Exposed

Southern Ise, Ise Grand Shrine.

Within the vast and dense forest, a large number of ancient-style shrine buildings were constructed across a wide area. Despite their traditional design, they did not appear as weathered as typical shrines, and the structures were not particularly tall.

This was Ise Grand Shrine, one of the most important religious sites in Japanese Shinto. It was the sacred ground dedicated to Amaterasu Omikami, though many other deities were also enshrined there.

Ise Grand Shrine followed a tradition of renewal, being rebuilt at regular intervals. Because of these frequent reconstructions, the shrine did not always appear exceptionally grand, but this did not diminish its status among the many shrines and palaces of Shinto.

In the dark, dense forest not far outside the shrine, a man wearing a black robe and a bamboo hat stood silently. His face was hidden in the shadows, impossible to discern. Beside him gathered a group of commoners dressed in ordinary attire. Their eyes were vacant as they gazed toward the shrine buildings flickering through the trees in the distance.

"Go... go and pray to your gods. Go and deliver to them certain facts that have been ignored..."

The man murmured his command. Suddenly, the vacancy in the commoners' eyes vanished. They began to walk naturally toward Ise Grand Shrine, stopping both inside and outside the complex to begin their prayers.

This scene was not unique to Ise Grand Shrine. In many places across the country, at various shrines of orthodox gods, groups of strange worshippers had arrived, all praying for similar things.

...

Heian-kyo, Mount Inari, Inari Shrine.

During the day, within the Secret Realm behind the shrine, Miketsu let out a long sigh of relief as she looked at the empty clearing before her. She then picked up the tea Tsuruha had brought over and drained it in one gulp.

Just moments ago, she had cast all the metal wreckage piled up in the Secret Realm into orbit. There, the ships of the Lunar Capital had been waiting for some time. They would pack and collect all the metal remains, taking them back to the Lunar Capital to be melted and recast.

"Phew... it's finally over. I'll leave the matters at the Lunar Capital to you, Kikyo." After finishing her tea, Miketsu spoke with another sigh of relief, turning her head to look at Kikyo beside her.

"Yes, Lady Uka. I will not fail to complete the mission as expected." After speaking, Kikyo turned to look at Watatsuki no Toyohime.

"Lady Toyohime, I am ready. Let us go now."

Hearing Kikyo's words, Toyohime nodded. She bowed slightly to Miketsu and then took Kikyo's hand. Activating her ability, the two of them vanished from the spot.

The forging of the remains of the ancient god required the guidance of a ritual priest. Originally, the First Emperor had used his status as a ritual priest to dismantle his own remains to forge an army of steel; naturally, the recasting also required the participation of a ritual priest.

Through her previous confirmation using the remains as a medium, Miketsu had already selected her candidate for the role. Kikyo indeed possessed the aptitude of a ritual priest, and besides Kikyo, Miketsu had found some unexpected gains.

During Miketsu's detection, she found that Kagura also possessed the aptitude of a ritual priest. And as for whose vassal Kagura's lineage belonged to, that went without saying.

Minamoto no Kagura was the ritual priest of the Great Snake. This was something Miketsu had only just been able to confirm—one of the unexpected discoveries she made a few days ago while vetting candidates through the remains.

'That fellow, the Great Snake... to be so at ease leaving his miko with me for so long. It seems he is very confident...'

Thinking of Kagura's true identity, Miketsu couldn't help but sigh. At the same time, she was curious as to why the Great Snake had never once attempted to reclaim Kagura.

Perhaps, having realized his power was insufficient during their previous encounters, he intended to wait until his remains and divine soul were fully liberated and his strength had surged before making a move against her.

"That guy hasn't made a move in a long time... perhaps he really is gathering his strength," Miketsu mused. It seemed the Great Snake was waiting for the moment he completely broke through the seal. Until then, he didn't want to expend any more of his power.

Having disposed of the remains and seen off Kikyo, Miketsu was about to return to the shrine for a good rest when she suddenly felt a signal from the little fox, Harumutsu. The arrival of this signal gave her a start.

Harumutsu was a fox Miketsu had specifically sent to act as a liaison for Kanako and Suwako. Since Harumutsu was sending a signal, it meant something had happened at Moriya Shrine. However, Suwako had just visited Inari Shrine not long ago to inspect the remains Miketsu had found. She hadn't been back for long, yet a message was already being sent. Had some sudden emergency occurred?

With this question in mind, Miketsu walked quickly back to her room. As usual, she pulled out a sheet of white paper and used ink to concretely manifest the information Harumutsu had sent. She discovered it was a letter written by Suwako.

As she picked up the ink-stained paper, Miketsu's brow furrowed the moment she read the first line.

"Kanako has been forcibly recalled to Takamagahara..."

Yasaka Kanako—Takeminakata-no-Kami—had been forcibly recalled to Takamagahara? Why so suddenly? What did Takamagahara want with her?

Upon reading that first sentence, numerous possibilities flashed through Miketsu's mind. The foremost was that Takamagahara had decided to thoroughly investigate Kanako for concealing the news of Miketsu's awakening.

At the time, Kanako had been acting on Takamagahara's orders to check if Miketsu had awakened in Heian-kyo. However, because Miketsu had helped them see through the Great Snake's plot, Kanako had not truthfully reported Miketsu's situation to Takamagahara.

And now that Takamagahara clearly knew of her revival, were they seeking to punish Kanako for the crime of concealment?

But if that were the case, shouldn't they have summoned her long ago? Why wait until now? After all, Takamagahara had only become certain of her awakening after the seal on her godhead was erased, and that was quite some time ago. Takamagahara had even sent Takemikazuchi-no-Kami down to the mortal realm once already. Why suddenly think of this now and call her up to settle accounts?

Miketsu felt this was unlikely. Since the seal on her godhead was removed after Takamagahara had sent Kanako, Kanako could easily claim that Miketsu had awakened after her investigation was complete, and that it had nothing to do with her.

Therefore, it was unlikely Kanako was being forced to the heavens because of Miketsu's affairs.

In that case... what else about Kanako would Takamagahara find intolerable? Miketsu pondered the question and immediately found the answer.

It was Suwako...

By drawing upon the lingering prestige of an ancient god, Suwako had once been a super wild god who ruled an entire nation and refused to submit to the Yamato Mythology. To bring the entire Japanese Archipelago under the Yamato Mythology, Takamagahara had sent Kanako to subjugate Suwako's province, and she had succeeded.

Originally... Kanako was supposed to completely eradicate the faith of Suwa Daimyojin. Instead, she had spared Suwako, creating the Moriya divine name for them to share, thereby secretly preserving Suwako's faith.

Kanako had claimed to the outside world that Suwa Daimyojin was destroyed and that the province had become Yamato land. In reality, however, the faith in Suwako had never truly been extinguished.

If such a thing were exposed, could Takamagahara ever tolerate it?