Chapter 151: Daitengu
In almost an instant, the strange Great Yokai was completely devoured by the black serpents.
"Awooo...!"
Its final cry was filled with pain and resentment.
Yet no matter how it struggled, its sealed body could not resist. Flesh, blood, bones, spiritual power, everything was eaten clean.
Not even a white skeleton remained.
A Great Yokai had vanished from the world in the most miserable way possible.
"Hiss... hiss... hiss..."
The hundreds of black serpents that had multiplied by feeding on the Great Yokai's flesh and blood all raised their heads. Their blood-red mouths opened wide, releasing sharp, piercing shrieks toward the sky.
Then, as if some hidden ritual had been triggered, they began to devour one another.
Black scales tore.
Flesh split.
The serpents tangled together and slaughtered their own kind in a bloody frenzy.
"This is... far too cruel."
The upper ranks of Onmyōdō, such as Amami Daizen, Keikain Hidemoto, Kurahashi Genji, and Tsuchimikado Arima, could still remain calm.
They had already seen things far crueler than this.
But for the ordinary Onmyoji who had not experienced much of the hidden world's brutality, the scene before them was enough to make their faces turn pale.
This was their first time witnessing such a cruel sacrifice with their own eyes.
"Hiss... hiss... hiss..."
The black serpents continued to bite and slaughter one another.
Every serpent that died burst apart, turning into a cloud of blood mist.
One after another, those clouds gathered in the air.
The blood mist thickened.
Then it slowly condensed into a massive blood sphere large enough to wrap around two people.
"Quite clever."
Gin Tsumugi watched quietly, making no move to stop it.
"So they intend to summon him this way."
Almost as soon as Gin finished speaking, the dense blood sphere contracted violently.
It writhed like a living organism, pulsing with vitality.
Then its shape began to change.
For a moment, it twisted into several bizarre forms.
Finally, it stabilized into a human silhouette.
Internal organs formed first.
Then meridians.
Bones.
Skin.
Under everyone's gaze, a full body slowly took shape, like an autopsy being performed in reverse.
"This is..."
When the complete figure finally appeared before their eyes, those who had already guessed the answer, such as Gin, Hagoromo Gitsune, and Shōko, remained relatively composed.
But Keikain Hidemoto, the Thirteenth Generation Keikain Hidemoto, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, Tsuchimikado Arima, and even Nue all stared at the figure in disbelief.
"This is truly surprising."
The Thirteenth Generation Keikain Hidemoto gazed at the figure in the sky, the one summoned at the cost of a Great Yokai.
"A sight that did not appear even four hundred years ago has actually appeared before us today."
White robes.
Black wings.
An extremely familiar crimson demon mask.
And the round fan held in his hand.
Not only the Thirteenth Generation Keikain Hidemoto, but even contemporary Onmyoji such as Keikain Hidemoto, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, and Tsuchimikado Arima were left stunned when they saw that unmistakable figure in the sky.
Who could have thought that in this era, they would actually have the fortune, or misfortune, to witness this Great Yokai?
"Daitengu..."
Keikain Yūra murmured, her eyes slightly unfocused.
That was right.
Daitengu.
The figure summoned through the sacrifice of a Great Yokai was none other than Daitengu, one of the top Great Yokai said to stand on the same level as Tamamo-no-Mae and Shuten-dōji.
Compared to Tamamo-no-Mae and Shuten-dōji, Daitengu possessed a more mysterious and almost sacred aura, both in Onmyōdō history and in folklore.
The most widely accepted origin of Daitengu in Japan came from the Taiheiki.
It recorded that Emperor Sutoku of Japan was defeated in the Hōgen Rebellion and exiled to Sanuki Province. Afterward, he wrote Buddhist scriptures to admonish the new Emperor, but they were not accepted.
Because of that, Emperor Sutoku was consumed by rage and began cursing Japan.
In the Kokushi Ryaku, it was recorded that he wished to become a Great Demon King and disturb the world, dedicating the five Mahayana sutras to the evil path.
The Hōgen Monogatari also recorded similar words.
He wished to become a great demonic fate for Japan and throw the world into chaos, making commoners into emperors and emperors into commoners.
In the end, Emperor Sutoku died from starvation and extreme resentment.
His appearance in death was said to resemble a Yaksha.
Legend claimed that his vengeful spirit transformed into a Tengu and continued wreaking havoc in the human world.
This was the most widely circulated and most accepted explanation for Daitengu's origin.
Aside from that, there were other folk legends.
Atago-yama Tarōbō Daitengu, who was said to have followed Indra's command three thousand years ago and led Tengu and Crow Tengu to Japan to propagate Buddhism. He lived on Mount Atago in Kyoto, took on temple duties, protected the people of the Atago area, and became worshiped as a deity who calmed disasters.
Hira-yama Jirōbō Daitengu, who was said to have originally practiced on Mount Hiei before being displaced by monks.
Kurama-yama Sōjōbō Daitengu.
And others.
However, in the eyes of Onmyōdō, most of these folk Daitengu were considered fabrications.
Even the most widely circulated theory, that Daitengu was the incarnation of Emperor Sutoku, contained major discrepancies.
The timeline did not align.
Daitengu had already appeared during the Heian Period.
Emperor Sutoku was born in a later era.
But one thing was certain.
There was an extremely close connection between Daitengu and the Imperial Family.
"Seimei..."
At that moment, the summoned Daitengu, or more precisely, the Daitengu manifested through a Great Yokai sacrifice, had an extremely unstable consciousness.
His eyes were filled with chaos and irritation.
Yet when he saw Gin Tsumugi, he still called out the name buried in his memory with complicated emotion.
"Seimei..."
"If you were truly resurrected completely, you, who always valued elegance and peace, would probably feel deeply ashamed to see yourself in this state."
Gin shook his head with a trace of emotion.
"Seimei... Seimei... Seimei..."
Daitengu did not respond to Gin's words.
Or perhaps, in his current state, he could no longer understand them.
He simply repeated the name he recognized from his memory.
Again and again.
In the end, his voice grew higher and sharper, until even his vocal cords sounded strained.
At the same time, a terrifying whirlwind erupted from Daitengu's body.
With Nijō Castle as its center, a storm comparable to a natural disaster swept outward, covering nearly one-tenth of Kyoto.
Its scale was far beyond the previous Yin energy tornado.
Everything caught within the storm, whether Yokai or human, was torn apart.
The only fortune amid the disaster was that Shōko, Keikain Hidemoto, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, Kurahashi Genji, and the others immediately joined forces.
With Hagoromo Gitsune's assistance as well, they established a defense in time.
Only then were the Onmyoji present protected from the storm.
....
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