Chapter 108: The White-Hot Battle
"An Onmyōdō Framework...?"
The Slaughter Ghost reacted at once.
As a Great Yokai that had lived for nearly a thousand years, it understood far more than most modern Onmyoji could imagine. The moment Gin Tsumugi touched the authority of its Spirit, the Slaughter Ghost realized what kind of power stood before it.
Its blood-red eyes narrowed.
Wariness appeared there for the first time.
And behind that wariness was killing intent so thick it almost curdled the air.
"An Onmyōdō Framework capable of seizing authority from a Spirit..." the Slaughter Ghost said slowly. "I have only heard of such a thing once before. A thousand years ago, in the era ruled by that man."
Its gaze locked onto Gin completely.
The matter of Shinomiya Kaguya, the blood sacrifice marked by Lord Shuten, was pushed aside.
Compared to the young heiress, the Onmyoji standing in the sky was far more dangerous.
"Onmyoji," the Slaughter Ghost growled, "I cannot allow you to live. If you survive into this era of Supernatural Recovery, you will become a hidden danger to all of us."
The Slaughter Kingdom trembled.
After realizing Gin could interfere with the authority of its Spirit, the Slaughter Ghost no longer left any openings. It stabilized the entire crimson world, reinforcing every inch of its laws and order until the domain became far harder to pry open than before.
The pressure radiating from its body climbed again.
It was no longer testing.
It was no longer playing.
The Slaughter Ghost was preparing to kill.
The terrible pressure descended from above like a blood-colored sky collapsing.
Below, Shinomiya Kaguya, Isayama Yomi, Tsuchimiya Kagura, Furukawa Oishi, Ouchiyama Megumi, and the other Onmyoji felt as though they had been thrown into a storm-tossed sea. They were a lone ark drifting beneath crashing waves, and the slightest mistake would overturn them completely.
Gin's expression turned solemn.
He did not attempt to use Myriad Laws to seize the authority of the Slaughter Kingdom again.
The completion of his Onmyōdō Framework was still too low. He had been able to interfere with the Spirit earlier because the Slaughter Ghost had not expected it. Now that the Great Yokai had reacted and stabilized the Slaughter Kingdom, trying to forcefully pry open its authority again would be unrealistic.
But that was enough.
As long as the Slaughter Kingdom could not suppress his strength or interfere with his Onmyō Arts, he had what he needed.
"Rise," the Slaughter Ghost commanded. "Revive and kill him."
All across the Slaughter Kingdom, hundreds of grotesque figures crawled out of the blood-drenched ground.
They were yokai.
Or rather, they had once been yokai.
Their bodies were warped and incomplete, their forms still bearing the traces of the deaths they had suffered. Some were missing heads. Some had their torsos split open. Some dragged severed limbs behind them. All of them reeked of death, bloodlust, and resentment.
They were the slain, bound to the Slaughter Kingdom like Spirit Servants.
Yokai killed by the Slaughter Ghost, preserved within its Spirit, and awakened only to kill again.
Gin drew a talisman from his sleeve.
"Namo siddhi, siddhi, susiddhi, siddhikara, raya kuyam, sam mama siri, ajama siddhi svaha…
His voice cut through the crimson air, calm and resonant.
The talisman burned.
"Subdue. Purify. Destroy."
His eyes shone.
"Swiftly, as the laws and decrees command."
"Acalas Demon Subduing Mantra."
Brilliant holy light exploded outward.
For a moment, the blood-colored world was pierced by radiance. The sound of ancient Buddhas chanting Sanskrit seemed to echo from beyond time itself. The light spread across the Slaughter Kingdom like a tide, carrying solemn Buddhist law and a merciless power that judged all filth and evil.
The resurrected yokai wailed.
One by one, their bodies dissolved under the holy light. Their rotten flesh turned to ash. Their resentment evaporated. Their bloodlust vanished before it could reach Gin.
Even the Slaughter Ghost frowned.
Several scorched marks appeared across its skin.
"Disgusting Buddhist light..."
Gin did not stop.
Five more talismans slipped between his fingers.
"Remove impurity. Be reborn in the Pure Land. Vajra, purity, like all Vajras, all pure."
The five talismans lit up.
"Demon Purifying Talismans."
"Trying the same trick twice?" the Slaughter Ghost snarled. "You think I'll let you?"
The Slaughter Kingdom moved first.
The space around Gin froze.
Not merely the air, but the very distance, direction, and flow around him were fixed in place. The Slaughter Ghost had sealed his escape route before attacking.
The next instant, its huge body crossed layers of space and appeared less than a dozen feet in front of Gin.
Its claw rose.
Then expanded violently.
In a blink, the claw grew more than a dozen zhang wide, carrying a monstrous force that seemed capable of shaking mountains and splitting rivers.
It came down to crush him.
"Demon-Subduing Thunder Curse."
"Immovable Binding Technique."
Gin abandoned the spell he had been preparing and used Myriad Laws to instant-cast two Onmyō Arts at once.
Lightning gathered.
Binding force descended.
The two techniques shot toward the Slaughter Ghost in perfect coordination, attempting to hold it back for even a fraction of a second.
"Instant-cast techniques?" the Slaughter Ghost said with a savage grin. "Did you think I wasn't prepared for that?"
Its other claw expanded.
With one sweep, it crushed the Demon-Subduing Thunder Curse and the Immovable Binding Technique apart.
The two massive claws continued forward, dragging suffocating pressure and a scream of torn wind.
Gin flicked his fingers.
More than a dozen talismans flew out, each one activating in an instant.
All were binding-type Onmyō Arts.
Chains of light, sealing marks, spiritual nails, and invisible restraints layered themselves between Gin and the Slaughter Ghost. None of them could truly stop a Great Yokai.
But they delayed it.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three.
That was enough.
The five Demon Purifying Talismans spread into a pentagon before Gin. His hands formed seals so quickly that afterimages lingered between his fingers.
His voice rang out again.
"God of the Eastern Sea, Amei.
God of the Western Sea, Shukuryou.
God of the Southern Sea, Kyojou.
God of the Northern Sea, Gukyou.
Great Gods of the Four Seas, ward off the hundred demons and sweep away this calamity.
Order"
"Hundred Demon Repelling Pentagram."
Three overlapping pentagrams condensed before him.
They nested inside one another, rotating in opposite directions. The power of the Deities of the Four Seas gathered into them, vast, ancient, and majestic. The light they emitted carried a fierce aura of warding off evil and dispelling ghosts, like a wrathful Vajra opening its eyes to expose all monsters and specters beneath heaven.
A rolling wave of heat and holy radiance burst outward.
"Go."
Gin waved his hand.
Bang!
The triple pentagram shot forward and struck the Slaughter Ghost squarely in the chest.
The power of warding and exorcism erupted.
Half of the Slaughter Ghost's body was blown apart again.
"Cough... cough..."
The Slaughter Ghost staggered backward hundreds of meters.
For the first time, its expression turned ugly.
"Slaughter Kingdom... empower me."
The blood-red world answered.
Power surged from the Ghost and poured into its broken body. Torn flesh wriggled. Shattered bone rebuilt itself. Severed muscle reconnected at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After a short while, the half of its body destroyed by the Hundred Demon Repelling Pentagram had recovered.
But this time, the Slaughter Ghost's aura had weakened slightly.
The attack had not been easy to bear.
The Onmyoji watching through secret arts could no longer deny what they were seeing.
White Fox Gin Tsumugi's strength had surpassed the vast majority of National Level Onmyoji.
His official rank was only National Third-Class, yet the combat power he displayed under the enhancement of Myriad Laws could already contend with all but the few National First-Class Onmyoji standing at the peak of the current generation.
Amami Daizen watched silently from afar.
For a moment, gratification filled his eyes.
The young eagle had finally spread its wings.
It had begun to soar toward the nine heavens.
But that gratification did not erase his concern.
The situation was still dangerous.
Gin's combinations of Onmyō Arts had already exceeded the level of ordinary National Level techniques. Several of them had come extremely close to Great Onmyō Arts and had wounded the Slaughter Ghost more than once.
But wounding a Great Yokai was not the same as killing one.
More importantly, Gin's spiritual power was nearly exhausted.
Every high-powered combination he used consumed a terrifying amount of spiritual energy, especially when cast under Myriad Laws. The framework strengthened and transformed his techniques, but the price was equally heavy.
After the fierce clashes from the beginning of the battle until now, even Gin's spiritual reserves, which far exceeded those of ordinary National Level Onmyoji, were reaching their limit.
The Slaughter Ghost sensed it too.
Its grin returned.
"Onmyoji," it said, "how many more attacks like that can you use?"
Gin smiled.
His expression was calm, almost unconcerned.
"Not even one."
The answer was honest.
And because it was honest, the hearts of those below sank.
Shinomiya Kaguya's face turned pale.
Isayama Yomi clenched her teeth.
Furukawa Oishi and the other Onmyoji stiffened.
White Fox Gin Tsumugi's spiritual power had run dry.
In other words, he was losing his ability to continue fighting.
The battle was on the verge of defeat.
The fragile hope Shinomiya Kaguya had been holding onto cracked under the weight of that single sentence. If Gin fell here, all of her preparations, all of her resistance, all of her desperate bargaining with fate would be shattered.
She would become Shuten-dōji's sacrifice.
Nothing more.
The Slaughter Ghost laughed.
"Do you still intend to struggle at the end?"
It had seen Gin draw another talisman.
In its eyes, this was nothing more than a dying Onmyoji's final resistance.
"No."
Gin shook his head.
"It's time for this battle to end."
His fingers closed around the talisman.
"I've gathered what I wanted. Now comes the harvest."
To the Slaughter Ghost, those words sounded absurd.
To the observing Onmyoji, they sounded like arrogance.
To Shinomiya Kaguya, they sounded almost cruel. She could not understand how he still had anything left.
Tsuchimiya Garaku did not understand.
Kurahashi Genji did not understand.
Even Amami Daizen, who knew Gin better than most, could not see what card he still had to play.
Then Gin spoke.
"Come forth."
The talisman ignited.
"Hokuto!"
The Slaughter Kingdom shook.
A dragon's roar split the blood-red sky.
.....
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