In the tatami-lined hall, Abe no Orochi kept her eyes shut, observing the uninvited man through spiritual perception.
The figure before her seemed present yet absent, as intangible as the mist that had appeared earlier—dreamlike and elusive, impossible to grasp.
"So this is why my spiritual guidance warned me not to open my eyes... It was because of you?"
'Some kind of illusion technique, similar to the Nura Clan's?' Abe no Orochi mused silently, already mentally placing Luo Shu on the same level as Nura Rihan, if not higher.
At the very least, Nura Rihan's Shin Kyōka Suigetsu hadn't forced her to keep her eyes shut, relying solely on perception.
Standing on the tatami, Luo Shu raised an eyebrow at her words.
"Closing your eyes? Using auxiliary senses instead?"
"That is indeed a reasonable countermeasure against my illusion technique."
The Mist Flame he wielded could fabricate false constructs and produce tangible illusions while disrupting others' vision.
However, at its core, this method could only directly interfere with sight and hearing, indirectly affecting touch and smell.
Among these, visual and auditory disruptions were the strongest, followed by touch, with smell being the least affected.
The reason was simple—the Mist Flame constructs lacked the solidity of real objects, making perfect tactile replication impossible. As for smell, the nature of mist made it the hardest to recreate complex scents.
Thus, Abe no Orochi's approach—abandoning sight and most hearing in favour of smell, touch, barrier techniques, and soul perception to detect Luo Shu—was indeed an effective strategy.
Impressed, Luo Shu couldn't help but praise her.
"Quite resourceful. For the head of the Gokadoin House to uncover my illusion's weakness at first glance..."
Abe no Orochi's brow furrowed as she focused intently on sensing Luo Shu's presence.
"You should thank Nura Rihan. Had it not been for his earlier assault, I wouldn't have resorted to this method."
Though her words implied Luo Shu's illusions were ineffective against her, the truth was far more troublesome than her encounter with Nura Rihan.
Compared to the Nura Clan leader, whose abilities were nearly transparent, the newly appointed SDS Director remained largely an enigma.
While Abe no Orochi had heard rumours of his expertise in illusion techniques, she remained sceptical—especially given the two conspicuous blades at his waist.
Still, wariness aside, she met Luo Shu with unyielding defiance.
"Has the Hidden Management Department's Director come here to declare outright war on the Gokadoin House?"
"Oh?" Luo Shu smirked, amused. "Enemies? Lady Orochi seems quite confident in your clan's strength."
Her expression icy, Abe no Orochi rested her hands lightly on the seven-stringed zither.
Luo Shu, however, merely smiled.
"Though, I suppose there's no harm in telling you why I'm here."
"I'd like to meet Abe no Yoshihira. Would you be so kind as to arrange it?"
"If you wish to see my father, why not surrender first?"
The moment the words left her lips, her hands slammed down on the zither.
A resonant chord reverberated through the air.
From the ceiling, tatami, doors, and windows of the hall, eight enormous white-scaled serpents suddenly emerged.
The moment the white-scaled serpents appeared, they let out hissing roars and lunged towards Luo Shu at the centre in an eight-trigram formation.
At that very instant.
A soft tap.
The sound of shoes stepping on tatami came from Abe no Orochi's right side.
Simultaneously, the slow scraping sound of a blade being drawn echoed through the air.
Abe no Orochi coldly stared at the spot where Luo Shu had originally stood, completely ignoring the Luo Shu now positioned to her right.
She knew the figure on her right was merely false mist, an illusion that didn't exist.
The real Luo Shu had never moved from his original position.
"Foolish. Thinking mere illusion techniques can deceive me..."
Before the words could finish, a silver flash of blade light streaked past.
Feeling the searing pain on her back, Abe no Orochi turned her head in shock, watching as Luo Shu flicked the blood from his blade.
On the back of Abe no Orochi's hunting robe, a vivid slash mark and the flesh split open by the blade clearly entered Luo Shu's vision.
With a thud, Abe no Orochi collapsed onto the koto, her eyes fluttering open as she muttered in confusion:
"But it was an illusion..."
At that moment, Luo Shu calmly drew Tenseiga from its sheath. With a casual swing, the Netherworld opened, swallowing the attacking Yamata-no-Orochi whole.
Having done this, he leisurely walked towards Abe no Orochi, blade in hand:
"Quite regrettable, Miss Orochi."
"Blocking my illusions means nothing."
"After all, illusions aren't my speciality. To defend against my true ability, it's not about you closing your eyes—but me closing mine."
Luo Shu stopped before Abe no Orochi, raising his blade as he said coolly:
"The moment you voluntarily exposed yourself to my sight, your defeat was already decided!"
Reversing his grip on So'unga's hilt, Luo Shu pointed the tip at the back of Abe no Orochi's head:
"After you reach Hell, give my regards to Lord Seimei."
As the words fell, the blade began its descent.
Clang!
Luo Shu observed the samurai sword blocking his strike, then followed its length to meet the stern gaze of a middle-aged man wearing a metal forehead protector.
Showing no surprise, Luo Shu smiled, sheathing his blade:
"Somewhat unexpected. It seems Yoshihira-san differs from his father—quite doting on his daughter after all."
Abe no Yoshihira offered no rebuttal, merely glancing at Abe no Orochi. Seeing the blade wound on her back, his eyes narrowed slightly.
From his hidden vantage point earlier, he'd seen clearly—the false Luo Shu hadn't actually struck Abe no Orochi. Yet the wound had appeared regardless.
'A bestowal ability that inflicts wounds directly?'
Abe no Yoshihira turned back, regarding Luo Shu with grave intensity.
"What business do you have with me?"
At the question, Luo Shu's lips curved slightly:
"I merely wish to ask Yoshihira-san one thing."
Abe no Yoshihira raised an eyebrow, silently waiting.
The next instant, his pupils contracted violently in response to Luo Shu's query.
"Where does Lord Seimei's ritual originate?"