Dragon/Divinity of Calamity

Wh-what the...?

Why are you all standing in line the way those human warriors do?

Why would you

Ahh...

Ahh, ahhh... Ahhh... This can't be happening...

This shouldn't be happening!

What are you doing!? Youwe oni aren't supposed to act like that!

Shuten... Shuten... Ahh, ahh... Ahhh!

Who did this!?

How did you control these uncontrollable oni so easily!?

Who are you!?

Stay sharp, everyone. We have oni headed straight for us.

... ...

I cannot understand it. I am told Ibaraki-Douji leads the oni of Mt. Ooe now, but we still have our treaty with Shuten-Douji in place.

The treaty should mean that there is to be no aggression from either side while it remains in effect.

And of course, Shuten-Douji is the closest thing the oni have to a king.

Her strength is unrivaled; she most closely resembles one from onikind's legendary demon kingdom.

And somehow, in spite of that...

...these oni are still making their way down the mountain to attack our city.

I simply cannot understand it.

Aww, that's so sweet. But flattery won't get you anything except maybe some of my wine.

Oh, I also have peaches, if you'd like one.

No thank you. There is something about peaches I find unnerving.

Aww, you don't like them? But they're so sweeeet and juicy.

Don't you think so, brat?

Yeah, I love peaches!

...The fifth general god is approaching from Mt. Ooe, with a group of oni in tow.

While Lord Abe-no-Seimei did predict this, I still cannot help but wonder...

？！

...Hey, Boss. I was just thinkin'. The first two general gods showed up inside Rashomon, right?

Then Kagekiyo Yoshitsune and that big tsuchigumo showed up across from the Kamogawa at the end of Gojou.

And now we've got this one comin' down all the way from Mt. Ooe.

I'm sure there's some kinda reason for it but doesn't that seem awful far away?

Kintoki.

Yeah?

Lord Seimei put up the great Bounded Field around Kyo to fend off invasions from powerful monsters.

I know. And I'm sure Shuten's gang knows that even better.

Mm, that thing is sooo annoying.

As such, we should assume that the Bounded Field operates in response to the general god's power.

In this case, the stronger the general god, the further away from Suzaku Gate the Bounded Field would keep them when they materialize.

I believe it is a layered Bounded Field that reacts to the quantity of Mystics or possibly magical energy levels.

It is certainly a sign of how Lord Abe-no-Seimei became such a legend.

I suspect this spell would easily surpass the power of relics from even the strongest ascetics.

Alternatively, it could be that Lord Seimei's Bounded Field uses ashes from the Buddha, or something similar.

？！

Heh. Bring it on!

Me and Danzo are both good as new thanks to Tsuna's Caster!

Not to mention Raikou and Tsuna are both in top shape.

Sure, they may have a numbers advantage, even with the other Genji warriors here, but Raikou and the Four Heavenly Kings are worth a thousand soldiers each!

It doesn't matter how many oni they throw at us, I'm sure we can take 'em!

Don't forget about little old me.

I'm not usually one to beat up my fellow oni, but we diiid have an agreement.

So I will get to the bottom of this. You can even go back to the house and take a nap if you like.

Kintoki. Shuten-Douji.

Be quiet.

Oh my. That feels like

Yes. ...The oni are here.

A group of oni is walking towards Suzaku Gate! I can also make out what appear to be corpse shikigami!

I'm detecting a large number of hostiles. There are at least dozensno, hundreds of them!

That's quite an army.

Lord Tsuna! Look at their leader!

...

I've confirmed it with my telescopic vision!

Ibaraki-Douji is leading the oni army!

？！

It doesn't make sense, Master. I don't know about the other oni, but I'm sure Ibaraki-Douji worships the ground Shuten-Douji walks on.

I was sure Ibaraki-Douji would be the one oni of Mt. Ooe not taking part in this attack!

Shuten.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

I don't understand what's happening to me.

When she looked at me, it...

It was just like looking into your eyes... That's why I... I...

A-aah... Aaaaaah...

Shuten! Shuten...!

Shuuuteeen!!!

Ibaraki-Douji appears extremely confused! It also seems that fire she just generated was a signal...

...as the bigger oni and corpse shikigami are heading straight for us!

Remember, everyone. We cannot let a single one past us.

We may be defending the city, but treat this battle as if you are on the attack. In other words:

？！

Genji, advance!

All right! Let's goooooo!

All right...

That does it! Get down here already!

We have the advantage! Mop up the stragglers!

All right. That just leaves...

(Huff, huff, huff...!) I... I...!

I have to kill you all, and keep moving forward...

That's what she wants! So I'll do it, even if it kills me!

I have to be an oni! I have to!

Ibaraki. Have you forgotten that I still have your arm?

Are you truly willing to throw your life away before you have taken it back?

Tsuna...!

I-I... I still hate you! But...there's nothing I can do!

It's like my own heart won't listen to me!

Idiot.

...O-ow.

Shuten... I-I'm stuck. You hit me so hard my legs are stuck in the ground...

You seem to be confused, Ibaraki.

You might be the leader of the Mt. Ooe oni...

...but I don't recall ever saying you should bring everyone down from the mountain.

At least you didn't wake Kanekuma or Kuma, but still, what were you thinking?

If you were going to arrange such a big game, you should have invited me.

Well, Ibaraki?

Shuten! Ahh, Shuten, Shuten, Shuten, Shuten!

I... I saw her! I really saw her!

She's right there, even as we speak.

Even as we...we...

Aah! What do I do!? This is terrifying!

Huh?

？！

A tremendous amount of magical energy is concentrating in the air!

Is that a summon...?

N-no, it's not! It's a Heroic Spirit coming out of their spirit form!

But...that alone shouldn't be able to distort the air like this!

Magical energy levels are increasing... Increasing... Oh no. They're off the scale!

Whoever this Heroic Spirit is, they are at least as powerful as a Lostbelt king!

What the...?

Over there...

There's somethin'... No...

There shouldn't be anything there... But somethin's still takin' shape!

...

Is that...?

Shuten...?

Fu. Fu. Fu.

You have grown well. You have flourished admirably.

Indeed, I am impressed by what you have managed to learn in this time.

I was told I could have the title of Taisai, one of the general gods, but...

Fu. Fu. Fu.

I have no need of such things.

For I have always been...

...a god.

Hear my name, creatures of this world. Gaze upon my form, creatures who slumber in the great beyond.

I am Ibuki-Douji...

...the dragon god of disaster.

I am the mountains and water. I am the earth and steel.

I am the heavens and storms. I am fire and war.

I am...

...the first of Yamata-no-Orochi's eight heads and tails.

I come to you now from the mountain, and calamity follows in my wake.

To all living things...

I am disaster made manifest.

...!

So, she claims to be one of Yamata-no-Orochi's heads. His Divided Spirit.

Ya...

Yamata-no-Orochi!!!

It can't be... Even my direst calculations could never have accounted for this!

Yamata-no-Orochi, the dragon god of disaster!

Also known as the great god of Ibuki, Ibuki Daimyoujin!

It was the most destructive dragon ever seen in Japan! Indeed, it is one of Japan's three most dangerous monsters ever!

Exactly!

It is said to be the most destructive dragon ever seen in Japan! Truly, it is one of the three most dangerous monsters in Japanese history!

？！

In the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, it was known as Daijashin, a great and terrible serpent god, but over time, it became known as Daimyoujin instead!

In Chaldea terms, it would be a dragonkin Phantasmal! It is also the physical embodiment of nature itself, and one of the old malevolent gods!

And Ibuki-Douji is its offspring...

A being said to be a type of Divided Spirit...

Which means that oni there must be...

...Ibuki-Douji, the Divine Spirit!

？！

According to Chaldea's database, Ibuki-Douji is also said to be Shuten-Douji's childhood name.

Consequently, Chaldea expected Ibuki-Douji may be another side of Shuten-Douji, or perhaps a different possible version of her, as a separate Heroic or Divine Spirit...

But...I never thought she would be anything like this...

Even now, I am unable to determine her magical energy levels! At this point, I can only estimate that she is in the same league as the Greek gods from the Fifth Lostbelt!

...Wow. That strong, huh.

Fu. Fu. Fufu.

Be silent.

Keep your mouths closed, but do not dare shut your eyes.

You are to gaze upon me as you would the heavens, and kiss me as you would the earth itself.

...Oh, that's right. Fufu. You cannot do both at once, can you?

In that case...

Kneel.

!

Is everyone all right!? Khh... Why does my body feel so...heavy!?

!!!

？！

？！

Damn, I'm impressed, Boss! I can't believe you've faced somethin' this crazy before!

Heh, I'm getting' chills!

This thing's a freakin' whopper!

But what's this about her bein' a different side of you, Shuten!?

... ...

...What do you want me to say here?

Ugh, I can't stand this. You Genji all look like morons about now.

I just see some kind of haze or something, that's it.

It's true. Like the puppet said...

That thing is me. Another side of me.

She might not look like it, but she's the child of the god of Mt. Ibuki.

And you know, now that you mention it...

...I do get the impression that's where I might've been born.

As for that hazy thing, I'm guessing it's probably another one of my different aspects. The only problem is...

... ...

I'm already here.

Hey, Ibuki.

Yeah, you. The one standing around staring at nothing in particular.

...?

This is...

...supposed to be...

...MY turn.

Shuten-Douji own powerful magical energy has weakened the high-gravity field! Is this some sort of spell of hers!?

What are you all doing!? Get on your feet!

If you're just going to lie down and sleep, then you might as well leave, because Kyo won't need you anymore!

I mean, fufu, can you even imagine what your ancestors would say...

...if they saw you sitting back and letting me, an oni, do all the work for you?

Well, general of the Genji!?

...You've made your point. Enough. Not another word.

Tsuna! Kintoki!

I'm ready.

Same here!

If you all have the guts to take me on, then you shouldn't be cowering in fear of her.

Isn't that right, Genji!?

Say no more, oni.

It has always been the Genji's job to destroy anything that threatens Kyo's safety, no matter how monstrous!

...Oho.

I don't like this.

Nope, nope, nope. Not one damn bit.

I knew I still had a lot to learn, but I didn't realize just how much.

But now that I'm seein' this Ibuki creature, I gotta hand it to Kyo: no matter how long I'm here, there's always somethin' new to discover!

Since the first day I set foot here, I've been seein' monsters! Creatures! Shikigami, oni, and tsuchigumo!

And now, we've even got the descendant of an ancient malevolent dragon from the Age of Gods!

Startin' to think it wont ever get boring around here! Don't you think so, Boss!?

？！

...Understood! I am prepared to use every last bit of magical energy in my Spirit Origin and Spirit Core!

You're not crossing Suzaku Gate as long as we're around!

Hey! Ibuki-Douji! You may have just woken up, but we're gonna put you right back to sleep!

Genji, advance!!!

All units, prepare for battle! We are going to fight this god, and we are going to win!

Fufufu...

The enemy Divine Spirit's Spirit Origin has grown from less than two meters to over three meters!

This must be her combat form! Master!

Very well.

I will allow you to fight back.

...!

My blade can't touch her! Caster!

I'm already casting every spell I know...using Rapid Words...!

But nothing is working! She has a personal Bounded Field covering her entire body!

This durability... This overwhelming presence... It feels as though we're fighting Mother Nature herself!

Ibuki-Douji is still alive and well! Even working together, our allies can't reach her Spirit Core!

Heh! We'll just see about that!

Living things.

!

Fragile things.

Offer yourselves to me.

Huh, you want them that badly?

...?

Shuten-Douji!

Shuten-Douji struck Ibuki-Douji from behind! She completely destroyed the Bounded Field and tore clean through Ibuki-Douji's body!

Her attack cut all the way into Ibuki-Douji's Spirit Origin!

Ibuki-Douji is another aspect of Shuten-Douji! Though they may differ in appearance, they both share the same origin!

That may be why Shuten-Douji's claws can harm her...!?

Huh!?

What the hell? It's just like what happened with the corpse shikigami...

Her wounds are already closing!

Hmm.

No, it is not that! Her magical energy is nothing like the corpse shikigami's!

I believe this is just her own innate regeneration!

So she's immortal then.

Ha! Well that's pretty golden in its own right! Take a look, though. She shrunk back to her normal size.

This must be our chance to

How fun.

...!

Dam...mit...!

I can't move my arms...

No... I can't...even...move...a single...finger!

？！

？！

Boss!

Master!

...Now then.

Living things.

While I have no desire for sacrifices right now, I suppose I can devour you if you are so eager.

Let's see...

I think I'll start with you.

Douman...

No. Limbo, you villain.

It seems your scheme is not quite going as planned.

It seems, thus far, you've only managed four Heroic Spirits offered in sacrifice.

Assuming that demonic tree behaves as the Imperial Holy Grail War was meant to...

...it must require seven such souls to grant this wish of yours, meaning you still have three to go.

And yet, your efforts to procure them have met with failure at every turn.

It would seem you underestimated my Genji warriors very seriously, Douman. No...Limbo.

It's true, Lord Minister of the Left. As ever, nothing escapes your notice.

Your Excellency's warriors have indeed managed to waste the excellent general god souls I took great pains to summon.

But, nonetheless...

Only a secondno, third-rate villain would panic at this turn of events.

And as an Alter Ego and High Servant, I always strive to be first-rate in everything I do.

By way of example, do you know anything of these two gods next to me?

To my right, we have Daishogun Itzpapalotl.

To my left, we have Daion Chernobog.

Well, you see, I am a High Servant, and so these two Divided Spirit pillars of dark gods have both assimilated with me.

And in addition to their souls, I have also added my own, that of Ouban Ashiya Douman!

What's more...

...I have already happily fed them to the Pseudo-Tree of Emptiness, Naraka Mandala. Oh yes.

!

You depraved bastard.

How could a mere human even think to consume deities? Even the gods of foreign lands will not stand for such blasphemy!

It would have been a grave offense even had you shed your human form, but as you have not

Haha. Well, I could hardly hope to accomplish such a thing in an ordinary human body.

No human body could ever hope to contain the sheer quantity of information within a Divine Spirit.

But fortunately, you need not worry!

For I have long since transformed my mind and body alike into spells!

Doing so even allowed me to use shikigami to clone myself! Well, I suppose only this original form remains now after some...unpleasant circumstances...

...But at this point, even this body is no more than an advanced spell.

What a fool.

Still, fool or not, it would seem you have at least some facility with planning.

I thought you were the type to lose yourself in pursuit of your ambitions, but it seems I was mistaken.

Now I see you are the type to strangle a hostage to death before contacting her parents for ransom in exchange for her safe return.

Not at all.

Nn...

I'm afraid you have the wrong name, Your Excellency.

I am Limbo. No, wait.

My apologies. I am Ouban Ashiya Douman. Now, please, sit back and enjoy the show.

You will get to see the Heian era end, and mine begin.

Now, since it is time to welcome the fifth or rather, eighth and final general god...

...I think I shall begin the next part of my plan ahead of schedule, as befits a villain such as myself.

And by that, I mean it is time to let my Pseudo-Tree of Emptiness bloom!

This is one of the secret techniques imparted to me by the Foreign God known as Lucifer, the great Satan who summoned me to this world:

A ritual designed to grow a Tree of Emptiness!

Ordinarily, certain conditions must be met for a Tree of Emptiness to grow to maturity, but we need not worry about that now.

That is why I prepared a Holy Grail, and the Heroic Spirit souls to feed it.

Now, at last, the chalice is filled with seven soulsenough magical energy with which to reach the Root.

While it is, unfortunately, a bit unstable, and I still need one more soul to grant my true wish...

...it will more than suffice as a means of laying the groundwork.

Now then, without further ado...

Hear me, O twisting roots of emptiness that would invade all of creation.

Now is the time to grow! To bloom!

Pseudo-Tree of Emptiness Naraka Mandala!