Cooperation

“Primal Demonic Orb!”

Accompanied by a bold, resonant voice, a bright yellow projectile, brimming with highly concentrated demonic power, whistled through the streets of Nightless Island, striking the Tokoyo-no-Kami as it slowly crawled forward. The demonic power projectile exploded upon its bloated, corpulent body, causing the colossal larva to swerve slightly and halt its advance.

Startled awake by the violent explosion, Ao Andon snapped out of her fear of the Tokoyo-no-Kami. She looked in the direction the demonic power projectile had flown from, where she saw a familiar figure.

On top of a Five-Story Pagoda at the edge of the street, the Ghost King, with his robust physique, stood with a massive Demon Sake Gourd on his back. Shuten-doji, manifesting in his divine child form, stared disdainfully at the distant Tokoyo-no-Kami. The divinity granted by the divine blood within him made him immune to the indiscriminate illusion naturally emitted by the Tokoyo-no-Kami.

“Hmph, this great one thought some insolent creature had created this cage, but it’s just a disgusting worm. Since you dared to trap this great one with you, then prepare to be beaten to death…” Shuten-doji said, clenching his fists. With a leap, he pushed off the Five-Story Pagoda beneath his feet and directly jumped towards the distant Tokoyo-no-Kami.

“Shuten-doji? With a demon of divine blood like you joining, perhaps we’ll have a few more chances of victory…”

Ao Andon let out a sigh of relief at the sight, then controlled the massive Tsuchigumo summoned by the Heian-kyo demonic calamity, sending it rushing towards the Tokoyo-no-Kami.

...

On a beach on the western side of Nightless Island.

The Lord of Arakawa, Yamakaze, Great Tengu, and Toga—these four Yokai Lords who had been defeated in the initial round and then ambushed and hypnotized by Yakumo Yukari—now lay in a row. Miketsu, dressed in black, knelt beside Toga, her bandaged hand resting on him. She was attempting to dispel the demonic technique on Toga.

“I never expected this, General Owl. You actually understand jutsu-shiki and can even dispel such complex demonic techniques,” Abe no Seimei said, standing to the side and looking at Owl with a hint of surprise. He admitted that even he would need a long time to dispel the demonic technique left by Yakumo Yukari.

“Heh, that just shows your lack of experience, little brother Seimei. This is the General, after all,” Slippery Nura said with a knowing smile, responding to Seimei’s words. Now, the two Heian-kyo teams, one overt and one covert, had finally successfully reunited on Nightless Island.

Miketsu did not directly respond to Seimei or the others, instead focusing on dispelling Yakumo Yukari’s jutsu-shiki. No, strictly speaking, Miketsu didn’t truly understand jutsu-shiki. What she was doing was not attempting to dispel the jutsu-shiki itself, but rather directly using the Demon-Slaying Power inherent in Inari divine power, selectively and precisely clearing away the demonic power left by Yakumo Yukari.

After thirteen years, Miketsu could now control her Demon-Slaying Power with extreme precision, releasing it at will. The current Miketsu could even touch yokai directly without burning them. Furthermore, the Demon-Slaying Power she released could identify the demonic power of different yokai, acting only on the specific type of demonic power Miketsu targeted.

Miketsu was currently using this method to clear Yakumo Yukari’s demonic power from within these sleeping Yokai Lords without harming them, thereby directly causing the demonic technique to collapse due to lack of sustenance.

Finally, under Miketsu’s power, the hypnotic demonic techniques on the four Yokai Lords were dispelled one by one. Miketsu completed all her work when the last Yokai Lord, Great Tengu, awoke.

“Hiss… Esteemed Owl… where is this? I remember I was on my way back, and then suddenly…” Great Tengu slowly stood up, rubbing his head, trying to piece together his hazy memories.

“We are still on Nightless Island, Tengu boy. This so-called gathering was a conspiracy, and we were attacked on our way back…” The Lord of Arakawa, who had awakened a little earlier than Great Tengu, answered him.

“A conspiracy, an attack?”

“Yes, indeed. This gathering had a hidden mastermind behind it that we were unaware of. When I finally realized something was wrong, I sent a signal to General Owl. Thanks to him, we were all able to escape…” It was Toga who spoke. When he first woke up and saw Owl, he knew his final signal had worked.

“I didn’t directly save you. If you want to thank someone, you should thank my subordinate Slippery Nura, as well as the Onmyoji of Heian-kyo, and Ao Andon…” As Miketsu spoke, she looked at Slippery Nura and Seimei beside her, and they all nodded thoughtfully.

“Human Onmyoji? How are they here?”

“Slippery Nura? I see…”

“Ao Andon… where is she?” The last question came from Yamakaze. He hadn't seen the woman he had fought earlier among those present.

“She is currently facing the ultimate mastermind of this gathering with Shuten-doji,” Miketsu said slowly, pointing towards the other end of the island, where demonic power continuously erupted. The beach they were on was beneath a cliff, and due to the height difference, they couldn’t see the intense battle, only a soaring blaze.

“The ultimate mastermind of this gathering? What is it?” Listening to Miketsu’s words, the Lord of Arakawa frowned.

“It is a threat from ancient times, a monster named Tokoyo-no-Kami. Time is short, so I cannot describe in detail what it is or why all this is happening. You only need to know that we are still in crisis. Look over there…” Miketsu said, pointing towards the ocean, at the colossal light-thread cage descending from the sky.

“That’s… a cage? A cage imprisoning the entire island?”

Following Miketsu’s hand, the Yokai Lords who witnessed this all showed expressions of astonishment, more or less. Even with their power, achieving such a feat would be difficult.

“This is a barrier set up by the Tokoyo-no-Kami to prevent our escape… Its ultimate goal is to devour all living beings on this island,” Seimei explained, looking at the Yokai Lords.

“Hmph, how arrogant. Some unknown entity dares to try and devour us! I will make this so-called god suffer,” the Lord of Arakawa immediately scoffed, looking as if he was ready to jump into battle. The others also showed similar expressions.

“Hold on, Lord of Arakawa. You are not its match. Now is not the time for you to directly intervene,” Miketsu interjected to stop them. Hearing Miketsu’s words, the Lord of Arakawa was both surprised and angry.

“We’re not its match? Are you looking down on us?”

“If I were looking down on you, I wouldn’t have bothered to wake you. Perhaps if you were all at your peak, you might have a chance against the Tokoyo-no-Kami, but aren’t you aware of your current state? How many moves can your demonic power still sustain?” Miketsu responded directly to the Lord of Arakawa. The Lord of Arakawa paused slightly upon hearing this, not immediately replying. Indeed, they were still in a state of insufficient demonic power, and their strength was far from their peak.

“Even so, we will not sit idly by and await death when crisis strikes…”

“I won’t let you sit idly by, Lord of Arakawa. I woke you up precisely because you can be useful, but that use is not for you to clash directly with the Tokoyo-no-Kami.” Miketsu continued, looking at the Lord of Arakawa and the other three Yokai Lords. A hint of confusion appeared on their faces.

“What exactly do you intend to do, Owl?”

“I intend to defeat the Tokoyo-no-Kami, and for that, I will need a little cooperation from all of you…”