The highest point of the Middle Peak was on the outer rim surrounding the eastern half of the crater at 1520 m (~4987 ft), part of an ancient crater wall. The present crater was 200 m (~656 ft) lower, halfway down the mountain.
On the southern side of the crater was an old crater floor called ‘Sunasenri’ [Thousand Li of Sand]. It was devoid of vegetation due to frequent eruptions and releases of gases, and the bleak scene of tumbling volcanic rocks and lapilli, large and small, distinctly illustrated the grim face of a mountain of fire.
The crater was so brightly lit by braziers and lights that from the summit it felt as if they were watching a play being staged from above.
Their Miike bird-people rescuers had brought Tetsuya and Takaya up to the summit of the Middle Peak. They could see that the crater’s east observatory, a little below them, was crowded with guards, but for now they had escaped detection in the darkness.
“...The volcano is beginning to spew ash,” muttered Nagashima Atsushi, son of Takachiho’s ‘Tomb-Protector’, as he looked down at the crater. “This is bad. At this rate we’ll have a full-scale eruption on our hands.”
“Ougi.”
After having received first-aid for his injuries, Takaya came to stand next to Tetsuya. Norihiko and his company, who had been badly injured, went on ahead down the mountain. There remained eighteen Miike bird-people, Tetsuya, Shichirou, and the panther, who caught up with them under his own power.
“How does it look? Is it moving?”
“Even at Frost Shrine
we could sense that something was wrong with the Middle Peak. Once night fell there was a sudden shift.”
“That makes sense.”
It was blindingly obvious at this short distance. The wild surge of spiritual power made their hearts pound. It felt as if they were standing in a strong headwind.
“I never thought so many people would be able to fly. Uncle knows how to perform the Method of Bird-Flight?”
“It surprised us, too. But since we haven’t had the practice, we probably won’t be able to fly for very long. The Spirit-Protector is supporting us from below.”
There was no way for the Celebrants to know that Enoki’s spirit had possessed Haruya to grant them this power. Takaya didn’t care about any of that. He stared through binoculars at the movement around the crater and at Kusasenri, making various calculations.
News of the bird-people’s appearance had apparently reached strategic headquarters at the crater, where defense shifted to anti-air measures. Many floodlights were set up, and searchlights scanned the sky. The rocky ridge to the east, where Takaya and the others were located, came under special scrutiny. Soldiers would soon be on their way up. They could not stay where they were.
A large ritual platform had been set up near the crater. That was where Kihachi’s head, the cornerstone, would be. So much power had collected in the area that it was enveloped in a white mist of spiritual energy.
“The incantation is far advanced, but there is a lot of confusion down there.” Takaya touched the communication shell in his ear. “Kiyomasa, answer if you can hear me. Where are you?”
Kiyomasa had launched a bold attack, and he had almost reached Kusasenri. A considerable number of soldiers remained stationed there, however. They exchanged information and looked at their watches. —It was three in the morning. If they tarried too long, they wouldn’t make it before dawn.
(We have no choice but to make a play.)
“We’ll divide into two groups and take down the support platforms in old Bouchuu. I need you to prepare yourselves to fly all the way to the bottom,” Takaya said in a low voice. “We’ll launch an assault against the ritual platforms.”
The main camp at Kusasenri was in an uproar.
Kiyomasa’s army’s furious advance finally reached Kusasenri, and the mountain quickly became the scene of a fierce battle.
“No retreat! Attack, attack, attack!”
The 500 soldiers led by Kiyomasa charged forward at a blistering pace, as if the only thing on their minds was to attack. Kiyomasa himself was at their head, swinging his single-sided sickle spear with its blazing ‘Glory to the Lotus Sutra’, taking down every soldier in his path. The soldiers of Higo fighting at Kiyomasa’s side valiantly beat back Ootomo to keep up with him.
“Keep going! Our goal is the Middle Peak! We’ll drive right through them—!”
Graaah—!
War cries and angry roars reverberated around the mountain. Kiyomasa, with the bandage wrapped around his head fluttering like a headband, was fighting as if this were his very own stage.
“Don’t stop! Go, go!”
Meanwhile, Aso Koremitsu appeared to have decided on Kusasenri as his battlefield.
“Here they come—! Stand your ground!”
Their defense was solid. When Kiyomasa charged, they were well-prepared to receive him.
“Graaah—!”
However, a new attack came from another direction with perfect timing.
"They’re in the sky! The enemy is attacking from the sky...!
“What?!”
Miike’s bird-people swooped down on them from behind Eboushi Peak, carpeting Kusasenri with bomb-like objects. They were called ‘flaming stones’, a spiritual substance one step less refined than luminous flame stones. They were dropped into the midst of the Ootomo soldiers, their explosions sending the soldiers flying. The Kusasenri camp descended into chaos in no time at all.
“Drop them! Shoot them down with arrows! Where are the guns?!”
The soldiers fired their guns at the bird-people, but they were flying too fast to present easy targets. They shifted their attack from Kusasenri to old Bouchuu, where the New Uesugi were assembled. Naoe and the others spotted the fliers.
“Are those... Himuka cultists...?!”
Under orders from Takaya, the bird-people mercilessly peppered the Uesugi with flaming stones. Some of the supporting platforms were blown away. Bird-people with torches splashed kerosene and started fires, which spread quickly across the dry field.
“Guh!”
Naoe and the others ducked for cover as flames erupted.
“Put out the fires! Soldiers, cast «shields»! Hold fast and protect the supporting platforms!”
“Naoe-sama, if this continues, we will not be able to continue the ritual!”
“Do not stop! Any interruption will destabilize the crater platform! Concentrate on protecting the supporting platforms; the ritual must continue!”
“Supreme commander!” Yoshie had returned from Kusasenri. He jumped out of the car, face pale. “Katou Kiyomasa’s army has invaded Kusasenri!”
“What?!”
Kusasenri had descended into a battle royal. Violent clashes between ghost-soldiers had transformed the quiet, desolate field into a grand battleground in no time at all.
“Scatter the Ootomo! Rout theeeeem!”
Kiyomasa swung his spear with a vengeance. Its sickle blade gained steadily in power as it preyed on Ootomo soldiers, who responded in kind, resulting in fierce fights to the death. Bellows, screams, and the sound of guns quickly filled the air in the bosom of Eboushi Peak.
“Do not back down! They must not be allowed to advance! Take them take them take them—!” Koremitsu urged his soldiers hoarsely from Komatate Hill. However, the bird-people’s attacks showed no sign of abating, and Ootomo’s large numbers only increased the confusion. The momentum was very much with Kiyomasa and his small force. Unable to watch any longer, Koremitsu dashed down the hill.
“Stop their advance! Not even Kiyomasa-dono can be allowed to pass!”
“Graaaah—!”
Kiyomasa charged, whirling his single-sided sickle spear like a windmill. Koremitsu drew his sword and confronted him. Kiyomasa didn’t know his opponent was Koremitsu; he was a hungry tiger in search of prey. Like a tiger he roared and raised his spear in a powerful movement. The air howled eerily. Razor whirlwinds generated by the blade engulfed the Ootomo soldiers around him, killing them in a flash. Koremitsu blocked Kiyomasa’s advance, his sword raised unflinchingly.
“Aaaah—!”
He ran at Kiyomasa. Yet, before this fearless veteran of many battles, Koremitsu was only an inexperienced young warrior. With a sharpness like bared fangs, Kiyomasa slashed upward at Koremitsu’s torso as if scooping him out.
“Guh...ugh!” Koremitsu moaned and died. Kiyomasa ran on without a backwards glance.
The smoking form of the Middle Peak soon emerged in front of him, its black plume brightly illuminated. Fire was spreading across old Bouchuu, and large shadows flew unaided through the air—.
“Oooh! Are those the Miike bird-people?” Kiyomasa exclaimed in delight as he looked up and caught sight of the fliers dropping flaming stones. The were bona fide Himuka bird-people.
“I’m counting on you, Miike!” Kiyomasa shouted as he resumed mowing down Ootomo soldiers. His inexorableness was like that of a demigod.
The «goshinha» set up at old Bouchuu by Naoe’s command acted as an anti-air attack barrier. It would withstand the bird-people’s attacks, but they could not leave the momentum of the advancing Kiyomasa forces unchecked.
“! ...Where are you going, Supreme Commander?!”
“Block off the road immediately. You’re taking command here. I’ll «exorcise» Kiyomasa!”
“You’re going to fight? You can’t, you mustn’t! You’re in no condition to face Kiyomasa!”
“Kiyomasa is kanshousha. Ootomo soldiers won’t be able to take him down even if they attacked him in a group. Only a kanshousha can stand against him. If he falls, his forces will crumble. I must go!”
“You mustn’t, Naoe-sama!”
Shaking off Yoshie’s protests, Naoe got into the car and drove at breakneck speed toward Kusasenri. Meanwhile, the bird-people continued to attack. They were, in fact, taking advantage of the situation by intensifying their aggression.
“Defend your positions! Hold fast!”
“Graaah—!”
Flames spread across Kusasenri as the fighting intensified. As Kiyomasa’s army charged forth from the barrier breach at Hot Spring Valley, they found awaiting them Ootomo forces which more than exceeded ten times their number. The concentrated attack which met them as soon as they emerged onto Kusasenri felled many.
But nothing could check Kiyomasa’s momentum. He was determined to cut a swathe from here to the top of the Middle Peak no matter what it took.
The battle for Kusasenri was bitter in the extreme.
“Guh...haaah...haah...”
Kiyomasa continued to swing his sickle spear even as he panted. He gritted his teeth and glared at the Middle Peak.
“I’m coming for you, Sourin! I’m going to cut off your head, you bastard!”
It was then that he noticed something wrong with his companions. He realized that some strange power was making the warriors vanish, and looked around wide-eyed for Kagetora.
(Who?!)
They continued to vanish as if swallowed by a razor whirlwind. Kiyomasa turned pale at the eerie hum. Someone was systematically eliminating them without even raising a sword...!
(That’s...!)
Kiyomasa had witnessed Shimazu warriors disappearing in the same way during the battle in the city. It was a technique limited to a select few—the same technique Kagetora had used: that menacing power which sent spirits to the other world!
(The «power of exorcism»!?)
Which could only be used by the Uesugi kanshousha...!
“!”
A man stood blocking Kiyomasa’s way.
His hair, usually lightly combed back, was disheveled from battle, and the trench coat covering his broad back flapped in the strong wind. He was around 30. He had handsome, clean-cut features, but his reddish-brown eyes held a wild, sharp glint. He confronted Kiyomasa suffused with a strong fighting spirit.
Kiyomasa adjusted his grip on his sickle spear and braced himself. He knew who this man was:
(Uesugi’s Yasha-shuu—...)
Julia was having a nightmare.
She had possessed Saeki Ryouko and delivered the «Golden Serpent Head» to Sourin in triumph, but in doing so had used up all her strength and collapsed. She lay now unable to move. Her soul was in tatters from defying the terrible suction of the «Golden Serpent Head», and she was unable to properly sustain consciousness. But she refused to fade away into death. Her deep-seated regrets prevented her from being purified.
Her consciousness drifted in a nightmare mingled with soldiers’ shouts of rage from Kusasenri.
Kusasenri, enveloped in flames—
(The churches...!)
So many churches burning. Fires set by pagans were burning down the churches of their kingdom. She could see the Virgin Mary behind the crimson flames, her benevolent smile scorched to keloid.
(Stop it!)
Pagan axes shattered the image of Jesus on the cross. Bright red blood splattered, smelling of iron.
She heard screams and groans, and saw a dark hole in front of her. Moans were coming from it. The stench of putrid corpses lingered in the stagnant air. Scents of corpses, blood, earth, and mold... Bodies dumped in a gruesome heap.
(I must die here in order to go to heaven.)
(I must die without losing my faith.)
(God is testing me.)
She had to die for God...
If she could not die, she was not worthy of life.
Julia reached out a hand to the raging flames devouring Mary. Her fingertips burned and blackened to carbon. The heat was like walking through hell, but Julia didn’t stop. It was not Satan’s fire searing through her—but flames of faith.
This time I’ll die for you...!
«No, don’t!»
Julia suddenly heard another woman’s voice coming from inside her body. She looked around in surprise and gasped when she realized its source. The voice belonged to Saeki Ryouko, the owner of the body.
«Faith shouldn’t be something that kills you. We have faith in order to live!»
(That’s not true!) Julia sharply retorted. (If you’re not willing to die for your faith, then you don’t truly believe. Those who renounce the teachings have no right to be forgiven by them!)
«Don’t the true teachings forgive even that? Isn’t forgiveness the true salvation?»
“This is the kind of human arrogance that kills the faithful!”
“Julia-sama!”
Ryouko screamed and suddenly rose from the bed. Her vassals involuntarily backed away at the sight of her ghastly face.
“Wh-what is amiss...?”
“The devil is in me.”
Ryouko’s—no, Julia’s eyes were shot through with anger. She tried to crush the other soul in her body...!
“Fiend, I must kill you! You are Satan, and I must kill you to stop you haunting me!”
CRASH!
All the windows shattered at once to a tremendous boom beside the building, caused by the violent explosion of a flaming stone. The assault on old Bouchuu had reached her. Julia shielded herself from the debris and looked out the window.
She could see the flames rising from old Bouchuu. Kusasenri was already a battlefield.
(Heathens have invaded the Christian kingdom.)
Julia trembled and paled.
“Our kingdom is burning... Satan and his demons want to raze our Christian kingdom!” Julia covered her face and shook her head violently. Her voice rose in a wild, shrill scream: “Is God putting us through another trial? Must we be put to the test even though we are already dead? How far must we go to prove our faith to satisfy you, O Lord!”
Julia dug her hands into her hair and screamed uncontrollably.
“O Lord! Are you so easily frightened? Is it so hard for you to believe in us? You test and test us...when will you be satisfied? I don’t know anyone as cowardly as you! Do you know how much we love you...?!”
“Julia-sama!”
“Aaaaah—!”
Julia crouched with her head in her hands. An aura the color of blood blazed from around her, resembling dozens of snakes.
(The infidels are after the «Golden Serpent Head»!)
“I won’t let you! You’ll never get your hands on it! I will protect this Christian kingdom!”
The bird-people’s attack on the Middle Peak crater had finally begun, and fighting had reached the summit.
“Attack! Attack—!”
Miike’s bird-people hurled flaming stones from the sky. However, the crater’s defenses were a tougher nut to crack. Ootomo’s anti-air measures were intense. Floods of concentrated psychic fire prevented the bird-people from getting as close to the crater as they wanted.
“Keep shooting! Bring the enemy down!”
Perhaps uneasy about Ichimata’s generalship, Sourin himself finally took charge. As soon as he stepped down from his seat, he exhorted his vassals: “Do not let them approach! Kill the enemy, kill them aaaall—!”
The prayer and austerities were reaching their climax. They were at the final stage and couldn’t afford to stop now. Ootomo shielded the spellcasters with a powerful «goshinha» and took aim at the bird-people...!
“Gwah!”
One of the bird-people was struck by a psychic gun and crashed to the ground. The anti-air fire was relentless. But the airborne forces were not the only ones attacking. While the soldiers were distracted by the air battle, Takaya and company were approaching the crater from the ground.
Under cover of darkness, Takaya and Shichirou approached from Sunasenri to the south and descended into the remnants of the fifth crater, now just a deep depression, and then climbed up the cliff, moving low to the ground. They took advantage of the rugged terrain to approach the platform while studying the battle overhead with intent detachment. From there, they could also peek at Sourin’s pavilion.
“We’ll have to make a dash for it.”
Shichirou nodded.
Wah!
Exclamations came from a group of soldiers stationed a short distance away on the east side of the first crater. The panther had launched a preemptive strike.
“What?!”
“The enemy is attacking from ground-level as well!”
The panther brought down the soldiers in the area with the quickness of a lightning strike and then tore out the throat of the spellcaster on the eastern platform. On cue, Takaya and the others stood.
“Let’s go!”
They shot up the cliff.
“What?!”
Soldiers recoiled from the black shadow bounding from the cliff, and Takaya immediately blasted them with «ressa-choubuku» while Shichirou pounded away at them with his will. A full-scale battle began around the crater.
Takaya made the ritual gesture and concentrated his will.
“For this demon subjugation, lend me thy demon-conquering sword!”
A sharp plasma surrounded Takaya, and sent charging Ootomo soldiers flying. The power gathered in Takaya’s hand quickly gained weight, transformed into matter, and became a magnificent sword. This blade, which felt so familiar in his hand, was Uesugi’s sword of exorcism, the ‘Sword of Bishamonten’.
“Oooooraaaa—!”
He swung the Sword of Bishamonten as hard as he could at the oncoming enemy. The flashing blade drew a trail of plasma through the air, humming heavily, and slashed across their torsos. Ootomo soldiers disappeared as if sucked into the blade...!
“Who...who the hell is that?! Who are you?!”
The crater became a crucible of confusion as attacks came from the air and the ground.
“Tonooo!”
“Keep them away from the platforms! Protect the cornerstone! Strengthen the «goshinha» and hold fast!” Sourin drew his own sword as he shouted himself hoarse. “Kill the enemy! Kill them all!”
Fire sparks floated on the wind.
Kusasenri’s flames scorched the mountains in the night. Kiyomasa and Naoe faced each other on the plains that had been transformed into a battlefield amidst roars and bellows. The heat-infused wind ruffled Kiyomasa’s black hair.
“Step aside, Uesugi Yasha-shuu.”
Naoe raised his eyebrows. So Kiyomasa knew. Kiyomasa held his sickle spear by his side, suffused with fighting spirit. He yelled, “Did you hear me? Get out of the way!”
“I cannot allow you to go any further,” Naoe said resolutely. “You are Katou Kiyomasa of Higo Kumamoto? So Earthquake Katou has become Nobunaga’s pawn after resurrection. You have fallen far.”
“How dare you speak thus to me? You’re Kenshin’s dog. Pawn? I was resurrected to protect Kumamoto from destroyers like you. I stand for Kumamoto!”
“You can drop the pretense. I know who you really are. If you take orders from one of the power players, you do as you are told without criticism. You’re a tail-wagging lapdog.”
“What did you say?” Kiyomasa’s eyes widened at the provocation. Naoe looked soberly back at him.
“Was that Nobunaga’s work, earlier? Your master is nearby, I’ll wager. So you’re a pet to Nobunaga now.”
“You bastard, how dare you run your mouth run at me...! Who do you think I am? I’m Katou Kiyomasa of Kumamoto! Katou Kiyomasa of Higo!”
“On the other side of the sea, the Hero of Higo is nothing but the chief villain.”
“!” Kiyomasa’s face changed color.
His cheeks stiffened, and he glared fiercely at Naoe.
“What did you do there? Do you know with what hate and animosity your name is spoken there even now?”
The Korea invasion—
Kiyomasa gulped.
He knew what Naoe was alluding to: Hideyoshi’s expedition to the continent. Called the Bunroku-Keichou Campaign, it was a war of aggression that Japan had waged four hundred years ago.
Hideyoshi, who had completed his subjugation of Kyuushuu, had set his sights on the continent as his next target: ‘conquest of the Ming’. The invasion of Korea, as his first step towards this goal, led to two major crossings and raids stretching over a period of seven years. Hideyoshi’s immense power and influence dispatched various successive daimyo to the Korean front. Kiyomasa fought in both the first and second invasions at the head of the daimyo leading their huge armies.
But it had been a reckless war from its conception. The Korean forces resisted fiercely, and the Ming came to their rescue. Awaiting them had been a bitter battle in the mud.
(I never knew a harder war.)
Kiyomasa himself knew of no other battle in which the future had been so opaque. His memories of glory were blurred amidst suffering. The most painful had been the siege of Ulsan Castle, which was considered to have been decisive in Japan’s defeat.
Kiyomasa had looked upon hell. The combined Ming-Korean forces had fallen upon a partially-constructed castle already deprived of provisions, then seized their water supply stations and left them in a state of abject starvation, like something depicted in a picture of hell.
Somehow he’d managed to make it back to Japan with his life...
Even Kiyomasa, who worshiped Hideyoshi, could not deny that the invasion of Korea had been ill-advised. Ieyasu was right to be critical. Later generations had speculated about the aim of the venture, but no calculation could make it any less unrealistic. This war wrought by Hideyoshi’s megalomania was held up as being representative of the deadly sin of power.
But upon whom had the true harm fallen?
During the war, Hideyoshi ordered the noses of Korean generals to be sent to him instead of heads. As many as 100,000 noses were sent as proof of distinguished war service. Even now there remained a ‘burial mound for severed ears’ near Houkou Temple in Kyoto where the ears and noses sent home from this war were buried.
“You did terrible things. You cut off the noses and ears of not only soldiers but women and children. You butchered, massacred, pillaged, and torched. You trafficked in slaves. You brought prisoners of war back to Japan and enslaved them. Tell me, what was the point of going to such lengths?”
Kiyomasa fell silent for lack of a response. What they had done was recorded in Korea Day by Day by Keinen, a monk medic from Usuki, Bungo.
Kiyomasa gritted his teeth painfully and retorted, “...That was what it was like in those days, wasn’t it? Slave trafficking, cutting off people’s ears—they were a matter-of-course in the Sengoku! That was life in an era of war. As if you have any right to condemn me. Kenshin also took slave trafficking for granted!”
Naoe shut his mouth. Kiyomasa repeated emphatically, “The righteous warlord dealt in slaves, too. If you didn’t thoroughly crush your enemies, you yourself was killed. Today’s moral standards were invalid in that era. There were no laws to protect people. The weak weren’t even considered human beings. You had to reek of blood—you had to cover yourself in blood to survive! To condemn people of the past using modern-day justice is nonsense. In that case, past-you are just as guilty!”
Kiyomasa had a point. Past Naoe was guilty, too. However—
“Yet what you did, Kiyomasa, couldn’t be wholly blamed on the era.”
Kiyomasa choked.
“What you did in Korea is known as the ‘Nightmare of Imjin’ and has been spoken of from one generation to the next with hatred. You see, your invasion of Korea was a grand genocide. It is a symbol of Japanese violence that will never be erased from their blood-memories. They still remember, Kiyomasa.”
Kiyomasa’s eyes widened.
“For all these long years, your name has symbolized a race’s evil. It will remain so. In Korea, they still bear a grudge towards you for your invasion hundreds of years after your death.”
The crimes of the Yamato Kiyomasa, who once put Korea to the torch—
Blood-bitterness went deep. It did not fade so easily. The atrocities committed by the invaders would never be forgotten. There was no blaming such malice on the era...!
A symbol of ethnic evil—...
Kiyomasa glared at Naoe, biting his lower lip.
“—What would you have had me do?”
“...”
“It wasn’t just me—many other daimyo participated! I could not defy his Excellency the Taikou; doing so would have meant my own end. All the daimyo were afraid—we had no choice but to obey, though we knew it was a reckless venture. What could I do? I loved his Excellency the Taikou. I revered and admired him from childhood! He ruled the country, and there was no longer any voice that could reach him, not even mine. The only thing I could do was to work single-mindedly towards fulfilling his wishes. I knew everyone would give up on him sooner or later. But whatever happened, I wanted to be one of his men. To stand with him...!”
Naoe looked skeptically on Kiyomasa’s excuses. Kiyomasa himself knew those were not the only reasons. He had burned for the invasion. He had set off joyfully.
Kiyomasa couldn’t stand Naoe’s telling silence. He clenched his fist so hard his nails broke through skin.
“How could you understand?! You turned your back on your master of four hundred years as if it were nothing!”
“!”
“You’re the New Uesugi who allied yourselves with Ootomo, aren’t you, Kenshin’s watchdogs?! Ah yes, the hatred of the people. Your ignorance is about to sink Kyuushuu to the bottom of the sea. Did you really think the «Golden Serpent Head» could be a cornerstone?”
“What? What do you mean, Kiyomasa?”
“The «Golden Serpent Head» is not the head of a serpent.”
With the flames of the approaching fire at his back, Kiyomasa stated emphatically, “It’s the head of a man named Kihachi—the head of an indigenous hero of this land who was invaded by the people of Yamato!”
Naoe goggled. “What?!”
“Many onryou of the ancient Himuka people are sealed inside. And that’s not all; it also holds every conceivable kind of spirit from Kumamoto. If you use it as a cornerstone, Aso will be blown away, and Kyuushuu itself will be torn in half!”
“!” Naoe gasped and turned to the Middle Peak. Its plume had increased extraordinarily. The battle had already begun.
“It’s too late. Kagetora-dono’s assault has already begun.”
“Wh...at...!” Naoe choked, eyes wide.
“He—Kagetora-sama came?! To the Middle Peak?!”
“The ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’ will not reach completion!”
Kiyomasa swung his sickle spear dramatically. The razor whirlwind generated by the blade sliced through the ground.
“You will die here, Uesugi!” Kiyomasa roared, and lashed out with his will.
It exploded violently between them as Naoe shielded himself with a «goshinha».
(I have no choice but to «exorcise» him...!)
His body could not yet withstand battle of any intensity. It would take a considerable amount of energy to «exorcise» Kiyomasa. But this man was dangerous. He had to be «exorcised».
“Oooryaaaa—!”
Kiyomasa swung his spear. Naoe «shielded» himself. As he was about to form the ritual gesture—
RUMBLE
The ground shook—shook so hard that it tossed them off their feet. Naoe and Kiyomasa turned to the Middle Peak in surprise. It looked strange...
(Kagetora-sama!)
“Graaaah—!” Takaya shouted, swinging the Sword of Bishamonten in obliterating arcs in a fierce battle to the death. But Ootomo soldiers stood like a wall; he would not be able to break through so easily.
Bang bang! came a series of explosions as the Miike bird-people hurled flaming stones.
“Do not falter! Protect the main platform! The ritual is almost complete—a few minutes more! Strengthen the barrier around the cornerstone!”
“Tono! Souun-dono’s reinforcements are—!”
Warriors were pouring in from the old crater wall on the east side of the crater. Souun’s men were rushing to his assistance.
“Aah! They’re here at last!”
Shichirou saw them as well.
“Sa-Saburou-sama! The enemy!”
“Feh!” Takaya tched and swung the Sword of Bishamonten fiercely. Ootomo appeared to be throwing its soldiers at him like a human wave. But they couldn’t retreat despite the increased numbers. They couldn’t retreat until they had stopped the ritual and destroyed Kihachi’s head...!
(The spiritual power of the crater is increasing.)
Spiritual energy gushed like volcanic gas from beneath their feet. The ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’ neared its completion.
“Tetsuya! Gather the Kusasenri bird-people at the crater! Concentrate their attack on the crater!” Takaya bellowed into the communication shell he wore like an intercom. Tetsuya was on the Middle Peak’s summit, transmitting Takaya’s instructions like a control tower instead of underfoot in the middle of the fighting.
“Got it!”
The bird-people soon returned from Kusasenri, perhaps ten or so joining in the fierce attack from the skies over the crater. But the cornerstone was wrapped in a stout barrier, rendering their hits nigh ineffective.
(Damn it...!)
Takaya’s stamina was at its limit. It was getting harder to lift his limbs. His eyes were blurring, making him dizzy. The only thing moving him now was willpower.
(Until the head is destroyed.)
“Why have you not overrun them?!”
“My lord! There is someone wielding a strange sword. Our forces are being wiped out!”
“A strange sword?!”
Sourin didn’t know it was the Sword of Bishamonten. He could not have imagined that a splinter of his allies the Uesugi could have launched this assault against him. The one who thought of the possibility was not Sourin, but Ichimata.
(Isn’t that «choubukuryoku»?)
“Uwaaah!”
Shichirou tumbled down the crater cliff with a scream. Takaya looked over his shoulder, but didn’t have time for anything more.
“Gah!”
Takaya was dealt a glancing blow by a psychic attack and fell to the ground. A warrior swung his sword down at him. Takaya instantly struck him with the Sword of Bishamonten, but though the warrior was injured, he didn’t vanish. Takaya looked at his sword in surprise. —Its power had fallen.
(It can no longer sustain «choubukuryoku».)
The Sword of Bishamonten held the energy of «exorcism» within itself. He had never seen this happen before. Was its «choubukuryoku» weakening? Takaya’s face tightened as he panted. This was not good..!
Ooooo—!
Warriors rushed at him. Takaya quickly made the ritual gesture and switched to «ressa-choubuku».
“ (bai)!”
With a swoosh the howling possessor spirits were expelled to the other world. But there was another enemy right behind him, sword swinging. He couldn’t avoid it! But on the wings of that thought came a flaming stone from the sky that completely blew the enemy away...!
“I’ll cover you here! Get the cornerstone!”
Takaya nodded at Atsushi and dashed off. Bird-people protected him from the sky. In Takaya’s hand, the Sword of Bishamonten was regaining its strength.
(Just a little farther...!) Takaya desperately slashed at his enemies. (Lend me strength, Bishamonten!)
“Strengthen the barrier, don’t let them approach!”
Takaya finally appeared in front of Sourin. Gasping for breath, Takaya glared straight at him. A single glance seemed enough for Sourin to discern he was no ordinary man.
“Who the hell are you...?!”
“Are you Ootomo Sourin?” Takaya demanded in a hushed voice. “Stop the ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’ right now. If you continue, something terrible will happen!!”
“What the hell are you talking about?!” Sourin stood blocking Takaya’s way to the crater with his sword at the ready. “Are you Oda? Shimazu?!”
“Stop it right now! The «Golden Serpent Head» you plan to use as your cornerstone is not the head of a serpent, but a head with the onryou of the ancient Himuka sealed within. If you use it as your cornerstone, the Middle Peak will be blown to pieces!”
“Nonsense. Did you really think I would fall for such a story?”
“It’s the truth!”
“Why should I pay any mind to the drivel of mine enemies? Reckless fool, I will personally send you to the underworld!”
Takaya tsked. Sourin was not going to listen to reason, and he didn’t have time to attempt to persuade him. He had no choice but to «exorcise» Ootomo Sourin right here.
“I must get through no matter what it takes!”
“!”
Takaya kicked off the ground with lethal intent. Sourin barely caught the downswing of the Sword of Bishamonten with his own blade. There was a tremendous flash of sparks. Both combatants went flying and tumbled onto the concrete.
BOOM
“!”
The ground rose and fell violently with a thunderous roar: a volcanic earthquake. Magma activity had intensified in response to the ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’. At the bottom of the crater, the gas-venting fumaroles expanded rapidly, and the smoke suddenly increased. Deep crimson flames blazed at the base of the smoke. Gas heated to nearly 600 degrees Celsius looked like flames in the darkness. Volcanic activity was reaching its peak.
“Uwah!”
The plume expanded so rapidly that it nearly swallowed the airborne bird-people.
“Watch out! Don’t get too close to the crater!”
The volcano made ominous rumbling noises. The ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’ climaxed with the ceaselessly repeated mantra of Ratnasambhava. The ritualists loudly chanted in unison. In response, the cornerstone took on the color of red flames.
(No! If I don’t stop them—!)
“Ooooo—!”
Takaya hammered into Sourin with the entirety of his will as the latter charged at him again. Sourin’s back crashed into the concrete wall of the shelter. He collapsed, spraying blood. The way opened up in front of Takaya; he could see the main platform. The «Golden Serpent Head» was there as well.
“I’m ending it right now!”
Takaya gathered his remaining power to destroy Kihachi’s head. Ichimata howled in desperation, “Everyone, take that man down!”
“!”
The Ootomo soldiers launched a concentrated and simultaneous attack on Takaya. Takaya curled into himself, unable to hold up against a psychic assault about to rip him to pieces. Atsushi saw him and screamed, “Ougi-san! —Everyone, cover him! Protect him!”
As everyone’s attention was drawn to Takaya, a bird-person flew toward them from Kusasenri at tremendous speed. The Miike thought it was one of their own and gave no alarm, but the woman was not a Miike.
“Heathens! You will not be allowed to interfere!”
“What?!”
It was Saeki Ryouko. Julia flew at full speed straight for the main altar...!
“My...mys looooord...!”
The bird-people were slow to react to this unexpected ambush. Julia easily swatted them away and grabbed desperately at Kihachi’s head. She flew to the crater rim with the perfervid skull in her arms, uncaring of her burning skin. Takaya’s breath caught.
“Don’t, you mustn’t!”
“Julia!”
I praise thee, O Lord.
“Lord, give us light—!”
Julia dove to the bottom of the crater and threw Kihachi’s head into the magma of the fire pit.
!
With a thunderous roar, the Middle Peak explosively erupted.