The arrival announcement for the flight from Haneda
resounded throughout the airport. Shortly thereafter the lobby was packed with passengers disembarking from All Nippon Airways Flight 645.
“I made it...” one young man amongst the crowd—a college student by the looks of him—murmured to himself as he lightly lifted the brim of his hat. This flight, which he’d managed to snag off a waiting list, had encountered a bit of turbulence en-route, but despite the jolting had touched down safely and on schedule at Kumamoto. Carried forward by the flow of people, he descended to the first floor lobby.
“All right, then... Now what?”
This was his first time in Kumamoto. He’d hopped on the airplane without knowing a thing about his destination. Given how close Haneda was to his residence in Shinagawa, he didn’t even feel like he’d come very far. Hoisting the bag holding a few changes of clothing to a more comfortable position, he directed eyes full of determination to his path.
(Takaya—...)
The young man was Narita Yuzuru.
Everything had started from an uneasy premonition he’d gotten yesterday. Though he didn’t possess such extraordinary abilities as telepathy, he’d become more confident in his presentiments and precognitive dreams since the Kasuke incident. Plus, this was the first time his concern for Takaya had been stricken with such foreboding.
(Takaya is in danger...)
Since last night, his heart had trembled with a feeling halfway between despair and grief, robbing him of all but restless sleep. And for some reason he could not shake a numbness from his fingertips that felt as if they were plunged in snow. Something was going on, he thought.
(Kumamoto.)
He’d heard that Takaya and Chiaki were infiltrating a school in Kumamoto (or rather, he’d forcibly extracted the information). He also knew where they were staying. In the morning he’d telephoned the hotel, but had been given the troubling news that both Chiaki and Takaya had been away since the day before yesterday, which confirmed his belief that something had happened. Happily, classes were out for spring break. He’d had to skip out on his part-time job, but Takaya’s welfare took top priority. He didn’t care about anything else if Takaya was safe, even if he’d come on a fool’s errand. He’d hurriedly flown out here to Kumamoto after deciding that if the need arose, he would bring Takaya back even if he had to knock him unconscious to do it.
Someone strange was happening in Kumamoto.
There had been a series of strange articles in the in-flight newspaper. The Five Bridges of Amakusa had become unpassable due to unknown causes, isolating the residents. There was something about a sort of heated gale-wind on the bridge blocking cars. It was being investigated as a mysterious meteorological phenomenon, but it sounded unnatural. Amakusa was in Kumamoto Prefecture.
‘Kumamoto’.
But that wasn’t the only ‘strange event’.
“Ugh...!”
As soon as he stepped out, Yuzuru stiffened with a sense of oppressive pressure. What was this?
(What is this dark spirit-aura?)
He’d felt a heavy, stifling sort of feeling pressing down on him as soon as they’d crossed into Aso airspace—so it wasn’t travel sickness after all. The origin became clear as soon as he disembarked. This was a spirit-aura. This land was brimming over with a rabid, dark sort of spirit-aura.
(Ick...)
Feeling a throb of vertigo and nausea, Yuzuru sat down in a lobby chair. This wasn’t like anything he’d experienced before. And the center of this dark aura felt far away.
(Pull yourself together, this is nothing,) he exhorted himself, shaking himself together. When he lifted his head, the sight that burst into his field of vision made him gasp. Ghosts dotted the lobby. He could see them. This was the first time he’d been able to see them so clearly. Yuzuru tensed. Something terrible was happening.
(What in the world is happening to Kumamoto?)
There was no doubt that Takaya and the others were up to their necks in this extreme abnormality.
(This is bad.)
Yuzuru bit his lip. He pressed the back of his hand against his forehead. The ‘Seed of the Demon King’ was beginning to throb. Because of this atmosphere?
(Or not...?)
Something felt different. He could feel its power very distinctly. What was going on? he wondered. Ear-piercing cheers suddenly interrupted his intense misgivings, and Yuzuru turned.
(What’s going on?)
They looked like a group of squealing female college students. There was a group walking toward them who had the feel of industry people. And maybe a celebrity of some sort? Apparently they’d been on the same flight. They must’ve been in the Super Seats, since Yuzuru hadn’t even noticed them on the plane...
There was a tall man at the center of the group. He was dressed in a garden-variety T-shirt and jeans, along with sunglasses and cap, but they couldn’t conceal the ‘brilliance’ coming off him from head to toe. “Ah!” Yuzuru exclaimed involuntarily. He knew his man just from his stature, hair, and the lines of his face.
It’s him...!
(Shiba Eiji!)
He barely stopped himself from shouting the name out loud.
(It’s ’SEEVA’s Shiba Eiji!)
There was no doubt. Yuzuru was a big fan of Shiba. Shiba was his favorite musician right now, and even the tape in his Walkman was one of Shiba’s. Just the other day he’d gone to see him live in Yokohama. How could he not recognize him?
“Woah—...!”
He followed the figure with his eyes, unconsciously holding his breath. The more he looked, the more certain he was. The passengers around him, the counter staff, even a passing aircraft crew had their attention fixed on him and were talking noisily among themselves. He was the center of attention. Was this what it meant to be a star?
(But why is he here?)
Yuzuru was pretty sure he didn’t have a tour here.
Strange, he thought. Shiba exchanged a few words with someone who was probably his manager and suddenly lowered his sunglasses a little. And then—maybe it was just his imagination, but: Shiba looked in his direction. Woah, Yuzuru thought, tensing. But at that moment:
(What...?)
Ba-zing.
He felt as if the bindi on his forehead had suddenly burst open—split apart like a water balloon. Startled, Yuzuru shuddered and rocked back on his heels.
(What was that?)
“Maybe he’s here for a video shoot,” the group of college students near him speculated loudly.
“It was in a magazine the other day, that he’s going to do a glamor-shoot in Aso. He loves Japan way more than you’d think, doesn’t he?”
“I thought he’d try to go international, but he didn’t... But isn’t it super-cool that he’s so different?”
(Did she say Aso...?)
Yuzuru turned to see Shiba already walking away. A car was waiting. Yuzuru stood and followed the group, but as he tried to slip out the airport doors past which Shiba had gone—
(What...?)
Something weird happened.
Shiba had halted and was looking at something. Following his gaze, Yuzuru saw a male high school student standing there alone in his uniform. What startled him was the student’s terrible wounds. His uniform was covered in mud, his hair was wild, and his cheeks were caked with blood.
(What in the world?)
The student gazed at Shiba, but not as a fan might.
Shiba looked back at him silently.
The student stumbled closer. His staff moved to shield him, but Shiba stopped their movement. The student walked doggedly closer, face warped with pain. He was limping, and it looked as if he had marshaled all his strength for this one act.
Reaching Shiba at last, the student looked as if he were smiling a little.
“To...no...”
At which point he collapsed into Shiba’s arms. There were screams and people moving to call the authorities, but Shiba stopped them. He placed the student in the car waiting for him, then climbed in after him. And they left, just like that. Yuzuru looked after them, dumbfounded by the series of events.
(What was that just now...?)
He had a very...very bad feeling.
The ‘Seed of the Demon King’ on his forehead throbbed painfully. As if it were resonating with something...
(The city. I need to get to the city,) Yuzuru decided.
He would go to the source of the abnormality. First he would head to the school they were infiltrating—from there he’d be able to tell what Takaya and the others were up to. Yuzuru ran toward the taxi stand.
Distracted by Shiba, Yuzuru completely failed to notice the gaze that had been fixed on him since he had reached the lobby. A young man walked out of the airport, staring after the taxi Yuzuru had climbed into. His cap was pulled over his eyes—the same cap as Shiba. Chestnut hair like gold threads peeked out from beneath it. His jeans-clad form was slender.
“We’ve certainly burst in on an interesting place,” he murmured to himself, smiling. “We welcome your visit, Jouhoku High School OB—Narita-senpai.”
(What a place...!)
As soon as he entered the city, the spiritual aura grew so thick that Yuzuru went green around the gills. He finally had to get off the taxi to toss his cookies.
Kumamoto was a hot mess. He was seeing what looked like Sengoku ghosts even before he reached the city, but after crossing the Kyuushuu expressway overpass everything pretty much went haywire. Was that a barrier? As soon as he entered it, the spiritual aura became so dense that he couldn’t breathe. He felt nauseous and chilled, and finally couldn’t bear it anymore and asked to be let off at a nearby park.
(Pull yourself together... Pull yourself...) Yuzuru tried to encourage himself as he washed his face. He just needed to get used to it; he’d feel better then. He needed to control himself. (What was it Takaya told me?)
A coping method for times like these. It wasn’t that complicated. He constructed the image of a transparent ball surrounding him which repelled the aura. When he formed that image, it became an auto-suggestion. Even if it couldn’t block the aura completely, the impact was minimized.
(Right, transparent ball. Ball.)
He focused on the thought, and—what do you know? It worked. The last thing he wanted was to be a burden to Takaya. If he couldn’t even take care of this himself, Yuzuru thought. He pulled himself together and headed for the city center once more.
Conditions were even worse there, but now that he had some resistance, it didn’t impede his movement.
(This is horrible, though...)
Yuzuru grimaced involuntarily as he traversed the Downstreet arcade. Energized wandering or earth-bound ghosts loitered here and there. The spirit-obstruction was considerable; were the residents okay? A light bulb right above his head suddenly exploded, and Yuzuru ducked. Poltergeist activity was now happening in plain view. Speaking of which, the pedestrian traffic was paltry. Wasn’t this one of Kumamoto main streets? Yet half the shops were closed, and it felt lifeless. There were still people about, but their expressions were empty and lethargic. Their listless movements gave the street an equal sense of languor.
(It gives me the creeps...)
Had Matsumoto’s streets looked like this when Shingen’s wraiths had gone on their rampage? People’s psyches were obviously being influenced by the spiritual aura.
Yuzuru made Takaya and Chiaki’s hotel his first stop.
“They’re still not back yet?”
Yuzuru looked pained by the concierge’s response. Chiaki had apparently left a message, but hadn’t said when he would return. Yuzuru sighed.
“I see... Can you tell me...I think O-Ougi Takaya goes to a school near here—do you know where it is?”
“Yes, but...that school is currently...well...” the concierge evaded. Thinking it odd, Yuzuru leaned forward.
“Has something happened? Where is it?”
“Ougi-sama went to Old Castle High School, but... it’s probably because of the...disturbance...there...that he hasn’t returned...”
“Disturbance?”
“I don’t know the details,” the concierge disclaimed in hushed tones.
“Mass running away from home?”
“...Or something like that; I’m not clear on the details...”
From what the concierge said, the affair had started in the middle of the night two nights ago. The school’s entire student body had gathered at the school and refused to go home, and had banded together to barricade themselves in.
“Barricade themselves? Why would an entire school want to run away from home?!”
“Anyway, the police is out there now, and it’s pretty serious. So Ougi-sama and Chiaki-sama are probably at the school...”
Apparently the concierge had heard Chiaki was a teacher there. But what in the world was going on? Yuzuru thought for a moment.
“All right. I guess I’ll go take a look. Old Castle High School, right?”
Yuzuru confirmed the location and immediately left the hotel.
(What the hell?)
On top of ghosts everywhere, now there were students running away from home and occupying a school. Active ghosts were even attached to several hotel employees, and it creeped Yuzuru out. Having them snickering at him over people’s shoulders was completely unacceptable. How he admired Takaya and the others for confronting such scenes full-on.
These unorganized ghosts probably wouldn’t have such power under normal circumstances. They must have been energized by something—they wouldn’t be so clearly visible otherwise.
(Old Castle High School...then?)
I should go take a look, Yuzuru thought, running along the castle moat.
Just as the concierge had said, the police, parents and guardians, and media were thronged in front of Old Castle High School’s main gate in a remarkably loud crowd.
“Wh...what the? What?”
The main gates were firmly shut. Several students could be seen beyond them. They stood in a uniformly-spaced line as if they were guarding the gate.
The fact that Old Castle High School was sitting on the former site of a castle was now made stark. The east bank of the Tsuboi River was its outer moat; a high stone wall encircled its west side. It had two gates: the front gate was next to the post office, while the back gate was next to the castle. The topography exactly suited its defense. All the school windows were covered by curtains, and most of the students appeared to be inside. The atmosphere was solemn.
Someone who appeared to be a representative from the PTA attempted persuasion through a loudspeaker. The parents only stared at the school in pale-faced shock and confusion.
“What in the world happened here?” Yuzuru asked a press person next to him. “Is it true that students have barricaded themselves inside?”
“Yeah. They say the entire student body has run away from home and occupied the school—the uproar’s been fierce.”
“Occupied the school? But we’re way past the era of student movements. Why would they...?!”
“Well, they’re investigating the motivations right now, but haven’t found out anything yet. Even the Board of Education and police have been dispatched, trying to persuade them to come out, but nobody knows what’s going on inside at all. They’re asking the students what demands they have of the staff or people outside.”
(It’s inside.) Yuzuru could tell the center of this bizarrely dense spiritual aura was inside the school. He was certain of it. What was going on? (What are those students...!)
“Apparently this school’s been odd for a while.” the journalist explained courteously. “There’s something called an ‘iron student council’ which operates like an authoritarian regime. Its leader’s leadership ability is quite strong, so people are wondering if that’s why there’s so much solidarity between the students—but on the other hand it doesn’t seem to have been particularly antagonistic towards the school. Well, we live in a world where anything can happen, and this is an era of instability. It could simply be rebellion against adults or our society. The school occupation really brings to mind my own school days, though...” the man, who looked like a baby boomer, reminisced.
No, that’s not it, Yuzuru thought. This isn’t a rebellion or anything of the sort. The source of the Kumamoto ghosts’ energetic state is in this school. It must be exerting an influence.
(Is Takaya in there too...?!)
What should he do?
“Send out a representative and talk to us! We’re prepared to listen! If you have points of contention, we’ll listen to them. Come out and talk!” the adults appealed desperately, but that wasn’t the problem. As evidence of that, even though the students heard, they appeared uninterested in engaging in conversation. They stood like the will-less guards of a castle garrison.
(Castle garrison?)
True, this was a corner of Kumamoto Castle. If Takaya and Chiaki had infiltrated the school, then it must have something to do with the onshou of the «Yami-Sengoku».
He just needed to know they were all right. But how?
(If I can sneak inside...)
He circled the school, examining its perimeter, but it was like a fortress. There were guards everywhere, leaving no gap to sneak inside.
The majority of the adults cluelessly underestimated the situation, having assumed it was mere adolescent hysteria and could not last for long. That was why no one had suggested extreme measures. But he heard there were collaborators on the outside who delivered food and other necessities in a truck daily. That spoke of careful and thorough preparation.
(Truck...?)
If he had Takaya and Chiaki’s powers he might be able to steal a truck and slip inside, but that was out of the question for him. That was when he realized his own powerlessness. He might have a little extrasensory perception, but that was no help. But he couldn’t simply stand aside and do nothing.
(What should I do...?)
“The people outside are still there. Pretty persistent, huh?” student council vice president Ozaki commented, peering out of the blinds at the main gate from the principal’s office. “Shall I have the soldiers drive them off?” he asked, turning to Mikuriya Juri seated on the sofa behind him.
Mikuriya returned calmly, “What? It matters not so long as they do not enter the castle. More importantly, is the organization of the troops complete? What of their training?”
“Yes, preparations are complete. They can set out at any time.”
“I see. ...And the «Golden Serpent Head»?”
“The work of raising it is proceeding,” Takahashi Jouun responded. They had finally found the «Golden Serpent Head» buried beneath the gymnasium. “Work will be finished in a day or two,” Jouun added.
“Though the Shimazu army is near at hand, we will be without equal if only we can obtain the «Golden Serpent Head». Until then, our castle garrison must hold them back. I hope for your assistance, Irobe-dono.”
Irobe Katsunaga was also in the room. He nodded firmly. He had been instructed by Naoe to aid Mikuriya. Although he had not heard the details from Naoe-as-Kaizaki, he had learned everything about the «Golden Serpent Head» upon the creation of the alliance.
He hadn’t heard from Naoe since then. He’d said he was going to investigate the Ikkou Sect’s activities after their attack on Kagetora, but Irobe didn’t know anything beyond that.
(I have to defend this position until we obtain the «Golden Serpent Head».)
At that moment the volume on the loudspeaker went up even more, and even sirens began to shrill. The Gregorian chant broadcasting throughout the school was drowned out, and Mikuriya finally frowned in displeasure.
“...Should I drive them off?”
The people outside the school gates stirred, and Yuzuru’s attention was drawn to them in surprise. There appeared to be movement. A representative from the students was coming out. She was a petite female student with hair styled like a Japanese doll’s, followed by another student who looked as if he might be her servant.
(That’s...)
“Mikuriya-kun!” Old Castle High School’s principal exclaimed.
“Who is that?” the police asked murmuring school staff.
“It’s Mikuriya Juri-kun, the student council—”
“Mikuriya-kun! I want an explanation. What in the world is going on?!”
“Be silent, everyone.”
A voice so cold that one couldn’t imagine it coming from her stifled the crowd. The girl’s dignified eyes surveyed the adults as if asserting ascendancy over them.
“Old Castle High School became ours yesterday. We are preparing to enter into battle. If you remain here, you will become an impediment in that battle. Now please withdraw.”
“‘Battle’...?”
“What are you talking about?! What are you planning to do?!”
“I am not here to answer your questions. I have asked you to withdraw.”
Wrong-footed by her forcefulness, the teachers fell silent. Mikuriya slowly crossed her arms and regarded the crowed haughtily.
“’Twould be futile to proffer explanations to nobodies like you. If you value your lives, leave now!”
(What...?!)
Yuzuru saw something that looked like spider silk shooting out of Mikuriya’s entire body. The threads spread like smoke, hanging over the entire area like fog—out of which appeared a giant serpent...!
“Waaaugh!”
The school staff screamed and scattered. The serpent’s eyes glittered red from within the fog. In an instant everyone’s movements stopped dead.
(Huh—...?)
Then the fog disappeared. The serpent, too, vanished like an illusion. Thereupon—what? The staff, parents and guardians, and police...the faces of everyone present suddenly slackened, and one by one they began to take themselves off .
“Wh...?! Hey, hey wait...everyone!”
Everyone left, leaving Yuzuru behind. This must be so-called hypnotic suggestion, Yuzuru was certain.
(That girl...!)
She was not your run-of-the-mill student. Yuzuru pushed his way through the contraflow to rush up to the students at school gates.
“Hey, there’s a student here named Ougi Takaya, isn’t there?! Let me see him! I know he’s here; let me see Ougi Takaya!”
Mikuriya and her escort were already making their way back to the entrance. They turned at the sound of Yuzuru’s voice.
(My suggestion didn’t work on him...?)
“Takaya! Takaya’s here, isn’t he?! Come out...! Ougi Takaya! Ougi Takayaaa!!”
“!” Mikuriya’s expression changed.
Next to her, Ozaki paled. “Student council president, that man...”
Mikuriya’s eyes glazed over, and her face grew as cold as a noh mask. She slowly turned back to Yuzuru. Yuzuru tensed, straightening.
“You’re here to see Ougi Takaya. That’s what you said?”
“Yes...?”
Mikuriya nodded slightly towards her followers. Male students grabbed both of Yuzuru’s arms.
“What are you doing...?!”
“Who are you? I want your name.”
“Narita Yuzuru. Ougi Takaya’s friend.”
Mikuriya observed him with renewed attentiveness. She could see he was neither possessor spirit nor kanshousha—so why had her suggestion not worked on him?
“...You came seeking Ougi Takaya?”
“Yeah. I came all this way from Tokyo. If he’s in here, let me see him!”
“Very well.” Mikuriya gave another signal with her eyes, and the students on either side of Yuzuru released him. Mikuriya slowly turned on her heels and told Yuzuru over her shoulder, “Come with me.”
The inside of the school felt like a military base. Students in school uniforms moved in groups of around ten people. Everyone saluted as Mikuriya walked past. Oddly, everyone’s eyes were scarlet as if bloodshot. They couldn’t all have conjunctivitis.
(It’s like the serpent earlier,) Yuzuru thought.
What sounded like a hymn flowed ceaselessly down the corridors. The students had no spark of individuality. They were like androids, their wills controlled by someone else.
Peering into classrooms as he walked past, Yuzuru was rattled. Desks and chairs were floating lightly off the floor. The students were training to use their «power».
(Psychokinesis...? They can all use it?)
“This way.”
Yuzuru entered the innermost door as directed. Blackout curtains were drawn in the room—it appeared to be a darkroom where photographs were developed. Click—the sound of the lock turning startled Yuzuru. He’d been locked in!
“Agh...!”
His hands were bound up behind him, with his torso fastened around the leg of a desk. With another click of a switch the light right in front of him was turned on. Yuzuru involuntarily closed his eyes.
“You said you’re a friend of 2-B transfer student Ougi Takaya.” the small female student asked in a voice as cold as a witch’s. “Do you know his true identity? Tell me honestly. Who is Ougi Takaya?”
“Takaya is Takaya,” Yuzuru answered succinctly. “He doesn’t have a true identity beyond that. So just let me see him, okay?”
His declaration was so flatly definite that it left Mikuriya at a loss for words. To Yuzuru, Takaya was not ‘Uesugi Kagetora’; he was just ‘Takaya’. That was the truth.
“Secrecy is not to your interest. Who do you belong to? Oda? Shimazu? Or...”
“Who are you? If you want to know, why don’t you give me your name first?”
Not surprisingly, that annoyed Mikuriya. Yuzuru was self-assured. The force in his large eyes was enough to make everyone around him flinch back for a moment. He’s obstinate, Mikuriya thought inwardly, making some sort of signal to a subordinate. From the other side of the blackout curtain a female student entered carrying a liquid-filled beaker. Yuzuru flinched: something wriggled inside. It looked like green grotesquely-shaped konjac. Mikuriya seized it calmly.
“Do you know what this is?”
“...”
“An incubating demonic serpent. It was forcibly extracted from Nezu’s followers. This demonic serpent is seeking a host. Incubated within a person’s body, it will become an excellent demonic serpent after training. Its host will obey my orders.”
Even Yuzuru paled at that. He’d guessed Mikuriya’s intention.
(All the students have been infected by that thing...?)
“You too will become one of my followers.”
“Wa...wait a minute...”
“You will want to speak the truth.”
The demonic serpent wriggled grotesquely in Mikuriya’s hand. Its slimy body was around 20 centimeters (~7.9 inches) in length...it was really more leech than snake.
The students held down his struggling form, seized his jaw, and forced his mouth open. Yuzuru froze in fear. Mikuriya shoved the demonic serpent into his mouth. He couldn’t stop her...!
“Ah...guh!”
The foreign object crawled from his mouth down his throat. Yuzuru’s mind spun at the grotesque sensation. His throat bulged obscenely. Mikuriya drove the demonic serpent deeper with all her might until it finally entered Yuzuru’s body under its own power.
“Has he fainted?”
Yuzuru slumped limply. Mikuriya snorted a laugh as she wiped her hands dry on a towel a student handed her.
“No matter. He’ll speak of Ougi Takaya once he comes to. Prepare a uniform for him. We’ll use him as one of our combatants.”
Mikuriya left the room. Students saluted as she passed.
Meanwhile, Irobe and Takahashi Jouun had come to the construction site inside the gym. The excavation of the «Golden Serpent Head» had gone smoothly.
It was beneath the gym stage. Upon digger deeper, they had discovered the lid of what looked like a stone burial chamber, within which the «Golden Serpent Head» appeared to be entombed.
“Aso-dono’s testimony and a map of the old castle agreed that the wayside shrine deifying the «Golden Serpent Head» is here. Furthermore, it lies within a sarcophagus. We can only pray that the condition within is good. Here is the map.” Jouun showed Irobe the map of the old castle and gave him a rough description. The map had belonged to the Aso Clan.
“I see. This is quite a detailed map. Incidentally, what happened to Aso Koremitsu-dono after he told you of the «Golden Serpent Head»?”
“He should be on his way to Aso’s Saiganden Temple.” Jouun folded the map. “If Koremitsu-dono had not been resurrected, we would never have learned of the «Golden Serpent Head». He committed suicide by the sword at Lord Hideyoshi’s command after he was slandered by Sagara’s old retainer. I have heard he was only twelve years old. His regret must have been deep.”
While alive, both Narimasa and Kiyomasa had been patrons of Koremitsu, but after his resurrection he had cast his lot with Ootomo, his original allies.
“Koremitsu-dono will proceed with preparations at Saiganden Temple—to construct an Ootomo kingdom within the caldera.”
“The ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’.”
“Verily,” Jouun nodded.
This was the grand ritual the Ootomo were planning to perform using the entire Aso region.
This was Ootomo’s true objective. It would turn the caldera, which was once said to be a lake, into a gigantic dam with the vast amounts of spiritual power they were accumulating.
The ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’ was the magic they would use to construct this dam. It was magnificent magic which would collect and fuse the spiritual might of the sun and the volcano’s magma into a special substance called the ‘spell cornerstone’. They would then construct an embankment in the caldera which would become the dam, and stockpile it to the brim with this fused high-level spiritual power. Once the ritual was performed, the power of fused sun and magma—‘sun power’ would be ready to hand whenever it was needed. Furthermore, since sun and magma were inexhaustible resources, however much was used, more would gush up like spring water in everlasting renewal.
This ‘sun power’ could be used for anything. It would increase the power of weapons tremendously. Wherever magma flowed was vulnerable to its reach. It could even activate magma. If gathered into a spot beneath the earth and detonated, it would be possible to knock away the Shimazu stronghold in a single blow.
The Ootomo intended to use the «Golden Serpent Head» as the cornerstone of the ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’.
The «Golden Serpent Head» was like a snake spirit in its disposition; it had the power to draw spirits to it like a magnet, though in reality it more easily gathered the ghosts’ energy than the ghosts themselves. It was the perfect foundation for the ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’, which would gather the spiritual might of sun and magma. Since Mikuriya’s infiltration of Old Castle High School, the «Golden Serpent Head»’s magnetism had quickly gained impetus. This was what had driven Kumamoto’s spiritual magnetic field mad.
Once the ‘sun power’ dam was finished, Ootomo Sourin intended to make this his kingdom.
“The Christian country which was Lord Sourin’s aim when he was alive?”
Jouun’s hands stilled, and he turned to Irobe with a suddenly serious look. Irobe returned it.
“I have heard Lord Sourin intends to establish many churches within Aso’s Bouchuu ruins. That he would grant sun power to the Christians and unite all Christian spirits as his supporters. In this way he intends to unify the «Yami-Sengoku»”
“You have heard correctly, Irobe-dono.”
“Did Lord Sourin really intend to build a Christian kingdom during his lifetime? Is that why he remains in this world? And you as well?”
“When it comes to the Christian faith...we cannot interfere,” Jouun said.
At his zenith, Ootomo Sourin governed the six provinces of northern Kyuushuu as the ‘King Who Quelled the West’ [Chinzei-ou].
In a display of his superior foresight, he enriched his economy by voluntarily trading with foreign countries. Further, he was blessed with vassals famed as being the greatest in Kyuushuu. Tachibana Dousetsu, Takahashi Jouun, and Tachibana Muneshige: their strength raised Ootomo to the pinnacle of power in Kyuuhsuu.
But the conqueror’s glory was short-lived.
The cause was Sourin’s own corruption. Addicted to prosperity and splendor, he indulged in selfishness and whims, craved fortune, pursued pleasure, and immersed himself in an indolent lifestyle. His strategist Tachibana Dousetsu’s remonstrations got through to him not at all. While he was thus engaged, the state of affairs in Kyuushuu changed moment by moment. Ryuuzouji’s disaffection and Shimazu’s onslaught quickly put the Ootomo on precarious footing. The Hyuuga campaign was a failure, particularly at the Battle of Mimi River where Ootomo suffered a crushing defeat that resulted in 20,000 dead. It declined with the rapidity of a object tumbling downhill.
Its decline also had much to do with Christianity. Sourin joined the Christian faith with the aim, among others, of using the missionaries to expand his foreign trade; but as time went on he became completely absorbed by his new religion and encouraged its propagation within his territories. He built one church after another until he finally reached the point of tyranny and burned down Buddhist temples in battle. It intensified the religious conflict within his own family, and was said to have led to the disaffection of his vassals.
He was baptized in the sixth year of Tenshou (1578). That year, Sourin personally led an expedition into Hyuuga in order to establish a Christian kingdom in Mushika, but suffered a crushing defeat at Taka Castle on the Mimi River. His plans failed. Seeing their chance, Shimazu began their invasion into Ootomo territory.
Now that he’d been resurrected, Sourin apparently intended to found his never-realized Christian kingdom, his earthly paradise, in Aso.
“...Do you think it has the touch of delusion, Irobe-dono?” Jouun queried in a rather somber voice. “I grant you...in our previous lives, when my lord began to speak of a Hyuuga campaign, I too thought it a dream. Our country was sinking; what was this talk of a Christian kingdom? Everyone was opposed.”
It had seemed like Sourin was trying to escape into that ideal, that delusion, from dark clouds and rifts spreading through his family. Jouun had believed that that was the case.
“But I feel as though I can understand my lord’s fixation on Christianity.”
“...”
“Dousetsu-dono was always with my lord.”
He was speaking of Tachibana Dousetsu.
Dousetsu, Ootomo’s strategist, had been with Sourin ever since the fight for succession called the ‘Ootomo Upstairs Collapse’ and propped up the clan as Sourin’s right arm. He was a paragon of a general: both an exceptional person and a superb military man. Irobe could personally attest to the truth of that statement now that he had met the man.
“Dousetsu-dono was perhaps too heavy for my lord.”
“Too heavy?”
“Yes. Heavy, or...too splendid, too perfect. Too strong. My lord distanced himself from Dousetsu-dono and drove him away to Tachibana Castle, furthest from Bungo. He avoided Dousetsu-dono, and it somehow seemed to me as if he always feared him.”
“He feared that he might be supplanted?”
“No,” Jouun shook his head. “He would rather have died than supplanted our lord. Dousetsu-dono was thoroughly loyal. He would never have deserted our lord. Our lord understood that. But that made him feel even worse.”
“The heavy pressure...of too much perfection—is that it?”
Jouun nodded faintly. “There was no shadow of Dousetsu-dono in the Christian creed or culture. Perhaps he wished to prove himself superior. Maybe he wanted to demonstrate this fact... By building a kingdom with his own hands that...was without a trace of meddling from Dousetsu-dono.”
Irobe gazed silently at Jouun’s profile.
“If that was the case, then I feel I can understand why he was so fixated on a Christian kingdom. Though I’m probably thinking too much...”
“...Dousetsu-dono is at Kawara Peak, isn’t he?”
“By my lord’s command,” Jouun answered. “He really wanted to take command of our troops in Aso, but our lord forced responsibility of the construction of the ‘Destroyer of Provinces’ on him. There is no reason someone else cannot build the ‘Destroyer of Provinces’. My lord did not want him to interfere.”
The ‘Destroyer of Provinces’ was the name of a cannon Sourin obtained via his European trade and which he used at Usuki’s Niujima Castle to repel Shimazu Iehisa. Sourin was reconstructing this weapon as a ‘spirit-cannon’ using the soil of Kawara Peak.
“When Dousetsu-dono was resurrected...I believe my lord...felt that heavy pressure in his heart again.”
As he thought of the two people in question, Jouun breathed a sigh. Irobe withheld further comment. There are many types of lord and retainers, he thought.
Relationships between people controlled the rises and falls of a province, which were rooted in subtleties of feeling only those concerned could understand.
Thus a ruined province. Thus a master who lost his head... A lord and retainer relationship dragged out over four hundred years.
“The Kingdom of Aso...huh?” Irobe sighed to himself.
Just then vice president Ozaki arrived and addressed them. Jouun responded, “Gorou? What is the situation outside? Is the crowd dispersed?”
“There was an odd person interspersed among them.”
“What?” They both stared at him.
Ozaki responded with a dubious expression: “He said he knows Ougi Takaya; my lady’s suggestion did not work on him. My lady is personally conducting the investigation.”
“What? What is this person’s name?”
“I believe he said... Narita Yuzuru...”
“Narita Yuzuru...!”
Jouun noted Irobe’s sudden change in color.
“Do you know him?”
“Ah...no...”
Irobe knew about Yuzuru. Naoe had told him about Yuzuru being Kagekatsu’s reincarnation and about his true shape, as well as the fact that Nobunaga’s ‘Seed of the Demon King’ was implanted in him.
“What has Julia-sama done with this person?”
“She planted a demonic serpent in him. He’ll be brainwashed shortly.”
This is bad, Irobe thought.
Narita Yuzuru became a soldier of Ootomo.
When Yuzuru awoke, he was dressed in an Old Castle High School uniform and incorporated into a troop with the other students.
(This is weird,) Yuzuru thought. The demonic serpent had gone into his body, but it seemed he wasn’t quite like the other students. Yuzuru patted himself. (Isn’t that thing why everyone is so obedient?)
Fortunately half of Irobe’s worries proved unfounded. The demonic serpent had not brainwashed Yuzuru.
He didn’t know what he should do, so in the end he joined the others. It was convenient for finding Takaya, he decided. Yuzuru acted like he was brainwashed and participated in the students’ training and other routines.
It was amazing.
(I...I have ESP!)
It was an amazing power. So this was psychokinesis? He could lift a large desk without even touching it. Yuzuru felt like a kid in a candy store.
(Wow. This is amazing. Absolutely amazing...)
If was like he’d become one of Takaya’s circle. He could use «power». And wield it so easily.
(Now I can fight like Takaya and the others!)
His helplessness had mortified him so much. He hated that he couldn’t help Takaya. But now he could. With this power he could fight for Takaya.
The surrounding students regarded Yuzuru with surprise. No one else could handle their «power» with such ease.
“Magnificent...”
Mikuriya, who had come to inspect the training, was astonished by Yuzuru’s aptitude. He was the ideal soldier; there was no one better. Yuzuru hadn’t revealed anything else about Takaya, but that was a trivial matter. She was not about to give up a soldier of this caliber.
“Gorou, assign him to 2-A’s first unit. Placing him at an essential point will net us incredible battle gains. He’ll be helpful to us. I leave the rest to you,” Mikuriya said to the unit leader, before leaving with her following.
A short time later, Irobe Katsunaga entered the classroom. The students knew he was Mikuriya’s guest.
“I have been requested by student council president Mikuriya to bring Narita Yuzuru. Please send for him.”
The students immediately called Yuzuru out of his training without the least suspicion.
(What’s going on...?) Yuzuru wondered warily, scrutinizing this man who was obviously not of the school. Instead of taking Yuzuru to the executive offices, Irobe led him into the empty darkroom. Yuzuru became uneasy as the door shut behind them. He wondered if they had seen through his acting.
“Wh, what do you want?” Yuzuru’s eyes were round and startled. “What do you want with me? Tell me right now.”
“... As I suspected, you’re immune to the demonic serpent.”
“!” Yuzuru instinctively struck out with his will, but the man dispersed it with a «goshinha». (My will...!)
“So you’ve gained the «power», but have not been brainwashed. Incredible.”
“Wh, what the hell do you want?! Who are you? A teacher in this school?!”
“Shh! You don’t have to be worried. I’m your friend.”
Huh? went Yuzuru’s expression.
Irobe assumed a serious expression once more and told him in low voice, “I’m a friend of Ougi Takaya. My name is Irobe Katsunaga.”
“Irobe...”
Yuzuru recognized that name from Takaya and the others.
He was stunned.
“Irobe...Katsunaga...”
Comments
Ah! Yuzuru! I'm so happy he
Ah! Yuzuru! I'm so happy he has finally returned to the main story. I love his friendship with Takaya and want them to reunite quickly. Especially because of this new information about Naoe, Takaya needs a friend now more than ever.
It'll be interesting
It'll be interesting to see how Yuzuru develops now that he has powers of his own (and possibly gains more agency because of it?)
Me too! But I can just see
Me too! But I can just see Takaya getting upset at Yuzuru for getting more integrated into the Yami-sengoku world. I know he wants him to live a normal life but it's too late for that.