Volume 11 - Yamata no Orochi: Chapter 59 – Bounty list of Takamagahara

Volume 11 - Yamata no Orochi: Chapter 59 – Bounty list of Takamagahara

Once the foremost strategic mind of a peaceful era, the patriarch of martial families, and the architect of the samurai age, his final stronghold now lay in ruins, its ashes dispersed by the wind into the sky.

Lily and her allies stood atop the quivering, fracturing floating mountains, witnessing this defining moment.

“Lily, this place won’t hold much longer; we need to leave,” Ayaka advised.

Gazing dazedly at the deteriorating, flaming castle, Lily mused, “Minamoto no Yoritomo, I may grasp your obsession, yet I can never condone it.”

With Oborozuki Muramasa sheathed, Lily turned away, her crimson kimono billowing, and departed with her companions.

“Let’s depart... our foe has fallen; it’s time to return,” Shizuka Gozen, her visage illuminated by descending embers, said to Tomoe Gozen, whose armor bore the scars of battle.

“With our kin and foes gone... why do we remain...”

Tomoe Gozen conjured her arts to mend her skeletal steed, previously ravaged by Yamata no Orochi. Astride her resurrected mount, she rode into the clouds, vanishing into the vast expanse.

Following Yamata no Orochi’s demise, the floodwaters withdrew, revealing once submerged lands. Ravaged mountains and forests began to reemerge. Though embers from the fallen castle still descended, they were mere specks of light against the night sky.

They made their way back to the Twelve Nioh King Sedan Chair.

“So, Sister Tomoe has departed...” Lily, positioned on the sedan’s balcony, gazed vacantly into the heavens, sensing Tomoe Gozen might not return.

“Miss Lily, we shall depart now.”

Adjacent to the grand sedan, clusters of mystical clouds drifted off. Michizane, Masakado, Hashihime, and a host of demons took their leave atop these clouds.

“Lord Michizane, Lord Masakado, Lady Hashihime...”

At a loss for words, Lily could only offer a deep bow of thanks.

The formidable spirits reciprocated Lily’s gesture with a salute of their own as they made their way back to Heian-kyo, where their legend persisted.

Without notice, the rain ceased.

“Lily, we should head back to Heian-kyo. There’s still much awaiting us,” Ayaka proposed.

“Don’t fret, Lily; your sisters are all here,” Haihime reassured. VIssịT n0(v)eL/b(i)(n).com for the best novel reading experience

“Huuu...” Lily exhaled deeply, the weight of her thoughts audible in her sigh, “Mmm... ah...”

Lily’s body quivered, her complexion flushing. The heat of battle had masked it, but she had overexerted the purple lunar force, or maybe the dense lunar force intensified her body’s reaction. Despite Shuten Doji and Minamoto no Yoritomo’s demise, their curse lingered potently.

“Lily, what’s the matter?” Her companions expressed concern upon witnessing her abrupt transformation.

“Is she unwell?”

“Or perhaps...”

The cabin trembled, enveloped by the tumultuous black smoke.

“A new master? But what of your guidance, Master?”

“Ashihara’s fate is a minor concern I can no longer afford to attend to!”

“And what of Minamoto no Yoritomo? Shall I persist in my surveillance?”

An overwhelming force emanated from the voice, stifling the cloistered emperor’s speech and freezing his very soul, rendering him momentarily lifeless. “All concerns are to be deferred to your new master! He will seek you out imminently. Should you contemplate defiance...”

The cloistered emperor’s eyes widened in terror, mirroring the despair of drowning. He gasped for air to no avail, his silent screams unaided by his immobile lungs, engulfed in agony and despair.

Abruptly, the black smoke vanished.

The cloistered emperor inhaled deeply, savoring the rush of fresh air.

Shivering uncontrollably, the ordeal had left him thoroughly chilled. Despite the smoke’s disappearance, he remained prostrate, too fearful to rise.

Without warning, the cabin’s weathered door swung open.

The cloistered emperor caught sight of two sets of feet clad in wooden footwear approaching. One pair exuded strength, the other grace.

Lifting his quivering head, he beheld two figures occupying the cramped space.

The first, clad in a dark robe, bore disheveled black hair and a visage both handsome and gaunt, marked by a black beard. His eyes, once vibrant and direct, now seemed distant and aged.

“Ash... Ashikaga Kiyoshi?” The cloistered emperor’s voice carried a note of astonishment.

Beside Ashikaga Kiyoshi stood a statuesque woman garbed in black. Closer inspection revealed her kunoichi attire to be of exceptional make, emitting an aura that even the cloistered emperor found intimidating yet undeniably alluring.

The woman’s short black hair framed a white hannya mask concealing her features.

“Greetings, Your Majesty, the cloistered emperor,” Ashikaga Kiyoshi intoned, his voice expansive, bereft of any inclination to bow.

Mount Fuji loomed under darkened skies, smoke billowing from its summit.

Amidst coughs, a paper rope of indeterminate length dangled from the heavens, swaying amidst the smoky gusts. A slender man, his attire threadbare as though a farmer’s, donned a red tengu mask. He trailed the paper rope, its origin obscured by the ash-laden sky.

His voice, hoarse yet piercing, carried an eerie quality, “I yearn to leave this accursed locale immediately upon completing my mission!”

Extracting a diminutive scroll from his basket, it depicted miniature black thunderclouds, intermittently crackling with lightning.

“Atatata! That stings!” the odd man exclaimed, as though jolted by an electric shock, hastily casting the scroll into Mount Fuji’s smoldering embers before ascending the paper rope skyward.

As the scroll descended into Mount Fuji’s abyss, it unfurled, revealing a lengthy tapestry adorned with myriad depictions: malevolent spirits bearing ghastly visages, sublime immortals and celestials beside wind-swept jade trees... In total, ninety-nine illustrations, each sealed with a daunting red stamp.

Notably, the ninety-ninth depicted a striking young female samurai clad in a red kimono, her hand poised on a red parasol. Inscribed below was, “Ninety-ninth outlaw, harbinger of turmoil and allure, Mirror Girl Lily, with a bounty of ten thousand Blood Spirit Magatamas.”