Hidden Sting

Having received news of the mission's success, Miketsu chose to let Minamoto no Mitsunaka go rather than press him too hard. The man was wise enough not to continue the struggle; Mitsunaka understood that fighting Owl any longer was pointless and would only invite further danger.

Ultimately, after spitting out a few threats, Mitsunaka departed on his shikigami. Miketsu merely gave a casual shrug at his parting words; this wasn't the first time she had offended the Minamoto Clan, and the grudge between them had been settled long ago.

After watching Mitsunaka disappear, Miketsu turned and flew into the valley. She soon reached the completely destroyed Minamoto base, which was now nothing more than a pile of rubble and debris. From time to time, she could see fragmented corpses mixed among the ruins, being gnawed on by yokai.

Sensing the traces of demonic energy lingering over the ruins, Miketsu knew instantly that this was Menreiki's handiwork. Among the Hundred Demons in her service, only she possessed such a massive volume of demonic power.

"You've worked hard. You haven't fully recovered yet—is it all right for you to release your power like this?" Miketsu landed directly beside Menreiki, her voice laced with concern. In their previous battle, Miketsu had shattered seven of Menreiki's masks, causing the latter no small amount of damage. Even today, her masks were still covered in cracks, having not yet fully mended.

"It's fine... I can handle this level of output... For the sake of Lord Owl's will, I am willing to endure even if it exceeds my current capacity." Looking at Miketsu, Menreiki spoke as she slightly tilted her head. Her smiling face carried a faint blush, and she unconsciously leaned closer toward Miketsu's chest, as if she were hoping for a hug.

"...Don't push yourself."

Seeing this, Miketsu responded with a hint of awkwardness. It was obvious that the 'father complex' tendencies left over from Menreiki's white persona were beginning to affect her again.

To better distinguish herself from her persona as Asakura Hao and prevent people from making the connection, Miketsu had intentionally established Owl's image as a male. This was not a difficult task for someone who had once lived as a man, and the result had been quite successful; whether it was her own yokai followers or the Onmyoryo, everyone seemed to view Owl as a male yokai. However, this had created a new problem: Owl's masculine persona seemed to fit perfectly into Menreiki's delusions regarding a father figure. Coupled with the effect of the shikigami contract, her father complex had shown signs of recurring over the past few months... This left Miketsu in a difficult position, and she began to wonder if it might be better to interact with her in her true form more often in the future.

"Lord Owl..."

At that moment, Makoto, with her bright yellow wings, flapped down to land beside Miketsu. Miketsu looked at her and nodded.

"What is the current situation?"

"Miss Menreiki's bombardment completely leveled the target's base. All remaining Onmyoji and shikigami have been dealt with, and the second round of battlefield cleanup is underway. However, the bombardment caused the passage to the secret chamber to collapse. I have already arranged for yokai to clear it. Please rest easy, Lord Owl; we received word from Tamamura that he has dealt with the enemies below. Both he and the human children are currently safe and sound." Makoto stood beside Miketsu, reporting respectfully and clearly.

Makoto now held an important position among Miketsu's yokai. Because Owl's influence had expanded so rapidly, Makoto's speed was often needed to deliver orders and exercise supervision. When Miketsu was away for long periods, she would act as her proxy, serving essentially as Owl's personal confidant and messenger. Furthermore, Makoto's working style was very efficient; whenever Miketsu encountered troublesome chores, she would hand them off to her, and they would be handled perfectly. In Miketsu's view, Makoto’s role was somewhat akin to that of a secretary.

"Well done..." Miketsu murmured. She surveyed the surroundings before asking, "Did you encounter any particularly difficult trouble? For instance, any exceptionally strong Onmyoji?"

"With Miss Menreiki's help, all the Onmyoji and shikigami were handled with ease. There were no powerful characters among them," Makoto replied truthfully, causing Miketsu's brow to furrow.

"Handled with ease... You didn't meet any? You mean, this base only had Minamoto no Mitsunaka guarding those children personally?"

Makoto's response struck Miketsu as somewhat unbelievable. An Onmyo Taiyu of the Minamoto Clan was here in person, proving these kidnapped children were quite important to them. Yet, once Mitsunaka was lured away, there was no other significant combat strength—it felt off. Didn't Mitsunaka have a son like Minamoto no Yorimitsu? Furthermore, in Nura Rihyon's previous report, there was another powerful figure in the Minamoto Clan who could control the spirits of the dead. Was he not here either?

"Oh, Tamamura mentioned earlier that after the Onmyo Taiyu left, there was originally another leader present. For some reason, he simply left the matters to his subordinates and departed halfway through." Makoto recalled the detail and added it.

"He just suddenly left?"

As she listened to Makoto, a strange, ominous feeling rose in Miketsu's heart. She pondered for a moment but couldn't quite grasp the key point.

"Clear the secret passage quickly, get those children to a safe place, and find a way to return them to their families once this is over..." Miketsu said, pushing aside the extra thoughts. "Be quick about it. Although things here are finished, there's been no word from Nura Rihyon yet. I'm worried they might run into an accident; we need to be ready to support them at any time."

"Understood, Lord Owl."

...

In a dark forest not too far from the Minamoto base, a battered Mitsunaka landed in a clearing amidst the dense trees on his black demonic horse. He dismissed the shikigami, then leaned against a tree for support, gasping for breath as fragments of his shattered armor continued to fall away.

"Owl..."

With a vicious tone, Mitsunaka spat the name through gritted teeth. The hand bracing against the tree clutched so hard it tore through a layer of bark. Clearly, the battle just now had been an absolute humiliation for him.

The fires of rage burned within Mitsunaka, but before he could express his fury further, he suddenly realized something was wrong with his current situation.

"Yorimasa?" Mitsunaka looked around, calling out tentatively. However, there was no response.

The sight caused Mitsunaka's heart to sink. He knew the reason why he hadn't immediately returned to Heian-kyo after retreating from Owl was that he had received a signal from Minamoto no Yorimasa using a special technique... and yet Yorimasa was not here.

Sensing imminent danger, Mitsunaka immediately prepared to summon his shikigami to leave, but at that moment, a cold, glinting blade pierced through his abdomen from behind. His expression froze on his face.

Standing silently behind Mitsunaka was an ancient warrior clad in tattered, decaying armor.