While Nene was escorting the Onmyoji elders and the Onmyoji accompanying them towards the conference room, the elders and others were listening to the stories behind the sculptures and paintings on the wall as they passed.
"I hope... we made the right decision."
Murmuring in a low voice, Hidemoto's eyes swept over the majestic paintings on the wall.
They had taken a gamble due to the pressure they were currently facing.
The attacks on them were becoming more frequent and powerful, indicating that Hagoromo was growing stronger along with her Yokai subordinates.
On the contrary, they were currently in their weakest state compared to previous eras.
Nene, who was walking ahead of them, stopped before a door that had no handle.
Knock~ Knock~
Stopping before the door, Nene raised her hand and knocked twice.
Vibrate~
"WHO ARE YOU? STATE YOUR REASON. SHOW ME YOUR ID."
A deep female voice came from the door after Nene's knocks.
Hearing the voice, the Onmyoji looked at the door curiously.
'Where does the voice come from?'
Ruiji, Yura's elder brother, narrowed his eyes and tried to sense the source of the voice.
"Nene... CODE: A001, I am here to escort the guests to the conference room as per order."
Without showing any reaction, Nene took her membership card and presented it to the door.
Swoosh~
Suddenly, a small circular opening appeared on the door, and a bright light scanned the membership card that Nene was holding.
For some reason, all those present felt that the light was not ordinary but more like someone's line of sight.
Thud~
After verifying the membership card, the light vanished, and the small opening closed, leaving no trace.
With a thud, the door automatically opened, revealing nothing but darkness inside.
"Please enter, sir... Lord Leo is waiting for you inside."
After the door opened, Nene informed the Kyoto Onmyoji who had come to visit.
Hidemoto nodded and stepped forward.
No matter how hard the Onmyoji tried to sense life signatures or Yokai inside the room, they couldn't detect any.
Flash~
When they entered, the dark surroundings shifted, and bright light momentarily blinded them.
As the light faded, they opened their eyes and found themselves in the conference room.
Leo was sitting at the center of the U-shaped meeting table, with a large blank screen behind him.
"Welcome to Hotel Continental."
Seeing the Onmyoji arrive, Leo smiled widely, spreading his arms in welcome.
"Sir Leo, I am Hidemoto, one of the elders of the Keikain clan, and they are..."
Hidemoto nodded and introduced the other elders and Onmyoji accompanying them.
After the introductions, Leo invited them to take seats at the U-shaped table.
"Yura... you too, take a seat."
With a nod, they all took their seats. Noticing Yura was about to leave, Leo called her and asked her to stay.
"____"
Hearing Leo's words, Yura looked at him in confusion but nodded and took the empty seat between Elder Chiyo and Leo.
After a few moments of silence, Elder Hidemoto broke the quiet, explaining their visit with a solemn expression while the other Onmyoji watched Leo intently, their seriousness filling the atmosphere and making Yura anxious.
The elders explained the importance of the four guardian pillars and how they were used to seal powerful Yokai.
They also spoke of Hagoromo's power and how the seals in the guardian pillars were weakening, allowing her power to slowly return.
If Hagoromo fully regained her strength, she would destroy all of Kyoto.
So, they came seeking help from Hotel Continental to stop Hagoromo Gitsune from succeeding.
Um~
Hearing the explanation, Leo looked at the Onmyoji without taking his eyes off them.
Sigh~
"This is only one side of the story."
With a sigh, Leo shook his head, surprising the Onmyoji who were expecting an answer.
"What do you mean, 'one side of the story'?"
With narrowed eyes, Ruiji asked, confused, and the other Onmyoji exchanged puzzled looks.
Yura also watched Leo with expectation, knowing that after spending time with him, Leo never spoke nonsense.
Cough~ Cough~
"Well, you see, let me explain the other side of the story. It's called 'A Mother and a Fake Child.'"
Feeling everyone's gaze on him, Leo cleared his throat and, with a mysterious tone, began telling the story of a mother and a fake child.
Hearing the title, everyone in the conference room grew intrigued and listened closely.
Leo told them about Abe no Seimei, a powerful Onmyoji who considered Hagoromo Gitsune his mother.
Flashback Story...
A thousand years ago...
Hagoromo Gitsune was a powerful and cunning Yokai who had taken the form of a human woman and lived in Kyoto.
During this time, she infiltrated the noble Fujiwara family.
Hagoromo Gitsune was Minamoto no Seimei's wife, but she eventually betrayed him and killed him, setting off a chain of events that would lead to her downfall.
Abe no Seimei had short, spiky black hair, dark eyes with black markings underneath them, and three separate beards around his chin. He wore the traditional robes of an Onmyoji.
Seimei sought immortality and searched for a way to perfect a resurrection technique that would allow him to live forever through reincarnation.
He realized that the only way to achieve this was through his mother, Hagoromo Gitsune, repeatedly giving birth to him.
His original reason for wanting eternal life stemmed from his desire to create a perfect world for both humans and Yokai.
After discovering the truth, Yorimichi enlisted the help of Onmyoji exorcists—those who had the power to deal with Yokai.
Hagoromo Gitsune had used her powers to manipulate and control the noble Fujiwara family, and given her immense strength as a nine-tailed fox Yokai, directly confronting her was extremely difficult.
She had established a strong foothold in Kyoto.
To defeat Hagoromo Gitsune, Yorimichi and the Onmyoji attacked her and her loyal Yokai followers.
Through the combined efforts of powerful exorcism techniques and strategic planning, they managed to corner her.
Though incredibly strong, Hagoromo Gitsune could not withstand the full might of the Onmyoji's sealing and purification powers.
In a dramatic battle, Hagoromo Gitsune was finally struck down by the combined forces of Fujiwara no Yorimichi's soldiers and the exorcisms of the Onmyoji.
This led to her death.
Not knowing what had happened to his mother, Seimei was planning how to execute his plan for immortality.
But all his plans were destroyed by his Chief Advisor, Yorimichi, who shared the same immortal ambition as Seimei.
Hearing that one could achieve eternal youth by eating a fox's liver, Yorimichi called Seimei to assign an important task to him, not knowing that the fox was Seimei's mother.
Yorimichi entrusted Seimei with the task of creating an elixir of life from the fox's arrow-riddled body.
When he heard that his mother had been killed, Seimei, enraged, slaughtered all the court members present and left, carrying his mother's dead body.
Hagoromo Gitsune's soul persisted, and she eventually reincarnated by possessing human bodies, continuing her existence and reign of terror over the ages.
Flashback Ends...
After hearing the full story, everyone in the conference room remained silent.
All this time, they had believed Yorimichi's defeat of Hagoromo Gitsune was one of Kyoto's greatest victories, but now they had learned the dark truth behind the story.
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(Author's POV)
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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