Chapter 114: Unbelievable
Silence fell.
It was not the quiet that came after a loud noise, nor the stillness that followed shock. It was heavier than that, deeper, almost unnatural.
For a moment, the world seemed to forget how to breathe.
At Shinomiya Manor, Shinomiya Kaguya, Isayama Yomi, Tsuchimiya Kagura, Furukawa Oishi, Ouchiyama Megumi, and every Onmyoji present stared at the sky in stunned disbelief.
Across Japan, the high-ranking figures of Onmyodo who were watching through secret techniques were no different.
All of them had heard it.
All of them understood what those words meant.
And because they understood, none of them could react.
Several breaths passed before one ninth-rank Professional Onmyoji finally spoke, his voice strained and hoarse.
"Did I hear that wrong?"
No one answered.
He swallowed, then forced the question out.
"Did Seiryu, one of the Twelve Divine Generals, just call White Fox Gin Tsumugi... Lord Seimei?"
The name fell into the silence like a stone dropped into still water.
Lord Seimei.
Those two words carried a weight unlike any other in the world of Onmyodo.
The moment an Onmyoji heard them, only one name came to mind.
Abe no Seimei.
The Great Onmyoji from a thousand years ago.
The myth of Onmyodo.
Its savior.
Its unreachable peak.
If an ordinary person had called Gin Tsumugi by that name, it could be dismissed as a mistake, a slip of the tongue, or some strange coincidence.
But the one who had spoken was Seiryu.
The Wood General.
The Auspicious General.
One of the Twelve Divine Generals once commanded by Abe no Seimei himself.
From his mouth, that title could never be casual.
The surrounding Onmyoji remained silent.
It was not that they had no thoughts.
They had too many.
So many that not one of them knew which to voice first.
With their Spirit Insight Power, they could clearly confirm that the being summoned by Gin was indeed Seiryu. Not an imitation. Not a shikigami shaped in his image. Not a trick of spiritual energy.
It was the real Seiryu.
One of the Twelve Divine Generals recorded in every major lineage of Onmyodo.
There was no room for denial.
Inside the Onmyo Bureau, Kurahashi Genji sat in his office, his brows drawn tight.
"White Fox Gin Tsumugi... Abe no Seimei..."
His fingers tapped slowly against the armrest.
"Rebirth? Reincarnation through the Taizan Fukun Ritual, like Tsuchimikado Yakou? Or perhaps... he never died at all."
His eyes darkened.
"The Tsuchimikado Clan should know something."
Elsewhere in the bureau, Amami Daizen stood by a window and looked toward Minato Ward.
The night outside was deep. The city lights flickered beneath the clouds, but his gaze seemed to pierce past all of it.
"Sigh... you brat."
His voice was low, carrying helplessness, shock, and a trace of warmth.
"I never imagined you were hiding a secret like this. I should have guessed the moment you drew out Myriad Laws. A monstrous framework like that doesn't simply appear in the world for no reason."
The old man's wrinkled face softened slightly.
"After tonight, Onmyodo will not remain calm. Your exposure is going to stir up every old yokai hiding under the floorboards."
He let out a long breath.
"I only hope these old bones of mine can still help you hold the line."
After a pause, his expression grew gentler.
"But at least... this era finally has a little hope."
To Amami Daizen, Gin Tsumugi was still Gin Tsumugi.
No matter what secret he carried, no matter whose shadow stood behind him, he was still the boy the old man had unconsciously begun treating as his own grandson.
At the Onmyo Academy, Kurahashi Miyoshi stood up so abruptly that her chair nearly toppled over.
"Prepare a private car immediately. I'm going to Mitsuwa Town."
Otomo Jin, standing nearby, did not ask for an explanation.
He understood the gravity of what had just happened.
If this matter was not handled properly, all of Japan could be thrown into turmoil.
"Understood."
At the Onmyo Alliance, a white cloth covered Tatara's face.
At that moment, symbols flashed across the cloth one after another, rapidly changing in shape and intensity.
Joy.
Excitement.
Disbelief.
Happiness.
Longing.
"Master... Master... Master..."
The symbols twisted again.
"Lord Seimei... Lord..."
"Tatara."
Subaru Mitejima had just opened her mouth when Tatara moved.
With a sudden burst of spiritual and divine power, he shot out of the room like an arrow released from a bow. The window burst open, and his figure streaked into the night sky, vanishing quickly into the heavy darkness.
Subaru did not chase him.
She only watched the direction he had disappeared in, then quietly took out her phone and dialed a number.
At the Tsuchimiya Family estate in Bunkyo Ward, Tsuchimikado Arima hung up his call with Subaru Mitejima.
"I understand."
His usual frivolous expression was gone.
"Tensei, one of the Twelve Divine Generals who has resided with the Onmyo Alliance all this time, is the Ominous General who presides over terror. Tatara has run off. His destination is obvious."
Tsuchimiya Garaku, still lying weakly on the tatami, struggled to suppress the tremor in his voice.
"Lord Arima... could he truly be that Great One?"
"If White Fox Gin Tsumugi really is him, then most of our doubts finally have an answer."
Arima's eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
"Why the Tsuchimikado Clan has been so friendly toward him."
"Why he knows complete secret techniques and the backdoors within them, even ones your Tsuchimiya ancestors never obtained."
"Why he could outline Myriad Laws."
He paused.
"No. More accurately, Gyodo."
The room fell quiet.
Arima continued, his tone lower than before.
"And now, he has summoned Zenki, Goki, and Seiryu. Tensei has even lost control and rushed out on his own."
He adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"The Twelve Divine Generals fell silent one after another after that Great One passed. The only person capable of waking them should be that Great One himself."
Garaku did not speak for a long time.
Some truths were too heavy to accept immediately.
Inside the Imperial Palace, Tamamo-no-Mae sat gracefully with a cup of tea in hand.
Her beauty was still veiled by that strange power, but even the blurred outline of her smile carried enough charm to make the world lose its mind.
"He can already do this?"
She looked toward Minato Ward, her eyes thoughtful.
"He even summoned Shōran. At this rate, it won't be long before he commands the Twelve Divine Generals again and returns to his peak."
Kiyohime stood silently on a nearby branch.
Even she, who had followed Tamamo-no-Mae for a thousand years, could not hide the shock in her eyes.
Similar scenes unfolded across the Tsuchimikado Clan, the Keikain Clan, the Super Disaster Countermeasure Office, and every major Onmyodo organization still capable of peering into Minato Ward.
Some refused to believe it.
Some desperately searched for alternative explanations.
Some had already begun making plans.
But whether they believed it or not, the facts were before them.
Zenki.
Goki.
Seiryu.
And Seiryu's kneeling figure.
There was no evidence with which to refute what they had witnessed.
"Impossible!"
Hyakume Oni's scream shattered the silence.
The Great Yokai's face twisted with fear. The eyes covering her arms rolled wildly, each one filled with panic.
"How could you be him? His soul was clearly torn apart!"
Her voice trembled.
She did not believe it.
She did not want to believe it.
The Onmyoji before her could not be the man from a thousand years ago.
The man who had dominated an era.
The man Yokai called the Lord of Myths and Miracles.
The source of nightmares for countless Yokai.
Her words also struck the doubts buried in the hearts of many Onmyoji.
Every great family and major faction had secret histories. Those records all stated the same thing.
Abe no Seimei had personally torn apart his own soul to suppress the disasters of the Heian Period.
His soul had scattered.
His existence should have ended completely.
Reincarnation should have been impossible.
Resurrection should have been impossible.
And yet...
How could they deny what stood before their eyes?
Gin Tsumugi had not answered when Seiryu moved first.
The Azure Wood divine power surrounding him surged.
The air trembled.
The heavens seemed to grow angry with him.
"A mere Yomai dares deny Lord Seimei before me?"
Seiryu's voice was calm, but the fury beneath it made the entire battlefield shudder.
"You do not even understand what death means."
To Seiryu, Hyakume Oni's words were not merely insolence.
They were blasphemy.
A sin that could not be washed away, even by ten thousand deaths.
.....
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