by DB King
Though, it did beg the question of how he was able to kill Yamamoto Gamashiki when the Phoenix was definitely on the man’s chest when he died. That… was something he needed to investigate at some point. Somehow, Gamashiki’s regeneration simply didn’t do anything to save him when it should’ve prevented him from even gaining wounds in the first place, considering Jin’s version of the Phoenix was but a shadow of its true power.
So why didn’t Gamashiki regenerate?
Jin had to prevent the same thing from happening to him, which meant he’d need to train and train and train some more. Studying would have been preferable, but it wasn’t as though the library was available to him. Besides, there was a certain beauty in trial and error, in learning through repeated mistakes and experience.
When Jin returned to his campsite a half hour later, he found the boiling pot of hare and vegetable stew had cooked down to about half its original level, which meant he’d overcooked everything, but the broth was probably going to be good.
With the Fire Salamander tattoo on his chest, Jin grabbed the red-hot piece of metal and laid it down on the ground away from the fire. It felt warm in his hands, like a hot towel on a cold day—other people’s palms probably would have melted and stuck to the surface of the metal.
Jin ate in the comfortable silence that followed. The only noises were those of the woods, the creatures, the soft gush of the wind, and the constant crackling of the flames in the middle of his campsite. His meal tasted like boiled water and some stuff in it. Really, it didn’t taste like anything at all. It was hearty and balanced and filling and that was all that mattered to him. Though Jin couldn’t eat it nearly as quickly as he’d have liked.
The sun was already nearing the end of its cycle. Night would come soon and that meant—
Howls echoed in the distance – several bestial, ghastly howls that reverberated all across the woods, through the trees and the leaves. They weren’t made by wolves, Jin knew. After all, they had been chasing him every single night for the last three days, since he’d escaped from Murasaki Castle and began making his way south through the forests to remain hidden.
He’d never seen the beasts, but Jin knew they were of magical nature. He also knew they were far too large to be actual wolves. Jin had searched for them one morning and found massive footprints that could have belonged to a canine creature… if said creature was about three times larger than even the largest wolves—and the wolves of the woods grew to immense sizes, often nearing horses.
Whatever creatures were after him were definitely even bigger.
The first possibility that came to Jin almost instantly was that he was being hunted by a pack of Werewolves. The creatures did exist in this world, but were one of the very few Magical Beasts that simply could not be tamed or even bound; they were simply too malicious and wild to ever allow themselves to become magical conduits. They were, however, occasionally harvested for their Mutant Cores.
The possibility of them being his pursuers was low; Werewolves were very much willing and capable of attacking in broad daylight, whilst Jin’s pursuers ceased their hunt the moment dawn broke and sunlight flooded the woods. They’d return immediately after sunset, howling in the distance, getting closer each time the sun dipped below the horizon.
They were either afraid of sunlight or sunlight harmed them, or both, which gave Jin the second possibility of these being Shadow Wolves. The ghastly, spectral beings of shadow and blood were mentioned numerous times in the library. They were one of the most sought-after Magical Beasts by assassins and spies. The creatures had the ability to become one with shadows and darkness, moving through them as a shark would move through the ocean. And they hungered not for living flesh, but for magic, which meant they only hunted other Magical Beasts or, in Jin’s case, mages. However, their one glaring weakness was that the slightest touch of sunlight would cause irreparable damage to their bodies, which carried over to whatever foolish mage had tamed the creatures.
There was an entire group of mages who spent the whole daytime asleep and hidden away from the sun because they thought being able to meld with shadows and darkness was a good trade off. What’s the point of gaining power if you can’t enjoy your life in the meantime?
Shadow Wolves were the most likely option, given his circumstances. Werewolves were an unlikely possibility, but a possibility nonetheless. Jin hoped, however, that he’d just have to deal with the Magical Beasts with a crippling weakness for sunburns. Otherwise… things would go south really quickly and not in a good way. Honestly, I’m not sure if I can fend off a pack of Werewolves without losing an arm or two. Those things are not to be messed with, but Shadow Wolves, on the other hand…
Jin could fight them off with his flames. Werewolves were an entirely different story. There was, after all, a very good reason why even the most foolish of mages banded together to form a ten-man squadron when taking on Werewolf packs and, even then, victory wasn’t always assured, which meant Jin couldn’t really stay long enough in one place to catch a glimpse of them. Both Werewolves and Shadow Wolves were far faster than him and could easily catch up to him if he were within seeing distance.
S when the howls echoed in the distant trees, Jin immediately placed down the unfinished bowl of stew and sprinted southward, running as fast he physically could – just a tiny bit slower than the fastest horse and with a hundred times the stamina. The ground cracked and exploded with every step. Tiny creatures and beasts parted before him. Jin ran and ran until the sun finally breathed out its last and dipped into the distant west. The howling repeated and Jin was under no illusion that they weren’t moving directly toward him.
Damnit! How are they catching up to me even faster than the last time?
Indeed, his pursuers were growing faster each time the sun settled. It was gradual, but Jin quickly noted it after the third day, when they were just marginally faster than they were on the second day. Was it a game of some kind? Surely, their speed wasn’t somehow limited by the number of nights they spent hunting their prey. It sounds… inefficient. No, they were acting like cats – cruelly playing with their victims before going in for the kill.
Jin was so far into the forests that he could run in a single direction for two days and never see any sign of civilization… which meant his pursuers could take their time chasing him for at least another two days.
As Jin ran, something moved at the edge of his senses. It was a small creature, barely larger than the palm of his hand, bright and golden, crackling about with unrestrained arcs of lightning. Jin’s mind raced. He recalled seeing a creature like this in one of the books in the library. The soft, yellowish glow was unmistakable and so was the electrical field that constantly followed it. Is that… a Lightning Bug?
The creature moved right onto his path and Jin, burned by his own momentum, could not stop in time as he barreled right into the animal. He was instantly paralyzed as electricity flooded his system. Suddenly freezing, but still carrying plenty of momentum, Jin flipped over his head and fell into a ravine.
By the time his paralysis wore off, Jin just had enough time to take in a short breath of air before splashing into the shallow creek at the bottom.
Howls echoed nearby.
Chapter 13
His home was burning.
Everything he knew and loved was burning in the distance.
The great crackling fire echoed out as Jin stood at the edge of the distant tree line of the western woods. The screams and shouts hit his ears, like a thundering drum. They were laughing and celebrating as they slaughtered through the remnants of his beloved home. Scores of armored men walked to and from the castle gates, bearing aloft great glimmering chests filled with gold and jewels – pilfered from the treasury, no doubt.
Jin gritted his teeth. He wanted nothing more than to charge back in there and slaughter every last one of the invaders who dared desecrate his home. Slitting their throats one by one once they fall asleep after their gruesome merriment wa
s another option – a much safer one.
But the commander in him really couldn’t fault the soldiers for following the orders given to them. These people, barbaric and ill-mannered cretins though they were, did not come here of their own accord. They didn’t attack the lands of the Murasaki Clan just because they felt like it. No, someone was in charge of all this – the real enemy.
The Muramasa Clan will pay for what they’ve done to my family. His thoughts turned dark. Agito hummed at his hip, feeding on the negative emotions that radiated from its master. Jin’s hands closed into fists, shaking. I will kill all of you, down to the last child and the last servant. I’ll even kill all your damn pets for good measure. And the damn plants too!
All of them… they will all die—painfully. Oh no, their deaths wouldn’t be painless and quiet. He would ensure their suffering – hours and hours of constant torture. He’d even find a good healing spell just to make sure they don’t die outright. Jin would flay the head of the Muramasa Clan alive – then heal him, and salt his wounds, only to begin the cycle over again. Flay, heal, salt. Over and over.
The rest of the family can die by a thousand cuts – or maybe a hundred thousand. Their children he would feed to the dogs and the wild creatures.
As Jin’s mind ran amok, the blade at his hip lay deep in thought.
Agito hummed and shook, its dark surface growing darker as Jin turned away from the ruins of his home and walked out into the blackness between the trees. The shadows lingered over him, following his every step, like a cape. If anyone were to look upon him now, they would see not a child, but a demon of darkness and shadow, filled with hate and malice and bitterness, eyes blazing like smoldering coals. The trees themselves seemed to part before him; like ants, they scurried away from the walking avatar of malevolence.
Agito wept as Jin stalked onward. Never before had the living weapon experienced such gruesome and cruel thoughts. Never before had it tasted the same magnitude of bitterness and strife that its master now exuded. It was greater than any slaughter and any murder it had been used for in ages past—here was a rage that transcended time itself.
Agito had never been frightened before. Its emotions were limited by what it could feed off its wielder.
Now, however, the living blade wasn’t so sure.
The one thing it was sure of, however, was that its current wielder was destined for great things—whether or not that greatness would lie at the top of a mountain of corpses and ruins, however, remained to be seen.
* * *
Splash!
Jin’s eyes snapped open the moment the back of his head broke the surface of the cold waters at the bottom of the ravine. The creek wasn’t deep, but neither was it too shallow. Jin’s body descended into its depths for just a moment, before softly colliding against the bedrock. Eyes wide, Jin grabbed Agito’s handle and quickly unsheathed the living weapon as he pushed himself up.
When he emerged from the waters, Jin’s ears were immediately bombarded by a cacophony of howls, each one gradually moving closer toward him. He glanced up. A shroud of darkness blanketed the night sky, tiny lights softly twinkling in the blackness. Something leapt through the trees, crushing its way into the ravine. Jin quickly funneled magical energies into his eyes and beheld the jet-black creature that was racing toward him.
Eyes wide, Jin leapt out of the water and landed on the opposite bank of the creek. He broke into a run the moment his feet met the soil. Before he could even take another step, however, a blur of black fur and moonlit claws cut off his path. It snarled, revealing a row of dagger-like teeth, glinting like pearls under the starlight. Its eyes glimmered softly, a bastard marriage of jade and sapphire. The creature lurched forward, its maw wide open.
Shit! Jin’s eyes were wide open as he leapt up and grabbed hold of a branch, pulling himself up – quietly thanking whatever gods existed in this world for his light physique. The thunderous snapping of the creature’s massive maw echoed beneath his feet.
Several more howls sounded from underneath. Three more creatures, furs as black as the blackest night and eyes like ghastly sapphires and jades, moving in the shadows. It was hard to look at them, even when his eyes were further enhanced with magic. His senses caught them, but they moved too fast for him to follow – even faster than Hamada, if only slightly. No… their fur is actively masking their presence, making it hard just to look at them.
Five creatures circled below him.
Jin breathed a sigh of relief. Shadow Wolves… at least it wasn’t a pack of Werewolves.
The night-shrouded creatures circled around the base of Jin’s refuge, growling and howling as they moved. The tree was clearly too thick for them to bite through and collapse, and they weren’t physically equipped for climbing. Shadow Wolves weren’t exactly mutant-type Magical Beasts. Their bodies were streamlined and more adapted to carrying a form that was much larger than common wolves, but that also meant that they were heavier and more cumbersome—leaving them unable to climb the rough bark of a redwood tree as their weight would pull them down, whilst their claws were too sharp to grip onto anything. Their ability to meld with shadows and become practically invisible and intangible was limited to the shadows they could touch and it wasn’t as though they could move while engrossed and at one with the darkness.
If only that was where their abilities ended. Jin had read that Shadow Wolves possessed a unique ability: when they needed more power—more strength, more speed, more… anything—they would slowly gain what they needed.
Until it had enough power to sink its teeth into its prey.
Thankfully, that would take an inordinate amount of time. But Jin would need to stay in one place.
An earth-shaker boar would’ve been another story. The aggressive Magical Beast would’ve simply charged and shattered the redwood tree at its trunk and toppled the whole thing.
The massive wolves, however, were relentless. They leapt up again and again, their maws snapping mere inches from Jin. And they were getting closer with each attempt.
“Get away from me, you stupid mutts!” Jin leapt further and grabbed hold of another branch above him.
The Shadow wolves were reaching greater heights with each leap. One of them, eyes glowing a deep and ghastly green, snapped its jaws just above the branch that Jin had once held on to. Alright, I can’t just stay here, he decided. They’ll get to me eventually. They’re growing in power, albeit really slowly.
Fascinating.
As another Shadow Wolf leapt up, Jin held out his left forearm and unleashed a massive cone of fire that engulfed the creature. A pained yelp sounded as the Magical Beast’s ferocity quickly turned into panic—an instinctual fear of light and fire. It fell on the ground, kicking and screaming as its fur sizzled with magical flames. One of its fellows, eyes glowing like dull pearls, bit the burning Shadow Wolf by the scruff of its neck, before pulling it into the creek. A loud hiss cut through the snarls of the other beasts as it crashed into the water.
Jin frowned. They’re a lot smarter than the boar, that’s for sure.
Before any of the creatures could recover from his counterattack, Jin willed a wall of flames to rise in the middle of the creatures’ formation, an ability he’d recently gained from the new turtle-like patterns on his Fire Salamander. The Shadow Wolves leapt over themselves in panic as Jin’s magical flames surged and burned through the air. One of them was caught in the attack. The creatures yelped and screamed, rolling on the ground as fire burned through its fur and skin.
That should be enough of a distraction. With the Magical Beasts disoriented, Jin leapt for another branch, reaching for higher ground again and again until he was running above the forest floor. This wouldn’t have been possible if he was heavier, however. Thankfully, he was as light as… well, a five-year-old. He was one, after all.
The Shadow Wolves, however, were quick to catch on. They chased him. Running beneath the branches, one of the five would leap up every so often in an attempt to bite
or claw at Jin, who avoided them each time by leaping even higher. Redwoods saturated the forests, the great trees growing taller than any castle and any tower, looming over everything around them, like silent guardians. It was upon their hard branches that Jin leapt, disturbing owls and bats and sleeping hawks as he did.
As Jin leapt forward, however, his eyes widened as he spotted the sleeping form of a Magical Beast that every mage was supposed to stay away from. It slumbered peacefully upon a branch, the legendary Blood Fiend, an ape-like Magical Beast with the ability to control and manipulate blood. With just a single thought, a Blood Fiend could destroy entire armies by boiling their blood inside them, cooking their flesh from within. Many foolish mages had attempted to capture it—none prevailed. The bestiaries classified it as a controller-type, but the term was very loosely used when describing the creature; honestly, it was more like a deviant-type, if not for the fact that it could be killed and that it was a documented species.
It was… a very unassuming creature. The Blood Fiend resembled an ape and was barely taller than an average peasant. It didn’t have large muscles or unbreakable bones, nor was it particularly aggressive. Red fur dotted the surface of its skin, which was a stark white in contrast. Twin curved horns jutted from the sides of its forehead, like a ram’s horns but thinner and smoother.
Jin landed right in front of it, shaking the branch which the creature rested on. It stirred slightly, and Jin’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest as its eyes slowly opened. The Shadow Wolves howled and roared beneath them.
Wait…
With Agito in hand, Jin sliced the hardwood branch, leaping off at the last moment. The Blood Fiend fell, finally rousing from its slumber with an ear-piercing screech as it plummeted toward the ground—right in the middle of the Shadow Wolves. Jin’s heart skipped a beat as he dashed away, barks breaking apart with each powerful stride as he hoped to escape the nightmare that was now stalking the forest floor.