In a dark forest deep within the desolate plains far outside Heian-kyo, Minamoto no Yorimasa sat cross-legged on the ground under the pitch-black night sky. His hands were locked in a spellcasting mudra, his eyes shut tight as he focused entirely on manipulating the vengeful spirit of Prince Nagaya, who had just been turned into a shikigami. However, his face was grim and strained, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead; just by looking at him, it was clear that the control was not going smoothly.
"What is the status? Did Prince Nagaya successfully breach the Fujiwara's barrier?" Standing beside Yorimasa, an armored divine messenger asked with a stern expression.
"Prince Nagaya has successfully dismantled the Fujiwara's resistance. Now... he has possessed the body of Fujiwara no Saneyori..." Yorimasa said slowly, his voice heavy with tension.
"Then move quickly! Control Fujiwara no Saneyori through Prince Nagaya, activate the Vermilion Bird Seal, reduce Heian-kyo to ashes, and force Minamoto no Mitsunaka's White Tiger Seal to reveal itself!" the divine messenger commanded sharply. Their objective from the beginning was not merely the Fujiwara clan, but the entirety of Heian-kyo.
"No... I can't..."
"You can't? Haven't you already succeeded in possessing Fujiwara no Saneyori? Could he still be resisting?" the messenger asked in surprise. Logically, Saneyori should have been weakened to the brink by the previous curse, having lost all capacity to defend himself.
"Lord Messenger, the—the problem isn't Fujiwara no Saneyori, it's Prince Nagaya! He has suddenly gone into a frenzy again. He is... desperately trying to break free of my control... just to kill a girl who suddenly appeared!" Yorimasa said with great difficulty as he struggled to maintain his grip on the information streaming back from the city.
"What..."
......
Within the Upper Capital District of Heian-kyo, deep inside the massive underground treasury beneath the Fujiwara residence, Mokou stepped slowly into the center of the vast, open space under the astonished gazes of the gathered Fujiwara nobles. Her eyes were fixed squarely on the possessed Saneyori, her expression indifferent.
The moment he saw Mokou, the possessed Saneyori, who had been about to activate the Vermilion Bird Seal, abruptly stopped his movements. He turned his head with mechanical stiffness to look at her. Then, an uncontrollable mask of rage twisted his features, and his mouth worked open and shut as he let out an eerie, screeching cry.
"Fu... ji... wa... ra..."
The Fujiwara nobles witnessed this scene, their eyes filled with a mix of shock and confusion.
Who was this white-haired girl? How did she appear here so suddenly? Why was she able to draw the vengeful spirit's attention? Was she also of the Fujiwara? And what did she mean by calling them a group of juniors?
Numerous doubts swirled in the minds of the nobles, but only Fujiwara no Tadahira seemed to realize something from her words. His eyes widened as he stood frozen in place, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Could she be...?" At that moment, Tadahira recalled what Saneyori had told him recently about a mysterious ancestor.
"FUJIWARA!!" At this moment, Prince Nagaya, possessing Saneyori, seemed unable to tolerate Mokou's presence and let out a deafening roar. A surge of dark purple demonic energy erupted from Saneyori's body, sweeping directly toward her.
Vengeful spirits are yokai that exist because of their resentment; it is the very foundation of their being. Revenge is their eternal goal. Even though the direct culprits who had killed Prince Nagaya—the Four Sons of Fujiwara—were long dead, his hatred had never been appeased. According to the nature of such spirits, the scope of the grudge expands, seeking continuous vengeance against anyone related by blood to the perpetrators. The closer the blood relation to those four brothers, the more it would provoke the spirit's wrath and fuel its madness.
And here stood Mokou. As the biological sister of the Four Sons of Fujiwara, her blood was undeniably closer to them than any of the modern Fujiwaras. After all, the current clan members were descendants from over two hundred years later, whereas Mokou, like the four brothers, was a child of Fujiwara no Fuhito. She was one of the closest living relatives in terms of bloodline. Consequently, it was impossible for Prince Nagaya to remain indifferent to her. In fact, her appearance had caused the spirit's rage to peak, rendering Minamoto no Yorimasa unable to control the possessed Saneyori or force him to activate the Vermilion Bird Seal.
Faced with the sudden appearance of Mokou, Prince Nagaya instinctively unleashed his power. Dark purple demonic energy billowed out as a powerful curse surged toward the girl who carried such potent Fujiwara blood. Seeing this, Fujiwara no Tadahira couldn't help but shout.
"Ancestor... watch out!"
Ancestor? What was going on?! Every Fujiwara noble present was stunned by the title Tadahira used for the girl. At that moment, the overwhelming power of the curse slammed into Mokou. Prince Nagaya's curse was capable of causing horrific, fatal diseases; when focused and amplified, it could kill an ordinary human instantly.
Faced with the potent curse of pestilence, Mokou did not collapse and wail in a miserable death like the other Fujiwaras. Her expression barely changed. Suddenly, the temperature around her skyrocketed. Her skin became parched, her veins glowed with a brilliant light beneath her flesh, and cracks spiderwebbed across her body. Wisps of blue smoke began to curl from the fissures, making it look as though she was about to spontaneously combust.
At this moment, Mokou was incinerating the diseased tissues within her body as they were created by the curse. She regenerated as she burned, using her flames to continuously refresh and purify her physical form. She had turned her internal self into a ceaseless furnace, burning away the parts of her body infected by the curse while simultaneously growing new ones. Through her immortality as a person of hourai and her incredible restorative power, she withstood Prince Nagaya's devastating bloodline curse.
"She... she actually withstood the curse!" Tadahira stammered in shock as he watched Mokou remain standing. Until now, not a single Fujiwara had been able to survive that power.
"Hmph... What's wrong? Is this all the power you have? Can't you do anything besides casting curses?" Mokou looked at the possessed Saneyori and gave a disdainful smirk. Her words successfully further enraged the spirit.
"Damn you... Fujiwara... DIE!"
Under Prince Nagaya's control, Saneyori took to the air, his body wreathed in a red aura as he charged straight at Mokou. However, she chose not to meet him head-on.
"Let's settle this outside!"
With that simple statement, Mokou turned around. She stomped her foot against the ground, triggering an explosion of fire that propelled her forward. With the possessed Saneyori hot on her heels, she dashed toward the exit of the underground treasury.
During her flight, a tiny, heat-insulated paper crane hidden in her ear emitted a sound. It was the voice of Miketsu.
"How is it on your end?"
"It's exactly as you described. This fellow has a deep-seated hatred and obsession for me. I've successfully drawn his attention, but he's possessed someone else, which is a bit of a nuisance," Mokou answered Miketsu as she sped away.
"It doesn't matter. Just lure him to the surface. We'll settle everything here."
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