Mirage of Blaze Novel Volume 21 Chapter 1
I’m committing myself to translating the whole of this Volume…
here is the link to the Prologue of Volume 21 (if you are interested and have not read it)
Ok…here we are, Chapter 1…..
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Silence of the Evil Deity
The sun could not reach the room.
Upon entering, a sense of coldness was instantly felt on the neck. He knew it was not due to the temperature. But, the overabundance of a special spiritual presence.
The room was called the Ice Room. On the floor, it was vaguely glittering in green reflections. And deep in the far end of the room, stood a transparent coffin made of olefin fiber. In it, lied a naked young man. The Lord was sitting on a high-back-armchair, with legs raised comfortably. He was just right beside the coffin. Recently, it had turned into the great interest of his -- doing nothing, but just to sit right here -- gazing at the body of this corpse-like young man. He just could not get enough of it.
“Why are you here again?”
The handsome henchman, who was standing at the entrance, softly asked, making sure not to disrupt the atmosphere of the room.
“Anything?” replied the Lord, without turning around.
“Your loyal envoy requests to see you. He is now waiting in the other house.”
The Lord -- Takeda -- did not move. Calmly, he shifted into a different sitting posture and continued to gaze into the coffin. Unexpectedly, his joyous mood was revealed through the side of his face, a reflection of his unique personality.
“Are you so satisfied with the pillage from Aso?”
“Yes, very satisfied. Just by staring at it, I’m fully recharged with energy all over. It’s a very frightening thing indeed.”
“The one who once relied on such frightening thing, aren’t you the one, My Lord ?” a smile curled up from the corner of the henchman’s mouth as he asked.
The body belonged to a man who was, not too long ago, known as Narata Yazuru. In actuality, he was neither dead nor alive at this point - an artificial death.
“Kousaka, do you know that since his superficial self forces himself into an artificial death, his true-self is beginning to surface, bit by bit? Just look at him, the increasing evilness in him is really giving me goose-pimples.”
Shingen gave out a low throaty-laugh.
“Will such a thing become the Saviour? Which fellow said such rubbish ? Just see about it. Boddhisattva is just a violent and evil god. Destruction cannot be transformed into Construction.”
“ ….. Probably will be transformed into the most powerful god of the Warring States.”
Correct. Shingen closed his eyes as he replied.
Deep within him, the agonies of his youth was burning once more. Appearing on the chest of this Lord of Evil, was the image of his father, Nobutora, whom he neither respected nor admired, not even once. Why was he (his father) not satisfied with him? He was after all, his son -- his eldest son -- and yet he was the subject of the ridicules of Nobutora. Always being treated with contempt; whatever he did, was never approved.
The only time when he felt free and relieved was the time when he turned against his father, a time when he banished himself from him, giving all up and seizing the throne from the hands of his father. He was sure that there was nothing more that proud father of his could do, but to die of disappointment. Should his father ever seek peace from him, he would ensure that he be subjected to the greatest derision and contempt. With this victorious win, he was elated.
However, that was the beginning of his nightmare. Years later, when he met his father again, though his father had grown old but the pair of mocking eyes remained. He continued to scorn him, ridiculing all the things he did. From that point onwards, the disdainful image of his father was clearly imprinted into him. Despite banishing and seizing everything away from his father, that image continued to haunt him. That pair of mocking eyes, like a wound-mark, stubbornly remained in his mind. He had since, been living in the shadow of that pair of eyes.
In order to get rid of them, he turned vicious. As long as he continued to win and conquer, he would be able to liberate himself from the derision of his father. As long as -- he rose above all. This, he continued to believe in.
Even when he was ill, unrelentingly he fought hard, mustering the last bit of his strength to attack Keijou. All this was simply for the sake of defeating that pair of eyes. He was determined. Only when Keijou was taken, he could stand on top of the world, so that his wish could be realized and he would be free. But halfway through, his life ended. And, the image of his father mocking at Harunobu* continued on.
( Not able to reach……)
In his dying bed, he gazed into the sky in desperation as tears streamed down his face. He could not reach it with his hands. He could not reach it in person. It was the tears of regrets.
“Therefore ----- I must go to Keijou”
He closed his eyes as he mumbled to himself.
Keijou, that’s where you conquer the world, that’s where you can rid yourself off your father.
“Let’s proceed again.”
It’s timely now, since the evil god, Boddhisattva is in our hands.
Shingen opened his eyes. Within the pair of cold eyes, was a burning flame that could melt iron - just like when he was alive. Slowly he stood up. And with his back facing Kousaka, he continued,
“Kousaka, from now onwards, Takeda would be the Lord of the alliance. All the vassals of the alliance will become our servants.”
Kousaka widened his eyes. Slowly, Shingen turned around. There was an ominous gleam in his eyes.
“Takeda has the Bodhisattva now. We no longer have to reside under the alliance. We can now suppress and control the others. Just take in those who submit to us will do, Kousaka.”
“ Lord Yakata…… “
“The hibernation period has passed. Takeda shall now make a move.”
The moment had finally arrived.
“Our people have been impatient ever since hearing the news that our arch-old-enemy, Uesugi has sustained serious injury in the battlefields.”
Kousaka was stunned momentarily. But swiftly, he dropped down on one of his knees and responded with a soundly “Yes!” Shingen moved over to the coffin. He was now looking at the sleeping Bodhisattva with sharp piercing eyes.
(The time has arrived).
The mountain was to make a move. The most powerful army of the Warring States, the Takeda Army, was about to strike.
As Kousaka observed the back view of the aggressive Shingen, a smile came on his face.
“The target - Keijou”
This time round, I shall triumph over “Father’s Eyes”.
****
From the window of the second story, Biwako (Lake Biwa) appeared to be much murkier than usual. Was it due to the rain, a moment ago? Rightfully, the rain should have cleared the dust particles of the air. But the sky of Azuchi remained very dimmed.
His head felt heavy whenever it rained -- the same feeling when he was alive.
(Perhaps it’s because the moon is the guardian god, therefore things don’t go smoothly in cloudy days.)
As he pondered on, he raised his head to the sky. It was supposed to be mid-autumn. Technically, it will be a full-moon-night.
He longed to see the moon of Gassan Todajou. Recalling the time when he spent his mid-autumn festivals with Haruhisa,the father of Lord Amago Yoshihisha, Shikanosuke was momentarily immersed in his pasts. Then, he had not fully recovered from his injuries and Haruhisa was smiling at him.
The one who interrupted his day-dreams was a beautiful voice comparable to the Moon Envoy.
“How’s the hostage? Is everything still alright?”
In reflex, he straightened his posture to the voice. A young man with chestnut-colour-hair walked into the hall of a room decorated with antique furniture.
“Your are back, Ranmaru.”
Mori Ranmaru had brought along his retainers. His grand entrance was comparable to the nobility. Perhaps it was his hairstyle; there was some disparity as compared to what Shikanosuke had remembered. He had kept his fringe long, covering half his face. Topping up his gorgeous good looks was a streak of rebellious wildness that made him appeared much more like an adult.
“I’ve checked -- a moment ago. It’s the same. The tongue is as sharp as ever, still very alert,” replied Shikanosuke.
The retainer started to serve coffee.
“Although her body appears to be weak, but not her mental composition. Don’t underestimate her just because she is a woman. If you do, you will suffer. She is different from Isarihime-kind of women of the warring period.”
“She was actually a man.”
Although Shikanosuke knew, his expression was still full of admiration.
For Shikanosuke, it had been two years since he came to Azuchi. He was someone, resurrected to aid the clan of Amago flourish again. He had since been serving in the army of Oda after the allied war in Itsukushima. Together with Yasuda Nagahide, they managed to infiltrate into the core power of Yamato,the battleship of Mouri.Vividly, this was still on his mind. If it was not Yasuda Nagahide, he could not possibly have won the battle against his enemy, Kobayakawa Takakage. After the battle, Nobunaga impressed by his determination to resurrect the Amago clan, had assigned him a senior post in army. However, Shikanosuke, was in a dilemma. He could not bring himself to trust Nobunaga completely. But, it was an opportunity to resurrect the Amago clan in the shortest possible time. And, he did not have to clash with Oda. Therefore, he decided to suit the wishes of Nobunaga. But, that did not imply he had forsaken his own family.
Therefore, at this point, all those wandering loyal subjects who were holding the moon symbol, remained within the territory of Oda in Shin-Azuchi-jou.
“We must keep the captive alive. Don’t let her commit suicide. However, I need a favour from Lord Shikanosuke.”
“What is it ?”
“I must attend the ceremony of Nagoya tomorrow. “
“Yakaya Frontier II…….”
Mori Ranmaru sat down on the leather sofa and sipped his coffee. That was the name of the famous flourishing coastal metropolis project in the east coast region.
“I’ll be very busy in the future so not likely to return Azuchi. Therefore, Shikanosuke, I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip to Shikoku.”
“Shikoku?”
“There are some uprisings over there. It cannot be ignored.”
Shikanosuke asked for details. Ranmaru straightened his legs before continuing.
“From the region of Awa to Tosa, there always exists a power that was different from the Generals#. Lately, the power has been growing. This is a bad omen.”
“Are they the residual squads of Mouri? Murakami Takeyoshi?”
Mori Ranmaru shook his head. No, it was not the navy.
“Probably they belong to Miyoshi clan of Awa. The fringe squads of Chousokabe, the General of Tosa. However, at this point, we still cannot determine if Motochika and his people, have been resurrected in the “Warring Underworld”. After all, information-gathering has never easy in Shikoku.”
“You want me to suppress those powers, right?”
“There has been intelligence report that Nobuchika, the eldest son of Chousokabe Motochika, is now resurrected. But it is still an unconfirmed report,” said Mori Ranmaru coolly as he continued sipping his coffee.
“With the backing of Outomo,Nobuchika waged wars with the Shimazu clan. He was subsequently killed. It was known that he’s the favourite of Motochika.All hopes are on this young courageous warrior.”
“………..”
“Really bothersome. We do not wish to make another enemy out of this. Hence, we require you to make a trip to Shikoku, to confirm this piece of information. If this is the truth,…..”
Ranmaru looked at Shikanosuke. Suppress him --- he uttered.
“Once this is achieved, we will formally recognize the returning of power of the Amago clan.”
“Really ?!” Shikanosuke leapt up instantly and continued.
“I got it. For this matter, just leave it to me !”
“Appreciated. However, I’m a little concerned to leave the whole matter to you alone. Hence, I have arranged a very capable person to assist you.”
It was someone Shikanosuke knew-- Ramanru told him. Ranmaru cast a side-glance at his retainer, who proceeded to open the door, adjacent to another room.
Standing right besides the window, was a young man. As the door opened, he turned around. Shikanosuke could not recognize him. He had never seen this face before. But, the young man appeared to know him very well.
“It’s been a long time, Shikanosuke.”
“………. What?”
“We danced together before, have you forgotten?”
Shikanosuke gasped. For a short while, he could not utter any words out his mouth.
“How come………..why are you……????.”
Ranmaru started to laugh.
“That is how things are, Shikanosuke. He is our comrade.”
“Don’t joke with me……this is………”
“Well, I’m a willing party, you see,” replied the young man in a voice that Shikanosuke had never heard before. He had a little mole, beneath one of his eyes.
The young man walked into the room.
“It’s my decision. Thanks to them that I’m revived and live on. That’s me - to return what is owed. Otherwise, I’ll feel uncomfortable.”
“But you are……..”
“For the details, you can check with Ranmaru. He will tell you everything.”
Shikanosuke turned around looking at Ranmaru for an elaboration. But Ranmaru only lowered his gaze and continued smiling.
“How can you simply just………”
“It’s not simply anything. I have died once. My body has evaporated.”
Shikanosule sighed. He could not comprehend the principles behind this man. It was a serious betrayal, yet this man -- right here -- had taken the matter lightly. If he was not being forced, then why………? As he thought of it, he turned pale.
(What is happening here?)
“…. Well, I have never betrayed anyone. Unlike you, I’m not one that can sacrifice myself for someone’s sake. There is a limit to everything. I was just trying to free myself and the opportunity came.”
“You have betrayed them….Have you joined Oda ?”
“I have long detached myself from those people.”
This man was not wearing any spectacles, yet he was using his finger performing an action, akin to, adjusting the spectacles on his face. Was it a habit? This was one movement that Shikanosuke recognized.
“I had been deceived till this very moment. It’s time to return the favour.”
“You want to turn against your Master ? ”
“That man is no longer my Master.”
The young man, with a little mole beneath his eye, glowered at Shikanosuke.
“Long before, I already don’t have such a thing called Master. Henceforth, I only want revenge now.”
“Are you serious?”
Coldly, the young man glared at him. It appeared that he meant what he said. Shikanosuke was stunned, he stared at Ramaru wordlessly.
“Such a frightening man. For Lord Nobunaga, he………”
A smile came on the face of Ranmaru. He was pleased at the situation. Even if one was big-hearted, it was still a dangerous move. It is one thing that Shikanosuke would never do it.
(Clearly he was with battles with this man before, and he almost died in it….)
“From here onwards, please team-up with this man.”
The young man was now silent. He had his arms crossed at this chest.
(Though it was not his first time to partner this man…………)
“Should you require any troops, you can just get it from Azuchi. And one more thing….”
Ranmaru now turned to his young retainer, who was still serving coffee.
“If there is need, you can take along Kojirou.”
The young man was shocked, almost dropping his coffee pot.
“The Uwajima of Shikoku is under the charge of your nephew, right? Sometimes, blood-ties can be very useful.”
During the Edo Period, the province of Uwajima had regarded Date Hidemune, the eldest son of Date Masamune as their founder. This continued till provincial divisions were abolished and replaced by prefecture establishments. Even in the present days, the descendents of Date could be found in Uwajima.
“If you succeed in the suppression, I shall handover Shikoku to you.”
“To me ? Really ?!”
Ranmaru grinned as he reaffirmed his statement.
“By this, you will be on par with your brother. Like him, a lord of a country. Isn’t this your wish? How’s that? ”
“I will go,” replied the young man instantly.
“Leave the matter to me, Lord Ranmaru.”
“Alright, that settles it.”
Pompously, Ranmaru stood up.
“Do settle the matter by the time I return. My servant will explain details to you.”
Ranmaru prepared to leave.
“Lord Ranamaru..”
In a low voice, Shikanosuke called out to him.
“Where is Lord Nobunaga?”
“It’s best that you remain ignorant to the matter.”
As Ranmaru replied, he called upon his servants.
“Your Lord will return with much greater power. All you need to do is to be the witnesses of my historical moments. Alright, we shall go and check out the captive now. At the same time, introduce yourselves to her.”
Having said that, he got the young man, with a little mole under the eye, to follow him. The servants went along too. Together, they were like a squad of body guards of Ranmaru. Following right behind was Kojirou.
As they were leaving, their eyes met. The young man’s and Shikanosuke’s. There were no traces of pretense in the young man’s eyes which Shikanosuke was looking for. Instead, what he sensed was decadence, an atmosphere of weariness that uniquely belonged to the contempt towards one’s own clan.
The door was now shut.
Shikanosuke stood there - eyes closed, astounded.
******
It appeared that a person’s character could be echoed through one’s footsteps.
The chilly sound of footsteps was approaching. One could distinguish the gender just by differentiating the sound created by the size and type of shoes. It was amazing that a person’s lifestyles and personality were visibly reflected in their footsteps. During the Warring Period, it was known that ninjas were able to differentiate friends from foes just by their footsteps alone. There was some truth in this rumour. But under normal circumstances, it was unlikely that one would pay attention to footsteps. If one would, one could become overly focus on footsteps and unable make any other observations.
From the hallway above, was the clattering sound of the approaching steps that did not belong to usual group of people. Those men, who came over to inspect her everyday, had a much more humble, soft and low flat-tone in their steps. That was because those men always wore their slightly filthy rubber-sole-shoes. Such shoes would never have the kind of hard clattering sound.
The interval of steps sounded short. An indication that smaller steps was taken. Among them, there was a new sound, an unhurried kind of steps, belonging to a man. The clanking sound of keys was heard at the staircase.
As the echoes got louder, the sound of footsteps got clearer. At this point, she could identify the visitors.
Kadowaki Ayako opened her eyes.
“Well, how have you been lately, Kakizaki Haruie?”
Behind the glass wall, the man with the chestnut-colour-hair asked.
“Are you satisfied living here in seclusion? “
This was a glass cell in the basement, made of hard solid reinforced glass. There was no window, only a bed, a chair, and a temporary toilet assembled out of wooden planks. It was clearly a room created with the intent to imprison. Naturally, the glass walls offered no privacy. The sound was transmitted via a microphone.
“I think probably you are. This is indeed a perfect mansion made of signal-binding material. No mind waves can leak out.”
“It’s a pity that it’s not sound proof……Really have to thank you, ” Ayako replied in a hoarse voice, that she almost could not recognize it belonged to herself. She was visibly worn-out.
“Truly admirable. The mind of a human will go bonkers if isolated for too long a period. A month is probably the limit. Then the senses go. You have been here for half a year and yet, you are still so alert. I guess, a person that lives for 400 years has a very much different mental composition. “
Indeed. Ayako thought to herself. She still remained sane.
For six months, she was cooped up in the claustrophobic basement, segregated from the outside world, and soaked in stale damp negative energy. It would be perfectly normal if she had lost her mind. In fact at this point, she was unsure if her senses were still intact. It was fortunate that there were no mirrors here. The extent of her exhaustion probably made her looked like an old woman now.
“Your words do not please me, Ranmaru.”
The sunken eyes of Ayako glared over as she spoke.
“Isn’t good look the most important factor for a young attendant, like you? Such a wounded face --- I see, too bad, no more a pretty boy, huh?”
“Look, who’s speaking? The skeleton-face of yours -- It’s so unfortunate that I can no longer get you to accompany my Lord now.”
“What a real pity,” Ayako continued in a hoarse voice.
“I was still thinking that if I ever have the luck to sleep with him, and have his dick completely yanked out, completely mashed up.”
“You don’t have to be vulgar. You may utter such harsh words, but I can clearly see that, there is hardly any strength left in your voice.”
Like a corpse, Ayako glared coldly at the face smirking in front of her. On Ranmaru’s face, was a rather recent wound, similar to a knife-lesion, that was likely caused by a “storm”. It was not there at the time in Aso.
“How is Nobunaga? If he is alive, shouldn’t he appear by now?”
“My Lord will choose who he wishes to see. Do you really think that you can meet him? ”
“Well, if he does not show himself, it means he is dead. Has he been killed by Kagetora? Hmm, most likely.”
Ranmaru snorted at Ayako’s words. Placing his hands onto the reinforced glass wall, he continued,
“How many times must I remind you? You are a captive. To put it plainly, I can squash you like an ant.”
“You are most welcome to do it. I will rather die than being a burden to my comrades.”
“I see, you have backbones. But as you are trapped here, should you commit suicide, there is no chance for you to repossess, not to mention enlightenment.”
Behind the glass wall, Ranmaru was all smiles as he noticed Ayako’s face was stiffened by his taunt.
“Do you really think you can still return to that place? And believe them? You Lord, Kagetora has been banished by the Uesugi. Naoe Nobutsuna is indeed the ideal man to overthrow him. “
“Naoe is not that kind of person.”
“What do you base on?”
Ayako stopped herself. She was fully aware of the depth of entanglement between these two, but she did not want to explain to Ranmaru. Not to him.
“Although it is rumoured that these two died while killing each other in Aso but, I
don’t believe it. I do not think that the menacing lord of yours, Kagetora can be so easily killed in the hands of his own vassal.”
Therefore you are necessary -- Ranamu said.
“Take good care of yourself, my dear Captive. If you are really sincere in meeting the Lord, then do inform this man here. If the Lord is in good mood, perhaps he will have his “seeds” implanted into you before letting you off. Go and ask permission from this man.”
By “this man”, Ranmaru was referring to the young man who came with him. An ordinary slender-faced young man with black hair. But on his forehead, there was a red dot, similar to the one attached on Narata Yuzuru. It was not the type of red dot on Indians. It was a ……. “Evil’s Descendant”.
(Date Kojirou…..)
This man had come over to check on her several times. The hero of Australia, and the brother of Masamune……
Did the long weary days in captivity change the perception? He appeared to be much more mature than three years ago. He was no longer the weak young man, depending on his mother.
“It is better that you move with the tides than to stubbornly resist, Kakizaki”
In the tone of Kojirou’s voice, it was evident he had overcome self-abandonment.
“It’s the matter of time before you are attached with “Evil’s Descendent”. Do enjoy your remaining time of spiritual freedom now.”
Ayako froze at these words. Ranmaru laughed aloud, turning away, back-facing her.
“It’s indeed worthy of as the brother of the One-Eyed Dragon. Lord Kojirou is an intelligent man. Kakizaki will soon have a change of heart the moment she sees “that man”.”
What? Ayako rolled her eyes. Ramanru closed his eyes and flirtatiously, he laughed loudly.
“Do you want to see him? “
With a signal from his index finger, the door to the stairs opened. A man appeared. Ayako observed closely at the young man as he descended down from the flight of steps. She could not recognize the face.
Never seen him before.
Walking over, the young man stared right into Ayako, as straight as a ramrod. Long black layered hair that reached the shoulder, well-defined features, gently droopy eyes, and in the middle of face was a slightly hooked nose. There was a little mole under his right eye, emanating a frivolous overall impression. In him, there was a drifty indifference, similar to someone, which Ayako could not recall.
“Who are you…….?”
The man appeared to know something.
Suddenly, Ayako jerked. Her eyes were wide-opened, almost tearing themselves apart. Her face stiffened as she turned pale. As if to assist her memory, the young man finally spoke.
“It’s me, Kakizaki”
Ayako was startled.
How can that be ?
The young man was again silent.
“Don’t be mistaken, Kakizaki. This man has joined Oda willingly. He has already made up his mind to be the enemy of your Lord, Kagetora. He is our new reliable partner.”
Intimately, Ranmaru placed his arm over the young man’s shoulder.
“He is also our old friend.”
Ayako was silent. She could not utter any words.
Although his appearance had changed, undeniably it was him. The man appearing in front of her, with a new body was indisputably, him. Ayako placed her hands onto the glass wall. Frowning and could not believe herself. She did not want to believe what she saw, yelling in a hoarse voice that was only audible to herself.
He saw her lips movement, but he remained expressionless. Not a hint of guilt. Finally, with a cold indifference look, he replied,
“This is for real.”
The whole body of Ayako started to tremble, as rage whelmed up from within. Her face was twisted like a ghost, hovering between fury and despair. Clenching her teeth and with a curse-like voice, she uttered,
“Yasuda ….Nagahide.”
Footnote:
* Keijou - refers to Korea during the Edo Period of Japan.
* Harunnobu - also a name that refers to Takeda Shingen
* 弥勒佛,弥勒菩薩 - Boddhisattva
* 亞剋亞夫隆迪亞 II - Roughly as “ Yakaya Frontier II”. This is a direct pronunciation mapping to English words/names (Not sure of 亞剋亞 so I’ve left it as “Yakaya“ but夫隆迪亞 is definitely “Frontier”)
*怨将- is a term uniquely used in Mirage. In order not to delay this posting, I have roughly translated it as “General#”. The “#” is to denote the special use and it means slightly more than the standard use of “General”. Should I find a better word, I will update it subsequently.
*暗战国- I have previously translated it as “Warring States of the Underworld”. I’ve decided to use the term “Warring Underworld” instead. For consistency, the earlier translations (Vol 24) with reference to this word have also been updated.
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Now we know what happened to Yazuru, Haruie and Nagahide (at least from Vol 21 onwards..)
If you’ve noticed, Ranmaru has quite an androgynous streak and I find his conversations with Ayako amusing, especially when Ayako said she wanted to yank “That Thing” out of that someone. o_O.
About Shinkanosuke….hmmm…we now learnt a little more about him … (besides remembering him as the guy whose head hit windscreen in Nagahide’s car, Vol24, Ch15)
To era_haruna205 à Hey ..hey “Man with mole; footsteps ; dare you taunt me ?” *smile*
Next, Chapter 2…..hmmm……….. ..