The Onmyoji Who Deceived Fate, The Real Way to Save Minamoto no Raiko!

The Onmyoji Who Deceived Fate, The Real Way to Save Minamoto no Raiko!

To be fair.

Even Tamamo no Mae hadn't expected her trip to take so long.

It took her a full season to repair her mirror.

A day apart feels like three autumns.

The moment she returned to Heian-kyō, the clever fox spirit even felt that the road before her had become a little unfamiliar.

However—

She wasn't worried that the Grand Onmyoji would misunderstand her as a faithless fox spirit who had run away with the mirror.

After all, if he really thought that way, he wouldn't have let her leave the capital in the first place.

She should still find a way to see him first.

Tamamo no Mae thought this, and her pace couldn't help but quicken a little.

But before she could return to the Minamoto clan's residence, she saw an unexpected scene.

She saw the Grand Onmyoji right in front of her.

She saw him holding Shuten Douji in one arm and leading Ibaraki Douji with the other, asking something to the shops on the roadside, looking quite nonchalant.

"Abe-sama!"

Tamamo no Mae couldn't help but call out.

[You and Tamamo no Mae reunited on the streets of Kyoto.]

[You arrived at the sake shop where you first met.]

[You started chatting.]

"Abe-sama..."

Tamamo no Mae looked at Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji, who were constantly clinging to the Grand Onmyoji's side, and for a moment didn't know what to say.

She didn't remember these two little oni being so fond of him before she left.

"What... is going on with you all?"

Before Abe no Taishin could answer, Ibaraki Douji had already started explaining very seriously.

"Abe-sama is taking us for a walk."

"Taking you for a walk?"

"Yes."

Ibaraki Douji nodded, then lay down on Abe no Taishin's lap.

"Shuten and I are Abe-sama's little pets, so we need to be walked."

"Eh, this?!"

Tamamo no Mae looked at the Grand Onmyoji before her with a surprised expression.

"Abe-sama... is this true?"

Abe no Taishin sighed helplessly.

"Tama-chan, of course that's not the case."

"The thing is this."

[You told Tamamo no Mae the whole story about Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji's assistance.]

[She roughly understood what had happened.]

[But she was still very surprised by how much the little oni depended on you.]

[However, she didn't show any displeasure about it.]

"So that's how you solved the problem."

Tamamo no Mae looked at Shuten Douji beside Abe no Taishin and showed a kind smile.

"As expected~"

"The ayakashi who can stay by Abe-sama's side are all very powerful."

Being praised so much by Tamamo no Mae, Shuten Douji actually became a little embarrassed.

And seeing her like this, Abe no Taishin gently stroked her slightly flushed little head.

"No need to be shy, Shuten."

"After all, I do feel that way too."

"Is that so?!"

Shuten Douji lowered her head shyly, but her hand never left the Grand Onmyoji, and the disrespect she had shown him initially was completely gone from her eyes.

The little oni girl now, in a sense, was truly "tamed."

However, Abe no Taishin understood that this wasn't the time to let Tamamo no Mae marvel at this development.

He had more important things to ask.

"Tama-chan, I've finished talking about my matters, what about yours?"

"The mirror... how did you manage to fix it?"

"If Abe-sama wants to talk about that—"

Tamamo no Mae's expression looked a little complicated.

"This humble one actually has something to tell Abe-sama."

"Huh?"

[Tamamo no Mae told you everything that had happened to her during this season.]

[Of course, she only picked out the important points.]

[After all, there were just too many things that could happen in a season.]

[You listened to everything very seriously.]

"This..."

The Grand Onmyoji frowned slightly.

"Tama-chan, are you saying that the 'aura' that could originally be used to repair the mirror is becoming less and less?"

"Yes," Tamamo no Mae nodded.

"If it had been according to the previous situation, this humble one originally thought that it would only take a little over ten days to successfully return to Abe-sama's side."

"But—"

Tamamo no Mae looked at the Grand Onmyoji before her.

"This humble one ended up spending a full season."

"The weakening of the ayakashi seems to have affected the existence of this 'aura'."

"But fortunately, this humble one still managed to repair this mirror... it's not as if all this time was spent doing nothing."

Abe no Taishin was silent for a while, then replied with a smile.

"Thank you for your hard work, Tama-chan."

"It was nothing, this was something this humble one promised Abe-sama, so naturally I had to do it."

"Then—"

Tamamo no Mae took out her mirror and gently wiped it.

"Time is of the essence."

"Abe-sama, let's start later."

[This was the closest you had been to breaking the demonic shackles that Minamoto no Raiko bore due to the development of the Minamoto clan.]

[According to Tamamo no Mae's request, you and she returned to the residence where the main branch of the Minamoto clan had originally lived.]

[That was the place where Minamoto no Mitsunaka had passed away.]

[There, Tamamo no Mae's mirror could "communicate" with his soul.]

[You hoped that this conversation would help you resolve these matters.]

"Shuten, Ibaraki."

Abe no Taishin rubbed the heads of the two little oni before him.

"Then I'll trouble you to keep watch outside for me."

After all, it was a taboo matter to "communicate" with the dead.

The Grand Onmyoji was still a little worried about being discovered by Minamoto no Raiko.

"Okay," Shuten Douji nodded, "Don't worry, Mister! I'll keep a good watch!"

"Me too," Ibaraki Douji followed up.

"Alright, with you saying that, I can rest assured."

[You and Tamamo no Mae entered the old residence.]

[You returned to the room where Minamoto no Mitsunaka had lived.]

[You sat on the floor, preparing to begin this matter of "communicating" with the living and the dead.]

"Abe-sama."

Tamamo no Mae placed the mirror in her hand between the two of them.

"You might see some strange things later."

"But please don't be afraid."

"This humble one promises you that as long as this humble one is here, Abe-sama, you will definitely not be harmed in any way."

"Hmm," Abe no Taishin nodded.

"I understand."

"Tama-chan, I believe you."

A touch of shy red appeared on Tamamo no Mae's fair cheeks.

This trust from the Grand Onmyoji made her feel extremely happy.

"Then—"

"This humble one will begin now."

As Tamamo no Mae said these words, the mirror lying between the two of them also began to flicker.

Immediately afterwards, a light blue light enveloped the room little by little.

The Grand Onmyoji felt as if he had fallen into some place between reality and illusion.

However, because of Tamamo no Mae's promise, Abe no Taishin had no worries about this.

The sound of whistling wind rang in the Grand Onmyoji's ears—that was a sign that the departed soul was gradually becoming active.

When everything quieted down, Minamoto no Mitsunaka would reappear.

[The sound stopped.]

[You originally thought you would be able to see Minamoto no Mitsunaka's figure.]

[At the same time, because of his identity as Minamoto no Raiko's husband, you knew he would definitely tell you everything he knew.]

[But the figure you finally saw was someone else.]

[To be precise, it should only be a vague appearance.]

Very familiar.

But also very strange.

He had definitely seen him before, but not too many times.

Even—

Most likely only once.

Abe no Taishin looked at the figure before him that he couldn't fully identify, and only this feeling remained in his mind.

But he knew this was the only way he could save Minamoto no Raiko.

Even if he wasn't familiar—

He still had to ask clearly.

"Are you Minamoto no Mitsunaka?"

Abe no Taishin looked at the figure before him and asked.

But the other party's answer once again exceeded the Grand Onmyoji's expectations.

"Oh—"

"You're talking about Mitsunaka."

"I'm sorry, I'm not him,"

The figure continued, "But I did give him two good swords."

"..."

[You knew that the two good swords referred to "Higekiri" and "Hizamaru."]

[It wasn't that you hadn't heard Minamoto no Mitsunaka talk about their origins.]

[They were things given to him by a Grand Onmyoji who also had the surname "Abe."]

[You realized that this vague figure before you was another "Abe."]

"Could you be..."

Before Abe no Taishin could finish speaking, the other party had already spoken first.

"Yes, you guessed right."

"I have the same surname as you, and I'm also an Onmyoji. As for my name—it's Seimei."

"Abe no Seimei?" Abe no Taishin subconsciously said his name.

"Hahahaha, that feels good. Being able to hear my descendant call out my name is indeed a pleasant thing."

"Descendant?"

Abe no Taishin felt that things were not looking good.

And this bad feeling soon turned into reality.

He saw Abe no Seimei nod, then say:

"Yes, Abe no Seimei, the fifth generation, Abe no Taishin."

"You are the descendant I created using the Holy Grail."

"What?"

[You heard something you had never expected.]

[You couldn't believe it all.]

[But all of this seemed to be within Abe no Seimei's expectations.]

"Don't rush to deny it."

Abe no Seimei looked at Abe no Taishin before him.

"If I remember correctly—"

"A month ago, you dealt with Ashiya Dōman, right?"

"How do you know?"

Abe no Taishin felt a little unbelievable—after all, he didn't think that the Abe no Seimei before him would have witnessed everything.

"Oh... don't worry, I wasn't spying on you."

Abe no Seimei's tone became much gentler.

"You should still remember those rumors about 'Abe' when you came to Heian-kyō, right?"

"Hmm."

Abe no Taishin hadn't forgotten the day he came to Kyoto with Minamoto no Raiko.

That was the moment he realized that the rumors were inconsistent with himself.

"Hmm... Ashiya Dōman knew about 'you' at that time."

"Now, calculating it, it should be around this time that he died."

"Taishin, you really do have that kind of power."

"Wait a minute!"

Abe no Taishin reached out his hand to stop Abe no Seimei.

"Don't just talk to yourself!"

"Why would you know what Ashiya Dōman was doing? This is already the level of knowing the future, isn't it?!"

"Yes, theoretically it shouldn't exist."

Abe no Seimei affirmed Abe no Taishin's statement.

"So—"

"In order to possess it, I paid a price."

"Taishin, you should know what that is."

[Abe no Seimei's words reminded you.]

[You thought about the source of this ability.]

[Because of the other party's identity as an Onmyoji, you quickly understood.]

[That was a behavior similar to Ashiya Dōman—he had cultivated a forbidden technique in Onmyōdō.]

[It's just that the former would pay the price of mental derangement.]

[And the latter...]

[Was the loss of the physical body.]

Onmyōdō emphasized absolute balance—once something was lacking in one place, something would inevitably happen to fill that void.

Only in this way could everything return to unity and operate according to the original rhythm.

Abe no Seimei's behavior was naturally no exception.

Among the forbidden Onmyōdō techniques, there was indeed a method that could allow an Onmyoji to know the future.

But as a balancing price, it would make the person who obtained this ability unable to influence the future again.

For example... losing the physical body.

However—

There was still room for manipulation within this.

For example, at the moment of obtaining this ability, arranging everything properly.

This way, even if the physical body was destroyed, the future could still proceed in the direction one wanted.

And at some point in the future, using other means to reverse everything back to the original track.

This was the way to deceive fate.

But was this kind of thing really something that ordinary people could do?

Abe no Seimei seemed to see through the doubts in Abe no Taishin's heart, and he directly said:

"Of course, I couldn't have done this kind of thing with my personal abilities alone."

"But fortunately, I encountered the Holy Grail—and then summoned you."

"You are the existence that will change everything with me, so I can safely abandon my physical body."

The memories in Abe no Taishin's mind completely traced back to that day in the past.

"Your name is Abe no Taishin."

"The one who will change the fate of the Minamoto clan."

The one who said these words was none other than Abe no Seimei before him.

"Why did you do this?" Abe no Taishin asked in confusion.

"I am also human," Abe no Seimei's reply sounded, "I have things that I value."

"You want to protect Mitsunaka's daughter."

"And I—"

"Want to protect my friend Mitsunaka and his family."

Abe no Seimei's words were easy to understand.

He had deceived fate to save Minamoto no Mitsunaka and the Minamoto clan;

And what Abe no Taishin needed to do was to deceive everything back onto the right track again, thereby saving Minamoto no Raiko.

"So you would rather give up your own physical body for this?"

Abe no Taishin looked at Abe no Seimei, whose appearance couldn't even be identified.

"Do you think this is worth it?"

"Hahahaha." Abe no Seimei laughed loudly.

"Tairyuu, don't you think that before asking me such a question, you should think about why you are here?"

"Then, for Mitsunaka's daughter, do you think it's worth it?"

The gazes of the two generations of Onmyoji met.

Their thoughts became clear to each other in an instant.

Of course, it was worth it.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be this meeting across time at this moment.

"Then what should I do next?" Abe no Taishin got straight to the point.

It was as if this moment had been expected long ago.

Abe no Seimei was silent for a while, and finally seemed to make up his mind to tell the truth.

"The matter is actually very simple."

"Mitsunaka's daughter is a divine messenger, and she will turn into Ushi Gozen because there is no other power that can suppress Gozu Tennō."

"As long as she can obtain another power, the yin and yang within her will be balanced."

"Ushi Gozen will naturally cease to exist."

"As for the power strong enough to counter all of this, only you, who was created by the Holy Grail, can allow her to obtain it."

Abe no Seimei's gaze fell on Abe no Taishin.

It was a gaze of regret and apology.

"And if you want to achieve this—"

"The only way is for her to kill you personally."