Chapter 6: The Stage Is Set

"Here we are, folks! We have reached the finale of the first match between Leonidas and Kojiro. Are you ready!?"

The crowd roared as Hermes announced this. 

In the skybox, Zeus rubs his hands in excitement to see how this battle will end.

"Oh yes! Let's see who finally gets to the right to be called the greatest warrior of their time."

Meanwhile, Ares is bellowing steam from his nose.

"That...piece of shit. I was the one who made Sparta one of, if not; the greatest empire in Greece. I picked up the slack while lil Apollo was gallivanting! I MADE SPARTA GREAT! I DID IT! I HAVE BEEN DISRESPECTED LONG ENOUGH, AND I WILL-!"

Before the war god could finish, Amaterasu back fisted Ares and sent him crashing into the shelves of drinks. The gods turn to see an unconscious Ares covered in various wines and spirits. 

Hera shakes her head.

"I should've raised him better."

Amaterasu wiped her hand with a napkin and looked embarrassed.

"I'm terribly sorry, everyone. I detest violence, but Ares's yelling was my breaking point."

Nike goes to the sun goddess and gives a thumbs up.

"Trust me when I say you did us all a favor, Lady Amaterasu."

Back in the arena, Kojiro and Leonidas are in a standoff. Both knew this was all or nothing from here.

"For Sparta!" Leonidas yelled as the symbol blazed like a raging fire.

As he charged toward Kojiro, the swordsman thought about all the people in life he recognized by sound, smell, and touch. How they all, through duels or fellowship, paved the way for him.

'Sensai, Musashi, everyone. I won't let you down. I will make Lady Amaterasu's dream a reality!'

Kojiro rushed forward as they clashed for the final time. Kojiro used the stone flood technique to barrage Leonidas. The king answered by colliding his shield to disrupt the attack flow. Leonidas tried the stab with the short spear, but Kojiro evaded. 

Each clashing attack shakes the ground of the arena. Kojiro goes for to hit a horizontal slash, but Leonidas jumps in the air to dodge it.

"I got you!"

Leonidas rockets down with his shield glistening in the sunlight.

Phoebus Apollo: Illuminating Comet

Kojiro jumped back as Leonidas's attack made a large crater. However, Leonidas was not deterred when he jumped out of the hole and threw the broken spear into Kojiro's right collarbone.

"Kojiro has been struck in the clavicle! This doesn't look well for the sword demon!" Hermes commentates as the crowd is on the edge of their seats.

The spartans cheered for their king.

Aristodemus yells, "You got this, my king!"

Gorgo joins in.

"Leonidas, my love! Finish this and come back to us!"

Meanwhile, Nobutsuna looked worried.

"Damn, Kojiro-san's starting to lose blood."

Okita grunted, but Jisai and Musashi looked unfazed.

"Nobutsuna-sama, don't lose hope. I know my son, and he will not lose to anyone!" Jisai bellowed

As Kojiro goes to pull out the spear...

"Hey, BAKA!"

Kojiro recognized the voice of Musashi.

"M-Musashi-san?"

Miyamoto then yelled, "You better not lose to this kusoyarou! GOT IT!"

Kojiro couldn't help but smile as he pulled out the spear throws it at Leonidas. Leonidas caught it and charged for one last attack.

"This is it, Kojiro!"

Spear of Anaxandrides

The Spartan King rockets with his spear pointed toward Kojiro. Kojiro calmly breathed as he closed his eyes.

"W-what is doing? Even without sight, he's gonna be killed if he doesn't move," Athena said 

But Amaterasu smiled.

"No, he knows what to do, for I trust him."

Meanwhile, time moves slowly for Kojiro as he focuses. Learning how Leonidas burst of power and range within his spear. When Leonidas lets his guard down to the fight. Predicting the times to die or win. He now found the moment to strike true!

In one swift motion, Kojro slices off Leonidas' arm as Leonidas closes in on him. 

The audience gasped while the people of Sparta watched in horror.

Then Kojiro positions his nodachi to prepare for a diagonal upper slash.

'This is the end, Leonidas. I'm sorry.'

Musashi yelled in excitement. 

"Go for it, Kojiro!"

Before the attack came, Leonidas thought back to his life. From being trained in the agōgē to falling in love with Gorgo and becoming king. Leonidas smiled as the Kojiro's famous attack landed.

Tsubame Gaeshi: Swallow Counter 

The attack cut through Leonidas's body and the king's stained Kojiro's blade.

Before the dying king collapsed, Leonidas gave a slightly bloody grin and muttered, "Good...fight..."

Then both parts of Leonidas's body tumbled to the ground.

A somber Kojiro flings the blood to the ground as he says softly.

"If only you weren't my opponent, we could've been friends. Farewell, King Leonidas."

With that, Leonidas's body slowly turns into light particles and flows away.

Hermes seeing this, raised the mic to his mouth to declare the winner.

"Historiamachy: match one is over! Therefore folks. Your winner, representing Amaterasu of the Shinto pantheon. SASAKI KOJIRO!"

First Bout

King Leonidas I (Departed)

V.S.

Sasaki Kojiro (Winner)

Winning Attack: Tsubame Gaeshi

Match Length: 13:39

The crowd cheered after the opening bout concluded.

"That's my boy! That's my boy!" Jisai cried tears of joy

Nobutsuna and Okita watched on with relieved faces. Musashi had a confident smirk.

'I knew you could do it, Baka.'

While the audience applauded Kojiro, Sasaki dropped to one knee with his eyes returning back to their normal, blind state.

Hermes sees this and goes to check up on him.

"Woah, human! You alright?"

Sasaki gave a tired chuckle, "Yeah...barely."

Before Hermes could call for medical attention, Amaterasu appeared in a flash of light.

"L-lady Amaterasu? What are you doing?"

Amaterasu then helps Kojiro to his feet.

"I got this, Hermes. Thank you."

As Hermes left them be, Amaterasu smiled warmly at Kojiro.

"You did well, my champion. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Lady Amaterasu," Kojiro replied earnestly.

"I just hope when we win this tournament will be used for the last time."

As Amaterasu prepared to teleport you to the medical bay, she looked saddened at the grieving spartans, Gorgo, and the remains of Leonidas's shield.

"Don't worry, Kojiro. This tournament will see its last bloodshed." Amaterasu said as she and Kojiro vanished.

While sighing in exhaustion, Nike plopped down on Ares's throne.

"Damn. That was such a close fight, and that was just the opener! This is what history seems them as the strongest."

Athena adjusted her glasses.

"Indeed. Leonidas's had the edge in strength and fortitude. In fact, if Ares didn't force Leonidas to use underhanded tactics, the fight may have been his."

Nike was confused by this.

"I'm...not following."

"Kojiro's Invocation allows him to sense the mind and soul of his opponents. Any strategy his opponent makes, Kojiro would counter it. But hypothetically, if one's soul burns with passion or is as dark as the abyss, Amenome would not be as effective. If the fight was different and Leonidas's intensity radiated to his soul. Leonidas might've won." Athena stated

Nike nodded, "I see. Well, at least he died on his terms."

As Amaterasu strolled calmly through the arena, she stopped by a particular red door. The kanji on the gate said celestial gateway, and it was shaped like a Torii gate. The sun goddess waved her door, and the symbol lit up as it opened.

Once Amaterasu stepped inside, the room had woodblock art on the walls and cedar floors. 

Amaterasu is greeted by two individuals. 

One is a young, attractively vigorous woman with back-length navy blue hair in a half ponytail with bangs on the left side of her face, jade green eyes, and a scar across her right cheek. She wears a sleeveless white kosode that shows her sideboob and her scarred-toned arms, a red obi with an autumn tree design held by a tied black rope, and black hakama pants tucked by armored boots. She also wears blackish silver upper arm bracers, gauntlets, and knee-length kusazari.

The Fire of the Minamoto Clan

Tomoe Gozen

One is a tall, hulking man with a bestial face and slightly tan skin. He has metallic blue eyes and a coarse black mutton chops beard. This man sports a red and white sleeveless samurai cuirass, a white zukin on his head, large wooden prayer beads around his neck, lacquered steel bracers, and rugged black hakama.

The Undying Warrior God

Saitō Musashibō Benkei

"Lady Amaterasu." Both of the samurai said as they bowed toward the sun goddess.

Amaterasu nods gracefully.

"Lady Amaterasu, how is Kojiro-san?" Tomoe asked

"He will be alright. After that fight he had with Leonidas, he deserves his rest."

Benkei warmly grinned as he spoke in a low tone.

"I'm glad to hear it, Lady Amaterasu. We're one step closer to your dream coming true."

"Yeah, but I bet I could kill that spartan easily!"

Another voice came from a ripped, toned man in his early thirties leaning on a pillar. He has long, spiky red hair, predatory yellow eyes, a short beard in a Klingon style, and a massive tattoo of a oni covering his back. He wears studded armored sleeves, gauntlets with spiked knuckles, a leather red obi with the steel plate with the symbol of a four-star shuriken, black pants with golden designs of Raijin and Fujin, and armored tabi boots.

The Wind Oni

Fuuma Kotaro The Fifth

Benkei sighed in annoyance.

"Must everything be a contest with you, Kazama-san?"

Kazama shrugs, "Heh. What can I say? I'm always proving myself to be the best. My wives can attest to that."

Then another voice chimes in. One that of a female and filled with a pompous demeanor.

"Oh yes. Your harem is rejects, peasants, and whores. Quite 'wonderful' indeed."

A curvaceous, smooth, light-skinned woman sits refinedly in a chair. Her dark blue hair is groomed perfectly into a bob with purple dye on the ends. Her rose-colored eyes shine greater than any jewel in the world. She delicately wears double-winged eyeliner and peach-colored lipstick. Her attire is that of a leather black and pink catsuit showing her cleavage to the navel of her stomach, mesh webbing on the side of her thighs, skintight fingerless gloves, diamond jewel belt, a beautiful black and cyan cloak resembling wings of a swallowtail butterfly, and tabi heel boots.

The Demon Butterfly

Nōhime

Tomoe scoffs at Nōhime's remark.

"At least he has people he cares about. I don't understand why you are part of this."

Nōhime snickered, "As 'heartwarming' as Amaterasu's goal is, I merely sought what benefits me. Of course, I don't expect an ill-tempered mutt like you to understand, Gozen."

Tomoe turned around with her eyes changing from a jade green to a ruby red.

"How about you shut your mouth, or I'll rip your damn wings, bug!"

 Nōhime giggled as she sat up from her seat and strutted to Tomoe.

"Oh dear, such lack of decorum. No wonder why Yoshinaka-san was so afraid of you."

"Take that back, you bitch!" Tomoe yelled, itching to tear Nōhime apart.

Then Amaterasu shouted sternly, "Enough! We're here for one goal. Therefore, we must be united."

Benkei nodded, "Lady Amaterasu is right. Now isn't the time to fight amongst ourselves."

Tomoe, hearing this, calmed herself as her eyes returned to their natural color.

"You're right. Forgive me. I didn't mean to react like that."

Nōhime, however, rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say."

Amaterasu sighed and then spoke with a firm demeanor.

"Now, as you four know, you're represented by each of my family. While you have sponsors on the bracket, you are my finest champions that have either volunteered or been selected. My goal is a heaven that will benefit everyone, humans and god alike. Because of this, I entrust my dream to you. So I ask you once more, will you fight for all our dream?"

Tomoe Gozen bowed to the sun goddess once more.

"You have my word, Lady Amaterasu. I will bleed for you to make your desire come true."

"As will I," Benkei said as he bowed as well.

Fuuma smirked, "Well, while I don't care much about harmony, I respect your drive, babe. Besides..."

Fuuma cracks his knuckles.

"This Historiamachy will be one hell of a party!"

 Nōhime huffed, "I'll fight, but know that my goals come first Amaterasu."

With that, Amaterasu smiled, "I'm glad to hear it. Then onward to our goal. My Sacred Celestial Generals."

The alliances of Historiamachy begin...

Next time, The Beloved Son of Scotland vs The Spiritwalker...!