[You traveled to Tokyo, saving countless commoners along the way, including many orphans who had lost their parents.]
[Facing your care, some of these children chose to follow you, some chose to be self-reliant, and some chose to pledge loyalty to the shogunate, becoming samurai to slay the Oni.]
[Among the children who stayed, one particular girl possessed exceptional talent. Her name was Chiyo, the one you saved upon first arriving in Tokyo.]
[Seeing the future of the shogunate in these children, you deeply understood that relying on this so-called shogunate would eventually lead the entire Japan into endless ruin.]
[You nurtured these children, just as you once nurtured Artoria.]
[Three years later, the children gradually grew up. The older ones could already replace you in hunting Oni for commissions, so that they could be self-reliant.]
[Looking at the matured children, you remembered the youkai in the mountains and wondered how they were faring.]
[Gathering all the children, you announced you needed to leave for a trip, approximately two months.]
[All the children were reluctant to see you go, with little Chiyo being the most obvious. She clung tightly to your arm, unwilling to let go, as if having made some important decision.]
["Ryu-nii, when you return, I'll tell you a secret, a very important secret."]
["Alright then, Chiyo, look forward to my return."]
[Patting the girl's shoulder affectionately, you left Tokyo and returned to the Youkai Mountain.]
The familiar mountain stream, the clear flowing water, and the yellowed fallen leaves were as beautiful as when Ryuya left.
But...
"What happened? What exactly happened?"
With another swing of his sword, Ryuya cut down an Oni. Since stepping onto the mountain path, he had encountered countless Oni.
Continuous, endless, seemingly without end.
He kept slaying them along the way, until he finally reached the foot of the mountain and saw a former dog youkai, a great youkai.
"What happened? What happened to everyone?"
"My Lord... you've finally returned."
Seeing your figure, the dog youkai, who had held on for who knows how long, finally collapsed.
From his account, Ryuya learned the reason for the changes here.
"Rashomon, it's Rashomon, my Lord!"
"Rashomon has appeared! It's at the mountain's center! Please leave, quickly get away from here!"
Originally, this ideal land with its barriers and countless great youkai was the last dreamland for youkai in Japan. But precisely because the youki here was too potent, Rashomon didn't appear in bustling Tokyo this time but chose this place instead.
The warmly furred fox youkai who used to yip playfully.
The friendly Yuki-onna who sat by your side, radiating coolness.
The respectful Tengu brothers who acted with Bushido spirit.
And the Kappa, the dog youkai, the wolf youkai... countless youkai chose to fight the Oni from Rashomon to protect their homeland.
But even as youkai, most were still in their juvenile stages and were no match for Rashomon. Facing the endless Oni, the youkai finally fell.
[Supporting the dog youkai who had lost all signs of life, you said nothing, simply activating The Eternal Nation.]
[The King's Burden, Worthy of the Heaven and Earth: The land beneath your feet is Britain. On this soil, you are the legend!]
[Gently running your sword over the dog youkai's corpse, the blade that should have caused harm instead acted like an instrument of salvation. With the power of 'Life', you revived him.]
"My Lord, I am..."
"Follow me."
[Without further explanation, the King of Britain strode forward. Every Oni encountered turned to dust.]
[Along the way, you successively found several severely injured great youkai and saved them.]
[But more youkai had become food for the Oni, their bodies lost beyond even the reach of 'Life' to save.]
[You saw Rashomon.]
Finally, at the end of the mountain stream, Ryuya saw it… the gate known as Hell, Rashomon.
"Is it you? The source of this world."
The gate named Rashomon wasn't a gate in the traditional sense. It was more like a massive... city gate?
No, even larger than a city gate.
The colossal structure, worthy of being called a behemoth, was engraved with various demons, Oni, and ferocious markings. A dark aura seemed to constantly emit despair and slaughter.
The gate was open. On the other side was a passage connected to Hell. Ryuya could see countless Oni within, pouring through the gate to attack the human world.
Among those Oni were powerful ones, even some not inferior in strength to Ryuya.
But a barrier lay upon Rashomon, preventing the powerful Oni from passing, allowing only the weakest, yet endless, Oni to surge through.
"So, you are also a corrupted gate."
Seeming to sense the gate's lament, Ryuya's Fairy of Avalon talent allowed him to use all holy artifacts. Feeling the gate's consciousness within Rashomon, Ryuya heard it: Rashomon's long-cherished wish for help.
It didn't want to release the Oni, but it was too tired, too exhausted to maintain the seal any longer. So it also wanted to close, to find someone who could shut the gate.
"Tengu."
Uncertain what he was thinking, Ryuya suddenly spoke to the youkai behind him.
"My Lord, you command."
The youkai revived by Ryuya were few, but each was elite, otherwise, they couldn't have survived the Oni onslaught.
Even after experiencing death once, they wouldn't retreat. They were determined to fight for Ryuya again, even if it meant dying once more.
"All of you, leave. Your strength... is insufficient for the battle here."
To close the gate required the power to do so. Entering Rashomon and reaching the other side was essential. Not wanting these youkai to die for him again, Ryuya forcefully dispersed them.
[You made the following youkai leave, telling them about the children you protected in Tokyo, hoping they could live together.]
[You entered Rashomon.]
Carving a path through the Oni, the moment Ryuya stepped through the gate, Rashomon closed.
Because Ryuya had closed it from the other side.
"Alright, now... it's time to resolve our issues."
Looking at the despair permeating heaven and earth, the world sealing countless Oni, Ryuya laughed.
He laughed so happily, so purely, so... without regret.