Chapter 642: Midnight Pursuit

In the East Island, Heian-kyo.

A chase was underway in the dead of night within a narrow alleyway.

"Hurry, pursue! She just passed through here."

"There's no one here, ah..."

"The sound of the wind, listen carefully to the wind... she's over here..."

"You wicked creature, you have nowhere left to run today!"

A group of witches dressed in onmyoji robes sped through the alley; they were members of the Onmyo Bureau's Special Action Team for Hunting Demons.

The Special Action Team had been the ace squad of the Onmyo Bureau since its inception, always active on the front lines against demons and monsters, having saved innocent civilians countless times from their clutches. In the eyes of most Heian-kyo residents, they were a squad of heroes.

However, tonight, the mission of this ace team was not proceeding smoothly.

Over the past few months, demon attacks across Heian-kyo had surged, and the onmyoji of the Onmyo Bureau were working overtime every day. Even this ace squad, usually quite leisurely, had been out on missions daily—that kind of overtime.

Who knew what was going on? Regardless, powerful Great Yokai that were once rarely seen had begun appearing in droves over the last two days, such as the Kamaitachi Great Yokai they were currently pursuing.

The Kamaitachi is a wind-based yokai. Often, after a great gust of wind passes, people are surprised to find cuts on their hands, feet, or clothes, as if sliced by sharp blades. These wounds are fine and not very painful, often noticed only after the fact. The Japanese people attribute this phenomenon to the sharp claws of the Kamaitachi.

Generally, ordinary Kamaitachi aren't very powerful and are easily subdued, but this one was different. It was a Great Yokai-level Kamaitachi, and the wind that once only caused minor scratches could now decapitate a person.

Just a few hours ago, this Kamaitachi demon had infiltrated the mansion of a noble lord, and after a gust of demonic wind, the entire family was wiped out.

It was such a brutal case that the Special Action Team was dispatched. However, even with these elite onmyoji out, they hadn't been able to take down this ferocious Great Yokai for a while, and quite a few members were already nursing wounds.

"Watch out..."

Another gust of wind whistled past, and the onmyoji hurriedly dodged, but it was already too late.

Suddenly, the colorless wind was stained crimson, and several more onmyoji were left with wounds.

However, whether it was because they dodged relatively quickly or not, while many were injured this time, most were only minor wounds; no one had suffered a serious injury.

"Have you had enough? If you dare to pursue me again, the next things to fall will be your heads."

The crimson wind manifested, revealing a witch dressed in ninja attire, wielding a double-chained sickle.

She wore a mask covering her face, making her features indistinguishable, but her exposed eyes were filled with gloom, coldness, and murderous intent.

However, although her gaze was fierce, it was clear that the Kamaitachi witch's consciousness remained quite lucid.

And this surprised the onmyoji.

After all, the demons the Onmyo Bureau dealt with daily were witches who had lost control of their "Hundred Demons." Those witches could not suppress the demonic nature within them, truly beginning to demonize, and thus became monsters that plagued the land.

But it seemed this Kamaitachi witch had not lost control.

Yet, if she hadn't lost control, why would she commit such a brutal extermination case?

"You haven't lost control? Then why are your methods so cruel?"

A witch stepped out from the onmyoji squad. She was beautiful, with a gentle temperament, and judging by the respectful attitude of the other onmyoji, her status in this Special Action Team was not low.

Her name was Kamo Akie, the most outstanding descendant of the Kamo family in this generation and the deputy captain of this Special Action Team.

"Heh, cruel? I only regret that you lackeys of the nobility arrived too quickly, preventing me from tearing those beasts into pieces."

The ninja witch sneered upon hearing this, speaking with utter disdain.

"You are stubborn and lost; you have entered the demonic path."

Kamo Akie was naturally furious at these words. She furrowed her brows, looking sternly at the cruel demon before her.

"Yes, I entered the demonic path long ago. From the moment all three hundred and seventy-two lives of my clan were slaughtered, I was already a demon. Those bastards all deserve to die."

The ninja witch was not afraid; she simply stated the fact calmly.

The onmyoji witch frowned upon hearing this. Her aura quickly weakened as she carefully examined the ninja witch's attire, finally recognizing her identity from the emblem on her forehead protector.

"You are a ninja from Iga?"

She recalled a tragic massacre of a ninja village a few years ago. The high-ranking figure who ordered the slaughter of that village happened to be the same noble lord who was wiped out today, and the reason given was that the ninja village had rebelled and dared to betray their master.

Well, no one knew if that Iga ninja village had actually betrayed their master back then, but now, they had truly betrayed their master—wiping out the entire household, leaving not even a chicken or dog alive.

Realizing that this Kamaitachi witch was merely seeking revenge, the onmyoji witch's aura weakened further; she could no longer occupy the moral high ground.

"Even so, your methods are too cruel. If you wanted justice, actually..."

She trailed off, unable to continue. After all, she was a noble herself and knew very well that if this Kamaitachi witch had followed proper procedures, she would never have had a chance to seek revenge in her lifetime.

"Heh, why stop talking? You lackeys also know that this damn world no longer has any justice. I will take my own revenge. None of the bastards who slandered my clan will get away. Since they said my clan betrayed our master, today I will show them what betrayal looks like. I advise you not to meddle in other people's business, otherwise, I won't show mercy next time."

The ninja witch sneered mockingly, and leaving these words behind, she formed hand seals and once again transformed into a demonic wind, whistling away.

The onmyoji watched the demon leave but dared not pursue. They understood that the Kamaitachi witch had indeed held back; otherwise, they might not have just suffered minor injuries, but instead been decapitated or sliced into pieces.

They could only look silently at their deputy captain.

Kamo Akie struggled with herself for a long while.

Honestly, she sympathized with that Kamaitachi witch, so she really didn't want to manage this anymore.

But as an onmyoji, her duty was to protect the people of Heian-kyo from demons. If she stood idly by now, she would be violating her duty as an onmyoji.

Moreover, it seemed several other noble families were involved in the massacre of the Iga ninja village. If this Kamaitachi were allowed to run rampant, the entire Heian-kyo would likely fall into chaos.

Once the world fell into chaos, who knew how many more incidents like the Iga ninja village would occur.

"Pursue."

Finally, Kamo Akie gritted her teeth and made her decision.

Thus, the chase continued, but this time, the situation was clearly much more brutal than before.

"Are you people ever going to finish? If you don't want to live properly, then all of you can just go die."

Seeing these tails following her again, the Kamaitachi witch's temper flared. Her already fierce eyes were filled with murderous intent, and then demonic winds rose, whistling toward the onmyoji squad.

However, this time the demonic wind wasn't as gentle as before. The wind blades formed by the formless wind were exceptionally sharp. They blew past lightly, and before the onmyoji's shields could even react, they were breached, followed by the bodies of the onmyoji themselves.

The Kamaitachi wind was indeed as legendary as described—painless, felt and known by nothing. By the time those sprinting onmyoji reacted, they had all lost their legs.

Their legs were still behind them, while their upper bodies had carried their momentum forward for quite a distance until the momentum vanished, causing them to fall to the ground one by one, looking quite pathetic.

The delayed pain arrived then, and the onmyoji clutched their severed legs, wailing in unison.

Only Kamo Akie remained intact. After all, she was born into a prestigious family and possessed quite a few life-saving items. Just as that demonic wind blade was about to sever her legs, a powerful shield activated, blocking the attack in time.

It was an amulet from the clan leader that had activated automatically.

"Don't look for trouble again. I don't want to commit any more slaughter."

The Kamaitachi witch looked coldly at the pale Kamo Akie and issued another warning.

This time, the onmyoji witch recognized the gap in strength between them. She was a Great Witch, but the gap between Great Witches was vast. The opponent had at least the strength of a titled level, far beyond what she could block.

Even so, she braced herself and tried to persuade her again.

Even a rotten order was still an order. Heian-kyo really couldn't fall into chaos. The situation had been complicated lately; if a few more nobles were wiped out, the situation would truly be uncontrollable.

"Miss Iga, I understand your feelings, but you really cannot continue this. Heian-kyo cannot fall into chaos, otherwise, how many more people will lose everything just like you? You..."

"Shut up! You pity others, but who pities my entire clan? Do they deserve to die?"

Before the onmyoji witch could finish, the whistling gale was already before her. The amulet that had saved her once could no longer block the second strike and was quickly torn to shreds.

The Kamaitachi witch's sickle was less than a millimeter from Kamo Akie's throat, and the wind blades raised by the sickle had already cut a fine wound into the onmyoji witch's slender neck, but the enraged ninja finally stopped.

"I hate you hypocritical people. Stop bothering me."

The ninja witch reached out and pressed against her own eyes, which had turned crimson. Her expression became painful, as if she were struggling to endure something.

"Is this demonization?"

The surviving onmyoji witch recognized the signs of the Kamaitachi witch before her. She was a professional demon hunter and recognized the symptoms immediately.

This was a sign that a witch practicing demonic Buddhist arts was about to lose control. The demonic nature was eroding her sanity.

This was normal. After all, this Kamaitachi witch had just wiped out a noble household tonight, with over a hundred lives gone in an instant. After committing such slaughter, her sanity, already lacking as a demonic witch, must have reached its limit.

If she stopped now and cultivated in seclusion, she could still suppress it, but if she continued her revenge, she would eventually demonize completely and lose control, becoming a bloodthirsty monster.

"I can help you..."

Onmyoji could suppress the demonic nature of demonic witches. Kamo Akie instinctively wanted to help.

But before she could get close, a violent demonic wind blew her body full of wounds.

"I told you to stop bothering me. Get lost."

The Kamaitachi witch roared in a manic tone while enduring the splitting headache caused by the demonic nature.

If she could, she really wanted to end this nagging person with one strike, but that would only increase her level of demonization.

As for the help the onmyoji mentioned?

Heh, she would rather truly become a demon than be a dog for the nobility.

*Hetui... *

However, just as the Kamaitachi witch was about to leave, another figure rushed over in a hurry.

"Word Spirit: Seal."

A pure white pentagram bellflower seal flashed and vanished. The Kamaitachi lady, who had just transformed into a demonic wind and prepared to leave, was suddenly frozen, and soon beaten back to her original form.

"Damn it..."

Her consciousness becoming increasingly blurred, she turned her head and saw the handsome witch who had rushed over in the moonlight.

It was Abe no Seimei, the Deputy Director of the Onmyo Bureau and the captain of this Special Action Team.

Moreover, she wasn't alone; she was followed by twelve terrifying shikigami, and these shikigami were carrying figures that the Kamaitachi witch found very familiar.

"Thunder Beast, Nekomata, Yuki-onna, Kudagitsune..."

The Kamaitachi witch recognized these former companions; they were the ones who had come down from the Yokai Mountain yesterday to prepare for revenge.

And now, it was clear they had failed. But this was no surprise; after all, even this de facto number one onmyoji of the East Island had taken action.

Although when people mentioned the Great Onmyoji, they still thought of the current Kamo family head, Kamo Akie's teacher Kamo Tadayuki, that was only because everyone was giving face to the old senior. Those who truly understood knew that Abe no Seimei, the young disciple of Kamo Tadayuki, had already surpassed her teacher in onmyodo cultivation and was the true Great Onmyoji.

The Kamaitachi witch's combat power was among the best of the Hundred Demons on Yokai Mountain, but even in her peak state, she didn't feel she had any chance of winning against this Great Onmyoji, let alone the other Hundred Demons.

Damn it, is this how it ends?

She felt unwilling but helpless. After all, facing a powerful enemy while on the verge of losing control to her demonic nature was a dead end no matter how one looked at it.

And just as she was prepared to abandon her rational resistance and let her demonic nature run wild, wanting to cause a scene and at least not let these noble lackeys have it easy, the sky suddenly brightened.

No, the stars were shining in the sky and the moon was overhead; it was midnight, how could the sky brighten?

The Kamaitachi witch felt she was truly losing her mind to the demonic nature and hallucinating, but she blinked and realized it wasn't a hallucination. Sunlight was truly shining in the middle of the night.

That sunlight didn't come from the sky, but from the ground, from behind the figure slowly walking toward them.

"This onmyoji lady, could you give me some face and release my good sisters?"

A voice arrived along with the warm sunlight that dispelled the darkness. She said this.

... The Master of All Demons and Monsters makes an entrance...