuka points out that one plant remains. From the cleared junction, follow the adjoining stone-paved lane toward the enormous hanging stalk. Its large red bulb sits at ground level between the houses.

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Stand close and cut the bulb with Square. The following scene destroys the remaining growth and restores the district. Close the Clearing Corrupted Areas and Citizens in Need tutorial panels, then finish Shizuka's conversation.

Story Complete — The Curse of Kiyomizu-zaka Slope confirms the endpoint. The next main story is A Strength in Refuge — Speak with Takamura. Talking with residents afterward can introduce Chance Encounters; those are separate from this completed cleansing route.