Interception

Heian-kyo at dusk. As the sun lowered and Oma-ga-toki descended, people who had ventured out during the day hurried back to their homes. The night would usher in the time of the Yokai, and if one remained outside, who knew what misfortune might befall them.

The city was as tranquil as ever; apart from the clear ringing of bells beneath the pagoda eaves stirred by the wind, there was only the cawing of black crows in the sky.

Kamo no Tadayuki sat as usual in the library atop the tall pagoda, alone, copying astrological charts and incantations. During this process, a sudden intuition struck him. After a moment of concentration, he paused his brush and pulled a small white slip of paper from his desk.

Kamo no Tadayuki wrote the four characters "Abe no Seimei" on the slip, then tossed it into the air. The slip folded itself in mid-air, eventually forming a mouth-like shape.

The paper mouth flew on its own to Kamo no Tadayuki's ear, rapidly opening and closing, softly recounting something. The more Kamo no Tadayuki listened, the more his brows furrowed, and his face grew darker.

Finally, the paper mouth stopped moving. Kamo no Tadayuki, his face extremely grave, snatched it from the air and immediately stood up, walking quickly to the railing, gazing at the distant sky ablaze with red twilight.

His hands rapidly performed divinations. Kamo no Tadayuki took a deep breath, then said in a low voice.

"Fujimurasaki…"

No sooner had Kamo no Tadayuki spoken than a black-haired boy in elaborate robes appeared beside him, bowing respectfully.

"Immediately convey this message to Lord Saneyori and Lord Mitsunaka. Tell them to depart at once to intercept. I shall go ahead." As he spoke, Kamo no Tadayuki handed the folded paper to the boy beside him. The boy nodded, then vanished from the spot.

After the boy disappeared, Kamo no Tadayuki threw out a white paper effigy, which quickly burned with an ethereal blue flame in mid-air.

"Zenki!"

The ethereal blue flames expanded rapidly, and a massive figure materialized from within. It was a giant Yokai, over four meters tall, with massive dark-yellow wings on its back, wearing a long-nosed Tengu mask, and clad in the robes of a Shugenja.

Zenki and Goki. These were the soul-bound Shikigami passed down through the Kamo family from their ancestor En no Ozunu. Zenki, among them, was a Tengu, and moreover, a former Great Tengu.

Kamo no Tadayuki settled onto Zenki's back, and Zenki then conjured a fierce wind, soaring into the sky, flying straight towards the horizon at an incredible speed.

To intercept Kakuhanbo alone was an extremely perilous option even for Kamo no Tadayuki. But according to the information Seimei relayed, Kakuhanbo had to be intercepted at a considerable distance from Heian-kyo; otherwise, the accumulated Tengu Wind he wielded would directly destroy everything. Even if Kamo no Tadayuki remained unharmed, Heian-kyo would suffer catastrophic losses.

Therefore, Kamo no Tadayuki had no time to gather the other Senior Secretaries, inform them, and then launch a joint attack. He could only use a Shikigami to inform the other two and depart ahead. Among the three Senior Secretaries of the Onmyoryo, only he, with his ancestral Shikigami Zenki, was the fastest. Only he had the ability to intercept Kakuhanbo at the furthest possible distance from Heian-kyo, thereby minimizing the damage the Tengu Wind would inflict upon Heian-kyo.

Kamo no Tadayuki formed the Wind-Repelling Incantation with his hand, warding off the intense wind pressure caused by the high-speed flight, and urged Zenki to fly at maximum speed towards the direction Seimei had indicated.

Maintaining such high speed, Kamo no Tadayuki flew for a long time. Finally, he noticed a patch of darkness on the distant horizon, which stood out starkly against the evening twilight.

Although he felt no demonic energy, Kamo no Tadayuki knew he was nearing his target.

Kamo no Tadayuki formed hand seals and began to rapidly chant incantations silently. Spiritual power continuously surged from his body, and a powerful jutsu-shiki rapidly took shape.

"Spirit Spell Mimicry—White-Robed Kannon…"

Kamo no Tadayuki clasped his hands together. The spiritual power emanating from him quickly condensed around him into a giant humanoid phantom, over ten meters tall, dressed in flowing white robes, its precise features indistinguishable. Within the phantom, countless incantations flowed like blood.

Facing the Great Tengu of Sugo Ungo, a powerful Yokai Lord, Kamo no Tadayuki held nothing back. He immediately unleashed his strongest jutsu from the outset, a mimicry of a divine being constructed purely from incantations. Through it, Kamo no Tadayuki could amplify the power of any of his spells tenfold.

From the distant, dark sky, an incredibly swift black afterimage streaked towards Kamo no Tadayuki, and Kamo no Tadayuki met it head-on.

"Kotodama—Stop!"

On the palm of the giant white-robed phantom, countless incantations converged into a large character for "Stop," which then pushed forward, colliding with the rapidly approaching afterimage.

In that instant, a dazzling light and deafening roar erupted from the sky, reverberating in all directions.

...

Hundreds of kilometers from where Kamo no Tadayuki and Kakuhanbo's conflict erupted, Miketsu and the others continued to fly. They had not chosen to return to Heian-kyo, but instead continued onward towards Sugo Ungo.

Kakuhanbo's flight speed surpassed the speed of sound, making it impossible for them to keep up. The time it would take them just to return would be enough for Kakuhanbo to lay waste to Heian-kyo several times over; thus, it was a complete waste of time to even consider it.

Therefore, Kakuhanbo could only be left to Kamo no Tadayuki and the other two Onmyo Taiyu, while Miketsu and the others continued their rush towards Sugo Ungo, hoping that after dealing with Roku there, they might find a way to remotely restore Kakuhanbo.

With anxious emotions, everyone continued towards Sugo Ungo. During this, Nura Rihyon posed some questions to Seimei.

"Hey, Onmyoji, is your master very powerful? Can he defeat a Great Tengu?"

Seimei, riding on the white crane, turned his head to look at Nura Rihyon and spoke directly.

"My esteemed master is the current head of the Kamo Onmyo Clan, the chief Senior Secretary of the Onmyoryo, and currently the foremost figure in Onmyodo. It would not be an exaggeration to say he is the strongest Onmyoji of this era."

"That powerful, huh? Then wouldn't that just..." Hearing Seimei's words, Nura Rihyon was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but before he could finish speaking, Seimei immediately continued.

"Even so, the most my esteemed master can do is probably just halt Kakuhanbo. To defeat Kakuhanbo is absolutely impossible." Seimei's words, once uttered, left Nura Rihyon somewhat stunned.

"Didn't you just say your master is the strongest Onmyoji? And he still can't win?"

"Even the strongest Onmyoji is, ultimately, still human. Since they are human, there are limits to their existence, whereas a Yokai Lord's existence transcends those limits... Therefore, no matter how powerful a human is, they cannot stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a Yokai Lord." Gazing at the red twilight in the sky ahead, Seimei spoke softly, his words leaving Nura Rihyon incredulous.

"Hey, hey, are you serious? If your strongest human Onmyoji can't defeat a Yokai Lord, then how has your Heian-kyo survived until now...? Or rather, how do you deter all these Yokai Lords?" Nura Rihyon continued to ask, perplexed, and Seimei responded with a slight smile.

"Heh heh... What deters the Yokai Lords has never been the Onmyoji themselves..."

"Not the Onmyoji themselves... then what is it..."

Nura Rihyon murmured, bewildered, while Miketsu, who had listened to Seimei's words and pondered for a moment, spoke softly.

"The Four Symbols Corresponding Grand Array…"