Returning to the shrine, the air here is pure and clear, giving one a wondrous feeling as if it can cleanse the filth of the soul.
Yet within this clean and bright air, there remains a piercing chill.
It is not the chill from seasonal weather changes, but a more profound and thorough coldness.
The spacious main hall is devoid of any human presence, Hakushi is the first visitor here, as the usual maids and guards have not yet arrived.
Behind the curtain, one can see the Mire Witch sitting there, holding a softly crying infant.
As Hakushi approached, the Mire Witch promptly spoke: "Mister Hakushi, you arrived quite early."
"I felt a change in the aura here, plus the nineteen months you mentioned coincides with the end of this month's labor, so I came to check. It seems everything has gone smoothly."
Hakushi looked at the baby in the Mire Witch's arms.
That should be the Mire Witch's daughter, Shion.
"Mister Hakushi should be able to sense it with Immortal Technique."
The Mire Witch asked this question with certainty.
Hakushi nodded, his expression serious.
He could sense the Mire Witch's current weakness and exhaustion, but contrary to that, the baby crying in her arms gave Hakushi a feeling reminiscent of facing the former Mire Witch, lacking human presence.
The Mire Witch's power is being transferred to the baby in her arms.
"But is it really alright to transfer the power to the next generation like this, Lady Mire?"
Hakushi asked.
"It's fine, as long as I am alive, the power of Mōryō cannot touch the mortal world. If I am no longer here in the future, Shion will continue my work and suppress Mōryō once more."
It sounded like a truly sorrowful fatalism.
However, there was no so-called sadness in the Mire Witch's tone; she said these words as plainly as eating and drinking water.
To the witch, this is likely what they call destiny, the responsibility a witch must bear.
An entwined ill fate with Mōryō that's persisted through the ages.
After a brief exchange, Hakushi followed Mire to the shrine's side hall.
The side hall wasn't far from the main hall, taking about a minute to reach. The interior space was vast with a circular altar inscribed with mysterious runes in the center, and an ancient closed stone door stood upright at the altar's center.
A thin purple-black mist seeped through the gaps of the ancient closed stone door.
Even though the seal is perfectly intact, it is still unable to block the corrosion of the demon on the other side of the stone door.
The closer he got to that stone door, the heavier the mental pressure Hakushi endured. That purple-black mist seemed like a deadly poison targeted at humans; if not for countering it with the Sage Art Chakra inside him, an ordinary Ninja might have lost their reason upon close contact with this darkness.
"This is…"
Even without the Mire Witch's explanation, Hakushi had some speculation in his heart.
"The altar that seals Mōryō. But what's contained here is only a portion of Mōryō's spirit; the physical body was sealed by me in the shrine of the Land of Swamps."
The Land of Swamps is also a neighboring country to the Land of Demons, but due to its small territory and sparse population, Hakushi hasn't included the Land of Swamps in his plans for the time being because dealing with the Land of Shadow and the Land of Bear makes annexing the Land of Swamps as simple as reaching into a bag.
Placing the baby into the cradle, the Mire Witch revealed an uncommonly tender expression.
Hakushi glanced at the position of the stone door, then looked at Mire and the baby, who had gradually stopped crying in the cradle, and slightly narrowed his eyes.
The power of Mōryō, this wasn't his first contact with it.
Nineteen months ago, he already sensed something amiss.
Now, upon using Immortal Technique to sense it closely, he realized matters weren't as simple as he imagined.
Mōryō and the Mire Witch's powers were too similar.
However, the nature displayed is diametrically opposite.
The witch's power gives a feeling of supreme sanctity, inviolable and pure.
While Mōryō's power resembles an assemblage of all the filth and darkness within human hearts.
This power is not just targeted at Ninjas, but at the humankind race.
Thinking deeper, perhaps it is humanity's own sins that created a demon like Mōryō.
"Lady Mire, I want to confirm, how long can the seal here continue to suppress Mōryō?"
Hakushi looked at the ancient stone door in the altar. The Mire Witch's power still lingered on it, but the aura was weak; continuing in this way, the seal opening was only a matter of time.
Therefore, Hakushi must prepare before Mōryō breaks through the seal, to prevent sudden events from taking over and causing havoc in the Land of Demons.
Based on the information Hakushi gathered, the last time Mōryō wreaked havoc, it didn't only cause chaos within the borders of the Land of Demons, but many surrounding countries were affected.
Hakushi didn't wish for the Land of Demons, painstakingly established, to suffer the ravages of Mōryō.
Moreover, the place where Mōryō's soul is sealed is right in the heart of the Land of Demons; should Mōryō break free, the ensuing disaster could be incalculable.
Mire hesitated for a moment before responding: "With my current strength, I could suppress Mōryō for about five to ten years."
Five to ten years? In other words, it's an uncertain period.
This is not good news for Hakushi.
"Then I'll have people from the Uzumaki Clan come over, to reinforce Mōryō's seal, extending his breakout date."