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

"You brought this up yourself, so why is it my problem?"

"Didn't you imply to me that I should tell Father that Susanoo-no-Mikoto did not betray Him and that he had the idea of ​​reconciling with Him? With you all stepping in, there is naturally no need for me."

The two whispered their answers, and when their words reached each other's ears, the clever women immediately understood what was going on.

Oh no! It's a misunderstanding!

Their eyes widened, and they reacted almost instinctively.

"I never imagined we had misunderstood each other."

Mio's shocked expression slowly turned somewhat ugly. She never imagined that Ibuki could glean so much information from such small details and deduce most of the facts.

But no matter how accurate her guess was, that wasn't what she meant to express.

The only person who wanted to reconcile with Yamata was her good-for-nothing younger brother. She never thought about reconciling with Yamata, nor did she think she had done anything wrong. Why did Ibuki think it was her idea?

Without realizing it, Mio rubbed her temples.

After a long silence, Ibuki couldn't help but sigh.

She realized she didn't know Mio well enough... These few details led her to believe that Mio had taken the initiative to reconcile.

That was so wrong!

Gritting her teeth slightly, Ibuki said in a low voice, "So what should we do now? Will Father... even consider reconciliation?"

"...Although you told Him that Susanoo-no-Mikoto did not intend to betray Him, it only resolved the grudge between Him and Susanoo-no-Mikoto, not the grudge between Him and me."

"Knowing Him as I do, I doubt He will stop."

"This war will inevitably continue!"

If Susanoo were here, he might be able to persuade Orochi to stop the war, but Susanoo is imprisoned at Izumo Taisha and is not here at all.

"After being at ease for so long, we still have to participate in this war in the end."

"Ugh."

With a slight sigh, Mio thought to herself, "This is troublesome," but soon she narrowed her eyes again.

Fine, since we can't stop the war peacefully, let's stop it by force using violence!

Stop war with war!

"To stop war with war...?"

Her beautiful brows furrowed slightly as a pang of reluctance rose in Ibuki's heart. If war were to be used to end war, then without a doubt, her father would be the one to lose in the end, and she had already foreseen what would happen to him as the loser.

It took millions of years to get a chance to be resurrected, but now it has failed again. Nobody knows when the next chance will come.

Although speaking up would make her father feel better, it would inevitably touch upon his vulnerability after his recent defeat.

To expect his daughter to beg for any relief was a great insult to Hachimata, and he would never allow such a thing to happen.

Therefore, there is only one way to achieve the best of both worlds—stop the war!

"Oh dear... things are getting complicated."

She initially thought the matter could be easily resolved, so she wasn't too concerned. But as things progressed to this point, she suddenly realized that something was wrong...

Both sides were fully prepared, and a great battle was about to begin. If no one of sufficient importance appeared, even she would not be able to persuade her father.

"I don't know where my father got the courage to fight Mio like this while she was sealed."

After a moment's thought, Ibuki narrowed her eyes and then tentatively asked, "Mio, the war hasn't even started yet. Should I go and see my father again and try to get him to stop this war?"

"What do you think?" Chapter 465, Chapter 462: Good heavens, Mio actually considered other people's feelings!

"Go now?"

Mio frowned slightly. She had just told Ibuki that the only person who could possibly persuade Orochi to put aside his grudges and cancel the war was Susanoo, but he was not here at the moment... Although he loved Ibuki very much, no matter how much he loved her, Ibuki was still just a child and could not communicate with him as an equal.

With the arrow already on the bowstring and ready to be released, Ibuki could not persuade Him, and therefore, the war could not be stopped.

Tonight, Heian-kyo is destined to be awash in blood.

However... it's understandable. After all, the enemy they are facing right now is her father. Having grown up with her father since childhood, it's only natural that she would worry about him. Shimizu Mio couldn't bring herself to say something like "don't be foolish."

After a brief silence, Mio finally took a half step back and said, "I can understand your feelings to some extent. Although I hate Him, I won't do anything to Him for your sake."

"This time, we'll just teach him a lesson; we won't reinforce his seal."

"...Mio?"

Unexpected words reached the Demon King's ears. Ibuki looked at the girl beside her in astonishment. The legendary Lord of Takamagahara would actually say such a thing.

No... given Ibuki's interactions with Mio, Ibuki shouldn't be surprised that Mio would say such things, but... she was still very surprised. Hearing these words, she even wondered if the person in front of her was Mio.

"Isn't that a rather impolite look, Ibuki?"

Looking at her with such a strange gaze, Mio showed a hint of unhappiness. It was a rare decision for her to make. If it weren't for the fact that more than ten years of self-cultivation had made her much gentler and less domineering towards those close to her, she would not have said such a thing.

"Hehehe... I never expected that I would hold such a high position in Mio's heart."

Ibuki couldn't help but laugh at the resentful look in his eyes. "I thought Mio was thinking about how to get rid of me from your side, sir."

“I’ve always been thinking about how to get you to leave Chaoyang, and even now, that thought hasn’t changed.”

“But this matter is different from that matter, and if you are unhappy, Chaoyang will also be unhappy.”

"I'm more interested in the sunrise!"

With a soft snort, Mio turned her head away with a haughty air, and after a moment of silence, she continued, "Are you at ease now?"

"Yes, thank you, Mio."

For the first time ever, Ibuki showed a genuine smile, but the next moment she replied, "However, I still have to go to my father's place."

"Although it's unlikely that I can persuade Father, the possibility isn't zero, so... it's alright to give it a try."

"...Is that so...?"

Mio murmured for a while, but ultimately said nothing more. She couldn't stop Ibuki from going this far, so she could only nod in agreement.

"Since you've made your decision, I won't say anything more. But... are you planning to leave?"

"Hehehe, just tell the master directly. If I don't want to say it, the master won't force me to."

There's no rule that you have to tell your partner where you're going. Although people are used to telling each other where they're going, there are exceptions sometimes.

For example, right now.

"......makes sense."

Mio paused for a moment, then shook her head. Over the years, she had gotten used to telling Shimizu Asahi where she was going, so she asked this unnecessary question for a moment.

Collecting her thoughts, Shimizu Mio continued, "Since you've made up your mind, then hurry up and go. There's still an hour before the battle begins... and you only have an hour to persuade Him."

"Hehehe...I know."

"Then, I shall depart."

After speaking with Shimizu Mio, Ibuki came to Shimizu Asahi's side, whispered a few words in his ear, and then left the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin and Yang).

Watching Ibuki's departing figure, Shimizu Mio gently shook her head and then looked away.

Ibuki only has one hour. Once that time is up, they will head towards the Genji, and the evil god's altar will be their first target.

Therefore, her time was very tight.

......

After leaving the Yin-Yang Bureau, Ibuki immediately headed towards the Genji clan.

Since most of the major powers were concentrated in the north, she quickly arrived outside the Minamoto clan's territory.

Unlike the Genji clan they faced on their last visit, this time the Genji's defenses were much stronger, making it virtually impossible to infiltrate silently.

As for forcing her way in... she wouldn't mind.

The master didn't have a good opinion of the Genji, so it didn't seem unreasonable for him to give them a hard time...

However, just as Ibuki was thinking this, a figure suddenly appeared at the Genji gate.

He looked in her direction and chuckled as he called out, "Lord Ghost King, the Lord Evil God is already waiting for you."

"Oh dear..."

Watching Genji's figure, Ibuki narrowed his eyes, a hint of regret showing on his face.

He was just about to give the other party a hard time, but he didn't expect to be stopped so quickly.

But... never mind, let's deal with the important matters first.

Ibuki took a small sip of the fragrant sake, and then emerged from the darkness.

She didn't have much of a conversation with Minamoto no Keiki, but simply greeted him with a sarcastic "Good evening" before heading into the Minamoto clan's territory.

Having had experience before, she arrived at the Genji Shrine with ease and opened the shrine passage in front of many elders of the Genji clan... and walked in with a swagger.

While not entirely ignoring Genji, at least most of him was ignored.

"The Demon King of Mount Ooe... is truly domineering."

Yuan Jingji chuckled and then stopped paying attention. The other elders and his son, Yuan Manzhong, also remained silent in response to his statement, pretending not to have seen anything.

......

Beneath the Genji Shrine, within that massive underground altar, Ibuki once again stepped into it.

Whether it was because the final battle was approaching or because his daughter had arrived, the Yamata no Orochi, which should have been quietly staying in the crack, had long since taken a seat under the statue.

He even drank strong liquor alone.

He seemed to be in a very good mood.

Having come to this conclusion because she knew her father very well, Ibuki grinned.

"I've come again, Father."

You seem to be very happy.

"Yes, of course I'm happy. After all, I'll soon be able to complete my revenge... defeat that arrogant fellow, and kill the human who took you... This is the happiest day of my life in a thousand years. Ibuki." Chapter 466: The Imprisoned Ibuki