Chapter 98: The Eternal Land

Minamoto Kiyomoto opened his eyes. The sky was already bright, and the white clouds were stretching over the distant mountains.

He sat up and saw Kamibayashi Miko standing by the window, opening it.

The morning wind blew in at once, lifting the white curtains and her long black hair.

“What time is it?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

Kamibayashi Miko looked out the window and did not answer.

He sat up, walked behind her, and couldn’t help but wrap his arms around her slender waist, stroking her flat abdomen.

Kamibayashi Miko turned her head and glanced at him.

Minamoto Kiyomoto whispered in her ear, his hand slowly moving upwards, wrinkling her yukata.

Kamibayashi Miko suddenly sneered.

“Ah!”

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s whole body trembled, and he opened his eyes.

In a daze, he saw the “Divine Miko’s Aya” rapidly shrinking, turning into a thumb-sized golden hairpin in a blink of an eye, tying Kamibayashi Miko’s black hair behind her back.

Kamibayashi Miko herself was looking down at him with contempt and disgust.

Minamoto Kiyomoto glanced at his pants.

“Well,” he said, “I’m twenty years and one day old, and I slept with a girl I like for one night. Medically speaking—”

While Minamoto Kiyomoto was speaking, Kamibayashi Miko walked to the window and opened it to let in some fresh air.

The sky was just dawning, showing a dark cyan color, completely different from the warm sun, blue sky, and white clouds in his dream.

“If you’re awake, go back to your own room,” Kamibayashi Miko said coldly.

Minamoto Kiyomoto tried to be as natural as possible and left the bedroom.

About twenty minutes later, the two met again in the corridor downstairs.

“How can there be such a beautiful girl in the world,” Minamoto Kiyomoto praised her as if it were the first time he had seen Kamibayashi Miko today.

Kamibayashi Miko smiled, glanced at him contemptuously, and walked downstairs.

“Don’t you believe me,” Minamoto Kiyomoto walked beside her and said in a low voice, “The white-haired girl will definitely say that your complexion has improved later.”

Kamibayashi Miko stopped, pondered for a moment, and golden particles floated around her body for two seconds. Her face turned a little paler.

“You can do that?!” Minamoto Kiyomoto said in surprise.

“Who let you two have no experience,” she sneered.

“You have experience?”

“I don’t, but I can get experience from others,” she resumed her long strides. “Did you and Izayoi also sleep like that for one night?”

Although it was a question, Kamibayashi Miko’s tone was clearly disbelieving.

“I learned this trick from her,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“I’m completely disgusted with your filthy body. If you still want to have any hope of pursuing me, I advise you to die and start over.”

“I’ll die today.”

“Don’t say such unlucky things.”

“Miss Kamibayashi—” Minamoto Kiyomoto admired Himemiya Izayoi from the bottom of his heart. The night raid was indeed useful.

“If you die, wait until this subjugation is over. Don’t drag me down.”

“…”

As they were walking, Kamibayashi Miko suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked her with confusion.

Kamibayashi Miko remembered something from before. Himemiya Izayoi said that she had touched a bug and her hand had a strange smell, and she even asked her to smell it.

A strange smell? This morning, she also smelled a strange smell.

She slowly turned her head and looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto with eyes that were cold enough to freeze “Lake Shikotsu.”

“Wh-what’s wrong?” Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t help but take a step back.

Kamibayashi Miko’s hand chopped at his waist like a knife.

“Ouch!” Minamoto Kiyomoto held his waist.

“What’s wrong?” Himemiya Izayoi came from behind and asked with a smile.

Kamibayashi Miko glanced at her and threw out a sentence, “You ask him,” and went downstairs.

Himemiya Izayoi walked to Minamoto Kiyomoto’s side, put her hand on his waist, and asked in a soft voice:
“Young Master Kiyoshi, are you okay?”

“Hiss—” Minamoto Kiyomoto leaned against the wall, his face full of pain. “Izayoi, Izayoi, little Yoko, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”

“Where did you go last night?” Himemiya Izayoi looked at his face and asked in a kind tone, her hand twisting his waist.

“I learned from you and went to find Miss Kamibayashi! Hiss, hiss! It hurts, it hurts!”

“You’re very honest. Big sister likes it very much.”

“Then why don’t you let go? Why are you twisting harder!”

“The more I like something, the more I have to hold it in my hand. Young Master Kiyoshi is all-knowing. Don’t you understand this simple truth, my Young Master Kiyoshi?” Himemiya Izayoi said word by word, the strength in her hand gradually increasing.

Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t resist. Even if he resisted, he couldn’t win.

Himemiya Izayoi let go of her hand, glared at him resentfully, and turned to walk downstairs.

Minamoto Kiyomoto lifted his clothes. His abdomen was already red.

The Hokkaido miko came over. Seeing him looking inside his clothes, she also poked her head over to take a look.

“…What are you doing?!” Minamoto Kiyomoto was startled by her again.

This woman walked like snow falling on one’s head, silently. If no one else reminded him, he wouldn’t have known.

“Very white, very strong,” the Hokkaido miko nodded in approval. “You look very good today.”

“You also look good,” Minamoto Kiyomoto arranged his clothes and went downstairs.

In the living room, Himemiya Izayoi was smiling and talking to Kamibayashi Miko. Kamibayashi Miko’s expression was indifferent, and she would occasionally reply with a sentence.

Looking at Himemiya Izayoi like this, Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t be sure whether she was really angry about what he did last night, or if she wanted him to think she was angry.

Himemiya Izayoi turned her head. Seeing Minamoto Kiyomoto, she snorted, turned her face away, and ignored him.

Minamoto Kiyomoto and the Hokkaido miko sat opposite the two of them and began to eat breakfast.

“You look very good today,” the Hokkaido miko said to Kamibayashi Miko.

“…Thank you,” Kamibayashi Miko drank her Hokkaido milk.

Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was rolling an egg on the table, glanced at Kamibayashi Miko and held back his laughter.

Himemiya Izayoi ate her Hakodate milk pudding with a spoon and kicked him under the table.

With a stumble, the egg under Minamoto Kiyomoto’s palm was crushed.

After finishing breakfast, the sky was finally as bright as Minamoto Kiyomoto had dreamed.

Besides Minamoto Kiyomoto, Kamibayashi Miko, and the Hokkaido miko, the 1603 people who participated in the subjugation had all gathered by the lake.

“What needs to be said has been said. Let’s go!” a Kosen named Ishikura said loudly.

“Yes!” the 1,600 cultivators replied in unison.

Lake Shikotsu, which had been calm in the morning, suddenly rose in green waves, as if it sensed that something big was about to happen.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s whole body shot out with black light, and in a blink of an eye, he turned into a huge and majestic dragon body in the air.

Golden light, firelight, and snowflakes landed on the giant dragon’s body.

He couldn’t help but glance at the self-proclaimed Hokkaido miko and held back from speaking.

The dragon’s head was held high, and it roared at the sky. The clouds in the sky were shattered, and a strong wind blew through the mountain forest where Lake Shikotsu was located.

In this stirring dragon’s roar, all the cultivators followed with a roar.

“Roar!” The red and black evil dragon was the first to rush into the unknown film.

The three Kosen followed closely, and the cultivators also turned into a rainbow and drilled into the film.

From a distance, it looked like half of a rainbow bridge.

In just thirty seconds, the crowded lake shore was empty and there was no one in sight.

◇

There was no movement.

There was no direction.

Not up, not down, not left, not right, not forward, not backward.

Everyone was in a gray space. Besides them, there was nothing else.

Everyone was terrified. They couldn’t even tremble, and they couldn’t make any sound.

The divine power was disappearing.

At the beginning, it was the newcomers like Amamiya Mari and Asamiya Sakura. Their divine power was exhausted, and their bodies instantly disappeared.

They wanted to resist, but even Kamibayashi Miko and Himemiya Izayoi couldn’t move.

Kamibayashi Miko’s divine power, like golden particles, filled the entire space;
Himemiya Izayoi’s divine power turned the space into a brazier;
The Hokkaido miko made it snow heavily again.

Compared to the three of them’s divine power, which was like a natural phenomenon, even the three Kosen were like flames.

But even so, they couldn’t control the disappearance of their divine power.

The only exception was Minamoto Kiyomoto, who had turned into a giant dragon. He also couldn’t move and couldn’t make a sound, but he was not hurt at all.

The light of the divine power gradually decreased, and people disappeared one by one.

Minamoto Kiyomoto tried all the curses he knew, but none of them worked. Even the curse that sacrificed his life to increase his divine power for a short time had no effect.

The only one that he didn’t need to try and knew would definitely work was to turn back into a human.

Silently, in a blink of an eye, even the Kosen began to disappear.

At this time, Kamibayashi Miko gave up. She looked at the red and black evil dragon under her, and all kinds of emotions, such as regret, joy, relief, and apology, were rolling in her heart.

Fortunately, Minamoto Kiyomoto was fine.

What a pity. They hadn’t said a proper goodbye yet. Why was the last thing they said to each other an argument?
Himemiya Izayoi closed her eyes, and the flame-like divine power continuously overflowed from her body.

The Hokkaido miko looked at the void. Her eyes had no fear, no relief, just like when she was a child, lying in the heavy snow, without any sorrow or joy.

The divine power on the three of them was no longer vast. The strange phenomenon in the space was getting smaller and smaller.

At this moment, the huge dragon body of the red and black evil dragon suddenly collapsed. In Kamibayashi Miko’s shaken eyes, Minamoto Kiyomoto’s figure slowly emerged.

With a brief escape, Minamoto Kiyomoto, with his rapidly stiffening body, held Kamibayashi Miko and Himemiya Izayoi tightly in his arms.

The moment he held them, his body was also frozen, but this was enough.

Black mist, golden light, and firelight, the three of them were like sparks from a bonfire at night, slowly disappearing into the night sky.

Kamibayashi Miko’s body, which should not have been able to move, actually slowly shed tears.

The divine power gradually weakened, and even sparks could not be splashed. Only a thin layer of the residual heat of the charcoal fire was left.

His consciousness was blurred. Minamoto Kiyomoto seemed to see, in the distant Shodoshima, at the front desk of the inn, his mother who suddenly looked up at the distant place.

‘I’m sorry, mother.’

Himemiya Izayoi, who had been closing her eyes, suddenly opened them. She looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was holding her and Kamibayashi Miko, and her heart was filled with sweetness and jealousy.

She bit Minamoto Kiyomoto’s neck, affectionately and resentfully.

The moment Minamoto Kiyomoto felt the pain, the three of them, and the Hokkaido miko, the only four people left in the space, also disappeared.

◇

What a beautiful sky!
It was blue, and not even polluted by clouds!
At the same time, there was no life in it. It was flawlessly blue.

Minamoto Kiyomoto lay in some field, holding Himemiya Izayoi and Kamibayashi Miko in his arms, looking at the sky, which was like blue glass.

The cry of a partridge came from the distance.

“How long are you going to hold me?” Kamibayashi Miko finally secretly wiped away her tears and sat up from Minamoto Kiyomoto’s arms.

Minamoto Kiyomoto moved his gaze from the sky and looked at her side profile.

Even though she had just been lying on the ground, at this time, her hair was still neat and smooth, and she was beautiful and otherworldly.

Kamibayashi Miko glanced at him. Remembering what had just happened, a warm feeling rose in her heart. Then she suddenly saw Himemiya Izayoi in his arms and couldn’t help but sneer.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was startled by her sneer and was about to get up when Himemiya Izayoi suddenly raised her leg and pressed down on his body.

She stroked Minamoto Kiyomoto’s cheek with her hand and said with a smile, “Young Master Kiyoshi, your choice just now made me very satisfied.”

“As long as you’re satisfied,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

He observed his surroundings. In front of him was a tall cornfield. The Hokkaido miko was not far away, arranging her clothes like Kamibayashi Miko.

“Shall we do it here?” Himemiya Izayoi said lazily in his arms.

“Do what?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked with confusion.

“Hate!” she fell on his chest, her voice shy and charming. “…The thing that makes your complexion better.”

“…”

The moment she said this, Minamoto Kiyomoto finally came to his senses and felt her soft body.

He looked up at the sky.

Just as he was fantasizing in the cornfield, the ground suddenly trembled, and someone was approaching.

Minamoto Kiyomoto immediately sat up. Himemiya Izayoi hooked her arms around his neck and leaned against him softly, blowing on his neck.

“Someone’s coming!” he said in a low voice.

Kamibayashi Miko’s eyes flickered. She stopped her steps, which were about to walk out of the cornfield. The Hokkaido miko also stood still.

Minamoto Kiyomoto listened carefully. Because he had merged with the red and black evil dragon, his body, which was getting stronger day by day, could clearly identify these footsteps.

There was no sound of communication. It was not other cultivators.

The footsteps were heavy, and they were wearing armor. They should have weapons.

The target was clear. They were not looking for a falling object in the cornfield, but were heading straight for the target.

‘Armor? Could it be the people from the third group of Shintoism?’ Minamoto Kiyomoto thought of the guys in silver armor.

Whether it was or not, without using the wind, and choosing to walk on foot, it was obvious that the other party could not use curses either.

During this time, he had already tried. There was not a single bit of divine power left in his body.

The three miko were in the same situation. Otherwise, they would have already flown into the air to check the surrounding terrain.

After a while, a group of people who looked like medieval warriors pushed aside the corn stalks and surrounded the four of them.

There were twelve people in total.

The leader was wearing competitive armor with a blood-red rose pattern on it. A thin sword hung from his waist.

The rest were wearing half-body plate armor and holding short spears.

The leader scanned Minamoto Kiyomoto’s group of four and raised his armor-covered arm, “Kill the man, take the women!”

It was actually Japanese!

“Swoosh!” The warriors aimed their short spears at the four of them and advanced in a neat and uniform manner.

“We are official cultivators. Who are you?” Minamoto Kiyomoto questioned.

There was no response, just a direct thrust of the short spears!
Minamoto Kiyomoto quickly hugged Himemiya Izayoi, then pulled Kamibayashi Miko over, and jumped up, landing not far away—the Hokkaido miko was far from him and was not affected.

The guy in the competitive armor instantly drew the thin sword from his waist and stabbed at him without holding back.

The warriors holding short spears actually made a throwing motion, waiting for him to jump up.

Minamoto Kiyomoto held the two tender bodies and retreated, dodging to the side.

The thin sword in the competitive armor’s hand was like a stream of light, stabbing at Minamoto Kiyomoto from various tricky angles.

Minamoto Kiyomoto found an opportunity and kicked out.

“Bang!”, the person was directly kicked away, and a ditch was drawn in the corn sea.

“Are you looking for death? If you don’t stop, don’t blame me for being impolite!” Minamoto Kiyomoto reprimanded.

The person in the competitive armor hadn’t even stood up yet. He sat on the ground and directly ordered, “Kill!”

The eleven warriors, like pulling a bow, pulled back their right arms holding the short spears.

“Swoosh!”, three short spears shot towards the three of them as fast as arrowheads.

Minamoto Kiyomoto twisted his body and easily dodged with the two of them, but before he could adjust his posture, another three short spears shot at him.

He leaned back slightly and dodged the three arrows again.

“Swoosh!”, the last four short spears did not give him any room to breathe.

Minamoto Kiyomoto had nowhere to dodge. He rolled two or three times in the cornfield before he dodged them all.

“Kill him!” The person in the competitive armor held his thin sword and rushed over with the eleven people.

“Looking for death!” Minamoto Kiyomoto knelt on one knee and suddenly looked up.

He didn’t want to kill people easily, but he couldn’t bear it anymore.

He pulled out the short spear at his feet, raised his hand and threw it. The warrior running at the front flew back at a faster speed and was suspended in the air, pinned to the ground.

The moment the short spear flew out, Minamoto Kiyomoto also shot out like a cannonball and rushed into the crowd.

In just a blink of an eye, besides the guy in the competitive armor, the other eleven people were either kicked to death along with their armor, or their necks were broken.

Either don’t make a move, or don’t leave any room for maneuver.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stepped on the chest of the person in the competitive armor and used the thin sword he had taken to pick open his mask.

A Westerner, with a pair of blue eyes, was full of humiliation and anger. It was actually a woman.

“Name?” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s thin sword was at her neck.

“Cooper,” the voice had turned into a woman’s voice.

“Where is this?”

“The Eternal Land,” Cooper’s blue eyes were always full of anger, staring at Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Why did you want to kill us?” Kamibayashi Miko asked.

“You defective products from the general time and space will only pollute the great holy land!”

“The reason for leaving the women?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“The princess’s order!”

“How many people from the general time and space have you killed?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked again.

“We’ve killed all we’ve seen. You will also die. The empire will not allow you to live.”

“Do you know curses? Or some magical power?” Himemiya Izayoi asked curiously. She looked like she was on an outing.

Even though she had just been in a battle and had no divine power, she didn’t care at all.

Minamoto Kiyomoto remembered the pain of being bitten on the neck in that strange space. Why could she move?

Cooper no longer answered any questions, just glared at them fiercely.

Looking at her, the few questions she had answered before seemed to be because they were ‘unimportant, and to let the few of them know that they would die at the hands of the empire sooner or later’.

“Is there anything else you want to ask?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked the three of them.

The three of them didn’t speak.

Minamoto Kiyomoto raised his hand and cut the throat of this female warrior named Cooper.

The feel was slightly different from the corpses soaked in formalin in the laboratory.

Looking at the scene in front of her, Kamibayashi Miko frowned slightly but said nothing.

She was kind, but not pedantically kind. What’s more, the one who killed was Minamoto Kiyomoto. Even if she had an opinion, she would only say a few words.

If she said it, Minamoto Kiyomoto would not listen. Last night, he would not have dared to come for a night raid, and just now, he would not have turned back into a human.

And, compared to whether killing was good or not, she cared more about not letting Minamoto Kiyomoto become a cruel person.

Minamoto Kiyomoto swung his thin sword, and the blood splattered on the silk-like green leaves of the corn.

“My strength is still there, and I can still use kendo,” he inserted the thin sword into his waist and turned to the three of them, “Let’s go and see this holy land called the Eternal Land.”

(End of Chapter)