8 PM at Kikyo Shrine near Kaede's Village.
Standing on the veranda gazing at the bright moon, Yukari Oikawa heard light footsteps approaching.
"Did you manage to calm her down?"
She slightly turned her head to look at Kikyo, who had appeared behind her.
Kikyo, dressed in her red and white shrine maiden outfit, offered an apologetic smile.
"Sorry. Kaede's quite clingy with me. Since she hadn't seen me for nearly a day, she came to the shrine on her own."
"Children are like that." Yukari looked up at the sky. "My daughter's the same - always clinging to me when we're home."
"You have a daughter?" Kikyo sounded genuinely surprised. "I thought your race was Yuki-onna?"
"Yes, Yuki-onna."
Yukari nodded, then sighed.
"Yuki-onna can create offspring by combining their original Demon Power with ancient ice and snow, so we usually dwell in eternally frozen mountains."
"Of course, Yuki-onna can also have children with humans or other yokai."
Seeing the wistful expression on Yukari's face, Kikyo couldn't help but remark:
"Do you have someone you love?"
Yukari shook her head. "Rather than love, it was more like admiration. Unfortunately, that person died."
"My condolences." Kikyo apologised before offering comfort. "If he's in heaven knowing you still think of him, I'm sure he'd be happy."
"Heaven?" Yukari's expression turned strange. "What heaven? That old man's still alive and kicking in his Tokyo home."
"Eh?" Kikyo's face froze in shock. "Then you..."
"A Yuki-onna only knows widowhood, never heartbreak."
Yukari raised her wide kimono sleeve to cover her mouth as she spoke.
"If I could kill that old bastard, I'd have done it long ago."
"But it's fine. What I can't accomplish, my daughter will do for me."
In the present world, Nurarihyon sneezed in the Nura Clan's ancestral home.
Kikyo's mouth fell open slightly as she stared blankly at Yukari. After a long pause, she hesitantly asked:
"Forgive my asking, but... were you and that person in a romantic relationship?"
"Not at all. He probably saw me as a little sister."
Yukari scoffed.
"That man was just like this world's Tōga - the type who couldn't take his eyes off human princesses."
'I finally understand why you and Senhime Rin Getsu seem to share such mutual understanding when standing together,' Kikyo couldn't help but muse inwardly.
She had genuinely believed Yukari Oikawa had some tragic romance story, but it turned out to be a horror tale of generations-long vengeance after being rejected by a boy she fancied.
Kikyo finally understood why all priests aware of the Yuki-onna's existence worked so hard to teach people not to provoke them.
Such a Yuki-onna was truly beyond what normal people could handle.
"Sister?! Waaah... sister~"
Hearing the crying voice from the room, Kikyo gave Yukari Oikawa a helpless smile.
Yukari chuckled and waved her hand dismissively:
"Go on then, I'll keep watch tonight."
"Thank you." Kikyo bowed before turning and calling softly: "Kaede, your sister's here."
As Kikyo disappeared into the back courtyard, Yukari turned her gaze back to the full moon overhead, smiling faintly:
"What fine weather tonight."
...
The night deepened.
The full moon was gradually obscured by passing clouds.
Before Kikyo Shrine's main hall.
The six torches lit after nightfall crackled as they burned.
Then, a demonic wind blew.
Without a flicker, the steadily burning torches began to extinguish one by one.
The shrine was plunged into silent darkness.
From within this darkness came an abrupt creaking sound.
"Hmm?"
The common-looking samurai with a shaved head looked down in surprise at the tiny ice shard crushed beneath his wooden sandal:
"Quite capable, aren't you!"
As he spoke, the Japanese-style torches reignited with a roaring blaze.
But this time the flames weren't orange - they burned with a snow-white glow like October's first snowfall.
Bathed in this pale light, Yukari Oikawa appeared before the main hall in her white kimono and thick blue scarf, icy gaze fixed on the intruder.
"To silently breach Kikyo's Barrier at the torii gate?"
"Not bad for trash."
Under the white glow, the samurai's features twisted into an eerie smile:
"Too many petty tricks, Yuki-onna."
So'unga ground the ice shards beneath his feet to powder before coldly regarding Yukari:
"I'll say this once - step aside, Yuki-onna."
Yukari didn't respond, only raising her hand as she slowly inhaled before exhaling sharply.
"Whoosh!"
A blizzard laced with curses erupted from her lips, transforming the surrounding earth into glittering ice.
The snow-laden tornado took on a living form, morphing into a transparent ice dragon that surged toward So'unga.
"Troublesome creature."
A dark gate to the Underworld opened behind So'unga as he leapt backwards through it, evading the oncoming whirlwind.
Simultaneously, another gate materialised behind Yukari.
In the next instant, a frigid blade flashed from behind to strike her down.
"An illusion?"
Within the pink gem embedded in the samurai's sword hilt, the true So'unga watched in surprise as the Yukari Oikawa he'd struck transformed into a massive block of ice.
At that moment, Yukari Oikawa's figure was reflected in the ice crystals beneath So'unga's feet.
—Ice Instant Kill!
Five or six ice pillars materialised mid-air, piercing through both So'unga and the samurai's body in one strike.
Whoosh!
A blade's gleam flashed through the air.
The ice pillars were shattered before they could land. So'unga manipulated the samurai to break free and leap aside.
Just then, an impatient voice rang out.
"Stop playing around, So'unga. Get to the main task."
Hearing this, Yukari Oikawa turned her astonished gaze towards the towering sacred tree nearby.
So'unga chuckled darkly in response.
"No need to rush, Tree of Ages. We have plenty of time."
"Besides, even against a Great Yokai, carelessness could still lead to unexpected defeat."
As he spoke, the samurai raised So'unga high.
The pure moonlight illuminated the silver blade, now wreathed in ominous, cursed black energy.
With the next swing, that cursed darkness tore through the night sky, forming an enormous gate to the Underworld.
Yukari Oikawa's pupils contracted slightly at the sight.
The gate swung open, and Demon Power surged skyward, blotting out the moon and shrouding the entire night.
Watching the figures emerging from the gate, Yukari Oikawa bit her lower lip.
"Great Yokai... this many? A Hyakki Yagyō?"