Karasu Tengu

Wind-Thunder Gorge was the Karasu Tengu Homeland, a prominent branch of the Tengu Tribe and one of only four factions in the Western Country with High-Level Yokai.

Steep mountain walls rose into the clouds on either side, their rocks stacked in layers of every shape.

At the bottom of the gorge, a broad river surged past. Its waters were a deep, inky blue, its currents swift and its spray flying.

Above the gorge, wind and clouds shifted unpredictably. Ink-black storm clouds rolled and churned, with occasional flashes of lightning streaking across the sky like silver snakes, followed by deafening thunder.

Each had a crow's head atop a human body, sharp avian talons on all four limbs, and a pair of crow wings two or three meters long on their back.

Male and female alike wore samurai armor. These tall, humanoid bird yokai-the Karasu Tengu-stood guard at the camp by the entrance to Wind-Thunder Gorge.

The camp was small, with only three or four hundred low- and mid-ranking Karasu Tengu.

One Karasu Tengu commander, his face stricken with alarm, beat his wings and flew inland, heading straight for an old, austere pavilion built upon a cliff deep within Wind-Thunder Gorge.

Inside the spacious hall, the Karasu Tengu commanders and their chief, startled by the battle report, began discussing their response.

Dark purple yokai aura permeated the room. Kneeling at the seat of honor was Anhamaru, the Karasu Tengu's only High-Level Yokai and the chief of their tribe.

A thoughtful look surfaced in his brown avian eyes, and he spoke slowly.

"The situation is just as everyone has analyzed. Our tribe has only two choices, and either must be weighed with the utmost care."

"First, we can remain committed to our alliance with the Dog Tribe. When the Panther Cat muster their forces to attack the Dog Tribe Fortress, we will do everything we can to hold the Leopard Cat back."

"If we choose this," Anhamaru said gravely, "the Panther Cat are very likely to strike us hard. The Dog Tribe may well fail to send aid in time, leaving our tribe with devastating losses."

Once the Western Country had two great yokai, Oyakata and the Dog King had reached a tacit understanding: neither would attack anyone else.

What the Karasu Tengu needed to fear was the Leopard Cat sending several elders to overwhelm them.

Anhamaru watched the silent commanders. Among the Dog Yokai or Panther Cat, they would have been mere squad leaders, but here, they were indispensable fighting strength.

"If Wind-Thunder Gorge weren't so important to the Karasu Tengu, I would truly want to leave the Western Country."

He sighed inwardly, but his expression remained composed as he continued.

"Second, we can ignore the Panther Cat pulling their fighters away to attack the Dog Tribe Fortress. Afterward, the Dog Tribe will most likely not turn against us, since they will still need us here to keep the Leopard Cat in check."

"But you must understand that the Dog Tribe are no fools. Once we do this, they will no longer trust us Karasu Tengu."

After finishing, Anhamaru narrowed his avian eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them. He watched the commanders, most of whom were already tempted, while weighing the advantages and disadvantages himself.

Yet he understood that the right to choose had never truly belonged to the Karasu Tengu.

If the Dog King had not suddenly appeared back then, Oyakata's methods would have left the Karasu Tengu with two options: submit or abandon their homeland.

When the survival of their race was at stake, there were no other choices.

Now, it was much the same.

Anhamaru touched the Azure Wings of Wind on his back, already fused with his own wings and flickering with electric arcs. Then he thought of the Thunder Spear being forged deep beneath Wind-Thunder Cliff, and a fierce excitement welled up inside him.

Forged from natural treasures through a fortuitous convergence of circumstances, these Wind-Thunder Treasures were gifts bestowed upon the Karasu Tengu Tribe by heaven itself. The thought set his heart ablaze.

With them, Anhamaru believed he could glimpse the realm of great yokai himself!

When it became clear that the commanders had no better suggestions, Anhamaru swiftly brought the discussion to a close with his final decision.

What the Karasu Tengu Tribe needed was time. As the Panther Cat withdrew their strongest fighters, it would be enough to watch events unfold while offering a little resistance, putting on an appropriate show.

Anhamaru did not consider himself the Dog King's subordinate. He had no obligation to stake the fate of the Karasu Tengu Tribe on the Dog Tribe's behalf.

While the Karasu Tengu reached their decision, inside the hollowed-out cliff...

A tall, slender young woman in elegant black robes slowly descended a spiral staircase into the depths. Her cool face was pale, illuminated by the flickering candlelight beside her.

The farther down she went, the drier the surroundings became, though they should have been damp and clammy. As her clothes swayed, they even crackled with static.

After she passed two checkpoints, dark blue electric light flickered before her, and a broad altar came into Nuregarasu's view.

A long spear set with an azure gemstone was reflected in her impassive eyes.

Even the Karasu Tengu Tribe, who had long lived amid wind and thunder, could hardly endure this scalp-prickling power of lightning.

"The hope of the tribe. How very noble..."

Nuregarasu took a few indifferent steps forward. Her long, ink-black hair fell smoothly down her back, swaying gently with her steps like flowing black silk.

Her delicate, coldly beautiful face showed neither joy nor sorrow. As she raised her arm, her sleeve slipped down to reveal her fair wrist.

It also exposed the scars upon it, old wounds yet to heal before fresh ones appeared.

Her fingers took the shape of bird talons, and she lightly drew a sharp fingertip across her wrist.

Crimson blood trickled down. With a flick, Nuregarasu wrapped it in yokai power and sent it striking the lightning gemstone.

The half-finished Thunder Spear needed only a blood sacrifice from its own tribe and bloodline to purge its violent power.

Under Nuregarasu's gaze, blood-red patterns faintly appeared within the Thunder Spear. The spear, which had resisted her, now shared a faint connection with her.

She was Anhamaru's third child and his daughter. Her two elder brothers were both commanders in the tribe, while she alone was weak, assigned to perform the blood sacrifices for what had already been two years.

Sharp-witted Nuregarasu had long since guessed what her father, the chief, was thinking.

Neither of her brothers was easy to deal with. If either obtained the Wind Wing, he would have an excellent chance of becoming a high-ranking yokai, a powerful presence who could not be ignored wherever he went.

If he obtained the Thunder Spear as well, even the realm of great yokai would come within reach.

Obtaining the two in reverse order would have the same effect.

How could Anhamaru possibly let them perform the blood sacrifices? What if one took the Thunder Spear, challenged his old man, defeated him, and severed his wings to loot his treasures?

Anhamaru felt far more at ease with a daughter who had no supporters within the tribe.

Even if Nuregarasu harbored ulterior motives, he was confident he could take the Thunder Spear back.

"What a tedious tribe."

Murmuring those words, the young woman lowered her arm. Her wide sleeve fell over her wrist, and without the slightest attachment to the Thunder Spear, she turned and left.

Her slender figure seemed to stagger slightly in the candlelight.

Meanwhile, Tōga sat cross-legged in the secret chamber of his own residence, his flecked golden eyes showing that he was ready to make his breakthrough.