Hida Mountain.
Here lay one of the four most important Netherworld Barriers in Japan, and it was also very close to another massive Netherworld Barrier that divided Japan into its eastern and western halves.
After the Pillar of Heaven appeared, a golden king also descended upon this place.
The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
"What a truly filthy sight."
From the Vimana, a shining boat made of gold and emeralds, Gilgamesh looked down in disgust at the countless Cursed Spirits crawling across the ground.
In Gilgamesh's eyes, these ugly creatures born from curses were merely pests defiling his garden.
The golden king sat comfortably on his golden throne, his right arm resting on the armrest, his face filled with displeasure.
Gilgamesh raised his left arm and gently waved it.
The next second, countless golden gates opened in the sky, and innumerable Noble Phantasms rained down on Hida Mountain like cannonballs.
Each falling Noble Phantasm unleashed destructive power no less than that of heavy artillery.
The dense Cursed Energy visibly diminished under the bombardment of the Noble Phantasms.
Soon, countless attacks rose from the ground and shot toward the Vimana soaring in the sky.
At the same time, a large number of flying Cursed Spirits began rushing into the sky.
"I'll play with you all for a bit."
Seeing the ants' futile resistance, a joyful smile appeared on the cruel tyrant's lips.
The Vimana began performing various difficult maneuvers.
The dense attacks did not hit the Vimana even once.
Even while facing three hundred thousand Cursed Spirits alone, Gilgamesh's expression remained unchanged.
Instead, the three hundred thousand Cursed Spirits were continuously being annihilated.
Finally, some Cursed Spirits became afraid.
Three hundred thousand Cursed Spirits were actually defeated by the king standing in the sky, all by himself.
Even if there were no Special Grade Cursed Spirits among them, this was still a scene unimaginable to the Jujutsu World.
"Is this all there is?"
A trace of boredom flashed in Gilgamesh's eyes, then countless Noble Phantasms shot out, utterly shattering the Pillar of Heaven.
Soon, the golden king arrived beside another Pillar of Heaven.
This was the largest Netherworld Barrier in Japan, and it also had the largest Pillar of Heaven prepared by Abe no Seimei.
Beside the Pillar of Heaven were seven hundred thousand Cursed Spirits left by Kenjaku.
Kenjaku had directly released one million Cursed Spirits sealed in a nearby small vault, then trapped them with a Barrier beside the two Pillars of Heaven to act as guards.
The Cursed Energy formed from countless negative emotions covered the sky like dark clouds.
The originally clear sky now became gray and gloomy.
Beside a beautiful giant tree, countless Cursed Spirits bared their fangs and claws like demons, releasing malice and curses.
"Tens of thousands of monsters and a world, a Netherworld Barrier, that divides this country in half. It is barely adequate as a stage to celebrate my arrival."
With that, the golden king stood up from his throne.
Accompanied by the heavy clang of armor, Gilgamesh walked to the front of the Vimana.
A golden gate of light opened above Gilgamesh's right hand.
A magnificent key appeared in Gilgamesh's hand.
Crimson patterns emerged from where the key was inserted, shooting straight into the sky, and soon, a strangely shaped sword appeared in Gilgamesh's hand.
"Awaken, Ea, and announce the king's arrival to the world!"
The cylindrical sword body began to show crimson patterns.
Terrifying magical power began to gather.
"Recite the genesis.
When heaven and earth were sundered, even the void offered blessings to this!"
Ea began spinning at high speed, and the surrounding space emitted sounds of unbearable strain.
"What tears the world apart is my Sword of Rupture."
"Enuma Elish!"
A crimson storm swept toward the base of the Pillar of Heaven.
The Pillar of Heaven and the Cursed Spirits enveloped by the crimson storm instantly turned to dust.
The crimson storm did not stop, but continued toward the Netherworld Barrier beneath the foundation.
Rumble.
Soon, this massive Netherworld Barrier, which stretched across the entire country and divided Japan into eastern and western parts, began to collapse.
Countless cracks began to spread, and a scene of heaven and earth collapsing unfolded within the Netherworld Barrier.
This Netherworld Barrier, created by Tengen, which ran through and connected the nation's Barriers, was completely destroyed by the crimson storm, and countless remnants of Cursed Energy within the Netherworld Barrier gushed out.
Centered on this location, people throughout central Japan even felt a distinct tremor due to the destruction of the Netherworld Barrier and the impact of the Cursed Energy...
Kyoto, beside the last Pillar of Heaven.
Abe no Seimei looked north with a solemn expression.
According to the original plan, the Pillar of Heaven in Tokyo was a means to attract the Jujutsu World's attention.
When the Jujutsu World began dealing with the Pillar of Heaven in Tokyo, Abe no Seimei could seize control of over eighty percent of the nation's Barriers through the other Pillars of Heaven.
Kenjaku could also take the opportunity to execute his plan to seal Satoru.
At that time, with Satoru sealed, the unimaginably vast Cursed Energy in the underground Netherworld Barriers across the country would also become his foundation for creating an endless supply of Shikigami.
However, in Abe no Seimei's perception, the Pillar of Heaven in Tokyo was completely destroyed only a dozen minutes after it appeared.
It was not that Abe no Seimei thought the Jujutsu World had no way to destroy the Pillar of Heaven.
Rather, that speed was clearly abnormal.
That huge thing had suddenly appeared, and its location was the Imperial Palace.
Did they not need to evacuate the crowds? Did they not need to investigate what this thing was? Did they not need to find a reasonable solution while trying not to damage the Imperial Palace?
How could the Pillar of Heaven be destroyed so quickly?
However, not long after, something even more surprising happened to Abe no Seimei.
The other two Pillars of Heaven he used to control the national Barriers were also destroyed.
Not only that, even the massive underground Netherworld Barrier that traversed all of Japan disappeared after letting out a mournful cry.
All the Barriers south of central Japan lost their connection to the Netherworld Barrier. If new connections were not established, these Barriers would soon become ineffective.
"Has Tengen abandoned her goal?"
This was what puzzled Abe no Seimei the most.
Without the large amount of Cursed Energy accumulated in the underground Netherworld Barrier, how would Tengen complete her assimilation with humans and evolve?
And how would he establish a new order, select people, and lead them to a new world?
Just then, Kenjaku, who had immediately retreated after sensing that something was wrong, rushed back to Kyoto.
"The plan failed. The enemy seems to have been prepared."
Kenjaku arrived before Abe no Seimei with a young girl.
"I understand. It seems there is a problem with Tengen."
Abe no Seimei looked at Kenjaku.
He also saw surprise and a moment of panic in Kenjaku's eyes.
This confirmed to Abe no Seimei that Kenjaku was not the problem.
"Your plan seems to have failed too. What do you plan to do next?"
Kenjaku asked.
This was his most pressing concern now.
"Since the Pillar of Heaven plan has failed, then we abandon the Pillar of Heaven.
Is the Prison Realm still there?"
Abe no Seimei looked at Kenjaku.
"It is."
Kenjaku nodded.
He had not expected Abe no Seimei to have such great resolve.
Many people, when their meticulously prepared plans failed, became self-destructive, even falling into madness and destruction.
But Abe no Seimei accepted reality so quickly and abandoned the efforts he had spent so long preparing?
"Given Satoru's personality, he will definitely come here first.
Since that is the case, we will use the Pillar of Heaven as bait to seal Satoru again."
After saying that, Abe no Seimei looked at Kenjaku.
"As long as either Satoru or Eichi disappears, we will have no more rivals before us."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)