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The moment Bokue Keikain's hand landed on the black-stocking-clad Hagoromo-Gitsune's leg, the air in the bedroom froze solid.
It was like playing Resident Evil 8 and encountering Lady Dimitrescu—novice players would panic and flee in terror, skilled players would calmly use the environment to their advantage.
But only meme-modding players had a completely different approach. They'd pull a flyswatter from their fourth-dimensional crotch pocket and smack it right on the Lady's massive rear.
It was... completely illogical, and precisely because of that, it was particularly trollish and shocking.
Even Yasaka, currently lying in the youth's arms—let alone Hagoromo-Gitsune—hadn't expected him to suddenly pull something like this.
"What... are you doing?"
The faint, mocking smile that had been playing at Hagoromo-Gitsune's lips completely vanished. She withdrew her expression, looking down coldly at the youth below—one arm holding her sister, the other still touching her leg. Icy killing intent gathered frantically in her pure black eyes.
"Nothing much, just checking if someone's tampered with your soul."
Bokue released his hand.
"But it seems Yasaka's guess was right. That Abe no Seimei placed deep control techniques on your soul, so deep they've continued functioning through a thousand years of reincarnations."
"Tampered? Control techniques?"
Though the sensation of fingers on her leg had gradually faded, the killing intent in Hagoromo-Gitsune's eyes hadn't diminished one bit.
"Seimei is my child. How could he possibly do something like that to me? And for mere Keikain bloodline to insult my child like this—I'll cut out your tongue—"
"Alright, alright, enough with the threats. You can't actually do it."
Bokue directly cut her off.
Then the youth did something even more audacious.
Bokue reached out again, but this time he didn't touch Hagoromo-Gitsune's thigh. Instead, he directly grasped her slightly cool hand beneath the sailor uniform sleeve.
Then pulled gently.
"What—?!"
Hagoromo-Gitsune instinctively startled.
The youth's pulling force wasn't strong, yet to her it felt completely irresistible. Her balance broke easily, her entire body toppling toward the youth's embrace, caught by the shoulders and pulled in.
Then Bokue's arm wrapped around Hagoromo-Gitsune's neck from behind, his hand threading through her smooth black hair, fingertips gently scratching the nearly translucent pale cheek of the black-stocking girl in his arms.
"Mmm~ Much more obedient-looking this way."
"You—!"
As the former lord of demons who once ruled all of Kansai's yokai world from Kyoto, such humiliating treatment completely ignited Hagoromo-Gitsune's fury.
"Filthy Keikain bloodline, don't push me too far!!!"
BOOM!
The peak great yokai's aura exploded at full force. Nine white fox tails emerged from beneath Hagoromo-Gitsune's skirt, instantly occupying half the room's space.
She condensed yokai power to control her tails. Under the surge of tremendous yokai energy, the seemingly soft fox tails instantly hardened into spear-like weapons, driving straight toward the youth's heart from behind.
Four hundred years ago, she'd used this exact move while severely wounded and nearly depleted of yokai power to pierce straight through the heart of the Nura clan's general, Nurarihyon. Now, facing a mere onmyoji was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito.
After all, onmyoji derived most of their combat power from shikigami and onmyoji techniques. Shikigami required holding talismans and chanting to command, as did onmyoji techniques.
But Bokue currently had his left arm around her and his right arm around her sister Yasaka—there was no way he could pull out talismans for defense.
"Die—!"
Before she could finish the word, those spear-sharp fox tails were about to pierce the youth's body.
But just then, Bokue suddenly changed his movements.
He stopped playing with Hagoromo-Gitsune's cheek, instead moving his hand directly under her chin, gently scratching with fingertips lightly infused with spiritual power.
Like... petting a cat.
"Guh!"
As if her fate's scruff had been grabbed, Hagoromo-Gitsune's body instantly tensed. An ambiguous flush appeared on her nearly translucent pale face, and her tails stopped as well, quickly returning to their soft state, dropping and spreading across the floor.
On the other side, Yasaka—who'd been preparing to intervene—couldn't help but pause slightly at this sight.
"Bokue, what... what did you do?"
"Nothing really, just petting a cat... oh wait, petting a fox."
Bokue shifted slightly to the side so the golden-haired beauty on his right could see his actions clearly.
"Y-you're talking nonsense..."
Hagoromo-Gitsune gritted her teeth, struggling not to make strange sounds, difficultly turning her head bit by bit to glare at the youth holding her.
"What exactly... did you do to me? Hurry up and... let... go... of... your... hand..."
As if the strange sensation grew increasingly intense, toward the end she had to pause after each word to prevent losing control of her voice.
"I refuse."
Bokue's refusal was completely justified.
But he wasn't just teasing Hagoromo-Gitsune. Like when he'd touched her black-stocking-clad legs earlier, Bokue was still exploring the onmyoji technique carved into Hagoromo-Gitsune's soul.
"This technique... hmm, pretty creative actually, but this strength won't work. The ancestor of onmyoji from a thousand years ago being this weak is pretty pathetic. And how could something this weak last a thousand years... oh~ I see..."
After maybe ten seconds, when Bokue released his hand, understanding had appeared in his eyes.
"So that's how it is. I thought it would be more complicated."
"How is it, Bokue? Do you have a solution?"
The moment he finished speaking, Yasaka asked urgently from his right.
After all, in her eyes, her sister was still under someone's control. If possible, she naturally wanted to remove the technique controlling her sister's soul as soon as possible.
"There's a solution. If I wanted, I could destroy that Abe no Seimei's spawn point right now, though there might be lingering problems."
Bokue shrugged.
Yasaka blinked. "Lingering problems?"
"Right. That Abe no Seimei seems to be permanently residing in the underworld now. He watches for each reincarnation opportunity to re-brand the technique onto Hagoromo-Gitsune's soul. That's the only way his technique could keep functioning for these thousand years."
"So for now, the best approach is still letting Abe no Seimei win his resurrection match first, then leave the rest to me for a permanent solution."
Permanent solution...
Yasaka mentally chewed over those four words.
So they still had to let Abe no Seimei resurrect first, then completely destroy him body and soul?
Meanwhile, Bokue had already turned to the flushed, panting black-stocking Hagoromo-Gitsune on his other side.
"In short, I support you helping your 'son' win his resurrection match. If you need to reclaim the power sealed four hundred years ago, those seals are currently in the Keikain branch families' shrines. You still remember the locations, right? Or do you need me to draw you a map?"
"..."
Completely unprepared for the youth's sudden one-hundred-eighty-degree attitude change, Hagoromo-Gitsune fell into brief silence.
"The Keikain branch families' shrines... you realize once I go there, none of your Keikain branch families will survive?"
"I don't care. They never got along with me anyway."
Bokue shrugged.
Now Hagoromo-Gitsune had nothing to say.
After another two or three seconds, she snorted coldly and stood up abruptly. After straightening her clothes, she strode away quickly.
And on the tatami mat where she'd been sitting, a small puddle of glistening liquid remained, giving off subtle warmth.
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