KAMIYO Episode 36: The Desperate Flight at Yomotsu-Hirasaka — The Inescapable Pursuit of Death

Prologue: The Approaching Footsteps of Death

"Haa... Haa...!!"

The Yomi-no-Kuni (The Underworld) wrapped in absolute darkness.

Only Izanagi's heavy breathing and the fierce sound of his footsteps kicking the cold stone floor echoed throughout the space of nothingness.

The highest-ranking god, who had once leisurely created Oyashimakuni (The Great Eight Islands), was now contorting his face in terror, fleeing desperately with barely a sense of being alive.

From behind him, a horrifying, bizarre screech welling up from the bottom of the earth was closing in.

Kishaaaaaa!!

It was a swarm of Yomotsu-Shikome, the witches of the country of death unleashed by his beloved wife, Izanami.

They accurately caught the scent of the living in the darkness, and with the bizarre movements of their four limbs like spiders, they crawled over walls and even ceilings, closing in at a furious speed.

"Izanami... why? Did we not love each other so deeply...!"

Tears spilled from Izanagi's eyes as he ran.

Yet, he did not even have the luxury to wipe those tears away.

If he looked back, terrifying claws and fangs would tear his flesh apart and drag him into this country of darkness for eternity.

That absolute "terror of death" forced his legs to keep moving forward.

Chapter 1: The Grapes of Kuromikazura and the Power of the Living

Gishaa! Meat... The meat of the living!!

One of the fastest Yomotsu-Shikome finally closed in to within a few meters of Izanagi's back and raised its sharp claws.

"I won't let you!"

While running, Izanagi tore off the Kuromikazura (a vine hair ornament) wrapped around his right Mizura (ancient hairstyle) and threw it backward into the darkness with all his might.

The instant the ornament, unleashed from the hand of Izanagi, the god of life, hit the cold stone floor of the country of death, it exploded with intense "power of the living."

Fwoosh! Thick vines shot up from the stone floor with tremendous force, growing into a magnificent grapevine in the blink of an eye.

On its branches, fresh, sweet grapes full of vitality hung in heavy clusters.

Gi...!? Suffering from starvation, the Yomotsu-Shikome, residents of Yomi, could not resist the intense scent of the suddenly appearing fruits of life.

They stopped chasing Izanagi, swarmed like beasts, and began to devour the grapes ravenously.

"Good... now's my chance!"

Seizing the opening, Izanagi dashed up the long, dark slope leading to Yomotsu-Hirasaka in one breath.

Chapter 2: The Bamboo Shoots of Yutsu-Tsumagushi

However, the time of relief did not last long.

Having devoured the grapes in the blink of an eye, the Yomotsu-Shikome resumed their fierce pursuit, raising mad shrieks of anger.

The tenacity of the monsters of the country of death far exceeded the common sense of the living.

Won't let you escape... The Queen's order... We absolutely won't let you escape!!

The distance was closed once again, putting him in a desperate plight where he could feel the witches' breath on his back.

This time, Izanagi pulled out the Yutsu-Tsumagushi (bamboo comb) inserted in his left Mizura—the very comb whose tooth he had broken when opening the door of Yomi—and threw it backward with all his strength.

Baaang!!

The moment the comb pierced the ground, giant, fresh bamboo shoots sprang up one after another as if tearing through the bottom of the earth, blocking the path like a wall.

It was the manifestation of his energy of great nature, the same energy that had given birth to the tree god Kukunochi-no-Kami.

Once again, the Yomotsu-Shikome succumbed to the temptation of living food; they pulled out the bamboo shoots and began to devour them madly.

(At this rate, I should be able to see the light of the surface...!) A solid hope of survival began to light up in Izanagi's chest.

Chapter 3: The Desperate Pursuit by the Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi and Yomotsu-Ikusa

But what echoed from the depths of the darkness was his wife's even more ruthless and fierce command.

"Are the Shikome only good for stalling? ...Then go, my Ikazuchi! Together with the soldiers of Yomi, tear that hateful man limb from limb and bring him back!!"

Rumblllle...!!!

A massive roar, incomparable to previous footsteps and capable of shaking the very bedrock, welled up from the bottom of Yomotsu-Hirasaka.

When Izanagi looked back in terror, parting the darkness were giant demon gods shaped like serpents and centipedes—the Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi (Eight Thunder Gods) that had been clinging to Izanami's putrefying corpse—crawling up while emitting overwhelming murderous intent.

Furthermore, behind them, a countless number of skeletal, emaciated evil spirit soldiers, the Yomotsu-Ikusa (The Army of Yomi), surged forward like a black wave.

They were not opponents that could be stopped by cheap tricks like grapes or bamboo shoots.

It was truly an "absolute army of death," as if the Yomi-no-Kuni itself was surging forward to kill him.

"Damn it...! Totsuka-no-Tsurugi!!"

Izanagi drew the divine sword at his waist and retreated while swinging it blindly behind him.

The flashes of the blade tore through the bodies of the thunder gods, but as entities of death, they shed no blood, immediately regenerating and attacking again.

It was now only a matter of time before he was caught.

Chapter 4: The Foot of Yomotsu-Hirasaka, the Fruit of Life "Peach"

"Is this it... Will I be trapped in the country of death..."

Just as the giant jaws of the Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi closed in and Izanagi prepared for death.

A faint "light" reflected in his eyes.

It was not the light of the sun.

It was the brilliance of life emitted by a single tree growing wildly at the foot of Yomotsu-Hirasaka, the exit to the country of the living, lying at the end of the dark, cold slope.

Upon that tree, three large, beautifully ripe "peaches" hung heavily.

Since ancient times, peaches have been sacred fruits that ward off evil spirits and emit intense energy of life.

Those peaches, grown on the boundary between life and death, harbored a spiritual power stronger than any life on the surface.

Squeezing out his last ounce of strength, Izanagi scrambled toward the peach tree and forcefully plucked the three peaches.

Chapter 5: The Birth of Ookamuzumi-no-Mikoto and the Counterattack

"You evil dead of death!! Take this!!"

With all his might, Izanagi threw the peaches one after another at the approaching Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi and the Yomotsu-Ikusa.

Dooooooom!!!

The moment the peaches directly hit the army of death, an intense "wave of life," so divine it was on a completely different level, caused a massive explosion.

The light and shockwave completely blew away the darkness of Yomi, and the death-governing Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi raised screams of agony, writhing their giant bodies violently.

As for the soldiers of the Yomotsu-Ikusa, the instant they touched the spiritual power of the peaches, they were purified, turning into dust and vanishing one after another.

Gugaaaaaaah!!

Faced with the overwhelming energy of life, even the Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi could finally no longer endure it, scattering like baby spiders and fleeing back into the deep, dark abyss of Yomi.

"Haa... haa... I am saved..."

Izanagi slumped down on the spot, deeply thanking the peaches that had saved him.

He bestowed a divine name upon the peaches holding such mighty power: Ookamuzumi-no-Mikoto.

"Just as you have saved me, when any life in Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni (the surface world) suffers and falls into despair, please come to their aid."

As if responding to Izanagi's words, the peach tree emitted a faint glow.

The crisis had passed.

However, from the depths of Yomotsu-Hirasaka behind him, the most terrifying and sorrowful presence was still approaching.

It was neither the Yomotsu-Shikome nor the Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi.

Pushing through the retreating army, the Queen of Yomi, clad in ultimate despair and hatred—his beloved wife, Izanami herself—was finally ascending the dark slope to kill him with her own hands.