Shadow Redeemed 5 - or 'The Journey of a Broken Man in a world of Gods' (Post-Castlevania LoS x Pre-Genshin Impact)
It's been two long days, yet Ei was relieved that most of the burdens behind the military planning was wrapped up and that mobilization was all it was needed to start the campaign.
Blades, talismans, bows and arrows- all supplies accounted for this swift yet draining assault to push back the rogue deity. It had come as a surprise that someone as peaceful as Orobashi would have considered striking on Izanuman soil.
Yet, Celestia added legitimacy to the need to suppress the fellow God as they had gone mad 'with knowledge'. A peculiar order, but one that neither Makoto or Ei found reason to disobey- in fact, they were going to enforce it at once, as it was their rights that had been infringed by Orobashi's abrupt aggression.
As she slipped out of the war room where she finished discussing the modality of recruitment, Ei made her way to the tea room where she could feel Makoto waiting for her. Not only her sister, but also their friends.
Right as the younger twin entered the room, she was half-tackled by a shorter entity.
"Are ya done with the chatting n' planning?" The chirpy and whiny tone owned by the ever so flippant Oni that was Chiyo stirred in her a deep sigh. "Whaaa? Don't give me that, Ei-chan. Still, when are we going to bonk that silly noodle~?"
Ah yes, the eagerness for battle known from Oni. Yet, Ei had to come out clean on the matter rather than raise false hopes on the topic.
"You will not tag along, Chiyo. I thought I told you this much already."
Chiyo's pout was legendary, but it failed to revert a decision that was picked out of necessity.
Orobashi may be a relatively weak God compared to Ei, but she couldn't afford for Chiyo or anyone that lacked the awareness of the matters to expose themselves to that kind of risk. Which is why she had already agreed with Sasayuri that he would join the campaign as her second-in-command.
"Oh, don't despair, Chiyo-tan. I am sure that Ei is not choosing this to leave you without a fun challenge," A suave voice perked within the conversation, with the current high priestess of the Narukami Shrine smiling coyly at the two.
Kitsune Saiguu was the perfect representation of what a 'refined Kitsune' should appear like. A rather kind entity, but one that was not shy from employing tricks to tease and poke at people that she felt intrigued enough to be playful with.
The only individual that got Ei really infuriated at times, but that was able to warp those moments into amusing situations for all. In this case, Chiyo merely puffed as she rushed up to Saiguu, her arms squeezing at the Kitsune's body as it caused the priestess to lean back to endure the sudden tight hug.
"But I wanna slay that noodle!"
The white-haired woman's foxy ears twitched in a mixture of amusement and attention at the whiny tone, while Saiguu focused on just patting the head of the giddy Oni in an effort to calm her down.
Sasayuri, always a careful individual, merely shook his head at the childish display. He knew that voicing his disagreement with Chiyo's bratty attitude would just turn her against him. And if there is something he learned after spending much time around this group of people, it was that Chiyo was not a foe he liked to keep, not when she would go on for weeks about 'trying to prove him wrong'.
"How has the meeting with the generals gone, Ei-chan?"
Ei bowed her head slightly at her twin sister, little Miko in her human form, lying with her belly up with a blissful look plastered on her face as the Raiden Shogun played with her 'tiny cute ears' as she would call those.
"All preparations are set, Makoto-nee. We are planning to see troops conscripted within the next two days and then we will march on Yashiori."
A tired smile greeted her. "I am glad to hear that but… it's such a shame Orobashi lost their mind."
"It's truly perplexing, I have to agree with that," Saiguu commented with a serious tone, a rare occurrence but one befitting of the equally rare situation. "Orobashi was never the creature that sought conflict, always isolating themselves and their followers."
As one of the oldest deities, it felt odd for this divine being that had long predated the Age of the Seven Archons to suddenly interrupt their lengthy time of neutrality. But Ei wasn't tasked with investigating the matter- she had to slay the beast and free Yashiori of the current subjugation imposed by the white snake.
"Still, Ei-chan, take a seat. I left enough tea for some servings for you."
A nod came from the younger God, with Ei walking up to the kettle and carefully preparing herself some tea. Albeit not as perfect as the old man that serves wonderful tea at the edge of Narukami Mountain, Makoto's brew was always able to soothe her nerves. And as some of the pleasant tea washed onto her tired throat, Ei felt her mind cleansed from the tiring chore of dabbling in militarism.
Yet, peace was not bound to last for long. Not when war was on the horizon… or should have been on the horizon as any concept of plan they had established was soon demolished the moment someone knocked at the door.
"Raiden Shogun-sama, there is a messenger from the Scouts sent to Yashiori, he has urgent news!" One of the guards outside the room spoke, and Makoto blinked as a hint of tension expanded within the room.
"Let him in," Makoto replied, and the tired-looking breath-missing soldier fell to one knee as soon as he was before the Raiden Shogun.
"Shogun-sama, it's- Something happened in Yashiori Island!" The messenger mustered the words nervously. "We witnessed what we thought was a battle between a single individual and Orobashi."
He retrieved his bag, removing it from his back and settling it on the ground in front of him.
"What was the battle's outcome?"
Ei felt tempted to call out her sister's expectation that it had gone differently than Orobashi's victory but-
"O-Orobashi was slain!" The messenger ruined that expectation, raising what was clearly one of the small tooths that still yielded Orobashi's energy.
"And its body was purified," Saiguu muttered with a surprisingly quiet voice, staring at the fang. "If it hadn't been cleansed, the act of holding it would have killed you too, messenger."
The man appeared stunned for a moment, almost dropping the fang upon hearing this. Still, that was very confusing, and the scouts had nothing much to say beyond what the report confirmed.
Orobashi was slain, his main supporters killed too, but the soldiers had all surrendered and agreed to return to Watatsumi Island. While everyone was perplexed by the event itself, Ei was worried by something else-
Who was the individual behind this deicide?
—-d-d-dd—-
Gabriel Belmont was regretting many decisions he took in the last two days, especially when his expected self-exile had led him to seek asylum among the very people he waged a brief war with.
Orobashi had been a monster, one that rivaled and even overruled Satan to some extent in terms of durability. Yet, Gabriel won against him through the careful use of everything he had- he put his whole soul into it, carefully mixing Light and Dark Magic with his Battle Cross to endure as much damage as he inflicted back to the massive snake.
His main worshipers were also difficult to take care of, but once he was done with the slaying… he realized he had inherited a problem. The various soldiers that had stopped to bow to him as if he had claimed the title of God.
It had horrified him-
"I am not a God! Nor I serve any!"
The mere thought left him with bile at the throat, and it wasn't what he came to do and he decided to try and leave. Yet, the soldiers begged him to stay for explanations, they pleaded to him that the reason they tried to start this war was due to the cursed land they were suffering.
It was curiosity that led him to see what they meant with this 'curse'. Maybe the notion that this was all a source of misunderstandings and also because the idea of being fostered away from any potential troublesome entity in Narukami Island that may find his current feat worrisome far too appealing to ignore.
Gabriel boarded his boat and followed the small fleet back to Watatsumi Island. It was beautiful by the borders, but Gabriel saw what the locals meant. The land beyond the large shell capturing the vast island and the pearly beaches was dry and lacking fertile soil. It was drained despite the inward water being the right kind to allow for agriculture.
It was only as the small procession led to the Sangonomiya Shrine that Gabriel fully grasped the situation: the land wasn't cursed, but it was indeed connected to a massive cursed realm.
His honed magical senses screamed at him as he took a glance at the portal connecting to 'where Watatsumi once hailed from'. This land, Enkanomiya, was clearly the source of this horrible situation. The diseases, the famines- it all came from the energy that was being constantly drawn through the portal into Enkanomiya.
The priestesses of the shrine were surprised by this proclamation, but many were quite 'wary' of the portal itself as Orobashi had long told them to not cross it ever again. Gabriel could tell why through the life force being siphoned through it. The portal had grown unstable and was causing more harm than good.
He was given some of the last food left for the village, some sort of toll for being the 'conqueror' of this land, but even then he refused the claim. He wasn't there to conquer anything- he just wanted a place to behave like a hermit about.
And as he thought of this matter, as he stared at the malnourished elders and youths that had been so hopeful of him being a good benevolent deity after slaying someone like Orobashi… Gabriel decided he would have to do something about it.
Despite some reluctance, he decided to help, but he demanded the assistance of the priestesses on the matter. They were all surprised by what he wanted from them but, while it felt extreme, they knew it was their best chance to purify the land.
Standing before the edge of the shell where the shrine was built toward the portal, Gabriel took a central position, taking his Battle Cross and holding it before him with both of his hands.
The women were all rallied behind him in a horizontal line, their role was simple. They had to repeat 'Amen' when he did. It irked him to no end that he had to use a Christian rite to purge the portal, but it was the best thing he could conjure for the sake of fully stopping the menace of war.
The rite itself was not truly a common one. It was meant to be used for a powerful possession cleansing, with the portal representing a 'leech' to the reality of Watatsumi Island and it required the channeling of numerous sources of life force to produce a powerful enough beacon to get things done.
The chanting started, the people of the settlement all over rallied to see the peculiar event and, in a rather unusual and unexpected development, repeated 'Amen' themselves. Gabriel was nervous at this point.
He could have tried to interrupt the ritual due to the unnecessary addition of more life force, but as the energy washed over him to reach the Battle Cross, he was rendered stunned by the nostalgia of when the Brotherhood meant this- to be of help for the common folk. To not be a tool meant to be used by a few paranoid fools that would do so many horrible things to hide away their dreadful past.
And, as the Battle Cross was glowing a holy gold, Gabriel used his magic to push the channeled blast to the portal. The 'attack' struck its intended target, with the portal starting to glow a brighter blue as he broke the posture.
The priestesses curiously approached him to try and see what was going on, only for them to lose their footing and slip to the ground rear-first as a pure blast of light rushed upward from the portal, forming some of the clearest clouds possible all over the sky of Watatsumi. No storm came through those, no thunder or lightning.
But rain started to fall and… everyone felt it.
The droplets carried life in each of those, softly and warmly crashing on the tired people, granting them energy, but also on the water and the land, allowing for the dry soil to regain vigor and strength.
The diseased healed, the sorrowful found themselves cheered up by a sense of vitality, and the land was cured of the curse that was Enkanomiya. The price for this miracle was the sealing of the portal itself.
Gabriel had done it, and the celebrations made him feel a bit happy with it. It felt like he did something out of his own dedication, and that this would have prevented war for Watatsumi.
When he was asked what he would wish as a reward, Gabriel asked for one thing- a small hut and some personal peace. The former was granted, the latter was… a bit more difficult to achieve considering that people started to revere him as a Saint.
At least, they weren't going to cause him much trouble for the time being. Or so he thought as he mistook the dedication some individuals had in solving mysteries. Especially when the one that he had talked much at the docks was going to be the one leading the charge to find him.
And it all starts with the small wood statues he left behind at his former home in Ritou…
AN
Gabriel tries to be a good guy, screws up some war plans, and ends up a Saint to the Watatsumi Island's denizens. Plot armor can and will work against him if necessary.
