Yoshika was moving before she’d even fully registered what had happened. The bit of essence she’d left with Rika to serve as a beacon was gone—the agreed upon signal that she was in immediate danger and needed help.

Jia and Eui were the first to arrive at Jiaguo’s teleportation formation, hidden beneath the foundation of the assembly hall. With a flick of her wrist, Jia cast a spell to deliver flying paper cranes to Dae and Yue, informing them of what was going on.

Meili had been caught in the middle of her date, but the moment she’d excused herself, Yoshika pulled her into the Soul Realm. Moving her aspects around like that wasn’t really something she’d considered before, but in the heat of the moment she simply acted without thinking. She’d have to unpack the implications later.

Once the three were assembled, Yoshika began channeling power into the grand formation. It had only been used once before, to bring Yoshika and her entire Soul Realm back from where it had been suspended in the void between the physical, spiritual, and elemental realms.

Back then, they’d needed to fuse her Soul Realm with its physical analog, as well as bring with them everybody who’d been trapped with her in the Bloody Sovereign’s Tomb. This time, she was only moving herself, and even then just her physical bodies. She hoped that the smaller burden, shorter distance, and the immediate access to the unlimited essence of the Sovereign’s Tear would ease the otherwise prohibitive cost of the teleportation spell.

She hit a snag almost immediately. While Dae’s formation allowed her to use connections within her domain as homing beacons, it was still a spatial spell. Three of her bodies were in close proximity, but Kaede was all the way in Yamato, on her way to meet Lord Ienaga. The spell recognized her as part of Yoshika’s body, but failed because she was far too distant for it to influence.

Dae could probably repair the spell, but every second Yoshika wasted put Rika in greater danger. She could bring Kaede back like she had with Meili, but that was a one-way trip that would instantly behead Jiaguo’s army just as it was approaching the front lines of a major conflict.

Kaede ran ahead to the nearest of her lieutenants—Jin Hu. They’d be arriving at Lord Ienaga’s camp soon and she needed to at least leave them with standing orders until her return.

“Jin Hu! There’s been an emergency and I have to leave.”

He was taken aback by her sudden announcement, but had the good graces not to waste her time asking questions she didn’t have time to answer.

“Very well, my lady. What would you have us do?”

“I’m placing the mages under your command for now, rally the other commanders and tell them that they are reporting directly to you for the time being. Once you meet with Lord Ienaga, follow his directions until my return, understood?”

Jin Hu bowed gracefully while Kaede produced a small seal from her Soul Realm.

“Take this. It’s been imbued with my essence, and the seal is the Hayakawa family crest. It should be enough to prove that you are acting with my authority. Abuse it, and I’ll kill you.”

He chuckled lightly as he accepted the token, then sobered when he saw that she was serious.

“Of course. Though may I ask why you are trusting me with all of this? Weren’t you keeping me close because you didn’t trust me?”

“No. I was keeping you close because I don’t trust the fact that I do trust you. I know you’re the right person for this. I don’t know why, and I don’t have time to question it. You have your orders, goodbye.”

With that, Kaede vanished into her Soul Realm, reappearing moments later within Jiaguo’s assembly hall.

Her aspects now assembled, Yoshika poured power into the formation, letting it greedily consume everything she could give it. Her power tunneled through the fabric of reality, carving a path that would turn her connection to Rika into something physically traversable.

Yue stormed into the room, a panicked expression on her face.

“Yoshika, wait! You can’t just run off like this!”

Speaking in unison, Yoshika shook her heads.

“We can and we will. We made a promise.”

Her best friend huffed the way she always did when she thought Yoshika was being unreasonable.

“Of course you can, but you mustn’t! Jiaguo needs you here. By the emperor, you’ve even recalled Kaede from the war! Takeda Rika knew the risks she was taking when she left. I pray for her safety and wellbeing, but are you willing to put everything we’ve built at risk by trying to save her yourself?”

“Yes. We are. We’d do it for you, or Dae, or any of the people we care about. We would do it without hesitation, and we will do it again if the need arises.”

Yoshika didn’t begrudge Yue her pragmatic stance. Leaving Jiaguo was incredibly foolish, and leaving the war at such a critical point was even worse. Without her, the nation would be vulnerable, the army had no central figure to rally around, everything was at risk of collapsing.

Yue was absolutely right.

But without her, Rika might die. Jia’s first real friend, and a real beacon of joy. She was always ready with a confident smile and a boisterous laugh. In many ways Rika was the unsung hero quietly keeping Yoshika’s eclectic group of unlikely friends together. There was nobody she couldn’t get along with.

It wasn’t even a choice.

Yue saw the determination in her eyes and bit her thumbnail in frustration.

“Ugh, fine! I’ll do what I can to keep things together here, but come back as soon as you’re able! This country can’t survive without you.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“At some point, it’s going to have to.”

The spell took hold, and space warped around her, turning into a perfect pitch black void for just an instant before snapping back into reality.

Yoshika’s surroundings were unfamiliar—an underground chamber of stone and iron, with barred cells holding far too many prisoners for one dungeon.

Her senses flared to life as her domain expanded throughout the area, immediately encountering heavy resistance from an aura she knew all too well.

“Yu Meiren!”

The demon stood before her, grinning wildly as she held an unconscious Rika up by the hair, pressing a kamikiri blade to her throat.

“In the flesh! How are you, dear? Been keeping busy this last year? I certainly have.”

All four of Yoshika’s bodies moved in sync, taking a step towards the demon only to freeze when she pressed the blade tighter against Rika’s neck, drawing a tiny trickle of blood.

“Ah, tsk, tsk—none of that, now! We wouldn’t want to hurt your poor little friend here, would we? Not yet, at least.”

Yoshika took in her surroundings frantically, trying to assess the situation. Ienaga Yumi was there, bound in enchanted shackles that sapped her strength. Even if released, she wouldn’t be able to help right away.

She tried to expand her domain to see further beyond the dungeon, but Yu Meiren’s aura held fast. The demon giggled mirthlessly at her plight.

“You won’t be able to overpower my domain so easily this time. Without the seat of your power to support you, you’re nothing more than a mortal realm wretch who’s yet to learn her place.”

Why was she here? How was she here? Now that she’d had a moment to take it in, Kaede realized that they were in her family’s castle dungeons. It wasn’t somewhere she’d spent a lot of time, but it was the last place she expected to encounter her demonic nemesis.

Yu Meiren’s vile domain was like a dark inversion of her own. A gleeful sower of hatred and discord—Meiren used the connections between people to find weaknesses, manipulate and exploit them, then ultimately break apart those connections to destroy her enemies.

There were very few people Yoshika truly hated, but Yu Meiren sat comfortably at the very top of that list.

“What do you want?”

The demon scoffed.

“Revenge, obviously. You humiliated me last year, and I have no intention of letting that stand. I told you I’d show you what it means to earn a grudge from an immortal, and today I intend to keep that promise. For a start, I know Jianmo is hiding in that sword of yours—toss it aside.”

Kaede’s grip on the blade tightened.

“Why would we disarm ourselves in front of you?”

Yu Meiren slid the sharp blade slowly along Rika’s throat, leaving a long shallow cut in her wake.

“Because if you don’t, I’m going to kill your little friend. These swords are quite impressive for mortal artifacts—they’d be prized even among the lower ranks of the divine realm. With this, there won’t be any repeats of last time. You can’t reclaim her soul if it’s been shredded to pieces!”

Kaede bit her lip. Meiren was referring to Kaede’s death and subsequent merge with Yoshika. Yu Meiren’s demonic art had destroyed her heart and nearly gone on to kill everyone she knew and loved before she’d been able to subvert its power for her own.

She heard Jianmo sigh in her mind.

“Just toss me aside, darling. I may not be what I used to be, but I’m not totally helpless. I’ll be here when it’s time to make your move.”

Yoshika hesitated, but as Meiren pressed the blade further into Rika’s flesh, she relented, tossing the sword to the side.

The demon cackled gleefully.

“Good! Now then, I think we need to even the score a little. I’m pretty sure I’ve already killed two of you, haven’t I? The red haired one, and the small one with—ugh, what are you wearing? If that’s your pathetic attempt to enhance your beauty, you’d be better off not bothering.”

Meili scowled.

“You’re one to talk.”

Meiren snarled angrily and brandished her blade at Meili.

“How dare you?! I am the very picture of—”

Kaede and Jia were on her in an instant, both of them using their superlative mobility techniques to close the gap before the demon could react. Jia went for the blade while Kaede focused on recovering Rika.

Despite her distraction, Yu Meiren was deceptively quick. Before Jia could wrest the weapon from her hands, the demon transformed into a cloud of acrid purple smoke—sword and all—and slipped away. Kaede caught Rika in her arms while Jia pursued the demon.

While that was happening, Eui dove for Jianmo and Meili started to run towards Master Ienaga. Yu Meiren beat her to it, however, reforming next to their mentor with a vicious snarl on her face.

“You worthless fucking mongrels! I hate dao companions so much! You think a few cheap tricks are enough to stand against me?! Let me show you what happens to naughty girls who interrupt me when I’m speaking!”

Without even looking, Yu Meiren thrust the kamikiri into Ienaga’s side. Though she was gagged, her cry of agony tore at Yoshika’s heart. The demon twisted the blade carelessly as she ground her teeth.

“You are not in control here, I am! I will break you down until nothing is left but a blubbering mess, preserving only your ability to feel pain and anguish. Then I’m going to slowly, methodically, destroy everything and everyone you have even the slightest fondness for. And only then, once I’m certain you’ve experienced all the pain and suffering you possibly can, will I finally allow you to kill yourself.”

She pulled the sword out roughly, eliciting another grunt of pain from Ienaga as her wound gushed profusely—the enchanted blade suppressing her natural regenerative powers.

“This moment, right now, is your only chance at solace. Give up now. Submit to the inevitable, and for these two at least, I will make things quick. You can save two of your beloved from the brunt of my wrath, but not if you insist on making things difficult. Understood?”

Yoshika could feel Meiren’s domain pressing in on her, its writhing tendrils seeking any sign of weakness on which they could find purchase. Her deals were poison, every promise barbed with toxic spikes that would dig into Yoshika’s soul and give Meiren power over her.

It didn’t matter that the terms were absurd—if they gave Yoshika even the smallest hint of hope, if she so much as considered agreeing, then Yu Meiren would gain ground.

This was what it really meant to fight as true immortals, to pit herself against experts from the divine realm with centuries, millennia, or even eons of experience over her. In their first battle, Yu Meiren had severely underestimated her, yet still nearly managed to kill her.

This time, she was being cautious. Luring Yoshika away from the place where she’d be strongest, taking full advantage of hostages, and wielding her domain to its fullest.

Yoshika relaxed her bodies, taking deep breaths. Kaede met her eyes.

“I understand.”

Yu Meiren’s face split into a wide, manic smile, her domain wrapping around Yoshika and digging its toxic barbs into her. But they didn’t find any purchase. Yoshika began to advance slowly as she spoke.

“You’re a monster to the core. Whatever once existed beneath that twisted facade of yours is long gone. Unlike the demons I know, you really are a slave to your urges—completely unable to help yourself. Irredeemable.”

She dashed forward all at once, ignoring Meiren’s threats against Ienaga and overwhelming her with numbers. Once again, Meiren disappeared in a cloud of smoke, this time reforming back where Rika lay—and Eui was waiting, with Jianmo poised at the demon’s neck.

“Irredeemable—and predictable.”

Eui charged Jianmo with Destruction essence and sliced cleanly through Meiren’s flesh, severing her head in a single stroke. The demon’s screech shook the entire castle as her body dissolved into smoke and fled the dungeon. She wasn’t dead—but Yoshika had dealt a significant blow.

The win had earned them a brief reprieve, but they were still trapped in the heart of her malicious web of traps. The battle with Yu Meiren was only beginning.