“So am I,” I replied.
“Shall we go back up to the house?” Kai suggested. “I think Toshiro is keen to talk with you about what to do next.”
“Shortly,” I said. “There’s one more thing to try. Cara, I’m going to use the Kitsune Persona.”
She nodded. “Be my guest.”
With a shimmer of cool sensation, I switched over to the Kitsune Persona and felt the black shinobi aspect envelope me. The twinned kusarigama were at my belt, but it wasn’t them I wanted to try just now. It was the misdirection power.
Cara and Kai were standing next to each other, watching me. I took a breath, reaching for the place where I knew my new power awaited me. It felt similar in aspect to the power which allowed me to shift short distances instantly, but it was distinct. I activated this new ability and took two steps to the side.
“Where is he?” Kai cried. “Leo?” She glanced around and grabbed Cara’s arm in her surprise. “He was there, then he was gone!”
I let go of the power and felt it ripple around me as I stepped back into view. Cara was smiling. She guessed what I had done because she had seen me choose the upgrade, but Kai’s reaction showed me that it was certainly an impressive effect. For me, it was like stepping behind a screen. I did not disappear as it seemed. Rather, I placed a temporary image in front of myself which misdirected the eye of those who looked at me.
“It certainly works well,” Cara said, once I was visible again. “You just seemed to step out of existence.”
“That feels like it has great potential,” I mused. “But I’ll need to be careful not to rely on it too much. It doesn’t grant me full invisibility, and it wouldn’t stop a flying arrow, but it may allow me to pass unseen. I’ve not needed to use that kind of stealth yet, but I have a feeling it’s going to come in handy. Anyway, it feels good to add some powerful defensive spells to my skill set.”
I focused on the Personas again and switched back over to the non-combat aspect of Ironside. Cara did the same, revealing the non-combat aspect of the new Tree Spirit Persona for the first time. This proved to be a revealing costume of green silks, low cut at the neck and back, lifting her breasts, and showing off her legs to good advantage. A belt of leather and gold graced her hips, and the shimmering tumble of fabric brushed around her bare arms. Low shoes of soft green leather finished the outfit.
She stretched her arms. “Oh, that feels good!” she said. “I like everything about this Persona.”
Kai was admiring Cara, her eyes traveling appreciatively up and down the other woman’s body. “It looks very good on you,” she said, and the two women smiled warmly at each other.
“Shall we go back up to the house now?” Cara suggested.
I glanced up at the sky. More time had passed than I had realized. It was now early afternoon, and my stomach was suddenly reminding me that I hadn’t yet eaten today.
“Let’s do that,” I said. “I’m sure Toshiro will be wondering where we’ve got to, and we’ve still to decide on our next course of action.”
Kai fell in on my right and Cara on my left. Striding up the path toward the house with a beautiful woman on each side of me, and a collection of powerful Personas at my command, I felt a sudden rush of confidence and pleasure in my situation. Life was good, and whatever came next, I felt that I would be able to handle it. By the time I was through, the Festering would be cleared from the land of Yamato, and many other places too.
I had found my destiny, and it felt good.
Chapter Sixteen
When we got back to Toshiro’s house, I looked around at the progress on the cleanup.
“They’ve done more than I would have thought possible in an afternoon!” Cara exclaimed.
“They may be mercenaries, but they are hard workers,” Lady Kai said.
The mercenaries and the Byakko had worked together to clear the battlefield of Tengu corpses and smashed tree-demons. The Tengu had been buried in a deep grave over by the tree line, and a couple of Kai’s soldiers were filling the grave in with earth. There was no sign of the corpses of the Gaki.
Under General Koshu’s direction, the mercenaries and Kai’s soldiers had gathered up all the human dead to burn. Black smoke still rose from the pyre, and most of the mercenaries and soldiers worked here. I could see that it would take some time before they were finished. The smashed tree demons—of which there were many hundreds scattered around—provided an ample supply of fuel to the fires. It was a grim sight, but at least the human soldiers had all died honorably in battle. In Saxe, that was the best end a fighter could ask for.
General Koshu was conversing with Toshiro’s old manservant on the front step of the house. As we approached, Koshu saw us and raised a hand in greeting. The old servant hurried off into the house as Koshu approached us.
“Leofwine, Cara, Lady Kai.” The General bowed in turn to each of us. “We’ve made a lot of progress on the clear up.”
“You certainly have. But what happened to the Gaki?” I asked, looking around. There was no sign of their corpses anywhere.
Koshu shrugged. “They were spirits. Shortly after you left, they faded into oblivion. Such is the nature of the dark magic that summoned them.”
“And the Tengu are buried over there?” Kai pointed to where the men worked at filling in the last of the pit.
“Yes,” the General replied. “None survived the battle. The Byakko dug the pit, and the mercenaries and your soldiers helped to bury the Tengu. I believe that burial is the custom of the Tengu people.”
Kai shook her
