Nurarihyon

Shin kept on running as Yukimura told him to. He kept running straight and straight until he reached an area where he instinctively knew he had to stop. It was devoid of screams, devoid of fighting, and devoid of people as well. Only one entity stood there as if it were waiting for someone: Nurarihyon.

The air around Nurarihyon stood still as he turned toward Shin. His gourd-shaped head followed his body until Shin could see the veins throbbing across it. The supreme commander of yokai had a smile on his face as he sipped on a can of beer. “How are you on this fine night, Shin?”

“Don’t give me that, General… Nurarihyon!” The yokai chuckled after seeing Shin’s fierce expression.

“What’s wrong, boy? Are you not a fan of Halloween? I thought you humans liked this day.” Nurarihyon taunted as he drank the last sip from the can. The yokai threw the can behind him, and it fell gracefully, but when it landed, the impact caused a crater to form.

Shin’s legs were trembling. His arms were shaking. He bit down on his lip and tightened his knuckles so hard that blood began to drip. When it ran down his neck and onto his palm, a crimson glow radiated from his body. “Nurarihyon! How could you? You made a promise!”

Shin moved with destructive speed toward Nurarihyon by using his mana to propel him forward. His anger brought out a speed that surpassed that of the Kasha; however, it didn’t surpass Nurarihyon’s.

He stopped Shin’s rush with one hand. A single palm was all it took to make Shin freeze completely. Nurarihyon’s sharp and wrinkled eyes stared into Shin like daggers as he spoke.

“You’re right. I did make a promise to my friend, a thousand years ago. I swore that I wouldn’t harm a human for all this time, but that long thousand years ends today.” Nurarihyon gripped onto Shin’s hand, his strength nearly crushing it.

“All Seimei wanted in his second life was to bring peace between humans and yokai. He thought it’d be good if the supernatural could walk hand in hand with humans. But your kind disagreed. They burned him that day. I wanted to kill all of them where they stood… However, they were still beloved and saved by him and his pact.” Nurarihyon channeled more of his strength into his hand, forcing Shin to kneel before him.

“Over that millennium, I made a promise with myself as well. I swore that if I met a single human who had the same dream as Seimei, then I wouldn’t kill you monkeys. But I never once met anyone like him.” Nurarihyon forced Shin down to the ground so hard that a crater formed around the two.

“Not when I masqueraded with them; not when I ate with them; not when I lived with them; not when I fought with them; not when I killed with them, not even once in my countless millennia on Tsuchi did I meet a human who supported Seimei’s ideal of peace.” Shin opened his mouth to speak, but all he let out were grunts of pain as Nurarihyon’s strength and mana ran rampant through his body.

“That is why I will form a new world. I will realize Seimei’s ambition of human and yokai peace. But to do that, I must first erase this current one. I must wipe this planet clean of the humans who didn’t believe in Abe no Seimei and the yokai who are only bloodthirsty. I will make it possible for both to coexist… And ever since I saw you in the courtroom, I knew you would become the key to that new world.” Nurarihyon placed his other hand on Shin’s forehead.

Nurarihyon imbued orange mana into Shin’s head, forcing his body to react. Shin’s body reflexively consumed Nurarihyon’s mana, and as it did, the lines on Shin’s body began to widen. And Nurarihyon didn’t stop when the lines widened. He only stopped when Shin’s body erupted into a crimson light. When it did, Nurarihyon took his hands off with a smile on his face.

I can’t… breathe… That was Yasura Shin’s last thought as a human.

The emitted mana was absorbed back into the boy’s now crimson-red skin. A second horn protruded from underneath his black hair. His razor-sharp nails felt around the area as he rose from the middle of the crater. He revealed his shark-like teeth as he yawned, looking as if he hadn’t slept in days. When he stretched his limbs, the boy opened his eyes, revealing his blood-red eyes.

Nurarihyon’s smile remained as if he was expecting this outcome. The air around Nurarihyon distorted, and the ground around him trembled. However, the yokai simply waved toward the boy before saying, “Happy Halloween, Kishin.”