The Winner of the Carnage

Rito in the darkness of night. Following the powerful arrivals of the various Yokai Lords, the yokai across the entire island were left stunned by the escalating commotion within the main building. This was especially true when a fiery meteor finally descended from the sky, completely obliterating the structure. All the yokai stood frozen in place, many of them beginning to wonder if attending this Yokai Lord assembly would ultimately cost them their lives.

In the center of the ruins of the main building, within the heart of the massive crater, Shuten-doji’s gaze quickly swept over the crowd. After pausing briefly on a few individuals, he spoke leisurely.

"Heh... there are quite a few new faces I don't recognize. It seems the changes in the demon realm over the last few years have been quite significant. I wonder how much skill you young upstarts have to deserve a title on the same level as mine..."

Arrogance. This was the most direct impression Shuten-doji gave everyone present. While arrogance was a trait shared by all the Yokai Lords in attendance, Shuten-doji was undoubtedly the one who displayed it most prominently.

"Ghost King of Mount Oe, whether in the human realm or the demon realm, the eras always move forward," Toga said slowly, looking at the defiant Shuten-doji. The latter turned his gaze toward him.

"Oh... from your appearance, you must be the dog yokai who took down that stupid cat, Oyakata. You Harima folk are truly interesting; your rulers are either cats or dogs... However, while Oyakata only ruled Harima by relying on tricky sorcery, the fact that you could kill him means you at least have some strength. But if you think that's enough to lecture me, you're far from qualified... unless you show me some of your true ability right here."

As he spoke, Shuten-doji clenched his fists, his knuckles emitting a series of sharp cracks. Sensing the other's eager battle intent, Toga tightened his grip on the Tessaiga, his brow furrowing slightly. Behind Toga, even the usually indifferent Sesshomaru was forced to take two steps back by the sheer, overwhelming bloodlust radiating from Shuten-doji.

Is this what it means to be a ruler among yokai? Such powerful strength... Sesshomaru thought to himself, a glint of light flashing in his unchanging eyes.

"Oh my... is this the site of the assembly? Lord Sanmen-oni, it is unexpectedly dilapidated..."

Just as a tense confrontation was about to erupt, a steady and soft female voice broke the silence. Everyone turned to look and saw a woman holding a staff, hidden beneath a cyan cloak. Guided by Sanmen-oni, she slowly stepped into the scene through the ruins.

"I am truly sorry, my lady. It wasn't like this fifteen minutes ago..." Beside the woman, Sanmen-oni spoke with a visibly mournful expression.

"Sanmen-oni, who is this you've brought...?" the Lord of Arakawa asked, looking at the mysterious woman.

"She is the eighth participant invited by Lord Tamamo-no-Mae..." Sanmen-oni replied simply. His words caused a significant stir among the crowd.

"The eighth? Aside from us, what other large yokai faction exists in this land?" Toga asked in a low voice. In his memory, the seven Yokai Lords present covered almost every major faction he knew of in the demon realm.

"No, she isn't a Yokai Lord..." Miketsu said, not appearing overly surprised. Her intelligence reports had contained some information regarding this.

"The eighth? And a woman? Hey! Where did you come from? Where do you rule? I have no memory of someone like you at all," Shuten-doji said bluntly, looking at the woman.

"My apologies, noble Ghost King. I am merely a traveler who enjoys wandering across mountains, lakes, and seas to collect various stories. I am not a ruler of any territory," the woman replied with a faint smile.

"A traveler? How could such a thing appear at this assembly..."

"Because she is the winner who emerged from the struggle~" Following Shuten-doji's words, the floating Dodomeki descended from the sky. The countless eyes on her body turned in every direction, staring at the people present.

"The winner? The winner of what struggle?" the Great Tengu asked. Dodomeki answered immediately.

"To put it simply, Lord Tamamo-no-Mae assigned me eight invitation slots. By the time I finished distributing them to the prominent yokai of this land, only seven slots were used. I used a bit of a special method to distribute the final remaining one..." Dodomeki spoke with a wicked grin appearing on her cute face.

"I believe that besides the Yokai Lords, there are hidden powerhouses among the wild yokai who do not belong to any faction. Therefore, I used the one-month gap before the assembly to use my abilities to announce to those wild yokai in the demon realm that the final slot would be given to them. All they had to do was gather and slaughter one another to determine the strongest within a month. That strongest individual would earn the right to attend this Yokai Lord assembly and have the chance to obtain the Black Tortoise demonic power." Dodomeki smiled as she looked at the woman beside her.

"Heh... in the end, I triggered a massive slaughter among thousands of yokai. And this lady is the final winner of that carnage."

After hearing Dodomeki's words, a slight tremor of excitement went through the crowd. Everyone understood exactly why this mysterious yokai was able to come here, and many became interested in her.

"A powerful... traveler?" Yamakaze looked at the woman, seemingly deep in thought.

"Ooh~ a woman has finally joined the assembly! Otherwise, it would be too boring with just men. She must be a very beautiful big sister, don't you think, big guy?" Kingyohime said, feeling somewhat excited about a female yokai's formal participation. The Lord of Arakawa, however, remained solemn while swaying his fan. On the other side, Otakemaru’s eyes remained filled with disdain.

"Tch... the king of small fry is still just small fry in the end..."

After the preliminary introduction of the mysterious yokai, Dodomeki looked around at the number of people and nodded slightly. Then, she announced loudly.

"Now that everyone has arrived, let us officially begin. Lord Tamamo-no-Mae has been waiting for you for a long time!"

Along with Dodomeki's words, a streak of shimmering, wondrous foxfire plummeted from the sky, exploding into brilliant fireworks in mid-air. Once the foxfire dissipated, Tamamo-no-Mae appeared in the air, looking down at everything below from her high vantage point.

"Lords of the Hundred Demons who have come from afar, let us not waste words. You have gathered here because of your desire for even greater demonic power. Tonight, I shall give you this Black Tortoise demonic power..."

Tamamo-no-Mae did not say much; she went straight to the point, immediately heightening everyone's attention.

"This is a colossal demonic power that can allow you to touch the divine realm. However, it can only exert its greatest effect if given entirely to one person. Therefore, only one among you will ultimately obtain this power. So, how do you wish to determine who that person shall be?"

Though Tamamo-no-Mae posed it as a question, she already had the answer in her heart.

She knew that for this group of individuals, there would only be one method they would choose.

"Hmph, does that even need to be said? Nine-Tails... we are all yokai, so naturally, we should decide in the way of yokai. That is also the reason I came here..." Shuten-doji said with a smile, his expression radiating excitement.

"Might makes right! The winner is king! Even among Yokai Lords, there must be a hierarchy. The strongest among us shall obtain that power. Is that acceptable to everyone!"

...

The sun had already set. On a coast far from Rito, there was a human fishing village by the sea. At this moment, the village, which had just entered the night, was just like the distant Rito—decorated with lanterns and teeming with people. Countless humans dressed in various styles gathered in this originally unremarkable fishing village, making it incredibly lively.

"What... is going on? The Yokai Lord assembly should only be lively in the demon realm. Why is a fishing village in the human realm like this too?" At the entrance of the village, Slippery Nura looked at the scene before him with some surprise and spoke to Seimei beside him.

"Hmm... this is indeed a bit strange. Let me go ask." Seimei spoke in a deep voice, then stepped forward to inquire of a passerby who was about to enter. Seeing the kariginu on Seimei, the person quickly replied respectfully.

"Huh? Sir Onmyoji is asking why we've gathered? Don't you know? This is the day the Shiranui appears upon the sea, an event that happens once every ten years. Everyone has come to watch the Shiranui."