A world shrouded in raging flames.
A world where everything has been burned to ashes by fire.
"Hell should refer to a world like this."
In the endless world of fire, with corpses strewn everywhere, a woman muttered to herself.
In that woman's eyes, the world was hell. The intense hatred filling her heart made everything she saw appear as hell.
She was never supposed to become a woman like this.
Though her past experiences gave her reason to hate this world, she did not hate it.
Why did she now despise this world so deeply?
Hatred, disgust.
The woman hated the Minamoto clan (Genji), hated the people, hated Japan, hated this world.
Everything that had taken the Great One from her—she hated it. A hatred born from the depths of her soul, overwhelmingly powerful.
Therefore—
"Everything must be burned to nothing."
The woman thought.
Blazing, scorching flames began to ignite around her.
Because she hated this world, she would burn it all, destroy everything with fire—even if she herself became the fuel.
Turning her entire soul, Spirit Origin, and body into fuel to amplify the rage and hatred within her, transforming into an unending inferno!
"I can no longer stop."
She would never stop. That was the woman's resolve. Until her body was completely charred, she would never cease. Her vengeance against the world, her slaughter of the world, would never end.
"Minamoto!"
The woman gripped the hard bow in her hand, hoarsely shouting the name of the entity she hated most.
"—My class name, Archer Inferno. I am the Princess of Flame, who has become fire itself, who will burn you all to cinders."
The Minamoto clan and Minamoto (the World). In the end, she would incinerate everything with the bow in her hand and the blazing fire in her heart!
For the sake of the Great One who had tragically perished.
Yes, that person... that person... that person... Who?
*CLANG!*
The bow fell to the ground. The woman in the sea of flames clutched her head with both hands.
Who?
Who was it?
The Great One she was supposed to fight for... who was he, really?
"I must... find him."
"Find the Great One, find the Great One, find the Great One, find the Great One, find the Great One—"
"Ugh—!"
Suddenly waking from her sleep.
Clutching his head, Naoki quickly shook it: "I fell asleep, huh... That just now..."
Tomoe Gozen.
The female general who, due to Merlin's meddling in the Seventh Singularity, had once made him her Master. Though they didn't interact much in the end and were only allies at the beginning, she could indeed be called a good friend.
In the Sub-Singularity that was supposed to occur, she was also scheduled to appear. However, Naoki wasn't sure if she would appear in this Shimōsa Province that wasn't entirely the same as the one he knew—until just now.
What appeared in Naoki's dream was clearly Tomoe, transformed into a Heroic Spirit Swordsman. Her mental state was utterly shattered, and her Spirit Core had been infiltrated by a foreign object, turning her into a path of evil filled with hatred.
"That means the one who burned the village to ashes was indeed Tomoe. Even in this discarded Lostbelt, she was still summoned?"
Come to think of it, the enemies Naoki had to face in this Shimōsa Province shouldn't differ much from the original.
Seven Heroic Spirit Swordsmen.
Powerful foes who were supposed to engage in bloody one-on-one battles with Musashi, ultimately killed by her.
(However, because of me, Musashi never met Senji Muramasa at all and lost the means to kill the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen. Myōjin-giri Muramasa... I'll enchant both of her swords after work today.)
Naoki wasn't a blacksmith; he knew nothing about forging swords. But if it was reinforcement, he was quite skilled. He had once strengthened Okita Souji's sword, turning it into a divine blade capable of emitting beams of light.
This time should be the same. In fact, to kill the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen, Naoki only needed to grant his own protection to Musashi's two swords.
Fairy Protection—something he could easily do as a true Fairy.
The seven Heroic Spirit Swordsmen would be slain by Musashi. Meanwhile, Naoki would focus on dealing with Ashiya Douman, who summoned the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen, and Amakusa Shirō Tokisada. Since the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen existed, those two must exist as well.
Let him handle those troublesome individuals.
"Besides... Tomoe is the same."
If possible, Naoki wanted to handle Tomoe himself. After all, she was his former follower. Freeing her from this painful world was surely her deepest wish.
At that very moment—
*KNOCK-KNOCK!*
The door to Naoki's room was knocked on, and a woman in flashy attire entered from outside: "Am I disturbing your rest, Natsukawa-sama?"
"No, no. I've been awake for a while—Is there work already?"
"Yes, as usual. The princess from that gloomy castle. Please serve her well, our Star Host."
"Alright."
To put it bluntly, Naoki's job in this Shimōsa Province was that of a Host—of course, the concept didn't exist in this era. Japan at this time was far from such openness. So what Naoki did was simply accompany paying female guests for drinks and listen to their troubles.
Since starting work half a month ago, relying on his handsome appearance and a few sweet words he learned from Merry, Naoki quickly became the most popular Host known to everyone in the jōkamachi (castle town). Not long ago, even the Princess from the Lord of Tsuchiura Castle came from within the castle, spending a fortune to talk with him all day.
Since then, he had become the Star Host here, more effective than a Geisha. His earnings skyrocketed.
And likewise, after speaking with Naoki just once, the Princess seemed addicted. She came here every one or two days, talking with him in the room all day.
Like now—
"Naoki-sama!"
Accompanied by the sound of running in the corridor and a voice filled with longing, a beautiful girl in a blue-and-white kimono rushed in from outside the door and approached Naoki with great excitement.
"I missed you so much, Naoki-sama! I thought of you every moment these past two days!"
"You flatter me, Princess Kiyohime."
As if already used to it and having done it hundreds or thousands of times, Naoki displayed the Prince Charming smile that could melt most innocent young girls: "This humble one has also been eagerly awaiting our meeting. I truly hoped to see the Princess's enchanting smile today. It would be the most precious treasure in the world."
(Haaah, I have to say things like this again. I'm already sick of dialogue like this myself...)
With a slight inner resistance, as usual, Naoki began serving his primary source of income.