Minoru descended suspiciously into the dark dungeon, expecting an unexpected strike at any second.

In every shadow or the rustle of crumbling earth, she heard the movements of the Shigero.

The yokai's mind understood that there was no sense for Shiro to betray her, but fear still burned in her heart.

Emerging into freedom, she was terrified of losing the ability to decide her own fate.

Returning to her former existence would be a disaster that would drive her mad!

The cunning healer's plan certainly did not stop at pulling the ancient yokai out of the dungeon. Remembering the knowledge contained in her memory, Ordyntsev had spent a lot of effort and time creating a proper refuge farther into the forest.

Of course, hiding almost under the nose of the Sumada was foolish, but on the other hand, the clan's trackers and onmyoji would certainly not even think to look for them so close.

In addition, beneath the forest lay numerous caverns, among which hiding a dungeon was a piece of cake.

More likely, the trackers would have assumed that the yokai had escaped as far as possible to heal her wounds.

Moreover, a forest full of monsters was quite an unpleasant place for searching.

In any case, thanks to his Earth Control technique, Ordyntsev had created an inconspicuous entrance, a staircase ten meters down, and finally, several quite spacious rooms, in a couple of which Minoru could even fit at full height.

Finally, the descent was complete, and... something lunged at her from the darkness!

'I knew it; humans can't be trusted!'

"Sense-e-ei!"

"Kaede," the lamia exhaled, barely managing to stop the strike. "How many times have I told you not to behave like this? We're not playing games here."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sensei," the Kuchisake-onna pouted, but then her eyes lit up again. "But it's wonderful! Shiro succeeded. You're free, and now everything will be fine."

Minoru couldn't help but smile at such a burst of positivity and gently ruffled the girl's hair.

"It's still too early to tell if everything will be fine or not. And I said that humans can't be fully trusted. They can betray you at any moment. Now, be quiet and don't interfere. I have something to do."

The ancient yokai frowned and surveyed the work ahead. Minoru had extensive experience battling onmyoji. Unlike warmasters, whose abilities were quite straightforward, spirit enchanters relied more on tricks, deception, and treacherous strikes.

The reason was obvious, as unlike warmasters, onmyoji did not have super-strong bodies, so they were reluctant to engage in battles where they could perish so ingloriously.

For now, Minoru had time before the search spirits and spells of the onmyoji began to track her down.

So, she needed to secure this place as quickly as possible.

Kaede obediently handed the yokai a brush and a pot of black paint, after which her teacher began to draw chains of symbols carefully and evenly.

The first chain encircled all the rooms, moving along the walls. It was a complex and tedious job. The only thing that made the task easier was that there could be large gaps between the characters.

At some point, the first pot of paint ran out, and Kaede handed her a second, then a third.

Having finished with the walls, Minoru moved on to the ceiling. Considering her height, this was not a problem.

The last she completed was the jamb in front of the staircase leading up.

Now, being in this place, she was safe from any search rituals and actions of her eternal opponents.

Of course, if she went outside, she could be found again, but onmyoji couldn't keep searching forever, and even if they did, constant movement would completely foil their other pursuits.

Now, the question of comfort remained, and then further plans.

If Kaede could help with the former simply by purchasing the necessary items and food, then only Shiro could assist with the latter.

And considering the danger of the situation, it was unclear when he would be able to appear.

But either way, even sitting in this shelter, Minoru felt on cloud nine. After all, she was free.

And the fact that she had to wait... Well, she had learned to do that splendidly over the past centuries.

*****

"Come in, Shiro-kun, and make yourself comfortable." Io looked frankly unwell. Dark circles under his eyes, a sunken face, and pale skin. The attack that descended like a bolt from the blue was an unpleasant surprise.

By nature, people love to find those responsible for their own problems.

And who else to blame but the head of the Shadow Stone secret service, who allowed such a disgusting attack to happen?

As a result, Io slept little, ate poorly, and lived terribly for the last couple of weeks. And to make matters worse, his streak of bad luck didn't seem to be ending.

No matter how hard he tried to find the tails, it was all in vain.

To be precise, he did find a couple of Deathbringers' agents in the city, but they were small fry, and they knew nothing of their masters' plans.

And since those above fiercely demanded results, Io had to capture someone on the spot. This, in turn, forced the agents' masters to cut all ties with them.

Such a turn of events made the man grind his teeth.

He could have put them under surveillance and tried to trace their connections, but now he had to act like some rookie!

The only thing that was good about this whole situation was that he was still alive. And none of his relatives or valuable employees had been harmed.

The furious yokai so conveniently vented her anger on the elders that their deaths opened up wonderful opportunities for the modest paper worker.

After all, the heads of the main families had always been in the way of Ishiro's family and numerous illegitimate offspring.

Now, taking advantage of their fragmentation and mistrust, he could catch fish in troubled waters.

That was another reason why there was almost no time for sleep in his schedule.

Furthermore, Io found everything that had happened to be surprisingly fortunate. His personal and his family's power had shot up significantly, while the Council's authority had weakened.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Io's suspicious mind even suggested that the whole attack was orchestrated precisely for this purpose. However, a brief investigation did not reveal any movements on the part of the interested parties.

Such a complex and large-scale intrigue could have been pulled off by someone like the head of a clan if he decided to clean up the Council.

But Io doubted that Goro would act with such secrecy, not even warning him.

And also, Goro Sumada was always in plain sight.

If someone was indeed capable of something like this, then Io had to recognize their abilities.

To be able to hire the Deathbringers with absolute secrecy, find out about the patrols and passages of the Citadel, and somehow, by some incomprehensible miracle, make a deal with a mad monster from ancient times to only kill those pointed out...

Io had no powerful and influential candidates capable of pulling off such a thing.

That's why the man discarded this theory, as it was too fantastic.

Io looked up from the documents and glanced at the warmaster sitting in front of him.

'If only I had more fighters like this in my units, work would be much easier.'

The thoughts of the head of the secret service were not hard to understand. After all, Shiro the Serpent had everything that Io valued in people.

First, he was cautious and did not like to stand out too much. Compared to an average warmaster who loved to show off above everything else, Shiro understood that the most dangerous strike is delivered from the darkness.

Second, Shiro knew exactly when to rush forward and when to submit. For a while, Io feared that his crazy brother would spoil such a promising warmaster, but fortunately, Shiro turned out to be made of sterner stuff than he had thought.

And finally, the healer, at least thanks to his specialization, understood very well that he was not immortal. This correlated well with the first point.

"Io-san, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Shiro-kun," the head of the Shadow Stone laid a scroll with a mission on the table in front of him. "Circumstances sometimes prove stronger than us. You're being sent to the front after all."

Ordyntsev said nothing, but Io immediately noticed his tense posture. It wasn't hard to guess what the young man was thinking.

"However, I'd like to reassure you," Io paused, then smiled. "Your assignment has nothing to do with the elders or the Council. In light of the current situation, I've temporarily transferred you from the general forces of Sumada to my command."

"I'm glad to hear that, Io-san," Stanislav immediately responded in the only proper way, bowing. "I will do my utmost not to let you down."

"I knew you would understand," the man nodded in satisfaction, noting that he was not mistaken about Shiro. "Your assignment is related to the fact that our war with the Sansa, Kiatto, and those Soru, subordinates of the great air clan Avasaki, is coming to an end. Little is left of the territories of Hyugo. Almost all of them have been captured by our daimyo Rashta or daimyo Hogoro, the country where the Avasaki and their allied clans are located. Daimyo Keiji Kato has died, and his son Nobunoro Kato has disappeared."

He paused.

"Nevertheless, complete chaos reigns in the already captured territories. After all, regular armies are not well-suited for complete subjugation, so many of the small clans of warmasters, mercenaries, units of samurai, or even divisions of Sansa have managed to survive and scatter. They constantly attack and rob our rear. Your task, as well as that of other advanced warmasters sent on this mission, is to reduce the number of attacks on our supply trains."

Ordyntsev nodded understandingly. The task was clear and familiar to him.

"Also," Io allowed himself another small smile. "Knowing your close relationship with the younger prince, I'm pleased to inform you that you will be reporting directly to him. It's his detachment's rear that you'll have to protect."

"I'll do my best." Stas relaxed a bit. Though he was being sent to the front, he would be reporting not to some unknown warmaster but to Jishin himself.

Ordyntsev could clearly see what Io wanted to tell him. The cunning head of the Shadow Stone planned to sit on two chairs at once.

To be simultaneously useful to the future heir, but just in case, to strengthen ties with the younger prince.

Shiro the Serpent couldn't help but respect such a well-thought-out approach to business.

*****

The depth of water.

An incredibly vast expanse of azure, so deep that the Sun was almost unable to illuminate even a tiny piece of the sprawling infinity around.

Stas flailed, clutching at his throat, but almost immediately realized that he could breathe easily.

Water slipped effortlessly into his throat and lungs, coming out as a stream of light bubbles... Which were carried away through the monstrous depth of water upwards.

'I've seen this before...' came from the memories he had diligently pushed away. Those very memories that had haunted him in nightmares several times have returned, and now they were even scarier.

Because, unlike the last time, he perceived reality much better, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to fool himself into thinking that this was just a dream.

Suddenly, a gentle current hit him in the back and swept him a little forward. The problem was that it wasn't a current, but rather SOMETHING that could create a current.

Stas didn't want to turn around. He certainly disliked everything that was happening. It was all too much like the beginning of some horror movie.

Nevertheless, Shiro the Serpent wouldn't be who he was if he was afraid of the unknown.

Sharply turning around, Stas choked on water, seeing a tail stretching out in the distance.

Due to the lack of reference points, it was difficult to tell the actual size of the aquatic creature, but for some reason, it seemed that Stas could easily fit on just one of its scales... Out of hundreds of thousands.

The deep-sea hum hit the man in the back of the head this time, inviting him to turn around, which he agonizingly did.

Stas would like to say that the serpent he saw again didn't impress him, but that would be too big a lie.

Ordyntsev suspected that encounters with something like this don't lose their "novelty" over time.

But unlike the first meeting, there were differences.

Now, the serpent was definitely interested in the earthling because his head, which would have been better suited to the bow of some Pacific liner, was right in front of Ordyntsev.

Man and titanic monster looked at each other attentively. The serpentine eyes of one met the same of the other.

Stas said nothing, though he had an idea of who he had encountered.

The Great Serpent King, guardian of this world, who had sustained severe injuries after the battle with the last demonic threat and had crawled into the ocean, leaving his subordinates alone.

Looking into those huge eyes, Stas saw interest. Ordyntsev felt that he was being examined and found suitable for something.

Yet there was something else in that gaze – fatigue. The Serpent King didn't think Stas was ready yet.

However, if Ordyntsev understood the situation correctly...

"Show me," it didn't sound like words, as there was only water around. "Show me the truth," Stas repeated, sending vibrations toward the Serpent.

And he was understood. The gaze of the great spirit became thoughtful. It seemed to ask – are you ready for what you're asking for?

The man remembered that the Serpent had been wounded, but right now, no injuries were visible. This meant that everything around was an illusion.

Stanislav believed he was ready, and the guardian of this world did not dissuade him.

Ordyntsev flinched, suddenly feeling that what he had in mind was not a very good idea.

The dark blue around him flickered, and Stas blinked.

Did it seem to him, or had the world momentarily become... Red?

As if some director had inserted a subliminal frame into reality itself.

Another strange flash, and now the redness had already captured two frames of the universe.

Stas was liking what was happening less and less. He was about to give up when the Serpent, apparently deciding that Stas was ready, finally allowed the illusion to drop, letting him see the truth.

The blue of the ocean around disappeared. The murkiness that had made Stas see not so far also vanished.

The world finally turned red. But not because of light or anything like that, just all the water was heavily saturated with blood.

And before Stas, in all his terrifying splendor, appeared the Great Serpent King.

Minoru hadn't lied; her master had indeed been gravely injured by the claws of the archdemon. Only Stas sincerely doubted that the ancient yokai had seen the whole picture.

Most likely, the great spirit, to spare the feelings of his subordinates, concealed part of the truth.

But now, yielding to the foolish and self-assured request of a naive human, he revealed a soul-chilling truth.

The colossal body looked as if someone had decided to peel off parts of the skin but then abandoned the job halfway. Pieces of scales fluttered in the red depths like the wings of giant butterflies.

In a couple of places, the skin and fatty tissue were cut too deeply, causing part of the internal organs to protrude outside and now float in weightlessness. Even so, they convulsed, continuing to perform their functions and sending vibrations through the surrounding water.

The Serpent's head had lost its majesty. Before Stas froze the skull, covered with festering pieces of flesh and skin.

But all the above paled before one detail that overshadowed everything else.

The demonic lord who decided to descend into this world had a very unpleasant feature. One might even say, a specialization.

The archdemon belonged to the plane of decay and rot.

That meant that the wounds he inflicted were something more than just wounds. Such strikes go not only through flesh but also through spirit.

The Serpent King had been rotting alive all this time.

Clouds of strange creatures resembling both fish and flies swarmed in his wounds, on his organs and intestines. The power of the great spirit destroyed them every second, but they were born from his own flesh, continuing to multiply and burrow into the bubbling "meat broth."

The regeneration of the powerful entity was still desperately restoring his body, only to feed the consuming rot.

How long had he been fighting? A hundred years? Two hundred? What kind of willpower and desire to live did one need to endure such an excruciating existence?!

A trembling Stas looked up and into the eyes of the still-fighting Serpent. Or rather, he looked into the single eye. Where the second should have been, there was a lumpy piece of flesh filled with pus and dozens of holes.

From one of them crawled out a huge larva and looked straight at Stas.

Ordyntsev opened his mouth, and a stream of red water and everything that had been peeling off the body of the Serpent for centuries poured inside.

And then Ordyntsev did the only thing he still could.

He screamed.

No, that's not right.

He howled from the maddening, all-consuming terror.