Soul Summoning

In the outskirts of Tokyo, within the war-torn ruins beneath the lush forest, stood a bloody bunker. The yokai Yosuzume and Minamoto Gorozaemon continued along the deep, dark tunnel, having already descended far into the mountain.

"Are we not there yet?" Yosuzume asked, looking at the elderly yokai leading the way. Her companion replied with a sinister chuckle.

"Hehe... don't be in such a hurry. We're almost there. Look, isn't it just ahead?" As he spoke, Minamoto Gorozaemon pointed a withered finger forward. Yosuzume followed his direction and saw a square light appearing in the darkness ahead. It was the end of the tunnel—an open, twisted iron door with flickering lamplight behind it. Following Minamoto Gorozaemon, Yosuzume stepped through the door into a vast, open underground space.

Several thick brick pillars supported an arched ceiling five or six meters high. The few remaining ancient ceiling lights cast a weak glow. Beneath them, tables and chairs were overturned in the subterranean space. Rusted pipes stretched along the old brick walls, occasionally showing signs of damage. The walls were covered in Five-pointed Kikyo Seals and incantations, alongside dense bullet holes and claw marks. At the far edges, several iron doors stood either open or closed, their tunnels connecting to other chambers. In the center of this underground area, the slowly accumulating debris had been cleared away, revealing a space now marked with a bright red magical array. The array used the Five-pointed Kikyo Seal as its core.

"Finally, we've arrived. Hehe. Now, thrust that blade into the center of the array. It will activate on its own. This ritual has been prepared for a long time; it only lacked the medium."

Minamoto Gorozaemon chuckled as he looked at the crimson array. Hearing his words, Yosuzume stepped forward and drove Nenekirimaru directly into the center of the array. Immediately, the entire array began to radiate a vivid crimson light. Seeing this, Yosuzume quickly jumped back.

"An autonomous array that can function without a host?" Yosuzume muttered in a low voice. Beside her, Minamoto Gorozaemon continued to smile as he answered.

"You have a good eye. Indeed, this is the unrestrained and powerful onmyojutsu of that lord. An array that can activate even without a host—something modern onmyoji wouldn't dare imagine. Hehe... this is an evocation. Using a murderous weapon as a medium to summon the souls of those who fell beneath its blade. This array uses the Nura Clan’s heirloom sword to call upon the spirit of the man who died here."

"He was once the commander of this onmyo bunker, a super-genius of the Imperial Onmyo Academy, the creator of countless war jutsu-shiki, and the foremost figure of Japanese Onmyodo during the Old Empire era!"

Accompanied by Minamoto Gorozaemon's voice, the red light of the array grew brighter. The air filled with the wailing of ghosts. Blood began to seep from the blade of Nenekirimaru at the center of the array. These droplets of fresh blood suspended themselves in mid-air. Countless soul flames manifested out of nowhere, converging toward the blood. Watching the point of convergence, the demonic eye on Minamoto Gorozaemon's head widened as he shouted.

"Return your soul! Onmyo Major General of the human Old Empire, Kitano Saburo!"

Amidst the howling of ghosts, the center of the array—the focal point of blood and soul flames—suddenly exploded. A pulse of spiritual power mixed with demonic energy rippled outward. Yosuzume raised her hand to shield herself from the invisible shockwave. When she lowered her hand, she saw a figure slowly turning from translucent to solid at the center of the array.

The figure appearing in the array was that of a young man in his twenties. He wore a grayish-yellow Old Empire army officer's uniform, black military boots, and a long cloak that reached his knees. A saber hung at his waist, and an officer's cap sat on his head. Beneath the cap was messy black hair and a handsome face marked with a single scar.

'A human evil spirit?'

Yosuzume thought to herself as she watched the figure. Feeling her gaze, the young man in the array slowly turned his head. He stared at Yosuzume with cold, indifferent eyes, exuding an icy murderous intent. Alarm bells rang in Yosuzume's mind.

The young man's evil spirit blurred, and in the next second, he was right in front of Yosuzume. She hurriedly raised her naginata, barely blocking the strike aimed at her. She looked up, meeting the cold gaze of the evil spirit, and felt a chill run down her spine.

"Bone-Piercing Spikes."

Following the young man's quiet murmur, two bone spikes covered in incantations manifested beside him. They shot forward at extreme speed, piercing through Yosuzume's shoulders and pinning her to the ground. Yosuzume tried to use her power, but found she couldn't muster any. The young man's blade was already raised, swinging down toward her. Yosuzume's eyes widened as the materialized tip of the blade rushed toward her face.

At the last moment, the young man suddenly stopped, the blade tip halting right before Yosuzume's eyes. Looking down at the terrified yokai, the young officer spirit spoke slowly.

"Hmph, a shikigami."

Whispering, the evil spirit stepped back two paces. He adjusted his officer's cap and spoke to the trembling Yosuzume. "In the lands where the imperial prestige reaches, all humans, ghosts, and gods shall be ruled by my Emperor. On the earth where the sun disk shines, all evil shall be burned to ash. No yokai shall exist, except those serving as shikigami."

Hearing his words, Yosuzume bit her lip. She wanted to say something but couldn't find her voice. At that moment, the sound of clapping rang out from the side. She turned and saw Minamoto Gorozaemon chuckling as he clapped his hands.

"Hehe... to be able to use your power so skillfully immediately upon manifesting as an evil spirit, the Onmyo Major General of the human Old Empire truly lives up to his reputation."

Minamoto Gorozaemon stepped forward while clapping. However, the young spirit, Kitano Saburo, turned his blade and pointed the tip directly at Minamoto Gorozaemon's throat.

"Don't move. If it weren't for the traces of jutsu-shiki on you, you would be dead as well. Speak, yokai, what is your purpose in summoning me here?"

Kitano Saburo spoke coldly. Minamoto Gorozaemon, with the blade at his neck, remained unfazed and continued to answer with a smirk.

"Do not be agitated, Lord Kitano. We harbor no ill will toward you. We have summoned you only to allow you to return to this world—to give you a chance to realize your ambitions once more. Is this not the very opportunity you waited for by placing a curse upon yourself, refusing to enter the cycle of reincarnation in the Underworld after death?"

Hearing this, Kitano Saburo paused slightly before speaking again.

"That was indeed my intent. But in the future I planned, my successors were supposed to summon me. Instead, I find a shikigami and a yokai, without even their master showing his face."

As he spoke, Kitano Saburo looked down at the ritual array that had evoked him and turned him into an evil spirit. His expression shifted into one of surprise and intrigue.

"A Tsuchimikado jutsu-shiki? And an exceptionally old construction at that? No ordinary character could use such an array... Is the head of the Tsuchimikado Clan trying to summon me? That wasn't their attitude before!"

Kitano Saburo spoke with a serious expression; it was clear the array had moved him deeply. Minamoto Gorozaemon continued to chuckle in response.

"No... it has nothing to do with the Tsuchimikado Clan. The one who arranged this ritual through us is someone else entirely. That lord cannot manifest in the mortal world for various reasons, so I ask for your understanding, Lord Kitano."

"Cannot manifest in the mortal world?"

"Yes. But that will not stop that lord from sharing your vision. You are both people dissatisfied with the current state of this world. That lord knows you have many unfulfilled ambitions, which is why he has summoned you now."

As he spoke, Minamoto Gorozaemon spread his arms and continued in a loud voice. "Lord Kitano, the stage outside has already been set for you. The moment to fulfill your past wishes and achieve great things has arrived!"

Minamoto Gorozaemon’s smile grew more treacherous. "But I must warn you... this stage is filled with enemies."

Beneath the dark sky, the old empire onmyoji spirit, Kitano Saburo, hovered in mid-air. He gazed at the sprawling metropolis in the distance, brilliant with lights. Looking at the dazzling, magnificent scenery, the young officer in his old-style uniform wore a cold, dark expression.

Returning to the capital after decades and witnessing a prosperity far greater than in the past brought no joy to Kitano Saburo’s eyes. Instead, a dense gloom gathered within them.

"Disgraceful... disgraceful... truly disgraceful."

Repeating the word, Kitano Saburo gripped the hilt of his saber. Obvious fury radiated from him.

"Ha, what kind of world is this? To suffer defeat and think nothing of resistance, allowing Western brutes to run rampant... National traitors in power, evil yokai springing up everywhere, and Inari’s traitorous god prospering! The entire country is addicted to sensory pleasures, drunk on a false and hollow prosperity without a shred of integrity or backbone! Ha, has their spine been broken?"

Kitano Saburo sneered, then added another comment. "Hmph! Truly, no spirit at all!"

Beside him, Minamoto Gorozaemon, carried aloft by Yosuzume, replied with a chuckle.

"Hehe... that is exactly why this country awaits the return of a patriot like you. To expel the Western brutes, execute the national traitors, slaughter the evil spirits, and subjugate the traitorous god. To restore the imperial court and bring this nation back to its proper path."

Minamoto Gorozaemon gave a deep bow to Kitano Saburo. "And I know that you are such a patriot. That lord knows that you possess the power to turn the tide, to save this entire nation from this 'misery' and wash away the humiliation."

After Minamoto Gorozaemon finished, Kitano Saburo was briefly taken aback. He turned his head and looked at Minamoto Gorozaemon coldly. "You want to use me?"

"No, this is cooperation. Rather, the enemies on your path happen to align with ours. The enemy of my enemy is my ally, and allies should cooperate, shouldn't they? Hehe..."

Minamoto Gorozaemon continued his sinister laughter, and Kitano Saburo replied in a cold tone.

"Fair enough. However, I advise you not to play any little tricks on me. I despise you yokai."

He showed blatant disgust. "You are right about one thing. I have the power to turn the tide. That power should have been used during the Great War to change the course of the conflict. Unfortunately, at a critical moment, I fell for a demonic trick and was killed in a surprise attack by that fellow Nura Rihan. The reversal power that the entire Imperial Onmyo Academy spent its resources researching had to be sealed away as a result. Hmph, but using it now isn't bad either."

Taking one last look at the distant city, Kitano Saburo flew toward the ground. Seeing this, Yosuzume carried Minamoto Gorozaemon and followed him.

After crossing numerous dark hills, Kitano Saburo arrived at a massive, barren mountain. He slowly descended onto the summit. After searching around, he drifted to a rock face. He brushed away the vines covering the stone, revealing incantations carved into the rock.

Seeing these incantations, Kitano Saburo smiled slightly. He formed a hand seal and chanted a few words under his breath. Under a strange, invisible force, the stone wall groaned and opened automatically. Revealed behind it was a circular steel door, also engraved with incantations.

Continuing his chants and seals, the rusted steel door rolled aside with a sharp metallic screech. Behind it lay a circular tunnel. Kitano Saburo’s expression hardened as he drifted inside, with Yosuzume and Minamoto Gorozaemon following close behind.

Just like the previous bunker, the tunnel here led straight down. After drifting for an unknown amount of time, they finally reached the exit. Upon flying out of the tunnel, Yosuzume was struck with astonishment.

"Th-this is..."

What appeared before Yosuzume was an underground space far larger than the previous one. In her spiritual vision, this space, modified from a natural cavern, was over ten meters high and stretched so far that the walls were out of sight. However, it wasn't the size of the cavern that shocked Yosuzume, but what was piled up at the bottom.

Bones. Human bones. A vast, endless sea of bleached white bones of unknown depth. These bones were piled haphazardly at the bottom of the cavern, reaching an immeasurable height, forming a literal lake of death.

As a yokai, Yosuzume had seen many skeletons, but she had never seen such an exaggerated scene.

Mysterious incantations were carved into the skulls of every single skeleton. It was clear these remains had been intentionally placed here. Looking at the massive mound of dead remains, Kitano Saburo spoke with a cold sneer.

"Then, first, the prelude."

As he spoke, Kitano Saburo formed a hand seal and shouted as if making a proclamation.

"The day of the Restoration has arrived! Awaken, gentlemen! The time to give your seven lives for the nation has come!"