Chapter 11: Kiyohime and Tsuchigumo
On the battlefield stood a colossal creature, with the head of a tiger and the body of a spider. It had eight long legs, a mouth full of fangs, and bristles that looked terrifying all over its body. It stood seventy or eighty meters tall.
This was Tsuchigumo, the Great Yokai famed throughout Japan.
A gigantic spider monster captured and sealed by Emperor Jimmu. But after Emperor Jimmu's death, the seal had weakened, and Tsuchigumo had long since escaped.
Yet this renowned Tsuchigumo was currently staring at something before it that was not even as large as one of its eyes, filled with fear.
It was a woman—a woman with a pair of delicate antler-like horns on her head.
She wore a kimono, held a folding fan, and had long black hair cascading down her back. Her expression was utterly relaxed.
"Princess Kiyo, you've slaughtered countless of my descendants. What more do you want?!" The enormous Tsuchigumo spoke in human words, its tone filled with anger... and a trace of fear.
"What do I want? Of course... I want you dead." The woman looked at it calmly, her words carrying a hint of resolve.
"Don't go too far!!"
Hearing this, Tsuchigumo was completely enraged! This was truly going too far...
Wasn't it just that I accidentally destroyed where she lived? It hadn't done so on purpose. Who would have known that when it woke up, there would be a temple beside it, with a powerful Great Yokai living inside?
"You destroyed my Dojo-ji Temple and shattered my only remaining hope of Anchin. If I don't kill you, I'll never ease the hatred in my heart." As she spoke, Princess Kiyo's face took on a bloodthirsty expression as she stared at Tsuchigumo.
Kiyohime had originally been human. From her name, it was clear that she had been the daughter of an aristocrat.
Later, she fell in love with a monk named Anchin. But Anchin abandoned her, using a pilgrimage to Kumano as an excuse. He left Kiyohime behind alone, leaving her to wait in bitter longing.
When Kiyohime failed to see her beloved return, she realized she had been deceived. Without even putting on shoes, she pursued Anchin madly day and night. She endured endless suffering along the way, and by the time she was about to catch him on the road to Dojo-ji Temple, she no longer looked human or ghost alike.
Seeing that his lie had been exposed, Anchin hurriedly begged the gods of Kumano to trap Kiyohime. He quickly crossed the Hidakagawa River, fled to Dojo-ji Temple to seek help from the abbot, and hid inside the great bell in the temple.
By the time Kiyohime reached the banks of the Hidakagawa River, there were no boats left. But she still resolutely leaped into the river, transforming into a creature with a human head and a snake's body before continuing her pursuit ashore. In the end, she reached Dojo-ji Temple and perished in the flames together with Anchin.
Yet Kiyohime had not died. Driven by her boundless obsession with the one she loved, she transformed into a dragon through sheer "obsession."
Afterward, Kiyohime remained at Dojo-ji Temple, hoping that one day she would see Anchin again.
Who could have imagined that several days ago, this Tsuchigumo before her had suddenly burrowed out from underground, causing the earth to collapse over a vast area. Dojo-ji Temple had also been affected and completely caved in.
This had nearly driven Kiyohime mad. She had hunted Tsuchigumo for days, slaughtering countless spider descendants it had raised.
"This is too much! I'm a Great Yokai too!"
Seeing that Kiyohime still refused to let it go, Tsuchigumo stopped running. It opened its terrifying maw and spat a massive stream of venom at her.
The venom surged toward Kiyohime like a mighty river!
Yet Kiyohime remained calm. Just as the venom was about to reach her, she waved the folding fan in her hand.
A gigantic fire dragon appeared, instantly turning Tsuchigumo's venom into steam.
Seeing that venom would not work, Tsuchigumo did not care. With a shake of its massive body, countless spiders the size of washbasins crawled out from within it.