Ashuradō, Yomi — the largest city in the underworld and home to nearly twelve million demons. Unlike the neglected slums of its sister city Gakidō, this city bustled with constant nightlife as the sounds of traffic and neon lights polluted the atmosphere.

On the outskirts of Ashuradō, a long black limousine drove across the long massive bridge connecting the metropolis to the mainland. On the limo emblazoned in silver was the imperial crest of a foreign power. The Empire of Nirvana, home of the Shinigami race; guardians of humanity.

“We’re approaching Ashuradō, sir.” The driver said to the figure in the back, never taking his eyes off the road.

The man in the back of the limousine looked to be in his early thirties. His ruffled white hair was offset with black at the strands, like a calligraphy brush tipped in fresh ink. As the automobile passed down the seemingly endless street lamps, the man’s eyes were slightly illuminated. They were black as pitch, with barely any white in them whatsoever. The only thing that glimmered in the dim yellow light were the man’s pale blue irises, slit not unlike a cat's.

“It’s about time. I presume His Majesty is ready for our arrival?”

The driver nodded silently, all had been set and the time for their meeting was at hand.

“Wonderful! I’m pleased the Emperor is wise enough not to keep a shinigami waiting.”

The limousine passed through the checkpoint unhindered as several other matching limos followed behind. They made a few more turns through the city until reaching a clearing in the middle of Ashuradō. Several trees and a pond decorated the tranquil atmosphere as the shinigami made their way to the imperial palace of Yomi.

Meanwhile, the emperor and several of his bodyguards were waiting in the imperial throne room for their expected guests. To say the room was gargantuan would be a gross understatement. Numerous pillars made of the finest polished ebony marble lined the throne room on each respective side, reaching towards the domed ceiling. Frescoes decorated the ceiling, ones that originated back since time immemorial.

“Majesty…” Spoke a woman clad in black and white leather armor, her periwinkle hair highlighted by the torches in the room.

“What troubles you, Kirin?” The Emperor replied, in a frail and wizened voice.

Kirin tightened her grip on the spear, her palms warming the cold metal shaft. She distrusted the shinigami, an inkling kept rattling inside her brain.

“I just think… perhaps we should have one of the Jikininki present for this meeting.”

The Emperor cracked a dry smile and looked to his left at the young bodyguard.

“You think us too ill-prepared, do you? I suppose Lord Nergal could provide us some extra manpower —“ the Emperor said, sending one of his guards to request additional men.

“Forgive my impudence, your Majesty. I just value your safety above all else…”

-There’s only so much we can do. Myself and eight other guards here. Am I just being paranoid?

Signaling her to come over, the Emperor placed his hand upon her arm. Kirin let a surprised gasp escape her lips.

“Value yourself above all else, young lady” He snickered, placing his hand back on his throne.

“I appreciate your concern though. Still, I see how The Council of Princes keep eyeing me; waiting upon me hand and foot. Probably waiting for me to drop dead most likely, heh. Not often a demon dies of old age! Unfortunately for them this old man still has some fight in him.”

Kirin gave him a tight smile. He was a jovial man, but perhaps he wasn’t taking this too seriously. Without warning, the massive doors to the throne room opened slowly. With a combination of multiple footsteps and the creaking of the brass doors, the tension in the chamber rose tenfold.

Shinigami dressed in hooded white robes stepped forth in two single file lines, forming a path for their leader to walk down.

“Stand attention! Now presenting, the Empire of Nirvana’s Commander of New Life — Lord Sierro!” Shouted one of the robed men in a proud, stern tone.

Sierro calmly took his time walking down the throne room, taking his time to admire the grandeur of Yomi’s imperial palace. His black feline eyes flicked over to the paintings of past demon warriors engaged in battle with shinigami.

“Curious…” Sierro hissed, his black cape trailing behind him like a shadowy tail.

“You’re Emperor Orochi, yes?”

Orochi had a stern look on his face, unmoving and unflinching. He wouldn’t allow himself to be intimidated, no matter how many fancy titles or men this commander had with him.

“He is, which you shall address as His Majesty.” Kirin interjected, her tone dark and commanding. Her muscles flexed slightly as she increased the grip on her ornate spear.

Sierro simply replied with a chuckle and broke through the line his men had created, sauntering over to the painting of the war he spotted earlier.

“Your Majesty, please forgive my… ignorance. I have never set foot in Yomi before this moment, much less the realm of Kurayami! Only your kind dwell here, isn’t that correct?”

“Your kind?!” Kirin spat in disbelief. She was seconds away from skewering this pretentious asshole.

“Silence! Remember your place!” Orochi barked. Kirin looked down at the floor, her posture unchanging. She had to remember the audience requested was with the Emperor, not herself. He could speak for himself.

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“That is correct, Commander. Forgive my bodyguard’s outburst, she can be a tad protective of me sometimes.” The emperor laughed lightly, trying to ease the tension.

“Then you’re paying her well…” Sierro said lightly, his voice stretched thin. The shinigami placed his fingertip on the image of a demon general clad in ornate armor. Tracing it lightly, he slid his digit over to a woman in the painting with raven black hair. She was seated upon a throne of pure gold, her eyes were red and full of malice. Such hate and ferocity seemed to bleed through the oils and paints that decorated the canvas.

“The goddess Izanami, if I know my history. Mother to the first demon… an infant so accursed that the sun turned black at its birth and the mountains shattered at its wails. They say soon after it was born, the babe’s father Izanagi split it into pieces and cast the corpse from the heavens…”

Sierro’s slit eyes peered deeply into the painting, at Izanami.

“You demons were born from the blood that spilt from that infant’s corpse as it sprinkled down from above, were you not?”

Orochi grasped onto the armrest of his throne to gain support as he stood up.

“I’m well aware of my ancestry. I believe we all are. You requested a council with us because of the recent influx of magical beasts on Earth, so let’s talk about that instead please.”

Sierro turned to Orochi, his finger trailing off the painting as his head tilted eerily towards the emperor. Their eyes locked across the throne room, despite being several meters apart.

“After the demon rebellion and Izanami’s crushing defeat at the hands of the shinigami, our two races had a treaty. We accepted your surrender in exchange for your race’s eternal service and subjugation to us. The shinigami escorted humans to the afterlife, while your kind were charged with simply staying put! Disposing of any deviants who broke free into the mortal world, that was our agreement and that is why I’m here!”

The commander’s empty eyes ignited into an icy blue within a split second.

“Since you haven’t followed that agreement, I have personally come to punish you accordingly—”

Kirin felt the air grow cold as any warmth was immediately sucked from it by Sierro’s words. Within a matter of mere moments, the shinigami raised their hands towards the emperor. She could sense the pressure intensify from the pure magical force they were emitting from their bodies.

Kirin rushed forwards and without hesitation, she stepped in front of her emperor and prepared to submit her life. With a mighty thrust of her arm, she threw her spear forward towards Sierro. The ornate weapon whistled through the air like a missile. Sensing her projected attack. Sierro tilted his head to the left, letting the spear collide with one of the mage’s skulls behind him and rendering it into crimson pulp.

“Majesty!”

It was the only word Kirin could utter as she felt time crawl to a fraction of its normal flow. Sierro struck forth with his palm at her across the room, white sparks emitting from his fingertips.

The imperial bodyguards placed around the room rushed at the shinigami as the robed mages summoned magic blasts to fire back. The bodyguards, seeing the magic being cast took cover behind the massive pillars.

“Dammit, they’re too fast! We can’t fire back with our magic or strike physically with our weapons!” Orochi cursed as he took Kirin’s arm and ushered her behind his throne for cover. It would be about a minute more until reinforcements arrived, they just had to survive until salvation came. Suddenly, Kirin and Orochi heard a chuckle that made their blood run cold.

“Seidō Number Eighty Three: Hell’s Five-Thousand Fangs!” Sierro said as he conjured a spell so powerful the shockwave rippled through the room. Every torch within the palace went out instantly. The only illumination within the darkness were the multiple beams of golden white light that shot forth from the commander’s palm.

The golden beams flew forth at the speed of light, so fast it would have been nearly impossible to dodge and equally useless to defend against. This was Seidō, incredibly advanced Shinigami magic. They shot through the pillars and pierced the bodies of the Emperor’s bodyguards; running them through as smoldering holes marked where the fatal blows fell.

“Stay behind here, Kirin. His magic is far too great for you…”

Kirin tried to make sense of both the chaos and what she had just heard as bursts of light filled the void of darkness. Stay behind cover and let the Orochi defend her? It was too much of a risk. All the while every beam of light found its mark, being extinguished the moment it made contact with a marble pillar or soft flesh.

“You fool! He’ll kill you!” Kirin screamed in defiance.

Orochi could only smile in the darkness as he stood to his feet.

“I’m not some helpless old man, Kirin. You may be sworn to protect me, but this man is attacking my people! I can’t stand by cowering behind you all when my allegiance is to my people! Now, stay back! That is my final order to you.”

She could only hear the screams of her comrades mixed with the clanging of metal swords and armor-covered corpses hitting the floor. Orochi came out from behind the throne and raised his hands while orange sparks flew from his fingers.

“You arrogant little shit! Allow me to show you the power of the demons you hold in so much contempt! Jigadō One-Hundred One: Eight-Branched Pale Summit!” Orochi yelled, his once mellow voice suddenly deeper and terrifying as it bellowed out like mighty thunder. Out of Orochi’s mouth sprung forth an enormous, glowing purple serpent with eight heads that cast a deathly glow throughout the entire throne room. Its ethereal form locked Orochi in place as he used his magic to maintain the spell.

The shinigami mages looked on in terror as the snake opened its mouth and just as quick as the beams had been, darted throughout the room. One by one like dominoes falling in line the serpent’s heads snatched up the shinigami sorcerers in its mouth and devoured them. Sierro dodged the snake as it came towards him, but too late. The snake clamped its jaws around Sierro’s arm as it passed him, ripping the appendage off.

Sierro screamed in pain and fury as blood squirted from his torn sleeve, dying the white robe red.

“So this is the power of the Forbidden Jigadō spells! I didn’t even consider you knew them, you damn codger!”

He wasn’t defenseless yet, and before the snake’s heads could coil around and strike again, he fired off several more golden beams from his functional hand. Kirin, who had been watching from behind the throne saw the beams heading towards Orochi. He couldn’t defend himself, all his power was focused on maintaining the magical serpent. This power was a gambit and while powerful, left its user wide open for counterattack.

Kirin’s body started moving on its own. She couldn’t just stand by and watch her sovereign die while she still had some say in the matter.

“Forgive me, your Majesty.”

Kirin jumped in front of the emperor’s body as the beams came towards them. It was then she felt it. Her body screamed out in pain as numerous beams pierced her right side. It felt as if she had been impaled with a molten-hot pitchfork.

Her legs gave out as Kirin collapsed onto the marble steps. Orochi, in shock over what had just happened set his eyes on the woman before his feet. Sierro used this split second of time to fire off a quick shockwave spell towards the emperor. The mighty snake hissed and disappeared into a flash of purple light as Orochi was flung backwards against his throne, causing him to gasp out in pain.

The shinigami commander slowly staggered up the steps towards the throne. Sierro stood before the battered emperor, who was struggling to stand up after the concussive force he just endured. Ignoring that she was rendered unable to fight, Kirin reached out shakily towards Sierro, her words of threat to not touch the emperor instead becoming a jumbled gargle of blood that spilled out between her lips.

In the distance she could hear reinforcements arriving. Surely, they’d be able to save Orochi on time. The last thing Kirin witnessed before her eyes slowly fluttered into unconsciousness was Sierro aiming his palm at the emperor. With a burst of light, one final beam emitted from Sierro’s hand and exited the back of Orochi’s head.