Dark Scarlet, Vile Purple and Purest White

There was nothing but pure and naked terror in any battlefield that exists… and in this place that is seemingly purified by the unmoved snow, such horrors are simply exemplified more.

"Mind your speed! We can't get caught up in the artillery barrage too!"

"Gotcha!"

"Seven demonic beasts at our eleven o'clock!"

"Let us handle them!"

Although it was only us five who are supposed to enter the "Anthill", we have Shinka's famous Rough Rider cavalry group protecting us until we arrive at the designated entrance point of the monsters' nest.

"Squad 2! Detach!"

"""Roger!"""

"Squad 1, increase your speed! Squad 3 and 4, begin preparations for breaking the entrance point!"

"""Understood!"""

If I heard it right, it was said that Shinka's Rough Riders was made as a match for Aoyama Takeshi-dono's Asura horsemen by the Kusanagi Daimyo a generation ago. Apparently, Chiyo's father and the Daimyo of Shinka was just that strong that he needed to gather the best of the best just to counter his forces.

Although in the end, a strong alliance found on camaraderie and unbreakable trust on each other made their existence moot, the Rough Riders soon found fame and recognition as the foremost specialized group in the Kusanagi clan's army during the wars that it waged against the alliance's many enemies.

"Monsters are appearing on our ten o'clock! They're furred demonic beasts!"

"Switching to incendiary rounds and firebombs!"

"Positive! Rain fire and lead on them!"

Their competence and lack of doubt or even a shred of nervousness made them a force to be reckoned with. And the fact that they can do all of this on horseback just made them more dangerous to the mindless beasts they are disposing of.

"Here comes the artillery barrage!"

"Huddle down, everyone!"

The faraway sounds of the artillery fire echoed amidst the howling winter winds and it was soon followed by the high-pitched shrill of the air being ripped apart, a telltale sign of an incoming artillery shell.

*DYAG! KI-BYAAAA!*

All around us, the artillery fire from the frontlines rained down like a torrential downpour, sending out shockwaves, fireballs and dirt after each flash and clash of an explosion.

"Turn on your saddles and spot the shells!"

"Look up and make sure we aren't galloping too fast!"

The cavalry men turned around on their saddles and narrowed their eyes to spot the incoming shells, one of them saw one that was affected by the rough winter winds and came down too early than the others.

"Evasive maneuvers! A shell is coming for Squad 3!"

"You heard it! Detach and disperse, Squad 3!"

Everything was methodical and made with not even a flinch or doubt. I would like to bear witness of more displays of professionalism from them, but the nest of the monsters is now within sight and due to this, the numbers of the demon beasts also increased.

"Squad 3 and 4, prepare to breach!"

"Rocket grenades are primed and ready to launch, sir!"

"Alright! Line up and check your six! NOW!"

"Back blast clear! Firing!"

*FWOOAAASH-!!!*

In a single moment, all sixteen rocket grenades fired towards the wall of the hill and after the dust has settled, a large gaping hole appeared that was just the right size for us five to enter.

"Thank you for everything, Captain! Send my regards to General Himeji! Hold the lines until we destroy the core of this monstrosity!"

"Leave all of that to us, Lady Akizuki! We wish all of you safety and victory!"

As soon as we exchanged our well-wishes, the cavalrymen turned their horses back and sped back towards the frontlines, leaving us five to continue towards the hole on the monster nest hill.

"Here we go! Kurumi-san, Reiha-san!"

"Aye! <Kitsunejutsu!>"

"<Mujinajutsu!>"

The two activated their spells, piercing the magical barrier over the hole to let us into the place. As soon as we got into the hill, I saw that we are heading towards a steeply dug, but relatively shallow trench.

"Hanami-san!"

"I got it! <Earth spirits, hearken my call!>"

After she casted her spirit arts, the ground ahead of us rose up and formed a wide bridge enough for all of us to cross into with our horses.

"Just a little bit more and we will be inside the spirit barrier!"

"GRUAH!"

"KRAAA-!"

After Kurumi shouted out that we are approaching the boundary between the outside world and the internal spirit world of the anthill, two large and mishappen monsters appeared in front of us. They are like enormous wolves whose mouths are dripping with the tar-like liquid found in Yomi.

"Leave them to me! <Kitsunejutsu!><Fox fire bolts!>"

I drew out my longbow and shaped two large fox fires into arrows that once I let go, let out a shrill laugh like that of a fox's.

"GYAAAA-!"

"PIYAAA!"

It struck true onto their heads and in an instant, they were devoured by the blueish fire and fell down to the floor, unable to stop us as we stood on the backs of our horses and hopped into the semi-transparent barrier at the end of the tunnel.

"Everyone! Grab hold of each other!"

"Alright!"

Kurumi gave the order as soon as we entered the intermediary space between the physical and spirit world. As this is a place where one may end up being split apart if they are not holding onto each other, we hurriedly kicked ourselves off the walls and stretched out our hands towards each other.

"KYAA-!!! Hands off my tail, Maya!"

"S-Sorry, Reiha-san!"

In her panic, instead of grabbing Reiha by the arm, Maya ended up pulling Reiha's fluffy tanuki tail, earning the ire of the latter who immediately showed her an angered expression.

"The end of the portal is at sight! Prepare for immediate combat!"

"Aye!"

"Hanami-kun! Set up an earthen barrier immediately!"

"Y-Yes, Kurumi-sama!"

"Here we go!"

Anticipating a hellish welcome as soon as our feet reaches the ground, us five conjured all of our powers and closed our eyes for one last time before we fully entered the spirit world.

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

Meanwhile at the frontlines of Kisaragi province, the Shinka Rough Riders has just crossed the frontmost trench and with that, the initial artillery barrage was called off to give way to the proper battle.

"That woke them up good, didn't it, General Himeji?"

"Indeed… Send word to the frontlines and the supply runners to not scrimp on the machinegun fire. We are facing off against brutal demonic beasts, not fellow humans."

"Mm. Comms officer, you heard it!"

"Roger that! Sending it to every detachment!"

As he spoke the exact same words to the microphone, a mix of laughter and cheering echoed on the trenches.

"Heh. These guys sure know how to have fun even in such a horrific place…"

"Well, they are the ones who volunteered to not go back to the south unlike the regular army. They know what they are getting into."

"Yeah… let's make sure that they would be able to go back to their homelands too."

After Kotori said those words, horrifying growls and howls echoed along with the freezing winds. Although it should be the middle of morning now, the darkness around the "Anthill" was so dense that it looked like it was the dead of the night.

"Hiroshi-sama… I will fulfill my mission."

Kotori placed a large cassette tape into a tape player and with a small console, slowly adjusted the volume of the music being played.

"It was said that humans used to fear the monsters that appeared when Amaterasu-omi-kami retreated into a cave and robbed the world of her light… those monsters preyed on humans and grew stronger and stronger until they were once again banished when the sun goddess reappeared."

She stared at the sky that was as dark as a crow's feather. Although it should be normal since it's the middle of the winter solstice, the darkness was something far too unnatural to actually be caused by the mere difference of sunlight exposure during the winter.

"Back then, we are at the mercy of the fickle and oftentimes self-serving whims of these beings… if they happen to be lonely or be locked in a feud with each other, we have to catch the consequences of their actions… but not anymore…"

The cassette tape's music swelled and after its simple sounding intro, the booming sound of Taiko drums and the ominous sustained notes played by an orchestra of violins filled the air along with the echoes of the galloping monsters heading towards their positions.

"If this world will not give us the salvation from these monsters that we deeply desire… it doesn't deserve our prayers…"

And finally, the chorus struck, a mix of indiscernible and archaic Japanese chants and a low sustained note from the string orchestra. Along with it, their surroundings were filled with the sound of gunfire… and as for the unfortunate monsters outside, they faced a tsunami of lead and fire.

"If hell is real, a true soldier will dive into it and conquer it in the name of his nation."

The vicious words that came from Kotori's lips was heard by no one… but to her, she wanted everyone to hear it. But she knew that it wasn't the right time yet.

"Miyazono Keiji… I shall claim his head for Hiroshi-sama and this nation that he wishes to free from all evil."

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

"<Kitsunejutsu!><Blazing Vixen's wrath!>"

"<Kyoga Spell Style!><Amber Glaze!>"

"Switch, Maya-sama!"

"Aye!"

"<Hearken my call, thunder spirits!>"

Deep in the tunnels of the spirit world inside the so-called "Anthill", the five women who are here to destroy the place was met with fierce resistance from the monsters.

"Tch! They're not running out of numbers!"

"Don't say that, stupid tanuki! If there's a Cursed Spirit here, it really won't end for us at all!"

"I know that already, damn it!"

"Reiha-san! Duck!"

"Khh!"

We were fortunate to have grabbed hold of each other quickly enough to not be split apart, but that did bring us to a place where the density of the incoming monsters are so much that we can't even get any breathing room.

"Damn it! We need to push them back!"

"Give me some time, then! I'll conjure up a technique to get us deeper!"

"Alright, everyone! Protect Reiha-dono!"

I heard from Goddess Inari and the residents of Furuya province about the fact that Hiroshi-san and his entourage that strayed into the Sanctuary once helped them fight off the hordes of demons, malignant youkai and even primordial goddess Izanami.

Even Kurumi-san and Reiha-san said that it was a fight of unimaginable proportions for them… so much so that their loyal servant and dear friend, a Kyonshi named Kyo, who is actually Kyoko-sama's long-lost uncle, Kusanagi Kyoshiro, stayed behind and died in Yomi to hold off the horde until the passageways inside the Sanctuary was finally removed.

"Here we go! This will blow 'em away!"

"Everyone! Get down!"

It was only right now that I realized how much I underestimated the extent of this battles that I used to just prepare myself for the sake of "maintaining Shrine traditions".

I realized the gravity of the dangers of the ancient world… and taming that hostile world and forcing four great spirits who once wreaked havoc in it for their own whims was something that the First Kirin Lord needed to be extremely powerful to do so.

"<Mujinajutsu!><Springtime Storm!>"

A gigantic pulse of wind snapped in front of Reiha-san. If her normal attacks were centered on emitting blasts of wind to physically push back or cut our enemies down, this one attack used the winds in a different manner.

"How do ya' like it, you louts?! Even if it was so boring that I slept through a lot of it, I managed to read a book from Kiko about winds, ya' know!?"

"A sonic boom?"

"Not just one, Maya-san."

"Huh?"

I heard it clearly. There was more than one clicking that happened after the blast of air pressure that made the charging wave of monsters disintegrate into bits and pieces.

"Oh, so those fox ears aren't just a side effect of the magic use, huh? They function like one too just as mine does."

"Mm. I heard three… no, five. Five sonic booms in a single second."

It was incredible to say the least. Although we intended to simply give those books and educational lessons to the residents of the Sanctuary as a way to ease the hardships of losing a bulk of Inari-sama's blessings for them, I didn't expect for them to quickly connect it to their use of spells.

"Well, well… since the cat's out of the bag, I should show that I didn't just come to those classes to escape my shrine duties and eat the fried tofu they offer for lunch."

"Kh… I'll leave the bigger ones that resisted my attack to you, Kurumi… Don't leave anything but ash for them!"

"Roger that… Kih-!"

"This is…!"

I have already graduated from Kiko's university, and if I remember right, what I am witnessing right now is included in the research paper that I wrote in my thesis.

A fire that will never struggle to burn… A fire that would spurt out ceaselessly even with just a limited amount of combustible material in its core…

"A pure oxygen firestorm!"

By forcing pure oxygen into the fire, it burns so strongly that it never dies out and is never tamed by its dependence on its combustible fuel.

"I have to thank you and your books from Kiko, Hisako-chan. I once had a really hard time making fire spells as big as this with my inefficient knowledge about it… but with the knowledge you gave to us, this much fire…"

*FWIIIII-!!!*

"…Is mine alone to command so easily!"

With a snap of her finger and the command for the spell to let the condensed fire out, Kurumi cleared the way for us.

"<Kitsunejutsu!><Amaterasu's Gaze!>"

A plume of fire spread across the tunnel, incinerating everything in sight. Even the walls that was made of dirt and stone was scorched to the point that its crystals and minerals began to come out and sparkle on the fading light of the prior blast of fire.

"Don't let up now! Maya-san! Hanami-san!"

"A-Alright!"

"Gotcha!"

With the numerous ones and large-bodied ones killed off by Reiha and Kurumi respectively, the three of us was able to quickly finish the remaining ones and get some respite from the ceaseless wave of monsters that came to us as soon as we entered the place.

"Water, Maya-sama?"

"Sure… Thanks, Hanami."

"Can you still stand, Kurumi?"

"Heh. I should ask the same to you, Reiha. Both of us put down one of our aces this soon. We should rest for a bit."

"I agree."

"…"

While Hanami-san was tending to Maya and both Kurumi-san and Reiha-san are meditating to quickly recover their strengths, I was acting as an overwatch around our camp, making sure that there are no enemies encroaching toward us.

"Heee….lp."

"-!"

"It… huuuurts…"

"What is-"

"P-P-Pleeeeease… heee…lp."

"I-I will be there! Just stay where you are!"

From somewhere in the deep darkness, I heard a pained voice calling for help. Knowing that the monsters ate humans whole and would probably puke them out in here before injuring them, so they won't be able to escape, I wanted to head towards where the voice is coming from and help whoever it was that was calling out.

"Hisako! Where the hell are you going to?!"

"Kurumi-san!?"

"Maya! Help me tackle her!"

To my utter shock, as I stood up and was about to run towards where I think the voice is coming from, Kurumi-san tackled me and called for Maya to pin me down more.

"W-What the hell are you doing, Hisako!?"

"There are people there that are in pain! I think they're the ones who were taken by the monsters and brought in here!"

"-!"

"W-What? What are those surprised expressions for?"

I was surprised after seeing them show an expression of utter shock. I don't know why, but they seem to hardly believe their ears.

"Hisako. The monsters are not taking people. They eat them piece by piece before retreating here."

"-!"

"Where did you hear that they are being eaten whole and brought back here?"

What are you two talking about? Didn't we talk about this in the train? Why… are my memories different from what you are talking about?

"Hisako-chan… turn around to me for a second."

"Huh?"

"-!"

"Wha-!?"

"<Mujinajutsu!><Tanuki's Lullaby!>"

I was shocked after Reiha-san held me by the forehead and chest and casted a spell. After it took effect, I started to feel some kind of sharp pain in my ears. It rang and rang to the point that I held my head in utter pain.

"UAAAAAHHHH!!!"

"It's materializing!"

"I'll burn it! Get all of it out!"

"GYAAAA!!!"

"There! <Kitsunejutsu!>"

"IYA-! PUYIII!!!"

As I winced in pain on the ground, I saw granules like iron sand coming out of my ears and forming into a ball above me. As soon as it fully materialized, Kurumi-san covered it with fire and burned it with impunity.

"W-What was that?!"

"A mazoku demon… It seems to have imbedded itself well in Hisako if we didn't detect it all this time."

"Mazoku… but when could've that planted itself to her?"

After recovering from the pain with the help of Reiha's spell, I tried to think back about the places where I could've been targeted by it, and I had only a single idea of where I was the most vulnerable to them.

"I visited Kise recently as the representative of the university's charity organization… I was in the site of the former palace, and I sensed a strange sensation over there."

"Are you talking about their secretive Yomi cultist sect?"

"Yes. I investigated the ruins for a long time while I was there and sure enough, that must be the place where I had that demon embed itself on me."

"I see. That's a possibility."

"In any case, we should go ahead now and finish this."

I don't know if it was because the Mazoku was burdening me or the fact that I feel ashamed for not noticing that I had it with me all this time, but one thing I am sure of now is that I don't want to stay here any longer than necessary.

The longer we stay in here, the more the underworld wouldn't want to let us leave.

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

Outside of the "Anthill", a battle has never been this favorable to the Alliance since it was established.

Thousands of monsters lay dead on the field. Gunfire from small handguns to the biggest howitzer pieces echoes along the cold winter wind.

The darkness, as if being pushed by the sheer brutality of its opponent's firepower, failed to devour the spirits of the soldiers as inch by inch, it retreated and gave way to the allied forces who has no fear to show to the monsters.

"Make them retreat to hell!"

"Go back to Yomi where you belong, monsters!"

Machinegun fire never let up, raining bullets towards the monsters who cannot even get a single step near them.

"Burn baby!"

"Want some more heat, you hellhounds?!"

Flamethrower platoons were also present, spewing jets of burning fuel and even throwing out napalm bombs that further made the battlefield brighter than ever.

"In the grace and the might of our Lord!"

"In the service of His Kingdom in Heaven!"

"Banish these monsters and protect His children on earth!"

Meanwhile, soldiers who belong to the Christian faith found the perfect time to chant encouragements and proclaim their willingness to face off against these misshapen beings that came from what they would call as the netherworld.

"You heard those zealots! God is with us, brothers!"

"Remorse in your heart and thinking of retreating is a grave sin!"

"We're the gate keepers of Yomi! Don't let any of those demons get past us!"

Although not alike them in faith, the other soldiers around them joined in the cheers, fervor and sheer courage welling up in their chests as the thought of doing this for a higher purpose raised their morale through the clouds.

"Battle report."

"Yes, ma'am! We have no losses or injuries to report. All battlelines are working efficiently and currently, the enemy are said to be on the backfoot as we have effectively blunted and destroyed their initial attacking wave."

"Good. Tell the 57th Artillery brigade to fire flare shells to illuminate the battlefield! After that, they are cleared to switch from the Type 1 High-explosive shells to the new ammunition sent from Kiko."

"New shells?"

"Yes. One that has just left the testing phase."

A few minutes later, the entire plains in front of the trenches were bathed in light with the flare shells. This made the work of shooting down every monster easier, but further small arms fire soon became unnecessary as a single artillery fire echoed and the sound of the air being ripped apart was soon followed by an explosion up in the air that made something rain across the battlefield.

*DYAG-! DYAG-! DYAG-!*

"What the heck!?"

"Are those cluster bombs?!"

Clustered munitions are usually reserved to rocket artillery and ballistic missiles such as the SS-77 SLBMs of the Kiko Submarine Fleet. Because of their devastating firepower that spreads destruction across several hundreds of meters worth of land, using one is usually frowned upon by even the most radical of commanders.

"And what the heck…? The monsters are all rolling around in pain!"

After the explosions, the soldiers on the front noticed that the monsters are beginning to spasm on the ground and roll around as if in pain.

"Crap!"

"Wha-?"

"Wear your gas masks! NOW!"

It was the soldiers who were veterans of the brutal border skirmish against the rebel province of Kise who was reminded of a horrible memory and immediately wore their gas masks over their faces and shouted to the others to do the same.

"What on earth?! They're fragging and gassing the monsters!"

"Amazing…"

It was said that war is the catalyst of innovation and invention, that whenever the world is in conflict, existing technologies are improved to the point where they can serve the war effort more.

Kiko and the alliance is a living example of this… and an extremely good one at that.

"Don't let the artillery corps hog all the attention! Give those monsters more reason to not mess with us!"

"""OORAAAA!"""

Meanwhile in the skies above the sea north of Yamato province, a large gathering of warplanes finally broke through the blizzard-bearing clouds.

{"Darn it! We missed the opening entirely!"}

"Keep your head cool, Lieutenant Colonel. Fuujin (Japanese god of winds) must have been pissed that the Kiko pilots didn't use his name for the operation when he gave them good skies!"

{"Our gracious deities are getting jealous now? That's an amusing way to put it, Commander."}

"You know the stories, boy. Those folklores are quite amusing to say the least. This is why I told you brats to just give up on flying!"

Amidst the protests of his subordinates, the commander of the 1st Air Fleet of the Shogunate Air Corps gave in and although highly discouraged by Yamashiro Airbase's meteorological department because of the ongoing blizzard, he simply stated that they would raise the minimum altitude of their flight and make use of the Shogunate Artillery corps' maps.

"I made myself very clear already lads. I don't want to hear any of you getting below the clouds and getting caught up in the snowstorm. If your engines freeze or your fuel tanks gets nicked by the cold and leaks out, I'm not saving your asses from the Yuki-onnas who'll be out to get you!"

{"Quit scarin' us already, commander! I don't want to even imagine getting grabbed by those monsters!"}

{"Hey! Why so scared, young man?! If you get nabbed by a Yuki-onna, just rock her up pretty good and get outta there!"}

{"I'm not as daring as you are, sir!"}

{"It's not about being daring, lad! It's about stayin' alive and getting the best out of any situation. Did I mention that when I was a kid, I met a Hachishaku-onna and did her to the point where she was unable to return to the realm of the Yokai without yearning for me again? Heck, we got hitched and even had a bunch of kids!"}

{"That's stupid and you know it! Didja think that we'd really believe that, you embellisher? In your dreams!"}

{"Argh! If you don't wanna believe, then don't! It ain't my loss! But I'm just sayin' that you have that option if ever you get caught!"}

Amidst the quite lecherous conversations on their radio, the lead fighter escort of the fleet reported something that he detected in his radar.

{"Sir! Multiple bogeys dead ahead! Requesting permission to intercept!"}

"Positive! Clear the way for us bombers, Major!"

{"Clear copy, sir! Fighters! Let's give our guests a hot welcome of fire and lead!"}

{"Hu-Hah!"}

As the Fighter planes flew ahead of the rest of the fleet to intercept and destroy the incoming flying monsters, the bombers received a message from the battlefield in Kisaragi.

{"This is Allied Army North Command. We received a message from Lieutenant General Himeji Kotori, asking where you are and will you make it."}

"Positive, Command. We'll be there after we deal with the enemy interceptors… Can I ask about the status of the 4th Shogunate Mechanized Division?"

{"4th Mech Div is crossing the border at present and will make it to the battlefield in an hour. Is it safe to assume that you will arrive there sooner than them?"}

"Yes! We will make it ahead of them."

{"Good. Cutting transmissions now."}

After hearing that a specific group in the Shogunate army are enroute to the same place they are flying towards, the other airmen in the plane all knew what would come next.

"Hehehe! This is quite the predicament. If those louts get there before us, we're finally going bankrupt."

"Heh! Those drunkards sure know how to mess with us."

"You can say that again…"

It used to just be a sign of kindness and brotherhood amongst the men in the armed forces, but it soon turned into a sign of rivalry where one can definitely run out of money if they can't keep up in performing in battle.

"Tch! Boys! We might die with this one, but it's better than dying of shame if we lose to them again!"

"What kind of hare-brained idea are you having now, Commander?!"

"We're joining the fighters! Give those monsters a taste of our cannons!"

{"""ROGER!!!"""}

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

"Ma…ma! Mama!"

"B-Buy one… Ha-ah… Take one!"

"G-G-Gotta study… Make… dad proud…!"

It was said that Yomi contained the darkness that was banished from the world ever since the two Shinto gods who inhabit the sky, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, bathed the world with their light.

It was supposed to be the inner darkness where evil spirits and demons hide from the bright light of the world, a sanctuary of all that fear the light and order of the surface world.

However, what was found in this place wasn't a place of desolate darkness and inhabited by nothing more but demons. Instead, Hisako and the others faced beings that normally, they would consider as fellow humans.

"What on earth are they saying?"

"They're not like the monsters from before… but they aren't humans either-mujina!"

"Kih! They're just equally annoying as them anyway!"

Hisako, Reiha and Kurumi spoke respectively. To them, they cannot understand what the humanoid beings around them who are partially covered with the black tar of Yomi are speaking about.

"N-no… can Yomi actually be…"

"Maya-sama! What are you standing there for?!"

"B-But… I thought that our world was destroyed already… so why…?"

"Maya-sama!"

Of them five who are keeping at bay the ceaseless horde of the tar-stained beings, Maya saw something that made her freeze on the spot.

"Miyazono… Academy…?"

A long trail of horrible memories flooded her mind, memories she has tried to bury so many times but has haunted her again and again.

"I-It can't be… if this is here, and these are the people that I think they are…"

"Ma… ma! Mama!"

That girl, Mana remembers her.

("Mama! Mama! I'll study hard and help you and Papa when I'm older!")

A young child filled with hope and wishing nothing else but to help her parents one day… however, she was kidnapped and made into a test subject for a medicine by the corporation that owns her school. The medicine was horribly formulated, and she died a long, painful death.

Another one who caught her eye is a tall humanoid that keeps on repeating the words "Buy one, take one!" with grunts and heaving in between the words.

{"Buy one, take one! Limited offer just for you, patrons!"}

She remembers him. A vendor in the local wet market who always wore a bright expression and never seems to mind how little he gains from selling with such offers if it will end up helping others to easily budget their food expenses.

However, the wet market would be bought by the Miyazono corporation and his store would be demolished. He opted to sell his wares using a pushcart, but strangely, none of his former patrons would buy from him anymore.

Apparently, the goons of the company spread rumors about him and where he receives his goods. The rumor went that he acquires them from contaminated areas and passes them off as fresh and safe products.

Whether by his own hands or an act by someone else, he would soon be found dead and his body, floating in a river.

Last among the ones that she recognized was a painfully familiar voice of a young woman whom she was closely acquainted with.

"I'm sorry, Yume-chan."

"Gotta study… Make… dad proud."

She can only remember her using her first name of Yume… a gentle and soft-spoken girl with a very terrible family who placed steep standards on her being.

Maya will never forget her… because along with her and Chikako, she was also kidnapped to be served to the attendees of the Festival of Flesh.

Unlike her and Chikako who was saved when Hiro wreaked havoc and freed them, Yume was brought out of her holding cell and… her fate was of an unspeakable horror.

It was said that her body was so "used" and mutilated that her coffin had to be closed all throughout the funeral. And the worse part of it is that none of her family, especially her terrible father, showed any desire to chase after her abusers and murderers… besides, they themselves have burdened her with such abuses in life.

"Maya-sama! Snap out of it already!"

"I will… I've seen enough and my heart is wrenching in pain."

"Maya-sama…"

"<Kyoga Spell Style!><Hakushin's Thesis!>"

A spell of unbelievable efficacy. A magic unseen before amongst mortals.

"Come and wreathe me in your armor and aura! I call upon you, Sea Dragon spirit of Kyoga Shiseijo!"

Even to Hisako who borrows her powers directly from goddess Inari, the degree to which Maya seemed to assimilate with her Sanctum's guardian spirit was something that she cannot attain.

"Heh! So, you finally decided to actually help out, Maya?"

"I've always been helping. So, you better keep up or I'll leave you in the dust this time, you sly fox!"

Now, she is wrapped in an exquisite Kimono quite alike the ones worn by Kurumi and Reiha. But hers has wave pattern designs and her staff has a large fang on its end.

"I'll open their ranks. Get rid of the stragglers!"

"Aye!"

And thus, the five continued deeper and deeper into the depths of their enemy's stronghold. In their hearts burned a desire to finally end both the pain and suffering in the present and the past.