Flames flickered softly in the dark.
The charred remains of some poor soul's car burned nearby, orange tongues licking at twisted metal. The acrid stench of gasoline saturated the air, heavy and choking.
It was uncertain whether a secondary explosion might follow… Thankfully, there were no civilians or flammable materials nearby to worsen things.
"My, that was quite dangerous. We were nearly caught in that blast."
Ashiya Douman said it with a smile—too casual, too carefree. His words of relief felt more like a joke.
Keikain Yura dangled from his grasp, still in a daze. Her feet didn't touch the ground.
Side note: Douman stood at a towering two meters tall. Yura, by contrast, measured only 143 centimeters. The result? He could lift her like a stray kitten—adorably helpless. The height gap between them was… extreme.
More than once, people—Rikuo included—had called her "Chibikko" or "Little Bean." And every time, Yura had flown into a righteous rage.
"Wha… What just happened?"
Still dazed, she looked up at Douman, instinctively turning to the one exuding the most elder energy in the room.
"Hmmmm… isn't it obvious? We were attacked. And the attacker wasn't just anyone."
As her feet finally hit the ground, Yura slowly came back to her senses.
"Was it a yōkai?"
"Nope. Looks like a human to me."
Douman's obsidian-like eyes gleamed. A smirk—bordering on sinister—curved his lips.
"If you're not good at dealing with humans… feel free to let this humble monk handle it."
"…No. I'll do it, Limbo-san."
Her hesitation lasted only a heartbeat. She stepped forward and summoned one of her shikigami: Tān Láng.
A massive white wolf emerged from the mist, standing beside her like a loyal sentinel.
Limbo-san isn't built for direct combat, she thought. I have to protect him.
"Limbo-san. If the enemy turns out to be strong… run. Don't hesitate."
Without even glancing back, Yura climbed onto Tān Láng's back and sped off in the direction the arrow had come from. She became a blur in the night, a silver shadow racing on the wind.
"My, my. Such a sweet child. Even now, she worries about someone like me…"
Hands tucked into his wide sleeves, Douman smiled—but this one was different.
"Hmmmmm… That won't do at all. Why be so kind to someone so wicked? Why grow so strong? What if I start to take an interest in her? What if I start to wonder what color her soul would turn if I dyed it like the depths of Hell…? Now that would be a problem."
No one heard the malice laced in his muttering. The battle between onmyōji had already begun—with a single arrow as its opening note.
Despite the night's depth, vision remained clear. Mikado-in Keiya stood tall, bow in hand, and had seen both Douman and Yura emerge from the explosion unharmed. Now, Yura was rapidly closing the distance atop a spectral wolf.
"Prime numbers guide wisdom. They bring calm to the mind, peace to the heart…"
"Eighty-three… eighty-nine… ninety-seven… one-oh-one… one-oh-three…"
Keiya recited prime numbers under his breath, grounding his thoughts. It helped him focus as he drew his bow.
Left hand steady, right hand pulling string—light particles condensed into a brilliant arrow.
It soared.
From atop Tān Láng, Yura narrowed her eyes. A streak of light was falling from the sky.
"Tān Láng! Incoming attack!"
At her command, the shikigami leapt aside. The arrow struck the earth with a violent boom, pelting them with stone fragments. Tān Láng staggered from the shock.
"I'm fine! Keep going, Tān Láng! I can see the enemy!"
Five more arrows rained down. Yura evaded them all, drawing ever closer to her target.
"Death is mercy. The true agony lies in the path toward it—in the struggle, in the fight…"
Keiya pulled back once more, voice calm, tone steeped in pity.
"How tragic… you who denied death must now meet it in pain."
Despite Yura rapidly approaching, he showed no urgency—just loosed arrow after arrow with clinical precision.
But the closer she came, the harder it became for Tān Láng to dodge. One arrow exploded right before them, flinging both rider and wolf through the air.
Helpless mid-flight, Yura had no time to recover.
Another arrow flew.
It struck her shoulder, piercing flesh.
"Ghhh—!"
Pain twisted her face, but she reacted fast.
"Lián Zhēn!"
A goldfish-shaped shikigami emerged, fusing to her left arm and morphing into a barrel-shaped nozzle.
"Shikigami transformation! Human-Style Fusion! Huangquan Funeral Water Cannon (Yura MAX)!"
A powerful blast of water erupted, deflecting Keiya's next arrow and continuing toward him.
Thanks to Tān Láng's efforts, the enemy was finally within range!
But the water cannon's aim had been skewed by the deflections. Keiya sidestepped left and evaded.
Yura frowned, glancing at the fast-approaching ground. She tossed a charm marked Lù Cún.
It transformed into a giant stag, which caught her mid-fall and carried her forward, zigzagging to close the gap again.
And Yura, naturally, didn't just sit still.
She let loose.
"Huangquan Funeral Water Cannon (Yura MAX)! Huangquan Funeral Water Cannon (Yura MAX)! Huangquan Funeral Water Cannon (Yura MAX)!"
The rapid-fire water blasts weren't precise—just unrelenting. Like a hyperactive kid with a squirt gun during summer festival.
The sheer volume of fire overwhelmed Keiya. His calm began to crack.
"One-fifty-one… one-fifty-seven… one-sixty-three… one-sixty-seven… one-seventy-three…"
More primes. Focus. Regain control.
His next arrow split into dozens mid-flight—tiny, sharp projectiles that slipped through gaps between water blasts.
Yura's eyes widened.
Too late to react.
The needle-like arrows rained down, leaving shallow cuts and bruises across her body.
Keiya drew again.
This one—this arrow would end it.
The next shot would strike her in the head. At this range, he could not miss.
"Rrrrgh!"
A beast's roar shattered the rhythm.
Even Keiya—so controlled, so calm—flinched.
"That wolf… it got this close?!"
Fangs bared, Tān Láng lunged. Keiya twisted and loosed his shot mid-turn. It struck the shikigami, who collapsed in a cry and disintegrated into a charm marked Tān Láng.
But before he could breathe—
"Huangquan Funeral Water Cannon (Yura MAX)!"
A direct hit.
His bow shattered.
Splinters rained down. Keiya fell from the rooftop, landing hard. His left hand, which held the bow, went numb from the blow.
"Your weapon's broken. Surrender! You've lost!"
Yura's voice rang out. Her figure was battered, clothes torn, smudged with soot—but she still aimed Lián Zhēn's cannon at his chest.
"Tell me who you are. Why did you attack us?"
Tense, wary—she was ready to fire at the slightest movement.
Cradling his numb hand, Keiya looked up at her.
And smiled.
"The fig swallows secrets. Betrayers dwell between truth and lies."
"…What?"
Her brow furrowed. Unease twisted in her chest.
And then—the sky above her lit up.
A white arrow rained from above, blinding and hot as daylight. It slammed into the ground and sent debris flying outward.
Keiya raised an arm to shield himself.
"I never said… I needed a bow to shoot, did I?"
A massive longbow, formed from white light, hovered above him.
The arrow that had just struck—that was its doing.
Light gathered again, forming another huge arrow, drawn and aimed straight at Yura's unconscious form.
"How sorrowful… That my sacred bow would one day target a fellow onmyōji. But this is Lord Seimei's command. I must obey."
"To let you die painlessly in your sleep… that, too, is mercy."
The arrow flew.
It struck the crater where Yura lay.
BOOM!
Earth caved inward. Stones flew, a tree nearby cracked under the shockwave.
Yura was unconscious. There was no way she survived that—so Keiya concluded, preparing to leave.
After all, his task was to eliminate any onmyōji who refused to kneel to Seimei.
That included Yura.
And the man who had been with her.
"…Wait."
He stopped.
A frown creased his brow.
"…What did that man look like?"
Try as he might—he couldn't remember.
Tall or short? Slim or broad? Long hair? What color? What robes? What face?
Nothing.
All he remembered… was that it was a man.
A chill crept down his spine.
A concealment technique…? When did I get hit with it? I didn't even notice…
He couldn't pursue someone he couldn't remember.
Then—
There was movement in the crater.
Keiya turned quickly.
Through the swirling dust… a figure emerged.
"She survived that?"
Stunned only for a moment, Keiya regained composure and prepared to finish it.
Five massive bows formed in the air behind him, strings pulled taut, arrows nocked—all aimed at the crater.
"Why keep struggling? Why won't you fall? Why reject my mercy again and again?"
The dust cleared.
And revealed not Yura—
—but her doppelgänger.
"Hmmmmm… You're hysterical, aren't you? Calling murder 'mercy'… such noble phrasing."
"I can't agree, I'm afraid."
The impostor—not Yura—brushed dust from her torn clothing and smiled. Her charm-papers fluttered around her, each inscribed with a single, staring eye.
"Murder is murder. Sin. Evil. No purpose can justify taking a life. Even someone as despicable as this humble monk never pretended otherwise."
She reached down and summoned Tān Láng again—wounded but still breathing—and gently rested a hand on its head.
It growled and writhed—
Until the impostor whispered:
"Don't move. Behave… You don't want your real master to die here, do you?"
The wolf froze.
Then came the arrows.
Fire exploded around her.
Keiya watched it all burn.
Surely this time—
Then the flames split open.
SHLK.
Pain lanced through his chest.
He still didn't understand.
Until he heard the voice.
"I'll take your heart, if you don't mind."
A hand withdrew. Blood spilled across the pavement.
Keiya collapsed. Vision blurred. Focus faded.
His last sight—his killer.
A woman—still wearing Yura's form—with a demonic smile.
Azure flames danced at her chest. Flame-shaped ears flickered above her head. Her limbs ended in claws of fire. A tail of blue flame swayed behind her.
"Mmmmm… Honestly, what is Seimei thinking? Sending his lackeys to kill onmyōji?"
She scratched her chin, ignoring the cooling corpse at her feet.
"…Could it be… that little stunt I pulled got his attention?"
No way… No way, right?
This humble monk can't be the cause… can I?
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T/N: YURA MAX! YURA MAX! YURA MAX! YURA MAX! YURA MAX!