Inside the dim, Japanese-style room, countless skeletal remains lay on the floor, wailing incessantly. Dark red light from outside projected through the wide shoji doors on both sides, where shadows of various masks flickered. Expressions of joy, worry, sorrow, and anger drifted across the paper panes, their voices whispering in various tones as their gazes fixed intently on the center of the room. There stood Miketsu, garbed in her kariginu, her expression indifferent.
“Damned yokai...”
At Miketsu’s feet, Tsuruha began to gather flames in her mouth, preparing to take the initiative and incinerate the surroundings. But Miketsu spoke up first.
“Let me handle this, Tsuruha...”
As she spoke, Miketsu drew the Blade of the Three Realms from its sheath. At the same time, her lips began to move, chanting a low, melodic incantation.
“Die!” At that moment, the mask-yokai hovering outside finally made their move. They smashed through the shoji doors simultaneously, a barrage of oversized masks of all kinds lunging toward Miketsu, swathed in thick demonic energy.
With a flash of brilliant light, the Blade of the Three Realms in Miketsu’s hand rapidly transformed into the Spirit-Engraving Spear. She spun it in a wide arc before slamming the butt of the weapon firmly into the floor.
“Esoteric Mantra of Evil Subjugation!”
Accompanied by the echoing sounds of Sanskrit chants filling the air, the Spirit-Engraving Spear took on the aspect of a demon-subjugating vajra pestle. Golden mantra characters erupted from the spear’s tip, pouring across the floorboards like a flood. Centering on Miketsu, they flowed outward in a wild sprawl, climbing the walls and spreading across the ceiling until the entire room was covered. Using the Spirit-Engraving Spear as a medium, Miketsu had imprinted the Evil Subjugation Mantra across the interior, turning the room into a sacred site.
After the restless spirit incident at the Fujiwara estate, Miketsu had acquired the Sacred Scroll of Manifest Wisdom, which acted like an automated scripture player. Relying on this artifact, she had dedicated time each day to self-studying Sanskrit and memorizing scriptures. By now, she was fluent enough to recite the Esoteric Mantra of Evil Subjugation from memory. She was currently invoking the power of the mantra in the name of Dakini-ten and releasing it via the Spirit-Engraving Spear's spell-imprinting ability.
The mantras covering the room emitted a dazzling golden radiance, illuminating the gloom. Every skeleton in the room collapsed, as if drained of strength, falling in heaps onto the floor. The six masks that had been lunging at Miketsu rapidly slowed amidst the Sanskrit chanting and flashing golden light, eventually grinding to a halt in mid-air. The powerful spiritual pressure held them so tightly they couldn't even twitch.
“What... what is this...”
“I can't move! My strength is gone!”
“Aah... it hurts...”
Miketsu paid no heed to the groans. Looking at the six masks suppressed by the room full of mantras, she calmly extended a finger and began to chant a different spell. A massive surge of spiritual power gathered at her fingertip.
“Divine Golden Light Demon Subjugation Spell!”
A thick beam of light erupted from her finger, engulfing the Ohtobide mask closest to her. Miketsu then turned her body, sweeping the continuous beam in a horizontal circle, eradicating all the masks around her in one fell swoop. The six masks vanished into the light amidst agonizing wails.
While the sweeping beam destroyed the masks, it also sliced through a massive section of the ceiling, which began to fall. Tsuruha looked up and spat a blast of foxfire, incinerating the debris directly above Miketsu, while the rest of the room was smashed into ruins.
“Whew... To be honest, Tsuruha, I didn't want to cause too much damage to this estate. We might still need to use it later,” Miketsu said with a sigh of relief after resolving the six masks.
“Don’t worry, Lady Uka. Only this one room was destroyed. Now that the monsters have been cleared, the rest of the place is still preserved,” Tsuruha said, her tone quite relaxed as she stood by Miketsu's feet.
“True... but the problem is, it seems that fellow is still here...” Miketsu looked around. Dark clouds now blanketed the sky, turning what should have been daylight into a murky twilight. The white fog that had filled the manor had turned into a faint purple haze, and the ancient estate—previously devoid of demonic energy—was now saturated with it. The numerous servants who had been moving about earlier had all turned into skeletons, wandering and crawling aimlessly. It was as if the manor had finally shed its disguise to reveal its true face.
“This... the abnormality hasn't ended? Weren't those mask-yokai destroyed by you, Lady Uka? Could it be... they weren't the main body?” Tsuruha looked at the surroundings in shock.
“Hmph. As expected, something that could leave the Onmyoryo at a loss wouldn't be so easily defeated. It seems we need to add a bit more fuel to the fire,” Miketsu said with a light chuckle. She hadn't expected the entity to be disposed of so simply.
“Well... at least we now know the true identity of the yokai. They are monsters formed from Hata no Kawakatsu’s masks. Perhaps their true body is hidden somewhere in this manor. We just need to find them,” Tsuruha added. After the exchange just now, it was almost certain that the hidden evil was a tsukumogami formed from the Hata no Kawakatsu masks.
As she listened to Tsuruha, Miketsu nodded slightly. Just as she was contemplating where the main body of the masks might be hidden, she suddenly felt a movement in her sleeve. Miketsu frowned slightly and reached into her sleeve, pulling out a fox mask.
This was Qin Xin. When she first heard that the monster in this estate might be the Hata no Kawakatsu masks, she had brought Qin Xin along—since Qin Xin was also a mask-based tsukumogami with potential ties to the Hata Clan—thinking she might come in handy. And just now, Qin Xin had begun to vibrate in Miketsu’s sleeve, much like a pager.
Miketsu looked at Qin Xin. The mask currently displayed the "Serious" expression and continued to tremble slightly. Miketsu knew this meant there was a message to convey. Without hesitation, she placed Qin Xin over her face. In this state, she could communicate with the mask to a certain degree.
With Qin Xin donned, Miketsu stood still. When she removed the mask moments later, her face showed a hint of surprise.
“So that’s how it is... This is quite unexpected... Thank you, Qin Xin. I may still need your help later.” As she spoke, she tucked Qin Xin back into her sleeve. Tsuruha watched the process with a confused expression.
“Lady Uka, what... what did Qin Xin say?”
“That would be a bit complicated to explain. You’ll find out in a bit. For now, I think I know where to start the breakthrough.”
Miketsu looked around, finally settling her gaze on a nearby skeleton standing aimlessly and wailing. Judging by its clothes, she recognized it as the attendant who had led her here earlier.
Miketsu walked over and curiously waved her hand in front of the skeleton’s empty eye sockets.
“Hey, hello~ Are you still conscious? Can you hear me? I’m going to find your young mistress now. Be a dear and lead me to her quarters.”
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