Foxtails and Fairytales: Facades and Fables of the Phantom Prince

[Arc 16] Ch.9 Minoto Zenshin

Justice descended to the human realm and entered the hall where they were still fawning over the hero and his otherworldly powers. When he had opened the grand doors and entered his long flowing garments caught everyone's eye.

Immediately everyone kneeled, even the king. The only person who had no idea what to do was of course the hero from another land.

"Your highness, the king of mortals." Justice said as his footsteps echoed in the suddenly silent space. "Excuse my interruption."

Due to his agitation Justice's voice carried an extra bit of oppressive power. Everyone shuddered at his power all except the stranger from another world who didn't have the good sense to not glare.

"It's no trouble at all, your divine holiness, it is always an honor to have you visit." the king said from a kneeling position despite his age.

"Rise, mortals. If you condescend any further, it would seem as if I'm am oppressing you. Look upon me, for I have come with a benevolent purpose." Justice locked eyes with the obstinate mortal from another world as the rest of this world's mortals slowly rose.

"You may call me Justice, I am the guardian spirit of all the moon touches. What should I call you?" Justice asked.

"Minoto Zenshin, but you may call me Zenshin or Zen." The hero said.

"Zen it is then. From this day forward I will be your instructor. You will stay here in the kingdom while you build your strength and get used to your surroundings. We will get started in the morning. Have the mortal king show you your accommodations and get plenty of rest until then." Then he turned to the king.

"Mortal king, this Zen is mine. He shall be the firstborn of all moonlight warriors, and he will serve his commission as your hero. Treat him with all the respect and dignity of a foreign ambassador and better. Teach him the common sense of the world, and I will fill in the gaps as needed."

"Your will be done, your divine holiness. He will be in the best of care." the king bowed once.

Justice walked up and placed a hand on the king's shoulder. "Be at ease, Mortal King. Embrace this opportunity well, and many blessings will be upon you."

*

There was a tradition among spirits to select mortals as high priests, saints, holy warriors, and even blessed nobles. However, the more they chose the more their power stretched between them, so the number of these elites was always small in number.

At the beginning of the Great spirit war there were hundreds, even thousands since the spirits cared more for quantity but as the war dragged on there were two schools of practice between the spirits. The first faction raised many priests and priestesses with holy powers to support more people. But with the disappearance of Justice and the rumors of a hero creation ceremony, there was a second faction that trained only one saintess, warrior, or representative in order to create an elite force that would partner with the hero.

The hero became acquainted with this party and with his charismatic personality they developed fast bonds. However, they did not train together often due to how often Justice took him to train separately.

And there was an important reason for that.

"If there is anyone who knows the Immortals inside and out it would be me, so I'm not going to just teach you how to fight, I'm going to teach you how to become the bane of the immortals. But these techniques would be dangerous if their cultivation methods were learned so do your best to keep them close to your chest." Justice said.