"Black really isn't your color," Nobu finally managed to say, breaking the silence. But her attempt at humor fell short, as she herself couldn't sound as amused as she wanted to. The "Monkey" laughed loudly as he descended, floating with his arms wide open. Ritsuka could only stare in shock. This... that was the one who unified Japan? The one who represented the sun, who was the husband of Chacha? Hideyoshi Toyotomi?
"What can I say, Nobunaga? Time's changed!" He announced dramatically. His cloak fluttered as he reached the ground, landing in some sort of mockery of a messiah. Yet as ridiculous the sight was, Ritsuka couldn't move. This feeling of death... it was like Ritsuka stared at King Hassan himself. As if a mere breath of that thing could kill everyone. Not only that, he could feel something trying to exert pressure on his mind. But-
Wait and hope.
The mantra, as usual, came with a guard. Looking around, he could see that everyone was affected by whatever was happening. The only exceptions were Amako, her Scale Mail equipped already, Mash and the Warlords, each having their own defenses against things like these. Still, they seemed to struggle a bit, gritting their teeth. Nobu forced out a laughter, before aiming her weapons at him.
"That's Lord Oda to you, monkey!"
As one, everyone moved. Kagetora summoned her horse. Harunobu jumped onto his spirit tiger. Nobunaga took aim. Mash launched Amako at the target.
A hit combo, chop, punch, pierce against the neck. Afterimages cutting up the target repeatedly, rotation formation. A fierce lunge and a strike with its claw, striking at the spine. Then, anti divine shots ramming in from the front.
Only those shots and Kagetora's attack actually made the man flinch even remotely. His mouth twitched in discomfort, actually raising his arms to block the following attacks of them. But the other attacks? They hit true. But as if defying physics themselves, despite the force and the sharpness of those attacks... it left barely scratches behind. Dusting himself off, he landed on the ground. Rolling his shoulders, he smirked dismissively.
"No, it's really not." He pointed at himself with a dark chuckle. "And it's Divine Shogun."
"Support Lor-
"Kneel."
Everyone. The soldiers, the refugees, the children. They fell to their knees, gasping for air, as their eyes dimmed. Ritsuka's eyes widened at the sight. Charisma. Or something like that. On a level so high, it was essentially a curse on those who couldn't defend themselves, dominating their minds and wills. He grit his teeth in frustration. How was that Hideyoshi Toyotomi? How was that the guy that Chacha talked about, reminiscing in a wistful way? What changed?
"Okay, seriously, what the fuck happened?!" Nobu snarled, rage filling her features. "I know for a fact that when you took over from me, you actually were at least kinda decent!"
They moved to attack again. But this time, the Shogun fought back. For a definition of fought. As the dark sun shone down upon them, the Shogun accepted each attack... before flicking his finger at them. It didn't even have enough force to move them. But just the mere act of getting touched, caused Kagetora and Harunobu to collapse on their knees, gasping for air. It was even worse for Amako, who coughed up blood for no reason.
"This isn't your precious Panhuman History, Nobunaga!" Hideyoshi shouted at Nobu, who summoned an entire wall of muskets. "And why should I justify myself to you, huh?!"
"Considering you shared my dreams once, I think I deserve it!" She opened fire. The wave engulfed him. Wave after wave of shots crashed over the Shogun. Yet Ritsuka could see that it wasn't enough. His arms were crossed and he had to exert himself to push through.
"You don't deserve anything! You died, remember?! Died with everyone else that mattered!" Nobu's eyes were wide when he proceeded to kick through her shots and against her stomach. The hit shouldn't have done as much damage as it should, yet she still screamed in pain. Ritsuka felt their connection weaken in that instance. "So why should I care?! I'm the strongest now! Stronger than any of you! I defeated every other clan! Hojo, Shimazu!" He raised his arm and caught a glaive aiming for his head. While he smoked, his expression pained, he leered at Kagetora. "Even your precious clan, you fake avatar!"
"Brave words for a failure~!"
"Failure, am I?" He threw her away, slamming her against the wall. Yet again, the damage caused was too much, leaving her stunned far longer than it should have. Then, spreading his arms open, he laughed loudly, almost deranged. "I fulfilled your dream! Everything is peaceful now! We have no enemies!"
"You seriously buying that?" Nobu said through gritted teeth. Realizing what she seemed to refer to, Hideyoshi waved her off dismissively, before backhanding Harunobu trying to land a sneak attack in.
"Pah! Let them come! I'll just defeat them! After all…" He dramatically paused. "I'm the Ruler of Death!"
None could refute him. The three warlords were down. Ritsuka was busy healing Amako as Mash covered them. She healed quickly, but still, unable to get up yet. It was because of that, they could only stare as...
"Go to my fortress. Salvation shall await you there!"
"Yes, Divine Shogun."
Like mindless drones, each and every one of the rebellion stood up and began to walk away. Hideyoshi clapped his hands with a sneer. He glanced at Harunobu, who visibly seethed as he tried to get up.
"Well then. It's been... fun, Shingen. Our little cat and mouse game. But I am starting to bore of these things." He made a mocking bow. "So I'll take what is rightfully mine."
With that, he began to float up.
"Have fun living, knowing I'm superior to you!" He dramatically pointed up before turning his back on them. "Knowing I can do what you cannot!"
Ritsuka grit his teeth, looking up. That was it? He could just waltz in and take everything the rebels ever worked for? Just like that? Rage filled his heart, as he shot up and stepped forward, pointing at him accusingly.
"Would Chacha be happy of what you are doing?!"
Hideyoshi froze. The mocking, childish air was gone. Everyone's eyes widened as they felt the change, the way their hairs stood up on the necks. Then slowly, almost eerily, the Shogun turned around and stared at Ritsuka with completely dead eyes.
"...I changed my mind," he said, barely a whisper, but filled with loathing.
"Oh crap," Ritsuka whispered in dread. Receiving glares from his servants in that instance, Hideyoshi suddenly summoned something in his hand. The sheer power it radiated caused their eyes to widen and to move as quickly as they could.
That was a Noble Phantasm. Time slowed down, as he reeled back his arm, the katana exerting an immense amount of energy. Nobu, Kagetora and Harunobu threw their bodies behind Mash. Ritsuka stumbled back. The Shielder, while pale, grit her teeth as she raised her shield up. In that moment of movement, Ritsuka's command seal shone.
"Mash! Protect us!"
"Mold…!"
"Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi."
He swung down as he muttered those words. The result was a wide arc was created. Then, it shot forward like a wild boar. To call it wind was like calling an ocean a tear. To call it a storm was an understatement. It was a cut, using the air as a medium. A roaring wave of nature, by a blade said to belong to the Japanese equivalent of King Arthur, Yamato Takeru. Its power could tear armies in half with just a swing. The Grass Cutter.
"CAMELOT!"
Mash slammed her shield down, the distorted castle beginning to appear. The corrupted image of the legendary castle, boosted by a command seal, clashed against the wind of the Emperor. The wind was dispersed, cutting away the walls around them. Before Ritsuka knew it... everything turned black.
/
"Oi. Oi, master."
He groaned as he felt someone slap him lightly. Blinking, he opened his eyes. Mash and Nobu stared down at him, expressions concerned and amused respectively. Ritsuka rubbed his eyes before raising his upper body. Looking around, he noticed they were sitting on a grass landscape for some reason.
"Wha... " He shook his head before looking around. Harunobu and Kagetora were watching the perimeter. Amako was sitting a little bit away from him. "What did we get hit by... ?"
"Wind. Brought everything down on us," Amako muttered, throwing her thumb over her shoulder before going back to hugging her knees with a dark expression on her face. "Hole's right over there.
"Everyone's okay?"
"Mash's the best Shielder there is, of course we're fine," Nobu waved him off, causing Mash to blush a bit.
"I'm the only Shielder."
"Tomato tomahto!"
He nodded with pride, patting Mash on the head. However, he frowned when he repeated the sequence of events in his head. Crossing his arms, he turned to them with a confused expression.
"Wait, why did I faint then?"
"You stumbled and hit your hit."
Nobody said anything as they stared at each other awkwardly.
"...Really?"
"Yup."
"Okay, ignoring how I want to die right now…" Ritsuka took a deep breath and offered a prayer to his pride. Crossing his legs, he leaned forward. "What was up with Hideyoshi?"
"Yeah, nothing we did really hurt him that much!" Amako shouted, anger overpowering her depression as she threw her arms up. It was Harunobu who scratched his chin in thought.
"That sun... " He muttered before turning to the others. "I assume it did something to his and our tolerance to withstand damage. His 'attacks' did too much damage."
"Ruler of Death indeed... " Kagetora said quietly.
"Everyone's gone... " Amako lowered her head. As quick as her anger rose, it dropped back down. In defiance, Ritsuka stood up, his hands formed into fists.
"We're still standing. Alive and kicking." He turned to his servant, practically steaming with a wish for a rematch. "We need to stop him."
"Yes, but how?!" Amako yelled, despair starting to fill her eyes. But in response, Ritsuka just remained confident. Yes, the Shogun seemed bad. But for all his power, he wasn't exactly anything new. Gods. Beasts. He faced them all and quite frankly, he was starting to get sick of those "all mighty beings abusing their position".
"Everyone has a weakness. Even him." Ritsuka sighed, tapping his right temple. "We just need to figure out how... "
"I've got an idea how to kill him." Everyone turned to Harunobu in shock, who growled as he looked down at his hand. Ritsuka could swear he saw his finger nails extend and sharpen like an animal. "He caught me flat footed, but next time I'll be prepared."
"Same."
The way Nobu said that with confidence cause Ritsuka to turn to her, raising his eyebrow. While yes, her anti-divine skill did some decent damage, all things considered, it wasn't enough. And Ritsuka wasn't aware of any other cards she had up her sleeve. However. She was a servant of Chaldea. And so far, they haven't let him down thus far.
"Guess we'll leave it to you two when it comes to that." The two warlords grinned at his trust. But Harunobu's smile faltered, replaced by a frown as he crossed his arms.
"There's still another issue however... How do we get to him?"
"What do you mean?"
"In those last 400 years... nobody has been able to get inside his fortress. If he decides to hide in there, there's nothing we can do right now." He let out a snort and gave them a pointed, dry look. "Believe me. I tried plenty of times."
"Sure missing that Excalibur right about now... "
"He said he's the Ruler of Death, didn't he?" Kagetora suddenly spoke up. When everyone nodded, her smile seemed to widen. But she didn't say anything else. Just as it was beginning to become weird, it clicked in Harunobu's head.
"You don't think... ?" He trailed off, causing Kagetora to nod. He hummed in return, before patting her head with a grin.
"Why not?"
"Oi, spell it out," Nobu growled. The Tiger of Kai showed his teeth, as he clapped his hands a few times.
"Who here wants to go to Yomi?"
... Ritsuka shrugged. What the hell, he's already been to more underworlds than a normal person should have. Mash pumped her fist, filled with determination. And Amako? She raised her arm.
"I hope not in the regular way," She joked with a nervous giggle.
/
"What was that?"
Hideyoshi's eyebrow twitched. Here he just calmed down and had a pretty good time. Getting rid of problems, seeing the people praise his name as they bowed to him… and here came the shrine maiden, just intent on ruining things. With a sigh, he turned around, resting his chin on his hand lazily.
"They provoked me. I, as the Divine Shogun, have to re-"
He felt the aura clash against his. He stopped, eyes wide with anger. Did she seriously just attack him? He felt the blood seep down from his right cheek. He laughed sarcastically. She did. Despite the mask, he could see her glaring daggers at him, seething with killing intent.
"Are you threatening me... traitor?"
She flinched but then refocused her rage. The walls began to crack as they started to try to choke the other out with their divine presence.
"If I have to," she hissed. Then pointing at him with a short sword, she tilted her head ever so slightly. "Don't forget who gave you your divinity to begin with. We had a deal."
And didn't she always reminding him all the time. Hideyoshi considered his options. He pretty much won now. The outsiders couldn't touch him. Not in here. He could just wait them out until they starved to death. He didn't need that woman anymore. On the other hand, it would be a major pain in the ass to fight her. And he didn't know about any magical mumbo jumbo traps she had prepared. So in the end, he sighed, shaking his head, raising his hands in a mocking manner.
"Fine. I'm sorry." He frowned as he stood up, rolling his shoulders. "We have bigger problems to deal with anyway." He twirled his hand at her in a demeaning manner. "They won't be able to get inside, but it'll still be annoying to have them around. The sooner they stop bothering us the sooner we can prepare for whatever has you magic types so spooked."
"I'll handle it," she said in a tone that demanded no interference. When he scoffed, she turned around and vanished from his sight.
The moment she was gone, his smile disappeared. For a while, he just stood there, in silence. In the end, the Divine Shogun merely knelt in front of the wooden shrine, his expression turning somber.