He, The One

'Surely you don't expect every Yokai to shout, "Ah! Hakumen-Sama! Our Creator! Oh, our great God! Welcome back! Oh, how we've missed you!" right? It's been a very long time since Hakumen's death; I doubt there are any Yokai alive from his time; most were killed off,' Ddraig said to me as I lay on my throne.

'Keep in mind that although Yasaka and Nararihyon knew of the importance and significance that Hakumen had over the Yokai, not all Yokai will understand that,' Ddraig said.

'I know that. Many of the Yokai won't accept my rule at the mere mention of the name Hakumen. Nothing is so simple,' I replied to the dragon as I watched Yasaka, Nararihyon, and many other Yokai fill the throne room while I puffed on my pipe nonchalantly.

A bit ago, I ordered Yasaka and Nararihyon to prepare to tell the Yokai present in Kyoto that I, Hakumen no Mono, had returned to his rightful position as the leader of Yokai, and seeing that the two had returned meant that they were ready to let the information go public.

'You know... although Hakumen is dead, he had many enemies, and if you assume his identity, they'll come for you. There's a lot to becoming the leader of the Yokai,' Ddraig said to me.

'I'm aware of that,' I replied as I took another puff from my pipe.

'The Shinto pantheon especially hates him,' Ddraig said, telling me that I would become the enemy of an entire pantheon.

'How fun,' I replied as a smile spread across my face.

'...I don't know what response I expected from you,' Ddraig said with a sigh before falling silent.

"We've finished the preparations, my lord," Nararihyon said as he kneeled before me.

"Very well," I replied before continuing.

"Proceed," I commanded, and every Yokai present disappeared to tend to their duties, except for Yasaka, who was still kneeling.

"My lord," Yasaka said with her head still lowered.

"Hmm?" I hummed in response. If it was anyone besides Yasaka who didn't follow my command, they would be punished. But I liked the woman, so that didn't apply to her. Was I showing favoritism? Absolutely. That was clear when I played with Kunou yesterday.

"I don't mean to undermine you, my lord, but is it wise to release the knowledge of your reemergence so early on? Not only will the Yokai know of this, but all of the supernatural world will," Yasaka said seriously.

"It's inevitable," I replied to the nine-tailed fox.

"I don't understand..." Yasaka replied.

"I mean that the knowledge of my reemergence would inevitably leak. In fact, it already has," I said as I made eye contact with Yasaka.

"?" An invisible question mark appeared above Yasaka's head until a few moments later a look of realization overtook her.

"A traitor..." Yasaka said as her eyes widened.

"Indeed," I replied with a smirk as I blew out the smoke in my lungs.

Last night, a large group of servants sent out secret messages to varying forces—Khaos Brigade, The Devils, The Fallen Angels, The Angels, The Church, The Hero Faction, The Himejima clan, and a few others were notified about me, and of course, I allowed them to be.

The main reason I didn't stop the traitors from sending the message of 'my' reemergence was that it would be known the next day anyway. There was no point in hiding it, and in truth, I wanted people to mess with me. I lived by the words, 'fuck around and find out,' and everyone who decided to mess around with me would be the examples for the next.

Also, it should be obvious that I killed the traitorous Yokai after they sent out those messages. Not because I was mad they sent the message, but because I didn't want people like them near me.

"Don't overthink things, Yasaka," I said with a smile as I looked down at the woman whose face had taken a slightly red hue.

"Yes, my lord," Yasaka replied as she broke eye contact and looked at the ground as quickly as she could.

"Go on and do as I commanded. Fodder will come soon," I said before standing up.

"Yes, my lord," Yasaka repeated again before making her exit.

'Fodder?' Ddraig questioned me as I walked out of the throne room and toward a balcony.

'Yes, fodder.' I said as a devilish smile spread across my face. Soon enough, many beings would begin targeting me.

~ Time Skip no Jutsu! - 3 Days Later ~

"My lord," Nararihyon said as he kneeled behind me.

"Hmm?" I hummed in response with raised eyebrows as I looked back at the long-headed Yokai.

"The Five Principal Clans have begun attacking our base in South Kyoto," Nararihyon said with a tense voice. In his view, I hadn't been back long enough to solidify my status and reign, but the Five Principal Clans had already made their move. They couldn't let the Yokai grow stronger under Hakumen no Mono.

"Heh, they just couldn't wait," I said with a smile as I looked at the full moon shining brightly above my land.

"The treaty has been broken, my lord. How do you wish to proceed?" Nararihyon said.

Nararihyon was right about the treaty being broken. The Yokai and Five Principal Clans had a peace treaty after thousands of years of battle. The Yokai and Five Principal Clans were tired of the continued death, and with Hakumen no Mono gone, the Yokai wouldn't be able to grow any longer. So after some time, the Five Principal Clans and the Yokai signed a peace treaty, only for it to be completely shattered tonight.

Now, why would the Five Principal Clans break the treaty so suddenly? The reason for that was me—I, the being who assumed the role of Hakumen no Mono, had come into the picture. And because of that, the Yokai would grow stronger. But how could the Five Principal Clans let the Yokai, their greatest enemy, grow? They couldn't, so they decided to strike as soon as they could. They needed to at least kill me.

'I bet the clans feel confident due to their heirs.' I said to myself with a smile.

The heirs of each of the five clans had strong Sacred Gears, something that they didn't have when Hakumen no Mono was present. And because of that, they most likely believed that they genuinely could handle me.

"Take your Hyakki Yagyo and defeat them," I commanded, still smiling despite Nararihyon's serious face.

"Understood," Nararihyon replied immediately before disappearing.

Now, what happened in the past three days that led up to this? Well, it hasn't been smooth. In the last three days, the knowledge of Hakumen no Mono returning to his position as the leader of the Yokai spread everywhere. But for now, we'll focus on the reaction of the common Yokai.

They said fuck you.

Pretty much, I got a 'fuck you' from most Yokai. They didn't give a shit that Hakumen created their race; they cared that he wasn't there when they needed him the most. Hell, most Yokai in this day and age didn't even know who Hakumen was, despite his role in their creation.

Some Yokai celebrated the return of Hakumen, but they were a very small percentage, around ten percent. The other ninety percent either brushed off the knowledge of Hakumen or got angry and said things like, 'Who does he think he is to come back after all these years?!' The vast majority of the Yokai hated Hakumen or didn't care about him at all.

It was so bad that the Yokai were pissed at Yasaka and Nararihyon for submitting to me. They felt that I didn't deserve my position. Why would the being who abandoned them and let them suffer the relentless pursuit from the entire supernatural society rule them? In their opinion, he shouldn't.

In truth, the opinions of the Yokai were justified. I mean, they had been attacked by Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, Heroes, Exorcists, and more for years without being able to fight back. Their powers weren't enough to combat those forces, and they all knew that.

The Yokai held many negative feelings toward Hakumen no Mono, which all stemmed from the suffering they had endured since he 'abandoned' them. They blamed Hakumen for everything, and now I was left to fix everything up.

The Yokai knew they were under my control, and they hated that. This was also one of the reasons why the Five Principal Clans attacked so soon. The Yokai weren't able to properly function as a society at the moment.

'Completing this system quest won't be as easy as the previous ones.' I thought to myself as I disappeared from the balcony and appeared on top of the highest point of my castle. I knew I could simply strong-arm the Yokai, but that would only work as a temporary solution to my current problems. I needed a permanent solution, so strong-arming them wouldn't work.

'Will you be entering the fight yourself?' Ddraig asked me as we stood on my castle.

"Hmm..." I hummed in response not giving a yes or a no as my tails waved around in the air.

My tails were a completely new sensation, but I wouldn't pretend like I didn't like them. In fact, I liked them a lot. I was proud of them, and despite their appearance, I could easily kill someone with them. They were by no means only for appearance. My tails were weapons that I would use in the future.

'I suppose it'll be more interesting to watch than to wait for the results.' I said inwardly as I disappeared from my castle and began making my way toward South Kyoto.

To be continued...