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Without the slightest room for resistance, the Dark Lord from a thousand years ago was kicked straight back to earth by Bokue Keikain.
Trees tilted and dust clouds rose throughout the mountain forest. Where the two had crashed down resembled a small meteorite breaking through the atmosphere and smashing into the ground—a massive crater now marked the impact site.
Midday sunlight shone down from above. Bokue Keikain stood at the crater's bottom, his foot planted on Abe no Seimei, who was already deeply embedded in the dirt.
After the massive roar came absolute silence.
Perhaps the earlier light pillar's spectacle had scared all the animals in the surrounding mountains into fleeing, because the entire forest now seemed exceptionally quiet. Aside from the rustling of wind through leaves, no other sounds remained.
And Abe no Seimei beneath his foot seemed to have been kicked to death in one strike—not moving at all.
Of course, Bokue knew he hadn't died. Though he neither moved nor spoke, that faint heartbeat could still be sensed below.
Could only say: not dead yet, but close.
Just then—
Bzzt bzzt~
Accompanied by a faint vibration, Bokue felt his phone buzz.
Taking out his phone for a glance, the caller ID clearly displayed "Yura."
Without a moment's thought, Bokue swiped up to answer, then brought the phone to his ear.
"Hello? What's up?"
"What do you mean 'what's up'—Brother, aren't you in Kyoto right now?"
The young Onmyōji girl's hurried breathing from running came through the phone.
Bokue made a sound of acknowledgment: "I'm in Kyoto. So what's going on?"
"What's going on??"
Hearing her brother maintain that same carefree, laid-back attitude, the young Onmyōji girl on the other end grew even more anxious.
"Since you're still in Kyoto, you must have seen it too, right? The phenomenon in the sky above Yasaka Shrine just now! And Brother, didn't you say you'd handle the Hagoromo-Gitsune situation? Where are you right now? I'm rushing toward Yasaka Shrine..."
"Oh, then you don't need to come, Yura. I'm at Yasaka Shrine right now. Don't worry, everything's under control."
Bokue glanced down at his feet, replying calmly.
But this one sentence made Yura completely explode.
"Huh?? What are you even saying, Brother? How is anything under control?? The entire city of Kyoto just saw that massive light pillar rising from Yasaka Shrine, plus that giant baby in the sky! What's happening??"
"I'm not wrong. It really is under my control."
Bokue paused briefly.
"If I had to sum it up in one sentence, the current situation is that the founder of Onmyōji from a thousand years ago has successfully been resurrected."
"The founder of...!"
Yura's words caught in her throat.
As the confirmed heir apparent of the Keikain family, she understood very clearly who this so-called "founder of Onmyōji" was.
Only one person could possibly bear that title—the legendary existence who'd simultaneously controlled both humans and demons a thousand years ago: Abe no Seimei.
"B-Brother, are you serious?"
Clinging to one last hope that he might be joking, Yura asked tentatively.
"Of course I'm serious."
Bokue's brief sentence extinguished the last ember of hope in the young Onmyōji girl's heart.
"However..."
"However?"
"However, I've got him under my foot right now. He's got about half a breath left."
"...Huh?"
The sudden whiplash completely froze Yura on the other end. Forget running sounds—even her breathing stopped.
A full five seconds passed before the young Onmyōji girl on the phone started coughing violently.
"Cough cough cough!! Brother, are you saying... you mean..."
The news was so shocking that Yura couldn't even form coherent sentences anymore.
"Yeah, exactly what you're thinking. This 'founder of Onmyōji' is super weak. Just got resurrected, was still striking a pose—probably preparing to take a selfie for his underworld social media to brag about winning the resurrection match—and I nearly kicked him to death in one hit."
Bokue thought for a moment and added another sentence.
"At least he's pretty weak compared to me."
Oh, then never mind...
Yura on the other end immediately calmed down.
Looked at that way, at least the power scaling system hadn't collapsed. The legendary Abe no Seimei was still very strong, undoubtedly worthy of the "founder of Onmyōji" title.
Her dear brother was just stronger.
Though that raised the question—just how strong was her brother, exactly?
Suddenly connecting to this question, Yura couldn't help falling into brief contemplation.
After all, they'd been separated for ten full years. Thinking back, ten years ago he could already shatter mountains with one punch. And now, after ten years... her brother's strength had probably risen to some incredibly terrifying height, right?
"Oh, Yura."
While the young Onmyōji girl pondered this typical power-scaling question, Bokue's voice came through again.
"Ah... what is it, Brother?"
Yura blinked, suddenly snapping back to awareness.
Bokue cleared his throat lightly: "Nothing much. Just wanted to ask if you have the Jujutsu Association's phone number? I'd like you to help me find out where that Sukuna jinchūriki is right now... ah, or if it's inconvenient on your end, having Busujima-senpai do it works too. Just say I'm the one asking—I need him for something."
Hmm? The Sukuna jinchūriki?
Yura paused slightly.
"Oh, you mean Yuji Itadori? I... got it. I'll ask right now and text you back shortly."
"Thanks."
The call ended there.
After finishing the call, Bokue pocketed his phone, bent down to grab Abe no Seimei's head, and pulled him from the ground. His five fingers clamped tight around the skull as he lifted it before himself.
"Alright, I know you're not dead. Stop pretending. Talk."
"..."
No answer came.
Not because this legendary founder of Onmyōji was tough enough to stay silent, but because he literally couldn't speak anymore. Bokue's earlier kick had nearly obliterated his entire head. One side of his face had collapsed inward so severely that half his mouth had caved in. Even one of his eyes had been kicked to pieces.
And this was still the result of Bokue deliberately holding back. Otherwise, that kick would've sent this freshly-resurrected founder of Onmyōji straight back into the reincarnation cycle.
"Oh right, speaking of which, one of your old acquaintances will be coming by later. Though you probably don't think much of him. Still, after a thousand years, meeting again counts as fate, I suppose."
"But before that, I need to fix up your face. Otherwise it'll be awkward if you don't recognize each other when you meet."
As Bokue spoke, he raised his hand, conjuring spiritual power that was the same gold as Abe no Seimei's but condensed to an incomparably purer degree. He gently patted the completely caved-in face before him.
The next moment, as if time reversed, Abe no Seimei's head rapidly returned to its original state. Bones repositioned, his eyeball regenerated, even the specks of dust on his skin fell away.
But the instant the repair work completed, Abe no Seimei suddenly moved.
He snapped his eyes open, the golden six-pointed stars in his pupils spinning rapidly. His hands—which had seemed powerless, dangling at his sides—formed blade seals with his fingers. His lips moved slightly, about to speak from his tongue the single-word true name that had once terrified countless Great Demons.
"Destr—"
But before "Destroy" could leave his mouth, Bokue silently rolled his eyes, then applied slight pressure with the five fingers gripping Abe no Seimei's skull.
RIIIP!
Without the slightest resistance, the founder of Onmyōji's head was simply torn off.
Bokue held the severed head in one hand, gave a light hop to exit the crater, then found a relatively pleasant-looking nearby tree. He planted Abe no Seimei's head face-out into the ground like a stump, then sat down with his back against the tree, crossing his legs and propping them up on top.
"There. Behave yourself. There's still a bit of time before Yura sends that message. I'll allow you to tell me two jokes to cheer me up."
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