In the dungeon beneath Fangshan Castle's lord's mansion, due to Minamoto no Yorimasa's retreat and the collapse of the southern yokai, the yokai attacking from the north were completely disorganized and no match for Nura Rihyon's trio plus the Taira samurai.
Finally, Nura Rihyon and the samurai repelled all the yokai. Before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, the atmosphere immediately became tense again.
The Taira samurai formed a circle, surrounding Nura Rihyon's trio. The three, exhausted from overexertion, stood back-to-back, panting and wary of their former teammates, now their enemies.
"Ahhh! Nura Rihyon, it's all your fault! You said we had to save all the yokai here, delaying our escape! Now look! We can't run away!" The tanuki yelled loudly, looking at the situation.
"...Ahhh...Bunny is tired...Bunny wants to rest..." Yamausagi, on the other side, sat directly on the ground, saying weakly. Her demonic power had clearly bottomed out.
As for Nura Rihyon, he frowned, his gaze sweeping over the samurai, and said with a hint of mockery:
"Gentlemen, we were just fighting side-by-side. There's no need for swords to be drawn against each other now."
No one responded to Nura Rihyon's words. Many of the samurai's faces showed a hint of difficulty at this moment.
"It is precisely because you helped defend against the yokai earlier that I did not order you to be killed on the spot." Taira no Kageyori slowly walked out from among the samurai, looking at Nura Rihyon and his companions, speaking unhurriedly.
"You are yokai, and even yokai who tried to break into prison. I cannot let you go. Surrender here now, and I can specifically instruct the Onmyoji of the Onmyoryo to only turn you into shikigami, preserving your lives."
"Who wants to be a dog for an Onmyoji and become a shikigami! I'm going to be famous throughout the land! If I become a shikigami, I won't have the face to return to Shikoku! I'll be laughed to death!" The tanuki shouted indignantly upon hearing Taira no Kageyori's words.
"If you don't want to be shikigami, then you want to be materials, eh? Don't be ungrateful, I'm offering you a way out. If you don't want it, then so be it. You can all die here first!" Seeing the trio before him, Taira no Kageyori spoke even more harshly.
Just as the standoff between the two sides grew sharper and conflict was about to erupt, Yamausagi suddenly shouted loudly:
"I surrender~ I surrender~ Bunny won't fight anymore~ Bunny wants to rest! Bunny surrenders!" While shouting, Yamausagi actively raised her small hands. This action stunned both Nura Rihyon and the tanuki.
"Hmph, it seems this little rabbit yokai is more sensible than you. One of you has already given up resistance, so there's no point in you two continuing to be stubborn." Taira no Kageyori continued. Indeed, Yamausagi's playful gesture of surrender, at such a moment, had a significant psychological impact on Nura Rihyon and the tanuki.
"Miss Yamausagi..."
"Little Granny, you..."
"Alright, alright~ Hurry up and throw away your things, get some good rest, good rest~" Yamausagi looked at Nura Rihyon and the tanuki with her blinking large eyes, her face bearing an unchanging smile, completely devoid of the dejection of surrender.
Finally, after Nura Rihyon and the tanuki exchanged glances, they both put down their weapons.
Seeing this, Yamausagi, behind them, squeezed a paper crane in her pocket – the very one that had guided them to this dungeon.
Standing at the top of the dungeon, Miketsu watched everything unfolding below, silently.
...
Night faded, and the sun slowly rose on the eastern horizon. The rising sun shone upon the dilapidated mountain castle.
Wearing a kariginu stained with blood and dirt, Miketsu rode on the back of Ami, who had been frightened all night and was just recovering. She swayed as she moved through the ruins of the southern castle, heading down the mountain.
On the platform of the mountain castle's lord's mansion, Taira no Kageyori and the samurai captain stood together, gazing at the distant Onmyoji girl.
"My lord... is she really leaving?"
"Yes... I told her the mission was complete and she could return. This young lady is too strong, and she covets Itsumaden. We cannot keep her here." Taira no Kageyori replied to the samurai captain, watching Miketsu gradually disappear into the distance.
"But my lord... what if yokai attack again?" The samurai captain said worriedly. He couldn't imagine how they would defend themselves if another attack like last night's yokai horde occurred.
"Last night's attack was premeditated. A horde of yokai of that magnitude cannot gather a second wave in a short time. Moreover, the official reinforcements that the Onmyoryo is sending will arrive soon, and the buyer will also arrive today. This means we can complete the transaction by tonight at the latest, and then leave immediately." Taira no Kageyori turned his head and said solemnly to the samurai captain.
"We just need to hold out for today. I refuse to believe that without Asakura Hao, we can't even hold out for a day?"
As he spoke, Taira no Kageyori looked up at the sky. In the distant horizon, two streaks of fire were rapidly approaching.
Two ox-carts, pulled by two-headed sturdy oxen with flaming hooves, soared through the sky from afar, flying rapidly towards Fangshan Castle. After approaching their destination, they gradually began to slow down.
To confirm the destination, Kamo no Yasunori pulled back the curtain on the window, looking down from the ox-cart high in the sky. What met his eyes was the mountain castle, almost half collapsed, the scarred mountain itself, and large quantities of foul-smelling yokai corpses scattered everywhere.
This scene of a post-battle aftermath made Kamo no Yasunori frown.
"What... what exactly happened?"
What happened on his way here? A yokai siege? Was there a yokai general-level yokai involved to cause this much destruction?
No, if it were a yokai general, this castle would have been captured long ago, and the Taira flag wouldn't still be flying... More importantly, if yokai were responsible, what was the deal with these large amounts of spiritual power residue?
These questions lingered in Kamo no Yasunori's mind. He planned to get to the bottom of it once he descended.
...
Within a dense forest not far from Fangshan Castle, Miketsu stopped. After tying Ami to a tree, she took the bundle she had carried on her back, opened it, and took out its contents.
"Lady Uka, are you really going to do this?" Miketsu took off her clothes, and Tsuruha emerged from her sleeve, speaking as she spun out.
"Ah, of course. It's already decided." Miketsu said, taking out the bandages packed in the bundle.
"Didn't you say, Tsuruha, that Inari loves all beings? I think yokai are also included among all beings, aren't they? As long as they are yokai who can coexist..." Miketsu said, skillfully wrapping the bandages around her body.
Watching her deity's transformation deepen, Tsuruha's eyes were complex.
"But you are a deity, after all. To attack humans for the sake of yokai..."
"No, Tsuruha, the one doing this won't be Inari Okami Miketsu, nor the Onmyoji Asakura Hao..."
Donning a black robe, Miketsu deliberately exposed her single eye, which transformed from pitch black to crimson. She drew the katana from her waist, and in a flash of light, it transformed into a broad, giant blade. A chilling demonic aura emanated from it.
"It will be the yokai – Owl.
"Isn't it natural for yokai to attack humans?"
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