The Fantasy Tree continued its rapid growth, its sprawling branches stretching ever outward toward the ends of the stars.
If one looked closely at its coiling limbs, they could see radiant rivers of starlight—trails of the galaxy weaving through its form.
Its size was incomparable to the Fantasy Trees rooted in the Lostbelts of Russia, Scandinavia, China, India, or Greece. Far too small. Even with access to Japan's ley lines, it could never reach that scale.
But that was because this was not a true Fantasy Tree. At best, it was a subspecies—like the pseudo-Fantasy Tree found in the Heian Singularity's Hell Mandala. Perhaps even weaker.
Still, to perform the most basic function—to grant the wielder's desire—this version was more than sufficient.
The moment it drew upon the ley lines, the barrier protecting Spiral Castle failed. Its immense structure, hidden until now, was exposed for all to see.
As if declaring war on all who opposed Abe no Seimei, the Fantasy Tree unfurled its trunk and limbs without hesitation—defiant, arrogant, divine.
---
While the Mikado-in Clan carried out their Cleansing, Nura Rikuo and the Nura Clan worked tirelessly to protect yōkai factions across Japan that hadn't yet been annihilated. Many who owed their survival to Rikuo willingly rallied behind him, joining the charge on Spiral Castle.
And the moment they set foot on the castle's grounds—
They felt it.
A pressure unlike anything else. It flooded their senses like drowning in the depths of the sea.
It was Seimei's awe—his fear—his unmatched spiritual weight.
"My body… it's like I've sunk into a swamp…"
"I can't stop trembling…"
"This… this overwhelming, unreasonable, impossible power… Is this the Nue, the King of the Night from a thousand years ago?!"
The yōkai from outside regions had never fought in Kyoto. They'd never felt Seimei's aura before. This was their first time experiencing the weight of his presence.
But for Rikuo and his close allies—it was all too familiar.
And yet—
"Ghh…"
Tsurara turned pale, a pained whimper escaping her throat.
"This power…"
Kurotabō's face was a thundercloud, dark with dread.
"Incredible…"
Kubinashi, flanking Rikuo, tensed like a coiled spring.
"This is the same awe that appeared in Kyoto."
A bead of sweat trailed down Aotabō's forehead. He ground his teeth hard enough to crack them. "But…"
"…Abe no Seimei…"
Nura Rikuo felt the pressure crash down on his shoulders, forcing him to hunch slightly. He bit his lip.
"He's… gotten even stronger than before?"
Some yōkai wavered, hearts filling with fear. It was inevitable. Courage was often just ignorance in disguise.
To stand firm in the face of true terror—that was rare.
But courage… could also be contagious.
And that's why they needed a leader.
When Rikuo stepped forward, the dread melted away. The fear ebbed. The retreating steps stilled.
Not because they had a destination—no. But because no one wanted to be left behind by his back.
One by one, they followed.
...
"…So. Rikuo's success wasn't a matter of luck or chance."
At the gates of Spiral Castle, the woman in the guise of Nura Wakana stood quietly, a hand covering her lips.
"All the fear of all yōkai flows through Rikuo. He carries the will of many. No wonder he defeated Abe no Seimei once."
She frowned slightly and sighed behind her sleeve.
"But… now that Seimei has the Fantasy Tree behind him… Rikuo's defeat was decided the moment the battle began. Mmm, mmm, mmmmmmmmm… How unfortunate. How… regrettable."
To defeat Seimei, to cut down the Fantasy Tree—such was their goal.
Naturally, many obstacles stood in their way.
The eight former heads of the Mikado-in Clan. The modern-day onmyōji under their command.
While the clan's heads had prolonged their lives through the Taizan Fukun Ritual, the Mikado-in had never lacked for fresh blood. One such new-generation onmyōji was Mikado-in Keiya, who had previously ambushed Douman and Keikain Yura.
Many stayed behind—fighting the Mikado-in onmyōji, buying Rikuo time, clearing his path.
But the final obstacle before Seimei…
That one, Rikuo had to face himself.
Abe no Kippei—Seimei's son, second head of the Mikado-in Clan.
His specialty: weather manipulation.
He could turn water into steam to form clouds.
Summon rainclouds to unleash lightning.
Manipulate static charge to twist magnetic fields, even trigger volcanic eruptions.
This was the root of all onmyō arts—its foundation, and its ultimate goal.
And he had something else.
As Seimei's son and Hagoromo Gitsune's grandson, Kippei had one-quarter yōkai blood, just like Rikuo.
He could undergo yōkai transformation, gaining monstrous physical power.
But in the end—he lost.
Because everything he did was for his father. He had no will of his own.
He even hated his own yōkai blood, seeing it as a curse.
Rikuo… was different.
Yes, he had struggled. Yes, he had wavered.
But in the end, he chose to carry everyone's will—not because his father or grandfather wanted him to, but because he himself decided to be the lord of yōkai, just like them.
A blade with will, and a blade without—it was no contest.
In the end, Rikuo's blade shattered Kippei's.
His body bloodied and bruised, Rikuo's aura only grew stronger—palpably, visibly so.
As yōkai rallied around him, as he neared Seimei—
They carved a path through the Hell-born demons with terrifying momentum.
Those demons were individually strong, perhaps stronger than many local yōkai—but they were scattered. Fragmented.
They could not compare to the unity behind Rikuo.
Walls collapsed. Demons fell. Rikuo surged forward.
And then—he saw him.
Abe no Seimei.
Rikuo's eyes sharpened—gleaming like a blade drawn from its sheath.
"Nue!"
The yōkai blade Mikazuki Munechika buzzed with power. The will of past Keikain heads, sealed within the blade, surged in response.
The moment had come.
Rikuo poured every ounce of spirit, every ounce of strength into his strike.
Steel cleaved the air.
Seimei looked up—just slightly—and raised a hand.
Clink.
Two fingers caught the blade. Stopped it cold.
Rikuo's entire force… had been halted.
And then came the weight.
Like storm clouds choking the sky.
Despair poured down like rain.
"Ahh… Nurarihyon. Still don't understand, do you? The gap between us."
Seimei's awe poured out. That pressure—directly in front of it, Rikuo's mind blanked for a moment. His fingers nearly slipped from the hilt.
He held on—but just barely.
Even still, he was suffocating.
The Fantasy Tree continued to draw from the ley lines, growing ever stronger—sending its power directly into Seimei's body.
With that power behind him, Abe no Seimei had become something else entirely.
"In Kyoto, I spared you. Because our difference in strength was like heaven and earth. I could have crushed you like an ant. No matter how many you gathered, no matter how strong you tried to become…"
Reality itself twisted.
Space folded. Gravity warped.
Even light couldn't escape. Matter ceased to exist.
"Feel your insignificance. Become the dust that paves the road to my utopia—Eternal Samsara!"
Blackness swallowed Rikuo whole.
It was true annihilation—a man-made black hole.
"Rikuo-sama—!!"
Tsurara screamed, breaking formation. Demons seized the opening, charging her—
But they were crushed under a massive hand.
"OOOOOOOOOOOH! Rikuo, if you're dead, then Seimei's mine!"
The beast roared. His six arms swatted demons like flies. Each footstep shook the earth. Each shout whipped up a gale.
Tsuchigumo. A living calamity.
He was hurricane, he was earthquake, he was doom incarnate.
No one fought him.
Everyone ran.
Once, he had fought the Nura Clan. With one glance, he'd nearly destroyed them.
Only after Rikuo mastered Kyōka (Demon Bind) had he stood a chance.
After that battle, Tsuchigumo left to chase stronger prey—Seimei.
In Kyoto, Seimei crushed him in one blow. But Tsuchigumo didn't break.
Now, he was back.
But Seimei… didn't even look at him.
He summoned another black sphere.
"[Eternal Samsara]."
The sphere rolled forward.
Tsuchigumo roared and punched it.
All six fists struck—but the black hole devoured them.
Even Tsuchigumo's iron-hard body was pulverized.
"Ghhh—!"
Shock flickered in his eyes. The sphere knocked him back, dragging his feet through the earth, cutting deep trenches.
Demons near it simply ceased to exist.
BOOM!
The blast launched Tsuchigumo into the air. He crashed down with a quake.
He was in pieces.
Five arms gone. One left, barely a stump. His chest a ruin. One leg shattered. A third of his skull missing.
One of the mightiest yōkai—brought low by a casual strike.
The others stared in silence.
"…How…?"
Someone finally asked.
And that question hung in all their hearts.
Last time, Tsuchigumo had been wounded, curious, unprepared.
This time—he was at full strength.
And still, he lost.
Despair gripped them.
"Yes. Despair. Tremble. Know your weakness. Know your smallness. This is how you should act before a god."
Seimei was pleased.
The power inside him only reinforced one thing:
He had become a god.
"Even if the Fantasy Tree never blooms, this power alone can annihilate all who resist me. That's right! I am invincible! I HAVE ASCENDED TO GODHOOD!"
And then—his grin faltered.
Something was off.
He turned sharply.
At the edge of the crater…
Rikuo knelt.
One hand braced against his sword, he was gasping—but alive.
He looked rough—but not mangled. Not like Tsuchigumo.
"Impossible… You… survived my[Eternal Samsara]?!"
That attack should have obliterated him.
The arrogant certainty in Seimei's heart trembled.
And then he saw it.
A golden dharma wheel floated above Rikuo's head, pulsing with strange power.
"That… That's…"
He had seen it before. Just recently.
Rikuo also looked up, puzzled.
And then—
"Hmmmmmmm~ That won't do, Rikuo. You're rushing ahead too fast."
A familiar, playful voice whispered in his ear.
Rikuo turned—and saw Ashiya Douman, walking toward him with crisp, cheerful steps.
"Your mother asked me to make sure you came home safe. Don't make me break that promise."
His eyes gleamed.
"Even a big bad villain like me doesn't like breaking his word."
"Besides… if you die, I've got a feeling your mother will nag me to death. And she's… not someone I handle well."
---
T/N: bro fruckgin used the encounter with his shikigami and abe no seimei to adapt to eternal samsara aint no wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy