Original resolve

The Youkai Sage's abrupt appearance and departure completely extinguished the Dog King and Oyakata's desire to continue their deadly confrontation.

The deliberate revelation about Ame no Murakumo also set both their minds racing.

Before long, the bone blade in the cold-eyed Oyakata's hand dissolved into a shower of light.

He gazed at the Dog King, who stood with sword in hand, and his voice boomed like thunder.

"Dog Yokai, you seem rather pleased with yourself this time?"

The Leopard Cat had undoubtedly suffered a crushing setback in this Cat-Dog war.

All the clan's high-ranking Panther Cats had fallen, and over half its middle ranks had been killed or wounded.

Without him, a Great Yokai, their strength and standing would probably fall below even the now half-crippled Karasu Tengu and Mori Hidden Yuko's lot, who had staked out their territory and kept to themselves!

For such brutal losses, their greatest achievement was merely killing two elders of the Dog Tribe.

Faced with such an appalling casualty ratio, Oyakata wished he could drag both the Panther Cat Third Elder and the Panther Cat Sixth Elder, who had somehow managed to botch the message, out of the Netherworld.

He would place their souls in the heart of the Panther Cat clan's territory and listen to their wails as he lit soul lamps that would burn for a thousand years!

"Pleased? If not for a shameless, despicable creature like you, I certainly would be."

The Dog King held his sword across his body and sneered, his robes snapping in the lingering waves of yokai energy.

"Despicable? Do you make a point of watching for ants beneath your feet when you walk? You certainly have a lot to worry about!"

Oyakata snorted dismissively. "Besides, if the Great Sage hadn't appeared, that last strike would have sent you flying and coughing up blood!"

Under the Dog King's gaze, heavy with restrained killing intent, Oyakata suddenly narrowed his slit pupils, his claw tips unconsciously tearing at the empty air.

"Come to think of it, why did the Great Sage arrive neither earlier nor later, but precisely at the most critical moment? Your Dog Tribe..."

At this point, even Oyakata found his own speculation laughable. "How could a transcendent being like the Great Sage possibly have any connection to your Dog Tribe?"

"It's far more likely that the Great Sage has taken a liking to me. After all, only a true conqueror can wield Ame no Murakumo, and I, the Panther Cat Great Lord, am a born conqueror!"

Oyakata gave the Dog King a cruel smile. "When that time comes, our battle won't stop short like it did before."

"That suits me just fine!"

The tassel on the Dog King's sword stirred gently as he watched Oyakata's figure dissolve into the dusk.

The instant he turned, he could no longer suppress the metallic sweetness in his throat, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth onto the clouds.

In terms of sheer strength, he truly was no match for Oyakata.

Had his opponent not feared that he would risk his life to drag him down with him, the war between cats and dogs would have ended long ago.

If the Leopard Cat's plan to bleed them dry continued, the Dog King reckoned he could hold out for another hundred years at most. Then he would have to either flee with his people or fight the Panther Cats to the death.

"I wonder when Ame no Murakumo will emerge. If I could wield it, the Panther Cats would be nothing to fear."

Any mighty being who became a Great Yokai through their own efforts possessed the courage and breadth of mind to match, as well as a distinctly defined personality.

Oyakata considered himself a conqueror, but so did the Dog King.

He thought, I remember that the last time Ame no Murakumo emerged, a human obtained it and immediately became a slave to the sword. After unleashing a wave of slaughter, it was sealed away.

Where it was sealed remains unknown, but there's no hurry for now. When the divine sword emerges, darkness will cover more than half the sky.

Something suddenly dawned on the Dog King.

That arrogant Panther Cat had a point. Why did the Great Sage make a special trip to tell us this, and why come at that particular moment?

Stranger still, shouldn't an errand like this have been left to Lord Blue?

Why would the Great Sage, whose whereabouts were always so elusive, do this?

Unable to make sense of it no matter how he thought it over, the Dog King simply tucked his doubts away-

If the Sage, who stood at the pinnacle of yokai society, truly intended to target the Dog Tribe, all he could do was choose how he would die.

The Dog King steadied the blood and energy within his body, transformed into a streak of light, and flew back toward his clan.

When he reached the skies above the fortress, he looked down at the Dog Tribe troops, who had already gathered the remains of all the fallen. His gaze settled on the three figures at the front, and he descended.

"Your Majesty!"

A succession of excited cries rang out, and the Dog King smiled and waved.

Then he looked at the remains of the Great Elder and the Second Elder. Those barely recognizable bones, bearing countless memories, filled his eyes with nostalgia, but not a trace of sorrow.

"Your Majesty."

Tōga walked to the Dog King's side, looking somewhat downcast.

The youthful exuberance he had shown after killing White Bone Maru was gone.

So was the unrestrained exhilaration of his unstoppable charge when he slew the Panther Cat Great Elder.

When the battle ended and calm returned, the sight of his elders' remains made him understand the weight of life for the first time-the preciousness and fragility of something granted only once, with no second chance.

An urgent longing welled up within him for Tenseiga, which could save a hundred lives with a swing and slay beings from the other world.

The Dog King, long accustomed to the vagaries of life and death and to watching fortunes rise and fall, gently patted Tōga's shoulder and spoke calmly.

"Life and death are simply the natural order of this world. Over the course of this long life, you will witness countless lives fade away, and you will also see new lives born."

"What you must do is follow the example of those two elders and stay true to your original resolve until death comes."

"They entered the Yomi Netherworld without remorse, sorrow, or regret. We who remain alive need not grieve for them."

The Dog King concluded, "They will welcome another cycle of life."

"But after that rebirth, he won't be the Great Elder anymore."

Tōga understood what the Dog King meant, and the sorrow on his face gradually faded.

Because of Ringetsu, he had already entertained the idea of reshaping the Netherworld. Now he was even more determined to do so.

Sooner or later, he would enter the Netherworld himself and see whether he could follow the Qitian Great Sage's example.

"But he will still be the Great Elder, won't he? For the living, that is enough."

The Dog King smiled. "Perhaps someday I, too, will..."

A sudden kick struck his shin, and the Dog King thought, Wrong thing to say.

He turned slightly and saw his beloved daughter beside Tōga, glaring at him in reproach. His expression grew solemn.

"I certainly don't want to see you among the fallen someday. Tōga, you must train hard and not let Ringetsu down."

"There are also matters to attend to back at the clan. Remember to come see me once you return."

With that, the Dog King nodded to the Third Elder, Zi Yan, then rose into the air and flew toward the clan's territory.

Watching her father leave, Ringetsu felt considerably more at ease-

Every war truly ended only when the final clash between the Dog King and Oyakata settled its outcome.

As long as the Dog King returned safely, it meant the Dog Tribe had made it through intact.

And this unprecedented victory would give the Dog Tribe a long period in which to develop.

It would also give her and Tōga enough time to grow.

"When that time comes, we'll fight side by side as a family."

"That day won't be far off."