A petite girl with long, deep-blue hair and bright, aqua eyes walked gracefully toward them from the source of the light.
She wore a white kimono patterned with blue cherry blossoms, a deep-blue obi around her waist, and a hem that shaded into the blue of the deep sea. Below her slender ankles, her dainty feet were clad in white tabi socks and matching wooden sandals.
Most striking of all was the exquisite aqua orb cupped in both her hands. Within it, they could faintly see water rippling and radiance shifting. It gave off a brilliant yet gentle blue halo, illuminating this stretch of sea as though revealing the mysteries of the entire ocean depths.
"I am Asumi, the Dragon Maiden who serves the Sea Dragon God," the petite girl said humbly, her delicate face beautiful and otherworldly. "This is Black Kuro." She lifted her chin slightly toward the giant squid beside her.
The giant squid's upper body took human form, becoming a spirited young man with slightly dark skin and bold brows. His lower half remained that of a squid, however, his writhing tentacles resting docilely beneath him. At the Dragon Maiden's introduction, he nodded to the two of them in greeting.
"Sesshomaru," the Dog Demon gave his name.
"Han." When the petite girl appeared, Han had moved to Sesshomaru's side, keeping her guard up alongside him. Though the girl seemed to bear no hostility, and Han even felt a vague sense of warmth toward her, neither of them would let their guard down.
The Dragon Maiden nodded, briefly studying Han beside the Dog Demon before smiling kindly. "Might I have the honor of inviting you to Dragon Palace City as my guests?" She then looked at the young squid demon beside her. "Consider it an apology on Black Kuro's behalf."
"No, it's nothing. We should be the ones apologizing. We were the ones who trespassed into the Dragon Race's home." Han exchanged a glance with Sesshomaru and spoke politely for them both. If Sesshomaru opened his mouth, he would probably call someone a foolish human again. Well, perhaps he would change it to a foolish Dragon Maiden... unless she had earned his approval...
"Then, this way, please." The girl stepped aside in invitation. Only after the two nodded did she move ahead to lead the way.
The fish kept their distance from the group, cautiously hiding among the coral below.
"They're rather shy," the Dragon Maiden explained. "When I'm alone, they all come to greet me."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Han said apologetically. Their sudden appearance had probably spoiled the Dragon Maiden's enjoyment.
The Dragon Maiden smiled and shook her head, her slightly playful gaze settling on Han.
Black Kuro remained where he was, watching the three depart. Only after their figures gradually vanished did he slip into the depths of the coral, secretly yearning for and admiring the noble Dragon Maiden as he continued guarding Sango Forest before Dragon Palace City.
The Dragon Maiden moved naturally and effortlessly through the sea, yet at such speed that she left the two far behind.
Following her, they finally reached the outskirts of Dragon Palace City and caught sight of the majestic, magnificent city beneath the sea. It shone brilliantly, golden light gleaming along the eaves above its vermilion palace walls.
As the residence of the Sea Dragon God, Dragon Palace City was tremendously grand, built to accommodate the enormous size of the Dragon God's true form.
The two landed on the white sand outside the city. With their feet on the ground, they finally felt a solidity they had not experienced in some time.
The Dragon Maiden waited ahead with a soft laugh, then led them into the city and chatted freely with them. Time passed without their noticing...
Yet Han kept feeling an inexplicable strangeness. Even the steaming teacup before her seemed unusually unreal.
Yes, unreal. There were clearly no gaps in her memory, yet everything still felt false.
"Sesshomaru..." She looked at Sesshomaru beside her. He had been talking with the Dragon Maiden, but turned to her with a gentle smile.
No, this isn't real. Sesshomaru would never look like that!
Her eyes saw through the illusion, shattering its hold, and Han instantly came to her senses.
Thick, dark-green seaweed rose from the ground, binding her tightly and slowly dragging her downward.
Below her lay an even denser mass of seaweed. Though it was merely harmless vegetation, it made her heart tremble, as though some unknown, hideous monster had opened its jaws wide to swallow her.
Han looked around. The Dog Demon's silver-white figure was among the seaweed not far away, his limbs and body similarly bound. The cold, proud Dog Demon had his eyes closed as though sunk in a deep sleep, slowly descending without any awareness.
"Sesshomaru!" Han called anxiously. Dog Demons had no ability to see through illusions-unless, of course, they spotted a flaw in their surroundings or broke the illusion through sheer force.
Sesshomaru had not expected to see his father again among the Dragon Race, even if he could only see his back. But his father's grave had remained undiscovered to this day, so perhaps it was not impossible that it lay beneath the deep sea.
"Where is Tessaiga?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Right here." Toga drew the demon sword from the scabbard at his waist, its silver-white blade radiating a will to fight. "If you want it, prove yourself to me."
This was Toga at the height of his strength, not his father grievously wounded after battling Ryūkotsusei.
That night, on a shore battered by raging waves, snowflakes had drifted through the air.
His father's crimson blood had dripped onto the snow-covered ground.
"Are you truly going, Father?"
"Do you intend to stop me, Sesshomaru?"
"No, I won't stop you. But before you go, I want you to give me your swords, Sō'unga and Tessaiga."
"No. That is impossible. If that is my answer, will you kill your own father?"
That was what Toga had asked him then.
Sesshomaru had not answered.
He was willing to challenge his father at his peak, to prove that he was the best heir to Tessaiga.
But faced with this gravely wounded, weakened father-the man he had once longed above all to surpass, whom he could now strike down at will-he disdained killing him.
He pulled himself out of the memory. That had been the last time he saw his father before his death.
His father's spirit was already charging at him, bearing astonishing Demon Power that shattered his defenses.
"Do you desire this power so badly?" "Why do you seek power?" his father's spirit asked, just as he had on that final snowy night. Tessaiga swung down from above, and Sesshomaru darted aside.
"My path of conquest is the road I walk, and only power can open that road for me." His answer was the same as before. A Light Whip extended from his fingers and wound tightly around Tessaiga.
"Your path of conquest?" "Sesshomaru, do you have something to protect?" His father's spirit continued asking the exact same questions. Tessaiga's blade shuddered, shattering the Light Whip binding it.
"Something to protect? I, Sesshomaru, have no need of such things." Wholly absorbed in battle, Sesshomaru forgot everything else and spoke coldly, as though his answer had not changed at all in a hundred and fifty years. His Poisonous Claws struck at Toga's abdomen, breaking through the hard armor.
"With nothing to protect, you can never obtain it." That was what Toga's eyes told him. Tessaiga radiated tremendous Demon Power in his hand as he slashed straight at Sesshomaru.
"Sesshomaru!" A familiar girl's voice called to him, filled with anxiety.
Sesshomaru suddenly opened his dark-gold demonic eyes amid the dark-green seaweed, his gaze perfectly clear. The Demon Power surrounding him became sharp blades, instantly shredding the fronds wrapped around his body. When his golden eyes turned dark gold, it meant his fury had reached its peak.
Sesshomaru charged toward the girl's voice.
By then, the girl had already purified herself with spiritual power. All the seaweed clinging to her swiftly vanished like ashes within an astonishing white light. In fact, not even ashes remained. Amid the dark-green forest of seaweed, only the white sand around her was clear.
The seaweed swayed angrily, churning the seawater.
Han's attacks caused it far more pain than Sesshomaru's.
Layer upon layer of seaweed surged upward, attacking the girl floating in the water above the white sand.
Han struggled to maintain a barrier of spiritual power, annihilating every frond that approached her. Yet this came at a cost.
The spiritual power she had exhausted earlier while purifying the giant squid's black mist had not yet fully recovered, and the barrier placed a heavy burden on her as well. She did not know how long she could hold out.
A second before the overwhelming mass of seaweed blocked her vision, she saw Sesshomaru charging toward her.
His Light Whip lashed out, shattering all the seaweed at its roots. It drifted through the water, slowly settling.
Sesshomaru swept this stretch of seaweed-covered seabed clean.
"It's all right now," Sesshomaru said. His clawed hand touched the girl's barrier and was burned by its spiritual power, but the Dog Demon seemed not to notice at all.
"Yes." The spiritual barrier slowly faded, revealing the girl within, barely able to stand.
Her lovely face wore the same smile as always. "I knew you would come," she said with a smile.
Before you continue