Skullpluggery

Miscellaneous

Now that Ryūzaki Sanosuke had passed through the portal into Yomi on his own business and Hashinara Kiyowara had returned to her laboratory for other business, that left Maxim more or less alone with Shax. That was an unenviable position to be sure. Mary Lyn, at least, was there, but she clearly had no idea how to deal with their current situation. Worse, the smirking demoness still held a pair of souls dancing in her grip. One of them was Maxim's, but she hadn't been given any orders to return it.

There weren't too many possibilities on whose that other soul might be, and Maxim didn't like any of them. He was still himself, even though the essence had been ripped from his chest, so what would happen if a different soul were put back in? It probably wouldn't pay to find out. Mary could discern that the two spirits had about the same power level, which was unfortunately not much help. It still meant that either could be Maxim's. She stood ready to cast Transmigrate Soul on whichever one he chose.   Of course, Shax was not about to make it easy on him. The Marquis of Envy tossed one soul to the battle-weary knight and claimed that it was his. And yet, how could he trust her? Shax knew his dilemma all too well. With an infuriating smirk, she launched into a dizzying lecture on trust, wisdom, and foolishness that would have made even the most cunning Sicilian blush.   Maxim had had enough. In a moment he'd made his decision and ordered Mary Lyn to fuse the soul in his hand with his body. She cast the spell without hesitation and Maxim soon felt the strength and will returning to his sapped limbs. Somehow, that had been the right decision. For her part, Shax looked none too pleased. She'd been enjoying herself, and claimed to have sought the befuddlement of her opponent by offering the right soul right off the bat, knowing that he'd never trust one such as her.   Any reply that Maxim might have mustered was suddenly interrupted by the foulest stench invading the cloistered air like a conquering army. The Languid Youth, still working diligently at his anvil, seemed to sense another presence. He dove out of the way and rolled to a corner of the room just as a Putrid Jikininki, eyes unfocused and visible fumes rising from the necrotic pit of its mouth, slouched through the portal. Maxim and Mary immediately prepared for battle, but this monster somehow didn't seem hostile. In fact, it seemed to be trying to say something. Whatever capacity it once had for speech had long since rotted away, and yet the Jikininki's wheezing could just be made out as: "Ka... ta... mo... to..."   None of them quite knew how to answer that. They were well busy, regardless, clamping their mouths tightly shut and holding their breath. Moments later, the violent coughs of Shax were accompanied by an even worse sound. Bone grated cacophonously upon stone as Ryūzaki Sanosuke backed slowly through the portal. He faced away from the party gathered in Genmei's old sanctum, hands gripping, digging into the bone of the Ancient Gashadokuro's abominably massive skull. When the grinning death's head was about halfway through the gate, he stopped. Its size was just about enough to fully plug the portal, leaving only a small clearance on any given side. It would be difficult for anything to creep through, and perhaps even more difficult for all but the mightiest beasts to shift it. That seemed to have handily solved the matter of the open portal for the time being.   Maxim, of course, had to ask what exactly was going on. He sent the message mentally to Sanosuke, so as to save himself the breath it would take to speak. The Silver General said in reply only that the Jikininki was here to serve its new master, vague as was his wont. They would not have to suffer its presence for much longer, however. Summoned by Sanosuke, Shigeaki Fujino soon arrived in the sanctum and, with great hesitation, stuck a finger into the Jikininki's liquified flesh. The sound it made would haunt all of them for ages to come. That was enough for Fujino to teleport both it and Sanosuke across the labyrinth and into Kiyowara sanctum, however.   Once there, they found that Ashiya Dōman had succeeded in binding Kashin Koji to his will. Using Katamoto's mask as a vessel, the gremlin spirit was once again forced to obey her hated enemy, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo's will. Kiyowara, who spoke with the Princess-Daimyō's voice, began to interrogate the prisoner. Koji, predictably, gave as many non-answers and half truths as she could, sneering in defiance all the while.   Sanosuke's interruption went largely without comment. He saw Kiyowara and the wraithlike onmyōji who could only be Dōman interrogating Koji, with Katamoto's masked form hovering not far away. In a corner of the workshop, Brynhildr was bent over one of the many stone slabs. She did not notice Sanosuke enter, nor did she pay any mind to the other discussions. Indeed, it seemed like the dragonkin's absolute focus was the only thing keeping the artifact laid before her from destabilizing. That must be the Mugen Gauntlet. From what Sanosuke could see, it looked nearly finished.   Seeing as how Kiyowara was utterly absorbed with Koji, Sanosuke opted to leave the Jikininki in a corner for her later examination. He stated it as a present for her, then was off with Fujino, ever onward to their next errand.   Meanwhile, back in the slowly-clearing air of the sanctum, Maxim was expressing his concern for Shax. The demoness had been hacking quite painfully in the presence of that Jikininki, and he'd seen her suffer within the fumes of Yomi as well. Bone-thin and atrophied, with only four of the six arms common to her flavor of demon, Shax was clearly not a peak physical specimen. Rather than grateful, the Marquis seemed highly put-off by Maxim's concern. She reminded him of what horrible company she was, and implied that it'd be better for the knight in any case if she were to just drop dead. This had little effect on dissuading Maxim, who only seemed to care that they served the same master. Eventually, with an embarrassed huff, Shax retreated from the conversation and back into the darkness of the labyrinth. She took the other soul with her.   As soon as the other was gone, Mary Lyn excused herself as well. She needed to return to the tuning of the artifact, lest poor Brynhildr be left to bear the burden on her own for too long. That left Maxim truly alone, if one didn't count the Languid Youth returning to his anvil to resume his practice. With one last look at the great severed skull that now dominated the far wall, Maxim too departed. His destination now was Empress Genmei's chamber once again. She should know what had transpired.   Once he arrived at the great sliding door on the ground floor of Wakigami Castle, it was once again closed. He knocked politely. Just as the previous time, Prince Hozumi took his time nosing the door open, then looked down upon Maxim with an exasperated expression upon his serpentine snout. He slithered his bulk out of the way and, from the darkness within, Empress Genmei bid him enter.   Seating himself across from the aged Empress, Maxim first asked if she had, perchance, left anything below in her sanctum when she left. That seemed to be the wrong question. Genmei answered in the negative, and further took offense at the implication that she might leave a mess for her successor to clean up. The knight went on to explain that a portal had been opened there at some point; now dealt with. It had, indeed, led to the Land of the Dead. Yomi, as she would know it. On the surface, Genmei's expression remained as smooth and undisturbed as porcelain. Maxim had seen many horrors in his service, however, and keenly recognized the shock and fear lurking just beneath the surface of her affect.   Perhaps in an attempt to recoup herself, Genmei reminisced on the days of old. Were she still in power, she claimed, she would have Fujiwara no Fuhito roll a great boulder in front of such a thing. This was the second time Maxim had heard of the man's incredible strength, and once again it did not seem to be a lie. The knight remarked that Fuhito must have been quite a hero, to have done deeds like that and wrestling a Dragon with his bare hands.