Chapter 149: Surface
"This is bad. I didn't expect Nue to actually know Celestial Manipulation."
The Thirteenth Generation Keikain Hidemoto looked up at the false starry sky above them, his expression turning ugly.
Keikain Hidemoto, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, Tsuchimikado Arima, and the others were the same.
Even Onmyoji who were not disciples of the Tsuchimikado Clan had heard the name of this Great Onmyō Art.
Celestial Manipulation.
It was a technique that truly represented one of the highest extremes of Onmyōdō. Even the Taizan Fukun Festival was slightly inferior before it, and throughout the long history of Onmyōdō, there were almost no Onmyō Arts that could stand beside it.
The four words "Celestial Manipulation" had long since been engraved deep into Onmyōdō's history.
"Celestial Manipulation, huh?"
Gin Tsumugi looked calmly at the false sky overhead.
"You have not even touched the surface of this Great Onmyō Art. Using it like this is an embarrassment."
"Arrogant!"
In Nue's eyes, Gin was merely being stubborn in the face of death.
Now that he had unleashed Celestial Manipulation, Nue possessed absolute confidence that he could fight even the top Great Yokai, existences such as Tamamo-no-Mae and Shuten-dōji.
He did not believe Gin had any means to contend with it.
Even if Gin used the Onmyōdō Framework, Gyodō, to try to break Celestial Manipulation directly, it would never be as simple as suppressing and dominating his Onmyō Order.
And this time, Nue would not give Gin time to analyze and learn it.
"Starfall."
With a wave of Nue's hand, several points of starlight in the false heavens grew brighter.
Then larger.
They dragged long tails of light behind them as they fell.
Seven star-like masses descended from the sky, each containing enough power to destroy all of Kyoto. They tore through the night and fell straight toward the earth.
At the same time, as those seven stars drew closer, gravity across Kyoto began to change catastrophically.
It felt as though an enormous mountain had been pressed down upon the city.
And the pressure only grew heavier.
The first to collapse were the ordinary people who had survived by hiding in the corners and ruins of Kyoto. One by one, they gasped for breath and fell to the ground.
They tried desperately to crawl back up, but the weight pressing down on them grew heavier and heavier, until blood began to seep from their noses.
After them came the ordinary Onmyoji gathered at Nijō Castle.
Buildings across Kyoto that had somehow survived the previous chaos began to groan and collapse under the pressure.
By the time the seven stars covered the night sky, even National Level Onmyoji such as Otomo Jin, Tsuchimikado Arima, and Kurahashi Genji began to struggle.
One after another, they hurriedly drew out talismans to resist the crushing pressure.
But that was all they could do.
The only ones present who were not significantly affected were Shōran, Taiyin, Ro, Zenki, Goki, Shōko, and Hagoromo Gitsune, who were still fighting to eliminate the remaining Great Yokai such as Kidōji.
Clearly, Nue had secretly shielded those Great Yokai from the gravity's influence, hoping they could delay their own deaths a little longer.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished.
Although Taiyin's combat power ranked near the bottom among the Twelve Divine Generals, Kidōji had already been severely wounded by Shōko's Divine Art.
The fact that it had endured until now relied entirely on intuition and combat experience sharpened across thousands of years of brushing against death.
But under Taiyin's fierce offensive, Kidōji could no longer hold on.
Wind blades sliced across its body.
Its waist was cut in half.
Blood poured down from the sky like rain, and its Ghost gradually dissipated.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Kidōji fell heavily to the ground.
"Lord... Seimei..."
In its final moments, Kidōji looked up at Nue in the sky with extreme resentment.
Their thousand-year wish had clearly been fulfilled.
Yet the ending that awaited them was the most tragic and painful one possible.
"Hmph. I already said it before."
Taiyin pouted, deeply dissatisfied.
"Do not use that fake to tarnish the name Lord Seimei."
Afterward, she did not go to assist Shōran or Ro.
Deep down, Taiyin was still somewhat afraid of the stern Shōran and the fierce general Ro. It had been like this since a thousand years ago.
Besides, with their strength, even under the influence of Celestial Manipulation's gravity, destroying two mere Great Yokai was only a matter of time.
There was no need for her to intervene.
Therefore, Taiyin landed directly on the ground and joined forces with Zenki and Goki to harvest and exterminate the Yokai below Great Yokai level.
It had to be said that the Yokai gathered in Nijō Castle were indeed numerous.
Even after Zenki and Goki had repeatedly reaped and slaughtered them, quite a few still remained.
"I told you."
Gin stood beneath the false sky, completely unaffected by the gravity brought by Celestial Manipulation.
Not only his main body, but even the talisman clones he had manifested were the same.
"Your understanding of Celestial Manipulation is too shallow."
He glanced at the seven stars about to descend.
Although he had plenty of methods to dodge or defend against this version of Celestial Manipulation, which had only touched a sliver of the technique's true essence, Nijō Castle beneath his feet and perhaps all of Kyoto would suffer.
Under the crushing impact of those seven stars, Kyoto would be turned into a dead land.
"As expected, I still need to take it head-on."
Having said that, Gin and his clones each drew a talisman from their robes.
Then, in unison, they began chanting.
Their voices resounded throughout the night sky.
"Namo sarva-tathāgatebhyaḥ, sarva-mukhebhyaḥ, sarvathā, traṭ, caṇḍa, mahāroṣaṇa, khaṃ... traṭ, hāṃ..."
"Homage to all Tathāgatas. To all faces. To all places."
"Roar and break through obstacles. Violent evil. Great wrath. Destroy all obstacles."
"Swiftly, as the laws and decrees command."
"Fudō Myōō Fire Boundary Mantra!"
Flames erupted in every direction.
The white wrathful flames of Fudō Myōō appeared once more, radiating enough heat to melt heaven and earth. Holy power that punished evil and dispelled demons surged with them.
But this time, the scale and power were fundamentally different from before.
Let alone Nijō Castle, all of Kyoto could clearly feel the terrifying heat.
For a moment, it was as if the entire city had become a hell of red lotuses.
Of course, that heat was restrained almost instantly.
Otherwise, the temperature alone would have been more than ordinary Onmyoji could bear.
This time, the dozen or so Fudō Myōō Fire Boundary Mantras did not transform into fire dragons.
Instead, they overlapped and fused.
The flames stacked upon one another, forming a pillar of fire that seemed to support the heavens.
It pierced straight into the night.
Boom!
The seven stars, each possessing enough power to destroy Kyoto, were annihilated directly by the pillar of flame formed from the overlapping Fudō Myōō Fire Boundary Mantras.
And that was not the end.
The false night sky that served as the foundation of Celestial Manipulation was ripped open by the raging pillar of fire.
"How can this be?!"
Nue stared wide-eyed at the fading false sky, unable to accept the scene before him.
His strength was clearly far superior to his opponent's.
He had even used Celestial Manipulation.
Yet it had been broken with such ease, just like his Onmyō Order moments earlier.
However, Shōko and Hagoromo Gitsune were not surprised in the slightest.
The two of them had absolute confidence in Gin.
Otherwise, Shōko would never have said those words earlier.
"It's over, Nue."
Gin glanced at Nue and drew five more talismans.
Once again, synchronized chanting rang out from every direction.
"Remove filth. Rebirth in the Pure Land. Vajra, purity. Like all Vajras, all is pure."
"Homage, universal Vajras. Violent evil obstacles. Great wrathful one, destroy."
"Terrifying one who speaks holy wrath. Fudō Myōō. All demons submit."
"Demon Purifying Talisman."
In an instant, the five talismans transformed into Demon Purifying Talismans.
Demon Purifying Talismans?
Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantation?
That familiar combination caused many Onmyoji to recall the great battle that had once taken place above Shinomiya Manor.
If that was the case, then the Onmyō Art that followed would likely be...
As the vast majority of the Onmyoji expected, Gin used the five Demon Purifying Talismans as anchor points, arranging them into a pentagon in front of him.
Obscure and profound incantations flowed from his mouth.
His hands formed mudras rapidly.
"God of the Eastern Sea, named Amin."
"God of the Western Sea, named Zhuliang."
"God of the Southern Sea, named Jucheng."
"God of the Northern Sea, named Yuqiang."
"Great Gods of the Four Seas, repel all ghosts, sweep away evil disasters."
"Swiftly, as the laws and decrees command."
"Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantation!"
Under the blessing of the five Demon Purifying Talismans, the vast and majestic power of the gods of the four seas was invoked.
Three superimposed pentagrams condensed before Gin.
They stood imposingly, interlocked and overlapping, gathering the power of the Four Sea Deities.
A majestic, righteous aura that dispelled evil and drove away ghosts radiated outward.
It was like a wrathful Vajra opening its eyes, intimidating all ghosts and evil spirits.
The scorching brilliance that exposed all evil rolled forward.
It seemed as though every Yokai and demon in the world would be forced to reveal its true form before this light.
However, this was only one.
From every direction, more than a dozen Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantations layered together.
The burst of majestic power that dispelled evil and drove away ghosts illuminated Kyoto, scattering the darkness across the entire city.
Some weaker Yokai were reduced to ash directly under that righteous power, screaming as they vanished.
Not only Shōko and Hagoromo Gitsune, but even high-ranking Onmyōdō figures such as Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, Tsuchimikado Arima, and the Thirteenth Generation Keikain Hidemoto, along with ordinary Onmyoji, all understood one thing.
Under this strike from Gin Tsumugi, Nue would not survive.
The Kyoto Incident, which had mobilized most of Onmyōdō's main forces, was finally nearing its end.
"Damn it!"
Nue's expression became extremely grim.
He could clearly feel that this Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantation far surpassed an ordinary Great Onmyō Art.
The awe-inspiring power of warding off evil and driving away ghosts alone made his entire being sting.
As the embodiment of Abe no Seimei's dark side, he was restrained by the Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantation even more severely than an ordinary Yokai.
The threat of death filled every nerve.
But when Nue tried to move, he suddenly discovered that the Five Elements power that had originally obeyed his command had somehow turned into five chains, locking him tightly in place.
"It's that damn Gyodō again!"
Nue gritted his teeth and looked at Gin with extreme unwillingness.
He was clearly also a part of him.
He knew every Onmyō Art Gin knew.
He understood those techniques like the back of his hand.
So why was his Onmyōdō Framework not Gyodō?
If his Framework had also been Gyodō, everything today would have ended differently.
He could not accept it.
Unfortunately, no matter how unwilling Nue was, the final outcome had already arrived.
"Disappear, Nue."
Gin waved one hand.
The pentagrams formed by more than a dozen Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantations directly enveloped Nue.
The awe-inspiring power of warding off evil and driving away ghosts made him feel as though he had fallen into hell.
His existence was continuously refined and purified.
"Damn it... Abe no Seimei... Abe no Seimei!"
Nue roared with unwillingness.
He could feel his body and soul becoming hollow beneath the purification.
In just a few breaths, he would be completely purified and disappear from this world.
"Cough... cough..."
The last remaining hostile Great Yokai, Rukugumō, looked at Nue, who was being purified, then looked at Gin's calm face.
A self-mocking smile appeared at the corner of its mouth.
"So Nue, Lord Seimei... really was just a fake we ignorantly pursued."
In the next moment, Shōran's spear descended, filled with Azure Wood divine power.
The strike pierced through Rukugumō.
This Great Yokai, which had survived for thousands of years, perished completely.
Seeing that Shōran had finished the battle first, Ro could not help frowning slightly.
Perhaps it was because their divine powers were naturally opposed in attribute. They had never been especially compatible.
Thus, in the Kyoto Incident, all Great Yokai except Giant Skeleton, Tsuchigumo, and Hagoromo Gitsune had perished.
The only remaining named Yokai was the little girl Kyokotsu, whom Gin had deliberately spared.
"What is that?!"
Just as all the Onmyoji almost thought Nue had fallen into a truly desperate situation, a special figure possessing the aura of a Great Yokai suddenly appeared in front of Nue.
In other words, it appeared within the range of the Ghost-Averting and Evil-Dispelling Incantation's purification.
"Does Nue still have reinforcements?"
"There is no doubt. That is indeed a Great Yokai."
"But this Great Yokai seems strange... more like a prisoner."
"No. Rather than a prisoner, it looks more like a sacrifice."
"What kind of joke is this? Using a Great Yokai as a sacrifice?"
The reason the Great Yokai that had suddenly appeared before Nue seemed so strange was because no one could see its true appearance at all.
Its humanoid body was nearly ten feet tall, but it was wrapped tightly from head to toe in black cloth.
Several nails pierced the black cloth, as though they had been driven deep into its body from above.
Faintly, one could still hear angry roars coming from within.
But that voice carried weakness.
....
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