Mudou

Mudou (無道) was the former 7th seat of the Shadow Organization's Council of Twelve, though only for a short time. He unexpectedly slaughtered many young ability users at the organization's training facility and was killed in the attack, but chose to be reborn as an Ayakashi. Mudou was later both destroyed and resurrected by Masamori Sumimura, who was also appointed to his vacated seat by the Sousui, at Mudou's own suggestion.

Appearance
Mudou is a middle-aged man (based on appearance) with dark hair and a small mustache. He is typically seen dressed in a dark blue suit and hat, white dress shoes, and an extremely long checkered purple and black scarf.

Personality
Mudou was once known to have a cheerfully enigmatic personality, but after suffering numerous defeats, becomes obsessed with perfecting his power to the point of insanity. His only goal seems to be amassing enough power to return his body to its youth and ensure that he re-lives his life without any errors. Possibly because he and Masamori were once close, Mudou also seems fixated on torturing him.

History
As a highly respected member of the Shadow Organization, Mudou became known as "The Immortal Mudou" for his ability to revive himself no matter how many times he died, eventually rising even to the 7th Seat of the Council of Twelve, though only briefly. Mudou was idolized by the younger recruits, many whom he helped raise and train (which was Masamori's inspiration for creating the Night Troop). He was defeated multiple times by an enormous power within the organization (most likely one or both of the Oumi brothers ), which drove him to seek greater power at any cost. This led him to suddenly attack the organization's training facility filled with young ability users, killing them all to increase his own power. Mudou eventually became an Ayakashi through unknown means, though judging by Kaguro's example and Mudou's own ability, he more than likely chose to die as a human and was reborn as an Ayakashi in human form.

The Return of Mudou
Since he left the Shadow Organization, Mudou had been killing people and stealing their lives to increase his own power. Masamori picks up Mudou's trail and follows him to Lord Tan'yuu's realm, bringing Yoshimori along to help out. By the time Masamori enters the realm, Mudou has already slaughtered Tan'yuu's servants, and the god is on the run, desperate to escape his realm and Mudou's murderous rampage. Masamori encounters Mudou within the realm, and warns him that killing the inhabitants will have a negative impact on the land and make it ill-suited for a hiding place, but Mudou implies he is after something else.

Masamori and Mudou both agree that holding a seat on the Council of Twelve was a disappointing experience, and Mudou claims that he much prefers playing with a young man like Masamori. Masamori questions why Mudou slaughtered many young people at the Shadow Organization's Training Facility in the past. Mudou claims he targeted the facility because he knew Masamori wouldn't be there and wanted to face him later on. He suggests that Masamori always pursued him because he wanted to understand people like themselves. Masamori denies this, and Mudou tells him not seek answers from him in that case. Mudou attacks with his flying balls, and Masamori deflects them with his Zekkai. Masamori questions why Mudou, who was so powerful as a human, would willingly become an Ayakashi. Mudou says he tired of being "the Immortal Mudou", intensifies his attack, and vanishes while Masamori remains pinned down.

Mudou searches the land for the god, destroying the surroundings as he does so. He arrives at the lake, spots the god in the lake's reflection, and realizes Tan'yuu has been hiding there. Mudou leaps into the lake and emerges on the other side, appearing in front of Tan'yuu. Mudou grabs Tan'yuu with his scarf, but the god is saved by a Kekkai that destroys it. Mudou seems amused as Yoshimori stands ready to fight him.

Mudou immediately recognizes both the Hazama-Ryu Kekkaijutsu and the Houin on Yoshimori's clothing. Yoshimori finally realizes that Mudou is the person Masamori has been chasing. Lord Tan'yuu abruptly decides that he doesn't want to die. Mudou realizes that Yoshimori is Masamori's brother, and tells him not to interfere. Mudou's flying balls easily smash Yoshimori's Kekkai, and Mudou's scarf wraps around Tan'yuu and yanks him toward Mudou. As he does so, the Tan'yuu trapped in the scarf is revealed to actually be his servant, while Tan'yuu flees in the form of the servant. Mudou recognizes the switch, instantly shoots one of his flying balls through the servant's body and leaves him for dead, and chases Tan'yuu. Yoshimori activates his Zekkai armor and throws himself between the flying balls and Tan'yuu, temporarily deflecting them but also harming Tan'yuu in the process. More flying balls strike Yoshimori from behind, catching him off guard, and Mudou's scarf is able to capture Tan'yuu. Mudou spins one of his flying balls and slams it into Tan'yuu's chest. Yoshimori demands to know what Tan'yuu did wrong. Mudou warns him not to be fooled by appearances, and says that Tan'yuu has been kidnapping humans and stealing their souls. He points out that Tan'yuu has already used his illusions to trick Yoshimori. Mudou claims to understand this, since the land would most likely vanish if Tan'yuu did not survive in this way, but also points out that Tan'yuu also used his servant as a decoy, and questions if Yoshimori really wants to protect a coward and a liar.

Yoshimori admits he isn't sure whether Tan'yuu is good or bad, but still finds it weird that Mudou, as an Ayakashi himself, would talk about right and wrong. Mudou replies that while it is natural for Ayakashi to kill humans, Tan'yuu far overstepped his bounds by becoming too obvious, and for that reason, Mudou has come to judge him. He claims that as a human, Yoshimori probably wouldn't understand how Ayakashi behave. Yoshimori refuses to stand back and watch, and Mudou calls him a simple person, claiming to understand where Masamori's inferiority complex comes from. Yoshimori notices that the ball Mudou attached to the god's chest has gradually gotten bigger. Mudou suddenly attacks with his flying balls, and while Yoshimori gets his Zekkai armor up in time to block, the force of the blows knocks his down. Mudou admits he was trying to buy time by talking, and that everything he told Yoshimori was a lie. He confesses to being the one who killed countless humans and stole their souls, but adds that he is a close friend of Masamori's. Mudou poses a question to Yoshimori: after Mudou kills Yoshimori, would Masamori mourn his passing, or would he be happy?

Mudou suggests that Masamori would be pleased if Yoshimori died, because it is natural for those who are not naturally gifted to hate those that are. Yoshimori asks if Mudou was telling the truth about being Masamori's friend, and Mudou says it is only partially true: they were friends in the Shadow Organization (which surprises Yoshimori). Yoshimori asks why Masamori is chasing Mudou, and Mudou says he is not the best person to answer that. Mudou suddenly attacks, repeatedly striking Yoshimori with his flying balls. Even with his Zekkai armor, Yoshimori takes considerable damage. Mudou tells him that the flying balls are similar to Zekkai: they eat away at whatever they touch. However, both Mudou and Yoshimori recognize that he is not able to fully use Zekkai. Lord Tan'yuu wakes up and offers to grant Mudou whatever he wants, but Mudou refuses, saying he will grant his own desires, and that he's using Tan'yuu and Yoshimori as footholds to gain them. Yoshimori feels his head growing light, and tries a last resort manuever, but finds himself hesitating for some reason, and assumes something is missing. At first he thinks it is because he's not in Karasumori, but recalls he has still performed above his usual level in other places with no trouble. He recalls his adventures with the Tengu and Kurosusuki, but wonders for the first time if he was really just using his own power in the latter case. As Mudou halts his attack and begins to approach Yoshimori, a Nenshi shoots out of the lake and wraps around his ankle. Masamori emerges from the lake with his Zekkai, vaporizing Mudou's body on contact. After witnessing Masamori's power, Yoshimori inwardly notes he can't possibly be the one who's gifted. Masamori is upset that Yoshimori entered the shrine against orders, but tells Yoshimori to be on his guard. He tells Yoshimori that "The Immortal Mudou" won't die so easily. Sure enough, the ball attached to Tan'yuu's chest remains, and fragments begin to collect on the lake and rapidly reform into Mudou's body.

As Mudou reforms in front of them, Yoshimori questions Masamori about he and Mudou being former comrades. Masamori seems surprised that Mudou would mention it, but tells Yoshimori that back then, Mudou could recover from any wound as if it had never happened. He even admits that Mudou has been confirmed dead, cremated, and buried at least twice, but has risen from the dead each time. Masamori adds that he actually witnessed Mudou rising from the grave, and that all of this back when he was still human. Yoshimori decides to leave Mudou to Masamori, and goes to check on Lord Tan'yuu, who is still restrained by pieces of Mudou's scarf and the ball attached to his chest. Now fully reformed, Mudou attacks Masamori, who again defends with his Zekkai. Tan'yuu recognizes Masamori as the one who came to stop Mudou, and asks Yoshimori if Masamori is strong. Yoshimori says he is.

Mudou questions why Masamori is being so obsessive, and Masamori says that some of his own subordinates were among the young men that Mudou slaughtered. Mudou claims that such losses are a lure along the path to greater power, and that Masasmori is far from perfection, which Mudou claims to be near himself. They clash again, with Masamori using multiple Nenshi to halt Mudou's flying balls. Masamori follows up by forming several Kekkai around various parts of Mudou, but he is able to quickly break them all. Masamori guesses that though Mudou is able to steal life and take it for his own, he also needs to do so, which means there is a limit to his ability to resurrect himself. He swears to kill Mudou as many times as he needs to for him to stay dead, but Mudou doubts his power will last that long.

Yoshimori tries to remove the ball from Tan'yuu's chest, but is unable to. Masamori yells for him to destroy it instead. Mudou immediately grabs Tan'yuu with his scarf to keep Yoshimori from interfering. Yoshimori splits the scarf with multiple Kekkai and catches Tan'yuu with another, only to find that the ball is no longer attached to the god's chest. Mudou has taken back the ball, which has grown slightly larger than his hand. Yoshimori notes that the sky has grown darker, and Mudou says he has drained the Shinyuuchi's power from its god. Mudou absorbs the ball into his arm, and announces his intention to use it right away and switch to a more battle-ready form. Masamori senses Mudou's demonic power rising exponentially, but to his shock, Mudou becomes a teenage version of himself. Mudou explains that this is merely a step in his overall process: he intends to regress up to the very moment that he was born, although he has no idea how many lives he will have to steal to do so.

Mudou announces his plan to Masamori: to return to the moment of his birth, and relive his life without flaws, thus obtaining perfection. Masamori becomes furious that Mudou sacrificed young recruits who believed in him for what he considers a useless purpose. Mudou disagrees and says that teaching young men showed him that it was impossible for humans to obtain perfection, because no matter how many of their lives he stole, they would still prove meaningless. However, a Shinyuuchi is a different matter, because despite the master's weakness, his life would still be worth stealing, and this was something a mere human could not do. Mudou enlarges one of his flying balls, then flattens it into a disc, and throws it at Masamori, slicing through his Zekkai and causing it to fail. Masamori backs away, and Mudou throws more discs at Masamori, admitting that he no longer has any interest in stealing human lives, and that he will not hold back. Masamori dodges and reactivates his Zekkai, and Mudou follows. Mudou points that out because Masamori admired him, he also sympathized and feared he would go down the same path as Mudou. Masamori ignores this and attacks with several Kekkai Spears, but Mudou destroys them all. Mudou throws discs again, this time cutting into Masamori's shoulder. Masamori is clearly being overwhelmed, inwardly admitting he never expected Mudou to steal the land's power.

Yoshimori watches in concern as Masamori's Zekkai falls again, and Mudou is impressed because it prevented Masamori from being fatally wounded. Yoshimori is shocked because he has never seen Masamori in such a weakened state. Mudou suddenly begins throwing discs at Yoshimori and Lord Tan'yuu. Yoshimori blocks the damage with a Kekkai, but it is easily destroyed. Masamori throws himself between Mudou and the pair, but soon falls to one knee. Masamori orders Yoshimori to take Tan'yuu and run. Yoshimori refuses to leave him, and they begin to argue. Yoshimori finally says that if Masamori is going act like that, he should just go ahead and defeat Mudou. Mudou is amused and offers Masamori a choice: he can choose whether he or Yoshimori will live.

The 2nd Return of Mudou
Masamori later resurrects an earlier version of Mudou (likely before he began killing solely for power), though this reincarnation still seems to possess some of the former's worse qualities, just in smaller amounts.

Human Form
Destruction Balls: Mudou's primary weapon are several flying, rapidly-moving balls he controls. They can strike a target with extreme force, easily tearing through flesh, and are also able to absorb a being's lifeforce through prolonged contact. Mudou describes them as being similar to Zekkai, in that they can eat through nearly anything, given enough time. Mudou can also flatten the balls into discs, giving them increased penetration power, and making them much harder to deflect.

Spirit Reservoir Owner: Mudou owns a spirit reservoir, essentially making him immortal. If wounded, he heals rapidly, and even if killed or destroyed, he revives (and if necessary, regenerates his body) as if nothing ever happened. To do this, however, he must steal the lives of others, which he does through his destruction balls, thereby gradually increasing his already enormous power. He can also use this power to regress his age, making his body younger and more powerful.

Superhuman Strength/Endurance: Masasmori implied that Mudou had enormous power even while he was purely human. Though this is no doubt enhanced after he becomes an Ayakashi, Mudou was associated with various acts that would require immense power, such as the massacre at the Shadow Organization's Training Facility, and challenging either one or both Oumi brothers multiple times.

Ayakashi Form
As an Ayakashi, Mudou retains his former abilities, and displays additional powers.

Scarf: Mudou's scarf is sometimes used to grab or strangle enemies, or slash through objects. It can also increase to several times its original length.

Flight: By balancing on one of his flying balls, Mudou can hover above the ground or quickly propel himself through the air.

Age Regression: Using the power gained from stolen lives, Mudou is able to regress his body to a younger state, thus becoming more powerful (and according to Masamori, increasing his demonic power).

Resurrected Form
Masamori purposely summons a weaker form of the original Mudou purely for interrogation purposes, leaving him with very few abilities.

Flight: After his resurrection, Mudou is able to keep himself hovering in the air indefinitely with no visible means of support.

Masamori Sumimura
Masamori was one of many Shadow Organization members who admired Mudou, and the two seemed to be close comrades. It is even implied that Masamori's idea to create the Night Troop was based on Mudou having created a similar group first. Masamori took Mudou's betrayal very personally, and considered it his responsibility to bring Mudou to justice.

Yukimasa
Yukimasa was likely one of the younger recruits that idolized the original Mudou, and may even have been a member of the group that Mudou organized. He was not present the day that Mudou massacred the Shadow Organization's Training Facility, and holds a large grudge against Mudou because of it.