Vilomah

Was there anything as undoing as losing a child? It wasn't something natural. It wasn't how the world was supposed to operate.

Children were supposed to bury their parents and ancestors. It was not supposed to be the inverse but it is what had happened to Daikokuten.

He had buried his only child, the only light that had graced his immortal existence, his literal blessing, his son Ebisu.

Daikokuten, a Deva amongst gods, one of the strongest and most renewed deities in the Eastern world was unable to do anything to save his own child.

He had been powerless as his son had died before his eyes, as the life of his eyes had disappeared in the ether.

The ones at cause were the devils, the spawns of one of the heirs of the Abrahamic god. This tragedy was the fault of those abominations and Daikokuten wasn't supposed to do anything.

He could not do anything because the remaining survivor gods were scared. They had felt the touch of Teleute and it had scared them.

Where was their pride? Where was their anger? Where was their hatred? How could they do nothing while the one responsible for the death of their loved ones lived as if he had committed one of the greatest atrocities possible?

How could they accept to give their beloved land that they had built, fought for and loved to the devils?

How could they let the souls of the ones they should be protecting, the children of this land be swallowed by the darkness and lost to them forever?

What was the point of survival without pride? This is what he had said to the heads of their pantheon, to his father Susanno and his siblings.

Daikokuten had been born weak. He wasn't born strong like many supernatural beings. Everything that he had, everything that he had ever acquired was through hard work and hardships.

He knew what it was to fear but unlike them who were born with everything, they had never had to fight for what they had that had been handed to them on a golden plate at birth, he fought even with his fears and won.

They didn't even want to try. They were content with hiding. They were content with beings mere shades of their glorious past. The Gods of the land of the rising sun had forgotten the pride that had been the reason for their greatness.

He had been alone on a vigil, watching from the heavens the city he knew where resided the little sisters of the actual Satans.

He knew at that moment that there was nothing he could do but watch, standing over the city and its inhabitants like in the past made him feel as if things hadn't really changed.

He watched even though his soul retched in disgust at the sight of the devils tainting and corrupting the souls of the children of Nippon living in this city.

This is how they met. This is how Kagutsuchi and him met. He had taken for a minor godling, one that just had been lucky enough to survive the curses of the Beelzebub.

"What are you watching when there is nothing that you can do?" were the first words that the god had shared with him.

He would have reacted violently or at best just disregarded the words of what he saw as just a minor godling but he didn't do this.

Daikokuten answered honestly the new god "Because it is what is right, what is just."

"It is just to watch when they are plundering our land, perverting the souls of the children of our land, children we are supposed to protect?" The fire god had said to him.

"The decree from the heavens was to do nothing," he answered reluctantly.

"Since when did justice stop being justice because of restrictions?" the fire god spoke.

"It's to preserve peace," Daikokuten said feeling hollow. He didn't believe those words but he felt forced to say them.

"Is it peace?" the godling questioned back. "Watching powerless as the irredeemable is done?"

Daikokuten didn't answer because he knew that if he did, his answer would be one in disaccordance with the rules imposed by Amaterasu and her brothers.

"Why are you asking me this?" Daikokuten asked after a moment. "What do you expect me to do?"

"I'm asking you those things because I read stories about the great Daikokuten, the great black Deva, the god that brought wealth and agriculture to the children of Nippon. I heard of a god that was born so weak that his father didn't recognize him until centuries later because of his accomplishments. I heard of a god whose life goal was supposed to be fighting against evil. What I see before me isn't this god. What happened?" the godling asked softly.

The voice of the fire god hadn't felt mocking or even hinted at a trace of malevolence. He felt warm like a hearth.

His presence brought him to memories that he never thought he would have visited again. Memories of triumph, of joy, of success, of a son.

"This Daikokuten died with his son," he answered softly. "My son died and I wasn't even able to avenge him. Ebisu hated violence, and had never hurt anyone so why did he have to die? Why did I have to bury my only child?"

"The truth is that this world is wrong. It's a world where children aren't burying their parents but where parents have to bury the remains of their children. This is a world where only strength matters and because of this, the Abrahamic god and his descendants wreaked havoc on this universe since its creation. I wish I could do something. I don't care if I break, if I'm destroyed. I just want to make all of them pay," he revealed to the young-looking god standing at his side.

"I hadn't introduced myself when I came here. It is very rude of me," the godling spoke. Daikokuten's eyes turned toward him and their gazes crossed.

"The name I was given by my parents is Kagutsuchi," the god revealed.

Daikokuten's eyes widened. "Kagutsuchi like the son of the creators? It is an auspicious name," the dark-skinned god spoke.

"To be honest with you, I wasn't named after a Kagutsuchi," the godling spoke and with his words, it was as if a veil was lifted from Daikokuten's perception.

The godling didn't look like a godling anymore but like a proper god. He looked ethereal in the way higher beings that were mostly disconnected from the world and its rules did.

Looking into his golden eyes, he could see flames, raging and angry flames he would say seemed hotter than the flames of the divine empress Amaterasu.

Daikokuten fell on his knees. "My lord," she spoke his head turned toward the golden and diamond-made ground of Takagamahara.

"You didn't kneel before," the fire god spoke. "Why are you kneeling now?"

Daikokuten had made a colossal mistake. Before him was a god of the same generation as his father, his literal uncle but more than that, the true legitimate ruler of the Shinto pantheon, of Japan and all of its deities.

Kagutsuchi was born from the copulation of Izanagi and Izanami. Izanami literally gave birth to him traditionally. He was the last legitimate claimant to the throne.

The same thing could not be said about the father of Daikokuten and his siblings. The three gods were born after Izanagi removed his impurity from visiting the underworld on a river.

People likened Izanami to the mother of the three gods but it would be more accurate to say that those Gods were only the children of Izanagi, unplanned children.

It was the reason. why before the current dynasty, before the current descendant of Amaterasu sat on the throne there were so many conflicts between Shinto deities and their children.

Technically, the three gods were not the only gods with a right to the celestial throne of Japan.

There were other gods like Iwatsuhime, Ōwatatsumi or even Shinatsuhiko that also had claims on the thrones left by the patriarch and matriarch Izanagi and Izanami.

The only reasons why they didn't accede to it were because they either were not interested in it or because the three current head gods of the Shinto pantheon and their allies slaughtered or tricked them to make sure they would not ascend to the thrones.

It could be said that the curses of the Beelzebub even helped them. Most of their legitimate siblings and their supporters were killed by the curses that the Beelzebub had borough on the land of the rising sun.

Kagutschi had at birth been able to burn Izanami, a primordial, a being that was to gods what gods were to mortals to death.

The fragile grasp that the three gods had on Japan for most of its existence meant that disrespect or what they saw as disrespect toward them was rewarded with death or sometimes things that were worse.

Daikokuten wasn't scared of what could happen to him. He was scared that he would not be able to avenge his son and all the other innocent Japanese gods and mortals who died because of the Abrahamic faction.

He stayed silent his gaze still turned toward the ground. He felt a warm hand touch one of his arms and closed his eyes in anticipation of the pain or the death he thought would come.

This is why he had been surprised when instead of being burnt, he was brought back to his feet. He looked in incomprehension at the site god. "Why?" he found himself asking.

"You are as much as I am a child of this nation. You fought and bled for it. You lost and cried because of it. It would be a most foolish thing if I let you kneel," the fire god spoke with a small smile etched on his face.

He looked at the god with a newfound understanding and respect. Sun Tzu had been right to say that it was best to reign with fear when it wasn't possible to do otherwise but those that didn't need fear to be respected and followed were the ones that were always successful.

Fear even though primal could be temporary. Fear more than caging gave ideas of rebellion, and gave patience to the people that only waited for your end. Fear never truly lasted. Fear was not endless, it could be vanquished.

The Abrahamic god wasn't called a loving god because of the little compassion that he rarely mustered. He was feared because he held dominion over it, over one of the components of the universal life equation.

"I came here because I wanted you, someone I knew would do the right thing if the moment came," Kagutsuchi spoke.

Understanding dawned in the eyes of Daikokuten. "You want to destroy them," he spoke one arm pointing to the Japanese city that was occupied by the two sisters of the Satans.

The fire god didn't deny Daikokuten words. "The heavens gave a decree. It is not something possible."

As if to prove his words, ephemeral chains appeared for an instant around his form before sizzling out of existence but Daikokuten could still feel them, biting into his flesh and binding him.

Kagutsuchi's index finger trailed Daikokuten's chest, where he could feel the chain crossing over. "The thing with chains," the fire god spoke is that whether it is because of time or something else, it is unavoidable that chains one day" a claw formed and elongated on the finger and cut through the chains as if they were butter "break," the fire god finished.

They disappeared with the sound of thunder exploding in the night sky. The aches and the heaviness that Daikokuten could feel were gone.

The powerlessness and the sadness that he was feeling were disappearing. They were still there but they felt for once not crippling. It was as if a fog that was planning over his mind had been finally lifted.

He turned without thinking to the city occupied by the devils. He was finally free to do what needed to be done, to exact justice, to cleanse this land from evil.

This is why he was surprised when he felt a hand stop him from moving. He turned toward the only being that could have. "Why?" he asked Kagutsuchi.

Why stop him when what needed to be done could now be done? Did he misunderstand the conversion between them, the intention of the fire god? What was the point of freeing him from his shackles if that was to stop him?

"The time isn't right yet," the fire god spoke softly.

Daikokuten removed the hand of the fire god from his shoulder. "How can you tell me that the time isn't right yet? This is the perfect moment!"

"Stop letting your anger control you and look like a warrior god should, not like a grief-blinded father," Kagutsuchi spoke.

Daikokutdn bit the insults and curses that wanted to spew from his mouth to the fire god to truly look at Kuoh.

He opened his eyes to the universe, to his hidden secrets and was able to see more than he ever did. "I see a barrier," he spoke after a moment.

"Exactly, a barrier," Kagutsuchi spoke. "I learnt that It's a barrier that was erected by one of the apprentices of the Beelzebub. You know how dangerous and vicious he can be."

One of his palms closed, the finger biting and digging through the flesh making Ichor fall on the ground like raindrops. How could he forget how dangerous the Beelzebub was when he lost everything because of this monster?

Even if it wasn't directly him and just one of his students, it would not stop Daikokuten from being careful. The Beelzebub was dangerous at every level, both directly and indirectly.

"I could still bypass, break this barrier without much backlash," Daikokuten found himself speaking.

"Let's say that you are able to do such," the fire god spoke. "What comes after? Do you think that the Satans would not rush immediately here if they felt just for an instant that their siblings were in danger?"

"Speak clearly," Daiikokuten spat. He felt like he knew the point that Kagutsuchi wanted to present and he didn't like it.

"You would not be able to do anything before you are defeated and destroyed or are you telling me that you are as strong if not stronger than the Leviathan and the abomination?"

"What was the point of freeing me, of giving me hope if it was just to crush all of it?" A chuckle escaped from Daikokuten. "I see the resemblance you share with my father and his other siblings. You are cruel Kagutsuchi."

"I never said that I would stop you," the fire god spoke. "The truth is that I want to encourage those thoughts but the thing is that it is better when doing something to do it right.

He turned back to look at the god "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Things are changing. We are on the verge of a new era and the universe is holding its breath. Change will come, true change. True change always comes with war and conflict," Kagutsuchi spoke.

"I consulted oracles and allies, tried to peer through one of the openings of the book of Destiny and it is clear that war is coming. It means that the devils will be vulnerable and it is the moment that we will choose to strike," Kagutsuchi finished.

"How long?" Daikokuten asked. "How long before I can do what needs to be done before I make them feel just a mere fraction of the agony that this land and its inhabitants fell?"

"Between one year and six months, I wager," Kagutsuchi answered.

"One year," Daikokuten said softly. "I will wait just for one year, no more," he warned the god.

"You won't have to wait more than a year. I can promise this to you Daikokuten on my honour," the fire god spoke his golden eyes liting up from the inside.

"I know that you're not lying. I can see it in your eyes," he said to Kagutsuchi. "I just want to know why?" he asked Kagutsuchi.

"You could have had all the pleasures that this universe can offer, all of its splendour. I'm not stupid enough to think that any of us or our pantheon would be able in a straight fight to win against the Lucifer or the Beelzebub. This is a task where the end is death not only for us but probably for Takagamahara, what is supposed to be your inheritance."

"Takagamahara is not my inheritance. The land of the rising sun is. The beautiful land created by my mother and my father is what I held dominion over but also obligations toward. This land, secluded in the heavens away from the children of Japan is nothing but a mockery of what should be done, of what is right!" Kagutsuchi spoke.

"This divine land is lifeless, dull, false, where a false peace, a perversion of the concept exist. I don't care what happens to such ugly things. This peace is nothing but something that should be destroyed. What is this peace where the denizens of our land cry? What is this peace Where the denizens of our land hide? What is this peace Where the denizens of our land pray but their prayers are not heard. There can be the presence of both peace and injustice. The children of this land are inherently better than the barbarians of the West or the lesser countries of the East. Why should they be seen as inferior? Why should they be the ones fearing?!" The fire god said with passion.

"Maybe if you were there since The beginning, things would have been better or maybe we would have all been dead," Daikokuten spoke.

"There can be meaning in death and a death that is embraced, that is coming from your own actions is always better than a purposeless life rotting both inside and outside for all eternity," Kagutsuchi told him.

The god stayed at his side watching the city of Kuoh with him until the silver light of Tsukuyomi was replaced by the golden light of Amaterasu.

At dawn, the fire god disappeared as if he had been a fragment of his mind but he knew that it wasn't the case because for once since the death of his child, Daikokuten felt burdened with a glorious purpose. Yes, there was meaning in death.

Sometimes, things needed to be destroyed to rise and emerge in another form, in a better one. The Shinto Pantheon would probably disappear but better a glorious end than a purposeless and vapid one like the decay that the heads of their pantheon were fostering in its core.

*scene*

Kagutsuchi hadn't lied to him. Eight months later, the occasion presented itself. The Vatican, the stronghold of the messengers of The Presence was attacked in broad daylight. An attack that was the cause of the death of thousands of the high executives and heads of the Abrahamic faction.

This was an attack that the Heavens had to answer to unless they wanted to be seen as weak. Weakness would mean to old enemies that were biding their time that it was time to strike so more than avenging their members and faithful that died, they needed to act to still be seen as strong as they were in the great war.

In retaliation for the attack, every member aware of the supernatural in one of the great religions worshipping the god of Abraham decided to attack the devil outposts that were the closest to them.

War, Daikokuten could feel it in his bones, in his being. With every act of atrocity, with every weapon biting into flesh, with every act of hate against a devil, He could feel himself growing stronger than ever, stronger than before the curses of the Beelzebub weakened him.

Normally, it shouldn't have been the case. Even though he held dominion over Japan and most of the Eastern world, the ones that should have been strengthened were only other gods of war.

What changed the paradigm was the fact that he held authority against fighting and destroying evil more precisely evil beings and devils fell into the category.

If it happened in Japan, maybe he would have grown so strong that he would have been able to fight against his father and win but that was fine. An increase was still an increase.

He felt him come, walking and threading through the unseen pathways of the cosmos to reappear at Daikokuten's side. "You were not wrong," He spoke. "Thank you."

"Your actions will benefit me. There is no need to thank me," Kagutsuchi answered. "The crimson Lucifer and the other Satans are busy dealing with unrest and attack coming from the outside of the underworld," the fire god spoke.

"Do you expect me to believe that it will be enough to stop them from coming on this earth?" He said to the fire god.

"I don't believe such. It just gives us time," Kagutsuchi answered.

"How long?" he asked the god.

"Four minutes at best if they don't know what is happening, 2 minutes and a half if they learn," the fire god answered.

"That is enough for me," Daikokuten spoke.

He turned to look at the god. He looked melancholic, sad. "Don't tell me that you're now hesitating," he said to the fire god.

"I asked my younger sister for her help and the help of the other gods in our task. She refused," the fire god spoke.

"Did you expect something else?" he asked the other Shinto god.

"I didn't but miracles happen. I thought that maybe, she would prove herself worthy of the throne she is sitting on," The fire god replied.

"The ones that sit on thrones are rarely deserving or even worthy. Most of the time, they are instead the inverse of those things," Daikokuten spoke.

"That's fine. I asked her on purpose for her support of the attack. It means that most denizens of Takagamahara are probably aware of this," Kagutsuchi said to him.

"You care about them. I thought that you saw all of this as something shameful that needed to be cleansed," he spoke his awareness covering all of the golden realm of the Japanese gods, the different gods wondering and living in it, Amaterasu and her celestial palace towering in the sky of Takagamahara and serving for now as the sun of the divine realm.

"We would probably perish," Kagutsuchi spoke. "Even though I'm dissatisfied with them, I know that they are capable of changes. I hope that they leave before the consequences of our actions fall on them."

"Most won't leave," Daikokuten told him.

"It's alright. As long as there is a remaining foundation, something better can be constructed. The gods that will survive will understand that in order for us to thrive, they need to embrace change, to grow stronger so that Japan may become the empire it deserves to be," Kagutsuchi spoke.

At their sight, space distorted and a familiar god appeared from the distortion clad in armour. "Bishamonten, glad to see you here with us today," Kagutsuchi greeted the other member of the seven lucky gods.

"It is me that is glad to be in the presence of his majesty and one of my fellow gods of luck and Buddha," the god spoke.

He walked toward them with a small smile etched on the corner of his face. Daikokuten and Bishamonten saluted each other by grabbing each other forearms.

"I see that you're alone," the fire god spoke.

"Unfortunately, the others were too cowardly to come. I tried but they didn't want to bulge. It is what it is," the god spoke nonchalantly.

"Disappointing even though it was expected. Were you at least able to do the other things?" Kagutsuchi spoke.

"Of course," the other god of luck answered. H opened his left palm and In it appeared three orbs of light that orbited in a circle as if they were satellites.

The light orbs rose in the air and darted toward each of them covering them in a faint Aura of gold before disappearing.

Daikokuten raised an interrogation eyebrow at Kagutsuchi. "I didn't lie when I said that it was more than probable for us to die but even then, I wanted to make sure that we would have a way, a chance to survive what I knew would come to us. Those lights will change our signatures temporarily. At best we would be mistaken for angels and at worst for exorcists. If we are able to cleanse the city from its rot before the Satans appear."

"You want to throw gasoline on the fire," Daikokuten commented.

"It would be a lie to say that your words are false. There are few chances of it working because I'm sure that the heiresses even if they are weak will be difficult to put down like cockroaches but in the cases we are lucky, our action will ensure the complete devastation of the Abrahamic faction," Kagutsuchi spoke.

"The existence of the barrier doesn't make your plans foiled though?" Daikokuten asked.

Most wards made by supernatural beings more than defending were made to alert.

Kagutsuchi began to glow, his divine flames surrounding him. Gravity lost its hold on him and His feet left the ground. "You would have been right if I hadn't planned for this. This barrier was made on Japanese soil. I may have not challenged my younger siblings over the celestial throne but I still have a legitimate dominion over this land. They made a grievous error the moment they erected this barrier on my land," the fire god spoke softly.

Daikokuten focused his gaze, his attention on the barrier trying to decipher the meaning of the words of his uncle.

He had stood vigil over the city for more than a decade. He had watched it when a devil from the lineage of the Archdaemon Belial had made it its nest. He had watched when the younger siblings of the current leaders came to this land.

He knew this barrier and all of its intricacies. He knew of the devils patrolling and guarding its borders.

This is why he was able to see the meaning of the words of the Fire god. The barrier had been changed. It would be more accurate to say that its control was usurped.

The composition was still the same. The demonic runes were still powering it. It still stood proudly over Kuoh. It was just that now, Daijokuten could see that something had changed.

It was a change so minuscule that if he hadn't been familiar with the composition of the barrier, he would not have seen it.

"You changed the names," he said in realization. The demonic runes indicating the names of the Lucifer and the Leviathan were gone. Instead, what had replaced them was the Kanji of the name of the fire god.

"I did," the older god confirmed. "If I hadn't done this, they would have appeared instants after us."

Over them, the light of Amaterasu began to deem to let place to Tsukuyomi's. For a brief moment, Japan was plunged into gold, allowing Daikokouten to see all of it, every one of its denizens whether they were Youkaïs or just mundane humans.

The actions he was about to commit, the lives that he would be taking directly or indirectly, that he would impact. All of this was for them.

He had changed. The younger him would have never believed that he would be able to go this far, to grow this strong.

He had sought strength so that he would matter so that his father would look at him with pride.

He had sought immortality so that he would never be forgotten. He had realized after that his true immortality would be the legacy he would leave when he was gone, when he had faded. Ebisu had been the immortality he had longed for so long and he only understood it after losing him.

He wondered if he could have been a better father if he could have done things differently. He wondered if Ebisu knew how much he meant to him, how much Daikokuten had loved him, how much he had been proud. He regretted that it was only after the demise of his child that he had spoken those words.

He had become a Buddha, had ascended when he had realized that nothing did matter and because of this, everything mattered.

He had forgotten that every moment could be the last even for immortal beings, and that they should all be cherished, that regrets should be discarded because a good existence was one that ended without regrets.

He summoned in his different arms his divine instruments and tightened his grip on the divine weapons and tools.

He felt Bishamonten summon a part of his divine regalia, his spear in one of his hands. The heavenly king of the north hadn't summoned his Pagoda, his second divine regalia containing some of the ashes of Siddhartha. Only when the two regalias were present that the god would be fighting with all of his powers.

Daikokuten thought that he could almost see the reason why Bishamonten hadn't summoned the Pagoda. What was the point of throwing a sun after all at an ant when you could simply crush it under the soles of your feet?

His attention turned toward the Shinto fire god when he heard his voice "What we are doing will probably lead to our demise," the voice of the god boomed "But if it's the case, it will be because of something right! Death is better than stagnation! Justice is better than this false peace!"

His voice softened a little "Thanks to both of you," the Shinto fire god spoke.

"It is in my duties and responsibilities to fight and crush evil. It's natural that I will follow you," Bishamonten spoke.

"You allow me to do something that had been my only obsession for more than half a century. There is no need for concepts like gratefulness here," Daikokuten spoke.

A smile appeared on Kagutscuchi's face. "You are right," the god spoke softly. Night had fallen and the land of the rising sun was plunged into darkness.

The flames of the fire god exploded outward like a wave banishing the darkness, overshadowing the light of Tsukuyomi in the sky.

A new sun stood over Japan. A sun that Daikokuten looked more warm and welcoming than the one of Amaterasu. It stood like a symbol of things becoming better, of darkness being vanquished. "It is time," Kagutsuchi spoke before falling toward the city of Kuoh like a falling burning star.

They watched how the god flames broke through the barrier. What was surprising was seeing that something that he could only call malevolent, like a tumour in reality stopped the sun from falling and burning everything.

"So, this is the famed power of destruction," Bishamonten thought out loud while scratching his chin. "She is no older than two decades and she's capable of doing such. I understand now why the crimson Satan is feared."

A grin appeared on the face of the other Buddha "Whatever happens will be interesting," the god spoke his grip on his weapon tightening.

The god turned toward him "Also before I forget, Ebisu would have been proud of you," Bishamonten spoke before disappearing at Daikokuten's side to reappear falling in the sky of Kuoh.

He felt something run down his cheeks from his eyes. "What are those," he wondered out loud. He touched his face with one of his hands. "Tears?" he said with surprise.

He didn't know that it was possible for him to even cry. He had gone through so many things that would have broken many gods and he had never cried before. He guessed that there was a first time for everything.

He bent slightly his legs, reaffirmed his hold over his weapons and emptied his mind. With a push, he sent himself flying toward the city of Kuoh 'I hope wherever you are my child you are proud of me. Soon, we'll be reunited again' was Daikokuten's last thought before he fell spear first on the head of a white-haired devil.