Messenger

Between the tall trees, beneath the high canopies, sunlight scattered down through the gaps in the leaves, as three extremely fast black figures swiftly passed through the trees.

These were three flying yokai, with black feathers on their backs, dressed in light, fitted attire, wearing half-face masks, and carrying various weapons at their waists. They flew at high speed between the tall trees with solemn expressions. Not far behind them was a group of seven similar yokai, identical in both adornment and features.

This was a chase. Both sides were the same type of yokai, and although their speed was extremely fast, the distance between them was slowly closing. The reason was that among the three pursued yokai, the leader was carrying a young yokai boy, who appeared to be around twelve or thirteen years old.

Dressed in a long white robe, wearing a small hat, with silver-grey short hair and a handsome face, the yokai boy, though young, had exceptionally dark and broad wings on his back. At this moment, he was being held by the leading fleeing yokai, speeding forward.

“Uhamaru… are you alright…” The yokai boy looked up from the tight embrace, speaking softly in a weak voice.

“It’s alright, I will definitely get you away from these traitors…” The yokai named Uhamaru replied earnestly to the boy in his arms, then immediately shouted loudly to his subordinates behind him.

“Mutsumaru, Umezuki… hold them back!”

A male and a female voice responded to Uhamaru’s words, immediately turning to face the pursuing group. They each drew a tachi from their waists, and with a single slash in mid-air, two demonic wind blades flew towards the pursuers. The pursuing group was caught somewhat off guard by their sudden counterattack; although they dodged urgently, one still had a wing severed and fell to the ground.

The pursuing group immediately organized a counterattack. In an instant, countless wind blades assailed the two who were covering the rear. Under the invisible barrage of wind blades, both were struck multiple times and plummeted to the ground.

Benefiting from the time bought by his subordinates’ lives, Uhamaru suddenly accelerated, widening the distance significantly during the pursuers’ counterattack, causing them to lose sight of him. Just as Uhamaru was about to continue forward, an unexpected change occurred.

“Demon Subjugation!”

Countless talismans flew from the front, numerous and dense. Uhamaru couldn’t dodge in time and many were affixed to him. Instantly, his demonic power was greatly suppressed by these sudden talismans, and his previously extremely fast speed suddenly slowed considerably.

“What…”

Uhamaru tried every possible way to remove the talismans from his body, but at that moment, the pursuers behind him also caught up due to his deceleration.

Showing no mercy, countless wind blades shot out from the pursuing group. Uhamaru’s body was directly cut with large gashes, and one wind blade even sliced across his neck, severing his head.

“Uhamaru!!” The yokai boy plummeted with a cry of alarm, falling heavily to the ground. His head suffered a heavy blow from a storefront stone, causing him to feel dizzy and collapse onto the ground.

In a haze, the yokai boy could see countless figures surrounding him, most of whom were his familiar former companions, while a few were humans dressed in black, with their faces concealed.

“Keep this young one… we can use him to complete the next step of the plan…” In his ringing ears, the boy vaguely heard a conversation, but the voices grew fainter and fainter, and the scene before him grew darker and darker.

Human Onmyoji… why are they with the traitors of our clan…

This was the yokai boy’s only thought before losing consciousness.

…

In Heian-kyo, within the Onmyoryo, Kamo no Tadayuki sat as usual in the room at the top of the Five-Story Pagoda, drawing various astrological charts and Onmyojutsu while listening to his son report on various situations.

“A new order for Heian-kyo’s night? Is that Owl’s goal?” Kamo no Tadayuki stopped writing and looked at Kamo no Yasunori, who was kneeling beside him.

“Yes, this is information brought back by Senior Assistant Masamasa, reportedly obtained from one of Owl's important subordinates.” Kamo no Yasunori respectfully said, beside Kamo no Tadayuki.

“Heh, she’s truly not just ordinarily ambitious. Seimei, tell me, what do you think of this so-called new order?” Kamo no Tadayuki casually glanced at the young Onmyoji Seimei, who was standing by the railing looking up at the sky, and said calmly.

Facing his teacher’s inquiry, Seimei slowly turned around, unfurled the folding fan in his hand, thought for a moment, and then slowly said.

“A new order for the night… I think ‘night’ here refers to the demon realm. Owl's intention is to become the ruler of the demon realm in Heian-kyo and even the entire Kinki region, to become… the Yokai Lord of Heian-kyo…” Seimei spoke and thought, pausing midway before continuing.

“Since there is night, there is also day. I believe Owl's meaning of the ‘order of day’ refers to the human realm, which is the Onmyoryo. And with day and night indistinguishable, coexisting, judging by Owl's style of action, I think she also hopes to establish a stable relationship with the Onmyoryo, with mutual recognition.”

Seimei expressed his views to Kamo no Tadayuki. He had actually known about Owl for a long time.

“An excellent analysis, as expected of you, Seimei.” Kamo no Tadayuki glanced approvingly at Seimei, agreeing with his disciple’s statement.

“Although this Owl is very different from ordinary yokai, appearing to be a stable individual capable of peaceful coexistence, her desire to become the Yokai Lord in this capital city is absolutely unacceptable. This concerns the authority of the Imperial court…

“Regarding this Owl, we must begin to deal with her cautiously. Fortunately, although her current strength is extremely formidable, she has not yet reached the level of a Yokai Lord. As long as that is the case, we can still manage…”

Kamo no Tadayuki had not finished speaking when a sudden whooshing sound came from the sky. Kamo and his son, along with Seimei, were all drawn by this sudden noise, simultaneously looking in the direction from which the sound came. They saw a black shadow in the distant sky rapidly growing larger. An extremely fast figure swept in from afar and landed on the railing of the Five-Story Pagoda’s top floor. The accompanying airflow directly swept through the surroundings of the Five-Story Pagoda; the bells on the eaves jingled wildly, and many Onmyo-sei lost their balance and fell to the ground.

Kamo no Tadayuki had previously used a spell to prevent the strong winds from blowing into the room and disturbing objects. Now, the three at the top of the Five-Story Pagoda could observe the sudden, unwelcome guest on the railing at close range.

It was a short-haired woman dressed in black, wearing tall geta, with dark black wings on her back, and a half-face mask. At this moment, she stood on the railing at the top of the Five-Story Pagoda, looking down at the three people inside the room.

“Karasu-tengu? A yokai?! How did you break through the barrier and get in!”

Seeing this scene, Kamo no Yasunori immediately wanted to attack, but Kamo no Tadayuki stopped him with a hand. He looked solemnly at the yokai who dared to directly invade the Onmyoryo, and slowly said.

“Are you a messenger of Sugo Unten?”

Seeing Kamo no Tadayuki, the Karasu-tengu bowed slightly, then said with a hint of arrogance.

“I am ‘Messenger’ Aoi, sent by the Great Clan Leader to deliver a message to the great Onmyoji of humanity.”