"AAARRRRGHHH!"

"GYAAAA!"

Across what once was a beautiful grassy plain, shouts of pain and agony from both males and females filled the area. What was once a greeny and calm scenery of tantalizing fields of flowers was now soaked with splattered blood and mutilated bodies of those who have already perished. Standing on the bloody battlefield are men and women with varied animal features in certain parts of their bodies armed with their bladed weapons and spellcraft, launching them against their own species, at their canine brethren.

They were all Youkais, yet they were slaughtering one another. A chaos that was instigated by unknown and unspecified means. A civil war between a group of assorted Youkais and a group filled with canine Youkais.

"Fujimai! Fall back with the others at the second line of defense," yelled one young female from the Allied Youkai Faction as she embedded her Ki coated fist on one Ha-Inu attacker, pushing said creature against the earth with a loud and crushing smack, forming a large crater. "We'll cover your retreat!"

The young female spotted nine-tailed Nekomata, pushed forward towards the enemies in front accompanied by her Tanuki and Hebi Youkai comrades as they laid an onslaught on the incoming Okami Youkai enemies.

"But Magari-sama!"

The person in question, who had long white hair, white cat ears and nine tails, golden cat-like eyes, and garbed in a white Kimono complained as she blocked an incoming Touki-reinforced punch from a male Inugami before responding with her own Touki attack, landing a clean hit on the opponent's jaw that made the being to be sent up flying in the air.

"I can't, Yasaka-chan is just behind there!"

"Just do what I told you, Fujimai! That is a direct order from your leader!" Magari roared as she sent her Touki-reinforced cat tails swirling around her like a violent tornado, whipping up every enemy in a single flash.

Clicking her tongue, Fujimai reluctantly followed her Nekomata leader's order. Along with some wounded Youkai combatants, she led them to retreat but not before giving a frustrated glance at the place behind the enemy lines where Gion was supposed to be located.

"Support Fujimai's retreat!" yelled the spotted Nekomata leader to her men as she created a powerful sonic blast with her hand. "Don't let them pass!"

With Magari's command, various Youkais under her command immediately formed a blockade, defending their retreating comrades against the overwhelming numbers of the Canine Youkai Faction.

Singularity No.1

World Foundation Value: C

A.D. 1829

Kyoto: The Day the Sun Sets in the Western Capital

The Foxtail Sovereign of Youkai

Death.

It was the first word that came to Hakuno's mind the moment he arrived at the distorted era, his rainbow-colored eyes saw nothing but hundreds of rotting, mutilated and disemboweled corpses of different kinds of Youkai, their stench perverse the air of what was already a sickening view.

That sight alone was an undeniable proof that a large battle had taken place in this specific region not too long ago.

He released a frown on his face, an evident proof that he didn't like the scenery in front of him; one for the foul smell that permeated the entire area, two for the countless lives that had been wasted just for the sake of gaining power and revenge, and three for making him remember a nostalgic yet very gruesome piece of memory from his past.

A time where he kills innocent people just for a shit doctrine that was embedded in his head ever since his childhood...

Shaking his head, he looked at the direction where the present era Nishikyou Ward was supposed to be located. After all, the city of Kyoto wasn't divided into several wards in this current time. He knew that such place was the last bastion and stronghold of the Youkai resistance. Even if most of them wanted to flee the city, such thing was futile considering that the entire large settlement was enveloped by a powerful barrier that prevents them from doing so in the first place.

The barrier also prevents any interference from the outside world. In short, it wards off any attempt of intervention from outsiders not related to or part of the events that was designated to fall in the anchoring bands like a sort of an illusion. He then glanced at the large Singularity at the reddish night sky.

"In order to collapse that, I'll need to defeat the keeper of that thing," Hakuno spoke as he gazed then at a certain location far away from where he stood. "And also to secure the Observation of this Time-Lock."

Slowly, he took a step as he began to walk towards where the "Observation" was situated which was the place opposite to the last stronghold of the remaining Youkai within Kyoto City.

"Observation... in relation to Quantum-Time Locks, is the factor that determines the purview of a Time-Lock or secured history. In this era, the designated Observation is no other than the nine-tailed Kitsune Youkai... Yasaka." thought the brown-haired man as his body began to radiate magical energy.

"In the correct history of this world, the "outcome" that Yasaka was coronated as the leader of the Youkai Faction is secured as a matter of record. Because it was already registered to anchoring band, it should be categorically unchangeable. Thus, time travelers would be only invariably restricted to modify the "process" that would lead to the secured "outcome". However..."

The radiating magical energy then encapsulated the man's entire silhouette. Within seconds, the walking human figure-like magical energy then dispersed in the air like shiny, glowing glitters scattered in the breeze. Gone was the Kishinami Hakuno who wore only a checkered polo shirt with a white undershirt, a pair of blue jeans and white snickers.

The Kishinami Hakuno who emerged from that dispersed light earlier had now a long brown hair tied in a ponytail that reached down to his shins. He wears a jinbaori style light brown haori with black Moon Cell designs decorated on them. He wears a traditional white umanori hakama and kimono, with dark brown tekkou on his arms, and a white tabi and brown geta adorned his feet. He has a pair of fox ears and oni horns protruding on his head, and a single fox tail emerging on his lower back. On each side of his waist were a pair of three katanas, with one long katana, rested on his back.

"...The simultaneous revocation of seven major Quantum Time-Locks from seven different eras made it possible to incinerate the "outcomes" that defines the confirmed History of the World. As such, this world will be denied of it's "Present", unable to progress into the Future and inevitably becoming an Otherworld."

The man paused for a bit, his rainbow-colored eyes gazed upon the lifeless bodies that laid around him. The moment he laid his eyes on the corpses, a faint light then began to emerge from the remains. Slowly the dead bodies of the Youkais on the field began to fade until there was none left.

What he had done to them was only something that he only knows.

"Now, its time to set this distorted era in its proper course."

At the same time that Hakuno lets those words escaped his lips, he then propelled himself forward with a powerful kicked to the ground that released a powerful burst of shockwave in the entire arena. With each powerful stride he made with his legs, his figure became a blur outside the bound of reality, traversing greater distances with supersonic speed. But such feat was already a given the moment he changed his constitution.

There was a reason for this.

The human Kishinami Hakuno did not exist in this era and if someone like him who wore the same anatomy as the Kishinami Hakuno of the "present" era did something in this timeline, something like grandfather paradoxes should come to fruition as a consequence. Of course, if this was just a normal Singularity from one of the worlds he saw which only involves in defeating the cause of the Singularity then he won't mind fixing this distortion wearing his default configuration.

But the Singularity that appeared in this world needs the designated outcome to happen within this deformed timeline in order for it to be fixed which inevitably, needs his involvement. So by turning himself into a Phantasm, the World won't attribute him as someone who came from the future era of History. After all, aside from the World, only those living within this era can dictate the purview of events to be registered to record in an upcoming Quantum Time-Lock.

With the current speed he showcased, it didn't take him long enough to reach the specific location where what was supposed to be an ambush had been taking place. He then reached out for the purple handle with golden ornates of the long Japanese blade nestled on his back, his rainbow-colored eyes hardened as he pulled out the 150-centimeter long blade from its beautifully crafted purple scabbard.

The twin-tailed purple-colored tassels swayed in the air as the blade steel was released from its lengthy sheathe, its metallic luster shone brightly under the distorted night and giving off a brilliant reflection of infinity.

The moment the infinite blade landed on the very earth, a surge of powerful shockwaves came to fruition followed by shouts and screams of someone writhing in intolerable pain.

XXX

"Haa... ha..."

Yasaka was exhausted.

The voluptuous nine-tailed Kitsune woman who has long golden, blonde hair tied in a ponytail and matching eyes, and nine golden fox tails and matching ears panted heavily as she was forced to her knees due to non-stop fighting that she and her fellow Youkai's were pitted against.

Her main attire, the traditional Miko outfit which consists of a haori that features a giant red star-shaped pentagram, surrounded by five smaller pentagrams in between the points on each sleeve was torn in many places, enough that it revealed a piece of each of her womanly charms.

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

"Don't let them get to Yasaka-sama!"

"Defend Yasaka-sama with all your life!"

Her retainers which were consisted of mostly women were busy fending off attacks from their enemies. She couldn't help but grit her foxy teeth in anger and frustration. If only she has her full strength, she could wipe out these Inugami and Ha-Inu bastards in her real form. But alas, she couldn't do that after her powers were being sucked by the traitorous leaders of the Inugami and Ha-Inu Factions.

"Kyaa!"

"No!" Yasaka shouted as she saw one of her retainers being tossed aside by an enemy.

The female golden Kyuubi Kitsune tried to get up but instead almost fell on the ground when her badly wounded right leg reacted to her sudden movement. Noticing she couldn't move due to her condition, Yasaka immediately formed several balls of flames which she hurled towards the enemy Youkais.

"RAAAA!"

"WAAAA!"

Those who were hit by the fireballs sent out an agonizing scream as their bodies were glossed in flames, eating away their flesh as it smoldered every living cells in their build into charcoals.

Yet even with the display of her Fox Fire, it did nothing to deter the enemies from their assault. Their numbers were increasing as more and more Canine Youkais came pouring towards them like pouring rain.

When things in front of them seemed to be hopeless, a miracle happened.

"GRAAAAA!?"

A miracle that came in a form of a powerful shockwave that shook the ground, the violent gust of wind being whipped up by such sheer force, and the shriek of an enemy.

This got the attention of the Youkai enemies as they began to focus on the commotion that was happening behind them.

What the Kitsune Youkais saw after that were the silhouettes of Ha-Inu and Inugami Youkais being whirled up in the air as if they were being ejected from the very ground itself. And at that instant, the hairs on Yasaka and her retainers stood up as they felt a presence that they were sure to be from someone who was connected from the Heavens.

"This feeling..." a wounded female kitsune retainer commented as he walked closer to her leader.

"Yasaka-sama!" exclaimed one.

"A Shinto God...!?" commented another with slight bewilderment in her tone.

Yasaka, for her part, was slightly shocked as she felt the newly emerged presence coming from behind their enemies. As for someone who had already met several figures of the Shinto Pantheon, there was no mistaking what she and her fellow Youkais felt was a divine presence.

A very strong and powerful one.

Her golden eyes then widened as a figure shot up from the ground and towards the sky, twisting and twirling its body as it cut down several Ha-Inu Youkais in the air. Then without warning, it landed in front of them. The once kneeling figure then slowly stood up and Yasaka, along with her retainers couldn't help but marvel as they were now in forefront of the cause of such intoxicating divine presence.

The female Kyuubi Kitsune then gaze at the divine figure as he slowly stood up in front of them, revealing his entire appearance before them. Yasaka couldn't help but be mesmerized by the male Youkai, as she believed to be, especially those radiating and glowing rainbow-colored eyes of his.

"Heroic Spirit of the Sword, Saber. At your service."

The moment that man spoke those words with his soothing voice, the Kyuubi Kitsune's heart skips a beat, an innocent blush marring on her cheeks.

The moment Hakuno saw the look on Yasaka's face, he internally forced himself not to show a frown on his own visage. He knew the meaning of the gaze that was directed at him and the implication that entails made him feel somewhat guilty inside. His already activated Mystic Eyes God Eye already shown him the consequences of his current actions.

With the current silhouette he was wearing, Hakuno knew something like this can't be helped. The composite Saber-class Servant he designed was made up of seven Heroic Spirits he handpicked from the Moon Cell's archives who have strong ties to the Land of the Rising Sun and due to the nature of Heroic Spirits gaining massive boost when employed at their land of origin, it was already a given that their default parameters will rise to a certain degree.

The brown-haired man knows that it wasn't his countenance that gave the Kyuubi Kitsune a faint blush on her cheeks. Rather, it was his presence brought by his Sword Saint skill that caused such pink tinge to appear on either side of her face. Even her retainers were also displaying such reaction towards him but unlike the others, Hakuno knew that he already stirred up the emotions within Yasaka's heart which was supposedly reserved for the father of her future child.

Sword Saint was a composite skill comprising of Divinity, Territory Creation and sword skills from Heroic Spirits that made up the Sword Saint of the Seven Blades Servant, making the Servant to be perceived originally as a Holy Swordsman whose "swordsmanship has reached the Throne of Gods". However, the massive boost that he attained from the "land" somehow warped the skill into something else akin to a metamorphosis, thus allowing him to be seen as a "Sword God".

"I'll take responsibility for this mess." The man thought to himself as he saw the golden-haired beauty still gazing at him in a daze. His rainbow-colored eyes then traced the woman's left shoulder down to her pinky where an invisible red thread fixed in a bow, which he could only see, was knotted.

From there, Hakuno then outlined a single long thread from the woman's baby finger with his rondures as it tried to extend before approaching his own left pinky. He attempted to move his hand away as if to dissuade the red string to pick him. But due to the thread's stubborn attitude, it finally landed on his little finger before knotting itself "happily" on the said limb.

The brown-haired man unintentionally bound the golden-haired woman's "fate" to him.

Hakuno then blinked for a second when one of Yasaka's female retainers stepped forward, shielding the Kitsune leader in a protective stance.

"W-Who are you?" The retainer asked, her arms already raised up. The other retainers managed to snap out from their bewilderment and surrounded their leader in an instant, their guards already raised up.

"An ally." The man said, his hand still gripping his sword before he spun around with a swift sword swing that manages to decapitate an Inugami Youkai who was aiming for his head. "As much as I want to give you all a proper introduction, I would suggest that it should be move later when we are out of trouble. Is it okay with you all?"

Hakuno then slightly turn his head, his eyes giving a glimpse to the women behind him. He understood that they were having doubts about a stranger offering his help to them but he knows that they need to trust him if they want to make out of this mess alive. He made another arc of slashes when two Ha-Inu Youkais attempted to make a dive attack towards him in midair.

The two were mutilated instantly when both of them met his katana, their bodies split into several parts before each of them fell to the ground, their blood painted the solid dirt with red.

"Very well."

"But Yasaka-sama!" The retainer tried to argue but wasn't allowed to continue when Yasaka raised her hand.

The female Kitsune retainer then decided to keep her mouth shut. As for Yasaka, she managed to regain her composure from her bewildered state and eyed the stranger with some scrutiny. In her own eyes, she could see it clearly that this man in front of her and her retainers was of mixed blood. Aside from the elaborate Youkai features in his appearance, the Kyuubi Kitsune could sense the human aspect of the male mixed blood Youkai, and that presence of divinity that he possesses...

"...It felt like Amaterasu-sama's..." Yasaka thought as she watched Hakuno mowing down Inugami and Ha-Inu Youkais with his pole-length blade. "This man might be her descendant perhaps...?"

The golden-haired Kyuubi Kitsune observe the man's action as he fought and caught every single glimpse that he would send to her every now and then. The female Youkai leader understood what those glimpses are trying to say; put your faith in me.

Her mind then began to contemplate over the options that were laid in front of her. A few seconds passed, she decided to make a gamble.

"I'm unable to fight in my current state." Yasaka began, her golden fox eyes roamed around her wounded retainers who gave her a worrisome look about her actions. "And so does my retainers. This might be inappropriate but as the leader of the Kyoto Youkai, I would like to request for your help. Can we count on you, Saber-dono?"

Hearing her words between the crashing sound of his long katana against the sharpened claws of his enemy, Hakuno nodded his head in response to pushing both of his feet against the uneven dirt. His muscles were put into tension as he squeezed every ounce of his strength in each fiber of his flesh, magical energy began to circulate within each muscle mass before escaping from his pores as he pushed away his opponent.

BURST!

The pure magical energy burst outward like an erupting volcano, a fiery hot blaze intermixed with crackle violent lightning was produced and shot it towards the enemy Youkai who was then bathed in a torrent of fire and electricity. The other Inugami and Ha-Inu Youkais around him didn't fair either for they were caught up by the blast, unleashing screams of pain and agony as their build was burnt and electrocuted at the same time.

"That's...!" One of Yasaka's retainers exclaimed in shock, her foxy eyes widened upon witnessing Hakuno's display of his mana burst.

"Amaterasu-sama's holy flames..." The Kyuubi whispered in awe and amazement as she watched the rhythmic dance of fire and lightning decimating the enemies while at the same time, gaze at the man responsible of such feat who continued to execute his sword dance amidst the convoluted sea of flames and electricity.

"Not only that," Another retainer commented. "That lightning of his is also of divine attribute too."

The female Kitsunes including Yasaka continued to watch the man with seven blades taking on the enemies which were zoning on him solely as if he became the sole target of their attention and bloodlust, effectively making it a diversion from them.

"Ah!"

A female kitsune retainer with a damaged arm exclaimed as if she realized something. Her reaction drawn the attention of her comrades and Yasaka alike.

"What is it?"

"I just realized that man's lightning felt like Gozu-Tennou-sama's".

"Indra-sama's holy lightning!?" Yasaka's eyes slightly widened at her retainers words before redirecting her orbs towards the long-haired swordsman.

It was already common knowledge within the supernatural creatures of the Japanese mainland that most deities introduced by Buddhism were literally members of the Hindu Pantheon that were brought by missionaries from India and China.

And one of these "gods" is Indra. In Hinduism, he was known as the King of Gods but in Buddhism, he was known by different names; the Protector God of Buddhism Sakra, the Leader of the Four Heavenly Kings Taishakuten, and the God of Pestilence Gozu-Tennou.

The others also showcased a bewildered look on their faces before gazing at Hakuno once more. One same question perked up from their minds as their eyes marred with disbelief, stared at the long-haired swordsman...

"Who is this guy?"

STEP!

The Sword Saint of the Seven Blades took a calculated step to the side, leaning his body and tilting his head a little to the right thus enabling him to perfectly dodge a blindside blurry claw swipe from his back. He purposely spins around, his right leg swiftly connecting to the male Inugami Youkai's cheek.

CRACK!

A painful yet justified sound of crushing facial cartilage resonated as the receiver of the attack was sent flying, the Youkai's body spinning very rapidly as he plummeted towards his comrades who have also blown away due to the resultant force from the kick. Without glancing in the opposite direction, the long-haired swordsman outstretches his left hand, positioning his long-pole blade Monohoshi Zao forward at a 45-degree angle.

STAB!

An unprecedented weight was then manifested at the blade part of the Japanese sword.

"GUH!?"

One Ha-Inu Youkai writhed in both shock and pain as he found himself suddenly impaled by the long-pole blade without him noticing, both of his feet kicking violently in midair and his hands were bathed in red vigor as he gripped the blade with force trying to free himself. Before he could pull himself out of such pitiable state, his ears brushed a static sound coming from the blade and without warning his entire body began to convulsed intensely.

"GAAAAHHHHH!"

A long, loud, piercing cry of suffering and torture roared up in the heavens as the other Ha-Inu Youkais were soaked in an electrostatic storm that came from the long-pole blade, their bodies induced in a sudden discharge of high voltage electricity. Their mental processors were fried right alongside their winged limbs, crippling their nervous and respiratory system in an instant before falling to the ground like dried leaves of a tall tree.

With a 360-degree vision granted to him by his God Eye, Hakuno saw the still large numbers of "corrupted" Youkais within his visual range. Deciding to end the matter quickly, he adopted a stance belonging to one Kojirou Sasaki by raising Monohoshi-Zao in a reverse piercing thrust manner. His rainbow-colored rondures produced a humming sound as he purposely induced nature interference in tandem with the sword of infinity in his hand.

Secret Sword - Swallow Dance

"Hiken - Tsubame Mai"

When those words were invoked, all the witnesses saw including Yasaka that day was blood spilled everywhere like pouring rain.