"My name is
Lady of Tempests, Arame Koushi
."
Soichiro felt one of his eyebrows twitch involuntarily.
The name was familiar.
After all, named demons were rare. It was precisely because of their rarity that their names were recorded and cataloged for tracking.
Naturally,
Lady of Tempests, Arame Koushi
was one such name, preserved in the combat records of the Kamiarizuki family. Her last sighting was in 1959. That encounter ended without exorcism, leaving behind a grim tally of fallen exorcists.
The only inconsistency was her appearance. The records described her in more traditional attire, unlike her current modern, edgy clothing. However, her appearance—especially her outfit—could easily be altered through
Attribute Shift
.
"I finally found the Immortal Realm..." Arame Koushi sighed wistfully, her eyes drifting to the now-closed portal. "But it's gone and shut itself. Such a delightful, sweet fragrance... I'd love to smell it over and over again. Couldn't someone bottle it into perfume?"
"Why are you here?" Soichiro asked, his tone flat but sharp.
"What an uncouth question. This is why I don't like humans," she said with an exaggerated sigh, tapping her umbrella lightly against her shoulder.
"There's a treasure here, isn't there? One that grants immortality," she said, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
"...I see," Soichiro muttered.
Itsuki hadn't told him about the
Peach of the Immortal Realm
. Soichiro wasn't aware of its existence, but he did suspect that the Immortal Realm was a world created by a Seventh-Rank exorcist. If so, such a treasure didn't seem improbable.
"So," Arame Koushi continued, her gaze sweeping over everyone present, "which one of you is the Gatekeeper? You must be able to open the portal again."
Her eyes scanned them like a predator sizing up its prey.
Soichiro's mind raced. Behind him, in the dug-out pit, were the children and the blacksmith. Neither could be counted as combatants.
With his decision made, Soichiro dropped into a sword-draw stance, letting
Silveit
extend outward like a snake.
"Even if such a treasure exists here," he said, voice firm, "it is not something I could ever hand over."
Without waiting for a reply, he lunged forward, the distance between them vanishing in an instant.
Arame Koushi smiled, twisting her body in a fluid motion. Her movements were precise and deliberate, showing a familiarity with the sword techniques of exorcists. She ducked under the arc of Soichiro's blade, her upper body leaning just enough to avoid the strike.
But Soichiro anticipated this.
"This is so disappointing. Such a letdown. Truly," she sighed, her eyes narrowing as they locked onto Soichiro.
"To think a mere human would dare to think they can fight me."
With a single motion, she raised her finger and pointed it directly at Soichiro.
BOOM!
The rocks hovering around her were hurled forward like cannonballs.
"Damn it—!" Soichiro cursed, quickly manipulating
Silveit
into a shield. He altered its attributes to form a translucent barrier in front of him.
The first boulder slammed into the shield, followed by a second. By the third, cracks spread across its surface with an ominous creak.
Realizing the shield wouldn't hold, Soichiro called out.
"Run! Both of you! Get out of here!"
"Oh, the children aren't the Gatekeeper?" Arame Koushi mused. "Fine. Let them go."
With a wicked smile, she spun her finger in a circle. Following her gesture, a powerful whirlwind began to form, pulling debris and broken trees into its violent current.
The wind carved into the ground, peeling away bark and shredding wood as it intensified, creating an inescapable storm around Soichiro and the blacksmith.
"Which one of you is the Gatekeeper?" she said, her gaze shifting between them. "Killing the Gatekeeper would close the portal, wouldn't it? If only you'd mark yourselves with something obvious."
Her lips curled into a smirk.
"Well, no matter. You're both exorcists. Even without hands, you should be able to manage some magic, right? I'll just hack off your limbs and figure it out later."
She paused, then let out a dramatic sigh. Find more to read on empire
"Oh, how silly of me! I could've just taken the children hostage. That would've been so much easier. Still, my little oversights are part of my charm, don't you think?"
With that, she exhaled deeply, her expression lighting up as though she'd just had a brilliant idea.
"For now, I'll go retrieve the children!"
The declaration was all Soichiro needed. Before she could act, he wrapped
Silveit
around her, anchoring himself against the storm.
"Ugh!"
Ignoring the wind that sliced at his skin, he charged forward, breaking through the gale.
"Anyone who dares to harm children—"
With all his strength, he swung his fist.
"—cannot be allowed to walk free!"
The punch landed squarely, sending Arame Koushi flying.