Souryuuden Volume 12

Novel by Tanaka Yoshiki
Summary by Amparo Bertram

Jump to: [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10]

East Sea Seiryuu-ou (Blue), Gou Kou, Hakukei
South Sea Kouryuu-ou (Red), Gou Shou, Chuukei
West Sea Hakuryuu-ou (White), Gou Jun, Shukukei
North Sea Kokuryuu-ou (Black), Gou En, Kikei

Chapter 1: The North Wind Strengthens

  1. Hakukei has been lost in time, and Shukukei went searching for him in the human world, leaving the remaining two brothers to handle the situation in Tenkai. Chuukei gleefully plans the excruciating lecture he'll have in store for his younger brother, should the boy return without rescuing their clan leader. On Earth, it's the year 979, the Sou period in China. The emperor is Chou Kyougi, whose older brother was the founding emperor of this period. Shukukei recites the details of Chinese history to himself as he travels, accompanied by his five loyal animal spirits. The animals are Kosen, a fox; Kaisen, a mouse; Ryuusen, a snake; Kousen, a weasel; and Hakusen, a hedgehog. Together they enter a city to obtain lunch.

  2. The gossip drifting through the city concerns the war in the north, which the people seem certain their ruler will win. The first thing that happens to Shukukei on his quest for food is that he falls prey to a pickpocket. ("These humans have quite the nerve, to steal the wallet of a god...") Fortunately he comes across a noodle stand holding an eating competition and wins the prize. He heads off toward the north, where the Sou army is battling Ryou forces.

  3. The army led by the Sou emperor will shortly engage in the Kouryou River Battle. Chou Kyougi is one of the most brilliant political strategists in Chinese history (though that doesn't translate into military genius). He confers in his tent with his top national defense advisor, Sou Hin, who proposes to preserve the soldiers' lives by withdrawing, now that they've all but crushed the Ryou forces. Sou Hin's opponent, Han Bi, argues that they should press on for complete victory since they've already come so far. The emperor agrees with the latter opinion. Sou Hin is discouraged at how obvious it is that the emperor merely wants his name to be remembered forever for his military accomplishments.

Chapter 2: Bloody Battle

  1. The leader of the Ryou army, Yaritsu Kyuuka, encourages his men by saying they'll surely win if they follow his orders. Hakuryuu-ou strides through their midst as they scramble in the darkness to prepare to engage the enemy. After observing them, he runs across to the Sou encampment, feeling sorry for all the food that will be ruined in the attack. A group of Sou soldiers bump into him, taking a disliking to his irreverant attitude, and he's about to wind up in a brawl when the Ryou invaders are sighted.

  2. Chou Kyougi has his army face the torch-bearing enemy coming from the northeast, not realizing the main Ryou force is sneaking up from the northwest. Sou Hin finds it suspicious that the Ryou would have so many torches, negating the advantage of a surprise nighttime attack, and he tells the emperor it must be a trap...but it's too late. The hidden cavalry launch their ambush, plunging the Sou into chaos. Sou Hin sets his son Sou Ki to the task of guarding the emperor as they retreat.

  3. Yaritsu Kyuuka is anxious to capture the Sou emperor to gain a conclusive victory. He's just about to catch the emperor's carriage when a young man with a sword blocks him. Saying that if either of the two leaders died, history would change, the strange warrior proves himself superior in speed and strength. The Ryou commander is forced to give up his goal. The young man lets him go, advising him never to sully his reputation of sparing as many lives as possible. After Kyuuka departs, the unearthly swordsman--Seiryuu-ou--only hopes his younger brother isn't traipsing about mucking up history.

  4. The emperor finally reaches the designated rally point, where they're already discussing his tragic death and that they should appoint a successor. He is Not Pleased, particularly since the proposed replacement is Chou Tokushou, the son of the first emperor, whom many people had thought should have been the heir to begin with. Kyougi's own heir is his younger brother, Chou Teibi. Tokushou, by contrast, is a good warrior and has gained a great deal of popularity.

  5. Hakuryuu-ou senses an evil presence lurking, yet being in human form dulls his perception so that he can't pinpoint it among the roiling emotions surrounding him. He sends the mouse off to watch the emperor. Kyougi is alone with "his" shadow, which grows horns and extra arms. It speaks to him, attempting to convince him that everyone believes he killed his brother for the throne, and that Tokushou wants to replace him. Hakryuu-ou waits impatiently (and hungrily) for the mouse to report back.

Chapter 3: Heroes Appear One after Another

  1. Hakuryuu-ou is spotted and challenged by Shin Kan, whom he recognizes as a famous warrior eunuch. No sooner does he slip past than Sou Ki shows up to block him. The two men don't truly believe he means any harm, but the situation being what it is, don't want to let him go without getting any answers. In the middle of their discussion, Hakuryuu-ou notices a torrent of evil flowing up from the castle, and a group of guards charge in to arrest him as a criminal. He tries to convince them that the emperor is in danger, but the famous armored cavalry commander Ko Ensan refuses to listen.

  2. Kaisen the mouse watches as the shadow controls the emperor and talks him into ridding himself of potential threats to his reign--namely his younger brother and nephew. Suddenly the shadow detects Kaisen, who tries desperately to escape. The mouse scurries only a few steps when Seiryuu-ou picks him up and protects him from the six-armed creature, Machi.

  3. Members of the Zoroastrian faith had fled from Persia to China, bringing with them two evil gods: Ryoutou and Machi. Seiryuu-ou realizes that, if he's facing Machi, Ryoutou is still at large. He also deduces that the pair of minor deities wouldn't try to take on the mighty Chinese empire if they didn't have someone as strong as the Gyuushu behind them. As he draws his sword to fight, his younger brother is occupied with Ko Ensan's stubborn challenge. Machi's rampage causes the whole place to shake, which lends strength to the boy's assertion that the emperor is in danger. All the soldiers rush off to see what's happening.

  4. Hakuryuu-ou runs off in search of his older brother, whom he can sense somewhere nearby. Luckily, the dragon leader catches up with him just as he accidentally topples off the edge of the castle wall. Finally reunited, the two still can't return to Tenkai until the next gate opens in another month. Below them, Machi is wielding six blades and hacking soldiers to pieces left and right. Shin Kan, Sou Ki, and Ko Ensan attack, but even the three great warriors together are hard-pressed to defend themselves.

  5. The two dragon kings could easily defeat Machi, but they don't want to get the humans wrapped up in the battle, nor do they want to reveal publicly that they can kill monsters. Unfortunately, they don't have any magic that will do the trick. If they don't want the massacre to continue, they have to do something fast.

Chapter 4: Southward Bound

  1. The dragon kings leap onto Machi and hack at him enough to make him lose his weapons, allowing the humans to take over from there. In immense pain, the creature uses the last of his strength to transform into black smoke and escape.

  2. Although the brothers reveal only their family name, Gou, to the soldiers below, Sou Hin is able to piece together their true identities. Seiryuu-ou hypothesizes that Machi's partner Ryoutou is in the closest major city to the south, Kaihou, where he has the best chance of influencing important political leaders.

  3. Listening to his older brother talk about the way history is supposed to go, according to the Emperor of Tenkai, he feels a bit disappointed that they have a policy of non-interference in Earthly affairs, yet the Emperor gets to dictate the course of human events. He also has a lack of respect for Chou Kyougi, who brings about a hundred years of peace--at the expense of his brother and nephew. Sou Ki calls up to them to offer gratitude as well as a huge reward for their help. The two dragon kings and five animal spirits set off on a boat for their next destination.

  4. Back at their Crystal Palace, Chuukei and Kikei have tea and chat. They can keep tabs on their brothers now that the two are together, because their combined energy is ten times either one alone and is more easily detected. Chuukei explains that, once they set foot on Earth, the two are stuck in human-limited bodies and can no longer ride clouds to facilitate their journey. In Kaihou, Machi wallows in his pain and misery, waiting for his injuries to heal so he can have his revenge.

Chapter 5: Dream Capital

  1. The two dragon kings arrive in the capital city of Kaihou and sightsee a bit. Hakuryuu-ou is mostly interested in locating a good place to eat (though he wouldn't mind if cute young waitresses are included in the scenery). During their meal, Seiryuu-ou decides the next step is to visit a temple and dig up a copy of the magic spell they need to banish Machi and Ryoutou for good.

  2. The two wolf down their meal, Hakuryuu-ou protesting that his brother won't allow him more than a taste of alcohol. Upon their return to their inn, Seiryuu-ou gives the animals permission to take on human form so they can see the city too. The human forms still resemble the original animal spirits, however, and Hakuryuu-ou is afraid any priest with a decent level of power will see through the disguise.

  3. At the first temple, a holy maiden recognizes the animals and makes them drop their human forms, stepping on the fox's tail to seal his power. When Seiryuu-ou begs her to forgive the animal, she turns around and reveals herself to be Taishinoufujin. She asks to know what they've been up to and agrees to lend them a written copy of the spell they need. They have about two weeks left until the gate opens in which to flush out and banish the two evil gods.

  4. They pay a visit to the home of Chou Fu, a high-ranking official, Taishinoufujin pulling out a package of forgetfulness drug to use on him. Seiryuu-ou interrogates Chou Fu about his plan to frame the emperor's younger brother for a crime he didn't commit, expecting the deed to have been due to the influence of the evil gods, but the man insists it's what Chou Teibi deserves for being a weak man and unfit to rule. It hits Seiryuu-ou hard because he himself is in a position of having to protect his family against false charges brought up for political reasons.

Chapter 6: Line of Sacrifices

  1. Machi feeds on blood and pain, so he needs human sacrifices to regain his strength. He has a gang of murdering thieves working for him to procure those victims. The gang robs a store and is about to take the owner's baby to feed Machi when the dragon kings step in. They disable the gang members and intend to question them to find out the location of the evil god's lair, but the gang leader blows a suicide flute that makes their hearts burst out through their mouths.

  2. The emperor and his warriors arrive in a grand procession. However, instead of holding a ceremony to honor the soldiers as he ought, he shuts himself in his castle for days. The soldiers want to remind him what he should be doing, but their station is too far beneath his to speak to him directly, so they ask Tokushou to relay the request for them. He agrees readily, never doubting that his uncle would listen to him.

  3. Kyougi accuses Tokushou of trying to boost his popularity and tells him that if he wants to reward the soldiers he should do it after he becomes emperor. Tokushou leaves the room and immediately kills himself. The emperor then elevates his younger brother to the official position of imperial heir. It should have been an occasion for Teibi to rejoice, but coming so soon after his nephew's sudden death, it makes him extremely uneasy.

  4. In Tenkai, Kikei learns about that episode in China's history. Chuukei asserts that Tokushou would have been better off killing his uncle and claiming vengeance for his father's death. At that moment a man from the Imperial Palace calls asking for Seiryuu-ou, refusing to reveal his name or business to anyone else. Chuukei knows who the man is anyway, an underling of Kyoukou, and calmly needles him into losing his temper before hanging up. Kikei brings up the point that there's no reason the two of them have to sit around the Crystal Palace waiting; they can go visit Earth themselves.

Chapter 7: Holy Mother Hakuan

  1. The two dragon kings and the animal spirits move into a guest room at the temple where Taishinoufujin is staying. She helps Hakuryuu-ou study historical details and tries to cheer Seiryuu-ou up by drawing the history buff into their conversation. He's more concerned with the problem of locating the evil gods, though. He speculates that they're in the sewers. Hakuryuu-ou goes to meet with a cat spirit named Holy Mother Hakuan who knows the sewers intimately. Upon meeting her, he finds that she has his stolen wallet.

  2. Since she had used his money to help save northern cats suffering from the war, she repays him with information. Ryoutou had possessed a man named Ou Keikun and didn't escape in time when he died, winding up buried with the body. Seiryuu-ou, upon hearing the news, explains that Ou Keikun was a brother-in-law of the previous emperor who went crazy and became a mass murderer, even turning to cannibalism. His rampage lasted a long time because the emperor couldn't bring himself to execute the brother of his beloved wife.

  3. Now that they know Ryoutou's location, they're stuck with the problem of transportation to and from the city where he's buried. If they take too long, they won't have time to banish both evil gods before the gate to Tenkai opens, and they'll have to stay another year. (Not that it would be an incredible hardship; a century on Earth is only about a day by Tenkai standards.) Taishinoufujin offers to transport them in half a day, which would allow them to get rid of Ryoutou and return the same night. Of course, she also insists on going along.

  4. Taishinoufujin, decked out as a swordswoman, summons three giant eagles to carry them in a basket. A black cat joins them, saying that Hakuan passed away, her last request that he should aid the dragon kings. Hakuryuu-ou names him Kokusen. (The mouse hides inside his clothes...just in case.)

Chapter 8: The Legend of Hokubou

  1. They arrive at the graveyard, Hokubou, and warily enter Keikun's crypt. The animals guard the doorway while Seiryuu-ou lifts the lid of the casket. As soon as he does so, the body sits up, manipulated by Ryoutou.

  2. Ryoutou tries to go after Taishinoufujin as a tasty morsel, yet when she starts reciting the spell to banish him, he makes a break for it. The animals manage to block him at first, but he soon grows beyond the bounds of the human body and becomes too strong for them to handle. He had cast a spell on his skin to deflect all metal thrusting weapons, so the dragon kings' swords are no use against him. It looks as if he will get clean away.

  3. Luckily, Kokuryuu-ou chooses that moment to appear and toss his oldest brother a wooden staff inscribed with the banishing spell. A couple of blows with that, and Ryoutou is no more than a pile of dust on the floor. Kouryuu-ou walks in and explains that he left the three generals in charge and spread word that none of the dragon kings were home. Either their enemies will think it's a trap and stay away, or they'll think it's an opportunity to attack and get soundly defeated. The whole group heads back to Kaihou.

  4. It gets to be the last day before the gate opens at midnight, and there's still no trace of Machi. Seiryuu-ou seriously considers the possibility of the family staying until the next year, knowing his brothers would enjoy themselves. (Although they could go to Tenkai at any time if they transformed into dragons, he wants to avoid that.) While spending the day sampling the moon festival fare, the two oldest dragon kings rescue a man who seems to be a doctor from a pair of thugs chasing him.

Chapter 9: A Mid-autumn Night

  1. The doctor had just arrived from the country when he was taken against his will to heal Machi, who had a broken-off spear handle stuck in him from Hokuryuu-ou's attack. Knowing he would be killed when he finished, he constructed an opportunity to escape by using up all his anaesthetic and demanding to be taken into the city for the supplies needed to make more. He was in the middle of running away when the brothers rescued him.

  2. The three return to the temple to find the youngest pair of dragon kings accompanied by Sou Ki and Shin Kan. Sou Hin had sent the two to find the brothers, so they had been searching eating establishments for days. They caught up with Hakuryuu-ou at last at a sweets shop.

  3. The dragons explain all about Machi to the warriors. After the two leave, Taishinoufujin relates that Sou Ki will gain the title "Kokkyuu" when his daughter marries the emperor, and after that he'll become one of the Eight Sages, Sou Kokkyuu. (Kouryuu-ou wishes he wouldn't, believing the Sages to be annoying.)

  4. After Chou Fu advises the emperor to take his brother out of the line of succession, Kyougi elevates him to the highest possible position. That meeting seals Teibi's fate. All over the city, when people should have been happily moon-gazing, anxious voices are raised calling for missing children. Spotting one of the kidnappers, Hakuryuu-ou sets off in rapid pursuit.

  5. Sou Hin arranges for a hundred thousand soldiers to chant the banishing spell in unison. Even if most of them have only the barest minimum of spiritual power, with that many combined the effect is substantial. Goaded by the spell, Machi finally makes his appearance.

Chapter 10: Decisive Battle Beneath the Moon

  1. Kokuryuu-ou wants to take the six animal spirits back to Tenkai with him, even knowing that they're not immortal and he'll have to watch them grow old and die. As they make their last preparations before leaving, Taishinoufujin tells Seiryuu-ou that her purpose in being there was to help the dragon kings, and that they'll always be welcome in Kunlong as long as they continue to walk the path of rightness. Hakuryuu-ou has kept himself busy capturing Machi's minions.

  2. Machi rampages down the city streets, headed for the castle arsenal and its gunpowder. However, the chanting soldiers keep blocking his path, and he already isn't thinking clearly, thanks to his injuries. He spots the two dragons who hurt him standing on a temple tower and leaps at them. They fight back, but in the struggle Seiryuu-ou is knocked off the tower.

  3. In a flash of light, the Blue Dragon appears and twines around the tower, Hakuryuu-ou riding him. He levitates Machi away from the city. Kouryuu-ou transforms into the Red Dragon to carry everyone else after them. When they arrive, Hakuryuu-ou hands his Tenkai sword over to his younger brother to let him strike the final blow. [This involves some aerial maneuvering in which the Red Dragon brushes against the Blue Dragon, scales tinkling together like wind chimes, so the youngest brother can jump from one dragon to the other.] Then the two Dragons take their passengers toward the gate to Tenkai.

  4. Six years later, Kyougi's younger brother is long dead, leaving his son as the best heir as he had planned. Unfortunately, the son's mind snaps after losing his uncle and cousin, and he believes his father will kill even him as a threat. He winds up stripped of his position and shut away until after the title of emperor passes to someone else.

  5. A thousand years later in Japan, Kyoto is becoming more important for government and business now that Tokyo has been virtually immobilized by Mt. Fuji's eruption. When Mizuchi, Nijikawa, and Shinkai return from exploring the city, they report that the Prime Minister is missing. The official explanation is that he was rushed to a hospital for a medical emergency, but the three men speculate that it's a coup in disguise. The new Prime Minister is even worse than the last one.

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