Chapter 146: Complete Exposure
"If you dare appear in the human world, I do not mind repeating the great war from a thousand years ago and sending every last one of you back into the depths of the Underworld."
The voice was not loud.
Yet the moment it rang out, it carried an authority that allowed no argument.
Inside the abyssal rift, the Onigami comparable to Great Yokai had been slamming against the invisible barrier, trying to force their way into the human world.
Now, all of them stopped.
They froze as though one more movement would turn that seemingly calm warning into reality.
"Seal."
A talisman flew through the air without obstruction.
It landed directly on the rift.
The moment it attached itself, clear spiritual light spread outward, mending the torn space bit by bit. The earth trembled once again as the rift began to close.
The Onigami within the abyss wore extremely ugly expressions.
They could have torn that annoying talisman apart with ease.
But they did not dare.
They could only watch as the rift slowly sealed shut before their eyes.
Even the Underworld creatures that had already crawled into the human world seemed to fear the owner of that voice. In the final moments before the rift closed, they retreated one after another, scrambling back into the abyss.
Then the rift vanished.
Only the ruined earth of Nijō Castle remained.
Countless gazes turned upward.
A young man had appeared in the sky.
His elegant, mist-blue eyes shimmered with a clear luster. His lips were as beautiful as cherry blossoms, and his handsome features carried a soft, androgynous beauty. Shoulder-length silver hair, smooth as silk, was tied back with a red cord, giving him a clean and refreshing appearance.
His skin was delicate like fine porcelain.
The white kariginu of an Onmyoji suited him perfectly.
Most importantly, his face bore a striking resemblance to the newly born Nue.
However, their temperaments were completely different.
Nue felt cold and eerie, like a true Yokai born from darkness.
The young man before them possessed a unique serenity and gentleness, like a beautiful youth from myth who had died gazing at a narcissus.
At first sight, he naturally inspired goodwill.
Gin Tsumugi looked across the silent battlefield.
Kurahashi Genji and Tsuchimikado Arima were relieved.
The ordinary Onmyoji were confused and shocked.
Kidōji and the other Great Yokai wore dark expressions, fear hidden deep in their eyes.
Nue's gaze was cold and greedy.
Shōko lowered her eyes, unable to meet his gaze. Nostalgia, excitement, complexity, and a faint trepidation were all tangled together on her face.
Amami Daizen looked at him from among the Onmyoji, his expression complicated.
Finally, Gin's gaze fell on Hagoromo Gitsune.
She stood there in a daze, overwhelmed by confusion, excitement, disbelief, and a hope so intense it seemed almost painful.
Gin looked at her and spoke softly.
"Mother."
His voice was calm.
"It has been a thousand years."
The moment that word left his mouth, silence spread across the battlefield.
Those among the upper ranks of Onmyōdō who already knew the truth, along with Keikain Yūra and Keikain Ryūji, who had met him before, remained relatively calm.
But the remaining Onmyoji could no longer suppress the shock and doubt raging in their hearts.
"Mother? He called Hagoromo Gitsune Mother?"
"And he looks far too much like Nue..."
"Wasn't Nue said to be the incarnation of the Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei's dark side?"
"He's White Fox Gin Tsumugi, the genius who has been the center of all those rumors in Onmyōdō..."
"Hagoromo Gitsune. White Fox. And those rumors from before... so they weren't just gossip?"
"Look at the Bureau Chief and the others. They don't seem surprised at all. They clearly knew."
"The Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei... I never thought I would witness the myth of Onmyōdō with my own eyes in this lifetime."
For a time, quiet murmurs spread among the Onmyoji.
Keikain Hidemoto, Tsuchimikado Arima, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, Kurahashi Genji, and the other high-ranking figures offered no further explanation.
They only exchanged glances, each smiling bitterly with a trace of helplessness.
They understood.
This secret could no longer be contained.
However, perhaps that was not entirely a bad thing.
The Mount Fuji Incident.
The Kyoto Incident.
The inevitable conflict with the Underworld in the future.
All of them proved that modern Onmyōdō could no longer fully control the overall situation, much less maintain an advantage in this era of Supernatural Recovery.
And the appearance of this lord brought more benefits than drawbacks.
For Onmyōdō, currently at its lowest point, he was hope.
Even if his existence caused temporary chaos, his almost absolute prestige in the hearts of Onmyoji would be enough to suppress it.
"...Seimei."
Hagoromo Gitsune walked toward Gin in a daze.
"Are you... Seimei?"
She raised a trembling hand and gently touched his familiar cheek.
Everything was so familiar.
Completely different from Nue.
This was the child in her memories.
"To you, Mother, I am indeed Seimei."
Gin nodded gently.
"My child..."
Hagoromo Gitsune's voice trembled.
"Thank goodness... my child..."
The next moment, she hugged Gin tightly.
She was now completely certain.
The person before her was her child.
Her pride.
The one she had searched for and yearned for across a thousand years.
Abe no Seimei.
Hearing the conversation between Gin and Hagoromo Gitsune, the Onmyoji who had still been skeptical could no longer doubt it.
The proof was right before their eyes.
Hagoromo Gitsune was the biological mother of the Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei. She could not possibly mistake her own child.
And the silence of the upper ranks of Onmyōdō, the Bureau Chief, the family heads, the chiefs of the various organizations, was undoubtedly a tacit admission of this truth.
The Onmyoji looked up at Gin Tsumugi in the sky with gazes that bordered on worship.
That was the legendary Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei.
The man who had suppressed the Supernatural Recovery a thousand years ago by himself.
The myth of Onmyōdō.
Its only faith.
Its only deity.
At the same time, after confirming that the person before them was the true Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei, the expressions of Kidōji, Rukugumō, and the other Yokai became extremely grim.
Beneath that grimness was fear.
Fear so deep it made them want to flee.
Those who had not lived through the era he dominated would never understand how terrifying this man truly was.
That fear had been carved into the depths of their souls.
"It seems everything is about to end, Nue."
After seeing Gin appear, Shōko knew this farce, which had lasted for a thousand years, was finally nearing its conclusion.
Yet involuntarily, a trace of fear rose in her heart.
The desire to run from him.
She had thought she had already prepared herself to face him again.
But now, Shōko realized she had been wrong.
....
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