Chaos

I stand atop the tallest building in the village, watching as the world below burns and crashes.

I can see everything from up here. Not that I needed to; the Eyes of God won't let something as superficial as perspective stop it, but being so high up feels nice too.

All across the village, battle rages on as Hanezu, his men, and those possessed come face to face with the high-ranking members of the five clans. The remaining members of the five clans are far fewer in number, but they're far stronger than the average stray magician. It's not so clear who'll come out on top.

Shikaku and his fellow Youkai are zipping all over the place, carrying those that want nothing to do with the clans and bringing them to a teleportation array some distance away from the village. To the untrained eye, they'd look like blurs moving all around the shadowed alleys of the village. It's impressive to watch, really.

Akeno is just south of here, engaged in her own battle against the Himejima Clan Head. Himejima Suzuki is his name, and he's without a doubt the strongest member of the Himejima Clan. A master swordsman, a flame specialist, and a tactician. But he's severely weakened right now, his connection to Kagutsuchi cut off by the 'Isolation' barrier.

It'll take a while before the other clan heads notice that the man is missing, considering both his and Akeno's presence are hidden by another, smaller 'Isolation' barrier that she placed up before they engaged in battle.

And yes, 'Isolation' Ofudas can be activated inside another 'Isolation' Ofuda. The former just has to be smaller to fit inside the larger barrier.

She initially planned to fight all the clan heads at once, but instead of directly assisting each other, the other clan heads are more busy keeping their own clans alive. And so Akeno is given the perfect one-on-one against the one who'd represents the monster that had killed her mother.

As for me, I'm controlling the massive floral growth hiding beneath the entire village, causing earthquakes and tearing down buildings when needed. Because as mean as it sounds, neither Hanezu or his company will ever pull a victory against the Five Principal Clans on their own. The difference between them is just too wide.

So I'm lending a hand, just to give them some chance at winning.

That aside, I'm also keeping the divine beasts restrained, coiling them up in thick roots and slowly crushing them. They're struggling to get out, and several members from the clans are trying to free their own divine beasts.

But they can't. Those roots are empowered by both Primal Energy and Ki. Not only are they terrifically tough, but any damage they sustain is quickly healed back once they take in some Primal Energy from the many 'Gathering' Ofudas hidden in the soil.

And as I do, I glean all the information I can about them using my eyes.

The Divine Beasts. Creations of the Five Clans' patron gods, made from divine energy and shaped into mythical animals.

The Azure Dragon of the Kushihashi Clan, who wields the element of Wood.

The Black Tortoise of the Doumon Clan, who lazes in the crashing Water.

The White Tiger of the Shinra Clan, whose fangs shriek like banging Metal.

The Vermillion Bird of the Himejima Clan, whose wings burn with great Fire.

The Yellow Dragon of the Nakiri Clan, whose roars trembles the Earth.

They're all very powerful creatures, capable of destroying entire cities if let loose. But with their connection to the patron gods severed by the 'Isolation' that hangs over us?

At the moment, they're weaker than even some of the lower ranking members of the clans.

I'm keeping an especially careful eye on the Vermillion Bird. That phoenix-looking knockoff will be Kagutsuchi's vehicle into the lower realm. It'll take time; he'll need to cut through the 'Isolation' barrier without actually descending, but he'll manage to do it. And once he does, he'll inhabit the Vermillion Bird and move it as his own.

Before that happens, three things need to happen.

Those who don't deserve to fall in this chaos must be brought out, and all Youkai that have come here today must've returned back to Kyoto. I can't let even a single Youkai be of any suspect.

The clan heads must fall. Or, at least, Himejima Suzuki must. That falls into Akeno's domain, but I have faith that she'll come out on top.

And lastly, those blessed by Kagutsuchi must be gone, either killed or brought back to Kyoto.

If all goes according to plan, when Kagutsuchi descends and inhabits the Vermillion Bird, he'll find himself isolated in a miniature world completely devoid of his followers. He'll have nothing but the shackled divine energy contained within the Vermillion Bird as his one and only fuel source.

He'll come to an isolated world without a single ounce of faith, and for a god? That spells demise.

But that won't happen just yet. We still have time.

So I spend it all standing atop the unfolding battle, hopping from roof to roof as I continue to cause more and more destruction. The ground tears, cracking and pulling apart as the massive roots underground move according to my will. Entire buildings crumble at my whim, their foundations torn and cracked by the moving earth.

And when that's not enough, I begin using the roots to drag people into the earth, suffocating them and crushing their bodies into paste. Occasionally, when I begin running low on Primal Energy, I'd suffocate one of the clan members, and I'll drag them to a secluded location, where I'll then drain their Primal Energy to keep me going.

Of course, I'll then bury the dying person deep into the earth, where their corpse will never see the light of day.

Suddenly, I hear the gargantuan roar of thunder in the distance, and I turn my eyes to see a massive tower of lightning rise into the air. The smell of ozone fills the atmosphere, and my skin tingles as static electricity charges the air.

That blast of lightning is then followed by another. And then another. And then another.

Then, I feel something change. A great dispersal of magic launches through the air, visualized as a band of rainbow light in my eyes. It's as if some great container of magic had broken, releasing all of its contents.

And immediately I know what happened, and a wide smile comes onto my face.

"That was fast." I whisper, more than impressed at Akeno's show of explosive force. Even now, the air remains electrically charged, and the hairs on my arm are standing up.

That was no normal lightning, either. It was one enhanced by Senjutsu, and further empowered by the Primal Energy she'd absorbed for the past few years.

But I have no time to celebrate, because suddenly, I feel the 'Isolation' barrier hanging above the village crack. It's a small dent, and the barrier still works, but the fact that something had damaged it was a big enough sign.

Immediately, I pull out a small marble and crush it in my hands. And some distance away, just as Akeno is catching her breath, she feels her own marble shatter to dust. The meaning isn't lost on her, and though tired, she quickly begins to leave the area.

That marble had been Nurarihyon's creation, and we'd decided that, if her marble breaks, it means that she is to retreat.

I activate the Eyes of God to scour the village. I can only see a few Youkai left in the village, and it'll take only a few minutes before they're all gone. I won't need to worry about them.

I turn my eyes towards the chaos around me. The results are…less than satisfying. There still lives a few high-ranking members of the Himejima Clan, and it'll take far too long for them to fall at the hands of Hanezu and his company. The barrier would've fallen apart before that.

I need to take things into my own hands.

So I take a deep breath, and I mentally map out those I need to personally kill. Information flutters before my eyes, and eleven dots appear in my mind's eye.

I reach out to the tangle of massive roots beneath the earth, and the ground begins to shake as the earth is uprooted, cracked in various places as massive roots surge from the ground beneath. They grab hold onto the eleven Himejima clan members, and their screams echo in my mind as they're dragged into the earth.

Then, the ground in front of me breaks, and out comes the last remaining resistance from the Himejima Clan. Eleven members; four women and seven men. They all glare at me, their voices silenced by the roots covering their mouths.

I smile back, before I reach out towards one of the men's neck. There's a small wound on it, and Primal Energy begins flooding into me as my finger presses against it.

Before long the man slumps over, exhausted and weakened. He makes no resistance as the roots drag him under, trapping him in the ground, bereft of air.

He dies in seconds.

The ten remaining members turn to me. I keep smiling.

They too are left exhausted once I drain them of all their Primal Energy. And none of them can muster even a single word as they're dragged beneath, killing either through suffocation or by crushing. Their corpses shall act as nourishment for the plants to come.

And now, fully recharged with energy and knowing what to come, I sit atop one of the few remaining buildings in the village, staring towards the immobile Vermillion Bird. It's still lying there helplessly, but it won't stay like that for long.

I look up. The invisible barrier begins breaking. The cracks are small at first, but it grows and grows as time passes by. Before long, the cracks stretch all across the invisible dome, covering it like spider webs.

Then, it happens. The 'Isolation' barrier cracks, and a meteor falls towards the earth. It crashes into the unmoving Vermillion Bird, and suddenly a mighty screech rings out from the beast as it breaks free from the roots and flies into the sky.

The air heats up immediately. The water in the air quickly turns to hot steam, and people begin screaming as their skin starts to literally burn.

I take a breath, and I pull out another 'Isolation' Ofuda from my armor. I hold it to the sky, and the characters light up an ominous purple as the slip of paper burns away. The curses contained within explodes into the air, forming into another 'Isolation' barrier, this one just as big as the last.

Just like that, Kagutsuchi has descended, and is now trapped in this isolated domain.

Inevitably, the Kagutsuchi finds him, sitting casually atop the roof of a building. His eyes, beady and burning red, glints with fury as he screeches. Yellow and red flames begin to burn all across his massive avian body, and the ground beneath begins melting under the insane heat.

Yet, I can't help but continue to smile, completely fascinated by just how bright Divine Energy looks in my eyes.

This only enrages Kagutsuchi even more, and with a screech, he begins flying towards me, flames billowing from every feather.

With a grin, I stand up and leap into the air, eager to finally contest my strength against that of a god.

Kagutsuchi comes close. The hairs on my arm burn away as he comes closer.

I pull my fist back, Primal Energy and Ki swirling beneath my skin as my entire arm is swallowed by a spinning torrent of blue and white.

And with a shout, I punch.