If all you truly wanted was to ask me whether I was an oni or not, you would never have made it so tall. That is much too complex and endeavor for such a simple goal.
It may make sense in the abstract, but I cannot believe you ever pursued it in earnest. So of course I would expect that your true intention lay elsewhere.

You're thinking waaay to hard about this
Im just an oni who loves her drink. You cant expect me to go around taking everything seriously, sweetie.
But if you reeeally insist, I guess I might have thought it'd be fun to do something big for Setsubun.
I really WAS trying to get you to admit to your true oni nature by making this tower, and having a bit of fun while I was at it...
but it wouldn't have been much if you were the only one making your way up.
So I thought, if we make a big Setsubun festival out of it, we could ALL have more fun.

I see. Does that have anything to do with the man you prevented from climbing?

...Oooh, you're a lot sharper than you look.

I AM a general, after all, It is part of my job to keep a close eye on everyone's condition

But, you're still wrong.
This time around....if me and the brat faced off, we'd only end up killing each other. That's just how it is.
I mean, that's fun in its own right, but I'm having so much more fun being Master's Servant right now.
So keeping him on the ground was basically me saying "We don't have to do this NOW, okay?"
I've no idea if that's how he took it, though.

...
Back when I was just beginning to make my way up the tower...
I though it made sense to speak with the people who would understand what was happening there.
And of course, he was one of those people.
Reflecting on those conversation, I suspect he knew Shuten-Douji's true intentions. Of course he did.
How strange. They were opposites in every way, predisposed to try and kill each other whenever they got the chance...
And yet, this oni and that human understand each other better than anyone else.
(Yes... I see now that their relationship is, in its own way, just as valid as any other...)

Hey, while we're drinking together and all, tell me something else.
Do you know anything about your ancestors? Any stories passed down or anything?

I do not. Both my parents and my grandparents alike were shocked when I was born looking like this.

Gotcha. Well then... I guess all we can say for sure is that one of your ancestors must've gotten real friendly with an oni somewhere way back.
...I wonder what happened to them. Did the oni just eat the human, or did they find a way to make it work...?

I cannot say. I...Nobody can say for certain whether humans and oni were ever able to coexist peacefully.

Mmm, guess you're right. Hahaha!
That's so embarrassing!
I really should know better than to ask dumb questions I already know the answer to. Just forget it.

...Awww, that's just great.
Now I'm all out of my best wine.

She stretched out dejectedly. and got to her feet.
For a fleeting moment, she seemed to put her usual carefree attitude aside and let herself just...be herself.
It was then that I had a thought. A wild, baseless, unfounded thought...
I wondered if perhaps her true objective in building this tower...
Might not have been those last few moments we spent together.
Up on that roof, she wouldn't have to worry about anyone else interrupting us, or overhearing what we had to say.
A safe haven for an oni...and the one invited to join her.
Perhaps that was what she truly needed. A place where she could be herself...and someone who would join her there.
That way, no one else would ever learn about the question she asked.
...Or that she even cared enough to ask in the first place.
...No, that couldn't be right.
I must have simply been imagining things.
(Right... An oni like here would never be interested in coexisting with humans, after all..)

So, what're you gonna do about me, anyway?
For a while there, I thought you were gonna cut off my head before I'd finished my drink.

...I will never be an ally to an oni. But, neither will I be you enemy, or cut you down where you stand.
Right now... I am Master's Servant.
Just as you are.

You know, you still kind of disgust me. But since I lost the fight, I guess I don't really have a leg to stand on.
Still, I should let you know. Someday. you're gonna have to pick a side, whether you want to or not.

Well that's just great. Guess that overprotective cow isn't gonna stop until she claws her way up here. Gotta say, I'm kinda impressed.
Oh hey Ibaraki. Didn't know you were still here.

I am. I was bidding my time on the ninetieth floor's outer wall when the cow's bloodlust drove me up to the roof.
We should have known Raikou would eventually make her way here! So...isn't now a good time to end all this!?
I mean, we can kill her, or we can run away, but whichever it's gonna be, we need to do it now!

You're right. You know, its's been suuuch a fun day that I'm exhausted. Let's get out of here.

Understood! Hang on tiiight!

Wait! you need to destroy this tower before you go!

Oh, right. Don't worry, I already took out my magical energy core. All you gotta do is demolish the tower like normal, and it should disappear on its own.
After that, go ahead and do whatever you want for all I care.

Oh, you're here too, huh.
You've got even bigger oni horns now, and you're wielding fire just like I do...
HEY WAIT! You're pretending to be mad at me just to get candy from the green one, aren't you!? How dare you!?

Never mind that.
Let's just get out while the getting's good.

Hmmm. All right, if you say so, Shuten.
You may be a fire oni too, but don't forget that you'll never be on my level!
I've got WAY more experience and awesome tales of my exploits, so you better come pay your respect later!

Well, see you around. Maybe we can share a drink together again if the opportunity presents itself.

...I doubt that. Let us just say that have no tolerance for alcohol whatsoever.

_smile_ _jump off_

...Phew. Now then.
Lady Raikou! Master! If you can hear me, then know that I have driven the two oni away! I will complete our mission by demolishing this tower, so everyone, please make your escape as soon as possible!
Master and Lady Raikou responded swiftly, neither wasting any time in making the correct decision.
But they no doubt needed time to complete their evacuation. There was no need for me to rush. I steadied my breath, and slowly reached for my quiver...

Hey Shuten. I didn't really learn anything from all this. Not that I have any regrets! There's just something I wanna ask you!
Are...ummm...are you sure we aren't gonna get in trouble when we go back to Chaldea? What if it ends up being Mt. Ooe all over again!?

Hmm? Well, the tower's time is already up anyway.
They'll probably call it even if we say we're sorry and tell them we just did it to welcome the new girl.
Especially since we didn't bother any ordinary human this time.

H-hmm, that's true. Since there were so many other good things to eat. I didn't take so much as a finger!
Still, aren't you sad the tower you work so hard to build is getting destroyed? What a waste...

Oh no, it's fine.
I figured it was gonna end this way when I made it.
That's why I called this tower the Oni Pagoda. One that was by an oni, and meant to burned down by one.
(Still...setting fire to a building so soaked in alcohol fumes is probably going to create a raging inferno...)
(but they can't hold me responsible for THAT, right?)

As I narrowed my eyes and turned my gaze upward to the blazing sunlight piercing the heavens, I could have sworn I heard a familiar voice whispering in my head.
"You certainly are a strong one, aren't you!
I like that. I like that very much."
"Hm? Oni blood? What of it?
...You are you, are you not?"
And that's when it hit me. Neither of them chose.
Not my current Master, and not Lord Yoshinaka.
So I shall do the same.
I choose not to choose.
I am neither oni nor human.
No, I am just...

...

As I drew my bowstring, I though about oni.
And about humans.
Peering down the tip of my arrow, I saw the midday sun lying beyond it. It may not have been the morning sun, but it still reminded me of him.
Would my arrow reach it if I fired now?
Who knew?
What I did know is that, if I were to wish with all my heart that it would, and it succeeded, his soul would surely be at peace...
With that in mind, I chanted with all my heart...

_On Arorikya Sowaka!!!_

No matter how I squinted my eyes, I could never look directly upon its light.
All I could do was let loose my arrow, taking with it my love for him, knowing with certainty that my beloved lay in the direction it flew.
However, I knew that, sadly, it would never reach him, no matter what. Which was why, of course... ...it came back to me.
As it piecing glimmer drew near,
I saw all manner of things.
I was, in essence, dreaming.
I dreamed of the long life I once lived, solitary and alone.
Of dying together on the battlefield, a fate that never came to pass.
And, of parting ways with the battlefield and living a long, long life, happy together.
Ahh, if only I could have lived out the rest of my days by his side.
Would I have remained human if that had come to pass?
Or...would I have eventually succumbed...?
...In the end, that too was but a meaningless dream.
I was me, at that moment, in that place. No more. No less. As much as I still loved him, he was part of my past, and there he must remain.
Indeed, even if I were to lay my hand on the omnipotent wish granter known as a Holy Grail, and could receive anything I asked for...
.,.I would not wish for anything at all.
Up to that very moment, I had wished fervently for nothing more than for my beloved to rest in peace.
That much was certain.
I had wished as greedily as an oni, and as modestly as a human.
Funny, that. I didn't even have to think about it. I had always been and oni, AND a human.

I leaped off the tiles and began to fall through the air.
Soon after, the arrow I had loosed earlier came back down to piece the spot where I had stood, and from there...