Around that time, Gedomaru (that is, Shuten Doji) heard of a girl who had died of grief due to his failure to send a reply to her love-letter, and upon opening the tsuzura (package) included in her letter--which he had never read--a strange vapor rose from it, causing him to lose consciousness; when he came to, his transformation into an oni was already complete, so he fled from the temple and set his heart on reaching the very limits of evil.
そのころ外道丸こと酒呑童子は、恋文の返事が来ないと悲観して死んだ娘のことを聞き、読まなかった恋文の入ったつづらを開けてみると異様な煙が立ち昇って気を失い、気づくと鬼へと変わり果てて寺から逃げて悪の限りを尽くすようになっていた。