The darkness of the cave, which had never seen the sun's rays, and the still waters of the lake, embraced with indifference the nearly defeated but unbroken ancient spirit.
The key word: "nearly."
"I won't give up," her vision blurred, and the lamia realized that tears were unexpectedly streaming down her cheeks. Before Minoru's eyes, vivid images appeared of how she and her sisters had lost the war, how they had fallen, being sealed and taken away.
Those contemptuous, satisfied looks from the people who had already figured out how to use her power. In their eyes, she was not a sentient being.
She could not let them do this again. And it would happen once more when the Shigero returned here after realizing the purpose of the raid. Yokai didn't consider that the Sumada might simply fail to understand the reason behind the attack.
"I will either perish or gain freedom." Fueled by these thoughts, Minoru resolutely moved forward. The ropes dug into her body, heating up more and more.
She knew this sensation very well and could perfectly imagine what would soon follow.
Her scales held on for a while, but eventually gave in, letting the onmyodo magic reach straight to the flesh.
Dozens of smoke streams rose up, and the yokai gasped for air with a sob.
The onmyodo had created a very reliable system. Even a single central spell would have been enough to hold the ancient yokai, and a network of three spells and a bunch of smaller ones made the defense simply impregnable.
But she wouldn't give up.
A meter and then another meter.
Through pain, tears, and fear.
"I... will become better..." her words came out almost incoherent. Minoru wasn't even sure she was saying anything at all. Her mind swam in a sea of pain, but she stubbornly crawled forward. "Oh, Great Serpent, I understand my mistake. Give me... another chance. Please."
Having said this, she made one last incredible effort and... fell forward onto the cold floor. At that moment, for her tormented, scorched flesh, it felt like a downy bed.
Meanwhile, the last spell cracked and crumbled to pieces.
The centuries-old construction, which had been fed by the spirit's power, dissipated, suddenly revealing an ocean of previously inaccessible energy before the tortured body.
With a snap, broken bones set themselves back in place, and flesh began to grow over the bloodied bones with a barely audible sizzle.
Minoru's path had left her almost a bare skeleton. If she hadn't prevailed, she risked simply dissipating.
But she took the risk and won.
Last of all, the skin and scales regenerated.
Minoru rose unhurriedly. The tip of her tail twitched excitedly.
She was free.
The ancient yokai licked her lips in anticipation.
How she wanted to spit on all her promises and plunge into such sweet vengeance, but... before her appeared the smiling Kaede, the perpetually serious Shiro, and the promise she had given in her moment of agony.
She felt no help coming from them, but...
'Who am I kidding. I long ago promised not to walk the old path.'
Nevertheless, Minoru could still vent her pent-up feelings.
'Yet Shiro-kun didn't lie. What a rare quality for those like him. Though, come to think of it, there are indeed very few like him.' The yokai had mixed feelings about the little human who had saved her, but there would be time to think about that later.
Stanislav Ordyntsev knew his life was in danger from the moment the Council decided to put him on an assault team. And if not for the help of the clan head, things could have ended very sadly.
Then Stanislav patiently began gathering information about the Council and its members. The task was complicated by the need to maintain complete anonymity.
Nevertheless, Ordyntsev managed to find out the names and families of those who most advocated for the healers to be brought to the front. From these names, he was able to identify those who disliked the healer who had joined the Sumada clan the most.
In the end, Stas had five names. One woman and four men.
Unfortunately, if something untoward happened to all of them, it would be suspicious. Therefore, appetites had to be curbed.
On the other hand, Stas was working not only for himself. There were those in the Council who were against Jishin as well.
So why not combine business with pleasure? Three of the first group and two of the second.
The huge lamia shrank slightly to pass through the corridors.
'Ah, it's a pity I have so little time while there's chaos around, and the Sumada think they've repelled the invasion, but it should be enough to accomplish what I've planned.' The yokai couldn't help wondering why she heeded the words of a mere human?
Yet, she quickly cast aside such thoughts. What folly! She was merely doing as she pleased. If that happened to match Shiro's wishes, it was purely coincidental.
*****
Stas smiled contentedly, lying in bed.
Another plan could be considered successfully executed.
Ordyntsev had long ago decided on Earth that any of his actions should bring at least double benefits.
In this world, he had chosen not to deviate from his principles.
Thus, following the same approach, Stas showed his "lineage" during the exams, inadvertently compromising his own alibi.
Of course, his decision was caused not only by the desire to earn respect, fame, and renown but also by sheer necessity.
Forbidden magic gave a valuable opportunity to survive in future battles, and the earthling desperately needed to legitimize at least part of his newfound powers.
And it was better to do it in plain view, providing a reasonable explanation, than to allow certain individuals to make their own assumptions.
Nevertheless, a thin but distinct trail of forbidden magic now led to him, and something had to be done about it.
The "misunderstandings" with the Sumada clan's senior management belonged to the same set of problems. Being sent to dine with a dragon is not something one could put up with.
Yes, Stas survived, but how much longer would luck be kind to him?
Something was needed that could solve or at least postpone some of his problems for an indefinite time.
And here, so conveniently, came into play Minoru with her escape and desire for vengeance against the Sumada.
Fulfill a promise, and along the way, with the hands of others, eliminate some of his enemies and, at the same time, send potential trackers on a false trail. What could be more pleasant?
The last point was worth considering in more detail.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Stanislav suspected that even all that he had done might not be enough. Being a paranoid by nature, Ordyntsev admitted that the clan's top brass might guess the presence of a spy who provided the attackers with the citadel plans.
That's why he gave Minoru clear instructions on exactly which corridors to escape through. On that particular day, the route he indicated was supposed to be patrolled by the Jero family's fighters. They were also among Stas's enemies, but all the better.
The yokai didn't kill any of them, which unwittingly would create a whole series of suspicions about their non-involvement.
In addition, Minoru wouldn't touch the Eiko family quarters. Of course, setting up Toshiyuki was somewhat unsporting... But Stas had no doubt that the elder could fend off the accusations, and it was better to accuse the cunning head of Eiko than Stas himself.
Two of the main Sumada families are traitors?! What a scandal!
And amidst all this chaos, the figure of a certain modest earthling will miraculously slip from the forefront of everyone's thoughts.
Of course, even so, someone might remember about Stas, but as the saying goes, no man – no problem.
Stas had taken care of that as well.
*****
Elder Yutaka resolutely walked through the palace corridors surrounded by guards from her own family.
Warmaster squads rushed around everywhere, but she was not interested in that.
At the moment, she was on her way to an emergency Council meeting. And the topic for such a call was most timely.
The Deathbringers attack.
No one knew exactly why they had invaded. One thing was clear – it was very strange.
The Deathbringers' strike, no matter how you looked at it, was senseless.
They merely lost all the attacking fighters and did almost no damage either to the human forces or the infrastructure.
Had those zombies attacked the city, the losses would have been much more significant.
Now, they had only revealed a vulnerability in the Citadel defense and achieved nothing.
Elder Yutaka's eyes narrowed.
'Vulnerability.'
The attackers knew too well the layout of the posts and the defense plans of the Citadel. Yutaka felt the shadow of betrayal.
And she even had her first suspects.
The first was Elder Toshiyuki, along with his upstart clan. A clan of warmasters-merchants? What a joke.
The Deathbringers' attack remarkably affected the quarters of other families exclusively, completely ignoring Eiko. How suspiciously coincidental.
In addition, Yutaka had heard rumors that the attackers had passed through the Jero people without killing any of them. Yes, they ended up in the hospital. But there were no corpses!
Doesn't that smell of treachery?!
And besides, the woman had not forgotten for a second about a certain small, overly resilient clanless peasant who, by the negligence of the gods, was still alive.
Yutaka was infuriated that this clanless rat was gorging on their food, using their servants, and sleeping in their house. Moreover, he had the audacity to learn their clan techniques.
Incomprehensible. What could be obtained exclusively by the Sumada by blood was senselessly squandered on some outsider.
Worse still, he had not just any teachers but the best of the best. The clan hero Hideo Sumada and the supreme warmaster Jun Sumada.
If not for the accursed Eikos' protection and the shadowy backing of the clan head, his fate would have been sealed long ago. But such a well-planned scheme of sending him on a mission to certain death led to nothing.
'Well, regardless, even if he has nothing to do with this attack, one can still try to tie him to it.' Elder Yutaka thought grimly, 'All it takes is...'
"So-so-so, who do we have here?" as soon as those words sounded, coming from everywhere, an all-consuming terror descended upon the warmasters.
Minoru wasn't Kaede's teacher in illusions for nothing. But if the young spirit girl was more inclined to visual and auditory deceptions, then her experienced sensei relied on a slightly different specialization, namely psychological.
The world before the warriors' eyes swirled, only to transform into something they considered the most horrific.
A mishmash of colors, sharp movements, and sudden strikes.The brightness of sensations, straining the nerves to the point of breaking.
These illusions were designed to drive people mad hundreds of years ago, and they worked now as well.
More precisely, these illusions made the warmasters lose understanding of what was real and what was not in their surroundings. It was akin to how schizophrenics see the world.
Those who understand their illness and give due to the fact that the hallucinations happening around them are not real still can't fully convince themselves of this.
A terrible fate.
And while most of the warmasters suffered in the shackles of the mind, the hiding Minoru released a second illusion, making the fighters see how a comrade standing next to them suddenly attacked them, turning out to be an enemy.
The quiet corridor drowned in the chaos of battle, where the Sumada mercilessly cut each other down for the amusement of one laughing yokai.
Only a few people managed to overcome the deception and throw off the enemy's control. Among them was the elder.
Even though she was not a supreme warmaster, she reached the top of the advanced rank, which made her dangerous enough.
Her guard was up to par.
But, as it turned out, that wasn't enough.
Emerging from the darkness like a shadow, Minoru was closer to the upper level of the supreme warmasters. In other words, she could fight on equal terms with such mastodons as the heads of the great clans.
The awakened guards managed to give Yutaka a whole ten seconds before they fell apart into bloody pieces, scattered by water whips and strikes capable of crushing stone.
"From what hellish hole did you crawl out, you monster?!" the woman managed to exclaim in panic when she saw the serpentine tail stretching down the corridors with horror.
"You don't need to know that anymore." The yokai smirked, breaking the woman's arms and legs with two fluid movements. Given the speed difference, it was too easy.
Watching as a beautiful woman's face cracked and spread apart, revealing a bottomless black maw, Yutaka had an epiphany.
Instantly, all the dots connected, and she saw the link between the strange clanless man with serpentine eyes, the Deathbringers' attack, and the demon that emerged from nowhere.
But she would never be able to tell anyone about it.
*****
The planned council meeting that day never happened. The deaths of four elders utterly destroyed the illusion of stability that the authorities had tried to maintain.
Moreover, there could have been more victims among the ruling elite, but still reorienting themselves, the Sumada managed to organize at least some defense, so the demon that emerged from the hellish abyss was met not just by random guards, but by ready-to-fight supreme warmasters.
The hellish creature had to flee hastily. But the warmasters could not take advantage of the victory by pursuing her, as it was unclear from where else to expect an attack.
And now, after two very tense days, when the clan was desperately feverish, the Council finally convened.
But for all their desire, the assembly could not be called calm.
The meeting hall was divided into several parts, each occupied by its group of warmasters under the leadership of various families.
And they did not hold back in discussing their relationships.
"Traitors! You brought the Deathbringers into our home! You sent killers to kin; if your ancestors were alive, they would spit on your graves!" the group of the deceased Elder Yutaka's family shouted the loudest. Two more families who lost their elders joined them.
"It's a setup!" the bald Jero growled viciously. "Can't you see, they deliberately didn't touch those greenhorns to sow discord in our ranks!"
"How convenient!" the third group, which included relatives of another fallen elder, also thirsted for blood. "And why has the Eiko family suddenly fallen silent? Usually, you, Elder Toshiyuki, are very talkative. Isn't it related to the fact that the attackers suspiciously bypassed your territory? Don't you have something to tell us?"
"Dear clanmates," Toshiyuki spoke calmly, but his furrowed brow and thoughtful gaze made it clear that he also disliked the situation. "I know no more than you and have nothing to do with what has happened."
Accusations flew from all sides. Occasionally, the parties changed targets and attacked their former allies, seeing betrayal in their actions.
Someone suspiciously took too long to lead soldiers to positions, while someone did not come to help quickly enough.
Much could be recalled, especially given the general distrust of warmasters as such. Even without this incident, each family had something to remind their opponents about.
But this could not go on for long.
At some point, the families grimly fell silent, demandingly looking at the clan head.
Everyone here was very eager to get some answers.
At a sign from the head, an elderly warmaster entered the room. In terms of strength, he barely reached the advanced rank, but this fact bothered those assembled the least.
"Respected Council," he cleared his throat under dozens of watchful eyes. "My name is Urahasa Monke, and for ten years now, I have been serving as an archivist at the Sumada clan archive," he looked at Goro, and the clan head nodded in confirmation.
"Everything I say next," Urahasa gained confidence from Goro's gesture. "Is a top secret that should not leave this room. I want to tell you about the horror of past centuries, the cursed alliance of warmasters and yokai that spawned an abomination that should not have been in our world. In their thirst for power and strength, they violated laws, both human and divine, which brought upon them universal wrath."
Monke paused to catch his breath.
"Those warmasters who dared to commit that sin are now called Deathbringers," the statement did not go unnoticed. "And one of the spirits who dared to create the forbidden art was imprisoned under our Citadel."
"Why?!" hearing this outburst, Urahasa was even glad.
"The thing is, the Shigero... Yes, even then, they were our allies. The Shigero promised that the spirit's power would fuel the defense of our fortress, protecting the Citadel from malevolent yokai. And they did not lie. Nevertheless, as it turned out, the Deathbringers still remembered that one of their allies was imprisoned here..." the archivist fell silent. He knew his place, so he was not going to voice any conclusions.
However, it wasn't difficult to guess what the assembled were thinking.
"So it turns out this, what's its name, ancient evil escaped?" after a short pause, Goro clarified.
"From the description of the battle with that crawling monster, I can say for sure that it matches the ancient texts," the old man nodded affirmatively. "This is undoubtedly the mighty Minoru, a powerful spirit. And very angry with us."
"Damn it all! She was having fun killing us, and as soon as her tail was pinched, she ran away," the new elder of Elder Yutaka's family clicked.
"I understand the situation," finally decided Goro. "Send several messengers to the Shigero. Describe the problem to them and remind them of the agreements. If everything is as serious as Urahasa-san described, we must act immediately. Also, I officially declare that as long as the Sumada are alive, the Deathbringers will have no peace. Io-san, I expect results from you as soon as possible."
The head of the Shadow Stone bowed obediently.
The Sumada clan thirsted for blood, and they were going to demand it, even from the innocent.
At the same time, a certain earthling, having left the hospital a couple of days ago, calmly continued training.
Nearly everything he had masterminded had come to pass. Indeed, some were still kicking. However, one can always rectify the mistakes and dispatch the remnants.