"Although the Lord of Mount Tai has not graced us with his presence, we do have an honored guest. Welcome, welcome."
Male and female voices overlapped, their bewitching, demonic tones seeming to drift from afar, yet also whisper right beside everyone's ears.
A shadow immediately fell over the faces of Uchiha Senmon and the others. None spoke.
It was "Abe no Seimei," the mastermind behind the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons and the Heavenly Origin Game, the strongest Onmyoji, who sought to use the Ritual of the Lord of Mount Tai to subject all humanity to Impure World Reincarnation!
The atmosphere instantly grew suffocatingly tense.
"You went to all that trouble to break through four Rashomon gates. Wasn't it to defeat me? How can you do that if you don't even dare face me?"
As always, "Abe no Seimei's" voice was melodious and lilting, with a teasing edge.
"All your efforts and sacrifices so far will have been for nothing, you know."
"Let's go."
Uchiha Senmon exchanged a glance with the white-clad Sasuke. They nodded in understanding, and he guided the tree down to the ground before taking the lead, bringing the Twelve Divine Generals and Taka forward.
"Gurgle, gurgle-"
Still shaken, Mineko Yuki followed behind Uchiha Senmon. Raised rock formed walkways over the boiling, crimson sea of lava.
It was just like a Demon King's Castle.
During her brief glimpse while falling from high above, she had seen passages crisscrossing the lava, vaguely forming some kind of profound formation.
Within minutes, the group reached the center of the lava sea.
A small, ancient-looking temple appeared before them. Apart from that, there was nothing.
"You've finally arrived. Forgive me, my legs aren't working well at the moment, so I can't come out to greet my guests."
A voice neither