‘How did he get into this?’ he wondered as he stood there his katana cutting off the arm of the robot that had made contact with his leg with its many blade. His second slash didn’t come from his actual katana but one made of lightning that stabbed into the side of the puppets head rendering it useless. It had been the second time he had hit the damn thing too but the victory was short lived by the pain of him bulling the blade out of his leg. All of it just to protect a young woman as she escaped. A second puppet appeared behind the first and he jumped back with his uninjured leg as he reached into his jacket and grabbed his headband and immediately tied it tightly over the wound. It would give him some strength back in the leg while prevent blood loss. He landed into a backwards roll his sword in front of him as he came up blocking the puppets attack just in time as he leaped back further still protecting the woman’s escape as she fled into the administrative building.

The day had been going so well at least his training had anyways. When the village was attacked he had been so close to the front lines he had been fighting his way back ever since. His face was dirty and his coat was damaged in a couple places where cuts had been made against his body. The cuts and slashes he could handle as he had grown accustomed to them but stabbing, was fun for no one. He stood there his sword drawn and a decent amount of his mana already depleted. The puppets themselves were tough, very tough for him alone to take down it seemed every one of his attacks needed to land twice. Other ninja were approaching his location which made sense. To defend the key assets to the village was to successfully protect it. Other things could be built over and over. Destruction of vital parts however would cripple them long enough for a follow up attack. He remained vigilant catching his breath as the wave of puppets approached he felt a little bit happy at least he had held them off long enough to get some people to safety.

He heard a familiar voice behind him as he wiped the sweat from his brow. It seemed ninja this far into the village had only just received news of the attack and were beginning to scramble accordingly. He stood there in front of the other two so high on adrenaline the pain he would have felt completely eluded him as if he wasn’t even harmed at all. In his mind he knew he would be spending some time in the hospital after this one. Assuming of course he didn’t die first, but he pushed all thoughts of that aside. As he scanned the area he looked back at Keiko, his day was going so well too, he had just been promoted to chuunin and now this was happening, he hadn’t even had the time to learn any new jutsu.

“Don’t worry they aren’t that strong Keiko, not for you, “ he said with a halfhearted grin as he quickly turned back toward the enemy to keep track of their movements.

“They seem to be able to take a couple shots from lower level jutsu but mid ranked and higher and their disposed of pretty quickly. I haven’t had the time to learn and mid-level jutsu so it’s been a bit rougher for me,” he said chuckling a little bit as the last part.

“They are just puppets. Is there anyone deployed to go after those controlling them?”

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Eldritch energy began to hiss and fizz through the air - the time for action was now. While the houses were potential death-traps if the war on the rooftops was lost there was little to no way to predict or influence the outcome of this and so protecting civilians from the terrestrial threats was paramount. The earthen odour that accompanied the summoning briefly overpowered the stench of blood as the Gaogoaze forced it's way into the world.

Standing at seven and a half feet in height and with a muscle structure that would rival a bear it was not to dissimilar for it's invoker. Shakai - the half yokai tactician of Konoha was here to join the battle and as always he brought backup from the spirit world with him.  Lifting a heavy garbage disposal bin the Gaogoze barricaded the back entrance to the building - barring the door and then doing the same with easily reached windows with heavy metal that would be near impossible for the puppets to penetrate. With this objective accomplished Shakai made haste to join up with the others out front of the building, the Gaogoze accompanying him as he went.

The situation out front was better than Shakai had hoped for. It seemed that several lower ranked ninja had taken the fight back to the puppets. Now the next objective was to gain some ground and  barricade the street to ensure a safer evacuation.

Shakai took note of the young man's words responding to the with ones of his own.

"No we shouldn't divide our forces. There is no guarantee that we can locate the puppet masters in time and even if this was the case lives may be lost because of it. Better that we secure the area form a blockade that can be manned efficiently with smaller numbers and then seek out the puppet masters then."

Pointing a finger towards one of the puppets Shakai commanded the Gaogoze to advance. It was not the creatures preferred prey but the constructs were really no match for something of it's size. The puppet slashed at the towering yokai drawing two shallow cuts on it's hairy hide but was grasped in two sets of monstrous talons lifted high above the ground then smashed repeatedly into the side of a wall with great force. Searching the battlefield for the next point of importance Shakai noticed a puppet beginning to sneak up on the red haired girl who was assisting with the evacuation.

"項目精神を出て来る"

The puppet froze. It's head turned at a bizarre angle as a blue flame slipped into the world and then simply vanished into the automaton. The puppet let out a groan and began to run at full speed towards it's fellows blades out and swinging like crazy. The young woman was tiny and very slight of build - should one of the puppets tussle with her it would not go well. The other black haired woman though not entered into combat just yet did not seem to have the same issues. Taller and with a more defined body she seemed better suited to handle close quarters skirmishing with the servants and would adopt a more front lines approach. The boy was in possession of a sword and clearly had at least some idea about how to use it so he would be counted on to hold his own.

A puppet  made the mistake of coming for Shakai himself - bad move. The tactician was not himself an expert on taijutsu but with his great size and perfectly honed muscle structure all it took was a basic punch to break the puppets chassis causing it to simply fall to pieces on the concrete.

"Lets work together in order to force them from this street."

639/2500 words

225/250 Chakra:

Dameon listened to the more experienced shinobi discuss tactics and he simply nodded. They had not seen what he had already. This wave of puppets was simply the few overachievers that got to their destination quickly. If there were stingless then that meant they were also autonomous or at least working with strict orders. A lot of the puppets weren’t branching off as they had hoped and seemed purely interested in going after objectives rather than waste their time with the ninjas protecting them. Dameon could see this since the two groups were now slightly spread out it became even more evident to them. His eyes were good and he had no reason to doubt them ever. It was like watching water flow the puppet ran forward and if they came into the vicinity of a shinobi they collided with it, just like rocks in a stream but overall a distraction for the rest of the wave. He felt burdened with the knowledge that had come to his attention and wondered if he should speak out to his superiors and make them question his authority or if they would trust him.

Adrenaline was something blissful, especially when the creatures they fought against could not have such a thing or even feel. Time seemed to stand still as he seemed to always be surrounded by the puppets. Each movement of theirs in complete unison as if they operated like a hive of bees. Dameon lunged forward piercing the puppet in front him and quickly pulling it out to follow with a slash, sending it into the ground crumbled; one. To his sides the puppets lunged as well forcing him to sidestep away avoiding their blades as they pierced on another before he followed it up with two more thrusts to their midsection; three. Behind there was another he stabbed behind him before pulling it out while he spun around to slash again; four. This puppet he kicked off of before it hit the ground and propelled himself backward closer toward everyone. His entire set of attacks so fluid and fast not lasting more than a second or so, but seemingly like an eternity as the adrenaline continued to pump.

Chuunin in only a month, it sounded nice in his head but didn’t mean squat if he couldn’t defend the village that had given him the opportunity to excel up the ranks so quickly. He didn’t know if anyone beside him had even kept track of his exploits but he had heard some whispers among the village’s guards. Hearing it had made him smile but he had never actually acknowledged it or came out into the open to make himself feel more empowered. It did however mean that he wasn’t just a nobody in the village anymore. The other ninja that had shown up seemed to be kind of the opposite to him, absolutely huge and his attacks a lot stronger but slow, while Dameon seemed athletically toned and average at best but fast. They would work as a good team side by side. Keiko he personally knew was a mid-range fighter that had already taken to the air to give her that reach, it was smart and what he would have recommended anyways. Lastly there was Tenmei and from what he could tell another close range fighter like him and very skilled at that. He had an idea but he felt bad about mentioning it seeing as how Tenmei had already laid out a plan.

“Tenmei!” He called out louder than he had ever spoken before in his life. He didn’t know if it was because socially he was changing or if it was because the situation called for it.

“I don’t mean to step on your toes, but from what I can tell they are simply massing toward the building and only keeping us distracted,” He had said softly to her so the others couldnt hear it not knowing what she would think of the youngest person having noticed something they might have overlooked. It felt rude in his mind but he didn’t have time to consider what something sounded like or let his fears of being alone keep him from protecting the few he had to care about.

“I don’t think a distraction and flank will work, it might be what they want. If anything I would say we utilize our strengths. Keiko is a mid to long range fighter and with her jutsus can slow the enemy advanced with wind, water or ice. You and I are both close range experts and can guard the left and right flank while aiding the central point of defense. The big man can cover the center with his summons and at the very least would be the hardest of us all to take down,” he said quickly but very precise making sure he didn’t stumble over his words or ideas as he spoke them yet keeping his voice low enough for her ears only. A sudden wave of embarrassment actually came over him as well. He couldn’t recall the last time he had spoken so much to a complete stranger. To him their primary goal was to defend the building and secondary was to defeat all the puppets. His plan was more of a max defense strategy to prevent the little bastards from overloading the front of the gate.

“That’s just my two cents though,” he spoke softly as he had before as he dashed back into the fray protecting his line for the time being until they could completely decide on a strategy, until then limiting the enemies numbers was never a bad thing.

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A pincer attack was not a bad idea and if the puppets could be cordoned into a tight space then they would fall quickly to powerful jutsu. While the young man was correct about the puppets being a distraction - they were one that could not be ignored. Shakai suspected that they were ordered to attack anyone they could find and the obsidian and flame haired maidens were as good a target as any.

Shakai moved to get into position securing his place on the battlefield. His summons moved with him standing back before the coming destruction. Focusing his energy Shakai welled with power Doton chakra flowing through his veins like blood. Being half of this world and half of the other let him feel the essence as it flowed into being.

Raising his hands Shakai drew four large chunks of rock from the soil. Spinning around himself as if they were in orbit. The first projectile shot forward smashing into one of the puppets sending it toppling to the ground. The rest followed suit hammering into the opponents with brutal force.

"Take the lead and attack while they are venerable!"

There was an opening available now. Shakai would send his summons to back up Tenmei or Daemon should they dash in for a quick dispatch on the puppet troops. Overwhelming such creatures was a necessary tactic - with no vital organs the puppets were not affected by more subtle techniques used to dispatch humans.

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185/250 Chakra:

The first attack

It was like putting a blow torch to a forest.
With every puppet that came at her, she would strike once with her blade, cutting them deep through the middle, before catching them again with a powerful kick...sending them sprawling back in to the puppet behind them, which allowed her to follow up with again, another swipe with her blade and another punch; splintering the charred wood that got too close to her immense heat. She didn't slow, she didn't hesitate. And even though her back still ached, and every swing...every attack would jar the steal healing bones and pull at the stitches which held her together for now...Tenmei fought at a speed and strength that over stepped the border of a special jounin as opposed to the chuunin which she still was now.

Standing in front of their target of obsession, blocking their way, Tenmei continued to fight off the masses her eyes flicking over to see how the other female was faring against the puppets....
And that was when she felt it. Something as cold as Solstice, brush up against her arm, chilling the breeze that tried to blow the smoke from the skies. The coal haired chuunin turned just in time to see the snow, falling around her...the balls of ice that would turn to water before it even graced the furnace of her skin. But that only lasted a few moments...as something ran across the sheet of ice above her eye level and dived in to the centre of the puppets with a bone shuddering howl.....

Tenmei barely had a second. With one hand she stabbed her blade in to the back of an ususpecting puppet, while the other grabbed the neck of another, forcing them both in front of her so they would take the full force of the ice wolf's attack and she barely had a scratch.
Then...with as much grace as the ice that still fell around her, Tenmei pushed the two she had been holding forward, and with a side swipe of her arm, her fingers in hand sign, she called forth a wind that provided a barrier around her, slicing away at the puppets around her, dealing the second blow they needed to fall.

Alterations.

As she continued to plow through the puppets, knocking them down like the dead trees they were, Tenmei heard something over the sound of metal and wood. His voice, calling out loudly over the battle on the street, and suggesting a change of formation.
It was a good idea...but this time he was wrong. It was subtle, gradual, hard to miss if you were not focusing on it. While Tenmei and the other girl were fighting at the front, they were slowly pushing them back...forcing the battle further from the administrative building and keeping the people in there safe.

"I admire your deductive skills and appreciate your advice" she called out in return, after finding an opening to kick down yet another puppet. "But this will work. They act like regular Shinobi, and we are taking them down like regular shinobi. We will corner them and we will  destroy them until there is nothing left"

It was too late to change tactics now. They had already started to move back towards the dead end she had pointed out before. A solid wall, too high to climb not that they would try. Puppets as they were, they knew enough to not venture in to the heat of another battle...a battle so out of  their league, that they would be reduced to splinters as soon as they clawed that ghastly arm over the edge of the gutter. This was a war. A battle. Mercy was lost in places like this.

As time pushed on, as her chakra waned, Tenmei watched as the crowd of puppets were pushed further and further back in to the wall until they were cornered like mice...with the hungry pack of felines coming in for the kill.....and then she saw it. The opening she had been waiting for. Because they had been pushing them from the front, from the side and herding them closely from the back, all the puppets, save for a few stragglers were rounded in to a corner....just as she had hoped....just as she knew what had happened. She had seen them work and the fiery female had acted accordingly, directing and leading these others to help her in this endeavor. For the first time in the last month....since that day with the attack at the border....

Tenmei felt worthy again

"This is it! Close in and strike with everything you have. Don't leave a single one unbroken. Wipe out these filthy creations completely so they can't hurt another soul again!"

Adrenalin surged through her veins, matching her heat as it raced through her system like a drug mixed with alcohol. Her mind was spinning, her body moved on it's own as she came at the group of puppets, the heat running through her blade so when she punched them, sliced them, tore them down one by one, they caught fire and shrivelled in to charcoal, leaving nothing but ashes that were lost to the stifling air. They had saved these people today.

And that was a feeling she would never forget.



Word Count 2647/2500 -  Completed

Chakra 150/200:

Tenmei hadn’t listened to his advice and that okay and overall expected. They were clearing the puppets faster than anticipated but he knew this was just the first wave of sorts. A lot more puppets had come into the village having been at the front gates himself when it happened. He hadn’t told her about the others and that was his mistake for not telling her when he mentioned the strategy he had. He just had to make up for his mistake was all. Himself and the bigger ninja had been to the far right of the entrance for the flank and the two kunoichi had been in the middle until they distracted a group of the puppets to the far left. The only issue now was the exposed middle leading right toward the entrance of the admin building and the stragglers headed right for it. Dameon knew his strengths and weaknesses and tanking out multiple puppets at once and from range none the less was not one of them by any means. He only knew one jutsu that was considered long range and none that were mid-range. Flanking wise Dameon was literally useless. Another wave of puppets came through the street going straight for the admin building. He needed to intercept them and hope that the big ninja himself who would take longer to get there could smash into them with enough power to keep Dameon alive and give the kunoichi the chance needed to clean up.

Dameon dashed in not knowing if he could take on the wave of them as they sprinted forward much faster than they had moved previously. He was faster though as he jumped in front of them right at the entrance to the admin building. His left arm extended out and launched three spheres of lightning at the line of puppets that came bolting for the door. The first shot did nothing to them the second one that hit killed a single puppet and the third hit another doing nothing to it. It was useless in a wave as the came closer and closer to him. Curiosity came over him, not fear. He had never been afraid to die simply because his lack of emotions had never let him feel such a thing as fear. Curiosity though always plagued his mind. He wondered if he could hold them, wondered if the large shinobi would see what was happing the be strong enough to break the line of puppets and stop them in time for Dameon to hold them off, and he wondered if anyone would give a damn if he was to die. Perhaps it was necessary, he had lived alone for so long, and perhaps it was only right that he would die alone. What was death? Did it mean feeling nothing anymore and not having to worry about yourself anymore, and being set free from the burdens of living? If that was the case he had already been dead a long time.  

The dead wanted to live life again and the living never wanted to die. Maybe it was time for a rebirth and to get busy learning how to live. Why would he want to though, what was worth living for to him? He didn’t know and he wanted to. He watched Keiko and looked into her eyes. Those weren’t the eyes had had seen before. If he had to guess she was feeling a little scared. He wondered himself what he looked like. If his eyes were just like hers, like they had been during their training. Perhaps it was because she could feel emotions and he couldn’t, or maybe he could and he just ignored them. He didn’t know and it made him more curious. He needed to find out for himself if he was capable of emotions, and feeling. To prove his clan wrong and show that he could be strong and could still help the people around him rather than subjecting them to fear. He needed to live if only for those reason alone. He inhaled slowly as his skin started to become like a wave of electricity itself, arcs shooting out of him making crackling sounds at it exited his body. He looked at the wave of puppets with a different determination than he had before. He exhaled with a powerful yell like he had done while training alone.

He moved forward and slashed the first two puppets he hit were sent flying over and above the others. His adrenaline was pumping again, ignoring everything around him but the foes in front of him. They came forward in waves of two it seemed. He slashed forward following it up with a quick parry of the opposite puppets before continues his assault. One by one they fell around him, he was so high on adrenaline time felt like it was nonexistent and his tunnel vision forward a blessing not allowing him to look or focus or worry about anything else. They slowly started to surround him and to the best of his abilities he countered every blow in the circle of death. Constant clangs of metal followed with the sound of metal cutting into wood every fraction of a second. He was clotting them in front of the door making them have to get by him as he stepped back and back into the doorway itself narrowing their ability to fight. His body was beginning to slow down, unable to keep up with his will and determination.

A blade came toward the back of his neck. His head turned in time to see it and his body followed but his sword was only quick enough to redirect it into his shoulder just below the collar bone on the left side of his body. He stabbed that puppet and slashed its head as the opposite puppet aimed for Dameon’s rib cage. That would also be potentially fatal He moved dodging it enough to graze his leg. He winced in pain before finishing that puppet off as well. He was becoming weaker and it was harder and harder to walk. The puppets were thinning out though and Dameon inhaled slowly and pushed forward ungracefully taking down the remaining ten puppets or so taking more cuts and grazes. Finally a break he could only think as he collapsed to his knees on top the pile of puppet corpses he had made. He himself didn’t know how many he had killed feeling as if he had blacked out or rather not able to recall everything in full detail of what he had done. He was beat though as he looked around the victory in sight as he looked behind him a bit surprised to see a good fifty or so puppets in one pile where he had narrowed them down and the extra dozen or so he had killed once he had defeated those. Every   muscle in his body ached and his coat was torn again. His lucky coat and him surviving another battle. Blood leaked from the cuts on his body but nothing too serious. He just wanted to heal up and sleep for a week.
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2,761/2,500 [Completed]

Spoiler:

The puppets themselves were really of little to no threat to Shakai their weapons were of low quality and the unnatural endurance that was infused into his very flesh allowed him to turn aside their attacks as if they were blunt instruments. Seven Bells himself may have been truly formidable as a foe but all but the smallest of armies required grunts and shock troops that could simply be thrown at the foe en-masse if just to keep the other army busy and snatch from them the chance to gain ground. So while their victory had been decisive this was merely a disposable unit of the enemy troops. They were intended to be destroyed and it was only through circumstance that Seven Bells had sent puppet automatons instead of human lives into the great hungry furnace that was war.

But such was the fate of commanders everywhere. Sacrifices were both in magic and war the fuel that kept things running. Priests would gauge what was acceptable to give up to deities and generals would coldly mete out acceptable numbers of losses in order to better the greater good. As a tactician Shakai had to make sure that the sacrifices were in fact worth it otherwise the loss life would be simply in vain - something that was truly the greatest of battlefield tragedies. Every soldier had a duty and if they died having failed at bettering this all was for naught - to pray for a second chance in the next life would be all that one could do to help them(Without resorting to the black artes and raising their shade and corpse as servitors, but Shakai considered himself to have some degree of pride and morals let alone respect for laws governing kinjutsu).

Though it was tantalising. The ability to let one stretch out from beyond and have another chance at living and fulling their task. Ones army need not ever rest and even after the last man had been cut down they would rise again and again till they were victorious. But....

Shakai put a palm to his forehead. It was hot to the touch - not in the way of the girl Tenmei but the heat of a fever. This occurred every so often the dual nature of his blood sometimes conflicted causing bouts of disorientation. The price was worth it of course - he could see into the otherworld and survive wounds that would fell a mortal man many times over as well as other things, but he was still a halfbreed and such creatures are never entirely perfect.  

The raven haired girl had shown that she wanted to walk the path of the commender. Shakai wondered if she could live with herself if she did. Time would tell and the first instance of loosing a comrade to the forces of the enemy would be highly telling. Would she simply lose the resolve to fight or would her will become hardened steel - tempered by every burning loss into something that was as diamond and resisted all flaws and blemishes.

As the master himself had spoken fighting in a war was as much about facing your own weaknesses as the opponent.

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

This was truth and Shakai expected the ones with him to be coming across this realisation soon. The red haired kunoichi was fighting what appeared to be her own fear of the enemies that they were facing. Puppets were disconcerting -wooden effigies in the shape of man twisted and warped for war . But they were not the worst thing one would have to face upon the battlefield. Should the girl be matched against members of the Jugo clan she would have to face men who could change into beasts and distort their form with the power of nature. Should she ever be unlucky enough to face something of the magnitude of a demon or a dragon then she would magnify the emotions that coursed through her tenfold. Could she do more than just panic and die? Could she learn to quash these feeling and simply go on even though the odds were vastly against her? Again time would tell.

Finally the impulsive boy. Deciding to be a hero and break ranks. Biting off more than he could chew and hoping to prevail against overwhelming odds. The opposite of the red haired girl in many ways. He would probably relish the chance to pit himself against an opponent that was vastly superior in every way. However where the girl understood the nature of the opponents she was matched with the boy had not seemed to have quite cottoned on. Humans were - while certainly not at the bottom of the food chain - somewhere around the middle. Occasionally one would prove exceptional and go on to exceed their limits but when faced with higher and higher odds there would be a day in which those with power simply won outright. Many things wished to kill people. Many things hungered both for the flesh and soul of man and were willing to take it. Conscience did not trouble all beings the same way and some sins were only that when committed against someone of your own calibre. Did all but the most pious of monks worry about the ants that they crushed under foot every day?
Bleak thoughts indeed. But it was war proper and Shakai knew that he was not simply coming for a fun diversion. Rather he was here to hone his skills and defend Kiri in the process earning lucre as he did so in order to keep himself and not simply strain Konoha’s coffers. If one was to eat then he was to work – no one in the military should simply stand back and rely on the good grace of others that was a path that led to failure.
Shakai lifted his hands into the air and spoke the incantation that would banish the spirits back to the otherworld.
“許能迦邇夜　伊豆久能迦邇 毛毛豆多布　都奴賀能迦邇 余許佐良布　伊豆久邇伊多流 伊知遲志麻　美志麻邇斗岐  美本杼理能　迦豆伎伊岐豆岐 志那陀由布　佐佐那美遲袁 須久須久登　和賀伊麻勢婆夜 許波多能美知邇　阿波志斯袁登賣 宇斯呂傳波　袁陀弖呂迦母 波那美波　志比比斯那須 伊知比韋能　和邇佐能邇袁 波都邇波　波陀阿可良氣美 志波邇波　邇具漏岐由惠 美都具理能　曾能那迦都爾袁 加夫都久　麻肥邇波阿弖受 麻用賀岐　許邇加岐多禮 阿波志斯袁美那　迦母賀登 和賀美斯古良　迦久母賀登  阿賀美斯古邇　宇多多氣陀邇 牟迦比袁流迦母　伊蘇比袁流迦母　臣安萬侶言。夫、混元既凝、氣象未效。無名無爲。誰知其形。然、乾坤初分、參神作造化之首、陰陽斯開、二靈爲群品之祖。所以、出入幽顯、日月彰於洗目、浮沈海水、神祇呈於滌身。故、太素杳冥、因本教而識孕土産嶋之時、元始綿bak[之繞貌]、頼先聖而察生神立人之世。寔知、懸鏡吐珠、而百王相續、喫劔切蛇、以萬神蕃息歟。議安河而平天下、論小濱而清國土。是以、番仁岐命、初降于高千嶺、神倭天皇、經歴于秋津嶋、化熊出川、天劔獲於高倉、生尾遮徑、大烏導於吉野。列[イ舞]攘賊、聞歌伏仇。即覺夢而敬神祇。所以、稱賢后。望烟而撫黎元。於今傳聖帝。定境開邦、制于近淡海、正姓撰氏、勒于遠飛鳥。雖歩驟各異、文質不同、莫不稽古以繩風猷於既頽、照今以補典教於欲絶。”　
The life-blood of yokai was in stories and thus the incantation that Shakai used was excerpts from the most ancient of texts combined with onmyodo spells. While the actual content was important for some spirits others could not care less if you took liberties with their call and dismissal. The possessor and the Gaogoze began to simply evaporate into their component parts and drift away into the wind. They would be back next time he desired to call upon their powers but for now they could do as they pleased (which was probably cause trouble to all manner of other spirits and people , but this was no worry of Shakai’s). Shakai lifted a hand in a sign of dismissal to the others.

“It seems that our job is done here. While I have no doubt that seven bells has far more planned for the village it would be a fair wager that he will not waste many more of his forces attempting to eradicate this one pocket of civilians. The Administration building is a key target but there are other structures that are just as important. For example if he were to gain access to the city’s water supply then things could get truly dire. Sewage facilities are also important as the rate of disease would sky-rocket if the disposal areas became beyond normal access.”

Nodding to the three Shakai turned to leave his cape trailing off behind him.

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