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Aside from the idle chatter between Veyron and Eirin, the battlefield was burning.
The "Exiled Former Princess of the Moon vs. All the Lunar Capital"
The revenge battle instigated by Kaguya Houraisan had just finished its first stage—and it ended even faster than she had hoped for in her best-case scenario.
The key to that victory? Yuuka Kazami.
Already a top-tier powerhouse in the yokai world—a millennium-old yokai among the most feared—she had taken her strength to a whole new level.
After gaining insight from Veyron's trait, Photosynthesis, she tapped into the "sunlight" she had stored across countless years to undergo a second evolution, a more profound transformation beyond the usual limits of a great yokai's power.
And to top it off, her Gene Lock had already reached the fourth stage.
Once her battle spirit was ignited? Even though she held back, intentionally avoiding lethal force and merely disabling her opponents without killing them…
The "Flower Master of the Four Seasons" still tore through the elite lunar forces like a hot knife through butter.
Right before Kaguya's eyes, a high-ranking lunarian warrior got blasted unconscious by one of Yuuka's plain, no-frills magic beams. According to Eirin, this woman was supposed to be one of the top-tier fighters of the Moon Capital.
Kaguya knew then that it was about time for the main character—herself—to stop slacking off.
With a casual flick of her hand, she summoned a dazzling burst of five-colored divine light and sealed the divine power inside Yorihime Watatsuki.
"No way!" Yorihime's face changed drastically.
She had already realized during their earlier clash that she wasn't a match for Kaguya anymore. But now, with all her divine strength inside her body dead still, like a stagnant swamp, and the eight million gods she once commanded completely ignoring her summons… she couldn't keep her composure.
"How… how long has it even been since you were exiled to Earth?!"
Before Kaguya had been banished, their "Father" had pinned his hopes on her to embody eternal perfection. But as far as combat power went?
Yorihime herself, who could summon the power of countless gods, was stronger than Kaguya back then. Even her older sister, Toyohime, stood above Kaguya in terms of pure strength.
Yet now—Kaguya felt as unfathomably deep as Eirin, as unknowable as Tsukuyomi.
"I'm standing right here in front of you. What part of that is 'impossible'?" Kaguya chuckled softly behind her hand. "Let's just say… 'fate' has a funny way of working sometimes."
She had once thought that exile was just a way to observe Earth from a fresh perspective—one more interesting than the dull perfection of the Moon Capital.
But down there, she met someone—a person she could truly acknowledge. A man she came to see as family, just like Eirin did. Someone she'd call "Father."
At first, he seemed like nothing more than an ordinary man with a few quirky secrets. But after quietly spending nine uneventful years together… he grew. And in less than a year after that, he transformed into a being who had already started to surpass her understanding.
Even a single fourth-stage Gene Lock, something he granted to others almost casually, was enough to elevate a regular person into someone who could hold their own against top-tier Moon Capital warriors. And if that person already had decent strength to begin with? The transformation from unlocking that Gene Lock was downright earth-shattering.
"…That kind of fate, the one that turned you, a true Hourai immortal, into what you are now… I'm very curious about it."
Even though they were on the Moon, silvery moonlight suddenly cascaded across the battlefield, freezing and sealing everyone—humans and non-humans alike—in its glow.
A woman stepped forward, walking on that moonlight as if it were solid. Her features were nearly identical to Kaguya's, though she seemed older and more refined. She had flown out from the central palace of the Moon Capital.
She was Tsukuyomi.
"Mind telling me the full story?"
[Tsukuyomi's Image]
"My dear 'father', you sure it's not one of Eirin's little experiments?" Kaguya asked lazily, five-colored divine light still swirling around her as she casually broke free from the moonlight's sealing power. She looked up at the Lord of the Moon, who hovered high above.
"…You clearly don't understand just how deep the bond is between me and Eirin," Tsukuyomi said calmly.
"If she had created or discovered a power strong enough to shake even the Hourai Elixir's promise of eternity… Even if I wasn't the first or second person to receive it, there's no way she wouldn't have told me by now."
"And besides," she continued, "Eirin's only been down there for less than a year. If she found one or two exceptional ants down there worthy of her approval, I wouldn't be surprised. But this many?"
Her cold gaze slowly swept across the group—Yuuka Kazami, Yukari Yakumo, Ran Yakumo—all of them had already broken free from the moonlight seal, their monstrous presence undeniable.
"Maybe she gave them something," Kaguya offered casually. "In exchange for helping me."
"That's not like Eirin," Tsukuyomi replied, shaking her head. "Her ties to the Moon Capital run far deeper than you think. Letting you mess around like this is already the limit of what she'll tolerate. She'd never willingly do anything that could truly hurt the Capital."
Then, she pointed to Yukari.
"Besides, that yokai? The first time she snuck into the Moon Capital, you hadn't even taken the Hourai Elixir yet."
"…Fine, whatever," Kaguya shrugged, unbothered.
"So, are you finally gonna tell me what this is all about?" Tsukuyomi asked again.
"If you're that curious," Kaguya smirked, "why don't you come feel it for yourself?"
She lifted a hand, and the five-colored divine light shimmered into near-solid form, lashing out toward Tsukuyomi in a radiant beam.
That attack was the signal.
Yuuka Kazami raised her parasol, and with a thunderous surge of colliding forces, unleashed a devastating magical cannon blast—tightly focused, insanely powerful, yet perfectly controlled.
Yukari Yakumo's folding fan danced through the air. Every flick summoned hundreds, thousands of debuffs woven from her boundary manipulation—each one a different curse or hindrance—piling onto Tsukuyomi.
The ghost, Yuyuko Saigyouji, now merged with the yokai Saigyou Ayakashi in a Trinity state, simply waved her hand—and a swarm of countless glowing butterflies made from pure death energy soared skyward, blotting out the light as they dove toward Tsukuyomi like a tidal wave of souls.
And it wasn't just them.
Everyone who had come to the Moon with Kaguya, even Suika Ibuki and Yuugi Hoshiguma—now freed from the moonlight's seal thanks to Veyron's buffs—joined in. They all launched their strongest attacks in perfect unison.
"You really shouldn't have challenged me here," Tsukuyomi said, almost disappointed.
She didn't move much—didn't need to. Radiant moonlight gathered around her, forming a glowing, spherical barrier like a moonlit dome.
"If this were somewhere else, maybe—maybe—your combined strength could have actually hurt me. Especially you," she nodded slightly toward Yuuka. "I never imagined a yokai like you could come from the Earth."
She effortlessly blocked every assault from every direction. Then, turning her gaze back to Kaguya, she asked, "So? Any other tricks up your sleeve? If not, then just like you suggested, I'll feel it for myself… Since you're a Hourai immortal now, I don't have to worry about accidentally destroying you with a bit of rough handling."
"Tch... Guess it really doesn't work, huh?" Kaguya clicked her tongue in frustration and lowered her hand, the five-colored jeweled branch now hanging limp at her side.
Seeing this, Yorihime thought Kaguya had finally come to her senses—realizing the overwhelming gap between herself and Tsukuyomi and quietly surrendering.
But just then, Kaguya took a deep breath and suddenly shouted:
"Daddy~!! Warm-chan is being bullied!!"
"My dear 'Father', Tsukuyomi, is threatening to cut me into pieces—maybe even worse things!! HELP!!"
Yorihime: "...Huh?"
Wait a minute— this "Daddy" you're yelling for... Isn't that the same guy you just said was going to cut you up?!
Isn't Daddy, dad or Father all the same?
…Hold on. Wait a minute.
Something hit Yorihime hard—some kind of instinct, some kind of fear.
She abruptly looked up toward the sky, into the void of space beyond the Moon.
And what she saw…
Her eyes widened in utter horror. Shock. Disbelief.
This… this couldn't be real. Could it?
.
.
.