“Ash is the mountain’s tears.”

—Falling on the land of Aso.

That was what his mother had once said, holding out her hand to catch ash from the Middle Peak.

“The mountain is crying again.”

“The eruption is the mountain’s scream.”

His father had said the same thing. Eruptions were not the wrath of the earth, but a lamentation.

Screaming, in long sorrow, for the loss of itself and the world.

Pointing to the billowing smoke of Middle Peak, his father had told him, “That’s an eruption.”

And that the ‘ash’ being spewed out was the earth’s tears.

“That’s why it’s so sad.”

It fell from the desolate winter sky just like snow.

Volcanic ash piled on the earth.

The earth’s lamentation...

“It is a lamentation.”

 
Before Tetsuya lay a nightmarish scene.

The mountain exploded with a tremendous roar. Growing at an alarming rate, a huge, monstrous plume of smoke billowed upward with ferocious force. A massive amount of cinders rose high into the sky, trailing white tails as they fell. The yellow plume turned into a slanting pyroclastic surge.

At the summit, Tetsuya clutched his head and fell prone at the moment of explosion.

Aaa...aaaaah!"

Lightning flashed at eye-level—brilliant volcanic lightning which cut sharply through the dense fumes. Tetsuya involuntarily recoiled.

“I can’t...believe...this...”

The plume engulfed the bird-people almost instantly. Ejecta large and small mercilessly pounded Takaya and the others. Hot air and cinders, and a deafening roar. Even though the crater was 150 meters deep and four kilometers (~492 ft x 2.5 miles) in diameter, ordinary people would not be able to handle an eruption this close. Tetsuya panicked and shouted frantically, “Ougiii! Everyone—!”

But the Middle Peak was not done. The earth’s rumbling grew even louder.

“What?!”

A large volcanic earthquake hit the Middle Peak. It lasted for a long time. Tetsuya gasped again. The rumbling was coming not only from the Middle Peak, but from the surrounding area as well. As if every mountain was wailing.

“!” Tetsuya recoiled: it felt as if a huge snake were slithering beneath his feet. “Now what?!”

It was magma slithering beneath his feet. The next moment, Tetsuya saw a sharp crack run through the bottom of crater #4, once called the ‘southern pond’, located to the south of crater #1. White smoke erupted from the crack...!

(Oh crap...!) He could see magma in the cracks running in all directions, red as blood. (Shit!)

There suddenly came a terrible rupturing sound from somewhere in the distance. He looked up to see a violent plume of smoke rising from the mountain to the west.

Ki...Kishima Peak is!"

Kishima Peak erupted. It was followed in turn by a roar from its neighbor, Oujou Peak, and a series of ominous noises from various locations. Tetsuya paled.

“No way—the old volcano—the old volcano is—”

There was a chain of explosions as the anomaly in the Middle Peak triggered eruptions in other long-dormant volcanoes. Even the adjacent Narao Peak had a white plume rising from it. Even Eboushi Peak, which cradled Kusasenri.

Tetsuya looked straight down with an exclamation. Crater #4’s fissure was widening. He could see the magma bulging up like mochi. Oh shit, it was about to explode...!

“Eeek...!”

Tetsuya cowered with his head in his hands.

BOOM!

There was a tremendous crash and impact, as if the Earth itself had shattered. The Middle Peak exploded again. Crater #4 erupted. The force of it was so great ejecta reached even Tetsuya.

(Damn it...!)

Takaya was on the ground, shielding himself from oncoming ejecta and the scorching wind with a «goshinhagoshinha (護身波)

Lit. "wave of self-protection"; the goshinha is a protective mesh spun from fine strands of spiritual energy which surrounds the caster and protects from an opponent's spiritual as well as physical attacks. The mesh gains strength and stability when it is multi-layered and becomes the goshinheki. The goshinha is Naoe's forte.».

(Kihachi’s head is—!)

Kihachi’s power was reacting to the sun power being generated. Magma activity was being overstimulated, triggering the eruptions of other volcanoes. Kihachi’s head, protected by Ratnasambhava’s magical power, had not been destroyed in the volcano. If left unchecked, it would go more and more out of control...!

BANG!

“Ugh!”

A shock struck Takaya and the others with the force of a landslide. What should he do? The longer this continued, the more harm would be done. Takaya gritted his teeth in pain.

(What should I do—...?!)

 
“!”

At Kusasenri, Naoe suddenly raised his eyes.

(That was...!)

It sounded like Takaya’s voice. No, he was sure it was Takaya’s voice. Naoe whirled toward the Middle Peak. A thick pillar of smoke seemed to connect heaven and earth.

“Could it be...!”

The Kihachi’s head-induced anomaly in the magma was also causing havoc in Kusasenri. Kishima Peak erupted to his left, while a huge fissure ran through Kusasenri, itself the site of an old crater, which emitted something that looked like steam. Soon after, the summit of Eboushi Peak also began to emit smoke.

“I-is all of this because of Kihachi’s head?”

Kiyomasa paled and gulped. Surely it wasn’t yet time to throw in the cornerstone. But he couldn’t imagine anything causing this cataclysm.

“! ...Where are you going?!”

Naoe spun on his heels and took off running, his face white, uncaring of cinder or gas. He threw himself toward the Middle Peak with everything he had.

(Takaya-san!)

 
“Stop, Kihachi! Please stop!” Tetsuya wailed from the summit of the Middle Peak. “Please just stop. We’ll do anything. We’re begging you!”

His scream was completely inaudible over the roar of the volcano. Tetsuya shook his head violently, crying, “Enough! I know already! I understand you, so please stop! Please...!”

Tetsuya suddenly felt a presence and stopped.

The roar around him abruptly became muffled as if a filter had been placed over it, startling Tetsuya. He felt as if he had been cut off from the reality in front of him.

He looked to the western sky, to someone flying toward him. The figure was very far away, but Tetsuya recognized her. It was a girl about his own age, dressed as a shrine maiden—

“Hokage—...”

Asara was flying toward him. Miike Hokage.

Blood stained her sides, but she flew steadily on the power Yasuo’s spirit had given her. She had used up the last of her strength to come this far.

Asara flew in front of Tetsuya as if swimming, quietly bowed in midair, and pointed at the crater.

And then—

The Miike bird-people, who had been engulfed by the eruption, emerged from crater surrounded by a light like the luminous flame stone. All were alive. Among them was Saeki Ryouko.

“You—...” Tetsuya asked hoarsely, “You protected them?”

Asara gave no answer. She delivered them to Tetsuya and turned away to fly through the ejecta towards the crater...! Tetsuya came back to himself with a start.

“Stop! What are you doing, Asara?! Stop, please stop!” he screamed like someone deranged. Don’t go, Hokage! Hokageee! Hokageeee—!"

Takaya and the others’ heads jerked up. The girl in the shrine maiden costume flew like a celestial maiden and landed on the sheer cliff of the western crater wall.

(Asara!)

Takaya knew what she planned. He was about to run to her when there was another explosion at his back! Takaya curled into himself. He wasn’t going to make it in time...!

Flying ejecta seemed to move away from her. Asara looked down at the crater bottom and murmured quietly, “I’m coming.”

The plume of smoke dipped slightly as if to receive her.

The girl danced from the top of the cliff toward the deepest part of the crater—to the place where the mountain’s blood seethed.

It would be her last dive.

“Ho...Hokageee—!”

FLASH!

 
Light erupted from the crater as if it had been lit by a powerful flashlight. For a moment, the entire area turned completely white.

All the Ootomo, including Ichimata, who was protecting Sourin, goggled.

(No!)

Takaya held his breath.

Kihachi’s head... The Kihachi onryouonryou (怨霊)

Lit.: "vengeful ghost"; the spirits of those who died in the Sengoku period who are still so filled with rage and hatred that they continue to exist in the world as vengeful spirits instead of being purified and reborn. swarm—that huge mass of onryou!

They were about to be be released!

 
The Himuka nation’s resurrection.

The fingers which finished composing the incantation to release Takeiwatatsu-no-mikoto’s seal dissolved in the magma.

Kihachi-sama...

The seal vanished. Embracing the skull, Asara melted into the magma.

My blood will become the blood of the earth of Aso...

Onryou awakened.

 
Uwooooo—...

Oooo—...

Uwooo—...

Oooo—...

 
The voices of tens of thousands of unknown people could be heard from the bottom of the crater.

Shrieking like Hell’s dead.

There was the eerie feeling of something gigantic rising up, and Takaya shivered. He wasn’t the only one. So did Sourin and the Ootomo soldiers.

In Kusasenri, Kiyomasa also seemed to have realized that the head had been unsealed. He collapsed to his knees, eyes wide, mumbling, “It’s...over—”

Kihachi’s head had swallowed all the spirits in the city like a black hole. All of those onryou had now been released, forming a terrifying swarm.

Having arrived at the ropeway station at the summit plaza, Naoe goggled.

“The onryou...of the ancient Himuka...”

Tens of thousands of unknown souls rose from underground, drawing magma-like paths of fire. The crater had become Hell’s own exit. Vast numbers of onryou streaked upward with fiery force, carrying their hatred with them...!

Rumble...the earth groaned terrifyingly. The hatred was thicker than gushing volcanic gas; both the will and number of onryou were overwhelming. This was the release of the Kihachi swarm!

“Waugh... !”

Scorching magma swelled from the crater. Here it came! Takaya braced himself. But things didn’t go as Takaya had anticipated—there was no explosion of pent-up onryou. Something odd was going on. They were no longer bottled up, but this was not in his calculations. Surely the seal had already been broken by Asara. And yet the onryou had not emerged...!

(Didn’t she...release them?!)

“What?!”

A scream went up from the assemblage. They could never have even imagined the scene that met their eyes.

A mass of black gas billowed and bulged strangely from the bottom of the crater. It reared its head, stretching arms and legs as it seemed to writhe.

“What the hell is that?!”

GRAOOOH—!

The monster bellowed in a terrifying voice. It emerged out of the gas, clad in black magma: a grotesque giant born from the crater. It rapidly intumesced like smoke to tower over the crater!

“It’s a giant monsteeeer!”

Ootomo’s soldiers screamed and fled. The gas giant rose, shouldering smoke and dripping scorching lava. Spewing fire sparks, writhing and roaring, it stood taller than the eastern ridge.

Tetsuya stared, dumbfounded, completely lost for words.

(Is that—Kihachi’s true form?)

Below him, Takaya likewise stared in wide-eyed disbelief. But he could see its true form.

(It’s a spirit.)

The giant was a collection of a vast number of spirits called a composite spirit.

As evidence of that, thousands of spirits floated to its surface like bubbles and sank again. Like small bubbles gathering together to form a large bubble, this was a merging of spirits...!

(How could it have...?!)

Takaya stood frozen and aghast. He had never seen a combined spirit of this scale before. Onryou sometimes assembled into a single entity due to their cause of death, but it happened only rarely. Spirits were as different as human personalities. Only a very strong and determined purpose could cause them to merge. This was clearly an anomaly. Many spirits had been trapped inside that skull: not only Himuka’s onryou, but those of Kumamoto City. How was it possible that not a single one had escaped?

(How could this have happened?)

(Why are there so many of them?)

Takaya gasped as he suddenly realized: —The «Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel»!

(Could the spiritual power of magma have fused them together?!)

Grooaah—!

The monster’s roar filled the whole of Aso. The mere sound of it was enough to cause the entire mountain to vibrate, the cliffs to collapse, and tiny human beings to be crushed.

The giant began to rage. The survivors screamed and scattered like baby spiders as they sought to escape.

“The monster is on the rampage!”

“We’re going to be killed! We’re going to be killed!”

WAAAH!

The monster flailed its grotesque arms, splattering lava as it ran amuck. It seemed to be in agony and as if it were trying to rip away the magma and volcanic gases that cloaked it. Scorching lava splattered right next to Takaya.

So that’s why, Takaya thought. The magma’s spiritual power had wrapped around the freed spirits, preventing them from scattering. The ‘Ritual of the Great Fire Wheel’ fused the spiritual power of magma and the sun, but the sun-fusion piece had been applied elsewhere.

(Has the spiritual power of magma become a glue?)

The spiritual power had turned into a bond that fused the onryou swarm into a single ‘spirit body’. The monster’s human form was probably the embodiment of the onryou-aggregate’s fused ‘personality’.

“It’s too dangerous to stay here, Saburou-sama!” Shichirou shouted, a desperate look on his face as he rushed toward Takaya.

“Run, Saburou-sama!”

Grooah!

The giant suddenly spat out a psychic blast. The eastern cliffs were blown away with a thunderous roar. It continued to shoot out its will—what terrifying will. With destructive power equivalent to a hundred-ton bomb, its assault reached even distant Kusasenri.

“Waugh!”

The ropeway station was blown away in an instant. Takaya and Shichirou withstood the blast behind «goshinha».

“Damn it!”

It was an onryou composite. Though shackled by spiritual power, its onryou nature had not changed. Hating, the monster began to wreak havoc...!

ROOOAR

ROOOAR

The giant spewed its will indiscriminately all around. A distant mountain exploded. An endless series of large earthquakes kept Takaya and Shichirou pinned and unable to regain their feet. The volcano exploded, violently splattering a large quantity of magma for kilometers around!

“Attack it with your will! Charge!”

The remaining soldiers attacked under Ichimata’s command. But it was no more than a pinprick—completely ineffective. It was obvious that they were out of their league. The giant’s will blew the Ootomo soldiers away. The ferocious destruction didn’t abate, but grew worse and worse. The spiritual power of each psychic blow was stronger than the last; instead of running out of energy, the giant continued to wreck ever greater destruction, as if it were getting the knack of this rampaging business. There was no opportunity for counterattack.

(All of Aso is going to be destroyed!)

ROOOOAR—!

The giant lumbered to the crater edge as if it were going to crawl out. Lava fell mercilessly on Takaya and Shichirou’s heads. It felt like they were inside a smelting furnace. The giant had assumed the appearance of an ancient soldier, evidence of Kihachi’s ascendant purpose.

“We can’t stay here! Run, Saburou-sama!” Shichirou screamed.

Takaya gritted his teeth and looked up at the giant, unafraid of the lava. «Barrier exorcism» was the only thing he could think of to do. However, the giant’s destructive power was now so great in its merged and rampaging state that no barrier could possibly hold it. Moreover, the number of onryou was too immense: probably more than 20,000 to 30,000. Not to mention the ancient onryou at its core. Such onryou exceeding a thousand years in age had even been called gods.

(What do I do...?!)

“Saburou-sama!”

The giant’s hand swooped down on Takaya and Shichirou!

Shichirou, who had thrust Takaya down the slope in the nick of time, had no time to affect his own escape and was crushed.

“Shichirou!”

 
“Aaa...aaah—...”

Tetsuya had watched the whole unearthly scene unfold from the summit. Behind him, the bird-people rescued by Asara similarly stared, dumbfounded. Tetsuya’s limbs trembled, and tears streamed helplessly down his face. The giant’s roar shook the mountain. Endless earthquakes felt as if they might crack the Middle Peak apart at any moment. Eyes bulging, Tetsuya shook his head over and over again as if to say, “No.”

(What should I... What should I do...?)

The giant crawled out of the crater and resumed its rampage. Mountains were blown away. Lava scorched the earth.

“!”

The giant turned and spat its will toward Tetsuya. A hot, fierce wind sent Tetsuya and the others flying. The psychic blast sailed over his head and gouged out the southern mountain. Sooner or later they would be hit and everyone killed. But there was nothing they could do. They could only witness Kihachi’s fury.

(I can’t!) Tetsuya closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. (Are we done for, then?!)

«Te-chan—...»

Tetsuya’s head jerked up. —What was that?

He heard it again. Tetsuya looked around and finally right in front of him. A haloed human figure floated upward. Tetsuya thought it was a Brocken spectre, but no: it was his sister.

Hokage’s spirit.

Tetsuya couldn’t speak.

Hokage had lost her body, and was appearing before Tetsuya now in spirit form.

«You mustn’t give up—»

She pointed at Tetsuya and told him a thing.

It surprised him.

Then he did what she told him and drew the sacred sword at his back. The useless, rusty old sword Haruya had given him.

Onikirimaru [Demon-Cutter].

This was the sword Mikenu-no-mikoto had used to cut off Kihachi’s head in ancient times. It had slept at Takachiho Shrine as its shrine treasure for all this time. This very sword had killed Kihachi.

The sword wielded by Mikenu-no-mikoto—

“I’m...I’m supposed to use this?”

Hokage nodded silently. The Miike family was also the distant descendant of Mikenu-no-mikoto. This sword would certainly manifest its power for them—manifest it with a power proportional to Mikenu-no-mikoto’s blood.

«You’re the only one who can.»

“I...can’t...” Tetsuya shook his head dazedly. “I... can’t do it. I—just can’t.”

«Te-chan!»

“You want me to kill Kihachi with Mikenu’s sword? To kill Onpachi-sama again with this accursed sword?! I can’t! There’s no way!” Tetsuya shouted desperately. “I’m descended from Onpachi-sama, his child—Himuka’s child! I could never kill the people of Himuka—my own people—with this sword of Yamato again! I’d never want to!”

“You don’t understand, Tetsuya.”

Tetsuya’s shoulders jolted. He looked around in surprise. That voice!

(Dad?!)

“We’re not killing the people of Himuka,” the low, calm voice quietly admonished Tetsuya. “We’re going to put them to sleep.”

Tetsuya was stunned. The voice that sounded so much like his father’s belonged to Miike Haruya. He was speaking to Tetsuya from Frost Shrine.

“Spirit-Protector...”

“Onikirimaru should be able to weaken the onryou’s power.”

There was no other way.

Do it, Tetsuya, Haruya said. Tetsuya gritted his teeth as he gripped the hilt. Tears streamed down his face no matter how hard he tried to hold them back. How could anyone who understood their regret blame Kihachi and the others for this? Mikenu was to blame for their violence. They had been killed, turned into vengeful spirits, and were now going to be killed again. Wasn’t it like labeling them as ‘never a match for Yamato?’ Like deciding they would suffer eternal defeat?

(I can’t—...)

His heart was going to break. He clenched his teeth hard enough to shatter his jaw.

“I hate this...! I hate this, I hate thiiiis!”

Tears blinded him. “It’s okay,” Hokage told him.

«Your feelings will surely reach Onpachi-sama—...»

Tetsuya lifted his head to see Hokage holding out a hand to him. He felt light as air; his toes left the ground.

“Let’s go,” Hokage said.

 
“FUUUUCK!!”

Takaya attacked the giant with his will, attempting to break through enough to «exorcise» it, but his opponent was so massive it had almost no effect. Ignoring him, the giant roared and smashed apart the erupting Kishima Peak. Even the shape of the mountains had been transformed by the great destruction. The giant’s psychic blasts were so fierce that even the crater’s outer rim shattered. When it straightened, the giant was a head taller than Tall Peak, the highest peak in Aso. As it moved, globs of lava splattered everywhere, leaving the surrounding area devastated.

(Holy...)

Standing next to the ropeway station below, a stunned Naoe looked up at the crater. The straight-line distance to the crater was about a kilometer, and the difference in elevation was about a hundred meters. The giant’s psychic attacks had completely destroyed all the buildings in the plaza, including the station. Naoe stood up, gasping for breath, shielding himself from the occasional blast. He caught sight of a small black bird flying toward the crater.

(That’s...!)

“!”

Near the crater, Takaya also spotted the black bird. But he soon realized it wasn’t a bird at all. It was a figure in a black school uniform flying at full speed from the dark mass of the Middle Peak—

“Tetsuya!” Takaya shouted. His eyes widened. Tetsuya was flying headlong toward the giant, both of his hands tightly clutching Onikirimaru. “Stop! It’ll kill you, Tetsuyaaa!”

Though it had no nose or eyes as such, the giant seemed to have noticed Tetsuya—or rather, the sword in his hands.

ROOOAR—!

The giant went berserk as if in sudden fury. It must have sensed Mikenu-no-mikoto in Onikirimaru. As it howled and attacked everything around it in a frenzy of rage, the power of Tetsuya’s Onikirimaru grew. Rust peeled away to reveal a radiant and beautiful blade.

“Tetsuyaaaaa!”

“Graaaah—!” Tetsuya yelled as he dove toward Kihachi. Carrying Onikirimaru in a backhanded grip, he swung and thrust it straight into the giant’s heart.

Onikirimaru flashed...!

A scream rang out, so terrible that it might tear the land of Aso apart.

The giant engulfed Tetsuya and Onikirimaru.

(Ougi—...!)

The rest is up to you.

With those final words, Tetsuya disappeared.

“Tetsuyaaaaa—!”

ROOOOAR—!

Onikirimaru’s power exploded within the giant, inflicting tremendous pain. The scorching magma that had cloaked the giant like a robe sloughed off, and it slowly fell backwards into the crater, spurting gas.

BOOM!

The giant collapsed, spewing heated air and magma. The gas that had formed its limbs dissipated from the crater. It must have suffered considerable damage. The onryou swarm could no longer retain its human form. It writhed in a mass of black gas. The blow had clearly weakened their power. They raged now within their skin of spiritual power.

“Guh!”

Takaya concentrated his will with grim determination. He didn’t know if he could do it, but there was no one else. His entire body glowed as he made the ritual gesture. He poured all his remaining strength into it, as if he would die satisfied if he could just accomplish this.

A dome of light enveloped Middle Peak’s crater: a barrier created from Takaya’s «power». The film of light intensified until it was strong as a wall.

“Noumakusamanda bodanan baishiramandaya sowakanoumakusamanda bodanan baishiramandaya sowaka

「のうまくさまんだ　ぼだなん　ばいしらまんだや　そわか」

A mantra of Bishamonten which protects the caster from fatigue and calamity, usually used when starting a long or complex invocation.

"noumakusamanda bodanan" = a devotion to the Buddhas/"homage to all the Buddhas".
"Baishiramandaya" = a reverence to Bishamonten, or "hail Bishamonten!"! Ari nari tonari anaro nabi kunabiari nari tonari anaro nabi kunabi ()

In the 26th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the dharani given by Bishamonten to the followers of Buddhism for protection. A distance of one hundred "yojanas" is specified for the radius of protection....!”

The black gas went berserk. The onryou tried to breach the barrier. Their defiance was so great that they threw themselves against the barrier, trying to break through. Takaya gritted his teeth hard, feeling as if he were being pierced by a hundred spears.

(The barrier...!)

It would break if he allowed things to continue. Takaya bent with his arms outstretched and poured all his energy into strengthening the barrier, but the power of the onryou was extraordinary. Kihachi seemed to have weakened, but the number of onryou had always been overwhelming!

“Graaah—!”

Takaya bellowed from the pit of his stomach, holding onto the barrier with all his might even as the onryou attacked from within. If they broke through, they would kill him in an instant.

“Ooooo—!”

The onryou swarm mounted a fierce resistance. The film of light became thinner and thinner, and felt as if it might burst like a balloon too full of air at any moment. Takaya staked his life on maintaining the barrier. But he had already expended too much of his strength, and he had little stamina left.

(...Is it simply futile?)

He was focusing so much power his head felt about to split open. Takaya opened tightly-shut eyes and looked at what was in front of him. His body screamed with the terrible burden of his «power». The onryou raged, relentlessly trying to break through. With his hands thrust out in front of him, Takaya closed his eyes.

(Is this hopeless?!)

No!

A voice echoed within Takaya. He suddenly felt as if someone’s arms were softly supporting him from behind, and he opened his eyes.

(What...)

His burden abruptly lightened. Someone had come to his aid—was supporting the barrier beside him. He could feel the power of that support. Takaya’s eyes widened at the strength of the other’s will. It reminded him of his father’s arms—

(Who...)

The owner of the power was far behind Takaya, but he couldn’t turn to see. He didn’t have time.

Takaya used all his strength to establish a powerful barrier, a dome of light that could never be broken.

(It might be possible now...)

He made the ritual gesture once more. The barrier was finally strong enough to make «exorcism» possible. The colossal swarm of onryou fought back violently, but the magma’s spiritual power seemed to have rendered them unable to break it. This time it would be all right.

“Noumakusamanda bodanan baishiramanndaya sowaka!”

“Ari nari tonari anaro nabi kunabi!”

The man behind him chanted the same mantra as if in an echo of him. His voice was drowned out by the roar of the volcano, and Takaya did not hear. —But the Heavens heard.

“Let the demon grudges be crushed; surrender, O sworn enemy!”

Takaya’s aura surged as if a light was blooming from his very life—

Gathering his strength, Takaya raised his voice.

“Namu Tobatsu BishamontenNamu Tobatsu Bishamonten (南無刀八毘沙門天)

Lit. "Hail Eight-Sword Bishamonten" Chanted during "light-enclosing exorcism," the summoning of the Sword of Bishamonten, and other invocations to Bishamonten.! Descend!”

 
!

 
A bolt of lightning pierced the sky with a roar, almost like volcanic lightning.

A torrent of light poured from it to fill the dome, overflowing to condense to a single point. Out of that pearl of light, BishamontenBishamonten (毘沙門天)

Also know as: Bishamon, Tamonten, Vaiśravaṇa, Kubera

Bishamonten is one of the 12 Deva Guardians, the protector of the North and the most powerful of the Four Heavenly Kings. He is the god of warfare and warriors, sometimes called the "black warrior"; black is his symbolic color, and winter is the season over which he presides. He is often depicted as warrior with a crown on his head, a pagoda in one hand and a trident in the other. He punishes those who do evil and is also the guardian of the places where Buddha preaches. He is one who is all-knowing, who hears everything, who is always listening, and is completely versed in Buddha's teachings. He is one of Japan's Seven Deities of Fortune. The soldiers of his army are the powerful earth deities called Yaksha.

Bishamonten is also called "Tobatsu Bishamonten" (刀八毘沙門天), or "Eight-Sword Bishamonten", because of an error in translation passed down through the centuries. The original name, "Bishamonten of Tobatsu", pointed to a manifestation of Bishamonten which appeared in the Central Asian kingdom of Tou-po or Tobatsu (兜跋) to protect the capital city against invaders. Bishamonten in this form is depicted with a diadem on his head, four hands holding a key, a gem, a pagoda, and a halbert before him and eight arms holding eight swords around him. came forth.

“I will now perform the ritual of barrier exorcism. Heed me, you of the Kihachi tribe and other onryou multitudes!”

Energy rose like a heat shimmer to softly lift Takaya’s black hair. With a gentle breeze touching his forehead, Takaya once again chanted Bishamonten’s mantra.

“We are the Yasha of the Six Realms. We pledge the entirety of our souls to serve the cause of noble justice. Now!”

Another voice overlapped with Takaya’s proclamation.

“Namu Tobatsu Bishamonten! For this demon subjugation, lend me thy power!”

Bishamonten turned into a mass of light once more. That energy gathered in Takaya’s joined hands, and sharp plasma twined around his arms like tiny bolts of lightning. It coiled around Takaya’s body like a snake, and he lifted his face to the sky and closed his eyes in elation. A great power rushed through him, and even his will seemed to expand into infinity—

Takaya’s jaw dropped, and his eyes flared open. His eyes shone like the sun.

Naoe’s eyes opened at the exact same instant. They shouted, voice overlapping:

 
“«Choubukuchoubuku (調伏)

Also known as: choubukuryoku (調伏力)

The special power given to the Yasha-shuu to banish onryou to the Underworld using the dharani of Uesugi Kenshin's guardian deity, Bishamonten. The types of choubuku include "kouhou-choubuku", "ressa-choubuku", "kekkai-choubuku", etc. Each choubuku is begun with the incantation "bai" and the ritual hand gesture of Bishamonten's symbol.

Choubuku does not work against kanshousha, who have bodies of their own.»!”

 
There was an explosion of pure white light, breathtakingly intense.

Energy far stronger than that of the usual «barrier exorcism» exploded within the barrier.

It felt as if the onryou were crushed by the light rather than swallowed, and even the spiritual power they wore was engulfed. Even their screams disappeared. It was a world of silence, and in that vacuum-like silence, onryou vanished. The pressure of the light crushed even the cooling lava into distorted shapes.

Takaya himself was astonished by the staggering and unprecedented magnitude of this exorcism.

Kihachi was also in the pure white light.

But he resisted to the end—not due to hostility or defiance.

«Our fury—...»

—But out of single-minded determination that it should not be forgotten. That bitterness, pain, sorrow—he was determined not to let those things be buried in the depths of history.

Do not forget. Do not forget. Do not forget—do not forget!

Kihachi shouted. With a strength to tear his soul apart.

(What!)

Takaya gasped. Fire kindled into the world engulfed by pure white light.

A mass of scarlet flame. Kihachi’s flame! There had never before been anyone able to completely resist «barrier exorcism». But Kihachi resisted. He summoned all his power to shout even at the very last moment—to shout at Takaya:

«Our hatred!»

The mass of flames whirled and grew.

«Our sorrow!»

(This can’t be!)

Kihachi shot black flames out of the light of exorcism.

Takaya was completely defenseless. Those flames hit him squarely.

“!”

His entire body was on fire.

“Gaa...ah!”

He burned. Heat erupted from his entire body, as if he had plunged into molten iron.

The light of «exorcism» disappeared into the other world, taking the onryou with it. With that final blow, Kihachi gave himself to the light and allowed his consciousness to fade away. The light eddied gently and vanished.

“Aa...aah...aah!”

Ichimata, who had somehow managed to escape the «exorcism», gazed speechlessly at Takaya.

Takaya cowered.

Kihachi’s final blow hadn’t been mere flame, but flame containing the full extent of his hatred.

Takaya shivered with shock. Black will spread throughout his body—from fingertips to toes, from heart to bones, and into every cell of his body.

“Aa...aaa...aaaah!”

Hate, resentment, grief... Dark, dark emotions seeped relentlessly into Takaya’s soul. They penetrated the walls of his soul and shook him to his core.

“Don’t die!”

“Don’t dieeeee!”

“Asara! I’ll come for you, Asara!”

“I curse you! I’ll kill every last Yamato!”

“I’ll bring her back!”

Such intense, violent feelings. Such dark, dark emotions. They resonated deep within his soul, profoundly shaking Takaya’s psyche from his very core.

“Aaa...aaaah...!”

Takaya held his temples, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

“Aaaaah—!”

There was a creak. He screamed.

Deep within Takaya’s psyche, there came a sound of chains snapping.

He screamed.

 
!

 
Flames exploded with a roar. In an instant, flames spread like a tsunami.

“Wh-what?!”

Ichimata had come running, trying to figure out what was happening, only to be met by fire. He recoiled, astonished. In their midst was a screaming Takaya. Takaya looked at him. Just that.

“!”

With a truncated scream, Ichimata collapsed. His heart had stopped. Takaya had done nothing but look at Ichimata, and it had killed him. Takaya’s gaze shifted. People dropped dead. Something was wrong with his eyes. The poison of Kihachi’s hatred was spreading throughout his body. His terrible hatred had turned Takaya’s body into a mass of deadly poison!

Seeing the flames spreading around him like billowing waves, Takaya became even more confused. The crimson flames around him brought back memories of two years ago.

“Aaa...n...aaah!”

His memories gushed forth at a furious pace. There was nothing to stop them. The dam had broken, and that frozen time surged like raging billows to become a muddy stream.

Flames engulfed Hagi Castle.

A tiger turned to ash under attack by Rairyuu.

He felt the trigger of the pistol fired by Terumoto.

Flashbacks dizzied him. It felt as if many still photographs had been tossed willy-nilly into his head, disorienting him. Every one was so vivid it took Takaya’s mind backwards in time. He was being swallowed up by muddy waters...!

The arms of the man embracing him, encompassing him.

The whisper in his ear. The low voice filled with utmost tenderness.

The heartbreaking confession. Naked tears he didn’t even try to wipe away. Wailing.

A gunshot—and then.

(This isn’t real...)

Madness loomed. Takaya desperately shook his head.

(No...)

Takaya screamed.

“Noooo—!”

ROOOAR...!

The flames started by Takaya’s mind exploded into an ever wider area, roaring, leaping, consuming everything in sight. People screamed as they were engulfed. Rocks burned, concrete burned, and the luckless burned. Takaya’s mind had produced hell on earth!

“Aaaa...uwaaah!”

The bullet pierced the man’s chest. Unerringly pierced his heart.

In his place, protecting him...

Takaya’s mind had already returned to that moment two years ago. The flames of Middle Peak turned into the flames of Hagi Castle. Blood instantly stained the man’s clothes. It overflowed from the left side of his chest to drip onto the floor, creating a red sea. The man collapsed before his eyes. Takaya lifted him in his arms. His lips trembled as if he was about to speak. He had never seen eyes so full of love as those drooping eyes. Nothing...but pure overflowing love.

“No... !”

Tears welled up. More and more, more and more brimmed over. He couldn’t hold them back...!

“Noooooo—!”

 
You promised!

That you wouldn’t make me go on alone.

You promised me, Naoe!

Crimson flames formed a tornado that engulfed the area around the crater.

A hot wind rose. Takaya cried and screamed. He bared his soul. This was nothing so simple as madness. The maelstrom of roaring flames engulfed the deranged Takaya as he wailed and writhing violently in agony.

“Run or it’ll take you too!”

“Run!”

People screamed from within the searing wind that scorched their throats with every breath, still seeking escape. The flames swallowed even those who were already corpses, leaving nothing, not even ashes, behind.

“Aaaaah!” Takaya screamed. His power poured out of him in the form of flames. It would consume every last bit. “Aaaaah—!”

Everything, his every thought was converted to fire and excreted.

Until nothing remained—

(Turn to flame...)

In his delirium, in a corner of his fading consciousness, Takaya saw a billowing wave of flame surging toward him.

As he screamed in his madness and sank into chaos.

(Let everything—...)

He felt the flames he had created scorching him.

The flames of karma—

(—just...)

 
Consumed by fire, crumbling into the surging waves of flame, he vomited it all out.

The last thing Takaya felt was beloved arms softly embracing him.

 
Naoe—...

 
A tsunami of flames engulfed the two forms. Searing heat enfolded entwined flesh.

Naoe caught Takaya as he fell, crying out his name on a flood of emotions.

Though Takaya’s eyes could no longer see him.

Naoe held Takaya close with all his strength. The heat of the raging flames scorched their hair, scorched their skin. Within the overwhelming heat, Naoe called Takaya’s name over and over again. He cradled Takaya’s head tightly against his chest. Just as Takaya had done that day.

In this dream, within the longed-for strength of these arms, Takaya buried his face against that chest.

(...Will you take me with you—...?)

If you’re going to leave everything behind, take me with you, he screamed at the top of his voice. That was his only wish.

 
...And that wish had finally come true.

 
(Let’s burn together, Naoe...)

I’ll embrace your cold corpse. My lips will scoop up your blood—your tears.

If you’re going to die, then let’s burn together.

Let me burn with your corpse.

Flesh. Bones. —And soul.

Until we become indistinguishable ash...

(In these flames.)

 
Fire engulfed the entwined forms.

Only red flames remained on the black earth.

Fire sparks flew like fireflies.

The wind bore up the ashes.