Volume 8 - Higanbana: Chapter 49 – Escape!

Volume 8 - Higanbana: Chapter 49 – Escape!

Boom! Boom! Bang!

The night sky crackled with vibrant hues of cyan, pink, and purple as lightning streaked across it. Yoritomo and Daitengu, leading the pursuit, swiftly raised their weapons —the black sword and spiked club— deflecting the meteoric lightning arrows.

Although the arrows were redirected, the sheer force they carried managed to significantly impede the speed of the two adversaries.

Tomoe Gozen, aware of her opponents’ superiority, relied on her mighty lightning bow and arrows to bridge the power gap. Each arrow was a meticulously crafted low-grade spirit artifact, painstakingly refined using precious materials she had gathered during her travels.

While a low-grade spirit artifact like her arrow held lesser value compared to other perpetually usable weapons, to Tomoe Gozen, it was an invaluable treasure. She spared no expense in obtaining it.

The consumable nature of Tomoe Gozen’s low-grade bow and arrows did not diminish their formidable power in the slightest. While primarily targeting Yoritomo, even Daitengu’s swiftness was significantly hindered. The clone, aware of the potential risk of injury, refrained from intercepting the arrows.

Tomoe Gozen’s agility was unparalleled. She unleashed a volley of arrows before swiftly retreating, intermittently joining forces with Shizuka Gozen’s mesmerizing dance and Lily’s purple lunar domain. Surprisingly, their coordinated efforts at the rear managed to temporarily halt the advance of Yoritomo’s pursuing army.

Thus, they continued their retreat until reaching the gate of the once majestic and dignified former chief advisor’s manor, now left in disarray.

“Master!” Kagura rushed out in a state of urgency. By this time, most of the Tsunaga Sisters had already sought refuge within the chief advisor’s manor.

“Kagura, what are you doing here? Didn’t I instruct you to evacuate Lady Ayaka immediately using the teleportation formation?” Lily asked, her concern evident.

“Master, the teleportation formation... it sustained damage when the defensive formation collapsed!” Kagura explained.

“What?!” Lily swiftly expanded her domain, conducting a thorough investigation.

To her dismay, the Divine Sun Formation had been struck by the relentless barrage of spells that had initially targeted the defensive formation, resulting in its complete disintegration, devoid of any residual energy.

After all, the combined assault of thousands of onmyojis had shattered the defensive formation of the Twelve Moon Phase Instrument. The residual force from those attacks had enough destructive power to breach the walls of the chief advisor’s manor, annihilating the teleportation formation within.

“How could this happen?!” Panic surged within Lily. Tomoe Gozen, on her spirit skeleton horse, was rapidly approaching. Although Yoritomo and the other pursuers were still some distance away, Tomoe Gozen’s limited supply of precious spirit artifact arrows would eventually be exhausted, leaving her unable to fend them off for much longer.

What should they do now?

In this critical moment, Lily couldn’t afford to hesitate.

“Tell everyone to escape through the west gate!” Lily’s voice resounded with urgency.

“Yes, Master!” Without further delay, Kagura swiftly relayed the order to the sisters who had sought refuge within the manor.

“Lily!” Ayaka soared out of the chief advisor’s manor on a gentle water stream. However, as she neared Lily, the stream suddenly dissipated, causing Ayaka to lose her balance and tumble towards Lily’s direction.

“Sister Ayaka!” Lily caught her, preventing her from falling.

“Lily...” Ayaka held a small, ancient bronze device that emanated an incredible aura. The device resembled a miniature astronomical instrument, with revolving moons in various phases and twinkling starlight.

“Lily, this is the Twelve Moon Phase Instrument. Only I can take it with me. My storage treasures were taken away, so keep it safe with you.”

“Alright.” Lily accepted the Twelve Moon Phase Instrument, sensing its extraordinary nature the moment she touched it. Its profound aura surpassed even that of Yoritomo’s middle-grade spirit artifact.

“Lily... I’m grateful that you came to rescue me, but with the teleportation formation broken, many of us won’t be able to escape. I can’t walk on my own anymore. You all need to flee quickly. I’ll stay behind and try to hold them off as long as possible,” Ayaka expressed.

Her aura remained weak, and her body exuded a strong feminine fragrance.

“Sister Ayaka, what are you saying? We came here to save you!”

“I understand, but if we stay here, none of us will be able to get away.”

“I will never abandon you!”

Just then, Murasaki emerged from the entrance, accompanied by over a hundred Fujiwara house servants and warmaidens, hastening towards them.

“Miss Lily! Please take Lady Ayaka and leave immediately. We were once part of the chief advisor’s household, and we pledge to hold off the enemies here!” one of the Fujiwara house servants declared.

“Lily! I’ve exhausted my supply of lightning meteor arrows! I can no longer stall Yoritomo!” Tomoe Gozen shouted from behind.

Tomoe Gozen could easily elude Yoritomo’s pursuit if she chose to, but the Tsunaga Sisters, female cavalry, and others were not as swift. Despite their Awakened-level abilities, they couldn’t match the speed of Yoritomo. Even if they increased the distance between them, as long as he knew their escape direction, he would inevitably catch up.

“What do we do now? How do we escape this?” Lily’s mind raced, grappling with the dire situation. The sacrifices made thus far were immense, and the thought of being captured was unbearable. She would rather fight to the death.

As she glanced back, Yoritomo and Daitengu loomed closer within their field of vision. With such formidable adversaries in sight, their chances of escape seemed slim. The moment they appeared, they could close in with astonishing speed.

Lily came to a halt.

“Sister Ayaka, Sister Shimizu, it seems we have no choice but to fight to the death,” Lily declared.

Ayaka’s eyes glinted with unwavering resolve as she clasped Lily’s hands.

Shimizu stood steadfastly at Lily’s side, undeterred by fear.

Together, they turned to face their approaching foes, bracing themselves for the final battle.

The colossal black-armored samurai glided through the air, drawing nearer with a malevolent gaze.

“Who dares to hunt down my granddaughter?!” A coarse, old voice, tinged with mischief, resounded from a distance.

Boom! Amidst a burst of white smoke, a towering white-bearded raccoon, standing ten meters tall, appeared before them. Yoritomo, his clone, and Daitengu were forced to halt abruptly at the sight of this colossal raccoon!

The raccoon exuded an ancient, enigmatic, yet immensely powerful aura. This was not a mere illusion or projection—it was the real Raccoon Mita Ancestor, a living legend!

“Grandpa Mita!” Yuuta exclaimed, crawling out from under the sisters’ legs, his face filled with surprise.

It seemed that Rika had successfully returned to the Raccoon Temple in Izumo to deliver the news to Raccoon Mita.

“Grandpa Mita!” Lily also expressed her astonishment.

“Lily, we’ll talk later. You all go first, and leave this to me!” Raccoon Mita’s beard fluttered as he held his plump belly with one hand and an ancient wooden staff with the other, exuding an air of confidence.

“Grandpa Mita, I’ll stay and fight alongside you!” Lily insisted.

“No need! Your Grandpa Mita has lived since the ancient war. Do I still need to fear these few hairy brats? Hurry up and leave, and don’t get in the way here! Shizuka Gozen, Tomoe Gozen, the two of you should leave with her as well!” Raccoon Mita commanded.

“But, Grandpa Mita...”

“Go! Lily, if you say another word, I’ll beat you up along with Yoritomo!”

Lily fell silent. Considering it, Mita was indeed a living legend and could be trusted to handle the situation!

Grandpa, please be safe... Lily silently prayed as she and the others left, heading westward for their escape. With Tomoe Gozen and Shizuka Gozen by their side, they ventured into the vast wilderness, where mountains stretched for kilometers.

“Raccoon Ancestor! You rarely involve yourself in worldly matters. Why have you emerged from the mountains to meddle in today’s affairs?” Yoritomo inquired.

“Little Lily is the bearer of the sakura parasol. Do you ignorant youngsters even comprehend the significance of the sakura parasol? It is far from a mundane affair!” Raccoon Mita bellowed.

“If that’s the case, I apologize for offending the Raccoon Ancestor!” Yoritomo unleashed a surge of dark power and lunged at Mita, accompanied by Daitengu and Kamakura.

Despite being at the quintuple-soul Big Dipper Stage, Raccoon Mita was no ordinary opponent. He had dedicated countless years to his training and possessed a multitude of techniques and treasures. Merely labeling him as a quintuple-soul expert did not fully capture his true strength.

“Three against one, eh?” Raccoon Mita exclaimed.

Poof! Poof! Bam! Mita transformed into three identical giant raccoons, each armed with a distinct weapon, ready to confront the approaching trio of adversaries.

...

At this time, amidst the fiery wreckage beside Nijo Boulevard, a woman with a woven headdress adorned with feathers and white hair, exuding an intense aura of bitterness, discovered a nearly lifeless girl with a lone ponytail.

“It appears she is still breathing...” murmured Hashihime, the woman who possessed great power as an ancient vengeful spirit, although she did not belong to the ranks of the four renowned vengeful spirits.

References