Miss Hebe Fights Her Way Out of the Lostbelt!

Of course, just like pearls, Celestial Flint had a more worldly name—Suirenshi.

Hebe did not lack spells that could directly point to this ruler, but she still watched Yasutsuna's sword-forging process intently. The swordsmith first picked up the long sword wreathed in the scent of wine and placed it directly into the furnace.

"This is a sword from Cathay." Yasutsuna clicked his tongue in admiration. "Only a fine sword like this can serve as the foundation for a supreme work."

He loudly recited a hymn, fully entering the rhythm of forging. The long sword gradually lost its sharp edge, becoming once more a dull, nameless bar of metal that radiated astonishing heat.

Yasutsuna grabbed the flesh, blood, and armor of those monsters and cast them into the furnace in a specific order.

Violent demonic energy rose from the furnace fire, taking on the forms of monsters as it tried to break free from the flames.

For a moment, even the forge fire turned a miserable green.

Yasutsuna's eyes shone. He realized that a perfect opportunity lay before him.

He bent down, seized fragments of the tengu's sword, placed them atop the blade blank, and began hammering heavily.

Those blades that had once chased wind and thunder gradually sank into the blade blank. A faint howl rose beside Yasutsuna's ears, like wrath hidden in the clouds, ready but not yet unleashed.

He stoked the flames again and muttered indistinct prayers. This time, he even omitted the excess words of praise, leaving only two scorching words—

Suiren Sovereign! Suiren Sovereign! Suiren Sovereign!

Yasutsuna's voice rang like clashing metal, his pupils burning with fervor. The demonic energies struggling within the furnace were forged into the blade blank without resistance.

The flames seemed to gain a will of their own, gradually climbing to his fingers and palms. Yet Yasutsuna wielded the fire and hammer without suffering the slightest injury, forging even those golden-glinting bones into the metal.

He had completely immersed himself in the realm of forging.

Yet beneath his hammer, the repeatedly tempered blade blank actually began to branch apart.

Yasutsuna continued forging. He simply threw aside the tongs, raised the hammer in both hands, and struck powerfully from either side. He was actually beginning to forge two weapons at once.

Hebe frowned slightly.

She could tell that, amid Yasutsuna's transcendent forging, he had come under the influence of some existence.

Flames danced across the glowing metal, forming words.

"Before forging tools, a blacksmith chants scorching prayers. Before sharpening a weapon, a warrior prays to the scarred father-lord. The two truly share the same essence."

"The eastern land is the battlefield where Scar Father and the crippled wolf contend, yet the hammer of the Lord of Achievement is unmatched."

Under the attention of Celestial Flint and Scar Father, the blacksmith would forge two peerless works at once.

Current Lostbelt Progress: 60%

Of these two weapons, one should have been Dōjigiri Yasutsuna, the blade that would later be used to behead Shuten-dōji. This sword would later rank among the eastern land's "Five Swords Under Heaven," passing through the hands of many daimyo.

But what would the other weapon be?

Hebe remained silent, watching the blacksmith complete the clay-coating and tempering process.

Yasutsuna grasped the iron bars attached to the blade blanks and thrust both blanks into the furnace fire at once.

One second, two seconds.

The first blade blank was immediately pulled from the fire!

Then, at the ninth second, the second blade blank was removed as well.

Yasutsuna swung his hammer, the ringing clangs unceasing as blooms of flame rose from the two blade blanks.

With his hammering, the first blade blank gradually became long, slender, and straight, while the second began to take on a curve.

Clang!

At last, the hammering stopped. Yasutsuna withdrew from the realm of forging, drenched in sweat and pale-faced, yet his expression was filled with joy.

"Miss Tamamo, this old man has fulfilled his duty at last—"

He lowered his head to look at the two metal bars before him, and the last trace of color vanished from his face.

"What happened?" The arm that wielded Yasutsuna's hammer trembled as if it had lost all strength and skill. "This old man clearly remembers forging only one work. How could there be two?"

"There was clearly only one. Where did the second come from?"

Yasutsuna's expression grew increasingly awful as he clutched his head in anguish.

"You forgot, Yasutsuna. This was what I asked you to forge." Hebe spoke calmly. "I commissioned you to forge two weapons from the beginning."

Color returned to Yasutsuna's face. "So that's how it is. This old man truly is forgetful—haha, then this old man shall polish them at once."

He carried the two metal bars to the well and began grinding them.

The dark-coated metal bars gradually revealed their chilling Sharp Edges amid ringing metallic sounds.

First came a blade like cold water, its surface crisscrossed with scars of lightning and flame. Merely staring at its body made one feel as though one's consciousness were being cut apart.

This was a blade capable of utterly killing demons and ogres!

Even without a guard or hilt, Yasutsuna knew that it would surely become a supreme work. Who knew how many demons and ogres would one day die beneath this blade?

The moment Hebe saw it, she knew it was Dōjigiri Yasutsuna, the blade that would one day sever Shuten-dōji's head!

By custom, the swordsmith should have left an inscription upon the blade, but Yasutsuna had no such thought at all.

Because the other work was a slender spear blade.

Hebe knew that the eastern land had the Five Swords Under Heaven, as well as the Three Great Spears. The most renowned among them was the spear called Tonbokiri. It was said that merely standing it upright would split a dragonfly that landed upon its blade in two, hence its name.

When Hebe saw Dōjigiri Yasutsuna, she knew it would become a famous sword, but she felt nothing else.

But this spear... it gave Hebe the same feeling as seeing the Sword in the Stone.

That chillingly radiant Dōjigiri had instead become its mere foil.

"The meteor spear Gungnir, the weapon that pierces all and strikes the five stars; the destined royal authority Longinus; the supreme thunderbolt vajra... these weapons were once forged by Scar Father through the hands of Celestial Flint, meant to summon His heroic spirits at the twilight of the world. Now, the island-creating spear called Ama-no-Sakahoko reveals its form before you."

"To create islands is, in truth, to establish order. In other words, this is a spear of authority."

This spear possessed the form of Ama-no-Sakahoko. Though it no longer possessed the power to create islands, it could still establish rules and set order... only once.

Warning! When this spear faced non-human entities, its effectiveness would be enhanced! Those pierced by it would be unable to die and unable to escape.

Warning! This Relics of Authority could exist only within the Lostbelt and could be used only with the permission of the rulers!

Yasutsuna's voice trembled. "What should it be called... It must have a name, right?"

He dared not, nor could he, leave an inscription upon it, because he was not the one Scar Father had chosen to wield the eastern land's authority for a thousand years.

Hebe reached out and took the spear blade.

"Ama-no-Sakahoko."

The General, the Imperial Monarch

At first came a shallow dream, followed by a nightmare that gradually turned pitch black.

Within the deep nightmare, devoid of moonlight, Minamoto no Yorimitsu faced Ushi Gozen.

She had dreamed of the other many times, hearing her declare in a proud voice: I am the nameless Great Lord, lightning and Imperial Monarch alike. I am Lord of Thunder, the Ox-Head Heavenly King. Before you monkeys crossed over from the west, I was worshipped; after you are destroyed by the blazing sun, so too shall I remain. As you can see, I will prove these words true.

This was the heaviest secret buried in Minamoto no Yorimitsu's heart—Ushi Gozen was none other than the Imperial Monarch herself, passed down in an unbroken line throughout the eastern land for countless generations.

Before this, every Imperial Monarch had merely been Ushi Gozen's vessel. Whether Seiwa, Kanmu, or Daigo... they were no more than names used to distinguish the "vessels."

—I am all of them, yet none of them.

Ushi Gozen stared at Minamoto no Yorimitsu with eyes like thunder: But you are different. You are one who will purge this age, blessed by fate and destined to hold the great power of the realm. In other words, you are the half of me ordained by destiny.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu remained unmoved. She knew that her teacher had always been suppressing Ushi Gozen, preventing her from seizing her body and returning to Heian-kyō as the new Imperial Monarch.

—Foolish.

Ushi Gozen answered with a disdainful sneer: I am you. Forcibly dividing what is within from what is without is meaningless. Besides, do you truly believe that demon fox is helping you?

The Ox-Head Heavenly King whispered: Slaughter is the foundation of destruction, and destruction is merely another name for nothingness. She knows full well that you will walk this path, yet she still urges you onward... Yorimitsu, you have long known all this in your heart.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu did not answer. She began to breathe deeply, breathe, breathe.

In that quiet rhythm of breath, the sounds of wind and thunder drowned out Ushi Gozen's sneer. Minamoto no Yorimitsu felt an unimaginable calm arise from the depths of her heart.

It was a truth like Zen: she knew that her teacher intended to forge her into a sword, but she was willing to walk this path, because at its end, she would grasp the eastern land's supreme authority and power.

After that, she would turn around and make her teacher...

Minamoto no Yorimitsu opened her eyes. Daylight had already streamed into the cave from the other side, while the rock walls were covered in sword marks and scars burned by lightning.

When Minamoto no Yorimitsu returned to the Seiwa Genji encampment, she saw her teacher standing in the courtyard, unusually so.

"Teacher?"

Hebe raised her head and looked at the disciple who had now grown far taller than her.

She untied the brocade wrapping in her hands and presented the fully mounted tachi to her with both hands.

"This is your coming-of-age gift," Hebe said softly.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's hands trembled slightly as she accepted the tachi and drew it from its lacquered wooden, ray-skin scabbard.

Rumble!

The instant the tachi left its sheath, a thunderous roar rang out across the flat ground.

Deep-purple lightning coursed along the blade, flickering like a living thing.

When Minamoto no Yorimitsu raised the tachi, the surrounding light seemed to dim, leaving only the flickering lightning along its blade.

"Teacher, what is it called?"

"It has no inscription," Hebe's voice sounded. "You may give it a name."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu sheathed the sword, and the surroundings returned to normal.

"No inscription?" she asked in confusion.

Under normal circumstances, every blade would bear an inscription to reveal its origin and maker.

"The swordsmith who made it was Yasutsuna, but an anomaly occurred during the forging process." Hebe shook her sleeve and drew out another long object wrapped in bright yellow silk. "There were clearly only enough materials to forge one tachi, yet an additional spear was forged."

"The tachi has no name, but the spear does." Hebe's tone was even. "Its name is Ama-no-Sakahoko."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was so stunned that she could not say a word. Of course she knew what the name Ama-no-Sakahoko meant.

No matter how miraculous Yasutsuna's skill was, he was still human. How could he forge the spear from myth that created the islands?

Hebe did not wish to explain this matter further to Minamoto no Yorimitsu. "This spear also belongs to you, but it still lacks a shaft. And even if it were fitted with one, it could only be used once."

"Because it possesses only the form and spirit of Ama-no-Sakahoko, not a true divine armament. Yet even so, it can kill any monster, any evil demon."

Hebe's tone was calm, but Minamoto no Yorimitsu heard a concealed joy within it.

—Teacher, what is she happy about?

She opened her mouth, but the words that came out were, "Then what about you, Teacher?"

"...This spear can kill you too, can't it?"

The demon fox finally smiled. She raised her hand and offered Ama-no-Sakahoko before Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

"Then, would you like to try it now?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu reached out and grasped Ama-no-Sakahoko's spear blade. "No. I will never, never do that."

This was a lie.

"Then I can rest easy." Hebe tucked both hands back into her sleeves, her expression somewhat wistful. "Heh, the mountain flowers seem about to bloom. It is time to go back and take a look."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was struck as if by lightning, and the joy that had just risen in her heart vanished completely.

The unspoken worry she had always harbored finally exploded, and in her panic, she no longer cared for her composure.

"Teacher, are you leaving?"

Her voice was stern and forceful as she took several steps forward, exuding immense pressure, yet she could never cross that short distance.

What she had always feared had become reality—

The celestial maiden had donned her heavenly robes again and was about to return to the sky.

But she was not some powerless, cowardly fisherman!

Minamoto no Yorimitsu immediately drew her tachi and swung it down at the figure before her without hesitation.