Sword Art Online Crossover: They're all close friends, how did I become a player?

……

"Lord Minamoto no Yorimitsu, Onikiri... must have been corrupted by the miasma of demons and thus fallen into the form of a demon!"

"It's alright. You don't need to worry too much about Onikiri. Besides, Onikiri is the lifeblood of millions of people, he has never left my side, and he has slain countless demons for me. He is a priceless treasure."

"...Yes, Lord Minamoto no Yorimitsu."

In the dimly lit room, a white figure stood by the window, watching his subordinates walk away.

A low chuckle echoed in the room: "Heh heh~ How exciting... My Onikiri..."

Recently, a series of shocking events have occurred within the Minamoto clan, impacting the entire Heian-kyo (Kyoto).

First, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the head of the Minamoto clan, personally led his men to conquer Mount Ōe. Yorimitsu's Four Heavenly Kings—Watanabe no Tsuna, Urabe no Suetake, Sakata no Kintoki, and Usui no Sadamitsu—achieved brilliant victories in the campaign against Mount Ōe.

Faced with the powerful Shuten-dōji and Ibaraki-dōji, Usui Sadamitsu successfully withstood Shuten-dōji's attacks with his superb sorcery, forcing Ibaraki-dōji to face Onikiri alone, and ultimately defeating him and losing his precious right hand.

After Shuten-dōji broke Usui Sadamitsu's sorcery, he faced and defeated Onikiri, but Mount Ōe had already been defeated. Therefore, facing the overwhelming force of the Genji, Shuten-dōji had no choice but to retreat with Ibaraki-dōji.

However, on the very night before, amidst the raging flames, the Onikiri, hailed as a treasure of the Minamoto clan, suddenly burst into the Minamoto mansion. Enraged, he slaughtered all the samurai and onmyoji within the residence.

Even more shockingly, this masterpiece, once firmly held in the hands of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, has turned its sharpness against its former master.

The Genji sword, which had once vanquished countless demons, has betrayed the Genji family in the blink of an eye!

At the time, the entire city of Heian-kyo was thrown into a state of panic by this sudden turn of events. Fortunately, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the head of the Minamoto clan, intervened in time and managed to contain the situation to a certain extent, preventing it from escalating further.

That night, Yu Bai, alerted by the commotion on the Genji's side, along with Futsuki and Higekiri, hid outside the Genji residence and witnessed most of the events that had transpired.

Not to mention the complex emotions that Higekiri displayed on his face when he saw Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the head of the Minamoto clan, and when the whole incident occurred.

Even Bu Yue, who was usually aloof, was somewhat surprised.

Of course, what shocked him was not Onikiri's betrayal of the Minamoto clan, but that Onikiri's massacre had damaged the barrier surrounding the Minamoto clan, which allowed Futsuki to sense the miasma constantly emanating from inside the Minamoto clan's residence.

The miasma was the dark aura that he and Feng Yueyue had sensed when they arrived in Heian-kyo.

……

From the moment Yu Bai and the other two moved into Abe no Seimei's house, he officially embarked on the path of learning Yin-Yang techniques from Abe no Seimei.

Regarding Yu Bai and Abe no Seimei learning Yin-Yang arts, Futsuki and Higekiri, one being a close friend who does whatever he wants, and the other being someone whose lord is always right, naturally have their reasons for wanting to learn Yin-Yang arts.

Therefore, the two people's view is: I have no opinion, I support whatever Fengyue (the lord) does!

It must be said that Yu Bai's talent is very high, so high that even a great Onmyoji like Abe no Seimei was surprised.

Although he already knew Yu Bai's divine identity, the speed at which this Fengyue God learned still exceeded his expectations.

Each time Seimei explained and demonstrated, Yu Bai could quickly grasp the concept, as if he were born with an extraordinary understanding of Yin-Yang arts.

If Yu Bai were an ordinary human being, Abe no Seimei couldn't even imagine how crazy his colleagues in the Onmyo-ryo would be about him.

"Hmm? It seems we have guests visiting."

Having just finished a day of teaching Yin-Yang arts, Abe no Seimei and Yu Bai were preparing to return to the courtyard. Suddenly, Abe no Seimei's ears twitched slightly. He raised his head and looked through the half-open door in a certain direction in the courtyard.

Yu Bai followed Abe no Seimei's gaze and saw a woman in a white kimono, her face deathly pale, standing there quietly. She bowed to the two of them from a distance, and then vanished without a trace.

This woman is not human, but rather a shikigami (spirit) of Abe no Seimei – Hashihime.

Hashihime was originally a woman who drowned herself in a river due to a tragic love affair, and transformed into a yokai. Since becoming Abe no Seimei's shikigami, she has liked to dwell under the stone bridge in front of the courtyard. Whenever someone comes to visit Abe no Seimei by stepping onto the stone bridge, Hashihime will come to announce their arrival, just as she is doing now.

"Lord Toyotsuki, a guest has arrived. Please allow me to take my leave for now," Abe no Seimei said to Yu Bai, gently waving his fan.

"It's alright, I'll go find Futsuki and Higekiri," Yu Bai replied with a smile.

Perhaps it is because there is some subtle incompatibility between ancient gods and tsukumogami?

Whenever Fuyuki and Higekiri are alone together, the atmosphere is always unusually heavy.

Sure enough, when Yu Bai walked out of the room, he saw Bu Yue leaning against a pillar in the corridor, resting with his eyes closed, waiting for him to come out, just like an old father waiting for his child to come home from school.

Not far away, the light golden-haired spirit was smiling as it wiped its blade, meticulously maintaining its physical form.

At this moment, the air was eerily quiet, and Yu Bai even wondered if he had heard a "beep" sound of silence being cut off.

Although the two appeared to be undisturbed by each other, their invisible auras clashed fiercely. Black divine power and golden spiritual power intertwined and collided in the air, neither willing to yield an inch.

……

A handsome white-haired man slowly walked onto the stone bridge. It's worth noting that his hair color wasn't the pure silver-white of Abe no Seimei or Yu Bai (of course, Yu Bai's hair ends were dyed a bit, turning it a bright white scallion color ╮(╯▽╰)╭). Instead, a few streaks of fiery red were subtly added to his bangs, like flames leaping in the morning light, reflecting off his deep, blood-red eyes and shimmering with a captivating light.

The man was very tall, with a nonchalant smile playing on his lips. Yet, his every move exuded an indescribable arrogance and nobility. His white brocade robes shimmered in the sunlight, looking extremely luxurious, and his shoulders and chest were covered with armor.

What is particularly striking is that a large Genji totem is prominently embedded in the center of his breastplate.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the strongest patriarch of the Minamoto clan, was an ambitious and hawkish Onmyoji. He created a large number of shikigami with absolute obedience using forbidden techniques, which he used as weapons to slay demons. Onikiri was his masterpiece.

The moment Minamoto no Yorimitsu stepped onto the stone bridge, he sensed something different beneath his feet, but he paid no attention to it.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's personality could be described as arrogant and conceited, but he didn't see anything wrong with it. In his view, strength determines everything, and when a person's strength reaches its peak, those so-called "arrogance and conceit" will become another form of praise for his abilities.

Growing up amidst hatred, Minamoto no Yorimitsu was trained by his family to be a humanoid weapon, possessing formidable combat abilities. He held the belief that no yokai was good and yearned for immense power.

To achieve his goals, Minamoto no Yorimitsu was willing to pay any price, even deceiving others' feelings. He sacrificed priestesses to an evil serpent in exchange for greater power, and sealed Onikiri's memories deep within, making him his most loyal servant.

His presence at Abe no Seimei's courtyard today was clearly to discuss business with him. Recently, the Yamata no Orochi, after receiving the power of the sacrifice, had not been granted greater power as he had wished. Instead, it was stirring and attempting to break free from the constraints of the Hazama.

The Minamoto clan also suffered considerable losses due to the Onikiri incident.

He now needs Abe no Seimei's help, but he never expected that when he stepped into this small courtyard, it would bring him such an unexpected "surprise".