The Escape to Mount Hei

Inside the Grand Hall of the Onmyoryo, Seimei, who was preparing to activate the Azure Dragon Seal, had been trying for a long while with no response. Facing this situation, neither Seimei nor Miketsu spoke, and the atmosphere became slightly awkward for a moment.

"You actually... sealed the Azure Dragon Altar in advance!" Staring at Miketsu, Seimei spoke with a hint of anger, while Miketsu simply shrugged and replied calmly.

"How could I deal with the Azure Dragon Divine General without being fully prepared?" With a faint smile, Miketsu spoke slowly. Last night, she had already contacted Mokou, asking her to take the Fujiwara Onmyoji to seal the Azure Dragon Altar first thing this morning, making it temporarily unable to respond to the Azure Dragon Seal. As long as Seimei could not obtain the spiritual power accumulated within the Azure Dragon Altar, he would be unable to enter Divine General Mode.

Seeing his trump card seen through, Seimei's expression grew even gloomier. He suddenly formed a hand seal and pointed a finger toward the sky, calling out loudly.

"Thunder Summoning!"

A muffled boom echoed from the clouds in the sky. A bolt of lightning, not particularly thick, struck down from the heavens, piercing through the roof toward Miketsu. At the very moment Seimei began his move, Miketsu had already reacted. Countless paper cranes flew out from her sleeves as shikigami, forming a barrier in front of her. Seimei's weakened thunder spell, which lacked the power of a full chant, struck the paper shikigami and turned them to ash but had no further effect. Seimei himself took advantage of Miketsu's defensive opening to throw out a paper figure, summoning a White Crane, which he immediately mounted to fly toward the hole in the ceiling.

"Stop right there!"

Seeing this, Onikiri abandoned his battle with Hakuzosu and leaped toward the escaping Seimei with a jumping slash. Behind him, Hakuzosu simply ignited with flames and manifested his true form as a demonic fox, using his powerful hind legs to leap even faster and block Onikiri. He intercepted several of Onikiri's consecutive strikes, nearly completely absorbing the impact without taking significant damage.

Subsequently, Seimei's figure atop the White Crane flew into the sky. After holding off Onikiri for a moment, the demonic fox Hakuzosu also vanished into a ball of ethereal flames. He had been summoned back by Seimei. Seeing this, Onikiri felt a surge of frustration.

"Hmph... what a disgusting fellow..."

Facing Hakuzosu's strange ability to absorb attacks, Onikiri felt that his offensive capabilities, which he was normally so proud of, were being heavily restricted. Although Hakuzosu's attacks were relatively weak and posed no threat to him, Onikiri could never seem to finish him off. The two had been entangled for a long time, one focusing on offense and the other on defense. Although Onikiri held the upper hand, there had been no conclusion. Hakuzosu, whose mind was clouded by sinister power, was one thing, but Onikiri was fuming with rage.

Onikiri looked at the large hole in the ceiling, wondering if he should give chase, when Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who had been watching for a long time, spoke up.

"There is no need to chase him, Onikiri. You won't catch him."

"But..." Onikiri turned to look at Yorimitsu, but just as he was about to say something, Yorimitsu interrupted him.

"What's the rush? Lord Hao is still here, as steady as a mountain. Abe no Seimei, that sinner, won't get away." As Yorimitsu spoke, he turned his gaze toward Miketsu, who was standing nearby. She had just watched Seimei flee without making any move to stop him.

"Lord Hao, you must still have a trump card, don't you?" Yorimitsu said with a smile, looking at Miketsu.

"It's not exactly a trump card, just a few more tricks up my sleeve..." Miketsu said as she turned around and walked toward the doors of the Grand Hall. Just as she was about to step out, she spoke to Yorimitsu behind her.

"Thank you for your cooperation this time, Head of the Minamoto Clan. I will handle the aftermath of this matter. Seimei will return to Heian-kyo, and... I hope it won't be as a sinner."

After Miketsu finished speaking, she left Yorimitsu smiling thoughtfully and exited the Grand Hall. Walking through the empty Onmyoryo, she threw out a paper figure.

The paper figure burned rapidly. When the blue flames of the blue flames dissipated, Qin Xin appeared beside Miketsu.

"The matters over there have been handled, Lady Uka..." Qin Xin said flatly as she handed over a tachi. Miketsu took the sword and gave Qin Xin a gentle look.

"Thank you for your hard work. The rest is my job..." As Miketsu spoke, she drew the tachi from its scabbard. In a flash of light, the Blade of the Three Realms transformed into a magnificently decorated bow.

"Tsuruha..."

Miketsu whispered. Amidst a golden aura, the fox messenger appeared before her in accordance with their contract. Then, Miketsu's original black hair instantly turned white, and her eyes changed from pitch black to crimson.

Immediately, the sky full of red threads of causality reflected in Miketsu's eyes.

...

Mount Hei. This was a peak on the outskirts of Heian-kyo with a dense concentration of Yin energy. Strangely, despite being such a cold and gloomy mountain, very few yokai resided here. An indescribable eeriness shrouded the mountain, causing many nearby living creatures to instinctively stay away.

Seimei rode the White Crane to Mount Hei, landing shakily within the mountain's forest. The moment he touched the ground, he immediately dismissed the White Crane shikigami and summoned Hakuzosu in his demonic fox form again.

"Protect me..."

Seimei ordered Hakuzosu in a low voice. Then, he walked slowly toward a large tree with tangled, gnarled roots.

"I can no longer stay in Heian-kyo... For the Lord Deity's plan, I must retreat now. But before that, I must take the key item with me..." Seimei muttered softly to himself as he formed a hand seal. Facing the large tree, he whispered, "Open!"

At Seimei's command, the roots of the tree began to writhe like snakes, parting to both sides to reveal what was hidden beneath.

It was a young girl, about eleven or twelve years old, with short black hair, wearing a pink formal robe and a goldfish hair ornament. She was curled up in a deep sleep. Beside her lay a neatly folded paper umbrella.

Looking at the girl, a smile appeared on Seimei's lips. He reached out his hand, preparing to touch her.

At that moment, a brilliant golden light shot down from the sky, shining directly onto Seimei. Seimei, Hakuzosu beside him, and the girl were all illuminated by this golden light.

Under this holy radiance, Seimei let out a cry of pain. Purple-red mist began to evaporate from his body once again.

In the sky above Mount Hei, Miketsu, dressed in a white robe and scarlet hakama, hovered atop Tsuruha. From her fingertips, she shot a beam of Purifying Light composed purely of Demon-Slaying Power at Seimei. To combat Orochi's erosion, she was taking action personally this time.