Volume 8 - Higanbana: Chapter 48 – Vengeful Maidens
The eerie sound of wind chimes from Yomi grew louder, sending a chill down everyone’s spine.
Amidst the dark clouds that billowed in the night sky, a woman adorned in red and white dancer attire, with a black high hat, gracefully floated in mid-air. With each step she took, flowers blossomed in her wake. Her face exuded both breathtaking beauty and profound sadness. Her eyes held a depth of emotion, adding to the allure of this once world-renowned beauty.
In her hand, she held a dark golden fan that emitted a radiant golden glow. The fan consisted of circular pieces of shimmering gold that jingled as she moved.
“Madam Shinsenen?” Lily uttered in awe, recognizing the familiar aura and presence of Shinsenen, even though she had never seen a clear image of her before.
“Shizuka Gozen?!” Kamakura, who was covering his injured eye, and his original body both gazed at her in astonishment.
Shizuka Gozen approached Kamakura and positioned herself in front of Lily, her gaze seeming distant as she faced Yoritomo’s clone.
“Brother…”
“Sister-in-law…”
“Brother, where is my husband?” Shizuka Gozen’s voice echoed softly, yet it sent shivers down the spines of those around her.
Kamakura looked at her with a mix of sadness and helplessness, remaining silent.
“Yoritomo, I demand an answer. Where is my husband? Where is my child
1?” Shizuka Gozen’s voice quivered, causing the very earth to tremble in response. Dust and pebbles lifted into the air as she spoke.
“Sister-in-law, what transpired in the past…”
“I’m asking you! Where is my husband? Where is my child?!” Shizuka Gozen’s voice intensified, reverberating with anguish. The ground beneath her feet cracked and fissured.
At that moment, Masako flew over from a short distance and landed beside Kamakura. Her gaze was fierce, and she scowled, “Shizuka Gozen, why have you come here after all this time?”
Shizuka Gozen’s eyes fell upon the shriveled baby’s head hanging from Masako’s waist
2, a grotesque artifact, and her pupils constricted.
“Ah—!!!” A heart-rending cry escaped her lips. “You wretched woman! Return my child! Give me back my child!!”
Boom! Shizuka Gozen erupted with an overwhelming surge of resentment. Her long hair scattered in the wind, transforming from black to white, as her hat was knocked away.
“Give me back my child—!!”
Shizuka Gozen’s hair continued to grow, extending beyond a hundred meters. A torrent of her flowing locks surged forward, each strand carrying an immense power, crashing towards Masako.
Pfft! Masako coughed up blood as she was forcefully thrown backward.
“Give my child back!!!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Bam! The long white strands surged like tidal waves, crashing into the black-armored army and inflicting countless casualties.
Shizuka Gozen ascended into the sky, her face contorted with boundless resentment.
“You took the life of my child!!!”
Shizuka Gozen stood at the quintuple-soul Big Dipper Stage. Once a renowned dancer, she channelled her boundless pain and resentment into relentless training, transforming herself into a peerless expert following the tragic loss of her husband and child.
Ignoring Yoritomo, she flew straight towards Masako. Her hundred-meter-long hair contracted and transformed into a pure white jade sword, her once flowing locks now cropped short.
“Go to hell!” She pursued Masako, thrusting the white jade sword at her.
Clang! Suddenly, Yoritomo, in his black-armored form, appeared in front of Masako in a flash. With a powerful swing of his heavy black long sword, he sent Shizuka Gozen hurtling backward.
“This woman is my wife, after all. Shizuka Gozen, if you have come here seeking revenge, then you must have misunderstood something!” Yoritomo and Kamakura spoke simultaneously, their voices resonating through the night sky.
“Liar—!”
Suddenly, from the distant west, another chilling female voice filled with boundless resentment echoed.
Boom! The west wall shattered as a nearly naked woman wearing a large helmet emerged, mounted on a translucent undead horse with visible bones. With a long spear in hand and a red longbow strapped to her back, she rode with thunderous speed, crashing through the wooden pillars and closing in on Kamakura.
Her arrival was swift, catching even Kamakura off guard, leaving him no time to evade. The woman’s spear pierced his shoulder, unleashing a surge of lightning.
“Yoritomo! You are the most treacherous villain in the world! You took the life of my husband! You killed him!” she cried out in fury.
Kamakura’s body trembled, growing in size as he grasped the spear with his immense hand, shaking uncontrollably. “Tomoe Gozen
3! You are a persistent ghost that refuses to die!”
“You didn’t expect me to survive, did you? Even as a ghost, I will drag you down to hell!” Tomoe Gozen swiftly pulled back her spear, leaving a trail of dark blood on Kamakura’s shoulder. Spurring her warhorse, she propelled it into the cloudy sky before diving back down towards Kamakura from a great height.
Tomoe Gozen possessed the power of the quadruple-soul Big Dipper Stage and commanded the Thunder Spirit Skeleton Horse, capable of soaring through the air at a speed unmatched by any other Big Dipper Stage powerhouse.
Whoosh! Tomoe Gozen surged through the distant sky, her cavalry charge growing stronger and more relentless.
“Die, Yoritomo!”
Shizuka Gozen, wielding a chilling white jade cursed sword, and Tomoe Gozen, riding her skeleton horse, launched a simultaneous assault on both bodies of Yoritomo.
The world became suffused with boundless resentment. These two women, who had lost all meaning in life, had only one purpose driving them: revenge.
“Oh-hehehehe! Today is unexpectedly lively!” Daitengu cackled as he flapped his wings and flew towards Ayaka. While Tomoe Gozen and Shizuka Gozen engaged in a fierce battle against Yoritomo and his clone, Daitengu sought to attack Ayaka.
In response, Masakado leaped into the air, wielding his ancient sword to intercept Daitengu.
Clang! Shizuka Gozen, with her short hair, flourished her cursed blade, engaging in a fierce duel with Yoritomo’s original body. However, she was soon sent hurtling into a wooden pillar. Despite her quintuple-soul expertise, close combat was not her forte. The power gap between her and Michizane was already substantial, let alone Yoritomo.
“Allow me to handle this man!” Michizane declared, stepping onto his demon cloud and soaring into the sky to resume his battle with Yoritomo.
Meanwhile, intense and earth-shattering clashes erupted across the execution grounds.
“Oh no… Madam Shizuka Gozen!” Lily’s expression filled with concern as she watched Shizuka Gozen being sent flying by Yoritomo, crashing heavily onto the ground.
“Lily, you must leave. Hurry!” Shizuka Gozen struggled to her feet, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“Escape, Lily! This is not the time for a decisive battle!” In the distance, Tomoe Gozen relentlessly charged at the wooden formation, breaking it apart and creating a wide opening.
Tomoe Gozen had been wandering through Yamashiro Province, Nara, and Lake Biwa, waiting for the moment to fulfill her vow to aid Lily in battle against Yoritomo.
And it was Shizuka Gozen who had managed to find Tomoe Gozen and inform her of the battle taking place today.
Despite Tomoe Gozen’s burning desire to kill Yoritomo, she understood the overwhelming terror of his strength. Her husband, in his prime, had matched the bravery of Yoshitsune and possessed even greater power. Yet, he had still fallen at the hands of Yoritomo. Now, in the present, facing this formidable foe seemed even more daunting.
Intermittently, Masako, who hid behind Yoritomo, would suddenly emerge and launch sneak attacks on Michizane with her whip.
“Miss Kagami!” Michizane, already wounded, shouted amidst the fierce struggle. “Go! This old man won’t be able to hold him off much longer!”
“Miss Enchantress! How much longer will you keep your people here? Are you trying to put me at a disadvantage?” Masakado, severely injured earlier, found it increasingly challenging to resist Daitengu’s assaults.
Only Tomoe Gozen, charging tirelessly from one side to the other, still had considerable strength. However, it was not enough to overcome the colossal presence of Kamakura.
Ayaka, still weakened, struggled to contribute significantly in such a high-level battle. She could only barely hold her ground, employing her spells to fend off the expert fighters from the ancient Hojo Clan.
Lily observed these extraordinary powerhouses fighting valiantly on her behalf against Yoritomo and Daitengu. Then her gaze shifted to the western road leading to the chief advisor’s manor, now unblocked by Tomoe Gozen’s efforts.
At that moment, the distant echoes of battle cries reached their ears. Reinforcement troops in black armor surged out from the palace and the damaged eastern wooden formation, heading towards their location.
The Yomi demons who had protected the Tsunaga Sisters’ army were nearly all vanquished, leaving them vulnerable and exposed.
“Go!” Lily shouted with determination.
The army of Tsunaga Sisters, protecting Ayaka, began their final stand as they retreated through the wide gap in the west. Gradually, they moved outside the wooden formation, while Lily stayed at the rear, guarding alongside the remaining Yomi demons and Raccoon Mita.
“Miss Kagami, this old man has given his all so far! Take care!” Michizane, realizing that further fighting would only jeopardize their safety, saw the need for a retreat.
Indeed, the retreat had to be executed simultaneously. Lagging behind would mean risking isolation and becoming surrounded.
Michizane hurled several spell talismans in rapid succession, creating a barrier to ward off Yoritomo’s advances. Seizing the opportunity, he vanished into a cloud of smoke and retreated outside the execution grounds. As Michizane pulled back, his hundred demons followed suit, dispersing through various gaps in the wooden pillars.
“Miss Enchantress, we’ll meet again! Let’s go!” Masakado also began to withdraw, accompanied by his vengeful spirits.
“Don’t concern yourselves with Michizane and Masakado. Focus your efforts on pursuing Kagami Lily!” Yoritomo commanded.
“Yes, pursue Lily with all your might!” Daitengu echoed.
With those words, Daitengu, Yoritomo, and his clone took to the air, initiating the pursuit themselves. The thousands of troops on the ground, the expert fighters of the ancient Hojo Clan, and others ignored the hundred demons and joined forces in the chase after Lily’s group.
“Everyone, let’s go!”
The Tsunaga Sisters and the guards from the chief advisor’s manor had already withdrawn from the vicinity of the wooden formation. Lily unsheathed her sword and positioned herself to block the gap in the wooden structure.
Swoosh! Swoosh! With a graceful swing of her cursed sword, Lily released a barrage of crimson crescent blades that cut through the ranks of black-armored soldiers and tengu troops.
However, in the face of the relentless charge from Yoritomo, his clone, and Daitengu, the danger grew imminent for Lily.
“Lily, you must retreat!” Shizuka Gozen and Tomoe Gozen rushed to Lily’s side.
“We will hold them off!” Tomoe Gozen declared, her lightning longbow drawn and ready.
Shizuka Gozen’s cursed blade transformed into cascading white hair once more, while she wielded the golden scale fan. Floating slightly in the air, she began a captivating and poignant dance.
Ding-a-ling, Ding-a-ling—
The ethereal sound of Yomi wind chimes reverberated through the air, accompanied by shimmering waves of golden energy. Gradually, the members of Lily’s group, including the Tsunaga Sisters, felt a lightness akin to flight, while the imperial army appeared entranced, struggling to move.
Shizuka Gozen’s performance showcased her mastery in singing and dancing, surpassing even her swordsmanship. Unlike a domain, its effects couldn’t be easily suppressed by other domains.
However, its impact on Yoritomo, Daitengu, and the other formidable opponents was limited.
“Lily, make your escape! I will hold them back!” Tomoe Gozen shouted, releasing an arrow that streaked through the sky like a lightning meteor, aiming directly for Yoritomo and Daitengu.
References
Robinxen: So they really went this way.
Robinxen: Wh- what the actual hell, well, that uh, that’s a thing.
Robinxen: Damn really got the whole family here.
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