The Half-Yokai

On a peak within Sugo Unten, amidst the ravaged battlefield, Seimei and the Divine Messenger stood in confrontation. As the Divine Messenger spoke, an expression of clear incredulity appeared on Seimei's face.

"A human? Impossible! How could a human possess power like yours?"

"Why not? The great power of a god can bestow upon us mortals unimaginable, transcendent strength..." With his usual impassive expression, the Divine Messenger looked at Seimei, spreading his hands as he continued.

"Just like myself. I once possessed noble birth and exceptional talent, ultimately achieving great feats and widespread renown throughout the land. Yet, I was merely a humble mortal, ceaselessly struggling through cycles of reincarnation in this human realm... until the divine one saw fit to choose me, granting me the power to transcend it all, elevating me to an existence above both humans and yokai..." The Divine Messenger’s tone began to shift, even carrying a hint of allure.

Facing Seimei, he did not launch a ruthless direct attack as he had with Nura Rihyon and Tamamura; instead, he wasted words here.

"A god? Which god? Which deity?" Seimei asked directly, hoping to glean more information from the Divine Messenger. In response to Seimei’s question, a glint appeared in the Divine Messenger’s eyes.

"If you, too, are willing to accept his power, then you shall know all of this. The divine one would be pleased with someone like you." Finally, the Divine Messenger stated his purpose. Upon hearing this, Seimei paused slightly, then gave a knowing smile.

"So that’s it. Well, I’m afraid I must decline. If I truly wished to transcend the mortal world, I would choose to cultivate as an immortal or a Buddha, not accept this power of unknown origin."

"Is that so... But given the current situation, do you believe you have a choice?" The Divine Messenger said, still self-possessed. Their current states were entirely unequal.

"Of course I... do!"

At that moment, Seimei swiftly brought his hands to his chest, rapidly forming several hand seals. In the four directions around the Divine Messenger, four paper shikigami hidden within the grass suddenly burst into blue flames. After the flames receded, four copies of Seimei appeared.

On the ground, the five Seimeis simultaneously formed a hand seal, and five luminous paths connected beneath their feet, forming a large Five-pointed Star Array. Five thick spiritual power shackles simultaneously bound the Divine Messenger.

"Kotodama — Five Directions Binding Array..."

This was the array version of Seimei’s “Kotodama – Bind” technique, with several times stronger binding power.

Facing the magical array before him, the Divine Messenger, restrained by chains, did not panic. Instead, after looking around, he spoke with a tone of admiration.

"Taking advantage of our conversation... you used small shikigami to set up a Clone Technique around my position, then leveraged the clones to cast a combined spell, ultimately forming an array all by yourself... To achieve all this at such a young age, truly a prodigy." With just a few glances, the Divine Messenger deduced everything Seimei had just done. Clearly, Seimei hadn’t merely been chatting with him.

"This is indeed a powerful binding array, but... with so little spiritual power left, what can you accomplish even if you trap me? How long can your binding array last?" The Divine Messenger continued, looking at Seimei, his expression seemingly expectant.

Indeed, Seimei’s spiritual power had been heavily depleted in the previous battle. Now, as he single-handedly formed an array meant for five people, his remaining spiritual power was rapidly diminishing. If he had no further moves, he would simply wait for his spiritual power to be exhausted.

"Donan, maintain the array for me..."

"Yes, Lord Seimei!" The Feather-Robed Shikigami flew to Seimei’s side, taking his place to maintain the magical array. Seimei’s true body, now free, stared at the Divine Messenger within the array. A transformation began to occur on Seimei himself.

The pupils of Seimei’s red eyes gradually stretched and narrowed, becoming vertical slits, unlike those of humans. Then, a surge of demonic power rose from Seimei’s body. At that moment, Seimei activated the demonic blood hidden within him, borrowing the power of the demon realm!

"You are actually... a hanyo?"

Witnessing the scene before him, the Divine Messenger’s eyes widened slightly. Seimei did not wait for the Divine Messenger to speak further. He extended his hands, whose nails had grown long and sharp, and demonic energy rapidly gathered between them, finally igniting into two clusters of eerie green flames.

"demonic flame... Foxfire!"

With a forward push of both hands, two streams of fire shot forth from Seimei’s palms, burning towards the bound Divine Messenger, completely engulfing and searing his entire body. Instantly, the surrounding air rapidly grew hotter.

Compared to onmyoji spells, yokai power possessed greater destructive force. Although Seimei’s demonic fire was stronger than that of ordinary yokai, he was not certain it could decisively defeat the Divine Messenger. He could only continue to sweat and maintain the output, hoping the flames could suppress the Divine Messenger’s formidable regenerative ability and gradually incinerate him.

However, the current reality was that Seimei’s power had not yet reached that level.

"Prison Dragon Shatter!"

From within the flames, a purplish-red beam of light shot skyward, carrying with it a powerful storm that scattered the fire. The immense energy shattered the binding array, sending Donan flying far away, and Seimei’s four clones instantly dissipated.

The astonishing energy that erupted from the Demonic Sword instantly broke through Seimei’s arrangement. Just as Seimei stood stunned, a figure lunged out of the dust cloud ahead, attacking him at extreme speed. Seimei was too slow to dodge and was directly caught.

"Ugh... Ugh-ugh..."

The young onmyoji was gripped by the neck with one hand by the Divine Messenger, who effortlessly lifted him. Struggling painfully due to difficulty breathing, Seimei tried to pry the Divine Messenger’s hand away with his own, using his yokai power, but it was all in vain.

"So, you are a hanyo... No wonder. I was wondering why a young, exceptionally talented onmyoji like you would harbor such profound darkness deep within. It seems this is the reason..." The Divine Messenger’s expression remained perfectly calm, yet his words caused Seimei to struggle and speak.

"Dark... darkness?"

"Why do you think I value you so highly? It’s not just your talent; it’s also the powerful darkness lurking deep within your heart..." The Divine Messenger slowly revealed his reason for favoring Seimei. Seimei, however, clearly would not concede to his words.

"Heh... it seems... your perception isn’t all that great..."

"This isn’t something I perceive; it’s this sword. As for whether this perception is correct or not, we can test it right now." As he spoke, the Divine Messenger raised the Demonic Sword in his hand, pointing its tip at Seimei’s chest, intending to pierce him and infuse him with the power of blood sacrifice.

Just then, a whistling wind echoed from the distant horizon. The Divine Messenger paused, lowering his sword and looking in that direction. A dark figure was rapidly approaching from the far horizon, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

"Let him go..."

Mid-air, Miketsu, now clad in a new black robe, tightly gripped her Demonic Fang Great Blade. She had sprinted at incredible speed to a position diagonally above the Divine Messenger, poised to strike downwards.

"Another one..."

Faced with the sudden appearance of Miketsu, the Divine Messenger did not panic. He swung the sword, which he had intended to stab into Seimei, diagonally upwards towards Miketsu, aiming to use his power, which surpassed that of ordinary yokai, to drive Miketsu back.

With a piercing, ear-splitting crash, the Demonic Blade and the Demonic Sword collided. Then, the Divine Messenger realized something was amiss: an utterly terrifying force was being transmitted from that Demonic Blade...

Without fully releasing her Celestial Maiden Form, and still maintaining her god-like immense strength, Miketsu gripped the Demonic Fang Blade, swinging it downwards towards the Divine Messenger. The Demonic Blade slammed fiercely onto the Demonic Sword tightly held by the Divine Messenger.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by the sound of earth and rock shattering, the stone beneath the Divine Messenger’s feet cracked from the unbearable pressure. Half of the Divine Messenger’s body was driven into the ground like a stake by Miketsu, his sword-wielding arm’s bones shattered from end to end, muscles ripped apart inch by inch, and his entire skeletal frame was dislodged. His entire right arm was nearly torn off.

At this moment, the Divine Messenger’s previously unperturbed expression finally twisted into a frown.