Death God

The ghost spirit songstress, in essence, was a massive aggregate of vengeful souls from the yujo and oiran who had accumulated over a long period on Nightless Island. These women of the pleasure quarters were manipulated at will during their lives, becoming cash cows in the hands of the island's master, only to be cruelly abandoned once they were past their prime, living out their lonely old age. Possessing similar grievances, they continued to be exploited by the island's master after death, merging to form the ghost spirit songstress, whose essence was then extracted by Sanmen-oni.

Upon realizing this, Ao Andon sighed softly. Just as she was lamenting the fate of the ghost spirit songstress, the opponent launched another round of attacks. The ghost spirit songstress's maidens condensed spheres of pitch-black demonic power and shot them towards Ao Andon. Seeing this, Ao Andon drew a card from the air.

"Secret Lore Summoning, Karasu-tengu..."

Amidst a blue light, a masked Tengu with black wings appeared out of thin air. Ao Andon grabbed the Karasu-tengu, letting it carry her in high-speed maneuvers to dodge the incoming demonic energy blasts. Then she let go, and the Karasu-tengu, gripping its long naginata, charged towards the ghost spirit songstress and pierced it.

However, the pierced part of the ghost spirit songstress immediately dissipated into vengeful souls that scattered everywhere. The ghost spirit songstress, in turn, grabbed the Karasu-tengu that had passed through its chest and crushed it. Its pierced wound was instantly repaired by the returning vengeful souls.

"Hahahaha! It's useless, Ao Andon. With your methods, you can never harm this Great Vengeful Spirit. Just surrender obediently, and I promise not to use you as a sacrifice for Lord Deity!" Facing Ao Andon, whose attack had failed again, Sanmen-oni openly mocked her without mercy. Ao Andon, however, merely smiled, unfazed.

"I wouldn't dare accept your promise so easily. And you say I have no means to deal with this Great Vengeful Spirit? Heh heh... How little you know the breadth of a Secret Lore Yokai's abilities..."

"You refuse my goodwill, hmph... I'd like to see what other tricks you have!" In response to Ao Andon's words, Sanmen-oni snorted disdainfully.

"Oh... If that's the case, then I shall let you witness this treasured piece of secret lore." With a confident smile, Ao Andon swiped her hand through the air, and a new Secret Lore card appeared in her grasp.

"Legend says, in Heian-kyo, there was a peerless beauty, exceptionally talented, famous throughout the capital, known as the Poet Sage. After her death, she accompanied Yama, guiding spirits to the Underworld. Secret Lore Summoning, Ono no Komachi..." As the Secret Lore card in Ao Andon's hand vanished into the air, a maiden appeared in the main sacrificial altar amidst a blue light.

She was a beautiful maiden with a tall, voluptuous figure. Her red hair was tied into two strands behind her head, and she wore a strange, long dress with wooden clogs on her feet. Her most striking feature was the massive scythe she carried on her shoulder. When this maiden appeared, the ghost spirit songstress trembled involuntarily. Sanmen-oni, sensing the ghost spirit songstress's abnormality, couldn't help but frown.

"This, this is..."

"This is a Soul-Guiding Reaper from the Underworld. Because this one had a very high reputation and many legends during her lifetime, she is relatively easy to summon," Ao Andon said with a smile, looking at the astonished Sanmen-oni. After hearing her words, Sanmen-oni's expression of shock deepened.

"Underworld Reaper! You, you can even summon something like this?"

"Heh heh, of course I can~" Ao Andon continued to smile. In truth, while she could usually summon a Shinigami, it consumed an extreme amount of demonic power, and she wouldn't attempt it lightly. However, this time, Miketsu had replenished her demonic power to an unprecedented, extremely saturated level, allowing her to summon without worry.

"Go, Shinigami Komachi."

Ao Andon directly extended her hand and gave the command. The summoned Komachi flew out, rapidly approaching the ghost spirit songstress. The scythe in her hand emitted a purple ethereal glow. Seeing this, Sanmen-oni frantically issued an order.

"Quick, destroy her!"

The maidens around the ghost spirit songstress fired pitch-black demonic energy blasts, but they were cut in half by Komachi's scythe mid-flight. Finally, Komachi leaped in front of the ghost spirit songstress, and her scythe swung down.

"Soul-Scattering Wandering Scythe..."

With a shriek, the ghost spirit songstress, struck by the scythe, transformed into countless souls that scattered across the main sacrificial altar. This time, they showed no intention of re-forming, but continued to drift aimlessly. Seeing this, Sanmen-oni grew anxious.

"Hurry up, you lot, quickly recover! This is no time to be lazy!"

"It's useless. A Shinigami's weapon has a special effect on spiritual bodies..." Ao Andon smiled, looking at the myriad souls, and waved her hand, speaking again to Komachi on the ground.

"Shinigami Komachi, now, guide these pitiful lost souls to the Underworld."

Obeying Ao Andon's words, Komachi swung her scythe again, cleaving the air. Immediately, a purple glowing slash appeared in space. This slash cracked open, revealing a deep chasm from which a chilling, yin mist surged, filling the entire space.

Then, Komachi raised her scythe to the sky, and all the aimlessly fluttering souls in the space swiftly gathered towards her, then poured into the chasm.

"Death Song: Eightfold Mist Passage..."

Watching the countless souls depart for the Underworld, Sanmen-oni let out a desperate roar, while Ao Andon maintained her smile and softly said,

"I hope the true Komachi will like the gift I've sent her..."

...

At the uppermost layer of the Underworld, on the near shore of the Sanzu River.

Beneath the twilight sky, the Sanzu River, reflecting strange lights, flowed forward. River lanterns floated on its banks. On the near shore, amidst the boundless sea of cluster amaryllis, two figures walked leisurely.

"Ugh~ We finished work quite early today. We finally have so much time, let's go find a place to drink." The one yawning and speaking was a man in black clothes and a black hat. He also had black hair and black eyes, and carried a large scythe on his shoulder.

"Indeed, it's been a long time since we had such leisure. Let's truly relax." The one replying was a man in white clothes and a white hat. He had white hair and red eyes, and held a long banner in his hand.

They were known as Kuro Mujou and Shiro Mujou, a pair of Shinigami partners in the Underworld. Kuro Mujou was the Reaper of Final Lifespans, and Shiro Mujou was the Soul-Guiding Reaper.

Today, they had finished their work early and were preparing to go somewhere to relax and drink, but unexpectedly, they heard a piercing scream on the near shore of the Sanzu River.

"Ahhh! What in the world is going on?!"

Hearing this sound, Kuro Mujou and Shiro Mujou exchanged glances, then headed in the direction of the scream. They saw a vast number of soul flames densely gathered on a riverbank, and in the center of this pile of soul flames, a red-haired maiden was clutching her head, looking utterly distraught.

"That, that seems to be Senior Komachi, right? If I remember correctly, she's a Shinigami under Lady Shiki."

"Yes, it's Senior Komachi. But so many souls... did she guide all of them?"

Looking at the multitude of souls and the frantic Komachi, both Kuro Mujou and Shiro Mujou were quite curious. Just then, Komachi's head suddenly turned, and seeing the two in the distance, her eyes lit up like stars, as if she had found her saviors.

"Ah! So it's you two! Long time no see. By the looks of it, are you off work? Then hurry and help me guide all these souls to the other shore. There are so many, I really can't manage them all!"

Seeing the enthusiastically greeting Komachi, Kuro Mujou and Shiro Mujou both stiffened. After glancing at each other from the corners of their eyes, they nodded slightly. Then Kuro Mujou cleared his throat and spoke to Komachi.

"Ahem, to be honest, Senior Komachi, we've received an official assignment in the human realm and are rushing there now. We'd really like to help you, but we truly don't have the time, so we apologize."

"That's right, that's right. Our jurisdiction is very busy with many official duties, as you know. We also want to help Senior Komachi, but we really don't have time. Moreover, regulations state that soul-guiding affairs between different jurisdictions cannot be mixed. Helping you with one or two souls is fine, but this many would be a serious violation..." Shiro Mujou also helped Kuro Mujou explain. Hearing this, Komachi immediately drooped her head and said mournfully,

"Ugh... So I have to do it all by myself in the end? Where did all these souls come from? Why are they all clinging to me? When will this ever end? Is this perhaps punishment for my previous laziness?"

Looking at the scene before them, Kuro Mujou and Shiro Mujou quietly retreated a few steps, and swiftly departed without a sound. Only the distraught Komachi remained, surrounded by a huge pile of souls.