Chapter 74: The Castle Cage
As was stated before, Hikaru never had any intention of fighting the Thunder Beast in a fair, head-on duel.
His preparations had begun the moment he stepped foot inside the Imagawa clan's main castle.
[Blood Transformation] and [Bone Soul Transformation] were activated in tandem. A fine, crimson mist seeped from his pores, spreading out with every step he took, clinging to the air like a sentient fog. Simultaneously, from the soles of his feet, razor-sharp bone spikes burrowed into the earth, threading their way through the gaps in the soil, the masonry, and the ancient walls.
It was a slow, careful process—one that demanded immense patience.
It took him a full half-hour to weave his network throughout the entire castle grounds.
The blood mist became his eyes; so long as an area was stained by its ethereal crimson, he could perceive every minute movement within it.
The bone spikes became his weapons; at his command, the skeletal spears buried just beneath the surface could erupt at any moment, transforming the ground into a forest of death.
This was the foundation of his confidence, the method by which the weak could overcome the strong. It wasn't about a direct collision of power, but a pre-laid strategy. It wasn't about tanking damage, but about absolute battlefield control.
As an Oni Samurai of the Six Transformations, he was theoretically stronger than a common yokai of the same rank, especially after having fused one of his abilities. Even so, he knew his chances of winning a straight fight against a Thunder Beast that had reached the level of Qualitative Transformation were slim.
But what if the circumstances were different?
What if the entire castle was his battlefield?
What if the entire castle was his trap?
Then the outcome would be vastly different indeed.
...
Imagawa Yoshimoto stood at the edge of the gaping hole blasted into the side of the tenshukaku, her eyes fixed on the lone figure standing at the heart of the castle grounds.
Her legs felt weak, but it wasn't from fear.
It was from pure, unadulterated shock.
The Thunder Beast.
She could finally see the full form of the gargantuan creature that had burst from beneath the earth. Its fur was a stark, brilliant white, seeming to crackle like solidified lightning and glowing with a blinding luminescence under the moonlight. Its limbs were as thick as the grand pillars in her main hall, and each of its claw tips sizzled with power, arcs of violet electricity leaping between them.
Its sheer size was stunning—its height at the shoulder alone was well over thirty feet, towering above the surrounding structures. The beast's face was a hideous, terrifying mask of fury, its fangs bared in a permanent snarl. Its eyes burned with a ghostly blue light, like two malevolent will-o'-the-wisps.
This was the yokai that had been lurking beneath her castle for three days.
This was the culprit that had plagued her with nightmares every single night.
"It's... too big," Imagawa Yoshimoto murmured, her voice barely a whisper.
The most elite samurai under her command wouldn't last a single moment against such a creature. The mages she had hired at great expense wouldn't even have a chance to flee.
But—
Her gaze shifted, rising to the roof of the main keep.
That gray-clad figure was standing there, looking down upon the colossal beast below. A storm of blood mist churned around him, and a forest of bone grew beneath his feet.
The entire castle was being wielded as his personal weapon.
'So this is the power of that "yokai,"' she thought.
His request to "borrow the castle" had a far deeper meaning than she had ever imagined. He wasn't just borrowing a location.
He had turned the entire fortress into a massive cage.
She felt a wave of relief wash over her. Fortunately, she had agreed to his terms. Fortunately, he had coordinated with her forces, ensuring all soldiers and residents were evacuated from the city as quickly as possible.
This was truly…
"Magnificent."
A monster that had come specifically to slay other monsters.
For the first time, Imagawa Yoshimoto felt a genuine, unavoidable flicker of interest.
...
Meanwhile, on the battlefield below.
"Kobe Hikaru..." the Thunder Beast's voice boomed like rolling thunder, echoing across the night sky. "You are courting death!"
A violent surge of lightning exploded from its body, the purple radiance illuminating the night as if it were broad daylight.
Then, it moved.
Kicking off with all four limbs, its massive body shot toward the top of the tenshukaku like a living bolt of purple lightning. Its speed was astonishing. It moved so fast that Imagawa Yoshimoto could only perceive a violet afterimage. So fast that the forest of bone spikes had no time to intercept it.
But Hikaru moved as well.
He did not dodge.
Instead, he met the Thunder Beast's charge head-on.
Muramasa was in his right hand, Sōza Samonji in his left.
Both swords were drawn in a single, fluid motion. One black, one silver, their blade lights intertwining in the dark.
[Sharp Body Transformation] was pushed to its absolute limit, every muscle fiber in his body burning with power. [Spear-Waist Transformation] engaged, his torso twisting to channel the strength of his entire frame into the blow. [Bone Soul Transformation] operated at full capacity, a layer of dense bone armor surging from beneath his skin to encase his body. [Blood Transformation] was sustained, the crimson mist around him condensing into a thin, shimmering shield.
A crimson oni mask materialized over his face, its hideous, demonic features creating an eerie contrast with his long, pale hair.
Dual-wielding.
This was the first time Hikaru had ever attempted to fight with two swords. Muramasa was his old partner; after months of use, they were perfectly in sync. Sōza Samonji, however, was a recent acquisition, and he was still unfamiliar with its balance and feel.
But it didn't matter.
He didn't need them to be perfectly coordinated.
He only needed them to be fast enough.
BOOM—!
The two figures collided in mid-air.
In that singular, explosive instant, the very air seemed to tear apart. A concussive shockwave blasted out in all directions, ripping the tiles from nearby rooftops and shaking bricks loose from the castle walls.
Imagawa Yoshimoto was thrown back several steps by the force of the gale, her hands gripping the door frame tightly to keep from being blown away.
She saw it all.
The Thunder Beast's colossal claws slammed against Hikaru's dual swords. Purple lightning and the cold light of the blades intertwined, erupting in a shower of violent sparks. The gray-clad figure was visibly suppressed by the beast's overwhelming strength, his body flung backward through the air.
But his swords never stopped moving.
Muramasa slashed toward the Thunder Beast's left eye, but the creature tilted its head at the last second, dodging the blow. Sōza Samonji thrust toward its throat, only to be deflected by a sweep of its other claw.
Hikaru's body was still hurtling backward, but bone spikes had already erupted from his back, stabbing deep into the castle wall behind him and arresting his momentum.
"Is that all?" the Thunder Beast grinned, the expression on its monstrous face a clear mockery. "I thought you were stronger—"
It never finished the sentence.
Its body suddenly went rigid.
It looked down.
A single white bone spike had erupted from the ground, piercing straight through its hind leg.
"What—"
It tried to dodge, to pull away, but it was too late. More bone spikes surged upward. They burst from the ground, from the castle walls, from the rooftops.
The bone forests it had dismissed as mere decoration had all come to life. They were like countless grasping white hands, reaching out to seize it.
Just as Hikaru had said.
This was his grand design.
Though he couldn't remotely control the individual movements of the spikes, he could still command them to grow.
"I told you," Hikaru's voice drifted from the swirling blood mist. "This city is my battlefield."
He was already rushing forward again.
His dual swords wove through the air, their combined blade light like a streak of deadly silk. Muramasa slashed toward the Thunder Beast's abdomen while Sōza Samonji stabbed at its flank.
The beast swung its claws to block, but its movements were now sluggish and clumsy—the bone spikes impaling its leg were constantly growing, tangling around it, restricting its every action.
CLANG!
Muramasa was blocked by a massive claw.
But Sōza Samonji was not.
The silver blade sliced cleanly across the Thunder Beast's ribs, carving a deep gash that immediately welled with blood.
"Damn you—!" the beast roared, and the lightning coiling around its body erupted with renewed violence. The bone spikes wrapped around its limbs were instantly shattered by the electrical discharge, turning to ash.
But Hikaru had already retreated.
He stood within the blood mist, his dual swords hanging loosely at his sides. Several scorched, blackened marks marred his bone armor, remnants of the lightning that had grazed him just now.
His eyes, however, remained perfectly calm.
"Your speed is indeed impressive," he stated, his voice even. "And your strength is certainly great."
"But do you know?" He raised his head, his gaze locking onto the beast's ghostly blue eyes.
"In this city, you cannot escape."
The blood mist surged again.
The bone forest began to grow once more.
This was the struggle of a caged beast.
The battle had only just begun.
[Sōza Samonji: Affinity + 5]
[Current Affinity: 5 (Sprouting)]
[It is very excited. It has been a long time since it had such a battle.]
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