Chapter 124: Hagoromo Gitsune
The night over Kyoto was beautiful.
Stars glittered across the dark sky like scattered diamonds, spilling countless points of silver light into the world below. The moon hung clear and bright, white as polished jade, embedded in the boundless night like a flawless treasure.
Yet beneath that beautiful sky, Kyoto was being swallowed by darkness.
One after another, the faint lights along the city streets flickered, dimmed, and went out. The darkness spread quietly through the old capital, vast and heavy, as though some unseen thing had opened its mouth and begun to devour the city whole.
Only a few famous shrines still glowed faintly in the night, their lights trembling like a final resistance before being smothered.
Among them stood Fushimi Inari-taisha.
The shrine had an exceptionally long history. It primarily enshrined the Inari deities led by Uka-no-Mitama, gods of agriculture and commerce. Worshipers came here to pray for good harvests, prosperous business, and safe travel. Among Kyoto's many shrines, it was one of those that received the most offerings and pilgrims.
But what truly made Fushimi Inari-taisha famous was the Senbon Torii behind the main hall.
Hundreds upon thousands of vermilion torii gates formed a path that wound toward the summit of Mount Inari. Between them stood stone fox statues, silent and watchful. In daylight, the interwoven old dark-red gates and newly painted vermilion gates glowed beneath the filtered sun, creating a grand, almost otherworldly sight.
It was one of Kyoto's most iconic landscapes, a place that had appeared in countless films and drawn endless tourists.
Recently, however, Fushimi Inari-taisha had been completely closed.
Day or night, entry was forbidden.
No one knew the official reason.
Naturally, the closure sparked countless discussions. The most widely accepted theory was that a supernatural incident had occurred inside the shrine, forcing it into lockdown.
In Kyoto, there was an old piece of folklore regarding Fushimi Inari-taisha.
Four hundred years ago, a ferocious Great Yokai that delighted in devouring children occupied Kyoto and brought disaster upon its people. In the end, an ancestor of the Keikain Clan stepped forward and suppressed it beneath Fushimi Inari-taisha.
Before the Supernatural Recovery, that story had merely been a frightening tale adults used to scare children into behaving.
But now, in an age where monsters, curses, and spiritual disasters had become reality, people no longer dared dismiss such stories as harmless superstition.
With the shrine sealed off, many chose to believe rather than gamble with their lives.
They kept their distance.
At that moment, two dim yellow lights moved through the Senbon Torii.
The old paper lanterns swayed gently in the night. Their glow illuminated two Onmyoji dressed in white kariginu, the crest of the Keikain Clan embroidered across their chests.
They were patrolling the grounds.
"Supernatural incidents have been happening more and more often lately," the younger Onmyoji muttered as he walked. "Even with Kyoto's Spiral Seal, the Keikain Clan, and the Onmyo Alliance stationed here, we still can't stop them completely. Isn't the outside world even worse?"
"That is not something we can afford to worry about right now," the older Onmyoji said.
His expression was heavy.
"Our priority is to closely monitor the movements of the Spiral Seal. Nothing matters more than that."
"I heard the Clan Head has been discussing with the lords of the Onmyo Alliance for days, trying to find a way to reinforce it."
The older Onmyoji gave a quiet sigh.
"Reinforcing the Spiral Seal is not so simple. If it were, they would not still be without a feasible plan."
The Spiral Seal had been established over four hundred years ago, using Kyoto's major shrines as base points.
But with supernatural incidents erupting one after another, the seal had begun to loosen. If it broke, the Great Yokai sealed beneath the major shrines would be enough to plunge modern Onmyōdō into a deadly crisis.
And that was only the immediate danger.
No one could predict what chain reactions might follow.
"I just hope everything happens in time," the younger Onmyoji said.
His voice carried a trace of gloom.
Others might not know the true situation, but as a Keikain Onmyoji stationed at Fushimi Inari-taisha, how could he not?
Putting aside the other nodes of the Spiral Seal, the seal here had already developed cracks.
At night, the roars of the Great Yokai sealed beneath the shrine could occasionally be heard from below.
If things continued this way, it was only a matter of time before it broke free.
"By the way," the younger Onmyoji said, trying to shake off the heavy atmosphere, "have you heard those unbelievable rumors spreading through the Onmyōdō world?"
"You mean the rumors about the legendary Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei, the myth of Onmyōdō from a thousand years ago, being resurrected in this era?"
"Exactly."
"I have heard them."
The older Onmyoji walked ahead, the lantern in his hand casting a dim halo around him.
"White Fox Gin Tsumugi is a rare top-class combatant in modern Onmyōdō. Being able to slay a Great Yokai alone is already shocking enough. There has been a great deal of news about him lately."
His tone was calm.
"But connecting him to Abe no Seimei is too far-fetched."
"In the end, it is only a rumor with no credible foundation."
He shook his head.
"Let alone us, how many people in the entire Onmyōdō world actually believe it?"
"White Fox Gin Tsumugi..."
A third voice entered the conversation.
"A fake. A detestable Onmyoji."
The older Onmyoji's steps faltered.
"Calling him fake is a bit much. He is just..."
His voice stopped.
A chill crawled up his spine.
That voice had not belonged to his companion.
It was a woman's voice.
Cold, displeased, and filled with a killing intent so deep that the night itself seemed to stiffen.
"Who's there?!"
The older Onmyoji spun around.
Under the dim glow of the lantern, the first thing he saw was his companion's body.
The younger Onmyoji had been cut nearly in half and lay collapsed in a pool of blood. His eyes were still open, frozen with fear and confusion.
He had died in a single strike.
Something had invaded Fushimi Inari-taisha.
The older Onmyoji reached into his robes at once, trying to draw a talisman.
Puchi!
Several pure-white tails shot out from the darkness.
They tore through space like blades, carrying lethal malice and the suffocating pressure of death.
In a flash, the older Onmyoji's limbs and chest were pierced through.
Blood erupted from five holes in his body. His flesh was mangled, his bones shattered. He collapsed into the widening pool of blood, feeling his life drain away with terrifying speed.
"Who... are you...?"
His breath grew weak.
In his final moments, a girl appeared in his fading vision.
She had long, straight black hair, dark eyes, and a black dress that seemed to melt into the night around her. Her features were exquisitely beautiful. Her figure was graceful and full, almost bewitching.
But her pale face carried only sinister coldness.
And behind her swayed nine pure-white fox tails.
The older Onmyoji's pupils trembled.
"It's her..."
His voice was almost soundless.
"Hagoromo Gitsune... she has returned..."
Even though he was seeing her for the first time, those unmistakable features allowed him to recognize her instantly.
The arch-enemy of the Keikain Clan.
The reincarnating Yokai.
Hagoromo Gitsune.
But he could do nothing.
He could not even send a plea for help back to the clan.
Within a few breaths, the older Onmyoji's body turned cold.
"A fake Onmyoji dares impersonate my child."
Hagoromo Gitsune's black eyes were like bottomless abysses.
"I will tear him into ten thousand pieces."
A terrifying killing intent surfaced in her gaze.
Clearly, the rumors spreading through the Onmyōdō world had touched her most sensitive nerve.
"Lady Hagoromo Gitsune," a voice said from behind her, "shall I take our people and slaughter that fake Onmyoji now?"
Figures emerged one after another from the darkness.
Their auras were vast and monstrous.
Among them were several beings who had reached the level of Great Yokai.
"No need."
Hagoromo Gitsune raised one slender hand.
"Our priority is to destroy the Spiral Seal and ensure the smooth birth of my child."
Her voice was calm, but the coldness in it made the surrounding yokai bow their heads.
"That fake Onmyoji can be dealt with later."
The yokai faces immediately filled with fanaticism.
They had waited for this day for a thousand years.
At last, their long-cherished wish could be fulfilled.
The insignificant guards had been cleared away.
Hagoromo Gitsune led the yokai deeper into Fushimi Inari-taisha, toward the sealing grounds.
A moment later, a dull sound echoed through Kyoto.
Bang!
A vortex tornado condensed from Yin energy surged up from Fushimi Inari-taisha, piercing the night and sweeping in every direction.
The sky, once glittering with stars, seemed to be covered by a thin veil.
The starlight dimmed.
Its color faded.
Across Kyoto, countless residents shivered as the surrounding temperature dropped by several degrees. An uncomfortable chill seeped into their bones, making them instinctively pull their clothes tighter.
At the same time, within the rows of courtyards belonging to the Keikain Clan, every building lit up.
Resting Onmyoji woke and gathered in haste.
They all understood.
Something had happened.
Something serious.
That abnormality was very likely connected to the Spiral Seal.
And anything concerning the Spiral Seal was a major event capable of threatening all of Kyoto.
Inside the council hall, the directors and elders of the Keikain Clan had already gathered.
Every face was solemn.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
"The Spiral Seal node at Fushimi Inari-taisha has been destroyed."
The current Keikain Hidemoto sat in the Clan Head's seat, his expression grim.
"As expected..."
"Alas. The Spiral Seal established by the Thirteenth Generation Hidemoto lasted four hundred years, yet in our era, it finally failed to hold."
"Lamenting now is useless. The priority is to resolve this incident."
"Easy to say."
"Clan Head, who destroyed the seal?"
"Yes, who did it?"
The seal nodes had already been in a precarious state, but under normal circumstances, they should have lasted another year or two.
For one to break so abruptly, without warning, there had to be external interference.
Otherwise, such a sudden collapse would have been impossible.
The current Keikain Hidemoto was silent for a moment.
Then he said, "According to my recent astrology, Kyoto's Great Yokai, Hagoromo Gitsune, has reincarnated and returned."
The moment those words fell, shock and fear swept through the hall.
Hagoromo Gitsune.
The Great Yokai who had occupied the capital since ancient times.
The sworn enemy of the Keikain Clan.
The Yokai among Yokai.
The world's only reincarnating Yokai.
She had actually returned in this era.
"Request reinforcements."
Keikain Hidemoto's voice was decisive.
"Hagoromo Gitsune's reincarnation and the destruction of the Spiral Seal have already exceeded what the current Keikain Clan can handle alone."
His gaze swept across the room.
"We must immediately request aid from the Onmyo Alliance, the Omnyo Agency, and the Onmyō Academy."
"To resolve this supernatural incident, the strength of multiple parties will be indispensable."
"Yes, Clan Head!"
Everyone understood the situation.
The Keikain Clan had already suffered a heavy loss of vitality during the Mount Fuji Incident. They no longer possessed the strength to face Hagoromo Gitsune alone.
Requesting reinforcements was not shameful.
It was their only path to survival.
A moment later, pigeon shikigami bearing the crest of the Keikain Clan flew out from the courtyards in every direction.
That night, the entire world of Onmyōdō was destined to lose sleep.
.....
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