Defense

Roku, who was guiding the Feather Blade Storm, was suddenly struck on the head by a several-hundred-ton rock, then pinned by it as he plummeted directly from several hundred meters in the sky to the ground. The moment he hit the earth, the immense force from above and below flattened him into a meaty pulp. Immediately after, the Spirit Blast Array on the massive rock activated, and the explosion's white light engulfed all the crushed remains, evaporating them.

After the violent explosion, everything fell silent. Miketsu, in her Celestial Maiden Form, slowly descended from the sky into the deep valley where Roku had fallen. When she reached the bottom, all she saw, apart from the lingering dense spiritual and demonic power, was the large crater created by the explosion and scattered rubble.

Within that crater, Miketsu found Roku's sole remnant: the Broken Blade that had been thrust into his body. Clinging to it was a piece of writhing, decaying flesh. Miketsu could perceive Roku's last wisp of soul upon it, making its final, agonizing struggle, and faint, painful roars seemed to emanate from within.

“Great Tengu… I am… a Great Tengu…”

Miketsu silently picked up the Broken Blade and tore off the rotting flesh. The piece of flesh, upon direct contact with her skin, was ignited by her Demon-Slaying Power, turning into flames and vanishing into nothingness. The blade, now devoid of the flesh, rapidly calcified and crumbled away. This scene was identical to what happened with Mokou before.

Why did this blade turn into bone? What kind of bone was it? This question arose in Miketsu's mind, but without enough supporting information, she couldn't make a definitive judgment. She merely filed away this peculiar point in her memory.

And at that moment, the familiar voice echoed in Miketsu's mind once more.

‘Tsk tsk tsk… what a pitiful end, nothing left, not even a heart.’

Hearing Dakini-ten’s voice in her mind, Miketsu’s mouth twitched slightly, then she spoke.

“You certainly are fixated on hearts.”

‘You’d know if you tasted one. Especially the hearts of villains so consumed by obsession, so utterly wicked yet never perceiving their own evil; they have a distinct flavor,’ Dakini-ten continued, her words drawing several dark lines across Miketsu’s forehead as she genuinely felt that, in some ways, this entity truly resembled a yokai.

“Um… I appreciate the thought, but I don’t think I’ll ever be interested in such things.”

‘Hehe, what a shame then…’

Ending her conversation with Dakini-ten, Miketsu began to seriously ponder her recent battle with Roku. She had to admit, Roku, having acquired the Tengu-do, was the strongest opponent she had encountered to date. In that fight, it would have been truly difficult to deal with him if she hadn’t used Dakini-ten’s power.

Roku, who had devoured the Tengu-do, far surpassed the usual 'yokai generals' like Demon-Faced Centipede and Torin in strength. However, due to the Tengu-do's constant rejection, he still fell short of being a Yokai Lord like a true Great Tengu. Nonetheless, thanks to the Blood Sacrifice power, Roku indeed surpassed a Great Tengu in terms of resilience.

Miketsu had previously experienced the genuine Great Tengu Kakuhanbo up close; his demonic power was indeed significantly stronger than Roku's. Roku's demonic power only barely reached Kakuhanbo’s level when he was charging his ultimate attack, but Miketsu quickly smashed him to the ground and dispatched him in one go. If it had been Kakuhanbo, perhaps his best ultimate attack could have been unleashed quickly, without needing to charge for so long.

After this battle, Miketsu had a preliminary understanding of the general power level of a Yokai Lord. She was also somewhat surprised by the power contained within Heian-kyo; a single Yokai Lord attacking was instantly annihilated. The Four Symbols Corresponding Grand Array truly lived up to its reputation as the Onmyoryo’s ultimate trump card. The presence of the four “Divine Generals” was indeed enough to deter Yokai Lords from all directions. If not for the Four Symbols Array’s limited range, the Onmyoryo might have swept away all the demon realm’s Yokai Lords in one fell swoop.

Here, Miketsu was unaware of the side effects of activating the Four Symbols Corresponding Grand Array. Seimei wouldn't reveal such a secret while surrounded by a multitude of yokai.

Miketsu’s contemplation lasted only a short while. Knowing this was no time to daze, she shook her head to clear her thoughts, then called out loudly to the sky.

“Makoto!”

…

At Sugo Ungo, atop a certain mountain peak, Seimei, Nura Rihyon, and Tamamura launched a joint surprise attack to stop the Divine Messenger who was preparing to join the Tengu battle.

On the surface, the surprise attack was highly successful; the Divine Messenger endured all their assaults with virtually no retaliation. Just as the trio believed their mission accomplished, the situation on the scene took a drastic turn.

On the wide peak, the surrounding environment had completely transformed; almost all the trees in the surrounding forest were snapped and fallen, and rocks lay shattered in disarray.

The Divine Messenger, almost entirely unharmed, stood at the center of the area. In his hand, he gripped an ancient Demonic Sword. From the sword's hilt, purple blood vessels sprouted, coiling around the Divine Messenger's arm and piercing into his skin, as a faint purplish-red aura enveloped the blade.

The Divine Messenger's expression remained calm and unruffled, as usual. Some distance ahead of him stood the young onmyoji, Seimei, his gaze serious, panting heavily, and his body trembling slightly.

Behind Seimei were Nura Rihyon and Tamamura, both severely wounded, with several large gashes on their bodies. They were currently semi-conscious and receiving treatment from Donan.

“You truly are remarkable, all of you, humans and yokai alike. So young, yet so powerful…” the Divine Messenger slowly spoke with a tone of admiration. Both Tamamura and Nura Rihyon, as yokai, and Seimei, as a human, were exceedingly young, yet they displayed considerable strength.

“Especially you, young onmyoji. To master so many spells at such an age and withstand me for so long, truly a genius…” the Divine Messenger added, looking at Seimei with a peculiar glint in his eyes.

Although Seimei and his companions' surprise attack had been highly successful, inflicting countless fatal wounds upon the Divine Messenger, these wounds healed completely in an instant. He then drew his sword and counterattacked, formally engaging the trio. Yet, in just two or three rounds, Nura Rihyon and Tamamura, who were fighting the Divine Messenger in close combat, were each struck with several deep gashes.

As a ranged support onmyoji, Seimei urgently used his shikigami to retrieve Nura Rihyon and Tamamura, then employed various wondrous and illusory arts to buy time. However, the Divine Messenger quickly dispelled all these techniques.

Throughout this process, the Divine Messenger seemed captivated by Seimei's talent; he deliberately held back, attempting to test Seimei's limits. Seimei, in turn, used every technique he had ever learned to counter the Divine Messenger, until now, he was almost completely drained of spiritual power.

“You… what exactly are you?” Facing an insurmountable opponent, Seimei asked in a low voice. The entity before him was truly too bizarre; he couldn't determine what it was at all.

“Me? I am, of course, human…” the Divine Messenger replied slowly, a gleam in his eyes.