By the time Naoe’s Windom arrived in Nikkou City
, the riot police had already begun to enforce the three-kilometer no-approach zone around Mt. Nikkou. National Route 119 and the Nikkou-Utsunomiya Road , which passed within that perimeter, had been blocked off, and area residents forcibly evacuated.
(Good heavens...!)
A storm raged on the outside of the Mt. Nikkou barrier, a result of the disruption of local atmospheric and climate systems by the concentration of so much supernatural power in one place.
Shinya’s hospital was located within the restricted zone. Its personnel would not have had time to move patients in critical condition.
Riot police manned a barricade across the Kiyotaki Interchange .
“Stop!” The troops signaled frantically, but Naoe continued to accelerate, smashing right through the barricade and scattering startled patrolmen.
(At this rate, the completion of the ‘Ritual of Unification by Fire’ will destroy Nikkou City.)
Conditions progressively worsened as he approached Mt. Nikkou. A hurricane would have been mild by comparison. A gigantic cloudy mass boiled up from the ground ahead and coiled whirlpool-like on the highway. This was Mt. Nikkou’s dome-shaped barrier.
Naoe drove straight to Shinya’s general hospital. He spotted a few confused residents along the way.
“Are you injured?” Doctors called, rushing up to Naoe from the entrance as he alighted, Shinya’s attending physician among them. They and the nurses had remained behind. “We have no phones—everything’s down! We were able to evacuate some of the patients, but everyone else...! What has happened? What in the world is going on?”
“I will help with the evacuation. Reinforcements are on the way.”
“We have around fifty patients in a coma state, and they cannot be moved!”
Naoe tsked. Once the ‘Ritual of Unification by Fire’ was complete, the souls of these patients, Shinya’s among them, could never return to their bodies. (Yuzuru’s soul, too, would be lost).
Either the ‘Ritual of Unification by Fire’ had to be stopped, or the Tsutsuga Mirrors broken.
Until then, Shinya’s body had to be protected. Naoe told the doctors urgently, “I understand. Please do not remove them from the building. They will be safe inside. It will be all right.”
“But that’s...!”
Ignoring their protests, Naoe corralled the doctors toward the entrance, handing them charms bearing Bishamonten’s image.
“Affix these within the building. Make sure they are upright, not aslant. They will prevent harm from befalling this hospital.”
“But these things can’t possibly...”
“Never mind, just do as I tell you. The storm will be here soon. Don’t set a foot outside. Do you understand?”
The overwhelmed doctors nodded, and Naoe pushed them back through the glass doors and locked them in. He affixed a sealing charm to the outside and, gathering his concentration, began chanting the mantra of Bishamonten.
“Namu Tobatsu Bishamonten! Appear before us; enfold this place within the aegis of thy protection!”
He threw a charm into the air. The wind snatched it away, carrying it up and up until it suddenly ignited and transformed into a magnificent eagle trailing a swathe of fire. The eagle spread its wings around the building. It became a curtain of light, then a dome-shaped barrier around the hospital.
(That should do it.)
Barrier ritual completed, Naoe looked over his handiwork before turning his gaze to the black clouds over Mt. Nikkou.
He had to go through Fuuma Kotarou to get to the Tsutsuga Mirrors. According to Ujiteru, Kotarou would bring them to Ujimasa before the ‘Ritual of Unification by Fire.’
Kagetora had already recognized the fact that the Tsutsuga Mirrors were in Nikkou. Which meant Kotarou was also here.
(I must take him down.)
Fuuma Kotarou was one of the most dangerous of the Houjou, Naoe pondered, and likely at Mt. Nikkou now—was there no way to break in? Then he remembered something Ujiteru had said.
“There’s a secret subterranean tunnel leading from Toushou Shrine’s main temple to the outside. It exits beneath Kanmangafuchi’s Reihi Tower at the Uraki Gate.”
The Fuuma must have rediscovered and excavated this buried passage, and used it to steal the Tsutsuga Mirror from the rear shrine. It was also, in all likelihood, Ujimasa’s escape route. Furthermore, legend said that the mountain was covered with secret passageways; these would likely serve the vassals in their retreat.
(Can I make use of them?)
The only way out was also the only way in. There was little possibility of breaking the barrier; entering by the underground passage would allow him to evade its fearsome power. Security would be tight, but even on his own...
(I can only try.)
He had to recover the Tsutsuga Mirror from Ujimasa, from Kotarou. So decided, Naoe climbed back into the Windom. Kanmangafuchi was less than two kilometers in a straight-line distance from Toushou Shrine. The Windom shot towards the city.
Fire touched the roots of each of Mt. Nikkou’s cedar trees. Drenched in holy oil, they ignited with roars of flame. The bound souls screamed for help.
“Good. We’re leaving. Evacuate the mountain!”
“Hurrah!” The shout went up as the vassals began their retreat through Taiyuu Mausoleum, burial place of the third Shogun, Iemitsu, and Jinja-ou Shrine at the rear of Rinnou Temple, both of which served as doorways to the outside.
The scent of burning wood and the roar of flames filled the air, illuminating the scene. Ujimasa’s aide-de-camp began urging his master to make his escape.
“Tono! It’s too dangerous to stay any longer. We must leave now!”
“Wait! Not yet!” Ujimasa cut his vassal off sharply. He gazed out at the sea of fire, mesmerized. This was the moment in which he attained his aspirations at last, Ujimasa thought: the moment in which he defeated the Supreme Conqueror.
Then disaster struck.
“...!”
Something soared through the crowns of the towering cedars. “What is that?” he wondered, eyes narrowing. The wind rose again, and the long undulating body of some gigantic creature swooped between them, its passing bringing them almost to their knees.
“Wh...what?!”
It was a dragon: a blue-winged flying dragon, the Gohou Douji’s newly-assumed form.
The dragon bared its fangs and roared. Then, suddenly, its head divided into multiple new heads, and it split apart into scores of flying dragons in the blink of an eye.
“What-what is that?”
The wing of dragons scattered in all directions. White mist gushed from their mouths, looking rather like the chemical agents found in fire extinguishers and working with the same efficacy. Wherever their breaths touched, flames immediately died.
“Guh...Is this Saburou’s work?!” Ujimasa bellowed at the panicked vassals still in retreat: “Do not allow the fires to go out! Stay calm and think! The dragon is weakened by splitting itself. Attack them simultaneously!”
The vassals began attacking with «nenpa». The tenacious Gohou Douji zigzagged through the trees in dragon-form, returning fire. In the meantime, more trees were torched.
“Kill all who oppose us! Annihilate them!” Ujimasa yelled hoarsely. “I will not let Saburou interfere! Burn everything! Burn it all down!”
The bodies of tsutsuga cubs killed by Toushou Shrine’s spirit beasts littered the grounds. Then even those last traces turned to sand and vanished.
Only one remained: the four-hundred-year-old Great Tsutsuga, first-born child of the Tsutsuga Mirrors, still engaged in violent battle under Takaya’s control. Within it resided the mighty force of the Tsutsuga Mirrors, its parents. The power differential was telling; even the spirit guardian beasts of Toushou Shrine found it a formidable opponent, falling before it in droves. Its ferocious fangs tore into the windpipe of a rhinoceros. Though fighting alone, its fierce and singular strength was turning the tide of the battle. Step by step, it opened a path of blood to the Sakashita Gate, entrance to the sacred inner shrine.
“...!”
But to break through would not be easy. For the Sakashita Gate had another name: the Forbidden Gate. And now, standing suddenly before it to block the Great Tsutsuga’s way, were two more spirits beasts:
One was a tiger. The other—
The sculpted cat slumbering quietly on the eastern corridor’s main support beam abruptly opened wide glaring eyes.
Yowling hoarsely, it leapt down to the ground, revealing itself to be no adorably lazy ‘sleeping cat,’ but a raging feline monster some five meters (16 ft) in length.
Groowr!
The Great Tsutsuga roared, and the cat bared viciously sharp teeth in challenge. Growling, the tsutsuga attacked. The gigantic cat dodged nimbly, then sprang gracefully forward to spit an acid-like substance at the tsutsuga .
A fierce battle commenced as the tiger and rhinoceros joined in the attack. Though covered in wounds, the Great Tsutsuga fought desperately back with all its remaining strength.
The enraged Tsutsuga Mirrors howled in the back of Takaya’s mind as they poured all their power into their cub.
But the magnificent guardians of the Toushou Avatar refused to yield. Eyes flashing with bloodlust, the cat snarled as it tore savagely into the first-born tsutsuga with its claws. Each accumulated wound rebounded on Takaya through the mind-link between them, and he gritted his teeth against the pain.
(Break through, tsutsuga!) I must reach Ieyasu, Takaya steeled himself to fight on. (I cannot let the Houjou win!)
Driven by Takaya’s will, the Great Tsutsuga roared ferociously. The guardian-cat of Sakashita Gate embodied a heretofore-unseen power—power fit to protect a king. It seemed to have no chink in its armor. Its recumbent carving was deceptive, for though it pretended to be asleep in its perch, in actuality it was crouched with its ears pricked attentively, ready to pounce on its prey. This vicious cat would slay all the traitors who dared disturb the peace.
(Then let us see where true righteousness lies!) Takaya assimilated his consciousness with that of the tsutsuga and attacked the guardian cat. (I will get through!)
The cat gave an awful yowl and snapped at the tsutsuga’s neck. The two spirit beasts tangled together, fangs bared.
Chiaki, engaged in a desperate fight with vassals of the Houjou on the slope behind the inner shrine, had emerged victorious at last. Hunched against his numerous wounds, he tried to even out his breathing.
“Come on, guys. Don’t tell me...you can’t...take any more!” he panted, glaring toward the inner shrine with blood running into his eyes from a temple wound. He wiped at it, smearing blood and sweat. His tsutsuga cub blazed with wild fury beside him as if it could feel the deaths of its brothers.
“Above us, huh...?”
He began climbing again. A strange light illuminated the cluster of cedars ahead—had they already begun torching the place?
(Damn it—...!)
He pushed pain and exhaustion from his consciousness. He would reach the rear shrine soon, and he would not allow them to stop him. Mustering his will, he labored through the trees at a crawl until he reached the rear wall of the shrine at last. It was quite tall—but on the other hand, the gate at the end of the shrine path would likely be locked. A copper edifice, illuminated by the fire from the mountain, stood at its foot: the Treasure Pagoda where Tokugawa Ieyasu’s remains were kept.
Bracing his body with nendouryoku, Chiaki leapt high into the air, the tsutsuga nimbly flying over to land next to him on the gravel within. That simple move was enough to cause his breathing to quicken.
“Mmmph... I gotta work on my stamina.”
The tsutsuga looked around them warily. Chiaki climbed over the stone fence.
“So this is where Ieyasu’s remains were interred?”
The large cast-copper pagoda soared above an octagonal stone base. It was encircled within a stone fence, and gravel covered the ground around it. Legend gave this as the location of Ieyasu’s holy casket.
An alternate version claimed that Ieyasu’s remains had been cremated, but that was not an event Chiaki remembered.
(So I gotta get the skull, huh?) It would appear he had no choice but to break into the pagoda. Chiaki gathered his «power», allowing it to fill him until it hummed in the air around him. (Not that I really wanna have to do this...)
He blasted everything he had at the pagoda.
“What the!”
A vertical line of words flashed across the front of the pagoda as Chiaki’s bolt shattered into jagged beams of plasmatic light.
“What the hell was that...?!”
He enveloped himself with «power» again and flung an even stronger mind-blast at the pagoda.
Crackle!
Violent streaks of lightning flew in all directions as the glowing words shielded the structure against Chiaki’s attack once more.
“Ugh...!” Chiaki flinched away, frustrated by his «power»’s lack of effect. He attacked a third time with all the power he possessed. Yet he could not detect the slightest tremor in the pagoda, which stood in silent mockery as his power dispersed.
(Who’s blocking me?)
He sensed no one. Chiaki looked around, on guard against a new enemy. That was when he heard a crackling sound as of a huge amount of electrical current, and saw the pagoda suddenly covered in furious white plasmatic light.
“Aaack!”
The earth groaned. Chiaki attacked with volley after frenzied volley of «nenpa», but nothing had an effect. The sphere at the very top of the pagoda flashed silver.
“...!”
Struck by an immense and dazzling beam of power, Chiaki involuntarily curled into himself.
“Aaaah...!”
Gyaaaaaa!
Unable to withstand that terrible energy, the tsutsuga next to him was annihilated in seconds.
“Asshole!”
Chiaki blasted all his power directly at the front door, but as before, it simply bounced away.
“!”
Chiaki was sent flying backwards. He hit the Inuki Gate behind him and crumbled to the earth to lie moaning in pain. This was no power of the Houjou. He dragged his battered torso off the ground.
(Could that be...!)
The Great Tsutsuga’s savage fangs ripped through the tiger’s windpipe. It vanished with a last roar.
Though lacerated all over, it traded glares with the fierce cat, also deeply wounded. Their power was equal. The battle would be decided soon.
Sssshyaaaa—!
The two beasts kicked off the round, springing with bared teeth for each other’s throats.
They met in midair before slamming with ground-shaking impact into the pebble-covered earth, the tsutsuga underneath. One of the two beasts panted wildly for air, the sound loud in the silence. The other convulsed in place before finally stilling.
The tsutsuga staggered unsteadily to its feet, dragging its torn and broken body forward step by faltering step. Once a mass of pure bloodthirst, it now seemed filled with the majesty and dignity of a divine creature. Mustering its will once more, the tsutsuga dashed forward, breaking through the Sakashita Gate and sprinting up the long stone stairs to the inner shrine.
(To Ieyasu’s resting place.)
Takaya had meshed his consciousness with the tsutsuga’s completely. Perhaps that solemn majesty lay deep within him as well.
Their way was clear. The powerful, nimble tsutsuga seemed to soar upward.
Their goal: the Conqueror’s skull enshrined in the inner sanctum.
(High Priest Tenkai’s secret ritual...!)
Smashing through the Inuki Gate, the Great Tsutsuga surged toward Ieyasu’s pagoda.
“What the...!” Alarmed by the tsutsuga’s sudden appearance, Chiaki immediately recognized Takaya in the driver’s seat and relaxed again.
Wheezing wildly, the Great Tsutsuga shook itself all over before facing the pagoda squarely.
—Which was enclosed in multiple layers of white plasmatic light, preventing any approach.
“Hey Kagetora, looks like we’re not gonna get our hands on Ieyasu’s skull that easily,” Chiaki panted, leaning against a pillar. “The Great Lord Toushou Avatar doesn’t seem much pleased with all the ruckus we’re kicking up. He’s manifested the might of Heaven, and he’s gonna vaporize all intruders. If we try to violate his holy sanctum, he’s gonna deal with us as such.”
Takaya studied the scene through the tsutsuga’s eyes and pondered. Tokugawa Ieyasu’s spirit was no longer a mere wraith. He had become a divine avatar—a being possessing enormous power—through High Priest Tenkai’s ‘Sannou Ichijitsu Shinto’ secret ritual
It was impossible for those considered ‘enemies’ to force their way in. Stealing the skull was no longer feasible.
“Humph. So he gives the real thief a pass and tries to wipe out the good guys.”
«Not true.» Takaya’s voice reverberated in Chiaki’s head. «The Toushou Avatar uses his holy power to repel invaders, whosoever they may be, even if they are working for the good...he cannot let anyone pass. That is what it means to be a ‘god.’»
“So what are we gonna do? You wanna curse for a bit and go home with our tails tucked between our legs?”
«...»
Silver lightning crackled menacingly around the pagoda. The Great Tsutsuga took a slow step forward. A bolt of plasmatic light instantly flicked out from the pagoda. The tsutsuga howled as it somersaulted through the air.
“Kagetora!”
The spirit beast crashed into the stone fence, but rose and approached again unflinchingly.
(There is no way to get within touching distance...)
Takaya fixed a defiant glare at his opponent: the god Tokugawa Ieyasu. No human being could go head-to-head with a god. This was a fight he could not win. Only one possessing power equal to that of the Ruler of Japan would stand a chance.
Yet...Takaya gnashed his teeth.
«Hear me, O Ruler of Japan.» Takaya challenged the god through the mind of the Great Tsutsuga. «You, who rode the whirlwinds of the age of chaos to dominion of the country.»
Sensing the brush of curiosity, Takaya pressed his intentions forward.
«Hear me now: set your animosity aside, for we come with neither malice nor intention to make mischief, but to stop those who would cause harm. Calm your anger and listen to me. Let your noble gaze ascertain the truth of my words. Lay aside your anger and listen—»
There was no change in the pagoda. Lightning continued to dance around it, impervious and impenetrable.
(Why can I not reach him...?) Takaya ground his teeth even harder. (Are mere humans beneath his notice?)
He was who he was; he was here: were the limits of his existence not wide enough to touch this being before him?
(Am I not enough...?!)
To whom would he give his lofty and haughty regard? Could none but another god command his attention?!
Did beings exist who could speak on equal terms with Ieyasu? Yes they did—of course they did. But to call such a being here, now, was impossible. It could not be done. What, then, was left?
There must exist a being worthy of discourse with Ieyasu. There was: one who, at least in his mind, possessed greatness equal to that of the Avatar.
The one and only God of War—
(Of course.)
Takaya’s sharp eyes flashed. A being with the stature of a god. That great man lived on in his heart.
(He is within me...)
Takaya stilled, gathering calm to himself. Then he focused his concentration inward, as if opening a channel into the innermost parts of his heart. He reached deep within.
The Great Tsutsuga, its mind still melded with Takaya’s, suddenly transformed.
“What the...!” Chiaki shouted, as the tsutsuga’s form wavered wildly before resolidifying into the figure of a man, a general.
He was dressed in the white vestments of the warrior-monk. A handsome beard adorned his chin, and his firm, lucent eyes looked straight ahead. He was—
Chiaki inhaled sharply.
(Lord...Kenshin...!)
This was the form of Kagetora’s adopted father as it lived in his heart. It was as if, facing this giant among men, the determination and defiance within Kagetora’s soul had overflowed into the form of the titan sleeping within his memories and poured that image into the tsutsuga. Surrounded by white light, the great general Uesugi Kenshin, shining star of the Sengoku, faced Tokugawa Ieyasu.
(That’s impossible...!)
The great warrior gazing at the pagoda in stillness was not Kenshin in truth. But neither was he Kagetora or the tsutsuga, for he lived on within Kagetora’s heart and was never far from his consciousness. Though he was not Kenshin himself, neither was he spurious: this, Chiaki could not help but feel, was the Kenshin within Kagetora made manifest.
This Kenshin now faced not the god, but Ieyasu the man: a great man who too had lived through the age of war and chaos, another bright star of the Sengoku, a man cut from the same cloth. Ieyasu had still been a young soldier at the peak of Kenshin’s power. This, perhaps, was the first time they had ever met face to face.
Chiaki held his breath as he watched these events unfold. (Guess he’s gonna try persuasion, then.)
«My illustrious friend...» Cloaked in a mantle of light, Kenshin addressed the pagoda rising out of the night like flickering flames. «This cause is righteous.»
If Ieyasu, who had rejected the corrupt material world and sought rebirth in the Pure Land, had truly taken the burden of the country on his shoulders to seek paradise on earth—
«You must demonstrate your righteousness to the defeated of the warring world,» Kenshin stated firmly, with gentle solemnity. «Did you know that there are those who, in their foolish ambition, would use this very land to pollute and corrupt the world? Open your eyes and determine the truth for yourself. Will you remain silent and allow such misdeeds to continue?
This is just.» Kenshin asserted forcefully.
His white monk’s hood fluttered in the wind. This was the Kenshin who had once rode into battle with Nagahide, with Kagetora: a beautiful and dignified figure with eyes burning bright.
Kenshin continued: «The malice of the defeated threatens the prayed-for holy land in which all may live in peace and tranquility. O Supreme Conqueror, let your great power be reawakened for the justice of the land. He who stands at the summit is fated to bear the hatred of his war-dead.
No matter how heavy the burden, or for how long he must carry it.»
Something shifted.
The fury of the plasmatic light enclosing the pagoda gradually weakened.
Chiaki held his breath as he listened, sweat sliding down the nape of his neck.
(Is he really getting through?)
Then—
Angry voices approached from the forest behind them. Chiaki turned with a tsk of annoyance. They’d been noticed by another contingent of Houjou vassals.
(Dammit, and at a time like this...)
Facing their direction, Chiaki filled himself with «power» once more. He could hear the sound of their footsteps bounding up the stone steps. He no longer had his tsutsuga companion, and an exorcism probably wouldn’t work, but he had no choice but to fight.
“Kagetora...!” Chiaki called urgently. Kenshin’s figure suddenly vanished, and the Great Tsutsuga stood once more in his place. The maelstrom of lightning around the pagoda disappeared.
(What...!)
Shouting Houjou vassals appeared beside the front shrine. Chiaki glared daggers at them.
“You scum!” they yelled as they launched their attack, and Chiaki prepared to return fire in the form of «nenpa».
But before he could...
Strands of light brushed past him from behind—
“Wh...!”
—and shot through the men’s foreheads, flinging them back. Chiaki whirled to see a glorious aura burning like a pure white flame around the pagoda.
With a loud screech, its heavy steel front door swung slowly open.
Light shone from the doorway as if a miniature sun dwelt within, so bright that Chiaki had to close his eyes against it.
Nagahide, Takaya called to him. «The key to reviving Tenkai’s secret ritual is Daigensui Myouou’s mantra.»
“Right, then...” the corners of Chiaki’s mouth tilted up into a grin. “So you got the Lord Avatar’s permission, huh?”
Looking straight at the mass of white light in the doorway, Chiaki assumed the lotus position in front of the prayer stone and brought his hands slowly together in the symbolic gesture of Daigensui Myouou.
At Chuuzenji’s lakeshore, Takaya did the same.
And they began.
“Taritsu taboritsu paraboritsu shayanmei shayanmei tararasantan raenbi sowaka—...” Chiaki and Takaya began chanting the mantra of Daigensui Myouou simultaneously.
The air around the pagoda shimmered with the unique energy of the mantra. The surrounding trees began to rustle. The white light in the doorway began to increase in intensity.
“Taritsu taboritsu paraboritsu shayanmei shayanmei tararasantan raenbi sowaka—...”
The ground suddenly began to rumble. The air changed. Still chanting, Chiaki fixed his mind on Daigensui Myouou. Takaya did the same many miles away.
The mysterious power buried deep within the earth of Mt. Nikkou began steadily seething upward like a clear stream flowing beneath the ground—slowly, yet with tremendous power.
“Taritsu taboritsu paraboritsu shayanmei shayanmei tararasantan raenbi sowaka—...”
A great magical power was awakening in the burning mountain.
Comments
Thank you!
Thank you very much for your hard work on this and the other new chapters! Great to finally learn the details of these scenes. Looking forward to reading the rest of this book as well!
Awesome!
Thank you so much for these wonderful translations! They are beautifully done and I cannot wait for the next chapters!
Thank you
Thank you for these translations ! :)
Add new comment