LITTLE MOTHER

Final Battle

Chapter 12: Jumping Into the Fray

Tessal stood at the boundary of the barrier between the shinobi wood and the rest of Theldesia. Her black hair was very long now, still caught up in the ponytail. She also was tall now. Still not as tall as her brothers, having not quite caught up to even Yasuke although she was close. Her own increase in height made the world just a little smaller - tree branches were easier to get to and she could walk through the spaces and between shadows with more distance and less trouble.

Still, the outside world was very large compared to the shinobi wood. She already knew that, having come from there, but now facing having to go back, it was daunting. She could cross the shinobi wood of home, boundary to boundary within the time of sunrise to sunset and still not miss meals, although she might be late if she'd been hunting or working at the same time. Outside, it would take two full days, two sunrises and to the second sunset, to reach the closest village.

It nearly hadn't survived the second winter. The soldiers had come looking for them. They'd found the traps, been confused and injured by them, and taken it out on the village again. The shinobi had helped the village survive that starving winter as they'd promised, but they'd never left the shinobi wood except to fill the waiting empty wagons.

Eventually the soldiers had lost patience and called in a "team of experts", then stood to defend them. They'd found an abandoned compound, as if the foxtails had indeed starved that last winter. As if the single strong spy had only run into one of the strong anti-demon traps that the searching party had found and lost another lesser demon to.

The shinobi had learned later the two conflicting reports had led to in-fighting for a while. That had led to the wood being burned down by a rather large flaming fireball launched from the castle. The demon king had been angry, confused, and wanted to make sure he covered his tracks just in case. He'd used the power of the lives of the entire squadron that had failed to retrieve the foxtail boys to cast that spell, so they'd paid their own price in the end.

Not that Tessal and the boys had found that of any comfort. It had made Shikun and Obäsan sad to learn that from Josey and Arin, who'd been sent to the capital city to be the shinobi spies there. They'd been sent when they were old enough to be full men - merchants from a distant country as their cover story since their hair made that story obvious. They reported on what the king was doing to the people in general, and if he was in his castle, on what the castle gossip was.

DongTang and Tanov had been sent a year before that to join the king's army. They'd risen fast in the ranks, but had been careful according to Shikun's instructions to not rise so fast they caught the ear and attention of the king, nor so high. They each led a full platoon of men, and that was plenty high enough. They were trusted with just enough information on the movement of the troops as a whole to report back what Shikun needed to know.

The war had moved beyond the neighboring kingdom now, and was into the second one over. Tessal didn't care to know or remember details like the names of the kingdoms. She knew it didn't matter to the demon king either. He just wanted to make as many people miserable as possible, to make the Caretaker suffer.

And Obäsan had been suffering, in silence. Some days she carried an aura of deep sorrow. Some days she was very angry, but never towards her children. On the worst of either sort of day, Shikun would take her for a walk away from the rest of them. Tessal had caught sight of them once, sitting at a distance. Shikun had been holding Obäsan in his arms, singing softly to her while petting her head to soothe her. Tessal had greatly approved and moved on silently.

Reii had been carried by Tessal, strengthening her early, until he learned to run. He'd begun walking during the first cold winter they'd been hidden from the world. By late spring, he'd been capable of getting around on his own. Tessal's job had changed then. Then her job had been to chase after him and teach him where and what was safe and what wasn't.

They'd kept him within a boundary around the compound itself. (Obäsan had made a simple one to save all of them the trouble of losing Reii into the wood.) He'd had his whole little world memorized by the end of the third winter Tessal had been with the clan. That next spring she took him out and began to make him learn his duties as a son of the clan. He learned how to harvest and what. He learned to not just sit down and eat what he'd harvested, but to bring it back to share with everyone so everyone could survive.

Reii had learned how to step from ground to low tree branch rather quickly. He'd had his whole life on Tessal's back to teach him that. But he still had to learn his own balance in the trees. More than once the first few weeks she'd had to catch him by walking on his fall down to the ground, until he learned to step while in mid-air to land properly on the ground for himself.

That had been a fun game for them to play and teach their brothers after that, to fall on purpose, then walk in the middle of the air and end up someplace completely different. In the game they often ended up behind a tree or back up in a different tree. A number of the boys out on spy assignments had said that had been a very useful trick to have learned.

Tessal reached out and took the hands of her brothers. She smiled at Reii on her left then looked with determination at Korin on her right. He looked back soberly, but with a calm he'd both earned over the years in the shinobi wood, and then more solidly last night. It was their turn to go, to leave the shinobi wood and return to the world to do what they could.

Korin had a lot of personal lessons, more than most it seemed sometimes, as he'd struggled to learn about the internal voice that spoke to him. He knew he'd need to be able to trust it implicitly, to be able to tell when it was talking or when it was demons. He'd come and taught them many of the things he'd been learning, about kami of old, and living in peace with neighbors as much as was possible so that a good life could be had by everyone.

Sometimes Obäsan would add to his words, and more rarely, Shikun, but everyone already knew that was how they lived in the world and wished the world to live rightly by. It was why they had been gathered from the beginning: to see that the world was righted so everyone could live in peaceful community again. They were the warriors to defend that way of life.

Still Korin's lessons had helped the clan to not fight quite so much, except when tempers frayed during the hungry months. They never starved quite so bad as that first winter, having their own fields of food, but stomachs still pinched when thin stews were all that were left to have at the end of the winter season and before the growing season.

Tessal didn't know what Korin had learned in the shrine last night, nor what Reii had learned, but when Reii had opened his eyes that morning, he had walked over to Korin and wrapped his arms around him and said, "I'm so glad that I was able to keep you alive. I was worried that as a child I wouldn't be enough. As the adult, I was so angry to have that be what threatened you and all of us. I put all of my anger into it and my refusal to let it live any longer if it was going to eat you. I guess it was enough."

Korin had cried silent tears as he'd held Reii. "I missed you so much, and was in shock for a long time that you had died in my place. The Caretaker came and scolded me for taking your kill from you. But it really helps to hear it from you, that it wasn't all because I was too young and weak."

"Well," Reii had answered dryly, "it was, but we all were, and it was my choice and my excellent kill. So, yeah, don't carry that."

Then he'd turned to Tessal. "Okäsangwä, thank you for taking care of me for so long, and being my mother here. I've got a long way to repay you."

Tessal had shaken her head. "I've known from the beginning you still have a lot of taking care of me to go. It was payment ahead of time for it," she'd teased him. Then she'd gone sober. After a bit she'd reached for his hand, to take two fingertips in hers. "Korin and I couldn't do what needs to be done without you. We need you so we can answer to Shikun's first order. It was very hard to have you come to us the first starving winter, but I was so glad when it was you. We've had to wait this long already. To have had to wait even longer would have been even harder."

The wait had been very hard. They hadn't been allowed this moment until Reii was old enough. Seventeen years was a long time, and he was still only as young as Shikun had let the oldest be spies without being seen or caught. It helped that Reii had grown up with them, to be trained from nearly birth. He was very good at being a shinobi of the clan. Tessal was twenty-four and Korin thirty-three. He'd been very patient, to have to become a full-grown man and then some before they could leave.

They were the last, but Tessal had known they would be. Gregor and Samir had left three years before, leaving just the two of them to finish helping Reii grow. He'd been very impatient with himself - so they'd made his lessons harder. He'd complained at them, but really had been grateful to be pushed even harder to become both excellent, and ready when it was time.

Shikun and Obäsan had also focused with them, playing the enemies, and training them in higher level spells. Tessal knew all of her one hundred Mysteries now. The few she hadn't learned on her own had come with the lessons she'd had in the shrine. It surprised her that it had been the one-hundredth Mystery that had come out to save her, and everyone, when the demon-man spy had come and threatened her. Definitely if that man had been an Adventurer who'd seen her use it in the boss level of the final dungeon at the end of the third world fraction, he would have recognized it.

They'd all remembered that in their lessons last night. They were Adventurers, reborn. They'd remembered the coming from the previous planet to this one, how fearful that had been, how difficult to adjust to the new life, how much they'd fought to go home to that first planet, and that they'd won the right. Upon this morning's discussion, none of them had learned about that life, much, just that they'd lived it and then been returned to live on Theldesia again to play a little longer, then died content.

Having the lessons on what it was to be the Natural Adventurer, they'd tested it and discovered that they could access their lists, see their status screens, and chat over long distances. That was how their brothers, even in the beginning, had been able to communicate with Shikun. Those lessons were what made it possible for them all to be sent out without fear or great difficulty to be the spies they needed to be.

It was irritating that they hadn't been able to learn it until now. They could have harvested this whole time and put the harvest into their lists to carry back - as much as they'd wanted - and not have to carry heavy burdens. At the same time, Tessal knew she'd gained all of her physical strength from having to work that hard all this time.

With one more breath for courage, the three squared their shoulders and stepped through the boundary between spaces, to leave their childhood home for good. Tessal had already had her last look at it. She didn't want to see the burnt wood of the base world trying to regrow. As they stepped foot onto the world outside, Tessal's hands tightened down on her brother's hands. They returned it, just as shocked as she was.

They weren't outside. Instead, they were very inside. The room was large, meaning the building would be even larger. Pillars held up the roof that was as tall as the shorter trees of the woods. On a platform at the top of seven steps were three thrones, over which hung dark green gossamer fabrics. Hung behind them was a very large heavy dark green tapestry which had woven into it a tree with the roots exposed. It would have carpeted the entire main house of the shinobi compound.

Sitting on the central throne was a felinoid, black with grey and white speckles, wearing a robe of the same green, embroidered with the same tree and other fancy embroidery. On her left the throne was empty, but on her right sat a man dressed in a similar embroidered robe.

The three immediately went to their knee in the ultra formal bow of submission and obedience, one hand on the ground. They were in the main throne room of the Caretaker. With her was her sword, the Guardian. It took a moment for Tessal's brain to catch up with her eyes.

She blinked. There had been one other person in the room, between them and the dais, slightly to the side. He'd been in nice but plain clothing, tall-ish, dark hair. She wasn't sure, but it seemed he'd been staring at her, but it could have been at all of them, as if surprised to see their arrival, except he was there in a formal setting so probably should have been expecting them to some degree.

"Welcome to the Temple of Creation," the female voice was warm and inviting - and familiar. Tessal smiled. It was good to know that Shikun and Obäsan weren't being left behind in the shinobi wood to be lonely.

"Thank you, Hahaue," Korin said for them. "And thank you both for watching over all of us for this long."

"Our pleasure," Shikun answered, his smile in his voice.

"We've brought you here first because you have a few lessons more before going," Obäsan said. "The first one is that time isn't what you've lived. When I made that space, I made it so that time moved much faster inside it than outside of it. You've lived the years you needed to live, but time has passed more slowly outside.

"The news we told you was correct, but only seven years have passed outside, not the full seventeen, or the army would be so far away you would have taken at least a year to catch up to it." That was relieving.

"The other reason to bring you here is that, unlike your brothers, you sadly don't get to go play first." They all looked up at her in surprise at that. She waved to the young man standing before them. He looked to be close to Tessal's age, actually. He looked back calmly, with a faint look of fondness on his face.

"The Master Strategist is ready to launch the full attack against the demon king. Orders have already been given to the rest, we only need to fit the three of you in and we can begin."

The three of them sat up and rested their arms on their bent knees to study the young man more closely, judging him. They'd been taught to respect him and obey him like they obeyed their teachers and heads. While they had to place his age to that requirement, it didn't take too long. After all Su Dou had only been about that age when he'd led all of them in the wood as children, and even they were ready now to act as adults.

He bowed to them. "In this lifetime, I'm called Saburō. I look forward to working with you again." And then Tessal remembered that distant memory, that Obäsan had said that the Master Strategist had to remember everything. He must remember them from before, too. She herself hadn't been given to remember much about him, except that she'd respected him then, too.

Tessal felt a bit late, for them to be the last. To only learn a plan and then act so dramatically as to already face the demon king. Korin must have been feeling the same since he said, "We haven't faced a real demon since the one entered the wood to attack Tessal. Are we really ready to face the demon king?"

"You are," Shikun said firmly. "With all of the practicing before now and the lessons from being in the shrine, you have enough knowledge and strength to act. You are Adventurers, of the same ages all Adventurers have been and were when they faced such things before. Because it will be all of you together, the entirety of the clan will be as strong now, if not stronger, as it was when we worked together before."

The three could only bow in acceptance of his determination and faith in them. They had seen it, learning from seeing it again, remembered it in their bodies as they'd watched all of the battles they'd been in before. Tessal had a lot of them with people other than her brothers, but they had been in some of her memories. It wasn't just the skills that they'd relearned. It was also the ability to fight together in parties small and large, to face all sorts of different enemies.

The final dungeon of the Adventurers at the time of the third world fraction had been shown to them in detail. In that they had fought demons at least as bad, if not worse, than the demon king they would face this time. There had been a lot of other enemies of all kinds, but those had been the lessons they'd paid the most attention to. How they had faced them jointly and individually. They could do it again.

"If you'll come with me, I'll take you to the situation room and show you where things stand. Then I'll tell you what your roles will be," Saburō said.

Tessal, Korin, and Reii rose to their feet, bowed to the Caretaker and the Guardian, then followed Saburō out of the throne room of the Temple of Creation. Tessal was glad to see that the hallway wasn't quite as tall of ceiling as the throne room was. The room they were taken to was also a more normal sized room.

There were two other young men waiting in that room. Saburō introduced them as Katsui and Surei. Katsui was sturdy and had the build of a fighter like DongTang. Surei was slim and beautiful, with just a slight prideful and vain air. He smiled a kind smile, however.

Tessal, Korin, and Reii introduced themselves. Tessal was then surprised by the first words out of Katsui's mouth. "I see you're back to being a shrimp in this life, Shrimp." Those words were directed to her. It took a minute for them to really register, then her knee was hitting something very hard and she was turning back to Saburō.

Tessal pointed over her shoulder, "Shikun, is it okay that I kneed the rude pervert for such a rude beginning?"

While the other three boys laughed, Saburō put his hand to his eyes and sighed. Swearing was coming from the back corner. "Must we have this as the beginning yet again, you two?" Saburō complained.

"Only because he decided to introduce himself for the first time again that way," Tessal was unrepentant. She knew Katsui. He was one of the people in her returned memories that she'd fought with on a regular basis - in this manner and in battles on the field. She trusted him in battle situations, just not this kind. She turned her look on the other young man.

Surei raised a hand to defend himself mildly. "I'm the Programmer."

Tessal gave him a nod. "These are the Archangel and the Spiritualist. I've not received a title that I'm aware of, but the demon-man we killed said that I wield the Wind's Knife." She got blinked at.

"You're the Wind's Assassin," Saburō said quietly. "You are my blade to Katsui's shield. I rely on you to stay alive." His dark eyes looked at her intently from behind round glasses.

She solemnly considered him back. "Perhaps, but Shikun - the Guardian - ordered the three of us to kill the demon king together. I'm prepared to defend Korin with Reii until that goal is reached."

Saburō gave a nod and pushed up his glasses. "Hahaue told me you expected to participate this time. I've accounted for it. Michael - ah, that's the Guardian's name - said he'd stand with me for this battle." Saburō said the last as if he might be expecting Tessal to stand with him after that. She wasn't too sure about that, but then she hadn't thought that far yet. She'd been assuming they still had months to even get to this point. Still, he'd answered her the way she wanted to hear so she gave an accepting nod.

Saburō continued. "Kishi-Mujin will work with you again, to see that we win properly."

Tessal blinked at Saburō. "You know Kishi-Mujin?" she asked.

Saburō gave a nod. "I am her High Priest." All three of them gaped at him.

Tessal had to take a moment to put that into her view of the world. Reii said it best. "You mean ...Tessal's sprite friend ...is the emotion goddess?"

Saburō's eyebrow raised, then he smiled. "Yes. The sprite is her misaki form, the messenger she sends. I'm pleased to know she's talked to you at least that much, Tessal," Saburō said.

Tessal nodded. "I've already from long ago agreed to serve her again. When my lessons from the Caretaker were over last night she came to me again. She taught me enough more for me to become her Shrine Maiden. She said I would need to be at least that much for what was next." Tessal frowned. "Was that because she knew you were already ready for the final battle?"

"Yes," Saburō answered, almost apologetically. "We would both wish for more, but we know you aren't ready yet. Shrine Maiden is appreciated and will be sufficient."

"Why do the different levels matter?" Korin asked.

Saburō thought before he answered. "Because more of Kishi-Mujin's strength can be used by Tessal for each clerical level she rises. Tessal has enough of her own strength and can carry enough of Kishi-Mujin for this battle, though."

"What level did I get to before?" Tessal asked, thinking that if she had become such a high level Adventurer before, and could be so now, she ought to be able to be whatever level she'd reached of clergy before, too.

Saburō looked at her solemnly, then answered, "You're allowed to choose it in each new life over again. It isn't something forced." He seemed a little saddened by that, but then if he had to remember everything it probably was forced for him by the time he was done learning. That would be rather depressing.

He turned away and waved at the room. "Surei." Surei bowed slightly then cast a spell. His flavor was a sparkling sweet but light scent. The room darkened but scenes appeared around them. It was similar to the scenes that Kishi-Mujin had shown Tessal to teach her. "This room is a room of viewing," Saburō explained. "From here we can see everything that we need to see that's happening on the planet."

A little spell went off. That one tasted of the flavor of storms, not unlike Tessal's. While hers was of a storm just about to begin, this one was of one already begun, with lightning making the air sizzle and taste acrid. Even though it was a small spell, using very little power, she could feel the power behind it was very large. Saburō had been a very strong Adventurer, then, and was now as well.

The spell made a little light hover over Saburō so they could see him as he talked. He motioned to one side and they looked. "Here is where the battle is currently being waged."

They saw armies mounted and on foot, swords, spears, and spells being wielded. "There are enough Adventurers on both sides that the spells are larger than in most battles. Thankfully that means that the shields are also stronger against them as well."

A small green light appeared over two places on one side. "These are DongTang and Tanov." Tessal looked at the battlefield in those locations intently. It looked like they were very focused on the battle that was going on around them, although she could only really see the many small figures of men in the area.

Saburō continued, "So far, they're still hidden, and still safe. But their role is to be the distraction that draws the demon king's attention. Their personal strength and power will increase visibly when I give them the signal we're ready here. It will be at such a rate that he'll have to notice them.

"So far they've been at best Heroes, wondered at, but not proven. To have them suddenly have the strength and capacity of Adventurers will make him take a close look, and worry." Tessal gave a nod. That would be a diversion, but not much of one for very long.

"While they have the demon king distracted, Josey and Arin will move against the king in the castle. Because the war has been engaged, the demon king has been spending more time focusing on the general, only occasionally checking in with the king to be sure he's still setting policies the demon king wants. Once we have the king locked down, the demon king won't have him as a host to hide in. Josey and Arin will stand watch there in the name of protecting the king."

Saburō had waved at the far wall from the battle. They could see into the castle, as if the roof had been taken off of it. In one room was the king. In another room, not far from the king, were their brothers, waiting to receive the word. "Does the king really trust them?" Tessal asked.

"No. They're hiding in the magic realm," Saburō said, "but they'll wear the illusion of some of his trusted guards once they've sealed him away from the demon king."

Saburō waved at the scene in the center front. It was a more close-up picture of a large war tent, maps laid out on tables, and many people gathered in it. A red haze surrounded one of the men. "That is the demon king inside the general."

Orange hazes appeared around other men and hanging in the air separately in the tent room. "Those are the greater demons and middle demons. I'm sure you can understand that the lesser demons are present in such large numbers there's no point to showing them.

"The rest of your clan are waiting there. When the king is locked down, they'll use the wide area purification spell to kill all of the lesser demons and begin the attack."

Saburō turned to the three with him. "I will send you three in when the demon king is sufficiently weakened." They almost threatened him. Saburō raised his hand to pacify them just a little. "Because you can see the demon king from here, you'll be helping them in the battle to some degree before you arrive. Spells don't care how far you are from the battlefield, as long as you focus your intent on the target properly.

"However," the Master Strategist sternly gave them his own scolding look, "you can't use yourselves up before it's time. You are the reserves to make sure it goes down at the end. Your spells before then will be defensive from Korin and healing from Reii, and only as required."

His stern look went to Tessal again. "You will help me keep track of the emotions of those involved. It's harder for Kishi-Mujin to know what demons are thinking or feeling, so I'll need to be focusing on what they're doing. However, the men they're in will be feeling the things the demons want them to feel. That will give us clues to what might be happening behind the scenes.

"If Kishi-Mujin asks you to attack, then attack, even if you're standing here. She can make your attack have an affect there." That last bit was what Tessal wanted to hear. Although, it sounded like it would use her strength in a greater measure to do it that way, since Saburō had insinuated she wouldn't do it very often.

"How will we get from here to there?" Reii asked, pointing to the scene in the tent.

"If you walk with intent through the realms, you'll appear there instantly," Saburō answered, then frowned. "But you should have already learned that?"

"But we can get from the temple to there?" Reii insisted.

"Yes," Saburō nodded. "Hahaue will allow it." He looked away from them. "It's coming back that's difficult. Because you were already crossing one of her boundaries, she could make where you ended up be where she wanted. To come back would take a different spell."

Again Saburō seemed unhappy. Surei shifted uncomfortably and even Katsui frowned slightly. Tessal tilted her head sideways, trying to figure it out. "Are you worried because your sword won't be able to come back to protect you if they get into here?"

Saburō gave her wide eyes that said she'd figured it out, but he shook his head. "As I said, the Guardian has said he'll be sure I'm protected if it comes to that." He couldn't meet her eyes after that, though. Tessal couldn't quite figure it out and had to let it go.

"If there's no more questions, then I think we could begin?" Saburō asked everyone in the room, pushing up his slipping glasses one more time.

"Sure," Katsui shrugged. He was suddenly armored in heavy plate armor. He had a tall shield on his left arm and a fancy sword in his right hand. Tessal remembered those from her memories.

A small wand appeared in Surei's hand. He twirled in a circle, twirled the wand, then gave an odd gesture. "Bring on the fun!" he called lightly.

Reii's breath caught slightly and he turned to face Tessal, his face turning slightly pink. "I'm not sure we're really ready?" he asked.

Tessal smiled at him. "Well, it is awfully sudden, that's for sure," she agreed, but then shrugged. "But better to get it out of the way, perhaps? At least we're all done with the waiting this way."

Reii swallowed. Korin had already relaxed into his listening state. "If we make mistakes this time, we'll have shown we exist, but there will be time to try again. I'd rather that option remained on the table while I'm still young enough to have the strength to do my part."

"I can see you wanting that much, Old Man," Reii teased Korin dryly. "I'd just rather not die young again, if at all possible."

"Ah, yeah. Don't go doing that or my second option will be off the table," Korin scolded back. But they were all dressed for fighting by the time the bantering was done.

"No weapons?" Katsui asked, a little confused.

Tessal shook her head. "They come out when we need them, and it can be different ones each time we strike."

"It's scary to watch," Korin admitted. "I thought the demon-man was going to grab Tessal for sure, but the knife was where it needed to be at just the right time. It works." Tessal and Reii both agreed with him, reassuring the others.

"Alright then," Saburō said, and with a breath gave the first order. "DongTang. Tanov. Go."

-:-:-:-:-

The six in the situation room of the Temple of Creation watched, three deities watching with them, as DongTang set off a large explosive spell that took out half a platoon of the enemy forces against his platoon. His own men rallied and took advantage of their sudden lead.

Tanov cast his spell next. A sparkling rain fell on his entire platoon and they were suddenly fighting with renewed vigor. "That was a high level area-effect healing," Surei approved.

Tessal looked at Saburō. Saburō was watching the central image. The man the red was around, was looking around the tent, somewhat suspiciously. Tessal asked Kishi-Mujin what the general was feeling, emoting the question so as to not distract Saburō.

She got back that the general was wary, concerned, and suspicious. Well, that meant the demon was those things as well, surely. Since that's what it looked like on the screen, Tessal held her tongue.

"No surprise?" Saburō murmured.

"Not from the general," Tessal answered. "Just suddenly more alert."

"He's already expecting an attack even this early?" Saburō frowned.

"His own advisors haven't been too trustworthy," Surei pointed out.

"No, the demon, not the general," Saburō clarified. He pondered in silence, watching the demon. A new orange haze entered the tent and he went on alert himself.

Apparently just that much was enough to make Saburō change his plans even a little bit. "Take out the minor demons," he ordered. As the spell for that went off, surprising every demon in the room and throwing it into chaos, Saburō ordered, "Josey, Arin - now."

Tessal glanced at the room the king was in. Her brothers had already entered it and were casting. "Kishi-Mujin, the king?" Tessal asked silently. She was surprised by what he was feeling. "Should the king be feeling satisfaction and slight delight?"

"No," Saburō said sharply, glancing that way, although not much could be seen. His eyes immediately went back to the battle already engaged in the tent now.

That battle was waged in the spirit realm mostly. The general raged at his staff and underlings, keeping the tent in disarray so that the battle itself wasn't too noticeable to the men in the tent.

A messenger ran into the tent, then paused. One of the attachés off to the side got his message from him, then turned to the general. "The word on the battlefield is that two of our commanders have come into extra strength, strengthening their men. The tide of battle is in our favor. Why then do you all fight?"

Some of the other men tried to bring reason back to the tent, but with the unseen spiritual battle going on, it was difficult. Tessal suddenly felt something from Kishi-Mujin. "The general is going to do something," she said urgently. "Cunning calculation with the hope of a good resolution."

Saburō's eyes calculated, looking fierce. He shook his head and only said, "Protection spells up."

The voices of the members of the shinobi clan fighting in the tent had been a quiet background sound in the situation room. Presumably so that Saburō could know what they were experiencing and doing as it was happening. Suddenly there was swearing from them.

Mattias' voice came more clearly. "We've been attacked from behind by a fresh batch."

Saburō glanced at Surei, who cast another spell. The vision of the tent room was expanded so they could see more of the tent space, and yellow lights appeared. Most of those who were just now joining the fight were yellow - Tessal assumed they were the lesser demons - but a few orange ones had come as well.

Saburō calculated one more time, then shook his head. "I want to hold off one more round, if they can, before we admit we have you two with us as well," he said. Reii and Korin both shifted uncomfortably. "Tanov, a healing spell on those in the tent, please," Saburō ordered.

His eyes glanced over to the palace and the king. "Hahaue, how much power will the demon king obtain from the death of the king?"

Obäsan's voice came to them from the air. "About half of the demon king's health would be restored. Or an equivalent amount of damage done."

Saburō shook his head. "Don't want that. But I don't want him to kill half the army for power either. He's already getting too much from the standard deaths on the field."

His eyes turned to the three waiting shinobi. They waited patiently for him. "Korin, a shield on Tessal, your strongest. Reii, cast as many damage reduction and attack increasing spells as you can. When you're both done, let me know." They gave nods. Tessal drew in a long slow breath. She would go first.

Saburō's attention returned to the tent. Tessal watched there as well. Two-thirds of the shinobi there had turned outward to attack the newest set of demons. The other third was continuing to whittle away at the demons that were already low in health.

Every now and then Saburō would give a quiet order for healing or specific protection on one or the other of the warriors answering to him. Every now and again, he would cast a helping spell himself. "Don't they know your signature?" she asked him.

Saburō shook his head. "I'm just one of the many in the room attacking and casting spells. I'm not even sure they'll recognize you three, since it looked like from the replay of the battle at the port none of them lived to pass it along."

When Reii and Korin were done casting their spells on Tessal, they let Saburō know. He gave a nod, then asked, "Tessal, how many enemies can you hit in one attack?"

Tessal considered that room. "All of the ones already in the middle of things. It would take three, maybe four to hit each of the new ones. Would you want me to also hit the demon king?"

Saburō paused, then shook his head. "Not on this attack. I want you to take out all of the middle level demons in the original attack. If you can still damage a few of the high level ones, fine, but don't let that lessen your damage to the middle ones." He paused, then said, "And you'll do it from here. I'm not ready for you to be there yet. Imagine the attacks hitting, but don't walk. Kishi-Mujin will do the rest."

Tessal gave a nod and moved away from everyone in the room to give herself space. She prayed a wish to Kishi-Mujin and waited until the goddess felt ready to accept the attacks. Then, with a breath Tessal let go of the attack formation she'd prepared in her body, intending for purification damage to the demons. Her long thin blade appeared in her hand and cut at the air as she flew around the space she was in.

When she came to the end of her sequence, she looked up at the picture of the tent. In a delay of what she'd just done, she watched as the majority of the orange hazes, around people or not, disappeared one by one.

She emoted to Kishi-Mujin again. "The general is surprised this time, and even more wary now," she reported. She would have assumed that anyway since at least half of those men who'd been supported by demons had fallen to the ground.

"Luka, their life levels?" Saburō asked quickly.

"Low on most, but they'd survive if he left them alone," Luka answered after a second. It didn't sound like he believed the demon king would leave them alive, though. If it could use their strength to attack or defend with, it likely would.

Tessal frowned. Their battle was harder than just a fighting one if the demon king could use other sources of strength that were easily to hand. Saburō's job wasn't an easy one. It was no wonder he was modifying as the battle moved forward and changed.

"Hahaue, did the demons die or reach escape levels?" Saburō asked next. Tessal went a little cold.

"Kishi-Mujin and I boosted the attacks sufficient they died," the Caretaker answered. Tessal relaxed. She wondered if the demon king took the life from the men, if it could bring back demons who were severely hurt but still existing. She could only assume it could.

Saburō stayed rather tense as the battle continued in the tent. The balance had shifted back in favor of the shinobi just enough. However, when the highest level demons began to fall, the demon king only had patience for the first two. A darkness swirled around the fallen men, who were being attended to by several healers in the tent. The healers were surprised to see their patients, who had been recovering slightly, suddenly worsen and disappear in bubbles.

Their souls, white briefly, were sucked up into the demon king. Then power was being sent from it to each of the remaining highest level demons. A few other men fell to the ground, then disappeared. The middle level demons who had come to the later summon were strengthened from that sacrifice. The shinobi swore softly yet again.

Su Dou called for a pause in the fighting. Saburō immediately turned to Korin. Korin gave a nod and cast a healing spell. "Boost it, Reii," Saburō ordered quietly. Reii did so. The healing fell on all of the shinobi in the tent.

Tessal was paying attention to Kishi-Mujin. "Slight satisfaction, but it's hard to tell the cause," Tessal reported.

"Hahaue, now," Saburō said. Nothing seemed to happen, then there was a swirling halt to the fighting in the battlefield scene on the left.

Shortly after, a messenger ran into the tent again. "Sir! The army has halted according to your command. What do you wish us to do now?" the messenger said.

The general rose to his feet, scowling. "I didn't order such a thing! Who has done it! Who is the traitor?"

The messenger cowered. "The order came down the usual channels, Sir."

The general waved a hand and four staff left the tent. At the same time, there came a great cry from outside the tent. Tessal looked at the war plain again. Many soldiers were headed for the general's tent. One of the men who'd just left the tent returned into it.

"Sir, the rumor has been put out that you are traitor to the king. That the army is to turn around and march on the castle." His eyes were wide with confusion and worry.

The general raged. The entire tent was very shortly after fighting hard to defend themselves from very angry loyalists from within the army. The general roared at the people that he'd said no such thing, but there was no stopping them.

Tessal understood when in the middle of the group just entering the tent behind the forerunners of the loyalists was Tanov, swinging his long thin sword with strong strokes. When he was inside the tent, he cast one of his spells that recovered magic abilities. It was strong, and targeted - it only affected the hidden shinobi.

That was the healing they all needed. They were up again, attacking the middle and high level demons again. "Again, Tessal," Saburō said after five minutes.

Tessal gave a nod, set the attack based on the pattern of middle level demons in the room. It would take two this time, they were spread out enough, but she could do it. She set the minor recovery time into the middle of the pattern, then communicated with Kishi-Mujin.

Again Tessal moved, dancing the air, pausing to rest, then dancing again. Again she rested while watching the demons fall after the fact. The Caretaker spoke. "We weren't able to take down the three with the highest levels. I chose to not allow them to reach escape levels"

Saburō gave a nod. He watched the spiritual battle for another half-minute, then said, "It's sufficient for now." He watched for another minute, then softly said, "Korin, Reii, a joint attack this time. Take out the final middle level demons and as much damage to as many of the high level demons as you can while only using one quarter of your remaining strength."

They both gave firm nods. Tessal knew how to help them, knew she could add her wish of purification to theirs and Kishi-Mujin would help. But Saburō had said they should only act when he ordered. She shifted, but worked hard to be obedient and withhold.

Her eyes were on the demon king again. The general's eyes were narrowed as he looked at the battlefield of the room. He was searching for the traitor that had begun the fighting in the tent. Tessal immediately made a wish to Kishi-Mujin that she protect Tanov from being noticed as anything special.

She was relieved when the general's eyes settled on one loyalist who was particularly enraged. The general fought to meet that one, to kill the one who might be the traitor himself, even roaring out his frustration that one he'd trusted and known well would have turned on him. The verbal spar was met with the same and blades crashed together.

Saburō watched that battle with keen interest. "One third begin purification attacks on the demon king. Let them think we rally around that one."

Tessal was rather dismayed when Saburō walked through three potential heroes - or traitors depending on the opinion of the side in the room. He rotated the third of shinobi attacking the demon king at each change of "traitor" to the general. She was actually rather surprised that the general was still standing. Surely the demon king was granting a lot of power to the man for him to still be strong and alive.

"Shokin, the general and the demon king - their respective life levels," Saburō requested as the third man fell to disappear into bubbles. The general looked around the room again as Shokin looked at him.

"One third left for the general, nearly one half for the demon king," Shokin answered.

Saburō gave a nod and pushed up his glasses to seat them better on the bridge of his nose. "All healers, a joint healing on Tanov. Tanov, I want a group healing again, as soon as you're healed up. Then everyone will lock the general down, and the demon king to the best of your ability."

Saburō turned to Tessal, Korin, and Reii. "Prepare yourselves. As soon as they've locked him down, you'll pour as much as you can into dropping the demon king as fast as you can. We want the general to live as long as possible, but take out the demon king. I still want you to attack from here. Only if we must will we send you there."

His eyes went to Tessal specifically. "Your attack will be your one-hundredth Mystery, and only once until I call for it again."

Tessal frowned at him, but finally gave a nod. It did take a lot out of her to use it. Resting and only using it when it would be most effective would likely be best. "Do you want it as both a physical and a purification attack?" she asked him.

"It can be a purification attack only?" he blinked at her. She gave him a nod. He considered that, then said, "Purification only, then. It's a strong physical attack. I'd rather reserve that for if we really need to kill the general, too."

Tessal gave him a nod and set the attack into her body, along with the proper intent. She had enough time to ask Kishi-Mujin silently if she would be adding her strength to Tessal's attack. She received a negative. This attack wasn't one to kill just yet either way. That helped Tessal know how much effort to give the blow. She should hold back to a quarter of her current strength or less.

On Saburō's command to the three shinobi in the room with him, Tessal let her body go to act the motion. This time, instead of there being a pause, Tessal's action was nearly immediately acting against the demon, as if Kishi-Mujin was placing her in the space around the general so she could attack the demon king directly.

She could feel Kishi-Mujin's confidence in the change. She also knew her purification had hit the target properly. The Wind's Knife in her hands was the balance she remembered from when she was young. She was a little surprised that it hadn't seemed like the long blade and the knife had traded places.

But when Tessal landed in her crouch in the situation room to rest and recover, there was something odd. Something strange. It was as if she were wrapped in a blanket of silence. She remained crouched where she was, trying to understand. A strong healing spell from Surei fell on her and her brothers, but she barely could pay attention to it.

Slowly a cold, hidden anger began, lit deep down inside her. It grew slowly, at first, then more quickly. It was an anger that wanted to lash out. To strike at everything around her, to make anyone pay for the pains she'd had to endure.

Tessal refused to move. Stubbornly she held herself there, her hand clenched tightly on her knife. This wasn't her. This wasn't what she wanted to do. But she couldn't let what had followed her blow back to leave her and enter anyone else in this room.

So, when the anger was high enough that it could seem to have won her over, she did move, willing the first step towards one of the others. But without deciding it consciously, she used one of her Mysteries: Step Evasion.

Tessal didn't arrive to kill one of her companions, rather she stepped out of the Temple of Creation to land just inside the blasted wood where she'd grown up as a child. There wasn't anyone to hurt there.

She also didn't land just anywhere there. She landed inside Obäsan's strongest demon trap there. The creature inside of her didn't know it was that just yet. It wouldn't until it tried to flee. But the trap was doing damage to it already. She could feel it flinch away from the slow pain eating away at it, not understanding why it should be feeling that way.

Tessal closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath. Then she raised her Wind's Knife, focused on the intent to purify herself and anything within herself, and plunged the blade towards the place in her core the demon was hiding.

The demon screamed. It writhed. It tried to leave her form and she was perversely pleased when it couldn't, held there by the trap she was in. Over and over her blade chased the demon until it grew to the size it really was, reached into her body, and pulled her soul out of it, into the demon realm.

The injured demon glared at her. It raged in anger and fear. It tried to make her feel that anger and fear. Tessal continued to face it stubbornly, closing herself off, refusing to accept anything it threw at her. She already knew how to face a creature like this. It was a child compared to the goddess Kishi-Mujin.