Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ryuichi ran up to his father, who was locked in battle with Orochi, struggling to fight back. The left side of his armor was covered in blood. At the rate he was going, Ryukage wouldn’t last much longer.
“Get out of here,” his father shouted as soon as he saw his son.
“Sorry. Can’t do that.”
He wasn’t about to allow his father to die. They might not have the closest relationship, but they’d lose their second chance if Ryukage didn’t make it.
Ryuichi sneaked up behind him. “Do you trust me?”
His father hesitated, and that gutted him. “I trust you.”
He shoved his disappointment down. “When I tell you to, I need you and Masaru to hit Orochi as hard as you can.”
“I’ve been doing that!”
True. “But wait until I tell you to.”
Ignoring their doubtful looks, Ryuichi used his inherited powers to open a large portal behind the snake.
To summon a gate, especially one of this scale from nothing. It was one of the hardest things to do, and Ryuichi hadn’t trained enough for this to be easy.
The negative voices inside his mind started harassing him.
This won’t work. You’re too weak.
He was done listening to that part of him that didn’t believe he could be anything but an outsider and a failure.
“I am enough!” he roared.
Mahōtsukai Ryuichi. Son of a goddess. Son of a king. He could do this.
He’d been born for it.
His blood rushed through his veins, making his ears ring.
The moment he began to speak, Orochi abandoned his battle with Ryukage and moved toward Ryuichi. He understood what Ryuichi intended to do.
Still, Ryuichi chanted.
A fierce wind began to blow across the field, as strong as a typhoon, causing the soldiers on both sides to panic.
I am Mahōtsukai Ryuichi!
It wasn’t just enough to say it, he believed it. For the first time, he really did believe in his destiny.
Dying on this field was not the end of his story.
“Stop or I will kill you!” Orochi bellowed.
Ryuichi ignored him.
As the sky darkened, a swirl of light formed in the air behind Orochi. It was working! He could feel it deep inside his body and soul.
His mother’s legacy. Ryuichi could feel it in his bones. She was with him.
Closing his eyes, he savored this moment between the two of them.
A pivotal moment in his life that he’d never forget.
And neither would anyone else.
Orochi turned to see the tear in the fabric of the spirit world. “No!” he screamed. “I won’t go back! I won’t!”
He didn’t have a choice. This was up to Ryuichi. Not the World Eater.
I am Mahōtsukai Ryuichi. The progeny of the Ryukage and Haruka.
Orochi flicked all eight of his tongues out. They reached around Ryuichi’s throat and tightened. He could barely breathe.
Ryuichi tried to cry out for help, but no sound would leave his throat. His vision dimmed. Everything tilted. His grip weakened.
I’m not going to make it.
No. I won’t let it end. Not like this.
He grabbed at the tantō at his waist, but it was hard to grip it. His ears began to buzz. Everything started to go dark.
Masaru ran at him.
As his eyes fluttered closed, Ryuichi willed himself to survive.
I won’t die like this. Not today.
His instincts took over. He yanked the tantō free and slashed.
Orochi cried out and let him go. Staggering away, he tried to flee.
Ryuichi held his hands up, stretching the portal wider.
Orochi wailed and did his best to escape the magnetic force that was dragging him toward the portal.
Ryuichi smiled as he saw the World Eater going through it.
Until Orochi struck out with one of his tails.
One second, Ryuichi was watching the beast return to his prison, and the next, Orochi was trying to take Ryuichi with him.
Ryuichi scrambled and did everything he could to avoid being pulled into his own trap. Something much easier said than done. His world was careening.
Orochi went through the portal first, and Ryuichi was heading for it at a breakneck speed. He threw his arms out, but there was nothing to grab on to.
I don’t want to be trapped!
There was no way to stop it. No way to—
His thoughts scattered as he was suddenly snatched backward, away from the portal.
Stunned, Ryuichi tried to figure out what had happened and found no answers.
Not until he found himself against his father’s chest.
“Close the door, chounan.”
Chounan. My only son.
That one word warmed him much more than it should have, and he had no idea why.
More than that, his father held him in his saddle, against his chest.
Like he mattered.
No one had ever held him like this. Not even Keiko. For the first time in his life, he felt cherished.
Haruki used her powers to push Orochi. “Close the gate!”
Shaking himself mentally, he did as they ordered.
Lightning flashed. Orochi screamed and his father’s horse reared. His father held on to him, making sure he didn’t fall.
A vortex swirled, and as it did, it sucked in Orochi’s soldiers.
All of them.
Unable to believe it, he looked up at his father.
Pride and relief shined in his eyes.
“You did it.”
Ryuichi smiled up at him. “We did it.”
How simple it sounded, but as he surveyed the damage, he knew better. There had been nothing simple about this.
Bodies lay strewn about. And all of them looked worn out from the fight.
Shima landed in front of Ryuichi. “Can I send my troops home?”
Ryuichi looked up at his father. “Can we?”
His father smiled at him. “You’re the commander. What do you think?”
So this was what respect felt like. He’d never experienced that before.
He liked it. “I think we’re good.”
Shima snapped his fingers and his soldiers vanished in the blink of an eye.
“So it’s over?” Ryuichi had a hard time believing that.
Ryukage stroked his chin, thinking. “Until he finds another way out.”
“Really?” Ryuichi said to his father. “Can he?”
His father laughed. “Let’s hope not.”
Masaru approached them slowly. “What now, Ryuichi-san?”
“We find Koichi and tell him the good news.”
Masaru held his hands up, then spoke sarcastically. “We lived. Yay!”
Ryuichi rolled his eyes. “No. The gates are closed, and now I can control them.”
Masaru shrugged. “I guess you’re right. That’s good news too.”