The Beast Spear

The Beast Spear.

The Beast Spear is a supernatural weapon crafted and forged for the purpose of slaying yokai.

It was created over 2000 years before the start of the story, by Giryou, the son of a master blade-maker, after his sister, Jie Mei, sacrificed herself to make the spear's blade. Driven mad by his sister's sacrifice, Giryou crafted the Beast Spear, pouring all of his hatred and desuire for revenge against the Yokai responsible for the death of his parents, and by indirect extent, his sister, Hakumen no mono, and his very body became the spear's shaft.

with the completion of the weapon, the Beast Spear searched the world for Hakumen no Mono, slaying thousands of yokai in its relentless search to satsify Giryou's ruthless desire for revenge. Finally, hundreds upon hundreds of yokai banded together, transforming into a single long red sash that bound the Beast Spear to a valley. It is unknown how long it remained there but at some point it was released by a man named Shagaksha who became its first wielder and eventually it transformed him into the first Azafuse who came to be known as Nagatobimaru. The Beast Spear was wielded by many over the centuries, by a farmer to protect his family, by a woman to avenge her lover, by a mercenary who killed for money, until finally it came into the possession of the samurai warrior who fought against Tora, then called Nagatobimaru, and impaled him to a stone with the Beast Spear. There it remained keeping Tora imprisoned as the samurai's family, the Aotsuki clan, built a shrine and temple around Tora to insure his imprisonment until 500 years later, a boy named Ushio Aotsuki, who was a descendant of the warrior, found the cellar where Tora and the Beast Spear were, and was finally forced to release him to save his friends, therefore coming into possession of the Beast Spear himself.

It is later revealed that there have been many wielders of the Beast Spear before Ushio and his ancestor who sealed Tora. All these warriors across the centuries wielded the Beast Spear, but after wielding the weapon for so long they each in turn transformed into Yokai very similar to Tora, with the same powers and appearance albeit having distintive characteristics (different faces, claws or feet, different markings, different kinds of hair, etc.), and they were all called the AzaFuse. These Yokai all turned to stone to await the final battle with Hakumen no Mono as the Beast Spear continued to change hands over the centuries.

A revelation later shows that Azafuse are not the final transformation by prolong use of Beast Spear. Azafuse has only a single wish, transmitted via Beast Spear: Hatred of Hakumen no Mono. In an ironic twist of fate, this prolong hatred eventually turned all Azafuse into potential Hakumen no Mono. Thus the Beast Spear actually ultimately giving birth to more Hakumen no Mono if left unchecked. There are only two Azafuse known in the series not to become Hakumen no Mono: Guren and Tora. Guren is because it desire to kill both humans and yokai overcame Beast Spear hatred for Hakumen no Mono. Tora however was affected by Ushio's personality so much that it overcame the Beast Spear hatred. In fact the remaining Azafuse that turn to Hakumanen no Mono lamented for not knowing such person in their time, as they are envy for Tora to have "eaten" Ushio kindness so much so that Tora has a change in heart even if Tora doesn't realise it.

It is also important to note that the Beast Spear has a distinct aura that Hakumen no Mono can home onto, which is a double edge for the Beast Spear Wielders. First of all the Beast Spear can vanguish Hakumen no Mono minions, preventing more tragedy and yet the Wielder would have to sacrifice more of their souls as more and more foes come after them. There are 2 instances the Hakumen no Mono cannot detect the Beast Spear aura, first is the Red Cloth created by numerous Bakemono who sacrifice themselves to sealed the Beast Spear. The amount of Red Cloth tied to the Beast Spear in proportional to the strength or aura of the Beast Spear can unleash. Secondly, concealed by a youkai by stabbing into them, which to date only Tora was able to withstand the stab and survived but was pinned for 500 years as a result.

Known wielders of the Beast Spear include but are not limited to:

-Tora when he was a human named Shagaksha, the first to ever wield the Beast Spear

-A farmer to protect his family

-A woman to avenge her lover

-A Mercenary who killed for money

-Guren

-Ushio's ancestor who sealed Tora with the Beast Spear (but did not become an Azafuse)

-Ushio Aotsuki

The Beast Spear has numerous abilities.