Prelude

Kyoto, Mount Inari. Within the lush, densely wooded mountain, where grass and trees flourished, a stone mountain path wound upward beneath the shade of the canopy. Countless torii gates of all sizes stood upon the path, arranged in an incredibly dense line stretching from the foot of the mountain straight to the summit. As people walked beneath these myriad torii, they felt as if they were within a vermilion corridor. The scent of ancient wood was carried by the mountain breeze, and amidst the rustling of the forest, the tourists felt a strange sense of enlightenment.

"Wow! This 'Thousand Torii' is truly magnificent! It's worthy of being Kyoto's most famous landmark!" Standing beneath the vermilion tunnel, Hayakawa Rin spoke with a sigh of admiration while taking photos. She then turned her gaze to Miketsu, who was beside her licking a popsicle.

"They say these torii were all donated by people whose prayers were answered, as a way to thank Inari Okami for her divine grace. Having so many torii here is proof that Inari Okami is truly effective at granting wishes!" Rin asked Miketsu expectantly. Hearing her words, Miketsu took a lick of her popsicle and replied slowly.

"Effective? That's certainly not it. If there were truly an effective deity who granted every request, what would be the point of working hard in this world?" Miketsu continued with a detached tone.

"Not effective? But there are so many torii here..." Rin argued.

"These torii don't really prove anything. Think about it—so many people pray here normally. As long as even one-tenth of them have their wishes come true by chance, that's still quite a large number. If these people attribute the fulfillment of their wishes to a manifestation of Inari and find it effective, and then even only one-tenth of those people return to donate a torii, the accumulated gates would still reach a significant count over time," Miketsu explained plainly while licking her popsicle. Hearing this, Rin's face fell slightly.

"Is that so? But seeing so many torii gathered together is still a wonder in itself." Listening to Miketsu, Rin spoke with a hint of disappointment. Then, looking at the surrounding gates as if suddenly remembering something, she continued loudly to Miketsu.

"Oh right! I also heard that the torii is the symbol of Inari Okami, and gathering so many of them can produce a mysterious power. Legend says that at the moment of dawn on the third day of the Inari Festival, if you pass through a thousand torii on Mount Inari, the true form of Inari Okami might descend before you to grant a blessing. If that happens, you'll have good luck for the entire year! Inaba, let's come here and try it then! Let's see if we can meet the goddess herself!"

'Pass through a thousand torii to see Inari Okami descend? What kind of rumor is that? Even if there really is an Inari Okami in this world, would she descend so easily? It's obviously fake. Don't believe such things.' Listening to Rin, Miketsu spoke as a matter of course. Unexpectedly, Rin puffed out her cheeks in defiance.

"Fake, fake, everything is fake! Anything related to Inari Okami becomes fake the moment it enters your mouth, Inaba! You're being too disrespectful to Lady Inari! I admit, although your home is in Kyoto and you know a lot of history, you're ultimately just a high schooler. You don't understand Inari Okami at all!" Rin spoke with her hands on her hips, looking quite indignant. Miketsu was momentarily stunned before pointing at her own chin.

"I don't understand?"

"Of course! Unlike me—I did my homework and thoroughly researched the legends here before coming! It's not just the legend of the Thousand-Step Torii; I want to personally verify things like the Seven Auspicious Colors and the Inari Trial Stone. Oh, right, let me tell you—Inari Okami is far more powerful than general mythology suggests! She might even be more powerful than Amaterasu Omikami!" Rin spoke with confidence, her hands still on her hips. Miketsu's mouth twitched slightly as she felt the urge to retort.

'More powerful than Amaterasu... where did you read such claims?'

"On the internet! There are many websites specifically dedicated to researching Inari Okami. I even specially bought magazines from them!" As she spoke, Rin reached into her small crossbody bag. After rummaging for a bit, she pulled out a magazine and handed it to Miketsu. Miketsu looked at the cover and saw a massive title: Secrets of Inari Grand Shrine: Deep Analysis of a Hundred Legends of Uka-no-Kami, the Powerful Goddess Who Should Not Belong to Yamato Mythology!

As Miketsu took the magazine, her mouth twitched even more violently. She flipped the magazine over to look at the publisher and finally understood what was going on.

"Published by the Folk Inari Research Association..."

Miketsu realized this was a publication from a non-official Inari Shinto organization. To put it simply, it was a group of people who worshipped Inari but were not part of the official shrine administration—a group with a strong 'folk' flavor. They practiced Inari Shinto, which could be understood as a movement advocating for Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami to be completely separated from Yamato Mythology to form an independent religion. This kind of belief actually existed thanks to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi, who came from the lower echelons of society and became the Kanpaku after unifying the land, was ambitious. He wanted to go a step further and become the new Emperor. However, the Emperor's status was derived from the eternal and unbroken lineage of Shinto; the Emperor himself was essentially the head of Shinto. With such religious support, his status could not be replaced even if he were stripped of all power. Consequently, Hideyoshi began to meddle in religion.

Near the end of the Sengoku era, Hideyoshi wanted the Inari faith, which held the majority of the public's devotion, to break away from Shinto and establish a new religion with Uka-no-Kami as the chief deity—historically known as Inari Shinto. In this version, Hideyoshi cast aside Amaterasu, the other Mihashira-no-uzunomiko, and the entire Shinto pantheon, demoting them to subordinate servants of Uka-no-Kami. He then planned to claim a blood relationship with Uka-no-Kami, creating a new legend of divine right to rule so he could become the new Emperor of Japan.

Hideyoshi's plan actually had a high chance of success because the scale of the Uka-no-Kami and Inari faith at the time almost surpassed the sum of all other deity worship. In terms of influence alone, they could certainly afford to leave Shinto and go independent. They had a grassroots foundation and official government support. With a single decree, everything could have fallen into place, and the national religion of Japan would have immediately become Inari Shinto. Shinto, which originally worshipped the Mihashira-no-uzunomiko, would have been deemed illegal heresy and completely purged from the public eye. The Emperor of the eternal lineage would have naturally been deposed. It was said the Emperor in the Kyutei-gosho at the time lived in constant terror.

However, in the end, it never happened. The reason was simple: although the public and the government supported it, Inari herself did not. In fact, the higher-ups of Inari at the time generally wanted to become the national religion to further expand their influence, so they initially supported Hideyoshi's actions. But at the final moment, Inari and Hideyoshi failed to reach a consensus on one critical issue, causing the entire plan to be shelved. That issue was how Hideyoshi should be related to Uka-no-Kami.

Initially, the Inari faction thought about weaving a story where Uka-no-Kami descended to earth, adopted the young Hideyoshi as her son, granted him various talents, and guided him to eventually take over the land. This story would be spread to pacify the people. However, Hideyoshi rejected this proposal. He insisted that to legally and logically become the new Emperor, he had to be a true descendant of the gods, just like the previous Emperors! Therefore, being an adopted son in the story wasn't enough; he had to be her biological son. That is, he wanted the story to claim that Uka-no-Kami had descended and given birth to him in the mortal world.

Inari could not accept this demand because the high-ranking members knew that Uka-no-Kami truly existed. Helping her forcibly acknowledge an adopted son was already pushing the limits of 'courting death.' For the sake of Inari's development, Her Ladyship might have tolerated that. But if they made up a scandal that ruined her reputation, wouldn't that directly invite divine punishment? Although they could have compromised by setting the story as a human created by a god, that would still imply a blood relationship between Uka and Hideyoshi, which would have given Hideyoshi a supreme status within the Inari organization. This was something the Tenko God of Inari could not tolerate. Thus, Hideyoshi never had any further contact with her until he died of illness, and the Inari Shinto plan fell through. One could say that Hideyoshi had truly angered the Tenko God.

Yet, despite the failure of Hideyoshi's plan, the influence of the propaganda he had worked so hard for remained widespread among the people. Many civilians had accepted this new religion and spontaneously organized to preach it, a movement that continued and grew even to this day. Due to the history with Hideyoshi, official Inari authorities naturally did not recognize these groups. To this day, they still independently release various publications for similar propaganda.

Recalling the various rumors about Inari Shinto that Tsuruha had explained to her, Miketsu couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. She hadn't expected so much nonsense to have happened while she was asleep.

Who would have guessed that hundreds of years ago, someone mysteriously wanted to claim her as his mother? If an adopted mother wasn't enough, it had to be his biological mother. Ancient human rulers could truly make up any story for a bit of legitimacy. Thinking back to her original historical stories in Huaxia, founding kings were constantly having stars fall into their mothers' wombs or auspicious signs appearing at birth. Clearly, Hideyoshi wanted to do the same, and to match Japanese tradition, he went straight for the divine kinship. To rival the relationship between Amaterasu and the Emperor, he wanted to be her direct descendant.

Fortunately, Tsuruha's refusal had been harsh enough. Otherwise, she would have woken up to a son for no reason. She couldn't have such a scandal; she was pure and untainted.

While thinking this, Miketsu glanced at Hayakawa Rin. Considering Rin's love for strange stories and mysteries, she might one day be recruited into one of those folk Inari Shinto groups. She had to keep a close eye on her. Those folk organizations were numerous and lacked a fixed leader or doctrine, making them chaotic. While most were harmless, some were cults using the name of Inari to hoard wealth.

"Inaba, why are you looking at me like that?" Sensing Miketsu's scrutiny, Rin spoke with a bit of unease. Miketsu gave a small smile.

"It's nothing. I just think you look like the type who's easily sold off by others."

"Ah! I am not!"

"Hehe, alright. Never mind that for now, let's keep going up. The place to pray is further ahead." As she spoke, Miketsu continued up the path of the Thousand Torii, with Rin following closely behind.

Kyoto, Inari Grand Shrine.

Time gradually passed noon and approached the afternoon. The sunlight pouring from the sky grew brighter, and the number of tourists visiting the shrine increased. At this moment, on the plaza before the Haiden, the crowd had not diminished; instead, several more queues had formed. Amidst this noisy and dense crowd, a man in a trench coat was hidden.

One of the man's hands was in his pocket, gripping a detonator connected to the cylindrical objects wrapped under his coat. His other hand was held out in front of him, and on his wrist was a watch showing the time as 1:45 PM.

"Fifteen minutes left."

Kyoto, at a crossroad on a busy street.

Before a popular bubble tea shop, countless tourists were gathered in line to buy drinks from this well-reputed establishment. Every tourist leaving the counter was immensely satisfied, holding a cup of drink and chatting with their companions as they walked toward the bustling street.

At this moment, atop a high building overlooking the intersection, a gaunt old man stood behind a billboard. With a mischievous grin, he looked down at the scene, specifically at the tanks of raw ingredients used inside the drink shop.

"Hehe, go ahead and drink! I wonder how Inari will treat you all once you go mad? This really makes me look forward to it." As he spoke, Minamoto Gorozaemon looked toward the sky and slowly continued.

"So, how much longer? Let's see... probably about a quarter-hour. Hehe... in fifteen minutes, all of Kyoto will turn into a living hell!"

Kyoto, deep in the sewers.

Beneath the roads where dense traffic flowed, a colossal skeleton nearly twenty meters long was curled within the main sewer line. Its non-existent ears were pressed against the ceiling of the sewer, listening to the sounds from the surface while it muttered anxiously.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! I can't wait! I can't wait to tear open this floor, smash those human iron insects to pieces, and start the slaughter! How much longer until the signal arrives!"

Kyoto, in the sky.

A massive blimp, carrying a giant screen broadcasting programs, flew through the sky, attracting the curious gazes of countless tourists below. At this moment, atop the blimp's massive gas bag, a purple demonic bird with a long neck, a skeletal face, and bared claws—half-bone and half-flesh—was perched.

"Hehehe, humans can actually build such a huge inflatable toy that can really fly. But since it's this big, it must be spectacular when it crashes down! I can't wait! Faster, make time go faster! Just one more quarter-hour! Hurry!"

In the streets of Kyoto, countless tourists gathered on both sides to enjoy the parade floats passing by. However, none of them realized that within some of these floats, countless vicious and greedy eyes were scanning the outside, waiting for the moment to arrive.

"Ah! It's the Big Bad Wolf! The Big Bad Wolf selling balloons! Daddy, I want to go buy a balloon!"

On the street, a young boy ran forward excitedly, wanting to buy a balloon from a plump, grey wolf plush mascot. The boy's father shook his head helplessly. As he watched the boy walk away, the originally adorable 'wolf mascot' revealed a greedy expression, inadvertently opening its mouth to show real fangs and a long tongue.

Kyoto, by a branch of the Kamo River... within the Secret Realm of the demon realm.

The demon realm of Kyoto, Choyo-machi, seemed not to have undergone much change. The wash of time here had only added many utility poles to the streets. The quaint riverside street scene was unusually cold and quiet at the moment because it was daytime. Only a few yokai walked slowly through the streets, and most shops were closed, resting to prepare for the festivities of the night.

At this moment, on a rooftop somewhere in Choyo-machi, three figures dressed in black robes stood there, a thick demonic energy emanating from them.

"Hmph, is the daytime security of Choyo-machi this lax? It feels like with that fellow's power, he could easily cause a massive riot here."

"According to intelligence, the Lord of Arakawa has left. This is our chance. Release that fellow! If there's to be chaos, all three realms of Kyoto must fall into chaos together!"

As he spoke, one of the men in black took a long scroll from his robe and unfurled it. Drawn upon the scroll was a humanoid yokai with six arms and mouths and a giant demon face. Upon it were written three large characters: Tsuchigumo.

Deep within the withered forest, amidst the drifting Shoki, the elegant small Western-style house stood. Hagoromo Gitsune sat on the balcony, looking at a massive map of Kyoto on the table before her.

"One hundred and seventy-four... one hundred and seventy-four tragedies occurring simultaneously. I wonder if you will be able to handle them? Servants of Uka. Regardless, this city will turn into hell in fifteen minutes, and even you cannot stop it."

As she spoke, Hagoromo Gitsune looked wistfully at the sky and continued to murmur.

"Everything is according to your will, Seimei. It's been a thousand years; I am so tired. Is this the last time?"

Before Hagoromo Gitsune's eyes, a pitch-black five-pointed star appeared, and from within it came a man's whisper.

"Of course. I promise you, Mother, this is the last time. For both you and me, this is the final battle—the final battle against Inari. We won't have another."