Shogunate Pride

by Bluestar076

In the region of Caelum, miles away from the guild of Fairy Tail, there's a special guild made of samurais that is always ready to dive into new adventures to save their region from supernatural threats by clashing their weapons. This is their story, as a girl that controls both light and darkness joins them (SYOC Closed.)

23. Devotion of a Priestess

Shogunate Pride Chapter 21: Devotion of a Priestess

By Bluestar076

Hello everyone! Bluestar here with once again a new chapter! This time it took a longer break since I've played a bit longer at Fate/Grand Order between an annoying event and continuing with the main story. But now that those things are settled, we can finally return here, hoping to get back on a regular pace and continue with the Crow Clan Arc! It's time for the second group, which is a funny combination, added to a last-moment narrative choice which I hope you will like! Speaking of which, there isn't much to say for now, so I think we can dive right into today's chapter! As always, I hope you enjoy it!

Note: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights and characters belong to Hiro Mashima, A-1 Pictures, and CloverWorks.

---

Chapter 21: Devotion of a Priestess

Caelum – Unknown Location

Once again, black clouds surrounded the skies above the imposing palace that hosted one of the deadliest ninja clans of them all, as if they wanted to show the ominous aura of those who lived in it, their master…and his dark purpose.

The crows were already sitting in the nearby trees or on the ground, feeding on the corpses of dead animals. Both ninjas and normal crows felt like they were one thing with that place. It was their main nest, after all, the place where they could have planned to lurk at the rest of the world to find more nests and spread their word.

VOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A loud noise of energy could be heard from inside the palace, loud enough to scare the nearby crows, make them fly away emit their loud cry, and leave the ground with tons of black feathers.

From inside that structure, the situation didn't seem that different, as fear seemed the dominant emotion at that moment.

"GAAAAAAAH!" Both Kigami and Azumuku were wiped against the wall after getting hit by a violent burst of magic and then fell to the ground, agonizing. As they raised their trembling heads, they looked at their attacker with mercy.

Yoshimatsu himself was glaring at his right-hand man and his subordinate with furious eyes, as he was holding a particular blade that looked like a flame and that was emitting purple smoke.

"You're telling me…that not only did you lose the bone at Suijin Island, but also that both Daisaku and Daigo HAD BEEN TAKEN OUT!?" He exclaimed, furious. His shout echoed throughout the palace and the external, making more crows fly away.

"Agh! P-Please, my lord, have mercy!" Azumuku pleaded. He was frustrated as well by the unexpected defeat, but that emotion was left aside by a greater fear of facing his master's fury.

Kigami was sweating as well, but unlike Azumuku, he was already more composed. "I-I know how you feel, but let me explain, there's a reason for our retreat!"

"How can there possibly be an explanation for such a thing!? You've been trained to execute every order, every assassination with a clean success, and now you're trying to justify your failure!?" Yoshimatsu retorted, holding Kigami by his neck.

"NGH-" The vice commander of the Crow Clan could feel his superior tighten his choke, clearly not playing around. So, he did his best to explain. "You have to believe me, Your Excellency! Those mages turned out to be stronger than we could ever expect! The two hitmen I sent the other day never returned and now I can see why! In addition to that, the brat's men and the shogunate themselves had appeared and joined the brawl! We were surrounded!"

Yoshimatsu was still glaring at his vice, but he could hear an annoying sincerity from his words. He lowered his stare down to Azumuku, who simply nodded, supporting Kigami.

The leader of the Crow Clan was still furious, but he let go of the grip and turned around. Kigami went pale for a moment as he held his neck. "Still…this doesn't justify your idiotic failure. I've been waiting for this occasion for years. I've made sure that the name of the Crow Clan could be strong enough to be feared and search for the ultimate magic that is immortality. Everything…must be perfect. The idea that my clan got pushed back for the first time by a second-class guild of mages, some stupid mobs, and the lackey of the empire is just unacceptable!" He commented.

For a moment, he looked up…thinking at Hoshiko for some reason…and his parents in particular.

The mages that took down his two subordinates were part of her same guild. Could it be that she ended up growing as strong as them? Maybe…she represented a threat?

That sole thought…made him think back to that day when he put the Star Clan village in fire and flames. In particular…he could remember their leader's last words.

" One day, the consequence of your actions will knock at your door, and you'll get what you deserve!"

"NGH!" The ring of those words irked him. " No…I can't allow doubt to go inside. He's just a ghost of a meaningless past. Those samurais…are still nothing."

"I…I understand how you feel, Lord Yoshimatsu, but I can assure you that nothing has changed. We still have three bones left. Nothing's preventing us from taking them." Kigami then said, trying to assure him.

"That's right. And besides, we could still raid their guild to retrieve the bone!" Azumuku added.

Yoshimatsu remained silent for a few seconds and then released a small deep breath. He seemed to have calmed down, but his two subordinates could still feel the pressure surrounding the entire hall coming from him.

"Yes…you're right. A victory over a mere battle doesn't change almost anything at all. Our plan to achieve immortality remains untouched…and I'll make sure that it will remain that way." The leader commented with a deeper and more serious tone. "Still…what just followed isn't something to be left unnoticed. This was surely something I couldn't predict that could damage our organization. Daisaku was our biggest benefactor. Most of the clan's properties came through him. With him gone, we'll have to find other ways to get valuable resources. Truly a shame to have lost such a useful partner. The same can be said about Daigo, who was just as violent as I wanted. His death as well came as unexpected." He then looked up at the ceiling.

"It seems that our little fugitive from the Star Clan had found…notable allies, to say the least. But just as we said, it is nothing to be afraid of. We still have…plenty of ways to destroy every single one of them." He continued. "And I think that… to learn those mages their place…we must use a fundamental mean: fear." As he concluded his speech, he started to slowly move towards the window.

"Kigami…considering what we said about the remaining three bones, I suppose that the other groups are still searching for them, right?" He then asked.

"Yes, my lord…" Kigami simply answered.

"Good…then I suppose that I'll…get a closer look on the operation. I've wanted to stretch my muscles a bit after all." Yoshimatsu spoke.

Kigami and Azumuku slightly widened their eyes at that confirmation.

"What about us, my lord?" Azumuku then asked.

Yoshimatsu frowned and slightly moved his head toward them. "Stay here for the moment and make sure that no one enters this hideout. For now…I don't intend to make you give further humiliation to the clan." He coldly spoke.

Azumuku swallowed while Kigami scoffed.

"Very well…I shall take my leave. Time to teach those mages a lesson…" With those words, Yoshimatsu spread his arms, jumped down, and turned into a crow, a larger one compared to the crows the other members of the clan turned into. And then he flew away.

Kigami and Azumuku were left in there, with a bit of shame.

"Dammit…for a moment, I swear I saw my whole life passing through me…I can't believe the moment where I would have infuriated our master would have arrived…" Azumuku commented. "Yet…those mages were surely something…it was the first time I saw someone opposing to become part of my art."

"There's no need to worry. Whatever the outcome may be, I'm sure we'll get to meet them again. And…considering how I hate leaving an assassination unfinished…I'll make sure to make it happen." Kigami commented. "It's a matter of pride…as Lord Yoshimatsu's right-hand man."

Soon, Azumuku started to regain his composure and made a small grin. "True…vengeance is something we ninjas excel in. Besides…after seeing what they could do, I can't help but confess that I surely want to see in what masterpiece I can turn them in…"

Even Kigami looked up, as his sunglasses blinked for a moment. "We haven't quit yet. And while Daisaku and Daigo had been wiped out, this was only the tip of the iceberg. They still need…to see what the others can do."

Meanwhile, Yoshimatsu emitted a few large cries, as he flapped his large wings, releasing more feathers.

An oppressive aura of darkness could be heard from within the island…before leaving.

---

Caelum – Fujin Island

On the left of Suijin Island, looking like the left hear of a mouse head among the three islands that were located the most closely on the region of Caelum, stood Fujin Island.

The island got its name due to the strong whirlwinds that usually rise on stormy days, sometimes even managing to bring down many trees.

When it came to the geographic look, this island was slightly larger compared to Suijin Island, and it was closer to its natural state in comparison, as it was mostly formed by a large rainforest full of animals of every type. Because of this, it was classified as one of the most beautiful natural landscapes of the entire Ishgar continent, alongside Tenrou Island, standing near the region of Fiore.

And on top of the island, stood a tall and imposing mountain, known as Mount Yasahime. The name got its derivation due to the religious importance for the inhabitants of the place, as they thought that whoever tried to climb the mountain would have been cursed and persecuted by tons of demons.

And this was…partially true, to say the least, as the mountain had a single, yet powerful and reliable guardian.

Luckily for those who wanted to get on the island, the day was sunny, so there wouldn't have been problems when it came to whirlwinds, but those who had high responsibilities were surely still vigilant.

At the top of Mount Yasahime, inside what seemed to be a temple stood a young girl who was sleeping from sitting on crossed legs. She had long salmon hair that she kept collected in a side ponytail, wearing a pink haori with white traced Sakura flowers on it a necklace with several rings around her neck, and long white tabi socks with black sandals. But the feature that jumped more to the eye was the fact that she had ears like those of a fox and even a fox tail.

This particular trait of her was due to her slight nature as a Kitsune.

The girl was sleeping peacefully, feeling both body and soul in complete balance. But then, at a certain point, one of her ears started to twitch nervously, until she suddenly opened her eyes in utter distress.

"Uuuugh! Why does this always happen!? I get in a perfect position to sleep and then there's something that annoys me! Come on…what's this stress all of a sudden!?" She wondered as she started to stand up and walk back and forward. "Ok, let's try to think of it…I was sleeping well and fine until I started to sense a distrust in the air with my magic, and I'm pretty sure that mosquitos don't reach this height, so-" She was about to resume even the latest minutes to find out the reason of her stress, until she stopped on her tracks, realizing on her own why she felt that way.

That acknowledgment made her feel even more pressure. "A-A DISTURBANCE!" She shouted. The echo of her words could be heard around the mountain, getting some confusing stares. "W-What does this mean!? Someone is heading towards this way!? Dammit, I'm not ready! I didn't even make breakfast!" She then gave herself a small slap. "Calm down, damm it! You're the keeper of Mount Yasahime! You can't let yourself be seen like this!" She exclaimed before turning around, looking at what seemed to be a wooden box with some strange drawings on it, standing on a small altar.

"I've kept on doing my job properly for many years and I don't intend to falter down right now!" She proclaimed. With that in mind, she clapped her hands. " Truth Mirror!" She summoned a small circular mirror that she then held in her hands. "Show me the disturbance!" She ordered.

The mirror, which at first was simply showing her reflection, started to emit magical energy, changing what was on the other side. By doing so, the mirror showed a real-time vision of what was happening at the bottom of the island, and what she saw disconcerted her. "Ah!"

The troops of the Crow Clan reached the island starting to surround the feet of the mountain. Their intention was clear. They were about to raid the island and reach Mount Yasahime.

Through the mirror, she could see how the shady ninjas were already taking down some of the inhabitants of the place, including some of the imperial guards. Two figures, in particular, caught the guardian's attention. Two girls around the same age as her.

"NGAH!" One of the imperial guards got thrown against a wall by Joy and fell miserably to the ground, forced to look at the approaching girl with a devious grin from below.

"Man…is this really everything an imperial guard can do? No wonder why our clan could pass unobserved for all these years! Truth be said, I'd expected more considering that they pushed Tekina back along with those mages." She said, shrugging.

"G-Gh…you vile bastards. I may be messed up but I don't intend to let you spit poison on the empire's reputation…If the Shinsengumi was here, you wouldn't have that cocky grin on your face…" The guard said.

"Aw, how rude! And here I was planning to leave you alone and keep on going!" Joy answered before coming closer and standing on her knees to look the soldier straight in the eyes. "Just so you know, I'm quite known to be a lot more pacifist than my colleagues, so you should be at least grateful for that! For example, you wouldn't be as lucky as now if it was for my friend Nyx here!" She added.

Nyx, the other Crow Clan member who was sent to the island, simply looked elsewhere.

But the guard's behavior didn't change, and kept on having that glare of disgust on his face. "I don't care who I'm facing, I'll keep on doing my duty. And you don't know how It feels to spit blood for a cause, impassible and sadistic as you are. But don't worry…the wheel of karma will reach out even for you. Just you wait!" He retorted.

Somehow, that answer bugged Joy, whose expression suddenly changed from an 'innocent' smile to one of disgust. Without saying anything, she raised her eyepatch, revealing a crimson eye with a star-shaped pupil, similar to Hoshiko's.

The eye shone with a red light, and thanks to it, Joy could see the man's flesh and exoskeleton, revealing possible weak points. She quickly detected a weak point in the left shoulder. And nothing else needed to be said.

The assassin of the Crow Clan opened her hand and a red dart made of magic impaled the guard's shoulder, creating a fountain of blood.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The imperial guard fell to the ground, holding his shoulder and screaming in agony for the wound.

Some of the blood ended up on Joy's hair, but she didn't care. As the man kept on screaming, she stood up and covered the eye with the eyepatch again.

"…Impassible, they say…how many times do I have to hear that word again? Why people simply can't understand that I've seen through hell as well and that there is more in me than meets the eye?" She said with a soft voice.

At that point, Nyx simply came closer. "He provoked you, yet you limited yourself to that wound." She spoke before looking at her. "You always act like this. There's nothing that forbids you. So why do you limit yourself and not kill your victims?"

After hearing that, Joy simply sighed and took a washcloth to clean her hair. "Come on, Nyx. You had known me for a long time by now. I don't see killing as extremely necessary, especially when you have the certainty that they can't move anymore or attempt at your life." When she turned around to meet the colleague's eyes, she made a smile with closed eyes, like the one of a little girl. "Besides! Sometimes simple but straight pain can be a far worse experience than death, don't you think?"

Nyx stared at her in silence and then sighed. "I guess you have a point. I honestly don't care, as long as we do our job."

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Joy asked all happy. She then looked at the top of the mountain. "So, the bone is up there, correct? If these guards were the best this island had to offer, I don't see an outcome where we possibly fail, tee hee~!"

"We should also take into consideration that samurai guild. I'm certain they'll come." Nyx said. At that moment, they could hear the noise of meat getting smashed by something heavy behind them.

When they turned around, they could see a pile of guards getting utterly murdered by the heavy fists of a huge man with grey skin, long black hair, and red pupilless eyes, wearing only a pair of orange pants held by a white belt. The man relentlessly hit the pile before turning around at the two lady ninjas with his glowing eyes.

Quetzalcoatl – Assassin of the Crow Clan

"Let them come." He said with his huge voice before coming closer. "There had been many opponents who tried to give me the salute of defeat or even death in all these years, but in vain, because they weren't interesting or unique. I'd never faced a mage coming from a guild before, due to my role. So, if they want to tempt fate, then so be it. Although…as the 'gate' of the Crow Clan, I won't assure you that I'll go easy just because I'm curious. I'm ready to crush their skulls if needed."

"Always straight with words, eh Quetzalcoatl?" Joy asked. "That's what I like about you! In case, I hope you won't disappoint these nice ladies!"

Since everything seemed settled and the road was clear, Nyx looked at some of the lesser ninjas. "Start to surround the island. Make sure that no suspicious individual can climb the mountain while we're at it."

"Yes!" The ninjas promptly answered.

"So, the hunt begins, eh? I know we could turn into crows and reach the top already but…where would be the fun in it?" Joy commented.

"Let's not make haste decisions…" Quetzalcoatl added before beating his knuckles. "And let us crumble this whole mountain…"

And so…the dangerous trio started to go up for a single reason:

The bone.

The guardian girl saw enough and ended the vision through the mirror. Naturally, her reaction wasn't of the best ones.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!? W-Who are these ninja dudes!? What the hell do they want with the bone!? C-Could it be!? Are they the disturbance I've heard!?" She exclaimed before slapping herself. "NO! Chill out, Hitori! This is not the proper behavior a priestess should have!" She then looked back at the box.

"My ancestor and those who followed her gave their lives to protect the treasure of this mountain for over five hundred years. What would I look like to them if I were to fail?" She asked herself.

That self-dilemma was enough to make her take a deep breath and open her eyes with a convinced smile. "That's surely something I'd like to avoid! Therefore, I'll follow their example!" After saying that, she clapped her hands and performed a particular dance that spread her magic throughout the whole mountain.

Soon, illusions, curses, and monsters of every type spread around, ready to attack whatever they would have seen. The legends of the curses that spread on the island became true at that moment.

"You want the treasure of this island? Come and take it…if you're strong enough to deceive and take down the one and only fox witch, Hitori Kokatsuna!"

Hitori Kokatsuna – Guardian Priestess of Mount Yasahime

She was alone with what were probably powerful enemies. But she was ready to take them on. Such had been her duty ever since she was a child.

---

Caelum – Seas near Fujin Island

In the meantime, another ship departed from the main island of Caelum, heading for Fujin Island. While there wasn't someone with motion sickness or assaults in sight, this one as well, would have probably turned out to be a complicated expedition.

Especially considering that some of the members of this group were…quirky, to say the least.

Fern was standing at the helm, driving the ship with one hand while looking at the map of the region with the other. Among the members of Shogunate Pride, He was the most skilled one when it came to orientation and maps, so a ship entrusted to his hands was usually destined to make a successful journey, and due to his awards for this, he always took the task of guide very strictly.

So, just like all the other trips, he was extra careful on the trip and all the possible movements the ship could make.

"Hmmm…the wind is low, and the ship is moving comfortably…at this speed, we should be able to reach the island within the next half-an-hour…"

Unfortunately for him, he ended up being paired up with the member of the guild he wanted to stay with the least. And the reason was not long in coming

Nobuhito was standing 10 centimeters to his right, staring at him with an innocent smile. "How are you able to both navigate and read the map at the same time? I wouldn't be able to do so!" He asked.

A few veins were already forming in Fern's head. He knew that it wouldn't have been the only question that the younger mage had for him. "It's called 'experience in sailing'. I suppose you don't have anything better to do, Nobuhito sir?"

At that question, Nobuhito made an elegant smirk. Roses were already forming around him. "It seems you don't know a lot of things about me. I can make everything a form of entertainment, including questions."

"That's the worst part! When you say everything, you mean LITERALLY everything!" Fern retorted.

"Come on, Fern! It's not like I'm that of a nuisance! I just do my best to be of some company!" The samurai clad in red armor answered. "Besides, isn't checking that everyone is ok a vital part of a functional group?"

"Yeah, but there are plenty of ways of doing that! And bugging me like this isn't a way!" The older mage exclaimed.

Nobuhito knew what he meant, but he played it cool and maintained his innocent face. "How come that I'm bugging you if I made a single question?"

Fern was about to counter that but he had to stop himself, realizing that what he said had a sense. "…You sly fox. I hope for you that's all you have to say! You have no idea of what could happen if I get distracted even a little!" He spoke.

"But think about it! The same could be said if you're unnecessarily stressed!" Nobuhito answered back.

"Stressed? I'm not stressed! I'm just careful!" The Devil Slayer countered.

"Nah nah nah, I can see it in the tone and the position of your muscles that you're upset…" Seeing that, Nobuhito went behind Fern and started to massage his shoulders. "So, chill out…feel one with the waves."

Fern was already smoking out, but he couldn't allow himself to get annoyed when he was on the helm. Hoping to find something that could have distracted him from his colleague's words, he looked up to see Rokumon standing near the prow.

"Have you noticed anything, Rokumon?" He asked.

"Not yet. We're lucky it was sunny today. Fujin Island is known for being a mess when clouds are around." Rokumon replied.

"Ah! Speak for yourself! In case storms were approaching, I'd feel quite advantaged with my magic." Ren said. He was sitting on the borders of the ship.

Noticing his position, Rokumon could sense something off. "…Are you…checking the borders in case you see something suspicious or if there's an approaching enemy as we asked?"

Ren started to sweat pretty quickly. "W-Why, of course! Can't you see it? I was just feeling my legs a bit dizzy after standing up for some time by now!"

Rokumon knew Ren far too well to believe that coming from a person like him. Without adding anything, he came closer to him and saw that Ren was counting many coins.

An awkward silence followed, with the number X of Shogunate Pride trying to buy Rokumon with a nervous smile.

"…You do know we're going there only to get the bone and not for anything else, right? I'm not even sure that there's a casino on the island." Rokumon spoke with a skeptical face.

" This is probably the most dysfunctional one of the groups. And yet Master Dohko put us like this…sometimes even I can't understand him…"

Defeated, Ren made a sigh and stood up. "Oh well…I've tried. It's not like I could escape yours or Fern's sight anyway." He spoke. "The weird thing is that while it's true that I was trying to check the surroundings and loiter at the same time, I didn't sense any hidden presence or magic anywhere."

After hearing that, even Rokumon started to look around. "Hmmm…that's true…a bizarre situation indeed. Considering that ninjas are the true veterans in sneak attacks."

"Are they really that confident in taking us down? Well…they surely can be confident after what they did to Tsukuyomi and the others, but don't you think this is too much?" Nobuhito asked.

"Either that or they've gone directly for the bone, expecting to see us soon. In that case…we need to be ready to answer their attack directly." Fern tried to guess.

"Hmmm…If that is the case, we may have two issues to consider. One is the fact that these guys may have preceded us and that they're stronger than we think, and the second one… is the voices that spread around Mount Yasahime." Rokumon added.

At that last sentence, the others laid their eyes on him.

"Voices?" Ren asked.

"Yes. As you know, even before joining the guild, I was known to be a monster hunter, and as such, I've done several researches about all types of beasts and ghosts that inhabit Earth Land. Caelum in particular, was full of creatures of this genre if we count all the Onis and the Yokais that lie hidden in it. Such research made me find out about the legend of Mount Yasahime, which says that all those who tried to reach the top and deprive It of its treasure utterly failed…as they were struck down by terrible curses of all sorts." Rokumon explained.

While Nobuhito and Ren assumed a more serious expression as soon as they heard it, Fern started to feel nervous and sweat a little. "T-Then why didn't you tell us sooner!? We could have gotten prepared for such convenience!" He exclaimed.

Nobuhito turned around to look at him. "Did we really have to? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we'd face such enemies." He asked.

"And with Rokumon here, we're surely advantaged, in case. Why the sudden worry?" Ren added.

At that, Fern tried to look elsewhere. "W-Well...it's always a good thing to leave prepared don't you think?"

The other three mages didn't understand at first, but then Ren made a small smile.

Fern looked at him. "What."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts!" The other S-Class Mage asked, surprised.

At that, the older mage gritted his teeth under pressure. The drops of sweat coming down from his head multiplied. "C-Come on! How could you even think of something silly like that!? Do I look like I'm five years old to you!? There's no way I'm afraid of ghosts! Especially considering that I'm the War Devil Slayer, Sir!"

But Nobuhito could only make a smug face. "Really? 'cause I think your tone is speaking for you right now, pal."

Fern started to move his head around, trying to find something that could change the subject so that he couldn't admit the truth, and to his luck, as soon as he looked straight, he could see it.

"Ah! Look! Fujin Island! We have arrived!"

When the other three samurais turned around, they saw it as well.

"Oh! It seems that the travel went smoothly, after all! Which is…strangely convenient…" Ren commented.

"And now all that is left is to get through that mountain and hope they don't throw at us some unwanted assault," Rokumon added.

"You know you're asking that to an organization made out of ninjas, right?" Nobuhito asked him.

At that, the older samurai sighed. "Yeah…I know."

Fern, on the other hand, made a breath of relief. " Thank God the island appeared in time… they must never know… "

---

Fujin Island

Once the island was in sight, all that it took was a few more minutes before they could park the ship and set foot in the pluvial environment.

A jungle-like look was what greeted the four samurais, with houses built five meters from the ground and linked between each other with various stairs and bridges.

"Well, would you look at that…it's quite surprising to see a place like this that hosts a mountain infested with demons…" Ren commented.

"Oh, don't say it that way. There are plenty of places like this around Caelum. The fact that it's an archipelago region helps it further." Rokumon told him.

"Hey, it's not that I'm criticizing it! If anything…it reminds me of Enca…" The S-Class mage commented.

"We'll admire the place another time. Unfortunately, we have a group of ninjas to proceed…hopefully." Fern interrupted the discussion, although the other mages seemed to agree with him.

They made their road through the village they'd landed on, trying to ask a few short questions to know better how to cross the mountain and if there were any precautions on how to do it. But the questions were all answered with similar answers...

"Are you nuts!?"

"You should REALLY get back home! Trust me, it's a horrible idea!"

"Oh yeah! A lot of people tried...BEFORE GETTING BACK WITH TONS OF SCARS!"

"N-NO QUESTION, PLEASE! GET SAFE BEFORE SHE GETS YOU!"

Naturally, the four samurais were displeased and confused as soon as they started to get that answer several times.

"What's with them? And who is this she they keep on mentioning?" Ren asked.

"The strangest part is that this village seems quite peaceful and with no damage at all…so this means that this she they're talking about is rather someone to not anger…" Rokumon noticed.

"The question remains… who is this person?" Fern wondered.

"I guess it's someone related to the mountain…which means we'll probably have to meet her." Nobuhito tried to reply. "And considering that the inhabitants of this village are scared of her, I don't think she's that friendly."

"Good grief…as if the Crow Clan wasn't already a problem of his own," Fern commented.

"Well, in case we'll have to deal with more than one challenge, we'll be ready to take it. If you think of it, we're a quite balanced team." Rokumon added. "And come to think of it…the status of this village makes me think that the Crow Clan either hasn't arrived here yet or they didn't land here."

"This could give us an advantage based on the situation. And since we can't get that much here, I suggest we keep on going." Ren then concluded. Everyone agreed on that and followed him. Whatever the reasons were for all the mysteries that surrounded the island and their enemy, one thing was certain.

They still had to hurry, if they wanted to secure the bones.

Once they got out of the village, they had to make a bit of a road in the pluvial forest to reach the feet of the mountain. Luckily for them, there weren't any particular hostile local creatures, so the least they had to do was to make a road through the leaves that were surrounding them. Fern, in particular, summoned a saber to facilitate the job.

And after some minutes, they could finally see it in all of its majesty: Mount Yasahime, the top of which could be hardly seen.

"That's surely a tall mountain…I think it'll take a while to get on top…" Ren commented.

"Just to make sure, is there someone here who's afraid of heights?" Nobuhito asked.

"Nobu, our guild is on a mountain. If someone here was afraid of heights, we wouldn't have even bothered joining." Fern pointed out.

While they were talking, Rokumon looked down and something immediately caught his attention. "Uhm, guys? I think there's a bigger problem than heights…"

When the others turned around, they could see it too, a sight that alarmed them.

Several lesser ninjas were guarding the surroundings, making sure that no one stood close. The samurais could recognize the uniform, based on what Hoshiko and the others said, and remember the two hitmen that they saw that morning.

"There's no doubt, they're the Crow Clan…" Nobuhito commented.

"Dammit! This means they've preceded us!" Fern cursed with a low voice before looking above. "And considering that they're standing here, it probably means that some of them already started to climb the mountain to reach the bone…"

"What should we do then? Take them out here and now?" Ren asked. His hand was already at the sword's hilt.

"…No. If others of them are already climbing up, we can't afford to waste time in taking these sirs down. We need to find a way to bypass them and start climbing as well…" Fern answered, starting to think of something.

"Are you sure this can be done? We're still talking about expert ninjas here." Rokumon fairly asked. "If either Hoshiko or Henry were here this could have been easier…Henry in particular has an ability with the Jabberwock that makes him able to go stealth…I, on the other hand, am quite bulky…"

It was then that Nobuhito got the chance to make a smirk. The others could notice it.

"…What are you thinking, Nobu?" Fern asked.

"It seems that you forget that I'm specialized in tricks of every type! And luckily for us…I may have an idea…" The samurai in red armor replied.

The others knew how he was able to develop ideas and traps in a short time, so they decided to trust him. However, this time his idea was…strange, to say the least.

A few minutes later, what seemed to be four boxes made out of paper with the typical kanjis of the region started to crawl out of the bushes while the ninjas of the Crow Clan were looking elsewhere.

They were extremely careful at every movement the enemies were making, and it was surely a hard feat considering the caution the ninjas were taking, but as soon as they moved their heads, the boxes were ready to crawl once again.

"Are you sure this was the best option possible, Nobu?" Rokumon asked, whispering from his box. Due to his dimensions, Nobuhito made a special one just for him.

"Yeah, don't you think that seeing four boxes near a mountain is at least a little bit suspect, sir?" Fern added, not so convinced of the idea.

"You forget that this mountain is a few steps away from a village, so they may think that these boxes come from there! You know, for mail!" Nobuhito answered.

"And why exactly would someone drop a box near a mountain?" Fern fairly asked.

…

An awkward silence followed. Luckily, the ninjas weren't suspect yet.

"…It could still be an alibi…let's get moving until it works." Nobuhito wanted to conclude it here.

"I don't see it as bad. Somehow…I feel like…I'm one thing with the box. As if…I, as a mage of Shogunate Pride feel deeply connected with this box…" Ren commented.

"…Where does that come from, exactly? And…why do I feel the same?" Rokumon wondered.

Considering the sneaky movements they were forced to make it took a while longer for them to approach the mountain directly. And apart from them, once they got closer, they also needed to find a place where to hide and take off the boxes.

It wasn't an easy task at all, but the four mages went there knowing that it wouldn't have been something easy to do, so they kept on moving.

And their effort seemed to have been rewarded.

"There…I can see the beginning of the route!" Ren said.

"Eh eh! It worked in the end! What do you see, Rokumon?" Nobuhito asked, happy to see his success.

"Nothing much, just a few crows. Kinda ironic…" The older samurai replied. And just like he said, four crows were staring at the boxes intensively.

"Yeah…quite ironic. Let's just hope they don't find it a comfy place to make a nest on…" Fern commented. But then he remembered Hoshiko's words about the clan's…shared trait. "Wait did you just say-"

And just like that, the crows turned back in their human form, revealing themselves to be ninjas of the clan, and they came closer.

"What's a box doing in here?"

"I don't know…"

"Are we sure they're empty?"

Naturally, those words made the four samurais increase their sweat. They tried their best to not move a single muscle, but at that point, it didn't matter that much.

" Please don't move the box, please don't move the box, please don't move the-" In his mind, Nobuhito begged as much as he could but…

The ninjas lifted the box, revealing the four mages inside.

"…"

The mages slowly lifted their heads at the ninjas, who stared at them in silence.

"…Eh eh…morning?" Nobuhito tried to play it cool but nonetheless…

A red exclamation mark appeared on the four ninjas' head.

"THE SAMURAIS ARE HERE!"

ALERT 99.99

In less than a minute, all the ninjas started to gather around the mages of Shogunate Pride, ready to take them down.

"Dammit! We were so close!" Nobuhito exclaimed as he stood up.

"Next time try something like mimetism! That may help, don't you think!?" Fern scolded him.

"No time to argue now! They're coming!" Rokumon stopped them as soon as he saw the ninjas jumping at him. He quickly prepared the Odachi sword and flames were already surrounding the edge of it. " Arondight!" As soon as he released slashes from the blade, several ninjas were cut down, with the cuts detonating in loud flaming explosions.

"GAAAAH!"

"TAKE THAT ONE OUT! HE'S THE MOST DANGEROUS ONE!" One of the ninjas cried out. Soon, more of the ninjas tried to assault him, but the expert mage of Shogunate Pride was used to such attacks, and more flames were already surrounding him.

"Dance of Naraka!" He performed movements similar to dance to strike down all of them before the next ninjas were ready to approach him.

Even Nobuhito got ready to face them, although in a different way. He caught the attention of some of them and started to run away. The ninjas tried to attack him with what seemed like bullets of magic coming out of their palms.

The samurai clad in red armor had to do his best to hear the bullets and dodge them in time. And it surely wasn't something easy to do. "Dammit! I should practice swordsmanship more often! Luckily…I still know how to defend myself" He commented while quickly building up something.

And when he turned around, the ninjas could see with horror that he was holding a large crossbow in his hands. "Here's a present!" Nobuhito immediately started to shoot to take out the ninjas, but someone saw the attack coming and turned into crows to fly high and then try to dive against him.

One of them in particular was able to damage the crossbow on the string, making it useless. "Agh, dammit!" The mage of Shogunate Pride had to toss it away and draw his wakizashi sword to answer their attacks, managing to bring some of them down while they were flying.

The last one turned back into a human in mid-air and aimed at him. "See if you like this!" He threw a barrage of shuriken against Nobuhito at high speed, forcing the samurai to move his arms and his blade as fast as he could to deflect them.

" Man! It's not like I'm super-fast like Ren!" He thought.

At a certain point, the shuriken ended, but the ninja was gone. "Uh?" When he looked down, Nobuhito could see with shock that the ninja was already below him, ready to stab him in the neck with a ninjato sword.

"FELL FOR IT!"

But Nobuhito knew how to answer as he quickly grabbed a dagger from his pocket. "Are you sure?" Moving faster, he stabbed the ninja in the neck, taking him down. "Phew! That was close! I surely need to practice a lot more when I get the chance…" He commented.

" War Devil Slayer Summoning!" In the meantime, Fern used his Devil Slayer Magic to summon a tomahawk and wipe away the ninjas that were surrounding him with a single swipe. "Agh! What the-!?" Suddenly, something stabbed him in the back, making him bleed and forcing him to turn around, only to see more ninjas of the Crow clan coming out from the rocks, aiming at him with magic bullets from their palms.

"Let's see if you like our surprise! Get him, boys!" One of the ninjas exclaimed before they all started to shoot at him at the same time.

Fern could see a myriad of magic bullets coming right in front of him, but this wasn't enough to scare him. As if it were normal, he made the tomahawk fade away and grabbed his medieval flail, starting to swing it with speed and precision. In less than a second, the chains and the spiked ball moved as fast as a hurricane and became an impenetrable fortress for the ninjas. "WOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"What the!? How does he do that!? What are these people!?" One of the ninjas exclaimed, shocked.

"Grrr! Don't you dare hesitate, or he'll tear you apart! At this point, there's only one solution!" Another one retorted. The others seemed to agree, as they all tried to jump against him.

But in vain.

Seeing how they ended their assault, Fern swung his medieval flail against them, getting them smashed violently against the spiked ball. "Whether you hesitate or not, your blasts aren't enough for the War Devil Slayer!" He exclaimed.

More ninjas, getting flustered, started to assault him, but like a true Niou, a Benevolent King, like he was called alongside Rokumon and Yori, stood proud and answered their attacks with a war cry and kept on swinging the Medieval flail.

" My teacher made sure that my muscles would have been ready for every type of situation and that they could have been used to smite evil…who am I to disappoint her!?" He thought.

CLING! CLANG! CLAN CLIN CLING!

The attacks of the ninjas kept getting blocked, making loud noises against the chain of the flail and forcing the mercenaries to wait for a perfect break, a single moment when the chains were large enough to expose Fern.

Eventually, that moment came, with the ninjas doing their best to dodge the violent flail.

"NOW! GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" They pressed onward and were ready to stab him everywhere. Their enemy seemed as imposing as a bear, but they were trained to take down every type of enemy they saw.

"KILL HIM!"

But they made their miscalculations.

" War Devil Roar!" Fern released a roar that sent bullets from his mouth that paralyzed the enemies and pushed them back. When they regained balance, they could see with their eyes wide open that the spiked ball was falling on them.

PUMP!

They got smashed down with a fountain of blood, and Fern could take a breath. "Anf…Sometimes I think I exaggerate…though I think that Hoshiko would be happy with this sight." He commented.

Finally, Ren was forced into a direct approach against the rest of the ninjas, who seemed more built with their muscles and tried to overwhelm him with their Ninjato swords. But they didn't know that they were facing the fastest member of Shogunate Pride, who was able to make his Nichiren katana clash against their blades.

" It's clear that they wouldn't have this strength on their own. This must be the work of a spell. It seems that you went well prepared for this, haven't you Crow Clan?" Ren thought as he kept on attacking.

"WREAAAAAAAH!" Suddenly, the ninjas pushed forward with their blades, forcing Ren to defend himself and get pushed backward. "Speechless, aren't you? This is the power that we have granted following the teachings of Quetzalcoatl! Not even that speed of yours can do much against it!"

"Quetz…Quiz…man, not only does he give you false illusions, but he also has an unpronounceable name!" Ren answered.

"How dare you say something that disrespectful!? You'll pay for such an insult!" The ninjas felt offended and threw themselves against him. But Ren kept a small smile as he saw the huge men coming right against him.

"So, you're pretty serious about this, eh? You know, it's a pity. You could have used this devotion for a thousand better things, but instead, you worship someone who's trying to pursue a self-deluding goal. So…how about I teach you the mistake of this way?" He asked.

Just as the enemies' blades were just a few centimeters away from him, lightning started to surround his blade, and just as a bolt, he made his way through them with perfect and precise counterattacks, as soon as they touched his sword to attack. The enemies were smitten with lightning wounds in a few seconds and crumbled to the ground, somehow still alive.

"Lightning Dance."

A few other ninjas were bewildered by such counterattacks, but instead of scaring them, this angered them further, spurring them to raise their blades and try to attack him from behind.

"DISAPPEAR, YOU DEMON!"

"Durandal!" Suddenly, Rokumon appeared before them and created a wall of flames with his sword, defending the friend from the attack.

"Agh! What!?"

"Now, Ren!" Rokumon exclaimed. As soon as he said it, Ren came out of the wall of flames, completely unscathed, with flashes of lightning that were already surrounding her blade.

" Thunderstrike Slash!" Ren didn't hesitate and unleashed a single, yet lethal swipe with the sword that left the ninjas knocked out with tremendous electrical power. They inevitably fell to the ground, with some shockwaves still surrounding their bodies. And once again, they were left alive. For Ren, what mattered was that they couldn't represent a threat anymore.

Naturally, once it was all done, he turned at Rokumon and made a thumb up. "Thanks, buddy!" He said with a smile.

"No problem." Rokumon simply replied before looking around. All the ninjas were lying down around them, with only a few having survived. "It seems that we've cleaned the road."

"But at the same time, we've been slowed down. They've thought of anything…" Fern commented.

"And to think that the idea of the boxes was working for a moment…" Nobuhito added before looking at the mountain. "Well, at this point we only have to hope to get faster than them, right?"

"That, and I also hope that we can take them on. The ones that started to climb are certainly stronger members. Maybe like the ones Tsukuyomi and the others fought." Rokumon replied.

"There's only one way to answer that. And besides, if there is someone stronger, we'll just have to answer! If they saw this mess, I'm pretty sure they would understand we're not easy prey." Ren commented.

"Then let's do this. It may take a while…" Fern concluded.

With that settled, the four mages could finally start to climb Mount Yasahime. A race against time started that would have decided who would have picked up the bone.

But little did they know that they got observed.

Hitori didn't remain impassive. Apart from hampering with the three members of the Crow Clan, who already fell to her magic and remained behind with the route, she also looked at the feet of the mountain, only to see with ulterior shock that more people were heading for the top.

"Aaaaaah! Are you kidding me!? More people are heading to the top!? Why do they never study a bit of history to find out that this thing is no valid treasure!? How am I supposed to face off seven mages!?" She was starting to get paranoid again, but like before, she slapped herself to calm down. "NO! Chill out, Hitori, you have a job to carry on. Like you said earlier, don't disappoint your ancestors." With another deep breath, she found the resolution to stand up and expand her magic further in the mountain.

"I have plenty of energy to use to take these people down. I don't care who they are, they are trespassing a private and holy ground! No one has ever reached the top and for a good reason! Because I don't intend to be a bad example! Show me what you've got!" She exclaimed.

Things were about to get complicated for both sides, as the guardian of the mountain had more than it looked like.

---

"HMMMMM!"

Just as she proclaimed, those who dared themselves to start climbing the mountain were greeted with the magic of its guardian and kept at bay.

The three major assassins of the Crow Clan got pushed away by what seemed to be two large spectral eels on their way to the top. Quetzalcoatl in particular had to be forced as the human shield for his two comrades against the monsters, who seemed to be immaterial.

"Aw come on, these things are just endless! What even are they!?" Joy complained.

"I should have expected it wouldn't have been that easy…though it is surely a nuisance…" Nyx added.

Quetzalcoatl didn't care in particular and kept on attacking, with the eels wrapping around his body and trying to attack him with spectral flames instead of typical electrical shockwaves. The hitman gritted his teeth to endure the pain, but he released a war cry and a large shockwave that was able to ward off the huge eels, who still endured and growled at the three ninjas.

"If you think this will be enough to take the likes of me, you're dead wrong! I could continue for days!" Quetzalcoatl exclaimed, ready to continue the match. But Joy and Nyx were already getting closer, with the former opening her eyepatch to reveal the star's eyes.

"As far as I enjoy your determination, We don't have time to spare. I surely didn't expect to use this earlier, buuuut I guess I have no choice." Joy commented. Soon, the eyes started to function, revealing a weak point in the eels' heads. "Well…it seems that they have a core despite being spiritual beings. Nothing impossible, am I right, Nyx?" She asked.

Nyx scoffed, but she went closer either way. She made some ninja movements with her hands and a rifle made out of ethernano appeared in her hands. She quickly aimed at one of the eels, with Joy putting a hand above her rifle.

"You know that every hunt is the same for me." She simply said.

Joy could giggle at that. "That's what I love to hear!" Nothing else needed to be said. The two of them went in synchrony with their magic and released a single bullet made out of magic from their combined powers, which was able to pierce through the eel's head, making it evaporate. The other one tried to swallow them whole, but all it took for them was to aim at it and eliminate it the same way.

Once the road was clear, Joy gently rubbed her head with Nyx's. "I just love the results our chemistry gets. We surely are a great couple don't you think?"

Nyx seemed to like it as she grinned back. "You do know you're one of the few who's allowed to touch me, sweetie."

"Save this theater for when we get the bones. We surely don't have time to waste." Quetzalcoatl interrupted them before getting back on track.

"Maaan, why is he always this gloomy? Is it because he wasn't able to take down the fish?" Joy complained.

"He does have a point though. I promise you to cuddle as much as you want when we're done." Nyx told her.

Naturally, the blonde ninja was pleased to hear that. "Only the best treatment for me, right?"

Nyx looked elsewhere, with her cheeks slightly red. "You know the deal."

"Aaaah! I love it when you're all tsundere! Come on, then! Whoever is making this stuff doesn't have a chance!" Joy replied.

Nothing else needed to be added, as the two girls followed Quetzalcoatl, unaware that someone else was able to get on the track.

A few steps below, the four mages of Shogunate Pride were moving as fast as they could toward the top. Ren in particular was going fast thanks to the electricity, and the other three were doing their best to keep on par with him.

"How much do you think it will take to get on top, Fern?" Ren asked.

"I think around twenty-five minutes. It's not as high as you'd expect, but it's not even that short either!" Fern replied after a small mental calculation.

"So, in short, it depends on us, right?" Nobuhito asked.

"Yes, no matter how much we take, as long as we get in there before the Crow Clan do, we should be ok!" Rokumon answered.

And then, just as he said it, they all started to feel a strange perception.

A strange buzzing noise could be heard, and all colors turned on a negative tone.

"Uh!?" The four mages started to look around with their weapons at the ready. It didn't take long for them to realize that this wasn't natural.

"What the hell's happening!?" Ren exclaimed.

"Maybe they've anticipated us? I mean…I'm pretty sure we've made some noise down there…" Nobuhito guessed.

"Whatever it is, keep your eyes open…" Rokumon warned. And so, they did.

But…even so, with all the attention they were using…they couldn't sense anything in particular, and no one seemed to get closer to them.

The strange effects around them were still in there, but nothing dangerous seemed in the air.

"Uhm…is it me or nothing's happening?" Nobuhito asked.

"This is surely a trick! Don't let it deceive you!" Fern warned. "Keep your eyes open!"

"Though we could try to move as long as we're unharmed…" Rokumon suggested.

Fern was sweating due to the strange situation, but the fellow mage seemed to have a fair point. It surely wasn't a safe situation, but they could still move.

"Alright, let's keep moving! Keep your eyes open!" He replied.

The others agreed and kept on moving. The effects didn't seem to finish for a few more minutes. And then…everything turned back to normal.

"Hey, it stopped!" Ren exclaimed.

"What…just happened? Everything is still too strange and suspicious…" Fern wondered.

Everyone looked around to see if anything changed…and Nobuhito was the first to notice that something was different.

The detail that made him notice was seeing the soldiers they defeated just a few moments ago. "What the…?"

The others didn't take too long to notice them as well. "Wait…how did these get in here?" Ren wondered.

Fern started to sweat. "Or maybe…" A grim thought came into his mind that made him look up…just to confirm his theory.

The top of the mountain seemed farther…which meant that…

"WE GOT BACK AT THE FEET OF THE MOUNTAIN!" He shouted, annoyed.

"WHAT!?" Nobuhito and Rena exclaimed.

" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rokumon whined out, even if it wasn't for a lie.

"How did that happen!? Nothing else happened besides those negative colors and that strange feeling!" Ren asked.

Fern gritted his teeth and looked up at the top. "I don't know if this is the work of those ninjas that went up or something else, but we cannot afford to lose more time! Come on, let's get back up! This time we'll reach that top!"

"Ah, yes!" The others exclaimed. Even if things weren't clearer, they still needed a job they couldn't fail.

With that in mind, they tried to climb the mountain again but…the scene was the same with the negative colors and the weird feeling…and they ended up back at the beginning.

"WHAT!?" Annoyed, they've tried to do it again…

"Eh!?"

And again…

"GRRRRR!"

And again…

"STOP IT!"

And again…

"AAAAAAAAAH! THIS IS RIDICOLOUS! No Teleport Magic I know would be THIS powerful!" Fern started to lose his temper at seeing so many failures.

"Is there someone that strong up there?" Ren wondered.

"Even so, what are we supposed to do? At this point, they'll reach the top first and get the bone! Man…whoever's doing this must be a truly sly fox…" Nobuhito commented, not knowing that the word he used was ironic.

But while the others were starting to get concerned, Rokumon looked carefully at the top, trying to analyze all the details of that strange feeling.

" Hmmm…whenever we try to get up there, the bizarre feeling starts up and after a few moments, we're back here. But that's all it happens…we don't get attacked either. I think that…this is a spell made just to keep us away from getting further. So maybe…there's a way to go around it." He thought.

Wanting to test out his theory, the older samurai started to go by himself in a few steps.

"Uh? Roku? What are you doing?" Nobuhito asked, noticing him.

"Don't try anything hasty!" Fern tried to warn him, but Ren put an arm in front of him.

"Wait…maybe he figured out something."

Rokumon kept on walking for a few steps while staying focused, and after he reached a certain distance, he started to feel a strange sensation and the colors assumed a negative tone around him. Nothing new so far. But this time…instead of running forward, he decided to assume a different type of approach.

He closed his eyes…and started to concentrate.

" Do not let sight deceive you…rely on the others senses…and on your mind…" He kept his mind concentrated, trying to maintain it pure and stable, and by doing so…even if his eyes were closed…

He could see a clear road ahead of him.

" I see!" Seeing the perfect chance, Rokumon started to run forward, to the others' surprise, until he could feel that the strange sensation and the negative colors were gone. When he opened his eyes again, he could see with satisfaction that he made huge progress compared to what things were doing up until then.

"He…he made it!" Nobuhito exclaimed all happy.

"Hey, Roku! How did you do it? You didn't come back!" Fern fairly asked.

"That feeling is an illusion! It gives us the sensation we're going forward, but in reality, it drives us to go backward to the beginning all over again!" Rokumon explained.

"Ah! But of course…how could I not think of it…" Fern commented.

"All you need to do is to concentrate with your minds and let your other senses guide you so that you can deceive whatever spell this is," Rokumon added.

They didn't need to add anything else and simply followed his instructions. And just as they did so, the result wasn't that different, and even the others were able to reach their guildmate, even if the top was still far.

"Eh eh! It worked! Although that'll probably be the first thing to do…" Nobuhito commented.

"To think that we would have gotten dragged this long by a mere illusion…they're not playing around…" Fern added.

"What matters is that we got here and that we'll have to expect more of this stuff! Thanks, Roku!" Ren thanked his friend, who was happy to hear it.

"What can I say? I simply used the third trait of a samurai: きれいな心 – Kireina kokoro; A clean mind. Now let's keep moving and get that bone!" Rokumon exclaimed.

That last part brought up an awkward silence in the group.

"…You know, that last thing you said might be misinterpreted-" Nobuhito pointed out before getting interrupted by Fern.

"LET'S GET MOVING ALREADY!"

With that, the run for the bone could start for real. They didn't know that the more advanced ninjas of the Crow Clan were getting busy, giving them a small advantage, but this surely didn't mean that the samurais' road was easier.

At a certain point, they could see the boulders around them start to float and crumble into several pieces which fell on them like heavy rain.

"What the!? LIVING ROCKS!?" Ren exclaimed.

Rokumon saw the danger and promptly stood in front of it. " Durandal!" With his Odachi blade, Rokumon created a wall of flames to destroy the approaching debris.

Ren sweated a bit before turning around, noticing that more boulders were coming from above, moved by a mysterious force. "More rocks, six o'clock!" He warned.

Fern turned around and saw them as well. "Oh, are you kidding me!? War Devil's Summoning!" To fix the problem, he summoned a big enough shotgun to destroy the rocks with just a few bullets. "Let's keep going before we get squashed!" He warned.

His prediction wasn't that wrong, as more rocks fell on that spot, almost making that spot of the mountain crumble.

As the group of samurais went on, they got inside a closed space that revealed a lot of spectral piranhas floating around, glaring at them.

"What the!?" Fern exclaimed.

Nobuhito on the other hand didn't seem afraid, as he took out what seemed to be a water gun.

"…A water gun? Really?" Fern asked, a bit skeptical.

"A holy water gun, to be precise!" Nobuhito replied, all proud, before shooting at some of the piranhas, managing to melt them away.

Fern was just astonished. "…You know what? I shouldn't make questions at this point." After those words, he took out his medieval flail and started to destroy the spirit as well by infusing some of his Devil Slayer Magic into his weapon. Rokumon did the same by exorcising the piranhas with his flames.

" Banishing creatures like this is a child's play for me at this point." He thought. Soon, all of the fishes were gone, but a giant earthquake caught the attention of the samurais, making them look up, only to see a giant spectral moray eel approach them with its jaws wide open.

"Ah, crap! It's getting too close!" Fern exclaimed, but Ren was already in his position.

"Thunderstrike Slash!" In an instant, the S-Class Mage passed through all the moray eel's body, making it evaporate. He then turned around with a thumbs up. "We can proceed!"

"Didn't you feel a bit…disgusted at passing through an entire creature's guts?" Rokumon asked.

"Well, it was immaterial." The other mage replied.

"Oh…fair enough…"

After that quick exchange of words, the group came back to the external, only to find another bizarre sight: what seemed to be several Hanafuda cards floating around them.

"What the!? Hanafuda cards!?" Rokumon exclaimed.

"At least we know that whoever is doing this is from these parts!" Nobuhito added.

"These obstacles are getting weirder every second that passes!" Fern commented.

The cards were surrounded by a magical purple aura and flew themselves against the mages at high speed.

Like with the boulders, Fern stepped forward to use his medieval flail and swing it to deflect all the cards, though this time, he had to swing it everywhere, as the cards were attacking from more angles. It seemed like a hard job since the cards seemed a lot numerous.

"I think I'll need a little hand in here, boys!" Fern exclaimed. As soon as he finished saying it, Ren was already jumping above him.

"Soon said! Thunderbolt Barrage!" The samurai mage summoned a barrage of lightning bolts that wiped out most of the cards.

As the finishing blow, Nobuhito jumped up as well, throwing a pack of dynamites everywhere. "I see an overload of birthday cards! Better clean up!"

A few small explosions occurred, cleaning the road for the group, who could proceed.

" Man…we're getting closer by the moment, but whoever is doing this is quite stubborn!" Rokumon thought.

As they climbed higher, more obstacles came by, between flashes of purple flashes of lightning coming from above despite the clear sky, deflected thanks to Ren, meat whips that tried to throw the samurais away, cut by Rokumon (they all felt a bit disgusted by that), spears coming from underground that jumped up as soon as they got closer to them, spotted out to Nobuhito.

They could see that the road was getting more impervious as they got closer, implying that someone was targeting them, and they were doing it with no mercy, but this wasn't the first challenge the group of samurais faced, so they were able to find a way to pass through all those obstacles, although without some fatigue.

They arrived near the end with their heads sweating.

"Anf…anf…are you ok, guys?" Fern asked.

"Yeah, somehow. They're not hard obstacles, but they surely make us use a lot of stamina!" Nobuhito replied.

"Well…see it from the bright side, at least we're almost theeeeeeeeeeeeere…?" Ren wanted to cheer them up, but he stopped himself as soon as he saw an even stranger sight.

What seemed like five hundred soldiers made out of earthenware stood in front of them.

Another awkward silence followed, with the cries of the vultures that could be heard in the distance.

Fern knew what was coming, but his hope was the last to die. "…Wouldn't it be great if they were just a lot of statues-" He couldn't even finish the line that the statues moved on their own, with weapons at the ready. "Someone hates us up there. All right…time to one last strike before the top. Ready?"

"Ready!" The others replied.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" After that confirmation, Fern threw himself with the medieval flail, jumping right in the middle of the soldiers, who tried to reduce him to a pincushion with their weapons.

The War Devil Slayer ended up getting some cuts, but through his training and experience as a mage of Shogunate Pride, he got used to enduring more than just one damage against more enemies and continued his rampage without repercussions. His medieval flail went wide and violent against those dummies, reducing them to debris. And apart from that, he also unleashed his War Devil Roar to unleash a roar of bullets to take more of them.

Nobuhito went a bit away from them and prepared two revolvers full of magical bullets he developed by himself. Once they were loaded, he aimed at the soldiers and started to aim at their heads, managing to crush their heads. Although, due to their number and their speed, he was forced to jump from spot to spot so that they couldn't get him. "There! Who said that Tammy was the only one with a good aim?" He commented before noticing something behind him. "Uh oh!" When he turned around, he could see more soldiers trying to stab him in the back.

As fast as he could, Nobuhito put away his revolvers to draw his wakizashi sword and slash them in half together with one horizontal attack. "Phew! That was close!"

"Lightning Dance!" Ren, on the other hand, tapped into the power of lightning to enhance his strength and speed and went straight forward against the soldiers that were aiming at him like authentic lightning, reducing them into pieces.

"Dance of Naraka!" Rokumon did the same by moving around the soldiers, slashing through them with flames that followed his blade All the attacks were direct and clean, leaving only a small group of soldiers, who still tried to charge at them since they were automats in the end.

"All right, I think all that is left is one last push! LET'S GO!" Fern suggested.

All four samurais released one last war cry as they dashed directly to cut down the last soldiers with enough ease. All that remained was just a lot of debris.

"Phew…I think that marks the end…" Nobuhito commented before looking at the top, which was just a few steps ahead. Even the others followed.

"It was a tough road and we ended up getting busy, but we didn't see any more of those ninjas trying to climb the mountain like us, so…either we surpassed them, or they've already reached the top," Ren commented.

"I don't see why it should be a matter of worry. A match with them is still almost inevitable. And, even if they did end up getting there before us, we can still take them down." Rokumon added.

"Yeah…gotta say, I was a lot skeptical…but we aren't that bad as a team, after all," Fern said.

"Really? So, I'm not as annoying as you thought!" Nobuhito asked with a smile.

At that, Fern made a skeptical face. "Don't get too comfy now."

To the red-armored samurai, that was enough to be satisfied. "Well, at this point only one thing is left to do!"

With everything settled and the road clear, the group finally reached the top. They hoped that all that it was left to do was to secure the bone, but deep inside, they knew that something else awaited them.

Something more challenging.

---

Unlike what they had thought, the top of the mountain seemed pretty desert and rocky, like the rest. The wind flew gently on their hair, and small clouds were standing in the sky above them, circling like a spiral.

Nobuhito looked around. "Hmm…I don't see anyone here. Could it be…that we made it first?" He wondered.

"Don't let your guard down. We don't know if we could get attacked one moment or another…" Fern added.

"Still…this quiet is relaxing, almost as if this top was a place of rest. Maybe…what we faced up until now were just curses. Though it would be strange at that point…" Rokumon commented.

"Well…as long as it stays like this, we should hurry to retrieve the bone. Though this place seems quite empty. Where could it be?" Ren added.

He put up a good question as the top seemed bare. But they knew that they couldn't have been wrong, especially considering that the Crow Clan was also there.

After a few minutes of looking around, Nobuhito spotted something in the distance. "Uh? What the…?" It could have been the perspective that was deceiving him, so he took a binocular to be extra sure. And what he found out surprised him.

What seemed like a small temple stood at the center of the top. Considering the reason they came there in the first place, it was like finding a treasure chest at the end of a dungeon.

"Ah-ha!"

"What is it, Nobu?" Rokumon asked.

"It seems that we may have a road. There's a small temple right there." The other samurai mage promptly answered, pointing in the direction.

"Really? How did I miss that!? Man, I should really start to use a pair of glasses. In any case, I think I don't need to explain what we must do, correct?" Fern added.

"Not at all! Come on, let's get in there!" Ren concluded. The other samurais agreed and immediately started to run towards the temple.

But they weren't able to even get near it so a sudden rain of purple flashes of lightning attacked them and pushed them away.

"GAAAAAAH!"

A lot of dust started to appear, and the bodies of the samurais were still covered in purple electric shockwaves.

"N-Nghh…what is this magic!?" Ren wondered before looking around. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, somehow! That attack was even too immediate! What's going on!?" Nobuhito answered.

Rokumon could then hear some footsteps approaching, making him slightly widen his eyes and prepare the Odachi sword. "Ah! Someone's coming! Get ready!"

The rest of the group got alarmed and got ready as well.

The footsteps could be slowly heard better, confirming the presence of someone. To confirm it further, a silhouette could be seen from the pile of dust.

"So, you made it to the very top! Gosh, how can people get this annoying sometimes!? Couldn't you just turn back and go home as soon as I cast the illusion back at the start!?" It was a feminine voice.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we have a solid reason for getting in here! Who are you, anyway? Are you with the Crow Clan?" Fern asked.

"Crow Clan? I don't know what's that supposed to be." The voice answered before wiping away the dust to reveal its appearance.

"Could it be? That she they were talking about at the village?" Ren wondered.

The samurais were surprised to see a young lady with two fox ears and a fox tail, who seemed ready to fight. It was Hitori.

"What I do know…is that I can't let you go any further." She spoke with a menacing tone. However to some of them…that wasn't the message they got.

"A…fox lady?" Fern asked, confused.

"I did hear legends about them, but I'd never expected to meet one of them in person…" Rokumon added. "Are you sure you want to fight, lady?" He asked.

Hitori blushed and felt offended. "H-HEY! What kind of question is that!? Didn't you see all those bolts of lightning!? Or all the things you've met before coming here!? I WAS THE ONE WHO MADE THEM!"

"Really? Then what's with those fox things you got?" Ren asked.

Hitori felt even more embarrassed. "THIS IS A CURSE! An ancestor of mine pissed off a kitsune by making all of his female descendants look like foxes, b-but, but WE'RE NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS!" She exclaimed. Her shouts could be heard echoing throughout the mountain.

The samurais were left confused.

"…Are you ok?" Rokumon asked.

"NO, I'M NOT! You didn't even make me introduce myself-" Hitori was starting to freak out more often before she slapped herself to calm down. "Chill out, you can do this…"

Fern already lost the sense of danger he felt from her, as he assumed a skeptical expression. "And here I thought I've met enough crazy people…"

"She looks like one of us already…I like her!" Nobuhito added.

Finally, the guardian priestess could take a breath. "Ok, let's just start over." She assumed a battle pose. "I am Hitori Kokatsuna! I am the guardian priestess left in charge of protecting this mountain!"

The samurais gasped at that affirmation.

Hitori didn't stop as she took out what seemed to be a katana like theirs. "And I know exactly why you're here. I don't know for what insane purpose you're trying to do this, but as long as I'm here, you won't lay a finger on Jaquio's bone!"

Fern started to sweat. "Maybe we talked to soon…she knows a lot more than we expected…"

"Wait, you got it all wrong! We're here to secure it!" Ren exclaimed, trying to reason with her.

"Oh? And why on Earth should I believe you? That bone is a cause of misfortune, the curse that my ancestor Shiobana had to maintain ever since the demon was defeated! And those who preceded me could see all types of evil-doers that tried to obtain power through it, just like those other scoundrels who are trying to climb the mountain!" Hitori protested.

Rokumon widened his eyes after hearing that. " Is she talking about the Crow Clan?" He asked. "That's exactly the point! We came here because of them, but to stop them! We don't want them to get the bone!"

"Oh, what? So that you could get it!? I am sick and tired of people trying to deceive me or say they have good intentions just to get closer to the temple! I won't allow anyone to step that easily on my duty like it was nothing!" Hitori insisted on her position, starting to release some of her magic.

It was something that the small group of Shogunate Pride could feel clearly, as they felt more alarmed.

"She's manifesting her true powers! Greater ones than what we had faced up until now!" Fern exclaimed.

"If you insist that much on getting that bone…YOU'LL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH ME FIRST!" Hitori exclaimed. Nothing else for her was needed to add. She already started to swing her katana before planting it on the ground. "Nine-Tailed Kitsune's Curse!" In an instant, the energy she spread manifested in nine large will-o-wisps that appeared around her before throwing themselves at the samurais.

"WATCH OUT!" Ren and the others started to jump away from their trajectory and moved around to not get hit. The flames slammed on the ground, leaving wide craters and making some explosions that released some dust.

Thanks to his magic, Ren was able to get as far as possible from the attack. Though he still had to catch his breath. "Man…who would have thought she was this- UH!?" He didn't get to comment that he suddenly saw Hitori approaching him closely with her katana at the ready. "AH DAMMIT!" Ren had to quickly use his sword to answer his attack and start a clash.

The iron made noise and sparks were emitted from the clashes, but to his surprise, Ren found himself getting dragged back by the priestess's attacks. " Is she that fast!?"

"Fox Style – First Form – Wild Hunt!" Suddenly, Hitori dashed forward with an elegant movement of the sword, making it slip on purpose to hit Ren on the spleen and surpass him.

"AGH!" Ren felt terrible pain for it, but he turned around in time to see that Hitori already made an elegant jump backward to dive attack him with the katana. "Lightning Dance!" The S-Class Mage used his technique to enhance his reflexes and block the attack in time. But even with that power being shown, Hitori seemed still focused on him. "O-Ok, I have to admit you're pretty tough…"

"And you still didn't see anything, thief!" Hitori exclaimed.

At that moment, Rokumon ran in their direction, charging already his flames from the sword. "Infernal Destiny!" The burst of flame threw itself with fury against Hitori.

The Kitsune priestess saw it and used her magic to teleport herself a few meters away, shocking the other mages.

"What the!?" Rokumon exclaimed. But even if astonished, he couldn't let his guard down and already threw himself against the girl, followed by Ren. "HAAAAA!"

Hitori stood ready, only to then find out that even Fern with a katana and Nobuhito with his wakizashi sword were throwing themselves at her. The girl found herself surrounded by all points, and surprisingly panicked.

"OH, COME ON, THAT'S NOT FAIR! Oh, wait a moment…" She was about to complain, but she then remembered something she could use, as she raised her sword. "Illusion Enchancement!" Suddenly, purple magic flowed through her sword and her body, and in an instant, she was able to keep up with all four samurais, who were trying to overwhelm her with their blades. Just as they were going to take her down, the girl became a rain of movements and reflexes that answered all attacks with skill and swiftness.

"Ngh! How does she do that!?" Nobuhito exclaimed.

"She has enhanced her movement like I do with the Lightning dance! We need to keep up!" Ren explained.

"Then we'll just have to push harder! We can still take her down with our strength!" Fern tried to encourage them, but Hitori was already glaring at them all.

"Are you sure of it?" After saying that, she made a single parry to counterattack all four of them, leaving a large cut in their bodies.

"NGH!"

Hitori then started to dance elegantly with her sword, taking advantage of their temporary stun. She moved the katana on her body as if she were composing a drawing with a brush. "Fox Style – Fourth Form – Reversal of the Nine Tails!"

"GAAAAAH!" After getting attacked several times, the four mages of Shogunate Pride were thrown away, and Hitori was still standing.

"Do you understand now!? Don't make me get even more violent than this!" The girl explained.

"Ngh…please, just let us explain! We're not here to harm you or your reputation! If we don't do anything, the bone will bring upon a terrible disaster!" Rokumon exclaimed.

"That's exactly the reason why I can't let you get inside that temple and take it! Once I'm done with you, even those other scoundrels will get it!" Once again, Hitori didn't want to listen to any objections, firm in her position. And to show it, she used her magic to summon hundreds of Hanafuda cards above her.

Fern widened his eyes. "Those cards!"

"Let's see if these will convince you, then! Illusion of the Hanafuda!" As soon as she shouted the spell's name, the Hanafuda cards started to generate magics of several elements aimed at the group.

"Damm it!" Not knowing what to do, Fern stood up and started to summon several magic circles that threw weapons against the blasts. "War Devil's Secret Technique – Rain of a Thousand Blades!"

The blasts started to cause several explosions throughout the area, leaving Hitori astonished. "W-What is that attack!?" She exclaimed. When she lowered her stare, she noticed too late that Nobuhito was already in front of her. "Uh!?"

"Gotcha now!" Nobuhito exclaimed before throwing her backward with a cut of his wakizashi sword.

"GAH!" Hitori got pushed back, but with her feet still solid to the ground. Despite this, she didn't notice that Ren was already running at her right before making a dive attack.

"Flash Combo!" The S-Class Mage immediately unleashed a fast sequence of lightning and sword attacks that fully hit Hitori, making her crash to the ground.

"AGH!" The priestess's body was full of electric shockwaves, but she found the strength to stand up. "N-Not yet…I can't make myself look so humiliating in front of my ancestors…"

"She can still get up!?" Fern exclaimed.

"I can assure you that your ancestors would be very proud of what you're doing now! But I think they wouldn't want to see you fight with us!" Nobuhito tried to reason once again, but this angered Hitori even further.

"This is the last straw! This is exactly the reason why they poured so much sweat and blood! Do you even have an idea of what would mean for me to fail this horrendously!? I was grown and trained for this!"

After hearing her, Ren made a melancholic smile. "Living up to traditions, eh?" It was almost like he knew something similar about it.

Hitori, on the other hand, drew her katana. "This will be the last time I'll say it, then I'll go straight for your demise! I won't let ANYONE get closer to the temple! You're finished!" After saying this, she jumped high and started to spin with her katana like a pointed wheel. "Fox Style – Third Form – One-Way Hunt!"

The dive attack was fast enough that it wiped out the two mages that previously attacked her, making them crash against rocks. "NGAH!"

She then turned around to take Fern down, but Rokumon stood in front of her.

"Don't think you've forgotten me! Longinus!" The older mage unleashed a spiral of flames with his sword to block Hitori's wheel and generate a clash.

They remained on an equal level for a while, but then Hitori used a spell to power herself up. "Illusion Enhancement!"

"Ngh!" Rokumon started to step backward in his attempt to keep struggling. "S-She's very tough!"

But luckily for him, Fern jumped in to help with a scimitar in his hands. He attacked Hitori as well to push her back and assist Rokumon. "War Devil's Summoning!"

"What!? D-Damm you!" Getting frustrated, Hitori jumped back, still at the ready. "Dammit dammit DAMMIT! Why can't you just quit!?"

"Why can't you just listen!?" Both Fern and Rokumon complained.

"BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN!" Hitori retorted.

"Dear God, this is a lost cause…but she's still making havoc out of us…" Fern commented. In the meantime, Nobuhito and Ren were able to catch up with the others.

"She has everything: strength, reflexes and magic. She's the perfect example of a guardian. Even if with our level she'll overwhelm us soon." Ren noticed.

"We need to find a break in her attacks…and maybe I have an idea…" Nobuhito then said.

"What is it? We don't have much time!" Fern said.

"It's actually simple. I'll just need you to make her busy while I weaken her. I have my ways!" Nobuhito replied with a smile.

"Eh eh, I know you can be just as a sly fox as-" Ren was about to comment, but he interrupted himself when the group got attacked by a pair of Hanafuda cards. "GAAAH!"

"WE WEREN'T DONE YET!" Fern shouted.

"Did you really think I'd let you finish on your muttering!?" Hitori exclaimed. She was starting to get the idea that they were dumb.

An awkward silence followed.

"…She has a point," Rokumon commented. "Ok, let's do this! Good luck Nobu!" Luckily, the plan was already settled and he, Fern, and Ren dashed forward to face her directly, while Nobuhito started to go away from the clash.

"Illusion of the Hanafuda!" Hitori already saw it coming and sent some of the Hanafuda cards to Nobuhito. "You're not escaping!"

"OH, AH! WAAAH!" Nobuhito had to make sure to not get hit while trying to get closer.

"THINK FOR YOURSELF!" Hitori's attention was then diverted from Rokumon and Fern who were already close to her.

"War Devil's Summoning!" In addition to the scimitar, Fern summoned a more western sword to attack the priestess with both hands.

"Dance of Naraka!" Rokumon, on the other hand, used a fast sequence of sword attacks infused with fire energy.

"Fox Style – Second Form – Defense Instinct!" To answer these attacks, Hitori moved her katana in a fast sequence to defend herself. But the two expert mages kept on going as fast and strong as they could.

"Hitori, I can understand how you're feeling! Your actions are in the right, but moved against the wrong people! We're also here to secure the bone from evil! You need to listen to what we have!"

"Even if you fight well, I cannot afford to listen to any of you! Especially after seeing what happened to the imperial guards down there! The bone is constantly threatened, and it's up to me to protect it!" Hitori countered.

"Fool, you're willing to isolate yourself so much for your devotion? Even if it meant not listening to reasoning people!? Then I think I can make you listen to us in only one way! War Devil's Roar!" Fern then unleashed a roar made of bullets and sharp shrapnel that slightly pierced Hitori's skin, leaving her exposed.

"AGH! W-What!?"

Right at that moment, Ren jumped above his two friends and aimed his sword at Hitori before diving against her. "Thunderstrike Slash!" Ren made a single slash with the sword to badly wound Hitori, hoping this would have calmed her down.

"GAH!"

"I can get the idea of disappointing someone and sticking to the rules! But you must learn how to do it properly and differentiate negative people from positive ones! Trust me, it's not hard once you get the hang of it!" Ren said after the attack, searching for eye contact with her.

Hitori remained silent at first, but then the mage of Shogunate Pride could see that she still had the strength to grit her teeth.

She generated a purple shockwave that wiped out the three mages and then planted her sword on the ground, starting to accumulate energy.

"AGH! What the!?" Fern exclaimed.

"No, Hitori! This isn't what I meant!" Ren added.

"Shut up! How many times do I have to tell you!? If you want to convince me you'll have to take me down!" Hitori protested. At that point, nothing else would have convinced her (not that anything else was convincing her either).

The mages of Shogunate Pride could see that the accumulated energy started to take the form of a purple sphere, big enough to take them down.

"ISN'T THIS A BIT TOO MUCH!?" Fern protested.

Nobuhito was a few meters behind the priestess. Seeing the danger of the situation, he held his sword tightly and started to run towards her. " Please hurry up, please hurry up, please hurry up, please hurry up!"

"If you're doing your job, IT'S NEVER TOO MUCH! TAKE THIS! MEGA DESTRUCTION DARK BALL OF DARKNESS AND DESTRUCTION!" Eager to finish it, Hitori threw the sphere with violence.

The three mages saw it approaching with agitation.

"First off, THAT'S THE STUPIDEST NAME I HAVE EVER HEARD FOR AN ATTACK! And second, we could be in real trouble! Do you think we can do a Unison Raid?" Fern suggested.

"Really? We need to go that deep!?" Ren asked, surprised.

"That seems like a strong attack. It's now or never!" Rokumon replied, ready to summon flames from his blade.

"Alright, I'm with you guys!" Ren agreed, not knowing other solutions and charging himself with electricity.

"Then let's do this!" Fern concluded. The three of them then raised their swords and unified their magic into a tri-combined blast of magic, unleashing a classic spell between mages.

"UNISON RAID!"

The attack clashed against the sphere, making a large earthquake that could be heard throughout the mountain. And still, despite the combined forces of the three mages, Hitori seemed like she could face them.

"Don't…you dare…FACING ME LIKE THIS!" The priestess shouted.

"NGHHHH! Dammit! She trained herself hard, I hate it!" Fern commented as he tried to push further.

"Maybe she has the power of an S-Class Mage…keep on going!" Rokumon added.

Even Ren did his best to resist, but then…he saw something that calmed him a bit. "Heh, maybe we got this!"

"Uh?" The other two mages asked.

Hitori was unaware of what they were saying and kept on pushing with the sphere. "KEEP ON MUMBLING, I'LL JUST NEED TO TAKE YOU DOWN BEFORE- GH!?" Hitori was about to give the last charge to take them down, but she suddenly felt stabbed in the back. When she turned around, she could see that Nobuhito was able to reach her and attack her with her Wakizashi sword.

"Sorry about it. Don't worry, it won't hurt too much!" The boy commented.

"A-Agh…" Hitori started to feel the soporific effects of the sword, which weakened her magic, and as such, even the sphere started to weaken.

"NOW GUYS!" Nobuhito gave the signal, to which the others nodded.

"TAKE THIS!" Fern, Rokumon, and Ren all gave one last extra charge to their Unison Raid, which was able to pierce through the sphere, destroying it and reaching out directly for Hitori, who looked at it with an astonished face.

"You gotta be kidding me…GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Unable to do anything, Hitori got fully hit by the Unison Raid, which made her slam violently to the ground.

Finally, the small group could take a moment to breath.

"Phew…man if she was tough…" Fern commented.

"A remarkable guardian indeed. I hope we didn't do anything fatal to her." Rokumon added before turning at Nobuhito. "Thanks, Nobu."

"Hey, that's my job after all! And I should have found a way to compensate for the fact that I could not fight properly! I surely would have had trouble finding a way to use my magic on someone like her." Nobuhito replied.

Concerned about the outcome of the attack, the group came closer to the pile of dust, and once it faded away, it showed that Hitori had burns on her clothes and a lot of bruises, but she didn't knock it out entirely.

"G-Gh…" After some effort, she was able to stand up again, much to the mages' shock.

"What!?"

"G-Gh…I-I can't…I can't falter right now…" Hitori did her best to stand up and continue the fight but… "…Aaaah-" She fell on the ground again. The outcome was confirmed.

Rokumon kneeled to her. "Don't stretch yourself too much. You're wounded. It's better if you stay down for a while. I'm sorry we did this to you."

"Y-Yeah…I suppose you're right…NO WAIT! Why the hell am I saying this!?" Hitori started to whine. "I can't just support that! You're here to use the bone for whatever fucked up reason!"

"Damm, even when defeated, we have to tell you this again!? We're not here for evil intentions!" Fern exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, how!? Every time someone comes here is because they try to take the bone to use its power! How come that you should be that different, uh!?" Hitori questioned, still solid in her position.

"Hey hey, no need to agitate that much, it's fine with us. We're mages of Shogunate Pride." Ren answered.

Hitori was about to protest again but she stopped herself as soon as she heard the word 'mages'. Something suddenly started to be wrong with her beliefs. "W-Wait…did you say…you are mages? Like…coming from a legal guild?"

"Well…yeah! We're here on a mission!" Nobuhito replied.

Hitori widened her eyes in confusion. "…Eh? EEEEEEEEEEEH!? Y-YOU WERE MAGES OF A GUILD!? W-WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY THAT SOONER!?" She exclaimed.

"YOU ATTACKED US BEFORE WE COULD EXPLAIN!" All four mages shouted back.

Hitori made a dull face and then lowered her stare, disappointed. "O-Oh…you were right all along, then…damn if I suck…"

"Hey, everything's settled, now. Just…be careful next time, sir." Fern told her. Even if he was still annoyed at what happened, he started to calm himself down, since he knew that she didn't have evil intentions.

"I'm…deeply sorry. I should have known better. It's just that…" Hitori answered though she seemed a bit reluctant to continue.

"Go on! We won't judge." Ren supported her. Somehow, seeing that they were eager to listen, helped Hitori calm down and explain properly.

"Well…ever since I was a kid, I was raised by my parents as the sole duty to inherit the place as guardian priestess of this mountain. I've been told the story of our ancestor Shiobana and her role in taking down the demon. It was a story that always scared me ever since the first time I heard of it as if I could understand the gravity of the situation. I surely didn't want something like a demon to destroy everything, not while I was still young and living the fullest of my life! I was…afraid. I just didn't want anyone to get hurt. So, when I inherited the place, I made sure that this place would remain as protected as possible! And…as you can see…it brought a lot of problems, adding to the stress that got up the fact that I don't have much free time due to this duty. Then all those scammers tried to deceive me, I thought you were among them, and then…all the evil-doers that tried to get the bone for some messed-up reason. I'm just…trying to do my best."

The four mages felt a bit more compassionate about it. Nobuhito in particular looked at Fern.

"Aw, come on, Fern. Would you get mad at such a tender hard worker?" He asked.

"Hey, she still tried to kill us! But…I can see her point as well. It seems that you are among the many victims of work pressure. Trust me, it's a major issue here in Caelum." Fern said. "Just…try to be more careful next time."

"My guildmate here is right. True, there are a lot of people with horrible intentions, but sometimes, there are just people who want to help." Rokumon added.

"You surely wouldn't want to give this mountain a further bad name and end up alone! You're doing a great job, so I'm pretty sure there are a lot of people out there who would want to be friendly with you!" Nobuhito said.

Hitori was surprised to see their answers. It was the first time for her to see someone so friendly, to the point that she teared up a bit. "M-Man…you're so tender for someone like me. G-Guess I messed up hard this time…"

"Hey, it doesn't mean it'll always be like this. You know what they say, 'Never judge a book by its cover'! I surely know something about it." Ren replied.

"O-Ok, then…I accept defeat. I'm…willing to listen to you…it's the least I can do for being so patient with me." Hitori then, at last, made them talk.

And could finally get a grasp of the situation.

"So…those guys who attacked the imperial guards down there are a group of ninjas called the 'Crow Clan' and they're attempting to gather all the bones of Jaquio to achieve immortality?" Hitori asked.

"Yes. That pretty much sums it." Ren replied.

"And while we did come here to take the bone, it was to secure it. The other members of our guild are doing the same with the other parts." Rokumon added.

After hearing all of that, Hitori looked at them in silence for a few moments…and then gave a heavy headbutt at the ground, making her front bleed as well.

The other mages gasped at that.

"H-Hey! You ok!?" Ren exclaimed, worried.

"I'M AN EVEN BIGGER IDIOT! YOU CAME HERE TO SECURE THE BONE FROM THE ONE I WAS ALREADY KEEPING AT BAY AND INSTEAD, I'VE ATTACKED YOU! I'M A REAL JACKASS!" Hitori whined out.

The four mages of Shogunate Pride felt bad for her.

"…W-Well…it's always a good thing to be modest with yourselves!" Nobuhito commented, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Ok…you surely convinced me with this…" Hitori said, feeling a bit better and more self-aware. She leaned her eyes towards the temple in that distance. "The…the bone is inside that temple."

"So we just have to take it? No traps or curses?" Ren asked.

"If anything…I've thrown you everything I could." Hitori simply replied. "And…if it's not too much if you're going to take it away…can I come with you? I…want to make sure that I'm doing my duty as best as I can…"

Rokumon looked at Fern. "What do you say? I don't think it would be a bad idea."

"True enough. Ok, you can come with us. Just make sure to stay close to us. You'll need some treatment." Fern answered.

Ren proposed himself to take her up. "Well, you listened to them! Grab my- GAH!"

Suddenly…the mage got attacked by a bullet of energy from behind that made him fall to the ground.

Everyone else looked astonished at the scene and immediately got worried.

"REN!"

Nobuhito leaned down to him. "Are you ok, buddy!?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah…though it hurts!" Ren commented, still feeling some pain.

"W-Who did this-?" Fern wondered.

Trying to find the reason, Rokumon looked in the direction from where the bullet arrived, and when he saw the answer with his eyes, he widened them. "Oh no…they did it…"

The others raised their stares and were astonished as well.

"Oh dear…what have I done…?" Hitori commented.

Joy, Nyx, and Quetzalcoatl were able to reach the top as well, with Joy already having her star eye open. "It did take quite a while but it seems that we finally arrived…"

"And it looks like we've got preceeded," Nyx added.

"There they are!" Fern exclaimed.

"They must be the stronger members of the Crow Clan sent to this zone…" Rokumon added.

Hitori looked at them and got alarmed. "I-It was them! They're the ones who took down all the imperial guards!"

"Now, now, you don't need to mention that! They just got in the way! And I'm pretty sure you know that if you don't want to do the same end, you'll have to move." Joy answered.

"Oh, really? And do you expect us to listen to you?" Nobuhito answered, ready to fight, while Ren stood up as well.

"I-It's my fault…I've used all the energy to you guys and by doing so, I've made my illusions disappear and I've opened the road to them…" Hitori commented, feeling guilty.

"Hey, we all make mistakes. Don't worry, we can still fight. Focus on resting now. We'll take it from here!" Ren assured her.

"G-Guys…" Hitori whispered.

"You'll take it from here, you say? It's clear that you don't have an idea of who you're dealing with." Joy commented.

"We'll see about that," Rokumon replied with a more serious tone.

"Are you sure? Because if there's one thing that we always make sure to respect in the Crow Clan…" Joy started while Quetzalcoatl started to clap his fist.

"Is that we never leave a mission uncleared." He concluded.

Fern held his medieval flail tight. "Get ready guys…"

Joy and Nyx were already preparing their bullets, and Joy's eyes were starting to glow red while she made a grin.

"You'd better be…because we're going to start a dance here. A dance of pain."

---

And we've finally made it! Even if it ended up being shorter than the other chapters, I'm still glad that we got to end it since it has been a while since we last got here, and naturally, let me explain why we got to this first big gap of the story. As I said at the beginning, I've got hooked up in Fate/Grand Order during these last months and progressed a lot through the story, and considering how long the chapters are in that game, they naturally took a lot of time. Apart from that, I've surprisingly gotten a lot distracted this summer in everything, which is something I didn't expect to happen, considering how I worked last year during this period, which is something that saddened me a bit. Luckily, I've started to get back to my psychologist and I've started to take some pills on how to concentrate better, and I think I'm starting to see the effects of it, so I hope this will help me out a lot to get back on this story.

As for this chapter, it was curious to see how to work with this particular group, as they are very different from each other, so I saw what type of funny interactions I could get with them considering that this story is still a comedy after all, and I think we've seen it a lot with the character of Hitoi Kokatsuna, which is, in a way, the star of today's episode, and it was a challenge to build her up since she was a last moment addition to the chapter, which was structured differently at first and with different characters! I may have more surprises for her, following this chapter, but I'll see if to put them or not, even though I wouldn't mind at all since she ended up being a funny character to write!

But of course, I leave the last word to you! Did you like the chapter? What did you think of this particular group? What are your opinions on the weird priestess guardian Hitori? How do you think the battle with the Crow Clan mages will go? As always, let me know with your reviews. Your opinion is important!

It was a bit sad to not have been as productive as I wished I would during this summer, but hey, we still have four months before the end of this month, so there are still a lot of things I can do! To compensate for these months of absence, I was thinking of making a marathon of chapters following this one so that I can get back on the wasted time and see if I can at least complete the Crow Clan Arc before the end of 2024. Would you like that? Let me know!

But in the end, I'm very glad that I got to finish this and get back to work! So don't worry, after seeing the feedback I'm getting, this story won't be discontinued that easily! So once again, I thank you for reading this chapter and I hope to see you either in the next one or the next chapter of another story of mine! From Bluestar here, arrivederci!