With the lord and his heir both joining the fray, those with decent combat skills weren't about to sit idle.
Wolf drew Kusabimaru and entered the fight.
Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa charged forward on his towering warhorse, cross-patterned spear in hand, launching a lightning-fast assault on the Shura.
The remaining generals and samurai drew their blades and joined the battle.
Bella fired off seven or eight Mind Blasts in succession, but the effect was minimal. A Shura was a collective of malevolent thoughts—stunning a few hundred or a thousand of those fragments was meaningless.
The Divine Dragon was right beside her, and Bella had fully mastered the martial arts of Fountainhead Palace.
She'd even obtained what could be called Fountainhead's secret transmission: the true Way of Tomoe.
Unlike the watered-down techniques that even the rank-and-file of Fountainhead Palace could perform, the genuine Tomoe style ran far deeper. The Okami clan had originally been composed of shrine maidens and priests, and their martial arts contained elements of the occult.
Bella hadn't bothered learning their ritual ceremonies—she had no use for them.
She already possessed the Lightning Blade spell. That spell was far too low-level with no room for growth, so she'd combined it with the Tomoe arts and improved it into an entirely new version...
She channeled lightning onto her arrows and launched ranged attacks at the Shura from a distance.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Each arrow that struck the Shura's body discharged its lightning, dealing considerable damage to the massive creature.
Seeing how effective the lightning was, Genichiro Ashina—who also knew the Tomoe arts—began calling down thunder as well.
Bella fired lightning arrows in an endless stream. Genichiro's Tomoe technique lacked the true essence of the style, but the lightning he summoned still dealt devastating damage to the enemy.
Everyone surrounded the Shura in a coordinated assault. Some went in for a couple of slashes; others thrust with their spears a few times. Those with ranged capabilities who wouldn't hit their own allies attacked from a distance; those without stayed in melee.
Some attacked while others provided cover. All of them were master swordsmen, and together they bombarded the Shura relentlessly.
"Give me a hand—I'm a bit tired." Emma suddenly appeared at Bella's side. Bella instinctively reached out to steady her.
The lightning arrow she'd been forming in her hand never flew. Meanwhile, Genichiro's Tomoe technique called down a bolt of lightning as thick as a barrel, striking the Shura directly on the head.
The lightning became the straw that broke the camel's back. The hatred's black mist was purified, and Genichiro Ashina slew the Shura.
The warriors erupted in cheers.
"Heh heh heh." Bella understood Emma's intention. This was about building momentum for Genichiro—letting him land the killing blow to pave the way for inheriting the lordship.
"Thank you." Emma put on a delicate, fragile air, as if the woman who'd been hacking away with her sword moments ago was someone else entirely. Bella didn't expose her. The old Sword Saint was retiring, and helping his grandson build prestige made perfect sense. It wouldn't have been appropriate for an outsider like her to finish off the Shura anyway.
The Shura's resentful energy rapidly dissipated. When the smoke cleared, Owl's massive body emerged once more from the black mist.
By now his hair and beard had turned completely white. His eyes were blind. Every one of his powerful muscles had necrotized. His life had reached its end.
Owl lay sprawled among the rubble of the temple—long since reduced to ruins by the battle—still murmuring: "I... Usui... Ukonzaemon... will become... famous throughout the land..."
Owl was dead.
Dead from his own ambition.
In the end, they had been old friends. Isshin Ashina buried the Sculptor, Lady Butterfly, and Owl together. All three had been members of the Rebellion in life; in death, they could be neighbors.
Wolf stood before his adoptive father's grave for a long time, then gave a firm nod, turned, and walked away.
No matter how Owl had manipulated him over the years, when Wolf was young, Owl had taken him in and taught him martial arts. That debt could never be forgotten.
Kuro said the Dragon's Heritage within him had suddenly vanished. Wolf had lost his immortality too. Neither felt much regret—Wolf was willing to spend the rest of his life protecting Kuro.
That was the mission his adoptive father Owl had given him long ago. Though that mission had been riddled with schemes and manipulation, he intended to see it through.
Bella and her group were leaving as well. The survivors in Ashina numbered over one hundred and fifty. The Divine Dragon extracted all the immortality-related energy from their bodies—whether they'd been drinking the water for one year or two. As for the parasites, there was nothing to be done about those. They'd have to take laxatives or undergo surgery to remove them after returning.
Once they returned to the real world, the Divine Dragon would also modify their memories. Ashina? Bella? None of it had ever happened!
As for how those who'd been missing for two years would explain themselves to the outside world—that was none of the Divine Dragon's concern. She was still a child. How could she be expected to think of everything?
The group of survivors stood on the deck of the Flying Dutchman, each lost in their own thoughts. This ship didn't look remotely Japanese. Where had it come from? And it could carry them back to the real world?
They stared at Bella's back, all manner of thoughts churning through their minds. Could they obtain this kind of power? Should they threaten her? Beg?
Bella ignored their fantasies. They couldn't even begin to imagine how bizarre supernatural powers could be. Let them daydream for a while.
She bid farewell to the Ashina group at the mouth of the Dragon Spring River where it met the sea.
"Old man Isshin, are you sure you don't want to see the modern world?"
The old Sword Saint had shed his samurai lord armor and returned to his tattered robes, barefoot—looking like a vagrant once again.
"Japan is certainly small, and the world is certainly vast. But... does anyone over there still study swordsmanship?" the old man asked.
Bella smiled but said nothing.
Who still studied swordsmanship in the modern world? Weren't guns more appealing?
The old Sword Saint had zero interest in the Shogunate or the Emperor. As he put it, none of them had anything to do with him. Swordsmanship was all that mattered; the rest could go hang.
"You're already the greatest swordsman in your world, aren't you? Since even you aren't my match, what could I possibly learn there? The Hell you mentioned, on the other hand—now that interests me. Wandering this world, honing my skills—that is the path of Isshin Ashina!"
The old Sword Saint spoke with evident enthusiasm.
He was planning to travel through Hell. Bold, to say the least. He might die out there at any moment—but dying in battle had always been his wish.
If he went to modern Japan—a developed nation with abundant material wealth, practically approaching utopia—how would he react to all those Heisei-era shut-ins? Wouldn't he lose his mind?
Bella nodded and didn't try to persuade him further. She turned to another person: "Emma, what about you? Don't you want to see the modern world? Tokyo is quite prosperous."
Today Emma wasn't wearing her physician's attire but had changed into a female warrior's garb.
Once Ashina's barrier disappeared, she would travel alongside Isshin. She too had the heart of a warrior. Before, she'd been bound by her oath and couldn't raise her blade against humans.
But Hell was full of demons. Surely killing demons wouldn't violate her oath?
Emma smiled serenely: "I will continue to follow Lord Isshin. Without this physician by his side, who would treat his wounds?"