Chapter 60: Aoi Spiral Castle
What surprised Yumesaki, however, was that the Suguru Geto occupied by Kenjaku still served as the vice leader of the Star Religious Group, his position completely unchanged from before.
This led Yumesaki to guess that Kenjaku was actually just a subordinate to the leader of the Star Religious Group as well.
Or rather, the two of them belonged to the exact same faction.
Additionally, it was worth noting that Yumesaki finally saw the true form of the Star Religious Group's leader within Number One's memories.
Previously, when he checked Suguru Geto's memories, he found that this specific part was blurred out, likely due to the leader using some kind of spell to make people forget his face.
However, this type of spell didn't seem to affect Cursed Spirits.
Number One remembered the appearance of the leader perfectly.
It was a man with a sturdy, muscular build and blonde hair.
This person was none other than Nue, the being given birth by Hagoromo Gitsune, also known as Abe no Seimei.
This essentially confirmed that the leader of the Star Religious Group was indeed Abe no Seimei.
His suspicion had been correct.
"Good, very good."
Yumesaki grew excited, finally finding the man who had been hiding in the shadows. He immediately gathered Medea, Medusa, Emiya, Cu Chulainn, King Hassan, Heracles, and Nero.
He then led them to the Nura Clan's headquarters once again.
The moment Nurarihyon saw Yumesaki, a wave of annoyance instantly rose in his chest.
During the last celebration party, Nero's singing had almost completely wiped out the Nura Clan's yokai, yet Yumesaki had slipped away halfway through the disaster—an event Nurarihyon would remember for the rest of his life.
Now that he finally caught sight of Yumesaki again, Nurarihyon immediately began to complain.
"I say, you—"
"I found Abe no Seimei. Are you coming or not?"
With just one sentence, Yumesaki choked all of Nurarihyon's complaints right back down his throat.
"I'm coming."
Nurarihyon barely hesitated before agreeing.
Ever since killing Hagoromo Gitsune, Nurarihyon knew that Abe no Seimei was the true mastermind behind everything, and he hated him to the bone. Furthermore, his son, Rihan Nura, had also fallen victim to Abe no Seimei's schemes.
The two of them had long since reached a point where they could not coexist under the same sky.
Now that there was an opportunity to gang up on Abe no Seimei, hesitating even for a single second would be a betrayal of the Nura Clan.
"Excellent."
Yumesaki nodded with satisfaction, then took Nurarihyon and the Nura Clan members along, heading once more to Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School to find Satoru Gojo.
"It's you."
Seeing Yumesaki bring a whole horde of yokai and spirits to the school, Gojo's expression gradually grew serious.
Was this guy planning to destroy the school?
At that thought, Gojo immediately pulled off his blindfold, intending to strike first to gain the upper hand.
"I found Abe no Seimei. Are you coming or not?" Yumesaki repeated the exact same line.
Hearing these words, Gojo reacted instantly. "So you were the one who killed Hagoromo Gitsune too?"
"That's right," Yumesaki nodded.
"No wonder." Gojo finally understood. No wonder Hagoromo Gitsune had been completely uprooted in a single night by someone.
Someone capable of defeating him could naturally defeat Hagoromo Gitsune as well.
"Fine." Gojo agreed immediately. As the current generation's wielder of the Six Eyes, taking down Abe no Seimei could be considered his duty; after all, the Six Eyes existed precisely to deal with this man.
With the participation of the Nura Clan and Satoru Gojo, Yumesaki felt their numbers were sufficient. He waved his hand grandly, leading everyone enthusiastically toward Abe no Seimei's stronghold.
The reason the Japanese authorities hadn't been able to find a single trace of Abe no Seimei wasn't because they were incompetent.
It was because Abe no Seimei was simply too formidable.
The man was actually hiding in an alternate dimension completely cut off from the current world.
No wonder the higher-ups had searched for so long without finding anything.
This alternate dimension was known as—Aoi Spiral Castle.
It was a realm established by Abe no Seimei himself through immense effort. Without his permission, no one could enter or leave this place.
Even Number One couldn't enter Aoi Spiral Castle without authorization under normal circumstances.
But things were different now.
Since he had discovered the location of Aoi Spiral Castle through Number One's memories, Yumesaki could use the power of the Door Door Fruit to freely enter and exit the space, completely bypassing any need for Abe no Seimei's consent.
At that very moment.
Inside Aoi Spiral Castle.
Abe no Seimei, who was in the middle of meditation, suddenly snapped his eyes open.
Just a moment ago, he felt the spells anchoring the Aoi Spiral Castle get triggered; someone had broken in.
This was an unprecedented event.
Immediately afterward, an atmospheric portal slowly opened in front of him, and a group of people walked straight through it.
Nurarihyon, the current wielder of the Six Eyes, and the man who had killed Suguru Geto.
Abe no Seimei's gaze flickered. He really hadn't expected that one day he would be cornered right at his own doorstep.
It happened so suddenly, far too suddenly.
He wasn't prepared yet, nor had he fully initiated his plans, but he was suddenly being cornered like this.
It was completely absurd.
Abe no Seimei's eyes locked onto Number One. "I am quite curious. Why did you betray me?"
Number One glanced at Yumesaki. "I never betrayed you. After all, I am fundamentally Master's creation."
Abe no Seimei felt a flicker of surprise. He had always assumed Number One was a naturally formed Cursed Spirit, never imagining she was actually man-made.
The fact that he hadn't seen through this spoke volumes about his opponent's capabilities.
Abe no Seimei's gaze then shifted to Yumesaki. "I am very curious. Just what kind of person are you?"
In his eyes, neither the current Six Eyes wielder nor Nurarihyon was enough to be feared.
Only Yumesaki remained completely unpredictable.
This man had never appeared a single time throughout past history.
He didn't belong to his own era, nor did he seem to fit into the current one, as if he had suddenly popped out of a rock out of nowhere.
Not only had he easily killed Suguru Geto, but he had also defeated his mother, Hagoromo Gitsune.
And now, he had even led a group straight to his doorstep.
Without a doubt, he was the greatest variable in the entire plan.
Therefore, Abe no Seimei was truly curious—who exactly was he?
Faced with the question, Yumesaki offered a slight smile. "You can just think of me as a passing bystander."
He truly thought that way. If it weren't for the fact that Abe no Seimei wanted to destroy the world—even dragging that great country in the east into it—Yumesaki wouldn't have bothered with him at all.
He would have preferred to remain a quiet, peaceful bystander.
However, this answer didn't convince Abe no Seimei. With an expressionless face, he said, "Even if you don't say it, I can guess your origins."
His eyes swept over Nero, Heracles, King Hassan, and the others before he spoke slowly, "You are not from this world, are you?"
As soon as these words were uttered, both Nurarihyon and Gojo were startled, looking toward Yumesaki simultaneously.
"Wow, you're pretty sharp to guess that."
Yumesaki didn't deny it; after all, his identity wasn't something he needed to hide.
If people found out, so be it, it wasn't a big deal.
Besides, there weren't many people in this world who could threaten him. With his current level of strength, Yumesaki possessed that kind of confidence.
"Since you are from another world, why interfere in our business?" Abe no Seimei frowned, a hint of incomprehension appearing in his eyes. "Or are all outsiders as meddlesome as you?"
"Not necessarily," Yumesaki waved his hand. "Honestly, if your plan didn't involve the rest of humanity, I wouldn't care what you did. What does it have to do with me?"
Abe no Seimei pondered for a moment. "I see. In that case, there is nothing left to say."
He couldn't possibly abandon his plans just for Yumesaki.
And seeing Yumesaki's aggressive stance today, it was equally impossible for him to back down easily.
In the end, a battle was inevitable.
If he won, he would clear away all obstacles and continue his plan.
If he lost, everything would end.
"Are you two done talking? If you are, can we start fighting now?" Gojo interjected lazily at that moment.
Abe no Seimei let out a soft snort, his gaze landing on Gojo. "The current generation's Six Eyes, huh? Let me see just how much of your ancestor's power you have actually inherited."
The moment he finished speaking, Abe no Seimei swung his sleeve while forming a spell sign. Countless black feathers suddenly filled the empty space of the hall, sweeping inward from all eight directions like razor-sharp blades.
Their target was singular—Satoru Gojo.
However, faced with such a ferocious, murderously intent assault, Gojo's expression didn't change at all.
When the thousands of black feathers came within about a foot of his body, they were forcefully halted in midair by an invisible barrier.
Limitless Cursed Technique.
This power brought the speed of any approaching object down to an absolute infinity, halting hundreds and thousands of attacks right in the air.
Abe no Seimei's face remained unbothered, his tangible killing intent flaring outward. Stomping his foot, he used a footwork technique to instantly close the distance. His palm, coated in a destructive dark-purple yokai energy, slammed toward Gojo at point-blank range.
"Close-quarters combat? I like it."
Instead of retreating, Gojo stepped forward, a gray-blue light condensing at his fingertips as the surrounding space rapidly compressed toward him.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
The supreme talent he was born with in the Jujutsu world erupted with a thunderous roar.
A tremendous blast shook the area.
The invisible distorting force collided violently with the thousand-year-old pitch-black yokai energy.
In an instant, the resulting shockwave blew away the roof tiles on the highest layer of Aoi Spiral Castle. Countless floor tiles disintegrated into dust, and even the defensive spells woven into the castle's foundation shook violently.
The two figures pushed back dozens of meters apart, the sleeve of Abe no Seimei's Onmyoji robes torn to shreds.
Gojo's face turned slightly pale. "You really are the grand Onmyoji who has lived for a thousand years. You're incredibly strong."
Abe no Seimei replied calmly, "The current Six Eyes isn't bad either."
Seeing Abe no Seimei's composed demeanor, Gojo knew that standard moves wouldn't work against this legendary figure. He unleashed his full power in an instant.
Raising a single hand, he spoke slowly, "Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void."
Time seemed to freeze as the world was sliced apart and reassembled. A massive influx of raw information and knowledge poured down from the sky, forcefully flooding into Abe no Seimei's brain.
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