Chapter 116: Tamamo-no-Mae's Transaction
Beneath the dark night, the cold wind howled across the mountains.
The private scenic area that the Shinomiya Conglomerate had poured a fortune into building had been reduced to ruins. The elegant paths were broken. The groves had been flattened. The water features had cracked apart, and the cherry blossom trees that once lined the estate stood torn and half-uprooted beneath the moonless sky.
Yet Shinomiya Kaguya felt no heartache.
She stood amid the wreckage, her hand resting over the arm that had once carried Shuten-dōji's mark.
There was nothing there now.
No burning pain.
No writhing brand.
No invisible chain dragging her toward a fate worse than death.
"It's finally gone," Kaguya murmured.
She looked up at the sky. Thick clouds hid the stars and moon, leaving only a heavy, lifeless darkness overhead. It should have been an oppressive sight.
But for the first time in a long while, Kaguya thought the night looked beautiful.
Perhaps the sky had not changed at all.
Perhaps only her heart had.
"It really is over," Isayama Yomi said softly.
She looked around the ruined estate.
The gathered Onmyoji still wore expressions of confusion and shock, as if their souls had not yet returned to their bodies. Not far away, Imai Takumi knelt on the ground like an empty husk, his Onmyodo power crippled by Gin Tsumugi. There was no trace left of his former arrogance.
Tonight had been a storm of turns and reversals.
First, Gin had taken a forceful stand and subjugated the Great Yokai known as the Slaughter Ghost. The combinations of Onmyo Arts he displayed had been nothing less than a feast of technique, timing, and terrifying control.
Then, when Onimaro Oni and Hyakume Oni descended, the night had turned into something closer to a myth.
Zenki and Goki.
The Azure Dragon, Seiryu.
Legendary beings that belonged in scrolls, murals, and half-forgotten records had answered Gin's summons and slaughtered three Great Yokai in a single night.
With his own power, he had overturned despair and buried all three yokai in the ruins of the Shinomiya estate.
That battle record alone was enough to shake the entire world of Onmyodo.
Even Kaguya, as the one who had hired him, had to admit that she had made an absurdly profitable bargain. If she had tried to gather every existing National Level Onmyoji from the Onmyo Agency, it still would not have guaranteed victory against three Great Yokai.
And all she had paid was a replica of the Yata no Kagami.
No matter how precious that mirror was, compared to her life and freedom, it was practically daylight robbery. The kind where the robber politely bowed afterward and left the victim grateful.
Yet what truly terrified the Onmyoji present was not even the fall of the three Great Yokai.
It was the title Seiryu had spoken.
Lord Seimei.
Those two words still echoed in their minds.
Reincarnation.
Resurrection.
A return from the dead.
Some impossible revival of a myth from a thousand years ago.
The possibilities struck against their common sense again and again, leaving even the most experienced Onmyoji shaken. No one dared say the conclusion aloud, but no one could stop thinking it either.
"Gin Tsumugi..." Yomi whispered. "What exactly happened to you?"
For the first time, she felt a sharp unfamiliarity toward the boy she had known since childhood.
He was still the same person.
The way he spoke. The way he smiled. The way he made people angry with that infuriating calmness. All of it was familiar.
And yet, after tonight, he seemed like flowers reflected in a mirror or the moon floating on water. Real, but impossible to grasp. Close enough to touch, yet separated by something vast and ancient.
He was no longer the clear, straightforward boy she remembered from Bunkyo Ward.
"Yomi-nee..."
Tsuchimiya Kagura looked at her with concern.
She did not know all the details between Yomi and Gin. But even she could tell there was something deep between them. Yomi complained about him all the time, scolded him often, and looked annoyed whenever his name came up.
But no one who saw her face could mistake that for indifference.
"I'm fine."
Yomi shook her head gently. After a moment, she looked at Kagura and said, "Kagura, if you really do go to the Myriad Law Supernatural Department in Shibuya, help me find out what happened to him after he left Bunkyo Ward."
Kagura hesitated. "Yomi-nee, you could come with me. I don't think Brother Gin would refuse."
Her transfer to the Myriad Law Supernatural Department was now almost unavoidable.
Unless the Super Disaster Countermeasure Office could offer a secret technique equal to the one Gin possessed, nothing could change the decision. The future of the Tsuchimiya Family was tied to Hakuei, and Gin held the key to breaking the curse that had tormented them for a thousand years.
Yomi smiled faintly and shook her head.
"I can't. I carry the hopes and responsibilities of the Isayama family. I can't just walk away."
Her gaze softened as she looked at Kagura.
"Just like you're going to Shibuya for the Tsuchimiya family."
"Yomi-nee..."
Kagura's voice was reluctant.
"It's all right." Yomi reached out and ruffled Kagura's hair with more force than necessary. "With that guy around, at least I can worry a little less as your big sister. Don't look at me like that. I'm not sending you off to get eaten by a fox."
Kagura puffed her cheeks. "That does not sound reassuring."
"Good. Stay alert."
Before Kagura could protest, three figures appeared before them.
The spiritual pressure radiating from the newcomers far surpassed that of anyone else present. There was no mistaking it.
National Level Onmyoji.
"He's already gone," one of them said.
The speaker was a young man holding an abacus. His tone was light, almost teasing, but his eyes were sharp.
"If he stayed, things would become awkward, wouldn't they? Do we worship him, question him, or guard against him like a potential enemy?"
He was Unrin-in Kengo, one of the Onmyo Alliance's [Twelve Heavenly Generals], holder of the title [Genbu]. Known as the "Miser," he loved money and carried an abacus that doubled as a spellcasting tool.
The other two were from the Omnyo Agency.
[Enma] Miyaji Hanao.
[Heavenly Eye] Miyoshi Tougo.
Both were members of the Agency's [Twelve Divine Generals], and both could be considered old acquaintances of Gin.
"Lord Miyoshi... Lord Unrin-in..."
"Lord Enma as well..."
"The three lords came because of Lord White Fox, didn't they?"
The Onmyoji present hurriedly bowed.
Miyoshi Tougo nodded once, his expression grave.
"Be careful about tonight's events. Do not speak of them recklessly."
"Yes. We understand."
No one objected.
They understood the weight of what had happened. If tonight's news spread before the major factions confirmed the truth, the Onmyodo world would not merely become restless.
It would convulse.
Japan itself might be thrown into chaos. Worse, the Great Yokai still hiding in the dark might respond to the news. If the name Abe no Seimei truly returned to the world, no one knew whether Yokai would retreat in fear or riot in desperation.
For the sake of caution, Miyoshi Tougo used a binding contract to restrain most of the Onmyoji present before allowing them to leave.
Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura remained at Shinomiya Manor for the night.
Ouchiyama Megumi, the High Priestess of Ise Grand Shrine, left in haste for Kyoto.
Before long, only Miyoshi Tougo, Unrin-in Kengo, and Miyaji Hanao remained in the ruined scenic area, studying the traces of the battle.
The deeper they looked, the heavier the silence became.
The claw marks, shattered ground, burned spiritual residue, severed Spirits, and lingering murderous aura all spoke of the terror of the Great Yokai that had descended here.
Miyaji Hanao stood before one of the deeper scars in the earth, silent for a long while.
If it had only been the Slaughter Ghost or Hyakume Oni, that would have been one thing.
But Onimaro Oni was different.
Even Miyaji Hanao, who could contend with a Great Yokai by himself, would not claim he could escape unscathed from Onimaro Oni. Yet tonight, three Great Yokai had been eliminated one after another.
It was not a feat.
It was a myth unfolding in real time.
After a long silence, Unrin-in Kengo tapped his abacus lightly.
"So? What do you think?"
Miyoshi Tougo exhaled.
"What do I think?" His smile was bitter. "To be honest, my head is a mess. Whether Gin Tsumugi is truly him, whether this is good or bad for us, what it means for modern Onmyodo... none of it is clear yet."
Among the three of them, Miyoshi knew Gin best.
He and Amami Daizen had once regarded that young man as a seed of hope for the future of Onmyodo.
But he had never imagined that the boy carried a secret this enormous.
For a moment, even Miyoshi did not know how to treat him.
Miyaji Hanao spoke in a low voice.
"Put other supernatural incidents aside for now. Investigate and analyze this matter with full priority. At the same time, stabilize the Tsuchimikado clan and those who may be followers of him."
He paused when he reached Gin's name.
"As for White Fox Gin Tsumugi... remain silent for now."
Miyaji's expression darkened slightly.
"If he is truly angered, no one in modern Onmyodo may be able to stop him."
Miyoshi Tougo and Unrin-in Kengo both fell silent.
Then, almost at the same time, they nodded.
In the Imperial Palace, another pair of eyes watched the night.
"What a fascinating performance."
Tamamo-no-Mae looked north through the darkness, her lips curving into a smile that could ruin kingdoms.
"Oeyama lost three Great Yokai in one night. I refuse to believe it didn't sense anything. So what is that silence, I wonder? Calculation? Patience? Or, like me, fear of him?"
Her voice was soft, elegant, and amused.
But there was an edge beneath it.
A moment later, she lowered her gaze and spoke as if talking to herself.
"Haruka, you saw tonight's events, didn't you?"
There was no reply.
Tamamo-no-Mae did not mind. She continued at leisure.
"I must admit, your mistake turned into a fortunate gamble. How about making a deal with me?"
Silence lingered.
Tamamo-no-Mae smiled faintly.
"It benefits you without causing you harm. You may even borrow a portion of my power to a certain extent. And you will no longer need to worry about me attacking your sister, Soma Takiko, again."
Several breaths passed.
At last, Haruka Shizumiya's voice sounded from within Tamamo-no-Mae's body.
"What price must I pay?"
"A portion of your soul and freedom."
Tamamo-no-Mae's smile deepened.
"And I will pay the same."
"..."
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