The Tiny Emperor's Great Wall (Revised)

Chapter Nineteen

An annoyed growl escaped Inari as she watched the Empires' forces dissolving before the carnage. Her face grew red from the cheers erupting from the Han divinities. Many of them were hugging themselves and cheering on Fenghua's army to hunt down the remains of half a million soldiers.

Sighs of relief came from Shiva while Sorte hummed a cheerful tune. Seeing the sad frown on her lady's face hurt most of all. Inari snapped her fingers and summoned a fox. As a golden fox hopped onto the railing, the fox goddess knelt.

"Tell the witch doctor to turn on the spell," stated Inari. "We may have lost this battle, but I'm going to make Fenghua pay for it."

"Don't be a spoilsport," said Sorte. She slapped Inari on the back. "You guys lost one battle, but still conquered an entire empire. The Han aren't going to mount a powerful counterstrike." Picking at her feathers, the Patron yawned. "Not like you can do much about it, but knowing you ..." A dangerous gleam came into her eyes.

Almost on cue, Inari heard a voice in her head. Please, Lady Inari, Shinko begged, give me strength to overcome this trial.

A smirk slipped onto Inari's face. Climbing onto the railing, Inari stared at the mirror.

"What are you doing?" demanded the god.

"One of my worshippers needs help," declared the fox goddess. Before Shiva could move, Sorte snapped a finger. A piece of flooring under his foot disappeared and his foot dropped right through it.

"Inari," growled Shiva. "Jump into that mirror and I swear that—"

Whipping a hand back, Inari shot a small bolt of electricity at the god. It hardly hurt him but stunned him long enough.

"Got to go!" shouted Inari. Giving a quick bow and a "good day, my lady," Inari jumped into the mirror.

Shiva yanked his foot out of the floor and tried to jump after Inari. The moment his foot touched the reflective surface, sparks erupted from the mirror. A strong force shot him into the benches. Startled gods scattered as stone crunched.

Roaring laughter erupted from Sorte as she fell to her butt. Amaterasu bit back her mirth with little real success. All the divinities present started to chatter in excitement. It had been years since two divinities butted heads in the mortal world. Already bets were being made as Shiva and Vishnu searched the area for any way out. Yet red light from magical seals covered the room. Slamming a shoulder into the barrier, Shiva recoiled. Angry growls ripped from him.

* * *

Fenghua stared Shinko down. While not his main agitator, he could easily see himself carving Shinko up. Damn kitsune caused so many problems and so much pain. Stumbling back, Shinko panted as he stood with his body spread out. Sweat dripped from his chin. Those wide eyes searched for any weakness in Fenghua's body.

"Dear Inari," Shinko cried out, "Please help me."

"There's no one left but your death," said Fenghua. Though not normally bloodthirsty, the images of his downed troops flashed in his eyes. Crippled bodies, torn limbs, and more filtered through his mind. Shouwie with his lost tail and Ba and her half-dead men popped into mind. "If you wish to sacrifice yourself in your lord's stead, so be it."

Raising his blade, Fenghua aimed for one clean cut of the head. He might be furious, but he wished for nothing more than a final, clean conclusion.

Wait, Guan Yu shouted, I feel a new presence. Where did that come from?

Don't know, don't care, Fenghua thought. And his spear flew at Shinko.

One of Shinko's tails, the hair stiffened, blocked the blade. Fenghua stumbled a little from the sudden stop. Blinking in confusion, he was greeted by feminine chuckles.