1 Prologue - The Day the Hope Was Born

In a dark cell, a young woman wearing a tunic tattered in multiple places was leaning on the cold wall with her bare back. Although she was in a dirty place and her clothes were rags, her beauty still reached an ethereal level, impossible to dissipate even in such conditions.

The woman, heedless of the chills arising from the cold temperature in the cell, was stroking a newborn baby wrapped in a small old blanket. Although the woman's situation was far from favorable, at the moment, there was only a smile of love on her face. She was glad for the new creature she had given life to.

Suddenly, a deafening roar rang out from far away. Despite the distance, the roar shook the cell's bars where the woman was locked up. The woman then frowned, worried about the constantly increasing amount of noises, and her concern turned to fear when she heard footsteps approaching her cell.

Instinctively, the woman took a crouching position, repairing the small creature in her breast to prevent the newcomer from being able to harm her baby. Fortunately for her, the steps she had heard belonged to someone she knew and trusted.

"It is you. You scared me. What is happening? Why are there so many noises?" The woman said as she let out a sigh of relief. After seeing the familiar face, she took a more relaxed position even though her concern wasn't yet completely gone.

"Generals Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Fujiwara no Yasumasa are here. Their subordinates are also with them. At the moment, this residence is under attack." answered a voice from the other side of the cell bars.

Thanks to the moonlight that crept into the door opened by the owner of the voice, it was possible to glimpse a rather small figure, that of a child to be precise. There was, however, a very particular aspect in this figure - a pair of small horns sticking out of the forehead.

The woman, who was instead hornless, was amazed to hear this. "Are Sir Raiko and Sir Yasumasa here? Could it be the will of the Spirits? Please set me free. Take me to them."

"I cannot do it." the boy coldly replied. From the way he said it while looking away, he seemed to regret what he had just said.

"Why? From the beginning, you have behaved well with me; you have been the only one to do it. Without your support, I wouldn't have survived. But I can't stay here, and you know it. My only hope, no, our only hope, for my son and me, is to be reunited with my people. Even if you're just a kid, I know you can understand what I mean."

"I perfectly understand. Nonetheless, I can't. Emperor Sutoku is coming. He made his troops block all the escape routes, and he will be here shortly. I don't know if it's because of bad luck or because Emperor Sutoku was able to prophesy this attack. It remains the fact that tonight will be the grave for the two generals."

Upon hearing the name 'Emperor Sutoku,' the woman's face lost color. Her hope of salvation was gone, but even then, her courage didn't give way.

"Bring me to them anyway. If Emperor Sutoku is coming, all the more reason is my duty to warn them."

"NO!" the little-horned boy replied loudly. His small hands were closed in a clenched fist as he tried to maintain control. "Even if you warn them and try to escape with them, you will die. I saw it with 'my own eyes.' I can't allow this to happen. It is why I ask you to trust me. I have a plan. A plan that will guarantee the safety for you and your child. I grew up deprived of parental affection; don't let your son grow up without knowing the warmth of his mother. Please."

When the woman listened to the child's plea, she sighed again and looked at the baby in her arms.

'I have to make a choice. Choose between my role as a miko priestess or my role as a mother. In any case, whatever the choice, other people will suffer from it.'

A few minutes passed before the woman made her decision, "Okay. I will trust you. Led the way."

The boy with the little horns smiled with joy and opened the woman's cell. Beside his feet was a basket containing clean clothes, food, and drink.

"There is water and food for a few days along with some spare clothes. It's not much, but it will be enough for you and the baby. Now change quickly. We have to go through a part of the residence. They shouldn't notice us, but you can never tell."

The woman did as she was told and took off the worn tunic she had been wearing for too long. It was like being reborn when her skin sensed contact with the soft and clean fabric. Once dressed, the woman tore the rest of the clothes in the basket to create bands to tie her son to her chest.

"Sorry, I know you took care to bring me clean clothes but-"

"Don't worry. I should have foreseen it and brought something to help you carry him. Let's go now; we don't have much time."

The two, therefore, left that dark prison. The woman looked back for a moment, and she could see the lifeless gaze of the other women who were locked up with her. For the sake of her son, she would sacrifice them too, and that sin would accompany her forever.

Not too far from where the two were, a thunder dragon was floating in the air accompanied by a flute melody.

"SHUTEN DOJI! Tonight will be the end where we will end your life. You will pay for all the crimes you have committed."

"Raiko! If you are as brave as everyone says, why do you assault my residence at night like a mere bandit? Why don't you face me alone? Or are you afraid you don't have the strength to win against me in a head-on fight?"

"Raiko, don't let his words ensnare you. We aren't here in search of fame or glory. Our mission is to free the poor women kidnapped from this abominable being and to kill this evil-minded demon once and for all. Shuten Doji, I won't tell you to repent because I doubt that you are able to feel remorse for what you have done. In any case, we will drop the curtain tonight on the horrors you have committed."

"Yasumasa. As always, you're a boring guy. Tonight I won't be the one who dies, but it will be the two of you."

Massive furious flames arose from the enormous horned creature called Shuten Doji. These flames were so large that they even hung over the imposing thunder dragon that floated in the air. After that, a myriad of explosions followed while the rubble that once made up the luxurious residence was scattered everywhere. But this didn't affect the woman led by the child with the small horns. The two were now far from the place where the monstrous clash was taking place.

"If you keep going straight from here, you will eventually come to a small human settlement. Don't stop, except to rest and eat. Everything will be fine, and you will be able to save yourself and your baby. So don't worry and do as I told you." said the boy.

"Come with me. If they find out that you helped me escape, they will punish you. I can't let anyone else suffer for me."

"I cannot. I am an Oni, and you are a human. The other humans would never accept someone like me. Don't worry about me. Thanks to your gift, I can now see the future. I know how to defend myself. And speaking of that, I have a gift for you. With this and your powers, I am sure you will be able to protect both of you."

"You?! How do you get it?"

"How I was able to do it doesn't matter. Unfortunately, it is only the main blade. The other parts are missing. But it should be enough for what you need to do, right? And now go, Emperor Sutoku has now arrived."

The woman took with a trembling hand what the boy was offering her. From the reverence her eyes exhibited when she looked at this object, it was clear that it was something truly sacred.

"Thank you. Thank you very much. I owe you my life and that of my baby. If only there could be something I can do for you."

The oni child seemed hesitant before expressing his request, "You are the only one who has ever given me affection, not even my parents or siblings have given me this. Thanks to you, I have awakened my eyes. I cannot ask for a greater gift than that. But if I am granted one last request, then I would like to receive a name. A name by the only one person important to me."

The woman appeared amazed by the oni child's request but quickly made up herself, "Okay. Then I'll give you a name. Let me think… Ōtakemaru. What do you say? It means - great mountain peak. Even if you are only a child in this clash between humans and yokai, for me, you are as brave as the peak of a mountain that faces the wrath of the heavens without retreating."

"Ōtakemaru? I like it. Thank you so much. I will treasure it. And what about him? What's his name?" Ōtakemaru said as he pointed to the infant sleeping in his mother's womb.

The woman bent down and kissed Ōtakemaru on the forehead before whispering the answer in his ears. "I hope that one day you and he can meet each other. When it happens, I would like you to take care of him. Even if I'm not your mother, I'd like to consider you as my little brother. My little brother oni and my little baby. Yes, it wouldn't be a bad dream for the future."

Then the woman turned and started running away from that residence where she had experienced horrors that had marked her deeply in the soul. But even in that place of despair and depravity, she had found hope. No, rather than found, hope was born there - in her newborn baby and in her little brother oni who had saved her.