Chapter 17: Into the Ashen Veil
The veil of night blanketed Kyoto in a misty shroud as Volundr, Claudius, and Lirien crossed the final threshold between realms. Layered beneath dozens of spiritual and magical illusions, their presence was less than a whisper—buried under the noise of the living world.
Volundr's eyes remained half-lidded as he walked, every breath in sync with the pulse of the leyline beneath his feet. Senjutsu flowed gently through his veins, weaving his life force with the spiritual energies of the land.
Trees leaned subtly to avoid him. The air parted at his will. Every footstep was swallowed by the silence.
"We're nearly in," Lirien whispered, fingers tracing the boundaries of an invisible barrier. "There—see the ward lines?"
Volundr nodded. "An eightfold seal. Holy inscriptions embedded in prayer pillars. Designed to repel low and mid-tier devils. But not us."
Claudius cracked his knuckles. "Then we walk through."
"We flow through," Volundr corrected softly.
They shifted, Senjutsu cloaking them in a second skin of ambient resonance. Volundr reached out, his senses expanding into the ether—seeking a spark.
It came faintly at first, like the echo of distant thunder. Akeno's spiritual resonance—suppressed, flickering, but still alive.
"Found her," he said. "North quadrant. Ritual circle."
They moved like shadows dancing across stone.
The Himejima compound was quiet, but only on the surface. Beneath the serene rows of lantern-lit paths and ancient wooden halls, spiritual tension hummed.
Dark-robed exorcists patrolled the area, their talismans soaked in centuries-old rites meant to cleanse the unclean.
Claudius led the charge when the first sentry appeared. Without breaking stride, he seized the man by the throat and slammed him into a cedar pillar, muffling the sound with a rune-inscribed cloth.
"Corrupted purity," Claudius growled.
Volundr stepped past as if the event hadn't happened, eyes locked on the shrine ahead.
More exorcists emerged, alerted by broken wards and whispers in the air.
This time, Volundr acted.
He vanished—reappearing behind one, a pressure point jab disabling her instantly. Another raised a holy staff, but a thread of Senjutsu forced his limbs stiff as stone.
Lirien slid past, slicing through another's talisman belt, rendering him powerless.
There was no time for mercy, but neither was there cruelty.
Volundr incapacitated, not killed. Misdirected, not exposed. His aura never flared. He moved like wind through reeds.
Claudius, meanwhile, drew the attention of the stronger fighters, his frame an anchor amidst chaos.
He bellowed as he fought, drawing holy warriors into narrow chokepoints and dropping them with bone-crushing force. The contrast between his raw strength and Volundr's elegant silence painted a brutal poetry.
Finally, they reached the ritual hall.
The chamber was lit with blue flame and choking incense.
Shuri Himejima knelt at the altar, her arms bound behind her back with scripture-sealed ropes. Blood trailed from her lip. Her eyes—defiant.
Akeno lay beside her, unconscious, a faint aura flickering around her like dying lightning.
Three exorcist elders stood over them, chanting. Their voices were hollow, disconnected from the divine.
Volundr's breath stilled.
"Not another step," one elder barked, turning toward them. "Unclean filth!"
Claudius stepped forward.
But Volundr raised a hand.
"No," he said, stepping into the blue light.
The elders froze, sensing a presence that did not match the body it inhabited. Something old. Something beyond.
His eyes narrowed.
"You've mistaken faith for righteousness."
And then he moved.
To be continued...