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A large number of onmyoji had gathered in Izumo, east of Peace-War Pass, forming a powerful society. Its center of authority stood in the town of Namba: a grand and imposing pavilion known as Sparrow Pavilion.

Inside Sparrow Pavilion, bells connected by thin cords hung on all four sides of the spirit shrine hall. Rows of white candles burned along the northeastern walls, their flames flickering bright and dim. On the spirit shrine rack directly east, a tiny shrine trembled faintly, toppled unsteadily, and fell to the floor.

A bowl-cut man with a large red gourd strapped to his back bent down and picked up the shrine. After staring at it for a moment, he spoke to the people seated behind him on cushions in various postures. "Ubume has been gone for a long time, and now there has been another change in her shrine. It seems she has met with disaster..."

A man wearing a blue fanged mask, whose nose was far longer than any ordinary person's, sat upright and said, "Tamamo-no-Mae, you were the one assigned to this mission. Ubume has met with trouble—don't you have anything to say?"

Tamamo-no-Mae, a stunning woman in a kimono with her fragrant shoulders exposed, covered her mouth and laughed. "Even without me saying it, you should be able to guess. Why bother asking such a pointless question? The opponent is the Kozuki Clan, with a heritage stretching back centuries. Ubume's failure should have been expected. Still, what a pity about Ubume."

After she spoke, everyone in the room fell silent.

A young girl in white shrine maiden robes seemed to have just woken up. She raised her body from where she had been sprawled on the floor like a cat, widened her bleary eyes, and said in a childish voice, "Let