Chương 35: The Recollections of the Two Oni

They walked through the backstage corridors, the ornate splendor of the main hall replaced by utilitarian hallways and plain walls. Galan paused at a window labeled 'Storage,' peering in at the intricate props.

"Why are you sightseeing, Dear God?" Ootake Maru asked, pausing beside him.

"It's just a storage room."

"I'm curious," Galan shrugged, turning away.

"It's in my blood."

"Come on, Foreign God!" Shuten Dooji called from ahead.

"We don't have all day!" Galan fast-walked towards him.

"Fine, I'm here." They exited the building into the cool afternoon air. Shuten Dooji collapsed onto the steps, groaning as his crew brought him another gourd of rice wine.

"I can't walk anymore," the champion sighed.

"My muscles are sore all over."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Galan said, scratching the back of his head.

"Hah, don't be. There's nothing wrong with giving it your all in a fight." He took a long swig. A crew member offered Galan and Ootake Maru cups of rice wine.

"Thank you," Galan said, drinking deep.

"I appreciate it," Ootake Maru added with a slight bow. He turned to his rival.

"Shuten Dooji, should we go to the hospital instead?"

"What? No! The party stays." Shuten Dooji wiped his mouth.

"This is just the appetizer."

"By the way," Galan asked.

"Why did you two agree to do all this?" Shuten Dooji took another gurgling gulp.

"Well, it's either this... or we remain decapitated heads for the rest of time." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Galan's eyes flickered to the identical scars circling their necks.

"So the stories about you losing to Raikoo and Tamuramaro are true?"

"It was a cheap tactic, but yeah," Shuten Dooji scowled.

"The bastard got me drunk on poisoned divine wine. Woke up just in time to see my own body from the wrong angle. Raikoo and his four little pets thought they were so clever. Ain't that right, Mountain Goat?" Ootake Maru nodded grimly.

"Yes. It was not a time of heroes but of coordinated extermination. Humans from multiple lands worked together to eradicate the yookai within Yamato, Izumo, and Mutsu. None of us stood a chance."

"How about Tamamo no Mae? What actually happened to her?" Galan asked.

"Her? Hah! The old fox is smarter than both of us combined."

"She did not fight their grand armies head-on," Ootake Maru explained.

"When the so-called 'heroes' of Yamato finally cornered her near Nasu... she adapted."

"What do you mean?"

"She let them 'kill' her," Ootake Maru said.

"Allowed her physical form to be destroyed. But her spirit latched onto a large stone she had prepared, turning it into the 'Killing Stone.'""It's a monument of pure poison and cursed energy," Shuten Dooji grunted.

"Spews a toxic aura that kills anything that draws near. An eternal stalemate."

"So now she just sits there," Ootake Maru continued.

"A rock in the middle of a dead field. The Council leaves her be because purifying the stone would risk releasing her fully, and the local lords are too terrified to even build a road within a hundred miles." A person binding their own soul to an object to radiate a curse... Interesting, Galan thought with a smirk.

"And I assume this creates a hard barrier between the human lands and her domain?"

"Indeed. A barrier more absolute than any wall. To humans, the miasma is instantly fatal. But to most yookai... it feels like nothing more than a thick fog. Her domain remains a safe haven for those willing to walk the 'Fox's Crossing,' a treacherous trail that skirts the edge of the lethal reach."

"Or get the ten-gu to carry them," Shuten Dooji added, signaling for more wine.

"Yes," Ootake Maru smirked faintly.

"The ten-gu offer passage by air, flying high above the miasma. But even they cannot fly directly over the stone itself because the pressure is too immense."

"The human heroes thought they had won," Shuten Dooji said.

"They celebrated her 'death,' only to realize they had created a permanent, impassable border. They can't cross it, they can't purify it, and they can't lay siege to a rock. They won the battle, but she won the war for her territory." Ootake Maru looked at Galan, his expression serious.

"She sacrificed her freedom of movement for the absolute, eternal security of her people. A tactical decision of breathtaking audacity. It is why, despite her reputation... many yookai still revere what she did."