Chapter 81

Genji watched from the guard wall as the village council arrived on the backs of giant raven gods. Genji couldn't believe how big the birds were! They were as big as tiger gods were, just two feet taller than wolves were! They were overwhelmingly tall! Their wingspan must have been thirty feet or so!

He waved to elders and priests as they landed in the open square of the village. Some of them waved back, but most ignored him completely.

It's the fur… Genji assured himself, pulling his fur shroud a little further over his shoulders. It's just the fur…

He waved to another priest who looked like he was riding along a high ranking raven god, and the priest waved back with a call.

"Come along into the council room, boy, if you want that inner monster destroyed!"

Genji nodded with a roll of his eyes. He jumped off the guard wall and ran to the priest.

**Do you speak the language of the Gods?**

The priest laughed.

"So, the boy isn't entirely mute. You are Genji DragonLore?"

Genji nodded.

"So, this is him…" the giant raven mused, lowering his beak to Genji. Genji bowed respectively.

"I knew your mother." The priest continued. "She was a wonderful woman, with a nasty temper if you rubbed her the wrong way."

The raven cawed.

"I agree."

Genji blinked.

**You both know my mother?**

The priest tugged the red cloth off his nose and mouth to reveal his face.

"This is Suzaku-sama, the supreme god of the raven tribe. I am a high priest, Sir Marcus Madrid."

Genji's jaw dropped open.

** "Madrid?" Are you Murasaki's father?!**

"Yes." The priest nodded. "And you must be familiar with San Rhapsody of the wolves? I'm her father too."

**Really?** Genji marveled. **Wow! That's incredible! I've never heard Rhapsody talk about you…**

Sir Marcus smiled sadly.

"I wouldn't blame her."

Suzaku cawed loudly in annoyance, and fanned out his wings.

"Come along!" he hurried. "Everyone is almost assembled! Let's get this over with!"

/|\

Yume, Suzaku and a few ravens listened from the bottom of the wooden steps of the council room. Along with Genji, Murasaki, and the Emishi elders were Ryu, Momiji, Arangami, Piccolo, Trunks, and Goten. Arangami had taken his mask off, since Emishi rules stated you did not wear a mask in front of the Emishi elders. Trunks and Goten had exchanged their clothes for Emishi kimono shirts and pants. Genji sat cross-legged from Murasaki as she explained his ordeal with the demon scar to the elders. All twenty listened silently.

When Murasaki finished the story, one raven priest with brown hair and a bushy beard spoke up.

"Can your techniques foresee how the boy can be cured?"

Murasaki nodded.

"It will be difficult, since I haven't used scrying to look into someone's body before, but it can be done." She smiled at Genji. "Genji-chan, can you please get me that rolled up blanket on the altar? Please be careful, the contents are fragile."

Genji turned to the wood altar, and found a small rolled-up mat lying in the middle of the structure. He picked it up as carefully as he would hold a baby, and gave it to Murasaki. She laid the mat on the ground and unrolled it. It contained three branches and a big green leaf the size of Genji's head. Then, she pulled a small woven basket to her, which was filled with several small stones that were flat and smooth.

"Place these where you like." She instructed, pointing at the sticks and leaf. "I'm going to determine how to cure you with a stone reading."

Genji nodded and began placing the sticks and leaf where he wanted them.

"Stone reading?" Goten blinked. "What's that?"

"It'sa type ove forchan tellin." Momiji explained. "It'sa well kept seek-rit. Only th' wise woman knows howe it wurks."

"Shhhht!" Arangami hushed with a finger over his lips. "Quiet. Neither of you were invited to speak."

"Heey waas jest askin a question…" Momiji complained, then she shut up.

Trunks, Ryu, and Piccolo watched on silently.

After Genji arranged the branches and leaf to his liking, Murasaki picked up a rock from the basket and tossed it onto the mat. She picked up another one and tossed it in a different direction. She continued this with ten more stones. With each stone she cast, she seemed to grow more and more worried. After the first ten stones, she picked them off the mat and tossed them around. Genji watched intensely, completely clueless as to what Murasaki was doing or seeing.

Everyone remained respectfully quiet.

After a while of picking up and tossing stones, Murasaki sighed as she spoke up.

"It looks like we both are in a difficult position. The stones tell me that the infection is impossible to remove by my regular methods. The stones also suggest that any means to get rid of the burns will only anger and strengthen the demon. The inner monster will fight back any cures remedied, and any method used will take a long time to progress."

"But it's not completely impossible?" Sir Marcus asked.

"No, it is not impossible. It can be cured, but it will be extremely difficult and tedious. I can't even imagine how Genji will take this, seeing that he wants the demon removed as soon as possible."

Genji sighed.

**Saki-chan, I am willing to undergo any methods and practices. I will do anything to be rid of this demon inside me.**

"You are willing to do anything?" Murasaki asked, picking up two stones. "The stones say the demon has settled into the cores of your vital organs, but it's well of life springs from your heart. Therefore, at your heart I must strike." She tossed the stones on the mat. "I'll have to use my strongest magick for your case."

**Please, do what you must.**

Murasaki stared at the stones, sometimes picking one up and tossing it casually on the mat. Genji watched in fascination, wondering how she could know what stone was telling her what. She had been accurate by saying his demon grew from his heart…

After tossing one last stone, Murasaki spoke up again.

"The stones suggest that I weaken Genji with a sleep potion before I begin curing. Doing this will weaken the demon as well. The stones tell me to use my most powerful exorcism spell when the demon is weak."

The council members tensed up.

"What are you saying?!" a white haired priest outbursted. "Are you going to destroy his soul?!"

"Rather harsh," another councilman smirked, "even for a brat from the wolf clan."

"Respect!" Murasaki hissed at the councilman, making everyone in the room jump except for Piccolo. Genji sat back up after falling over.

Whoa…I don't think Murasaki ever raised her voice before…Why would she suddenly snap at one of her elders?

Murasaki regained herself, and cleared her throat quietly.

"Genji, I will not destroy your soul. My ultimate technique is known as Soul Killer, and I use it to destroy only a single contaminated part of a human soul. You have many contaminated cores in your soul, and I can only cure them one at a time. Your soul can repair itself easily enough.

"But destroying one part at a time is so energy draining on my part, that it will take as long as a week to finally cure you. Also, the process is extremely dangerous. Should something go wrong, your soul can be vitally damaged and I would have no choice but to completely destroy it. You will still be alive, but as a permanent vegetable, as a shell."

Genji simply shrugged.

**There's always a risk. I understand that.**

Murasaki nodded, then turned to her elders.

"Shall it be so?"

Sir Marcus chuckled.

"I don't see why you should be asking us, San Murasaki. The stones do not lie, and they say what must be done."

"So, everyone trusts and supports my decision?"

"Yes." The council agreed.

Murasaki turned to Genji and his friends.

"Are you all okay with this?"

Genji nodded.

**Do what you have to, Saki-chan. I trust you.**

Piccolo nodded.

"Be careful." Ryu wished.

"Be very careful." Trunks nodded.

"Yeah." Goten agreed. "It's cool as long as you don't turn Genji into a vegetable."

Momiji looked like she was going to cry. She didn't know whether to say yes or no.

Yume barked angrily outside while the ravens cawed at her in reprimand.

"I'm not going to trust Genji to a pile of rocks! You find another way, Murasaki!"

"Do not insult the scrying stones or the wise woman!" one of the ravens scolded the wolf.

Murasaki nodded.

"The vote is mostly in favor…" she announced. "I want to get started as soon as tonight."