Chapter 73: Blood Mist and Bone Forest
Deep beneath the Imagawa clan's main castle, a vast, unnatural cavern had been gouged from the earth. This hollow was not a creation of nature, but had been carved out by some immense power. The cavern walls were a mosaic of scorched black rock, scarred with the telltale branching patterns of powerful electrical discharges. The air hung thick and heavy, saturated with the acrid stench of ozone and burnt earth.
Curled in the center of this subterranean chamber lay a gargantuan beast.
A Thunder Beast.
It resembled a colossal white wolf, easily ten times the size of any natural canine, yet its form was distinctly more monstrous. Its limbs were as thick as ancient tree trunks, ending in claws that gleamed like polished steel. Erratic arcs of violet lightning danced and spat from each razor-sharp tip. Its fur was a stark, brilliant white, the color of a lightning strike against a midnight sky. Beneath the pristine coat, complex purple markings pulsed with a faint, rhythmic light, like a network of electrified veins or the very essence of a thunderstorm captured and solidified deep underground.
This was a descendant of the divine beasts that served the Thunder God in ancient legends. While not one of the original divine creatures itself, it was a scion of their ancient bloodline. Possessing even a fraction of that divine heritage was enough to elevate it comfortably into the ranks of high-level demons.
At this moment, the Thunder Beast lay upon the scorched ground, its eyes closed. It was resting. And it was waiting.
The task assigned to it by 'that lord' was deceptively simple: lurk beneath this human castle and periodically unleash its lightning, seeding panic and death. It required no large-scale slaughter, only the steady, unrelenting generation of fear. At a critical juncture when two nations were at war, this constant terror would prevent the soldiers from finding a moment's peace.
Such fear would make the men restless, and that restlessness would curdle into resentment.
Resentment, in turn, would breed demons.
And those demons would create even more fear.
It was a cycle—a perfect, self-sustaining cycle of decay, orchestrated from within.
The Thunder Beast was quite satisfied with this assignment. It didn't need to reveal itself or engage in risky combat. It could simply hide deep underground and release a few stray bolts of lightning now and then. It was safe, effortless, and would still fulfill its mission. As an old demon that had weathered centuries, it had long ago mastered the art of self-preservation.
In its younger, more reckless days, it had been far too ostentatious. It once attempted to raid a human noble's domain for a meal of blood and flesh, but not only had it failed, it had been cornered and swarmed by a pack of those damnable onmyoji. The encounter had nearly ended with its purification and destruction; it had barely escaped with its life.
After that harrowing experience, it had learned to be discreet. Hide when possible, conceal when necessary. Strength wasn't for showing off; it was for survival.
It had already scouted the spiritualists stationed in this castle. A bunch of trash. The strongest among them could, at most, sense its presence, but he couldn't possibly pinpoint its exact location, let alone inflict any harm.
So, it could remain here in peace, slowly releasing its power, slowly cultivating the resentment that saturated the air above. Once a sufficient amount had accumulated, that lord would naturally arrive to harvest it. Then, it would receive its reward. Perhaps it could even achieve a breakthrough, shattering the bottleneck that had constrained its power for so long.
The Thunder Beast mused on these pleasant thoughts, the corners of its maw twitching upward. It was a smile, though on its fearsome, bestial face, it looked more like the baring of fangs.
But just as contentment settled over it—
Its entire body went rigid.
A strange aura, alien and invasive, began to seep in from all directions. It was faint, so faint as to be almost imperceptible, but the beast's keen senses caught it instantly.
Because that aura was far too distinct.
It was Yao Qi. And blood. And… bone.
"What?"
The Thunder Beast's eyes snapped open.
It saw them. Protruding from cracks in the cavern walls, erupting from fissures in the ground, something was drilling its way into the chamber.
They were white. And sharp. Like the gnarled roots of a dead tree.
And also… like bone spikes.
One, two, ten, a hundred. The ivory spears grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, closing in on it from every conceivable angle.
"What is this—"
The Thunder Beast surged to its feet, a violent shroud of lightning crackling to life around its body. It swung a foreclaw, cleaving the air and loosing a jagged fork of purple electricity. The bolt struck the nearest cluster of bone spikes, shattering them into a shower of white fragments.
But more spikes immediately surged upward to take their place, filling the void as if their supply was endless.
"Damn it—"
The Thunder Beast's expression shifted, its confidence evaporating. It realized something was terribly wrong. These were no natural phenomenon; someone was controlling them.
Someone was trying to force it out.
"Who is it!" it roared, the soundwave shaking the cavern and sending loose rock skittering from the ceiling.
There was no response.
There were only more bone spikes.
And… a blood mist.
A faint, crimson vapor began to seep out from the gaps between the ivory spears, slowly permeating the air. The mist carried no overt aggression, yet the Thunder Beast felt a deep sense of unease wash over it. It felt as if it were being watched. It felt as if it were being… locked onto.
The source of this power was not overwhelming, but it was tenacious. And very, very troublesome.
"I can't stay here any longer!"
The Thunder Beast made its decision in an instant. Its body dissolved into a blinding flash of purple lightning and shot straight toward the ceiling.
Boom—!
The ground above erupted.
A massive crater suddenly appeared in the heart of the Imagawa clan's main castle. The surrounding area was conspicuously empty, cleared as if by prior arrangement.
Thunder from a clear sky. This was, in the most literal sense, thunder from a clear sky.
Dust and debris billowed into the night.
The Thunder Beast burst from the crater, its colossal body appearing especially hideous under the cold light of the moon. It had finally been driven from the subterranean lair where it had hidden for three days, finally exposed on the surface.
And then—it froze.
The world that met its eyes was a nightmare woven from red and white.
A crimson blood mist shrouded the entire castle, spreading from the inner courtyards to the outer walls like a ghastly, translucent veil.
White bone spikes sprouted from the ground, from the rooftops, and from the castle ramparts. They were a dense, interlocking forest of ivory spears.
No, not a forest.
It was a cage.
A massive cage woven from blood and bone.
And the beast was standing in its very center.
"This—"
The Thunder Beast's pupils contracted into pinpricks. It snapped its head upward.
There, at the highest point of the castle, a lone figure stood atop the tenshukaku. He wore simple gray robes, and his long, pale hair drifted in the night breeze. He held two swords in his hands.
That figure was looking down at it, his crimson eyes burning with an unnatural light that stood out starkly against the darkness.
"I've finally forced you out," the figure spoke. His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried with perfect clarity to the Thunder Beast's ears.
The beast's eyes widened in disbelief. It recognized that man.
That was—
"Kobe Hikaru!?"
The name escaped its throat in a shocked roar. It knew that name. As one of the vanguards dispatched by the Kyoto forces, it was naturally privy to intelligence regarding the other factions. It knew all about the troublesome existence that had recently emerged in the Kanto region.
The Oni Samurai who had slain Suda Shigenobu.
The demon who traveled with a shrine maiden from Kaede Village.
The man who, just a few days ago, had slaughtered four members of the Band of Seven.
But it had never imagined that this infamous warrior would come looking for it. Not here. Not like this.
High above, the figure smiled. Framed by the swirling blood mist and the forest of bone, the expression was exceptionally eerie.
"That's right," he said. "Remember this name."
He paused, letting the words hang in the chilling air.
"It's the name of the one who is going to kill you."
The Oni, Kobe Hikaru.
The Demon God, Kobe Hikaru.
Rumble!
Thunder rose once more, and once more, it fell.
But this time, its target was not the aimless generation of resentment. This time, it surged with murderous intent toward the lone figure standing at the highest point of the castle.
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