As the massive, egg-shaped sphere shattered apart, a naked man emerged before everyone's eyes.
He was strikingly handsome, with long golden hair that flowed all the way down to his legs, his figure perfectly sculpted as if carved by the heavens themselves.
Perhaps out of concern for decorum—or perhaps because flaunting his body in such a public setting offended the dignity of a former ruler of the world—Abe no Seimei swiftly manifested a long robe using his yōkai power, draping it over himself with effortless elegance.
Once that was done, his gaze sharpened like a drawn blade as he turned his eyes toward Yūto in the distance.
Originally, Abe no Seimei had been pondering what kind of grand entrance would best shock these country bumpkins before him—one that would inspire awe and make any yōkai inclined to follow him fall to their knees in worship.
But after Yūto's little stunt, things had taken an awkward turn.
Instead of emerging of his own volition, he now looked as though he had been blasted out of his shell by someone else's attack.
Even though that onmyōjutsu hadn't so much as scratched him, and the outcome itself hadn't changed in the slightest, there was no denying it—the difference in dramatic flair between the two entrances was worlds apart.
"That egg was so huge, I thought what'd hatch out would be some kind of giant baby," Yūto said, eyeing him shamelessly. "But instead, it's a pervert?Hagoromo-gitsune gave birth to you, so she's your mother. But I'm the one who hatched you out… so if we go by seniority, does that make me your wet nurse—no, wait, your dad?"
The golden-haired man now standing before everyone was none other than "Nue," the legendary Abe no Seimei himself.
Calling this moment his "birth" was somewhat inaccurate—"resurrection" would be far more appropriate. After all, he was a being who had existed a thousand years ago.
And his background was indeed extraordinary.
A millennium ago, as a half-yōkai, Abe no Seimei was not only the Lord of a Hundred Demons—he was also the one who held power over humanity itself.
The very order of the nation back then had been established by his hand.
By day, he ruled the imperial court as a human. By night, he led the Hyakki Yagyō as a yōkai, presiding over the darkness of Kyoto.
With absolute power, Seimei suppressed both humans and yōkai alike, enforcing a rigid balance.
Daytime belonged to humans—yōkai were forbidden to roam.Nighttime belonged to yōkai—and any human foolish enough to wander then was simply asking for disaster.
That was why, in legend, Abe no Seimei was remembered as a noble and righteous great onmyōji.
Because by day, he truly was Abe no Seimei—the slayer of demons and protector of mankind.
Only at night did he transform into "Nue," the sovereign of darkness who led the Hundred Demons through Kyoto's shadows.
Protecting humans on one hand, while unleashing yōkai on the other—at his core, Abe no Seimei was a walking contradiction, a textbook case of grandiose chūnibyō madness.
Still, as long as things remained that way, humanity—despite being weaker than yōkai—at least had room to breathe during the day. Seimei, for all his contradictions, had not entirely abandoned his human side.
Until one day.
The day his mother, the White Fox, was killed by humans.
From that moment on, something inside him irrevocably changed.
His mother's brutal death at human hands convinced him that humanity was filthy—something that deserved to be wiped out. He had gone to great lengths to maintain balance between humans and yōkai, yet he had failed to protect his own mother.
That failure twisted him.
His personality warped, and in the end, he fell completely.
Historical records state that Abe no Seimei's father was Abe no Masuki, a minor noble under the office of the Ōkashō. As for his mother, legends varied widely—the most common claiming she was a white fox spirit, influenced by Inari worship, named Ame-no-Kai.
According to The Tale of Kuzunoha, Masuki once saved a white fox from the hands of Akuryōemon. That fox was Kuzunoha, a fox spirit who had cultivated herself for many years in the Shinoda Forest of Izumi Province. She later transformed into a human, fell in love with Masuki, and gave birth to Seimei.
Whether Kuzunoha and Hagoromo-gitsune were the same being, however, remained open to debate.
But regardless of the truth, Hagoromo-gitsune had undeniably played the role of Seimei's mother in his resurrection.
A pitiable figure always has something detestable about them.
He fell because of his mother's death—yet after falling, he was now willing to kill his own mother to achieve his goals.
The irony was almost cruel.
After establishing order a thousand years ago, Seimei gradually became intoxicated by his own supreme authority as centuries passed.
To make that power eternal, he reached a conclusion: Hagoromo-gitsune would reincarnate again and again, giving birth to him each time—allowing him to destroy humanity and recreate the world as a realm of darkness, a world ruled entirely by yōkai.
In other words, his original intentions may have been noble—but power slowly consumed him, until he lost sight of his original purpose entirely.
There were countless legends about Abe no Seimei across different worlds and timelines. But if Yūto remembered correctly, this was the version of Seimei that existed in this world.
As the most famous name in the onmyōji world, his presence was legendary—practically thunderous wherever yōkai stories were told.
And now that Seimei stood before him in person, Yūto realized something unsettling.
He had underestimated him.
Previously, Yūto had judged Seimei's power to be roughly on par with Hagoromo-gitsune at her peak—around S+ rank.
And considering Seimei's mastery of onmyōjutsu, his actual combat strength would naturally exceed hers.
But standing face-to-face with him now, Yūto realized how naïve that assessment had been.
He was suddenly very glad he had intervened earlier and stopped Seimei from absorbing even more of Hagoromo-gitsune's yōkai power.
The aura alone radiating from Abe no Seimei had already reached SS- rank—and this wasn't even his perfect, peak condition.
Factoring in his techniques and the boost from the "Demon King's Little Hammer," his true combat power might well rival full SS-class.
This was, without question, the strongest enemy Yūto had ever faced.
If he hadn't farmed a massive amount of "prestige" in the main world and converted it into raw strength, he might not even have stood a chance against Seimei now.
Seeing Seimei's revival, Maki Jizō quickly presented the item he had prepared in advance—the "Demon King's Little Hammer."
This blade, once Yamamoto's heart and now renamed, had already been soaked in the blood of three generations of the Nura clan's head. Its power had skyrocketed from an A-rank item straight to S+ rank.
In terms of rank alone, it even surpassed the Nichirin Blade in Yūto's hand.
"Things didn't unfold exactly according to our original plan," Seimei said, staring coldly at the giant eye embedded in Maki Jizō's forehead."The idea was for Hagoromo-gitsune to give birth to me in every reincarnation. And yet after all these years, this is the first time I've truly returned. It makes me question the effectiveness of your 'Hyakumonogatari.'"
Though villains collaborating was nothing unusual, Seimei's dissatisfaction was obvious. The fact that it had taken this long for his resurrection clearly did not sit well with him.
"Hmph. Whatever," he continued. "Even if I haven't fully regained my peak strength, a thousand years have passed. This world—humans and yōkai alike—is now filled with nothing but incompetents. With my current power, erasing this trash will be effortless."
With that, Seimei swept his gaze arrogantly across everyone present.
His tone was unbearably condescending—but no one could refute it.
Of the three strongest figures of ancient Kyoto:
Hagoromo-gitsune's yōkai power had fallen to A+ rank, and after giving birth to Nue, she was weak beyond measure.
Nura no Nurarihyon, whose lifespan had been severely shortened after Hagoromo-gitsune tore out his liver four hundred years ago, now looked like a withered old man. Whatever strength he still had left had been spent earlier fighting Yūto.
As for Hanakain Shūgen, he had been human to begin with—and long constrained by mortality, he had already passed on, now existing only as a lingering spirit providing historical commentary.
As for everyone else?
Seimei couldn't even be bothered to look twice.
Because in his eyes, there wasn't a single opponent worth fighting.
Yōkai like Gyūki or Ichimoku might be impressive by modern standards—but in Seimei's era, they had been utterly commonplace. He had slain countless beings of that caliber himself.
After surveying the crowd with disdain, Seimei finally fixed his gaze on Yūto.
"You remind me of my past self," he said calmly. "In both identity and ability, we are remarkably alike.I once admired your strength—and even considered taking you under my command. But your earlier actions angered me. And this world has no need for a second Abe no Seimei."
His eyes narrowed.
"So you will die here today."
Yet after delivering that declaration, Seimei did not immediately attack.
Instead, he spread his arms wide and looked down upon all the yōkai below him.
"My name is 'Nue.' I am also Abe no Seimei. My purpose is to create a world for yōkai—and to reign supreme over it.Now comes your choice. Become part of the new world… or stand as my enemies. Decide for yourselves."
As he spoke, he unleashed his aura without restraint, his yōkai power erupting violently—as if to prove, beyond any doubt, which choice was the "correct" one.
After all, though he had returned, nearly all of his subordinates from a thousand years ago were long dead.
And for a villain—especially the Lord of a Hundred Demons—having too few underlings was simply unbecoming.
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