Reforging the Blade

Minamoto no Yorimasa of the Minamoto clan had been using rumors of Ubume as cover to abduct gifted female infants to fill the vacancies among the Chigo Miko. However, much to their surprise, the attempt to exploit these rumors had drawn out a real Ubume. Just as they were preparing to let the actual Ubume take the blame, news arrived that Owl, the Great Yokai of Heian-kyo's divine realm, had captured her and intended to hand her over to the Onmyoryo.

Since taking control of the divine realm of Heian-kyo, Owl had maintained proactive contact with the Onmyoryo on many occasions. Whenever the Onmyoryo captured innocent yokai, Owl would intervene to demand their release; in exchange, he often turned over malicious yokai who had committed murder or injury for the Bureau to process.

Currently, with Kamo no Tadayuki and Fujiwara no Saneyori—the two top combat forces of the Onmyoryo—both incapacitated, the human side was temporarily unable to handle Owl’s expansion within the divine realm. Conversely, the Onmyoryo had noticed that the occurrence of violent yokai incidents in Heian-kyo and its surrounding areas had significantly decreased under Owl’s maintenance of order. To better endure this period of vulnerability caused by the loss of their Senior Secretaries' combat capabilities, the Onmyoryo had reached a tacit understanding with Owl and had begun testing the waters for small-scale cooperation.

Now, Owl had somehow captured the Ubume that had been rampant in Heian-kyo for over half a month and planned to hand her over directly. This was by no means good news for the Minamoto clan; Ubume knew things she wasn't supposed to know.

"Father, what should we do now? If Kamo no Tadayuki and the others learn anything from Ubume's mouth, our situation could become quite troublesome." Minamoto no Yorimasa spoke with a look of deep concern as he watched Minamoto no Mitsunaka.

Hearing his son's words, Minamoto no Mitsunaka stroked his beard with a grave expression, deep in thought. After a long moment, his stern face softened, and a faint smile even played across his lips. "Hmph... there is no need to panic. The fact that Owl wants to transfer Ubume to the Onmyoryo may not necessarily be a bad thing for us. As long as I can take the initiative to claim the task of handling her and ensure our family is completely responsible for it, then she will effectively be under our control... At that point, not only will the secret remain hidden, but we can also force her into becoming a Shikigami and push all the blame onto her." Mitsunaka’s mind raced as he considered more possibilities.

"What's more... if we keep the Shikigami-form Ubume as a secret asset, we can drive her to handle such matters directly in the future, further reducing our own risk."

Hearing his father’s words, Yorimasa’s eyes first lit up, then he seemed to recall something and felt a flicker of confusion. He asked Mitsunaka,

"Your plan is excellent, Father, but can you really get Kamo no Tadayuki to hand over full control of Ubume's case to us?"

"That will not be a problem. The current Onmyoryo is not what it used to be. The states Kamo no Tadayuki and Fujiwara no Saneyori are in have greatly diminished their influence within the Bureau. As the only Senior Secretary in perfect condition, I can direct many affairs." Mitsunaka spoke with a smug smile. Due to recent events, one of the Senior Secretaries was essentially crippled while the other was still slowly recovering; Mitsunaka’s authority within the Onmyoryo was currently at an all-time high.

"Once Owl hands over Ubume, I will immediately pull the strings to have the task assigned specifically to our clan. Yorimasa, when that time comes, you will have access to her. Transfer her secretly to the clan's Demon-Binding Jail and use your spells to interrogate her about the location of the hidden infants. Make sure to recover every last missing child!"

Mitsunaka looked at Yorimasa, commanding in a stern tone. The latter replied instantly.

"Yes!"

...

Heian-kyo, the Spirit Tool Bureau of the Onmyoryo.

In a room neatly lined with various strange and wondrous artifacts and tools, Miketsu sat behind a low table, clad in white kariginu. Before her, the white-haired and bearded Fujiwara no Kanehira held a refined and luxurious tachi with both hands, solemnly presenting it to her.

"As per our agreement, the quenching and forging of the precious blade are complete. I am now returning it to you." Fujiwara no Kanehira spoke with profound respect.

Miketsu accepted the blade from Kanehira's hands. As she gripped the hilt, she felt a rhythm that was both familiar and strangely new. After stroking the length of it from tip to pommel, she let out a soft sigh of relief. She looked at Kanehira, noting that his complexion was not particularly good.

"You've worked truly hard. You've only just recovered from your illness, and yet you went through such labor..."

"It is nothing. After all, this was an agreement made with the Lady Deity in advance. I could not let a bit of discomfort cause a delay. Besides, being able to continue tempering a lifelong masterpiece is a source of immense joy for me." Kanehira said with a smile, the fatigue on his face temporarily swept away.

Ever since Miketsu had given the Decaying Bow to Fujiwara no Kanehira, he had been researching it to use it as a base to modify the Blade of the Three Realms, seeking to develop the power of the divine realm within it. However, because of the curse from Prince Nagaya, progress had been stalled for a long time. It was only today that results had finally been achieved.

"That this blade was successfully reinforced and quenched is mainly thanks to the divine bow the Lady Deity provided. By analyzing the residual spell structures within it, my ideas for the forging became clear. Moreover, the components dismantled from it were directly used as raw materials for the tempering. Without that divine bow, none of this would have been possible." Kanehira continued, his words sparking a hint of curiosity in Miketsu's heart.

"Dismantled materials?" Miketsu asked. The previous Decaying Bow was clearly unusable, so taking it apart for reinforcement materials was perfectly fine.

"The 'material' is primarily this... this is what was left after the tempering was complete. I specifically kept it here, intending to send it to Totosai when the opportunity arises so he can use it for the blade of the Lord of the Dog Clan." As he spoke, Kanehira took a small cloth bundle from a nearby box, carefully placed it on the table, and unwrapped it.

Inside the cloth bundle were several cracked, white, flake-like objects. Upon seeing these, Miketsu’s heart involuntarily jolted, and her hand gripping the hilt trembled slightly. Her eyes widened as she looked at the objects on the table, asking Kanehira directly.

"This... what on earth is this?"

"I do not know specifically what it is. Judging solely by its appearance and texture, it should be bone fragments—pieces of bone peeled away from some kind of creature."