38 Moonlit Iron

  [Player: Kazuki Arata]

  [Level: 4 ]

  [Waza: Black Hand, Thread Cutter, Aura Sense, Dark Rider, Retribution, Eviscerate, Adaptive Survival]

  [Kegare: 64%]

  [Objective: Save Fleet (Again)]

  ---

  Kazuki and Kuro crouched behind some crates next to what had once been an Inari shrine but was now claimed by the Church of Izanami. The bonfire in the center roared and Kazuki could feel the heat on his cheeks. Embers spiraled upward on heat and the air smelled of burned cedar and pine resin. Overhead, banners bearing the Eye of Izanami rustled in the night breeze.

  In front of that blazing fire, Fleet and the other fox-girl were still trapped in their iron cage. Earlier, the Church's Minister had tried and failed to unlock it, and the crowd of onlookers had begun to clamor for a simpler solution:

  Throw the whole thing in the fire!

  Burn the yokai alive!

  The Minister now stood in full ceremonial robes, gnashing his teeth in frustration at the jammed lock. He was flanked by a dozen red-uniformed guards, all of whom were staring at him awkwardly.

  What a disaster!

  This was supposed to be the highlight of the most important festival of the year - nd now it was ruined! This ridiculous jammed lock had completely derailed his meticulously prepared execution ritual.

  Kazuki watched carefully. If the crowd's chant turned into action… Fleet would have no escape from that bonfire.

  "We need to move," Kazuki whispered, leaning close to Kuro's ear. She turned and looked at him, gold cat-eyes narrowing. "If we lunge in now they'll throw the cage in the fire out of spite. We have to see how it plays out."

  Kazuki gritted his teeth but the crowd was half-crazed already, whipped up on fear and hate. If he charged in now he didn’t know what would happen. He forced himself to wait.

  ---

  A hush fell, except for the popping of the fire. The Minister cleared his throat.

  "Remain calm!" he called, voice cracking as he tried to make it carry over the restless throng. "We…we shall consult the Holy Scripture for guidance. We must follow the proper ceremony. There is a correct method for dealing with these…these cunning fox-demons!"

  A few voices in the crowd jeered. Others cheered. One old man shouted, "Then consult it faster, Minister! Throw the cage in the fire!"

  "But what if the demons curse us if they're not burnt properly?" a woman cried, wringing her hands.

  "Indeed!" yelled another woman. “Would we get ghost-demon-fox yokai haunting us?”

  “Nonsense!” boomed another villager. "Burn them now!"

  "Yeah!" roared an armored guard, clanging his spear's butt on the hard-packed earth. "Before they cast illusions and escape!*

  In moments everyone was yelling and pitchforks, torches, fists filled the air. Fear was turning into raw rage. Kazuki's palm slid to his machete hilt, Yamikiri. If the Minister caved to the mob, they'd just hoist that cage and topple it into the bonfire.

  Up onstage, behind the bars of the cage, Fleet raised his hand. His fox ears twitched.

  "Uh, excuse me?".

  The crowd fell momentarily silent. Even the Minister's brow furrowed and mouth dropped open as his head swung down to reorient on the cage in question - itself now suddenly addressing him.

  "What is it, demon?" the Minister snapped.

  Fleet pressed his face to the iron bars as if confiding a secret. "You can't toss us in the bonfire, you know."

  "And why not?" spat the Minister.

  Fleet grinned. "Because this is a very nice cage! Look at it! It’s new, isn’t it? Cold iron - just for this ceremony, isn’t it? I bet you bought it, like, a month agao and were planning on using it every year. It’s good quality too. Not cheap, I bet!”

  “Well, no, actually, it was quite...” the minister began before catching himself. "What’s your point, demon-fox?”

  Fleet continued calmly, “If you throw this cage into the fire, you'll absolutely ruin it; all that heat warping the metal, the hinges, the lock… what a waste!"

  As if on cue, a hush spread. Confusion flickered across more than a few faces in the crowd. They obviously had not considered the property damage angle. The guards exchanged baffled looks. One by one, heads turned to the Minister.

  "...He has a point," muttered a blacksmith, scratching his beard. "A decent cage like that would cost... quite a bit."

  "Y-You think we can't afford new cages?" the Minister sputtered, personally offended. "The Church is well funded!"

  Fleet shrugged. "Of course you are, Minister, but you said yourself this ritual has to be done properly. If you fling the cage in the fire, well, does that really follow the scriptures? And hasty solutions lead to…unforeseen complications." He broadened his grin. "Or all sorts of curses. And ghosts. You never know. Could be dangerous."

  A ripple of alarm went through the crowd. Humans in the Yokai Realm were used to yokai illusions and magical sabotage. What if a misstep in the "proper ritual" backfired on them all?

  Kazuki was reminded - of a folk tale back on Earth: A rabbit begging, "Please don't throw me into the briar patch!" Fleet was doing the same thing! And it was... working?

  The Minister looked at the uncertain crowd. Then at the two foxes. Then at the cage. Then at the carefully prepared bonfire - now all overshadowed by an awkward logistical question: Was it in the Church's best interest to destroy their own expensive iron cage?

  "This is all highly irregular," the Minister grumbled. "I... let me think."

  Kazuki smothered a snort, though he was still watching the crowd carefully. Everyone else was watching the Minister, waiting for his decision.

  Finally, the robed Minister of Izanami straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat. "This is all highly irregular. Highly." he admitted. "But the Holy Scripture of Izanami teaches us to be thorough and prudent in the face of demonic trickery. If we cannot break the cage to retrieve them, then..."

  An assistant appeared from behind the minister and passed him a large book. He flipped through the pages quickly but with trembling fingers, scanning it with a scowl for a few moments before giving up and closing the codex,

  "...then we must proceed with an alternative until we can unjam the lock or find the proper exorcism method. “

  The Minister puffed out his chest. "We'll take these foxes - still in the cage - to the Castle. They will remain locked up there under strict watch until tomorrow night, by which time we'll have solved how to open this blasted contraption and carry out the rightful sentence!"

  An uncertain murmur rippled. But the Minister's voice became imperious once more: "Guards, remove the cage from this stage. Carry it to the castle at once!"

  ---

  "Huh," Kazuki murmured. Oddly anticlimactic but at least Fleet wouldn't be burned tonight. But it was really just a reprieve. Once locked away in a fortress, how easy would it be to free him?

  Two squads of guards marched forward, hefted the entire iron cage - the fox-girl squeaked and Fleet yelped - and began hauling it off the platform. The crowd parted.

  As the cage was carried away, Fleet, pressed against the bars. He suddenly caught sight of Kazuki and Kuro hiding behind crates. His eyes widened and he smiled.

  Then, he flashed a thumbs-up.

  The girl fox scowled through the bars. Her young face, framed by unruly black hair, looked thoroughly embarrassed though not particularly terrified. She couldn't have been older than thirteen, Kazuki realized and she looked like any irritated teenager, her dark fox ears flattened against her head in frustration.

  Kazuk and Kuro slipped into the crowd's fringes, following at a distance. The guards trudged down a torch lit street, taking the cage to the southwestern gate of town. Beyond rose a modest fortress silhouetted in the moonlight: white walls and layered rooftops.

  When the two of them arrived at the base of the castle they found a weathered plaque near the entrance.

  Former seat of the Katakura clan, now purified and reconsecrated to the Glory of Izanami, Mother of All.

  The Church had clearly been busy. The sight of the Eye of Izanami banners replacing what would have been Shinto imagery or samurai clan crests felt invasive.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  ---

  Kazuki and Kuro kept to the shadows. The guards led the cage up a winding approach to the castle's main gate, through which they disappeared. The great wooden doors shut.

  The pair circled around the outside of the castle walls, staying low. The moonlit night was bright enough for them to see a pair of patrolling guards marched along the perimeter. Kazuki ducked under a clump of ornamental shrubs as they came near.

  Finally, Kuro found a spot near the southwestern corner of the wall where part of the stone rampart jutted out. A thick cypress tree had grown close, its branches stretching almost to the wall's top.

  Before Kazuki could say anything, Kuro transformed in a ripple of shadow. Her cat shape dropped silently to the ground from where she had been standing.Then she leapt onto the trunk of the cypress and bounded from branch to branch until she disappeared over the parapet and into the castle.

  Moments later, a faint meow drifted from somewhere above. That was his cue. He began to climb the trunk, clinging to the thick bark, boots scraping as quietly as he could manage. He found Kuro leaning against the thin balcony atop a mid-level wall, once more in her mostly human form. She nodded curtly, leading him around to a reinforced door and then through the sliding door behind it.

  Quietly, they made their way through the hallways of the castle. They could hear guards talking above and below them but there didn’t seem to be anyone living there since the Church took the castle over. Twice they flattened themselves into alcoves as Church staff passed by. A quick dash up the central staircase, and they were closing in on where Fleet's cage must be held.

  When they reached a narrow corridor with thick iron-bound double doors at the far end, Kazuki sensed Fleet's faint golden aura beyond. "They're in there."

  Kuro nodded, testing the latch. "Locked."

  Kazuki exhaled, flexing his shoulders. "We'll break it open." But before he could do anything, footsteps echoed from somewhere behind them. Two guards came rushing around the corner.

  "Stop!" one guard roared. They raised their spears.

  Kuro immediately shifted into her cat form, hissing. She sprang for a nearby narrow window, leaving Kazuki alone.

  "Wait!" Kazuki began, but the cat was gone.

  Great.

  Now he was stranded, backed against an enormous locked door, with two guards bearing down. A twinge of betrayal jabbed him, but he knew Kuro too well to be very offended.

  The guards lunged, brandishing spears. Kazuki whipped out one of his machetes. The hallway was narrow; there was nowhere to run. He inhaled. The problem wasn’t killing these two guards. Kazuki knew that he could do that easily. The problem was not killing them - and getting through that huge door at his back.

  He thought about how so often, when things looked hopeless, he would gain a new Waza out of nowhere. When he was fighting with Karaba he unlocked Eviscerate and when he was drowning he suddenly had Adaptive Survival. It was like the world was awarding him emergency skills so he could keep playing this game. It had happened more than once… maybe it would happen….

  A familiar UI box snapped into existence, time seeming to slow. The guards froze, mid-lunge, as though the world had paused.

  [Level Up: 5 Achieved!]

  [New Waza Unlocked: Thorns of Bloody Death]

  What?

  Thorns of Bloody Death?!

  That is... not what I want. At all.

  He already had Eviscerate! "Bloody Death" was the last thing he needed in a tight corridor against a thick wooden door. Also, the name alone gave him the creeps.

  At the edge of the floating menu, blinking faintly, was a small button:

  [Advanced Options]

  Kazuki frowned. He'd never noticed that.

  Then a hazy memory - that very first day when he'd arrived in the Yokai Realm. There'd been a tutorial popup he'd dismissed in his panic. He had tried to get it back but he'd been too concerned with the yokai chasing him to figure it out.

  Then he’d forgotten about it.

  He pressed the button. Another interface bloomed, revealing an array of stats:

  Name: Kazuki Arata

  Level: 5

  Experience: 1020

  Hit Points: 14/20 *

  Kegare: 58% *

  Attack: 15/20 *

  Defense: 9/20 *

  Intelligence: 10/20 *

  Resistance: 7/20 *

  Speed: 13/20 *

  Charisma: 11/20 *

  Kazuki reached out to the asterisk next to Intelligence...

  Intelligence: 10/20 (Average but emotionally reactive & reckless)

  Average?!

  And two branching skill trees, labeled [Kegare Waza] (all black icons shaped like fists or claws) and [Reishin Waza] (blue-green icons shaped like swirling patterns). He realized with a jolt that all his destructive powers - Black Hand, Eviscerate, Retribution - were in the Kegare branch. The more transformative or protective powers - Dark Rider and Adaptive Survival - were in the Reishin tree.

  He scrolled through. Sure enough the skill [Thorns of Bloody Death] was in the Kegare path. He could see a description:

  "Envelop foes with barbed vines that rend flesh. Drains user HP but unleashes massive destruction."

  Nope.

  As he continued exploring, his eyes widened at all the locked paths and future potential abilities. But one icon caught his attention - still on the Kegare path, but in a different branch. It read: [Sword of Time] with a swirling hourglass symbol.

  "Cut away the years from objects or lesser foes. Destroys through accelerated decay."

  It was still destruction, but... targeted, controlled destruction. Maybe Kegare could be directed, surgical? This was perfect - he needed to destroy a door, not slaughter an army.

  He tapped on it. The UI added:

  [Kegare Waza Selected: Sword of Time - Use Increases Kegare.]

  The interface winked out and time lurched forward again. The guards shouted, their spears descending. Kazuki stepped inside their reach, hooking one spear with his machete and knocking it aside. Sparks flew from the clash of steel. The second guard stumbled, startled by Kazuki's sudden movement. He seized the moment, kicking the man's leg out from under him. Both toppled backward.

  "Stop!" one guard tried to cry out. But Kazuki knocked him across the temple with a blow of the machete's handle, careful not to touch him with the blade. The second guard scrambled up, only to be met with the hilt of Kazuki's other machete slamming into his jaw. They collapsed, unconscious.

  Kazuki stood in the flickering torchlight, breath ragged. Alarms would be raised if these guards weren't found soon. And he still had a locked door to deal with.

  He glanced down at his hands. A pale gray smoke shifted around his machetes. So this was "Sword of Time?"

  He raised his blades to the door. Could he hack it apart - by aging it? Carefully, he struck the wood. The moment the steel touched, the thick timber turned darker, its surface cracking as if moving through time.. Kazuki struck again - another wave of accelerated decay. Wood splintered. A third blow, and the once-impenetrable door collapsed inward in a cloud of dust.

  [Kegare: 59%]

  But at least it wasn't Bloody Death.

  Torches in the next room flared, revealing a high-ceilinged space that was mostly empty - except for the iron cage in the center. Inside it, Fleet and Princess Yua looked up, startled. At the far corner, half a dozen guards spun around in shock, weapons raised. They had obviously been tasked with guarding the prisoners while the Church figured out how to open the cage.

  “Hi Kazuki!” Fleet said.

  "Get him!" yelled a guard.

  Kazuki launched forward. He ffelt dangerously close to giving way to kegare. He had to keep calm and not murder these men. They lunged with swords and spears, but he parried with short, precise moves. Each time he deflected a guard's blade, that blade rusted at the contact point, turning pitted and dull. Another slash from Kazuki's left blade turned a shield old and brittle, its metal plating flaking away in a rain of brown rust.

  [Kegare: 60%]

  Focus. He didn't want to lose control.

  He forced each guard to yield by literally cutting their swords to worthless scraps. Another guard swung a flaming torch as a desperate last resort. Kazuki battered it aside, and the torch fell to the floor, sputtering.

  They retreated, terrified. By the time the last man fled, Kazuki stood alone among scattered, rusted lumps and scuffed footprints.

  Fleet was cheering, pressing his face to the bars. "Kazuki! Over here!"

  The fox-girl crossed her skinny arms and glared at Fleet, tail swishing in annoyance.

  Kazuki stepped to the cage. He lifted his machete. Another swirl of that grey smoke shimmered around the blade.

  "Get back," he warned. The two fox-yokai pressed themselves to the far side. With a single sharp strike, he hit the iron bars. A shock of pale energy rippled outward. The metal squealed as if centuries passed in a heartbeat. A second slash cracked them further. Then the entire structure caved, disintegrating under its own aged weight.

  So much for high quality iron.

  Fleet wiggled through the opening. The girl followed, brushing rust flakes from her clothing like a fastidious cat. Her young face was smudged with dirt, her clothes threadbare.

  “Kazuki, this is Yua. She's a princess! Yua, this is Kazuki, he's a...” Fleet paused, searching for words until suddenly grinning. “Kazuki s a Cursed Prince!”

  This got her attention - Yua stared at Kazuki and started to smile...

  But at that same instant, the door behind Kazuki burst open - more guards, maybe a dozen this time, brandishing spears and crossbows. Some aimed flaming arrows nocked in bows, intent on turning the entire place into an inferno if needed.

  “Stay where you are!”

  Kazuki braced himself. So did Fleet. Would they have to fight through them all?

  Before the guards could rush them, though, a strange hush fell. Something behind Kazuki changed the air itself. The fox-girl beside him stepped forward. But… she wasn't just a fox-girl anymore.

  A wave of shimmering light folded over her, washing away the grime of captivity. Her tattered clothing transformed into layered silken robes of shimmering silver and pale lavender. A radiant glow suffused her form, making her skin look like polished moonlight. Her black hair lengthened, shining with an otherworldly sheen, and a slender crown -no, more like a filigreed circlet - appeared upon her brow. She stood tall, the aura of a regal presence emanating in every direction.

  Her once-angular fox ears vanished, replaced by the silhouette of an ethereal headdress. She looked like an ancient celestial maiden - delicate, transcendent, breathtakingly beautiful. The guards gasped, dropping to their knees almost involuntarily, as if physically overwhelmed by awe.

  ---

  [Achievement Unlocked: Advanced User?]

  [Next Chapter: Illusions of Grandeur]

  Thanks for reading!

  New chapter every day at 9:07 EST.

  If you’re enjoying the story, please consider leaving a review, rating, or comment—it really helps!

  How much more powerful do you think Kazuki can get?

  Drop your theories in the comments—I read every one.