User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater ∂: Those Who Change History, chapter 10

Nobunaga could not believe his ears. His sister, Oichi, captured? And by—

—by the Orochi, supposedly just a being from Japan’s ancient myths?

Nobunaga did not know which of these was more astonishing — but no matter the answer, he could not afford to waste time. Oichi was in danger, and the Orochi had returned… and without a god like Susano’o to stop it, the Orochi would likely bring destruction to the world.

“Mitsuhide!!” Nobunaga roared. “How quickly can my men be made ready?”

Mitsuhide sheathed his blade. “With current troop deployments, milord,” he began, “we can have each and every last soldier gathered here on the morrow. Will that be sufficient?”

“Good, good,” came Nobunaga’s response. Assemble every last man at Kiyosu Castle’s gates by noon tomorrow. We march on the Orochi’s lair at…”

Nobunaga stopped. “Come to think of it,” he began, “where IS the Orochi’s lair?”

Hideyoshi stepped forward. “According to Kamigui records and to sparse references from the Kojiki, the Orochi made its home in the frozen mountains to the far north… however, considering that milord’s sister has just been captured, it should be far closer.”

“Mitsuhide,” spoke Nobunaga, “rally four squads of soldiers from those stationed here and send them north, south, east, and west respectively. Tell them to look for anything out of the ordinary, and have them signal the other squads and report back here immediately as soon as they find the Orochi.”

“It shall be done, milord.”  Mitsuhide turned and left the field, heading towards the castle proper.

Having set that aside, Nobunaga turned to Hideyoshi, who remained nearby.

“Hideyoshi,” he began, “you mentioned the Kojiki. Is this… truly the same Orochi as the one told of in myth?”

“I’m afraid so,” came Hideyoshi’s calm reply. “You see, the Kamigui’s own investigations have turned up evidence that seems to suggest that events depicted in the Kojiki actually happened — with some embellishment, of course. It would appear that more than one of these so-called gods depicted in the Kojiki were in fact Aragami-slaying warriors, or Aragami themselves, of power so great that it eclipsed the understanding of the people around them. In the case of the tale of the Yamata-no-Orochi, we can see countless parallels. The Orochi itself was likely an Aragami of great power, and Susano’o the first actual Kamigui. He used the “gods’” forging techniques to craft a blade out of one of the Yamata-no-Orochi’s heads, a blade which he then used to slay the beast. Sound familiar?”

A chill ran down Nobunaga’s spine. “Slaying a beast with a blade made from the beast itself? It sounds just like how you Kamigui slay the Aragami with Aragami-forged weapons…”

“And what’s more,” Hideyoshi continued, “the forging processes Susano’o is recorded as having used closely mimic the techniques I have just demonstrated for you in forging your and Mitsuhide’s blades.”

Nobunaga was taken aback. “So what does this all mean?”

“What it means,” responded Hideyoshi, “is that the Orochi that has appeared before us now is in fact an Aragami, and as Kamigui, we should be able to slay it… as should you, theoretically, considering the power you now possess. As your hired servant, I would advise that you stay back… but I know that such a course of action would not suit you, now would it?”

“You would be correct in that regard, Hideyoshi,” came Nobunaga’s affirmative reply, as he straightened himself up. “Mitsuhide should have dispatched my soldiers by now and recalled the rest… perhaps the two of us should withdraw to my planning room to discuss our next course of action?”

Hideyoshi nodded. “That sounds prudent, milord.”

And so the two departed the field and headed towards Kiyosu Castle…

-

“So,” Nobunaga began, the atmosphere tense as he sat in his strategy room with Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide at his side, accompanied by his finest generals. Between them, on the floor, lay a massive map of the land, with Kiyosu at its center. “Depending on the response from our scouting patrols, we have four options. Should the Orochi be found to the south, we should gather all our forces and press towards it from the north, flanking it against the sea. East and west should warrant the opposite approach, I believe: we should take ships along the coast and trap it between us and this castle.”

“And should it be found to the north, milord…?” came the inquiry of one of the generals.

“To the north? I fear our best option might be to petition Takeda Shingen for aid. Surely the Kamigui in his service has filled him in on the current situation. I am sure that he would be willing to join forces if only to accomplish the goal of slaying the Orochi…”

Mitsuhide spoke up. “A prudent decision, milord. Although I cannot help but wonder…”

“Wonder what, Mitsuhide?”

“Pardon me for saying this, but the Orochi’s sudden appearance and then disappearance after kidnapping Lady Oichi seems a bit too convenient. What if — and bear with me on this, milord — what if its objective was not solely to accost Lady Oichi, but to ensure that our forces would be scattered in trying to locate it? What if—”

A chill once again ran down Nobunaga’s spine.

“—the Orochi is in fact—”

Nobunaga did not get to finish his sentence, as he was cut off by a mighty rumbling. From beneath the floor below them, a malefic arm burst forth, an arm clad in black and gold and tipped with a sinister fanged maw. Chaos erupted in the planning room among the generals as one of them quickly found himself ensnared in these jaws, only to be pulled back beneath the ground as the ground rumbled once more and the culprit revealed itself.

A magnificent beast bedecked in gold fur with black ornamentation, the beast that stood before them here sported a malicious face not unlike that of a dragon and wolf combined, with the body of a tiger lined with magnificent silver fur, and possessing two mighty arms sprouting from its back, replete with two mighty maws not unlike the beast’s own. In one of these sets of jaws, the captured general’s body was gripped tightly, the screams and sounds of crunching bones curdling the blood of all in the room. And in the other —

“Oichiiiii!”

Nobunaga’s cry was in response to what lay trapped in the Orochi’s second arm-head; the very much alive and very much trapped body of Nobunaga’s younger sister. As she struggled to free herself, she caught sight of her brother, of Nobunaga, standing there before her with sword in hand.

“Brother…! You must flee! This beast cannot be struck down by human hands!” came Oichi’s cries.

“Nonsense, sister! Can’t you see?”  Nobunaga held his blade aloft. “I have power now! Power enough to unify all of Japan before me, and power certainly sufficient to slay this beast! Hold steady while I free you!”

Nobunaga made a move to charge forward but was held in place by a very worried Hideyoshi.

“Milord, please, calm yourself and hear what I have to say!” Hideyoshi blurted out. “Do you recall the tale of the Yamata-no-Orochi in the Kojiki? It kidnapped and devoured seven maidens before attempting to do the same to Kushinada-hime, whereupon Susano’o stopped it. Do you realize why it has come back now, and here of all places?”

Nobunaga contemplated for a moment, a moment all too brief as a stroke of realization hit him.

“You mean…?”

“That is correct,” came Hideyoshi’s reply. “The Orochi seeks to devour your sister to complete itself! Once it has consumed the blood of the eighth maiden, it will attain a level of power that cannot be called of this world! It will become a being that not even the gods of old would have been able to handle! If you act rashly, the Orochi might bite down prematurely, and then who knows what might happen!”

“Out of my way!” Nobunaga cried out. “That abomination has my SISTER and I will not stand by and let it do what it will with her!”

With those words, Hideyoshi raised his hand and delivered a stern slap across Nobunaga’s face.

Rage clouded Nobunaga’s face. “You cur… you dare raise a hand against me?!”

He brought his blade swinging down onto Hideyoshi, who effortlessly blocked it with his own blade.

“CALM YOURSELF, MILORD! Act rashly and you will endanger the lives of everyone here, let alone your sister’s!”

Nobunaga stood, straining against Hideyoshi’s blade, before eventually calming his breathing and lowering his sword.

“You’re right… I’m sorry,” came Nobunaga’s hushed speech. “Let us analyze the situation and figure out the best course of—”

But the Orochi wasn’t about to give them that luxury.

In a single moment that seemed to stretch out into an eternity, the Orochi lifted up its head that held Oichi — and bit down. Everyone present was forced to behold the sight of the Orochi’s jaws closing down on Oichi’s body as her life was ended in a single instant, blood splattering out and raining down on those gathered there.

Nobunaga fell to his knees, ultimate despair having claimed him as his only living relative was slain before his very eyes.

“Oh, no…” Hideyoshi shuddered. “Milord, you must escape! The Orochi is about to assume its final form!”

But Nobunaga did not respond; the light of his life had been taken from him, and now only darkness remained.

And he could not unify Japan while this monster stood in his way, now could he?

“MILORD!”

No amount of coercing from Hideyoshi could convince Nobunaga to move… and then, like a bolt from the blue, a sharp sound rang out. There stood Mitsuhide, hand raised, and Nobunaga with a red mark on his face.

“COMPOSE YOURSELF, ODA NOBUNAGA!” shouted Mitsuhide. “There may be nothing we can do now, but if we retreat and gather ourselves, we WILL return and we WILL bring this beast to bay!”

Gradually, ever so slowly, Nobunaga rose to his feet.

“Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi…” he spoke, his voice barely audible, “you two leave, and take the surviving generals with you.”

“But what about you, milord?” came Hideyoshi’s reply.

“Me?”  Nobunaga stood, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “I am going to TAKE THIS BASTARD DOWN RIGHT HERE AND NOW!!”

Nobunaga raised his sword, the air around him instantly dropping to chilling temperatures as spikes of ice formed in the air.

And at that moment…

…the Orochi began to transform.

-

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE FINALE