The Shadow Puppeteer's Purpose

On Nightless Island, upon the hidden battlefield of the West Street, Miketsu gazed at the ruins before her, her mind racing with thoughts.

There was no doubt that Toga had encountered some misfortune. While he was likely still alive, his movements were at least restricted. He would not have sent a signal in such a manner unless he had encountered a dire situation he could not handle on his own.

As a participant in this Yokai Lord duel, Toga had been defeated in the first round by Shuten-doji, who was hailed as the strongest. Now, while remaining behind alone, he had suddenly met with this incident. It was impossible not to suspect the organizer behind the scenes. After all, according to Ao Andon, the only yokai capable of manipulating boundaries was her.

Suddenly, Miketsu considered another possibility: if Toga had met with misfortune, what about the other Yokai Lords who had lost in the first round? Had they suffered the same fate? After a major battle, those lords' strength would certainly be depleted—was this not the perfect opportunity to strike?

Thinking of this, Miketsu turned to Ao Andon and spoke in a low voice.

"Where do you plan to go now?"

"Me? Well... I originally planned to find a place to rest on Nightless Island and then watch the final championship duel. But given the current situation, I feel that staying by your side, Owl General, is the safest choice~" As she spoke, Ao Andon smiled and winked at Miketsu, leaning slightly toward her with a hint of flirtatiousness in her eyes.

Miketsu stood calmly, still watching Ao Andon, and continued.

"Then, have you ever thought about investigating the conspiracy hidden behind this gathering? Don't you enjoy collecting all sorts of obscure secrets?"

"That is true, but only if my own safety is guaranteed. After that battle with you, my demonic power is almost entirely exhausted, and my strength is not what it once was. In this state, I don't have the courage to probe into the secrets behind this."

Ao Andon finished, and Miketsu gave her a meaningful look before speaking slowly.

"That may not necessarily be the case..."

Beneath Nightless Island, within the hollow ruins of the Great Altar, the orb of Black Tortoise demonic power continued to flicker with purple light in mid-air. However, several new additions now surrounded the orb.

Toga, Great Tengu, the Lord of Arakawa, and Yamakaze—the losers of the first round—were currently unconscious. Their eyes were tightly shut as they floated around the orb, oblivious to the world. Standing below, watching this scene, were Tamamo-no-Mae and Yakumo Yukari.

"All four are here. It seems... you move quite fast..." Tamamo-no-Mae turned and spoke calmly to Yakumo Yukari through the half-fox mask on his face.

"Of course~ I have some confidence when it comes to speed. Hehe... However, the reason it went so smoothly was mainly because they had already consumed a massive amount of demonic power in their previous battles. Otherwise, with their skills, even I would have had to expend considerable effort to capture them..." As she spoke, Yakumo Yukari’s gaze drifted toward Toga, who was floating nearby.

"Take that dog yokai brat from Harima, for instance. I didn't expect him to have so much demonic power left. He actually managed to break free from my restraints. To catch him, I was forced to clash with him head-on. I had to destroy an entire street before I finally caught him. If the others had been at full strength, capturing them would not have been easy, and it would have been far too easy to alert the enemy."

"And what about the destroyed street?" Tamamo-no-Mae asked.

"I peeled it away and hid it outside the Three Realms. Rest assured, no one will notice anything unusual there," Yakumo Yukari replied confidently.

"Heh, your plan is proceeding quite smoothly. It seems that after tonight, the demon realm of this land will see a change in leadership," Tamamo-no-Mae said with a light chuckle. Yakumo Yukari merely waved her fan in response.

"No, no, no... At least on the surface, nothing will change. After all, I will eventually let these Lords return safely. Of course, that will only be after I have used the boundary of reality and dreams to plant suggestions in their minds." At this point, the smile on Yakumo Yukari's lips deepened.

"On the surface, the various Yokai Lords will still be the sovereigns of their respective territories. But in the shadows, they will all follow my wise counsel. To outsiders, the demon realm will still appear as a chaotic land divided by warring lords, but in reality, they will all act according to a single will... How does that prospect sound, Golden-furred Jade-faced?"

"A shadow puppeteer? That certainly fits your style..." Tamamo-no-Mae spoke with a hint of disdain, but the other woman merely put on an innocent expression.

"It can't be helped. To unify all the forces of the demon realm, one must find a way to make these arrogant and unruly fellows listen. They aren't like common lackeys who will follow whoever is strongest... Even if a 'strongest yokai' is truly decided, those Yokai Lords would at most show a bit of respect. That falls far short of the level of unification I desire..." Yakumo Yukari continued. As the Great Sage of Yokai, she understood them perfectly. She knew that managing yokai was far more difficult than managing humans; unifying all yokai factions was a monumental task.

"So since overt methods won't work, you resort to the shadows, using such petty tricks to achieve your goal..."

"Yes. As the Yokai of Boundaries, I can see certain trajectories of fate. In the future, the world will undergo earth-shattering changes. The tides of the era may wash away the very environment yokai currently rely on for survival. Yokai must be unified to stand firm amidst this transformation, and perhaps even secure more space and a higher position..." Yakumo Yukari continued to look toward the future. Her goal was undoubtedly for the sake of all yokai.

"If your ideals are fully realized, yokai will surely flourish, but other living beings will likely not have it so easy." Tamamo-no-Mae looked at Yakumo Yukari with a serious expression.

"Naturally~ but that doesn't matter. After all, I am the Great Sage of Yokai. I am neither a god nor a saint; I can only act in the interest of yokai~ I have wanted to implement this plan for a long time. I must thank you for providing me with this precious opportunity. Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought of anything that could lure all those fellows to one place." Yakumo Yukari waved her fan.

"We are simply taking what we each need. All I want is the destruction of Heian-kyo. Whatever happens afterward, whether to humans or yokai, has nothing to do with me." After Tamamo-no-Mae finished speaking, an eyeball flew to his side and projected several characters into the air. After reading them, he spoke to Yakumo Yukari again.

"The battle between Owl and Ao Andon has ended; Owl is the winner. The match between Shuten-doji and Otakemaru has also concluded; Shuten-doji won. You can begin your next move."

"Oh my, that was fast. It looks like I'll be busy again." As Yakumo Yukari spoke, she stepped into a gap that had opened before her.