Aoki Shrine (V)

Within a thin veil of green light, the monster's hideous form gradually vanished, slowly dissolving into the air.

Miya relaxed a little as well, a great weight lifting from his heart. He forced himself to try to stand, only for pain to wrench through his back. The spellcaster hissed, drawing a sharp breath.

"Master spellcaster, are you all right?" Han hurried anxiously to his side and tried to help him up.

Miya shook his head. He was just about to reassure the young shrine maiden when he noticed something strange happening to the monster behind her. His eyes widened, and his hand tightened involuntarily around Han's arm.

High overhead, where neither had noticed, the transparent barrier had also been pierced by the powerful Demon-Breaking Arrow. With the barrier restraining the evil broken open, sinister energies swiftly gathered from every direction. Before they knew it, a dark purple shadow had formed around them.

The evil energy grew denser, pouring inside the instant the barrier shattered. Its intensity put both Miya and Han on alert. Miya rested one hand on the young shrine maiden's shoulder and braced the other against his monk's staff, struggling to his feet. Han supported the spellcaster with one hand and held her longbow across herself with the other. The spiritual power radiating from her kept the evil energy at bay. Meanwhile, the monster that should have been destroyed was surrounded by that energy, which slowly repaired the body her spiritual power had purified. Still more poured ceaselessly into the wooden hut at the center of the barrier. Though Miya and Han could no longer see the monster shrouded in evil energy, their sense of foreboding only grew stronger.

The monster they had destroyed opened his blood-red eyes amid the evil energy, absorbing every trace of it around him into his body. Miya and Han watched helplessly as he rose again, his body restored and even stronger than before. His exposed skin turned a nauseating dark green, with deep purple veins pulsing faintly across it. He raised his head. His fangs had turned black, making them especially horrifying against his blue-green face, and his scarlet eyes screamed of bloodshed and slaughter.

Han acted at once, drawing a long arrow from the quiver on her back. Imbued with demon-breaking power, it tore through the monster's body and left a gaping hole in his chest. Yet all the evil energy within him surged toward the wound, closing it in an instant. Miya, meanwhile, had pulled out paper talismans the moment he noticed something wrong with the monster. While Han held him back, Miya was already murmuring an incantation. The lengthy chant carried evil-banishing power, surrounding the monster along with the talismans Miya flung out.

Wounded and then trapped, the already irritable monster grew even more impatient after his corruption. His blood-red eyes fixed on the two of them as he roared like an enraged beast, repeatedly hurling his massive body against the barrier Miya had created. Already injured, the spellcaster nevertheless kept chanting, his magical power streaming out of him like water. At another fierce charge from the monster, he finally exhausted his strength and spat out another mouthful of blood. The talismans dimmed at once.

The monster instinctively sensed that the barrier trapping him was on its last legs. Gathering all his strength, he shattered it with a crash and charged straight at them.

The monster-trapping barrier had prevented Han from attacking, but she had been keeping a careful watch nearby. The moment the monster burst free, another specially empowered arrow pierced his chest. This time, the foul energy could no longer sustain him, and the hole in his chest slowly widened. Still, he barreled toward them with reckless abandon, carried by the momentum of his charge. Fortunately, the spiritual power within the arrow remained inside him, purifying him continuously. His run began to falter, as though he might fall to his knees at any moment.

Suddenly, the door of the wooden hut, silent until now, opened with a creak. A shrine maiden with bright eyes and gleaming teeth stepped gracefully out. Her lips were as red as blood, her pupils black as night. She wore the faintest hint of a smile. Han's heart shuddered as the shrine maiden waved a delicate hand, drawing the spiritual energy ravaging the monster's body out of him and dispersing it into the air. The monster immediately threw back his head and roared, his strength surging.

"Han!" The young shrine maiden shoved the spellcaster away with all her strength. His badly injured body struck the ground, twitching faintly with wave after wave of agony. Even with all his strength, he could not stand. He could only watch. Only watch.

The monster was too fast for Han to fire again, and her injured companion behind her left her no room to retreat. She raised her longbow, flooding it with pure spiritual power, but it snapped with a sharp crack under the monster's full-force collision. The impact sent Han flying. The powerful spiritual energy also halted the monster's momentum, and the bow left a long gash across his waist. Thick, dark green blood oozed from the wound.

As though unable to feel pain, the monster advanced on the young shrine maiden step by step. Still dizzy, Han was lifted into the air in his one-handed grip. The girl's slender neck seemed as fragile as a reed in his hand. A cruel, bloodthirsty smile curved his lips.

It hurts... I can't breathe... It's unbearable...

Han struggled painfully in midair, clutching the monster's huge hand with both of hers and trying in vain to pry it away. A tear slipped from her eye and fell onto the scabbard at her side.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

A heartbeat-like pulse trembled against the left side of her waist.

"Draw the blade!" "Draw the blade!"...

Who? Who's speaking? Who's calling me? Han sensed the unseen will protecting her and snapped back to awareness.

The monster felt the overwhelming pressure of another monster's presence, stirring an instinctive submission. His heart quailed, and the hand he had meant to tighten involuntarily loosened.

Han mustered a desperate scrap of strength and drew an exquisite blade from her left hip. It was the weapon Sesshomaru had given her for protection-the fang blade named Clear Torrent!

With a light sweep of the blade, its keen edge sliced effortlessly through the arm holding her. The monster's thick arm struck the ground with a thud, and Han landed lightly on her feet.

"Aah!" The monster howled in pain, clutching his severed arm as he stared fearfully at the small, expressionless shrine maiden before him.

"Don't!" The monster shook his head desperately, shrinking backward in terror. "Don't!!!"

The exquisite fang blade shone with a faint blue glow. As Han swung it, it severed the monster's head from his body with ease. Terror still lingered on his face, his wide-open eyes filled with resentment and hatred.

Clap, clap, clap. The beautiful shrine maiden nearby descended the hut's steps with a smile, applauding softly. "Is that a monster's blade? What powerful energy~" she asked cheerfully, taking a deep, intoxicated breath.

"Han..." The spellcaster lying nearby had managed to struggle into a sitting position. He, too, was bewildered by the blade in her hand.

"Do you trust me?" Han did not turn around. Her voice was utterly calm, with no sign that a monster had bewitched her.

"Of course!" Looking at the young shrine maiden's small back, Miya answered without hesitation. That very figure had just pushed him aside and faced the corrupted monster alone to protect him.

"Oh, oh, oh, how touching!" the shrine maiden opposite them said delightedly. "Holding a monster's weapon, yet still trusted and defended by your companion. How remarkable."

The eerily beautiful shrine maiden suddenly began to laugh, louder and louder, until she nearly cried. Then her laughter stopped abruptly. Waves of evil energy spread from behind her, and black shadows surfaced on her face. "It just makes me very unhappy," she said chillingly.

"Are you a shrine maiden from this shrine?" Han ignored her deranged remarks and asked directly.

"The shrine? Hahahaha, shrine maidens!" She laughed again. Pitch-black tears fell from her eyes, leaving two dark tracks down her face and utterly ruining her beauty. "Those people should be dead by now," she said with a bizarre smile. "They used the lives of every shrine maiden here to suppress me. Now that I'm out..." She spun happily in place, then her expression abruptly darkened. "They ought to be dead."

"What?!" Miya and Han were both horrified.

Normally, seals and suppressions used power or treasures as their medium. If it had taken the lives of every shrine maiden in an entire shrine to suppress her, how powerful was that seal? How powerful was the shrine maiden before them?! More importantly, if lives had indeed been used as the medium for the seal, that medium would have shattered the moment the seal broke. That meant... every shrine maiden in the shrine would die!

"Come to think of it, I ought to thank you~" The shrine maiden cupped her cheeks in both hands and spoke with an enraptured expression. "If you hadn't happened to break the barrier, I wouldn't have had the strength to break the seal. Thank you~" She smiled and bowed with exaggerated politeness, but Han went cold all over. Was I the one who released her? And then caused everyone in the shrine to die?

"Han, this isn't your fault! Don't let her deceive you!" Seeing Han stiffen, Miya shouted anxiously.

"Oh my, the master spellcaster saw right through me~" The shrine maiden covered her lips with her sleeve as though embarrassed. "That's true. Even if this young shrine maiden hadn't broken the barrier, A Sen-the boar monster-could have killed the shrine maidens. But I originally only wanted them to enjoy being controlled, to watch them struggle and suffer every torment. I didn't want to break the seal so soon and let them die," she said innocently.

Miya and Han watched her cheerful performance through gritted teeth, their bodies trembling with anger. Han gripped her blade ever tighter, clenching her other hand into a fist. So... it was still my fault... She remembered the shrine maiden named Chacha, the trust in her eyes as they said goodbye, and her tearful smile of relief. Han's heart clenched again and again. I'm sorry... I'm sorry...

The shrine maiden opposite them finally put away her chilling smile and said softly, "They alone aren't nearly enough." She suddenly attacked, sweeping both hands hard through the air. Her loose white sleeves guided a towering surge of evil energy straight at the girl standing before her.

"Han! Watch out!" The spellcaster forced himself to try to stand, but his powerless body fell to the ground again.

Han gestured to the spellcaster with one hand behind her back, then turned to fight the evil energy surrounding her. Dark purple energy surged toward her relentlessly, wrapping her tight. Alongside demonic energy, it contained a thick aura of blood. What made Han frown even more was the faintly glowing trace of spiritual power within that bloody aura, mingled with resentment and hatred. An ordinary shrine maiden might be able to subdue evil energy, but she would be helpless against this kind, which contained spiritual power. This rare, peculiar energy used blood as the medium to fuse spiritual power with evil energy. It could not harm Han, but it caused her terrible anguish-the blood had probably all come from the shrine maidens here.

"Bastard!" Han did not know whether she meant the brightly smiling shrine maiden outside the evil energy or herself.

She returned Clear Torrent to its scabbard. It was, after all, a demonic blade. Though she wiped it down often, she had never considered using it. The blade still carried demonic energy rather than spiritual energy. While it could break through ordinary evil energy, against this particular kind containing spiritual power, it might only strengthen it.

She drew an empowered long arrow from her quiver. These arrows actually had a name of their own: Evil-Banishing. Fired as a Demon-Breaking Arrow, one would combine evil-banishing and demon-breaking power to achieve potent purification. Fired as a Sealing Arrow, it would combine purification with sealing-ordinary Sealing Arrows merely sealed a state at a particular moment. If an evil monster was sealed, no matter how much time passed, it would remain steeped in sinister demonic energy. When the seal broke, it might even be stronger. A seal made with an Evil-Banishing Arrow, however, would slowly purify the monster throughout its long confinement. Even if the seal unfortunately broke, the monster's demonic power would be weakened, and its evil energy purified.

Holding the Evil-Banishing Arrow, Han sliced her palm with its point. Blood dripped from her hand onto the arrow. At once, it blazed with light. Dazzling blue-green radiance broke through the dark purple evil energy and shot toward the sky! Overwhelmed by the immense spiritual power, the evil energy was instantly purified. The blue-green glow gradually expanded, spreading outward from Han. For the first time, the shrine maiden opposite her looked serious. She waved her hand, summoning even stronger evil energy from all around. Purple and green, the two opposing powers clashed head-on, evenly matched for the moment!

Yet the shrine maiden drew an endless supply of evil energy from outside, while Han's spiritual power came from within herself. This was also her first time using an Evil-Banishing Arrow in this manner. Gradually, she lost ground. The dark purple corruption slowly overwhelmed the pure green aura and pressed closer and closer. Han struggled to hold on, nearly draining herself completely, but still could not withstand it.

Suddenly, the wooden hut behind the shrine maiden exploded. The blood-red sealing formation shattered completely, and a brilliant white light shot into the sky. Miya stood nearby. Bathed in that white light, every wound on his body healed, and his depleted magical power was replenished. The triumphant expression had long since vanished from the once-confident shrine maiden's face, leaving only panic. The dazzling white light slowly receded, revealing a small, pale brown dove. A faint white halo radiated from the bird, like a god descending. The little dove took wing and flew to Han's side. It opened its beak and breathed out softly. Warmth filled Han's body, and her exhausted spiritual power sprang to life again. Her blue-green power swept through the evil energy with unstoppable force, purifying it and striking the shrine maiden directly. Amid green spiritual power tinged with white light, the once-composed shrine maiden collapsed helplessly and was gradually purified.

As though all her strength had been spent again, Han went limp and sank to her knees. Her vision slowly blurred, then turned completely black.

In darkness as deep as night, someone seemed to be telling a sorrowful story.

A shrine maiden named Ryoko had grown up in the shrine alongside the others. Beautiful and devout, she served the deity wholeheartedly, becoming the strongest shrine maiden and guarding both the shrine and the surrounding villages.

One day, however, a nobleman came to worship at the shrine and fell in love with the beautiful shrine maiden. He courted her, but she refused. Then, with his attendants' help and the other shrine maidens' tacit consent, he forced himself upon her...

The shrine maiden struggled and cried for help. Tears she had never shed before soaked her face. Grief, pain-yet no one helped her. The shrine maidens who had grown up with her turned a blind eye, swayed by the nobleman's promises.

After suffering one brutal ordeal after another, the sorrowful shrine maiden finally cursed the man who had assaulted her, paying with her own life. The power of her curse drew a monster from the mountains. Tempted by the monster, she handed her power over to him to exact revenge.

The nobleman died. His attendants died one by one as well.

Terrified, the shrine maidens prayed to their deity. The deity told them she had become a demon.

The shrine maidens explained their difficulties to her. A mere shrine and its maidens could not contend with a nobleman's power. He had promised favorable treatment for the entire shrine and the neighboring villages. And so the shrine maidens had all kept silent.

The shrine maidens who had grown up with her begged her to let go of her obsession and pass on to enlightenment. But a cold smile curled her lips.

She wanted revenge! She wanted revenge! She wanted revenge!

The frightened shrine maidens tried to seal her soul. But her power was far too great, surpassing them all. They therefore tried to seal her with the aid of the deity's dove messenger. With the mountain monster's help, however, a horde of monsters attacked the shrine. The divine messenger's power was weakened as it protected the shrine maidens, and instead of helping seal her, it was sealed by her. Appalled by her strength, the shrine maidens likewise paid with their lives to seal her beside the divine messenger. Unable to free the messenger, they could only use it to suppress her and erect a barrier nearby.

Unfortunately, the shrine maiden had already completed her bargain with the monster.

Though the shrine maiden was sealed, the monster that had escaped returned, taking control of the shrine maidens and making them relive her ordeal over and over.

Until the spellcaster and shrine maiden arrived from elsewhere.

In the end, the shrine maiden smiled with relief. After taking her own life and seeing the other shrine maidens' remorse, she had not been entirely unwilling to forgive them. But her own hatred and the monster's demonic power kept corroding her. At last, she lost all reason and embarked on her crazed revenge...

At the end of that dreamlike vision, Han dimly saw Ryoko use all her power to call back a shrine maiden who had once cared for her through tears: Chacha.

Notes: 1. Every shrine has its own divine messenger! For example, the Ise Grand Shrine has chickens, the Usa Grand Shrine has doves, the Kashima Grand Shrine has cranes, and Mishima Grand Shrine has eels... Eels, huh...

2. This archery technique is one of Han's special skills. It's named Evil-Banishing.

3. Han's standard lineup is an animal army. Yep, she has Mr. Rabbit now, and Mr. Dove. In the future, she'll go find Mr. Dog, Sesshomaru. ＝w＝

Honestly, writing this battle left me so frustrated QAQ. I couldn't capture the shrine maiden's madness the way I wanted either. Scratches the wall > <

I miss big sister Kikyo, so I've decided to skip the journey. Once we clear the Aoki Shrine dungeon, we'll head straight to Kikyo. Oh yeah!