In truth, for the Yuki-onna, wiping out all the exorcists who had previously entered the mountain was not something beyond her capabilities.
It was just that, on one hand, she found it far too troublesome, and on the other, she feared that killing too many humans would draw the attention of even stronger individuals among them.
More importantly, as she looked at the small figures before her—little ones sculpted like ice and jade—even if she didn't care about the invading exorcists, she had to consider the safety of these children.
That was why, during this period, the Yuki-onna had rarely strayed far from her cave. Even when she did kill exorcists, she only dealt with those who ventured too close to her dwelling.
However, as the days passed, she began to realize that her reluctance to provoke humans had only encouraged them to grow bolder.
The small number of deaths each time people entered the mountain had led these humans to foolishly classify her as a yōkai with a low danger rating.
And with each passing day, the number of people entering the mountain continued to increase—completely betraying her original intention.
This time, the Yuki-onna decided to be ruthless.
She would teach these humans a lesson they would never forget, ensuring they would never again dare to venture this deep into her territory.
The reason human exorcists risked their lives to enter the snowy mountain was something she understood all too well. Yet as she pulled a red crystal from her chest, a trace of melancholy surfaced on her cold expression.
Though naturally ruthless, the Yuki-onna was not a yōkai that pursued power for its own sake. She had never harbored any particular obsession with something like the Sesshōseki.
But the world had become far too chaotic.
Her enemies were no longer limited to humans—there were also other yōkai who sought to subjugate her and bring her under their command.
She did not wish to take part in the conflicts between humans and yōkai, nor did she want to become a sacrificial pawn in the territorial struggles of yōkai lords.
More than anything else, she wanted to protect these children.
And for that reason, she needed the power of the Sesshōseki.
Snow children were also a type of yōkai—essentially the juvenile form of a Yuki-onna. They appeared as exquisitely carved little girls. Though they lacked the peerless beauty of a fully grown Yuki-onna, they still possessed a certain degree of control over wind and snow.
These snow children had no blood relation to the Yuki-onna before them, nor was she their mother.
After the era of chaos began and she awakened, the Yuki-onna had only discovered these children within the bounds of this snowy mountain.
With no other kin to be found, she took them in. And through shared solitude, a bond resembling family gradually formed between them.
Although the Yuki-onna herself was a famous and powerful yōkai, snow children in their juvenile state were extremely fragile.
In some cases, they could even be captured by humans—or hunted by wild beasts.
It was precisely because of this concern that the Yuki-onna had never strayed far from her home to slaughter every exorcist who invaded the mountain.
"You be good and stay at home," she said gently to the clingy snow children. "Big Sister needs to go out for a bit. I'll be back soon, okay?"
After soothing the children, the Yuki-onna slowly stepped out of the cave. She flicked her long kimono sleeves, and a thick layer of solid ice instantly sealed the cave entrance. Only then did she leave with peace of mind.
To a yōkai like the Yuki-onna, the snowy mountain was her own backyard.
The pure white snowflakes were her friends, whispering to her the locations of her enemies…
Several exorcist teams formed from smaller families were trudging along the mountainside, wrapped in thick down jackets.
While struggling against the cold, they began to chat.
"This weather is cursed. We're only halfway up the mountain, and my thick down jacket already feels as useless as a tank top."
"If the Yuki-onna is really near the summit, and we have to burn spiritual power just to resist the cold… will we even have the strength left to fight her by the time we get there?"
"Well, even if we don't get a chance to touch the Sesshōseki, just finding the Yuki-onna's location and reporting it to one of the powerful teams should earn us a hefty reward."
"And I heard Yuki-onna are once-in-a-lifetime beauties—so stunning they lure grown men to their deaths. Think we'll get a chance to see that for ourselves?"
"Quit thinking with your lower half—something's happening!"
As the exorcists chatted, a sudden gust of snow whipped up before them. They immediately tensed, assuming the Yuki-onna was attacking.
And in truth, the Yuki-onna had arrived—but not in the way they expected.
As the swirling snow dispersed, an unparalleled beauty with long white hair appeared on the snow-covered ground, looking utterly disheveled.
She wore a white kimono, her beauty beyond reproach. Her slender figure was like a willow in the wind, her presence alluring yet icy, as though merely sitting there was enough to ignite dangerous fantasies in most men.
Yet at this moment, she looked terribly unwell.
Blood stained the corner of her lips, and her face was pale with weakness.
But what truly captured the exorcists' attention was the stone clutched in her hand.
In the eyes of exorcists, that red crystal was far more tempting than even this peerless beauty.
Upon seeing the group before her, the injured beauty froze for a moment. Then hatred flashed across her face, and she clenched her teeth, trying to flee again.
"It really is the Yuki-onna… and judging by her condition, she must have run into some powerful opponent earlier and barely escaped with her life."
"Looks like our brothers really hit the jackpot this time. I can't believe we actually picked up scraps like this."
"Yeah. Under normal circumstances, we'd be lucky just to escape alive if we ran into her. But now that she's clearly injured, this is the perfect opportunity."
Seeing the severely wounded Yuki-onna attempting to escape, the exorcists—who had only come to fish in troubled waters—were instantly thrilled.
They hadn't come with high hopes of claiming the Sesshōseki to begin with. Their original plan was simply to find the Yuki-onna's hiding place and sell that information to the big shots.
But now, fortune had struck out of nowhere.
Not only had the Yuki-onna appeared right before them—she was clearly in terrible shape.
Wasn't this the luck of a lifetime?
"Doesn't this feel a little strange?" one of them muttered. "We've only been in the mountain for a short time. Who's strong enough to find her and injure her this badly so quickly?"
"And she just happens to stumble right into us… doesn't this feel like a trap?"
Among the exorcists, some were excited—but others remained cautious.
"By the laws of heaven and earth, reveal the truth—Open the joyful eye and see the unseen!"
The cautious one cast a detection spell on the Yuki-onna before them. After finding no abnormalities—and seeing his companions rush forward—his last shred of doubt vanished instantly.
The reason was simple.
There was only one Sesshōseki.
They had formed this team hastily and never discussed how to divide the spoils, since none of them truly believed they'd get their hands on it.
Which meant—
Whoever grabbed the Sesshōseki first, owned it.
The Yuki-onna was merely a yōkai that manipulated ice and snow. And after using detection magic, nothing seemed amiss.
Even the few remaining cautious exorcists could not resist the temptation of the Sesshōseki and joined the pursuit of the "injured" Yuki-onna.
Perhaps because of her "injuries," her escape was slow. Soon, she was completely surrounded.
The exorcists who rushed in stared greedily at the red crystal in her hand.
"Humans really are foolish, greedy creatures," the Yuki-onna said softly. "And incredibly selfish, too."
"Using tricks like this on you… it never fails."
Just as the exorcists believed they had driven her into a corner and surged forward to seize the Sesshōseki, the Yuki-onna's weak expression vanished.
In its place appeared a chilling smile.
"A trap? That shouldn't be possible… I checked her with a spell. Her yōkai power really was weak—and unstable…"
Before the words could finish leaving his mouth, an icy blizzard exploded outward in all directions.
The Yuki-onna they had been chasing dissolved like ink in water, fading from sight before their very eyes.
What awaited the exorcists next was a violent snowstorm cold enough to freeze bone—and a massive avalanche crashing down with overwhelming force.
Under normal circumstances, even for the Yuki-onna, controlling such a scale of ice and snow required preparation. And with so many enemies, wiping them all out would not have been easy.
But unfortunately for them, their greed had led them by the nose from the very beginning.
It was true—the Yuki-onna herself did not possess the power to manipulate minds or create illusions.
But the Sesshōseki did.
As a crystal condensed from all of Tamamo-no-Mae's power, the Sesshōseki unquestionably inherited her abilities to bewitch hearts and weave illusions.
And the Yuki-onna's mastery of the Sesshōseki far surpassed that of the wall yōkai who once possessed it. She had seamlessly fused its illusory power with her own abilities.
From the very start, both the injured Yuki-onna and the Sesshōseki in her hand had been nothing more than illusions.
And because she had grown so adept at wielding the Sesshōseki's power, even the exorcist who used a spell designed to detect falsehoods had failed to see through her deception.