Hearing this, Rowan could not help chuckling.
"I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable, Asuna. You even know about things like that."
Asuna retorted speechlessly, "Is there a possibility that in our country, this is basically a mythological story known to every household?"
Rowan was rendered speechless.
"Is that so?"
"That's right," Asuna said with certainty. "So who exactly is this Hagoromo-Gitsune?"
Rowan came back to himself and said softly, "Is there a possibility that Hagoromo-Gitsune is Kuzunoha?"
Asuna: "…"
She was shocked again and could not speak for a long time. Only her faint breathing could be heard through the phone.
After a long while, Asuna finally said, "You mean the legendary great onmyoji Abe no Seimei didn't die, and he is commanding his own mother to invade Tokyo and stage a Night Parade of a Hundred Demons?"
"That's right."
Rowan gave a casual hum.
"That's exactly it."
"Why? Why would he do that?"
"Yeah, why would he do that?"
Rowan was not too clear either, because nothing like this had happened in the original plot. For the moment, Rowan could not understand why Abe no Seimei was doing this.
"You don't know?"
"I'm not an omniscient and omnipotent god. Isn't it normal for me not to know something like this?"
"Then… doesn't the manga explain it? Hagoromo-Gitsune should also be from a manga, right?"
"That's right. She is."
Rowan first affirmed this, then said, "But you need to understand one thing. This is a crossover anime world, a world where a whole bunch of manga have been mixed together."
"The characters from all these crossover anime are intertwined and influencing each other. The plot has long since become a complete mess."
"As a modern person, you should understand that, right? The so-called butterfly effect."
Of course Asuna understood. It was precisely because she understood that she found it troublesome. If there were some things even Rowan did not know, then what should they do next?
"What do you plan to do?" After thinking for a moment, Asuna asked Rowan.
"Me?"
Rowan laughed in surprise, sat down heavily on the sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and calmly said, "Nothing."
"Huh?"
This answer was truly unexpected. Asuna's voice carried clear astonishment.
Rowan continued, "In the end, what does Hagoromo-Gitsune wanting to stage a Night Parade of a Hundred Demons have to do with me? I'm not from this world. Don't tell me you think I should risk my life fighting Hagoromo-Gitsune for a group of complete strangers."
At this point, Rowan narrowed his eyes.
If Asuna dared to criticize him next, he would block Asuna without hesitation.
What he hated most were people who stood on moral high ground and pointed fingers at others.
Fortunately, Asuna did not do that.
She was indeed kind, but she was also a normal person. She understood very clearly that what Rowan had just said was correct. You could not expect a person from another world to risk his life against Hagoromo-Gitsune.
That was not something he was obligated to do.
Moreover, Rowan was her lifesaver. If she did that, how would she be any different from a beast?
"I understand." After calming down, Asuna slowly said, "Thank you for your help. I've decided to join that school."
"You want to stop Hagoromo-Gitsune."
Rowan heard the decisiveness in Asuna's voice.
"My family and friends are in Tokyo. I can't watch them fall into danger."
"Alright. Then be careful."
"Don't worry. I will."
Asuna smiled and chatted with Rowan a little longer before finally hanging up.
Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Rowan could not help chuckling. Some people really were born heroes. Whenever the critical moment came, they would stand up without hesitation.
Only with people like that could a country continue, and even prosper.
Asuna was like that, and so were those past sages of Rowan's homeland who had shed their blood and sacrificed their lives.
To be honest, if the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons had happened in the great country of the East, Rowan would have both the interest and ability to stop it.
But since it was happening in Japan, whoever cared could deal with it. Rowan did not care.
As long as Hagoromo-Gitsune did not provoke him, they could each walk their own road under the open sky.
Time passed, and soon it was the next day.
Rowan continued staying at home playing games. Sometimes Nero would play with him too, such as It Takes Two or fighting games.
Whenever that happened, Nero would become extremely excited, constantly making sounds like "Wow," "Umu," and "Huh?"
When she won, she would freely mock Rowan.
"You're not very good either, Praetor."
When she lost, she would grab the corner of Rowan's clothes with teary eyes.
"One more round, one more round, Praetor."
Naturally, Rowan would not refuse. Who could refuse such a cute Nero?
As for Medea, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to researching yokai. Kidomaru and Ibaraki-dōji had both become her research materials.
No one had expected that after only three days, she would actually manage to research something.
One morning, while Rowan was playing a fighting game with Nero, Medea walked over leisurely and placed a stone in front of Rowan.
Rowan saw that Nero had only a little health left and was about to finish her off, intending to inspect the stone after defeating Nero.
Who would have thought Nero would press the pause button at once and say with a smile, "Umu. Let us pause first."
Hey, Nero. Are you unable to afford losing? You have no gaming spirit at all. This method is way too dirty.
Rowan glared at her angrily, threw away the controller, and smashed it hard onto the sofa. It bounced up, fell to the floor, and made a crisp clack.
Nero guiltily turned her head to the side, and Rowan was almost angered into laughter by her behavior.
He stopped paying attention to Nero and looked at the stone in front of him.
"What is this?"
Medea walked over, sat beside Rowan, and softly explained, "This is a fantasy crystal I extracted from Ibaraki-dōji and Kidomaru after researching them."
"Fantasy crystal?"
Rowan reached out to grab the stone. The instant his fingers touched it, he immediately felt a powerful yokai aura swirling inside the stone.
Medea continued, "Master knows about killing stones, yes?"
Rowan nodded. Killing stones came from the golden-furred, white-faced nine-tailed fox, the legendary great yokai Tamamo-no-Mae.
At the end of the Heian period, Tamamo-no-Mae transformed into an unparalleled beauty who once bewitched Emperor Toba. After being exposed by the great onmyoji Abe no Yasuchika, she fled to Nasu in the Kantō region.
Later, the imperial court sent troops to subjugate her and killed her. After her death, her corpse turned into the killing stone.
According to legend, the killing stone was the crystallization of Tamamo-no-Mae's yokai power.
Whoever obtained the killing stone would obtain Tamamo-no-Mae's power.
Medea said, "This is an item I created by imitating the killing stone. I extracted the power of Ibaraki-dōji and Kidomaru and formed this fantasy crystal."
"Anyone, whether yokai or cursed spirit, human or magus, as long as they refine this fantasy crystal, can transform into a yokai and obtain the power of Ibaraki-dōji and Kidomaru."
Rowan suddenly understood.
"So that's how it is."
But Rowan did not need this thing, because his Devil Fruits could also grant humans powerful strength.
Medea naturally knew this too and said with a smile, "At present, the fantasy crystal is only the initial version. I am trying to improve it so humans can safely absorb the fantasy crystal without side effects."
Rowan gave an "oh."
"Very nice. Keep going."
In his view, there was actually no need to research this thing. However, he did not stop Medea. Instead, he fully supported Medea and looked forward to her giving him a big surprise.
While Rowan and Medea were talking, Nero suddenly unpaused the game, picked up the controller, and controlled her character to launch a counterattack against Rowan's character. With a smooth combo, she took Rowan's character out in one wave.
"Umu. I won, Praetor."
Rowan was immediately dumbfounded. Was this… was this really okay?
"Nero!!!"
He truly had not expected Nero to be so lacking in martial virtue. Since that was the case, he could not be blamed for having a real-life PK with Nero.
Seeing this farce, Medea could not help rolling her eyes.
One was Nero, and one was her Master. How should she put it? They were both truly…
childish beyond belief.
…
At the same time,
Kyoto.
Inside a certain luxurious villa, Hagoromo-Gitsune, who was drinking tea, could not help yawning.
The weather today was truly too good. The sunlight was soft and lazy, the flowers gorgeous and dazzling, and a faint floral fragrance seemed to drift in the air.
It was so nice that she wanted to go back to sleep again.
"Have Kidomaru and the others still not returned?" Hagoromo-Gitsune said slowly after taking a sip of tea.
"No."
A childlike yokai shook its head, looking worried.
"Could Kidomaru and the others have run into some trouble?"
"What trouble could there be from a mere Nakiri family?"
Another yokai, Gashadokuro, spoke.
"Danger may not necessarily come from the Nakiri family. Tokyo is not a simple place, especially those jujutsu sorcerers. I remember the current Six Eyes is very strong."
"The Six Eyes is indeed troublesome."
"That's right. That hateful Six Eyes."
The mention of the Six Eyes caused whispers to rise in the darkness.
Hagoromo-Gitsune calmly swept her gaze over them, and all the voices disappeared.
"Kyōkotsu," Hagoromo-Gitsune spoke.
"I am here, Lady Hagoromo-Gitsune."
The childlike yokai hurriedly responded.
"The Book of Friends. Has it been taken back yet?"
"Not yet, Lady Hagoromo-Gitsune. That human named Natsume is very cunning, and many yokai by his side are willing to risk everything to protect him. Among them is even the great yokai Madara."
When Kyōkotsu said this, it could not help shrinking its neck, afraid that Lady Hagoromo-Gitsune would become angry.
Because they had not accomplished a single thing Lady Hagoromo-Gitsune had instructed them to do.
"So it's that guy."
Hagoromo-Gitsune suddenly understood.
"No wonder you still haven't taken it back. In that case, let Tsuchigumo make a trip. With his strength, he can deal with Madara."
Hearing this, Kyōkotsu gave a hum, then asked, "What about Kidomaru and the others?"