Darkness Everlasting

Anyone who is seeing the flow of battle in Kisaragi province's Anthill battlefront would know that the Alliance had it in the bag.

"Ten seconds!"

"Opening bomb bay doors!"

And with the arrival of the Shogunate reinforcements, the battlelines that was placed just to defend against and besiege the Anthill finally had a mobile and highly destructive force that can strike the enemy.

"Bombs away, bombs away!"

The 1st Air Fleet of the Shogunate Air corps dropped their bombs from above the clouds in order to avoid the freezing cold from below. Although some of it missed the enemy hive and struck the surrounding plains, the sheer number of explosives that was let loose and actually hit the mark was enough to make a dent that the other newly arrived force can use.

"Type 1-A shells! Load it now!"

"On it! Locked and loaded!"

"FIRE!!!"

The 4th Mechanized Division of the Shogunate army crossed the Alliance trenches and soon, bombarded the Anthill continuously with high explosive shells. Slowly, the surface of the ominous mountain gave way and cracked off from each other.

"General Himeji-!"

"I know… To the entire Artillery corps! Commence bombardment!"

Seeing this, the commander of the battleline, Himeji Kotori, made the quick decision and ordered the almost a hundred artillery pieces in the rear of the lines to set their sights onto the Anthill and rain lead and fire on it.

"Do you think that the Priestesses would be unharmed with this?"

"Kurumi-sama and Reiha-sama told me that after some time, we can destroy the Anthill already. It will help them destroy the enemy inside after all and they said that they can manage to escape with in their own ways."

"Is that so? That's a relief."

"In any case, don't make the infantry and cavalry to just sit this one out. Send these orders to the frontline officers, they are to use the Shogunate tanks as cover and set up mortar sites in the field. We will not spare a single useful method of decimating that thing."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Back inside the Anthill, or to be exact, its spiritual space where Hisako and the others are, after a brutal and long battle against the monsters and curses, they finally arrived at the chamber where all of these supernatural beings came from.

"You are…"

"It's been a long while… Fox priestess and Tanuki priestess of the Sanctuary…"

"Takahashi Kyousuke."

The exchange between Kurumi and Kyousuke was cordial but contained an undertone of hostility.

"Who would've known… that fate will bring us back face to face like this one day?"

"I would've very much preferred that we didn't see each other again, Kyousuke."

"Right… I left Tohka and our child to die after all. And from what I heard from those cultists before I was thrown here, you carried Tohka's soul until father-in-law left the world too."

"Cultists…"

Kurumi expected Kyousuke to know more about what happened in the Sanctuary, but the mention of him only hearing about it from the Cultists made her aware that he wasn't directly involved in it.

"It's pretty pitiful, isn't it? The Cursed Arts user only second in strength to the legendary First Kirin Lord is now nothing but a dilapidated wreck made into a power source and producer of Ayakashis and demon beasts. It's amusing to think that when I had fully refined my power, I was a match for Inari-no-kami, and now, I can't even save myself from this predicament."

"You've done more than enough damage in the surface world and the spirit world as is, Kyousuke."

"Right… you're very much right in that."

Kurumi closed her eyes and focused on drawing out her powers that she has kept locked until now.

"I can never forgive you for what you did to little Saori and your family… your method of Cursed arts even went as far as almost destroying the Sanctuary and killing all of its inhabitants."

"…"

"As I said, I cannot bring myself to forgive you, Kyousuke. You have simply done far too much to even earn the right for me to care if you ask for penance."

"Kurumi…"

"Kurumi-san…"

The other four women looked at Kurumi and sensed the raw hatred that she bore in her heart against this man… and yet, they cannot believe that instead of seeking his destruction, she spoke these words.

"If you want to at least, make things easy for you and have a painless death, don't fight back and I'll free you from this affliction."

"What…?"

"I felt it when I made Tohka to dwell in my body… She hated you for doing that to her and your son, but she knows that it was what you wanted in the end… she held no contempt against you in that part."

"…"

"To her, you are still her beloved husband and father of her child. She saw more of you than you saw from her. Because to you, Tohka was just a means to be closer to Kensuke-san who came from not only the outside world but an entirely other world."

"…"

"I know that if Tohka is here and will hand down punishment as I will do now, she will give you to right to at least, pass on without pain and suffering."

The air became still as Kurumi finally finished drawing out her power and behind her, five tails appeared, each of them having a blue fox fire over it.

"Usually, Kurumi would never be so gracious."

"Reiha-san?"

"To receive a painless death from her is as rare as finding a pink furred Kitsune… After all, the Shrine of Inari-sama is not only a place of worship in the Sanctuary but also a court of justice."

"…"

"So, hearing her say that and do all of this… makes me wonder if Tohka's love for him was really that much that she would beg Kurumi to do this if they met."

However, Kurumi's expectation that Kyousuke would accept the offer was stopped on its tracks.

"Hehe… Hehehe! Hyehehehe!!!"

"W-What?!"

"I'm sorry, Kurumi-san… I do not have the freedom to have the easy way out."

Suddenly, the flowing tar-like fluid at the floor of the cave took the form of two large arms that reached towards Kurumi and the others.

"What on earth-!?"

"Reiha-dono!"

"Hanami! Hisako! On me!"

"Yes!"

After dodging the arms, Reiha assumed her tanuki form and made Hanami and Hisako to follow her in her charge.

"<Mujinajutsu><Gale Strike!>"

"<Kitsunejutsu!><Fox Fire Bolts!>"

"<Heed my call, lightning spirits!>"

The three hit the arm made of that black tar and it exploded back to formlessness.

"<Kitsunejutsu!><Fire Shower!>"

"<Ryuujutsu><Water Jet spray>"

Like the other three, Kurumi and Maya dealt with the other arm and likewise, it was destroyed and returned to being a shapeless puddle of tar on the floor.

"He was alright moments ago! What the heck happened to him?!"

"I don't know either! Tch! Down!"

However, it didn't even take a few moments before the arms reappeared and took sweeps against them once again.

"Khh! This guy-!"

"Keep your head cool, Kurumi!"

"It's as cool as I can allow it, Reiha!"

If the two that they destroyed was easy enough, more arms emerged that made it difficult just to dodge them. They cannot even send attacks against Kyousuke.

"Tch! Oi, Hanami-kun!"

"Yes, Kurumi-sama!"

"Give me and Reiha support from the elemental spirits! Hisako!"

"Yes!"

"Stay at the rear and form a strong attack! Once I give the signal, let it loose to that guy!"

"Aye!"

Making her talisman wand disappear, Kurumi was finally free to assume her spirit animal form and easily dodge and attack in coordination.

"Did you really think… that I would let you just leave your place like this?!"

"-!"

"You're the beating heart of this entire front… You're meant to keep them at bay for my sake! Urgh-! No…! I will not let you!"

Two different voices clashed in the single body of Kyousuke. One sounded like the usual him and the other was more sinister and evil sounding… but to one of the young women, that voice elicited nothing but unbridled hatred.

"KEIJIII-!!!"

"L-Lady Maya-!"

In an instant, she launched herself towards Kyousuke and with the plunge of her staff, his body was run through and bled out profusely.

"Urk! Gah! Gyagh-!"

"You monster…! Even in this world!!!"

"Hehehe… Hyehehe!!! My sweet and precious little Maya…"

"-!!!"

"Why do you hate me so? All that I did back then was give you-"

"You shut your filthy mouth!"

"GUAH! AAAHHH!!!"

"I will never… never ever forgive you for what you have done to everyone in the past world! I will never let you have an easy death!"

Maya filled her staff with her power and in an instant, it blew off more of Kyousuke's possessed body's flesh and blood.

"You monster in human skin… I will tear you apart! For the sake of everyone who died for your sick desires!!!"

"Ahhh!!!"

"Rai-san might have brought all of your underlings to their rightful depths in Hell! But I… I will bring you deeper than anyone else!"

Maya was about to cast a spell that would finish all of this, but Kurumi took her by the collar and pulled her out before a giant demon beast appeared at the spot where she was at previously and would've eaten her if not for Kurumi's quick action.

"You are far too naïve… to do anything to stop me, my dear Maya…"

"What did you say?!"

"We… no, I may have failed in the past world and a large part of me was forever destroyed by that pest. But here am I, a portion of it melded forever in the soul of he who has forsaken his humanity."

"-!!!"

"The Chaos will spread as I will. And now that there are no Spirits nor that pest to protect you, I will finally be able to-"

"That's where you are wrong… whoever you are that is speaking inside Kyousuke's body."

"Wha-?"

"The displaced souls and traces of the Old World in Yomi told us what the man who once desired to save the old world and yet, was forced to destroy it, did in order to bring you to your rightful destruction."

Kurumi and Reiha stepped forward and raised their hands towards the possessed Kyousuke.

"We already knew it far before you even made you appearance… He left us to deal with the part of you that has imbedded itself to Keiji in exchange for his sanity. He knew that the two of you will one day appear together to bring the chaos that you desire to wrap this world with, and that he won't be able to save us anymore."

"Y-You two-! How did you-?!"

"So instead, he left us with the means to bring you down by ourselves."

On the hand of Kurumi appeared a book. One covered in pure white leather and gilded with pure gold.

On the hand of Reiha appeared a marble ball resembling a globe and surrounding it are levitating rings of pure gold that spin around it slowly.

"It is the fate of Miyazaki Hiro… no, Iwasawa Hiroshi, to bring down Keiji and end the reign of terror in the surface world. And for us five, we will end your connection to this world."

"You insolent pitiful mortals! How dare you challenge someone such as I with your puny little-"

"Oh, shut up, will you!?"

"GUAAAAAHHHH!!!"

"For someone who is just possessing someone else' body, you're horribly scared of us!"

Using that book she has on her hand, Kurumi formed giant balls of fire and directed all of it to the possessed body who gave a terrible cry of pain.

"If you think that we will let you live once we have a proper fight, you have another thing coming!"

"GYAAAAAHHH!!!"

Supplied with her enhanced winds, Reiha pumped pure oxygen into Kurumi's fire, making it blaze more and more.

"YOU IMPUDENT MORTALS! YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR THIS! YOU WILL-!"

"You're wrong… You will be the one who will pay for this."

"-!"

"Rai-san was far too dutiful to give you the suffering that you deserved when he defeated you. He simply destroyed every trace of you save for that part that Keiji integrated into himself when he could've tormented you more so that you can pay penance for everything you have done."

Maya stood up and looked directly at the being possessing Kyousuke's body and gave her warning to it.

"Resist all you want and run away from me as far as you can… but you will know using my own hands how it felt for us to suffer all because of you."

After saying that, Maya raised her hand and using her power, sank the fanged staff stuck on his torso deeper and this made the possessed Kyousuke to go into shock and lose the possession.

"Wah-! What the hell happened-?!"

Shortly after Kyousuke woke up and found himself turned into a dilapidated wreck. His entire body is burned, and he is barely conscious.

"I will not let you suffer any more that you already did, Kyousuke. This will be the end."

"Kurumi-san…"

"As someone who did far too much evil in this life, and has fallen into depravity, you can no longer enter the cycle of Samsara. You brought this to yourself… I can do nothing about it."

"…"

"Still, it is better for you to rest now rather than stay like this."

"Before you end me, Kurumi-san… I want to ask something."

"…What is it?"

"Why did… Inari-sama wanted to keep all of us in the Sanctuary like that?"

A long pause followed his question. But the answer came shortly after she let out a sigh.

"Inari-sama… didn't want to make people live in a world where there is nothing but bloodshed and despair. She believed that no one can possibly love to live like that."

"Then why… Why does it have to be in such a way that we are kept from the outside world?"

"Because it is human nature to step into ideals and places which they do not fully understand."

"…"

"Isn't that something that you learned once she allowed you to leave? That in the end, humans step into such things, fail miserably and in their heart, hold those who never stopped them in contempt?"

Kurumi covered his body with gentle-burning fox fires and while burning away, Kyousuke spoke these words.

"Still, I would've been grateful… if instead of just the Sanctuary, she turned the world into a place as fruitful as that."

"Don't be silly… even a Great Spirit doesn't have a large enough heart to do something like that."

"Right… And we humans… do not deserve such a world."

As Kyousuke slowly burned to death, the spiritual dimension shook and cracked from its foundations. With its core dying out, the so-called "Anthill" cannot support its own structure anymore.

"We should leave now. I'll open the portal, Kurumi."

"Mm. Thanks, I'm pretty tired."

"No problem… Huh?"

After she has formed the portal leading out of the place, Reiha noticed that Maya was walking towards the misshapen rock where the now dead Kyousuke's body is still burning with the fox fires.

"Maya-chan! Get here now!"

"…I'm sorry. I wanted to take my staff first."

"Just get over here already!"

With all of them gathered around the portal, Kurumi eyed Maya whom she seem to have grown suspicious to after her unnatural words and expressions.

"Maya."

"Y-Yes?"

"Deal with it alongside other people… you'll achieve nothing, and cause only worry and hardship for those around you if you do it by yourself."

"…I'll keep it in mind."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

With the destruction of the Anthill and the normalization of the weather around Kisaragi province, the Allied forces was able to push the frontlines deeper towards the strongholds of the Coalition.

"Move it! Move the cabs!"

"Connect the rails! Make sure we won't be derailed later!"

Even though the battlefield is still riddled with holes and covered with shrapnel and fires, the work towards pushing to the depths of the enemy territory was quickly done by the allied forces.

"General Himeji! We have scouted the area of the enemy stronghold and made sure that no enemy straggler has remained."

"We will proceed to make sure that none of the enemies will be able to make it out!"

"Good! Now go and make sure that this will be done!"

""Yes!""

Without any pause, Himeji Kotori, the general in charge of the battlefield, sent her orders to her subordinates and made sure that not a single thing is overlooked.

"…We have no time to waste. Those barbarians will not give us any and we shouldn't think we can dilly-dally too."

"That's quite the vision about the affairs here, General."

"Hehe… I didn't expect you to be the first to wake up and say those things, Kurumi-san."

"You know me better than anyone else here… And you know that I am someone who has all the right to scrutinize you for your actions and decisions, Kotori."

"…"

"Tell me… is this of your own volition, or did Hiroshi made you do all of this?"

Being asked that, Kotori looked at the four other women in the medical tent who are resting after being exhausted greatly in their fight against Kyousuke and the other monsters in the Anthill.

"You know that I am willing to do anything that I can for the sake of my master, Kurumi-san… as someone who was denied of the right to walk beside him as his beloved, I just want to be his most loyal servant and warrior from now on. Perhaps in this way, I can at least give him the victories that he needs to finally unify this country."

"…Then why do all of these brutalities? Ours is an armed force unstoppable by anyone that even the enemy needs to depend on the supernatural in order to even just impede us."

"…"

"Tell me, Kotori... Why are you and Hiroshi-kun so keen on settling this as quickly as possible?"

Standing by the doorway of the tent, the young woman with a dignified posture and wrapped in the military uniform of the Kiko armed force remained silent for a while after being asked that question. It was only after Kurumi tried to stand up from her bed that Kotori turned around and told her the answer she is asking for.

"Our reasonings are different, Kurumi-dono. For Iwasawa-sama, he wants to finish this quickly so that the country would finally be unified and at peace and he can finally return to the side of Chiyo-dono."

"That's sweet of him…"

"Though he doesn't say it much, Iwasawa-sama loves this country much and would be willing to do anything to finally free it from this apocalyptic war that it is in."

With that answer given, any normal person would already be content and would be at peace… but Kurumi isn't a normal person to be tricked with such words.

"Then what is your reasoning for the rush, Kotori? If Hiroshi-kun wants to end this for the sake of peace, what's in it for you?"

At that moment, even the fox priestess who has seen almost all kinds of malice and evil from her long life can't help but shake in terror as Kotori turned around with an indescribably malicious expression on her face.

"I've found out from someone that there is a place beyond our shores that is ripe for the taking."