Personal History of Maxim

Following the "Administrative Flunky's" tracks to the Tsukijō Wakigami Manor, the generals find that it has already been taken by Igamono.  They enter the building's basement cautiously, and are confronted by a man who looks and sounds exactly like Katsusada Shishauezaemon.  When questioned by the real Shishauezaemon, the impostor claims that he already spoke to the envoy from the Imperial Court.  Among other misinformation, Matsutada Tadamatsu was told that the Hashinara attacked the Chōsokabe Clan on a personal slight, and that the Ashikaga Shogunate should mind its own business on threat of war.   Before the discussion could progress any further, Fujibayashi Nagato attacked the impostor from the shadows and a full battle broke out between Hashinara elite and the lurking Igamono.  Among their top priorities was the rescue of Tsukijō no Yumeno, tied to a post in the middle of the cellar, but this too was revealed to be a ninja fake.  She was slain with the rest, but in the chaos, a single Igamono managed to cut off the real Katsusada Shishauezaemon's head.  With the enigmatic words, "Vengeance has been served," the man accepted his death at the others' hands.  As panic spread, Chōsokabe Morichika stole Matsumoto Ooawagaeri out of the chaos.  With a few quick words, however, Ryūzaki Sanosuke was able to regain control of the situation, and the Igamono suffered a brutal defeat.   After the battle, the real Tsukijō no Yumeno was found in a nearby barrel.  She was unharmed, merely tied up, and corroborated the story that the fake Shishauezaemon had told them before.

Before Maxim begins his journey back to the mortal world, Ira Sathana commands him to choose a companion from among the three Duchesses of Wrath who accompany her. This demonic ally will both guide him out of Gehenna and ensure that he remains loyal to Sathana's interests upon regaining the human world. His three choices are: Vepar, the Unholy Admiral who offers him eternal, unbearable agony; Haures, the White Flame, a demon who slays demons; and Andras, who kills the master, the servant, and the assistant. The final demon present, Rofocale reveals herself to be once a denizen of Pride who harbors a deep enough grudge to turn her to Wrath instead. She is something like Sathana's secretary, and thus not up for choosing.   After some deliberation, and interviewing the candidates, Maxim almost chooses Andras, eager to have her thirty legions of aerial demons at his back. She seems to be the least interested in accompanying him, however, so he eventually decides on the much more eager Haures, who also has the advantage of passing as a Japanese Bakeneko. This choice made, Maxim is sent to cross the wastes of Sheol and pass into Jigoku where he will find another passage to Earth.

As Maxim, Haures, and Kashirin finally enter Jigoku, they make note of the numerous rusty, abandoned torture devices and unused pools of lava about the place. Haures remarks that this used to be a place designed for the torture of sinners from Earth, but that Vepar's methods were much more elegant than what is on display here.   Before they can advance much further, Maxim finds himself transported to an opulent meeting chamber and faced with a massive, portly, fearsome man with crown and stake. Great King Enma demands to know what Maxim is doing in his realm, but the observant knight instead notices a curtain at the back of the room and investigates. The terrible Judge of Hell is revealed to be an illusion, and the real Enma is naught more than a slight girlish figure behind the curtain. Her secret revealed, Enma reveals that she has been weakened greatly by Izanami-no-Mikoto's monopoly on souls from Japan. Even the Oni who once served her have abandoned Jigoku for Mount Ōe above.   Sympathetic to her plight, Maxim agrees to bring Enma enough souls to restore her to a semblance of her true power, in exchange for safe passage to the human world above. The Once-Great King agrees, and Maxim is returned to his companions, who have been wandering lost in his absence. Immediately they come upon a tunnel leading upward and into the human world once again.

As if drawn into a dream against their own volition, in a time and space not quite connected with what they know as reality, the heroes of the Hashinara Clan found themselves in a wasteland. Here, they were pitted against Deathlord☠Troxiom, a monstrous evil general in the midst of a ritual that would make him unstoppable. Alongside them was Date Masamune [Hero]. Queerer still for Matsumoto Ooawagaeri, he found himself to be Masamune, with his body only nominally under his own control and his mouth speaking words he did not intend. Together they battled against Troxiom in an attempt to rescue Katakura Kojūrō [Damsel], but their attacks had little effect on the bone-armored titan at the height of his power.   Date Masamune (Hero) summoned his companions to the fight, his weapons glowing bright, but they did not heed his call. It was Ryūzaki Sanosuke's clever idea to write with a conjured pen on the story-scrawling scroll in the background, albeit with little effect. Maxim held the line and traded blows with Troxiom, but could not fell him. Aotsuki Tsukamoto called upon his companion Kagami to pelt their adversary with spheres of light, weak as they were. Still, such setbacks mattered little in the face of Hashinara Yoshitakatomo's incredible magic prowess. With an unseen grasp of mystic power, she* took the story scroll's magic for her* own, and became the effective god of this corner of The Dreamlands.   Even by Yoshitakatomo's hand, the battle continued for some time. At the end, Deathlord☠Troxiom lay broken upon the ground. Date Masamune (Hero) was victorious, thanks to his stalwart companions, and Katakura Kojūrō (Damsel) was saved. With the threat gone, the dream dissolved, and our heroes were sent victorious back to the present world. Richer, perhaps, than when they entered, and with the clout of heroism to buoy them through the difficult times ahead. Indeed, it seems that Maxim took something more substantial with him, as the Deathlord's magnificent weapon, the Deathlord Buster, followed him into the waking world.

Investigating reports from Juntoku no Chūkyō regarding a mysterious merchant in Awa Harbor, the five generals of the Hashinara clan quickly found the racketeer in question. Clad from toe to tip in black cloth, with a white mask under his hat, the merchant spoke with a strange, grinding voice and moved with jerky twitches. For all this, he seemed friendly enough, and explained that he was selling poor-quality swords, failures, in bulk. Though these weapons were anything but poor-quality, Fubuki recognized them as being crafted by the same legendary smith notorious for making "Cursed" weapons.   Not wanting any more of these blades distributed to the public, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo bought the whole cart, only to have another cart wheel itself out of the house behind the merchant, full to the brim with more blades. With the help of his Sheele, Aotsuki Tsukamoto recognized gears beneath the cart's wheels as the source of its self-locomotion. Karakuri, according to Yoshitakatomo, a kind of trick clockwork popular among the richer classes for entertainment.   Meanwhile, Fubuki had transmuted into a tiny fox and stolen into the house. Inside were four more copies of the same merchant. Further inspection showed them to be more wood and gears under their robes than humans. Before Fubuki's investigation could continue, it was interrupted by a shower of bombs with various coy expressions painted on them from the rafters above. First a flashbang, then three smoke grenades that masked the disappearance of the merchants within.   By this point, Maxim had burst through the door and was attempting to save the man he saw inside, but with little luck. A few moments and a powerful breath from Sanosuke dispelled the smoke, but the clockwork men were nowhere to be seen. Outside, Kagami pointed out that she'd seen a person on the roof, and Tama found a discharged bomb with a sullen face drawn on it. At the same time, the first merchant had suddenly changed its tune, confirming that yes, Yoshitakatomo actually could meet the smith behind those fine weapons.   Fubuki teleported beneath the floor-boards, while Maxim followed by use of a trapdoor Sanosuke had pointed out during an investigation of the interior. Transforming her*self into a hat, Fubuki rested on one of the marching merchant's heads as they progressed through a tunnel until reaching a stone room with more carts of weapons. Also present, watching over them, was a mysterious creature comprising a cloak tapering to blades at the end and a mass of vaguely humanoid red ribbons under a death-marked mask. The Blade Wraith immediately spotted Fubuki even through the disguise and, while she* fought valiantly for a hat, the four "merchants" and creature were able to slay her* in short order.   Before falling, Fubuki had sent a message to Yoshitakatomo covering the situation and the princess-daimyō was about to make her* own magical entrance just as Maxim reached the door. Both were too late to save Fubuki, but perhaps she* can still be rescued from true death if they act quickly enough. Standing in their way, though, were the Blade Wraith and four karakuri merchants, now revealed to be hideous clockwork dolls under the guise.

Coming out of his meditative state, Maxim felt the fruits of his efforts. He had attained a greater level of influence over Hostimentum, the infernal armor that sometimes girded his form. He could not yet say, however, that it would produce any concrete effects in battle. Haures was sitting nearby, staring at the wall placidly, but that was not what had disturbed his rest. From the intermittent splashing in the entry tunnel and the looming sense of resentment that washed over him, someone dangerous was approaching.

No sooner had Fubuki magicked the sword binding Kashirin away than yet another strange event interrupted the ill-fated Mōri tournament. The more keen-eared of those in the crowd noticed it first, and brought it to the attention of their allies. A low, whistling sound was steadily growing in volume as something approached the stadium at high speed. It was not Kashirin's prisonous sword, but rather a black spear shooting down from the heavens directly at Maxim.

Aotsuki Tsukamoto and Saitō Dōsan were among the first to arrive in the meeting chamber of Owari Castle that had been set aside for their purposes. Maxim, too, was in attendance, and soon Hashinara Yoshitakatomo arrived with an unknown stranger in her* company.   The opposite side of the wide, low table was filled with the Oda Clan’s greatest remaining representatives. Oichi took the head, her position cemented by her relationship to Oda Nobunaga, previous Daimyō of the clan. Beside her stood Shibata Katsuie, her bodyguard and a proponent of this meeting. Then, along the side were Ishida Mitsunari, Azai Nagamasa, and Mori Ranmaru. Only Nagamasa’s presence between the two others seemed to be preventing them from attacking each other right there. Petty complaints and snappish insults were tossed about above the weary-looking Azai Daimyō’s head.

Lord Maxim's initial refusal to go to war on the side of the Takeda surprised Takenaka Hanbei. She voiced as much, suggesting that it was strange he would not want to wage battle against a god, particularly one he had as much to begrudge as Bishamonten. Maxim soon clarified that he would be willing to lend his aid in the coming battle, but it was a risk almost on par with what he had encountered in the Palace of the Firebird. As such, he needed more payment than just honor and good service to make it worth risking his men. In exchange for a large number of souls, quality notwithstanding, he would agree fight both the Uesugi and Izanami.

Dawn rose on the third day of the Mōri Aspirant Tournament, with the matches beginning at their characteristically punctual break of dawn. Mostly familiar faces dotted the crowd, with some missing and a few newcomers present. Of particular interest was a sour-faced, dour woman in reddish robes sharing the box right beside Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki who hadn't been there on days previous.   A fair number of other events occurred simultaneously with the matches, but for details on each battle that took place, see: Mōri Matches: Day 3

It was yet fairly early in the morning when those premier generals of the Hashinara Clan arrived at the doors of Yakisoba Yashiki. A heavy rain had begun to fall on their short journey over, clouds blotting out the sun overhead and casting an eerie shadow below. This effect seemed perfect for the dark Western mansion that now loomed before them. While not unheard of in international ports such as Shimonoseki, architecture like this was still very rare in Japan. The pervading feeling of the unnatural, the out of place, was only heightened by the glowing lights behind the mansion's crimson curtains and the infrequent flashes of lightning above.   A sign just to the left of the door, obviously added as an afterthought, read: "焼きそば屋敷"

It was the darkest hour of the night; the perfect time for ninja business. It was just such ninja business which drew the five Cardinal Generals of the Hashinara Clan to Iga. For some time, Fujibayashi Nagato had been working here to eliminate the remnants of the resistance group known as Igamono. With them out of the way, and Hattori Hanzō dead, there would be nothing standing in the way of Nagato becoming head Jōnin of the Iga Ninja.   Her first order of business promised to be a formal alliance with the Hashinara Clan. Therefore, it behooved the clan to lend their aid in this final confrontation. The Igamono, staunch traditional independents, would never allow the Iga Ninja to formally ally with a clan. They were a minority now, but enough families still backed them that they could prove a threat if left alone. One such family, led by Iganozeki Butsugai, had agreed to speak with Nagato tonight. Canny and with plenty of shinobi experience to draw upon, she expected a trap. Therefore, having five of the most powerful individuals in Japan at her back was a great reassurance.

Part 1

At the sound and light, the gathered crowd looked as one to the center of the arena. There, under a fading shower of fireworks, stood an unfamiliar figure and The Black Blade of Doom: Date Masamune. They faced each other and seemed ready to battle. From the southeastern quadrant, a gasp rang out. It was Katakura Kojūrō. Neither she nor Masuda Kita seemed thrilled at the appearance of another Date Masamune.   Indeed, there were some murmurs worming their way through the crowd. Wasn't Date Masamune dead, obliterated by Musashibō Benkei in the tournament? Mōri Motonari's voice cut through the muddle like a blade. She chided both the unknown figure and Masamune. There were no further fights scheduled that day and, what's more, their intrusion on the field when she was about to announce the champion's prize was far too presumptuous. At a swelling of support from the crowd, the two rivals backed down. They would have their battle after the ceremonies concluded.

—continue to log my efforts to ingratiate myself, and by extension the Aotsuki Clan with Lord Maxim of The Wolfpack. To disregard what must be firsthand knowledge of the Demonic Realm would be the height of foolishness. These creatures pose a—   —agreed to aid Maxim in achieving some kind of "vengeance" against Honda Tadakatsu, formerly of the Tokugawa Clan. I understand that she wounded him when he first arrived in our land, but that wound has long been healed. Is he truly so petty as to drag this little vendetta out over such a long period?   It matters little. In aiding him with this, I will both create a debt to the Aotsuki Clan we can leverage later and an opportunity to practice the onmyōji arts against a true demon. My research, though limited, has given me the creature's true name: Eligos. A demon of war and Pride. Why, then, was she serving Mammon, Prince of Greed? Perhaps these hierarchies are not as strict as I once believed—

The second match of the morning, which will determine Fubuki's opponent in the Independent Finals. I expect it to be Maxim. All the data points to him being far more powerful (and maybe a Demon???). But Momo has been the underdog for every match and she's made it this far, so...