At the Onmyoji's Summoning, a Fox appeared before Cthulhu Fhtagn, its body scarcely smaller than the Evil God's.
Its entire body was golden, its bearing regal. Nine long tails rested on the ground, half curled and half trailing behind it. Cunning glinted in its narrow Fox eyes, and it radiated an allure that drew people in against their will.
The Iga chief priest saw Tamamo-no-Mae and instinctively recited a passage: "The Classic of Mountains and Seas records: 'On Mount Qingqiu there is a beast shaped like a fox with nine tails. It cries like an infant, and whoever eats it will be immune to poison.'"
"The nine-tailed fox."
"The great yokai Tamamo-no-Mae."
"The legendary yokai said to rival the gods."
"Wasn't she killed?"
"History can be dressed up however people please. Who knows how much of it was rewritten? They say she was killed, but who knows if that's true? Don't forget, Prince Taruhito was bewitched to his death by the fox yokai Night Princess. People said the fox yokai was dead then, too. Yet centuries later, Emperor Toba was bewitched by Tamamo-no-Mae and nearly lost his life. With methods that identical, who can say for certain those two fox yokai weren't the same one?"
In Tokyo, Tagawa Masamune had thought he would die alongside the city. When news came that High Priestess Reiko had awakened, he hurriedly ordered a live feed of events in Saitama Prefecture.
Inside the Prime Minister's residence, his advisers began discussing it at once.
"You used your Summoning to bring me out to deal with that?" Tamamo-no-Mae's narrow Fox eyes widened at the sight of Cthulhu Fhtagn.
The Evil God had clearly frightened her, too.
Abe no Seimei fanned himself with his folding fan, fine beads of sweat covering his forehead. "Lady Tamamo-no-Mae, please hold