Before she could move on to the other lords, there was one other thing Kaede needed to take care of. There were relatively few mortals in Ashikaga’s camp, and only one hiding a small arsenal of shikigami in their robes.

The priest was in the middle of surreptitiously slipping out to an empty corner of the camp when Kaede appeared in front of him.

“Hello.”

He jumped in surprise, but quickly rallied, bowing politely.

“Apologies, my lady, I didn’t see you there. Can I help you with anything?”

“I don’t suppose I could convince you not to report what happened here back to your clan?”

The onmyouji stiffened, his heart rate rising as beads of sweat began to form on his neck. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but it was impossible for a mortal to lie to Kaede.

“I’m not sure what you mean. I’m just a cook, my lady—not even part of the army.”

“I know exactly what you are and who you really work for. I can’t let you jeopardize what I’m doing here—there’s too much at stake.”

He pursed his lips, standing straight and sighing.

“Then why am I even still alive?”

“Because some part of you truly believes that you are working in the best interest of this nation, and I can’t hold that against you.”

“But you know better, do you?”

Kaede pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Yes! You can have your doubts, but I don’t think selling the nation out to a bunch of demons sets a particularly high bar. Your order has given my family the edge which allowed us to rise to prominence, but to my father you and yours are little more than another tool that he can sacrifice on the altar of his ascension.”

“If that is to be our fate, then so be it. I will fulfill my role or die trying.”

“No, you won’t.”

She pulled him into her Soul Realm. With her domain in the way, he wouldn’t be able to manifest his spirits and reach out to the others. It was a little annoying to learn that an order of Yamato priests had secretly solved long distance communication and kept it to themselves for centuries after investing so much of Jiaguo’s resources into it.

Kaede hoped that after the war she’d be able to convince them to share. The more she interacted with them, the more she felt that onmyouji were the key to making more breakthroughs in Haeun’s unique cultivation method.

Ashikaga grunted irritably when Kaede returned.

“Not sure how I feel about you randomly kidnapping my personnel, my lady.”

“He was a spy for my father. It was that or kill him.”

“Mm. As long as you don’t end up regretting that mercy.”

Kaede frowned. It was pretty taxing to pull people into her Soul Realm like that, and she was supposed to be preparing for a confrontation with Yu Meiren. That was no excuse to simply murder them, though—and destroying their talismans was not only cruel, but wasn’t a guarantee either. There was too much she didn’t know about how shikigami were created.

“That’s my problem to deal with. Are you ready to go?”

“Sure. The boys will keep on to Kasuga to see this little humanitarian project of yours while I join you on your trek to subjugate the rest of your father’s vassals.”

“Subjugate isn’t the word I’d use.”

Ashikaga chuckled.

“I’m not too proud to admit that you completely dominated me. None of them are as strong as I am, so my submission to you is all the proof they need to fall in line.”

Kaede blushed.

“Do you have to phrase it that way? I’m counting on you to open the door, but I still need them to genuinely believe in the cause or this won’t work.”

“Eh, you made a pretty good case with me. I’m sure you’ll be fine. You’ll have those generals begging for a place under your heel in no time.”

“You’re doing that on purpose.”

She snickered.

“Sorry, princess—old habits. You’ve grown up quick in some ways, but in others you’re such an innocent little girl that it’s hard not to tease.”

“Just try to rein it in when we meet the other lords. I’m not in the mood to entertain someone constantly trying to embarrass me.”

It reminded Yoshika of Jianmo and their borderline inappropriate flirtations. She reminded herself that rushing would only get her killed. Soon, she’d weaken Yu Meiren enough that the demon would be forced to act. Jianmo would be fine. Not even Sovereign Shen Yu had been able to harm them once their soul retreated within their indestructible blade.

With one lord out of the way, Kaede had finally come one step closer to ending the war and ridding the world of Yu Meiren’s scourge.

----------------------------------------

Making new friends was a strange experience for Yang Qiu, but despite her best efforts Minami Yuuko was starting to grow on her. It was particularly nice to share a real drink and hear some stories about Yoshika’s past that weren’t just sunshine and rainbows.

“Then she just shows up the next day with a magical kitten and challenges me to a two-on-one duel.”

Yang Qiu scoffed.

“What, like both of them against you? By the emperor, have they always been joined at the hip like that?”

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Yuuko blushed and averted her eyes.

“Er, no, I meant just Jia against me and my—my co-captain. She won, of course, but how was I supposed to fight against someone who turns invisible in the middle of a fight?”

“That’s literally your fighting style.”

“Yeah, duh. If it works, steal it.”

Yang Qiu laughed. That kind of shamelessness might have been off putting to some, but it struck a chord with her. Yuuko knew who she was and what she wanted, and Yang Qiu respected that.

“So this co-captain of yours...don’t think I didn’t notice your face when you mentioned them. A crush?”

Yuuko looked down into her wine bitterly.

“An ex-boyfriend.”

“Oof. My bad—sorry for bringing it up.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t be. I drove him away by being a miserable bitch. Apparently I was cursed by a demon, but that’s no excuse for some of the things I said to him.”

Yang Qiu frowned. Maybe Yoshika was a bad influence on her, or perhaps it was the memory of Tan Zhong—the nosey boy who’d died for his one-sided crush on her—but she wasn’t comfortable letting Yuuko’s statement go.

“That might be true, but it doesn’t have to end there. As long as he’s still alive, there’s room for you to make things right. We can’t all be so lucky.”

Yuuko gave her an appraising look.

“Hmm. Sounds like there’s a story there.”

“Yeah. I’m not going to talk about it, though.”

“Aw, what? That’s not fair!”

Yang Qiu snorted.

“Too bad. I like you, but I’ve got my boundaries. Maybe another time.”

“Tsk, cheapskate.”

“Heh. Says the one who brought out this cheap-ass jar of—”

Her retort was cut short as she felt a dark and familiar pressure fall over the camp. Yang Qiu leapt to her feet, barely keeping herself from panicking.

“No! Fuck! How can she already be here?! It’s too soon!”

Yuuko looked up at her, worried.

“What? What’s happening?”

“She’s here. We need to run—now!”

“Who?!”

Yang Qiu dashed out of the tent and looked up at the sky, where the source of the aura floated over the camp, a sinister grin on her horrifically pale face.

“Yu Meiren.”

Yuuko joined her, following her gaze and freezing in terror.

“Oh shit. That’s her? The one who cursed me?”

“Yeah. We have to get out of here.”

“Shouldn’t we try to hold her off or something?”

Yang Qiu shook her head.

“Not if we value our lives. We don’t stand a chance, and being killed immediately is the best case scenario. We need to go before—”

Yu Meiren vanished from her place in the sky, suddenly reforming as a purple cloud in front of Yang Qiu.

“Well look who it is! Is that Xiao Chong? I thought you were dead.”

Yang Qiu swore under her breath. They’d been too slow. Her priorities shifted in an instant. She was already dead, so the only thing she could hope for was to create an opportunity for Yuuko and the others to get away.

“That’s not my name.”

Yu Meiren cocked her head and pouted performatively.

“Aww, how cute! Is the worthless little bug going through her first resistance phase? Figures that bleeding-heart bitch would get under your skin. You always were a bit simple.”

Yang Qiu clenched her teeth, but tried not to let herself lose her cool. Why wasn’t Yuuko running?!

“What do you mean ‘resistance phase’?”

“Oh, it’s very common among weak-minded demons. Every now and then they have a little crisis about who and what they are and get all desperate to regain their humanity. Starving themselves of souls, trying to live peacefully among humans, that sort of thing. Sound familiar?”

“Let me guess, it always ends in disaster?”

Meiren grinned.

“Obviously. I mean, in theory it’s possible, but nobody weak enough to succumb to that sort of folly is strong enough to follow through. They either give up, go mad, or try to kill themselves. The last one is my favorite—a demon has to get pretty creative to even attempt to take their own life and it’s always quite the show.”

Even though she knew that Meiren was taunting her, it still hurt to hear. Yuuko stepped forward and pointed angrily at the demon.

“Screw you! As long as she’s still alive, there’s room for her to make things right! It’s not a weakness to try being better!”

Yu Meiren grimaced.

“And who are you? Wait—no, I recognize you. You’re one of those idiot kids trying to propagate true cultivation. Ah...it must have been you whose curse was broken. Lucky little ducky, aren’t you? How’s the boyfriend?”

Yuuko snarled at the demon, but Yang Qiu extended one of her tentacles between them.

“Ignore it, Yuuko. Letting her egg you on will only give her more power over you.”

Meiren doubled over in laughter.

“Ahahaha! Really?! It’s hilarious you think I need my domain for the likes of you. I just like watching you squirm like the little worm you are, sweetie.”

“Go ahead and keep talking, then. But I’m not your toy anymore. You can’t control me.”

“Pfft, why not? You think just because you and your toy soldiers have that bitch’s blessing, you’re special?”

Yang Qiu’s ichorous blood ran cold.

“What are you talking about?”

“Hm? You didn’t know? I’m not the only one who can manipulate people with curses. Or did you think that you and the others actually quit eating souls by yourself?”

“You’re lying.”

The demon’s eyes bored into her soul, her blood-red lips curling into an inhumanly wide smile. Too late, Yang Qiu realized why Meiren wasn’t bothering to attack.

“You wish, Xiao Chong. Maybe she didn’t even realize it herself, but Yoshika’s influence is the only thing keeping you and your fellow demons in check. I can’t help but notice, however, that she’s not here to protect it. I wonder what will happen if I break that blessing, hm?”

Yuuko started to catch on, a cold sweat forming on her neck.

“Y-Yang Qiu, what is she talking about?”

Yu Meiren giggled.

“Let me spell it out for you, honey. I knew Yoshika wouldn’t be able to help herself when I had my people burn this shithole down, and now there’s a bunch of barely-restrained demons right in the middle of a whole city’s worth of vulnerable souls. And those miserable brats had the gall to call me predictable.”

Yang Qiu scowled. She felt so helpless, but she refused to give up.

“Do your worst, scum. Whether it was under the influence of your curse or Yoshika’s blessing, our actions are our own, and nothing you do can erase that. I believe in my people, and I will never betray the trust of my friends again.”

Meiren snorted derisively.

“We’ll see about that. Oh, I cannot wait to see the looks on their faces when Yoshika brings the other lords here just to see her own precious ‘friends’ tearing the throats out of the very innocents she swore to protect.”

With a wave of the demon’s hand, Yang Qiu felt something deep within her soul snap, and the ravenous hunger that she’d been ignoring surged back up to the forefront of her thoughts, practically drowning out everything else.

It was worse than ever before. She’d gone over a year without feeding, and suddenly it was all catching up to her at once. She dropped to her knees, clutching her chest, only distantly aware of Meiren cackling madly as she took off into the sky.

Yuuko was saying something, but Xiao Chong didn’t have the mental energy to spare trying to make sense of it. She could feel the soul next to her, radiating with power. Power that could be hers if she just reached out and grabbed it.

“Yuuko, get out of here and warn the others.”

“But you’re—”

Xiao Chong looked up and snarled. She couldn’t even see her friend’s face. Just the soul, begging to be released from its fleshy prison and given a better home.

“RUN! NOW!”