In the old tales, the flame of a candle in the night did more than simply light the way—it guided the living back home… and ferried the dead toward the other shore.
A candle flame was both beacon and boundary. It illuminated the path of the living, yet also led wandering souls into the underworld.
That was the true power behind the Candlefire Deity's technique—"The Path Guided by Candlelight." A power as overwhelming as it was terrifying.
Anyone who stepped within the range of that flickering light would find their life and death placed entirely in her hands.
Would she guide them toward the light of life… or lead them down into the abyss of death?
That decision belonged to her alone.
Of course, even such an overwhelming ability had its flaws. The Candlefire Deity was, after all, still only a lower god.
Her power was limited by range—the extent of the candle flame burning atop her head.
And more importantly, whenever she activated this ability, both she and her targets would enter a suspended, intangible state.
Why?
Because at that moment, their souls were no longer inside their bodies.
The Candlefire Deity herself would transform into the guiding flame, leading the souls she had summoned.
If every enemy were caught within the technique, it would be absolute.
But if even one remained unaffected…
Then from beyond the reach of her candlelight, they could strike her completely defenseless body at any time.
After all, as long as one stayed outside the flame's radius, they would remain untouched—and during that window, the Candlefire Deity's physical form was utterly vulnerable.
So while Jorōgumo and Futakuchi-onna appeared dazed, as though trapped in an illusion, ordinary dispelling techniques would do nothing.
Their souls had already been drawn into the Candlefire Deity's domain.
Calling it an illusion would be misleading.
It was closer to a summoning of souls.
"This opponent is stronger than I am in raw power… but her luck is truly terrible."
"If we were to clash head-on, I might even lose."
"But when it comes to the soul… she doesn't stand a chance."
"Yamashiro Ayame, stay here and don't move. I'll bring them back."
The moment she finished speaking, Hagoromo Kitsune vanished from Ayame's side—and reappeared beside the two ensnared yokai.
As soon as she entered the Candlefire Deity's domain, her soul, too, was drawn toward the guiding flame.
Under normal circumstances, she could have resisted it.
But she didn't.
Instead, she willingly allowed herself to be pulled in.
Within the endless darkness, Jorōgumo and Futakuchi-onna wandered aimlessly.
Only when that faint, flickering candlelight appeared did they move again—like drowning souls grasping for their final lifeline, walking toward it without hesitation.
The Candlefire Deity, now embodied as that very flame, watched with smug satisfaction as the two great yokai steadily approached their deaths under her guidance.
"Watching you look so pleased with yourself… almost makes me feel bad interrupting."
"But you really should have thought about the consequences before laying a hand on my companions."
"You might want to stop while you're ahead. My adopted son… is far more petty than I am."
The sudden voice behind her sent a jolt through the Candlefire Deity.
She spun around—
—and saw it.
A colossal fox, glowing with ethereal blue light, nine massive tails swaying behind it like drifting clouds.
"A Nine-Tailed Fox?! One of the Three Great Yokai—Tamamo-no-Mae?!"
"…No. That's not right. Even Tamamo-no-Mae shouldn't possess soul power like this."
"Who are you? How can you enter my domain and remain conscious?!"
Her shock was justified.
Though Hagoromo Kitsune's aura registered at only the level of an SSS+ calamity-class yokai—still beneath her as a god—her soul was on an entirely different level.
It surpassed the Candlefire Deity's own.
"And calling me Tamamo-no-Mae… wouldn't exactly be wrong."
"But I am not Tamamo-no-Mae."
"To put it simply—I am Tamamo-no-Mae, yet Tamamo-no-Mae does not define me."
"There is more than one kind of Nine-Tailed Fox, you see."
"Tamamo-no-Mae is a yokai fox… while I am a spirit fox."
"Perhaps… I'm a new species altogether?"
As the massive fox shimmered and transformed into a breathtaking woman—her figure voluptuous, her beauty almost unreal—she tapped a finger lightly against her lips, as though pondering the matter.
To the Candlefire Deity, it felt less like an explanation…
…and more like blatant mockery.
"Whatever kind of freak you are," she snapped, anger flaring, "once you enter my domain, you obey me!"
"I am a god. My power surpasses yours. Whether you're a fox spirit or something else, you will kneel!"
Hagoromo Kitsune's calm, almost playful demeanor only made her irritation worse.
In the next instant, the Candlefire Deity produced a worn, ancient oil lamp.
The flame atop its wick flickered—
…and shifted from warm orange to a chilling, ghostly blue.
The orange flame had been the fire of the living—radiating warmth and light.
But the blue flame…
That was corpse-fire.
Cold, biting, and steeped in death.
A flame meant to guide souls across the boundary—and destroy them in the process.
"So you're relying on soul strength to resist me?"
"Then I'll simply burn that strength away."
She raised the lamp—and a torrent of blue fire erupted forth, roaring toward Hagoromo Kitsune like a tidal wave.
But Hagoromo Kitsune didn't move.
She didn't dodge.
Instead, she calmly drew a pair of iron fans from behind her tails.
"Second Tail Technique—Iron Fan."
The fans, no larger than her palms, snapped open—
—and with a single, elegant sweep, a massive cyclone roared into existence.
The seemingly unstoppable blue inferno was swallowed whole in an instant—like a firecracker tossed into the ocean.
The vortex shredded the flames, devouring them completely before surging forward without losing momentum.
It barreled straight toward the Candlefire Deity.
Eyes widening, she hastily raised the oil lamp before her—
forming a barrier of flickering light just in time to shield herself from the oncoming storm.