Miss Hebe Is Fighting Her Way Out of the Lostbelt!

"Thank you. I like them." Hebe reached out, picked up the berries from her palm, and carefully placed them in her mouth to chew.

The berries had been left out for too long. Most of their juice was gone, and they had almost no sweetness left, making them bland and tasteless.

Yet the green-eyed girl meticulously finished every last one and swallowed them.

Seeing her like that, Miss A-Long could not help laughing again.

Hebe thought Miss A-Long was still as easy to understand as ever.

Moonlight quietly shone over the courtyard. Miss A-Long returned to her true form, and inch-long sharp horns sprouted from her head. Given time, those two short horns would become magnificent, coral-like antlers.

But for now, she merely lay quietly on the ground, sleeping with steady breaths.

A graceful fox leaned against her side. One of its two fluffy tails curled around itself, while the other covered A-Long, just as they had in the mountains of Takachiho.

Moonlight continued to fall quietly upon the stone platform as Shuten-dōji raised her cup toward the moon.

"Fate, how merciless you are, and yet how unfathomable... A toast to every grand and beautiful death!"

Shuten-dōji laughed heartily and poured all the wine from her cup onto the ground.

As Your Teacher

Miss A-Long left. She returned to the mountains of Takachiho.

There, she would protect the mountain folk and gradually grow until she became a true dragon.

Amid the ecstatic cheers of nearly every member of the Oni Host, Hebe left Mount Ōe.

She was alone again.

Her wooden clogs stepped over grass blades and pebbles, and Hebe's body swayed faintly.

Beneath a tree in the distance, she saw a somewhat familiar figure sitting there.

As though sensing her gaze, the figure raised the cup in its hand and waved to her.

Hebe walked over. A low table had been placed beneath the tree, with two bowls atop it.

Shuten-dōji poured wine from her gourd, filling both bowls.

"A distinguished guest is departing on a long journey. As the mistress of Mount Ōe, naturally I have come to see you off." Shuten-dōji picked up the bowl before her.

"More like an unwelcome guest, no?" Hebe picked up her own bowl and lightly clinked it against hers.

"Oh my, what a novel ritual. It is indeed quite interesting." Shuten-dōji revealed a faintly astonished expression, then chuckled. "Miss Tamamo is also a wonderful person who enjoys her drink."

Hebe did not answer. She merely drained the wine in her bowl.

The wine bowl landed on the table with a dull thud.

Her figure vanished completely into the depths of the forest, leaving only Shuten-dōji beneath the tree, drinking by herself.

Between Mount Ōe and Heian-kyō lay a narrow stretch of buffer territory. This was the domain of the Seiwa Genji.

Whenever the Oni Host of Mount Ōe rioted, the Seiwa Genji always bore the brunt of it and suffered tremendous losses.

Especially after Ibaraki-dōji built her city and drove out the yōkai, the pressure upon the Seiwa Genji grew even heavier.

So much so that Minamoto no Mitsunaka, head of the Seiwa Genji, worried many of his hairs white.

He feared dying in battle against the Oni Host, and he feared that after his death, no one would be able to carry the banner of the Seiwa Genji. More importantly, should the Seiwa Genji's defenses be breached, Heian-kyō would be directly exposed to the fangs of the Oni Host.

Minamoto no Mitsunaka had once desperately wished for a child possessed of supreme power. Only then would there be hope on the road to subjugating the Oni Host.

The gods heard his prayers.

And that child truly descended.

Her eyes were cold and indifferent. When Minamoto no Mitsunaka wanted to hold her, those emotionless eyes made him withdraw his hand in fear.

"Those are not the eyes of a living person. If they do not belong to a god or Buddha, then they belong to the dead." Whenever Minamoto no Mitsunaka woke from dreams at midnight, that icy gaze frightened him speechless.

He had once considered abandoning her, casually leaving her on the shore as one would the family of a criminal.

But Minamoto no Mitsunaka knew he had been terribly wrong. When he brought the child to the shore under immense pressure, the moment he let go, those starving seagulls flew over.

Yet those white birds did not intend to eat the child. One after another, they spread their wings and covered her like a quilt.

Minamoto no Mitsunaka was utterly terrified, and he quickly brought the child home again.

From then on, the once wise and valiant commander of the provincial guard became a man who lived in constant dread.

In Minamoto no Mitsunaka's eyes, the child's cold gaze proved precisely that she remembered what he had done.

Reckoning would come sooner or later.

The more others congratulated him, the more uneasy Minamoto no Mitsunaka became. Only he knew that his daughter, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, was nothing less than a monster. Her proper place was on the battlefield, preferably perishing alongside those oni kings.

Minamoto no Mitsunaka secretly confined Minamoto no Yorimitsu in a courtyard, hoping she would die young from some accident. Unfortunately, she did not. Instead, Minamoto no Mitsunaka himself fell prey to an almost incurable madness under the crushing mental strain.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's existence had never been known to anyone. After Minamoto no Mitsunaka became incapacitated, everyone forgot that there was still someone living within the estate of the Seiwa Genji.

Until today.

A fox burst into the courtyard.

The young Minamoto no Yorimitsu had seen this scene many times in dreams. She stared into the eyes of that enormous fox. Sometimes it flicked its tail; sometimes it let out a snicker like a human's.

She had dreamed of this fox many times. Minamoto no Yorimitsu thought. Onmyōji said dreaming of foxes was an ill omen, but she did not care in the slightest.

In the end, even she herself had been regarded as a disaster by her family, so she instead felt a sense of kinship with the fox.

When the great fox from her dreams finally appeared before her, Minamoto no Yorimitsu smiled.

"Are you Yorimitsu?" she heard the fox ask.

"I am Yorimitsu." The young Minamoto no Yorimitsu answered like this.

Her body was thin and gaunt, heavy dark circles hung beneath her eyes, and her voice was hoarse and cold, like rusted blades.

"Looks like I am not too late." The fox lowered her head and transformed before Minamoto no Yorimitsu's astonished eyes into a girl with linen-colored long hair. "As you can see, I have come to help you become the head of the Seiwa Genji."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was the key to this era, the true decisive piece capable of tipping the Power Struggle toward Scar Father.

Compared with the equally renowned Abe no Seimei and Ashiya Dōman, Scar Father would favor Minamoto no Yorimitsu more, for she used blade and sword to subdue oni and yōkai.

Hebe looked at the girl before her. There was almost no light in Minamoto no Yorimitsu's eyes. Even after Hebe explained her purpose, Minamoto no Yorimitsu merely nodded faintly and mechanically.

A long life of confinement was more than enough to cause terrifying changes in a person's temperament.

Standing in the middle of the courtyard, Hebe thought Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Miss A-Long were practically two completely opposite extremes.

After a brief silence, Hebe beckoned to Minamoto no Yorimitsu. "Come. I will teach you swordsmanship and the way of the sword."

She explained the different levels of swordsmanship in detail, then used the sword techniques of the tengu of Mount Kurama as examples, breaking them down for the young Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

Thus, the gates of swordsmanship slowly opened before Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

Seven days later, Minamoto no Yorimitsu had completely absorbed all of Hebe's knowledge regarding the sword techniques of the Kurama Tengu.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu asked Hebe, "Master, why will you not teach me how to govern territory or manage subordinates?"

Even as she said this, there was still no trace of vitality in her eyes. Like a machine, she mechanically fulfilled the duties she had assigned herself.

"Such knowledge is unnecessary for you," Hebe answered. "Your destiny is to fight for land where humanity can survive. You only need to expand, to keep expanding. If oni stand before you, kill the oni. If yōkai stand before you, kill the yōkai—you need not do those superfluous things."

"I see..."

For the first time, light appeared in Minamoto no Yorimitsu's eyes.

If this is the meaning of my birth, then it is not so bad. she thought.

As Minamoto no Yorimitsu made up her mind, the patterns on the grass before Hebe's eyes twisted into words.

Hehe, I Want to Live

"Within the threads of fate, at the riveted point of political struggle, at the nodes of history, the fox demon discovered a decisive piece capable of turning the tide."

"The eldest legitimate child of the Seiwa Genji is destined to end this chaotic age. Deep within her body exists a will 'banished from a higher place.'"

"As the fox demon sees it, Minamoto no Yorimitsu can become the sword that purges Mystery. Yet the struggle between the two rulers has reached a deadlock, and thus no one remains capable of wielding this sword."

Before you stands the key to this Lostbelt. Influence her, control her, change her, shape her, and make her serve your purposes. Then the gate leading to history shall open for you.

Current Lostbelt Progress: 50%!

Hebe silently plucked the blade of grass from before her eyes, and the words scattered once more into meaningless patterns.

She heard Minamoto no Yorimitsu's voice by her ear.

"Then among the yōkai that must be purged, does that include you as well?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu stared into Hebe's eyes. "...Master."

"Perhaps," Hebe answered. "But at least until you become strong enough, do not do something so pointless."

This answer surprised Minamoto no Yorimitsu. She had thought Hebe would evade the question or fly into a rage, but she had not expected an expression bearing such a nostalgic smile.

"Why?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu asked softly. "Master does not mind at all?"

"Because that would prove my death has value." The fox demon's smile carried an unshakable certainty.

Hebe reached out and pressed a hand atop Minamoto no Yorimitsu's head, casually messing up her not-yet-long hair.

"Continue practicing. The Kurama Tengu Eight Styles are the most refined sword techniques of the present age. In other words, they are an enduring sword art capable of constant renewal."

The essence of swordsmanship was the art of killing. It originated from the techniques bestowed by Scar Father and inherited the savage beast-heart of the crippled wolf. Upon these two foundations, the "secret sword" that unified essence, qi, and spirit bore fruit.

Hebe watched Minamoto no Yorimitsu repeatedly practice her swordsmanship in the courtyard, watched the lines of muscle in her arms and the sweat soaking the loose hair across her forehead, streaming down her cheeks.

Judging by the experience of Kurama Yanagi-ryū swordsmanship, Minamoto no Yorimitsu had already reached the brink of awakening a secret sword.

Further practice beyond this would not yield much improvement—after all, Minamoto no Yorimitsu was not a tengu.

"Come rest for a while, Yorimitsu." Hebe patted the spot beside her. "The swordsmanship of Kurama Yanagi-ryū is a daily exercise. From now on, I will no longer urge you on. You will arrange your own training time."

She poured Minamoto no Yorimitsu a cup of tea. The water flowing from the pot carried an excessively intense blue-green hue.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu suspected nothing and picked up the cup, draining it in one gulp.

Hebe folded her hands into her sleeves. "During the remaining half of the day, aside from sword training, I will teach you how to identify yōkai and the Oni Host, some simple spells, techniques for tracking targets, and methods of harming others and preventing yourself from being harmed. There is no set curriculum for these things, so I will speak of whatever comes to mind."

"For example, the first lesson I am giving you now." Hebe casually poured the water from her tea bowl beside the courtyard path. "Do not casually drink water given to you by others..."

The moment her words fell, Minamoto no Yorimitsu's stomach began rumbling. The girl, whose face was usually expressionless, flushed bright red as she held it in.

Without saying a word, she stood and hurried toward the latrine.

After returning, Minamoto no Yorimitsu's gaze upon Hebe became even sharper. "Thank you, Master, for teaching by word and example. Yorimitsu has learned."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu picked up a dango from the table, stuffed it into her mouth, and chewed fiercely as though it were Hebe.

Only after she swallowed the dango did Hebe leisurely add, "Food as well."

"?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's expression changed again. Before the reaction could set in, she rushed anxiously toward the latrine.

After returning this time, she no longer dared reach out recklessly. Hebe smiled faintly, picked up a dango, bit off one piece, and chewed it lightly.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu directly held out her hand to Hebe, asking for the skewer of dango she had eaten from.

"You do not think it is dirty?" Hebe asked, astonished.

"If Master does not find me disgusting, how could I find Master disgusting?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu smiled, then shoved all the remaining dango into her mouth as though making a show of defiance.

As soon as she finished speaking, Minamoto no Yorimitsu saw Hebe extend her right hand and point to her.

"Fall! Fall!"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu fell backward in response. The final sight before her vision sank into darkness was Hebe holding up her index finger and little finger, waving them before her with foxlike cunning.

By the time Minamoto no Yorimitsu woke, it was already dusk. Coughing, she rose from the ground and saw several steaming snacks laid out before the low table.

"Master, why are you all right?" This was the question troubling Minamoto no Yorimitsu most. She had clearly watched Hebe eat that dango with her own eyes.

Half of Hebe's face lay submerged in the long shadows cast by dusk. "Because I am a fox demon."

That was a lie. Hebe's true reliance was her physical constitution, now far beyond that of an ordinary person.

She could even drain Shuten-dōji's poisoned wine in one gulp without changing expression.