Closer than anyone could think or even come to consider, lies the so-called Forest of No Return. Such a place is plagued by terrifying stories, chilling myths and eerie tales from travelers, so much so that it was even erased from human maps a long time ago.
Of course, as everything in this world is governed by a simple rule, where there is smoke there is fire, and being a supernatural world, the horrible stories told by lost travelers are not some bad joke.
But even so, under that aura of mystery and danger, on the surface the place is nothing more than a forest made up of tall centuries-old trees. Ones so tall that they can easily cover the sun throughout the entire year, leaving the damp ground covered with dead leaves and giant roots.
A group of those roots, much thicker than the nearby ones and so long that they possibly extend throughout the entire forest, finally reaches the base of the same absurdly enormous tree.
"So much power within reach… So close yet at the same time so far. It doesn't matter, soon the inheritance will be mine"
Lightly pressing the dry bark of the tree with the palm of his hand, a mortally pale young man with long green hair shakes his head. This causes the two red antennae on his forehead, clearly those of an insect and very likely a moth, to sway from side to side for a few seconds.
But this does not seem to be spontaneous, rather even that movement has a certain elegance to it, just like his hairstyle that does not even come undone. So was it really a natural act or does he have elegance embedded into his body?.
"We have returned, Lord Menōmaru" x2
Speaking those words at the same time, two elegant-looking young women bow before the one in front of them without hesitation, obviously after having appreciated the previous moment.
One of them, who is located on the right side and travels atop a monstrous scorpion, has soft lilac-colored hair. This together with the depth of her green eyes, pale skin and elegant kimono, makes her look like a true beauty.
On the other hand, on the left there is also another young woman traveling on a giant scorpion, only this one has dazzling short dark blue hair. The latter combined with her dark purple eyes, white skin and dark-toned kimono, grants her a decadent aura.
"Hari, Ruri, welcome back. Is there any new news about Inu no Taisho 's son, Inuyasha?"
"We regret to inform you that there is still nothing, Lord Menōmaru" x2
"Oh, well, at this point we will have to use our dear and forgetful informants"
Smiling slightly just as Sesshōmaru does, the kind of smile a psychopath would have while stabbing you in the back, Menōmaru raises his hand and a strange moth lands on one of his fingers.
Such a moth has strange "transparent" wings, although under the touch of the Daiyoukai they slowly begin to reproduce multiple images within them, all of which seem to be about the daily life of a human.
If Asahiko were here he would have shouted; Eureka!, since the scenes seen correspond to the refugees in Kaede's village, those who had nothing wrong with them but at the same time had everything wrong.
"Those unpleasant humans cannot be trusted, Lord Menōmaru!"
"Ruri is right, a bunch of senile old people and weak children are useless for anything, it would be best if the two of us did it"
"Wow, do you have so little confidence in my abilities? Hahaha, I was just joking, but you must understand that using those humans was always part of my plan, since no one raises defenses against their own"
Sliding that blood-red gaze once again toward the great tree, the same gaze that had made both Ruri and Hari kneel, Menōmaru instantly sounds like a kind host once again, causing both women to lower their heads even further.
It seems that the hierarchical order remains strong among them despite everything shown so far, the elegance he uses to treat both of them and his willingness to listen to them giving way to the brief display of dominance earlier.
"As expected of you, Lord Menōmaru, even those inferior creatures can be of some use in your hands"
"But while that happens, can we perhaps do something else for you?"
"In fact these disposable humans can only be used as lookouts, you will be the ones who do the real work. I need to test Inuyasha's powers and feelings again, he has disappeared from our radar for far too long"
Acting cautiously despite the fact that the information he has comes from a few days ago, Menōmaru momentarily raises his gaze toward the highest branches of the tree, an enormous purple cocoon being reflected for a second in his red eyes.
This cocoon seems to beat silently every few seconds while releasing a faint purple glow, although the entire spectacle is abnormally covered by the tree's leaves… Perhaps it is not a normal tree?.
"At your command, Lord Menōmaru!"
"Do we do it now?"
"Yes, besides you can also stop capturing those humans now, it is completely useless to try to break or even weaken such a powerful seal through magical arts, even if these are empowered with blood and souls"
Briefly looking at the strange pictograms that are scattered, almost erased and deeply carved into the branches of the giant tree, brief memories of the past come to his mind.
He, Menōmaru, was not originally from this small God-forsaken archipelago, but rather came from the extensive and unfathomable continent. There the resources were infinitely greater than here, no matter where you looked there would be thousands of humans, hundreds of yokai born from their evil thoughts, magical arts so ancient that… Ah, better things.
But everything went downhill when they followed that human fleet toward this miserable place. Who would have thought that in a place in the middle of nowhere there would be such hidden powers? His father, a powerful moth Daiyoukai known as Lord Hyuga, was defeated even before setting foot on land, while all the men who followed in his footsteps met the same fate.
While all that was happening, he together with his two servants, Ruri and Hari, barely managed to escape alive from the monstrous aftermath of the imposing battle between the two of them. Giant waves, fierce winds and armies fighting beneath a single sky painted gray.
"Ahh… Inu no Taisho, what a powerful warrior!"
Gripping the hilt of the sword hanging from his waist, one that surprisingly is quite ordinary and commonplace, very different from the "magical" swords our protagonists use, Menōmaru shows himself strangely fascinated.
Perhaps personal power is admired equally everywhere? No, it is most likely something specific to him, just like Sesshōmaru and his thirst for combat, since despite everything Inu no Taisho killed his father.
"Lord Menōmaru?" x2
"Excuse me both of you, I got lost in my thoughts of the past"
"No, no, we are sorry for interrupting you"
"Yes, it was our mistake"
Both asking for an apology in their characteristic style, Ruri more active and direct, while Hari is calmer and more elegant, the servants finally remain silent waiting for a response.
"Good, then both of you do your thing, I can't wait to see Inuyasha's improvement and… Finally tear down this seal with that sword"
"Understood!"
"At your command"
Climbing once again onto the backs of the large scorpions that were there at the beginning with a jump, both Ruri and Hari begin heading toward Kaede's village to remain on the lookout, waiting for the signal from the human informants.
Because yes, just as Kikyo had said during her solitary stay after the first encounter with Naraku, the Forest of No Return is quite close to Kaede's village.
Of course, this "close" in the current era is difficult to define, since if a human made the journey it would take a good amount of time, but for tireless and insatiable yokai it is no different from taking a little walk.