Tokyo Ravens Volume 3 Chapter 4

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You're a demon.

He couldn't remember whether the first person that said this was a schoolteacher or someone he had hung out with. Otherwise, it was most likely his mother. Regardless of who it was, Touji had often heard those words since he had been small.

Touji was a child born to a mistress, a so-called illegitimate child, and though he wasn't hard-pressed financially, his father and even his mother had never given him much care. Because of this, he had been angry for some time, painfully hating his own misfortune, cursing the current world. At the time, he had fought with others left and right, fighting and arguing all day with incidents popping up one after another.

But he had also vaguely noticed that he was deliberately acting out a facade like this.

Whether adult or child, most people would expect him to show a demeanor that 'this kind of person' should have when they heard that Touji was 'unfortunate', for example still being indomitable even with the misfortune, or having a surly att.i.tude after yielding to the misfortune. The specific expressions were all different, but people all looked for a 'role' suitable for his misfortune - as well as a 'personality'. But Touji had unconsciously accepted that kind of message, replying to their expectations.

The best proof was that Touji hadn't felt anything about his circ.u.mstances since very early on. He didn't feel hurt, painful, helpless, or content with his situation.

But never mind if the people around him lost interest because of this, they would crown Touji with a new 'role'. Touji felt like a fool, but he didn't change his original nature, still fighting with others like always, fighting and arguing all day with incidents popping up one after another.

His mind was blank.

In the end, he only felt it dull and uninteresting. He could never enjoy his life through c.u.mulative efforts to yield a sense of accomplishment, and he could only find joy through momentary, pa.s.sively acquired happiness.

You're a demon, an emotionless demon.

He had never denied those kinds of words, and he truly thought that he was cold and emotionless. It wasn't that he didn't have emotions, but he lacked enthusiasm. He was a lethargic empty sh.e.l.l, performing a contrived interpretation of the role that others expected, with frequent inexplicable impulses forcing him to shout madly. His mind was still only ice-cold even in that kind of time.

Could it be that nothing troubled him?

That thought could never be banished from his heart.

He had never dreamed of a trouble like being attacked by a demon.

As an effect of the spiritual disaster, the Shibuya street crowd was spa.r.s.e even though night had just fallen, unlike usual. Though the streets weren't devoid of people, there were clearly much fewer than normal. But finding someone in a big place like Shibuya was still difficult no matter how few pedestrians there were on the streets. Harutora ran here and there on the streets, desperately searching for Touji's aura - investigating for the residue of a peculiar aura different from a normal person's.

Tenma was currently searching for Touji's whereabouts as well, and Harutora had also ordered Kon to help investigate. In addition, there were also several Onmyou Academy teachers utilizing shikigami to search for Touji. However, the academy students' treatment hadn't completely ended, so there weren't actually many teachers who had come to help them search.

...d.a.m.n, where exactly did that b.a.s.t.a.r.d run off to?

The princ.i.p.al had said that Touji was still in a partially unconscious state, and the oni in his body had just had a row, and though it could be said that his body's condition had taken a slight turn for the better, his condition was still quite dangerous.

Especially now when the spirit flow everywhere inside the city was chaotic, it was hard to tell whether Touji would receive some stimulation and become an oni again.

"...Touji......!"

The pedestrians who pa.s.sed by Harutora cast suspicious glances at him one after another, and he had to gasp for breath many times, but he gritted his teeth and continued to search for his good friend.

Unfortunately, he had no idea at all what kind of place Touji would go to, and could only search here and there like a headless chicken. He almost hadn't rested at all after the practical exam, but he didn't feel tired at all, or perhaps it should be said that he didn't have the leisure to feel tired.

Moreover, besides Touji, he was also worried about Natsume.

Though he had promised everyone in the princ.i.p.al's office, he still couldn't be at ease when he wasn't by Natsume's side in this critical moment. He couldn't help but think of the incident that happened in September, especially when he heard that the spiritual disaster this time was related to Yakou fanatics. At the time, the two of them had split up because of a fight, and as a result the Yakou-worshipping Mystical Investigator had taken the opportunity to come in and abduct Natsume.

He understood in his heart that Natsume was in the middle of a group of specialized Onmyouji and that he should feel relieved, but the b.u.t.terflies in his stomach went up and down without stopping.

"......d.a.m.n."

He couldn't control his fretfulness. As he ran here and there doubting whether this kind of mindless search could actually find someone or not, he couldn't help but look up at the sky.

Just at that time, several drunks rushed out from the bar on the side of the road.

He quickly came to his senses, but he still couldn't avoid them, and collided at the shoulder. Since he had been running, he fell backwards, managing to stabilize his body. The drunk who crashed into him screamed, tumbling onto the road. The faces of the other drunks who had come out of the bar with that person immediately went dark upon seeing this situation.

"S, Sorry!"

Harutora hurriedly apologized, but the others scolded him fiercely: "Hold on, you brat!"

There were three males on the other side, seeming about twenty or thirty years old. From their exaggerated dress and roughshod att.i.tudes, they seemed like a group of punks. The man sitting on the ground was furious, his face red from anger. After he stood up, he glared angrily at Harutora, stepping forward.

"Hey, brat! Where are your eyes!"

"Uh, I'm really very sorry, I have important business......"

"Shut up! Who cares whether you have s.h.i.tty important business!"

Harutora looked down and apologized but the other party didn't appreciate it. The other two companions didn't stop the man, but instead surrounded them. They looked like they were dissatisfied with Harutora just apologizing verbally and with a completely unconsternated expression.

...Oh wow, give me a break.

In the end, he had just undergone a phase three spiritual disaster attack and then witnessed a vicious Divine General playing with the spiritual disaster in the palm of his hand, so honestly, he didn't feel scared of being angrily insulted by street punks. He didn't hesitate to lower his head and apologize to save time, and maybe the man only pestered him without giving up because he had seen through his attempt.

Right now wasn't a time to get tangled up with others...... An irritable surge of emotions emerged in his heart, and maybe that surge showed on his face. "You want to die, brat!?" The man pulled at Harutora's collar.

"......Let go." Harutora said reflexively.

"What did you say!"

"I said let go......" Saying this, Harutora forcefully knocked away the man's arm, glaring back angrily.

The three men's gazes instantly turned vicious and they clenched their fists. Three against one. Touji who had originally been a juvenile delinquent might have a chance of winning, but Harutora really wasn't their opponent.

But, he truly couldn't take it.

Not only could he not stand this group of men, but also the Nue, Kagami, Yakou fanatics, and Natsume being unable to relieve herself of her arduous burden, and the fate that Touji bore. Various emotions were bottled up, and he could no longer swallow the fact that he and the people around him were met with all of these unfair encounters.

But just then--

"Fighting isn't good."

A gruff voice chipped in without warning. Harutora and the men all jumped in surprise, turning to look at the person who spoke, and then their eyes all widened at once.

It was a huge man, about six feet tall. Moreover, not only was his physique large, but his body was quite robust as well. The man had come forward at some point, but once they noticed him, it was difficult to not be awed by his strong presence, as if turning around and noticing that a wild beast stood right there looking straight back - the impact the man brought to Harutora was that large.

How the three men felt was another matter, but the brawny man didn't give off a threatening feeling to Harutora, but an inexplicably elegant and shrewd air instead.

His deep features and his eyes, practically narrowed to slits, didn't seem strict at all. The man's golden short hair flashed like a crown under the illumination of the nighttime streetlights. The man wore a suit without a tie, and he didn't look like an average person, but he was definitely not the same as that group of drunks.

"Fighting isn't good." The brawny man repeated again.

"Especially this kind of silly fight where the people fighting don't feel any meaning and the people watching from the side also feel disappointed. Why don't you stop here, or I'll help you guys out and make it so that the fight isn't so stupid." Saying this, he smiled at Harutora and the others.

His body still didn't give off any threat, but he carried a kind of presence that couldn't be ignored.

The three drunks had long since been scared silly, and they quickly glanced at each other. "Let's go." They immediately and quickly left the scene after saying this, not even daring to drop any angry words.

"......It seems like their minds were pretty clear even though they were drunk. They saved themselves the trouble." The large man murmured after silently watching them vanish into the nighttime Shibuya street.

Harutora looked blankly at the large man, his original feelings that had been on the verge of exploding having cleanly dissipated at some point in time.

"Thanks for helping me out." He hurriedly lowered his head and gave thanks.

"......Are you looking for someone?"

"Huh?"

"Just now, I saw you running here and there nearby. Who are you looking for?" The man asked the surprised Harutora with a calm tone.

"Though I don't know who you're looking for...... If you're looking for a youngster who's wearing an uniform similar to yours, I just ran into one. His appearance was quite unusual, so I remember him very clearly." He continued speaking as if they were quite acquainted, not waiting for Harutora to reply.

"R... Really?"

Harutora hurriedly asked for clarification, and the man told him everything. Once he heard the location, Harutora almost moaned. It was near the place where they had held the practical exam today.

Harutora immediately got ready to move, but before that, he spoke to the man again: "Th, Thanks! Thank you very much!"

"Don't worry about it, go quickly."

"Yes!"

Harutora bowed his head deeply in thanks, then ran off. But as he ran, he felt like something wasn't right.

With suspicion in his heart, he quickly noticed the abnormality.

When he had lowered his head in thanks and rushed away, something had caught his eye. The left sleeve of the man's suit. It swung gently in the breeze like an empty sleeve......

Harutora quickly turned around, but the big man was no longer there.

He felt strange, not understanding why his chest felt inexplicably impetuous. But finding Touji was the first priority, and he hurriedly pushed his doubt and suspicious feeling out of his mind, mustering all of his strength to sprint towards the place where the practical exam had been held in the evening. He fully believed that Touji was there, not even suspecting that the man could lie.

Run, run, run--

He ran forward single-mindedly.

Once he reached that place, and upon noticing that figure, Harutora instantly yelled: "Touji!"

Touji was in the plaza in front of an office building, where they had held the practical exam.

After the Exorcist Bureau arrived, they had stretched caution tape nearby, prohibiting normal people from entering. However, maybe because their manpower was insufficient, there weren't any people staying behind to monitor the area at the moment. The spiritual disaster area was close to silent and the traces of destruction were still shocking. It was really hard to a.s.sociate this place with the downtown Shibuya in the Tokyo metropolis.

Harutora shouted, pa.s.sing over the caution tape, and the solitary boy instantly turned his head around listlessly.

Touji was the boy standing within the caution tape.

But, it wasn't the normal Touji.

"......It's you, huh." He muttered, his voice abnormally cold and emotionless.

Harutora's body momentarily tensed up, memories of the past awakening in his mind. This wasn't the first time he had faced this kind of Touji.

In his tension, he gradually put on a splendid smile. Since the moment he heard that Touji had slipped out of the academy building, he had already prepared himself. No, more accurately, he had prepared himself to face this scene even longer ago, from the moment when he had been acquainted with and became friends with Touji.

"What do you want?" Touji asked.

"Does it need to be said?" Harutora replied.

He desperately regulated the breathing that had become chaotic from his running, and then straightened his back, speaking sincerely to his good friend:

"Let's go, Touji, let's go back together."

☆

Natsume didn't head to the Exorcist Bureau main department, but the Meguro branch instead.

The person who had come to welcome her brought her directly into the branch office. The office was in a state of turmoil, pervaded by a tense, stormy atmosphere and everyone there having taut expressions. Even so, no one in the office seemed panicked, as expected of a department that had long since gotten used to sudden situations.

A group of black-clothed people - Onmyouji wearing the pitch-black miasma protection clothing that was the symbol of an exorcist - walked here and there in the corridor. This place could be named an active gathering of ravens on the absolute frontline.

Natsume and Kyouko, who had come along with her, were brought into a meeting room. The meeting room wasn't very large, with a slim folding table and a few folding chairs placed inside and a whiteboard hung on the wall.

Honestly, the two of them had originally thought they would be brought to an operational headquarters where a group of higher-ups would be sitting side by side. It was hard to conceal their disappointment when they noticed that they were entering such a small meeting room. But, once they noticed the people waiting inside the meeting room, they couldn't help but gasp in shock, hurriedly standing upright.

The Divine Generals couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, alright, don't be that formal. We were busy before and I wasn't able to introduce myself properly. I'm the Independent Exorcist Kogure Zenjirou. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsuchimikado Natsume-kun, and Kurahashi Kyouko-san. Chief Kurahashi is usually always taking care of me."

Kogure spoke casually. He sat down in the chair, simultaneously pointing to the folding chairs and saying: "Go ahead and sit." The two bowed their head in thanks somewhat awkwardly and sat down alongside him.

Kogure's dress was the same as on the scene of the spiritual disaster, but he didn't have the tense feeling from back then, and looked rather leisurely. In particular, there was a wooden bowl of pastries on the table and a plastic bottle of Pepsi, and there was even an opened, half-read manga on the side. Yet the katana that had been strapped to his waist before was also to the side. These objects seemed odd when they were randomly put together.

"It's not very good to drink on the job." He shrugged his shoulders after he noticed the gazes of the two, completely mistaking their meaning. Then, he asked again: "Want some?" and proffered the entire bowl of pastries. They hastily shook their heads as soon as they heard that. Seeing Natsume and Kyouko decline, Kogure took a pastry himself.

"Sorry for suddenly calling you out here. It's a desperate situation after all, so please forgive me."

Kogure explained, chewing the pastry with a crisp noise and making them unable to help but want to ask whether the situation was actually all that desperate.

"Sorry, Kagami gave you lots of trouble before. That guy is really able, but he loves to stir up trouble and he makes heaps of it. I'm not asking for your understanding, but I hope that you will be able to put that matter to the side first during this operation."

"No, don't say that, the incident already pa.s.sed."

"It's really a great help to hear you say that. Don't worry, I won't let that person have a chance to approach you during the operation."

Kogure chewed the pastry, promising readily.

Natsume felt extremely grateful when she heard those words. Before she had come to the Exorcist Bureau, she had always been a bit resistant in her heart, not wanting to run into Kagami again. She didn't say anything like 'that's great', but her expression relaxed greatly.

Then, Kogure stuffed the entire pastry into his mouth, munching on it and then washing it down with Pepsi.

"Alright." He clapped his hands and said: "I think you two have already heard most of the explanation, you'll be working alongside the Exorcist Bureau for this operation. I should first warn you that the mission this time is quite dangerous. For the most part, you'll be moving with me, or in other words I'm responsible for protecting you. I want you to listen clearly to my words and act according to my instructions, understood?"

Kogure spoke like the commentator of a game, but Natsume and Kyouko couldn't help but exchange a glance upon hearing that remark.

The princ.i.p.al had said that the Exorcist Bureau was relatively safe, but they hadn't even thought of something like having one of the Twelve Divine Generals protecting them. That way of doing things was certainly quite reliable, as with a Divine General by their side, they wouldn't have to be alarmed even if Yakou fanatics came forth to intervene.

"......But, is that alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"After all...... It's a phase three spiritual disaster that has to be purified, right? But...... if Independent Officer Kogure is stuck protecting us, your fighting strength......" Natsume asked gingerly.

Kogure laughed openly upon hearing that, raising his legs and making a tapping sound with his sandals.

"You don't need to worry, the Exorcist Bureau is going all-out this time and there won't be any mishaps. If we don't resolve this situation tonight, a state of emergency will definitely be announced tomorrow, and maybe there will be a few government officials who have to step down to take responsibility. This could really lead to a situation similar to what happened two years ago...... Right, do you two know about the spiritual disaster terrorist attack two years ago?"

"Yes, we know."

"Okay, well anyways it's pretty close to that time. The Exorcist Bureau will do all they can to deal with the spiritual disaster. You don't need to worry, as the Chief will visit the scene himself if the situation is disencouraging. The biggest problem is actually whether we can successfully lure the Nue - but the Exorcist Bureau is the one studying this plan of action, you don't need to be concerned about such things, Natsume-kun." Kogure still spoke leisurely.

In some sense, those words sounded like he was treating Natsume and Kyouko like children, but since he was an Independent Exorcist of the Twelve Divine Generals, it was really hard to oppose his words. More importantly, the inexplicable weight on their shoulders had vanished because of this, and Natsume had relaxed instead.

"But, like I said just now, the mission this time is extremely dangerous, and I should want you never to grow careless...... Though I say that, there won't be any spare time to be lax after we arrive at the scene."

Kogure smiled as he spoke, holding the plastic bottle in his hand. In that moment, a bit of 'fighting spirit' seemed to peek out from Kogure's lax att.i.tude.

"To say more, you are the linchpin of this plan of action, Natsume-kun. We'll a.s.sume full responsibility, but please remember this and stay careful."

"......Alright, I'll do everything I can."

Natsume had originally came to join the operation being burdened by the name 'Tsuchimikado'. Since she didn't have any intention of slacking, it was just as Kogure had said, she didn't believe she would have any spare time. She would have to work as hard as possible in order to keep from holding the exorcists back.

"Yeah." Maybe seeing Natsume's resolve, Kogure nodded his head in satisfaction. Then - "You really don't want any?" - he offered the pastries to Natsume and Kyouko again.

This time, Natsume spoke honestly: "Then excuse me", reaching her hand out. Kyouko also reached to take a pastry upon seeing this. They hadn't eaten anything since morning today, and seeing Kogure naturally made them think of the ancient proverb 'the Emperor doesn't send hungry soldiers'. Maybe it was the calm and composure that he showed - or on the other hand, it could be the firm self-confidence that he faintly showed that gave off this feeling.

"Honestly, though you are Onmyou Academy students, I'm truly very sorry for pulling ordinary people - and even underage people - into this, even if you're a Tsuchimikado. I'll definitely return this kindness, so I'm counting on you this time."

"Oh no, I should be the one saying that."

"Right - I heard that Jin was your cla.s.s's homeroom teacher, right? How's his performance? Is he a proper teacher?"

Kogure asked spiritedly, and Natsume and Kyouko were dumbfounded for a while, unable to understand what he was asking. They only realized after a long while that 'Jin' was Ohtomo's name, and their eyes inadvertently widened.

"Huh? Y, You know Ohtomo-sense-?"

Come to think of it, they had indeed heard from somewhere that Ohtomo had been a Mystical Investigator in the past, but they just couldn't immediately a.s.sociate that useless teacher with one of the Twelve Divine Generals. Kogure's response surprised them even more.

"We didn't just know each other, we were companions."

"I, I see, so you entered the Onmyou Agency at the same time--"

"Wrong, wrong, we indeed entered the Onmyou Agency at the same time, but we were cla.s.smates since we were in the Onmyou Academy."

"What? O, Onmyou Academy cla.s.smates?"

"Right, and come to think of it, is there a reason why it was so unexpected? There are Onmyou Academy graduates all over the Onmyou Agency."

Kogure spoke in incomprehension. From his words, Kogure - and Ohtomo - were actually all Natsume and the others' senpai.

"Right, what cla.s.s of students are you guys?"

"Th, The forty-seventh cla.s.s......"

"Oh, there are so many cla.s.ses that's a big shock...... Jin and I were the thirty-sixth cla.s.s, and people called us the 'Three Ravens of the Thirty-Sixth'. At the time, we were notorious for always bringing headaches to Princ.i.p.al Kurahashi."

Kogure spoke elatedly. Natsume and Kyouko listened with wide eyes and gaping mouths, surprise written from ear to ear. From Kogure calling him 'Jin' directly, their relationship was probably pretty good, but the two were really incredibly different. They couldn't imagine such a straightforward and reliable Divine General being good friends with that strange teacher.

"......Kogure-san seems very amicable, so he probably gets along well with everyone." Kyouko whispered quietly into Natsume's ear.

"On the other hand, Ohtomo-sensei probably didn't have any friends other than Kogure-san."

"Uh, it's very possible."

"Right? But it's really an unexpected combination...... Huh, weird, the thirty-sixth cla.s.s? That means...... Ohtomo-sensei isn't even thirty? No way!"

Kogure looked at the whispered conversation of the two in confusion and incomprehension. Maybe he was recalling past events from when he had still been an academy student.

Then, Kyouko made a 'huh?' sound.

"'Three Ravens' means that there was still another person, right? Then, who was that friend--" Since the atmosphere was right, Kyouko asked unhesitatingly.

Kogure's face tensed up once he heard this, showing a shocked expression like he had made a tactless remark.

"Uh, well...... It's not really something to talk about......" Judging from that demeanor, he was quite unskilled at concealing his own emotions. He looked awkward in Natsume and Kyouko's eyes, clearly avoiding the question. Since he was showing this kind of att.i.tude, they decided to suppress their curiosity and didn't pursue the question.

Just then, a door knock sounded in the meeting room. "Excuse me." A suit-wearing young man walked in.

The young man had two sharp eyes and a gentle face. His hair fell to his shoulders, and for some reason a lock of it had been dyed red.

"I'm sorry for making you wait, Independent Officer Kogure."

"Oh, you're here."

Kogure seemed to relax because the topic had diverged, waving his hand and greeting the young man. Natsume and Kyouko stood up respectfully, and he also stood up alongside when he saw that, unable to help but smile wryly.

"Let me introduce you, he is the Onmyou Agency Magic Crime Investigation Department's Hirata Atsune. He's going to be acting along with me. The reason is...... I shouldn't need to say it, you both know it well, right?"

Upon hearing of the Mystical Investigators, Natsume's expression instantly went stiff. Normally, there would be no opportunity for Mystical Investigators to show up during a spiritual disaster purification. As Kogure had said, she could think of only one reason why he was partic.i.p.ating in this operation.

"h.e.l.lo Tsuchimikado Natsume-san, I'm the Magic Crime Investigator Hirata. Maybe you don't want to hear this, but I know about your matters very well, including the difficulties you're facing. A coworker of mine did something to damage our reputation last year, and as a Mystical Investigator, please allow me to offer you my deepest apologies." Upon seeing Natsume's reaction, Hirata spoke with caution. After he spoke, he bowed deeply to Natsume even though she was just a student, lowering his head to express his apology. His att.i.tude was refined and courteous, and his clear and flowing voice gave an even deeper impression.

"I know that it's very difficult to ask you to immediately have faith in me, but it's an indisputable fact that the difficulty you face is too much to burden a single person with. I won't force you to trust me immediately, but you and I stand on the same side, so please allow us to do what we can and resolve things together with you."

"......Yes......"

The first time they met he suddenly said these kinds of things. Natsume was dumbfounded as she listened, and Kyouko's eyes also widened. Kogure was even more amazed.

"Hey, Hirata, it's good to have manners, but isn't that a bit too polite."

"There's no such thing, we have truly given him quite some trouble."

"But you're a specialized Onmyouji and the other party is a child, right? Look, you've even confused Natsume-kun."

"No, I, um......"

Natsume originally wanted to help smooth things over, but her tone was indeed full of confusion. On the other hand, Hirata was unaffected, still firmly maintaining that 'this is proper courtesy'.

"Well, I never thought that there would be a rare type like you in the Mystical Investigators, though old Amami and Jin aren't very normal either."

After Kogure muttered a few words with a wry smile, he said: "Let's all sit down first", taking charge of the situation.

He put his hands on his lap, showing a firm gaze and looking at Natsume, Kyouko, and Hirata in succession. With just that small movement, the atmosphere in the area instantly turned serious.

"We still have some time before the operation starts. So, I'll explain and confirm the contents of the operations, is that alright?"

Natsume and the others nodded their heads somberly. Then, Kogure began explaining what role Natsume was a.s.suming in this plan of action in more detail.

If I became a demon like this--

The thought had once emerged in Touji's mind when he was a spiritual enc.u.mbrance patient in the middle of receiving treatment inside the infirmary room 'sealed' all around by barriers.

If I became a demon like this, what a satisfying thing that would be.

He had always thought to himself that 'could it be that nothing troubles me?', but this could be called the troublesome situation that he had wished for, and also an exit opportunity that he had wished for. He still didn't feel that he was a patient who had fallen to the level of suicide, but he felt that becoming a demon certainly had a kind of hard-to-resist fascination.

The smell of blood made him restless.

He had been like that all his life with no regard for the outcomes.

If I became a demon like this - that thought became even more intense when the demon inside him was lively. The demon devouring him from the inside. Anyway, he didn't have anything to lose, and it wouldn't be meaningful for him to return to that old pain, suffering, and bleakness.

Once he became a demon, his life would be over like that. It would be a cleaner end that way, like G.o.d giving the last act of mercy to a failed product. No, maybe it was a sweet trap of enticement that the devil had set at the end.

If I became a demon like this.

Maybe that was proof showing that the oni inside him had gradually infiltrated Touji's heart. Under the effects of the oni's strength, Touji's consciousness became fuzzy, and his values changed and became ambiguous, his originally weak will to live becoming even thinner. Touji's heart strode down the path of the demon step by step as he received magical treatment.

Then, the primary physician brought his own son over.

His name was Harutora.

☆

Touji slowly turned around to face Harutora.

The bandanna that was normally tied around his forehead was nowhere to be seen, and the two horns that had vaguely sprouted when he almost turned into an oni had also vanished, but there were still 'traces' lingering on his skin. Touji would tie on the bandanna to hide the traces - and to temporarily hide the horns that grew when his condition went out of control.

"......How shameful." Saying this, a self-derisive smile appeared on Touji's mouth. But, he looked a bit unusual, and his emotions seemed quite agitated, his eyes slack and unfocused, with only his voice cold as ice.

"The princ.i.p.al also warned me beforehand, but in the end I became like that right when I lost control. Even I myself think it's laughable."

He stared at Harutora, his face stiff. His morbid att.i.tude was clearly different from the usual Touji. Harutora instantly took a closer 'look' at Touji's aura.

He didn't feel a demonic aura.

But there was the 'presence' of a demon, and Touji constantly gave off a strong demonic 'presence' from inside him.

A demon contained in the body wouldn't only affect the aura. Changes would appear in the mind that magic was unable to explain. The heart would gradually a.s.similate with the demon. But-- "......This isn't like you, Touji." Harutora returned Touji's gaze - returned that appalling gaze without fear.

"My dad said that the oni would dwell in the darkness of humans. You said back then that you had no enthusiasm and the demon had nowhere to dwell. Back then, I thought that you were really a faker, but thinking carefully, it's laughable that you who wholeheartedly 'wanted to become a demon' were instead saved because of that."

Not only was Harutora unafraid, his tone was even challenging. He spoke as his eyes stared into Touji's, with no intention at all of backing off. When confronting a demon, just slightly revealing a weak point or fragility would end in a loss, and a powerful mental strength was especially necessary to be able to suppress a demon.

Strength of heart was necessary.

Harutora and Touji confronted each other in the chilly corner of Shibuya.

The corners of Touji's mouth rose, answering Harutora's challenge. Fangs hadn't grown in his mouth, but an expression like a demon's showed on his face.

"My thoughts are still the same. It doesn't matter to me whether I become a demon or not."

A self-derisive smile formed again on Touji's mouth. Destructivity, threat, and amus.e.m.e.nt were in it, like the deepest features of the smile that the delinquent Touji had always had on his face.

Harutora hmphed, scoffing it over.

"......Hey, what's wrong, Touji? Has your brain been eaten by the oni?"

"Who knows, I don't know whether these are truly my own thoughts or the oni's thoughts either - in any case, it's fine either way, these kinds of thoughts are already deeply rooted in my nature, and they can't be changed."

"Hmph, what 'nature'. You're just a year older than me, stop acting so arrogant."

"These are just the facts, Harutora. Sorry, I'm not the same as you."

Touji's tone was cold like a freezer, but his gaze gradually became heated, like hot melting iron. Though it had no magical energy, it tried to infiltrate Harutora's mind like magic.

But Harutora wasn't afraid, nor was he fearful. He firmly believed in the non-demon Touji.

"Hah, there it is,　'I'm not the same as you'.　A cliche used by brats that don't want to admit they are one. You shouldn't always think about those useless things, you know."

"It's always better than an idiot who doesn't think about anything at all, right?"

"Not necessarily. People before said that 'actions speak louder than words'."

Harutora's persistent att.i.tude conflicted with Touji. He didn't know Onmyoudou, but his father had seriously taught him many ways to deal with Touji, and right now he was doing his best to think of the various techniques that his father had taught him.

"Alright, let's go back, Touji. You know, I'm incredibly busy right now, and I don't have time to goof around with you."

"In that case, don't mind me."

"I'm not leaving because I can't do that." Harutora spoke, showing a firm, unmoving smile.

He trusted in the connection between him and Touji, reliably pulling him towards himself step by step, trying to pull him back. He and the demon were currently carrying out a tug-of-war compet.i.tion over Touji, and he definitely wouldn't let go.

"After we go back...... then what?" Touji's expression changed. "I'll accompany you back, and then? Continue strengthening the seal, suppressing the demon inside my body. Exactly what meaning does doing that have?"

"What use is it to think about that? No one in this world can succeed instantly!"

"Could it be that you believe things will slowly turn around? What proof do you have?" Touji smiled coldly, aiming at his opposition's weak point and fiercely shooting out a sharp gaze. "If I live on in the future continuing to hold back this outburst, do you understand what kind of a life that will be? Do you get it, Harutora?"

The gaze Touji looked at him with extremely resembled a demon's, and Harutora tightly clenched his fists.

"......Touji, didn't you resolve to become an Onmyouji in order to deal with those circ.u.mstances? To suppress the demon inside your body in the future. There will be some day when the demon in your body can be purified completely."

Touji hadn't aimlessly accompanied Harutora in transferring into the Onmyou Academy, and just like how Harutora had a certain reason to aspire to become an Onmyouji, Touji was the same.

That was the after-effect of the spiritual disaster - the oni.

Touji had chosen to walk this road in order to save himself.

"Some day? Some day, huh......" The cold smile on Touji's mouth widened, and a chill inadvertently went through Harutora's back.

"I'll be able to solve my problem some day? That's the kind of thing a brat who doesn't know the world would say. I'll definitely be able to solve my problem some day, I'll definitely be able to solve my problem some day--! How can you be certain that there won't be a day when I lose control completely? When something like today happens again?"

Aura suddenly surged through Touji's body.

Aura.

But it was clearly a turbid yin aura.

"I'll be able to solve my problem some day? It actually doesn't have to be so troublesome. You know too, right, Harutora? If I just hurry up and become a demon and get purified altogether, I can solve my problem. That's the most reliable and the fastest, smartest method!"

Demonic aura swirled into an eddy with Touji as the center. His forehead jutted out, his lips splitting open to show his fangs, and 'lag' reactions appearing over his entire body. The profile of the oni gradually overlapped with his body.

The horns on his forehead and his fangs flashed as they extended, and the mist covering his entire body became more rigid.

Armor.

Armor from the Warring States Period[1] - or perhaps an even more historic era - appeared on his body, a wrist protector, breastplate, and a helmet with a visor. The half-transparent armor flashed alongside the intense 'lag', appearing and disappearing, completely covering Touji's Onmyou-Academy-uniform-wearing body.

Touji resembled an armored samurai as well as the figure of a ghost, as if he were the evil spirit of an unfortunate samurai.

The 'lag' even reached up to Touji's face, and the hideous impartiality of a demon emerged. Touji stared intently at Harutora in the depths of the mixed, interlacing shadows. For some reason, not only Touji, but also even the air that touched him gradually became sharp like a blade.

But, in this sharp air--

Harutora rushed in.

"Touji!"

Harutora's fist hummed, and he struck out with a punch using all of his strength, enough to punch through the armor. Touji's head flew back and he staggered backwards a good distance.

"You idiot, you're still saying that kind of nonsense! Let me tell you, Touji, stop being naive!" Harutora berated him with spit flying out of his mouth, Touji's demonic aura barely in his eyes, and flaring with an intense aura.

"Listen! The life of a brat like you wasn't your own since a long time ago. It was made by my dad's hard work and painstakingly tempered by Hokuto and I, Natsume, Kyouko, Tenma, and everyone you know! You're not allowed to be so reckless!"

The lambasted Touji widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at the fierce Harutora. Soon after-- "......Pff." He cursed.

"Don't talk big, could you be planning on fighting with the current me? It's not like you haven't seen my current form. I could smash your head with a punch." Touji felt his chin that had taken a punch, teasing Harutora as if knocking him.

Of course, Harutora couldn't beat Touji, especially since the demonic armor bound to Touji's body was a symbol of the oni's strength, and the current Touji possessed superhuman power. Even he was completely sure of that. Therefore...... "I think this is just right." Harutora deliberately replied. The voice Touji mocked him with shook slightly, and that fine change didn't escape his ears.

He rushed in, swinging his fist. Touji's body naturally dodged the attack - Harutora didn't pay it any heed, still continuing to approach. He hit and kicked, with Touji dodging every blow. Touji saw through Harutora's attacks and didn't need to use the oni's strength at all. Harutora himself understood this point. He was just blindly attacking, and finally Touji couldn't help but sneer.

"Are you an idiot?"

"What's wrong with that!" Harutora shouted, throwing his whole body at Touji.

"Harutora!" Touji hissed, angrily swinging his fist, swinging the demonic fist covered with a flashing armguard.

Harutora didn't dodge.

Touji's fist suddenly stopped, and instead Harutora's fist hit Touji.

He used his entire body weight to swing that fist, and the two tumbled into teach other, falling onto the ground. Harutora took the opportunity to kneel over the body of Touji, who was lying down under him, grabbing his collar with both hands and shaking him violently.

"What's wrong, Touji! Why don't you fight back? Hit me! You can't do it, right? Because you could crush my head with a fist! Because you could take my life anytime if you were careless!"

Touji clicked his tongue and gritted his teeth as he listened to Harutora's yelling, finally showing a wavering that belonged to Touji himself rather than the oni.

Harutora stared intently at Touji from up close like he wanted to see through him, then continued to cast his incantation.

"The two years you and I were together for weren't wasted, I saw long ago that you wouldn't be able to kill me! Get it? This is the second-cla.s.s magic that the princ.i.p.al mentioned. I cast that magic on you - no, you cast it on yourself! Because you're a person who thinks about his friends! A mere oni can't crack open that kind of strong magic! As long as that magic isn't released, you'll have to keep fighting with the oni! Why don't you hurry up and realize!"

Touji pressed his lips together.

Strength flowed out of his entire body, the demonic aura dissipated like smoke, and the 'lag' reactions gradually intensified, the image of the armor gradually thinning. The moment he looked into Touji's eyes, Harutora was confident he had succeeded.

He had succeeded in bringing Touji back.

He beamed and said: "You troublemaker," and punched Touji again. Touji moaned - and then fainted again.

After putting down his fist, Harutora slowly rose.

The demonic armor had already completely vanished, and for the sake of caution, Harutora used his spirit-seeing ability to 'see' that the aura on Touji's body had stabilized. Only then did he finally let out a deep breath, looking up at the sky. A numb feeling came from the hand he had punched with. With no one around, Harutora still clicked his tongue loudly to conceal his bashfulness.

"You're this old already yet you're still so hot-blooded...... you idiot."

Then, Harutora quickly called Tenma on the phone. Kon also hastily came over after he shouted several times in a row, but he deliberately didn't contact the Onmyou Academy or other teachers.

Tenma ran over, panting for breath, and jumped in surprise when he saw Touji lying p.r.o.ne on the ground, but he quickly noticed that Touji was just pa.s.sed out, and breathed out in rea.s.surance.

Touji didn't lose consciousness because he had been hit by Harutora's fist, but rather because he had started suppressing the oni inside him again. Harutora's punch at the end had given him a helping hand, and the goal of the blow was to shake up Touji's mindset.

But Tenma began worrying again when he finished listening to Harutora's next words.

"You want to go to Natsume-kun? That...... Then what about Touji-kun!"

"That's why I asked you to come. Sorry, could I ask you to help contact the Onmyou Academy and bring him back inside the academy?"

"B, But, who knows where Natsume-kun and the others are--"

"I sent them a text message notifying them when I found Touji, and I asked for their location at the same time. They seem to be preparing for an engagement in the Meiji Shrine Outer Garden[2]. I checked a map on my phone, and I can run there on foot."

After Harutora explained to Tenma while sitting on the ground to rest, he exerted himself again and stood back up. His body and mind were tired, but there was still something waiting for him to deal with. There were troubling incidents one after another, but since he had become the shikigami of this kind of master, he could only bite the bullet.

"Tenma, do you have any charms on you right now? If you do, could you give them to me? I'm afraid the few that I brought won't be enough."

"It, It's no problem to give them to you...... but are you really planning on going over alone? The Exorcist Bureau is carrying out an important operation with their full strength, right? I fear that something like meeting up with Natsume-kun and the others will be......"

"Leave those kinds of things for later, since after all......" Harutora smiled wryly, looking at Touji who was lying on the ground. "I talked pretty big. In any case, sorry for giving you a heap of trouble. I'll leave Touji to you."

The shrine's outer garden was located within the bounds of Yoyogi[3]. The Meiji Shrine was a vast park stretching from Shinjuku to Shibuya, and there were many athletic-related facilities inside the park like the National Stadium and the Meiji Jingu Stadium.

The Exorcist Bureau had chosen a softball field that was the largest among these as the location of this spiritual disaster purification. Of the composite, diamond-shaped ball field made up of six surfaces, five surfaces were natural turf and one was man-made turf. The entire field was similar in size to the Tokyo Dome[4]. This place had been chosen in order to conform with time, location, and spirituality, with its unimpeded spirit flow, low risk of causing damage to the surroundings, and various factors all taken into consideration.

In any case, this was a wide, boundless place, and there weren't fences or outside barriers, with only trees encircling the surroundings. The lights in the normally brightly lit Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery and Meiji Jingu Stadium were all off today, making the expansive composite ball field look a bit more desolate.

At the moment, a group of ravens wearing black clothes that were even darker than the night were gathered in the vast, boundless field.

There was a tent erected near the north entrance to the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery acting as the temporary command post of the Exorcist Command Center. There were quite a few transport vehicles for the spiritual disaster purification teams parked behind it. In addition, there were movable altars positioned in a round shape within the area and barriers set down encircling the ball field to stop the mobile spiritual disaster from escaping. There were also two helicopters prepared on standby ready at any time as a precaution, in case something unexpected happened and it was necessary to give chase.

The surroundings were pervaded by a feeling of tension and the aura of the exorcists, making it hard to breathe and a.s.sociating the coming spiritual disaster purification with an uphill battle.

At a distance of fifty meters above the heavily guarded ground.

A golden dragon - Hokuto - was drifting around the expansive night sky. Hokuto who was close to ten meters long in total didn't seem as huge as before in this vast field, but the figure of the dragon roaming through the night sky was still filled with a mystical feeling in the eyes of the people who looked up from the ground.

However, right now Hokuto was showing a rare impatience.

Since it had received Natsume's orders, it had continuously been turning around in the same place. When it had been summoned, it had looked curiously at the scene on the ground, but it had quickly gotten tired of watching things like the Exorcists and the altar, feeling that they were boring. It often looked at the faraway tall buildings of Roppongi and the Tokyo Tower or the newly built high-rise district as if wanting to play over there.

Natsume stayed patient, ordering this willful dragon from the ground.

In the plan of action this time, it was necessary for Hokuto's aura to spread through the aura flow and proliferate through various parts of the city, Hokuto had to constantly release aura for this. Though this matter sounded simple, it was actually extremely difficult. Hokuto was quite a strong shikigami, and materializing for a long time was an abnormally heavy burden to the controller. Natsume might be the first to collapse if the operation went on for too long.

"...You don't need to force yourself, Natsume-kun. If you collapse, that would truly be a failure upon a failure."

Kogure whispered a warning into the ear of Natsume who was staring intently at Hokuto. Natsume replied with a "Yes", but her gaze, directed upwards, didn't move.

Natsume was currently right underneath Hokuto near the center of the ball field, with Kyouko and Hirata next to her. In addition, they and also the exorcists present were all staring at Natsume without turning away.

Several exorcists were currently chanting incantations, letting Hokuto's aura seep into the aura flow, but the other people were completely silent. At some time, the undulating tone of the incantation had a.s.similated with the background, and suddenly the sound of the wind blowing through the field became particularly harsh.

It still hadn't come?

Natsume practically heard the inner voice of the exorcists, and though Kogure wanted her not to force herself, it really wasn't her style to hold back in this kind of time.

She glanced at the tent that had been set up temporarily.

Including Kogure, the operation being held had four Independent Exorcists in total and one Special Sensor, five Divine Generals in total, and of course Kagami Reiji was also included among them. He was definitely sneering right now, looking with malicious intentions from the tent towards the center of the field. No, it was possible that he didn't even care and she wasn't even in his eyes. Regardless of which situation it was, she was definitely unwilling to shame herself in front of that man.

And there were definitely quite a few people who held complex feelings towards the Tsuchimikado among this big group of Onmyouji, especially for these exorcists who had to purify spiritual disasters day after day.

Tracing back the roots, the reason these spiritual disasters happened could be attributed to the ancient Tsuchimikado Onmyoudou family. However, the techniques they used to purify spiritual disasters were also from the Tsuchimikado. What kind of feelings would the exorcists view her with right now?

Just then, the sound of rotors came from above her head. The sound came from a media helicopter, and there had been several helicopters in the sky above the Meiji Shrine outer garden at any given moment since just recently.

The contents of the operation were secret, so it wasn't certain where the media had dug up the information from. Just the same, it hadn't been made public that Natsume was involved in the operation, but someone in the industry would immediately realize that upon seeing the dragon roaming in the night sky.

...There's only one thing I should do.

Regardless of what the exorcists thought and how the surrounding people reacted, she only needed to properly complete the mission she had been a.s.signed. This was the bare minimum to have any self-respect as a Tsuchimikado family member.

Natsume's expression was grim, her mind focused on Hokuto above her head. A bitter smile flashed over Kogure's face when he saw Natsume's appearance.

But, Natsume's hard work finally bore fruit.

'Mobile spiritual disaster spotted! It's approaching from the northeast - from the Demon Gate!'

The Spirit Sensor on standby in the tent noticed the Nue's miasma, and an alert immediately came from the speaker.

"......It's finally come." Kogure said.

Natsume hurriedly looked towards the northeast sky, and Hokuto also showed a perplexed appearance, turning its head towards the same direction.

The northeast, direction of Ichigaya and Iidabashi[5]. Not a single abnormality could be seen in the night sky obscured by darkness. But - "It's here......!" Natsume's intuition said this and her mind naturally focused. Her mind and body also went tense once she noticed the abnormality mixed in with the black sky in the distance.

Right then--

EIEE--

A braying rode along with the night wind, and a twisted figure flying at a low alt.i.tude could vaguely be seen in the northeast.

'Target confirmed! A 'Type-Chimera' spiritual disaster, estimated two minutes until arrival!'

"Prepare to engage!"

The commander announced and the exorcists acted hastily, various orders busily being thrown about.

"......Good." Kogure relaxed his arms. "Natsume-kun, the important highlight is up next. Please follow the orders beforehand and have the dragon--" Kogure spoke as he walked towards Natsume. But when he was only half-done speaking, the sound of static suddenly came from the speaker. Then-- 'Th, The other mobile spiritual disaster has appeared! It's advancing from the southwest - from the Rear Demon Gate.'

"What?"

Kogure turned around suddenly and the exorcists preparing to engage couldn't conceal their fl.u.s.ter for a while. Natsume also hurriedly looked towards the southwest. Because of the trees nearby surrounding the ball field, she couldn't clearly see the low-alt.i.tude, but since the Special Sensor - one of the Twelve Divine Generals - had felt the spiritual disaster closing in, it definitely wasn't a mistake.

"Kogure-san......?"

"......Uh, that dragon of yours is very popular. I guess this will save us quite some time."

Compared to Natsume's wavering and anxiety, Kogure was poised and showed a fearless smile, and the exorcists also had the same reaction.

'...Listen up, the mobile spiritual disaster approaching from the southwest is expected to arrive in six minutes. The operation will immediately change to 'Plan C'. From now on, the first approaching mobile spiritual disaster is 'Chimera 01', and the second mobile spiritual disaster is 'Chimera 02'. I repeat, implement 'Plan C'!'

The announcement came through the speaker again, the voice clearly different from before. "Plan C?" Natsume asked. "Don't mind it." Kogure replied briefly.

"Simply put, it's purifying two spiritual disasters at once, but we only have a tight opportunity to set down a barrier. Alright, let's fall back - Hirata, you guys come too." Saying this, Kogure brought Natsume from the center of the field to the fountain in the south. Hirata and Kyouko also followed behind the two.

The plan of action had suddenly changed, but Kogure wasn't visibly panicked at all. The exorcists had also only hesitated for a moment, and immediately prepared to engage according to the new instructions.

"Wh, What about Hokuto?"

"Before the second - before '02' arrives, we have to have it[6] standby in the air, but make absolutely sure not to let it approach '01', or it might accidentally get drawn into the purification."

Natsume and the others rushed towards the fountain, and just then the field was wrapped up by a hair-raising yin flow. Natsume noticed that her heartbeat was gradually accelerating.

She ran to the edge of the field and was taken aback in surprise.

Three figures walked out of the temporary command post. Because the sky was dark and the distance was far, she couldn't see clearly, but she could vaguely make out one man and one woman. The last person's body was quite familiar, the 'Ogre Eater' Kagami Reiji.

They were Independent Exorcists, the top of the nation - the current premier Onmyouji.

Just then - "Tch." Kogure hissed.

"The development progress is far more than I expected...... The spiritual disasters themselves were manipulated."

"Huh?" Just as Natsume couldn't help but ask, Kyouko next to her screamed.

The Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery was behind the temporary command post, and the dome in the center of the roof was the symbol of the shrine's outer boundary. Above it was a giant figure rumbling through the air, flying over at a low alt.i.tude. "Lights on!" After that order, the searchlights that had been prepared were turned on simultaneously. Countless beams of light tore through the black night and illuminated the giant black figure on the picture gallery.

The thing illuminated by the light... was a Nue.

The Nue's body was greatly different from when they had seen it during the evening. It had two long necks, a barrel-shaped body and glowing claws on its limbs. Its tails, however many there were, undulated like tentacles. Two giant bat-like wings grew out of its back, probably large enough to cover its entire body. That appearance seemed like a two-headed dragon, like the legendary dragons of the West.

However, not only was its external appearance different, but also the change in its body size was even more surprising.

Its unfurled pair of mammoth wings was no smaller than the picture gallery, and they were close to a hundred meters wide, with its body perhaps forty meters long.

"Wh, What's that? It's a monster!"

Natsume was speechless next to the stunned Kyouko who exclaimed. Hokuto stared at the Nue from the sky, seeming also to have taken no small impact from the gigantic size of the Nue's body.

On the other hand, Kogure and Hirata glanced at each other.

"......This is bad......"

"Yeah, it seems like there's a good chance it'll develop into a phase four."

Upon hearing the two speak, Natsume and Kyouko froze in place, dumbstruck.

The progress of spiritual disasters was divided into 'phases'. A distortion of aura that had no chance of recovering naturally was a phase one, one that could create physical harm was a phase two, and a materialized spiritual being was a phase three.

The next step, phase four, meant a rise in spiritual pressure, disseminating a high-density miasma, distorting the surrounding spirituality, and making the aura skew rapidly, leading to spiritual disasters happening one after another. A giant spiritual disaster as a fuse leading to the crisis of countless spiritual disasters happening successively, that was a phase four.

Also known as a Hyakki Yagyou.[7]

The Nue before them - 'Chimera 01' - had already grown to the point where it was one step from entering phase four.

"......But, this helps me out a lot, because we 'caught up'."

Kogure grinned. As if receiving an instruction, the movable altar placed in the field simultaneously lit up with flame.

The blowing wind made the flame kindle rapidly, which climbed up in a flash like an explosion.

Just then--

...Namah sarva tatha gatebhyah sarva mukhebhyah, sarva trat canda maha rosana, kham khahi khahi sarva vighnam hum trat...[8]

Exorcists made hand seals, chanting in unison the incantation that Kagami had spoken in the evening, Fire Realm magic.

The flame on the altar burned with magical energy, shooting into the night sky like a flaming sword, slashing through the darkness and spewing white smoke.

Officially this was 'spiritual disaster purification', but actually they were going on the offensive against the Nue, 'subduing' it. Different from purification which prioritized the balance of yin and yang, subduing demons often used the magic of esoteric religious systems in General Onmyoudou. Because of this, the exorcists had chosen an esoteric magic as the major procedure of the current Nue subduing.

Fire Realm magic shot out from the altar like a cannon and hit successively on the Nue, covering its entire body in flame. It screamed mournfully, the high-density miasma contained in its cry washing over the field like a tsunami.

However-- "......हूं." On the north side of the field - Kagami who was closest to the Nue p.r.o.nounced the seed syllable of the Kundali Vidyaraja, 'scattering' the wave of miasma closing in on the field. The tsunami of miasma shattered and dissipated like it had hit a rock wall, sprinkling large amounts of miasma on the field, which was then all burned and vaporized by the magic on the altar.

Because of the miasma's frightful ferocity, Natsume and the others who were in the other direction were not spared. Just then, Kogure slowly put his hand on the scabbard of the katana on his waist.

He didn't draw the sword, he just put his fingers on the scabbard, pushing the blade out slightly.

In that moment, Natsume and Kyouko didn't even have time to react before a sharp aura burst forth from the blade, cutting apart all of the descending miasma.

The Nue continued to soar upwards, and the Fire Realm magic continued to chase right after it.

Natsume came to her senses, hurriedly calling: "Hokuto! Quickly retreat!"

Hokuto opened its mouth, looking blankly at the intense battle that had suddenly begun. It probably didn't want to get involved, so it quickly followed Natsume's order, flying down over its master's head.

But, the Nue noticed the dragon's movements and quickly descended from under the covering of the Fire Realm magic, trying to attack Hokuto from above.

"Oh no! Hokuto!"

Natsume hastily asked Hokuto to evade, but when it noticed the Nue was attacking, it seemed to flare up in anger for a while, not to be outdone. Hokuto quickly stopped, twisting its body to intimidate the Nue above it that was several times larger.

"I, Idiot!"

Natsume ordered it to escape with a pale face, but it pretended not to hear, even roaring as if threatening the enemy to 'come if you dare'. Kogure furrowed his eyebrows, his right hand going to the handle of his katana.

But just as Kogure was about to draw his sword, when the Nue hadn't yet attacked Hokuto, the male Independent Exorcist standing on the north side flung something into the night sky.

What the man threw was a magical tool used in Vajrayana[9] - a tokkosho[10].

The tokkosho carried a strong magical energy, giving off a sacred light and drawing a glowing path through the night sky like a surface-to-air missile. It cut apart the night sky, shooting towards the Nue with a hum and piercing the Nue's body in a flash, forcibly tearing one of the Nue's wings.

The Nue screamed shrilly, its body momentarily losing balance. 'Lag' reactions appeared over its entire body, and it rapidly spun in front of Hokuto who had stopped movi