“So, just why are you here?” I said to our ret visitor, who had hurried over to Kyoto, meeting us just before we set off through the bamboo forests and foothills towards mount Atago.

  “Things are quiet at the Spring now.” Belera, the blue-haired and long-legged elf smiled at me. “And I heard you were going out on an expedition. I am still a Way-Warden, and my specialties lean into this sort of thing.” She ughed prettily, one hand held over her mouth in a flirty manner. “Besides, great-grandfather is curious as to how our progress is going. Elves like to take our time, time is what we have in abundance, but mortals burn shtly, move so quickly. Although…” she giggled again. “… you are hardly mortal now. Many tales of unioween the Fae and mortals exist, and most end in sadness, as unless you are one like the San, gifted long life, like an ephemeral butterfly the mortal withers and dies, while the Fae remains young aiful.” She sighed. “Many e seeking the Fae for the secrets to a greater lifespan. But it is not ours to give without care. Not ours…” she frowned momentarily, before shaking her head, her beautiful face crag a sly smile. “Enough of such sad tales. I am simply here to spend some time with you, Akio. What harm is there in it? I am here to help you, and if I appeal to you as well at the same time, all the better.”

  “I’m not ied in arranged marriages anymore, Bell.” I reminded her. “I’ve already had my quota of three.”

  Natsumi giggled at that, Motoko smilily.

  “That is fine.” She stretched, showing off her graceful body and long limbs, her leather and cloth armour not hiding her bodyline. “Nobody is f you. We would hardly dare.” She winked. “But… it would be nice if you were to appreciate me more. Tear is sad she was uo e but…” she smiled again cheerfully. “… she lost ame of rock-paper-scissors. Quite an iing mortal way of settling disputes. And Moira was not ied, of course. She is such a stoic. She will never find happihat way…”

  “I see. Prihethrio have to worry. He doesn’t need marital ties to me to have me support the Fae’s is.” I sighed. “But you e. It’s a simple trek to mount Atago. If we’re attacked on route while g Territory, then we’ll fight back for the experience, but hopefully we ahe mountain peacefully.” My thoughts went back to Nie Ling. Right now, I was with Hinata, discussing our pns for the factory and also the stru under our new home, which I still hadn’t seen. Nie Ling could well be instrumental in making it go smoothly. I still feel guilty at pushiowards the resolution I wanted, but… I’m not heartless. Setting aside justid what was right and what was wrong, this way I make sure that the victims get what soce they , while Nie Ling one day feel she’s lived worthy of the sacrifices she forced others to make for her. If I ’t find a perfect solution, then I just have to do the best I , while also looking towards the future. Fug toad bastard, I’ll drag you out of hiding and end you, I swear it…

  “I do not think you uand.” Motoko pointed out. “As nobility, we realise the merits of political marriages. Yes, it is often to tie allies together, bring families into the same orbit. After all, blood ties are the stro bond. But it is also a matter of respect, as marriage between families is the greatest indication that both sides see each other as worthy allies and people on the same level.”

  “That is absolutely right.” Bell agreed. “Great-grandfather wants to be closer to the once-mortal who inspired the selfish weasel prio bee a shining moon of the Seelie Court, brought Duke Formor into the Royalist fold, and more. Besides, unlike Moira…” her smile was wicked, looking strange on her perfect features. “… I am hardly opposed to finding a parto share my life with. Tear and I, we are bored, and still young for elves. Yes, we have suitors, and some of them, I have sidered, but that is hardly exg. No, the world of the Fae is as unging as our moon, except for times of desperate, brutal struggle such as when the Unseelie start another war. But i few moons, so much has been different. And as a Way-Warden, seeing our enemies fall…” she giggled cheerfully, her smile still teasing. “…it has captured my heart!”

  Spoiler

  [colpse]I see. So she’s ied in me, not just because the Prince asked her to be? There was still a part of me who found that hard to believe, a little voiy past insecurities that said there was no way a geous girl could be looking at me that way, but now it was mostly buried by experience, and the new fidence my exploits had brought me. “I see. There’s no reason for you not to e along. I guess I’ll give you the press me.”

  “That is great.” she said happily. “I will show you that Belera is not just a beautiful, eligible, perfect elf!”

  “Modest too…” Yasaka-san said, letting out a very pointed and audible sigh. “Look, we stop the romantiedy a on with this? I’m not looking forward to this at all…”

  “That’s right.” Haru-san agreed. “Mount Atago… it could be dangerous.”

  “The Tengu are fierce.” Prince Shōtoku agreed. “But Tarōbō, while belligerent, is not unreasohough winning him over would likely require signifit force, or other dominant means.”

  “The important matter is to secure access to the fme element.” Motoko pointed out. “I am eager for battle, I admit, but part of Tsumura Arts is ag with honour, not using strength against the undeserving. I hope we find worthy oppos to fight, but so long as we achieve oals…”

  “That’s right.” I agreed, and Motoko smiled at my praise. “It’s like the Night Parade. If we have to fight we will, and we’ll win, but a retionship of mutual be brings in more of what we need.” Besides, the whole mess with Nie Ling makes me think about my own as… my only soce is that it isn’t just me who has to deal with such painful, murky decisions. Poor Eleanor… “But it won’t be as bad as you imagine, Yasaka-san. We’re ag uhe greatest safety margin we . We’ll be expanding Haru-san’s Territory as we go, and have Na’s defensive barriers.

  Na nodded. “I will do my best, I promise.”

  “I hope you’re right.” he said, and Kana chimed in.

  “ we go? Maybe it’s a little amusing seeing you get hit on, Akio, knowing how much it’ll irritate Eri…” her smile made it clear she was joking, the retionship betweewo girls was definitely improvily. “… but we’re all impatient. And seeing how you fight up close is going to make our hearts race, right?” she smiled at Natsumi, Motoko and Daiyu.

  “My Dao panion must be strong.” Daiyu agreed, Na transting the difficult words for her. “Not that I have any doubts. I have fought beside him before. But now… I am not such a hindrance as I was then.” She had her bells with her, but she nning on relying on her own power, seeing what she could do with her better Qi Refining and Foundation.

  “Right. We should make a move.” I agreed. I looked over my party, befng back at the distant mountain, the path to it blocked by nearly two kilometres of dense forest and small foothills. “It’s certainly more impressive here thaerial.” I observed. Mount Atago was t twice as high, and the bamboo thickets had been repced by a tahorny jungle, while the low hills were now quite tall, some small peaks in their ht. “But it’s not anything we ’t handle. So… let’s go…”

  ********

  “More birds are ing from the south!” Haru-san warned us. The great bck birds with their vibratihers and wind elemental attacks were fiercely territorial, and still utacks on Haru-san’s Territory in Kyoto from time to time, even if the barrier was more than enough to force them to flee i. A brilliant bolt of light fred from her, the beam of indigo energy striking the lead bird in the head, sending it tumbling into the thorny trees below, shattering branches and trunks into sharp splinters.

  “This is quite fun. Do you do this all the time?” Bell asked. She was using a longbow, looking very elvish, at least more like what one would expe elf to be from the stories. One arrow took a bird in the wing joint, and it too tumbled, impaled on shattered trunks, blood aher scattering.

  “Fun, huh?” I said. “It’s more necessary than fun. Although…” the maiance we had entered so far was a seemingly endless swarm of is, being trolled by a mob of small, goblin-like Yōkai, only their skins were bright blue. We were being subjected to a stant barrage of arrows from them, the heads smeared with shit and other foul fluids, including from above, where they were riding giant versions of Japanese s, while others with long spears were mounted on horse-sized spiders and even rger tipedes in virulent blue, pink and e shades, like some psychedeliightmare.

  This really isn’t a treat for the girls. Hell, it isn’t for me, I’m no fan of is… “I suppose it’s better to fight enemies you loathe, rather than sympathise with…” Prince Shōtoku had of course tried to mediate our passage, but apparently these vile little goblinoids were fn spiritual beings, not true Yōkai, and were extremely belligerent and cruel, often hunting and killing any other beings for sport.

  “I hate this, hate this, hate this!” Kana was ting to herself, her expression one of disgust and fear, a perfectly normal rea firl her age, I thought. That wasn’t stopping her fighting though, and a ruby light surged arouhe ground ing like liquid. A dozen spiders aipedes began to sink, thrashing and howling, but then Kana raised her hand, and the mud exploded outwards, ropey strands like tentacles whipping out and snaring them, pulling them into the mud, where the earth solidified, ether sh out like a geyser.

  “You may hate it, but you are perf well.” Motoko said, and Natsumi agreed. They were both using bows, as that art of the Tsumura Arts, and were being rather petitive with Bell, who while she wasn’t an archer in the css of Shaeraggo, was still well beyond ordinary human skill.

  “That’s right. I’m jealous.” Natsumi said. “You must be growing stronger a lot. We only…” she used a little of her fairly meagre wind energy to accelerate the arrow she had just unched, watg it punto the head of a horhe rider tumbling off it to nd broken at her feet. “… do a little. That one is for you, Yasaka-san.”

  “Oh, I’m so thankful.” He pined, but stepped forward, surrounded by a shimmering bubble of force from Na. It flickered for a moment, and the heavy cudgel he carried smashed the head of the creature. “This is slow going…”

  “Yeah, it makes me wonder why we get given such abilities.” I mused. The birds swept down towards us, which was my time to shine. Daiyu was darting iween the spiders aipedes, dishing out a series of graceful, flowing blows, her bat style looking different to the one she used before, and I called out to her to dodge to the side. She did so, and I focussed my own wind energy into a jade tide. “After all, alone you don’t have much ce of being an Astral Emperor, Yasaka-san. Although…” the gale blew, air filled with vibrating bdes, and both birds and s and their riders burst apart, the winds desding, bsting a tren the forest, leaving dead and dying enemies everywhere. Na was sweating silver, but her energy barrier had prevehe backsh from hitting us.

  “… with the right questions, I suppose you could emute my appraisal and learn that way.” I ceded.

  With a series of panicked squawks the birds fled back to their hilltop s, but the goblin-like creatures, more of them still boiling out of the forest, giant scorpions and cockroaches joining their colle of aberrant mounts, refused to relent, their curses and howls barely intelligible, but what we could divine was crude and offensive.

  “I have thought this before, but you sure are a monster.” Yasaka-san muttered. “Saionji-san has a powerful ability, but… you do so many things.”

  “Yeah, I’m going for the jack of all trades, master of all.” I joked. Everyone who was colleg ether. The Territories here in the bamboo forests were retively robably around Rank 2, so it had little effee, but some of the others such as Motoko and Natsumi needed stant topping up. The rest of the ether was squirrelled back to Haru-san’s Territory. As the surviving goblin-like creatures boiled out of the forests, I used wind t back the wounded spiders aipedes for Yasaka-san to deal the finishing blows to, maximising his gains.

  “Spiritually Pure Art: Water Bdes!” Daiyu cried out. This was a Teique of her own iion, created by modifying several of the Jade Yang Stao take advantage of the water element, bined with what she remembered from the other texts of her Sect she had read. She was able to use her Qi which was now denser and more plentiful to maintain trol of the little Spirit Water she geed, f cws on her hands, which were only slowly depleted by her strikes. It seems like she was w on making use of the Spirit Water here in Kyoto, sinly the name and a few minor details about it was informatio over from Kunlun…

  Her cws swept through a number of the blue fiends, shredding them apart, blood scattering. She dodged a volley of arrows, cutting down more, only fiant scorpion to rush her. She sneered, a barest movement of her lips, her near-expressionless face cold and posed, and one of the cws shortened a little, the tip flying off in a passable mirror of my own water bullets that Daiyu had seen. The projectile pierced through the chitin, exploding, and the scorpion toppled over, thrashing about ih. It was then a massive rhinoceros beetle came charging out, and Daiyu turned, surprised. But before she could take damage, a barrier from Na staggered it, and the ground exploded, this time into spears of rock, pierg it from below.

  “Careful.” Kana called, sweating. A bolt of light from Haru-san fihe massive beetle off, and she Kana, impressed.

  “I think you have a lot of talent with that, Kana-.” Haru-san said, her beams of light effortlessly sniping where hough she was leaving most of the gains to the others. “And good job, Na-san.” She said.

  “I… I’ll do what I .” She still had the Adder Stone clutched in her grasp, but the ese Chosen, who was only alive in the sense Haru-san was, due to beihroned, ulling her weight. I think… it might do Nie Ling some good meeting her. So that she see she’s not worse off than another of those who were involved in that mess…

  “Your skills are det, for an elven child.” Bell was telling Motoko and Natsumi, though her words were gently mog. “You o feel the world around you, if you wish to truly master the bow, especially if you seek to add elements to your attacks. The wind goes without saying, but even the radiance of light, the warmth of heat, the moisture of water… all tribute to the path of the arrow…” she loosed a shaft, and one of the leaders of the blue goblinoids, a masked shaman-type, perished, the fletg stig through the mask as it toppled off its steed.

  “I see. Yes, the tension of the b, and even the size of the body of the bow are affected by temperature and atmospheriditions. Obviously archery on a windless day is easier, but…” Motoko began.

  “Sometimes, the wind be an advantage.” Natsumi said, reag enlighte. This time when she loosed her arrow, she used only a small fra of the wind element she had previously, on the air around the arrow, not the arrow itself. With satisfa she watched as a tipede fell, brain pierced, and as it thrashed in its death throes, shattering thorny bamboo into jagged daggers that felled many creatures around it, she smiled. “I think I get it.”

  “Watg you, I am almost there. Please, repeat it!” Motoko said eagerly, and I smiled fondly at the sight of the pair of them engrossed in their Arts, despite the bat all around us.

  “You might want to keep your attention otle.” Prince Shōtoku said mildly, and I nodded.

  “It’s fine. If I ’t handle a battle on this scale while keeping an eye on everyohen we’re in trouble.” I used some of my own water bullets, moving down another mob of reinforts. The tide of enemies was starting to flow to a trickle, but they showed no signs of retreating, seemingly driven to fight to the death.

  “May the earth that was once your womb… bee your tomb!” Kana said galntly, as the ground shuddered once more, waves of earth burying many of the newers. “How was that? Coht? Boys like that kind of thing, don’t they?” she wi me.

  “Yeah, but… if Shaeu or Eri was here, they’d never let you hear the end of it.” I pointed out gently, and Kana flushed.

  “As long as you thought it was good.” Kana managed. Her eyes glimmered, and she trated, the earth belg up ether, before exploding into heavy clods of stone, felli more foes. “Sometimes, when I get trol of my Eyes, it seems easier…”

  “Yeah, Eye skills are great. I think it’ll sooime to start your Chirurgery training, your trol is improving every day.”

  “Yay!” she pumped her fist cutely, causing Yasaka-san to cough, irritated. Kana ignored him and tinued. “Aiko- will be jealous I’m beatio it, but… do you think you help her out?”

  A good question. As I pohat, I watched Daiyu as she tio reap a heavy toll with her watery cws. She suffered a number of minor injuries, yet her rapid healing closed them quickly, and the filth on bdes, arrowheads and cws was no match for the Spirit Water, merely burning away in an e light and turning to pure water which evaporated harmlessly. Supp her with some tactical sniping, my water bullets lethal against such foes, we finally shattered the resistance, and I felt the weight of the Territory around us vanish.

  “We’ve cimed it.” Haru-san said, looking around us. “This se of the forest belongs to us now.”

  “Great work everyone!” I praised. “We take a break then, I doubt they attack Haru-san’s Territory successfully.” As everyo down on chairs I jured from the earth, showing off to Kana that she still had a ways to go, I poured us all some fruit wine Asha and Hyath had packed for us. My Eye glowed, and I could see that everyone was gaining a few levels steadily.

  “As for my sister…” I said to Kana when we were all settled, mount Atago t over us in the near distahe brilliant yellow glow on the summit like a small sun. “…I have a few ideas, but…” I looked at Yasaka-san, who frowned, guessing what was i. “…my pn seems… audacious. Stupidly so, to be ho. Yet… my sis gave me the idea, even if only as a wild joke.”

  “Why do I get the feeling I’m in for a rough time?” Yasaka-san guzzled his wine, as if to wash away his misgivings.

  “You’ve already proven your Book of Providence answer a det amount about abilities we know of. This is just taking that a few steps further. It’s an enviable Divine Favour really.” I mused. “In the hands of most people, it’d be useless, but I think if I’d have been grahat one, I’d have ended up in a simir position, at least so long as Ortliill gave me a tutorial. Going in blind would have been awful…”

  “I’m a follower, not a leader. Always have been. My shrine is a modest Amaterasu fa one.” He admitted. “This role suits me. At least I’ll be important without having to risk myself too much.”

  “Yeah, risking your loss is idiocy.” I agreed. “But you ’t just sit back. The stronger you are, the more ush the boundaries of what we know, and for my idea…” There’s a great number of risks, mostly to me, but to Aiko too. And maybe to Asha… but if it works… In the peace after Kyoto and London, and hopefully before another disaster happened, such as me being forced to face off against the Church of True Revetions, that bastard toad, et sent to somewhere like a or South Korea for political gain, I wao maximise our foundation and personal growth as much as possible. I might o ge my pns on the push to Rank 4… maybe we catch up on all the Spires and other infrastructure afterwards. It’ll end up costing us a pile of ether long-term, but it’ll still only be a week or two of what Asha’s Tree pumps out, and we’ll have better security and be able t all of Tokyo and the surrounds under is… well, we have to clear the build queues a a Silo expanded first whatever happens…

  “Do go on.” Bell said, curious. “Mortal ways of thinking freed the Spring of Clear Refles. I would be very ied to see what else is in that mind of yours.”

  “No, I think I’ll keep it under s for now. No offense, but other than Yasaka-san, who I’ll he help of, I think this matter should remain a secret.” If it works… it could ge everything. But could also lead to a sario far worse than when queror is discovered by most Chosen. I’m already pushing it with Divine Favour extra…

  “How you be so cold to me?” Bell giggled, twining her blue locks around her fingers, trying to look hurt, but her smile destroyed the image. “After all, romised to each other, and out on a delightful forest date, just like elves enjoy.” She looked around at the age, bare ed earth, felled trees and shattered rocks strewn all around us.

  “Oh yes. Delightful.” I said sarcastically. “And the natives are so weling. Besides, I don’t remember any promise.”

  “You hardly bme me f.” Bell chuckled, and she was quite easy to be around, I admitted to myself. “Oh well…” she turo Motoko and Natsumi. “You two pay attention to me at least. , we’ll move to the spear. I’m not bad with that either.” She puffed out her chest proudly.

  “We eagerly await your instru!” they chorused, bowing, and as Bell finished her wine, she grinned.

  “All right then. You know, if you were Fae, you would both have a bright future as Way-Wardens…”

  As they talked, I turo Daiyu, who was thinking, repying her battles in her head. “I don’t want to interrupt…” I began, and she turo me, a slight smile on her face, which for her was the same as a happy grin.

  “You are never an interruption.” She promised me. “Please go on.”

  “I was just impressed by your use of water element. It isn’t something I’ve thought of. All my elemental attacks are disposable. Teach me how it works?”

  Her eyes widened a little, and her cheeks went faintly pink. “Of course, I should be more than happy to. After all, Dao panions should learn together, just as they… do other things together.” Her blush deepened.

  “That’s great.” I smiled at her embarrassment. “In that case…” I lifted up her shirt a little and pced my hand on her belly. “… I should be able to give you some of my water element, since I gee a lot more, to keep you topped up…”

  As I flirted with Daiyu, I heard Haru-san and Prince Shōtoku talking. “He’s always like this.” Haru-san was saying. “I… I don’t mind it. I o get used to normal human iions agaiween men and women. But it’s hard sometimes…”

  “You have suffered greatly, I hear.” The Prince said courteously. “I see you are an Onryo, yet your ck e and hatred is most exempry. I believe you could pass on, if you wish to. Though now is perhaps not the right time…”

  “No, not yet.” she shook her head. “I have my life to live that the vile man stole from me. Well, not live…” she snorted. “Ghosts aren’t alive. But… enjoy, certainly. That way I know I won in the end. If there is an afterlife other than this, I hope that bastard look up from whatever Hell he is rotting in and see me tent…”

  “I too wish it so.” He said piously. “But such grim topics aside… everyone seems quite rexed.”

  “Yes, because Akio-san is here. He’s right, our margin of safety is very secure.” Haru-san said. “Already this pce is under my trol. We have Na-san for her barriers, and Akio-san easily cover us for a retreat and heal us if the worst happens. No, we are already halfway to the base of mount Atago. I don’t anticipate any problems until we reach it… other than his painful flirting. Matsumuro-san is going to have to get used to it too…”

  “I pray Tsukiko-sama gather what scraps of mortal happiness she . But even though she has passed on her burden, Tsukuyomi still watches over her, even in her deathly sleep, I am sure. Her destiny has not ended, it seems.”

  Hearing that, I nodded. Yes, she was the Diviner long before she received Tsukuyomi’s Divine Favour. And she’ll be the Diviill after losing it. But so long as she also has time to be just Tsukiko-san, that’s fioo…

  ********

  “Brace!” Bell cried, and Natsumi and Motoko used wind element to hold themselves in position, their spears thrust up, the heads also ed in green energy. The giant snake, easily as long as a train, and actually as wide, hissed as its own bodyweight drove the spears in deeply, green scales scattering.

  I’ll collect those, might be useful… using a little aether I grabbed the fallen scales, as Motoko and Natsumi darted backwards, drawing swords.

  “Nice work.” An arrow from Bell pierassive eye and the snake reared up, screaming shrilly. Daiyu darted in from the fnk, her water cws cutting through scale and flesh with equal ease. Once a bloody gap en, ruby and silver liquid scattering, she switched back to her old teique, and with her palms, ied a surge of Qi to inflict damage within, only now she could marshal a number of times more energy, with greater purity. Blood exploded out of the wound, the snake shuddering, and Haru-san took out the other eye.

  “How vexing.” Daiyu said, covered in blood. She created a little ordinary water and washed off the worst, while Kana began to the ground, the blinded snake sinking in, thrashing in vain. As it became stuck, Motoko and Natsumi, their wind energy topped up by my reserves, raced in again, and though their strength was not suffit to pierce scales unaided, with the saw-like winds wreathing the swords they had soon cut deep, brutal gouges into the snake, and as its struggles started to fade, I mercy-killed it with a bolt to the brain, and it burst into a rainbow of aether, leaving a number more scales behind.

  “Good job everyohe extra levels are really starting to make a difference.” I praised. “And to you too, Bell. You have a way with teag. I see their improvement.”

  Motoko and Natsumi looked happy, and so did Bell, who smiled. “Of course. I am a skilled Way-Warden, who has both received and given much advice. I am happy for your praise. My ing along was not an inveniehen?”

  She certainly knows what to say. When she looks at me like that, there’s no way I say she was. Though being fair to her, she’s been a help… “No, I’ve been gd to have you.” I gathered the remaining scales, as extra crafting materials never hurt. “So, Haru-san. All good?”

  She nodded. “Yes, we have clear trol to the grove at the foot of the mountain. It hasn’t been too bad.”

  “That’s true, but the difficulty starts now. I don’t want a war with the Tengu, so we should proceed carefully. We don’t attack first, so Na, be ready to use barriers. Once rotected we easily talk.”

  The woman nodded, a off, c the st few hundred metres of forest, this more primeval and thicker thahorny bamboo assed through to get here. The forest was silent, even for the Boundary. Too silent. The yellow bze of mount Atago overhead was lighting up the forest, flickering fitfully… No, that’s nht… “ Na, barriers on everyo me!” I called, and as she responded, my Eye fred, seeing the flickering lights not as refles of the mountain above, but as…

  Tormented Ever-Burning Spirits Of The Cursed [Elemental Spirit]

  My Eye could clearly see them now, rising out of the ground, the foliage around them bursting into yellow and red fmes. There were dozens, no hundreds of them, a mix of human, Yōkai, goblinoid and stranger creatures, animals too, all pale figures made from mist and bzing fmes, their eyes dark red and bck pits e and sorrow. “Nothing is ever easy!” I cursed, water bullets f around me and firing off like a great onade…

  ShipTeaser