Rising like a structure of wood and stone atop one of the peaks of the extensive and natural mountain range that extends from east to west, the great fortress remains unmoving.
It was clearly based on the principles of human warfare, whether due to the deep moats at its boundaries, high walls for the exterior and smaller ones also on the inside, as well as several watchtowers and an imposing central castle.
Everything was so perfectly planned that without a doubt the central castle would be the last thing to fall into enemy hands, and that is only speaking of its physical defenses, since there are also patrols of dozens of cat yokai around the surroundings ready to give their lives.
Yes, this great fortress is the main base of the cat yokai in Tottori, while at the same time it is also the only one they properly have, since Inu no Taisho annexed the entire Chūgoku region without hesitation after his victory.
"So Clouded Fang, little brother?
Taking her gaze away from the ceiling that can incredibly be observed from the first floor of the structure, apparently the castle is nothing more than a skeleton without any real substance, a beautiful woman with light blue hair looks at her younger brother.
That unexpectedly is Shuran, the muscular and bronze-skinned cat whom Asahiko encountered together with Kikyo, the same one who quickly lowers his head before the woman in front of him.
"Yes, older sister. I couldn't see her well, but that unpleasant sensation… It is difficult to ignore even from a distance"
"Sometimes instincts show us more than our own eyes, you must learn to trust them more. Karan, how are the sacrifices going?"
Giving her younger brother warm advice despite what her appearance might convey, that light blue hair and deep eyes make her look like an ice sculpture, the woman looks toward the other side of the extensive room.
There, standing beside the enormous and dissected corpse of what appears to be an anthropomorphic cat, a fiery young woman with short fire-red hair just like her eyes can be observed.
"It is almost complete, but not being able to plunder the central regions made everything more difficult than necessary. Ah, besides we have lost some advance teams, nothing too important, but interesting"
"It must be due to that woman's troops, she left us alone for too long despite everything. About the first thing… Leave those foxes alone, that civil war they have is nothing more than an act, that woman can end it whenever she wants"
"Bah, damn insidious foxes! It's not for nothing that they are among the most elusive species alongside raccoons and nurarihyon, we almost fell into their trap without even knowing it!"
Hitting the air several times with her fist despite having no target in front of her, Karan's red eyes seem to burn with flames at such an unpleasant trap, but she is soon forced to remain still when the great doors of the castle open from side to side with a deep creak.
Because of the latter, sunlight momentarily enters the room in torrents, revealing the dissected corpse of the Daiyokai known as Oyokata and the enormous blood-red circle surrounding his entire necrotic body.
But although that is surprising, the most interesting thing is the gem of a seductive red color that gently floats in front of Oyokata's chest, what appears to be a large ruby and the center of the entire formation.
"As exact with the times as always, Shunran"
"Simply a conscience, older sister Toran"
"Alright, alright, I am going to stop making you take your time so that you can take them to their assigned places"
Showing herself permissive with her relatives once again, she even lets a momentary smile escape onto her pale face, Toran points with her finger toward one of the smaller circles located on the edges of the bloody formation.
These "circles" are secondary matrices of the enormous main formation, and also the place from which the "energy" necessary for the entire structure is obtained.
Why can one come to think that? Let's say that the scratches on the floor, the pile of dissected corpses in the shadows and the chains stained with dried blood stand out more than necessary.
"Move, ten for each circle, and place the chains between yourselves"
"Yes, miss Shunran"
Dividing themselves into two columns of equal sizes, one toward the right and another toward the left, a group of villagers with glassy eyes follow the orders as if they were zombies.
They are clearly under some kind of mental control, but it does not seem to be extremely powerful, since otherwise they would not use the chains. So perhaps it is hypnosis or a slight illusion?.
Outside of that doubt, all of them finish positioning themselves on top of the multiple bloody circles, slowly helping one another to put on the rusty chains and then remain with their gaze lost into nothingness.
"Everyone go to your positions, we are going to begin with the sacrifice"
"Understood older sister!" x3
"Where are we! Wh-what is happening! Damn monsters! No, please don't!"
Ignoring the desperate screams that the sacrifices let out, the hypnosis over them has disappeared, Toran, Shunran, Karan and Shuran position themselves at the four cardinal points before raising their arms toward the bloody ruby.
With this signal from them the formation begins to shine ominously, even more so when the secondary matrices where the sacrifices are located also activate, causing the entire place to obtain a reddish glow.
"Ahhhh, "AHHHH!"
Twisting their bodies crazed by pain, while also throwing themselves onto the floor to scratch it in an attempt to free themselves from the suffering, the bodies of the villagers begin to undergo great transformations.
All their muscles seem to be liquefied into a torrent of blood, the same torrent that then shoots out from their mouths, eyes and ears in the direction of Oyokata's corpse.
The strangest thing is that in the middle of that extensive river of blood, flashes of white color can be observed, such "flashes" maintain a human appearance and a face twisted by the pain suffered just before death, it is very likely that they are the souls of the sacrifices.
"It has been completed"
"Then… Is there any reaction, older sister?"
"No, many more sacrifices are still needed to repair our father's physical body completely. That sword not only devoured his flesh, but even very essence, making it difficult to restore him to the level of a Daiyoukai…"
Remaining silent so as not to have to finish her words, Toran closes her eyes and then momentarily sinks into her thoughts.
"We are still far from it"
"Yes, yes if we continue using the flesh and blood of normal humans"
"Perhaps we should start targeting priestesses, monks and even humans with spiritual talent? It's not as if we have to continue working in the shadows, that woman has already detected us and has probably sent her son Sesshōmaru again"
Narrowing her emerald-green eyes, Shunran caresses the flowers that hang from her long red hair and proposes something very different from what is normal for her, since she has always chosen to play under the table and not alert anyone.
"You are right, Shunran. You three start giving priority to capturing that type of humans, while the soldiers continue with the common villagers. Quantity is just as important as quality in this"
"Understood but… Where there are more humans and also of this type is in the central region, mainly if we are talking about the shrine priestesses"
"Are you stupid, Shuran?! The foxes are there, even more so in the shrines, that group of deceivers love acting like gods!"
"I'm sorry, sister Karan"
Backing away before the ferocity reflected in the gaze of his short red-haired sister, who by the way seems very interested in throwing punches, Shuran scratches his head and closes his mouth.
The truth is he had only thrown out that idea because it was the first thing that came to his mind, but who would have thought that this was a trap in broad daylight. Tsk, damn insidious foxes!.
"It doesn't matter, although I had already said it before, no more than an hour ago, brother. Haa, everyone follow what we have been talking about, without mistakes and without crossing into the central regions of Kansai or Chubu under any circumstances"
"Understood, older sister!" x3
Leaving the jokes aside to give their older sister a serious salute, the three younger brothers look at each other and then nod at the same time, thus beginning to leave to carry out their assigned tasks.