I Enslaved The Goddess Who Summoned Me

Nathan and Yukihime reached the hills overlooking Minami Kyoto shortly before noon.

From there, the city spread across the plain below them.

Its walls were high and dark, built from old stone that had endured generations of war, storms, and sieges. The main western gate stood at the center of the outer wall, reinforced with thick wood and iron bands. Above it, Norihiro’s banners still moved in the wind.

But the city was no longer peaceful.

Smoke rose from the ground before its walls.

Thousands of red armored soldiers stood across the open field, their banners bearing the mark of the Urakami Clan. Rows of spearmen waited at the front. Archers had taken positions farther back. Mounted samurai formed groups along both flanks, ready to move the instant the command was given.

Urakami had truly sent a large part of his army here.

Nathan could not count their exact numbers from the hill, but there were enough men to overwhelm most cities if given enough time. Their supplies had been placed behind the army. Wooden ladders rested on wagons. Heavy rams were being prepared. Several teams of soldiers were already gathering stones and timber from the surrounding area.

They had come ready for a siege.

At the front of the army, one mounted commander sat on a dark horse.

His armor was red and gold, far more elaborate than the armor of the men around him. A long sword rested at his waist, and his helmet carried a crest shaped like a burning sun. He looked toward the walls with open impatience.

Nathan and Yukihime remained hidden among the trees.

”He has many soldiers,” Yukihime said quietly.

”Yes.”

”Should I kill them?”

Nathan glanced at her.

Yukihime’s expression was perfectly calm.

She was not joking.

Nathan looked back down at the field.

”Not yet.”

Yukihime’s gaze narrowed slightly, but she nodded.

Below them, the mounted commander rode several paces closer to the gate. He raised one hand, and the soldiers behind him became quiet.

Then he called out.

”People of Minami Kyoto!”

His voice carried across the field.

”Your Daimyo has abandoned you! Norihiro rode west with his army and left you behind while the samurai came for your city!”

The red armored soldiers struck their spears against their shields.

The sound rolled across the plain.

”Open your gates,” the commander continued, ”and swear loyalty to Lord Urakami. Do so, and your people will be spared. Resist, and you will answer for your Daimyo’s arrogance!”

For a moment, there was only silence from the walls.

Nathan watched carefully.

The defenders were numerous. Soldiers stood behind the battlements with bows, spears, and shields. Their numbers were still far lower than the samurai army outside, but Norihiro had not lied about leaving Minami Kyoto guarded.

The city had prepared.

Then movement appeared above the main gate.

A single figure walked toward the center of the wall.

The person wore a full suit of armor, dark blue and black beneath the sunlight. A metal helmet covered their entire head and face, leaving no feature visible. The armor was not as heavy as the armor worn by the soldiers around them. It had been made for movement rather than standing in a shield wall.

A blue katana rested at their side.

Nathan’s expression changed.

The person stopped at the wall’s edge and looked down at Urakami’s commander.

”Minami-Kyoto will never surrender.”

The voice sounded different.

The helmet distorted it, making it colder and more commanding than normal.

But Nathan knew.

He recognized the sword.

He recognized the stance.

And even through the altered voice, he recognized the stubborn certainty behind those words.

Shiina.

Nathan’s jaw tightened.

So that was where she had been.

Norihiro had not brought her to the western battlefield. He had entrusted Minami Kyoto to her instead. He had left his city, his people, and the greater part of his remaining forces under her command.

For a moment, Nathan felt an unexpected mixture of frustration and reluctant admiration.

It made sense.

Shiina was one of the strongest swordsmen in the South. More importantly, Norihiro trusted her. She had been loyal to him for years. She knew the city, understood its soldiers, and would not hesitate to fight until her last breath if she believed Minami Kyoto was in danger.

The Urakami commander looked up at her and laughed.

”Who speaks for Norihiro now?” he called. ”Has the Daimyo become so frightened that he hides behind a woman in armor?”

The soldiers behind him laughed as well.

Shiina did not react to the insult.

Her gloved hand rested on the hilt of the blue katana.

”Leave this place,” she called down. ”Return to the North, and your men may live.”

The commander’s laughter faded.

”You threaten the Urakami Clan?”

”I warn you.”

The samurai leader’s face hardened.

He raised his sword.

”Then die with your city!”

The horns sounded.

Urakami’s army began moving.

The first lines of infantry advanced with shields held high. Behind them, archers prepared arrows. Mounted samurai moved toward both sides of the field, intending to find weaker points in the walls and force the defenders to spread themselves thin.

Nathan watched from the hill without moving.

He expected arrows.

He expected the soldiers on the walls to answer.

But he did not expect the gates to open.

A deep grinding sound rolled over the plain.

The massive wooden gates of Minami Kyoto slowly pulled apart.

”Why are they opening the gates?” Yukihime asked.

Nathan did not answer.

He was watching the darkness beneath the gatehouse.

Then the first mounted soldier emerged.

He wore Minami Kyoto’s armor.

Another rode out beside him.

Then more.

Within seconds, a flood of cavalry poured through the main gate. Hundreds of riders thundered across the open ground, their horses kicking up dust as they formed ranks before the walls. Behind them came foot soldiers carrying spears and shields, then archers, then another wave of mounted warriors.

They did not charge blindly.

They formed a defensive line in front of the city.

Shiina had not intended to wait behind the walls.

She intended to meet Urakami’s army before it could begin a siege.

Nathan counted quickly.

The defenders were fewer.

Much fewer.

Perhaps three thousand soldiers in total, including those remaining on the walls. Urakami’s army outside the city was still larger, better supplied, and filled with trained samurai.

But the defenders did not look afraid.

Shiina rode out last.

She had removed the helmet now.

Her long blue hair moved behind her in the wind as she mounted a black horse. The blue katana rested in her hand, its blade faintly glowing beneath the noon light. She rode to the front of Minami Kyoto’s formation, directly before the soldiers she commanded.

Her army lifted their weapons.

The sound of their voices carried across the field.

”Minami Kyoto!”

The cry rose again.

”Minami Kyoto!”

Shiina raised her katana.

”Protect the city!”

The defenders charged.

The field exploded into motion.

Urakami’s front line rushed forward to meet them. Arrows filled the air from both sides. Horses collided. Spears struck shields. The first mounted soldiers crashed together with enough force to throw men from their saddles.

Nathan watched Shiina enter the battle.

She moved like a streak of blue through the confusion.

Her horse carried her directly into the samurai formation, but she did not remain mounted for long. She leapt from the saddle before it reached the enemy line, twisting through the air with her katana drawn.

The blade flashed.

One samurai fell before he even understood she had reached him.

She landed lightly in the middle of the red armored soldiers and moved again. Her sword cut through a spear shaft, then passed through the exposed neck of the man holding it. She turned beneath another strike, drove her shoulder into an enemy’s chest, and sent him stumbling into two of his own men.

Then her katana moved once more.

Blue light cut through the dust.

A red armored warrior fell.

Then another.

The soldiers around her began backing away.

Shiina did not give them time to regroup.

She moved through them with the ruthless precision Nathan remembered from Death God Valley. Every movement was controlled. Every strike had purpose. She did not waste strength. She did not hesitate. Her swordsmanship was as beautiful as it was deadly.

Urakami’s soldiers began shouting warnings.

”The blue sword!”

”Surround her!”

”Kill her!”

More samurai rushed toward Shiina.

Nathan watched as she cut through them.

She was protecting the city.

She was protecting Norihiro’s people.

And she was making it impossible for Urakami’s army to breach the gate quickly.

That should have pleased Nathan.

It should have made his task easier.

If Minami Kyoto held, Urakami would fail. The people would see the samurai army as invaders. The shinobi could later emerge as defenders of the South and gain the trust that had been denied to them for years.

But Shiina’s presence changed the shape of the plan.

If she led Minami Kyoto to victory, then she would become the symbol the people rallied behind. Norihiro’s soldiers would remain loyal to her. His officers would remain organized. And when news eventually reached the city that Norihiro had died, Shiina could keep his old authority alive under a new name.

She would not allow the South to turn toward Kaguya easily.

She would not allow the shinobi to become heroes.

She would fight to keep Norihiro’s legacy standing.

Nathan understood it immediately.

Shiina could not remain in command.

Not if he wanted the South to truly change.

Yukihime looked toward him.

”Nathan-sama, what do we do?”

Nathan’s eyes remained fixed on the blue blade moving through the battlefield.

”I need to stop her.”

Yukihime looked back toward Shiina, who had just sent another red armored samurai to the ground. She looked very satisfied with Nathan’s answer.

”I can kill her,” Yukihime said.

”No.”

Yukihime’s eyes narrowed.

Nathan continued.

”She is not the enemy I need dead.”

”She is protecting the enemy.”

”She is protecting the city.”

The distinction mattered.

Shiina was fighting against Urakami. She was defending people who would suffer if the samurai entered Minami Kyoto. Nathan could not blame her for that.

But he also could not allow her to keep leading.

Nathan looked toward the gate.

The city walls were strong. The defenders stood firmly behind them. As long as Shiina remained at the front, Urakami’s soldiers would struggle to force their way inside.

That meant the shinobi would have no chance to enter afterward as the people’s saviors. They would have no moment to seize control of the narrative. Shiina would be the hero. Norihiro’s banner might fall, but his influence would remain alive through her.

Nathan’s eyes became colder.

”Yukihime.”

”Yes, Nathan-sama?”

”Breach the gates.”

Yukihime’s face shifted slightly.

”The gates?”

”Destroy them. Break enough of the outer wall to make it look like Urakami’s army forced its way in.”

Yukihime looked down at the city.

She understood slowly.

”If the city believes it has fallen...”

”Then the shinobi can appear to defend it.”

Her eyes brightened with understanding.

”And that woman?”

”I will keep her away from the gate.”

Yukihime looked at him for a long moment.

There was displeasure in her expression. She did not like the idea of Nathan fighting another woman he cared about. She did not like that Shiina could still affect his plans so deeply.

But she trusted him.

”As you command,” she said.

Nathan reached for the black mask tucked inside his clothes.

It covered the lower half of his face and hid the sharpest details of his appearance. He had also changed before leaving the abandoned house, wearing a plain gray kimono instead of the dark clothing and cloak people associated with the black ronin Ryo.

He could not let Minami Kyoto see him here.

Not yet.

For now, he needed to be nobody.

Only another blade in the chaos.

Nathan tightened the mask over his face.

Yukihime watched him.

”You will return to me, Nathan-sama,” she said.

”I will.”

Yukihime’s expression softened just a little.

Then she stepped away.

The air around her grew colder.

Pale blue light began gathering along her lance.

Nathan watched her for one final second before moving down the hill.

He did not rush toward Minami Kyoto’s defenders.

Instead, he moved toward Urakami’s men.

The red armored samurai had been driven back in several places by Shiina’s charge. Their front line was breaking into smaller groups as Minami Kyoto’s cavalry struck at their flanks. One group had been surrounded near a shallow ditch where their horses could not maneuver properly.

Nathan stepped onto the battlefield.

The smell of blood, mud, and smoke filled the air.

A red armored soldier turned toward him with his sword raised.

”Who are you?” he demanded.

Nathan drew Kyomei.

The blade came free in one smooth motion.

”I am the mercenary Urakami bought.”

The soldier stared at him.

”What?”

Nathan moved.

His sword struck aside the blade of a Minami Kyoto soldier about to cut the samurai down. Nathan stepped between them and drove his shoulder into the defender’s chest, sending him backward into the mud.

The red armored men watched him with suspicion.

Nathan did not care.

Another defender came at him with a spear.

Nathan cut the weapon apart.

The man stumbled forward, and Nathan struck the flat of Kyomei against his helmet hard enough to drop him without killing him.

The nearby samurai looked at Nathan again.

”You are with Lord Urakami?” one asked.

Nathan did not turn toward him.

”I said I was bought by him.”

That was all they received.

Nathan moved deeper into the battle.

He cut through Minami Kyoto’s soldiers carefully, striking weapons aside, disarming those he could, and using the force of his movements to create space around the trapped samurai. He needed Urakami’s men to believe someone powerful had come to aid them.

He needed Minami Kyoto’s defenders to see an unknown masked warrior fighting among the invaders.

Confusion was useful.

Panic was useful.

Every uncertain voice and broken formation brought the city closer to the moment Nathan needed.

Then the air changed.

Nathan felt it before he saw her.

A blue flash cut through the dust.

The soldiers around him instinctively stepped back as Shiina landed several paces away.

She had moved through the battlefield quickly, leaving wounded samurai and fallen defenders behind her. Blood stained one sleeve of her armor. Her hair had partly come loose, framing a face that was tense but determined.

Her blue katana was raised.

She looked directly at Nathan.

Even behind the mask, even with his different kimono and the chaos surrounding them, she knew.

”You really came,” Shiina said.

Nathan stood still.

The noise of battle continued around them, but for a moment it seemed distant.

”Yes,” he replied.

His voice was lower behind the mask.

Careful.

Controlled.

There was still time.

That was what he wanted to tell her.

There was still time for her to walk away from Norihiro’s shadow. There was still time for her to protect herself instead of dying for a man who had already chosen his path.

But he could not say it openly.

Not here.

Not with soldiers watching them.

”You can still leave,” Nathan said.

The plea beneath the words was hidden.

But Shiina heard it.

Her expression softened for the smallest moment.

Then she shook her head.

”No.”

She lifted the blue katana fully.

”Give me everything you have, Ryo.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed behind the mask.

Shiina’s gaze did not waver.

”I will not stop,” she said, ”unless you kill me.”