~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
A New World, Book 3 - Complete -
Iced Fairy:
Lord Tenshou frowned as his first steps on earth were greeted by a hungry mosquito. Fortunately his wards activated and incinerated the insect before the unclean thing could bite him, but it was still insulting.
As he looked around his main transport site his mood improved. Everyone had made it there via the teleportation devices, and the youkai hunters were spreading out already. In fact by the time he finished his inspection only his personal guard was left.
He stood there for a few more moments before realizing Jiyuwan wasn't present, and thus he'd have to ask for a report. Silently he cursed the old warrior's strange sense of honor. It was a waste forcing the swordsman to try to kill the entire tengu nation, but the man had questioned every single move Lord Tenshou had made. And at some point that questioning would become evident, destroying Lord Tenshou's entire political base.
Still there were others who still served him. And unlike Jiyuwan they were still loyal to him instead of some fantasy idea of personal honor. Sadly none were quite as skilled, but they would do fine.
?Lady Nashina, how is the assault progressing?? he asked.
The silver haired woman turned away from the machinery she'd been fiddling with and bowed to him. ?All goes according to your plans my Lord. We've encountered no resistance so far, though I imagine our strikes at the youkai strongholds will soon change that.?
He nodded appreciatively to her. ?Has there been any sign of movement from the tengu or the Yakumo??
?No my Lord. But it's still early.? Nashina looked like she was about to say something more, then bit her lip.
Lord Tenshou looked around. Seeing everyone nearby was either totally loyal to his scheme or occupied he motioned to the woman. ?You have a question. Please ask. I would not wish my most important ally to be distracted by personal worries.?
Nashina blinked in surprise then sighed. ?Thank you my lord.? She lowered her voice so that no one could overhear. ?Lord Tenshou, you said that the Yakumo was behind all this, but she's dead. I was there when we killed her, and we made sure her soul was taken away. I can understand some of her power leaking out, but to actually return, whole in body and soul....? She shook her head. ?Even ignoring the fact that such an act would destroy her reincarnation's soul, how is it even possible??
He bristled at the question at first, but he rapidly calmed himself. Nashina was simply seeking guidance, not questioning his judgment.
Lord Tenshou placed his hand on the woman's shoulder. ?It confused me as well, when my powers first revealed I would be fighting the Yakumo again. But I'm certain now. Think about it. Her power was so immense you had to spend the entire incident keeping her in check, even after she was dead.?
?No I am quite certain. Yukari Yakumo will return to life here, at this very spot.? Lord Tenshou allowed himself to smile grimly. ?And here I will have the joy of killing her again. It is, inevitable. Even if none of my other plans succeed, Yukari Yakumo will die on this, the night of her rebirth.?
----
The dragon twitched.
His prey was interested in something below now. Interested, but not totally engrossed in it.
It was not yet the time to strike.
But that time would be soon.
---
Oisha moved through the field carefully. The crisp air of Autumn had caused the flowers here to wilt and the grass to die, but it was still fairly high here out in the rolling fields where no villager would dare go harvest. Almost anything could be hiding in the grass.
In fact a lot of things were hiding in that grass. The constant noise of crickets, mice and other small creatures assaulted her ears. The earth truly was a hectic and dirty place. She was half tempted to just set the field ablaze to shut the noise up, but that would draw too many attackers to her at once. Just because she was one of the best fighters of the moon didn't mean she was invincible. She was certain no youkai was her equal in magic, but forty or fifty youkai might end up getting a lucky shot in.
Of course right now there was no sign of any of those youkai. She had been certain that a lone human wandering around would get swarmed by the bloodthirsty monsters but so far all she'd seen was-
?Urashimeya~!?
Oisha shrieked as a purple thing leaped out at her from the bushes! As she leaped back she tossed a energy blast at the creature purely out of reflex. The blindingly bright energy bolt whined across the space before hitting the creature with a meaty smack.
It let out a strangely high pitched scream as the blast sent it backwards.
Oisha stood there for a moment as surprise, then embarrassment washed over her. Here she was thinking herself to be a great magical warrior, and some random youkai had managed to sneak up on her. She resolved to be more careful before flying over to she what she'd killed.
The youkai looked nothing like what she'd expected. It was humanoid. Some might even say it was cute, though the blood ruined that a bit. Even more surprisingly it was alive. The feminine figure in purple and blue whimpered as Oisha approached it. When it tried to hide an ugly umbrella from her she realized it must be a karakasa.
?Well,? she muttered to herself, ?not an impressive first kill, but it's best to finish it off.? The youkai's mismatched eyes grew wider at that, and it began trying to crawl away, sobbing as it's movements disturbed the wound on it's stomach. Oisha raised her hands to finish the matter.
There was a sickening crack and pain ripped through her body. Her mind realized she had been sent flying mere seconds before she crashed into the ground. This time however the shield devices did their job and the impact was muted. She held out an arm to stop the rolling, allowing her magical and technological wards to soak the energy. Then she jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain in her side.
Standing about thirty feet away (she'd been launched that far!?) was another youkai. It was also in the form of a human female carrying an umbrella, but this one had green hair, and a red checkered dress and vest. The youkai was smiling, standing in the field as if it owned the place.
?You Lunarians are very rude. First you wake me from my nap, then you break my umbrella.? The youkai held up the bent item before casting it aside. ?I think I'll have to kill you a bit for that.?
Oisha was about to snap something back in response, when the creature looked her in the eyes. The youkai's dark green eyes radiated power. Pure unadulterated power. And a crushing sense of history.
For the first time in her long long life, Oisha felt humbled by another's age.
She snapped out of it the moment the youkai raised its hand and began summoning its attack. ?I see you aren't small fry. Unfortunately for you no impure being can match the power of a Lunarian!? She began calling up her own spell.
?Hmph. Big words for a human,? the youkai said. ?Know that Kazami Yuuka is the one who will take your life this day.? The youkai's spell completed and Oisha was blinded and deafened as an explosion of Rainbow light raced towards her. ?Master Spark!?
The lunarian tossed up her hands and a black and grey tear in space appeared to shield her. ?Dimensional Rift!?
The earth trembled as the two spells clashed.
Eriaku:
--- Quote from: Iced Fairy on April 03, 2011, 03:15:36 PM ---Anyway since it was brought up I'm surprised no one got the reference. Though I guess it is a little obscure even if you do know the source. Let's just say I chose that tale for a reason.
--- End quote ---
The Princess and the Blue Dove? The Razgriz parallel is pretty strong; death has certainly rained down on the land, and the survivors who were sheltered away will probably gather in a supernaturally prosperous village. I wonder if Yukari or the Lunarians fit better as Razgriz itself; I can see Sareseno arriving after everything's the warone to try and help rebuild, only revealing his heritage when everything's done.
Iced Fairy:
You may be obliged to wage war, but not to use poison arrows.
Huian bowed to the shivering rabbit. ?This was Miss Koakuma's room before she got married. It has all the amenities, and I've left food for the rest of the day. By then the locks should have faded. Do you need anything else??
Flopsy shook her head. ?N~no, I'll be fine.?
Huian simply smiled and nodded. Acting like the other girl wasn't scared out of her mind was probably the best way of handling her. ?If you're feeling cold there should be a cardigan next to the bed, and the tea should be hot. I'll come get you out as soon as the battle is over so you can get your ears regenerated and return to your training.?
The gatekeeper paused a second to see if the rabbit girl had anything more to say before the door was shut, but the moon rabbit just bowed. ?Um, thank you, Huian.?
?Don't mention it,? Huian said as she shut the door. The magical wards clicked into place and she felt the space between the door and the rest of the mansion become nearly infinite. She then called upon her personal powers and stepped to the main library.
?Ah, please don't disturb the circles,? Patchouli said idly as she finished another chalk line.
Huian started slightly, then remembered to float to avoid scuffing any of the patterns. Fortunately she hadn't appeared on top of any lines.
She then turned to report to her mistress. ?I've put Flopsy to bed. The mansion is ready Lady Flandre.?
Flandre briefly turned towards her to nod her approval. The vampire's cold stare caused Huian to sweat a little. As battle approached Flandre's childishness seemed to have faded. Her bloodlust was starting to take precedence. And everyone who was sane kept their distance during those times.
Huian turned her attention to the crystal ball floating between the residents of the mansion. ?Have we seen any invaders Mistress??
?No,? Flandre said shortly.
Marisa shrugged. ?There's a light show going on over where Yuka occasionally lives, but beyond that nothing so far. It seems everyone who knew this was coming is playing defensively.?
Juri shifted next to her mistress. ?We saw a group come down near the mansion, but they haven't shown themselves. I wonder why??
Koakuma shook her head. ?Um, my question is why can we still see the village? Shouldn't Keine have hidden it??
?Something's gone wrong,? Alice said darkly.
"Ah, I have it." Dinah tapped the ball and the viewpoint shifted. Now some red outlines could be seen standing just inside the treeline next to the mansion. ?There they are. But they're waiting. Are they trying to lure us into a trap??
Patchouli coughed as she floated up to join everyone else. ?I can only hope so. Fighting them in a forest would be almost as advantageous as fighting them in the basement. Better that then some other trick.?
?But how are they planning to lure us out?? Alice asked as she peered into the scrying orb.
As if to answer the question a plume of fire came up from the distant village. Huian grimaced. ?That's not Mokou.?
?The shrine!?
At Marisa's cry, everyone looked towards where the shrine should be in the scrying orb. The hill where the ancient building stood was now topped in flame.
Marisa reached out and summoned her broomstick ?I need to...?
?Go,? Flandre said with a wave of her hand. ?Head out the back.?
Koakuma nodded. ?We'll just trigger the contingency plan early if we need to.?
?I'm going too. We'll need the Grimoire to get back,? Alice said.
?Be careful out there,? Patchouli said, quickly kissing the two. Koakuma followed suit.
Marisa jumped on her broomstick. ?Take care.?
Then they were off.
Huian turned to Dinah. ?It's time to create the maze. The people waiting outside probably won't be heading after Alice and Marisa after they realize those two got past them.?
The demon magician smiled in return. ?Right.? She then placed her hands over Huian's eyes. As darkness enveloped the gatekeeper she relaxed.
Huian had inherited some magical power from Sakuya, in addition to all her other gifts. She'd never gotten around to mastering it, but it was there in her blood, just as much as her chi abilities and her power to manipulate space. She just couldn't access it well.
Dinah's succubus blood however allowed her to manipulate the magical powers of others. And her magical knowledge allowed her to use the power of others in very complex ways.
As Dinah's spell flowed through Huian's body she could feel the basement corridors twisting and bending. Soon it was a massive tangle. A maze that was bound to her will and power.
Dinah pulled her hands away and Huian opened her eyes. ?It's ready Mistress.?
Patchouli nodded. ?Good work.?
Huian's blood froze as Flandre giggled, ?Are the rest of the preparations ready Juri??
?Yes Mistress,? the maid replied.
The vampire reached out her hand as if she was grasping an orb. ?Then let's play.?
---
Mystia's wings twitched involuntarily.
She probably shouldn't be so close to the village, but honestly she wasn't looking for a fight, and the village was the safest place to be close to. When Keine hid the village's history, Keine and Mokou would be the only two still around. Two dangerously powerful beings alone in a massive clearing. Mokou and Keine would draw far more attention then a lone night sparrow.
At least that's how it should have gone.
Mystia was there, she could tell Keine was there, but the village wasn't concealed.
It was burning.
At least sections were. At the north end there was a small flare. Mokou was likely fighting someone. Still the immortal obviously was holding back, since there still was a northern village.
Near her the fight was more intense. And the fire wielder was not holding back.
Mystia shuddered as another explosion ripped through a mansion, sending burning planks across the houses. Then her eyes opened in shock as one of Keine's spells tore through the same area. If the Hakutaku was using those kind of spells in the village she obviously believed that there was nothing she could do that would be less damaging then letting her opponent live. Given how much the Hakutaku loved the village....
The sight of a figure running away from the village towards her drew her attention away from the flikering light of the spell battle. She tensed momentarily before seeing it was a young boy.
She gritted her teeth. A lone boy would have no chance out in the forests at night. She knew a lot of youkai weren't going to be picky about which humans they attacked now that an invasion was on. Most probably still didn't even know an invasion was on.
It wasn't her problem. She was a human eating youkai.
It shouldn't be her problem.
Cursing herself silently she flew towards the boy, making sure to stay near the ground. The child had been looking over his shoulder most of the time so when he finally noticed Mystia swooping towards him she was fairly close. He shrieked and fell to the floor, then rose to his knees when he recognized her. ?Ms Lorelei??
?Idiot kid, don't run to the forest. Run to the farms,? she hissed. The boy just stared at her stupidly. She sighed. ?Where's your family??
?I... I don't know. We were running, and then a building collapsed and separated us. Daddy told me to keep running out of the village...?
Mystia nodded. ?Then check the West gate. That's the closest one. And tell everyone to hide in the farms! There's no youkai or Lunarians there.? The boy just sat there looking at her in shock so she waved her arms at him. ?Get going!? she chirped.
As the boy ran off she looked back at the village. She wondered if his family would actually make it out. She wouldn't really be sad if those old ladies that had tossed fried beans at her went up in smoke. Or any of the perverts that had grabbed her ass. But she remembered that kid's family being nice customers. The daughter had always played with the pinwheels and the father always complimented her on her special sauce.
Keine and her opponent took to the skies then for a brief moment. Mystia looked at the Lunarian in the light of the full moon.
The woman was obviously strong. Quite strong.
But there was no holy power about her. Nothing in her face that made her seem any different from all the other human magicians that had gone on a rampage in the village because of some slight or another.
Mystia's heart began to quicken again. Not with fear, but with excitement.
She knew it was partly the villager's belief. The repeated stories of a 'youkai of justice' were calling to her. She realized not all of the building feelings in her heart was the desire to hunt that was inborn to all true youkai.
But that was okay. In the end, all that mattered was that she was a youkai, born to terrorize humans.
That others thought it was justice instead of petty desire was their own foolishness.
----------
Keine coughed as the smoke burned her lungs. Her muscles ached and strained as she lifted the wall and threw it in front of her. ?Get out of here!? she yelled to the human family huddling behind her.
The wooden wall shuddered and cracked as her enemy's magic crashed into it. Keine's hand flashed out and slapped aside one of the splinters before it could strike her face. The other shards of wood struck her, but couldn't penetrate her skin.
The sound of the family behind her moving helped her keep her focus. She charged forward hoping to catch her foe off guard with her horns.
She'd made it thirty feet before an explosion scorched her front. She rapidly exhaled to keep the flames from searing her lungs, then cried out as the back blast sent her rolling into a flaming support beam.
'Dammit, Mokou, where are you?!' one part of her screamed. But she knew Mokou had to be fighting elsewhere. Nothing else would keep the immortal from her side.
She shook off the impact and stood again, growling as the smug woman who'd started randomly attacking the village floated before her. Keine tried once again to hide the village's history, but her powers failed yet again.
Frustrated and hurt she yelled at the woman, ?What have the villagers done to you!? How can you call this righteousness??
The infuriating Lunarian just shrugged. ?They're impure. But I don't kill them because I hate them. I'm killing them because you're wasting your energy protecting them. And because the rest of you 'guardians' will flock here to save the humans after I finish you off.?
Keine's innards seemed to burn with rage. The heat within her was almost as great as the heat out here. The bitch had killed at least five villagers already just to make her angry!?
The Were-hakutaku stared at the Lunarian in hatred. ?I didn't want to have to use this, but you've forced my hand.?
Keine reached out letting her mind adapt to her powers. Time stood still as years flickered backwards. Days flowed quickly into years then decades. She saw the woman's training and days of leisure on the moon, centuries and centuries of idleness. Then a long childhood, where she wanted for nothing. Then her birth.
And at that moment in history Keine reached out and twisted it. ?It's time you never existed!?
Keine's bold proclamation was met with a moment of silence, then a laugh from the woman. The heat in Keine's body fled her. Her powers had failed again! How?
The woman gave her a mocking smile. ?Allow me to tell you my power. I can bind things. I've bound this village to the land, and I've bound my history to reality. Your powers are worthless against me.?
The woman rose a little further into the air, preparing the spell that would probably kill Keine. As she did Keine saw her. A figure she'd never expected to see in the battle.
Mystia opened her mouth and began to sing a song of hunting.
?What!?? the woman screamed as she looked into the sky, the night blindness already clouding her eyes. ?Another youkai? Where are you?!?
Keine watched in awe as Mystia raised her voice as she glided further into the air so she could swoop down. A youkai on the hunt, as in days long past.
FinnKaenbyou:
Mystia, I forgot for a while why you were my secret waifu.
Thanks for reminding me, Iced.
Kasu:
Things seem to be picking up fairly early in this book.
Nice to see that Mystia gets to be awesome for once. :3