"Master!"
Momiji and Botan cried out at the same time, staring in shock at the familiar figure. Their bodies moved instinctively toward him, but after only two steps, Tsubaki grabbed them by the backs of their collars and forcefully pulled them back.
Recovering from her initial shock, Tsubaki pressed the two restless juniors down, preventing them from rushing forward. Then she abruptly turned to Kikyo, her eyes filled with wariness and confusion.
"Kikyo, what is going on? He… who is he?"
Retsu walked to Kikyo's side and explained calmly,
"This is the Impure World Reincarnation technique. I used that demon as a sacrifice and summoned your master's soul back from the underworld. It's not true resurrection, but it's enough for him to return and handle some matters."
A chill ran down Tsubaki's spine. Cold sweat instantly soaked her back.
Her fear of this man deepened even further.
He could casually drag a dead person's soul back from the afterlife?
A terrifying thought surfaced in her mind—if Retsu ever disliked her and killed her, then summoned her back like this and toyed with her soul… even death wouldn't free her from his grasp.
"If you don't believe me, just ask your master yourself," Retsu added casually when he saw her standing there, pale and frozen.
Tsubaki snapped out of it. Suppressing her fear, she took hold of Momiji and Botan and slowly walked toward the reincarnated figure.
"Master… is it really you?"
Her voice trembled.
Her master slowly raised his head and opened his eyes.
Only then did Tsubaki clearly see it.
Deathly aura surrounded him. His skin was lifeless gray, covered in fine cracks. The whites of his eyes had turned dark and ashen, and his pupils were dull and empty—utterly unlike those of the living.
He raised his gray hand and studied it quietly before sighing softly.
"I remember dying… It seems I've been pulled back into the world as one of the dead."
His gaze fell on Tsubaki, and a gentle smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Tsubaki. You've finally come back. Before I died, I regretted not seeing you one last time. I never thought we'd reunite like this."
Then he looked at Momiji and Botan, whose eyes were red with tears. Guilt filled his expression.
"Momiji, Botan… you're here too. I'm sorry. Your master couldn't hold on until you grew up. I don't know how much time has passed, but it must have been hard for you."
"Master—!!"
They could no longer hold back. Tears burst forth as they threw themselves into his arms, burying their faces in his robes and crying bitterly.
Even though his appearance was frightening, they could clearly feel that familiar warmth and kindness.
This was their master. Without question.
In their memories, he was their only family.
After his death, they had supported each other alone in these remote mountains, enduring loneliness, guarding the temple, and training desperately—hoping one day to become strong shrine maidens.
Their master gently stroked their heads, soothing them, before lifting his gaze to Tsubaki, his tone turning solemn.
"Tsubaki… I later learned that you became a dark priestess. I tried to find you, to bring you back and set you on the right path, but I never succeeded."
He sighed heavily and looked at her youthful face.
"You've preserved your appearance by fusing with demons, haven't you? So you've finally chosen this path… Was my current state caused by you?"
Tsubaki did not hide it. Her tone was blunt, almost self-destructive.
"Back then, my shikigami backfired and injured me. I had no choice but to merge with a demon. In return, I gained its power."
Her master shook his head with a sorrowful sigh.
"If you do that, your soul will become entangled with the demon. One day, it will consume you completely."
"Hmph!" Tsubaki snorted stubbornly.
"But I gained demonic power and eternal youth. That's enough!"
"Ah…"
Her master closed his eyes in pain.
"My greatest regret before dying was failing to keep you here… letting you walk farther and farther down the wrong path."
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
They sharpened like blades.
He fixed his gaze on Tsubaki and rapidly formed hand seals. Spiritual power erupted from his body.
The next instant, hundreds of soft, glowing points of light burst out from a room in the temple below, shooting toward the back mountain like shooting stars—rushing straight toward Tsubaki!
Her pupils shrank in shock.
She instinctively tried to resist, but remembered that her spiritual power was sealed. She could only stagger back helplessly.
The lights crashed into her body and instantly reorganized.
Around her neck, wrists, and ankles, strands of luminous white prayer beads formed, shimmering faintly with spiritual energy and binding her tightly.
Tsubaki looked down at the beads, her face instantly turning pale.
She recognized them at once.
She grabbed at the beads on her wrist, but every time she tried to pull them off, powerful spiritual energy flared, fixing them firmly in place. She couldn't remove them at all.
Watching from the side, Retsu glanced at Kikyo with a strange expression.
These beads immediately reminded him of the ones around Inuyasha's neck. Their function was probably similar.
He had once even asked Kikyo if she could make another one for him to try.
She had refused without hesitation.
Noticing his gaze, Kikyo immediately understood. She smiled faintly and leaned closer, whispering so only he could hear,
"You're right. The exact effects may differ, but they work like Inuyasha's prayer beads. They're meant to restrain her."
"Y-You old man! You actually put Binding Prayer Beads on me?!"
Tsubaki glared at the beads, then at her master. Her voice trembled with furious disbelief.
Her master looked at the beads and smiled in relief.
Slowly, he explained,
"After learning you became a dark priestess and harmed innocents, I once thought of killing you myself.
"But you were the disciple I raised from childhood. How could I bear to do that?
"So I spent years crafting these beads, hoping to bind you to the temple and stop you from hurting others.
"Sadly, I never found you before I died… never had the chance to put them on you."
He paused, emotion filling his eyes.
"I never imagined that after death, I'd return and finally fulfill that wish."
Then he frowned slightly, sensing something.
"Your spiritual power… it's sealed? No wonder you couldn't resist just now."
After a moment of thought, he turned to Retsu and Kikyo.
"You were the ones who sealed her power, weren't you? And you were also the ones who summoned me back from the underworld?"
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