How did I, an Onmyoji, become the Lord of Yokai?

Under Minamoto no Mitsuaki's protection, the Minamoto clan members all came ashore, and even the girl was roughly dragged out.

Seeing that the girl was about to be taken away by the Genji, the extremely anxious Umibozu roared furiously, "If you don't release that child, I will sink this entire Kyoto port!"

However, Minamoto no Mitsuaki responded with a cold laugh, "If you dare to sink Kyoto Port, I dare to kill this monster!" Chapter 24: The Girl is Missing

Looking at the Umibozu on the sea, Minamoto no Mitsuaki wore a cold and mocking smile.

Kyoto Port sank?

ridiculous!

As the gateway to the sea from Heian-kyo, Kyoto Port holds immense strategic importance. To protect its peace, the Onmyoji of the three major families have joined forces to set up numerous barriers. Not to mention Kyoto Port, even the Lord of Arakawa, who once conquered the sea, would not be able to easily destroy it.

Therefore, the threat had no effect on him!

Upon seeing the sneer on the resolute man's face, the Sea Monk's expression changed drastically, as if struck by lightning; it had finally realized what was happening.

Damn it! It forgot that Kyoto Port is protected by a large number of barriers, so its threat is completely useless!

'Damn it, what should I do!'

Looking at the girl's face covered with fear, Umibozu's heart panicked again. If he failed here, what awaited the girl would be an endless darkness!

'No, don't panic, stay calm...'

After taking a couple of breaths of the humid air, Umibozu managed to calm down.

If sinking Kyoto Port can't threaten Minamoto no Mitsuaki, then what about preventing fishermen and sailors from going to sea?

As a yokai who has lived for hundreds of years, Umibozu quickly found another threat after calming down.

That's right, Kyoto Port is indeed protected by a barrier, and it is impossible for one person to destroy the barrier. But there is no barrier protecting the sea!

The purpose of a port is ultimately to facilitate access to the sea. If it blocks the way to the sea, then the port becomes useless.

Having realized this, Umibozu revealed a smug smile and shouted, "Genji, although I can't sink Kyoto Port, as long as I'm here, don't even think about sending a single ship out to sea!"

The words carried by the sea breeze reached Minamoto no Mitsuaki's ears, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks as he prepared to leave.

He turned to look at Umibozu, his already cold gaze becoming even colder.

"Siren, are you threatening me?"

"It's not a threat, it's a deal! As long as you release the child, we can all live in peace!"

The anxiety on Umibozu's face finally subsided, and a faint smile appeared on its face. Control had finally come into its hands.

“…”

Minamoto Mitsuaki narrowed his eyes.

His expression grew increasingly cold.

The most important aspect of Kyoto Port is its access to the sea; controlling the entrance and exit is equivalent to controlling the lifeline of Kyoto Port.

Umibozu's move hit their Achilles' heel perfectly.

'Damn monster, they actually planned this out!'

Minamoto remained silent for three minutes. During those three minutes, Umibozu did not speak; it simply watched them with an air of composure.

Three minutes later, Minamoto Mitsuho spoke.

He let out a breath, as if he had made a difficult decision.

After making this decision, his cold expression gradually softened, though his unpleasant complexion remained unchanged.

"Siren, I went through so much trouble to finally capture this merman, and you want me to return it so easily? I can't do that!"

Umibozu's expression immediately changed, and anger welled up inside him.

However, before it could speak, Minamoto Mitsuaki continued, "But our fundamental goals are not in conflict."

"I want the mermaid pearl, and you want the mermaid. Then all we need to do is get the mermaid to shed a few tears for us, and we will naturally release her."

“If you don’t trust me, I can swear on my clan crest here that no member of my branch of the Minamoto clan will ever harm her!”

"Clan crest!?"

Umibozu's angry expression slowly turned into astonishment.

A family crest is the proudest spiritual symbol of a family, and anyone who swears an oath by their family crest will not break their oath.

Regardless of who the oath is being sworn to.

Minamoto no Mitsuaki is now willing to swear an oath with his clan crest, meaning that as long as he agrees, no member of his branch of the Minamoto clan can lay a hand on the child!

Is the child safe?

Umibozu showed a hint of delight, his expression somewhat tempted, as if he wanted to agree.

But suddenly, it saw the pitiful figure chained up.

The image of the girl's battered body flashed through its mind.

The lingering anger quietly rekindled, and the previous impulse vanished without a trace.

No, even if it swears on its clan emblem, it will never agree!

Minamoto no Mitsutomo's branch of the Minamoto clan are all beasts!

Only by saving this child can we guarantee his/her future!

Therefore, Umibozu said in a deep voice, "No! I disagree!"

"Either release the child, or destroy this port!"

Umibozu's refusal caused Minamoto no Mitsuaki's expression to turn cold, and his anger began to rise.

"Siren, I've already sworn an oath by my clan's emblem, you're going too far!"

"I've gone too far? Ridiculous! You're the ones who've gone too far! How could you be so cruel to a child? Are you even human?!"

Their cold voices echoed across the sea as they stared at each other, neither willing to back down.

The situation remained deadlocked.

The two men's unyielding stance made the atmosphere increasingly tense, and a sense of impending conflict filled everyone's hearts.

However, at this moment, Minamoto no Mitsuakichi, a cousin of Minamoto no Mitsuakichi, stepped forward.

He said that what the sea spirit was worried about was that they would mistreat the merfolk. So, as long as the merfolk were placed where it could see them, the conflict between the two sides would be resolved.

After a new round of negotiations, stalemates, and mediation, the two sides finally reached a consensus.

Minamoto no Mitsuaki would place the merman on the coast, and Umibozu could see the merman's condition at any time if he wanted, and could even chat with her on the shore.

To prevent Umibozu from secretly taking away the merfolk, Minamoto no Mitsuaki would also set up a barrier around the house and send onmyoji to guard it.

Umibozu was fairly satisfied with the result.

At least, the child was under his watchful eye, which provided a certain level of safety.

Minamoto no Mitsuaki was very efficient; the merman's accommodation was settled within half an hour of the agreement being reached.

At the same time, to put the sea spirit at ease, he also sent the merman into the sea so that the sea spirit could personally heal him.

Umibozu certainly had the idea of ​​escaping with the child, but Minamoto no Mitsuaki set up a simple barrier.

It can escape on its own, but it might not be able to with its cubs.

For the next month, Umibozu stayed by the girl's side every day, and under its watchful eye, the Genji clan did indeed stop abusing her.

However, in order to make the girl cry, Minamoto no Mitsuaki used every means at his disposal. Sometimes, Umibozu couldn't stand it and would create a few small storms as a warning.

Perhaps because of Umibozu's care and companionship, the girl gradually became more cheerful, and many smiles appeared on her delicate and lovely face.

Just when Umibozu thought the girl was about to emerge from the shadow cast by Genji... the girl disappeared!

PS: Phew, finally finished the second chapter!

Section 25, Chapter Twenty-Five: The Passage

The sound of waves echoed across the calm sea, and the melodious calls of seabirds circling in the sky filled the air.

This is a picture that can soothe all anxiety and bring peace to the mind.

But the sea spirit on the surface of the sea opened its eyes wide, as if struck by lightning, its face full of disbelief.

"N-It's gone!?"

She's gone! The girl in the room is gone!

The good mood it had just woken up was quickly replaced by panic. It subconsciously looked around the house—and it was gone too!

The Genji Onmyoji who was guarding this place also disappeared.

Its brain began to tremble violently, and in a flash, it understood everything!

"Genji!!!"

......

Meanwhile, in the mansion on the west side of Kyoto Port, Minamoto no Mitsuaki sat in the main seat, gently swirling the sake in his bowl, a haughty and cold mockery on his face.

That siren must have already discovered the merman's disappearance and is now howling in vain.

Ha, a monster is still a monster, a simple existence with well-developed limbs.

He was a member of the Minamoto clan and an Onmyoji who exorcised demons. He was naturally opposed to demons. When the sea monster took the initiative to negotiate with him, it was as if the prey took the initiative to negotiate with the hunter.

How ridiculous!

He made the deal with the Sea Monk only to appease it. After all, it had an absolute advantage at sea, and they didn't have any sea monster or water spirit shikigami, making it too difficult to deal with.

However, they are human. If brute force cannot break the deadlock, then they will use wisdom to do so!

He had planned everything while confronting Umibozu.

After stabilizing the sea monster, they deliberately used some excessive methods to deal with the merfolk, thereby arousing the sea monster's dissatisfaction and causing it to stir up trouble in the port as a warning.

Subsequently, he requested the Onmyo-ryo (the Bureau of Onmyoji) to deal with the sea monster, citing his inability to subdue it himself. He asked a stronger Onmyoji from Heian-kyo to help him.

The reason for taking the merman away last night was to make Umibozu lose his mind and cause chaos at the port.