The Exit

Daytime in Tokyo, afternoon at the Kagami-oboro Inari Shrine on Mount Kagami-oboro.

In an open space behind the shrine, there was an area specifically cordoned off with shimenawa. Within this space, several square, thick mats were pieced together, and atop them, two figures stood in a standoff.

One was Miko. She was currently dressed in gym clothes, wearing protective gear on her vital areas and a helmet. Her body was slightly crouched, her breath coming in heavy gasps. She stared forward with intense focus at the tall, unusual figure facing her. It was a fox—a bipedal, reddish-brown fox with a robust, muscular build, standing over 1.8 meters tall!

This fox stood tall in a humanoid posture, wearing a military-green training uniform. His entire body was rippling with powerful muscles that even his thick fur couldn't hide. His massive arms were folded across his chest, and a large, fluffy tail swept back and forth. He wore a pair of black aviators and a beret. The cap badge featured a circular rice ear pattern, a fierce fox face, and crossed arrows. A faint, knowing smile played at the corners of the fox's mouth.

"What's wrong, Lady Miko? Is this all you've got? I haven't even finished warming up yet! Was all your training these past few days for nothing?" the muscular fox shouted at the panting Miko. Hearing his words, Miko swallowed hard and sharpened her focus.

With a loud cry, Miko lunged at the muscular fox. As the power-enhancing incantations on her protective gear flashed, she threw a punch. However, the fox nimbly dodged the strike and immediately exploited her opening. Still keeping his arms folded, he swept his leg out, sending Miko crashing heavily onto the mats.

"Your openings are still too large when you strike. Have you forgotten the essentials I taught you? At this rate, even if I've temporarily given you the physical capacity to face me, you'll never be able to take me down!" the muscular fox said slowly, his back turned to Miko as she struggled to get up. Inside, Miko was complaining bitterly.

'What kind of crazy fox is this? Are all the guys from the main shrine such freaks?'

Despite her thoughts, Miko managed to struggle back to her feet after what felt like the hundredth fall. Facing the tall fox shadow with his back turned to her, she wiped the corner of her mouth while gasping for air.

"I'm... not done yet!"

Murmuring, Miko charged at the beefy fox once more. She thought she had to teach this overconfident fox a lesson for leaving his back wide open.

She reached the fox's rear, prepared to strike his exposed back while he was off guard. However, beneath those sunglasses, the fox's smile widened.

Instantly, the fluffy tail swinging behind him whipped around with violent force toward the charging Miko. Startled, Miko skidded to a halt and dodged, narrowly avoiding the tail's scissor-like strike. Then, her expression hardened as she reached out and successfully grabbed the large tail.

'I got it!'

Seeing this, Miko felt a surge of joy. From watching TV, she knew that the tail was crucial for an animal's balance and was much weaker than the limbs. As long as she held the tail, she had a chance to break his balance and throw him!

Just as Miko was celebrating internally, the muscular fox remained unmoved. With his back still turned and his arms folded, he spoke in a deep, booming voice.

"So you've identified the tail as a weakness? I'll give you a few points for your keen observation, Lady Miko. But... unfortunately for me, a 'weak tail' is a thing of the past..."

As he spoke, the fox's legs bent slightly. Miko suddenly felt a surge of irresistible force erupt from the fluffy tail she was gripping. Panicked, she tried to let go, but it was too late.

"As a member of the 'Fox Hunt' special forces directly under the main shrine, even our tails must be trained to be as strong as our limbs!"

With those words, the fox's massive tail whipped violently. Miko's entire body was flung into the air before crashing hard onto the mats again, her head spinning.

'Ugh... that's cheating! How can a tail have that much power? This is totally cheating!' Miko screamed in her head. Even with the mats, being thrown so many times was taking a toll on her body, making her momentarily want to just stay down.

"Is that all it takes to finish you? I'm disappointed, Lady Miko. Think of the demons from the demon realm that terrorize you daily. If you truly want to eliminate them with your own power, hard training is the only way! Divine blessings are ultimately external; only a sufficiently powerful body can make ten thousand ghosts tremble and fear to even approach you!" the muscular fox shouted, still maintaining his folded-arms pose.

Hearing his words, Miko thought of the various terrifying spirits she had encountered. Gasping, she stood up again and faced the muscular fox once more. Seeing the girl's resolve, the fox couldn't help but smile approvingly.

"Heh, that's more like it. Come at me again! Young lady, you have a long way to go to become a qualified demon-slaying Miko! By the divine oracle, I will train you well!"

As he spoke, the muscular fox watched the girl charging toward him.

At the edge of the training ground, inside the back room of the Kagami-oboro Inari Shrine, Miketsu, dressed in her red and white miko outfit, was reclining on her side. Before her sat a can of cola, a slice of watermelon, and a bag of senbei. She was munching on a senbei while watching the training through the wide-open sliding doors, admiring the professional movements of her divine messenger and thinking to herself that it was quite a show.

This muscular fox was named Godake. Miketsu had specifically asked Tsuruha to arrange for him from the main shrine, and then Miketsu had summoned him directly using Divine Messenger Summoning. He was a member of the special forces directly under the Inari main shrine, a unit composed entirely of Inari foxes. He was far more professional than her when it came to physical combat training.

After all, her own strength relied entirely on her Dakini-ten authority, and her combat skills were based on causality vision. She didn't really have much experience to pass on to Miko. So, Miketsu simply brought in a professional. She would just stick to teaching Miko talismans, spells, and divine arts. After all, she had been an Onmyo Taiyu in the Heian period; though there was some fluff in that title, she still had a solid understanding of the craft.

Still, this fox was a tough character, having trained himself into such a state... According to Tsuruha's report, Godake was an outstanding member even within his squad. It was said he once cleared an entire Bakumatsu mass grave of over forty evil spirits using nothing but his bare hands, without relying on any blessings or weapons.

'Those guys have really developed well during my absence... they have all sorts of talent now...'

Miketsu thought as she continued eating. Then, just as she saw Miko get tossed onto the mats again, a dialog box popped up on the laptop sitting on the tatami beside her. It showed Tsuruha's avatar; it was a video call request.

Seeing this, Miketsu flicked her finger while remaining reclined. A tiny paper figure lying on the tatami stood up, scurried over to the laptop's mouse on its short legs, and pushed the mouse with all its might to click 'Accept'. An interface opened before Miketsu, revealing the white-haired, fox-eared beauty that was Tsuruha's human form.

"Lady Uka..." Tsuruha said with a slight bow on the screen, seeing Miketsu reclining and eating senbei. Miketsu nodded and spoke.

"Mmm... Tsuruha? What's up?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask if you are satisfied with the candidate I selected. If not, I can replace him immediately."

Tsuruha spoke with her usual respectful tone. Miketsu glanced out of the corner of her eye at Miko, who had just been ruthlessly slammed into the ground again, and replied instantly.

"No need. This is fine. No need to change."

"I see. Then I am relieved..." Tsuruha's brow twitched slightly, and she looked at Miketsu, tentatively continuing. "By the way, Lady Uka, have you gone to see the Slippery Nura of Tokyo yet?"

"Not yet. Last time I mainly went to see his grandson. I plan to see the man himself in a while."

"The grandson of the Slippery Nura... I have heard that the chaos in Tokyo's demon realm has a lot to do with the issue of the Nura succession," Tsuruha said with a nod. Miketsu continued.

"Yes. That kid is very much like Rihyon. If he makes up his mind, he should be able to restore order to Tokyo's demon realm quickly..."

"Hehe, I thought at first you wanted Owl to return to the world, Lady Uka."

"How could I? I don't want to experience those triple-shift days again. Bringing Owl back would just be a mountain of trouble. Owl's era is long gone. Even the generation of little punks like Rihyon is almost worn out. It's time for the younger generation to step up and take responsibility."

As Miketsu spoke, she seemed to remember something. Her brow arched as she asked Tsuruha, "By the way, Tsuruha, how did Owl's story end again?" She picked up her can of cola as she asked, since she hadn't been the one to draw the curtain on Owl's tale.

"Ah... about that..."

Hearing Miketsu's question, Tsuruha froze for a moment, an awkward expression crossing her face.

Meanwhile, in the Nura Clan's mansion in Ukiyoe-cho, Rihyon's explanation to Rikuo continued. He had stood up and was now pacing slowly across the floor with his hands behind his back, reminiscing.

"He brought order to the demon realm, made the ghost markets flourish, and even the human court sought his protection... Owl used his immense strength to build a stable order in the Kinki region. But that wasn't his most proud achievement. If that were all, it wouldn't have been enough for the world's yokai to worship him and scramble to imitate his name."

"That... wasn't his most proud achievement?" Rikuo, sitting on his cushion, swallowed hard. After hearing the previous list of feats, his mind was still reeling.

Who would have thought that the yokai who appeared before him last night had such a legendary background? His overwhelming power now seemed perfectly natural—he had likely even been holding back...

"Indeed. What is most worth praising about Owl is his unparalleled strength. The Yokai Lords of the Heian period a thousand years ago were different from the current yokai commanders who rely on their Night Parade. They focused more on personal power; those who could destroy a nation single-handedly were everywhere. And Owl was the strongest among them. He once suppressed the other Seven Great Yokai Lords of that era with absolute power, ascending to the peak of all demons. His name was the most feared in the entire demon realm..."

Listening to Rihyon, Rikuo was shocked beyond measure. After a long pause, he finally spoke.

"Then... if Owl was so strong, why did he retire?"

Hearing Rikuo's question, Rihyon froze. He looked out the window at the sky with his back to Rikuo, his thoughts unreadable. Finally, he sighed.

"No matter how legendary or brilliant a hero is... in the end, they cannot escape the word 'love'."

"Love? Could it be..."

"Yes... Owl... he fell deeply in love with a human woman. But humans and yokai walk different paths; a human's lifespan cannot compare to a yokai's. Eventually, after his beloved died of old age, his heart grew cold, and he retired from the demon realm... never to involve himself in worldly affairs again..."

'Another yokai who fell in love with a human woman... and it seems he was even more devoted than Grandpa or Dad, retiring completely after she died.'

Rikuo thought to himself. Then Rihyon continued.

"Furthermore... the woman Owl loved was no ordinary human. Because of their identities, they could never truly be together. It is a truly lamentable story..."

"Identities?" Rikuo asked, puzzled. Rihyon turned around with a serious expression.

"That woman was no simple figure. She was the progenitor of the current Asakura Style of Onmyodo, one of the three great Onmyoji of that time..."

"Pffft!!"

Inside the Kagami-oboro Inari Shrine, hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu sprayed out the cola she had just sipped. She started coughing as she looked at the awkward Tsuruha on the screen.

"Cough, cough... Wh-what did you say? Those two kids put on a whole show just to give Asakura Hao and Owl an exit?" Miketsu asked Tsuruha in disbelief. She had previously told Menreiki and Qin Xin to give the identities of Owl and Asakura Hao an 'exit', but she never expected this kind of exit.

Hearing Miketsu's words, Tsuruha tapped her fingertips together nervously.

"Ah... Lady Uka, actually, it wasn't entirely those two children's idea. Actually... actually, Konkiku and I were both involved... and the main script was written by Konkiku..."