Thank You,
Knight Teir: "Rue Ryuzaki", and "Tyronter"
For Becoming A Member On My Pa'treon. The Emperor Protect.
-----------
Teleportation, summoning an army, even disintegrating the Kami. Even Sebastian's subordinates wield terrifying power. To be able to confront deities, paired with such an astonishing ability, stoked Izumo's envy toward Sebastian's strength.
Initially, he'd planned to test Sebastian's power with the weapon in his hand, but he quickly dismissed the notion. He didn't want to risk death. Yet after a moment's thought, he resolved to stay and observe. The more he learned of Sebastian's might, the more intrigued he became.
On top of that, whispers of Sebastian's subordinates wielding unusual weapons, especially tantalizing to a master like him, further piqued his curiosity. With no direct way to contact Sebastian, he had no choice but to wait patiently in the village.
Much within Sebastian's territory was unlike anything he had ever seen; so many things sparked a brilliance in his eyes. This place was nothing like the cities he knew. He couldn't help himself; he was enthralled.
In front of Sebastian's mansion.
Evening had fallen. The sun, stripped of its midday blistering heat, cast golden slants over the doorway like a delicate veil. Miyatsu and Miroku sat cross-legged to the left and right, their silhouettes solemn beneath the glowing light.
Sebastian hadn't appeared that day, yet they stood firm in their roles as guards. But through the tea and food Kikyo brought them, they understood, Sebastian observed their every movement. It was, essentially, a test.
"Did you feel it too?" One asked.
"There are more and more monsters spying." Miyatsu turned his head and stared into the teeming crowd, speaking quietly to Miroku beside him.
They'd remained at the gate all day, yet not out of devotion, for they're the leading young human demon-extermination masters, sensitive to monster presences invisible to ordinary folk. With nothing to attend, they emptied their thoughts and settled into meditation.
Several times, the monsters' spiritual disturbances roused them. When the deity invaded the village, small monsters slipped through. Now dormant and cautious, they lurked nearby. They gradually realized that after Sebastian destroyed the Kami, the territory fell into peaceful stability, but beneath the calm lay an undercurrent of chaos. Something monumental approached.
Yet the two felt no fear. With Sebastian at the helm, danger would not prevail.
"By the way, is the Jade of the Four Souls truly in Sebastian's hands?" Miyatsu watched two men in black robes depart into the distance, once spies, and turned to Miroku.
One reason they came to Sebastian's domain was to authenticate rumors about the Jade.
Miroku, eyes still wandering the street, replied with nonchalance: "That artifact serves us none. It might even derail your and my practice. Buddhist precepts warn against greed…"
Miyatsu jabbed with a smirk: "Miroku, didn't you stare at the women by the roadside? Weren't you violating your vows?"
Miroku remained unreadable, then performed a solemn Buddhist ritual, exuding an aura of stern devotion.
At that moment, Kikyo emerged from the gate: "Sir Sebastian invites you both to dine inside."
"Understood!" Miyatsu and Miroku's eyes lit up brilliantly as dusk deepened overhead.
Outside the village, within a pitch-black stalactite cave...
Countless pale broken bones glowed eerie green as night fell, soulless and spectral. All around, the cavern resembled a sea of corpses bathed in sickly light. In the valley's center, a monstrous insect, several "soil meters" long, gnawed on bones, the flesh limp and damp with blood.
Her many "worm feet" trembled softly, their tips digging into the skeletal-strewn earth. Beneath her body, bones shattered under her enormous weight. From her head, jet-black hair flowed like a shadowy waterfall, obscuring her naked upper body. Beneath, her centipede-like lower half revealed her true form. Half-human, half-monster, a horrifically uncanny fusion.
She was a centipede witch, reminiscent of the Ōmukade, the giant man-eating centipede from Japanese mythology that devoured humans and even dragons, vulnerable only to human saliva.
"Still hiding here," the centipede witch crooned between bone-crunches. "After all these years... you've made no progress."
At the cave entrance, a girl entered, eyes bright as stars, teeth gleaming, lips like rose petals. Each step echoed rhythmically across the bone-strewn floor. She carried the serene beauty of both rural and urban worlds, draped in a floral scent, and yet, chilled by the aura of death she emanated.
"Why don't you stay hidden? What brings you here?"
The witch paid no heed, still gnawing. In them, history lingered; they were more than acquaintances, but not friends. With a glare, her presence brought no joy to the centipede witch.
"Continue like this," she taunted. "At this rate, total transformation may take only a century more."
She stroked her hair, stepping delicately across bones. The stench of decay wrinkled her nose as she shook her head.
"Come all this way just to mock me?" the witch snarled, and crushed the bone in her hand anew.