Exploration

Unfolding the old, yellowed map, Miketsu located the position of Izu Province on it and made a mark. Then, she began to recall her conversation with Rihyon and the others.

"And then the home of Mountain Frog and Yamausagi... Totomi..." As she spoke, Miketsu also placed a dot on the location of Totomi Province.

"Next is the home of that Kappa... Omi..." Recalling the self-introduction made by the Kappa who had been driven out of the deep mountains by the calamity fire, Miketsu added another dot.

"Finally, Mount Maochi... near Heian-kyo..." As the final dot was placed, there were now four horizontal dots on the map. Miketsu then began to mentally label these locations with their respective times.

"The rumors of the Calamity Fire in Kanto... from two hundred years ago until one hundred years ago. In Totomi, it was from ninety years ago until twenty or thirty years ago... Omi was a few months ago... and then Mount Maochi, one month ago..."

Following the chronological order, Miketsu drew a horizontal line extending from east to west on the map. This line started from Izu Province at the foot of Mount Fuji and advanced all the way west, passing through Totomi Province and Omi Province until it reached Heian-kyo.

At this moment, Miketsu took a deep breath. She had verified her previous suspicion; these various phenomena of Calamity Fire, spread over a wide area and spanning a long time, were not unrelated. They were very likely the same event! The reason it appeared in one region for a period and then disappeared was that it had moved to another region.

Starting from over two hundred years ago, this strange and mysterious Calamity Fire began to burn from the foot of Mount Fuji. Intermittently, stopping and starting, it continued to advance westward. It had taken two hundred years to finally almost reach Heian-kyo?!

Is the target of this Calamity Fire Heian-kyo!?

Looking at the information reflected on the map, this thought immediately occurred to Miketsu, but on second thought, it seemed somewhat unrealistic. Two hundred years ago, Heian-kyo hadn't even been established! If this Calamity Fire truly possessed consciousness, it shouldn't have known of Heian-kyo's existence two hundred years ago.

Besides this, the Calamity Fire had other noteworthy characteristics. Namely, although rumors said it burned many yokai to death and destroyed vast stretches of forest, there were hardly any reports of humans being affected by it. There were no accounts of human towns suffering attacks from the Calamity Fire. These legends had always circulated primarily within the demon realm; it seemed the human realm was largely uninvolved.

This was likely why the Onmyoryo had never noticed this Calamity Fire. They had even posted it as a mission on the shelf, resulting in the unfortunate mystics who accepted it meeting their end as soon as they arrived.

Realizing that the abnormal firelight on Mount Maochi was very likely the same Calamity Fire from the foot of Mount Fuji two hundred years ago, Miketsu became cautious. According to the descriptions in the rumors, this was not as simple as a Jia-rank mission. Plans had changed; for this mission, Miketsu had to go all out.

……

After a full night's rest, Miketsu was finally ready to head out. To deal with potential powerful enemies, she brought Tsuruha, Makoto, and even Qin Xin with her this time.

Even so, Miketsu did not actually intend to resolve this Calamity Fire in one go this time. Her primary goal for this trip was reconnaissance and testing. If she could solve it, she would; if not, she would return and report the abnormality of the Calamity Fire to the Onmyoryo and have them send a subjugation team directly.

Putting on the Kariginu she had requested from Fujiwara no Shin, and with everything prepared, Miketsu once again mounted the little donkey Ami and set off toward Mount Maochi. During the journey, she explained the matter of the Calamity Fire in detail to Tsuruha and Makoto.

"Calamity Fire... I have indeed heard such rumors before, though most were in the east." On Miketsu's shoulder, Makoto had transformed into a small bird resembling a canary, perched there.

"In any case, this so-called Calamity Fire cannot be Phoenix Fire. Lady Uka, you must be careful later." Tsuruha, hidden within Miketsu's sleeve, also spoke up at this moment.

"Not Phoenix Fire? Tsuruha, why are you so sure?"

"Because Phoenix Fire is said to be the manifestation of a phoenix's flames, but in reality, they are the Divine Messengers of the phoenix. As a Divine Messenger, one must uphold the same nature as their deity and cannot overstep in the slightest. Therefore, a true Phoenix Fire could not possibly rage as recklessly as this Calamity Fire." Tsuruha finished her explanation carefully; as a Divine Messenger herself, she understood these matters very well.

"A Divine Messenger must maintain the same nature as their deity?" Miketsu chewed on Tsuruha's words thoughtfully.

……

After a full day's journey, Miketsu was finally getting closer and closer to her destination. Just as she was calculating that another day's travel would bring them there, an unexpected situation occurred. After only one day—at dusk—a sudden disturbance broke out in the forest where Miketsu was traveling.

Wild boars and hares fled rapidly through the woods, and birds flew swiftly across the sky. Both birds and beasts in the forest were rushing desperately in the same direction. Occasionally, yokai were interspersed among them; from their appearance, they seemed to be fleeing from something.

"Lady Uka, there is a mountain fire ahead!" At this moment, Makoto immediately warned Miketsu. Having wandered outside for a long time, she knew the ways of survival in the wilderness very well.

A mountain fire? Could it be that they had encountered it already? Shouldn't there still be half a day's journey left?

Thinking of this, Miketsu's expression tightened. She quickly dismounted Ami and tied her to a tree. She was about to leave but suddenly realized that Ami was also an animal and might be startled by the mountain fire, so she gave a special instruction.

"Ami, wait here for us to return, okay?"

Hearing Miketsu's words, Ami nodded and began to graze, her expression incredibly calm. She formed a sharp contrast with the panicked wild animals around her. This behavior made Miketsu pause in surprise.

Was it an illusion? Why did it feel like Ami had become a bit smarter? Lately, she had been frequently bringing Ami to the spiritual-energy-rich Secret Realm on Inari Mountain to stay. Could she have developed spiritual intelligence over time?

Shaking her head, Miketsu quickly returned to the business at hand. Makoto, who was perched on her shoulder, revealed her true form, transforming into a beautiful, bright yellow giant bird. Miketsu sat on her back, and Makoto flapped her wings, taking to the sky.

Flying through the sky, Makoto headed straight forward. Soon, they saw thick black smoke rising in the distant horizon. As they drew closer to the smoke, the temperature of the surrounding air gradually rose.

Finally, they arrived above the forest where a large area was burning. Within the thick black smoke, flames surged continuously, and the sound of trees crackling and bursting echoed incessantly. Large swathes of the forest had already been reduced to charred wood.

While observing the flames below, Miketsu suddenly sensed a gaze staring intently at her from within the thickest part of the smoke. Just as she turned her eyes toward it, a faint, indistinct voice drifted from that direction.

"Leave..."