Chapter 54 / Season Final - Absolution

Toshiro stood before the impenetrable rock wall of the mountain, gawking at it fiercely.

"So, Yuki, what now?"

Before he even got an answer, part of the mountain slid down, forming a passageway.

Nevermind…

Toshiro went into the passage. It was pitch dark, but with the help of Yuki, he could navigate through. Suddenly, Yuki's magic wore off.

"Yuki… A little help… Oh, wait…"

Toshiro found himself in a spacious room, lit only by a single strand of light coming through a hole in the ceiling. In the center of the light, there was a single katana, covered in rust and grime.

Wait… I know this room! This is the temple from the visions! And this must be…

Toshiro went closer to the sword, and he inspected it without touching it.

"It isn't rust, its blood! The whole sword is bloodstained from blade till hilt!" Toshiro screamed aloud.

One part of him shouted not to touch it; the other one wanted the opposite. Toshiro's curiosity got the better of him and he grabbed the sword.

It vanished from his hand from an instant, and blue wisps began circling around the room. After a few seconds, the wisps stopped moving, and something started happening.

The stone floor under him started busting open in various places, and hands started shooting out from the holes.

"Ugh… What's that smell…?"

The hands soon turned into arms. Toshiro could see why it stank so suddenly – the arms were in a state of advanced decay. Heads started to pop up from the holes, also decomposed, some with missing noses, jaws, ears or eyes. The dead started rising, clad in deteriorated miko priestess clothes.

A minute later, Toshiro was surrounded by a horde of living dead in a dark room, totally defenseless.

"Yuki! Yuki!"

Silence.

"W-what are you?" Toshiro asked the dead.

With a screeching voice, one of the dead answered, "Traitors blood! You are the descendant of that bitch Keiko!"

"So what? I have to die because of what my ancestor did seventeen generations ago?"

"Such a crime doesn't have an expiration date! Everyone that you see here was slaughtered by her! And now you will be slaughtered!"

The dead started slowly moving in his direction, tightening a circle around him. Toshiro's nose was close to falling off because of the stench of rotting bodies.

When they were only at hands length from him, Toshiro heard, the same sentence as he heard when trapped in the glass ball.

'Don't try to fight evil, heal it instead.'

But how… Wait, WAIT! YES!

Toshiro lowered his head and whispered:

"Sacred Flame…"

The flames engulfed him gently, giving off a slight warm glow. The undead that spoke to him touched the flames and immediately retracted its hand.

"What is this?! How can this be!"

"You see, walking corpse… The eighteenth generation finally managed to do it. The Sacred Flame chose me as a worthy master!"

Suddenly the flames expanded violently and covered the whole room. When they receded, beautiful women of various ages were surrounding him, without a spot of visible decay, clad in spotless white haoris and red hakamas. They were all looking amongst each other surprised of what happened.

"You… What is your name?" The previously dead priestess that was now an elderly woman asked.

"Toshiro Lucas Akayama."

'Lucas? Is that a foreign name?"

"I'm half-Karlslandian."

"Karlsland… That European empire… Well, you certainly don't look like someone from Fuso... You cleansed us from our tormented bodies, thank you… I was the last to be killed by Keiko, so my regret and hatred towards her must have placed a curse on this place and all the fallen…"

"I see… Can you tell me something about Keiko?"

"She was a tough child, always rebellious, always eager to be more powerful… She wasn't exactly the typical priestess…"

"Do you know anything more?"

"Yes. She was brought to us still in her mother's womb, who was seeking asylum at our shrine. But sadly, I can't tell you more, I don't know the details."

"Good enough for me… What will now become of you?"

"Normally we should transcend to immortality, but we will do something else… Girls, get in positions!"

The priestesses' surrounded Toshiro and grabbed their hands.

"Extend your hands forward, Toshiro."

He did just that.

The priestesses' started chanting in an unknown language, faster and faster. They started slowly dissolving, turning into green particles that started forming a shape in Toshiro's hands. A sudden flash of light blinded Toshiro.

When his eyes finally adapted, Toshiro looked around, seeing only the empty room. Then he felt something in his hands.

It was a sword. A scarlet blade about one and a half meters long, connected to a black, guard-less hilt, with a small red mountain in the middle.

Toshiro grabbed the swords hilt and took a swing. It was balanced like no other sword, and very light despite its size.

"A very fine blade I must say." A familiar voice said to him.

He turned back and saw the goddess looking at him with satisfaction.

"Amaterasu? What are you doing here?"

"I told Yuki to make you come here. You were needed to purify this place."

"Why couldn't you do it yourself, you are a goddess after all…"

"It's not a matter of power but principles. Sure, I could purify this shrine, but it would defeat the purpose. Thanks to you doing it, you realized the power of the Sacred Flame, made their souls happy and gained a new weapon."

"I see…"

"Toshiro, I want you to know the story behind Keiko, because I see that you are curious about it. Care to lend me an ear?"

"By all means."

"Back at the time, Oda Nobunaga was the ruling daimyo. The mother of Keiko was a one-night stand for Nobunaga. She carried her in her womb unbothered by anyone, but then Nobunaga found love in one of his subordinates, Mori Ranmaru. Afraid that Keiko's mother, Rinko Miyafune, would open her mouth a bit too wide, he sent assassins to kill her. Unfortunately, for them, she was a witch, and she killed her assailants in a blink of an eye. After that incident, she found asylum in this temple, and shortly after that, Keiko was born. Unfortunately, Rinko died with the newborn Keiko in her hands… Her last words were 'Her name is Keiko, please take care of her.'…"

"Wait a second… So you mean that I'm a descendant of Oda Nobunaga?!"

"Exactly, although I would say it's rather watered down…"

"Still, not bad… Amaterasu, now please tell me… What was the price for my resurrection?"

"Do you really want to hear it?"

"Yes."

"When I was discussing the matter with you back then, at the same time I visited your sick mother in Fuso. I told her the situation, and she proposed me her life, to be taken a day before you arrive in Fuso. She said she didn't want you to see her dying, not to put a burden on you and not to potentially scar you emotionally. I agreed, and the deal was sealed."

"My… My… Mother did that for me?" Toshiro said with tears welling up in his eyes.

"Yes, Toshiro. Your mother gave up her life, so you could live on…"

Toshiro fell on his knees with tears streaking down his face. The goddess came up to him and patted him on the head.

"There, there…"

Toshiro calmed down after a few minutes and stood up. He looked at the sword he held in his hand.

"I think I should name it somehow…"

"I have a good name for it, Toshiro."

"Oh?"

"Aganaimaru."

"Hmmm… Perfect Redemption? Catchy… I like it, it stays."

"I'm glad; you will need it for the next four months."

"Huh? What four months?"

"I want you to train with me in my realm. You will be training for four months' time here, but in my realm, it will be a whole year. I will teach you things that a normal mortal wouldn't dream about, and only the top 0.1% of swordsmen could master. Of course it comes with a price: you can't tell anyone about it, and we will depart as soon as you agree."

"But… What about Yoshika? What about the army?"

"That's a gamble you have to undertake. Nobody will know your status or whereabouts…"

"I can't do this…"

"Yes you can. Toshiro, I will call to your sense of justice and righteousness: if you will train with me, your abilities and strength will increase a few times, and you will be able to eradicate the Neuroi threat more effectively, making the world a better place. Did you consider it from such a perspective?"

"No…" Toshiro paused for quite a while and said. "Okay, I agree, for the good of mankind I will relinquish my selfish desire to be with Yoshika…" Toshiro said with a cold voice.

"Don't say it like that, it really is necessary."

"Maybe… Maybe not… Before we go, can I get an answer to a question?"

"You want to know the meaning of the vision the Neuroi gave you? A nice question you are asking, because I have to start explaining from the beginning of the universe. Be warned though, you will not be able to say anything what I will tell you, just like you couldn't tell anything about the vision of the Neuroi to anyone."

"I'm fine with that."

"In the beginning there was the Allgod. It is actually unknown whether it was a man or a woman, but let us skip that debacle for now. The Allgod created the universe by dividing his body into billions of billions of billions and so forth pieces. Each planet and star is a piece of the Allgod. On each inhabitable planet, Elder Gods were placed to govern them and to supervise the evolution of life on them. In case of Earth, it was a forgotten god, older than any of the current ones 'alive'. That god made the current known gods, and gave them a piece of his infinite power. Each god's power is limited to a certain extent, the more the younger he or she is. Now, each god can give away a particle of his power to a human of his choosing, making him a Chosen One, his champion. That operation however has little quirk to it: it can only be done once every ten thousand years. Now, explaining your vision…" Amaterasu paused and called a floating image again.

"This is Leif Eriksson, a warrior of old. He was chosen by Odin to find a land free of Neuroi, and thus Leif embarked on a journey. He found a new land, which he called Vinland, but alas, it was already infested by Neuroi. The woman in armor is Joan of Arc, a chosen of the Christian God. You see her before the biggest battle against Neuroi that she fought. Unfortunately, she was burnt down on the stake for heresy, oh well… The next one is Buddha, chosen of Indra. He devoted his life to meditation, and attained spiritual harmony. One thing that he was known for is that the Neuroi calmed down in his vicinity. Next, the man in the turban. It was Saladin, the chosen of Allah. You see him fighting side by side with his arch-nemesis, Richard the Lionheart. The Neuroi have attacked them while they were holding peace talks in Jerusalem. Finally, the muscled man, who is none other than Hercules, the son and chosen of Zeus. He was so powerful, that a sword would just shatter if he wielded it, so he defeated Neuroi with his bare hands. For your information, the Neuroi then were rather primitive beasts, not able to shoot beams. They were more like wild animals…"

"So… They were all Chosen?"

"Yes, Toshiro, just like I chose you."

"But that means that I also have a godly particle in me!"

"Correct. But without training you can't even feel it inside of you. That's why I want you to go."

"If that's the case, then let's go!"

"You are one eager beaver, Toshiro." Amaterasu giggled.

A portal opened before Toshiro.

"Just walk inside the portal. You will be transported to my realm with your flesh bones and whatever you are carrying with you."

As Toshiro was stepping inside of it he thought:

Sorry, Yoshika, Mio, everyone. I will have to leave you for a while, but don't worry… I'LL BE BACK!

The portal shimmered as Toshiro passed through it, and soon after disappeared without a trace.

The end! Of course of this 'volume' so to speak, heheh… But I will tell that at the end! Go on, be a dick, scroll through the credits and get to know about the sequel…

First of all I would thank all my readers, both the vocal minority, and all those anonymous lurkers. Without the view count bars rising every day, I seriously would just dump it. Here's a list of people I would like to thank.

Doran Maya – Everything! Beta reading, being a dick, being a bro… Thank you, my friend!

Seiko1979 - Following the story, favoriting the story, favoriting me, following me, reviews

KingofthePhoenixes - Following the story, favoriting the story, favoriting me, following me

Lashamore - Following the story, favoriting the story, favoriting me, following me

Lone Vanguard - Following the story, favoriting the story, favoriting me, following me

Rogue Leader Solo - Following the story, favoriting the story, favoriting me, following me

whitepriest27 - Following the story, favoriting the story, favoriting me, review?

asqwerty3345 - Following the story, favoriting the story, reviews

NeoBushido - Following the story, favoriting the story, review

jaku uzumaki - Following the story, favoriting the story, review

P.L.P - Following the story, favoriting the story, review

Deathryuger - Following the story, following me, review

Amirul - Favoriting me, reviews

PurpleTardis - Following the story, reviews

Apsody243 – Following the story, favoriting the story

Darkspecter141 - Following the story, favoriting the story

DiabloWolfX - Following the story, favoriting the story

Everwolf - Following the story, favoriting the story

Jarjaxle - Following the story, favoriting the story

Nariek Hyokame - Following the story, favoriting the story

Skies-of-Total-Darkness - Following the story, favoriting the story

chance123 - Following the story, favoriting the story

frozenwolf94 - Following the story, favoriting the story

gman2129 - Following the story, favoriting the story

mekanikaru#Tenshi - Following the story, favoriting the story

samuel#plaisime - Following the story, favoriting the story

Jarlaxle – Reviews

NoCreativity – Reviews

Blueknight123 – Review

Asukaforever92 – Review

Spartan111MS - Favoriting the story

Unicorn 359 - Favoriting the story

alevans360 - Favoriting the story

sept1973 - Following the story

generalpacman#js - Following the story

JSaysNo - Following the story

7shi – Following the story

bobc4t - Following the story

ArcticHawk - Following the story

Cabbage cabrera - Following the story

UndeadZeroEmblem – Following the story

Some people had dots in their nicknames, which i replaced with hashes, since Fanfic seems to be fussy about that... Sorry!

Now, something I jacked from Doran Maya, music recommendations for particular scenes.

For the Mio x Toshiro scene on the mountain summit in chapter 2, I would propose something from the Nekomonogatari Kuro Music Collection – Demon's Emergence and Death

Every scene involving Yuki in her big ass snake form scaring the shit out of Toshiro goes well with 'Kekkai' from the Bakemonogatari Complete Music Works Songs & Soundtracks CD 1.

let's skip it a bit, I don't have good recs for the next few dozens of chapters

The award ceremony with the Kaiser (at least Erica's part) - GIRLS und PANZER Original Soundtrack - CD1 - Senshadou Anthem desu!

Toshiro's first 'death' could be made a bit more… emotional with a track from the Katanagatari Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 – Death flag No. 2

Toshiro's suicidal descent from the space… I don't know… I think 'Gettouka' from the Katanagatari Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 would be good, but only if you read very slow ;P

Toshiro saying farewell to his friends from the 501st – 'Minna Saikou no Tomodachi desu' from the GIRLS und PANZER Original Soundtrack - CD1

For the kissing scene in chapter 53, I have something from the Angel Beats! Original Soundtrack CD1 – memories

For the 'zombie' scene in chapter 54 I propose to you all something out of the Bakemonogatari Complete Music Works Songs & Soundtracks CD 1 – Sensou

So, you are probably wandering 'Where the fuck is my sequel announcement?'?

HERE IT IS!

On October 14, around 0900 EEST (GMT +2), I will post the first chapter of the sequel. It chapters will be published every third day. Sorry, but real life somehow started imposing on me…

So anyway, tune in next time for more adventures of Toshiro in Strike Witches: The Chosen One 1.5 – Mission in Africa!

Oh and a shameless advertisement - Doran Maya has started a prequel to Worldwide Liberation called Strike Witches: Before the Liberation. He somewhat implied i should include a recommendation or something... :P So go check his profile!

/fic