The Great Master of Gensokyo

The higher the rank of the shikigami, the more enhancement materials are required.

Suitable enhancement materials can be combined to form monster fragments. Once 50 monster fragments are collected, a monster that is the same as the shikigami can be fused into the shikigami, allowing the shikigami to awaken.

Unawakened shikigami are essentially just tools or puppets.

Only awakened shikigami can truly unleash powerful combat strength and fight for Saigyouji Hanyu.

"Great!" Saigyouji Yuusuke was secretly delighted, but then he thought about the exploration mission. Could it be completed simply by gaining the approval of a god?

That makes sense, this shrine isn't very big, and it's even less likely to have any secrets.

“From now on, let’s live here together, Midori.” Saigyouji Hanyu looked up and spoke to Midori. A faint blush appeared on the little girl’s cheeks. “Yes, Hanyu-sama.”

She never imagined she would live with a boy, but if it were Saigyouji Hanyu, Midori would be quite willing.

The two gods, one had a priest; the other had a priestess.

With priests and shrine maidens, this shrine has all the standard equipment. So how can we get the gods to regain their faith on Mount Nara?

"Let's investigate the situation of the nearby villages first." Saigyouji Yuzuru had made up his mind at that moment.

Nara Mountain is near Ankyo, but it is indeed the western part of the country that borders it.

The Western Kingdom is the country of dog demons.

Author's message:

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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Chapter Thirty-Five: The Undercurrents of Kyoto

Dog demons are the largest demon race in the Western Kingdom.

Alongside the dog demons are the leopard cat clan, the largest demon force in the Western Kingdom. Demons and monsters roam not only the Western Kingdom, but also throughout various regions of the Eastern Kingdom.

Izumo is home to a tyrannical flower spirit in its sunflower fields; Tono is a fertile paradise for yokai, the legendary yokai capital. Mount Ōe is home to the great yokai Shuten-dōji and his horde of demons…

These are just the great demons known to humankind; the number of great demons unknown to humankind is simply unimaginable.

That depends on whether those great demons want to be discovered.

However, most powerful monsters do not want to be disturbed by humans.

Heian Jing.

"You're back..." Abe no Seimei's eyes flickered. Kamo no Tadayuki had returned safely some time ago. With Kamo no Tadayuki in charge, the Kamo family seemed to have regained their confidence.

Furthermore, Abe no Seimei did not see his junior apprentice, Kamo no Tadayuki, the new disciple he had brought back.

"Do you know where my young junior brother is now?" Abe no Seimei's gaze fell on the twelve divine generals beside him. Gou Chen shook his head. "I can't know. His whereabouts before entering Heian-kyo were well hidden."

"Interesting. Don't you want to bring this into Heian-kyo and drag my junior brother into the conflict?" It seems that Kamo no Tadayuki doesn't want his new disciple to run into Abe no Seimei directly.

However, the more Kamo no Tadashi didn't want to, the more interested Abe no Seimei became in his fellow disciples.

"It's time to see my teacher." Abe no Seimei had already made up his mind.

"Lord Seimei, you really want to go to the Kamo family..." Tengu said from the side. Kamo Tadashi, who had returned to Heian-kyo, invited his disciple to come to his home.

Abe no Seimei's twelve generals did not advise him to attend the meeting.

On the one hand, there was concern that something might happen to Abe no Seimei, and on the other hand, once Abe no Seimei decided to break with the Kamo clan and take control of the Yin-Yang Bureau, there would be no turning back.

Moreover, Abe no Seimei's mother died at the hands of Kamo no Tadayuki.

"Fine, he is the teacher and I am the disciple. How dare I disobey my teacher's orders?" Abe no Seimei put away his fan and placed it in his hand. "Let me go and see what my teacher's trap is like."

"I hope you won't be ungrateful, teacher." Having already devised a clear plan to overthrow both the realms of Yin and Yang, turning the current country and human world into a fertile ground for monsters, Abe no Seimei would want no one to disturb him.

Moreover, he needed to gather the power of all demons and monsters, the power of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. By accumulating tens of thousands of these demons, Abe no Seimei could gather their 'fear' and become the master of all demons and monsters, thus achieving true yokai status.

What Abe no Seimei envisioned was ruling the human world in his human form and ruling the underworld in his demon form, which meant ruling over all the demons and monsters in the world.

In today's world, the balance of Yin and Yang is still being maintained.

For Abe no Seimei, if he could master the power of his teacher's other half, the 'Asuka', the entire country would be under his control.

...

Kamoya.

"It can now be confirmed that Seimei has placed a spell in Heian-kyo that affects the city."

"Even the recent chaos caused by demons on Mount Oe..."

At this moment, Kamo no Yasunori dared not continue. Kamo no Tadayuki, sitting in the main seat, clenched his fists as he listened to Kamo no Yasunori's investigation. "How dare he? As an Onmyoji, he actually colluded with demons, or rather, the so-called Yama Oni of Ōe was his subordinate."

The elderly Onmyoji was in a terrible mood. What kind of disciple had he taught?

"If we mobilize the power of the Kamo family and the Kakain family, can we deal with my disciple?" Kamo Tadashi pondered for a moment, his gaze gradually turning cold. He absolutely would not allow a half-demon who might betray humanity to seize a position in the Bureau of Onmyō.

“No, Seimei… Abe no Seimei has twelve divine generals protecting him, and the old emperor and Fujiwara no Kitanari, among other ministers, all trust him implicitly.”

"Acting rashly will anger the imperial court."

Although the Kamo family is an Onmyoji family, they are still unable to transcend worldly affairs.

“That’s the only way…” Kamo no Tadayuki lowered his head, as if considering something. “Alright, you may leave now, Yasunori.”

It now seems that without sufficient preparation, it would have been impossible to bring down Abe no Seimei.

"Remember to investigate his connection with ghosts and monsters thoroughly. If necessary, call in Ashiya Dōman. The Kamo family and the Kakaiin family need to work together to prevent him from taking control of the Onmyōryō."

"I need to keep the three sacred artifacts safe."

The Three Sacred Treasures are the key to controlling the "Flying Bird of Fortune" of Japan. These are all three great treasures passed down from the era of Emperor Jimmu of Japan.

The Yasakani no Magatama is in the hands of the Emperor, the Yata no Kamo no Tadayuki is with him, and Abe no Seimei possesses the Totsuka no Tsurugi.

As long as the three sacred treasures are not complete, Abe no Seimei will be unable to master the power of the 'Flying Bird'.

...

Saigyouji Hanyu is not yet able to attend to what is happening in Heian-kyo.

Gods cease to exist without faith. Humanity, without faith, becomes extremely weak.

Suwako is an indigenous goddess. In ancient times, her country had been taken over by Kanako, and leaving her homeland would mean losing her faith.

However, Kanako later helped Suwako, making her her subordinate god, thus enabling her to be ranked among the eight million gods.

Having enjoyed the offerings of eight million gods from the Shinto system, Suwako's existence was still sustained by only a shallow faith.

Kanako is the same; her shallow faith still exists, not to mention that the 'mystery' of the world has not yet dissipated.

As long as humanity cannot properly understand the unknown, the existence of monsters or gods will not disappear.

If we were to enter the true modern world, gods would cease to exist without faith, and monsters would adapt to the rules of the modern world by either mating with humans to produce offspring or by using human flesh and blood to strengthen their 'fear' and maintain their pure monster form.

"Unfortunately, there's still a long time before the modern era." I wonder if Saigyouji Hanyu himself will be able to live until then.

Humans have a short lifespan.

"Master Yuzuru, your hair seems to be turning pink..." Following beside Saigyouji Yuzuru, Midori couldn't help but notice the change in him; the white ends of his hair had turned pink.

Author's message:

P.S.: I've changed the order of the headings; this is still more comfortable.

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Demons of Mount Ooe

The Saigyouji family only has one member who isn't pink-haired: Saigyouji Hanyu.

Has it finally turned pink? Saigyouji Hanyu's feelings were somewhat complicated; he hadn't noticed it for days.

Having become Suwako's priest, Saigyouji Habu didn't notice any changes in his appearance. It's just that living conditions in this ancient society were a bit inconvenient.

After all, it's ancient times, so Saigyouji Hanyu was able to adapt.

"Am I ugly?" He joked with a faint smile. His gentle smile was like a warm spring breeze.

“No, Master Hanyu.” Midori simply shook her head gently, her large, watery eyes fixed on Saigyouji Hanyu. “Master Hanyu looks very handsome like this…”

White hair is already quite rare, let alone now that Saigyouji Hanyu's hair has pink tips.

I don’t know how to put it, but Midori really likes Saigyouji Hanyu in this look.

"Eh, really?" Thank goodness I didn't look bad, Saigyouji Yuzuru felt a little relieved.

In any world, appearance is extremely important.

However, he had no idea how much he could harm a little girl. Perhaps it was his affability, combined with the power he wielded from Suwako, that caused the changes in his body.

"Master Yuzuru, you really don't realize it," Midori murmured softly, somewhat unable to look directly at Saigyouji Yuzuru. His increased charm made Midori's gaze linger more on those around him.

"What's wrong with her..." The eccentric Saigyouji Hanyu couldn't quite guess what the little girl was thinking. But if he knew everything, Saigyouji Hanyu wouldn't have been single for twenty years in his previous life.

Of course, the biggest difference from his previous life is that Saigyouji Hanyu has a very cute younger sister.

"I wonder how Yuyuko is doing now." He frowned slightly, still somewhat worried about Yuyuko's condition. The matter of the Saigyou Ayakashi still lingered in Saigyouji Habu's mind.

"I wonder if I can suppress the Saigyou Ayakashi with the power of the shikigami." This thought inevitably crossed Saigyouji Yuusuke's mind. If he could draw some suitable shikigami, he was very confident in dealing with the Saigyou Ayakashi.

"Lord Yuzuru, what exactly are we doing down the mountain?" Midori couldn't help but ask, still a little confused about how to collect faith for the gods.

"Naturally, it's to investigate what's happening at the foot of Nara Mountain. It'll be a good opportunity to see what's causing the decline in incense offerings at Suwa Shrine." The deity's weakness makes it impossible for him to investigate the situation in the village at the foot of Nara Mountain.

Now that Saigyouji Hanesei has become the priest of Suwa Shrine, it's natural that he has to take on the task. The fact that this Suwa Grand Shrine can stand here undoubtedly means that it once had a village's faith.

Otherwise, why would an image of Suwa Daimyojin be erected? Suwa Daimyojin is the god of harvest.

The two gods were too weak, which caused their memories to become distorted.

"If it's demons causing trouble, then as the Onmyoji and you as the priestess, we should naturally deal with those monsters properly." Perfect, let Saigyouji Yuusuke test the results.

“That’s right.” Midori nodded like a woodpecker, following Saigyouji Hanyu. Now, Midori relied on Saigyouji Hanyu as if he were family.

She was a little confused as to why Saigyouji Hanyu cared so much about her. A strange warmth welled up in the innocent little girl's heart.

After her mother-in-law, who had been caring for her, passed away, Midori, now all alone, encountered Saigyouji Habu and his group.

Many things in this world are quite wondrous, perhaps it is all due to fate. Saigyouji Hanyu is Midori's destiny.

...

Human villages.

Hundreds of human corpses lay scattered throughout the village, and a thick miasma lingered. It wasn't until Saigyouji Hanyu, who reached the foot of the mountain, that he witnessed a horrific scene he had never seen before.

Unbelievable, truly unbelievable. Compared to the monsters he encountered initially, what Saigyouji Hanyu is facing now is a truly terrifying experience.

“This is…” Cui Zi’s face turned pale. She had been happy to come down the mountain, but she saw this scene.

This unbelievable scene made Cui Zi feel as if she were in a dream, witnessing that tragic situation again.

"What happened? This village was wiped out!" That's right, the village was wiped out by monsters. Humans had no power to resist and collapsed easily in front of the monsters.

Weak humans are not warriors. Even if a warrior can only master the skill of killing, how can he kill a demon?

The surrounding grass turned black, the demonic power of the monster staining the earth's color.

If Saigyouji Hanyu couldn't clearly see the scenes of human death when he was at the mountain shrine at night, he is now witnessing a truly terrifying sight.

"It shouldn't have happened in more than a day. Let's track it down." As humans, we now have a fairly clear understanding of how demons can cause harm and death.

"Those who harm others, regardless of the reason, if they are evil demons or ghosts, I will surely eliminate them all." As an Onmyoji, Saigyouji Yuusuke naturally could not tolerate what he was seeing.

The acts of harming humans are still happening in the next village.

"Tremble, be afraid, beg for mercy, humans!" The blue ghost revealed a ferocious smile, and a violent black aura swirled around its body.

Behind that blue ghost were its entourage of ghosts.

"No, please, please let me go..."

"Master Youkai."

The fear, despair, and unease of the human emotions gave the blue ghost a great sense of satisfaction.

"That's right, the more desperate you are, the better. The more desperate you are, the more 'fear' I can gain, and that's how I can become a more powerful high-level monster."

The blue ghost laughed wildly.