Chapter 147: The Decisive Battle
"Mother, let me deal with Nue first."
Gin Tsumugi gently patted Hagoromo Gitsune's back.
From the moment he appeared, his gaze had never left Nue.
The faint connection he had sensed when Nue was about to be born had now become even clearer. Standing face to face with Nue, Gin felt an instinctive urge rising from the depths of his being.
Devour him.
That was the feeling.
As time passed, the impulse grew stronger. It was as though every part of him, from his soul to his flesh, was craving completion.
What surprised Gin even more was that the role-playing system was reacting as well.
Without his command, it trembled faintly, driven by the same desire.
And this feeling was not limited to Gin alone.
The greed flashing in Nue's eyes, that desire to swallow him whole, could not be hidden.
"Mm. Seimei, be careful."
Hagoromo Gitsune obediently released Gin and retreated to Shōko's side.
Before leaving him, she did not forget to warn him.
At this moment, her gaze toward Nue no longer held any trace of love.
It had become extremely cold.
She knew now.
For the past thousand years, she had been completely deceived by that fake.
"Shōko."
Hagoromo Gitsune shook her head gently.
"You and your aunt Ryōyū were right."
Her voice carried a faint bitterness.
"It seems I was thoroughly deceived."
"Lady Hagoromo Gitsune, you were simply moved by emotions too strong to see through."
Although Shōko was speaking to Hagoromo Gitsune, her gaze kept drifting, almost imperceptibly, toward Gin.
Nue looked at the abyssal rift that had already been completely sealed, then laughed with disdain.
"Those fellows from the Underworld are truly timid as mice."
His lips curled.
"A man who has not even fully recovered his past strength frightened them to this degree."
"Being timid as mice is still better than seeking your own death," Gin said.
"Hmph."
Nue's eyes turned sharp.
"I know every Onmyō Art you know, inside and out."
His voice was filled with arrogance.
"My strength is above yours. I have already fully reached the realm of a Great Onmyoji, while you are still only a high-level Onmyoji."
He raised his chin slightly.
"As long as I devour you, I will become the true Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei. The unquestionable Abe no Seimei."
His ambition burned openly now.
"And this new era of Supernatural Recovery will be ruled and dominated by me."
Nue's words steadied the hearts of the Yokai who had been shaken by Gin's appearance.
Kidōji, Rukugumō, and the others, who had been so terrified they nearly wanted to flee, gradually regained their composure.
Even Tsuchigumo, whose four arms had been severed by Shōko, struggled to stand. Ignoring the blood still pouring from his wounds, he watched the battle that was about to begin.
"Hidemoto."
Keikain Yūra could not help asking the Thirteenth Generation Keikain Hidemoto beside her, "Can that lord defeat Nue?"
"A match?"
The Thirteenth Generation Hidemoto glanced at her.
His tone made Yūra hesitate.
"Does that mean even that lord cannot contend with Nue?"
The Thirteenth Generation Hidemoto looked up at Gin with admiration in his eyes.
Then he spoke seriously to Yūra, the next head of the Keikain Clan, the girl with the talent to manifest the shikigami Hagun.
"Yūra, remember this well."
"The Kyoto Incident ended the moment that lord appeared."
Yūra froze.
"Nue cannot escape his grasp."
The Thirteenth Generation Hidemoto's voice was firm.
"The weight of the title Lord of Myths and Miracles is not something measured by strength alone."
He glanced toward the high-ranking Onmyoji, then toward Shōko.
"Look carefully. Are any of them worried?"
Yūra looked around.
Just as he said, everyone was watching the coming battle with grave seriousness.
But none of their expressions showed true worry.
"Now, watch closely."
The Thirteenth Generation Hidemoto said, "This duel between Onmyōdō paths will be an extremely valuable experience for you."
"Mm!"
Yūra nodded heavily and turned her gaze toward the sky.
Gin glanced at Nue, then swept his gaze across the surviving Yokai in the area.
He drew two talismans from his robe and lightly brushed his fingers across them.
"Zendō. Myōdō."
Two pillars of light condensed from Yin energy shot straight into the sky, intimidating everything around them.
Countless Onmyoji and Yokai instinctively retreated more than a hundred meters.
Roars echoed from within the thick, blinding Yin energy.
They sounded like elephants, yet not elephants.
Like tigers, yet not tigers.
Then two legendary demon gods emerged before everyone's eyes.
Zenki and Goki.
Zenki's body was covered in crimson muscles coiled like dragons. Foul air poured from his breath. Heavy chains wrapped around his limbs, and a massive axe rested in his hand. His six eyes were filled with overwhelming malevolence, causing ordinary Yokai to tremble in fear. Even a Great Yokai like Kidōji did not dare meet his gaze directly.
To Zenki's side stood Goki.
He carried a water jar, and a cloth bag hung at his waist. His presence was no less intimidating to the Yokai around him.
"Zenki and Goki?"
Nue glanced at the two demon gods growling at him.
"Do you truly think you can deal with me with only these two?"
Gin did not answer.
He simply drew three more talismans from his robe and began chanting.
"Four Spirits of Heaven, rectify the four directions. Noble one of the celestial gods, Wood of the East. Swiftly, as the laws and decrees command."
"Report to the Fire of the South, nightmare of the Nine Heavens, fierce general of the directions, Red Lotus. Swiftly, as the laws and decrees command."
"Heaven is the essence of the Moon. The Big Dipper, second of the Four Symbols, the stars surrounding the pole. Swiftly, as the laws and decrees command."
"Come forth."
His voice echoed through Nijō Castle.
"Shōran."
"Ro."
"Taiyin."
The Azure Wood divine power that nurtured all living things descended.
The high-temperature Crimson Lotus divine power that could burn even gods pierced the sky.
The Taiyin divine power, gentle yet vast like the winds of the world, swept down with boundless majesty.
Together, they suppressed all evil and wickedness.
Compared to Zenki and Goki, the arrival of these three Divine Generals terrified Great Yokai like Kidōji even more.
They had survived since the Heian Period.
They knew exactly what those names meant.
In an instant, the entire gray sky was divided by three divine powers and the surging Yin energy of Zenki and Goki.
"Are those... the legendary Twelve Divine Generals?"
"Seiryu, Tensei, Taiyin... even Zenki and Goki..."
"I can die without regrets after seeing this."
"The Twelve Divine Generals have appeared. Now it is completely indisputable. White Fox Gin Tsumugi is the Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei!"
The appearance of Zenki, Goki, and the three Twelve Divine Generals, Seiryu, Tensei, and Taiyin, caused many Onmyoji to cry out in shock.
These were beings from historical legends.
None of them had ever imagined they would witness such existences with their own eyes.
And the one commanding them was White Fox Gin Tsumugi, who had already been confirmed as the Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei.
It gave the Onmyoji a dreamlike feeling, as though history and the present were overlapping before them.
At the same time, their yearning for the peak of Onmyōdō became even stronger.
If they could one day climb to such a height, could they also stand like him?
Return from death.
Turn the wheel of reincarnation at will.
Such transcendent power was enough to make ordinary Onmyoji tremble and submit.
Even high-ranking Onmyoji who knew the truth, such as Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, Kurahashi Genji, and Miyoshi Tōgo, could not help sighing inwardly with longing when they saw it.
"Lord Seimei."
The newly summoned Taiyin appeared in the form of a young girl.
Her delicate, adorable face, paired with brownish-yellow twin tails, made her look lively and charming. Upon seeing Gin, her eyes flashed with excitement and joy.
"Please guide me in this life as well."
"Mm."
Gin nodded.
Then he gave his order.
"Ro. Shōran. Taiyin. Myōdō. Zendō."
His gaze turned toward the Yokai below.
"Clear out all Yokai, including the Great Yokai."
He paused briefly.
"Except for Tsuchigumo, Giant Skeleton, and Kyokotsu."
Gin could see that Giant Skeleton and Kyokotsu were Yokai loyal to Hagoromo Gitsune.
As for Tsuchigumo, that was Ryōyū's request.
"Yes, Lord Seimei!"
Zenki, Goki, Taiyin, Ro, and Shōran answered in unison.
Then they charged toward Kidōji, Ōjizō, Rukugumō, and the others.
"Not good!"
Kidōji, Rukugumō, and the other Yokai were shocked.
They immediately deployed their Ghosts and Ghost Domains to resist.
In an instant, battle erupted across the heavens and earth.
Yin energy and divine power collided, twisting together and forming continuous shockwaves that swept in all directions.
The Yokai were not weak.
There were still three Great Yokai present besides Giant Skeleton.
Unfortunately, they were facing the extremely powerful Seiryu and Tensei from the Twelve Divine Generals, along with Taiyin.
They were completely outmatched.
Kidōji, already severely injured by Shōko, was beaten by Taiyin until it repeatedly spat blood and retreated.
As for the two demon gods, Zenki and Goki, their target was the Yokai below Great Yokai level.
Ōjizō, Gairōta, and others like them were torn apart one by one amid miserable screams.
To those Yokai, Zenki and Goki were like insurmountable entities.
They crushed them completely in a bloody, one-sided slaughter.
The Onmyoji, now reduced to bystanders, could not help showing fear.
Some swallowed hard, clearly stunned by the brutality of Zenki and Goki.
"If you had used Zenki and Goki against me, you might have had a chance to win."
Nue looked at Gin with a sneer.
"It seems this time, I am not the arrogant one."
When Gin summoned Zenki, Goki, Seiryu, Tensei, and Taiyin, Nue had indeed become more serious.
After all, none of those existences were simple.
But seeing Gin send them against Kidōji and the others while choosing to face him alone made contempt rise in Nue's heart.
It was not that he was underestimating his enemy for no reason.
The chasm between a Great Onmyoji and a high-level Onmyoji gave him sufficient confidence.
Gin seemed to see through Nue's thoughts.
"Sometimes, the level of one's realm does not fully represent combat power."
"Fine."
Nue's smile deepened.
"Then I shall wait and see."
With that, Nue stopped speaking.
He raised his hand and drew a pentagram out of thin air.
The power of the Five Elements circulated within it.
A vast majesty began to gather.
Even the faint trace of aura leaking from it made Kogure Zenjirō, who specialized in the Five Elements, feel astonished.
This casual move alone completely surpassed his understanding of the Five Elements.
But to everyone's surprise, Gin made the exact same motion.
A nearly identical pentagram burst from his fingertips.
It condensed even faster than Nue's and shot directly toward him.
Boom!
The Five Elements rotated.
Chaotic forces exploded throughout the sky, causing the firmament to tremble.
The ruins of Nijō Castle were swept over again by the rampaging torrent of Five Elements power. The already decayed and blackened structures began to crumble and dissipate.
"Hmph. Is that Gyodō?"
Nue's eyes turned cold, as if he had seen something unpleasant.
"It is called Myriad Laws now."
Gin's voice was calm.
"As I predicted, your Onmyōdō Framework... no, your Onmyō order, is not derived from Myriad Laws."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"It is based on a core Onmyōdō Framework similar to Yin-Yang and the Five Elements."
"So what if it is?"
Nue did not deny it.
He reached into the void and drew out a long sword covered in cracks and defects.
The cursed blade, Devil King's Gavel.
"I have already formed my own Onmyō order."
His eyes were filled with arrogance.
"While you remain at the level of a mere Onmyōdō Framework."
Swish!
As Nue raised Devil King's Gavel, everything around him began to collapse.
It was as though the Five Elements of the world had fallen under his control, gathering on the blade like a vast, boundless ocean.
"Slash."
A strike that seemed capable of cleaving the world flew forth.
Its power had already reached the level of a Great Onmyō Art, threatening to annihilate Gin where he stood.
"Barrier."
Gin did not dodge.
He deployed the Strategic Barrier from the Senji Ryakketsu.
Unfortunately, this time, the result was different.
Crack.
Crack.
The Strategic Barrier, which could completely defend against the attacks of a Great Yokai, began showing cracks beneath Nue's slash.
The cracks spread.
Then the barrier gradually shattered.
By the time Nue's slash completely vanished, the Strategic Barrier released through the Senji Ryakketsu had also broken apart.
Inside Gin's mind, the Senji Ryakketsu dimmed.
For the next few days, he likely would not be able to deploy the Strategic Barrier again.
....
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