Inside the dark forest, a brilliant flash of white light flickered and vanished, its immense power slowly receding. On the grass between the trees, a Divine Messenger in tattered armor stood alone, his expression impassive. In his hand, he gripped a charred charcoal stick; the hand holding it was currently a mess of decay, with rotting flesh clinging to white bone, twitching as it continuously regenerated. At the scene, Minamoto no Mitsunaka, who had been lying on the ground, was nowhere to be found.
"Celestial Power... hmph..."
The Divine Messenger murmured, his hand tightening until the charcoal stick was easily crushed. A shadow of irritation flickered across his normally calm face.
Just then, a sound echoed through the trees. A figure leaped through the branches, finally landing beside the Divine Messenger. It was Minamoto no Yorimasa.
"Lord Divine Messenger, what just happened? I saw a great flash of light here. Was there an accident?" Yorimasa stood respectfully beside the messenger and asked.
"It was nothing, merely a trump card left by Minamoto no Mitsunaka. Hmph... to think he managed to get his hands on an item capable of channeling the power of the Celestial Realm..." The Divine Messenger spoke bluntly, turning his gaze toward Yorimasa.
"Minamoto no Mitsunaka launched a sneak attack using a weapon imbued with Celestial Power. After I blocked it, he triggered its self-destruction. While the blast wounded me, it also dispersed the other forces in this area, including the power I had left in his body to restrict his movements. Once he could move freely, he immediately summoned a shikigami and fled..."
"An item imbued with Celestial Power..." Hearing the Divine Messenger's words, Yorimasa frowned as if remembering something, but he did not pursue the topic. Instead, he shifted the conversation.
"Lord Divine Messenger... since Minamoto no Mitsunaka successfully escaped, should we pursue him immediately? If he reaches Heian-kyo, it might negatively impact our plans."
"No need. I forcibly extracted the White Tiger Seal from him, severely damaging his spiritual circuits. The soul-contracted shikigami he summoned won't last long, so he won't get far. He certainly won't reach Heian-kyo... To go looking for him now would only be a waste of our time." Looking toward Heian-kyo in the distance, the Divine Messenger spoke decisively. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed something to Yorimasa, who caught it accurately mid-air.
"The Gentian Iron Token..." Yorimasa carefully examined the object in his hand. It was the iron command token the Divine Messenger had previously torn from Mitsunaka's person.
"Everything we need to take is now in our hands. Do not dally. Go to Heian-kyo immediately and proceed exactly as planned." The Divine Messenger spoke sternly, his eyes fixed on Yorimasa.
"Understood!"
...
In the secret valley, within the ruins of the Minamoto base, Miketsu and her yokai remained to finish the cleanup.
The passage previously collapsed by Menreiki had been cleared. The Tanuki and the children, who had been trapped below for some time, were finally freed. Once Miketsu confirmed the count of all the children and checked their vital signs, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Amidst the Tanuki's non-stop boasting, Miketsu, in her persona as Owl, praised him with a few words and instructed Makoto to tell the Cat Shop Owner to set aside a bottle of good sake for him upon their return.
Finally, as everything was nearing completion and Makoto was giving her final report to Miketsu, Makoto suddenly paused, an unnatural expression crossing her face.
"What is it, Makoto?" Miketsu asked directly, noticing her obvious abnormality.
"Um... it's nothing, Lord Owl. It's just a sudden feeling... I sensed a familiar yet peculiar aura..." Makoto murmured, her brow furrowed as she looked into the distant darkness.
"A familiar yet peculiar aura..."
"Yes... I've never felt this way before. I wonder... if there is one of my kind nearby..." Makoto said, a faint, almost imperceptible hope in her voice. After all, Itsumaden were extremely rare; she had never seen another of her race besides her own mother.
"One of your kind...?" Hearing Makoto's words, curiosity piqued in Miketsu's heart. After a moment's thought, she spoke to Makoto again.
"In that case, we can take a separate detour on our way back to check it out. Since you can sense it, it shouldn't be too far..."
As Miketsu responded, she seemed to think of something as well, stroking her chin in contemplation.
...
On the return journey, Makoto carried Miketsu as they broke away from the other yokai, flying straight toward the location where Makoto sensed her kin. They searched the area for a while but found nothing at first.
"Makoto? Can you still feel that aura?" Miketsu asked, riding on Makoto's true form. Makoto replied immediately.
"My apologies, Lady Uka. That aura was fleeting; I can no longer sense it at all."
"Sigh... in that case, let's first—" Just as Miketsu was about to give up the search and head back, her eyes quickly spotted something below.
"Makoto, land over there..."
"Understood, Lady Uka."
Makoto responded crisply, then dove beneath the canopy toward the direction Miketsu indicated. Soon, their gaze was drawn to a figure slumped at the base of a large tree.
Minamoto no Mitsunaka, clad in shattered armor, sat leaning against the tree roots, clutching his abdomen and gasping for breath. Blood seeped through the gaps in his armor. His face, now missing its visor, was contorted in extreme agony. Seeing Mitsunaka in such a state, Miketsu couldn't help but be startled.
"This is..."
"It's the Onmyo Taiyu of the Onmyoryo, the representative of the Minamoto Clan..."
It's this guy! That's right... To trade for information on the undercover agents the Onmyoryo had planted in Choyo-machi, I once used a portion of the Golden Feathers I obtained from Fangshan Castle as a bargaining chip. Could he have fashioned those Golden Feathers into a weapon or tool and used it, causing Makoto to sense a 'kin'?
But then again, how did this guy end up in such a state? He wasn't like this when I let him go. I only smashed his armor; I didn't actually inflict any heavy injuries. He even had the strength to spout threats at the end. This dying version of him, gasping for his last breaths, is completely different. His spiritual power fluctuations are so weak they're almost undetectable and utterly chaotic.
Miketsu's mind raced as she assessed the scene. Meanwhile, Makoto continued to descend, soon landing on the ground in front of Mitsunaka.
After a brief thought, Miketsu stepped off Makoto and stood before the dying Mitsunaka. With a hint of mockery in her low voice, she spoke.
"Is this not the Senior Secretary of the Minamoto? We only parted moments ago... and you've already become like this?"
Mitsunaka, whose consciousness seemed clouded, only realized someone had approached at that moment. He raised his head blankly, but when he saw that familiar pitch-black figure, his eyes widened instantly. With an agitated tone, he managed to speak.
"Cough, cough... Owl... take... take me back to Heian-kyo... immediately, inform the Kamo and the Fujiwara... tonight... a great calamity is coming to Heian-kyo!"
Rate on N.U.
