Had this been a cheap action novel, Paul thought, they would’ve had gone roaring into Yomi, guns blazing, ridden up to the castle and rescued Inari.
However, since this was real life, however fantastical it seemed when he stopped and thought about it, the plan was bit more circumspect. For a start, the ATV’s the JSDF had provided were electric, and near silent. Which was to be expected of the Special Operations Group’s latest workhorse transport. Being sneaky was something of a necessity for counter-terrorism work.
Paul lowered the light-amplification binoculars he’d been using to studying the castle that squatted in the centre of the bowl-like cavern floor and nodded slowly.
“Well… it could be the prison Inari’s in. The architectural style is early maniac, but it’s clearly designed to keep people in, more than keep them out. Any cues Shoko?”
Somewhere off in darkness behind him there was quiet chuff of a silenced service pistol, indicating one of their number had spotted yet another of the goblin like creatures that had been harassing them all morning, ever since they’d entered the network of vast caverns that seemed to make up Yomi.
Sitting over the majors ATV, Shoko shook her head.
“I am sorry Paul-san… I can tell how Inari feels, and if I concentrate I can sense if she’s nearby… but I can’t tell in what direction. She’s somewhere in this cavern at least.”
Paul smiled tiredly, and reaching over ruffled Shoko’s hair.
“That’s ok little one, that at least narrows it down.”
Off in the distance there was another series of heavy concussive thuds as the Yamato fired a broadside causing Paul, along with everyone else, to reflexively glance in that direction.
As chance would have it, the Torii gate in Kami had forced open a portal right into the heart of Yomi, and the cavern containing Izanami’s castle palace and prison. Thankfully, the cavern was vast enough that they were far enough away that the Yamato was a small star-like point of light thanks to the powerful work lights ringing it’s deck, keeping most of the unquiet spirits at bay.
Paul watched as the battleship manoeuvred, improbably flying in the air, lining up for another attack run at some unseen target. Behind them, at the far edge of the cavern, sunlight streamed though the portal, along with a waterfall of seawater.
Idly Paul wondered how long it would take before the bowl shaped cavern would flood completely. Although he suspected it would be quite some time, there was a decent sized river flowing across the dry and dusty floor, and the ankle-deep beginnings of a moat forming around the castle.
Paul handed the low-light binoculars back to his driver, and nodded at the Major.
“Well… I guess we’re not going to get a better chance. As much as I dislike charging in without decent intel, I think we’d better go before the water cuts off access and starts to flood any dungeons that place might have.”
Major Tanaka nodded slowly in agreement.
“I concur. Scouts report there hasn’t been any more skeleton soldiers emerge in last fifteen minutes, so with luck there shouldn’t be too many guards to deal with. Just the handful at the entrances we’ve mapped and an unknown number inside.”
It probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Izanami, Goddess of Death, had a skeleton army at her command… but it had been, and not a pleasant one. Hence their rather cautious approach. Luckily most of the undead puppet beings had been seen matching off to meet the Yamato’s approach.
Paul wasn’t sure what weapons Izanami commanded, but whatever it was the Yamato was staying relatively high up near the caverns rocky ceiling. He itched to know how the fight was going for them, but they’d all agreed that radio silence was best. There was no knowing if Izanami could listen in by some occult method or not. Paul hadn’t even been sure if his ruse would work, but the diversion certainly appeared to be occupying all of her attention for now.
---
On the bridge of the Yamato, Katsu was in something of a quandary. The Yamato was a battleship, it was never designed to fly so Her main guns simply couldn’t be angled low enough to hit targets on the ground below them. However, if they flew low enough that the lowest gun elevation could hit targets on a flat trajectory, then the hordes of hideous goblin like creatures would throw ropes and grappling hooks up at them and swarm on deck.
It had taken the combined efforts of the crew plus the JSDF volunteers to repel them the first time that happened, and she was determined not to repeat that mistake.
Katsu had tried to roll the Yamato, so the big 16 inch mains guns could be aimed… and discovered a problem. The gun turrets sat on massive bearings and a geared track, and technically, the only thing holding them in the vast sockets in her hulls was gravity. Which meant, if she leaned too far over, they jammed as hundreds of tons of weight all came down on one side and the rotation mechanism was unable to cope. There was even the risk if she listed more the thirty degrees to either side, that they would over balance and fall right out of her hull.
Currently the only working solution they had was to roll the Yamato, while at the same time making a tight turn at high speed, so the centrifugal force of the turn counteracted the off axis pull of gravity. A trick Katsumi had delightedly informed Katsu she’d seen in a movie… which was not as reassuring as intended.
The only drawback to that was that Yomi was a cavern. It had walls, and at top speed there was little room for error. Katsumi had already scraped the hull against a rock outcropping, peeling back some of the deck railing and ripping a 50mm machine gun from it’s mount. Much to her embarrassment.
It had been a stalemate for a brief while… Izanami’s forces couldn’t hit the Yamato with anything but arrows, which did nothing as long as no-one was looking over the side. But equally the forces aboard the Yamato couldn’t depress the fixed guns enough to hit anything below them, and leaning out over the side to aim anything else was asking for trouble. The best solution was to stick their sidearms and rifles out at arms length over the side, and just ‘spray and pray’ as the commander had put it. It wasn’t ideal.
Now however they faced a real threat, in the shape of heavy arbalests with yard long steel rods, and even some catapults throwing bolder sized rocks. Yamato’s hull armour was heavy enough even those were unlikely to do more than dent it slightly, but the catapults could lob rocks high enough to graze the cavern’s ceiling and send them plunging down onto the deck.
Katsumi had panicked the first time one had nearly hit her like that. Her armour under the mahogany planking wasn’t that thick. There was a real risk of one of the boulders penetrating it and wrecking havoc inside her. She’d been sunk by bombs dropped from above last time, she had no desire for a repeat, and the bolts from the arbalests would pierce her superstructure posing a risk to her crew… or at least the living members of it.
Katsu glanced sidelong at Tatsuo as she reached an inevitable conclusion. He would not like her answer to their problem.
“Tatsuo. I am going to have to do something you will not like.”
Tatsuo glanced at her, and sighed, nodding his understanding.
“You want me to remain here while you go fight on the ground.”
Katsu blinked, surprised he’d reached the same conclusion she had. Slowly she nodded.
“Thank you for understanding, and not arguing. I will be alright. I’ll make myself bigger and fight like that.”
Tatsuo grunted, and then stared out through the bridge window for moment.
“I don’t like it. But it’s the only way. Do not forget, even as big as you get, you are not invulnerable.”
Katsu nodded, then glanced at her Herald, Katsumi.
“Hoi… can you make your sword-self bigger to match my size?”
Katsumi thought for a moment, then nodded.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“I can here. It wouldn’t work out in the real world, but Yomi’s different. I can manifest a spirit form and it would be solid.”
“Good.” Katsu turned to look at the ghost of Yamato’s captain, her great-grandfather.
“Honoured ancestor… I place my trust in you. The bridge is yours.”
The captain almost broke his stoic expression as a smile played around the corners of his mouth.
“Thank you grand-daughter. I will endeavour not to dishonour our family name. The Americans have a phrase that is fitting. May you ‘give them hell’. ”
Katsu nodded, and hurried off the bridge. Reaching the desk, she waited until the Yamato began her attack run, and as the ship leaned, she leaped, transforming mid-air so that when her feet hit the ground, she stood over forty feet tall and was shaped like a mix between her human self and something resembling Godzilla.
Her arms, legs and tail were covered in armoured scales, her spine protected by a crest of spiked plates, her fingers ending in yard long talons. She smiled, revealing shark-like serrated teeth a hand-span long.
She reached down and drew her sword, which was now scaled to match her size, and rushed towards the gathered army that was harrying the Yamato, her excitement escaping her in a drawn out battle-cry that was almost equal parts joy and blood lust.
From above the crew cheered her on.
-----
From a safe distance Inari and the other three watched as a figure leapt from the strange metal vessel, and transformed into something truly monstrous in the blink of an eye. The part-woman, part-lizard figure drew her massive sword and rushed at the army besieging the flying vessel with a blood chilling battlecry.
Macha turned to look at Inari, murmuring.
“Now that is a War Goddess!”
Inari nodded slowly… she didn’t know for sure, but she felt that this was one of her daughter goddesses, born of of her own Divine Pearl. She gave herself a small shake, and whispered back.
“She is, but she’s young and inexperienced. Izanami will see her and challenge her to single combat I think… we need to help her win.”
All three of the others looked at Inari in disbelief, but it was Kannon that said what they were all thinking.
“How can we possibly help in that fight?!”
Inari pointed up at the flying vessel.
“By helping them. We need to get aboard that… whatever it is. It’s cannons are powerful, and if aimed at the right spot, could severely injure Izanami.”
Eugenides slowly nodded.
“She’s right… if they can hit that dung beetles spiritual core, it would greatly weaken her.”
Macha nodded her agreement, as did Kannon, albeit reluctantly. Kannon stared at the vessel as it pulled out of it’s turn, narrowly avoiding hitting the wall.
“That’s true enough, but how do we get aboard it in the first place?”
Eugenides smiled slowly.
“I have an idea…”
Shortly afterwards, they were all standing on a narrow ledge high above the cavern floor. Below them the giant figure of the War Goddess was rampaging through Izanami’s army of undead. Across the other side of the vast cavern, the flying vessels was turning to face their way, preparing for another attack run.
Kannon stared out over the depth, gulping at the distance to the rocky floor below.
“This is insane! You’re insane for thinking of it… and I must be insane for agreeing!”
Eugenides grinned.
“What’s the matter? We’re already dead, it’s not like we can die any more!”
Kannon just gave him a disgusted look and shook her head. Macha glanced between them, and snorted, continuing to coil the rope and grappling hook they’d found lying on the ground. With the strongest arms it was her task to throw the grappling hook.
Inari stood watching the flying vessel as it sped across the distance between them, gaining speed. Glancing down she tugged on the length of rope connecting her to the grappling hook’s trailing rope, along with the others, as Macha began to spin the rope with the grappling hook at the end in a wide circle above her head, in preparation to throwing it.
“Are you sure this will work?”
Eugenides nodded.
“It will, it’s how I got aboard Ra’s solar boat and stole his sacred ruby, the Eye of Ra.”
Inari opened her mouth, and then thought better of asking about it, as the great vessel began it’s turn, it’s vast metal flank turning towards them. With a grunt Macha released the spinning rope and hook, sending it flying across the distance.
With a jolt Inari felt it catch, and the next instant they were yanked off their feet and through space, towed by the vessel. Eugenides shouted, barely audible above the sound of the wind in her ears.
“Climb! Lest you be dashed to pieces!”
Inari fumbled for the rope at her waist, and began to climb. Spinning through space, dizzy as the heavens and ground whirled around her, she caught glimpses of the others trailing like errant kites at the end of their ropes. She lost track of time, dizzied by the gyrations, her world narrowed to the rope slicked by her blood from torn fingers and palms, and the burning ache in her arms. Hand over agonising hand she climbed.
Inari was shocked when her abused fingertips brushed against cold metal, and strong hands gripped her wrists. She found herself pulled up and for a moment lay panting, sprawled across wooden planking, grateful for a world that wasn’t spinning about her ears.
She glanced up, and found Eugenides and Macha laying nearby, grinning at her, while Kannon was sitting up, already checking if anyone was hurt. Around them was ring of crew members, spirits made flesh as well as living souls, but all faces she didn’t recognise. Several were pointing guns at them.
Inari slowly raised her hands.
“We mean you no harm. I am Inari…”
Inari didn’t get any further as a young woman with a long sweep of silver white hair, dressed in a white uniform with a daringly short skirt shoved her way to the forefront.
“Inari-sama! I am so, so glad to see you!”
Inari sat blinking in surprise. Her face seemed familiar but she couldn’t recall who she was. Then, as the young woman dropped to her knees in front of Inari and threw her arms around her, memory flooded back.
“Katsu.. no Katsumi! I remember you! You’re Katsumi, Katsu’s herald! But if you’re here then… Oh! Oh no, no! You have to warn her! It’s a trap!”
Katsumi leaned back, staring at Inari as Inari grabbed hold of her upper arms, staring into Katsumi’s eyes intently, and she grinned.
“Yeah, we know… Paul-san figured it would be. He’s known all along it was her. It’s ok. He has a plan, we’re going to use her trap against her. ”
Inari sat, staring at Katsumi, open mouthed in surprise for a moment. Then she shook her head as if to dislodge something from her ears.
“He.. he knew?! How? No, never mind. Of course he did. Ok, we need to help Katsu fight Izanami. She’ll respond to her challenge and I know her weaknesses.”
“Fire and light, we know. Kiko found that in the records.”
Inari shook her head.
“No… not quite. Fire and lightning. Not light. She hates light, avoids it because of how she looks, but it won’t harm her.”
A smile spread across Katsumi’s face, a slow, satisfied, evilly gleeful grin utterly at odds with her apparent innocence.
“Lightning you say? … Well it’s just as well Suzuka is along for the ride then isn’t it?!”
Inari’s smile echoed Katsumi’s.
Katsu was bored. The forces arrayed against her were barely a challenge, not as she was now. She knew she shouldn’t, but she craved the excitement of battle. Risking everything, dependent on her mastery of the blade to survive. That fulfilled her in ways that nothing else could.
It was tempting to blame it on becoming a goddess of battle, but Katsu knew that wasn’t true. She had always secretly desired the clarity of combat, the single focus of fighting when everything was on the line. She’d time and time again taken on opponents stronger, faster, more skilled than she was… and beaten them through sheer willingness to fight with nothing held back, no reservation or doubts, throwing everything she had at them as if her life depended on it.
Now… she realised that she was utterly bored of fighting those that posed little threat to her. It wasn’t combat, it was just extermination of pests. It was necessary, but it left her unsatisfied.
Suddenly sick of the tedium of dealing with Izanami’s army she sheathed her sword and sensing the mana around her, reached out and twisted it to her purpose.
A third of the forces facing her fell, shattered and slashed as if some great blade had scythed through their ranks. Katsu stared at them impassively, a faint curl of disgust twisting her lips. She gestured again, and her power lashed out through them once more, felling them like ripened wheat.
Then She staggered back, reeling as a wave of miasma washed over her, reeking like the fetid air from a decaying, long sealed tomb, leaving her dizzied and sickened.
Before her a figure loomed large, shrouded in smoke-like darkness and the foul, sickly rotten stench of decay and carrion. In her hands she carried a sword like a shard of the empty void between stars.
“You dare challenge me in my own domain, child!”
Katsu stood tall, and stared the gigantic figure of Izanami in the eye.
“I dare old crow. I am Katsu, Goddess of Battles. Fight me!”
Izanami laughed! A horrid sound, bubbling with the oozing overripeness of decay, mocking her.
“Fight you? Why should I fight you infant? You are no challenge to me! I could just reach out and cause that mortal body of yours to wither and rot. Come back when you’ve actually seen the face of war, Goddess of nothing!”
Katsu knew what Izanami was doing, she was trying to goad her into attacking. To control the fight by making Katsu respond to her, so she would always know what the next move would be. Katsu smiled, and tucking her thumb between forefinger and middle, made a rude gesture in Izanami’s direction.
“You are weak, old woman. Why don’t you ask your son Kagutsuchi come fight in your stead?”
As expected, Izanami’s face contorted in rage.
“Don’t mention that name! I have no son called that!”
Katsu chuckled.
“What’s the matter? Got a case of burning crotch itch? No wonder Izangai left you for dead.”
Izanami screamed in fury, and threw herself at Katsu, her sword swinging in wide slash at her as she leaped.
Katsu sidestepped, drawing her own sword again and bringing it in under Izanami’s sword arm to slice across her ribs.
Katsu pirouetted on her heel as Izanami lunged past her, carried by her own momentum, and then stopped. The side of her kimono already turning wet as a foul black fluid ran from where Katsu’s sword had peeled back flesh.
In shock and disbelief Izanami touched her hand to her side.
“How? No mere mortal blade can harm me? Not here in my realm.”
“Who said my sword was only mortal? I’m the Goddess of Battles, crow meat. You seriously thought I’d have just an ordinary sword?”
Izanami squinted, peering at the sword Katsu held, then she whipped her head around to stare at the Yamato.
“A spirit sword! One with a living soul linking three bodies?! Impossible! It cannot be!”
“And yet it is and it’ll hurt you easily enough.”
“No! Nonsense. Nothing can harm me. I am Death!”
Katsu chuckled.
“No, you’re just a dead, mad kami who refuses to lay down. Now, are you going to shut up and fight, or shall I just execute you now and save us all a lot of pointless chatter?”
Izanami gripped her sword, a grim look on her face.
“Very well infant. I’ll get serious, but you’ll live to regret it. Briefly.”
“Bring it, bitch.”