One Year Later
In the garden of the temple, the rhythmic sound of wood striking wood echoed through the air.
Airi moved quickly across the training ground.
In her hands she held two wooden practice swords.
Sweat dripped from her forehead.
Her chest rose and fell heavily.
Why does this technique have to be so damn difficult...
It's already bad enough that I'm still under house arrest. But if I have to sit through another one of those etiquette lessons, I'm definitely going to fall asleep.
Why am I even complaining about house arrest... mentally I'm older than most people here.
She swung the swords again.
Focus... Hoshiko Ryū – Style of the Star Fox.
I can feel this technique was made for me... but I think I'm still not ready for it.
A few meters away, Kaguya sat in the grass.
She held her scroll in her hands and read it with deep concentration.
It was the scroll containing the Fate Dancer technique.
After a while, Airi looked over at her.
"Hey, sister," she called, slightly out of breath.
"Why do you read that scroll for almost an hour every day before you start training?"
Kaguya looked up.
A small, shy smile appeared on her face, and her golden ears twitched slightly.
"Um... sister... I think I still haven't fully understood the purpose of the technique."
She lowered her gaze back to the scroll.
"And you know... I'm not really..."
Airi frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
She stuck her training swords into the ground and walked over to her.
"You're the smartest person I know."
For a five-year-old child, you really are smart, Airi thought briefly.
But I was reincarnated... that's an unfair comparison.
Airi sat down beside her.
Her arms were still trembling slightly from training.
"Want to explore the technique together, little sister?"
Kaguya looked up at her.
Suddenly, her eyes became watery.
Tears slowly ran down her cheeks.
In the next moment she jumped up and hugged Airi tightly.
"Thank you, sister! With your help I'm sure I'll understand it."
Airi sighed softly.
"Hey, hey... you're not a crybaby."
She gently placed her hand on Kaguya's head and stroked her hair.
On the terrace of the temple, Tamamo sat and drank tea.
The wind blew through the garden, and the first cherry blossoms danced through the air.
She watched her two daughters training together.
"Lady Tamamo," Akio said while bringing fresh tea,
"isn't it about time to release Lady Airi from her house arrest?"
Tamamo took a sip of tea and continued looking into the garden.
"No."
"She hasn't learned her lesson yet."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"I can feel it. She's exactly like I was as a child."
Akio grinned.
"You're right about that, Lady Tamamo."
"Although your mother only gave you six months of house arrest back then."
She tilted her head slightly.
"And after two days you did the exact same nonsense again."
Tamamo turned her head away.
"Old woman. Your memory is getting worse."
"I never did such a thing."
Akio nodded with a wide grin.
"Yes, yes."
"My memory really is getting worse."
Her white ears twitched slightly while her eight tails moved calmly in the wind.
Far below, in the depths of Hell, the black palace of Lucifer rose like a dark mountain from the abyss.
A massive storm raged around its walls.
Lightning repeatedly struck the ground, bathing the surroundings in flashes of blinding light.
Inside the throne room, darkness ruled.
Upon a colossal throne sat a demon whom even Hell feared.
Lucifer Morningstar.
Under him stood armies vast enough to drown nations—three generals of Heritage Rank, legions of Crown and Vessel Rank demons, and countless lesser fiends below them.
With this overwhelming army, Lucifer planned his greatest goal:
To overthrow his father.
And seize control of Heaven and Hell.
Before his throne knelt his four most loyal servants.
The first to lift his head was Astarion, pale and composed, with the stillness of a judge already weighing the fate of nations.
"My lord..."
"Why have you summoned us?"
Lucifer's fingers slowly tapped the armrest of his throne.
These four were his own creations.
Unlike the Seventy-Two Pillars, they had never given him reason to doubt them.
His gaze glowed in the darkness.
"I will send you into the world."
His voice echoed through the throne hall.
"Four potential enemies must not interfere in the coming war."
He leaned slightly forward.
"Make sure they are occupied with themselves by the time we storm the gates of Heaven."
Silence fell over the hall.
Then the four generals lowered their heads even further.
"As you command, my lord."
"Soon we will open the gates of Heaven."
"Long live Lord Lucifer!"
All four spoke at the same time.
A diabolical laughter filled the throne room.
Outside, the storm intensified.
And the coming war drew closer.
The storm outside the palace grew even stronger.
Lightning illuminated the dark throne hall for a brief moment.
Lucifer slowly rose from his throne.
His long cloak of black energy moved like living shadows.
The four Shadow Generals remained kneeling.
"Rise."
Immediately they stood.
"The war that is coming," Lucifer said calmly, "will be greater than anything this world has ever seen."
His red eyes glowed in the darkness.
"But there are powers... that might interfere."
He stopped.
"That will not happen."
Lucifer pointed to the first general.
"Astarion."
The demon respectfully lowered his head.
"Yes, my lord."
"The Greeks are proud," Lucifer said. "Wound that pride, and they will tear at one another without ever seeing your hand."
A small smile appeared on Lucifer's face.
Astarion smiled as well.
"It will be my pleasure."
Lucifer turned to the next general.
"Malzareth."
The air around the demon shimmered with heat.
"The Norse gods love war," Lucifer said. "So give them one."
Malzareth bowed slightly.
"Ragnarök will come sooner than they believe."
Lucifer looked toward the third general.
"Vaelkor."
The demon barely moved.
His body looked almost like a living shadow.
His eyes glowed in the darkness.
"The Devas of the East fancy themselves guardians of balance," Lucifer said.
"Keep them occupied with their own troubles. A divine conflict. A lost artifact. A war among their own realms. I care little which."
Vaelkor smiled faintly.
"A few shadows in the right places and even gods will begin to distrust one another."
His eyes glimmered.
"When the war begins..."
"...no one will notice that Heaven has already fallen."
Lucifer stopped before the last general.
"Zarveth."
The demon slowly raised his head.
"The Youkai," Lucifer said with quiet contempt. "Their clans are strong, but they do not trust one another."
His smile widened.
"Destroy that trust."
Zarveth bowed deeply.
"A civil war among monsters."
"An interesting task."
"The Youkai will break easily enough. Their queen will fall first."
Lucifer sat back down on his throne.
His eyes sparkled.
"Go."
"And when the war begins..."
His voice became cold as ice.
"...there will be no one left who can stop us."
The four generals knelt one last time.
"Long live Lord Lucifer."
Then they disappeared one after another into black portals.
Outside, the storm howled louder.
Lucifer began to laugh.
A dark, cold laughter.
The war was coming.