"Is this the cave?"
Okuni hopped off the chariot, landing in front of the rocky seaside grotto. Uesugi Kenshin, still at the reins, looked wary of her but at least wasn't itching to bolt anymore.
"That's the one," Ritsuka confirmed.
Based on their earlier puzzle-solving, Ritsuka had clued Okuni in that the seal "might require a sacrifice to break." Now, watching her, Ritsuka couldn't shake a flicker of concern.
"…There's definitely a vibe here, something like Amaterasu," Okuni said after studying the cave for a bit. "But…"
"But?" Ritsuka prompted.
"It's weird. I can tell a sun god sealed this place, and yeah, it needs a sacrifice to unlock. But the sacrifice seems tied to something deep inside the seal."
Ritsuka's mind flashed to the phrase "the sun is consumed by hatred", a spark of realization hitting. "Wait… could the sun god have sealed themselves in there? No, scratch that—it's the other way around. Something consuming the sun god used their power to lock this place down!"
It wasn't a tough leap to make. One thing was clear: if a sun god's power sealed the cave, then "the sun is consumed by hatred" wasn't just a poetic hint—it was a double entendre. The sun god's power being devoured by something was likely the truth.
This was the Middle Ages, the final glow of the Age of Gods before human reason took over. Since the dawn of the Common Era, no gods walked the earth, but every now and then, mortals caught glimpses of their fading traces. By the time the Renaissance and Age of Exploration kicked off, these "mysteries" vanished from the civilized world's sight. If Hernán hadn't chased the legend of El Dorado and stumbled into an Aztec ritual, that ring of hers would've stayed just a ring.
So, it wasn't impossible that a Demon God Pillar—or someone it was helping—chose this moment to devour a weakened, summoned sun god. If the sun god was being consumed, they wouldn't have sealed this place to make it easier for the Pillar. The seal could only exist to keep others from interfering with the devourer.
And with the demonic power seeping from the depths, the thing eating the sun god was probably… some kind of powerful demon?
Ritsuka's eyes snapped to Mephistopheles.
"Don't look at me—I'm clueless!" the demon said with a shrug.
Maybe he was telling the truth, but Ritsuka wasn't about to trust a demon's word. She turned to Okuni. "What kind of sacrifice does it need?"
"No sacrifice needed anymore," Okuni replied.
Ritsuka blinked, confused. "What do you mean, 'no sacrifice needed'?" Had someone already offered one to the sun god?
"The sacrifice is the 'Seven Setting Suns,'" Okuni explained. "Every time a sun sinks into the sea, the seal weakens. On the seventh, it breaks. We've been summoned here for six days already, so cracking this seal won't be too tough now."
Ritsuka glanced at Mephistopheles again. The demon just smirked, like he had everything under control.
And maybe he did. The clue he'd given for the puzzle was a "bleeding bird." From an Eastern myth perspective, couldn't that symbolize a setting sun?
Just how much did this guy know?
No time to dwell on it. Ritsuka figured even if she threatened him with his True Name, Mephistopheles would just dodge the question with a grin.
"Alright, let's do this," she said.
"Want me to take a swing at it?" Georgios asked. Last time she was here, she'd judged the seal as "unbreakable, even with my Noble Phantasm at full power." But two more suns had set since then, so maybe it was weak enough now.
"No, let's have Miss Okuni handle it," Ritsuka said, looking at her. "Can we count on you?"
"It's what I signed up for, isn't it?" Okuni replied with a wink.
Sure, learning the seal weakened daily was news, but recruiting Okuni and Kenshin hadn't been a waste. As a shrine maiden, Okuni could handle this seal way more smoothly than the rest of them.
Okuni flipped her naginata upside down, the white zigzag paper strips dangling from its end transforming it into a gohei wand with a bladed tip. Gripping it, she began a sacred spear dance to honor the gods.
As the founder of kabuki, Okuni had taken the shrine maiden's divine dances and turned them into a secular art form, elevating them to new heights. That dance, now sublimated as her Noble Phantasm, was hers to wield as a Heroic Spirit.
"Okuni's Eighteen Acts: Izumo Wild God Kabuki"—a mystical, breathtaking performance that could soothe raging deities and banish curses. To break this weakened seal, she didn't even need to invoke its True Name.
Watching the dancing maiden, Ritsuka couldn't help but think: This Singularity's got way too many demons and yokai running around.
As the dance wound down, Okuni's gohei tapped the seal's center. It shattered like glass, and a foul wind surged from within.
"Master, watch out!"
Georgios was the first to react, stepping in front of Ritsuka and drawing her sword toward the cave's depths.
Crimson eyes lit up like scattered stars, brimming with malice as they drew closer. Then, like a dam bursting, a flood of demons poured out, overwhelming the four humans and one devil.
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The demons came in all shapes and sizes. After cutting down a few, Georgios realized she couldn't protect Ritsuka alone. She turned and hoisted her onto Kenshin's chariot. "Get the Master out of here!"
"Take me toooo!"
Okuni, closer to the cave, was already swarmed, only one hand still visible, flailing from the mass.
Georgios unleashed a burst of mana, scattering nearby demons, and charged in. Grabbing Okuni, she flung her toward Kenshin's chariot. "Go! There's too many—we can't hold them all!"
As she'd predicted, the demons weren't sticking around to fight. The vanguard was already fleeing, heading east from the cave.
On the chariot, catching Okuni, Ritsuka got the worst possible news from Mash over the comms:
"Senpai, bad news! The demons are heading for Ratvenchi Town!"
"Tell Nero and Hernán to hold the line! We're on our way!"
With Ritsuka's order, the chariot sped toward the town at full throttle.