Chapter 114 - Suiko Becomes the Four Souls? The Only Reason You Failed Is Because You Met Me!
"What should I do?"
Satsuna Momomaru's throat moved as he swallowed; his mind had already been consumed by the greedy desire to possess Izayoi. He didn't care about anything else now—if there was a chance to claim Izayoi for himself, he would never let it slip by.
"It's simple. Go steal So'unga, then kill Renji, the son of the Inu no Taisho, and fuse him with the miko to create the Shikon Jewel. Once you have both So'unga and the Shikon Jewel, you'll have the power to defeat the Inu no Taisho!"
"So'unga?"
"The Inu no Taisho's sword. Tonight, the Inu no Taisho will marry Izayoi here, and tomorrow they'll leave. Tonight is your last chance. I'll give you the opportunity—you'll get your chance to take So'unga!"
Seimei's tone was full of temptation, and he deliberately emphasized that Izayoi would be married tonight and leave with the Inu no Taisho tomorrow.
The Tenseiga and Tessaiga were both forged from the Inu no Taisho's fangs—those couldn't be taken, but the only one that could be carried off was So'unga, the ancient demon blade. For someone as wicked as Satsuna Momomaru, it was the perfect match.
After witnessing the battle of the panther clan, Seimei realized that Renji's strength exceeded his expectations.
He needed more helpers. The more people involved, the stronger the Shikon Jewel would become.
He planned to sacrifice all these people to achieve his own ultimate power.
"Alright, I understand!"
Satsuna Momomaru clenched his teeth. In the end, he decided to follow Seimei's plan and give it a try.
If he failed, he'd probably die. But if he lost Izayoi, what difference would there be between that and death?
So he decided to act.
That evening, Izayoi appeared at the banquet in her wedding dress. As he gazed at her stunning beauty, Satsuna Momomaru's jealousy burned to its peak.
He grew even more determined to go through with the plan—he'd start by taking out one of the Inu no Taisho's sons. He wanted the Inu no Taisho to understand pain, to lose everything around him bit by bit!
Because of the wedding, the Inu no Taisho wasn't wearing his swords. He sensed someone had tampered with them. But since Tenseiga and Tessaiga belonged to him and were protected by his barriers, the thief was shocked by the barriers and gave up on those swords, taking only So'unga. The Inu no Taisho, with a trace of concern, looked in the direction where he last sensed So'unga.
"What's wrong?"
Izayoi noticed his troubled expression and asked with concern.
"So'unga was taken. It seems the thief is going after Renji."
"Shouldn't you hurry and go?"
Izayoi's face showed a flash of panic—if their son was in danger, shouldn't he go to Renji first?
"I'll take you home first. Inu Castle isn't far from here, and Renji needs to earn the sword's recognition himself—he has to defeat So'unga to do that."
The Inu no Taisho had just realized Seimei and Satsuna Momomaru's scheme. The swords could hear their conversation. But when he learned they wanted to use So'unga against Renji, he didn't intervene.
He had been troubled about how to pass So'unga to Renji, but now it wasn't necessary. If Renji could defeat the one controlled by So'unga, he would earn the sword's recognition—at least enough to suppress it.
Given Renji's strength so far, he seemed capable. The Inu no Taisho only needed to follow his scent later.
If Renji couldn't hold out, he'd step in himself. If Renji couldn't handle So'unga now, he wasn't ready to inherit it.
But if Renji prevailed, he'd let him finish subduing the sword on his own.
"Are you sure you're not worried?"
Izayoi actually hoped the Inu no Taisho would hurry over, but since he said this, he must have confidence in their son.
"Yes. That boy has power beyond mine. I believe in him!"
The Inu no Taisho smiled. For some reason, when he thought of Renji, he felt an unconditional trust in him. Even compared to Sesshōmaru, there were many things he felt Renji inspired more confidence in.
"Everyone, the reason I called you all to Heian-kyō today is to destroy a powerful yōkai."
Inside Heian-kyō, Seimei—who'd already received word from his doppelgänger—showed a faint smile.
Today was the final step.
He'd organized a yōkai extermination gathering, drawing many talented exorcists together.
"A powerful yōkai?"
"That's right. The leader of the panther clan was killed by the dog demon clan, apparently by the young lord Renji. Now, the dog demons seem poised to unite the entire yōkai world. We must destroy some of their strength to maintain balance. If the yōkai are united, it won't bode well for us humans."
Seimei nodded and gave his prepared speech.
As long as everyone here agreed, he felt nearly certain about taking down Renji.
"That yōkai? But I've never heard of him harming anyone, have you?"
Some of the exorcists felt strange—Renji didn't seem to be an evil yōkai.
"Humans and yōkai can never truly coexist!"
"But I heard that yōkai is in love with the miko Suiko?"
"So what? Humans only live a hundred years, but yōkai live so much longer. If the dog demons unite the yōkai world, they will eventually turn on us humans!"
As he listened to the noisy, arguing crowd, Seimei smirked, thinking his plan was complete.
This group would also become part of the Shikon Jewel.
"Everyone, a yōkai is still a yōkai. We fight for humanity. Humans and yōkai are mortal enemies. Are we supposed to let a romance stop us from eliminating a yōkai? Are we humans or are we yōkai?"
Seimei's words were inflammatory. After finishing, he looked around and continued, "If you're willing to fight the yōkai, join us. If not, I won't stop you. This gathering is about maintaining the balance between both sides. We can't just let the yōkai keep getting stronger!"
His speech gained support from many people nearby.
A yōkai is still a yōkai. Humans and yōkai could never coexist. Maybe Renji hadn't attacked anyone yet, but if he decided to unite the world, what would they do then?
They could only strike before Renji grew stronger and get rid of him now!
"Alright, let's take down this yōkai together!"
Several exorcists pressed their palms together, closed their eyes, and made up their minds.
And just like that, an alliance to hunt down the yōkai was formed.
"Inu no Taisho's son, you really weren't hard to find!"
Ryūkotsuki stared fiercely at Renji. With Seimei's information, and knowing that this was his enemy's son, Ryūkotsuki came straight for him.
He couldn't kill Inu no Taisho, but could he not at least kill his son?
"Out of my way!"
Renji frowned at Ryūkotsuki in front of him, glancing at the location of Suiko's exorcist village—it was already very close.
It was practically within reach. Up ahead, Renji sensed an enormous demonic aura, giving him a very bad feeling.
It seemed like Suiko had been targeted by other yōkai. Was this the time when Suiko was supposed to become the Shikon Jewel?
Once he realized the timeline, Renji lost all interest in wasting time with Ryūkotsuki.
But Ryūkotsuki had no intention of letting Renji go so easily.
"You brat, you're a disgrace to the yōkai world, actually falling in love with a human woman? You're so worried about that miko, aren't you? That woman is facing countless yōkai right now. Today, I'll send the both of you to your deaths!"
The yōkai who joined this conflict came of their own accord, but once they learned she was Renji's beloved, Ryūkotsuki brought along his own followers. Today, he was determined to kill both of them.
Of course, the main reason was his worry that he wouldn't be able to suppress Renji and Suiko together.
Renji's record on the panther clan battlefield was already terrifying, and Suiko was also a miko who had subdued an entire era. If the two joined forces, killing him really wasn't impossible.
"Heh, count me in for killing this guy."
Satsuna Momomaru stepped out of a thicket, So'unga in hand, eyeing the man before him who resembled the Inu no Taisho. He suddenly remembered seeing this guy once in that city.
No wonder he'd found him so unpleasant before—he really was Inu no Taisho's son!
"Who are you? Since when do I need your interference? Wait—So'unga?"
A flicker of surprise appeared in Ryūkotsuki's eyes—Seimei had actually guessed right.
He'd said someone would come wielding Inu no Taisho's So'unga. So it was this guy?
How amusing.
Just what kind of grudge did Seimei have against this guy, to set up such a scheme? It looked like he was dead set on seeing Renji die.
He and Seimei only had a transactional relationship, but he did fear this onmyōji's strength—he really was the strongest human of the era.
"So let's take out this bastard together. I don't like Inu no Taisho either!"
Ryūkotsuki's attitude didn't bother Satsuna Momomaru much.
But ever since he obtained So'unga, his arrogance had grown to its peak.
"Die!"
"I never agreed to cooperate with you!"
Ryūkotsuki's words said one thing, but his actions followed up without hesitation. As a great yōkai, he had his pride, but since they'd already agreed to gang up on Renji, there was nothing more to say.
"I never thought you'd turn out like this."
On Suiko's side, she watched as a man who was once kind in her exorcist village had, for his own desires, chosen to fuse with yōkai and become an even more evil being. Disappointment flickered across Suiko's face.
At first, she thought today's attack was just yōkai seeking revenge for those she'd slain—something not uncommon in the past.
But she soon realized there were far too many yōkai this time, and the leader was that once-kind man from her village. She never expected he would become like this.
"Suiko, haven't you fallen too? You once hunted yōkai to defend the way, but now you're with a yōkai—what a disgrace!"
The man's face twisted with a cold smile. He still retained part of his consciousness; though controlled by yōkai, his heart had turned even more selfish, corrupted by his fallen virtue.
To him, if Suiko hadn't fallen in love with a yōkai, things never would have come to this.
"Love has no boundaries. Don't you understand that?"
"Hah, I told you, this woman never loved you. Just kill her already!"
Another voice echoed from within the man's body as the yōkai inside him urged him to attack Suiko.
Suiko was stunned. She hadn't expected this man to love her, and because he could not win her heart—since she chose Renji—he became a yōkai out of resentment?
Why… why would someone so kind become like this just because of love!
"Shut up. After today, everything ends. That yōkai will die, and Suiko, you'll see just how foolish your decision was!"
The man glanced into the distance where demonic energy soared into the sky—clearly, the battle had already begun.
Suiko, too, sensed Renji's demonic energy and grew anxious. The blade in her hand hummed lightly, sensing the presence of Blade Shadow nearby.
"Looks like I need to take care of you first."
Suiko fell silent for a moment. As worried as she was, she knew she had to take down this man before anything else.
She couldn't afford to waste time here.
"Then let's see how long you can keep fighting! With so many yōkai, how many can you kill?"
A cold sneer appeared on the yōkai's face.
To deal with Suiko, they had gathered countless yōkai here to surround and kill her.
"Weaklings are weaklings—even if you gather together, it's nothing but a pile of trash. You two really think you can stop me?"
Ryūkotsuki and Satsuna Momomaru heard the taunt and seethed with anger, though they had no way to refute it.
Ryūkotsuki was fine—his body was tough and hard to penetrate, so it was hard for Renji to break through his defenses. But Satsuna Momomaru was in much worse shape. His injuries wouldn't heal; even with So'unga propping him up, he was clearly at his limit.
"Satsuna Momomaru, a loser like you should stay in the grave. You can't even win over a woman—what's the point of living? I'll send you to Yomi right now. Take your regrets to the afterlife!"
Renji made Satsuna Momomaru his first target. An intense icy power gathered on Blade Shadow, freezing the very air itself.
The ice crystals were breathtakingly beautiful—even Ryūkotsuki was a little entranced, wishing they weren't created from Satsuna Momomaru.
Everything around them was frozen by Renji. Satsuna Momomaru's face remained frozen in shock—he thought having So'unga would be enough to challenge Renji and even Inu no Taisho.
"The only reason you failed is because you met me!"
As he spoke, Renji reached out and gently tapped the frozen Satsuna Momomaru's forehead. In an instant, he shattered into ice crystals and scattered into the air.
"Now it's your turn, Ryūkotsuki."
PS: Thank you all for the gifts!
(End of chapter)
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