The True Objective

As the violent explosion gradually faded above Heian-kyo and the blinding brilliance slowly dissipated, darkness once again shrouded the canopy of the capital. Within that blackness, sparks of fire emerged from the void, gradually converging. Amidst a soft glow of firelight, Mokou's form reconstituted itself once more.

"Whew... Finally back to normal... That’s the first time I’ve been wiped out so... completely—aaaaah!" Even as she spoke, Mokou found herself plummeting from the high heavens. She hadn't realized that when she self-destructed, she was over a thousand meters up; naturally, when her mass returned, gravity reclaimed her, and she went into a freefall.

Experiencing the sensation of falling from such a height for the first time, she couldn't help but cry out. The fierce, cold wind whipped against her face. Looking down at the vast expanse of the earth below, Mokou felt her heart tighten.

First I was blown to bits, and now I'm going to be smashed to a pulp... I’m experiencing two ways to die tonight that I’ve never had to deal with before. I hope the sensation of being turned into a meat patty isn't too unpleasant...

Just as Mokou was thinking this, a whistling sound tore through the air beside her. Miketsu, trailing a golden afterimage, flew toward the falling Mokou at high speed and caught her with pinpoint accuracy. Miketsu used her monstrous strength to tuck Mokou against her waist, halting the freefall. However, the accumulated kinetic energy wasn't so easily dissipated; Mokou’s waist slammed into Miketsu’s arm, snapping her spine instantly.

"Gah! Ow-ow-ow-ow!! My back is practically broken! Could you work on your technique a bit?"

"There, there. It’s not like it matters in the end, right? Or would you have preferred to experience what it feels like to be flattened like a pancake?" Miketsu replied with a faint smile to Mokou’s complaints. Mokou merely puffed out her cheeks and said nothing more.

Ultimately, Miketsu carried Mokou down to a gentle landing. Once her feet were on solid ground, Mokou let out a long sigh of relief. Miketsu stood beside her and asked a question.

"So? Has that fellow been reduced to ash and smoke?" Miketsu was, of course, referring to the vengeful spirit of Prince Nagaya. Spiritual power could damage spiritual entities, and the tyrannical spiritual energy Mokou produced by burning her own flesh was of an extremely high concentration. In an explosion of that magnitude, the spirit of Prince Nagaya clearly could not have survived.

"Yeah... I can't feel anything from him anymore. He’s probably gone for good..." Mokou said, carefully checking her own body. Then, her brow furrowed slightly as she continued, "My body has completely regenerated... and overall, it feels the same as before... except for here."

As she spoke, Mokou rubbed her forehead. There, the faint mark of a crimson bird was still visible.

"This is..." Seeing the mark on Mokou's brow, Miketsu was slightly startled. From the sky, she had indeed seen Fujiwara no Saneyori, controlled by Prince Nagaya, hit Mokou’s forehead with some kind of spell. Was this what remained?

"I don't know what this thing is. Even after I completely regenerated, it was still on me. It feels like it can be 'opened'... That spirit kept trying to activate it when it possessed me. It’s still there in my mind... some kind of mark or seal?" Facing Miketsu’s questioning gaze, Mokou recalled the situation when she was possessed. In the initial stages, she had maintained a blurry awareness, enough to read some of Prince Nagaya's thoughts.

"A seal? ...Could it be..." Listening to Mokou's description, Miketsu’s eyes widened slightly. She suddenly remembered something Seimei had once told her regarding the Four Symbols Corresponding Grand Array of Heian-kyo. In her memory, the essence of the Four Symbols Array was that the Four Symbols Divine Generals would use special seals to connect to the Four Symbols Altars, thereby drawing power from the ley lines to exert the strength of a deity.

Previously, she had heard from Fujiwara no Kanehira that the Three Great Clans each held one of the seals, and the Fujiwara Clan happened to hold the Vermilion Bird Seal... Seimei had also mentioned that his teacher, Kamo no Tadayuki, was the Azure Dragon Divine General who held the Azure Dragon Seal. It was highly likely that Fujiwara no Saneyori and Minamoto no Mitsunaka, who held the same rank of Onmyo Taiyu, were also Divine Generals. That meant the mark Prince Nagaya forced onto Mokou while controlling Saneyori... was actually the Vermilion Bird Seal. In terms of appearance, it fit perfectly!

If that was the case, did the masterminds who manipulated Prince Nagaya to weaken the Fujiwara Clan and eventually possess Saneyori do it specifically to seize the Vermilion Bird Seal? And judging by Mokou’s description, they were prepared to activate it immediately after taking it. This meant they weren't after the seal itself, but the activation of it!

Expanding her line of thought further, the previous incident at Sugo Unten had directly caused the activation of the Azure Dragon Seal. In this Prince Nagaya incident, if she and Mokou hadn't intervened in time, the activation of the Vermilion Bird Seal would have been an unavoidable certainty.

This meant... the mastermind behind this event was very likely the same entity from the previous one. Was it that samurai carrying the bizarre demonic sword, suspected to be of ancient imperial blood? Was their true target the Four Symbols Corresponding Grand Array of Heian-kyo?

As these thoughts connected, Miketsu’s expression darkened. Mokou clearly noticed the change in her demeanor and asked curiously.

"Hey, what are you thinking about? Why do you look so grim?"

"It’s nothing... just some realizations." Miketsu shook her head slightly. She then looked at Mokou with a solemn expression and continued in a serious tone.

"Mokou... I must tell you now that the mark on your forehead is something of immense significance. You must treat it with the utmost caution in the future. Never activate it unless it is absolutely necessary! Otherwise, there could be grave consequences!"

"Uh... is it really that scary? But if I don't activate it, then this thing is completely useless to me, right?" Mokou was clearly a bit intimidated by Miketsu's words.

"In any case, when the Fujiwara family comes to handle the aftermath, they should be able to explain everything about this seal to you in detail. Also, I believe this seal might have other uses besides just activation..."

"Anyway... for the specifics, you need to communicate well with the Fujiwara of this era—the descendants of your brothers. You are their ancestor and their savior. I think you can get along quite well," Miketsu continued. She could already see countless torches approaching from the distance. These were people coming from within Heian-kyo, likely sent by the Fujiwara Clan.

"Get along well, huh..." Mokou muttered to herself, glancing at the unconscious Fujiwara no Saneyori lying nearby and then at the countless torches approaching in the distance.

...

Upper Capital District, Heian-kyo, Fujiwara Residence.

The end of Prince Nagaya's curse liberated the entire Fujiwara Clan from the plague. Thanks to their vast wealth and timely response, although some had died, the vast majority of the family survived, and the core members were almost entirely unaffected.

The illness brought by the curse would begin to heal once the curse was removed, though it would leave some lingering weakness. Therefore, the Fujiwara nobles should have been resting and recovering in their own rooms at this hour. However, the reality was quite different.

In the darkness of the night, the Grand Hall of the Fujiwara Residence was brightly lit. A large group of Fujiwara nobles, having just emerged from the underground treasury, were gathered here. They stood in neat rows on the floor according to their age and status. Directly in front of them was a raised wooden dais. In the center of this platform, at the focus of everyone’s gaze—the seat of the Head of House—sat Mokou in her fine robes, her body stiff and rigid.

"We pay our respects to the Great Ancestor..."

Led by Fujiwara no Tadahira, the crowd of Fujiwara nobles bowed in unison. Seeing this, Mokou’s mouth twitched, and she felt incredibly out of place.

In Mokou's memory, such family honors were only ever accorded to her father or grandfather. Furthermore, because the scale of the Fujiwara Clan back then was nowhere near as large as it was now, the spectacle Mokou was witnessing far surpassed anything her father or grandfather had ever received... Mokou simply couldn't adapt to this scene. How was she supposed to 'get along well' with them? They wouldn't even speak to her normally...

Feeling a wave of panic inside, Mokou’s eyes darted around the room. Finally, she cast a pleading look toward the corner of the Grand Hall. Miketsu was leaning against the wall with a smile, shrugging her shoulders as she watched with a relaxed expression. Her gaze seemed to say:

"You're on your own~"

"On my own, my foot!"