Both of them were astonished by the sudden appearance of another yokai. They hadn’t seen anyone approach their little conflict or even heard any movement, yet here he was, already sitting on a tree branch, watching the entire scene unfold.
The tengu continued pouring sake into his cup, downed it in one gulp, and then leaped down. His crow-like wings spread wide, sending a strong gust through the air. He stood tall and imposing, draped in a haori—a long, flowing jacket with wide sleeves, reaching just past his waist.
The haori was a deep, rich color, dark crimson or indigo, adorned with subtle spiritual motifs such as cloud and feather patterns, symbolizing strength and grace. It was open in the front, revealing a simple dark kimono beneath, its fabric both durable and lightweight, designed for ceremonial purposes and ease of movement.
Around his waist, a thick, woven rope was tied in a prominent knot, serving both as a practical belt and a symbol of his spiritual authority. The belt held his hakama firmly in place, the pleated garment flowing elegantly from his waist to his ankles, complementing the wings on his back.
As he landed, his geta—the traditional wooden sandals—made a sharp clack against the ground. His long, unkempt hair and beard swayed with the motion. He looked down at Ryohei, his pale red face with its long nose and piercing gaze sending a shiver down the boy's spine. His appearance was both divine and fearsome.
“What? First time seeing a tengu?” the yokai asked.
Ryohei stood frozen, unable to respond. Shun stepped forward, cutting into the conversation. “My apologies, sir, but… you’re a Daitengu, right?” Shun asked, bowing respectfully.
The tengu laughed, his beard swaying as he did. “You know your stuff, kid. Yes, I am a Daitengu. By the way, I overheard something interesting just now. Care to share it with me?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, sir,” Shun replied calmly. “We were just discussing strategies for the Blood Festival.”
The tengu chuckled. “No need to pretend. I’ve been listening since the moment you entered the forest.”
Both Ryohei and Shun tensed. If the tengu had been watching from the start, then Ryohei’s secret had been exposed from long since. Ryohei’s heart sank, all he could do is to stay silent and waited for his uncertain death, his fate depends on his decision.
The tengu pointed directly at Ryohei. “So, you're telling me you—a human—got dragged into this event by accident?”
“That’s impossible,” he continued, laughing mockingly. “This festival only attracts those with yokai blood. No ordinary human can enter, even if they wanted to. Maybe you didn’t know you had yokai blood all along.”
“Me? A yokai?” Ryohei’s mind raced. He had never considered himself special or extraordinary.
Shun interjected, “Are you saying he’s a halfling?”
“Not necessarily.” The tengu moved closer, each step making Ryohei instinctively want to run, even though he knew escape was futile. “Don’t worry, lad,” the tengu said dismissively. “I am a Daitengu. With a mere flick of my hand, I could summon hundreds of yokai to raid a city and kidnap humans as food. I don’t need to concern myself with one insignificant being like you.”
Ryohei clenched his fists in frustration, but he held his tongue. The tengu flicked his hand, summoning a gust of wind that enveloped Ryohei, instantly drying his soaked clothes.
Then, the tengu placed a hand on Ryohei’s forehead. A strange, fuzzy sensation spread through Ryohei’s body, sending shivers down his spine and making him nauseous.
“I see… This is something new,” the tengu muttered, his expression unreadable.
“Am I really a yokai?” Ryohei asked hesitantly.
“Nope! You’re completely human lad, hahaha!” The Daitengu’s laughter echoed through the forest, breaking the tension. Ryohei sighed in relief, while Shun sighed in pity.
But one question remained. “Then… how did he get involved in all of this if he’s human?” Shun asked.
The Daitengu’s gaze turned serious. “Why don’t you tell us, lad? How did you, a human, manage to store yokai energy inside your body?”
Feeling cornered and his life is in the mercy of their kin, he confessed. Explaining all that have happened so far, and about the stuff he heard about his ancestor consuming a yokai.
“A human consuming a yokai to obtain spiritual power? Is that even possible?” Shun asked, placing a hand on his chin, deep in thought.
The Daitengu was equally surprised. “In all my years, I’ve never heard of such a case.”
On one hand, Ryohei felt relieved that he wasn’t a monster. On the other, he felt helpless and powerless, with no clear path to ensure his survival. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
The Daitengu noticed and smirked. “Let me offer you a choice, lad. First is, you can go home to your family and get to see them one last time. But since you’re abandoning the festival of blood, you will be chased by wild yokai for the rest of your life. You’ll endanger not only yourself but also your family.”
Ryohei’s expression soured.
“The second option is to stay here and become yokai food. At least your family will be safe, and I'm sure they will mourn for you.”
Ryohei’s face grew grim. Was there really no way out? Just as despair began to set in, the tengu offered a third option.
“Or… you can fight. Enter the Festival of Blood, put your life on the line, and earn a chance to survive.”
Ryohei’s eyes widened. Me? Fight against yokai? It sounded impossible.
Shun stepped forward. “Are you suggesting he fight yokai as a human? That’s suicide!”
The Daitengu shrugged. “The solution is simple, just awaken his yokai bloodline. Normally, it wouldn’t be possible for a human. But since he already has yokai energy inside him, it’s a different story.”
Ryohei remained silent, weighing his options.
“In the end, it’s your choice,” the Daitengu said, leaping onto a tree branch. “Think it over carefully.”
----------------------------------------
Ryohei’s mind raced. 'Should I do it? Is there another way? How much time do I have until the festival starts?' Amid the turmoil, Shun caught his attention.
Even though Ryohei didn’t fully trust him, his actions just now spoke louder than words. Ryohei noticed that when Daitengu showed himself he tried to cover him by stepping forward, he was also trying to feign ignorance, by pretending to not know I’m a human.
Currently he’s the best person to ask for, Ryohei walk closer and apologize. “Sorry for kicking you out of the blue back then… I could really use your opinion.”
Shun smiled and dismissed the apology. “Are you sure you want to do this? Awakening your yokai blood means you will no longer be human.”
“If it’s better than becoming food, then… yes.” Despite his hesitation, Ryohei answered with determination.
Shun sighed. “The process is called Blood Awakening. The terms Blood Awakening isn’t that much of a secret, a lot of shapeshifting yokai once married human and gave birth to a mixed bloodline, and that happened not just once or twice, but many times. Thus, it's not all that uncommon to find a human with a trace of yokai blood.”
He continued, gesturing with his hands.
Shun continues as he waves his hand gesture. “Take tanuki clan for example, they often wed with human and produce mixed blood offsprings. If one came from a branch family with… let’s say a boy that was born with one-hundredth of yokai blood, and he wants to be part of the main family. At the very least, he needs to become a halfling, meaning those with fifty percent yokai blood purity within them. And that’s where this ritual came for, the small amount of yokai blood within that person will consume the human blood in him and turns it into a yokai blood. It is extremely painful and gruesome scene…”
The more Ryohei listened, the weaker his resolve grew.
“Normally, where there’s yokai blood, yokai energy or often called spiritual energy, exist too. But you have Yokai energy inside of you yet possess no yokai’s blood. Not to mention, I have never heard of this ritual being performed on a human who possess no yokai’s blood…”
Both of them fell silent. The Daitengu grinned from above. “You don’t have all night to think this through, lad.”
Ryohei took a deep breath, thinking of his little sister and his sick mother searching for him.
“…Daitengu… I’ll do it.”
A big scary grin appeared on Daitengu’s face…
“Alright follow me lad.”
Daitengu led them not far from their location to a small, shallow cave with nothing inside. He gestured for Ryohei to enter. Shun looked confused but refrained from saying anything.
“So, what do I need to do?” Ryohei asked curiously.
Daitengu raised his hand, with two fingers pointing up, his sharp black nail reflects the illuminance from nearby onibi. He casually swipes it on his palm and made a small cut. Within that palm creating a small pool of pale colored blood. “Lass, you said your name is Ryohei right?
Ryohei, who had been fixated on the blood, snapped back to attention. “Ah, yes…”
“Well then… good luck.”
Before Ryohei could react, Daitengu shoved the pool of blood into his mouth, forcing his entire face into his palm. Though the shove was gentle, it sent Ryohei flying to the back of the cave, slamming him against the wall.
The moment he swallowed the blood, he felt like he was swallowing a molten magma, slowly searing down his throat, igniting a fire that spread from his stomach to every inch of his body.
A Horrid scream rang out and echoing through the cave as Ryohei clutched his throat, gagging, trying to spit it out, but it was too late. The blood has already reached his stomach, and the burning feeling continues. As if he was burned alive.
“NGHHHRAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Ryohei thrashed wildly, slamming his head against the walls, clawing at the stone wall, rolling on the ground—anything to extinguish the unbearable heat. But the more he fought, the more the fire inside him raged.
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Outside, Daitengu smirked and casually lifted a nearby boulder, sealing the cave entrance with a resounding BOOM.
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Far from Kyoto, where the Hyakki Yagyo was unfolding, a pair of ears twitched. A head peeked out from beneath a blanket, eyes scanning the moonless night sky. Another figure stirred, as if hearing a distant call. Feeling an unconnected bond, they couldn’t explain. They slipped out the window and sprinted toward the forest...
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“What were you thinking!? This isn’t the Blood Awakening Ritual!”
Daitengu, sipping from a jar of sake, raised an eyebrow. “Hm? You just noticed that? Haha! I thought you already knew. You're a pretty dense lad.”
Shun clenched his fists but kept his composure. Daitengu lounged atop the boulder that sealed the cave entrance, taking another swig on his sake.
“Think about it,” Daitengu continued. “He’s human with no yokai blood. Did you expect me to magically turn him into a yokai?”
“Then… what are you doing to him? Drinking yokai blood is one thing, but your blood of all things...”
Daitengu shook the empty jar, disappointed, before replying.
“The Blood Awakening Ritual only works on those with Yokai lineage, For human? that's impossible. By drinking a yokai’s blood, I am forcing the yokai energy inside his blood vein to awaken... and possibly, mutate his human blood into that of a yokai.”
“What do you mean by possibly?” Shun’s voice grew tense. “So, you’re just gambling with his life?”
Daitengu shrugged, unbothered to answer him while trying to drink every last drop of sake from the jar. Being ignored, shun was pissed, he felt something snap in him and accidentally let his anger slip.
“Answer me!”
In an instant, Daitengu expression changed, he appeared in front of Shun, followed up by an intense squall that nearly sending Shun flying. He shut his eyes and tried to hold against the wind, only to realize that his feet were no longer on the ground, Daitengu had lifted him by the throat.
*Gh!!
Shun’s eyes widened as he struggled, using all his strength to pry Daitengu’s hand away. But it was futile, even with all his strength, daitengu's hand didn’t even budge.
A pair of sinister yellow eyes glared down at him, emanating a bloodlust that made every hair on his body stand on end.
“I don’t know where you got the audacity to speak to me like that, lad.”
Daitengu’s grip tightened, cutting off Shun’s breath. Yokai naturally had stronger bodies and faster regeneration, but in the face of overwhelming power, all of that meant nothing.
“I am not your friend, nor your family. We’re not even acquaintances. And yet, you dare speak to me as if we stand on the same level? a mere halfblooded mongrel like you?”
*Krk… Krkkk…
His eyes bulged as his vision slowly getting blurred. He can feel his collarbone slowly cracked under the pressure. He wanted to scream, but no air could escape his lungs.
Just as darkness began to close in, Daitengu released him.
Thud!
Shun collapsed, gasping and coughing violently.
“Consider yourself lucky, lad. If you weren’t a participant in tonight’s Hyakki Yagyo—or if that young lass from the Tanuki family didn’t fancy you—I’d have ripped off your head and turned it into a wine goblet.”
A faint scream echoed from behind the boulder. Daitengu glanced back, noticing that it wouldn’t end anytime soon, he slowly walk towards the festival leaving shun who’s still crawling on the ground, trying to catch his breath.
“Guard him for me,” Daitengu ordered as he walked away. “Don’t let anyone disturb him. I’m off to get more booze.”
Shun, trembling but still nodded to his request out of fear, “I just want to ask you one thing… sir.”
Daitengu stopped, glancing over his shoulder.
Shun hesitated, still shaken. “Why did you help him? What’s your motive?”
Daitengu chuckled. “Entertainment.”
“Entertainment?” Shun frowned. “No ulterior motive? No plans to use him later?”
Daitengu smirked. “Try to live as long as I have, and you’ll find that entertainment becomes one of the few things worth pursuing. But you? I doubt you can live that long—not with your half-blood yokai blood.” He laughed heartily before his expression darkened.
“And if we’re talking motives… I’m not the suspicious one here.” His eyes narrowed. “You’re the one who offered to help him. You claimed to have a plan—but I’ve yet to hear it.”
Shun wanted to reply with a retort, but the words caught in his throat, leaving him quiet.
“The real question is,” Daitengu said, stepping closer, “what were you planning if I hadn’t been here?”
Shun’s face hardened, but he still didn’t respond.
“Ah,” Daitengu smirked. “I bet you want to see it too—a human surviving the impossible. Was it because you see yourself in him, isn’t it?”
Shun clenched his jaw but remained silent.
“Well,” Daitengu said, turning away. “The silence speak for itself... guard him for me, Delusional Young Master of the Mujina Clan.”
As Daitengu disappeared into the night leaving him in complete silence, Shun touched the bruises on his neck, his mind replaying those parting words.
“Delusional… huh.”
----------------------------------------
Thirsty…
Dark…
Hungry…
I had no strength left in my body.
The searing pain lingered, even though my body was numb—unable to feel or sense anything.
Suddenly, a small streak of light appeared not far from me. The tiny glimmer grew brighter and larger.
My lifeless figure, lying motionless on the cold ground, began to rise. Slowly, I started walking toward the cave entrance. Steady at first… then faster.
“GRAAAAAAAARH!!”
I dashed forward like a wild, rabid beast, attacking the first thing I saw—a man with red skin and a long nose. I didn’t care who he was. All I wanted was one thing:
FOOD.
The Daitengu, unfazed by my sudden attack, sighed as if expecting it. With a simple swing of his arm, he pinned me down.
Blam!
Sigh…
“He turned into a Mōjū... Just as I thought. I was hoping for too much.”
Shun, hiding behind the Daitengu, stared at me in disbelief.
Ryohei—his hair had turned white, his once calm eyes now narrowed and bloodshot, and his teeth… jagged and sharp like those of a beast.
There was a flicker of pity in Shun's eyes.
“I will end your suffering,” the Daitengu said coldly as he raised his hand to crush my head.
Pinned to the ground, I let out a blood-curdling scream, shaking the air around us.
From the distance, a high-pitched sound echoed, followed by a sudden streak of light heading straight for the Daitengu's eyes.
Even he, the Daitengu, was taken aback by the unexpected attack. He deflected it with his arm but, in doing so, accidentally released me.
Freed, I backed off and darted around the area with terrifying speed, my movements too fast for Shun to follow.
Another creature appeared, moving in tandem with me, circling the Daitengu and Shun.
A barrage of attacks followed.
The Daitengu dodged effortlessly but remained cautious, wary of another ambush.
Suddenly, I tackled Shun and bit into his arm.
“Gah!”
I tried to tear the flesh from his limb, but my fangs weren’t sharp enough to rip through completely.
Shun, writhing in pain, fought back, struggling to shake me off. But I was too fast, too relentless.
“Stand down, lad. He’s not your opponent anymore,” the Daitengu commanded, pulling out a star-shaped fan made of black feathers, its shape reminiscent of a maple leaf.
With a single swing, a powerful gust disoriented me. I stumbled, my movements erratic.
In that instant, the Daitengu grabbed one of the attackers—a small, fox-sized creature with sickles for arms.
“A Kamaitachi?” he muttered.
Before he could react further, I lunged at him from behind, aiming to catch him off guard. But he turned swiftly and delivered a punch to my stomach, sending me crashing through the trees.
I landed with a loud thud, consciousness fading.
Another Kamaitachi tried to rescue its comrade, but the Daitengu anticipated the move and caught it as well. Both creatures squirmed in his grip.
Feeling their frantic struggle, he released a wave of bloodlust, forcing them to go still—terrified but subdued.
“Sir… is this?” Shun finally managed to get a good look at the creatures.
“It’s his family, I suppose,” the Daitengu said.
“Family? But… he’s human. How is that possible?”
The Daitengu approached my unconscious form, preparing to finish me off. Shun, lost in thought, watched in silence.
But just as the Daitengu was about to strike, he hesitated.
“Mujina lad, tie him up for me.”
Shun snapped out of his daze.
“Ah, yes!”
The Daitengu plucked a vine from a nearby silvervine plant, channeled his spiritual energy into it, and handed it to Shun. The vine grew thicker, writhing in his hands.
“Use this. And tie up those two as well—they’ve been awfully quiet since I… persuaded them.”
Shun secured the beasts and then asked hesitantly, “What are you going to do with them, sir?”
The Daitengu sighed.
“I’ve offended Nurarihyon enough already. I killed another participant in the previous Hyakki Yagyo… So, I’ve decided to send this Mōjū into the tournament. I doubt it will survive past the first round.”
----------------------------------------
Did I die?
The last thing I remembered was being shoved into that cave.
The pain… it consumed me.
I tried everything to make it stop, but it didn’t.
My eyes felt heavy—so heavy—but I needed to wake up…
I needed to survive.
When I opened them, the familiar sight of a dark forest greeted me.
I wished, deep down, that it was all a dream… that I would wake up in my bed, wrapped in blankets.
But reality is cruel.
A sharp sting shot through the back of my head—like my skull had been split open.
Nggh!
I reached to hold my head but realized I was bound, unable to move.
“ Oi~ Mujina lad, this thing awakes again. Knock it out once more,” came a familiar old voice.
“Okay…”
Another voice responded. A figure approached and slowly raised his fist, ready to deliver a blow.
I instinctively ducked.
“What are you doing?!” I shouted.
The figure froze. Shock filled his eyes, and the old man behind him laughed.
“BAHAHAHA! YOU DID IT, LAD!”
Confused, I asked, “What’s going on? Did the ritual succeed? Why am I tied up?”
Shun explained everything…
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked, disbelief coloring my voice.
But the silence that followed confirmed it.
Shun untied me. I sat, hands on my head, trying to process it all.
“So… you used me for your Made-up blood ritual? Like a test subject?”
“Hey, you’re welcome,” Daitengu replied with a smirk. “You’re one of us now lad. Congratulations.”
I wanted to be angry, but… he wasn’t wrong, even though it was success, I was mad and disgusted at myself for easily believed him
“You agreed to it. Besides, this was your best chance at survival. You passed the first part. Now all that’s left is to win the Blood Festival,” the Daitengu said.
I noticed my hair had turned white. My body felt energized. The pain that once consumed me had vanished.
But something felt… incomplete.
“What’s my power?” I asked.
“Oh, right. Here.” The Daitengu tossed the fox-sized creature at me.
I am utterly confused. As I stared at it, I find it cute, was this another yokai?
“What… is this?”
I look at them thoroughly, the creature nuzzled my face. they let out cute familiar shriek and rub their head on my face. Feeling that contact, I vividly realize who it was. My eyes widened, “Hikage? And… Raisen?”
I recognized them instantly. My pets… but why were they here?
“Your pets?” The Daitengu chuckled. “You didn’t realize? They’re yokai. They came all this way for you. They must have sensed your bloodline awakening.”
“What… is my bloodline?”
The Daitengu pointed at the creatures.
“Kamaitachi. Sickle weasels. Your power lets you be able to ride the wind and transform into a sickle. Try it out, use spiritual energy to transform your hand."
He instructed me on how to channel my spiritual energy.
I envisioned it—a sickle in place of my hand.
But no matter how hard I tried, all I managed was to turn my finger into a small blade, like a small carving knife on my index finger.
The Daitengu and Shun snickered.
“Not bad for your first try. Now, try cutting that tree.”
I swung casually, expecting only a shallow mark.
Instead, the tree was cleaved clean in half.
I stood, speechless.
“Hmm, not bad. With this level of sharpness, I think you can manage to win few times.”
I was surprised by how sharp my sickle was, but the excitement quickly faded. I couldn’t help but feel discouraged. The yokai I saw back then seemed waaay stronger than me. Can I really win?
“Are you… seriously expecting me to win like this? I have no battle experience, and I’m not proficient with this weapon. How am I supposed to defeat everyone and win?” The situation looked grim.
Daitengu laughed. “No, of course not! You’re the weakest yokai in history. How could you possibly win the whole festival?”
Shun interjected, offering some explanation to ease my worries. “During the Festival of Blood, there’s something called the ‘Pardon System.’ It’s mostly used by wealthy yokai clans. Not all yokai are proficient in combat, so when you’re matched up, you can either fight or forfeit. If you forfeit or lose, you’ll be branded as the possession of the winner.
“If you don’t want that, you can offer something in exchange for your life. It can be a spiritual treasure, an exotic beast with high spiritual power, or a cursed technique plaque to pardon your death.”
“Can’t I just offer my shade umbrella?” I pointed at the umbrella given to me by Nurarihyon.
“No. That’s a low-ranked spiritual treasure. It’s mass-produced trash. If you want to survive, beat a few yokai. When their clans use a pardon to save them, you can collect and use it to pardon yourself in the next round.”
What he said actually made sense. Hearing about a potential way to survive lifted my spirits.
“So that’s how it works. You don’t need to win the whole thing.” Daitengu grinned confidently. “For a weak yokai like you, winning one or two matches is enough.”
His words irritated me. Was it because of the yokai blood? I was getting annoyed easily. “Hey, isn’t calling me the weakest going a bit too far?”
Daitengu looked confused, but he shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
“Listen, lad. Kamaitachi, in general, are weaker than most yokai. You can’t even beat a Nekomata.”
‘Nekomata?’ I thought for a moment. Isn’t that the yokai cat that usually disguises itself as a house cat?
“So, you’re saying I’m weaker than a household cat?”
“Don’t underestimate them,” I said, trying to defend myself. “I can handle a cat yokai!”
“But can you handle them when they resurrect?” Daitengu asked with a smirk.
“Resurrect? Nekomata can do that?”
“Cat clan, in general, have nine lives. Every time they die, they gain significant spiritual power. Even that is too much for a Kamaitachi. And, to make matters worse, they’re your natural predators.”
I swallowed hard. I kept forgetting—yokai power can’t be judged by appearance alone.
“You, on the other hand, are a Kamaitachi. Kamaitachi are yokai that travel in a party of three.” He pointed at Hikage and Raisen. “In other words, you’re just one-third of a complete yokai.
“And not only that—you’re a half-blooded yokai. To make things even worse, you’re missing the most crucial weapon of a Kamaitachi: a tail. You’re a tailless Kamaitachi.”
Daitengu’s gaze hardened. “In all my years… you are the weakest yokai I have ever met.”