The Hell Priest Raijin is very happy to take the children to regain the lightness of being lost to decades of suffering. They will be well fed, taught Buddhist sutras and returned to be born again in far better stature, having learned some profound truths about the world. Their spirits will be tasked with ending suffering of other beings, continuing the world of the Monastery of Heaven. Some may choose to stay here or continue in the world as ghosts as their time trapped has afforded them a chance to choose how to decompress from the stress of their memories. Some want to care for sick and wounded animals, try to find surviving family members to act as guardian angels or comfort dying children in hospitals.
The Monk Raijin is not totally happy with Furyo. There is a reason he had left the little feral girl Emi off the list. Her spirit has become dark, a Mononoke (Manifestation of Vengeance). She is a Yurei now, with no interest in any thing more than spreading misery and terror. He cautions Furyo that despite his temporary form as a ghost, that does not mean he cannot be injured, entrapped or eaten alive by evil spirits. In some ways he is more at risk outside a human body. What he did was very careless and if the children in the flooded rooms had wanted to feast on his soul, he wasn’t nearly equips to spot them. He is lucky their inclination was curiosity and not vengeance on all adults perceived as enemies.
Furyo has done great work and despite going rogue, Raijin the Hell Priest wants to show him what has happened since he is gone. Talking him to a temple where the mother dog and silver kitten sleep beside his body. Furyo is happy to see, through prayer and spiritual good deeds his body is mostly restored to life. Still suffering harsh wounds and missing organs but with a distinct pallor of life on the face. The monk tells Furyo he must now seek out other forms of spirits chosen to return to the spirit world for redemption. Yokai and Kami who have worked to help lost spirits in trouble, protect the living and guide humans away from danger. He is given another list of all manner of creature to make contact with and try to bring back to this side. Furyo asks about the things the Monstrosities said and also how he can summon the Tengu Tenshi warriors he was assigned by the Cannibal Giant Queen?
The monk laughs at this, that is a lesson for another day. Furyo does not want to budge and instead of becoming angry tells Furyo. “They are always with you, when you fight they will appear to destroy your enemies, however they are not to be trifled with. They do not want to be disturbed from their spiritual practice for petty arguments or organized crime disputes. They will go to war when the cause is just and the odds are beyond what you could survive if they failed to intervene. They do not serve you, you serve them. Your good deeds recently have likely impressed them, but they are not the type of spirit to be fooled by temporary changes in behavior, especially those done to benefit you. Trust in their wisdom and ability to discern true intentions, they have seen you exist in hundreds of other lives and know you better than you know your self. Calling them is like tearing a hole in the fabric of the universe, jumping into a black hole or trying to surf in a tsunami. They are beyond your wildest imagination and not pure of heart in the way humans consider good and evil. The same Tengu Tenshi who could stop a plane from crashing with a wild undercurrent of wind could also lay waste to entire countries, causing endless suffering it their goals did not mater yours. Think of them as having a nuclear deterrent that has its own moral compass far more complex than yours.”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Furyo asks the what should have been his first question. “What is your order of Monks called?” The Hell Priest Raijin responds. “In life we were a massacred sect of warrior monks who fell to the rage of Oda Nobunaga’s purge of Kyoto Buddhists. The Sōhei Ikkō-ikki Yamabushi were once famous protectors of peasants and mountain shrines. In death we are called 神の鎧 ‘Armor of God’ or ‘Heaven’s Assassins’ ヘブンズアサシンズ, an ancient group of exorcists trained by the Buddha in his conquests against the primeval demon tribes of Asia. That is why we have an eternal war against the Ghost Clan and Possessed Men. To be one of us, you must have died to save others or committed a Death Ritual for the well being of humanity. Very few of us fulfill this requirement, but Amaterasu has smiled on us. We have existed far longer than human kind. Actually our founders were demons who repented and chose to serve the Buddha in guiding all lifeforms back to the Bodhisattva consciousness. As you can see our order does not exist in the human world, but the floating world. Our sanctuaries appear in places of great suffering and our monks visit the dead and dying to gift them some solace as they make transition into the spirit world. We could be mistaken as Angels or Demons depending on the situation, that statue is of one of our order who chose to go to hell to guide back spirits who have found grace among the blazing inferno and frozen wastes of the netherworld.”
Furyo looks at the statue and remembers a time in his childhood when he saw such a Hell Priest. The statue is of a formidable man crouched in a martial arts stance, covered in raised tattoos of protective scripture and exorcism prayers. His face is covered by a spherical helmet engraved with intricate designs of flowers and geometric patterns under a plain straw hat of a humble farmer. His hand is out stretched with an engraved scar of the Buddha surrounded by a flaming Lotus flower. The monk says. “Buddha Palm Exorcist… I believe his dying quest was in San Francisco when you were a juvenile delinquent. His story is a frightening one, a learning experience for all Monks who fall victim to their feelings for earthly women. He damned him self in pursuit of an Asura demon goddess in a human manifestation… love among humans and demons never ends very pleasant.” Furyo whispers a name… “Sujin…”