Mikage hovered in midair, his voice cold and emotionless as he revealed his true identity.

"Impossible!"

Ishikagami Yukito shouted in disbelief. "I've already taken all of Abe no Seimei's power and memories! You can't be him!"

Mikage glanced at him without a flicker of emotion. "All of it? You truly are an arrogant fool. A defective imitation like you could never possibly take everything from me."

As he spoke, Mikage formed a single hand seal. From the Taiji diagram beneath their feet, countless dark red tree roots burst forth and instantly bound Yukito.

To absorb the spell power of the Twelve Heavenly Generals, Yukito had bound himself too tightly to the Pillar of Heaven. But it was Abe no Seimei who planted the Pillar himself—there was no one in this world more attuned to it.

As a result, Yukito had no ability to resist. He was immediately captured.

"You may be defective, but you still have some use."

As Mikage spoke, the roots began to drag Yukito down into the center of the Taiji diagram.

"ABE NO SEIMEI!!!"

Yukito roared in fury. He had always seen others as mere resources to be consumed. To now realize that he himself was nothing but a pawn in Seimei's plan—that was the most unbearable truth of all.

Charles did not intervene—he merely watched Yukito vanish completely.

At that moment, Mikage turned to him.

"You don't seem surprised."

Charles replied, "I've known your identity for some time now. And knowing who you are, nothing you do could possibly surprise me."

Mikage nodded. "That's fair. Though the plan has deviated quite a bit, we can still proceed. Once I've dealt with you, I'll find the Twin Stars and finally create a world free of filth."

As he spoke, a massive three-tiered torii gate of light rose behind him. Mikage floated through it and disappeared.

Moments later, a man clothed entirely in white stepped through the gate.

The true form of the great onmyoji from a thousand years ago—Abe no Seimei—had returned to the present world.

He did not look like a relic of the past. His snowy white hair framed a youthful face, and he wore a white coat lined with fur. But Charles could clearly sense the terrifying power radiating from his body.

Abe no Seimei looked at Charles. "This is the first time we've met face to face, isn't it?"

Charles nodded. "That's right. Should I say it's an honor to meet a legendary figure?"

Seimei replied, "That probably means little to you. After all, you're a traveler from beyond this world."

He tilted his head thoughtfully. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask—have the other worlds you've visited had creatures like the filth?"

Charles rubbed his chin. "I've been to a few other worlds, but I haven't seen anything quite like them. Maybe filth is a… unique feature of your world."

If anyone knew the origin of the filth, it would be the one who created them—Abe no Seimei himself. So why was he asking?

Seimei, as if missing the sarcasm, murmured like he was talking to himself, "As I thought… things like filth should never have existed in the first place."

Then he looked Charles in the eye. "With your abilities, you must already understand the true nature of the filth. Those grotesque monsters are merely the materialized desires and malice of humanity—the concentrated essence of yin."

"As long as there are humans with ill intent, filth will never vanish."

Charles cut him off. "So what? So your solution is to extract all yin from humanity, leaving behind only yang? Turning people into emotionless husks?"

"Is that so bad?" Seimei countered calmly. "That would create a world without conflict—where everyone could live in peace and happiness."

Charles sighed. "And to think you're supposed to be a great onmyoji. You understand nothing of yin-yang balance."

"It's because there is ugliness in the world that we learn to seek and cherish beauty. What you're talking about… that's just a world of puppets under your control. A world like that can never be truly happy."

Seimei shook his head. "I've watched this world for nearly a thousand years. And in all that time, humanity has only disappointed me."

"People don't change."

Charles growled, "So what? Humanity has never needed anyone to save it. Even if we destroy ourselves through our own malice—that is our fate."

"You think you have the right to dictate the fate of humanity? That's just your own arrogance."

"You presume to reshape the world and its people as you see fit. You think you're a god? Even gods don't have the right to steal human freedom!"

Seimei's face remained impassive. "Then perhaps I am that sort of god. I have a mission—to make this world better."

Charles narrowed his eyes. "Then you can keep dreaming about that better world—because it won't exist."

Without warning, Charles surged forward and slammed his fist toward Seimei.

A shimmering blue barrier rose in front of Seimei, just in time to intercept the blow.

In terms of spell control and spellcraft, Seimei was far beyond Ishikagami Yukito. That one shield alone could block a full-force attack from a Basara.

But against Charles? It was paper-thin.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Charles's punch shattered the barrier and continued straight toward Seimei's face.

Seimei lifted a single finger to intercept the strike—just one finger, but it was brimming with his immense spell power.

The moment finger and fist collided, a burst of lightning crackled between them. Both were forced backward.

"Mika Shabun Nehasaka!"

Seimei's era had a very different style of onmyou combat. He was never meant for close-quarters fighting—especially not against someone like Charles.

So he immediately deployed one of his strongest techniques.

As he chanted the Mantra of the Dragon Host, a massive white dragon-form shikigami appeared behind him. Its long, twisted body sprawled across the platform and spewed a wave of fire toward Charles.

This white dragon, one of Seimei's signature shikigami, could easily annihilate even Basara-level filth.

Unfortunately for him… it used fire.

Charles charged straight through it, opening his mouth and inhaling all the flames.

Even Seimei looked startled. Not once in a thousand years had he seen something like that. But remembering Charles's identity as a visitor from another world, he found it less surprising.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Charles grinned. "Tasted pretty good. Now it's my turn!"

With that, he leaped into the air toward the white dragon.

"When it comes to fighting dragons… I'm a professional! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

His punch landed mid-roar—directly into the white dragon's head. Enhanced by the Dragon Slayer skill, the blow shattered half its skull.

Dragon blood burst into radiant light and rained down.

Abe no Seimei's expression finally grew serious.

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

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