Flickering Light

Along with a vibration from Qin Xin tucked within Miketsu’s sleeve, the goddess suddenly had the peculiar illusion of a silent cellphone vibrating. Taking Qin Xin out, she donned the mask as if answering a phone call.

“Hmm… yes… is that so… I see… that works too…”

Tsuruha watched from the side, a drop of sweat forming at Miketsu’s one-sided conversation. After nodding once more, Miketsu removed the Qin Xin mask and turned her gaze toward the black-clad girl standing nearby.

“You said you were the sub-personality born from the part of Miss Hata’s self that she discarded, right? If I move to deal with that girl, will you help?”

“I told you, I am the collective embodiment of her guilt and conscience. Her psyche remains childish because she has spent her life running from maturity. From the moment I was born, I have wished to end all of this, but she is the master persona while I am but a fragment. I cannot influence her, yet she can control me at will. Even if I wanted to help you, I fear I would be powerless. If I get close to her, she can turn me into a puppet with a single thought to attack you,” the black-clad girl replied quietly.

Generally, a person grows alongside time and experience, and this mental growth is usually irreversible. However, Miss Hata was capable of using her power to excise the emotions she didn’t want, forcibly refusing the process of mental maturity.

“It’s fine as long as your heart is in the right place. Leave the heavy lifting to me; you won't need to step onto the battlefield personally,” Miketsu said with a faint smile, which only left Tsuruha looking more confused.

“Your Grace… what exactly are you planning?”

“Nothing much. Since that girl’s mental state is so problematic, we’ll just give her a little psychological consultation.” As Miketsu spoke, she cracked her knuckles, the bones popping with each movement.

…

Within the Secret Realm, above the Hata manor, the white-clad girl floated curled in the air with her eyes closed. Seven massive masks of Hata no Kawakatsu—Fox, Ohtobide, Baba, Semimaru, Koomote, Fukujin, and Saru—floated in a circle around her. The Tsukumogami born from these masks had already been consumed by her; devoid of emotion, they had become extensions of her being, mere conduits and tools for her power.

The girl hovered, radiating an immense volume of demonic energy. After Miketsu had retreated from their initial clash, the girl had stayed here, eyes shut as she gathered strength. She was attempting to clear her mind and hypnotize herself into believing the recent events never happened, preparing to manipulate the spirits again to reconstruct her illusions and live once more in a fantasy world.

“Are you planning to crawl back into those illusions and continue deceiving yourself?”

Suddenly, a gentle voice drifted through the sky. The floating girl’s self-hypnosis was interrupted. She snapped her eyes open and looked toward the source. There stood Miketsu, floating in the air, a calm smile on her face as her white kariginu billowed in the wind.

“You… it’s you again…” At the sight of Miketsu, the girl’s expression immediately warped into blatant hatred.

“Why? Why must you keep bothering me? I just want to be left alone… to stay with everyone…” the girl shrieked. Following her cry, three differently colored demonic flame bullets erupted from the mouths of the Ohtobide, Baba, and Saru masks, hurtling toward Miketsu at high speeds and trailing tails of energy. Miketsu, relying on her causality vision’s foresight and the mobility of her Celestial Maiden Form, easily evaded the projectiles.

“There is no need to be so agitated. Deceiving yourself is meaningless… You have been running for nearly a century. It is time to accept the truth.”

“No… I won’t listen! I didn’t lie and I wasn’t tricked! There is no truth! Whatever I believe in IS the truth! You annoying brat, just die!” Clutching her ears, the girl screamed. Massive amounts of demonic energy erupted from her, while the manor below shook with a thunderous roar.

Amidst a chorus of wails, countless skull-shaped soul-fires emerged from the courtyard, surging rapidly into the sky. These were the residents of the Hata manor who had died centuries ago at the hands of the demon-possessed Kawakatsu masks. Now, they were under the girl's control, serving as her weapons against Miketsu.

Wraiths, wrapped in powerful gales and filled with agony, lunged at Miketsu. Facing these innocent, unavenged spirits who had been imprisoned and tormented for a hundred years, Miketsu did not unleash an attack. A look of pity flashed through her eyes. She raised one hand vertically before her chest and began to chant Buddhist sutras.

Deep, resonating Sanskrit echoes filled the dimension as an ethereal golden Buddhist light expanded from Miketsu. As the light bathed the rushing spirits, they instantly calmed, floating quietly in the air, their agonizing wails ceasing at once.

The pacified spirits shed their skeletal, flame-like appearances, returning to their translucent human forms. Their faces were peaceful and their gazes reverent as they looked toward Miketsu, who radiated a gentle golden glow. They bowed deeply toward her in the void before gradually fading into the air.

Miketsu was chanting one of the scriptures left to her by Byakuren—the Rebirth Sutra, used for the salvation of souls. By augmenting herself with her identity as Dakini-ten, she used her vast power to send these shackled spirits to the Underworld for judgment and reincarnation.

“My… my family…” Staring at the spirits as they broke from her control and vanished, the girl stammered in disbelief. Miketsu lowered her hand and looked at the girl with calm detachment.

“All calamities eventually reach an end. It is time for you to wake up as well.”

“No, don’t… no! You destroyed my family… Die!” The girl’s voice trembled with fury. Overcome by emotion, she deployed all the masks around her, pouring her demonic power into them. The seven masks spat out a rainbow-colored barrage, blanketing the sky as it flew toward Miketsu. Miketsu, already in her Celestial Maiden Form, accelerated through the sky, weaving through the thicket of energy blasts with ease. In the process, she even had the presence of mind to ensure that the blasts she dodged wouldn't damage the manor below.

Catching an opening, Miketsu drew the tachi from her waist. In a flash of light, the blade expanded as she swung the massive Demonic Fang Blade, carving out a demonic tornado.

“Explosive Current Wave!”

The vortex of energy surged toward the girl, but in that moment, her masks aligned in a perfect formation before her. A barrier shimmering with seven-colored radiance materialized, and the demonic tornado struck it only to split and flow harmlessly around it. The barrier of masks stood firm.

While Miketsu possessed a massive reservoir of divine power, she couldn't use it directly; it had to be channeled through a Deity Summoning ritual or converted into spiritual or demonic energy via the Blade of the Three Realms. These channels had a capacity limit; she couldn't transform her divine power indefinitely. Without finding a way to widen those channels, forcing more output would cause a magical overload, leading to the collapse of the jutsu-shiki and damage to her weapons.

Presently, an Explosive Current Wave fired at the Demonic Fang Blade’s safe output limit was unable to break the girl’s defense. Miketsu watched as the masks resumed their hovering positions around the girl and muttered under her breath.

“These masks aren't just floating turrets; they can also double as a barrier shield… This is going to be quite troublesome.”