When Satsuki finished reconstructing Shuten Nyōko and her group returned to Yasaka Shrine, it was already the next day.
Although the shrine maidens of Yasaka Shrine's subjugation team had retreated swiftly, a single day was only enough for them to flee to a nearby abandoned village.
As they prepared to continue their return to Yasaka Shrine that morning, they were shocked to discover that the cursed jewels on their foreheads had vanished.
This phenomenon—something that had appeared countless times only in their dreams—instantly sent the Sakura clan shrine maidens of Yasaka Shrine into an uproar.
"Could it be… Shuten Dōji is dead?"
"She defeated the Oni King all by herself? That Satsuki miko… could she really be that powerful?"
...
Among them, the three Sakura clan members who served as leaders of the subjugation team gathered together.
"Sister Ayami, what do you think of this situation?"
The face of the monk named Yūjin showed unrestrained surprise—but mixed within it was hesitation, for fear that this was some scheme laid by Shuten Dōji. His feelings were extremely complicated.
"Could that miko and her shikigami truly be that strong? After fighting Hoshiguma Dōji, she still managed to defeat that monster? But… how could that even be possible?"
The question from the leader of the dark shrine maidens was far more direct. Yasaka Shrine had long waged battles against yōkai, and they were well aware of the general power range of mikos and monks.
But all that knowledge had been shattered by this miko named Satsuki—who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Not only was a great yōkai traveling with her, but she also commanded a shikigami capable of going toe-to-toe with the Oni King of Strength.
Among the three, Satsuki was clearly the leader, which alone suggested that her strength surpassed even that of Yasaka Shrine's Saigū.
Was it possible for a miko relying solely on talent and personal cultivation to surpass shrine maidens who possessed full systems of resources and developed training paths within the Shrine itself?
—Could such a miracle truly exist?
Even Ayami, the most experienced of the group, dared not draw a conclusion. After some thought, she said, "Yūjin, can you use divination to check what's happening at Ōeyama?"
"With my current power, I fear it will be difficult, Sister Ayami."
Yūjin's expression turned troubled. "The previous battle consumed most of our spiritual energy. The fight against the Oni King of Strength completely disrupted the five-element structure in that area. My spells cannot take effect there anymore."
"Let me handle it."
One of the dark shrine maidens beside them drew a spherical object from her sleeve.
"That's… a Nest of Voracious Swarm?"
The shrine maidens recognized it immediately. Though this was among the weakest classes of poisonous yōkai insects, it bred rapidly, carried potent venom, and could be easily controlled through spiritual energy.
For dark shrine maidens unconcerned with the moral nature of their power, it was a cost-effective choice.
The dark shrine maiden hurled the poisonous nest high into the air. At once, several streams of vapor sprayed outward from it.
From within those vapors emerged hundreds of Voracious Swarm—each with blood-red compound eyes and mandible-like jaws.
Seeing this, the dark shrine maiden formed a hand seal before her chest. At her command, the swarm emitted a loud buzzing sound and took flight toward Ōeyama.
After performing this technique, the dark shrine maiden began to cough violently.
"Cough… cough… If nothing unexpected happens, we should have results soon."
She had been one of the shrine maidens who summoned the Heavenly Cloud Sword during the battle, and the severe backlash from that spell had left her with heavy internal injuries. Controlling the Voracious Swarm was now the only spell she could still perform.
The swarm flew much faster than any human could travel on foot. It did not take long before she began to see, through their shared vision, the massive canyon that had formed after the landscape had been utterly transformed.
"So this is the aftermath of that miko's shikigami battle with the Oni King? What terrifying power…"
Even viewing it only through the Voracious Swarm's distant eyes, the shrine maiden was struck speechless by the colossal rift stretching for dozens of li.
As the swarm continued flying deeper toward the inner region of Ōeyama, their shared sight revealed not a single trace of yōkai activity.
Once the stronghold of the Oni clan, Ōeyama now lay silent and lifeless—like a region of the dead.
Until—the dark shrine maiden finally saw, through the eyes of her Voracious Swarm, a person!
A human?!
Before she could react, more and more figures began to appear within her vision.
From their appearances, they were all beautiful human women, wearing only the thinnest, simplest garments. They supported one another as they walked shakily down the rugged mountain paths.
Seeing this, the dark shrine maiden immediately opened her eyes and reported to Ayami beside her.
"I saw many humans fleeing. They seem to be the women who were captured by Shuten Dōji over the years. Should we go and rescue them now?"
"What?!"
The news struck every shrine maiden of Yasaka Shrine like a bolt from the blue.
This sight almost confirmed beyond doubt that the report of Shuten Dōji's death was real.
Although Ayami was thrilled, she remained calm and asked, "Did you see the Satsuki miko and her companions anywhere?"
"Apologies, no trace of them."
—"No need to search. We're already here."
A cool, clear voice descended from above. Satsuki appeared before them with Ruri and Sesshōmaru, descending gracefully from the sky. Her appearance remained immaculate, as though untouched by battle.
The moment the shrine maidens saw Satsuki, one of them could not restrain herself and immediately asked the question they all most wanted answered.
"Satsuki miko… that Shuten Dōji, is he really dead?"
Satsuki nodded. "While Ruri was holding off Hoshiguma Dōji, I was preparing to face Shuten Dōji together with Sesshōmaru. But when I arrived at his palace, I discovered that he was already dead."
"What?!"
The shrine maidens of Yasaka Shrine exchanged astonished glances. They were elated that their centuries-old nemesis had finally been eradicated—but puzzled over who could possibly have slain such a powerful Oni King without a trace.
Satsuki continued unhurriedly, "From the accounts of those who escaped, I suspect the ones who defeated Shuten Dōji were members of a mysterious organization known as the Lunar Palace."
"Lunar Palace!"
At the mention of that name, one shrine maiden exclaimed, "Them?!"
Seeing her reaction, Ruri asked, "From your response, it seems you've encountered the Lunar Palace before?"
"Ah, yes," the shrine maiden said with a conflicted expression. "Once, while observing from afar a battle between two Great Yōkai generals—Panther King and Ryūkotsusei—I witnessed a being that identified itself as the Lunar Palace."
"Oh? Does Yasaka Shrine have any information on them?" Ruri asked further.
"None. They are too mysterious, and their appearances too fleeting," the shrine maiden replied, taking a black magatama from her sleeve. "The only thing certain is that their power is overwhelming. Even Great Yōkai were utterly helpless before them. If they ever turned against humanity, it would spell catastrophe for all mankind."
The black magatama—it was unmistakably the emblem of the Lunar Palace.
"But why would the members of the Lunar Palace want to deal with Shuten Dōji in the first place?"
No one present could figure out the reason. Satsuki took the opportunity to add, "Perhaps we'll only learn the answer by questioning those who escaped. See if any of them might have seen or heard something."
"I suppose that's all we can do," Ayami miko agreed. She immediately ordered the remaining exorcist shrine maidens with combat ability to head into Ōeyama and rescue the survivors. They were to bring them back to Yasaka Shrine for temporary shelter, and afterward, each would decide for herself whether to stay or leave.
Finally, Ayami miko turned to Satsuki and asked if she had any objections.
"This is a good plan overall," Satsuki replied, "but there's a small problem."
Ayami miko asked at once, "Please advise us, Lady Satsuki—what problem do you foresee?"
"I roughly estimated the number of people who escaped from Shuten Dōji's palace—it's around one hundred," Satsuki explained calmly, raising a single finger for emphasis. "Most of them have nowhere left to return to. If Yasaka Shrine takes them in, the shrine's current production output won't be able to sustain so many new mouths. How do you plan to provide for them?"
Her words were logical. Yasaka Shrine, located in a remote region, already received little in the way of offerings. Its operations were sustained mainly through the aid and donations from several other shrines.
All told, there were only about forty to fifty mikos and monks residing at Yasaka Shrine. If their population suddenly tripled, how would they manage food and resources?
The Saigū, Sakura Fubuki, would no doubt have headaches over how to accommodate this sudden influx.
If these women could be trained as mikos, it might work—they could undergo instruction and then be assigned to nearby villages. It would be a stretch, but possible.
After all, for a village to host a few more mikos wasn't unreasonable. Even in western provinces where settlements were sparse, such a burden on food supplies would be bearable.
The real issue was that these women had been captives of Shuten Dōji. Under such circumstances, they were no longer eligible to become shrine maidens.
And with winter already begun, Yasaka Shrine itself was surviving on stored rations—resources were tight.
Upon hearing Satsuki's point, several shrine maidens realized the gravity of the problem.
"Still," Ayami miko said resolutely, "as shrine maidens of the divine, we cannot stand by and ignore these ordinary people."
Her words reflected the consensus among the Sakura clan. Having slain Shuten Dōji, the great weight upon their hearts had finally lifted, and their focus now turned toward protecting the innocent.
"I'm not opposing your rescue efforts," Satsuki replied evenly. "My point is that Yasaka Shrine shouldn't have to shoulder all the responsibility for the aftermath alone. After all, Shuten Dōji was a public menace. His death should be an event that shakes the nation. Surely, Yasaka Shrine isn't the only faction that wished to see him slain…"
At Satsuki's subtle suggestion, Ayami miko's eyes lit up.
"...You mean Kyoto?"
Satsuki only smiled silently.
The more Ayami thought about it, the more sense it made. Shuten Dōji's notoriety came precisely because he had offended so many and yet lived.
Among all the factions that longed for his demise, none desired it more—besides Yasaka Shrine—than the aristocrats of Kyoto.
Shuten Dōji had an insatiable lust for wine and women. Kyoto, being the most prosperous center of human civilization, produced no shortage of beauties.
Its proximity to Ōeyama's domain made it a natural target for the Oni King's raids. Even with the protection of the great Onmyōji, Kyoto had long lived under the shadow of Shuten Dōji's terror.
It was said that the Oni King often infiltrated noble households, abducting women and children to consume as his meals…
If Yasaka Shrine informed Kyoto's court that this monster had finally been slain by their hands, the shrine's prestige would skyrocket beyond imagination—surpassing even the other three Great Shrines, perhaps even granting them influence close to the seat of power itself.
For the deities who had cooperated with Yasaka Shrine until now, none of them provided their divine power to humans for free. This was, in a sense, their way of placing a wager.
And now, if those hidden gods had the opportunity to extend their influence into Kyoto, even if the shrine maidens of Yasaka Shrine themselves had no interest in worldly power, the divine beings behind them would never let such a chance slip away.
Besides, even setting that aside, as long as Yasaka Shrine took the initiative, Kyoto's wealth and generosity could easily cover the living expenses of a hundred young women.
The only problem was—Shuten Dōji had not been slain by Yasaka Shrine, but by the mysterious figures of the Lunar Palace.
Some shrine maidens raised this concern aloud.
Satsuki simply smiled and said, "You can say it like this: Yasaka Shrine, together with a group of 'unnamed allies,' participated in the subjugation of Shuten Dōji. After a long and arduous struggle, they succeeded in defeating him."
"This…"
The shrine maiden was momentarily stunned by Satsuki's response. It sounded perfectly reasonable, but it subtly rearranged the priorities in the story.
When the nobles of Kyoto heard it, they would naturally assume that Yasaka Shrine had taken the lead in the operation, while those 'unnamed allies' were merely supporting participants.
After all, the enmity between Yasaka Shrine and Shuten Dōji was no secret within Kyoto's circles of Onmyōji. In terms of power and motivation, Yasaka Shrine had always been considered the most capable force to defeat the Oni King.
With both motive and means—who else could it be? Even if Yasaka Shrine didn't explicitly claim the kill, everyone would take their modesty as humility rather than denial.
This was the power of assumed reasoning.
Yasaka Shrine wouldn't even be lying—they had indeed participated in the subjugation, and the result was truly the successful defeat of Shuten Dōji after great hardship.
As for the body and proof?
Would the Sakura clan really need to produce Shuten Dōji's corpse to prove their success? The dissolution of their family's centuries-old curse was proof enough.
Thus, Satsuki's proposal was flawless.
After hearing her suggestion, the shrine maidens exchanged glances. Then, almost simultaneously, they each received divine instructions from within—their gods had given the same command:
—"Proceed according to this explanation."
Since even the gods had spoken, there was nothing more to debate. After all, they weren't lying, and this course would ensure that the rescued survivors could live on safely.
It was a happily ever after solution.
...
Before long, the shrine maidens who had gone to gather the refugees returned one after another. Behind each group followed several of the people who had escaped from the mountains of Ōeyama.
Among them, Satsuki's gaze casually passed over one figure—Shuten Dōji herself, whose appearance had been completely transformed through reconstruction. Without any change in expression, Satsuki moved her eyes away again.
"It truly is a happily ever after ending," Ruri remarked meaningfully within Satsuki's mind.