Seconda Cantica: Inferno (Beginning)

Heh, heh...

Hehehe... Hahaha... Urk! (Cough, hack)...!

A swordsman, huh...

...No. I couldn't have.

...My Cursed Name is Archer of Inferno.

As the princess of fire...I shall become flame itself, and kill you all.

...Muramasa?

Gaga ga?

That's right. Muramasa. Heard the name before, Onui? The bane of Tokugawa?

Muramasa is a legendary swordsmith from Kuwana, in Ise Province. He's famous for forging cursed katanas that have wreaked devastation on the Tokugawa family.

He's said to have forged the katana that slew Tokugawa Ieyasu's grandfather, the one used to assist Ieyasu's eldest son, Nobuyasu, in performing seppuku, and even a shoto that injured Ieyasu himself.

Basically, any sword bearing the name Muramasa is feared far and wide for the threat it poses to the Tokugawa family!

？！

Specifically, they refer to katana that have been forged by the Muramasa school of swordsmithing.

Since you call yourself Senji Muramasa, you must be a disciple of that school... Or maybe even its founder.

Founder?

Yup. Is that the case, Grandpa?

...That was a good meal. If it means I still get to enjoy the taste of rice, miso soup, and pickled vegetables even after I die, I guess this Heroic Spirit nonsense ain't too bad after all.

Yeah, yeah, I know it don't do diddly squat to nourish this body, but hell if I care. Long as I look human, I'll keep right on eating.

Onui, I know you're excited to have Musashi here, but make sure to eat your breakfast. Don't just spend the whole meal feeding Tasuke his rice porridge.

Okay. ...(Chew chew)

I'm already done myself. That was delicious, Onui! Sorry I spent the whole meal going on!

...(Gulp) Don't be! Grandpa practically never talks about himself...

It was great to hear some of your stories. They were really fun, too! Can you tell me another one?

Sure, after you finish your own breakfast. In the meantime, I want to talk to your grandpa.

I always go to my smithy after I eat. If you want to tag along, I won't stop you. Ah, you're all finished up too, huh, kid?

？！

You come with us then. Onui, make sure you chew your food properly.

I will.

Ga ga!

Hmm, hmm. So this is the forge of a legendary swordsmith, huh?

Swords that can kill immortal monsters are made here every day, so there must be something special about it.

It's just a smithy. I suppose there may be a couple special bits here and there.

After all, I'm a Servant. I ain't got the least notion of whether this idea even belonged to the original Muramasa or not.

？！

I'm just a swordsmith. I never did nothin' to make me worthy of becoming a Heroic Spirit.

Well, I will say that my smithing skills are on par with the gods. But the problem is my accomplishments.

I never slew a hundred men, never saved a nation, yadda yadda.

So I never quite made the cut for getting a Spirit Origin worthy of being a Heroic Spirit.

That I somehow ended up in some damn situation where some fool needed my help anyway must mean the gods saw fit to give me a chance.

This body, this mind, even his fated path must have been similar to Muramasa's.

This me might be someone who lived a similar life, who lost his name.

Maybe he's a smith associated with the Muramasa school, hell maybe he's one of my descendants or somethin'.

You think the two of you were so similar, huh? Well, we know for sure that your katana are the real deal!

That's right. Long as you're clear on that, that's all that matters.

That said, I still don't understand why I'm a damned Saber. I make swords, not use 'em! I ain't no Saber!

Ugh, what a damn pain. If I'm a Saber, then why'd I end up here in this workshop with these skills? Don't make a lick of sense!

？！

It's just a smithy. A place for a smith to swing his hammer. Even if it does have something extra stuck to it, at base that's all it is.

At any rate, my name is Muramasa. Senji Muramasa.

I'm a Rogue Servant, with no summoner. I'm sure you know what that means, Fujimaru.

...Hang on. If you don't have a summoner, doesn't that make you just like Lord Inshun?

No, it doesn't. Just so we're clear, I got nothin' to do with that group of monsters. Not a damn thing.

I was called here by the gods, not humans. That much, I'm sure about.

When I first came to about a month or so ago, I was already here in Shimousa, all alone.

And no sooner had I woken up than I saw a group of those dark spirit creatures not far off. I take it you've seen them by now?

I have heard things like that have been showing up as of late. Back in my time, ghosts were more of a regular occurrence.

Attaboy. Got it in one.

？！

I materialized during the day, in the middle of a rice field not too far from here. There were a number of people out working in the field when I got there...

...but those creatures had already killed about half of them. Including Onui and Tasuke's parents.

One thing led to another, and I wound up looking after them. Call it the fickle whim of an old man.

So that's how you ended up here. I thought you'd been living here for years now.

Hardly. I'm just another visitor. We Heroic Spirits are still technically dead; I ain't about to get hip deep into other folk's problems.

I see...

I just thought you'd been here a long time because you get along so well with Onui and Tasuke, and you seem like you're very at home.

That goes for this smithy too. It feels like it's a part of you.

You think so too?

See? Fujimaru thinks so too.

？！

I took over this hermitage from the people in the village west of here. They told me another blacksmith used to live here long ago.

I used a hoe and a spade to fix this place up as best I could.

But then it went and got destroyed in a single night, like some sort of sick joke. This sort of thing shouldn't be happening now that the age of war is over.

Are there any other villages around here?

Some. You can find a few just a bit south of here.

Guess I'd better have someone come give the poor saps from the northern and western villages a proper burial.

... ...

Anyway, let's get back to it while the little ones are still eating. No reason for them to hear about this sorta stuff.

First of all, those shadow creatures.

You two still got yourselves set on facing off against whatever's causing all the trouble here in Shimousa?

Hmph. Good answer, but only if you mean it.

There you go, kid. Go for it.

？！

In that case, I need to tell you about those dark creatures. About who you're up against.

First of all, I've heard those things started appearing in Shimousa right around the time I materialized here.

So, a month ago?

Clean the wax outta your ears, girl. I said two months ago.

Oh, uh, right. Of course. It's just, you were kind of unclear when you mentioned that before, so...

...Sorry, guess my memory's starting to go. Hmph.

I might look young, but I sure don't feel young. Even though I've materialized in the real world, it feels like I'm in some sort of dream.

... (He doesn't seem like he's lying...)

(Lord Muramasa might have been like this when he was alive, or maybe he's bewitched or something... Either way, I guess it's too soon to say for sure.)

Now, where was I... Oh yeah, the creatures.

I think Onui said they don't come to villages?

Now I see.

I can understand why she'd think that. Not quite right, though. They avoid the temples and shrines, not villages.

So they avoid places of worship, huh... How well-mannered of them. Though I guess that makes sense when you think about it.

That don't apply to their bosses, though.

That's right. Like that monk you two faced off against.

What was it they called themselves... The Heroic Spirit Swordmasters? Bull. There's no need for swordmasters in a peaceful world, and they've got no business calling themselves heroic nothin'.

Attaboy. Got it in one.

？！

No way. You knew about them, Grandpa?

Only stories about how they're the ones behind those dark creatures. Heard a few rumors about them walking around with those things at their beck and call.

Heard there's more than one of 'em, too, not counting the one you killed last night.

Yes, that's right. Six others.

I see... So there's even more than I thought now.

More?

Not long after the creatures first showed up, peddlers were full to bursting with rumors of them, and soon enough just about everyone had heard about the new threat.

They said a suspicious-looking man was practicing dark Jesuit sorcery on the grounds of Katori Shrine.

That his mysticism turned day to night in an instant, and six powerful knights clawed their way up from the depths of hell to serve him.

These knights are called the Heroic Spirit Swordmasters, and they are monsters hell-bent on laying waste to the world of man...or so the rumors go.

Sounded like a buncha hogwash to me. At first, anyway. Now I get that they're real, and wreaking havoc and destruction in all manner of places.

I've even heard that they razed the Hitachi Province so completely that nobody can bear to look at it now.

...That's the province north of Shimousa. What exactly did they do to Hitachi?

I'm told they burned everything there to the ground.

...

I figured you'd say that. Don't worry, I'll be right there with you.

I won't make you fight this battle alone. Besides, I still have to make good on my promise to pay Lord Inshun back with interest.

So I'll do that by finding a way to resolve this crisis threatening Shimousa! It's the best parting gift I can offer to everyone they've killed!

You're being more levelheaded about this than I thought you would be. It's true; you can never have too much information before going to battle.

Of course, that was one more thing that made Lord Inshun so impressive; his ability to fight even without knowing who he was up against...

Anyway, in our case, we need to find out as much as we can ahead of time. Both about the Heroic Spirit Swordmasters, and about these monsters wandering around Shimosa.

？！

...Hmph. I can see you're more than ready to face whatever dangers lie ahead of you.

In that case, you should pay a visit to the town. There's a lot more people there than there are in any backwater around here, so you might be able to learn something useful from one of them.

Town? You mean...?

The town outside Toke Castle. I remembered it being abandoned in Kazusa...

...but here, it looks like it's part of the lord of Shimousa's domain. Odd, isn't it?

Right? I KNEW there was something strange about that!

？！

The Holy Grail, huh. I'd probably get in trouble if I filled it with udon, wouldn't I... I mean, uh, nothing.

Strange as it is that Toke Castle is intact and nearby...it does sound like its town is worth visiting!

A cas-tle, a cas-tle♪ We get to go to Toke Castle town♪

Ga ga♪

Hehehe, a cas-tle, a cas-tle♪ I can't wait♪

Hehe, I'm glad to see you're enjoying yourself, Onui. You've been to Toke Castle town before; what's it like?

Well, there's lots and lots of people there. Way, way more than in the village!

I see. Lots of people, huh!

Lots!

？！

Grandpa Muramasa told us to take them, so it should be okay. I think.

And they're both clearly excited about going there...

Besides, given everything that happened, I imagine he wanted them far away for a while, so he could see to the villagers without the kids having to see.

Admittedly, I'm kinda worried about running into more monsters, though...

Hmm. Still, we should get there well before nighttime, and he did say those dark clouds don't usually show up during the day.

So I think we can take him at his word.

Besides, the more the merrier when it comes to traveling! Two is better than one, and four is better than two!

I think so too!

Goo goo. Ga!

Also, I've got the Myoujingiri Muramasa now. Even if one or two Heroic Spirit Swordmasters do show up...

...I know I can cut them clean in two with this sword. That might even be enough to pay Lord Inshun back.

Besides, just look around! The sun is shining, it's a beautiful day, and

？！

Huh? The sky's gone pitch-black...

... ...

Waaah! Sorrysorrysorry! I should've kept my big mouth shut! I went and jinxed us!

Still! The nerve of these clouds! Didn't anyone ever teach them any manners!?

Well, I guess they're clouds, so who'd even teach them manners anyway?

Aah! Bandits! And so many of them! They must've come out now that it's dark!

I guess the fact that so many of these things keep cropping up just goes to show there's something really wrong happening here in Shimosa.

Either way, now that they've shown up again, I'm not about to go easy on them.

We're heading to Toke Castle, whether these things like it or not! If they want to try and stop us...

...then they don't get to complain as I cut my way through them!

...I guess we got off easy.

Looks that way. Too bad; I would've liked to take another one of them down.

？！

We should probably be grateful that's all there was to it this time. I'd rather keep the life-and-death battles to a minimum, especially with Onui and Tasuke around.

Let's just be glad we all made it through without a scratch.

Now come on. Toke Castle town awaits!

Yay! Cas-tle, castle♪ I can't wait!