Translation: Word (Microsoft), there are probably errors in the masculine and feminine pronouns.
Chapter 9
Somewhere in Little Garden, a colossal serpentine beast camouflaged itself with the texture of dry earth. Moving nimbly, it left a reddish trail that stretched in its wake. His eyes were indecipherable, hidden in the mist of his own power, but his aura gave off a stench of fear. It was not a predator in search of prey, but a creature that escaped from something or someone.
The ground trembled with every ripple of his body, an inescapable presence that carried with it the echo of ancient calamities. Its silhouette slid through the cracks in the ground, absorbing what little moisture remained in the air, withering the roots of withered trees, and hardening the sand under its weight.
From the top of a dune, a figure watched the scene with his arms crossed. His white hair fluttered in the force of the wind, and his red eyes reflected a calculating seriousness. Sengo Muramasa, barely fifteen years old, was on a mission with some of his brothers: to eliminate the Dragon God Vritra.
For the sole reason of showing his father that he can travel quietly in Little Garden.
As was the case of the four older brothers who died years ago.
Beside him, Oda Nobunaga clicked his tongue in visible annoyance. "That snake is more elusive than I expected."
Sasaki Kojirou, with his usual calmness, followed the trail left by the creature with his eyes. "He won't be able to run away for long. His trajectory points him directly to Raiden."
Sengo narrowed his eyes, focusing on the distance. There, his older brother, Raiden Tameemon, waited with a wild smile, adopting a sumo posture as he waited for the snake dragon to arrive.
Raiden Tameemon planted himself firmly in the sand, his feet sliding just slightly as the ground shook with Vritra's approach. His wild smile widened as he saw the immense serpentine body make its way through the dunes, kicking up a dust storm around it.
"Come on, monster!" he roared excitedly, slamming his fists against his palms before flexing his legs in a sumo stance. His muscles tensed like a rope ready to be released, and at the exact moment Vritra threw her huge head at him with lethal speed, Raiden twisted his torso and dug his heels into the sand.
With a deafening rumble, he caught the dragon's attack with both hands. The colossal force of the impact pushed him back several meters, leaving deep grooves in the sand, but his laughter only increased.
"Yes! This is what I expected!" he exclaimed with a look lit by adrenaline.
Vritra hissed furiously, her golden eyes glistening like embers as her body retreated for another attack. Raiden wasted no time and, using all his strength, threw the creature's head to the side, destabilizing it for an instant. Taking advantage of the opening, he bent his legs and jumped with enormous power, raising his fist as if trying to split the sky in two.
However, just before he could discharge his punch, a series of explosions echoed through the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The flintlock projectiles pierced Vritra's scales, ripping out small explosions of fire and smoke. The beast roared in pain, writhing and diverting its attention from Raiden.
The wrestler's face twitched into a grimace of disgust. He clicked his tongue and, without even looking back, shouted:
"Nobunaga, stop getting into my fight!"
From a nearby dune, Oda Nobunaga lowered his pistols with a mocking smile.
"Oh, sorry? I didn't listen to so much scandal." He shrugged, the spark of provocation in his eyes. "I thought you'd need help."
Raiden growled, turning his attention to Vritra, who was already recovering from the attack.
"I don't need help."
But Nobunaga only smiled with amusement, reloading his pistols as the real confrontation was just beginning.
Raiden, with a burst of power in his legs, spun swiftly and, in a single motion, slammed both palms against Vritra's head. The impact was so brutal that it left a deep mark on the creature's scaly forehead, as if the power of Raiden's palm had left an indelible mark. Vritra let out a deafening roar and stepped back for an instant, disoriented. Raiden, with a smile full of satisfaction, watched his work, adrenaline rushing through his veins.
"That's, that's what I want!" he shouted, enjoying the challenge as he prepared for another attack.
At that precise moment, Sasaki Kojirou appeared behind Vritra like a silent shadow. His katana glided gracefully and precisely, slicing through the creature's sturdy skin. The sound of the metal brushing against the flesh was minimal, almost inaudible, but the wound it left was deep and lethal. Each cut was a deadly whisper, barely perceptible in the air, as Sasaki moved with such speed that it seemed to fade and reappear, unstoppable.
Vritra, wounded by the lethal movement, turned her head back, searching for the attacker. But at that moment, Sengo, from a considerable distance, threw a downward kick with incredible force. The slamming of his foot against Vritra's head was so powerful that the creature staggered, creating a noticeable sinking into the top of its skull.
Raiden, seeing his brother's skill, let out a laugh full of amusement.
"Are you really going to fight like this, without using a weapon in your entire life?" asked Raiden, his tone charged with amusement. "So as not to lose on the bet you made with Nobunaga?"
Sengo, undeterred and staring at his opponent, responded firmly, raising his head.
"Hmph. I don't intend to become her slave. If I win the bet, Nobunaga will become my slave."
Raiden laughed at his brother's response.
"Hahaha! This just got a lot more fun!"
Vritra, already wounded but still dangerous, writhed furiously in the sand, her golden eyes shining with deadly fury. In a flash of speed, his body began to transform, becoming more gigantic, his scales taking on a dark hue like night, while his tail flapped with enormous force. The air around her began to vibrate from the pressure, and suddenly, Vritra opened her mouth, letting out a torrent of pure energy, like a bolt of fire and acid that lit up the sky.
"Watch out!" shouted Raiden, leaping to the side to dodge the divine serpent's attack, as the blast of energy sent him flying several meters back, his laughter still echoing. "That was close! How good this gets!"
Raiden took the opportunity to move forward again, his muscles tensing like ropes as he prepared for his next onslaught. However, Vritra was not going to give up easily. With a deafening roar, the beast began to rotate its body in a dizzying motion, releasing blasts of air that lifted the arena like a tornado, causing even the strongest fighters to be forced to block with full force.
Sengo, with his impassive gaze, reacted in the blink of an eye, watching as the creature launched its next attack. Without thinking, he used his incredible agility to jump, dodging the biting wind around him and landing back on the sand. His arm tensed and, with inhuman speed, slammed a fist straight into Vritra's jaw, leaving a tremendous mark on the snake's scaly face. The impact echoed through the air and the dragon backed away, surprised by the strength of its opponent.
"That was a good blow, brother!" said Raiden, watching as Sengo seized the moment to use his physical ability mercilessly. However, as soon as she finished the sentence, Vritra, furious, spread her huge wing, cutting through the air with a roar that made the earth tremble. The pressure of the wind staggered them, and the beast prepared its next move.
At that moment, Nobunaga fired several bursts from his flintlock guns, which began to ignite the snake's scales with each impact, but not enough to stop it. The creature kept moving forward, releasing more energy in the form of fire spheres that enveloped everyone in scorching heat.
Nobunaga, however, did not back down. Deftly, he pulled out his katana and lunged towards Vritra, moving like a flash through the shadows. Each cut was precise, seeking to weaken the dragon's most vulnerable areas. Despite the dragon's fury, Nobunaga's mastery of combat kept her unwavering, and her movements were so swift that the tinkling of her sword could barely be heard as it pierced through the creature's sturdy skin.
Sasaki Kojirou, as always, watched silently, but his eyes shone with determination. The stillness before the move always gave him the upper hand, and he wasn't going to let Vritra take him by surprise. He took advantage of the mess of the battle to approach the beast undetected, gliding with the grace of a shadow. In a deadly whisper, his katana cut deep into Vritra's tail, tearing through the flesh with surgical precision. The snake roared, swirling toward him, but Sasaki had already disappeared, reappearing at another angle with another well-aimed attack.
The dragon, now furious and clearly exhausted by the constant attacks, spread its wings and, in a last-ditch effort to gain ground, launched a series of energy beams from its eyes, concentrating all its power into a single, devastating attack. The earth trembled under the pressure of his unleashed fury.
"It's now or never!" shouted Raiden, speeding forward and leaping toward the center of the energy storm.
Sengo, with his eyes fixed on Vritra, nodded, and wasting no time, he lunged at the dragon. Taking advantage of the moment of distraction, Sengo used all his strength to deliver a brutal blow to the snake's side, causing a burst of energy. Raiden, following without hesitation, landed a direct blow to the beast's head, while Nobunaga fired one last deadly blast at Vritra's throat.
Sasaki, with terrifying calmness, made the last cut. From his katana came a lethal flash, piercing Vritra's heart with such precision that the dragon had no time to react before his body collapsed in defeat.
The arena fell silent, with the immense creature lying on the ground, defeated by the fierce combination of its strength, skills, and dexterity. The four fighters were breathing heavily, but the victory was indisputable.
Raiden let out an exhausted and satisfied laugh.
"That was amazing!" he exclaimed, raising his hands to the sky. "What an entertaining fight!"
Sengo, still standing with the same relentless expression, turned to him.
"Fighting without using weapons... It's more exciting," he replied, a slight smile on his face.
Nobunaga, wiping the sweat from his forehead, let out a small laugh.
"Now, how about we take a break? Although, I must admit, this was one of the best fights I've had in a long time."
Sasaki, with his usual composure, nodded, still staring at Vritra's fallen body.
"Yes."
They began to rest as they chatted about trivial things, smiling at their recent achievement. The towering figure of the Dragon God Vritra lay defeated before them, his seemingly lifeless body. However, something seemed puzzling about his form.
Dragon God Vritra (False) - Dead.
••
Tomoe Gozen holding the cup of green tea gently, letting the scent rise with the steam before bringing it to her lips. His crimson eyes, serene but sharp, stared at the distorted reflection of the sky in the koi pond, where koi fish glided gracefully beneath the surface.
Around him, cherry trees in full bloom shed their petals, which danced softly in the air before landing in the water, creating an ethereal picture of pinks and whites against the crystalline background.
He sighed calmly, without taking his eyes off the landscape.
"I hope they are okay... and come home soon." he muttered quietly, with a slight concern in his tone, as if his words were blown away by the wind along with the petals.
••
The silence of the night was interrupted when Sengo opened his eyes wide, his breathing heavier. A shiver ran through his body like a dark omen. Without hesitation, he sat up immediately.
"Get up." His voice was firm, full of tension.
His brothers, still drowsy, reacted to the urgency in their tone and stood up, their senses alert. That's when they saw it.
The corpse of the Dragon God Vritra, the same one they had defeated hours before, began to crumble. Her scaly skin dissolved into a torrent of sand that slid between the dunes as if an invisible force claimed her. A bad feeling took hold of them.
And then it happened.
The dunes shook, the earth creaked beneath his feet, and in a matter of seconds, a colossal hill several meters high rose on the horizon. The sand fell off as if something giant woke up beneath it.
A titanic silhouette emerged from within. Flaming eyes pierced the darkness as the deafening roar of an ancestral beast shook the night.
"Have they dared to kill Vritra?!" the creature bellowed, its voice booming like thunder.
Sengo looked at the imposing figure in front of him with a frown before letting out a snort.
"Tsk... Surely we only killed a forgery created by the real Vritra."
His words hung in the air as the real battle was just beginning.
Raiden clicked his tongue, cracking his knuckles with a fierce smile.
"Good. It seemed strange to me to easily finish off the God Vritra."
Beside him, Sasaki adjusted the grip of his katana, his gaze sharp as the edge of his blade. His posture was impeccable, like the calm before the storm.
Nobunaga, on the other hand, let out a slight laugh as he grabbed his flintlock pistols with precise movements.
"Tch, how annoying... But I guess it's a good chance to take down a real god."
The three positioned themselves, ready to go on the attack. The wind whipped the sand around him as the authentic Dragon God Vritra roared furiously, his eyes burning with age-old hatred.
Sengo smiled sideways, flexing his fingers before adopting his own fighting stance.
"So... We are going to finish what we started."
The real confrontation was about to begin.