The Purifying Arrow

On a small rocky hill on the outskirts of Heian-kyo, Qin Xin, dressed in kariginu, and Menreiki, clad in a black robe, stood together. They had been playing the other two identities of Miketsu—Owl and Asakura Hao. In this incident, they had successfully deceived Seimei, using their mask-based demonic power to act as Miketsu's disguises.

Watching Menreiki remove her bandages, a slight ripple of emotion appeared on Qin Xin’s otherwise indifferent face. She opened her mouth and spoke in a flat, calm tone.

"Every time I see you, I find it hard to understand. You were clearly human once, yet you use a Yokai’s name..."

Hearing Qin Xin’s words, Menreiki paused for a moment before replying in a soft voice.

"It is the same for you. You were a Yokai from the start, yet you use a human’s name. If you find it strange, we could always swap. My former name was quite similar to yours."

"No need..." Qin Xin replied decisively. At her cold response, Menreiki gave a small smile and continued.

"We don't actually need to worry about such matters as names. We are masks—Lady Uka’s masks. It is only natural for us to accept any external form or title."

"Lady Uka’s masks..." Qin Xin murmured in a low voice. By then, Menreiki had walked up to her.

"The crazed Yokai below have been completely wiped out. Slippery Nura and the others are still figuring out how to release the Onmyoji from their bindings. Everything on this side is resolved." As she spoke, Menreiki held out the tachi in her hand toward Qin Xin.

"Next is Lady Uka’s side..."

Qin Xin nodded slightly. Then, with her expression remaining indifferent, she took the tachi from Menreiki’s hand.

...

Inside the council chamber of the Onmyoryo, Seimei was suffering from a powerful spiritual backlash due to the destruction of the Mysterious Gate Ghost Soldier Array. He was currently in an extremely weakened state, unable to mount an effective defense due to his spiritual network blockage.

Seizing this opportunity, Kikyo, standing atop the distant Five-Story Pagoda, released a Demon-Slaying Arrow she had long been charging. This energy projectile, infused with Miketsu’s Inari divine power, flew across hundreds of meters and struck Seimei accurately.

"Ugh!!"

Seimei’s entire body stiffened. He clutched his chest where he had been hit, struggling with a frozen expression. The energy arrow in his chest did not explode or cause any other damage; instead, it emitted a pure, soft light. Under the influence of this light, Seimei reacted violently, as a large amount of dark purple steam billowed from his body.

This was a Demon-Slaying Arrow released by Kikyo using Miketsu’s power. Unlike typical Demon-Slaying Arrows that focused on the annihilation and destruction of evil, the one Kikyo shot this time was much gentler, leaning more toward dispersal and purification. It could extract the evil power residing within a host without harming the body itself.

Miketsu had known Seimei for over a decade. She knew his true nature and did not want to lose a friend. Therefore, she had decided to purge the power of Orochi from Seimei’s body to return him to normal. The Purifying Arrow shot by Kikyo was designed for exactly this effect.

"Ngh..."

As Seimei’s face gradually twisted in pain, more and more dark purple steam billowed from him. The abnormal light in his eyes began to fade slowly. Orochi’s power was being continuously purified and dispersed, and Seimei’s condition was steadily improving.

"I... I... I am... Urgh!!"

Just as Seimei’s condition was rapidly turning for the better, a sudden change occurred. On Seimei’s forehead, the Azure Dragon Seal suddenly manifested, glowing with a dull purple-red light. A massive amount of purple-red mist, carrying a sinister power, surged out from it, coiling around Seimei and seeping back into his body. The fading light in Seimei’s eyes began to brighten once more, while the Purifying Arrow stuck in his chest rapidly dimmed under the assault of the purple-red mist.

"The Azure Dragon Seal? The Azure Dragon Seal is actually the source?"

Seeing this, Miketsu couldn't help but whisper with a frown. After confirming that Seimei had been corrupted by Orochi’s power, she had been curious about what medium Orochi had used to infect him. She never expected that the problem lay with the Azure Dragon Seal.

Finally, the Demon-Slaying Arrow in Seimei’s chest vanished completely. The purple-red mist surrounding him was absorbed back into his body. Miketsu’s attempt at purification had ended in failure.

"Huff... huff... You really played me, Asakura Hao. I didn't expect you to even bring the High Priestess of Inari. If the Lord Deity hadn't personally intervened, I might have lost everything today..." Seimei panted heavily, looking at Miketsu with a weak gaze. Miketsu now understood the reason for the sudden eruption of sinister power.

"Did Orochi... personally intervene?"

Clearly, if Orochi had stepped in, simply using Kikyo’s Purifying Arrow would not be enough to cleanse Seimei. However, based on the current results, Orochi’s influence was still limited. Aside from deepening the corruption through the Azure Dragon Seal, He could not do much else. Seimei’s weakness had not been cured; the initiative was still on her side.

Seimei, having broken free from the purification, looked coldly at Miketsu and spoke.

"Huff... I admit I severely underestimated you this time, Asakura Hao. But don't think you can control the situation now. Do not forget that this body of Abe no Seimei is the Azure Dragon Divine General..." As Seimei spoke, he formed a hand seal, preparing to mobilize his spiritual power.

Hearing these words, Miketsu remained completely unmoved. She stood her ground, silently watching Seimei’s actions, doing and saying nothing.

"I didn't want to do this so early, but there is no other way now. Remember, you forced me to this point, Asakura Hao! You share the responsibility for the disaster that will strike Heian-kyo today!" Seimei shouted harshly. He began to channel the Azure Dragon Seal on his forehead, attempting to directly activate Divine General Mode to fight Miketsu to the bitter end.

The Azure Dragon Seal on Seimei’s forehead flickered with a faint light, flashing on and off for a moment before dimming once again. Aside from Hakuzosu and Onikiri, who were still locked in a desperate struggle in the distance, there was no movement in the surroundings. It was as if nothing had happened at all.

For a moment, the scene was slightly awkward.

...

To the east of Heian-kyo, above the calmly flowing Kamo River, over a dozen Onmyoji stood in a circle on the water's surface, forming a massive magical array. The Fujimaru Kamon was clearly visible on their robes.

Directly above the center of this circular array, Mokou, with flame wings on her back, hovered in the air. She shot a beam of crimson spiritual power from her hand into the center of the array. The beam was then amplified several times by the array before shooting straight to the riverbed, pinning down the bronze disc of the Azure Dragon Altar.

In the sky, Mokou, seemingly bored from flying for so long, let out a yawn. She rubbed her eyes and muttered.

"Tsk... that guy really knows how to work people hard."