Miketsu's Demonic Fang Blade can seize the demonic power of defeated foes and gain their corresponding abilities. This means the Demonic Fang Blade can utilize the demonic power of various yokai to replicate their powers.
Through her research, Miketsu discovered that the Demonic Fang Blade, when killing an opponent, essentially seizes their demonic power generation mechanism. However, to use another yokai's abilities, it's not strictly necessary to seize this mechanism. One can simply absorb demonic power from that yokai beforehand. This is demonic energy lending. By using her demonic blade to absorb the demonic power of other yokai, Miketsu can utilize their abilities without necessarily killing them.
The illusions and invisibility of Obscure Shadow Illusion Break were a result of Miketsu borrowing Nura Rihyon's demonic power. However, unlike demonic energy deprivation, the demonic power gained through demonic energy lending is not inherently one's own. Once depleted, it cannot be used again; it is not a permanent effect.
“Hmm... turning the essence of myriad yokai to one's own use? That truly is... a peculiar ability...” Ao Andon, pierced through the chest from behind, vanished into a blue light. Miketsu had not backstabbed Ao Andon herself, but rather the Secret Lore Yokai she had summoned.
“secret lore clones... can they swap states with the main body?” Miketsu murmured, watching the vanishing Ao Andon. With her causality vision, she couldn't be fooled by such a clone. What she had just pierced was indeed the main body, but the opponent had swapped its state with a hidden clone. The one remaining on the front lines was always the main body, as the fakes summoned by Secret Lore Summoning cannot display their full combat power.
“Secret Lore Reenactment, Gassho Jizo, Mud Monk's Hand!”
The ground beneath Miketsu's feet began to stir. As hands of mud and rock surged towards her, Miketsu, having already anticipated this, conjured a whirlwind of demonic power around herself.
“Explosive Current Wave... Circle Guard!”
The demonic power whirlwind around Miketsu spun rapidly, forming a barrier of wind that shredded and blocked all incoming hands of mud and rock. Seizing the opportunity while Miketsu was defending in place, Ao Andon played her next card.
“Secret Lore Summoning, Dojoji Bell!”
Above Miketsu, a massive, heavy bell manifested and descended, encasing Miketsu within it. Inside the bell, Miketsu immediately sensed a restriction emerge around her, preventing her escape.
“A woman of Kumano, transformed into a yokai by desire, Secret Lore Summoning, Kiyohime!”
Ao Andon acted again. This time, she summoned a beautiful woman with a human upper body and a serpent lower body. As this woman appeared in a blue light, she immediately glared with hatred at the massive iron bell now covering the ground. She wrapped her long body tightly around the iron bell, coil after coil, then opened her mouth.
“Burning Love Flames...”
Fierce flames erupted from Kiyohime's mouth, instantly engulfing the iron bell and a large surrounding area. Even Kiyohime herself was scorched by the raging fire, but she remained unmoving, suicidally spewing forth the increasingly hot flames until the entire iron bell glowed crimson, even showing signs of melting. Amidst this desperate scorching, the temperature inside the bell must have reached an extremely high level.
“Frost Sky Dragon Break...”
Accompanied by a low dragon's roar, the glowing red iron bell suddenly burst open. From within, a frost dragon, its body covered in ice crystals, surged out. After devouring the Kiyohime, who was on the verge of collapsing from the intense flames, the frost dragon roared and charged towards a charred tree not far away—the hiding spot Miketsu had located using Heavenly Net Divination Shot.
“Secret Lore Reenactment, Mount Fuji Calamity Fire!”
The charred tree dispelled its illusion, revealing Ao Andon's figure as she revealed her card. Simultaneously, a thick pillar of fire descended from the sky, striking the frost dragon directly. After a large amount of steam billowed forth, both vanished into nothingness. Once the steam dissipated, Miketsu and Ao Andon resumed their standoff across the space, neither making any new moves.
“Hehe... truly worthy of reaching the second round, General of Heian-kyo's Yokai. Your strength truly is an eye-opener. If I had met you in the first round, I might not have been able to defeat you.” Sitting cross-legged on her lamp staff, Ao Andon smiled as she spoke to Miketsu, her expression calm and composed.
“From your words, it seems you believe your current self can defeat me?” Miketsu slowly responded to Ao Andon.
“Indeed. My current self is somewhat different from other times. Perhaps you don't know, but in the first round, I absorbed almost all of the Forest King's demonic power. My current demonic power reserves far exceed my usual levels. This allows me to reenact some... Secret Lore that I normally cannot. This level of Secret Lore is not something a mere Yokai Lord can contend with... My turn!” Ao Andon said, drawing a new card in mid-air. This card was unlike the others, shimmering with a faint purple light.
“Come, Owl, be fortunate enough to witness this—the most powerful Secret Lore I have ever summoned!
“Dark clouds surge, moonlight hazy, demons dance wildly, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, Secret Lore Reenactment! Heian-kyo Yokai Disaster!”
The lamp hanging from Ao Andon's lamp staff and the card in her hand simultaneously emitted dazzling light. The card unleashed countless beams of light that scattered across the sky. Each of these hundreds of beams transformed into a yokai. In an instant, hundreds of yokai of various forms, baring fangs and claws, filled every corner of the desolate island, big and small, ferocious and malevolent.
Among them, one beam was exceptionally massive. It transformed into a giant spider several tens of meters tall, appearing on the shallow beach of the desolate island, towering over everything small on the island. This was a Tsuchigumo, once again manifesting in this world through Ao Andon's mass Secret Lore Summoning!
Black clouds gathered in the sky, and the entire space was filled with Yin energy. In an instant, the entire Eastern Island transformed into a demon realm.
“Thirteen years ago, the great yokai disaster that severely damaged the Onmyoryo, caused countless casualties, and ravaged all of Heian-kyo—you must remember that, Owl. So... now that you are alone, how will you face this calamity?” Ao Andon, looking somewhat weakened, said to Miketsu from atop her lamp staff. As she spoke, the countless yokai spread across the land gradually closed in on the solitary Miketsu. Numerous bird yokai took flight, Demon-Faced Yokai began burrowing into the ground, and the Tsuchigumo unleashed a flood of enslaved spirit Spiders from its body.
Facing the yokai advancing from all directions, Miketsu unhurriedly looked at Ao Andon and slowly spoke.
“The Heian-kyo Yokai Disaster, of course I remember it. I also recall that it was ended completely by a miracle...”
“Indeed, but such a miracle is impossible now...”
“That's not necessarily true.”
“Hmm...” Hearing Miketsu's words, Ao Andon looked at her with a hint of surprise. At this moment, Miketsu was raising her sword-wielding hand high.
“Don't forget, I possess the ability to seize the demonic power of defeated foes. Just now, I killed the Secret Lore Doppelganger you summoned. From that doppelganger, I temporarily seized your demonic power. Using this portion of demonic power as a catalyst, I can also use one of your abilities... Hundred Lore Secret Break!”
“What?!”
Under Ao Andon's astonished gaze, Miketsu's demonic blade rapidly shrank and transformed amidst a blue light, finally reconstructing itself into a strange accessory in her hand.
It was an unusual item worn on her wrist, with one side extending outwards like an axe blade. Ao Andon didn't know what it was, but Miketsu knew. In her previous life, this thing was called a duel disk!
“Then, it's my turn now. Draw!”
Miketsu declared, then drew a card from the illusory deck of the duel disk. The card in Miketsu's hand radiated a warm light. Holding the card between two fingers, Miketsu pointed her hand towards the sky.
Above the pitch-black sky, a golden radiance formed a pillar of light that shone down upon Miketsu's divine form, turning the many yokai rushing towards her into dust. Depicted on the card Miketsu displayed was a white-haired maiden, holding a bow and arrow, riding a divine fox, bathed in light with a serene expression.
“mythic summon, descend... Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami!”
Rate on N.U.
