"Impossible! Lord Hihi the great yokai's Hihi Squad was completely wiped out! We only came to check because Lord Hihi didn't attend the main meeting, but we never thought this would happen!" Karasu Tengu's three sons—Kurohamaru, Kokanmaru, and Chikuchikumi—arrived late, like the police after the fact.
What lay before their eyes was devastation. Corpses of Hihi Squad members were everywhere. One of the Nura Clan's combat divisions—the Hihi Squad—had been annihilated.
"Wait… Lord Hihi isn't dead! There's still a life aura—hurry, get Lord Hihi to headquarters! Yakuzendō's Zhen is still there! Move, move!" After a sweep, the three quickly found Hihi collapsed on the ground, barely breathing.
Flustered, they lifted Hihi into the air and flew toward Nura Clan headquarters.
"What?! The Hihi Squad's base was destroyed? Only Lord Hihi survived—and he's in critical condition?"
"How is that possible?! That's Lord Hihi—who has the power to grievously wound him?"
"You're joking! He's a great yokai!" Karasu Tengu's speed was impressive. They brought Hihi back before the meeting even ended.
It happened to be just as Rikuo Nura was pressuring One-Eye to submit.
Speaking of which, One-Eye was a bit of a clown. He always worried that once Rikuo took the seat, it would threaten his own standing in the clan. But think about it—given his status as an elder and his contributions to the Nura Clan, plus a strength not too far diminished—unless Rikuo was a fool, he would never move against him.
Still, with a severe persecution complex, One-Eye kept acting up and clashing with Rikuo. Partly age—but it wasn't so much seniority as sheer hard-headedness. He probably didn't even know what "trading on seniority" meant.
Because of that, Sanmoto, the Hundred Tales' mole, used him multiple times.
"How is he?" One-Eye, pipe in mouth, stood at the door, worried. Don't be fooled by how often he crossed Rikuo—he was deeply attached to his old comrades like Hihi. In fact, he was a man of deep feeling toward all the clan's elders—especially the First, Nurarihyon. If there was one who would never betray Nurarihyon, it was One-Eye.
When Nurarihyon married Yohime, One-Eye married another princess. After she died, he never remarried (granted, she became a land god). While Nurarihyon was raising his child, One-Eye led the Night Parade. The seat he held then outranked even Nurarihyon's two hands, Meikemaru and Gyuuki. His strength and standing were no joke. Otherwise, why would Nurarihyon let him keep butting heads with Rikuo? Who knows whether that wasn't at the General's behest.
The Hihi Squad base being attacked and wiped out was a major event—nothing like it had happened in the Nura Clan for centuries.
"There's no immediate danger, but his body is still very weak. Lord Hihi's body was riddled with several poisons, and there are lingering traces of a curse. How many dirty tricks did the enemy use? Cough, cough…" Overcome with agitation, Yakuzendō's Zhen kept coughing.
"I've cleared the toxins, but some of that curse remains in Lord Hihi's body. That kind of curse can only be lifted by killing the caster."
"Damn it!" One-Eye slammed a fist into a rockery beside him. A clear fist mark appeared on the stone.
The control was perfect—not a single thing that shouldn't be damaged was harmed. Only a fist print marred the rockery. That kind of control meant truly exquisite mastery.
"Don't let me find out who did it! I'll tear them apart! Such despicable scum!" One-Eye's face was terrifying now, completely different from his usual comic look.
Hitotsume Nyūdō—how could he be just a timid coward.
If the foe had defeated Hihi fair and square, One-Eye might not be so furious. But poisoning, curses—too base. He despised that.
"One-Eye! Where are you going? Don't!" Seeing One-Eye suddenly rise to leave, Nurarihyon spoke up. With centuries of friendship, he knew exactly what One-Eye intended.
One-Eye had been among his very first followers.
"Where do you think? Don't tell me you feel nothing about Hihi. At this point, you still want me to keep playing this boring 'grooming' game? Hihi may have softened after years of ease, but he's not someone just anyone can jump with a sneak attack and win. It's time to go catch up with some old friends. Maybe I, Hitotsume Nyūdō, have been silent too long?" At some point a thick brush-rod had appeared in One-Eye's hand. The crushing Awe rolling off him made the lesser yokai around them tremble.
"Do not be rude to the General!" Blocking that terrifying aura was—Karasu Tengu, usually a cute, comic figure.
Now, he looked nothing like his usual, sporting a massive crow's head, holding a shakujo, and a full-sized human body. Most critically, the aura he emitted was in no way weaker than One-Eye's.
No wonder he had once fought Gyuuki to a draw—this was Karasu Tengu's complete form.
Many yokai who had joined after the era of Mokugyō Daruma and Gyuuki were shocked at One-Eye and Karasu Tengu's power.
Among them were the Aotabō and other fighters who had joined in Rihan Nura's time. As expected, none of the General's old guard were simple. Even someone who usually kept low like One-Eye—and Karasu Tengu, who seemed useless—were this strong.
"Reel in your Awe—you're scaring the little ones. Trust me, One-Eye. I'll get to the bottom of this. Leave it to me. Hihi is my brother too." Nurarihyon set aside his usual flippancy, speaking to One-Eye with rare seriousness.
"Fine, General. Don't let me down." One-Eye stared at Nurarihyon for a long moment, then drew back his Awe.
Around them, the small yokai all exhaled. The pressure lifted.
"Grandpa." Having gotten the news, Rikuo Nura, the clan's Third, arrived and had witnessed what came before.
He was in his yokai form—Night Rikuo.
The Hihi Squad was one of the clan's better-known divisions, and Hihi was among those who had followed Nurarihyon from the start. Rikuo couldn't ignore it.
"I'm not confident at all, though. Aside from Hagoromo Gitsune in Kyoto, I can't think of anyone we've crossed. A headache… Who else would oppose the Nura Clan now? Hm? Don't tell me…" Nurarihyon ignored Rikuo, lost in thought. Though he'd promised One-Eye, it was mainly to keep him from blowing things up.
Once One-Eye got going, he was a bull in a china shop.
Though he too was old now, a serious One-Eye was a headache even for the General.
"General! Lord Hihi is awake!" A small yokai under Zhen burst out excitedly to where Nurarihyon and the others stood.
"For now, we can only hope he can give us something useful." Nurarihyon stroked the stubble on his chin.
"General, I'm sorry to trouble you," Hihi said as soon as he saw Nurarihyon.
"Not at all. Just rest up, you old dog. Do you know who hit you?" Nurarihyon asked.
"Their abilities were strange. One of them controlled wind—very like a Kamaitachi—but definitely not. Judging by their ages, they weren't old foes. Too young… Sorry, General. I didn't even make out who the enemy was." Hihi looked ashamed. He no longer wore his mask.
"No matter. Just heal—I'll handle the rest." With nothing useful gained, Nurarihyon felt the matter was more complicated than he'd thought.
"General…" Hihi looked like he had more to say.
"General… I should have died by those bastards' hands. But someone unknown showed up halfway and drove them off. I was lucky to crawl back."
"Oh? Do you know who? Or anything about him?" Nurarihyon asked.
"I don't. I couldn't tell what kind of yokai he was. But… he called himself Meruem," Hihi said.
"Meruem… Meruem… Who on earth is that?" After telling Hihi to rest, Nurarihyon kept repeating the name under his breath.
"Meruem?" Rikuo happened to pass by and heard the name.
"What? You know the man with that name?" Nurarihyon's eyes lit as he looked at Rikuo.
"I don't know if it's the same Meruem, but there's a new transfer student at my school named Meruem.
(End of Chapter)
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