PURE FLOWER
Chapter 19
The Corrupted Peace
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"Lord Sesshoumaru, this Jaken has taken young Lord Shura and young Lord Ryuya to the border. The servants and soldiers inside the stronghold has evacuated as well. What is our next move, my lord?" Jaken asked and bowed before his lord. They were currently standing at the cliff overseeing the Western stronghold and Jaken frowned when he saw the dark miasma hovering above the stronghold.
When Jaken woke up from the sleeping spell, the first thing he saw was his lord's impassive face, but from his years of following Lord Sesshoumaru, Jaken knew his lord was angry. Upon his lord's order, Jaken had ordered all the soldiers and servants within the Western stronghold to evacuate, while he took the two unconscious young lords with Ah-Un to the border. After ensuring the young lords were watched over by trusted soldiers, Jaken immediately flew back to his lord's side.
Jaken frowned when his lord did not acknowledgement his return or question; instead his lord was staring at the dark miasma the whole time. Jaken wondered what had happened during the period he and the others were placed under the sleeping spell. Jaken had a lot of questions to ask his lord, especially why he was seeing two Rin; one was standing in the middle of the stronghold, within the himorogi, another was lying unconscious, or dead against a tree near his lord.
"Jaken, stay here and do not move." His lord ordered before jumping off from the cliff towards the stronghold.
"Lord Sesshoumaru!!" Jaken called out and watched with horrified expression as the dark miasma suddenly covered the whole stronghold, with his lord within.
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Rin felt the hair at the back of her neck raised as she felt the presence of her mother's tainted soul. Rin briefly stared at the small bodies lying on the altar, the sacrifice, before she looked up at the night sky now coated with the curse. One more step and the curse would befall the Western Land. Once the curse completed, the Western Land would no longer prosper. The land and the Western nobles would die, like what had happened to the Southern Land.
When Rin made a pact with the demon lord Sesshoumaru to spare the people of the Western Land, Rin had no intention to follow through it. Demons were lying, horrible creatures, and so was she. When the demon lord allowed her to complete the curse, it would be his misjudgement that had caused his own downfall. He should not have believed and assumed that she valued her own life.
"Mother, it is time." Rin spoke as she felt the miasma circling her and slowly seeping into her vessel. She smiled as she felt her growing spiritual power. Rin closed her eyes and started chanting.
When her spell completed, all living beings still within the Western Land would vanish.
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Sesshoumaru landed on the ground near the himorogi where the lookalike was standing, chanting her spell. As expected, the lookalike had no honour to fulfil the pact she made with him when he threatened to slay her with Tenseiga.
However, the pact was only a meant of distraction for the lookalike. Sesshoumaru knew from the start the lookalike would stop at nothing until everything and everyone was annihilated within the Western Land. The whole purpose of him making the pact with her was to gain a bit of time for him to do his own preparation.
Laying his hand on the sheath of Tenseiga, Sesshoumaru felt the sword's steady pulsing, as if it too, was in standby for the incoming curse. His golden eyes narrowed into angry slit as he watched the dark miasma fell onto the ground, and then the earth beneath his boots started to decay.
When he was still a pup, his teacher, Kannabi had told him of such spell that would destroy the prosperity of a chosen territory. The curse usually was used by humans during war but the Wing Clan priestess, upon seeing the damage the curse inflicted on the living beings, had decided to confiscate the power. It had not been used since then, until recently. Sesshoumaru knew the power of the curse was unstoppable and thus he saw it as pointless to fight it. However, the curse had a flaw which only Kannabi and he knew.
The scent of decayed earth irritated him and Sesshoumaru looked down when his boots crushed the crumbling ground beneath it. His golden eyes watched as the ground beneath him slowly dried up and started falling apart as if in the dry season when the rain water were scarce. The curse was now in effect and it was only a matter of time before the plants and structures within Western Land started to decay as well.
As the land started to fall apart, Sesshoumaru started to ponder. For centuries, he and his father had protected the Western Land and ensured it prospered for both humans and demons living within. For centuries, he and his father had battled invaders from laying claim on the Western Land. For centuries, even after his father had passed, Sesshoumaru continued to uphold the duty of a Lord. For what purpose did he protected the Western Land? For his father? For his honour? For his pride?
He then remembered a conversation with his Rin.
XX Flash Back XX
"...Have you ever ventured outside of the Western border, Lord Sesshoumaru?"Rin asked as she caressed her bulging stomach. She had a smile on her face as she stared at the clear blue sky from where she sat.
"Once a while this Sesshoumaru has to visit the lords of the neighbouring lands..." Sesshoumaru answered.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, visiting is not counted. What I mean is exploring the unknowns. Don't you sometimes feel there are things you want to know? Perhaps stronger opponents you haven't met?" Rin asked and turned to stare at him. Her smile still on her face but her eyes had a lingering longing within them.
Since he was a pup, Sesshoumaru had had no intention to explore the other lands other than his father's territories. His father had always told him it was important to protect their territories and the subjects under their protection. He never had to question it. But Rin's question had him thinking.
"Duties are important...but I wish our children can have an adventure before taking up duties. I do not want them to be tied down, ever." Rin said softly and stroke her stomach with gentle hands.
"Do you think this Sesshoumaru is" tied down" by duties?" Sesshoumaru asked and his golden eyes narrowed at the notion of his children exploring others territories. There was indeed some merit to have his children experience more before taking up the burden and duties of a noble lord.
"Do you?" Rin asked back softly and Sesshoumaru briefly looked into her amber eyes before turning away to stare at the mountains beyond the walls of his stronghold. What was behind those mountains? He had never thought about it, and he wondered why.
"Perhaps this Sesshoumaru is tied down as you said, Rin." Sesshoumaru softly agreed.
"Why?" Rin asked again.
Sesshoumaru wondered why Rin was asking so many questions today, and each question had made him started to think about what he had been doing for centuries. Why had he not thought of exploring others territories since he knew there were merit? Because he was a lord tasked with protecting his land and his people. However his own answer sounded irritated to him.
Why did the demons and humans residing within his land require his protection? Why couldn't they protect themselves? Why did they have to rely on him for everything? Wasn't a prosper land enough for them? Since when did the demons and humans living in Western Land stopped thriving on their own?
"Sometimes...people take things for granted, Lord Sesshoumaru, with or without their own conscious." Rin said softly and for a brief moment her amber eyes were filled with sadness. "Sometimes...too much indulgence leads to corruption."
Sesshoumaru took Rin's words into consideration. Sometimes, Rin would surprise him with knowledge and thinking beyond her years, and then sometimes she would be as innocent as a newborn.
"War and chaos create strong leaders. These strong leaders then create strong nation. Strong nation creates peace. Peace creates..." Rin said softly but faltered in the end.
"...Peace creates corruption because of boredom. Then it creates war...it is a cycle." Sesshoumaru finished Rin's sentences. He learned this from his teacher before when he was a pup. He was surprised Rin knew about it. He knew what Rin wanted to tell him. For the past years as he visited the borders and the villages under his protection, he had been aware of the corruption and the laziness of his people. His land was still the most peaceful if compared to other nations, but Sesshoumaru knew it was falling slowly.
"...Sometimes, things need to be destroyed in order to rebuild them again." Rin said and closed her eyes, laying her head on his shoulder.
XX End of Flashback XX
Recalling the conversation with Rin, Sesshoumaru wondered at that time she had already remember her own memories and was giving him hints on what was to come. As a point of fact, Sesshoumaru felt no remorse if the Western Land was destroyed. The land belonged to his father, not his. Instead of inheriting a nation, Sesshoumaru preferred to create his own path.
"...Sometimes, things need to be destroyed in order to rebuild them again."
The curse had given Sesshoumaru a chance to forge his own path. Why not destroyed a nation his father had build, then see how much he could surpass? Throughout the centuries, he had given enough riches to the people living in his land. This time, they would be the one protecting their own until he took the throne again.
He was Sesshoumaru, the killing perfection, the aristocrat assassin. He had no duty to protect everyone other than those in his own pack. However, he would save them one last time. When the trees in the stronghold started to decay and fell onto the ground, Sesshoumaru pulled out the pulsing Tenseiga from the sheath.
"Unleash your power, Tenseiga." Sesshoumaru said and thrust the sword down onto the decaying earth. Upon connecting with the earth, Tenseiga pulsed once before releasing a bright light from its blade.
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A/N: I actually didn't plan to upload this chapter so fast but I just can't wait to finish this story!! Two more chapters I hope.