The Death of Ashiya Dōman, the End of the Chaos in Heian-kyō!

"..."

Ashiya Dōman turned his head back and saw the Grand Onmyoji walking towards him from the end of the corridor.

In an instant, his black pupils were filled with the flames of hatred.

"Heh, so you've come too."

Ashiya Dōman said.

"Abe, it seems you already understand what my formation is doing."

"Yes."

Abe no Taishin nodded.

"Your target... is the entire Heian Palace, isn't it?"

If he wanted to imprison the Retired Emperor's soul, there was no need to include the entire Heian Palace in the Onmyōdō formation.

The only thing that could explain all of this was that this formation was never just targeting the Retired Emperor's soul from the beginning.

"As expected!"

Ashiya Dōman's smile began to twist.

"Abe, only you could figure all of this out."

"Only by defeating you will I become a true Grand Onmyoji!"

However, facing Ashiya Dōman's challenging words, Abe no Taishin didn't show any excitement.

On the contrary, he seemed a little puzzled.

"So who exactly are you?"

"You don't know me?!" Ashiya Dōman roared, "I've made defeating you the goal of my entire life!"

"Ashiya Dōman!"

"Remember that name!"

Abe no Taishin stared directly at Ashiya Dōman before him.

"If you really want to defeat me as an Onmyoji and then become the number one Onmyoji in Kyoto, I welcome your challenge anytime, anywhere."

"But—"

"You have never appeared before me."

"You haven't even dared to let your name reach my ears."

"You are afraid of me, aren't you?"

"No... it shouldn't be fear of me, but simply thinking you are inferior to me, which is why you have never appeared, right?"

[Your words accurately hit Ashiya Dōman's weak point.]

[You didn't consider him a worthy opponent at all.]

[This made him feel extremely angry.]

"Abe, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Ashiya Dōman glared at the Grand Onmyoji before him, his expression beginning to turn ferocious bit by bit.

"How could I possibly be inferior to you?"

"I have done so much—"

"So many bad things, right?"

Before Ashiya Dōman could finish speaking, Abe no Taishin directly interrupted him.

"If I'm not mistaken,"

"The 'Algae Woman' incident, that was your doing, wasn't it?"

Abe no Taishin often wondered why he had been feeling so uneasy about things.

At this moment, he finally got the answer.

Because everything was just too suspicious.

As a fox demon, it wouldn't have been easy for Tamamo no Mae to be found so accurately.

And after she was captured, the mirror that could connect with the "dead" just happened to be lost in the process.

So—

The real target of the "Algae Woman" incident was actually Tamamo no Mae's mirror.

As an Onmyoji capable of setting up such a formation, it wouldn't have been difficult for Ashiya Dōman to do such a thing.

And using Tamamo no Mae as the explanation for the Retired Emperor's death, making her bear all the blame, was just incidental value in the process.

"Fujiwara no Tokuko, she isn't the original Fujiwara no Tokuko anymore, is she?"

After all, if it were the real Fujiwara no Tokuko, she wouldn't need to wear a veil.

The current Fujiwara no Tokuko was just a "puppet" controlled by Ashiya Dōman before him.

He was the culprit who had caused the chaos in Heian-kyō for an entire season.

Abe no Taishin sneered.

"Too bad, all your plans have failed."

[You have figured out the truth of the matter.]

[You have also completely enraged Ashiya Dōman.]

"What if they failed?!"

Ashiya Dōman, now enraged, had completely lost his composure.

"I will kill you right here today!"

"That way, I will be the strongest Onmyoji in all of Heian-kyō!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ashiya Dōman didn't care what consequences his actions would cause in Heian Palace.

He directly summoned flames and lunged towards Abe no Taishin, wanting to kill him.

This wasn't actually behavior that followed the logic of Onmyōdō.

After all, according to the principle of the five elements generating and overcoming each other, Ashiya Dōman should have used "water," which overcomes "fire," to attack, as that would have been the more logical approach.

However—

Ashiya Dōman was unconvinced.

He had clearly done so many things, so why did this man before him still look so indifferent?

He had to defeat him head-on!

Defeat him severely from the front!

He would make this man know the consequences of not taking him seriously!

Ashiya Dōman's flames flew towards Abe no Taishin.

It was a scorching heat that looked like it could engulf everything in an instant.

The principle of the five elements overcoming each other also applied to Abe no Taishin.

Facing the flames attacking him, the Grand Onmyoji's best choice would naturally also be to use "water" to counterattack.

But—

He didn't choose to do so.

Abe no Taishin completely understood Ashiya Dōman's thoughts.

He wanted to prove himself.

Then—

He would let him know just how meaningless such proof was.

Flames also appeared in the Grand Onmyoji's hands.

Two streams of flames came from different directions and then collided with each other.

Boom!

The flames spread out to both sides at the point of contact, forming a clear layering.

This was a situation of mutual confrontation.

A treacherous smile appeared on Ashiya Dōman's face.

The thing he feared the least was a contest of endurance.

After all, he had been lying low in Heian-kyō for several years, constantly using Onmyōdō to repeatedly copy and strengthen his body.

The corpses hanging in this room were the things that had been discarded in this process.

This was a forbidden technique in Onmyōdō—the "Life Extension" method.

It was said that using it would lead to very serious consequences, but it could enhance the user's ability to manipulate the five elements.

But in order to defeat the Onmyoji before him, Ashiya Dōman knew he had no room for hesitation.

He now believed that he could definitely gain the upper hand in this confrontation!

[You naturally knew that Ashiya Dōman was using a forbidden technique in Onmyōdō.]

[But that wasn't what you were concerned about at this moment.]

[You could feel something flowing within your body.]

[It was something called magical power.]

[Talent Exhausted Holy Grail has been activated: You felt like you had recovered some memories about that golden cup.]

[You felt a certain connection between yourself and it.]

[This allowed you to start gaining the upper hand in your confrontation with Ashiya Dōman.]

[The other party gradually began to panic.]

Something was wrong!

This was wrong!

Ashiya Dōman's hand was trembling.

He had originally wanted to gain the upper hand in this confrontation by relying on his refined body, but he had discovered something terrifying.

That was—

This man before him seemed to never have a moment of exhaustion.

His flames burned endlessly, as if they would never go out.

No!

Since he couldn't defeat him through a battle of attrition,

Then he would change his approach.

Ashiya Dōman clenched his fists.

His body was constantly releasing something.

He didn't know that this was actually called "magical power."

But he knew that as long as he released this thing, he could instantly increase the intensity of his flames several times!

Although this might cause the entire room to burn down along with it, and even cost him his life,

But in order to defeat him, these were all acceptable things!

Ashiya Dōman's flames surged in an instant.

They directly reached the top of the room, like towering waves.

Ashiya Dōman showed a desperate smile.

This way—

He could defeat him.

However, things didn't continue to develop as Ashiya Dōman had thought.

Yes.

His flames had indeed become stronger.

But in contrast, the flames of the Grand Onmyoji opposite him had also become stronger.

The two streams of flames were just intertwined like that, not moving at all on the original boundary.

Compared to a one-sided absolute suppression, this was a more difficult balance to control.

After all, the former only required using all one's strength.

And the latter—

Was an absolute confidence in one's own abilities.

And Abe no Taishin was doing just that.

Ashiya Dōman naturally wouldn't be unaware of this.

He roared hysterically:

"Abe, are you toying with me like this?!"

"I am not toying with you."

Abe no Taishin looked at Ashiya Dōman, who had completely lost his composure, and said calmly.

"You... have you forgotten what the essence of Onmyōdō is?"

"Essence?"

"Yes." Abe no Taishin, unharmed despite being surrounded by flames, stared directly at Ashiya Dōman before him.

"The essence of Onmyōdō is the balance of the five elements."

"The things you have used like this to prove yourself have completely deviated from this essence."

"In addition—"

Abe no Taishin's gaze passed over Ashiya Dōman and looked towards Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji behind him.

It was quite a peculiar scene.

The two oni, heavily injured by Ashiya Dōman, were surrounded by a water barrier, completely unharmed by the flames of the fierce battle.

This certainly couldn't have been released by them; only Abe no Taishin could do such a thing.

In other words: he was both confronting Ashiya Dōman with his own flames and protecting the two little oni.

"I am still one step ahead of you."

Ashiya Dōman's pupils were trembling.

He had originally thought that after such a long period of refinement, he would defeat this Grand Onmyoji.

But looking at it now—

Everything was still far from enough.

"What kind of monster are you..."

Ashiya Dōman looked at Abe no Taishin before him and couldn't help but ask.

"Abe no Seimei's fifth generation descendant, Abe no Taishin, that is I."

The man replied.

"Just an ordinary Onmyoji."

[You shattered all of Ashiya Dōman's illusions.]

[You knew he wouldn't attack again.]

[You withstood his flames and came before Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji.]

[You picked them up, one in each arm.]

[You prepared to leave this place.]

The room had already been engulfed in flames.

The remains that were once Ashiya Dōman himself were constantly burning.

The smell of burning filled the entire room, mixed with bursts of cracking sounds.

Abe no Taishin, holding Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji in his arms, turned his head back to look at Ashiya Dōman, who was kneeling in the sea of fire.

He hesitated for a moment and said:

"I actually feel quite sorry for you."

"S-sorry?"

Ashiya Dōman raised his head and looked at Abe no Taishin, who had said these words, with a slightly broken expression.

"Abe, are you pitying me?"

"No," Abe no Taishin shook his head.

"You were able to set up such an Onmyōdō formation, which proves that your foundation isn't bad at all."

"But—"

"You didn't realize that Onmyōdō wasn't born to prove which Onmyoji is stronger."

Many scenes echoed in Abe no Taishin's mind.

His experience of loving and fighting oni with Minamoto no Raiko;

His past of confiding in Tamamo no Mae;

The days when he understood Ibaraki Douji and Shuten Douji, and realised that oni were not inherently evil;

"Each of us bears the responsibility of enabling communication between humans and oni."

"To clear the blockages that originally existed between humans, oni, and ayakashi—"

"That is the meaning of the existence of Onmyoji and Onmyōdō."

"..."

Ashiya Dōman's eyes widened slightly for a moment, but then gradually returned to calmness.

He gave a bitter smile:

"Is that so?"

"Then it seems my attitude towards Onmyōdō... did indeed have some problems."

"I lost, Abe."

"Take the mirror. It's under the biggest tree in this palace."

"And then—"

"Stop all of this."

"Yes," Abe no Taishin nodded, "I will."

"..."

"..."

Sensing that Ashiya Dōman still had something to say, Abe no Taishin directly asked:

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

Ashiya Dōman hesitated for a while and said:

"Abe... if there's a chance in the future, can I still challenge you?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"If it's as an Onmyoji, I will accept your challenge no matter how many times you make it."

"Of course—"

A confident smile appeared on Abe no Taishin's face.

"The result will always be my victory."

"Haha Is that so? Well, that's not necessarily true."

Ashiya Dōman laughed heartily until he was completely engulfed by the flames.

[You bid farewell to Ashiya Dōman in the flames.]

[You left the room with Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji.]

[They gradually woke up.]

Ibaraki Douji woke up first.

"Eh... where is this?"

Ibaraki Douji looked at the room burning fiercely not far away, looking a little dazed.

She had just been about to teach that nonsense-talking Onmyoji a lesson.

How did she end up here in the blink of an eye?

"Ibaraki, you're awake?" Abe-sama's voice came.

"Are you alright?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Ibaraki Douji realized that she and Shuten Douji were lying on Abe no Taishin's lap.

And they were currently hiding in a secret location.

"Abe-sama, when did you get here?" Ibaraki Douji asked.

Although the title felt a bit strange, Abe no Taishin still answered the question seriously.

"...Probably when you guys were knocked away."

"Eh?" Ibaraki Douji was a little surprised, "So Abe-sama came to save us?"

"Ibaraki, do you want to hear the truth?"

"Yes."

"Then I can only answer no... after all, I really didn't expect things to be so dangerous on your side. I just had some strange feeling and appeared."

"However—"

Abe no Taishin rubbed Ibaraki Douji's head and said with a smile.

"At least the result is good."

"Don't worry, I've already dealt with that person."

"..."

Ibaraki Douji felt comfortable being patted on the head.

She suddenly remembered something, lay on Abe no Taishin's chest, looked up at him, and spoke softly.

"Mister, can I ask you a question?"

"What's the question?"

"It's..."

Ibaraki Douji looked at Shuten Douji, who was still unconscious beside her.

"Abe-sama, can you let Shuten enjoy your big stick again?"

"I... think she really needs it."