In the dark night, the battle on the island in Ogura Pond continued. Toga and Kaen clashed in the sky, Yura and her shikigami blocked the cave entrance on the rocky mountain, while deep underground, Miketsu confronted Torin.
A crow continuously circled high above, its night-vision and far-seeing eyes taking in everything happening on the battlefield, relaying it in real-time to its master far away in Heian-kyo.
In a quiet room within the Minamoto Residence, Minamoto no Yorimitsu slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at his father, who was seated before him.
"How are things?" Minamoto no Mitsunaka asked directly, seeing his son open his eyes.
"It's hard to say. Oyakata's subordinates currently have an advantage, but it's difficult to turn it into a decisive victory. The dog yokai from Harima and their helpers are unexpectedly tenacious. From the looks of it, the battle will take a while longer to conclude." Minamoto no Yorimitsu quietly gave his father a general overview of the distant battlefield.
"No... this is too slow. They must show signs of a large-scale assault on the Vermilion Bird Seal. Ideally, Fujiwara no Kanehira should be killed, so he can't testify when we fabricate charges against him." Minamoto no Mitsunaka said with a hint of impatience. Clearly, the leopard cat yokai's progress was too slow, which was not what he wanted to see.
"Father, there's no use us worrying here. How about we give them a push now?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu continued, a familiar smile on his face.
"A push? How do you plan to help them?"
"Of course... by letting one out..."
...
On the island in Ogura Pond, deep within a massive underground cavern.
The collision of demonic and spiritual power unleashed immense destructive force. The ground cracked, rock walls crumbled, countless shattered stones fell from the cavern ceiling, and uncontrolled demonic energy froze a large area of the ground. The scene was a complete mess.
Miketsu stood her ground, looking at the rock wall in the distance, which had a large hole blasted through it, and the pile of rubble that had collapsed into a small hill. This was the result of her Golden Light Spell; although weakened by Torin's demonic energy fluctuations, it was still immensely powerful.
In the recent clash of powers, Miketsu had clearly won.
At this moment, Torin was completely out of sight in Miketsu's eyes. Although his demonic energy still lingered in the space, it was likely from his previous techniques.
Seeing this, Miketsu initially thought Torin might have been directly vaporized by the Golden Light Spell. After all, one blast from it could cripple even the Demon-Faced Centipede, known for its defense; a humanoid yokai would surely fare worse.
Just as Miketsu was pondering, a blood-red cloud directly penetrated the thick rock layer above the cavern ceiling, entering the space and rapidly seeping into the pile of rubble in front of Miketsu.
The moment she saw the blood-red cloud, Miketsu's brows furrowed. She could feel the despair contained within that blood mist. Upon sensing that aura, Miketsu felt as if countless wails and screams echoed in her mind. The strong bloody malevolence emanating from it caused Miketsu an extremely uncomfortable nausea. She found herself instinctively repelling the sinister power that formed the bloody cloud.
"What is this? Why am I reacting this way?!"
Just as Miketsu, enduring the nausea, was puzzled by the origin of the blood mist, a sharp pain suddenly struck her mind, and then a series of tragic, despairing voices emerged in her thoughts.
These voices belonged to old people and children, men and women, all crying out loudly, conveying the fear in their hearts. In their helpless despair, they prayed to the gods, aimlessly, without specific direction, and it was precisely because of this that their voices could be heard by Miketsu, who was very close to them.
Miketsu's mind was overwhelmed by a tide of desperate prayers. She reached out and pressed her forehead, and Tsuruha keenly noticed her unusual movement.
"Lady Uka... what's wrong with you..."
"Boom!"
Before Tsuruha could finish speaking, with a loud bang, the pile of rubble exploded, sending various stones flying far away.
Torin slowly rose from beneath the scattered rocks. At this moment, his face was terrifying, his hair disheveled, his clothes torn, his entire upper body almost bare, and he had lost one hand. A bloody, sinister power coiled around him, continuously seeping into his body.
"It's finally here... it's finally here! Now I'll make you pay!!" Torin roared cruelly, his eyes red and fangs bared. At this very moment, his body was transforming under the sinister power.
"Clack... clack... clack..."
Accompanied by the sound of cracking joints and tearing flesh, Torin's left arm, which had been vaporized by the Light Spell, rapidly regenerated. Bones restructured from the severed point, and flesh coiled around them. Simultaneously, Torin's demonic power surged.
Seeing this, Miketsu, enduring the voices in her mind, threw three paper cranes. The paper cranes swiftly flew towards the regenerating Torin, and for a moment, violent explosions completely engulfed Torin. However, the sinister, bloody power had not vanished at all, and after the dust settled, Torin's demonic power continued to surge.
Seeing Miketsu's explosions hit Torin, Tsuruha immediately began gathering flames again, preparing to follow up with an attack. But at that moment, Miketsu's words, transmitted through their contract, interrupted her.
"Tsuruha... go save them..."
"Lady Uka, what are you saying?!" Tsuruha was startled, looking in astonishment at Miketsu, who was clutching her forehead.
"On the beach to the north of this island... they are performing a blood sacrifice of humans... many people haven't been harmed yet... go save them quickly now..."
"But if Tsuruha leaves, Lady Uka, you..."
Before Tsuruha could finish, a large number of ice spikes burst from the dissipating dust, shooting towards Miketsu. Miketsu swiftly dodged using the Yu-step, and the icy, sharp spikes whizzed past her, piercing several holes in the black robe she wore.
"I can handle this myself. Just go quickly, don't worry about me..."
Hearing Miketsu's words, Tsuruha froze. All the words she had wanted to say were swallowed back. What Miketsu had just said was so familiar.
Tsuruha knew that when her deity spoke such words, there was no point in forcing herself to stay by her side.
"May you be safe, Lady Uka..."
With a final reply through their contract, Tsuruha swiftly rushed towards the cavern exit.
As Tsuruha passed the demonic energy eruption point, the lingering dust had cleared, revealing Torin. He cast a sidelong glance at the rushing divine fox, then conjured several ice spears, preparing to shoot them at Tsuruha. However, before he could throw them, several paper cranes struck them, shattering the ice spears.
"Your opponent... is me."
Torin turned his head, his red eyes meeting Miketsu's, and a cruel smile split his face.
"Couldn't... ask for more..."
Seeing Tsuruha depart, Miketsu felt a slight easing in her heart. At this moment, she almost understood why Tsuruha always said that while her personality was vastly different from the former Inari Okami, their essence was the same.
It was because of divine virtue. The divine virtue belonging to Inari Okami had merged into her disposition. Whenever faced with a major decision, she would make the choice that Inari Okami ought to make.
"To cherish the lives of all beings?"
"Today, I've truly experienced it," Miketsu murmured softly to herself, facing Torin, whose demonic energy soared.
Rate on N.U.
