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[C.G] Ch 166: Shift in Plans
🕑 Added 2025-06-28 20:32:40 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Thanks to the warm welcome from the two Oni Kings, a small, lively feast—complete with fine sake and delicious food—quietly began in the courtyard of the manor, serving as the prelude to the war on the Moon.
...
Meanwhile—
Across the lands of Japan, one after another, powerful auras surged into the sky—each at least on the level of a high-class yokai, if not greater.
A massive wolf, its body like a mountain and covered in jagged bone spikes…
A grotesque spider with a human head, cloaked in noxious miasma…
A seductive woman with a serpent's lower half, oozing otherworldly charm…
A towering skeletal head formed from hundreds of human skulls…
A monstrous being with ten faces, a thousand arms, and countless legs…
One by one, creatures that usually remained bound to their remote territories—whether because they were ancient yokai clinging to life since the Age of Myth, humans like the shrine maiden Midoriko who normally had no love for yokai, or spirits who once held bitter grudges—all began to stir.
Each high-class yokai unleashed their aura—their presence—into the world.
And as if drawn by instinct, lesser yokai of all kinds—small fry, low-level, mid-tier, and even near-breakthrough elites—started swarming toward those powerful auras. Their own Yōki (demonic energy) naturally merged with the high-class yokai's, forming massive "Night Parades of a Hundred Demons" under the banners of those apex monsters.
...
"I knew you didn't die that day!"
From the depths of a swamp, a poisonous flood dragon erupted into the air. The moment it sensed a familiar presence—another powerful aura it remembered all too well—it burst out laughing and launched itself straight at the source.
BOOM!
The shockwave from their clash shook the ground, the impact laced with corrosive poison strong enough to melt stone.
Within moments, the battle was over.
Caught off guard by the first strike, the opposing yokai was torn apart in a brutal instant. Blood and gore scattered across the battlefield.
Standing atop the mangled corpse, the poison dragon clutched the still-beating heart of its long-time rival in its jaws—then swallowed it whole with a guttural growl of satisfaction.
Throwing its head back, it let out a triumphant howl that echoed for miles.
Its own forces—the yokai that had already gathered beneath it—quickly moved in under its signal. They swarmed the battlefield, feasting on the fallen rival's remains.
As for the now-masterless yokai that had once served the slain monster? Aside from a small handful who turned tail and ran, most of them didn't hesitate. They immediately submitted to the poison dragon and joined its legion.
The sheer terror it inspired, now multiplied by a bloody victory, pushed the poison dragon's aura to an even higher level than before.
"Yes! This is how it should be!"
It laughed wildly, feeding off the rising fear, which only made it stronger. Without wasting any more time, it led its newly expanded horde—the Poison Dragon Faction—toward the location given to it by that so-called "Yokai Sage".
But it didn't rush. The poison dragon kept its pace slow and steady.
Not just to absorb more yokai into its growing army as it went—but to draw in more fear, whether from humans or yokai. Fear was power, and it wanted all it could get before the battle truly began.
Not long after the poison dragon departed—
Less than ten miles from the battlefield where it had slain its rival, a figure stepped out from the shadows.
Clad in a red-and-white shrine maiden uniform layered with armor, sword in hand, Midoriko emerged from her hidden vantage point.
In her mind, the image of a certain golden-haired yokai rose—"Yukari Yakumo…"
Because of her last connection with Veyron, Yukari had taken time between rallying her forces to share the full scope of her plan with Midoriko —one of the few humans to unlock the Gene Lock.
Yukari didn't want any misunderstandings. Midoriko was too important.
So Midoriko knew—what she had just witnessed wasn't some random coincidence.
It was only a glimpse of the chaos already unfolding across Japan, a twisted celebration of monsters and spirits, each one more otherworldly than the last.
This was the beginning of Yukari Yakumo's grand plan.
In that plan, a huge portion of Earth's yokai—especially those like the poison dragon who fed on humans and thrived on fear—were destined to disappear.
And Midoriko? She was more than fine with that.
But seeing the way the poison dragon and its army operated—brutal, uncontrollable, and utterly lacking restraint—she couldn't help but wonder: how many innocents would suffer before Yukari's plan was fully in place? If she hadn't been warned ahead of time, she probably would've drawn her sword and gone straight for extermination the moment she laid eyes on them.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Midoriko made her decision. She would follow the poison dragon's group from a distance—for now.
Huh?"
"Worried they'll cause trouble for ordinary people along the way? You don't have to be."
A few miles into her pursuit, the dense demonic energy of the poison dragon's horde made them easy to track. And then, without warning, a face took shape beside her—formed from shapeless mist.
It was Veyron, manifesting his will beside her.
"As long as they behave and head straight for the designated location, fine. But if any of them try to use this rare chance to chase some delusion they could never achieve on their own… I'll erase them. Body and soul."
Even as he spoke—
Far away, a powerful yokai that had stirred up a night parade of demons, but ignored Yukari's orders and led its army to slaughter a nearby village for "fun"…
Was suddenly engulfed in flames—black and white, conjured from within its own body. In an instant, it and every single one of its minions were reduced to ash. Not even dust remained.
— — —
A few days later—
It was Full moon, the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar. The night when the moon appeared fullest in the northern hemisphere.
It was also the date Yukari Yakumo had calculated to be the most ideal time each month to open a dimensional gateway to the Moon.
According to the original plan, tonight was the night when Earth's demons would bare their fangs and launch their assault on the Moon's ruling class.
And indeed, the number of yokai gathering around the lake swelled by the hour—waves of demonic energy converging into one enormous storm. Day or night, the skies above were thick with dark clouds. The entire region had become a haunted wasteland.
..
But up on the hill overlooking the lake, inside the manor built for the war's orchestrators…
The "main character" of this war didn't look pleased at all.
In fact, Princess Kaguya Houraisan was frowning slightly.
"Dad… if I were to say, right now, that I don't want to use these filthy things anymore… would that make me seem a little spoiled?"
From her elevated position, she looked down at the horde gathering by the lake—those monsters vying for dominance, spreading fear, or outright tearing into each other for the sake of devouring their kin.
In just a few days, a once-beautiful lake had been transformed into a wasteland—swarming with savage yokai.
"Listen to yourself," Veyron chuckled, raising a brow. "Didn't we pursue power in the first place so we could do exactly what we want? To have the freedom to say no to anything we don't like?"
"…You're right."
A soft smile bloomed on Kaguya's face. She turned toward the golden-haired yokai who had been working on this plan long before Veyron ever showed up.
"This time I'm being selfish. I hope the wise yokai sage can forgive me."
"No need," Yukari Yakumo said with a carefree wave, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "I just wanted a bunch of those monsters out there to die anyway. Whether they die up there on the Moon or right here makes no difference to me."
"Still, there are some good ones among them. They will be the future of Gensokyo, so..."
.
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