Peering into Truth

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing purple-haired girl, Yamakaze's eyes widened. Although he knew she was a summoned Secret Lore Yokai and not her true form, he still hesitated, failing to strike with his blade in time. Simultaneously, Ao Andon immediately seized this opportunity to counterattack.

"Secret Lore Reappears, Mud Monk's Hand!"

Suddenly, the rocks beneath Yamakaze's feet transformed into soft mud, causing his weight-bearing leg to sink. At the same time, the surrounding earth seemed to come alive, forming several massive mud hands that, while Yamakaze was still hesitating, gripped various parts of his body. They then quickly solidified, creating immense pressure that firmly trapped him in place.

"What..." Yamakaze, tightly restrained, tried to break free, but Ao Andon gave him no such chance. Ao Andon gripped her lamp staff, touching the constrained Yamakaze's body with the handle's end. Then, she whispered,

"Soul-Guiding Lamp..."

Abruptly, the blue lamp hanging from the head of Ao Andon's lamp staff emitted a dazzling light. Streaks of tangible demonic power transformed into blue light, drawing out from Yamakaze's body and being absorbed into the blue lamp. At the same time, Yamakaze felt the remaining half of his demonic power rapidly draining away. He wanted to resist, but found that as his demonic power diminished, his yokai strength also quickly weakened.

As Ao Andon continued to extract his demonic power, Yamakaze gradually lost the ability to resist. Finally, after Yamakaze was drained of almost all his demonic power, Ao Andon waved her hand. The giant mud-stone hands that had trapped Yamakaze shattered, and Yamakaze fell, propping himself up with his sword on the ground. He stood, his expression grim and tinged with anger, glaring at Ao Andon before him and the dazed purple-haired girl beside her.

"Why, why do you know of Kaoru's existence! What did you do to her!" Without saying anything else, Yamakaze opened his mouth and fiercely questioned Ao Andon.

"Do not be angry, Forest King. Before this, I knew nothing of this girl named Kaoru. Her existence was something I glimpsed from the truth of your secret lore," Ao Andon said to Yamakaze with a faint smile. She then waved her hand again, dispelling the summoned purple-haired girl.

"The truth of my secret lore... glimpsed?" Listening to Ao Andon's words, Yamakaze frowned, clearly not fully understanding.

"Yes, as a yokai capable of manipulating secret lore, reappearing secret lore is my primary ability, but not my only one..." Ao Andon said, horizontally floating her lamp staff and sitting cross-legged upon it.

"So-called secret lore are rumors circulating in this world, the public's superficial understanding of something. Beneath this secret lore, many unknown truths are often hidden... For example, you. Rumor has it that Yamakaze of Mount Nanakaku was originally a cruel, bloodthirsty, and vicious great yokai who delighted in devouring human flesh, causing everyone in the surrounding human realm to turn pale at the mention of him. But one day, this extremely vicious yokai suddenly changed his ways, not only abandoning human flesh but also rarely killing, astonishing both the Human and demon realms and giving rise to many strange tales. Heh heh... I was very curious about this part of your secret lore, and I even investigated it once but found nothing. But thanks to this battle, I now understand roughly what happened..."

Listening to Ao Andon's words, Yamakaze was momentarily stunned, then said with some astonishment,

"You mean, through our battle, you learned the truth of my secret lore!"

"Yes, this is my other ability, Secret Lore Insight..." Ao Andon said, pulling something from her sleeve. It was a small, pointed fragment from Yamakaze's beast helmet, with clear marks of being cut off.

"This was cut off by the Secret Lore Yokai I controlled during your repeated surprise attacks in the forest. I used it as a medium to activate my ability, glimpsing the truth of the Forest King Yamakaze's secret lore. From this truth, I learned of the girl named Kaoru, realizing that she was the key to your transformation, and also your weakness and soft spot. Heh heh... what a touching and tragic story. That human girl possessed astonishing resolve; it is only natural that such a person could cause the Forest King to change."

After hearing Ao Andon's words, Yamakaze remained silent for a few seconds, then spoke again, solemnly addressing Ao Andon.

"Regarding Kaoru, I absolutely forbid you from revealing anything. Otherwise, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!"

Looking at Yamakaze, who was clearly very weak but still trying to maintain his imposing aura, Ao Andon smiled and shook her head, responding,

"Don't worry, I am a collector of secret lore, not a disseminator. These truths will only be my personal treasures. However, for you to speak such harsh words in your current state, aren't you afraid I might get angry and just finish you off right here?"

Listening to Ao Andon's words, the urgency in Yamakaze's eyes diminished slightly. He then stood up with effort, sheathed his blade, and turned his back to Ao Andon, departing. He left only one last sentence.

"You win."

Thus, the second battle on the Eastern Island concluded, with Ao Andon, the Lord of Hyakumonogatari, victorious.

...

Just as the victor was decided on the Eastern Island, a fierce battle was raging on the Western Island. This duel pitted Toga against Shuten-doji, the most renowned Yokai Lord against an emerging one.

Standing atop a mountain on the Western Island, Shuten-doji sat cross-legged, lazily propping his head as he surveyed his surroundings. His sake gourd, covered in talismans, had grown abnormally large and floated above his head. A gaping mouth full of sharp teeth had appeared on it, continuously spewing forth condensed masses of demonic power and Shoki.

These condensed demonic power masses formed cannonballs, firing out at high speed, continuously striking the ground, shattering and exploding. Amidst the rising dust, a white figure moved at high speed, Toga narrowly avoiding all attacks.

Seizing a momentary gap in the attacks, Toga swung his Tessaiga, conjuring a burst of demonic power to enlarge his slash, attacking Shuten-doji.

"Wind Scar!"

Facing the incoming demonic power slash, the Demon Sake Gourd stopped spewing. It took a deep breath, suddenly swelled, then exhaled a high-pressure Shoki blast. This Shoki air cannon struck the Wind Scar, neutralizing it before continuing to fly towards Toga. Toga dodged just in time, avoiding a direct hit. Seeing this, Shuten-doji's face showed a hint of disdain.

"Hmph... your speed is quite good, Harima's dog yokai kid. But if that's all you've got, it'll be hard to even defeat my gourd, let alone make me personally intervene. If you know what's good for you, surrender early and go back to being a mountain king in Harima."