"Since it's decided, then we will fully mobilize our forces in the demon realm to track down Owl. Once his whereabouts are confirmed, we will immediately organize an expedition."
In a few words, Kamo no Tadayuki and the other two finalized the plan for dealing with Owl, which meant that Owl had now officially become an enemy of the Onmyoryo.
However, they did not adjourn the meeting yet; they had more than one matter to discuss.
"Now, let's talk about the matter of Asakura Hao. Yasunori, you said she single-handedly eliminated an entire horde of yokai at Fangshan Castle?" Kamo no Tadayuki asked his son for confirmation, his tone seeking affirmation.
"Yes, although the exact number cannot be determined, according to the survivors' descriptions, she destroyed dozens, almost a hundred, yokai attacking the castle with a single blow. Even Fangshan Castle itself suffered considerable damage. I visited the site... the spiritual power residue there was extremely dense..." Kamo no Yasunori recounted his observations at Fangshan Castle, and his words clearly caused no small stir among the three present.
"With a single blow? She eliminated yokai capable of conquering a castle with just one strike?" Fujiwara no Saneyori was clearly surprised. Although he considered Asakura Hao to be strong, she was at most a young genius of Abe no Seimei's caliber. However, Abe no Seimei clearly couldn't annihilate a large group of yokai with a single blow. To achieve such a feat, even he would have to expend a great deal of effort, and the massive consumption of spiritual power would affect his subsequent combat effectiveness.
After all, the spiritual power that humans can possess is always limited. No matter how much one cultivates, it will never be too much. This is very different from yokai, who can wield sufficiently powerful demonic power as long as they live long enough and grow large enough. In terms of both power and energy, humans are always at a disadvantage compared to yokai. Humans, when directly competing in destructive capability, can never match yokai.
Therefore, human onmyoji always deal with yokai primarily through restraint, weakening, sealing, purification, expulsion, and control, carefully utilizing every shred of spiritual power. Direct engagement is the work of shikigami. No one has ever confronted yokai head-on like Miketsu, countering their demonic power ultimate attacks with even greater and stronger force, or blasting away large numbers of them with abnormal levels of spiritual power.
"Yes, just one strike, and it was a complete and thorough annihilation, not imprisonment or sealing... According to the survivors at the scene, this is her Asakura Style secret art." Kamo no Yasunori continued, his words making the three fall into contemplation.
Asakura Style secret art? Indeed, she must have come from some reclusive onmyoji family. In that family, it's likely that secret arts capable of causing immense destruction with limited spiritual power are passed down. Fujiwara no Saneyori thought this, and at the same time, he became interested in the mysterious Asakura family, thinking they must have many good treasures.
Among the various onmyoji families in Heian-kyo, some excelled at sealing, some at talismans, some at curses, and some at barriers... but none were known for such direct, destructive power. If this secret art could be passed down in Heian-kyo, it would be a great boost to the human realm. Kamo no Tadayuki was the first to show interest in that secret art, wondering if it could be absorbed and integrated into Heian-kyo's existing onmyojutsu system.
Asakura Style secret art? Indeed, that fellow has quite a background, otherwise, how could she disrupt my plans... In any case, the person who ruined my plans cannot be allowed to gain a foothold in Heian-kyo, and I must find a way to acquire her so-called secret art... even if it requires special means... At this moment, Minamoto no Mitsunaka was extremely vexed by Asakura Hao's disruption of his plans.
"It's truly a pity. That Asakura Hao had a conflict with the Taira Clan for some unknown reason and left Yamashiro early. Less than a day after she left, Owl launched his attack. If Asakura Hao could have stayed a little longer, we might have been able to contend with Owl by cooperating with her," Kamo no Yasunori said with regret, then fell silent.
Silence fell upon the scene for a while. After a long pause, Fujiwara no Saneyori was the first to speak.
"Gentlemen, you have all witnessed Asakura Hao's strength. She also rendered great service in defending Fangshan Castle this time. I believe it would be too much of a waste to keep her as a mere Junior Assistant."
Clearly, Fujiwara no Saneyori intended to use this opportunity to promote Miketsu.
"What if she is strong? According to the privileges granted to her before, she can refuse assignments. Even if we give her a higher rank, we cannot command her. Her power remains unusable to us," Minamoto no Mitsunaka snorted, then immediately looked at Kamo no Tadayuki.
"Besides, it hasn't even been two months since her exceptional promotion to Junior Assistant. Another immediate promotion would be too fast and would invite criticism, wouldn't it, Lord Tadayuki?"
"Lord Mitsunaka, you are mistaken. For a powerful, unaligned force like Asakura Hao, we must actively win her over and deepen her sense of belonging to the Onmyoryo. With a sense of belonging, she will naturally work for the Onmyoryo. And what could foster a greater sense of belonging than a high position? Lord Tadayuki?" While speaking, Fujiwara no Saneyori also looked at Kamo no Tadayuki, clearly entrusting the final decision to him.
Kamo no Tadayuki stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then slowly said,
"Indeed, Asakura Hao's strength is too great for a Junior Assistant. However, rapid promotion is also an issue. More crucially, with her privilege of not accepting orders, the impact of her promotion is completely unpredictable. This is a troublesome matter. How about this? I have an idea: we can proactively assign her a specific mission. If she accepts and completes it, that would prove she is willing to follow our arrangements to some extent and won't just ignore us by relying on her privileges. In that case, we will directly promote her to Junior Secretary. What do you two gentlemen think?" Saying this, Kamo no Tadayuki scanned the other two, seeking their opinions.
"This idea... is feasible, but what mission should we give her?" Fujiwara no Saneyori said after some thought. At this moment, Minamoto no Mitsunaka's expression sharpened, as if he had thought of something, and he quickly spoke.
"I have an idea here."
"Oh, what is your esteemed suggestion, Lord Mitsunaka?" Kamo no Tadayuki asked, looking at Minamoto no Mitsunaka.
"Are we not about to begin our investigation into Owl? Perfect, we will assign the task of investigating Owl to her. If she can find Owl's whereabouts, then her mission will be considered complete, and we will promote her." With a smile, Minamoto no Mitsunaka said to the others. In his mind, this was an excellent proposal.
If Asakura Hao accepted and completed the mission, she would be promoted, and the Onmyoryo would gain intelligence on Owl, paving the way for him to find Itsumaden through Owl later. This was acceptable to Minamoto no Mitsunaka. If she failed to complete it, or if others completed it earlier, Asakura Hao would temporarily not be promoted, which was also a result Minamoto no Mitsunaka wished to see.
In any case, no matter the outcome of assigning this mission to Asakura Hao, he could accept it; it was a win-win situation.
Rate on N.U.
