Demons and Ghosts and Monsters

As a cloud of black mist filled the surroundings, a monster emerged from the door panel.

His cheeks were dry and pale, and a single, flame-red eye was set in a deep-set socket.

His hair was completely white, hanging upside down on his head like straw. His face and body were covered with pustules and scars, and sharp teeth gleamed coldly from his lipless mouth.

The scars tore open his face, stretching from the corner of his mouth all the way to his ears.

He had a Pentagram tattooed on his forehead.

Human form.

This Yōkai, no, this Demon, is actually in human form.

"It smells so good..." the evil spirit hissed, its voice seeming to be squeezed from a crack deep in its throat, "It smells so good... such a wonderful aroma..."

A scorching, death-laden wind, carrying the words of evil spirits, swept in, enveloping them in the stench of burning corpses.

Even Hashirama, a veteran of countless battles, couldn't help but cover his nose.

Mokushō's expression turned serious. "I remember now, this is Evil Spirit, Kyōkotsu. Be careful, its scent can pull people into an illusion and make them lose their way!"

Hashirama tried to hold his breath, but it was too late. He had already inhaled the gas.

A vision of a shattered Plateau suddenly appeared before him.

Countless human skeletons were piled up on the vast Wasteland, their white bones stretching to the horizon, gleaming grayish-white under the dark red light of the sky.

A village appeared on the distant horizon—his Konoha. But the Konoha was a scene of Ruins; massive rock walls were broken and shattered, and the remains of the Hokage Building lay askew in the ground, like a broken finger.

Flames raged overhead, thorns rolled across the ground, and a sinister mist swirled all around.

A colossal monster roared and raged, and the laughter of an Evil God echoed through the thorns.

A strong wind blew across his face, and the stench of decay filled the air.

This incredibly realistic illusion of world-ending destruction caused Hashirama's pupils to constrict, filling him with immense anger and grief.

But he quickly told himself that it was fake, an illusion.

The very next second after he thought this, an extremely angry shout rang out.

How dare you!

The illusion shattered the next second.

Hashirama snapped back to reality and saw that Mokushō had raised his hand.

A whole patch of wooden Vines suddenly surged up from the ground, pressing the Evil Spirit to the ground and pinning it firmly to the earth.

Mokushō's ponytail, which he had tied up, was now loose and danced wildly behind his head. The wind followed his movements, crushing the Evil Spirit called Kyōkotsu along with part of the Shrine.

Wood chips and pebbles scattered in the wind, and the remains of the door flew several feet away, crashing into the Stone Lantern in the courtyard with a muffled thud.

He raised his hand and drew Pentagram, "Done!"

The Kyōkotsu was trapped within the Pentagram Barrier, and then he shouted.

"The Toyouke-ihara-no-Nakatsukuni, an Evil Spirit of clamor and bewilderment, I, the Shikigami of the Onmyōji Izuna, in the name of my lord, shall swiftly vanquish it!"

"Destroy!"

Pure white Runes appeared around the Kyōkotsu, piercing towards him. The next second, the Evil Spirit let out a final shriek amidst the strangling white Spell Runes, and then vanished like ashes scattered by the wind.

Hashirama looked at Mokushō.

He stood in the wind, his ponytail disheveled, his clothes fluttering wildly, and the Red Eye patterns on his fox mask gleaming brightly.

The Vines slowly retreated back to the ground, leaving behind a messy courtyard and half a broken door frame.

A corner of the Shrine's Main Hall had been cut off, and broken wood and tiles were scattered all over the ground. The night wind blew in through the gap, making the oil lamp in front of the shrine sway.

"Izuna!"

Mokushō immediately turned around.

Madara held Izuna, who was slumped over, clutching his head.

"Izuna with you?!"

Mokushō ran quickly to Izuna's side, but Madara waved him aside and glared at Mokushō angrily, saying, "What have you done!"

"Let go! If you don't want him to leave you, then hurry up!"

Ban was stunned.

Ignoring him, Mokushō pulled Izuna from his grasp and pressed their Izuna together.

The eyes behind the mask slowly emitted a light, changing from light brown to gold.

The next second, Mokushō's body began to fade from his fingertips. First his fingers, then his arms, and then his entire outline. His body was like Fire Fly scattered by the wind, turning into tiny specks of light that drifted into the night.

Ban opened his eyes wide.

Mokushō has disappeared.

Madara looked at Izuna.

Izuna's eyes were still closed, his face showed no sign of pain, and his breathing was as steady as if he were asleep.

"What exactly is this...?"

Here it is...

Izuna blinked slowly.

The surroundings were a state of chaos.

Various colors surged around him, as if all the paints had been poured into water, mixed together, and the boundaries were indistinguishable.

Everything flowed viscously, without light, without sound, and without direction.

He looked around in a daze.

Ah, I think I just... saw something...

Before he could figure it out, a golden pupil appeared in mid-air.

The eye was large, hanging above the chaos, its pupil a pure gold with a faint halo around its edge. It stood there, silently watching Izuna.

Izuna looked up at that eye.

Who are you?

[Izuna.]

The sounds came from all directions.

How do you know my name?

"[It's time to wake up.] "the Golden Pupil said. "[Everyone is very worried.]"

Everyone?

Izuna began to try to recall why he was there and what had just happened.

The flow of colors in the chaos slowed down, as if suppressed by some force. The viscous color blocks faded layer by layer, and dark patches began to emerge from all around.

Stacks of white bones.

A broken Plain.

Konoha in Ruins.

And the sky covered in flames, and that laughter.

Izuna's heart clenched suddenly.

He lowered his head and looked at his chest. A wave of sadness suddenly washed over him, without any reason.

I'm so sad.

Why am I so sad...?

Those... I've seen them before...

It's clearly just a scene that appeared in Anime.

Izuna's thoughts abruptly ended there, unable to continue.

Yes, it's just a scene from Anime.

As he was thinking this, he didn't notice that the black blocks around him, which were originally gathering, were fading away piece by piece as his thoughts drifted, returning to chaos.

[Izuna.]

Wake up.

Izuna suddenly opened his eyes.

Moonlight poured down from overhead, illuminating the open space.

He saw Ban's face.

Ban sat on the veranda, her arm still around his shoulder, looking down at him, her eyes filled with worry and fear.

Hashirama squatted beside him, one hand on Madara's shoulder, and his eyes lit up when he saw Madara open them.

Tobirama stood three steps away, arms crossed, brows furrowed.

"Izuna!" Madara called out urgently, "How are you? Is anything wrong?"

Izuna blinked.

"Brother Ban."

"Um."

"Um..." Izuna didn't know what to say at this moment, so he could only hesitantly reassure her, "I'm fine, don't worry."

Ban froze, then frowned deeply. "You've forgotten again?"

"What?" Izuna shook his head. "No, I remember very clearly. I fainted because I saw an illusion."

"Do you remember what kind of illusion it was?"

Izuna lowered his eyes, "Konoha... is destroyed..."

"Ah! It really is!" Mokushō's voice suddenly came from Izuna's arms, "I give up! Izuna! Call me out!"

Izuna asked in surprise, "When did you go in? Mokushō, come out."

The character "Mokushō" appeared in mid-air, followed by the appearance of the boy wearing a fox mask.

As soon as he emerged, he ran to the damaged Shrine. Seeing the devastation before him, he knelt and wailed, "Ahhh! Why did this happen...? This thing is so hard to fix..."

Tobirama remained silent. "Didn't you break it yourself?"

"Shut up!" Mokushō grabbed his head. "Ah... I shouldn't have let Kyōkotsu come out! That guy likes illusions so much, why isn't he called Kyōkotsu! Damn it!"

"I'd like to ask you something," Tobirama, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on Mokushō, "Why did you and Izuna react so strongly to this scene? Did Konoha die in your world?"

Izuna's expression was subtle. It was indeed destroyed; think of the infamous Pain carrying rice.

Unlike him, Mokushō straightened up from the ground, his tone still radiating uncontrollable anger. "How do you feel seeing your house destroyed!"

Tobirama said expressionlessly, "I get angry too, but I won't lose my temper and let my emotions affect my actions like you do."

He paused, his gaze sweeping between Mokushō and Izuna.

"Unless... something like this actually happened, and you and Izuna were both witnesses, there's no way to explain why your reactions were so similar and so extreme."

Madara and Hashirama also looked at Mokushō seriously.

Madara's arm was still wrapped around Izuna's shoulder, and he didn't let go. Hashirama stood beside him, his brows slightly furrowed.

Mokushō: "..."

Holy crap! Tsukimiyo! Help me!

Why did I react so strongly just now?! But if I don't deal with Izuna quickly, things will get messy! But now they're suspicious again! How are we going to handle this?!

On another note, Tsukimiyo, you little rascal! Why did you have to leave now? You just logged on and then logged off again. And you even used someone else's token of love as a safe haven! Aren't you afraid of getting a double beating from the couple?!

Tobirama stared at him, his gaze as if he wanted to pin him to the wall.

Mokushō couldn't help but take a step back. "Your eyes are terrifying..."

Ban spoke, his voice low but unmistakable. "Mokushō."

Mokushō jumped up, "Yes!"

"Answer."

Mokushō opened his mouth.

"I..." He took a deep breath, "I can't say."

Tobirama's brow furrowed even more.

"Can't say?" Ban repeated the three words, his tone carrying a dangerous calm.

"Yes." Mokushō lowered his head. "Regarding matters of the future, I cannot speak of them; this is constrained by the Space-Time Laws."

He paused, then continued, "But I can tell you, Konoha was indeed destroyed." As for which timeline and how it was destroyed, that's none of your concern.

The air grew quiet.

Ban's arms tightened.

Izuna was uncomfortable being held in the armband, so he quickly patted Madara's arm to breathe freely.

Hashirama stood to the side, his expression becoming complicated. He had met Izuna and Mokushō, which meant that at least within the last three generations, Konoha had been violated by someone.

With them around, how exactly was Konoha destroyed?

Tobirama asked, "When did this happen?"

Mokushō shook his head. "I can't say."

Who did it?

"I can't say."

Where was Izuna at that time?

"I can't say."

Every time Tobirama asked a question, he received the same answer. In the end, Tobirama simply stopped asking and just stared at him with a sharp gaze.

Mokushō felt extremely uncomfortable under the gaze. He took a half step back and muttered softly, "If I could say it, I would have already. It's just that I'm being forced to..."

Madara suddenly spoke up, "Why were you in such a hurry to contact Izuna just now?"

Mokushō stopped moving.

Why did Izuna get into trouble?

"Because I forgot to teach you to Guarding the Minds." This time, Mokushō spoke fluently, "Evil Spirit, Kyōkotsu, Evil Spirit that slaughters hundreds."

"The smoke emitted by Kyōkotsu not only causes people to see illusions they never want to see in their lives, but it can also invade their minds through Poison Mist, driving them mad, causing them to make terrible mistakes, and ultimately degenerate into Demons like him."

Mokushō looked at the door that had been reduced to wood chips. "Although it's a very dangerous Evil Spirit, in my memory, this guy shouldn't be qualified to be placed here."

Mokushō stroked his chin and muttered, "And why did Izuna get infected but you guys didn't...?"

Tobirama, standing nearby, said to Hashirama, "I take back my earlier doubts; this guy simply doesn't know anything."

Hashirama amused and exasperated.

Madara frowned. "If you can't explain yourself clearly, I'll have Izuna terminate the Contract right now."

Mokushō looked troubled. "How come I never knew you liked threatening people so much?"

"Hurry up!"

I suspect it's because you're not Onmyōji yet.

What's the difference?

"Because Onmyōji constantly communicate with Natural Energy, they usually project their Mental Power outwards to ensure they can detect danger or act in time."

Mokushō stroked his chin. "When danger approaches, it's true that you can sense it faster, but some Evil Spirits won't give you that chance. They'll use this characteristic to their advantage and trick Onmyōji."

"Simply put, it's still a problem of Demonization."

Madara frowned, "Demonization..."

"Izuna is already Demonization, so he's easier to assimilate. Besides, he hasn't even realized what's happening yet. If we let him be assimilated like this, it would be extremely dangerous."

Ban's voice tightened. "Then what did you do?"

"Oh, wake him up."

Ban was stunned. "It's that simple?"

"Are those golden eyes yours?" Izuna suddenly asked.

"How about it? Am I handsome?" Mokushō put his hands on his hips, his fox mask slightly raised.

Izuna gave me Dead-Fish Eyes: "Don't you know how weird it is to have a big eye appearing there?"

"Wow! You're criticizing me again!" Mokushō leaned back.

I don't look down on you.

"You're just saying you don't like me..."

Izuna was speechless. This guy seemed to be pushing his luck more and more.

Hashirama stood to the side, stroking his chin, his brows slightly furrowed, muttering repeatedly, "Golden eyes..."

Golden eyes.

My eyes also turn golden when I absorb Senjutsu Chakra.

Sage Mode in another world... Could it also be a form of Demonization?

But let's not tell Mokushō about this.