I'm a villain in the superhero world.

The term "Feast of the Ghost King" does not exist in the official archives of the Dominion.

It was a nickname that circulated among some survivors after the disaster, referring to the catastrophic containment failure.

At the official level of the governing council, the monstrous feast four years ago was named—"Mass Containment Breakthrough: Kyoto's Night Parade of One Hundred Demons."

File number INC-2010-0515-KYOTO

It is classified as a Level 3 security document and is archived in the Far East Regional Office's incident database. It is associated with more than forty seal numbers and related items.

To summarize this incident simply...

That was on May 15, 2010, for unknown reasons and in unknown ways.

Seal No. 1995 – Shuten-dōji; Seal No. 2004 – Tamamo-no-Mae.

Seal number 2113 - Michizane Sugawara, seal number 2119 - Otake Maru,

The four fifth-level sealers successively broke through their confinement and, after their containment was rendered ineffective, gathered in Kyoto.

Kyoto, this ancient city of demons, has never been plunged into such a deep purgatory since the Heian period.

The sky was covered by a curtain lifted by demons and monsters and a procession of a hundred ghosts.

The once quaint streets and alleys were reduced to dust and flames under the giant demon's footsteps.

Screams, cries, and collapsing buildings—these things happen almost every moment.

The entire fighting force of the Japanese supernatural management organization, the "Onmyoryo," in Kyoto nearly collapsed within the first fifteen minutes.

The ancient barriers and shikigami were like moths drawn to a flame before the four lords of demons who ruled over the night parade of a hundred ghosts.

The barrier, passed down from the Heian period, crumbled layer by layer, and the retreating defenses collapsed at the slightest touch.

The support from the branch of the governing body arrived quickly.

"Takamagahara," one of the nine special mobile task forces in the Asian region, immediately engaged in the most intense central battlefield upon arrival.

They tried to stop them, but even though these four sealed individuals were not at a high level of the fifth energy level, they were still beyond their ability to stop.

It's cold, really cold.

At that time, Rime experienced this feeling for the first time since her birth, after the previous generation of Yuki-onna passed away.

This cold is not a sensory cold, but an excruciating pain caused by the burning and tearing of her skin, bones, internal organs, and even her essence as a snow woman.

Looking around, everyone had fallen.

Only Rime, leaning against the half-collapsed torii gate, managed to keep himself from completely losing consciousness.

As far as the eye can see, the once solemn and tranquil Kyoto Imperial Gardens have now been transformed into a hellish landscape.

The burning ancient buildings cast distorted light and shadow on the ground.

Further into the battlefield, sporadic resistance was scattered like fireworks.

But the layers upon layers of monsters of various shapes were also roaring, reveling, and devouring all living things on the battlefield.

The containment operation failed, and all resistance in Kyoto collapsed.

Perhaps the support that arrives soon will be enough to resolve this disaster.

But at least for now, it's unlikely that anyone here will survive.

Looking at her own miserable state through the frozen remnants of ice on the ground, Rime felt that this was the end for her too.

Although she was essentially a monster, she chose to integrate into humanity and have her number removed.

There was no reason for her fellow human beings to let her go.

Even so, Rime did not regret her choice.

After all, the past ten years or so of integrating into humanity have been far more exciting than her previous century of life as a sealed number in captivity.

Shuten Doji, Tamamozen, Sugawara Michizane——

Under Rime's watchful eye, these three great yokai and vengeful spirits from Japanese legends, each leading their respective Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons), met in the very center of Kyoto.

What is their purpose? Why did they choose to break through containment at the same time and converge in Kyoto?

No one can answer Rime's questions.

Having been deliberately left until the end, all she could hear was Shuten-dōji's bewilderment.

"No, you're completely different from the Snow Woman I've seen before—"

"Why would someone choose this path of survival if they're actively assimilating into human society?"

Shuten-dōji, with his fiery red hair and demonic horns on his forehead, uttered this question at that time.

Tamamo-no-Mae and Sugawara no Michizane didn't care about this.

However, they did not choose to kill Rime, thus disrupting Shuten's interest.

What they cared about was waiting for the last Ōtakemaru to join them.

Answering Shuten-dōji's question might buy him more time to survive.

But Rime did not do so, so she heard Shuten's sigh.

"How ugly, looking just as stubborn as those other guys..."

ended.

As Rimei thought this, she closed her eyes amidst the drifting of her snow-white hair, awaiting the end.

However—the darkness that was expected did not descend.

Instead, there was an eerie, absolute silence.

It's not just the disappearance of sound, but a complete silence and stillness.

When Rimei opened her eyes, she witnessed a scene she would never forget.

The whole world seemed to have been paused by an invisible hand, and most of its colors were taken away.

In Kyoto, the burning flames solidified into a dim, still amber color.

Scattered ashes hovered in mid-air, while in the distance, demons displayed ferocious expressions, brandishing claws, and spewing demonic magic...

All of these were frozen in time, like poorly made wax figures.

This hell on earth seemed to have been stripped of all color, time frozen, and even the dark clouds in the sky no longer tumbled or moved.

No, not everything has lost its color, and not everyone has completely frozen in place.

Rimei discovered that she could still see her long, snow-white hair, and even move it.

She turned her gaze in astonishment, looking around in all directions.

She saw that the surviving members of the ruling group and the Onmyoji were also horrified and moved slowly, but they could still move.

Like Rime, they were bewildered and incredulous at this sudden and dramatic change.

Although the three fifth-level demon lords could still move, their movements became incredibly slow and heavy.

Every move he made seemed to be sinking into the silt of a ten-thousand-meter-deep sea.

The effortless mastery vanished; Shuten-dōji frowned, and Tamamo-no-Mae unfurled her crimson nine-tailed fox.

Only Sugawara no Michizane seemed to recognize someone from this atmosphere; he roared, gazing westward towards Kyoto and shouting that name—

"Michimit Ashiya!!"

The moment that name appeared, all eyes simultaneously and intently turned in the same direction—

That was the direction Sugawara no Michizane roared from, the direction west of Kyoto where Ōtakemaru was supposed to arrive.

It was only then that Rime belatedly realized something...

It's too quiet.

Starting about a minute ago, the path to the west, which should rightfully belong to Ōtakemaru, became unusually quiet.

It was so quiet that it seemed as if there was nothing there, creating an eerie contrast with the hellish battlefields in other directions.

Rime had been so engrossed in the desperate situation before him that he had completely overlooked this point.

When she came to her senses, she felt a pressure that surpassed everything else present.

It was slowly spreading from that direction.

That wasn't demonic energy, ghostly energy, or any kind of sacred aura.

It was a more ancient, more profound, and more sinister force—

Extremely yin and cold, yet it contains the clamor and deathly silence that can shatter everything.

Under this pressure, even the three ghost kings felt a shiver instinctively rise from the depths of their souls.

Their attention was completely captured, and they could no longer be distracted by Rime or any other ants.

slap... slap...

From a certain moment on, clear footsteps could be heard coming from the silence of the west.

Unhurried and unhurried, so calmly as if strolling not on a battlefield of corpses and blood, but leisurely wandering in one's own courtyard.

Every step seemed to resonate with the heartbeats of everyone in Kyoto, causing the frozen world of color to tremble slightly.

Finally, under the frozen gazes of Rime and the three Ghost Kings,

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows and frozen ruins of the western street corner.

—Is he the "Ashiya Doman" that Sugawara Michizane mentioned?

"No..." Rime could conclude definitively, "Absolutely not."

Because what first caught her eye was a figure even more captivating than the golden-faced, white-haired nine-tailed fox in front of her.

In this colorless world, he was the least affected one.

Her long, jet-black hair, cascading down to her waist like a waterfall, seemed even darker than the night.

He was dressed in a simple, dark-colored robe.

Wide sleeves drape down, and overlapping lapels convey a sense of antiquity and elegance reminiscent of the Yin and Shang dynasties.

It stands out from the surrounding Japanese-style architectural ruins, yet strangely commands the aura of this space.

What's most striking is his eyes—

The area was covered by a long, dark band that appeared ordinary but emitted subtle, sealed energy.

His right hand was casually dragging something along with his steps.

What is he dragging?

Or rather, who are you dragging along?

This question seems somewhat redundant, because everyone recognized the figure named Ōtakemaru at a glance.

The once fearsome and powerful lord of Suzuka Mountain, Ōtakemaru, who was said to possess the Three Swords of Ming, was now being dragged on the ground like a dead dog by this black-robed youth.

Its massive body was covered with horrific wounds—not cut by sharp weapons, but more like marks left by being repeatedly ravaged and twisted by some invisible, immense force.

The armor was shattered and dull.

Ōtakemaru's aura was extremely weak, and he had clearly lost consciousness completely.

The figure dragged the seemingly lifeless Ootengu along, ignoring everything frozen in place around them—

He acted as if he were just passing by and casually kicked a stray dog ​​to death.

But in the end, he stopped, stopping between Rime, the only one still standing, and the three ghost kings.

Immediately following, a cool, calm voice, yet carrying an undeniable air of authority,

It rang directly in the ears of every survivor who was still able to move in Rime and Kyoto.

Clear as a whisper, yet echoing throughout the "still" Kyoto Imperial Palace.

"Within Kyoto, all those still alive and able to move, whether from the Bureau of Onmyōryō or the governing body, must withdraw from their assigned areas..."

The voice paused, as if giving them a brief moment to understand the command, before calmly delivering the final announcement:

"From now on, I will take over the battlefield."