Chapter 87
He did not succeed.
A ghost holding Golden Axe-Yue, with its head bowed, stood before him. This ghost king was already on its last legs, just one step away from death.
Normally, Ashiya Dōman wouldn't even glance at him.
But at this moment, this dying demon king stood like a city wall in front of Ashiya Dōman.
He lived a full thousand years and witnessed a full thousand years of history.
Before Sakata Kintoki truly dies, Ashiya Dōman, who travels through time, cannot truly return to his own body.
History altered by Ashiya Dōman cannot become the truth.
This period will not last long, because in the future, Sakata Kintoki's lifespan will end—but this period will be enough for Hebe to return from the history of the Bakumatsu period.
Footsteps were coming from behind him, and Tamamo-no-Mae was standing behind him.
The sense of crisis that seemed to dissolve everything into the cup brought Ashiya Dōman the brink of fainting.
Hebe didn't even look at him, but walked towards her own body.
"You—you must let this humble monk live."
Ashiya Dōman struggled to utter the words: "This humble monk has become one with the Celestial City... If this humble monk dies, the Celestial City will surely collapse!"
He didn't expect Hebe to believe him, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, those words would make her stop in her tracks, or at least waver.
Because this is not a lie, but the truth!
Minamoto no Raikō connected his true form with the entire city of Kyoto.
It can be said that Kyoto was the shogun's Great Body).
But now, in this Celestial City, Minamoto no Raikō's consciousness has been compressed into the Flower Palace, and 99% of the space has been usurped by Ashiya Dōman.
This was Master Dōman's last trump card, and also his life-saving talisman—the only general capable of manipulating the Kyoto Great Body was still holding firm, struggling against his own thoughts.
If the Kyoto in the sky collapses, then the Kyoto city below the clouds will also be unable to survive. With this scene unfolding, the "mystery" that the general painstakingly eradicated will return, and the Higashi will once again be plunged into ignorance and chaos. Both Eris and the Remnant Wolf will have a chance to come back.
Ashiya Dōman had no intention of making peace with Hebe; he only intended to shake Hebe's resolve and, at the same time, use this opportunity to return directly to his own body and initiate reincarnation.
He's going to do everything in his power to overturn this table!
But the fox spirit didn't even glance at him, as if it hadn't heard Ashiya Dōman's words at all, and went straight back into its own body.
Ashiya Dōman was stunned: Why?
What makes her so unwavering?
Does she really not care at all about the lives of the Higashi, to the point that she has no sense of confusion?
On what grounds?!
Ashiya Dōman will never know the answer. As Hebe returned to her body first, history began to change.
The traumas suffered by the Demonic Monk in history began to be reflected back on him.
First was the sword wound—emerging from the center of that beautiful, beast-like face, splitting his upper body in two.
Then came a terrible tearing—as if two invisible giant hands had ripped Ashiya Dōman's upper body off his waist and thrown far to either side.
Then came the fine, dense handprints—crushing his legs into a muddy mess of bone and flesh.
Finally, his separated upper body exploded into a bloody mist simultaneously.
All the infected beings active in this heavenly capital died simultaneously, in the same way.
History began to change.
Miss A-Long was not deceived by Ashiya Dōman, and her flesh and blood did not become the basis for the Ritual of the Full Moon.
Ushiwakamaru did not die because of the betrayal of his blood relatives, but stayed in the mountains to inherit the identity of the Great Tengu and lived freely.
Amakusa Shirō did not trust the wrong person. The fire at Shimabara Castle was extinguished by the rain brought down by the three ruling officials, and those 30,000 followers formed the Higashi Orthodox Church of the future.
However, figures such as Sakata Kintoki, Saga, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, Tsukahara Bokuden became the cornerstones through which Hebe witnessed history; they became monuments frozen in history.
They were willing to drag Ashiya Dōman down with them in their own deaths.
Only by making such a sacrifice can Eris's fingers, which are reaching into the history of the Higashi, be completely severed.
The strong wind whipped Hebe's sleeves and hair, as if her old friends were brushing past her and drifting away.
As the wind howled, Hebe felt the city beneath her feet begin to shake. At first, there was a slight tremor, and then the shaking became more intense.
Ashiya Dōman was not lying; his death would indeed lead to the destruction of Kyoto in the heavens, and the shogun was currently unable to spare any attention.
But Hebe did not panic; her expression remained calm.
She took out the "Eternal Abundance of a Thousand Grains".
[Characteristic: Bond. While wielding this sword, you can forge "bonds" through contact with others. Through these "bonds," you can develop an exceptionally close connection with the person you've bonded with. Over time, a maximum of seven "bonds" can accumulate on the same target.]
"The formation and accumulation of 'fate' can be accelerated through certain specific behaviors."
[Special Feature: Fulfillment. When the "Fate" reaches level seven, consuming a certain number of "Fate" levels can grant the wish of another person.]
"Excessive desires are easily out of control. When other people's desires exceed the limits of 'fate', they will be fulfilled in a distorted and abnormal way."
[Characteristic: Echo. When you grant any wish of someone else, you accumulate one layer of "Hope" for yourself. Consuming a certain number of layers of "Hope" allows your wish to be granted.]
After this period of "responding to desires," she has accumulated enough hope.
My wish is—
"I command Miss A-Long, who is currently in the Takachiho Mountains, to appear by my side immediately."
"Right now, right here!!!"
It is extremely difficult to move a great beast of the Twilight Realm, Hebe's wish was about to collapse the moment it was made.
However, before history was corrected, Miss A-Long was also in Kyoto in the heavens.
Miss A-Long has the potential to appear here and now.
[A ruler is casting his gaze... The ruler currently casting his gaze is: the Holy Grail!]
As the final victor of the Ritual of the Full Moon.
Hebe's wish came true.
Outside the Celestial City on the verge of collapse, a vortex of fiery clouds suddenly appeared.
A divine dragon with two horns on its head, four claws on its belly, and two wings on its back, resembling an Yinglong, appeared from the clouds!
Miss A-Long's body began to extend endlessly. She wrapped herself around the outer edge of the Celestial City, flapping her wings with all her might, carrying the soon-to-be-overturned Kyoto into the sky.
Chapter 133 Eternal Calamity, Without Thought (Third Update)
A-Long carried Kyoto City high into the sky, with rubble and building debris constantly falling from it.
But, but... Oh, look!
The spiraling cloud of flames lifted up all the rubble and debris, scooped them up in the clouds, and carried them further east!
Apart from Hozoin Inshun, who returned to the surface ahead of time, all the sword masters and sword saints perished heroically in that battle that transcended death—from the moment they stepped into the inner city of Kyoto, they never thought they would return alive.
They knew very well that when they officially began their battle with Ashiya Dōman, their fates would be closely intertwined with the latter's.
If they do not die with Ashiya Dōman, the latter may return from their corpses.
This ending may not be perfect, but it is in accordance with the way a swordsman or a samurai should die.
"In the way of the sword, I don't think the general is any more noble than any of us." Before heading to the battlefield, Ittosai once said with a smile, "After all, we are all just seekers of the way of the sword. The reason I respect the general is because she has gone further than us."
"But outside of swordsmanship, the lives of a thousand Ittosai are not worth a single finger of the Shogun," Ito Ittosai said. "If possible, please, Tamamo, save our Shogun—the future of the Higashi needs a Twilight."
There was absolutely no need for Ito Ittosai to say these things.
The swordsman was only worried that Hebe still harbored resentment because of what happened before.
Of course, at this moment, Hebe no longer harbored any resentment towards the general—she had witnessed the entire thousand-year history of the Higashi and knew how the general had waited in utter isolation and heroically for the final reckoning in the Flower Palace.
Hebe strode along the crumbling road, almost transforming back into a nimble fox, leaping over the cracking vermilion torii gate, bounding over the dry landscape garden and the broken wooden bridge, and smashing open the tightly sealed gate.
She rushed into the depths of the Flower Palace.
The first thing to be cut off is what is called compassion.
Minamoto no Raikō thought: because pity is the prelude to mercy, and in this battle between thoughts, if one is merciful, Eris will take advantage of the situation.
So she removed her own hands. In this way, she could precisely and ruthlessly dissect herself; in this battle, pity was the least important thing.
The second thing to eradicate is the mentality of taking chances.
Minamoto no Raikō thought: Because luck is the breeding ground for insects, if one is filled with despair, one will be the first to lose in a confrontation with nothing.
So she cut off her own legs, because by doing so she would have no way out.
There is no way out but to retreat, and no chance of luck. There is no other way but to go to the battlefield where one must fight to the death.
The third thing to be removed is what is called the heart of suffering.
Minamoto no Raikō thought: Because pain is a harbinger of weakness, if one feels pain in this deadly battle, one will sooner or later surrender in purgatory.
She wouldn't allow herself to speak, nor would she allow herself to back down.
Therefore, she cut off her own throat and tongue, so that she would not utter pointless sighs of eternal torment.
The fourth thing to be removed is what is called a closed heart.
Minamoto no Raikō thought to himself: because closing off is a form of rejection, but if she rejects this struggle, then Eris will surely escape from it and bring disaster to the entire Higashi.
Therefore, she cut open her own chest, intending to use herself as a prison to confine Eris for hundreds and thousands of years.
Because of this, Eris could only move around in this heavenly capital.
One day, the teacher will return from the end of history to settle accounts for all these sins.
The fifth thing to be eradicated is the desire to escape.
Minamoto no Raikō thought to herself: until her teacher returns, only she can face Eris head-on. In this deadly battle, there is no room for retreat.
Therefore, by gouging out her own ears and eyes, and by being neither able to hear nor see, she was able to maintain the purity of her thoughts to the greatest extent possible.
One must use a dignified and unyielding will as the sheath, and a mind free of thoughts and desires as the sword.
Finally, what must be cut off is what is called weakness.
Weakness is the root of all defeat, but this fight to the death allows no possibility of defeat.
Although Minamoto no Raikō knew that her chances of winning would diminish with the passage of time, the Singularity could exist as long as her life continued in this way.
As long as the Singularity exists, Ashiya Dōman will not be able to find his teacher—he will not be able to leave the Celestial City.
"You will die, Raikou." These words echoed in Ushi Gozen's mind as she prepared to take the final step.
"It is my turn to die," Minamoto no Raikō replied. "It is just a pity for you, Ushi Gozen, to die with me."
"Fool, don't you know?" Ushi Gozen sneered, "If I hadn't reincarnated time and time again, how could you have been born? Imperial Monarch of the past were just fragments of my consciousness. Only you, under Tamamo-no-Mae's tutelage, became a mysterious assassin."
"I'm sorry," said Minamoto no Raikō.
"You are me, and I am you. So why apologize?" Ushi Gozen smiled. "Very well, I'll take my leave now."
After that, the clamor in his mind fell silent, Minamoto no Raikō was finally all alone.
"Now, I finally understand the reason why my teacher sacrificed himself for others."
"Minamoto no Raikō" said to himself at the very end of his life.
And so she truly became a general.
The amulet was always hanging on her chest.
She hadn't felt that pain for a very, very long time, but over that long period, even the pain of the past had a taste called joy.
In the silence, the general's thoughts flowed slowly like electricity.
"I have committed many mistakes and done many wrong things in this life."