NAORI - PART 2

He turned around, uncertain of the intentions of the one standing behind him. In that deep, dark forest, there stood a boy—about the same age as he was—just a foot away from him.

“You okay?” the boy spoke up as he leaned forward to give him a hand.

As his face drew closer, Naori could make out in the dark—white hair, eyes cold, carrying a calm demeanor.

“HURRY! Come with me. They will come looking for you here—we need to get out of here,” he said, his voice calm as the mountains, as if prepared for whatever was coming… like a mountain facing a storm.

“Who is coming?… You mean those… things I just saw? What are those?” Naori questioned with a mix of fear and confusion, his voice still trembling from what he had witnessed moments ago.

“A mere jikininki, hidarugami, and hitobashira are not something you should be worried about right now. They were merely attracted to your ki. What comes for you is far more sinister,” he said as he lifted his arm, palm facing the ground before him, and from it flowed a stream of radiant blue light, rippling like liquid energy.

The light spread across the earth, forming a perfect five-sided design woven with symbols that shimmered and pulsed with life. The glow deepened, spreading outward in waves of azure brilliance, and from the heart of that luminous pattern, beams of light burst skyward—and with them emerged a creature, as if called forth from the depths of the underworld. Body of a goat, coarse brown skin stretched tight over sharp bones, and a face of a human twisted in silent awareness. Something pulled out of a nightmare.

A sight too unreal to exist.

“Carry him, Kudan. We’re leaving,” the strange man commanded calmly—as though the goat-faced creature were his loyal servant.

“Right away, Master,” the creature answered, confirming their bond as it lifted Naori onto its back with its head.

Before Naori could even speak, they were hurtling forward at wind-like speed, the trees blurred past them. The boy didn’t just keep up—he surged ahead of the otherworldly creature itself. His legs were gone; in their place churned a spiralling vortex of wind, a tight tornado driving him forward, each step bursting like a miniature storm.

What kind of sorcery was this?

“I need to get to my village! I’m looking for my father and grandfather—let me go!” Naori cried, writhing against the creature’s back in a desperate attempt to free himself.

“It would be easier for me to just possess him, Master. I can sense his ki—he should be fine,” the creature said to the strange boy.

“I know, Kudan, but you mustn’t,” the boy replied.

He turned to Naori. “Listen… this might be hard to process, but there’s no village there anymore. They burned it down—everyone. I’m taking you somewhere safe before they find you.”

These words, a storm in themselves said in the midst of the gale, were adding to the chaos.

“What about my father and grandfather… are they… safe?” Naori’s fear was evident in his voice, his hands clutched onto the beast, the passing winds too strong. “And you—how do you know all this? How did you get away? Who is this creature?!”

Naori asked with a sudden shift in tone, as if charging him—questioning him—trying to process everything, yet falling deeper into a pit of confusion.

“My name is Kazanari,” the boy said. “A sorcerer who lives deep within this mountain forest. From here… I saw everything unfold. They arrived yesterday, just after the sun slipped behind the ridge, and they—”

Kudan’s voice sliced sharply through his words.

“Master, someone’s tailing us.”

Fast—real fast, almost faster.

Too fast to catch a glimpse.

The presence was felt on one tree, and in a moment, on another… drawing nearer and nearer.

“Slow down, young men. Don’t you want to get a taste of this young lady? My beauty is supposed to be enjoyed slowly,” a young woman’s voice spoke, seductive and playful—like a beast toying with its prey. “My bosoms are big enough for both of you. I can satisfy you both with my beauty.”

Threads of web came flying in with a sharp, whistling hiss, latching onto tree trunks and boulders as they wove themselves into a sudden barrier.

Kazanari’s arms flared with familiar blue radiance as a new gust of wind burst to life around them. He lunged forward, whipping his arms through the air with rapid, slashing motions, tearing the webs apart before they could close in.

“Why don’t you find someone from your own kind? I’m not into spider-ladies, honestly.

What about you, Naori?”

…

“Yeah, he isn’t either. See?” he mocked, slicing through each futile strand.

Webs snapped and fluttered around them, shredded into ribbons that clung to trees, branches, and grass—until the entire area looked like a field smothered in torn silk.

“HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!!!” the lady roared, her voice cracking through the darkness.

A blinding radiance burst from her, illuminating the night in every direction.

Within moments, the air filled with the skittering of countless legs. The webs around them had grown so dense it was impossible to see clearly, but through gaps and shifting strands they caught glimpses—dozens, then hundreds—of shadowy creatures crawling across every surface, swarming from all sides.

The woman finally emerged from the shadows, hurling herself at Naori with her fangs bared, ready to tear into him. Her body coated in coarse, blackened skin, her face a nightmare of countless tiny eyes running along each side. Six long arms sprouted from her back, each spewing strands of web as she swung from tree to tree.

A violent gust of wind slammed into her, driving her away from him. Snarling, she clutched a trunk, then sprang to the next, her spider-like limbs scraping as she lunged again.

This time, Kazanari met her fangs with razor-sharp wind-forged blades. She pressed against him with feral strength, their edges screeching as his steadily sliced through hers. The arms on her back snapped forward at once, launching swift strands of web at his unguarded torso.

Too fast—before he could shift the wind, the threads struck and clung to him.

With a violent tug she wrenched him toward the ground, freeing her fangs from his blades as she lunged downward, trying to smash him into the earth.

Too fast…

He forced his breath steady as he redirected the winds from his legs to his upper body. In a swirling burst, the gale spun around him, severing the webs—and with them, several of her fangs and arms.

“AHHH… MY BEAUTIFUL ARMS!!!” she shrieked, wild with agony.

Desperate, she hurled herself at his legs, now momentarily bare of wind, reaching to clamp onto them. In that instant, the current shifted once more, sweeping downward. The winds wrapped his legs, giving him the opening he needed.

His kick shot upward like a blade drawn from its sheath—

BAM!

The impact cracked across her face, blood spraying as she was knocked off the ground. Met with a follow-through second strike—a wind-charged kick aimed at her stomach. The force blasted her away; she shot through the air and crashed brutally against a tree, splintering bark.

In the meantime, the crawling creatures began to emerge—spiders, massive ones. Each the size of an elephant, heads crowned with long flowing hair. They came from all directions, skittering forward on their eerie limbs.

Webs shot toward them. Fangs snapped. Bodies dropped from above as the monsters tried everything to tear them apart.

Kazanari carved through their thick hides one after another, forcing a path open as blood poured from the fallen beasts. Their slimy, gooey insides splattered across the ground; blood and agonized screams filled the air as bodies were sliced in half.

Kudan, carrying Naori, twisted and turned with sharp precision, dodging every spider lunging at them. Webs, fangs, teeth—webs, fangs, teeth—webs, fangs, teeth—there seemed to be no end to their number.

As he struggled through the webs, Kudan’s legs snagged, and both Naori and Kudan slammed onto the ground, surrounded by monsters. The webs from all the spiders encircled them, shooting outward to form a prison-like cage of silvery threads closing in at terrifying speed.

Kazanari froze mid-step; if he moved now, they’d be cocooned alive.

He surged backward, maneuvering his winds around his body, twisting and turning against the barrage of threads, shot from all directions. He struggled—but managed to free them both.

Some spiders dropped behind him, sinking fangs into his back.

“LOOK OUT!!!” Naori shouted as he noticed them just in time.

Kazanari moved sideways, escaping with deep scratches on his back, falling for a moment—before rallying instantly. He shifted the winds from top to back, then forward, building momentum to slip between them, dodge, and drill through the horde.

Meanwhile, Naori and Kudan were back on their feet and running.

How long could they keep this up?

As if things weren’t bad enough, the spider-lady returned—this time more ferocious, driven by the agony and humiliation she suffered. She charged faster than before, swinging wildly from tree to tree.

“TURN LEFT!”

“Just do it—trust me! Go that way!” Naori shouted suddenly, the words bursting from him for reasons even he didn’t understand.

Kazanari and Kudan could only comply.

“My hands are full—I can’t summon anything else. You will have to push harder, Kudan,” Kazanari barked as he bolted toward the path Naori indicated.

“There’s someone coming from ahead,” Kudan muttered.

“An enemy?”

“No… I don’t sense any malice.”

Something shot through the air toward them—a man? A bird? They couldn’t tell at first.

With a katana in hand, he tore into the battlefield like a bolt of lightning, severing tens—hundreds—of spiders in a single sweeping strike. His skin a deep crimson, blending with the blood spraying from the monsters he cut apart, wearing samurai-like garb that fluttered in the chaos.

Ignoring the horde ahead, he surged to the rear where Kudan struggled beneath the endless assault. Tall and imposing, he halted mid-air, towering over Naori, his blade flashing as he ended creatures with swift, precise slashes.

When the last of the horde fell silent, he lowered his head to Naori and said:

“Master… I have found you at last.”

“That katana… those black wings… red skin… and that long nose—a Tengu? Who summoned you?” Kazanari asked, unable to hide his shock.

The Tengu remained bowed, expression firm.

“I was summoned by your grandfather, Master,” he said. “He called me here to protect you… and to teach you how to control the power inside you.”

Naori placed a firm hand on his shoulder, guiding him gently to stand rather than bow.

“Please… tell me,” he said, his voice tight. “What happened to my grandfather?”

“I shall tell you everything, Master… but first, let me take you to my abode. This place is not safe,” the Tengu replied.

He stepped closer to Kazanari and offered a respectful bow.

“I will be forever grateful to you for protecting my Master in my absence.”

“Let’s move ahead,” Kazanari said, turning aside as if brushing off the sentiment.

Only a few minutes later, they arrived at a clearing. The Tengu raised both arms slowly, and the ground began to tremble. In an instant, an entire shrine rose from beneath the earth—revealed as though it had been hidden under layers of magic all this time.

They entered the shrine. The ground trembled again, and then it sank back underground. They finally felt safe; it seemed the storm had subsided for now.

Back in the web-strangled forest—now a silent witness to the ferocious conflict—the woman lay there: a normal woman. No monstrosity, no twisted limbs. Just normal eyes, human skin, long hair… except for her bleeding gut.

“T… th… tho… thos… e b-brat…” she struggled, each breath costing everything. “I… hav… e… to… repo… rt…”

A small spider, the size of a palm, crawled out from the pile of corpses, blood, threads, and webs. She took it in one hand, and with the other—blood dripping from her fingers—she drew a pattern on the ground. It began to glow, a blood-red light spreading through the soil.

She placed the spider inside the circle and whispered:

“T… ell her… I found him… I… think… no… no… no… that enormous ki… I can’t be mistaken… it’s him… I found the last Shohei…”