Chapter 133. The Holy Grail of the Heian Era
[Onigashima is about to collapse.]
[You try to quickly return to Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji.]
[You must take them away from this place.]
"You've come back?!"
In Shuten Douji's eyes, at this moment, there was only Ian standing before her.
Her entire body seemed to relax as she let out a relieved sigh.
To be honest, during the time he was gone, she had imagined all the worst possible outcomes in her head.
Like him leaving forever, never to return;
Or perhaps being killed on the spot by the one called Ushi Gozen;
There was even the possibility that he would simply abandon her and Ibaraki here—after all, this was Onigashima, leaving demons behind wouldn't be surprising, would it?
However, none of those terrible outcomes happened.
Ian had returned, just as he had promised, facing the very demons that an Onmyoji was supposed to hate the most.
"Umu." He nodded.
"I have returned."
"Now then—"
Just as Ian was about to speak, he caught sight of Ibaraki Douji's skeptical gaze.
He recalled the stubborn pride of a certain Great Demon King of Ooeyama and quickly corrected himself:
"Master, I think we should leave this demon island now."
"Eh?!"
"Nani!?"
Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji exclaimed in unison, full of astonishment.
But soon, the former realized she couldn't continue acting like this, or else it would make Ibaraki Douji suspicious.
'He wouldn't deceive me.'
With that thought in mind, Shuten Douji immediately agreed to Ian's "request."
"Alright!"
"Let's go!"
[You lead Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji away from Onigashima, following the same path you took to arrive.]
[Since the entire demon island was constructed based on the layout of Heian-kyo, the departure was not difficult.]
[You and they board a boat.]
[The moment the boat leaves the shore, you see Ushi Gozen.]
[She just stands there, on the shore, quietly watching you all depart.]
[The water ripples gently, the sea stirs.]
[After the boat has traveled some distance.]
[Onigashima disappears.]
Thick black clouds gradually dispersed.
Light from the sky shone down on the sea, forming a vast white scene like a stage.
And there—
There should have been an island.
"Uwaa, it's gone…"
Ibaraki Douji stared at the empty sea, momentarily at a loss for words.
After all, not long ago, she had been running barefoot across that very island.
Shuten Douji's reaction wasn't much different from Ibaraki Douji's.
She stared at the empty sea, rubbing her eyes repeatedly.
She couldn't believe what was unfolding before her.
"Oji-san, just what did you do?!"
Ian glanced at Ibaraki Douji. Seeing that she was still fixated on the sea, he spoke up:
"Shuten, this is what happened."
[You recount to Shuten Douji what Ushi Gozen told you.]
[You also present the golden cup that Ushi Gozen entrusted to you.]
[You hope she might know something about it.]
[But it seems the outcome is different.]
"This…"
Shuten Douji slightly parted her lips, her face full of disbelief.
Clearly.
At this moment, forget about knowing something—even accepting what Ian had just said seemed impossible for her.
"This golden cup is really that powerful?"
"It could sustain an entire island and do so many other things?"
"I don't know."
Ian answered truthfully, speaking his honest thoughts.
"At first, I thought the same as you."
"But if Ushi Gozen said so, I think there's no reason to doubt it."
"…"
Shuten Douji's expression became somewhat complicated.
She had never met Ushi Gozen in person, so even though she knew that the figure bore an almost identical appearance to Minamoto no Raikou, she couldn't immediately place her trust in her.
Looking at the golden cup before her, she pondered for a moment before speaking:
"Then—"
"Oji-san, can we touch your golden cup?"
"Of course."
After all, Ushi Gozen had never mentioned that others weren't allowed to touch this cup.
At the same time, Ian genuinely hoped that Shuten Douji could provide some useful information.
If touching it could achieve that, what could be better?
[Your thoughts are thorough.]
[But the actual outcome is not as you imagined.]
[In fact, it is rather unexpected.]
Shuten Douji reached out her small, soft hand and touched the gleaming golden cup.
But—
The instant her fingers made contact with the cup's surface, her entire body jolted as if electrocuted, and she immediately recoiled backward.
"What... what the hell is this?!"
Shuten Douji blew on her hand repeatedly, looking just like a child who had burned themselves.
"It hurts!"
"Hurts?"
Ian looked at Shuten Douji in front of him, puzzled.
"What happened?"
"It's just—"
Shuten Douji stared at the golden cup, her expression slightly aggrieved.
"It seems there's some strange kind of spell inscribed on it."
"Something like 'forbidding demons from touching' or something."
"Hey! Oji-san, are you messing with me?!"
"Do you think I need to do that?"
Ian responded to Shuten Douji's suspicion, then turned his gaze toward the golden cup that Ushi Gozen had entrusted to him.
A spell inscribed on it?
Who placed it there?
["Drained Mana Holy Grail" activated: You realize that this cup may have been tampered with by someone.]
[You really want to know who did this.]
[But you have no way to understand everything.]
[After all, this is your first time coming into contact with it.]
"..."
Seeing Ian's furrowed brows, Shuten Douji quickly realized that the man before her wasn't lying.
Moreover, he truly had no reason to deceive her.
"Hey, Oji-san."
"If it wasn't you, then could it have been Ushi Gozen?"
Shuten Douji's words were not without reason.
After all, from one perspective, besides Ian, Ushi Gozen was the only other person who had interacted with the cup.
But in response to this possibility, the Grand Onmyoji shook his head.
"I think that's unlikely."
"Because she spends her days and nights killing demons… No demon would dare approach her, so why would she need to inscribe such a spell on the golden cup?"
"Umu... If no demon dares to come near her, then indeed, there's no need for precautions."
"Aha?!"
Shuten Douji suddenly thought of something.
She spoke again:
"Oji-san… could it be that this golden cup was originally given to her by someone else?"
"Given to her by someone else?"
"Exactly!" Shuten Douji nodded repeatedly. "That person named Ushi Gozen may be able to kill demons, but that doesn't mean the one who gave her this cup could also kill demons, right?"
"Of course, it might not have been handed to her directly."
"It's just that before this golden cup ended up in Ushi Gozen's hands, someone had already prepared some precautionary measures."
"Precautionary measures?"
[You feel that Shuten Douji's words are not without merit.]
[Ushi Gozen is not a demon, so she wouldn't be affected by this spell.]
[But if that's the case, another new problem arises.]
[Who did this?]
[You realize that your departure may have been a bit too hasty—you should have asked more questions.]
[You feel a slight sense of regret.]
Shuten Douji noticed Ian's disappointment.
She hesitated for a moment before speaking softly:
"Oji-san, don't be so discouraged… I was just saying things off the top of my head. Whether it's true or not, we still don't know."
"But Shuten, I think what you said makes a lot of sense."
"If Ushi Gozen wasn't the first owner of this cup, then no matter what has appeared on it, there's always a possibility that it happened."
"Shuten—"
Ian looked at the former Demon King of Ooeyama before him, a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes.
"Do you have any other thoughts?"
"This…"
This was the first time Shuten Douji had been looked at with such anticipation by Ian.
For some reason, a thought emerged in her mind—"I have to come up with an answer."
"Oji-san, wait a moment, let me think!"
Shuten Douji propped her hand on her cheek, constantly scratching her head and ruffling her hair. Occasionally, she even patted her own face as if trying to boost her motivation.
Seeing her like this, Ian couldn't help but chuckle.
Finally, he spoke directly:
"Calm, Shuten."
"If it's too difficult to think about, we can just drop it."
"No!" Shuten Douji immediately cut Ian off. "I will definitely think of something, just wait a bit!"
"..."
At this point, there was no turning back.
Ian had no choice but to wait patiently for her.
However—
A demon's thoughts often came unexpectedly.
The more she tried to think, the more her mind went blank.
In the end, Shuten Douji had to admit defeat and murmured softly to Ian:
"Oji-san… I can't think of anything."
She had already braced herself for Ian to scold her for "wasting time." But to her surprise, he simply reached out and patted her head.
"It's okay."
"Not being able to think of something is normal too."
This was the first time Shuten Douji had ever been patted on the head by someone.
She had expected it to be an unpleasant feeling.
But in reality—it was quite comforting.
However, she quickly realized that her thought was a little strange, so she immediately shook her head.
"Why are you patting my head?!"
"I am the Super Amazing Great Demon King of Ooeyama!"
"Oh… so you actually care about that?"
Ian withdrew his hand from Shuten Douji's head.
"Sorry, that was impolite of me."
"..."
Shuten Douji felt something odd stirring within her.
She quickly changed the subject.
"Well then, Oji-san, don't you have any thoughts of your own?"
"I didn't at first."
Ian looked at the small demoness before him.
"But seeing you think so hard, I suddenly came up with something."
"What do you mean?" Shuten Douji narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying I somehow became a weird source of inspiration?"
"No."
Ian shook his head.
"It's just that what you said earlier made me realize something."
"If the first owner of this cup wasn't Ushi Gozen, then that person must have had some connection to her."
Hearing this, Shuten Douji made her own deduction.
"Old man… don't tell me you're suggesting it was Minamoto no Raikou?"
"No." Ian shook his head again.
"If it were Raikou, things wouldn't have turned out this way."
"Because—"
"She seems to be completely unaware of Ushi Gozen's existence."
"…That's true."
Shuten Douji scratched her face.
"With the way that woman treats you, she would probably rather turn herself into a Ushi Gozen than let you take on this kind of danger."
"Then who exactly is it, Oji-san?"
Ian didn't beat around the bush and answered directly:
"I think it was Raikou's father—Minamoto no Mitsunaka."
"Minamoto no Mitsunaka..."
Shuten Douji murmured the name before suddenly coming to a realization.
"Wait a minute! Didn't you tell me that he was already dead?"
"That's right." Ian nodded. "But given the current situation, many things are still connected to him."
"Not to mention anything else, at the very least, the power Raikou possesses is definitely inseparable from the choices he made, isn't it?"
"That's why I want to go back and start investigating this matter."
"..."
Shuten Douji remained silent for a moment, as if hesitating over whether to mention something.
In the end, she spoke up.
"So you're still planning to keep this from Minamoto no Raikou?"
"Of course."
Ian smiled.
"If she found out that her father made such a decision for the sake of the Minamoto clan... I don't think that would be a good thing at all."
"..."
Shuten Douji was silent for a while longer, then sighed. She placed both hands on her hips and said:
"There's no other way, huh?"
"Looks like I'll still have to keep helping you, Oji-san... After all, this isn't something we can let others know about, right?"
"Hora."
Shuten Douji extended her hand toward Ian.
"First, return my power to you. That way, you won't have to worry anymore, right?"
"..."
Looking at the small hand stretched out before him, Ian hesitated for a moment—then pushed it back.
"Shuten, there's no need."
"You don't have to get your power back from me."
"..."
Shuten Douji furrowed her brows slightly.
Her hand, having been pushed away, felt a bit awkward and restless.
"Oji-san, aren't you afraid I'll go back to doing bad things?"
"Of course I am."
"But—"
Ian looked at the small demoness in front of him, a friendly light in his eyes.
"If you really intended to, you would've already left before I got back."
"Shuten, I have to admit something."
"You've actually made me change my view on demons a little—your kind isn't devoid of emotions."
"And you also understand—"
Ian glanced toward Ibaraki Douji, who was still gazing out at the sea.
"You understand how to protect your friends."
"From that perspective, you're no longer my prey."
Shuten Douji was silent for a while before responding:
"Oji-san... is this your declaration of giving up hunting demons?"
"I wouldn't say giving up. When necessary, I won't hesitate to act."
"It's just that—"
"I'm starting to think that maybe there's a place for demons in the Heian period too. That's all."
"Oji-san..."
Shuten Douji turned her face away.
"You really are an idiot."
["Blessing of Shuten Douji" lost: You no longer have the seal on Shuten Douji's power.]
["Treasure of the Demon" obtained: You have become someone incredibly important to Shuten Douji.]
[She has secretly sworn in her heart to uncover the truth about the Holy Grail for you.]