The Medium

In the darkness of the metropolis, amidst the damaged blocks following the chaotic battle, the thick demonic energy that had accumulated earlier had finally dispersed. The dispute between the yokai of Shikoku and the Nura Clan had settled down under various accidents and the intervention of a powerful force. After being washed over by a series of revelations that could be considered major news in the demon realm, the hearts of the gathered yokai were in a state of extreme turbulence.

The Great Clan Leader of Shikoku, Inugami Gyobu Tamamura, and the Great Clan Leader of Kanto, the Slippery Nura, were actually former colleagues? The yokai of the Nura Clan and Shikoku shared a common origin? The Great Commanders Nura Rihyon and Tamamura were once subordinates of that mysterious black-clad yokai? Such a terrifyingly powerful existence actually existed in the world... If such a being was the 'Grand Commander of the Grand Commanders,' the 'Great Yokai among Great Yokai,' then everything made sense.

No one expected that a super-yokai possessing such power would still be living in seclusion. For a moment, all the yokai developed an intense interest in the past of that black-clad demon. Looking at the three great yokai on the field, the crowd was desperate to discuss their past relationships with each other. However, no one dared to be the first to open their mouth; after all, these were still their commanders. Out of fear, every yokai kept their words bottled up inside.

Not a single soul dared to make a sound, but they all stared longingly at the center of the battlefield, their ears pricked up to the limit, hoping to catch more explosive news from the dialogue of these giants. It was already foreseeable that after tonight, a flood of incredible rumors would spread from Tokyo to the demon realms across the country.

At the focal point of the yokai's gaze, Miketsu looked at the bowing Nura Rihyon and couldn't help but smile inwardly. She then spoke again in a steady voice.

"No need for such formalities now, Nura Rihyon. I stopped using that title long ago. You two are the commanders now, not I."

"Haha... How can you say that, My Lord? You are the 'First Grand Commander of Yokai.' If even you do not use that title, then who in this world is qualified to use it? At best, we are all just imitators." Nura Rihyon spoke as he straightened up. Beside him, Tamamura held his belly and laughed loudly.

"Haha, Nura Rihyon, you finally came out! Since the Commander is here, why didn't you come to pay your respects immediately? How long were you planning to hide?" Tamamura spoke to Nura Rihyon with clear mockery in his voice, seemingly quite proud of himself for breaking Nura Rihyon's attempt to maintain his dignity.

Hearing Tamamura's words, Nura Rihyon snorted coldly. "Hmph. I saw that this place was crowded and full of eyes and ears, making it unsuitable for a meeting. I intended to wait for things to quiet down before appearing to see the Commander. I didn't expect this old tanuki to be so tactless as to call me out like this. Our conversation involves many ancient secrets of the demon realm. Is this something these youngsters should be hearing?"

Nura Rihyon fabricated his excuse on the spot, speaking with such righteous conviction that his face didn't redden and his heart didn't skip a beat. His proficiency in making things up showed he had thousands of years of experience in talking nonsense. However, Tamamura, who knew him through and through, didn't buy it at all.

"Ancient secrets? What secrets are there to tell... For example, how a certain fellow once ran up a huge debt for sake and was chased around Heian-kyo twice by a Nekomata, eventually having to borrow money from Seimei?" Tamamura said with a smirk.

Hearing his words, the ears of the yokai outside—especially those of the Nura Clan—twitched as they filtered for information. The Great Commander once owed sake money and was hunted by a Nekomata? It seems his skill at getting free meals wasn't very advanced back then. Which Nekomata was strong enough to do that? And Seimei? The Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei?! The Great Commander knew Abe no Seimei back then? Can an Onmyoji really be friends with a yokai?

Seeing Tamamura's smug look, Nura Rihyon's expression suddenly darkened, and he spoke coldly.

"Or perhaps how a certain fellow liked to turn into a pretty boy to seduce young girls, racking up debts of passion while simultaneously getting a door slammed in his face by a great oiran?"

Hearing this, the ears of the Shikoku yokai twitched, and they immediately began extracting scandalous details about their own commander from Nura Rihyon's words.

The Great Commander doesn't just like original, un-transformed female tanuki? He used to like turning into a pretty boy to seduce girls? And he even pursued a poet sage but failed? What caused the Great Commander to change from liking beautiful human girls to preferring female tanuki? Was it because he was heartbroken after being rejected by that oiran?

For a moment, the Shikoku yokai began wildly imagining the romantic history their commander once had, picturing the powerful charm that rejected oiran must have possessed to make the commander so disheartened that even his aesthetic sense changed.

"Cough, cough!" Hearing Nura Rihyon's words, Tamamura quickly coughed and spoke directly.

"Well, Nura Rihyon, what you said earlier does make some sense. Some ancient secrets should indeed not be heard by the younger generation. Let's find a quiet place to talk later," Tamamura said, clearing his throat. He realized that if he continued to trade 'dark history' with Nura Rihyon in public, it wouldn't be long before he couldn't hold his head up in the clan. His dignity was dropping rapidly.

Watching the two of them act like a pair of eccentric jokers, Miketsu couldn't help but smile, wondering if their usual gatherings were always like this. They didn't have a shred of the maturity their appearances suggested; even after a thousand years, they were still the same jokers they were in their youth.

In fact, what Miketsu didn't know was that their past gatherings were usually spent lamenting the passage of time, drinking tea and chatting like true old men. The reason they were so active today was entirely due to her appearance.

To Owl, the passage of a thousand years didn't seem to have left a single mark. This made Nura Rihyon and Tamamura feel as if they had truly returned to a thousand years ago when they were in Owl's presence.

Suddenly, Tamamura looked at Miketsu again and, after a thought, spoke solemnly.

"Commander, Tamamura is ashamed. Because I failed to discipline my son, I caused today's disaster, forcing you to step out and terminate your seclusion. I will certainly prepare a feast to apologize to you, and I hope you will attend."

Hearing Tamamura's words, Miketsu nodded slightly and spoke. "However, I should correct one thing. I did not come out of seclusion specifically because of your son's actions, so you needn't be overly self-reproachful."

To make Tamamura feel better about his son's matter, Miketsu spoke thus. Hearing this, Tamamura's brow furrowed slightly, and he spoke with some curiosity.

"Cough! Cough!!" Before Tamamura could finish, Nura Rihyon beside him coughed violently, cutting him off. Then, Nura Rihyon continued sternly.

"Tamamura, the Commander's actions naturally have their own reasons. The matters handled by someone of the Commander's level are surely beyond what you or I can imagine. The Commander's emergence this time must be for an extremely important and secret reason. If he does not take the initiative to tell us, do not ask further, understood?"

Nura Rihyon spoke this way because, based on his experience earlier that day, he believed he knew the reason Owl had suddenly come out. His words were to prevent Tamamura from prying. The Commander came out because of the reincarnation of his beloved woman; Asakura Hao is the Commander's weakness. If you keep asking like this, you'll be prying into the Commander's private life!

Hearing Nura Rihyon's words, Miketsu, who was preparing some excuse to respond to Tamamura, was momentarily stunned. She thought that Nura Rihyon made Owl out to be far more profound than he was. But since he had provided a temporary reason for her emergence, she might as well use it to save herself the trouble of coming up with something else.

Consequently, Miketsu did not respond to Nura Rihyon's statement, appearing to give a form of tacit consent. This situation caused the surrounding yokai to be shocked once more, and their hearts grew frantic.

The former master of the Great Commanders, that powerful great yokai who was secluded for a thousand years, suddenly emerged because of some important and secret reason? If an existence of this level considers it 'important' and must 'personally intervene,' then how massive must the scale of this matter be? Is the demon realm about to be turned upside down?

After interpreting Owl's emergence this way, the expressions of many yokai on the scene darkened. Kejoro and other Nura Clan officers looked at each other, seeing the same worried look on everyone's faces.

For a moment, all the yokai felt that something big was about to happen. But the actual situation was vastly different.

What big event? If anything, the Great Commander chasing a girl is the big event. I have to help him keep his cover, Nura Rihyon thought.

What big event? Since I can't think of a reason for coming out, I'll just say that. As a riddler, I'll let them guess whatever they want, Miketsu thought from beneath her black robe. She never could have imagined how Nura Rihyon was interpreting her actions at that moment.

Hearing Nura Rihyon's words, Tamamura also nodded with a heavy and thoughtful expression, then continued.

"I see. In that case, I won't ask the Commander anything more. This isn't the place for a conversation. Nura Rihyon, let us finish processing the matters here before finding a quiet place to speak with the Commander."

Tamamura spoke thus, and Nura Rihyon nodded in agreement. Then Tamamura turned around and looked at the yokai belonging to Shikoku.

"Where are Saburo's retainers? Take this brat away."

Pointing at the unconscious, heavily injured Saburo beside him, Tamamura spoke with authority to the Shikoku yokai. Hearing their leader's command, the gathered yokai bowed their heads. After a while, a female yokai with hair as sharp as needles spoke up.

"Reporting to the Great Clan Leader, Lord Saburo's retainer, Inugami, has already died in the chaos earlier."

"Dead? Saburo has more than just Inugami as a retainer, doesn't he?" Frowning, Tamamura continued. The female yokai continued her report.

"...Besides Inugami, there was also Yosuzume as Lord Saburo's retainer. But... but in the battle just now, she completely disappeared without a trace. Yosuzume was originally responsible for hiding our base..." the female yokai said with some complaint. Hearing this, Tamamura's brow furrowed even deeper.

"What? Yosuzume? Shouldn't Saburo's retainers be Inugami and Yamabushi Tengu? Where is the Tengu I personally appointed to supervise Saburo? Where did this Yosuzume come from? In my Shikoku 88 Night Parade, there has never been a yokai called Yosuzume!"

Tamamura spoke sternly. Hearing this, the Shikoku yokai, including the needle-haired female, were stunned. They looked at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Is there no Yosuzume in our clan?"

Moving back in time to the Nura Residence in Ukiyoe-cho.

Just after the Young Lord of the Nura Clan led the main force out to battle, many black feathers suddenly scattered from the sky above the residence. These black feathers fell like rain from the west, shattering in mid-air into countless invisible, tiny fragments that were carried by the turbulent air into the eyes of the remaining yokai.

"It's so dark! So dark! What's happening? I can't see anything!"

For a moment, countless shouts rang out across the Nura Residence. Numerous yokai suddenly found their vision pitch black, completely unable to see anything. They felt along the walls and floors, screaming in terror as they tried to move, stumbling and falling everywhere.

With the elders out on guard and the middle-level combatants away with the Young Lord, every yokai in the Nura Residence had fallen victim to this. They were all suffering from a super-powered case of night blindness. The perpetrator, Yosuzume, was flying in the sky, looking down at the situation with a satisfied nod.

"It is time."

Whispering to herself, Yosuzume flapped her wings and dove down toward the depths of the Nura Residence. After crashing through several paper sliding doors, she arrived at a quiet room. Yosuzume looked around the room twice before finally focusing her gaze on a sword rack beneath a calligraphy scroll that read 'Fear.'

On that sword rack lay a simple tachi without a handguard. This was the Nura Clan's heirloom demon-slaying blade, Nenekirimaru, which the Young Lord was not currently using.

"Found it. The required medium," Yosuzume whispered. She picked up Nenekirimaru and rushed out of the room, soaring into the sky.