Page 15 of Dragon 7

"He will. The only question is how much." I went over to the other table, picked up my mask, and looked at it.

The Wanyūdō mask bore the face of a demon judge sent to drag sinners toward hell.

Charred black wood covered the surface while thin gold fractures split across the cheeks like trapped fire. The mouth stretched wide in a skeletal grin filled with iron-colored teeth. Deep ember-red eyes watched from beneath heavy carved brows.

Japanese legends claimed Wanyūdō once walked the earth as a cruel samurai who delighted in suffering. After death, hell refused to let him rest. His soul fused with a burning ox-cart wheel and he became one of the jailers of the damned.

Now, he rolled through the streets at night collecting sinners for punishment. Mothers in Kyoto warned their children never to be outside after dark when they heard wheels scraping across stone.

But for me, the mask represented punishment.

Final judgment.

The moment mercy ended.

And that was the only thing my brother and father deserved.

I looked up at Reo. “The craftsmen did good with the masks.”

“I agree, especially in such short time.” He came over and picked up his.

Tsuchigumo.

The ancient spider demon who lured warriors into hidden webs beneath the mountains and fed on them slowly. Legends described him as patient, intelligent, and impossible to escape once he marked his prey.

Black wood shaped the face into narrow predatory angles while thin gold webbing spread across the forehead and cheeks in jagged fractures. The eyes slanted sharp and half-lidded beneath heavy carved brows. Small ivory fangs rested at the corners of the mouth.

Reo checked his watch. “We need to get everyone in position.”

“Any word from Tokyo?”

“Akiro's men are loading, but they haven't all taken off yet.”

“What do they see?”

“Four helicopters, Black Hawk, transporting thirty armed men each. Two have already taken off. Five more attack helicopters, Apache class with door-mounted heavy weapons and rockets. Those are loaded with men too and are presently waiting.”

I gritted my teeth.

“One small recon helicopter from the scout class is already heading our way.”

“Get that shot down immediately.”

“That’s the order. Our men are waiting.” Reo nodded. “Then, we have the five large transport planes, C-130 Hercules class. They carry 60 to 90 men each.”

“Approximate total?”

"Roughly six hundred armed men and fifteen aircraft incoming. If Akiro is smart, he’ll have them land in three waves."

“Akiro didn’t have this much firepower before.”

“Neither did the Fox.”

“I bet there are pretty little French flowers on those wings.”

“Could be.”

“When we win this war and count the dead in the morning, confirm if the Butcher gave my father any of this.”