The battle between Sesshōmaru and Ryūkotsusei had already raged for an entire day and night.
The two great yōkai were locked in a long, drawn-out struggle, and it seemed there was still no end in sight.
At that moment, Satsuki lifted her wrist, revealing the Three Divine Kings' Sacred Wheel. Upon its surface shimmered three interwoven hues of spiritual light.
"Begin the operation," Satsuki said calmly.
"Yes, my lord," three voices responded in unison from within the Sacred Wheel.
Their tones were familiar—those of the three kings who had long awaited her command.
"Master, what are the Three Kings planning to do?" Ruri, who had long since lost interest in the protracted duel between Sesshōmaru and Ryūkotsusei, finally turned to Satsuki.
She could already tell that Sesshōmaru was no longer fighting with the intent to win. Instead, he was deliberately stalling Ryūkotsusei. Such a massive clash of demonic energy was sure to draw the attention of every major yōkai in the Western Lands.
Once Tōga arrived, the combined strength of Sesshōmaru and the Great Dog General would surely be enough to bring down Ryūkotsusei.
But that wasn't what concerned Ruri now. Her curiosity was fixed on Satsuki's cryptic order moments ago.
It was obvious that everything thus far—the escalation, the timing, even the very battlefield—had all unfolded exactly as Satsuki intended. Yet even she, who prided herself as the self-proclaimed "Strongest System Across All Worlds," could not discern what her master was truly planning.
"Master, what kind of operation do you mean?" Ruri finally asked directly, abandoning all attempts at speculation.
"Three targets," Satsuki replied lightly. "The Shikon Jewel at Katori Shrine, the Great Dog General of the Western Lands, and Heian-kyō."
"Master... are you initiating the second phase of the plan already?"
Even Ruri, with all her intellect, was taken aback. Such simultaneous, high-profile actions would make countless enemies—and would unmistakably place the Lunar Palace in open opposition to all major powers of this world.
Katori Shrine symbolized the shrine maidens and the Amatsukami. The Great Dog General represented the yōkai of the West. And Heian-kyō stood as the seat of the onmyōji and the Hyakki—Japan's hundred demons.
If Satsuki truly intended to carry out her plan, there was no need to act against all three at once. The only reason to do so would be to magnify the fear and awe surrounding the Lunar Palace—to announce its dominion.
But Ruri sensed there was something else, something her master hadn't said aloud.
"Master, what of the Amatsukami and Kunitsukami? How will you handle their situation?"
"Since the last great war," Satsuki answered, "the gods' ability to interfere with this world has diminished significantly. They're no longer a serious concern. Even when Susanoo declared war upon the Amatsukami, it was merely a contest of faith—and the fighting took place within their divine domains, not here."
To Satsuki, the enmity between the Amatsukami and Kunitsukami had persisted for ages, but that didn't mean it was truly irreconcilable.
In an age where demons dominated the world, if the gods still couldn't distinguish their true enemy from their lesser rival, then Satsuki could only conclude one thing.
The gods of this world were fools unworthy of her consideration.
And fools had no place in her grand design.
...
In a snow-covered, nameless kingdom—
Corpses of human soldiers lay strewn across the ground, and flames devoured the castle, painting the night sky crimson.
From beyond the burning walls, a figure emerged—a woman with a patch of blue dragon scales upon her forehead. Her once-draconic features had shifted into that of a breathtaking human form. Long, ocean-blue hair drifted behind her as a radiant halo floated over her back like a divine ring, giving her an aura of sacred majesty.
Yet, in stark contrast to her divine bearing, her face carried a faint trace of melancholy.
She was none other than one of Satsuki's Three Kings—the Phantom Spirit King, Lana.
As she walked closer, the surviving onmyōji and soldiers stumbled backward in terror. Their morale had long since broken, and none dared to attack. Every man who had tried to strike her before had fallen dead without warning—slain by some unseen force.
Such deaths, sudden and silent, were far more terrifying than being killed by a visible demon. At least then, one might know how one had died.
"I'm sorry," whispered a trembling man among them, his voice cracking. "We were only following orders..."
Lana lifted her head, her gaze piercing through the ranks of the terrified humans to the encampment behind them.
"The Great Dog General of the West..." she murmured. "To witness the birth of your son, only to be parted from him at once—tell me, Tōga, is that your blessing... or your curse?"
Her voice was calm, almost wistful. Then, she raised her hand.
In an instant, the humans present felt their very lives gripped by an unseen force. That invisible power manifested as tangible terror, suffocating the warriors where they stood. A bone-deep chill washed over them, one that even the roaring flames surrounding the burning castle could not dispel.
The difference in power was simply too great.
These samurai and onmyōji were no strangers to facing yōkai in battle—but never before had they encountered something so eerie and incomprehensible.
At that moment, a tall figure burst forth from beneath the moonlight, vaulting over the wall of trembling soldiers. With a thunderous crash, he landed before Lana.
From the shadows, his features came into view—bronzed skin, silver hair tied back in a single ponytail, and in his hand, a blade radiating a menacing aura.
It was none other than the Great Dog General—Tōga.
At first glance, the ruler of the Western Lands regarded Lana with solemn intensity. "So, you are one of the Lunar Palace's agents? Yet... the power I sense from you is neither demonic nor spiritual. What manner of being are you?"
Lana was neither yōkai, nor priestess, nor sorcerer—her power belonged to an entirely different system. But to have someone identify that so quickly—it was a first.
"As expected of the Great Dog General. Your senses are sharp indeed," she replied softly. "I am Lana, the Phantom Spirit King of the Lunar Palace. But tell me, does that answer truly matter?"
The next moment, the petite woman raised her right hand—and snapped her fingers.
Snap—
Compared to the immense yōki radiating from Tōga, Lana seemed fragile and delicate, a being utterly devoid of power. Yet what followed defied all logic.
From the tip of her finger spread a vast ripple—an expanding field of pure force that surged outward in every direction. The snow-covered ground around her erupted as though struck by an invisible explosion, the air howling in violent distortion.
Tōga's eyes widened. He had sensed no hostility, no buildup of energy. And yet, the sheer power of the strike before him was unfathomable—beyond anything he had experienced. It defied every principle of battle he had ever known.
For Lana, however, it was simple.
She bore no true killing intent toward Tōga. She didn't need to summon or channel power at all.
Satsuki's orders were not to kill the Great Dog General, but to evaluate him—to identify beings of exceptional potential and record them for future integration into the new world model.
Those without potential were erased immediately.
But those like Tōga—those who carried within them the embryonic forms of authority, however faint—were given a chance.
Ryūkotsusei had been one. The Panther King, too. Even the once-insignificant Mask of Death had received such consideration.
Thus, Tōga was also deemed worthy of special attention from the Lunar Palace.
Her task was not to destroy him—but to make him understand.
To make him recognize the Lunar Palace as an absolute, invincible force.
So, Lana had merely infused the surrounding air with a single concept: Impact.
Yet because every particle of the atmosphere carried that same directional impulse, the effect multiplied a thousandfold—producing a shockwave akin to a nuclear blast.
The massive castle walls disintegrated in an instant, collapsing like tofu under the crushing force. The surviving humans were flung through the air like dolls. Even Tōga found no space to evade—and with Izayoi behind him, retreat was unthinkable.
Whoosh—!
In that critical instant, Tōga drew another sword—Tessaiga—and slashed before him.
"Meidō Zangetsuha!"
From his blade burst the ultimate secret technique—a circular tear in space itself. The black rift of the Meidō opened wide before him, swallowing the oncoming shockwave and diverting it into the Netherworld.
The countless figures caught in the blast were hurled away for miles, though they never lived long enough to strike the ground—their bodies had already been annihilated upon contact with the wave.
A thunderous boom reverberated through the underworld as the Meidō itself convulsed. Its already-ruined landscape collapsed further, torn apart by the overwhelming force.
Sensing the magnitude of that power, Tōga's expression hardened. He gripped Sō'unga in one hand, Tessaiga in the other—assuming a stance he had never used before: dual blades drawn.
"Please... there's no need for such caution," Lana said softly, her tone quiet yet oddly sincere.
Then, with a faint smile, she added words that chilled even the Great Dog General to the bone.
"After all... you're destined to lose."
The halo behind Lana's back flared—its divine radiance brighter than ever before.
"Target locked: Meidō. State detection—10%, 20%, 30%... 100%. Status recording complete."
In the very instant the light enveloped it, every bit of data regarding the Meidō had already been integrated into Lana's database.
Though the Three Kings had not appeared in person since their powers had been condensed into the Three Divine Kings' Sacred Wheel, their strength had evolved dramatically following Akasha's recording of the Root Vortex and the subsequent integration with the Giant Tenseigan.
As beings originally designed as "GMs" of the digital world, they naturally possessed authority-based powers. The effectiveness of those powers was determined not only by the hierarchy of each authority but also by the speed at which it could be activated.
Tools capable of sustaining or amplifying such authority-based attacks were invariably world-class artifacts—like the divine spear once wielded by Suzaku. Similarly, both the Root Vortex and the Giant Tenseigan possessed comparable functionality.
This allowed Lana's authority attacks to manifest at incredible speed. The moment Tōga diverted her first strike into the underworld, she immediately initiated the second.
Blue light radiated from her eyes, sweeping outward in a blinding arc. Wherever the azure glow passed, the world itself began to twist—transforming in an instant from a snowy wasteland into a dark starfield.
"This is... the Meidō?!"
Tōga's eyes widened in astonishment. The heavy, suffocating air of the underworld was unmistakable. Above him stretched a dim and endless sky filled with dying stars, and below—an abyss without end.
At that moment, Lana's aura had vanished completely, leaving Tōga unable to determine whether she had entered the Meidō with him or remained outside.
ROOOAR—!
A bestial wind howled from behind. Tōga leapt high into the air, swinging Tessaiga in a backward slash.
From the darkness emerged a massive demon hound of the underworld—its body cleaved clean in two by Tessaiga's blade. Yet the attack proved useless.
Even after being bisected, the creature's body rapidly reformed, its gaping maw lunging once again.
"Hmph... in that case—Tenseiga of Salvation!"
Clenching the Tessaiga's hilt between his fangs, the Great Dog General drew Tenseiga. His body blurred through the air, tracing a streak of blue light that illuminated the dim Meidō. In an instant, the massive demon hound dissolved like mist, its form purified under Tenseiga's divine energy.
"Impressive..." came Lana's voice, echoing faintly through the void. "To slay a being of the afterlife itself... you truly are worthy of your title, Great Dog General. But... now, behold reality."
Her form materialized once more in midair. Raising her hand, she extended her fingers—each tip gleaming with a bright blue radiance.
[Status Infusion: Weakness]
[Status Infusion: Armor Break]
[Status Infusion: Agony]
[Status Infusion: Slow]
[Status Infusion: Bind]
...
The light was too fast—Tōga barely had time to react before the streams of azure authority struck his body.
Yet at the very moment the light reached him, two protective barriers suddenly flared to life. They were formed by the combined resonance of Tenseiga's and Tessaiga's sheaths—holy wards capable of deflecting nearly all external attacks.
However, Lana's Status Infusion, though not unleashed at full power, was far beyond what such barriers could withstand.
Cracks instantly formed across the shimmering surfaces. The Tenseiga's sheath even attempted to activate its emergency teleportation function to remove Tōga from danger—but the instant it did, the Bind effect within the blue light immobilized it completely.
All it managed was to buy Tōga a fleeting moment.
"A curse, then..." Tōga muttered, interpreting Lana's power in his own terms. Against curses, defense was futile—only direct counteraction could break them.
And for that, the best weapon was Sō'unga. The sword itself was a cursed artifact—most curses that came into contact with it became its nourishment.
Raising Sō'unga high, Tōga summoned a spiraling vortex of crimson demonic energy. The evil power coiled around him like a dragon, forming a blazing sphere of red light at its heart.
"Hell Dragon Strike!"
The overwhelming demonic energy once again formed into a storm rivaling a dragon's tempest, crashing head-on with Lana's radiance of authority. The entire Meidō trembled under the collision, the shockwaves echoing through the abyssal depths of the underworld itself.
But it was not enough.
Though Hell Dragon Strike was the Great Dog General's most powerful technique, the truth before him was undeniable—the crimson storm was being pushed back by the blue light.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Even the ancient evil spirit bound within Sō'unga was shaken by the realization that its power was being suppressed. Other than the combined might of Tenseiga and Tessaiga, nothing in this world should have been capable of overpowering it.
Yet this blue light—this strange, otherworldly energy—was doing just that, effortlessly.
"I... I did warn you, Lord Tōga," Lana's soft, almost apologetic voice echoed across the void, "you were destined to lose."
To Sō'unga, her words were nothing short of mockery—an open provocation.
"Arrogant wretch! Then witness the true power of Sō'unga!"
Because they were already within the Meidō, even Tōga did not restrain the sword's demonic aura. Instead, he unleashed it in full, adding his own immense yōki to amplify Sō'unga's control over the underworld around them.
In an instant, countless whirlpools of demonic energy appeared across the space.
From within those vortexes poured legions of infernal creatures—death-born demons and undead beasts: Corpse Crows, Soul-Eating Worms, Netherworld Dragons, and countless others.
Under the corruption of Sō'unga's aura, they all turned toward Lana in the sky, charging at her with mindless fury.
Each of these entities was of the underworld—already dead. Without purification, they could not truly be slain. Even Tōga required Tenseiga's healing light to exorcise them.
And if this woman's power relied on such tremendous curses... then surely, purification would be her weakness.
Against most foes, that reasoning would have been sound.
But both Tōga and Sō'unga had yet to comprehend what they truly faced.
Floating above, Lana looked around at the swarming tide of demons. Her expression was almost childlike—wide-eyed and faintly fearful—as she murmured:
"A clever strategy... but utterly meaningless, Lord Tōga."
The next moment, a vast magic array unfolded beneath her feet. In an instant, its radiant design expanded until it covered nearly everything within Tōga's sight. Streams of divine blue light rose from her body, twisting upward into countless layers of glowing sigils.
Dozens became hundreds. Hundreds became thousands. The circles overlapped, covering the Meidō's starfield in its entirety. The very domain of the underworld was dragged into the spell's range.
Every creature—no matter how strong or weak—was caught within it. The denizens of the Meidō, the spirits of the dead, even the distant Lord of the Underworld himself—all of them, along with the Great Dog General, were frozen in place.
[Status Infusion: Type Zero · Purification Light — Quantity: 2,147,483,647.]
"Lord Tōga," Lana said softly, her voice carrying through the blinding light, "if you somehow survive this... remember this well—your defeat came at the hands of the strongest organization in existence: the Lunar Palace."
As her words faded, the darkness of the Meidō was engulfed by divine radiance. From Lana's form spread an all-consuming brilliance—a light so pure it resembled heaven's descent.
The underworld sky shattered apart, its very fabric torn to luminous fragments by that overwhelming beam of sacred annihilation.