Chapter 144: Imminent Birth
"Aaaargh! Damn it...!"
Kidōji and Twenty-Seven Faced Senju Hyakusoku endured the agonizing purification of the Shingon Onmyōdō Framework.
Being cut into a thousand pieces would not have been enough to describe the suffering they were experiencing.
Both were Great Yokai.
However, in terms of strength, Kidōji was clearly far superior to Twenty-Seven Faced Senju Hyakusoku.
More importantly, Twenty-Seven Faced Senju Hyakusoku was a Great Yokai that lived within the human heart and fed on fear. Against the Shingon Onmyōdō Framework released by Shōko, which was filled with overwhelming purifying power, it had encountered its natural enemy.
In utter despair, its statue-like arms and body were purified bit by bit.
Even its inner soul could not escape.
After a long while, the Great Yokai known as Twenty-Seven Faced Senju Hyakusoku completely vanished from the world.
Only Kidōji remained.
"Lord Seimei..."
Kidōji struggled in agony, trying to raise the blade in its hand and shatter the Shingon Onmyōdō Framework chains binding it.
"Is everything truly going to end here?"
Unfortunately, its life was already nearing its end.
The sense of powerlessness was so great that it could no longer even swing its sword. Even its Land of Ogres was gradually dissipating.
Then, at that moment—
"Waaaah..."
One infant cry after another echoed from the third floor.
Soon after, an enormous and eerie black infant appeared before everyone's eyes, radiating an intensely ominous aura.
"This is bad."
The expression of the Thirteenth Generation Keikain Hidemoto sank.
"Were we one step too late?"
His face was filled with resentment.
They had clearly been only one step away.
They had almost nipped Nue in the bud.
Yet in the end, it had still been born.
"The scene before us is indeed not good news."
Tsuchimikado Arima pushed up his glasses.
"But Nue should not have been fully born yet."
His gaze remained fixed on the massive, eerie black infant floating on the third floor.
"In other words, we still have a chance."
The others looked at the black infant and nodded in agreement.
There was still hope.
The Kyoto Incident had not completely failed yet.
As long as Nue had not truly completed its birth, they had no reason to give up.
In contrast to the heavy mood on the Onmyoji side, Kidōji, Rukugumō, Ōjizō, and the other Yokai and Great Yokai fighting within the main hall all became visibly excited.
The long-cherished wish they had pursued for a thousand years was finally about to be realized.
One after another, they began to cry out.
"Lord Seimei..."
"That is Lord Seimei!"
"Lord Seimei has been successfully born!"
"Nue is born!"
Taking advantage of that opening, Rukugumō shook off its opponent and rushed to Kidōji's side.
After paying a certain price, it broke the Shingon Onmyōdō Framework chains binding Kidōji, then retreated far away from Shōko.
"Thank you, Rukugumō."
"The resurrected Lord Seimei will need manpower."
Rukugumō's expression remained indifferent.
"I simply do not want Lord Seimei to be disappointed when the time comes."
Even so, when its gaze turned toward the enormous, eerie black infant on the third floor, heat and excitement flickered deep within its eyes.
Shōko did not pay much attention to them.
Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for Kidōji and Rukugumō to escape.
At that moment, a black figure emerged behind the massive black infant.
It was Hagoromo Gitsune.
She had just completed giving birth.
Nine flawless white fox tails swayed and danced behind her.
"Shōko."
Seeing Shōko not far away, Hagoromo Gitsune's voice turned cold.
"Now that Seimei has been born, do you also intend to become his enemy, just like your aunt Ryōyū?"
"Become his enemy?"
Shōko spoke as though she had heard something absurd.
"Lady Hagoromo Gitsune, you should know better than anyone."
Her voice remained calm.
"From the very beginning, he was never merely my enemy."
Her eyes chilled.
"He was my nemesis. The murderer who killed my parents and siblings."
Hagoromo Gitsune's face turned cold.
But Shōko continued.
"Furthermore, the fake before us has now completely lost its value."
Her gaze shifted toward the black infant.
"After all, the real him has already appeared."
The first half of Shōko's sentence had angered Hagoromo Gitsune.
But the second half left her confused.
The real him has already appeared?
What did that mean?
What did Shōko mean by "the real him"?
Could it be that the child she had given birth to was not Seimei?
The successive opposition from Ryōyū and Shōko made a faint sense of unease rise in Hagoromo Gitsune's heart.
However, before she could think further, a voice came from within the enormous, eerie black infant.
"Mother, do not be deceived by them."
It was Nue's voice.
"Do not forget. A thousand years ago, those two hid the truth and sent me to the Underworld precisely because they wanted to control me."
The infant's ominous aura stirred.
"Now, they are merely using the same tricks they used back then."
Hearing this, Hagoromo Gitsune's expression became more resolute.
Compared to Shōko and Ryōyū, she naturally trusted her own child more.
At her core, Hagoromo Gitsune was the Yokai with the strongest maternal radiance.
"It seems I must offend you, Lady Hagoromo Gitsune."
Shōko understood that even if she patiently explained things now, it would be useless under Nue's interference.
Otherwise, she and Ryōyū would have persuaded Hagoromo Gitsune long ago.
Things would not have reached such an awkward state.
However...
That man still has not appeared.
And Ryōyū, my dear aunt, should be with him as well.
Shōko's gaze shifted faintly.
What exactly is he planning?
A trace of concern rose in her heart.
"Iron Fan of the Second Tail!"
Since she had decided to act, Hagoromo Gitsune said no more.
She pulled a black iron fan from among her flawless white fox tails and attacked Shōko with tremendous power.
"Divine Art: Radiance of the Divine Mirror."
Shōko formed hand seals.
A golden mirror radiating a holy aura appeared before her, blocking Hagoromo Gitsune's attack.
As Hagoromo Gitsune exerted force, the golden mirror shattered into fragments.
Yet just as the fragments were about to dissipate, they suddenly transformed into a ribbon of golden divine light shaped like an aurora and counterattacked directly toward Hagoromo Gitsune.
This was the effect of Divine Art: Radiance of the Divine Mirror.
It absorbed the enemy's attack, transformed it into a stronger strike infused with divine power, and returned it.
"Longsword of the Third Tail!"
A cold gleam burst from Hagoromo Gitsune's fox tails as she moved lightly.
The slash shattered the returning divine light.
Then Hagoromo Gitsune closed the distance with Shōko even further.
Admittedly, Shōko had defeated a Great Yokai of Tsuchigumo's caliber and nearly killed two Great Yokai with a single Divine Art.
In terms of strength, Shōko was indeed a step above her aunt Ryōyū.
However, she was still some distance away from the Great Yokai who stood at the true peak, existences such as Tamamo-no-Mae, Shuten-dōji, and Daitengu.
On top of that, after several battles, Shōko's consumption was already considerable.
And because she did not truly wish to harm Hagoromo Gitsune, suppressing her had become even more difficult.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Shōko's target had not been Hagoromo Gitsune.
It was the soon-to-be-born Nue behind her.
That was the true reason she had come to Kyoto.
....
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