Chapter 4 - Demons

"So in conclusion: a ground assault obviously will not work, and you cannot just bring it down outright or you will level the landscape. You need to get aboard and take it down from inside first." Mitsumi informed Rebecka Victoria, Asmana's Princess.

"Why would they set the ship to self destruct if it's ever brought down?" The blonde asked, clearly confused.

"So nobody can scavenge what is left." The mother told her "The Nakimutons believe that they alone have the right to their technology. Everyone else can blow off."

Her eyebrows raised "What if anybody's still aboard when it blows?"

"Every single person who serves the Emperor is ready to die for him at a moment's notice. 'To die with honour is one of the greatest gifts the Gods can give.' is one of the quotes inscribed in the throne room." Mitsumi replied, disgusted that she ever thought such quotes were inspirational.

"Ms Takehoshu, your country has a messed up idea of honour." Princess Rebecka told her.

"You are-how do you say it-'Preaching to the priest'?" Mitsumi asked.

"Close enough." she shrugged. "So, we get on board and destroy the tanks keeping it afloat, grounding all of their forces for a final rush in which we'll just slug them. Now, how do we get on board?"

"That is the main problem." Mitsumi answered "If we use one of their aircraft only one of us can get aboard, and only I can fly one. We have to get aboard in some other way." 

"I can help with that." A familiar voice sounded. Wakeeda stepped into the room and turned to the mother "My condolences."

"Thank you, but right now I just want revenge." Mitsumi answered shortly.

"Careful about that. Revenge doesn't get anybody anywhere." Rebecka warned her, but the mother was deaf to her words. "How can you help, Wakeeda?"

"I can teleport 1-maybe 2-people aboard the ship, but I need to do it somewhere they won't be noticed." Wakeeda informed the two.

"Here." Mitsumi pointed to a spot on the hand-drawn map of the ship. "These toilets have been out of use since before the Honour got here, and the Emperor likely will not waste resources fixing them while the war is ongoing."

"That's the entry point then. I'll get everything ready." Wakeeda told them all.

"Okay then." The mother turned to the Princess "It is just me going aboard, correct?"

Rebecka nodded. "Yes. You know the layout of the ship better than anyone."

"Understood. I just wish I did not have to fight him by myself." Mitsumi admitted.

"You will be fine." Mitsumi looked up at the new voice's source and a wide smile curved her mouth.

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"Okay, you're ready? Once you're aboard, I can't get you back out." Wakeeda warned Mitsumi. They stood watching the airship floating above the land.

"I am ready. The ground forces?" The mother asked the Princess.

"All waiting for that thing to fall." Rebecka answered. "Waiting and eager."

"Then let us not keep them waiting long." Mitsumi turned back to the witch doctor "Get us aboard."

"Teliporta Mitsumi: Honour of Nakimuto." Wakeeda spoke, and Mitsumi felt herself being pulled forwards by invisible hooks. She shut her eyes and felt a squeezing sensation all over her body that lasted less than a moment before she was back on her feet. Feeling like she'd just been fed through a set of forge bellows, she opened her eyes and looked around. 

She was definitely in the disused toilets-the huge "OUT OF ORDER" sign on every door made that clear. She cut the locked door down and poked her head out, looking both ways before stepping out. Her orders were clear: kill the Emperor, then bring the ship down. It would be much harder to do it the other way around.

As she made her way through the ship, the mother managed to avoid being seen for the most part. On the one occasion she was spotted, the soldier didn't have a chance to yell for help before her blade sliced across his throat. It didn't take her long to find her way to the throne room, nor to take down the two bodyguards standing at the door. 

She stepped inside and her eyes went wide. The Emperor was already inside the Suit of Nobility; a highly advanced suit of armour that boosted the wearer's strength and mobility by several degrees. It was only to be used by the Emperor. Clearly, he'd been expecting an assassination attempt since she escaped. 

In short, this just got a lot harder.

"No greetings for your Emperor?" he smugly asked.

Mitsumi tapped her sheath on her thigh and answered coldly "I have a full introduction right here."

"Ha! You think that you can fight me alone?" The Emperor laughed.

"Who said I was alone?" Mitsumi asked.

A shimmering figure next to Mitsumi tapped it's chest. Silently, Kenji Takehoshu reappeared, no worse for wear than before the fight with his mother hours ago. Wakeeda's healing abilities were beyond anything Mitsumi had seen before, to say nothing of her illusion magic.

"You told me you killed him!" the Emperor shouted.

"I must have missed. After all, I am only a woman." Mitsumi answered, unable to keep a smug tone out of her voice.

"Then I'll just kill both of you personally." The helmet descended, covering his face as he drew a large sword and primed his left fist.

Both the mother and the son charged at their enemy, but faked attacking to bait the Emperor into attacking, giving them an opening. He didn't take the bait and swung around. Kenji managed to block the sword with his Tantos, but wasn't able to followup with anything because the fist swung at him, forcing him to duck.

Mitsumi sliced at his leg but the armour stood strong and repulsed her blade. She managed to block his next attack and Kenji jumped at their foe's back but his attack made no effect. The Emperor's left fist punched the mother backwards and she went sliding across the ground. Kenji jumped off the armour while sheathing his Tantos and drew his Daimyo to block the Emperor's attacks.

There wasn't an immediate weakness they could exploit, but directly attacking wasn't going to work. They had to systematically destroy the suit's functions first... And the mother knew just where to start. Mitsumi rushed at the Emperor and, after dodging his attack, thrust her blade under the steam tube linking the left arm to the torso. She was swatted aside before she could cut it, but she could tell by the look on Kenji's face that he understood.

While Mitsumi attacked again to distract the Emperor, the swordsman jumped back onto the suit, Daimyo in hand. Kenji's blade cut across the left arm's tube and steam burst from it. He let out a scream of pain as the steam burned his hands and he fell off the suit of armour, dropping his sword. But it worked: the arm became completely immobile despite the Emperor's attempts to move it.

"No! NO!" he cried, realizing they'd worked out his weakness. 

He swung his sword at the mother, but she dodged it with a sideways turn and slashed the piston on his right leg, forcing him to the ground. Kenji's Tanto glowed bright orange and the blade sliced across the tube, locking the leg in it's kneeling position. He also tried to stab the helmet, but the attack was rebuffed by the armour. 

That gave Mitsumi an idea though: she dug her blade into the frontal chestplate and pulled hard. She could feel it giving way already, but the Emperor managed to swipe at her with his sword, forcing her to backflip away. Her son followed up by digging into the rear plate and pulling it clean off. The frontal plate fell off too, the armour unable to hold on one without the other. 

It was now or never.

"Agoko pravaha!" Mitsumi cried. A blast of fire erupted from her open hand and hit the Emperor directly. His scream of agony ripped through the air. The mother had no sympathy for him. His reign of lies and betrayal was over.

She dropped her hand to cancel the spell and jumped at the blackened figure. Her blade sunk deeply into his chest as she gripped the top of the suit, pushing it in deeper. Her face got close to his and her voice was full of venom: "Wherever you are going, I only hope that the other Takehoshus are waiting for you..." Then she jumped off the suit and, with a carefully measured strike, cut his throat open.

The suit fell backwards onto the floor with a near-deafening crash. Mitsumi didn't even wipe his blood from her blade. She wanted it to stain her sword, that she may never forget the first time she killed... and enjoyed it.

"All the rules forbidding lies and choice, and he lied to us all this time." Kenji spat on the charred figure's corpse.

"I..." Mitsumi began, sheathing her sword. "Kenji, I'm sorry. For...everything."

"I wish I could say the same." Kenji sighed. "My betrayal got our family killed, but now a great evil is gone because of it. Just tell me one thing?"

"Yes?" The mother asked, looking to her son. In truth, she couldn't be more proud of him than she was at that moment.

"Did you and Father actually care for me? Or were those just more lies fueled by tradition?" He asked sincerely.

Mitsumi was shocked, and took a moment to answer. "I cannot speak for your father, but I always loved you. I still did after your betrayal, and I do now. More than ever."

"Mother-" Kenji began.

"Mum." Mitsumi told him. "Please son... call me Mum."

"Mum..." Kenji paused. He looked close to tears. Instinctively, Mitsumi stepped towards her son and wrapped her arms around him. He sighed and let himself melt into her embrace. "I thought this kind of thing went against tradition." he joked.

"Son?" Mitsumi asked, running a hand through her little boy's hair. "Fuck tradition."

Kenji burst into a hearty laugh. A laugh that Mitsumi heard his younger self in. She felt wistful remembering him back then. "As nice as this feels, shall we go and destroy the tanks keeping this airship afloat?" her son asked.