Kyoto...
When the dark mass of a baby with foul black flesh shattered, it revealed a human appearance but with distinctly supernatural features.
He was none other than Nue.
His face is sharp, pale, and elegant, giving him a refined yet cold and intimidating look, and he has long, wavy blonde hair and yellow eyes with black sclera.
He is also noticeably muscular, and he doesn't wear any clothes.
When his eyes landed on the yokai present, there was a glint glowing with a malevolent aura.
They are sharp, with slit-like pupils, resembling a predator or an inhuman being.
The intense gaze emphasizes his yōkai nature and the immense power he currently possesses.
The aura he revealed made everyone present feel the pressure of the immense power released by Nue, putting them on high alert.
When the Kyoto yokai saw Nue being reborn and radiating an aura this strong, it made them look at Nue in awe.
They had heard many things from Jizo while their leader, Hagoromo Gitsune, was busy saving energy for giving birth to her son for so many years.
So, their questions were answered by the enthusiastic Jizo.
He also stated that Nue's noble ambition is to change the world and create a society where yokai rule over normal humans.
To maintain the stability of the world and also help them live freely without needing to fear humans finding them out.
This ambition sent ripples through the Kyoto yokai, and not only them but also many who joined the Kyoto faction were swayed by the ambition of Nue.
Having freedom and living without the need to fear humans discovering their existence and enslaving them so they could create a better civilization.
This was a far-off dream for Yokai, who saw the rapid development of humans who were very weak and once feared them.
But now, over time, they slowly forgot about their existence and even considered them a myth.
Not only that, but humans rapidly developed over the years, while yokai were left in the dust.
Even though Yokai also achieved development, the progress was very slow.
The main reason is their aggressive nature, where battles frequently occur among themselves, which stagnates their development.
Even though Leo established the Continental Hotel and brought many factions and clans of yokai under it...
And made many changes to the Yokai society, which experienced rapid development that benefited many Yokai.
Not all of them were happy with the Continental Hotel because many Yokai believed that they couldn't coexist with humans, whom they considered weak.
Instead of coexisting, they wanted to make all the humans into slaves or kill them.
They felt the rules of the Continental were restricting their freedom severely, and all those who opposed the Constitution ran away from it and joined the Kyoto Yokai faction.
Leo already knew this, which is why he brought his large fleet to Kyoto to eliminate them once and for all, or at least severely weaken them so they wouldn't cause any trouble for a brief period of time.
He knew all of them would choose Seimei instead of Hagoromo Gitsune to follow.
So, when the moment arrived, Leo would order his men to take all of those yokai down.
"Seimei!... You are back... Seimei!... Seimei!... Come to your mother."
Shaking those memories that were resurfacing in her mind, Hagoromo Gitsune, who was very tired after giving birth to Seimei, now Nue, left her physical body temporarily to meet her son, whom she had missed all this time.
In her spirit form, she was in a hybrid form, with a human-like body with fox features.
When she reached Nue, with a bright smile on her face, happy tears were streaming from her eyes in joy.
Even though she had been warned by Leo about Seimei and Jizo's manipulation of her...
She was angry at Jizo for manipulating her and the yokai from the Kyoto faction, but she still believed that her son still loved her as a mother.
All she wanted was for him to live happily, so when she saw him finally before her, she couldn't control herself, even though her physical body was not able to move.
She abandoned it without a second thought, even knowing she would be weaker in that state.
"Mother..."
Seeing Hagoromo Gitsune hugging him with motherly love and crying on his shoulder, Nue called her softly.
Sob~
"Your mother has kept her promise."
Sob~
While sobbing, still emotional due to her emotions being suppressed all this time, which caused an outburst, she declared at him happily, waiting to see his happy reaction.
"Seimei, why did you pull all those strings behind the scenes to manipulate me? Don't you believe in me, Seimei? Answer me, Seimei... Answer me..."
With a hurt look on her face, she finally asked the question that had been haunting her.
She had already seen glimpses of the past where she found out about the manipulation, but she wanted to hear it from her son's mouth.
"Sorry, Mother..."
Without any emotion on his face, Nue looked at his mother and asked for her forgiveness.
"____"
Seeing the indifferent man before her made her remember the memory of the innocent Seimei she used to take care of.
"That's Hell... That is the place where all humans and Ayakashi will return after their death."
Just when she was about to forgive him, Nue's tone turned even colder with indifference, which stopped her.
Suddenly, a portal opened on the land below them, where hot magma, alive and boiling, radiated high temperatures.
"Hell?... Seimei?..."
Before she could comprehend why a portal to Hell was opened below them, her powers started to drain rapidly, which made her eyes widen.
She lost her ability to fly, now hanging in the air, holding her son tightly.
Push~
"I thank you, my dear mother, for those thousands of years.
Because of you, I can walk this path once more. For those long years, you were my sun, my light of hope and warmth."
With those words, he pushed Hagoromo Gitsune's spirit, in her weaker state, into the portal below.
"Seimei!... Why?... Why?... Seimei..."
Being pushed into Hell by her son like this made her scream in shock.
Previously, she thought Seimei manipulated her due to the fear that his mother might fail.
But now, seeing him discard her like nothing, made her realize that his love for her had long since vanished from his heart.
Now all that remained was a yokai who had abandoned everything, including the love in his heart, to achieve his goal.
Many decaying hands, like zombies, stretched out from the hot magma and caught Hagoromo Gitsune, starting to pull her into Hell.
"By turning my back on you, Mother, will I be able to walk this path again? With a light behind, darkness casts the shadow I will proceed..."
Not caring one bit about his mother, Nue turned and opened both arms wide, declaring loudly with his head held high, proud.
"Loser..."
But was interrupted by a mocking voice calling him a loser.
Flash~
With a rumble and an electric spark, Leo appeared before Hagoromo Gitsune, who had a desperate look on her face.
All she could see was her son turning his back on her, throwing her into the magma to kill her.
But a shadow cast over her suddenly when Leo appeared with a flash of electric arcs.
"Leo???"
Looking at the man who had previously warned her and now jumped into Hell's Gate to save her without any hesitation, she was stunned for a moment.
When Leo opened his palm, he summoned his Rekeri sword from his inventory.
With a clear swing, leaving behind a blue arc, the sword easily cut through the hands that were holding Hagoromo Kitsune.
"____"
With a frown on his face, Nue turned to see his mother being hugged by a man who had also jumped inside the Hell's Gate.
"Don't do it! The Hell Gate will absorb the power and life force of a yokai who is weaker than its summoner."
With panic on her face, Hagoromo Gitsune tried to warn Leo to move away from the Hell gate before he could come in contact with it.
Even for her, she could only last for a few seconds before her vitality was exhausted and she was mercilessly pulled inside.
Snort~
"Insect... Trying to play the hero."
With a disdainful snort escaping his mouth, Nue looked at Leo with narrowed eyes, waiting to see how Leo would be pulled inside the magma, where the Hell gate was present.
Thud~
Ripple~ Ripple~
With a solid thud, ripples spread throughout the outer surface of the magma.
"____"
With a calm look, Leo jumped out of the portal, landed on the surface, and calmly walked toward Hagoromo Gitsune's physical body.
"Go in."
He placed Hagoromo Gitsune's spirit near her physical body and asked her to go in.
With a nod, taking a glance at Nue, who was drowning, and seeing she was alive, with saddened eyes, Hagoromo Gitsune obeyed and entered her physical body.
Nue was stunned, looking at Leo, who had effortlessly jumped from the Hell portal without breaking a sweat.
This indicated that the one who saved his mother from being absorbed by him might be a stronger yokai with power equal to his own.
He narrowed his eyes. No matter how much he thought, he couldn't recall a yokai with this type of power from his memory.
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(Author's POV)
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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