The Fujiwara

At the eastern foot of Mount Inari stood a dilapidated fox statue. Long ago, mudslides caused by heavy rains had sent it tumbling down from the mountain above. Since foxes served as the divine messengers of Inari, such statues were a common sight throughout the mountain.

Beneath the weathered and cracked fox statue, a white-haired girl wearing a somewhat dirty and tattered kosode sat with her legs sprawled out. She glanced around at the sky as it began to darken, her expression turning into an impatient pout.

"What time is it? Is that person just playing a joke on me?" Mokou’s voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction mixed with a trace of anxiety. After all, she had come here to find the only person in this world who knew her true nature since she had awakened; she was worried that the person wouldn't show up, leaving her with nowhere to go.

Mokou scratched her head and pulled a small scrap of paper from her sleeve, frowning as she tried to decipher the characters written on it.

"Heian-kyo... a human town called Fushimi... beside that, the fox statue at the eastern foot of Inari... Tsk, this handwriting is so hard to read. Did I get it wrong?"

"You didn't misread it..."

Just as Mokou was staring at the paper, a familiar voice came from behind her. She spun around abruptly and saw Miketsu dressed in a kariginu—an onmyoji's attire—with a look of slight embarrassment on her face.

"Ah, Hao, you're finally here. I thought I'd misread the characters and found the wrong place," Mokou said bluntly as she looked at Miketsu.

"Well... you didn't, I just arrived a bit late..." Miketsu replied, her mouth twitching slightly. She knew her handwriting wasn't great, but this was the first time someone had criticized it so directly to her face.

"Since you've arrived in Heian-kyo, I assume you've finished your business, Mokou?" Miketsu asked, skillfully changing the subject.

"Yeah... more or less. I went to Fujiwara-kyo... or rather, the site of the old capital. It's nothing like what I remember. I couldn't find a single trace of my original home... I was lost for a while because of it. I only recently decided to come find you in the new capital," Mokou explained. Her eyes drifted momentarily before she hesitated and continued, "By the way, didn't you say you'd test the attitude of the clan here for me? Well, how did it go?"

Hearing Mokou's question, Miketsu's face took on a meaningful expression.

"You've arrived just in time. The descendants of your elder brothers are in serious trouble right now."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

"Let me tell you, the situation is..."

……

The sky gradually grew dark as day faded into night. Deep within a forest far from Heian-kyo, the vengeful spirit of Prince Nagaya was no longer acting in a wild frenzy within the magical array formed by Minamoto no Yorimasa and his men. Its burning soulfire had calmed, and its constant roaring had finally subsided.

By this point, Minamoto no Yorimasa had completed his spell to control Prince Nagaya. The prince was now his shikigami, bound to obey his every command.

"Divine Messenger, the conversion of Prince Nagaya into a shikigami is complete," Yorimasa said respectfully to the Divine Messenger standing beside him. The Divine Messenger gave a slight nod before speaking immediately.

"Release Prince Nagaya. Have him possess and control Fujiwara no Saneyori to seize the Vermilion Bird Seal! The Fujiwara are now weak and exhausted; nothing can stop him!"

"Understood!"

Following the Divine Messenger's command, Yorimasa's hands flew through a series of seals as he began to chant. The once-calm Prince Nagaya became active again within the array. The skull formed of soulfire looked up at the sky, let out a roar, and shot upward like a meteor, streaking toward distant Heian-kyo at high speed.

The armored Divine Messenger stood in place, watching the spirit of Prince Nagaya vanish into the distance, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"The power of the Vermilion Bird Divine General... how many rounds of that can Heian-kyo withstand?"

……

Heian-kyo was cold and silent at night. Under the Kanpaku's orders, the entire city was under strict guard. Samurai and guards patrolled everywhere with torches, while onmyoji monitored the demon realm using spiritual vision from the shadows.

In the Upper Capital District, the cold and empty Fujiwara residence was still thick with the demonic energy of the curse. No one dared to live within its walls. Deep beneath the massive manor, inside the treasury, the Fujiwara clan members protected by numerous restrictions had reached their breaking point.

Whether it was magical arrays, talismans, or spirit tools, all of them required spiritual power to function. This power was supplied by the Fujiwara's onmyoji, and after an entire day of fighting the curse, their spiritual reserves were completely depleted.

Every Fujiwara noble present was gasping for breath. Tortured by the illness, even speaking was difficult, and they could only lie on the ground groaning in pain.

Fujiwara no Saneyori sat in place, his face pale. Although he looked better than the other nobles, his status had declined significantly, and his various abilities were heavily suppressed by the encroaching power of the curse.

As the state of the casters weakened, the surrounding restrictions began to fade. The spirit tools and talismans grew dimmer by more than a single grade.

At this moment, more onmyoji from other families were rushing toward the Fujiwara residence to maintain the weakening barriers, but the crisis arrived before they could.

"Fu... ji... wa... ra..."

A hiss echoed from the dark clouds above the Fujiwara residence. Suddenly, a streak of green light shot down from the murky sky. Upon closer inspection, it was the soulfire skull flying at high speed.

The vengeful spirit of Prince Nagaya charged into the Fujiwara residence, using its spectral nature to phase through the thick stone walls. It invaded the underground treasury directly, slamming into the weakened layers of restrictions.

"It's here! Give it your all, strengthen the... cough... cough-cough..." Seeing the physical manifestation of Prince Nagaya's spirit suddenly invade, Fujiwara no Saneyori immediately prepared to activate a technique to counter it. However, a violent coughing fit interrupted his movements. Like Saneyori, the other onmyoji were either out of spiritual power or too physically weak to organize an effective defense against the sudden intruder.

Purple-red energy erupted from Prince Nagaya's ghostly green soulfire. In one stroke, it shattered the fragile layers of restrictions and lunged into the center of the array. Before the stunned eyes of everyone present, it possessed the body of Fujiwara no Saneyori.

"Pos... session... this..." As the green soulfire merged entirely into Saneyori's body, his frame began to tremble violently, and a green glow appeared in his eyes.

"Saneyori...!"

Fujiwara no Tadahira, who had been in a daze, cried out in alarm at the sight, but he collapsed back onto the floor, his strength failing him.

Under everyone's gaze, Saneyori stopped trembling. He stood up unsteadily, his eyes now overflowing with ghostly green light.

Saneyori's expression was vacant as he scanned his surroundings without a trace of emotion. Then, he slowly extended his hands and formed a hand seal. Seeing this seal, Fujiwara no Tadahira’s face turned pale with horror.

"Quickly, stop him!"

Although Tadahira gave the order, everyone around him was too weakened by pain and illness to move. They could only watch as red spiritual energy began to seep from Saneyori's body. He slowly opened his mouth and spoke in a monotone voice.

"Vermilion Bird..."

"What a pathetic sight."

Just then, a crisp female voice full of vigor suddenly rang out. The possessed Saneyori seemed to sense something and stopped his movement. He turned his head toward the source of the voice. There, a white-haired girl in simple clothing was walking toward him with a calm expression, surveying the surrounding scene as she approached.

"I never imagined that the descendants of the Fujiwara could be brought to this point by a single vengeful spirit..." Fujiwara no Mokou said, then fixed her gaze on the possessed Saneyori.

"You must be Prince Nagaya, the Minister of the Left. I know you hate the entire Fujiwara clan, but what's the point of seeking revenge on a group of juniors? This mess was caused by my four brothers. If you have the guts, come for me."