Hasumi exhaled a warm breath as she heaved a sack of animal feed over her shoulder. Her muscles bulged under the weight, but she paid it no mind and continued to carry it over to the shack she had been told to. With her body stat being solidly within E, she easily stacked four whole bags the size of her torso before the farmer who had asked for help had even got one in there.

Hasumi squinted her eyes at the sun, raising a hand to block its rays while she enjoyed the feeling of the breeze on her skin. The scent of wood and forests entered her nose as she breathed deeply. It had been awhile since she felt anything other than salty and humid currents, so the wind having any other scent was an open change that she relished in.

“Thanks for your help, Missy, I hadn’t thought I could finish this before lunch. Now I find myself with too much time.” The farmer laughed, wiping sweat from his tanned forehead.

Hasumi bit back a reflexive reply on the title the man had given her. She was used to calling out other soldiers who said similar remarks, but she wasn’t an idiot. She might have been raised in a low class family but that didn’t mean she knew the difference between ignorance and arrogance. All she offered was a bland smile, feeling one of the scars close to her lips crinkle the skin a bit with the action.

“No problem, we’ve already taken from the village, so its just polite we help out here and there, ya know. Besides, I’ve dealt with similar stuff back in Mitsuno. My Ma and Pa used to work in animal processing.”

“Ah, Mitsuno…” the farmer mused. Hasumi noticed his smile fading. “That place is still a bunch of trouble I tell you. With the Water Elevators and what have you. I hear that they’re letting that damn Gaijin into our decisions, too. It’s why I left, you hear, that Gaijin will run us all into the ground.”

“Right…” Hasumi tried to keep a polite smile on her face. She had only wanted to help, but now she was going to have to deal with a very verbal Anti-Saint supporter; most people just stuck with ignoring people who worked with the Saints. Still, they had been dying out recently as concessions were being given to the lower classes. However, you could always find some scattered around everywhere.

Though, she did realize that she met most of them out in settler villages like this one.

“Hey, Miyasaki! We need you back on post!” Hasumi perked up at the voice, her gaze moved past the farmer and their small, wooden shack to a man standing in the street. Her cheeks started to warm up as she found her eyes on commander Nishimuro.

“Coming, sir!” She quickly buried down her excitement and bowed to the farmer. “Sorry but I will be leaving now.”

“No, no, don’t let me hold you up now. Ah, but be wary. I heard that there’s another Gaijin who recently showed up in the village. With all the shit that’s been happening, I would bet my best egg-layer that they have been the cause of it.”

“Yes, yes, I will be going.”

Hasumi hurried over to commander Nishimuro’s side, trying not to blow up in the man’s face. It could be any other soldier, but not his. Her smoldering anger calmed down as the man eyed her, and her heart fluttered when he sighed.

This was… an embarrassing first crush. She hadn’t thought that it would happen the way it did. However, she couldn’t act on it. Even if the feelings were mutual, and she knew they weren’t – commander Nishimuro could never be with her. After all, she was of a lower class.

Yet, she remembered their first meeting like it was yesterday. He was one of the more gifted soldiers in the academy at Mitsuno, and on top of that, he was from the Kichiro household. It was like a prince attended the same class as her. On top of that…

“Why didn’t you just leave the old man?” Nishimuro said, interrupting her thoughts. He was always perceptive like that. Hasumi eased up, feeling comfortable around him for noticing something she normally took pride in hiding. “Don’t hide it – I could see you about to nail the guy in the face. What did he say to get you riled up; normally, you’re the calmest out of everyone.”

She offered a wry smile. Calmest externally, yes. “He mentioned the Saints and Mitsuno.”

Her commander nodded silently. “I sometimes forget how hard it must have been for you before the Saints started offering support in the lower class areas.”

“Yeah… I get it, you know. I could understand they’re not the greatest guys around. I ain’t dumb to that kinda knowledge, but… they helped out my little sister and I. When I was in the academy, they supported me through it all.”

“And now it is your time to pay for your sister.” Nishimuro smiled politely. It was a politician’s smile. Always was one. Hasumi knew that he couldn’t show anything that could be thought of in any way other than just a normal smile.

Awkwardly, she gave one of her own. “Yes, it would be good to help back.”

Nishimuro hummed, seemingly happy with her choice of words. “How is she by the way? Hana, I believe her name was.”

“Good.” Hasumi perked up, excited that he remembered when she knew she only mentioned her sister’s name once or twice before him. “She turned sixteen on the last season of heavy rain. She was given the opportunity to unlock her Life Energy.”

“Impressive. I wouldn’t think they would do that for someone who just came of age. Has she thought of joining us on the border regions?”

Hasumi laughed at the clear joke. No one who unlocked their Life Energy so early thought of going so far away. It was no different from wasting their time and potential by going to the border regions; there were barely any dungeons this far away that coming out here was purely a waste of time. Even the one they had miraculously found would probably only give one technique talisman. Definitely not enough for a soldier regiment like theirs.

“She had recently said she wanted to join one of the Exorcist regiments.”

Nishimuro pursed his lips, completing something. “Which one?”

Hasumi was suddenly put on guard. That did not sound promising. “I… do not know. I didn’t ask.”

“Then,” he sighed, turning over to the sun that was cresting over the horizon. Hasumi had realized just how much time she spent helping the farmer and talking with the commander. Nishimuro also seemed to realize it, and quickened his pace to wherever they were headed. “Just tell her to stay away from the units run by the Satsuki family. They are… not the best for lower class people.”

“Ah… right. I’ll tell her.” Hasumi fell into his quicker pace, finding herself now at the center of the small village. It was a simple circular plaza with flattened dirt roads bordered by smaller skeletons of shops. There were no clear, established shops with the village being recently created, but the civilians living there seemed to build their own stands to barter and trade freely.

She caught several other soldiers meandering around the plaza, eying the wares and paying attention to the darker corners of where the sun was blocked by the odd building. They worked silently, and gave smiles to the civilians who struck up inane conversations now and then. Despite the distractions, most of them seemed focused on monitoring the surroundings in familiar rotations.

It finally struck her where she remembered seeing such actions: the Yokai Police. A force to keep track of yokai was essential in any city or larger village. This was because how yokai were formed in the first place was quite odd; they were not born naturally like other monsters of creatures. Instead, yokai were formed from an excess amount of negative thoughts.

The only other way was if a yokai contracted a god and created a dungeon. Dungeons were the only place where yokai could actively spawn without the negative thoughts of others, but that required the contracted yokai to be in the dungeon. However, the yokai formed in this way would only come out if there was an overflow of monsters within the dungeon; something that they would easily be able to catch.

Still, going back to the fact that yokai were formed from negative thoughts of the populace, Hasumi wasn’t too sure on the exact numbers, but she knew that murders were one of the reasons why many yokais were formed. Normally, this only meant that the yokai would target the killer as a resentful spirit. However, the problems came when they accomplished that. Resentful spirits were common enough in cities with enough people, but Hasumi remembered what they were all warned about before arriving.

Did a Hyakki Yagyo need all this?

“You’ll be taking over for Kazushige.” Hasumi broke out of her internal worries as Nishimuro pointed to a soldier sitting in a corner. From his position, Hasumi felt that she could see over the entire plaza. “He checks on the entire plaza. Search shadows counterclockwise and report anything that looks a bit out of place.”

“Yes sir.” Hasumi felt that this was a bit excessive, but she reasoned that the situation necessitated this caution. Her commander seemed to have a sixth sense for all things trouble.

“Right, before I go, there’s one last thing I need to know.”

“Yes, sir?”

“What do you think of the Gaijin?”

Hasumi blinked at the odd question, but she wasn’t unprepared for random questions or situations. “He seems… odd. I have met Miss Roth before, so meeting someone so normal compared to her is rather weird. Do you think he has an ability to affect my perception of him?”

“No, the Exorcist of the Sleeping Woods assured me that the young man had no skills or techniques before the Exorcist even met him. The young man should be the very definition of a sheltered and innocent individual.”

“What do you think, sir?”

Nishimuro squinted his eyes at her, and she hid her blush at the action even when she knew that she was pushing her authority with that last question. The commander didn’t voice it and just sighed heavily, looking side to side. “I know you can keep a secret, so I am just a little confused and concerned with the old Exorcist’s care for the Gaijin. Sure, he is known for helping those less fortunate, but teaching others and directly competing for a skill jade is different. I am just… worried that there might be more to the seemingly normal Gaijin.”

“That makes sense, sir.” Hasumi nodded. “Do you need me to keep an eye on the Gaijin when they come back?”

“I’ll trouble you with that.”

Hasumi squinted at the man. He was rocking on his heels, clenching and relaxing his right hand. His sword hand. It was an obvious tell that he was hiding something else. “Is there… anything else, sir?”

“Stop that.” Nishimuro grumbled. “And while the Gaijin is certainly concerning, he is not the issue. You might not have heard of the Exorcist’s other title as it is used less nowadays. However, around a hundred years ago, everyone knew him as the God Chaser. Take that as you will.”

Cutting it off like that meant he was hiding an order from the higher ups. Nishimuro would never disclose information directly as that is grounds for a military discharge, but from how he still explained some of it, Hasumi felt that it wasn’t that serious of an order. A blanket blackout over only a very specific set of information?

In any case, Hasumi knew that this was also an indirect order to keep it quiet and help him. That was if she could figure out what he meant without asking. Something she was more than ready to do.

“Yes sir.” Hasumi bowed and took the position of Kazushige, seeing off Nishimuro as he went off to direct the soldiers scattered around the village. Figuring out what Nishimuro meant was one thing, but keeping the villagers unsuspecting of their potential yokai infestation was perhaps more important at the moment. She had seen how easily yokai could pop up randomly in a panicking crowd; that was just asking for trouble.

Kazushige stretched nearby while Hasumi went over Nishimuro’s words in her head. The Exorcist of the Sleeping Woods was a legend among many of the lower class people. He had been one of the challengers of one of the most dangerous dungeons near Mitsuno, and he had been the one to miraculously clear it. However, apparently in doing so, he revealed that the god who was helping to control the dungeon had turned it into some arena where the challengers fought together against Oni of all things. And, after struggling to survive against waves of one of the world's strongest beings, there was only one person who was allowed to leave.

Hasumi remembered hearing about how the Exorcist’s wife had also gone with him to help, and suddenly, she felt a bit of pity for the man. However, that only gave her a backstory about why the man had gained the title of “God Chaser.” Why would Nishimuro tell her that?

Like pieces of a puzzle fitting together, she remembered the additional mission Nishimuro had mentioned before they departed to this village. They were supposed to wait for her highness, the Queen. At first, it seemed like a rather odd order, but when she thought about the Exorcist’s dislike of Toshiki’s upper classes, she realized that they were not just here to guard the villagers but to also make sure that the Exorcist didn’t run away.

The problem now was: what had changed? Hasumi didn’t think that the upper classes of Toshiki would want to directly bring back someone so biased against the gods, but the Queen stepping out herself meant that they needed someone formerly known as the “God Chaser.” Which meant the problem dealt with a god or group of gods.

A pit of horror began to fill in Hasumi’s stomach as she realized that. It had shed more light on commander Nishimuro’s actions now that he was treating the current situation with such caution. After all, she didn’t believe in the coincidence that a dungeon had occurred so close to a village out in the border regions. A dungeon that seemed to miraculously appear and split the troops here.

Hasumi felt the warmth of the sunlight off her back as someone tapped on her shoulder. She held back a flinch to frown at a smiling Kazushige. The man held sizzling meat skewers in his hands, holding one out for her. “Yo Miyasaki, want one? I heard you were helping some farmer man before mr. Noble went and just dumped watch duty on you.”

Hasumi frowned at the title given to the commander. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? Why are you distracting me?”

“Right, my bad, I just felt you uh, needed some food.”

“Fine, give me that.” Hasumi said calmly, snatching one of the skewers from the man. She turned back to her duty.

That was when she noticed them.

The sun had already gone down while she was talking, so it made sense that she missed it. Yet, in the shadow of the evening, the creatures that had been hidden in the light finally were revealed to her. They stood on top of the roofs of the buildings, standing at the right positions to where they would be invisible in the light.

Hasumi’s eyes widened as everyone took notice of the creatures that were surrounding them on the rooftops. She felt strength fill her limbs as one of the standing orders from their commander, “stay alive,” kicked in. The Foot Soldier class was one of the weirder ones like that. They needed a commander they acknowledged, and there needed to be a verbal order to get bonuses while following them.

The woman unsheathed her sword just as the yokai began moving. Nearby, she knew her fellow soldiers were readying their weapons, but the screams of the civilians began ringing through the air.

Panic was setting in as the yokai jumped into the crowd. They were primarily human-based variants; those who could easily infiltrate into villages and cities. However, Hasumi bit back a small tinge of fear at the sight.

Yokai were invisible in the daylight. That was common knowledge. Yet, people didn’t really care about that bit of information because yokai abhorred sunlight. It weakened them and prolonged exposure could cause severe damage. These yokai went against their natural instincts.

“So this is a Hyakki Yagyo.” Hasumi mused as she rushed past a couple of frightened people. A humanoid yokai stood in front of them, carrying a knife with red veins that pulsed along the silvery blade. It’s body was covered by a blood red robe while its face was concealed by a white, porcelain mask with painted red lips. The only thing visible was a bone-thin arm of pitch black that extended the knife towards the charging soldier.

Hasumi knew it as an affront to fashion. Though, its actual name was Aka Manto. They normally were found in enclosed spaces, making them dangerous to encounter, so finding one so out in the open was rather odd.

Its movements were slow too, Hasumi noted. She easily parried the knife, and her Life Energy reinforced her legs for a second as she rushed it the instant it was off balance. Her sword dug point slammed into the white mask, shattering it as she forced her weapon into its skull. The Aka Manto dropped as she kicked it off her blade.

She spun as she heard something behind her, and saw another Aka Manto rushing at her. They were slow, she realized. Either from their prolonged exposure to the sunlight before or because they were just a much lower Life Rank; at least Rank G. Hasumi scoffed before turning away, and the sound of a body hitting the floor echoed a second later.

“This is a planned ambush.” Kazushige said, siding up beside her. Hasumi nodded to him as they continued to dispatch the Aka Mantos with ease. “Should we split up to protect the civilians?”

Hasumi stared at the scene before her. Another yokai had entered the plaza by running through the small gap between two buildings. It was short, akin to a child in both height and appearance. Except for the small horn that grew from its forehead and the clawed hands gripping the axe it held, Hasumi felt that it could easily pass for a child.

“Stop that yokai!” Hasumi yelled, remembering what it was. An Amanojaku. Vile, horrid yokai that had the dangerous ability of controlling those with lower Mind stats.

The nearby soldiers were too late. The Amanojaku raised one of its hands, opening its palm at one of the villagers. It didn’t matter if it was weakened or lower Life Rank, the villagers were probably worse. The man screamed as he dropped to his hands and knees, but they quickly stood back up with only the whites of their eyes visible. Immediately, the possessed man started to strangle the woman who was beside him, pinning her under him with his weight.

“Shit.” Hasumi cursed as she rushed over. Kazushige seemed to follow her, striking down any Aka Manto who tried to stop them. She got over right as the woman’s face was turning blue, and slammed her shoulder into the possessed man.

The woman began gasping, desperately gulping down air as Hasumi held down the man while he thrashed on the ground. Hasumi leaned away and glared at the man as he snapped his teeth at her like an animal, spewing tendrils of spit that splattered against her face. Slowly, he seemed to regain his mind as Hasumi knew that the nearby soldiers had killed the troublesome yokai.

“More incoming!” A yell rocked the plaza, and Hasumi snapped her head up to stare at more Aka Mantos running across the roofs of nearby buildings. Their trademarked red cloaks billowed behind them almost like a sea of blood.

However, the most important detail was the larger blades held in their hands. The small silvery knives of the ones she had fought before were replaced by long, blood red swords. Hasumi clenched her teeth as she filtered the information about Aka Mantos to the front of her mind. They grew exponentially off of slaughtering people. Of course, if they killed stronger people, they were able to gain greater strength, but just killing a bunch of villagers would probably be enough to rise up from Life Rank G to Rank F.

Suddenly, the reason why the standing order of “stay alive” became more apparent in her eyes.

“To me! Group up in the center! Aka Mantos are able to scale walls like flat land – stay away from the buildings!” Hasumi yelled, ordering the group of soldiers to surround the villagers. Them panicking and subsequently strengthening the Aka Mantos was not a good idea.

Yet, the Aka Mantos didn’t rush the group just yet. They slowly surrounded them, ghosting over the ground almost like they were levitating. Hasumi frowned at the action. It struck her less like the erratic movements of weak yokai and more like soldiers.

She bit the inside of her cheek. The academy taught quite a bit, but a Hyakki Yagyo was a different beast entirely. They weren’t really found that often anymore, and even if they were, the creatures within them would be too powerful for Foot Soldiers of her class and Rank. All she was going off of was secondhand information and anything she managed to figure out herself.

This was supposed to be a weaker Hyakki Yagyo. Even Nishimuro thought that they could survive, but the current situation had gone too desperate too fast. Did a Nurarihyon with a dungeon really create such an army so easily?

Then, from inside the ranks of the Aka Mantos, Hasumi caught the sight of more child-like figures. She knew that there could never be any children in such a crowd of blood thirsty yokai. Her heart dropped as she looked at the villagers behind her. If they were fighting and suddenly were attacked by the villagers, there would definitely be many casualties even if the enemies could be killed easily with tactics and skills.

Hasumi bit her lips. She would have killed for a single Exorcist in this situation. However, she hardened her gaze, knowing just what she might have to do.

Like a miracle, light began spilling her body. Hasumi’s face brightened at the scene, and quickly looked around as she saw the nearby soldiers having the same sheen. She recognized it as the one skill that made Nishimuro so powerful. He could store actions, no matter what, and then could complete them instantly. This one was the one safety that all the soldiers under him knew of: the retreat action.

“Grab any villager around you!” Hasumi yelled, grabbing onto the man who had been possessed and the woman who she assumed was his wife. The two seemed to be in a small argument, but the soldier had no time for their spat.

Then, Hasumi felt her commander’s skill take effect. There was no disorientation as she was suddenly displaced. Just one moment she was within the plaza and the next she was standing near the forest next to the village. Voices of dissent among the transported villagers instantly erupted while Hasumi focused on the soldiers screaming for healing and treatment.

“My baby! You left her in that place! Go back! Go back!”

“Where are we? What’s going on?”

“Did we get sent to Yomi?”

However, as she looked around in a panic, she found her commander. As well as the sword inserted in his throat.

“Nishimuro!” Hasumi saw red for a moment. Her heart echoed in her ears as she rushed over to him, sliding on the ground while she took in the damage. The blade had cleanly pierced through his throat, going through the back of his neck and exiting out from his Adams apple. It was a clear sneak attack; something that a Nurarihyon would easily be able to do whilst Nishimuro was fighting. “I- No, please… No. How can this-”

Nishimuro gurgled, blood frothing at his lips. Hasumi felt like a hand was squeezing her heart, and tears began pooling in her eyes. She focused on the wound and the man. He was still alive but that was only due to his Body stat. The wound itself was fatal for anyone unless they had some skill or technique to counter it. Yet, she knew Nishimuro’s skills and techniques. He wasn’t even favored enough in his family to get a life-saving spell either; it was why he was all the way out here with them.

Nishimuro moved steadily despite the injury, and Hasumi could only watch as he dragged his finger through the dirt, writing the word “retreat” in the ground. It was only when he wrote “leave the corpses” that she finally realized he wanted her to leave him, too. Hasumi felt she lost a bit of herself while reading that.

“Ah… ah…” Tears made her vision blurry, and she shakily tried to stand up but was only caught by a couple of soldiers nearby. A strangled sob tore its way from her throat as she tried to stop herself from breaking down.

“Miyasaki…” one of the nearby soldiers broke her from her death grip on the commander. She didn’t even know that she was still clutching his arm, trying desperately to not forget his order. “What should we do?”

“W- we-” Hasumi bit her lip, feeling her fingernails dig into her palms. She looked around, seeing everyone’s eyes on their commander’s words. The man was still alive, but that would change as they tried to escape.

In the distance, Hasumi could see the village descending into mayhem. The villagers were getting torn to shreds by the Aka Mantos while the Amenojakus made it so no one could escape or fight back. Running away was condemning everyone left behind to die. Yet, Hasumi quickly realized that there were other yokai circling the village.

Hundreds of Face Stealer Centipedes ran around the edges as large moving trees with skeletons embedded in them shambled nearby. On top of one building, Hasumi saw a yokai with a shorter stature than an Amenojaku. It was wearing a loose kimono and from this distance she could barely make out the white skeletons embroidered on the black fabric. However, her attention was more on the creature that stood next to it.

An Oni.

Its skin was red, unlike the one they had fought before. Though, she didn’t underestimate it because of that. Instead, she only felt more dread settle within her. For one to appear here was already a crazy coincidence. Another meant it was the actions of an enemy. After all, no two Oni would ever be in the same area.

Hasumi clenched her teeth as she stared at the empty sheathe in the Nurarihyon’s hands and made a silent vow. This was premeditated. Someone had planned this, and she could only bite her lips and let it happen. Her lips trembled as she vowed to figure out why.

However, this time she needed to be strong. She turned to the group of soldiers and villagers who watched on and felt horrible. Her heart broke with every word she said next, “We need to run. Everyone who can’t keep up will be left behind.”

“But what about-”

Hasumi stared at the soldier who spoke up, and he quickly grew quiet. “We can’t fight an Oni in these conditions, much less that Hyakki Yagyo that is now getting stronger as we speak. Right now…” she breathed shakily, stopping herself from sobbing. “We leave those who can’t follow behind.”

She desperately tried not to find Nishimuro's figure with her eyes. At this point though, it was a habit. His eyes were closed, but a slight smile was on his face. That... almost broke the resolve she had gathered once again.

Still, no one dissented. After all, her words were reasonable. They had prepared to fight a lone, recently born Oni. They were wholly unprepared for a Hyakki Yagyo of such a scale. All that was left to do was to run and not look back. They especially couldn’t fight whatever was capable of defeating their commander. After all, he had reached Life Rank D, the rank where people started becoming more like monsters and less like humans. Even if they all banded together as Life Rank Es, they couldn’t overcome that wall.

Not even the screen that told Hasumi she could advance her class lightened the atmosphere.