The New King
Hirasaka. The boundary dividing the world of the living and the world of the dead known as Yomi. In this place, the sky above consists of the human world, suspended upside-down in space. Those who enter this place do not return.
The souls of those who perished in the battle of the Gurenji Temple wander through the vast, desolate land. Though they have already died, their souls remain tormented by the mortal wounds inflicted upon them by arrows, axes, swords, and even flames.
Cruelly spurred forth by the Yokai King's impish servants, these lost souls head towards the colossal vortex at the lands' end. Despite their unwillingness, they are powerless to protest. Unable to escape their fate and banished to Yomi, they know that any resistance will only invite more terrifying punishments.
Amongst the departed souls is their leader, a man of imposing physicality. His gait is unsteady and his brows furrow in anger as he fixes his gaze forward.
"Have you accepted your fate?" The General hears a mysterious voice, like a demonic presence whispering in his ear.
"Who's there?" The General glances in all directions, but all he sees are the defeated expressions of the other departed souls around him.
"I am Izanami, the ruler of both Yomi, and of fate itself."
"I control my own destiny!"
"Interesting words coming from your mouth, Daimyo Franco, considering that you were betrayed by your own trusted aide and implicated countless other generals..."
Izanami spoke evenhandedly, yet her words pierced through Franco and brought him back to that fateful night...the flames and the screams...
Franco was the Daimyo of the Hokkaiko state and a warlord during the Sengoku period. He was famous for being a battle-wise leader and his maverick ways. He devoted himself to uniting the divided country and building a peaceful paradise on earth.
So, for two decades, he fought hard to survive, he accumulated strength bit by bit, he utilized diplomacy to gain advantages, and he wielded his duel- dragon axe to command his army. Day by day, he approached his goal of uniting the country.
Several days ago, he stationed his army in the Gurenji Temple and waited for his allies to arrive. At that moment, he was just one step away from ending the Sengoku era.
However, on that fateful night, he was betrayed by a trusted follower and attacked by his allies. His whole army got annihilated in merely one night.
At his last moment, Franco was looking at his young servant who was lying in his arms. The juvenile was once as beautiful as a Kikyo flower, but at that time, he was a dead body with blood on his face and arrows on his back. The young man sacrificed his life to protect his master but the only thing Franco could do then was to feel the fading of life.
When the flame blazed out in the body — covered Gurenji Temple, Franco, caught in the burning glow, swore with hatred that even if he was damned to hell, he would take his followers back to earth and seek revenge.
How could we just fall to the netherworld like this? How could we be lashed and shamed by these ghost pawns?
Revenge, revenge!
Franco grabs the whip that a ghost pawn swings towards him and shouts: "We are the samurais of the Hokkaiko, how could we be dumped to hell like slaves?!"
The dead souls make no response, they only look up at their general. Fury and unwillingness are burning in their eyes...
Franco wields his axe and crushes the ghost pawn into dust. The ghosts of the Hokkaiko troops also rise to fight their oppressors.
Franco gets up to face his enemies yet gets knocked off again. The big monster is playing cat-and-mouse. Franco is like a toy, a toy to be played with and crushed.
Franco is feeling weaker and weaker. Holding his axe has become a challenge for him.
Gashadokuro looks at Franco scornfully while his claws sweep all the Hokkaiko soldiers who try to save their master into oblivion.
The two skulls of Gashadokuro echo each other to laugh at Franco: "So you are the general who fights against fate?"
"What a fool! Your samurais died twice for you, and this time they died for good."
The misery of his followers incites Franco hard, the night at the Gurenji Temple reappears in his mind's eye. He couldn't allow himself to fail again, he couldn't bear to see his warrior perish before him again.
An unprecedented power surges in the daimyo's soul. It is a tenacity and conviction the Yomi has never seen. Franco grabs his axe and leaps up, crashing into the skeleton's chest like a beam of black light.
The once arrogant Yokai King looks at Franco surprisingly. It couldn't believe that it is defeated by a rebel ghost. A purple-dark hellfire pours out from the axe and consumes the skeleton in a fire whirl and Franco can feel a strong stream of power become one with him.
"If I give you a chance to go back to the world of the living, what will you do?" Izanami's voice sounds again: "Take revenge on the traitors? Become the ruler of mankind?"
Franco makes no response. Quietly, he stands on the wasteland of Hirasaka and looks up at the ceiling — that's the upside- down image of the living realm, the unreachable, vibrant human world.
Izanami continues with an authoritative tone: "Now, you will take the Shura Gashadokuro place. You will be the "King of Hell" that devours the world! Now, go back to the living world, destroy the Mandala Circle that seals, and combine the living world and Yomi as one!"
A strong power surges from the Yomi Abyss and transforms Franco and Hokkaiko troops into yokai and ghost pawns.
Long after, on the highest peak of Yomi, Franco gazes at the living world that seems close enough to touch.
That is a place he fought for all his life; A place he failed to achieve his aspiration; A place he dreams about and pines for; A place he is destined to unite and enforce eternal peace to...
He is a yokai now, but he will never give up his ambition of building a paradise on earth.
"Warriors!" Franco's voice breaks the dead silence of Yomi.
"Yes!" A hundred thousand ghost pawns shout in one voice as they raise their weapons.
"Let's return to the living world!"
Franco hacks his duel-dragon axe at the ceiling, shattering the kekkai between life and death. Soon, the world will know, Franco, the King of Hell, has returned!"
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