The Next Guest
Copyright© 2025 by Pars001
Chapter 4
Japanese Dietes
Amaterasu - Japanese Goddess of the sun (head goddess)
Wakahiru-me - younger sister of Amaterasu, goddess of the rising sun
Benten - Japanese Goddess of love
Hachiman - Japanese God of War
Takemikazuchi - god of thunder and swords
Takeminakata - god of wind, water, agriculture
Minor gods and goddesses
Ame-no-oshihomimi - first son of Amaterasu
Ame-no-hohi - second son of Amaterasu
Amatsuhikone - third son of Amaterasu
Ikutsuhikone - fourth son of Amaterasu
Kumanokusubi - fifth son of Amaterasu
Onryō - goddess of revenge
Izanami - goddess of death
Amatsumara - god of iron working
Ame-no-wakahiko - God of grains.
Azumi-no-isora - God of the seashore.
Shuten-dōji - King of Japanese Demons
Yuki-Onna, The Snow Woman - a pale, beautiful and malevolent spirit
Gashadokuro - a female spirit that takes the form of a giant skeleton
Ephus shook his head as he pointed at the Raccoon dogs and five vanished. He then turned and pointed at the imp goblins, five of them vanishing with a scream.
He then looked at the others that were there as they blinked in surprise. “I suggest that you go before you meet the same fate,” he said as the eight females laughed at him.
They were laughing ‘til he pointed at the normal-sized skeleton female and the masked female. They both appeared to be shocked, then screamed as they vanished into nothing.
“That bastard lied to us! He has far more power than we thought, let’s go!” the huge skeleton female said as they all popped out.
Ephus shook his head, he swore that they had been testing him to see how strong he was. He turned to look at a wide-eyed Amaterasu, Wakahiru-me and Benten.
Benten walked towards him and kissed him passionately. “I was worried when you went to the front that you might not make it. I can see that you are far stronger than that.”
Ephus nodded as both of the other goddesses came to him and laid a hot kiss on him too. He could only stare at them as Benten was whispering in the ears of both the goddesses.
The thing that got him, though, was when they all three looked at him as if he was a piece of meat.
He nodded yeah he’d seen that look before, it was why he had over ten wives.
“So, any other ideas about how we can find them? It appears that he is desperate if he is getting help,” Ephus said.
Amaterasu shook her head a moment as she returned her gaze to him. She then noticed that her sister and the goddess of love couldn’t tear their eyes off Ephus.
“I had several of the gods that you released follow their energy trails. I am hoping that they return soon. Sister? What is wrong with you?” said Amaterasu, her staring sister.
“Sis we,” she said dreamily, “doesn’t he look as delicious as can be? I just want to eat him up!” Wakahiru-me said, then lunged for Ephus.
Ephus held her off easily ‘til Benten also jumped on his back. Now he was struggling, holding a female in each arm, even while they were trying to undress him.
Ephus looked at Amaterasu, rolling his eyes. She would have thought it humorous were it at the wrong time.
Amaterasu snapped her fingers, causing both goddesses to drop to the floor with a thud. “We don’t have time for that,” she said, then under her breath said, “but soon.”
Less than five minutes later a few of the minor gods reappeared. They pointed out that all that had escaped had flown to a mountain much further away.
Ephus was about to leave when Amaterasu grabbed his arm. “You shouldn’t go alone, he’s not strong, but he has a lot of support.” Ephus stopped and then nodded his head. He thought about it for a moment, then asked Amaterasu if Hachiman was near. She nodded and a moment later the god of war appeared.
He bowed to Ephus as he started relating what we had found out so far. He also told him of the minor and two major demons we had destroyed.
He looked upset for a moment, then said, “We shall find them, then banish them back to hell where they belong.”
He nodded, glad that he wasn’t as bloodthirsty as many of the other gods of war I had met.
They vanished, appearing near another mountain that was a lot further from Takamagahara than before. He looked around, not really seeing anything to indicate that they were here.
I heard a warning from Hachiman, ducking a sticky line whizzed past me, hitting a raccoon dog that had appeared. Another went past me on the other side wrapping a goblin.
He watched as the lines tightened, then crushed the two. The spider-like woman sneered at him.
“You can’t escape forever human,” she said as she pointed her spinnerets toward him.
I released a bolt of lightning as she released hers. It melted her webbing it streaking in a line of flames toward her. I thought she had escaped, she seeming to have vanished.
I smiled as I heard a high-pitched scream, then saw pieces of her legs and body falling from where she’d been. Hachiman and I went into the cave nearby, seeing evidence of Shuten-dōji.
We found another minor god that they had used as bait. We had already released all of Amaterasu’s sons, the minor goddesses of death and revenge. Last time they had released the god of iron-working and the god of grains.
It appeared that this time, we had gotten a very pissed-off minor God of the seashore. Hachiman took the minor god back to Takamagahara as Ephus looked around further.
A shimmering behind him showed a severely pissed-off vision of Shuten-dōji. “This is the last time human! You have no back-up now,” he said as he started to laugh.
“For one as weak as you and these weak, whatever they are, I don’t need the help,” he said.
A huge area shimmered beside me as a huge female spirit skeleton stepped out. Behind it a pale, beautiful and malevolent female spirit came next.
“So human,” the large skeleton smirked. “Let’s see what that puny sword of yours can do. I am afraid that it will be like most male swords, a puny stick!”
For being as large as she was, she was far faster than Ephus thought she was. He actually lost a few hairs as she swung near his head.
Ephus met the sword of the Snow spirit, her face turning to shock as her sword vibrated up her arms.
Ephus turned, catching the huge sword of the Skeleton female spirit. Luckily, Ephus had gripped his sword far tighter than usual.
This time Ephus’ sword was vibrating as much as the skeleton’s. “So,” the large spirit sneered at Ephus. “You have magic, too bad you’ll be dead as all males should be when they stop being of use!”
Ephus ducked the swing as he felt the snowwoman spirit approaching his back. A back swing knocked the spirit to the ground.
Ephus moved back, getting both of the spirits in front of him. Both sneered at him again, angry that he was keeping them from killing him.
Another close swing from the giant had him ducking again almost into the snowwoman’s blade. Ephus actually managed to hit the leg bone of the skeleton, though it felt like hitting a rock.
Ephus backed up, trying to get the sting out of his hands. Sun of a bitch he thought as he caught the sword of the snow woman near her hilt. The snow woman screamed in indignation, shaking her ghostly hands.
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw that giant skeleton had a crack where he had hit its leg. All the good it did, he thought, as it hadn’t slowed it down at all.
He ducked again as the snow woman tried to catch him as he was moving away. Ephus had swung as he went low, trying to hit the leg bone again. The snow woman had driven into stab Ephus, getting caught in the swing he’d made.
There was a ripping sound as his sword ripped through the snow woman’s left arm. A high-pitched scream erupted from the snow woman’s mouth, reminding Ephus of a banshee’s wail.
Ephus had managed to cover his ear, though that didn’t help much. The snow woman has dropped her sword. The giant hadn’t fared that well either, falling to its knees.
It then pointed a bony finger at him, saying something. Though the most he caught was not over yet, but, he got the gist.
He stood and put a foot on the arm that was oddly solid. Both the spirits stared death looks at him as they both vanished.
Ephus picked up the bloodless arm as Hachiman appeared. Seeing what Ephus had a hold of he smiled. “It is so unlike you to take trophies,” he said.
Ephus turned to look at him, “tell me when was the last time you saw a spirit lose a solid arm?” he asked him.
This had him confused for a moment, then he looked at the arm. “You say this is from a spirit. No, I don’t think so, this is more a demon arm.”
Ephus nodded as they both vanished and appeared back in the meeting room of Takamagahara. As soon as they appeared, three sets of female eyes were staring at him.
“When Hachiman appeared, and you weren’t with him, we feared the worst,” Amaterasu said.
Ephus nodded, “had two spirits appear as soon as Hachiman left. A huge skeleton female spirit, along with a snowwoman spirit.”
Amaterasu gasped as she whispered, “Gashadokuro and Yuki-Onna.” It was at that moment that Amaterasu noticed the severed arm that Ephus had.
“Ah, I see that you noticed this, I took it from the snow woman,” Ephus said. “Notice anything strange about it?”
Amaterasu looked it over, then touched it. “This is not from a spirit, not if it is solid after you took it. Even more that there is nor was any blood.”
“I said the same thing. I told Ephus that I thought that it came from a demon,” Hachiman said.