The Western Lands—such a broad geographical concept. But where exactly did the "West" begin, and what did it encompass? In this world where humans and yokai coexisted amid endless war, even something that should have been common knowledge had become classified information few could clearly define.
If not for the map Satsuki had obtained from Miko, finding her target would have taken far more than a few days.
On the map, roughly one-fifth of Japan was marked as part of the Western Lands. This included the western portion of Honshu and an offshore island known as Kyushu.
Using the scale as reference, Satsuki made a rough estimation of the two regions' combined area.
"These canine yokai certainly have big appetites—claiming nearly sixty thousand square kilometers of territory. No wonder the battles never cease, even with multiple great yokai overseeing the land."
As Satsuki debated whether to head straight to their stronghold or visit Yasaka Jingū first, a wailing cry suddenly echoed from behind the chariot.
At the moment, Ruri had been stripped of all her power—her will imprisoned within her body. A silk thread hundreds of meters long was tied around her, suspending her behind the chariot to endure the cold winds high above the ground.
Without her yokai energy as protection and wearing almost nothing warm, Ruri trembled uncontrollably in the freezing air.
"M-M-Master... I-I-I-I was wrong~~~!"
Half an hour later, Satsuki finally set down her map and, without turning her head, said calmly, "I believe I reminded you how to address me when we're outside."
"Ah! Right, Lady Satsuki! Lady Satsuki... please, please forgive me this time!"
Hearing the system's plea for mercy, Satsuki raised a hand, and the thread binding Ruri's body instantly retracted.
The sealed yokai energy within her began to circulate again, and the pallor on her face finally faded. With a burst of energy, Ruri immediately flew back into the chariot.
Inside the warm chariot, she let out a long sigh of relief. Then, catching Satsuki's sidelong glance, she instantly grew obedient—retreating to the corner with a meek expression, looking every bit the picture of a well-behaved child.
Satsuki said nothing further. At her side, a black spatial rift appeared. She reached in and pulled out a luxurious robe, which she handed to Ruri.
The robe followed Satsuki's usual dark color scheme—a wide-sleeved hanfu-style outfit dominated by deep purple. Golden mandala patterns wove across the fabric, with gold cords forming a protective charm emblem over the chest. A bronze fox mask rested on the right shoulder, and two long gem-studded tassels hung from the waist. A fluffy white tail draped from the shoulder down the back, resembling that of a fox.
Underneath the robe was a form-fitting inner layer made of fine black silk, paired with sheer black tights and high heels that shimmered with faint gloss.
"Put it on," Satsuki instructed.
Ruri picked up the garment and inspected it. "Lady Satsuki, this outfit doesn't seem to fit my body size."
The clothing had been made for an adult, while Ruri was still in her childlike form.
"Once you wear it, it'll fit," Satsuki replied simply.
"Alright..."
With a resigned sigh, the system-controlled Ruri began to slowly put on the outfit. Yet as she did, she noticed something strange—the robe seemed to shift and resize itself, becoming more and more fitting to her body.
When she had finished dressing, Ruri realized that her body had changed drastically. She had transformed into her youthful adult form—her battle state.
"Master, what is this?"
"Since we've left the Demon-Hunting Village, there's no longer a need to restrict your strength. That outfit is the key to unlocking your sealed power. Moreover, until you find a way to strengthen your yokai core's defenses, the robe will serve to protect it."
Upon hearing this, Ruri's face lit up with heartfelt emotion.
However, before she could say anything, Satsuki narrowed her eyes with a dangerously sharp look.
Ruri shuddered instantly—the meaning in Satsuki's gaze was unmistakable: If you dare say anything sentimental, I'll strip you naked and throw you out of the chariot.
Under that silent threat, even though her power had greatly increased in her youthful form, Ruri obediently stayed huddled in the corner of the chariot, not daring to make another sound.
As silence settled over the skies, the last trace of the distant sunset finally faded beyond the horizon. Yet beneath the descending night, within the vast stretch of lush forest below, several powerful and vibrant auras of yokai began to stir.
Rustle~ rustle~ rustle~
Within the jungle below, dozens of black figures darted swiftly through the trees, weaving between shadow and moonlight. Their movements were astonishingly agile and balanced, gliding through the air as naturally as fish swimming through water.
Despite their speed and intensity, not a single sound escaped them.
Their eyes gleamed in the darkness—vertical pupils glinting with cruel amusement as they reflected the silver light of the moon.
At this moment, the yokai moving within the shadows were engaged in a hunt—and their target was a massive boar yokai running desperately in the distance.
The boar's body was colossal, no smaller than the largest Paradise Birds they had seen earlier. The enormous tusks on either side of its face shimmered with a cold, silvery gleam.
Normally, beast-type yokai incapable of transformation lacked strong spiritual energy. However, their raw physical power often compensated for this weakness.
This boar was a perfect example. Even mid-tier yokai would find it troublesome to bring down. If one were struck head-on by its charge, the result would be devastating.
But every creature had its place in the natural order—even yokai.
Though this boar usually feared nothing, today it had met its match. It had become someone else's prey.
Meow~!
From the shadows of the forest, a much smaller figure suddenly leapt out. It slashed across the boar's back, leaving behind a deep crimson wound before vanishing once again into the foliage.
Dozens of similar wounds already marred the boar's thick hide.
Yet, its tough, resin-coated skin—hardened by years of rubbing against pine sap—rendered those injuries little more than superficial cuts. For the boar yokai, such attacks were mere scratches.
No, what truly unsettled it was not the claw marks—but the aura of the one leading these hunters, a yokai who had long since mastered a humanoid form.
But the fleeing boar had no mental capacity left for strategy. Never a creature of great intelligence, it could only rely on the most primitive instinct when faced with such agile and relentless foes—run.
Soon, however, it sensed that the powerful yokai aura it feared most had moved swiftly through the forest and was now directly ahead of it.
Pushed to its limits and enraged by the endless taunting of its pursuers, the boar's vision turned blood-red. Rational thought and fear vanished entirely from its mind.
With a furious roar, it charged headlong toward the faint, backlit silhouette of a slender figure standing silently before it.
"I've had enough fun. You can die now."
The figure let out a mocking laugh. A surge of fierce flame erupted from her body, surging straight toward the charging boar yokai.
The pine resin coating the boar's hide—the very thing that had given it such powerful defense—instantly became its death sentence. In a flash, the resin caught fire, and the boar's entire body was engulfed in blazing flames formed of pure yokai energy.
The massive creature let out a deafening scream as its enormous frame crashed violently to the ground, the impact shaking the forest floor with a thunderous boom.
Though it wasn't dead, the blow had gravely wounded the boar yokai.
From all directions, more than twenty black figures emerged from the shadows.
Each one was a cat yokai wearing humanoid clothing. Their eyes gleamed with bloodlust as they stared at the wheezing, weakened boar.
Under the moonlight, their leader revealed her true form—a young woman with short crimson hair, wearing a cropped top and a red scarf tied around her neck. Behind her swayed a sleek orange tail.
She was a leopard cat yokai—Karan.
With a smug grin, Karan gazed at the boar's wounds. "My flames... among all the yokai who've faced me, only Sesshōmaru has ever survived them. Be at ease and die."
As she spoke, she extended her hand. Sharp claws slid from her fingertips as she prepared to finish the beast and let her subordinates feast.
But just then, a cool and ethereal voice sounded behind her, only a few meters away.
"Oh? Did you just mention Sesshōmaru? Where is he?"
The instant Karan heard the voice, she reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on—every hair on her body stood on end. She leapt forward instinctively, widening the distance between herself and the intruder.
The other leopard cats, those who had not yet mastered humanoid forms, all arched their backs and crouched low, growling warily toward the mysterious figure who had appeared so suddenly.
Yet under the pale moonlight, the mysterious figure seemed utterly unbothered. Her voice, calm and cold, echoed once again. "You know something about the great dog demon, Sesshōmaru?"
Clearly, the leopard cat had no intention of answering.
A moment ago, Karan had been arrogant and confident—but now, she stared at the stranger in sheer alarm.
To appear silently behind her without the slightest warning... that alone spoke volumes. Karan was no fool like the boar yokai; she knew better than to recklessly charge an unknown foe.
However, if she simply bowed her head and answered like a frightened kitten, how could she maintain her dignity as one of the Panther Devas?
Thus, she chose what she believed to be a middle ground.
Her eyes narrowed as she growled fiercely, "Who are you?!"
"How dull and predictable," came the icy response. "If it's a question, your tone lacks respect. If it's a threat, your yokai energy is far too weak. Either way, your words reveal nothing but your anxiety and fear."
The figure under the moonlight sighed softly, then stepped forward, her presence emerging fully into view.
Before the gathered cat yokai stood a woman of breathtaking beauty, so radiant she seemed to illuminate the darkness itself. Though dressed mostly in black, her form shimmered faintly even in their night vision—like a celestial maiden descended from the heavens.
Yet her words were anything but gentle. "If your intelligence had been remotely promising, I might have entertained you for a while longer. But you've already revealed the truth—you're just a lowly little yokai."
Fury ignited within Karan. She crossed her arms before her, summoning torrents of flame that roared around her body.
As one of the Panther Devas, she could not ignore such blatant provocation.
But the moment Karan looked into those golden eyes, her heart gave a violent thud. It felt as though her very soul had been struck. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, and the yokai energy she had gathered scattered wildly out of control.
Snap~
That loss of control was only the beginning. Within moments, Karan realized in horror that she could no longer move her own body. Her limbs went limp, and she collapsed heavily to the ground—just like the boar yokai before her.
The same fate befell the other leopard cat yokai nearby. Every single one of them had been forced to the ground, paralyzed and powerless to move.
On the forest floor, panic unlike anything she had ever known surged through Karan's heart.
Just one glance. A single look.
With nothing more than that, this mysterious being—whether human or yokai—had suppressed a quarter of the entire Leopard Cat Tribe's strength.
Even the great yokai they had once battled could never have done something like this without warning. What she was witnessing defied everything she understood about power.
Impossible... impossible! How could such a thing even exist?!
Karan struggled desperately, trying to move even a finger, but her body felt as though a black hole had opened within it, devouring all her strength and yokai energy until nothing remained.
Under the moonlight, only one figure remained standing—the woman who had shown not even a hint of yokai aura from beginning to end.
And, of course, that woman was none other than Satsuki.
Originally, she had merely glanced down at the skirmish below out of idle curiosity. At her level, such battles between minor yokai were beneath her notice.
But the moment she heard the name Sesshōmaru spoken aloud, her attention shifted.
Satsuki had been deliberating which great yokai to seek out next, and this name provided an answer.
"Since I've heard it, I may as well find this Sesshōmaru," she decided.
And with that thought, she descended. For someone like her, crossing several thousand meters was nothing more than an instant.
But cats—whether as pets or as yokai—were notoriously temperamental.
And Satsuki, at her core, was every bit as willful.
Using her Tenseigan, Satsuki lifted Karan's body effortlessly into the air, bringing her before her.
Under the trembling gaze of the leopard cat's vertical pupils, Satsuki extended a single finger and gently tapped her forehead.
In that instant, a surge of memory poured from Karan's mind into Satsuki's.
Within moments, Satsuki had extracted every piece of information she sought.
Without sparing another glance for the paralyzed leopard cats below, she rose smoothly into the air, reentered her chariot, and vanished into the night.
It was half an hour before Karan finally regained sensation in her limbs and reclaimed control of her body.
Only then did the cold sweat on her forehead pour down like rain. A fear she had never before known gripped her heart like a claw reaching from the abyss.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
All she could do was breathe—slow, desperate breaths—to keep herself alive. Otherwise, her frantic heartbeat and unstable yokai energy might have killed her on the spot.
After all, in this era, dying of fright was hardly rare.
—Even for yokai.
But as one of the Panther Devas, Karan at least knew what she had to do.
Once her condition stabilized slightly, she immediately turned and vanished into the forest shadows.
She had to warn her kin—
A terrifying being had set her sights on the Dog Clan.