Daitengu

Mikura Shufuku silently recited the Buddha's name.

Under the pressure of the onmyoji, he climbed onto the Buddha statue's shoulder. The statue's head was close enough to touch.

"Forgive me."

He raised the vial and smashed it against the statue's brow.

The liquid burst open.

Screams filled the main hall.

The doors slammed shut. Cold wind swept through the room, extinguishing the eternal lamps. The warm, peaceful hall turned into something close to a haunted domain.

Kaito Abe stared as the black liquid seeped into the Buddha's head.

"Faster," he whispered. "Faster. Almost there."

Mad joy spread across his face.

"I will stand at the peak of the jujutsu world. The onmyoji will rise again. The Ten Shadows Technique and Cursed Spirit Manipulation will serve us."

Onmyoji had declined with each generation. They did not have the Zenin clan's convenient shadow-born shikigami, nor Suguru Geto's ability to swallow curses and command them. They captured curses like wild beasts, tamed them, and formed contracts.

Old-fashioned.

Inconvenient.

But their strength was inheritance.

Shikigami and taming methods could be passed down through rituals without loss. No technique would vanish because one heir lacked talent.

That was Kaito's confidence.

An Abe ancestor had once transformed another demon sealed by monks into a shikigami.

To modern eyes, demon only meant an old name for an imaginary cursed spirit.

"It is working."

The Buddha's head turned black.

Then it exploded.

A smooth black skull, glossy like jade, floated out from within.

The entire statue shook. Black light shot upward from beneath its seat.

Emptiness.

Loneliness.

Stillness without warmth.

Just looking at it filled the heart with desolation.

Mikura stood near the doors in a daze. Survival instinct tore him free of the black light's control. He tried the doors and found them sealed.

Kaito was no help. Madness had taken him.

Despair flooded Mikura.

Then Ren's towering figure rose in his mind and pushed that despair away.

"Causes arise and fade. The six paths turn."

A humanoid figure appeared in the black light.

The crack in the seal closed again behind it.

Kaito laughed.

"I knew it. Daitengu."

The being wore mountain pilgrim clothing. Wings spread behind it. A staff rested in one hand, a feather fan in the other. Twin swords hung at its waist, and tall wooden geta supported its feet.

Arrogance radiated from it like weather.

If this was not Daitengu, what else could it be?

The cursed spirit opened its eyes without joy.

It absorbed the black skull into its body.

Then it swung its staff.

The Buddha statue finally became dust.

A pale hand bone glowing with white light appeared in the Daitengu's chest. It too became part of its body.

Daitengu stretched.

Wind erupted outward.

"Homage to the wrathful speaker, Fudo Myo-o!"

An invisible wall blocked the gale for an instant, but the hall could not endure it. Doors and windows shattered. Within seconds, only pillars remained standing. The walls had been torn away.

"This power," Kaito shouted. "This is the power that will take me to the top."

"Barrier."

Purple energy covered the temple grounds. It had been prepared specifically for today.

Daitengu looked at the onmyoji with contempt carved into every line of its face.

"Human. Do you understand the consequences?"

"Of course I do." Kaito's reason had drowned. "Daitengu, submit."

"Together!"

The onmyoji chanted. Techniques struck from every direction.

Daitengu did not move.

The spells were too weak to scratch it.

"The scent of that person's bloodline," it said. "So you are his descendant?"

It raised the feather fan.

Fire shot toward Kaito.

"Fudo..."

Kaito could not finish the chant before flames swallowed him.

"Genbu, save me!"

A childlike figure rose from the ground. Its face was young, but its eyes were old. With one wave of a soft arm, water surged from the temple well and smothered the fire.

"So you survive in this form," Daitengu said with amusement.

"Your temper has not changed," Genbu replied.

They had fought before.

Back then, Daitengu had nearly destroyed Genbu. If monks had not interfered, the result might have been final.

Remembering that, Daitengu's staff and fan vanished. Both hands moved to the swords at its waist.

Genbu's expression changed.

Bad.

"Draw."

A breeze passed.

Daitengu appeared behind Kaito.

Both swords had left their sheaths.

The strike was simple, plain, and deadly.

At the final moment, Genbu stood before Kaito. A faint shield trembled between blade and flesh.

"It is not over."

Daitengu attacked again.

Black sword energy curved like crescent moons, cutting again and again into Genbu's turtle shield. Air pressure severed the surrounding halls. Onmyoji without Genbu's protection died under the blade wind.

"Kaito," Genbu said, body already fading, "if you survive, stop being so foolish."

Light burst from Genbu's body. Complex patterns spread over it.

"Now. Go."

Kaito's ambition was gone. Only the desire to live remained.

He threw himself into the array.

"You are still powerless."

Daitengu's mocking voice reached Genbu.

"Get away from me."

For one moment, Genbu's young face twisted. Light erupted from his eyes and mouth.

Daitengu jumped back.

The light remained only light.

Genbu had no strength left.

Kaito disappeared.

Daitengu looked at Genbu's fading body and felt something close to sadness.

"Since you like him that much, I will send him to accompany you."

The temple had been flattened. The barrier still covered the grounds.

Daitengu prepared to break it.

Then orderly applause sounded.

"Someone survived?"

Daitengu looked around.

Mikura lay near Ren Zenin, eyes forced open by terror. He had been blown out when Daitengu emerged and landed beside Ren. Everything after that had exceeded his understanding.

The applause had come from Ren.

Mikura hesitated, then forced himself to speak.

"Mr. Ren. The two relics I promised were absorbed by Daitengu."

He was afraid the truth would cost him his only chance of survival.

Ren did not look at him.

"He has some decent things on him."

The feather fan was said to trigger many techniques without hand signs. The swords were also worth taking.

Ren appeared directly before Daitengu.

Some legends called Daitengu the vengeful spirit of an ancient emperor. Whether true or not, the stories all agreed on its nobility.

Daitengu looked down at Ren.

No cursed energy.

How had this human survived the battle's aftermath?

"Mortal. You dare look at me directly."

The staff struck down.

Ren stepped back. The impact crushed broken stone into powder.

Daitengu's eyes lit.

This one was dangerous.

It swung the feather fan.

"Lightning rite. Fire and thunder together."

A pillar of flame surged forward, threaded with electricity. Moisture vanished from the path. Green earth turned scorched yellow.

Ren raised both hands as if to block it.

Daitengu's opinion of him dropped.

Bare hands against that?

The flame reached him.

Ren vanished.

He appeared behind Daitengu and punched.

The cursed spirit's head burst apart.

Its body dropped to its knees.

"That's it?"

Before the words finished, Daitengu's shattered head repaired itself.

It sprang back, creating distance.

If not for the relics, that blow would have ended it.

The correct decision was clear.

Run.

Daitengu leapt toward the barrier.

"Hey. Look who this is."

The barrier vanished.

Blue eyes appeared in front of it.

Satoru Gojo spun in the air and kicked Daitengu back down.

The cursed spirit slammed into the ground.

Ren looked up.

"Why are you free today?"

"Coincidence."

At the temple edge, Dorin waved with both hands.

"Ren! We are over here!"

Koyuka knelt beside Mikura, tears in her eyes.

"Grandfather, are you hurt?"

"I am fine."

"Everyone else is safe," she said quickly. "We had them moved before coming back."

Mikura exhaled in relief.

Gojo looked at Daitengu rising again.

"The barrier is gone. End this quickly, or too many people will see."

Ren moved.

He appeared above Daitengu and pressed one hand to its head.

"Six Vaults Devourer: Absorb."

Terrible suction erupted from his palm.

Daitengu felt its body fading.

With its last strength, it drew a sword and cut toward the street.

It was gambling that Ren would release it to save civilians.

Ren did not move.

The blade light vanished in midair.

Gojo floated there, hand raised.

"You could at least block it."

Daitengu screamed once.

Then it disappeared from the world.

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