Chapter 142: Pre-Battle
Rumble.
Dull vibrations rolled from within Nijō Castle, which remained wrapped in the colossal tornado of Yin energy.
Every tremor carried the clash of spiritual power, demonic energy, and even divine power. The impacts overlapped and tangled together, turning the entire castle into the center of a storm.
Over the past few days, Kurahashi Genji, Tsuchimikado Arima, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, and the others had once again gathered the remaining Onmyōdō forces scattered across Japan.
And today, at last, they launched a full-scale offensive against Nijō Castle, the nest where Hagoromo Gitsune and her Yokai had gathered.
The core battle of the Kyoto Incident had officially begun.
A war between Yokai and Onmyoji.
"This art severs evil and eliminates misfortune. Swiftly, as the law commands!"
"Demon-Subduing Thunder Curse!"
"Homage to Śākyamuni Buddha! Homage to Marīcī Bodhisattva! I take refuge in the Three Treasures and Marīcī Bodhisattva. May you protect my body so that none may see me, none may know me, none may seize or harm me, none may deceive or punish me, and none may take what is mine. Without fear of enemies, may I find my way!"
"Marīcī Mantra!"
Onmyoji from various organizations and families followed the commands of Miyoshi Tōgo, one of the Onmyo Bureau's Twelve Divine Generals known as [Heavenly Eye].
Like soldiers in an army, they released Onmyō Arts of compatible attributes in unison, using the Demon-Subduing Thunder Curse and the Marīcī Mantra to support and amplify one another.
Their synchronized chanting echoed across the battlefield.
Then—
Rumble!
Golden Sanskrit characters formed by the Marīcī Mantra filled the air, layering over the thunder curse and enhancing its power several times over.
More than a dozen lightning dragons descended.
Carrying the power of judgment and destruction, they rampaged through the inner court of Nijō Castle, harvesting Yokai one after another.
Among them were several Yokai capable of deploying Ghost Domains, but under the combined attack of the Onmyoji, they lasted only a few breaths before being buried inside the overwhelming thunder prison.
The cooperation between Onmyoji, when paired with properly combined Onmyō Arts, produced explosive power far beyond the simple sum of individual strength.
With one strike, hundreds of Yokai in the inner court vanished inside the thunder prison.
The area was cleared.
Not a single Onmyoji had died or suffered injury.
It seemed like an extraordinary achievement.
Yet Miyoshi Tōgo, who commanded the group, did not relax in the slightest.
Nor did he order the Onmyoji under him to reinforce other battlefields.
Instead, his gaze remained exceptionally grave as he looked toward the new Yokai constantly emerging from the Yin energy tornado.
In just a short while, the number of Yokai they had eliminated had already been replenished.
No.
If one observed carefully, the number had become even greater than before.
"Mari," Miyoshi Tōgo said to the woman beside him, "divide them again with a barrier."
The woman he addressed was Yuge Mari, another of the Onmyo Bureau's Twelve Divine Generals.
[Princess of Barriers.]
"Yes, Senior Miyoshi."
Yuge Mari immediately led several Onmyoji skilled in barrier techniques and began chanting.
"From the distant ancient times, O Divine Crow, softly speak of the blessings born at the source. Seven calamities extinguished, seven leagues of stars. Swiftly, as the law commands."
"Seven-Pointed Barrier!"
In an instant, the entire inner court of Nijō Castle was enveloped by a Seven-Pointed Barrier.
Both the Yokai and the Onmyoji were trapped within it.
This was intentional.
Only by doing this could they prevent the endless wave tactics of the Yokai from simply flooding the battlefield and interfering with the duel between the high-ranking Onmyōdō figures and the Great Yokai in the main hall.
"Go!"
Under Miyoshi Tōgo's command, the Onmyoji clashed with the Yokai once again.
They continued coordinating their Onmyō Arts, cutting down Yokai in swaths and causing them to scatter into nothingness.
But afterward, the number of Yokai did not seem to decrease at all.
They kept gathering.
Endlessly.
The Onmyoji, meanwhile, did not possess infinite spiritual power or unlimited resources.
Slowly, casualties began to appear on the Onmyoji side.
And the same scene was unfolding on more than just the inner court battlefield.
At Ninomaru Garden, Jinguji Ayame, head of the Super Disaster Countermeasure Office, was leading a group of Onmyoji in resistance.
She had been among the reinforcements who came to Kyoto several days ago.
"Taking refuge, firm and solid. Vajra, fixed and unmoving. Bind and fasten. Terror, destruction!"
"Purify defilement. Rebirth in the Pure Land. Vajra, pure and radiant. Like all Vajras, all things become pure!"
"I respectfully take refuge in all Buddhas, stars that eliminate calamities..."
Although Jinguji Ayame sat in a wheelchair due to her physical condition, she displayed the full strength of a National Level Onmyoji.
One spiritual talisman after another flew from her hands, exorcising evil and suppressing Yokai.
But the situation she faced was the same as Miyoshi Tōgo's.
The Yokai were simply too numerous.
The moment one group was eliminated, another rushed forward.
Just the number of Yokai here alone was already comparable to the total number of Yokai the Super Disaster Countermeasure Office had eliminated in Bunkyo Ward over the course of an entire year.
At the Honmaru Palace battlefield—
"Namo sarva tathāgatebhyaḥ... Swiftly, as the laws and decrees command!"
"Fire Boundary Spell!"
Otomo Jin of the Onmyō Academy was also leading Onmyoji against the endless wave of Yokai.
At the Shirakawain battlefield, similar battles were raging.
The number of Yokai was not truly infinite.
Rather, because the source of Yin energy had been fully released, far too many Yokai had been born over the past few days.
Most of them were newly born, low-level Yokai.
But under the leadership of Hagoromo Gitsune's Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, they still formed a massive threat.
Especially within Nijō Castle, a place completely enveloped by the Yin energy tornado, these Yokai could thrive and grow stronger with terrifying speed.
This alone made it clear why organizations and families such as the Onmyo Alliance, the Onmyo Bureau, and the Onmyō Academy placed such importance on the Kyoto Incident.
The Spiral Seal had only been broken for a few days.
Yet the source of Yin energy had already bred and produced this many Yokai.
If it were truly left unchecked, Kyoto would become an abyss that continuously birthed Yokai.
That statement was not an exaggeration.
Miyoshi Tōgo, Jinguji Ayame, Otomo Jin, and the others all understood something clearly.
It was impossible to quickly and decisively eliminate the massive number of Yokai here.
Their real task was to hold back the endless hordes below and prevent them from interfering with the battle between the high-ranking Onmyōdō figures and the Great Yokai in the main palace.
That was the true priority.
Because even if they desperately eliminated every Yokai before them, if the high-ranking Onmyōdō leaders failed to defeat Hagoromo Gitsune and the other Great Yokai, then everything would still end in failure.
....
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