Part 3
Barstools were messily strewn around the shared Roppongi building.
That man twisted his back, looking behind him several times with an unsettled expression.
Though he wore a plain suit, he had no tie. Also, he hadn't changed his clothes in several days, and he was overall unkempt and somewhat dirty.
But that suited the shop atmosphere even more.
The shop was vast and crowded. Though it was called a bar, it was actually more like a dive. Low background music played in the dimly-lit shop interior, and the laughs of drunken patrons resounded nonstop. The customer base seemed quite delinquent as well. The smell of cigarettes, hair gel, and various other odors filled the area, warmed by the building's ancient heating system. It was a low-class bar that fit the word 'trash heap'.
The man twisted his body several times with an unsettled mood, slowly sipping the beer he had ordered. The man had entered the shop for fifteen minutes already. The workers at the bar brazenly shot unfriendly gazes towards his listless face, but the man didn't seem to be about to leave.
Then, five more minutes later.
A group of three customers entered the shop. The man at the bar immediately turned his body and looked back.
The three in the group were all male. The two to the left and right were dressed in suits, and only the man in the center had on a gorgeous coat, wearing casual wear to match the shop atmosphere. After noticing the man at the bar, he grinned and approached.
"............"
The man at the bar stared at the approaching three with a solemn look. The three swiftly advanced between the tables, and the two suited men stopped when they got close to the bar. Only the man in the coat smiled again and sat down in the seat next to him.
"Ah, nice to meet you, Priest Kengyou. I'm the envoy from 'Gathering'. Call me Shimoda."
"......What is this supposed to mean?"
"Hah? Ahh, these two? They're just escorts. Please don't get too much on edge."
The man in the coat - Shimoda - smiled and spoke with a flippant tone. But it was only his mouth that was smiling, as a cold light emerged in his eyes. "Tch." Kengyou quietly clicked his tongue, casting his gaze at the two standing men.
"......They're based off of 'Yaksha'?"
After he flatly pointed that out, Shimoda's wicked smile momentarily skipped a beat.
But he immediately spoke with deliberate admiration:
"As expected of a priest from the dark temple. Just as you say, they're 'G2'. Their exteriors were made extremely well, right? But I didn't think they would be seen through at a glance. It might not look like it, but I admit I spend quite a lot of effort on them."
"They're indeed superb. But what meaning is there in deliberately putting your defensive shikigami in human forms."
"Hoho. It's visible at a glance with spirit sight, but our business deals with many ordinary people. If they kept their action-figure [11] appearances, that would give rise to some bad effects. ......I shouldn't have to explain each and every thing to a dark temple practitioner, huh?"
He maintained his smile and the cold gaze he shot over, and his voice also contained disdain.
Kengyou spoke fretfully:
"......I'm the emissary of the temple. I don't usually come in contact with 'work' directly."
"Hah, alright then. But since you wanted to throw yourself into 'Gathering', then you'll have to give that up."
"I understand that sort of thing."
Kengyou spoke resentfully after clicking his tongue again.
The dark temple that Kengyou had once belonged to was formally called Seishuku Temple. It was a Shingon temple that had accepted practitioners since ancient times, as well as one of the representative forces in the 'interior' of the magic community. The people who weren't accepted into the Onmyou Agency's management and people who fled from its grasp. There were also those who had fallen into the dark side of magic and those who used magic outside of the law. Or the people who had lost their paths due to magic karma. That temple was the society where those people who lived in the darkness of the magic community gathered.
However, last year in the beginning of winter, Seishuku Temple had been destroyed by a single Onmyouji - or so it was said. He couldn't say for sure because Kengyou had been outside the temple at the time. Kengyou's occupation inside the temple was to maintain their network of connections in society. Hence, his outside time, which was rare for someone of the monastery, was overwhelmingly abundant. That blessing had allowed him to escape the catastrophe.
The current Seishuku Temple had been taken into the Onmyou Agency's management after its destruction. Most people of the monastery had been arrested or detained. Then, a scant number of people had slipped underground and continued fleeing from the Onmyou Agency's hands. Kengyou was one of them.
Fortunately, Kengyou had the contacts he had cultivated through his maintenance of relationships. He had used the channels from his monastery time and come in contact with another organization. The envoy of that organization was the Shimoda currently in front of him.
The organization Shimoda belonged to was simply called Gathering. Rather than being an organization, it was more like a community of practitioners who would assist each other. The secret organizations of the magic community had powerful senses of loyalty, and in most occasions didn't welcome outsiders. But as for that point, Gathering - which had originally been established by a solo member - was very tolerant of outsiders coming in. Hence, he had been willing to take the risk of slipping into the Onmyou Agency's Tokyo and run here to ask them for aid.
"Well, the relationships are thin anyway, and it happens a lot that useless guys get 'cut off' before they know it. Priest, make sure to pay attention, alright?"
Kengyou nodded resentfully at Shimoda as he specially advised him. What an aggravating man. But now that he had lost the backing of Seishuku Temple, it was unrealistic for Kengyou to continue his escapade from the Onmyou Agency alone. Even if he was somewhat unhappy, all that was left for him was to ask help of Gathering.
Kengyou finished the rest of the beer in his glass cup in order to relieve his resentment.
Just then.
"Found you."
An incongruous female voice suddenly sounded inside the shop.
A slightly nasal, sweet - perhaps even 'sugary' - voice. The customers in the shop almost all inadvertently stopped their conversations, turning their heads in the direction the voice came from. Then, their gazes froze in moments.
A single woman stood at the shop entrance.
To put it nicely, she was 'seductive', or 'avant-garde'. But the woman was several times more 'strange' than that.
First off, she was very tall. She was undoubtedly over 180 centimeters [12] - maybe she was around 190. Also, she was dressed ridiculously scantily, as if mocking the season of early January. At first glance, she looked half-clothed.
Her face was petite, but her head, limbs, and torso were extremely long. Her visible bust and hips were alluringly full, but her waist was astonishingly narrow and tight. Her strapless tube top exposed her abdomen. Though she had on a deep purple jacket right now, the sleeves were rolled up to her wrists and her hands were stuck in her pockets. Below, she wore incredibly short shorts that stuck closely to the sensual curves of her hips. Further below were the contours of healthy, beautiful legs. Those slender straight legs were matched by gorgeously-studded boots.
The customers in the shop - who were essentially all male - were first dumbfounded by her outfit and then finally raised their gazes to look at the woman's face. The woman's hair was raised in a single ponytail and she wore large sunglasses that practically covered half of her petite face. Hence, her face couldn't be seen clearly, but they deepened her glamorous image in conjunction with the lipstick that coated her full lips.
In any case, it was a woman with a very strong impact.
Then, that woman strode out on her long legs and started entering the depths of the store interior.
Step, step. With every stride, her ponytail and the bust in her tube top swayed. Though the gazes of the shop interior were focused on her, she seemed not to care - or even as if she hadn't noticed. Most of the customers watched the woman advance, stunned. Kengyou and Shimoda's eyes were similarly wide.
But not all of them were like that.
"Ah, miss. That's an unfamiliar face. You're alone? Where from?"
A group of two young men sitting at a table stepped on either side in front of the woman to block her path.
Maybe they were already dead drunk, as the faces of the two were red to their ears. They busily swept up and down the woman's body with gazes that completely exposed their inner thoughts.
"You're pretty cute~ Want to have a drink together? I'll treat you to something. Here, sit down."
During the period of time in which one of them was standing in front the stopped her, the other person forcefully hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her to a table. But the man hooked around her staggered slightly for a moment. Though he had tried to pull her forcefully, she didn't budge.
"Eh? W-What, miss? Hey - come here--"
Though he tried to get her to sit at the table again, the woman still didn't move.
The man inviting the woman had a good physique. Though he wasn't as tall as the woman, the man was undoubtedly heavier. Also, since he was drunk, he didn't know how to hold back. However, it was of no use. As if his opponent were a carved rock.
Then, the woman drew her right hand out of her jacket pocket and slowly moved it to her face, pushing her sunglasses to her forehead.
Rounded, childish eyes set with long eyelashes appeared.
"You're in the way."
She spoke with the same sugary voice as before.
"I [13] have business with that guy over there."
After saying this, the woman extended her wrist straight out, pointing to Kengyou at the bar. Kengyou couldn't help but flinch upon suddenly being singled out, his seat scraping and making noise.
"Out of the way."
"Hah? You're so noisy. Listen, sit down. Dammit, you--"
The man got angry as he tried to pull the woman. Those watching next to him could understand that he was using all his strength. However, the woman's feet were motionless as if they were stuck to the ground. "Hey." His companion man noticed the abnormality and spoke to him. Even so, the man still didn't stop.
The woman gazed expressionlessly for a moment at the man trying with all his might to pull her to the table.
Then, she slowly raised her right hand straight up and leisurely swung it out.
A palm.
A full-powered palm strike by a woman with this kind of physique had a power not to be looked down on. But since the drunk man was using too much strength, his balance was upset by the woman's movement and he collapsed to the floor with a thud. Thanks to that, he avoided death.
Boom. The air roared.
The woman's strike whipped up a whirlwind, sending the two men and the table they were trying to pull her to flying. Along with a huge noise was the sound of shattering glass and overturning seats. The table turned a circle and broke on the floor. The cries of the patrons in the shop rang out before the sounds of destruction vanished.
On the other hand, Kengyou and Shimoda's faces paled and they stood up from their seats. They had 'seen' something even more dangerous from the abnormal scene that had suddenly happened.
"What!"
"Demonic aura!?"
The moment the woman had swung her arm, aura that she had suppressed until then had erupted out of her body. And it hadn't been a humans.
Shimoda spoke dumbfoundedly to Kengyou:
"Hey! What the hell's up with that woman!?"
"I don't know! How could I know!?"
Though Kengyou rebutted loudly, the woman had indeed singled him out. She had said she had 'business'. His breathing and heartbeat accelerated in a flash.
The interior of the shop was in an uproar. The patrons scrambled to the exit, and the sound of tables and chairs being knocked over, breaking glass, and the customers' cries echoed loudly. "Damn!" Shimoda cursed, and at the same time, the two suited men - Shimoda's defensive shikigami - stood up next to him and sprinted towards the woman. They tossed away the tables between them, barreling towards the woman and swiftly grabbing her with their momentum.
But even with the full-force collision of the two defensive shikigami, the woman still didn't stagger.
"Dammit! Why are you getting in my way!"
After she roared, she immediately lifted one of the two Yaksha that had collided with her in each arm and swung them out. Stunned, Shimoda doubted his eyes, and then took out charms in a panic. He planned on also using magic himself. Kengyou also came to his senses, reaching his hand towards the charms that he carried.
But out of a corner of his vision, he saw the shop workers escaping into the shop interior. He had a flash of insight. Perhaps there was a shortcut. Kengyou unconsciously chased after the shop workers, trying to escape the scene.
Just then--
"Hey, wait up, boy."
A deep, low male voice reached Kengyou's ears as if it passed through the din. He immediately shifted his gaze and was taken aback again. The farthest seat of the bar. A man had sat down there at some point.
He could say he didn't know when he had sat down because he definitely would have noticed it if this man had been sitting there before the commotion. He was short but abnormally stocky. As if he were a daruma [14] . After polishing off the rum in his hand in a single gulp, he placed it on the bar and turned his stool towards them.
"Did you hear? We have business with you."
The stocky man laughed brusquely.
His hair was red. He wore sunglasses, his nose was pierced, and a thick chain necklace hung from his neck. He wore hip-hop-style clothing. A deep blue outer coat covered his small, fat body along with loose work pants. He wore blue basketball shoes on his feet.
"You're Kengyou of the dark temple, right? Why don't you come with us."
The man requested extremely naturally. He thought it was spirit language for a moment, but it wasn't. But he could feel a high-pressure aura from the voice, and more importantly from the man himself, and it made him suspect whether it was first-class spirit language.
"O-Order!?"
He immediately released a charm. Though it was a fire-element charm, the magic hadn't been readied properly, and the charm magic only had power. In any case, he resorted to using a smokescreen and tried to take the opportunity to escape.
But--
The man smiled. At the same time, high-density aura was released from the man's body and the magical energy infused into the charm was blown away by the spiritual pressure. Kengyou's mind went blank. No matter how hastily he had used the charm magic, it was extremely abnormal for it to be rendered ineffective purely by the aura from his body. Also, the man's aura wasn't a human's. It was demonic aura.
"I don't plan on eating you or anything. Settle down. ......Or, do you want me to eat you?"
The mouth below the man's sunglasses twisted and he bared his teeth as he spoke. The canines that extended from his lower jaw were strangely long. As if they were fangs.
"O-Oni......!?"
A mobile spiritual disaster. A Phase Three 'Type-Ogre'. Also, it had a clear consciousness and controlled its own power, so it was undoubtedly a 'true oni' that had existed for extremely long.
"Ahh!? Gozu [15] , how unfair! I was the one who found him first!"
"You caused the commotion yourself, Mezu [16] . The Onmyou Agency will be here soon. Don't keep playing around."
The woman who looked in Kengyou's direction shouted with wide eyes. The man wrinkled his face at the woman who had flung away the Yaksha and stomped her feet. As expected, they were comrades. In that case, the demonic aura he had seen from the woman before hadn't been a mistake.
But...... In this case, there were two true oni?
Needless to say, Kengyou had never seen a true oni before. Most of the seniors at the monastery probably hadn't either. What was the implication of there being two at once, and also searching for him? It was like he was in a nightmare.
Then, he suddenly came to his senses and checked Shimoda's appearance, inadvertently moaning. Before he had noticed, Shimoda had already run to the entrance. He hadn't used the two Yaksha to defeat the woman, but purely to buy time. Though that was irritating, it had been an accurate situational judgment. It seemed that he had already been 'abandoned' after their meeting.
Shimoda's back vanished outside the shop, and the two Yaksha also dematerialized soon afterwards. The customers who had packed the tables before had also taken refuge without a single one remaining. The only ones left in the shop other than Kengyou were the two male and female oni.
The man - Gozu - left his stool and blocked the route leading to the shop shortcut with his stocky body. On the other hand, the woman - Mezu - stood there with her arms crossed, unhappily pouting her cheeks like a little kid. The two were no longer trying to conceal their demonic aura. The rising miasma clashed against each other and practically made him dizzy. The background music that still continued playing resounded loudly in his mind.
Just then.
"F-Fuck!?"
He heard the sound of cursing from the shop exit. It was Shimoda. Kengyou turned to look in surprise, and Shimoda who had originally planned on escaping ran back into the shop--
He fell down.
And then he was motionless. What had happened? Right after he thought that--
Thunk. Came a melodious sound.
Thunk, tap, thunk, tap. Melodious sounds approached with a regular pattern. Then--
A man entered the shop.
A man wearing a plain coat. But the moment the man entered the shop, goosebumps rose on Kengyou's skin for some reason. As if the air conditioner in the shop had caused the temperature to rapidly decrease.
The man gave off the feeling of a seasoned veteran, but he actually seemed to be still young. His glasses-wearing face looked even younger than the about thirty-five-year-old Kengyou.
But the man's hair was already almost completely white. Also, the man held a cane in one hand. His right leg was a fake leg, and it was even a wooden fake leg. The melodious sound from before had been the sounds of the cane and fake leg.
"A~hh. I messed up."
After the white-haired man entered the shop, he surveyed the terrible situation and sighed.
"Boss!" Mezu was the first to speak.
"I was the first one to find that guy! I found him!"
Mezu waved her arms and did everything she could to assert that as she moved closer to the white-haired man. The man briefly replied "Okay, okay", entering the depths of the shop with a steady pace and his hand on his cane.
Partway, he turned his head to Gozu and said:
"You've had it tough."
"......Kah. You should say 'Good work' at this kind of time. What a brat who doesn't understand manners."
"Ahh~! Gozu! You have to call that guy 'Boss'. Did you forget Doman-sama's orders?"
"Shut up. I know that! ......Anyway, this guy is Kengyou from the dark temple. The guy who's currently lying over there also called him that, so it can't be wrong."
"Yeah. Thanks."
The man who had been called 'Boss' smiled wryly and thanked Gozu who pointed his chin in Shimoda's direction. Then, he finally moved his gaze to Kengyou.
To be honest, the man's eyes were calm, but not cold or stern. Rather, they were even very gentle.
But Kengyou inadvertently gulped.
He remembered. He recalled that before the dark temple had been destroyed, he had often heard 'certain rumors' in his post responsible for contacting other organizations.
The rumor was that there was a fierce Onmyouji deep within the current magic community. That Onmyouji used three incomparably powerful shikigami, and had redrawn the balance of power in the community in the blink of an eye.
That Onmyouji had a nickname that stemmed from the three shikigami he used and the peculiarities of his body.
Three-leg.
Or by extension, 'White Yatagarasu' [17]
"Nice to meet you, Priest Kengyou. I'm very sorry that things suddenly became like this. Just going by your expression, it seems like you understand me...... my business."
"......Could it be...... White Yatagarasu......?"
"Ahaha, how overstated. Three-leg is sufficient. Anyway, it's just a simple nickname."
The man - Three-leg - smiled casually.
"Rather, I had a reason for doing this much to visit you, Priest. Actually, I have something I want to ask you. I'm extremely sorry, but could I borrow some of your time?"
"M-Me?"
"Right. It's about the dark temple."
The moment he said that, the eyes deep beneath Three-leg's glasses flashed like a blade's edge. It was chilling.
A one-legged Onmyouji and the two true oni that he led.
Even with how he was, Kengyou was a priest of the dark temple. He had seen a wide spread of the magic community. He also knew of several monstrous practitioners - for example, Priest Jougen.
But this man's terror and sharpness felt different from others.
A hearty, leisurely, and elusive man. But that personality itself didn't give off any particularly dangerous flavor. Rather, he had an inexplicable and sincere atmosphere that made him unknowingly relax his guard even thought he was suspicious.
But the moment he felt that, the air changed. The man's personality didn't change, but the impression he gave off transformed into a chilling killing intent. A hearty, leisurely, and elusive 'danger'. He became an emotionless avatar of death.
Kengyou associated that ominous, detached man with a god of death. Right. Maybe the so-called gods of death were unexpectedly liable to show up for no reason.
"Anyway, our capturing mission has ended. Let's go back and have Doman-sama praise us."
Mezu proudly stood tall behind Three-leg's back. "Yeah." Gozu also nodded in assent from behind Kengyou's back.
"There's no meaning in staying behind for long, so let's retreat with this guy."
Thud. Gozu placed his thick hand on Kengyou's shoulder. It seemed that no one present planned on listening to Kengyou's opinion. Though the other party had said he wouldn't eat him, he felt like a fish on a hook. He didn't feel like he would survive.
Just then.
"Ah, Gozu! Are you going to steal it? That guy's mine!"
Mezu's eyes narrowed when she saw Gozu put his hand on Kengyou's shoulder. Her expression change and she tried to approach Kengyou like a child whose candy had been swiped by someone else.
Before that happened.
"Hey." Three-leg's cane rose up, stopping in front of Mezu's nose. Mezu stopped her foot in midair. "Wait, what are you doing!?" Immediately after she glared at Three-leg:
An impact that seemed to split the world in two passed through the center of the shop.
From the floor to the ceiling.
A slash.
Kengyou was knocked flying with no idea what had happened. Though Gozu immediately caught him from behind, even Gozu's expression had changed. On the other hand, Mezu who had been stopped at the last second widened her eyes and looked at the fissure that the slash had opened up in front of her. Her ponytail fluttered outwards as if it had encountered a sudden wind, and her lengthy body flashed with lag upon enduring the shockwave of magical energy.
After a momentary pause, the shop - the entire building - rumbled and shook. The ground and ceiling had been split open in a flash and dust fell. The tables in the line of the slash had been split in two - in addition, they had been smashed into pieces.
Amidst all that, Three-Leg had formed a seal with a single hand and avoided the impact with that at the last second.
"......What, we really were being spied on. Even so, what a surprise attack."
He smiled bitterly and turned in the direction of the road.
Then, Ohtomo Jin spoke quietly with a sad - but fearless - expression:
"You're quite anxious for battle, Zenjirou."
The date was about to change soon.
It seemed inconceivable that it was this cold but it hadn't snowed. More importantly, he was in a van stopped in a park. Of course the heat was on, but the frigid air outside still slowly seeped into the floor.
Yamashiro Hayato who sat in the driver's seat checked the time with his watch. Tap. He lightly tapped the steering wheel with his fingertip.
He was a young man who gave off a sharp impression. He wore a light down coat over his simple suit. Though his proper appearance looked rational, they looked slightly arrogant, maybe because of his youth. Though he currently wasn't showing any expression, he seemed to believe that it was extremely stupid to kill time on standby.
Yamashiro glanced at the rearview mirror. He wasn't sure how many times this made it, but the scenery reflected there hadn't changed even after his multiple observations.
Two men sat in the back of the van.
The one sitting in the row behind him was a man who looked around forty years old and whose hair was mixed with white. His body was long and slender, and his old-styled clothing suited him extremely well. It was just that his face looked quite poor. It didn't look like his body was unwell. His expression was also scarce, and he sat in the backseat with an expression that made one doubt whether he was a corpse, reading a book by the illumination of the car's interior light.
And sitting behind him, in the rearmost row of the van, was a pithy and poignant man of about twenty-five. He was also dressed in a suit. Though he didn't have a tie, something gentlemanly could be felt from his cool and composed atmosphere. Even in his seated posture in the van, his back was straight and it didn't feel like his muscles were relaxed. He was currently crossing his arms and closing his eyes, meditating without a sound. A katana - his trusted blade - leaned against the seat next to him.
The two were Mystical Investigators belonging to the Mystical Crime Investigation Bureau - Yamashiro's coworkers. But the two had a longer history in the Exorcist Bureau over the Mystical Investigators. Moreover, both of them were proud, first-rate Onmyouji of the Onmyou Agency.
Former Special Senser, the 'Divine Eye' of the Twelve Divine Generals, Miyoshi Tougo.
Former Independent Officer, the 'Heavenly Sword' of the Twelve Divine Generals, Kogure Zenjirou.
One was the man who had been valued as having the 'most precious ability in the Onmyou Agency', and one was the man that everyone agreed had been the youngest elite of the Exorcist Bureau. Kogure had transferred from the Exorcist Bureau to the Mystical Investigators because of last year's business, but Miyoshi had just finished transferring last month.
Independent Exorcists were the elites of the spiritual disaster purification teams. Yamashiro was also extremely astonished when Kogure, who had been admired on the frontlines, had been suddenly transferred to the Mystical Investigators. But the entire Onmyou Agency was powerfully shaken when Spirit Senser Miyoshi, who was invaluable to spiritual disaster purification, had transferred outside the Exorcist Bureau. Also, it was completely unexpected that these two would be teaming with him. Yamashiro himself was also a National First-Class Onmyouji who had obtained 'First-class Onmyou' qualifications. A Mystical Investigator team formed of three Divine Generals was probably unprecedented.
But it was certainly true that the Mystical Investigators currently needed to act this boldly because their talent was insufficient. It wasn't a problem of the number of Mystical Investigators or of lowered quality, but the cases that the Mystical Investigators were responsible for were too difficult and complex. Yamashiro and the others were on standby inside the van this night because of one of those cases.
"......Officer Miyoshi. No movement?"
Yamashiro asked, looking across the mirror.
Miyoshi, who sat behind him, said:
"Yamashiro-shi. I'm no longer a Special Senser. I'm just a Mystical Investigator now."
The huge-name newcomer Mystical Investigator rested his gaze on his book, not planning on raising his face. Yamashiro had acted together with Miyoshi once before he had transferred, when they had gone to visit Seishuku Temple. He also understood his troublesome personality. Of course, it wasn't the kind of problem where just understanding it would make it no longer irritating.
"......Miyoshi-san. Movement?"
"None."
Miyoshi replied flatly to Yamashiro's change of tone. Yamashiro moved his gaze from Miyoshi to Kogure in the mirror.
Maybe specially confirming was an impolite action. But in the end, he still asked.
"......Kogure-san. Is the information that Kengyou is coming in contact with Gathering correct?"
Kogure didn't respond immediately. He remained motionless, still with his arms crossed and eyes closed.
After a pause of three entire seconds, he said:
"Who knows."
Who would have thought he would say 'who knows'. Yamashiro's face became displeased. Kogure clearly ought to be unable to see his expression, but an ephemeral smile flitted across his mouth.
"Unfortunately, I'm not sure about what kind of a person Priest Kengyou is. I can't assert that he won't change his mind at the last moment. ......But in that case, he won't be able to rely on Gathering again. As long as the rumors spread, other organizations will probably drop their plans to bring him in. Of course, he should probably understand this point too."
"......Even so, will he bite? Will he bite this 'bait'?"
Yamashiro asked again.
Though Kengyou was a target that the Mystical Investigators pursued, he wasn't the hunting target of Yamashiro's group. Their target was someone bigger. Kengyou was just bait that they were using to fish for their true target.
But Kogure indifferently replied with a "Not sure."
"If you're just going to talk about trivial things, you might as well take the opportunity to get some sleep."
"It's not trivial......"
Yamashiro responded in a tone that couldn't be called anything but trivial.
It could be said that 'standby' was an important job to a Mystical Investigator. It was just that even though he understood that inside, he still couldn't help that it didn't suit his personality.
Also, the other thing that brought his spirits down was the silence dominating the van.
To be honest, he personally didn't care about Miyoshi anymore. It actually simplified matters if he closed his mouth and read his bock.
But he wanted to talk more with Kogure.
It had already been more than a year since Kogure came to the Mystical Investigators, but for the first one or two months, he had worked with veteran Mystical Investigators who were familiar with Mystical Investigator work, and afterwards he had moved almost solely alone. He had basically never come in contact with Yamashiro.
Yamashiro didn't believe that he was inferior to Kogure as a Mystical Investigator.
But he couldn't match Kogure as an Onmyouji.
It was like how among practitioners, most exorcists and Mystical Investigators were more outstanding than other Onmyouji. Even among the National First-Class Onmyouji, the strength of Kogure who had been an Independent Exorcist also made one feel like he was on a higher level than other National First-Class Onmyouji. Most importantly, Yamashiro, whose experience as a Divine General was still shallow, was interested about exactly what kind of level the other Divine Generals' abilities were and how well he held up in that regard. That wasn't to say he wanted to become close to them, but he did wish to understand them.
But in contrast to how he had been evaluated when he had been in the Exorcist Bureau, Kogure was taciturn and didn't let people approach him after transferring to the Mystical Investigators. He would communicate sufficiently when the job required it, but otherwise he was silent. Actually, some Mystical Investigators who had known Kogure before talked about him as if he had become a different person. Even Yamashiro himself, who was in his team, hadn't had any real conversations with him outside of duty.
He definitely wasn't hard to get along with on the job.
But there were certainly some unpredictable areas about him.
"............"
Tap. Yamashiro stared into the mirror while tapping the steering wheel with his fingertip again.
Just then.
"......Ah, there's movement."
Suddenly - although he still looked at his book - Miyoshi spoke. Yamashiro couldn't help but twist his body and look back into the backseat, and Kogure also opened his closed eyes.
A sparkling, keen gaze stared at Miyoshi in the row in front of him.
"Kengyou?"
"Yes. He entered that building. Just like the information."
"And Gathering?"
"They haven't come."
"......Others?"
"That side hasn't come either. But if practitioners of their level used stealth magic, it might be difficult to notice them."
Miyoshi flatly stated the truth.
Miyoshi was a former Special Senser. He was the Onmyouji with the most prominent spirit sight in the Onmyou Agency. He currently wasn't just purely reading to kill idle time, he was actively using his spirit-seeing ability to 'watch' the surrounding area.
A stealth that he, who saw through stealth as naturally as breathing, would be unable to see through. The ones Yamashiro and the rest were pursuing were practitioners with that much skill.
"Should we go?" Yamashiro questioned Kogure again. Kogure was the one in charge of the team. Kogure replied with "It's not time yet".
"But move the car out. We'll cruise around the area and head out once there's activity."
Yamashiro nodded, starting up the van. Then, he started cruising around the surrounding roads in order to keep from getting far from the building that Kengyou had entered.
Twenty more minutes had already passed since then. Just as Yamashiro was about to start getting impatient:
"...Someone's here."
Miyoshi opened his mouth.
"A practitioner bringing two defensive shikigami. These are Yaksha."
Kogure nodded at Miyoshi's report:
"Someone from Gathering?"
"Probably. He just entered the building."
"Any notable changes in the environment?"
"There's no obvious movement--"
Miyoshi looked up from his book. His eyes were focused on empty air. Kogure's and Yamashiro's expressions rapidly tightened.
"......There's one suspicious presence...... No, there's another one entering the building from the back door. At the least, they aren't humans."
"Yamashiro."
Kogure issued an order and Yamashiro immediately drove the van to the building Kengyou was at. Miyoshi inserted a bookmark and closed the book. On the other hand, Kogure opened the window of the van. He endured the frigid night air that rapidly gusted by, narrowing his eyes and 'watching' the surrounding aura himself.
"...Kokuryuu. Dasai. Reisen. Hou'oubiden. Go to the positions I mentioned before. Don't forget your stealth until I give the signal.
In a brief moment, four auras wavered next to Kogure, flew out the window, and suddenly disappeared into stealth. The crow tengu that Kogure used.
Then.
"......Ah, I just confirmed it. The first presence is a 'Type-Ogre'. The one that entered the building first from the front is giving off demonic aura."
"Which one?"
"A different demonic aura from the one I saw last year in Seishuku Temple. In other words, it's not Kakugyouki."
Yamashiro's hand that gripped the steering wheel became stiff when he heard that.
It wasn't Kakugyouki. Then, the one who had taken the bait was--
"......'Shadow'......!"
Yamashiro muttered sharply.
'Shadow', or Ohtomo Jin. Though they hadn't met directly, he had heard rumors. He had been the trusted confidant of the 'Divine Fan' Amami Daizen, who had been the Chief of the Mystical Investigators until the year before Yamashiro entered the Agency, a Mystical Investigator who had subdued the darkness of the Onmyou Agency. A person equivalent to a 'senpai' to Yamashiro's position.
He was currently moving around in the darkness of society under the name 'Three-leg'. He was one of the names listed on the Mystical Investigators' blacklist as a dangerous person along with Tsuchimikado Harutora who was viewed as the reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou.
Kogure took out his phone and dialed it.
"...Chief. It's Kogure. The probability that 'Shadow' appears has gone up. Requesting immediate assistance."
It seemed that the one he was talking to was the current Chief of the Mystical Investigators, or Chief Kurahashi. Kogure hung up the phone after two or three more sentences of dialogue.
Reaching his hand to the trusted blade leaning next to him, he said:
"Yamashiro, we're still not there?"
"We're arriving right--"
Yamashiro's sentence cut off.
Yamashiro - and Kogure - both 'saw' it at the destination the van headed to. The presence of an oni that Miyoshi had sensed. Just like Miyoshi had reported, there were two.
The two oni had both stopped concealing the demonic aura they released. Why? The most conceivable was that a battle had broken out. But never mind Kengyou, even supposing that the practitioners of Gathering were quite powerful, it didn't feel that they could be the opponents of these two oni. Though it was a battle, the victor had already been decided from the start.
Kogure's voice exuded urgency.
"Miyoshi-san! What about 'Shadow's presence?"
"Still none. Either he dispatched shikigami, or he's using stealth."
"Then 'D'?"
"That's also unclear."
Miyoshi's words were calm from start to finish. With perfect timing, the building Kengyou and the others were in showed up through the van's windshield.
An old shared building that contained multiple shops. But several customers were sprinting in a panic out of the first-floor entrance. As expected, a battle had broken out inside. Yamashiro stopped the van near the sidewalk in front of the building.
"What do we do?"
He checked with Kogure.
Kogure replied immediately.
"Attack."
"We're not waiting for support?"
Kogure had already taken his trusted blade and risen from the seat in the time that Yamashiro turned around in surprise. After opening the sliding car door, he jumped down to the sidewalk without looking back into the car. "...Shit." Yamashiro couldn't help but curse as he stopped the engine.
It was a publicly-known matter among the Mystical Investigators that Kogure and Ohtomo had been colleagues. Allegedly, they had been extremely close in private as well. That was why he seemed to hold complex emotions about Ohtomo who had become wanted by the Onmyou Agency. He didn't exactly feel that Ohtomo would accommodate the enemy, but he had to stay on his guard.
He opened the car door and chased after Kogure, leaping to the road from the driver's seat. As he closed the door behind him with a slam, a panicked Miyoshi rolled down the van window and stuck his head out.
"Wait, Yamashiro-shi! If you go too, who's going to protect me?"
"Even the 'Heavenly Sword' will be at a disadvantage against two oni. Leaving him alone is dangerous."
"If leaving someone alone is dangerous, that's the same for me. Or rather, I'm in far more danger."
"Then please wait in the van."
"I can't relax if I'm this close."
"Then come with us."
"Don't be ridiculous."
Miyoshi spoke seriously from start to finish. Though it wasn't the first time being in the same group as him - come to think of it, Miyoshi had been like this from the very start of their trip to Seishuku Temple - but it sapped his motivation. He was already 'on the scene', so he really wished things didn't have to be like this.
But just like Miyoshi worried about, the former Special Senser with his extraordinary spirit-seeing ability was completely useless in a battle. More importantly, it was a battle against true oni, so it was very possible that he would be dragged in and lose his life if he was nearby.
"Then go take shelter in a place that looks safe. If support arrives, please contact them!"
Yamashiro announced this and then circled around the van to run on the sidewalk. Though Miyoshi's whining complaints still came from behind him, he decided not to pay attention.
But immediately after he circled around to the other side of the van, he noticed that Kogure still hadn't entered the building. He stood on the sidewalk in front of the building, looking up at the tall building with a keen expression.
Yamashiro ran up to Kogure's side and said:
"Are we waiting for support as expected?"
"The opponents will retreat immediately once they catch Kengyou. We have to hold them here until support arrives."
"But there's a big gap in fighting power. Other than the two oni, there might be a former Divine General - also, it's quite possible that even an ara-mitama will come out. When a National First-Class Onmyouji is complemented by three other high-level Phase Three, there's a limit to how long we can hold them here.
After he said those words again, he felt how reckless the contents were. After all, even in the 'Hinamatsuri Repurification' that had been a step away from developing into a state of emergency declaration, there had been spiritual disaster purification teams deployed outside the Meiji Outer Garden and they had only been targeting two Phase Three 'Type-Chimera' for purification. Even so, the Exorcist Bureau at the time had faced the situation with full power. Of course, the danger of ancient oni that were already spiritually stable had to be considered differently from Nue who expended not long after they were formed, but they were no less of a threat as 'battle opponents'. No, rather, they were far more dangerous.
Moreover, the Phase Threes that they were going to fight were 'Shadow's shikigami. The difficulty of dealing with spiritual entities being used by an excellent practitioner couldn't be compared to that of simple spiritual disasters.
But.
"I understand. First, I'll get rid of one."
Kogure looked up at the building, readying his blade with an unchanging gaze.
He put his left hand on the still-sheathed sword hung at his waist and leaned forward slightly, reaching his right hand to the hilt. "Hah?" The moment Yamashiro let out a slightly silly sound--
Kogure's aura vanished. No, he had suppressed his aura to keep from being spotted beforehand, condensing it even more tightly.
Then it exploded.
At the same time as the blade was drawn, Kogure's right hand rapidly slashed out, and the blade - the divine blade 'Second Norimune' - flashed.
In an instant, the huge refined magical energy rose into the horizon along with a silver light. The blade depicted a beautiful arc and the magical energy unleashed along the trail burst out with an appalling might.
A spectacular strike as if to rend the world itself. He even had the illusion that the building in front of him was split in two. Yamashiro staggered back a step behind him because of the shockwave and the push of the spiritual pressure. Boom. The building let off a giant crunching sound and a straight crack appeared on the outer wall.
Yamashiro was speechless from shock.
In contrast, Kogure clicked his tongue quietly.
"In other words, Priest. You left a few days before Tsuchimikado Harutora attacked, and hence you weren't at the monastery the day of the attack?"
"......Right. In the first place, I was usually outside more than I was in...... the monastery......"
The emptied bar.
Kengyou, who sat right on the ground with his back against the bar, replied to Ohtomo's question with an unfocused, empty look. Ohtomo crouched on the floor next to Kengyou, continuing the mutter into his ear with a voice containing magical energy.
"There wasn't any unusual situation the days before you left either?"
"......I'm not sure...... At the time, there was just a newcomer to a mountain...... Afterwards, I immediately returned to town......"
"That's the girl called 'Hokuto' that you mentioned before?"
"......Right......"
After Ohtomo sighed, he stood up with an effort, supported by his cane.
He scratched his head with a displeased face, saying:
"I guess it ended up in failure, though I didn't expect much. No wonder the Mystical Investigators left him alone without caring."
Even as Ohtomo spoke to himself, Kengyou who sat on the ground still didn't move, looking absentminded. He had repeatedly used Unmoving Golden Chains, first-class spirit language, and illusion magic, making every effort to extract information. He had originally planned on using gentler means, but unfortunately he didn't have that kind of time.
"It looks like the Mystical Investigators got me this time."
No, more accurately, it was 'Kogure' and not the Mystical Investigators. Ohtomo harrumphed and smiled, then jabbed the ground with his cane. Then, as if a line had been cut, Kengyou lost consciousness and fell to the floor.
However, it hadn't been completely fruitless.
The 'Hokuto' girl that Kengyou had brought up was probably Natsume. There had been a 'dragon-possessed girl' present when Harutora had attacked Seishuku Temple. Ohtomo had received that report from his shikigami. The dragon Hokuto was the Tsuchimikado family guardian beast, along with the servant shikigami that Natsume used. Since true dragons couldn't be everywhere, it was reasonable to think that Hokuto was currently possessing Natsume.
Also, Natsume hadn't come to Seishuku Temple chasing after Harutora, she had arrived the day before. In other words, she had known beforehand that Harutora would appear at Seishuku Temple and had waited. But Harutora acted while completely erasing his traces. Actually, even if Ohtomo used all his means, he couldn't sniff out any information. But then, how had Natsume learned beforehand that Harutora would come to Seishuku Temple?
The biggest possibility was divination. And Kurahashi Miyo and Kyouko were currently placed under Kurahashi Genji's strict surveillance. It was impossible for Natsume to go contact them. With that, he only knew of one remaining 'diviner'. Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi, the head of the Tsuchimikado family.
Natsume's whereabouts had become unclear in addition to Harutora's since the incident last summer. At the start, he had believed she was moving together with Harutora, but after realizing that he had been wrong, he had continued chasing after her whereabouts at the same time as well. Right now it was clear. Though he had anticipated this, he had gained certainty.
Natsume was currently moving together with Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi. Perhaps she was together also with the Tsuchimikado branch family, Tsuchimikado Takahiro and Chizuru.
"......That's good news."
Natsume wasn't Yasuzumi's direct descendant, but it seemed that she hadn't simply been abandoned to become 'Harutora's substitute'. Ohtomo could rest a little easier knowing that the Tsuchimikado clan was next to Natsume.
But on the other hand, that deepened the mysteries regarding Harutora. Natsume had been resurrected. But why was Natsume moving together with Yasuzumi and the others and not with Harutora?
But right now--
"Time's up."
Crash. The floor shook and the building made an inauspicious crunching sound.
The intense impact that came from a floor below approached in the blink of an eye. There was also the demonic aura that Mezu released, along with Kogure's aura. Kogure would arrive here very soon.
His goal tonight had just been Kengyou's information. He had no plans to fight Kogure - or the Mystical Investigators. Thunk. Ohtomo started walking to the shortcut, his fake leg making noise.
But.
"...Oh."
Ohtomo's eyes held an ice-cold light. Immediately afterwards, behind him - the area in Kogure's direction - exploded with a powerful magical energy.
He immediately put up a firm barrier, dropping to the ground with a flip of his coat. Kogure's slash - the blade of magical energy - slashed by as if to brush the top of Ohtomo's head.
The first sneak attack he had used had an upwards trajectory and its power had been suppressed in order to only impact this floor. But this time it was a trajectory that came from the side and below. A slash with full power from start to finish. The sharp magical energy instantly cut through the shop interior like a guillotine. The automatic doors at the entrance were crushed into fragments, and straight cracks extended through the walls at either side. The impact raged above the head of Ohtomo as he lay on the ground.
"......That idiot, he's planning on cutting the whole building into pieces."
He had probably reached an angle where he could cut this floor because he had gone up the stairs. Then, he had slashed without hesitation. What 'fighting spirit'. Then, it would be hard to completely avoid that wide of an attack if he relying on stealth. Ohtomo quickly rose, his fake leg and cane loudly thumping on the floor.
"...Om marici sowaka."
Kogure's second slash flew over as he chanted Marici's mantra and finished putting up a different type of barriers. Then there was a third. An incomparably powerful slash that didn't even care about ordinary magic walls. But as the interior of the shop was destroyed again, Ohtomo 'deflected' the slashes instead of 'defending' against them. It was the barrier he had used once before against Kagami Reiji. Ohtomo's fake leg thumped in the midst of the fiercely-whipping storm of magical energy and he headed to the shortcut again.
The door of the shortcut was in the deepest area of the shop, so it was barely out of the range of destruction. Ohtomo grasped the doorknob. At the same time, he saw Kogure's aura arrive completely at the floor.
Ohtomo turned the doorknob. Kogure ran to the corridor. Ohtomo opened the door. Kogure arrived in front of the shop.
"Ohtomo!"
Kogure broke into the shop, through the destroyed automatic door.
Ohtomo didn't turn around.
He exited to the emergency staircase, closing the door. In that moment, the magical trap prepared in the bar activated. The magic covered the shop interior and obscured Kogure's aura.
A hidden eight-point barrier. Though it was something that had been prepared 'on the spot', it couldn't be broken out of by strength alone. It would buy him time as he withdrew. Ohtomo stealthed again, taking the opportunity to walk down the emergency staircase.
But when he reached the landing.
Thunk--
His fake leg rang out.
Because a suit-wearing young man had run up to the next landing. After he noticed him, he stopped in shock. "Oh my." Ohtomo murmured bitterly. Though they were both using stealth, it was truly a failure for Mystical Investigators to not have noticed they were nearby until they ran into each other.
"So you got past Gozu. The newcomer's quite excellent this time."
"'Shadow'!?"
In the next moment, a magic flew at him in a flash without an incantation or a hand seal. Unmoving Golden Chains. Though it was just something like a jab, he wasn't a bad choice since they were this close and had just run into each other. Actually, the young man immediately formed a hand seal after he threw out Unmoving Golden Chains. He was preparing for the next magic. He would take the initiative and move on to his true combat magic when he was shaken.
However, unfortunately, Ohtomo was still encircled by Marici's barrier. The young man's eyes widened when he saw Ohtomo deflect the magic. This time, Ohtomo released Unmoving Golden Chains without holding back as if to return the favor. The young man saw that he couldn't completely avoid it and immediately reached out his left hand.
"...Ugh!?"
He exposed his left hand to the magic and used a single hand to weaken its effects. After determining that Ohtomo's Unmoving Golden Chains was the same type as his own, he shielded against it to more or less keep the damage to a minimum. In that time, his right hand swiftly reached into his suit. He was trying to attack. Though that courage wasn't bad, it looked like he was unable to determine the reason his magic attacks were being rendered ineffective. Even if he changed Unmoving Golden Chains to charm magic, Ohtomo's barrier wouldn't break.
But Ohtomo's eyes slightly widened. What the young man pulled out wasn't a charm, it was a pistol.
Also, he fired.
The bullet hit right next to Ohtomo, on the outer wall of the building. "Don't move!" The young man shouted.
"The next one will hit. I'll shoot to kill depending on the situation."
Ohtomo felt great praise for him. This was truly an excellent 'Mystical Investigator'. Objectively grasping the situation, understanding the basis of his duty, and moving accurately.
The more practitioners were caught up with their own power, the more they stuck to using magic and used it as a means to resolve their problems. An ara-mitama that stuck to competitions of magic rather than negotiating and exchanging could probably be listed as a representative example.
But the duty of a Mystical Investigator was to 'resolve' magical problems. Magic was certainly an effective means, but in the end it was just a means - one option. It was more important to have the ability to flexibly respond. In some sense, a bullet could count as 'magic' if the practitioner used it for his goal.
"......You're quite competent."
Ohtomo praised him straightforwardly.
Of course, he knew this young man. Though it was his first time meeting, he had heard rumors of him through his connections. The new National First-Class Onmyouji who had obtained 'First-Class Onmyou' qualifications last year. His name was Yamashiro, as he remembered.
"Don't talk. Listen. I don't plan on being merciful with a former Divine General as my opponent. I'll shoot immediately if you take the slightest action of resistance. First, release that barrier. Then, dematerialize the two shikigami."
"Oh my, I'm sorry--"
Yamashiro fired.
"Don't talk."
"............"
Yamashiro 'watched' Ohtomo without letting up. But even if he 'watched', he didn't meet his eyes, in order to keep from focusing on Ohtomo's aura. He was on guard against illusions mediated by sight or aura. Though he was still young, he had a grasp of the basics.
Ohtomo shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands, releasing the barrier. Yamashiro immediately used his left hand - though his movements weren't fluid - to take out a charm.
"Confuse, seal, close! ? ??? ? ??! Order!"
"...!?"
The charm Yamashiro threw out stuck to Ohtomo's chest. Magic immediately bound Ohtomo and the cane dropped from his hands.
"......This is... a defensive method......"
"Hmph. You can still talk. Pretty good."
Yamashiro smiled coldly.
The charm binding Ohtomo seemed to be Yamashiro's own creation. It was formed from two spells, one of which was a spell that spiritually restrained Ohtomo. But on the 'outside', it was combined with a barrier protection method that belonged to Acala just like Unmoving Golden Chains. It was originally a spell that a practitioner used on himself, a magic that completely blocked off magical effects. In other words, Yamashiro had added a barrier to close Ohtomo inside after binding him with magic.
In that case......
"In other words, I can't communicate with the shikigami. How unfortunate."
Though he had ordered Ohtomo to dematerialize the shikigami, his true goal seemed to be to cut them off from him. He had deliberately ordered Ohtomo to keep him from taking any other means of resistance, making his thoughts move towards the shikigami. He had made Ohtomo think about how to use the shikigami and take that opening to make the first move and seal his spiritual connection with the shikigami. Though it was a trick with words, it seemed that he understood methods on how to dominate the past of a magic battle quite well.
He had good prospects.
But...... Ohtomo smiled wryly at himself who inadvertently thought of mentioning that.
It had already been a year and a half, but he still hadn't gotten rid of his habits from when he had been a teacher. He would try to coach anyone as long as he thought the person was coachable. Even he was very surprised.
But in the end, Kogure was currently very close behind him.
Also, Yamashiro was an 'enemy'.
"......I'm sorry......"
Ohtomo said the words that had been interrupted just now again.
"The thing about dematerializing, is impossible...... Incidentally, there's no meaning in spiritual disruption......"
"Nonsense. There's no need to think about the shikigami once the master's caught."
First catch the practitioner when facing against a powerful shikigami. That was a theory of magic warfare.
But.
"......That's why."
Ohtomo coldly smiled inside his magic bindings.
"Those two oni...... aren't actually my shikigami......"
"What--"
The hell are you talking about - Yamashiro tried to continue that, but he was unable to.
Demonic aura.
It came from inside the building. But it was directed at him. And very close. When he reflexively jumped aside, the suppressed demonic aura exploded and at the same time the wall between Yamashiro and 'Shadow' was blown outwards from inside the building. It was the oni from before. It seemed that he had changed floors and pursued.
Of course, at the same time Yamashiro jumped aside, he pulled the trigger of the gun in his hand. Tragically, the order was wrong. He should have pulled the trigger first and then jumped, but his body reacted faster than his mind.
Sharp gunfire was mixed in with the rumbling sound of the crumbling building.
'Shadow's figure shook, his expression stiff.
It hit. But it was no use. His raised left forearm was hit. Quite far from being deadly.
Since he was still being magically bound, 'Shadow' fell down because of the shock of the gunshot before the second shot. Then, a head of red hair stuck out from the hole opened in the wall.
The oni turned his face in 'Shadow's direction and said:
"......The bullet hit?"
"......It was off-target......"
"Hmph. Well, since you're not dead, you count as safe according to my master's orders."
"......That doesn't matter, could you hurry up and cut this charm off......"
After the oni shrugged his shoulders, he slipped through the hole he had opened with his body and came to the emergency staircase, annoyedly approaching 'Shadow' and peeling off Yamashiro's charm. Yamashiro gritted his teeth with an "Urgh".
A shikigami absolutely had a master. It could essentially do nothing if the master was taken hostage. But if it didn't have a spiritual link with its master, they wouldn't be able to communicate no matter what - he had perfected his strategy anticipating that. But he hadn't expected that the oni would forcefully attack without concern for the danger it posed to its 'master'. What was up with 'Shadow' saying it wasn't his shikigami? Anyway, it was certain that Yamashiro's strategy had been flipped bottom-up.
'Shadow' who was released from the magic binding used a healing charm to stop his bleeding. He borrowed the oni's shoulder, managing to stand up. In that period of time, Yamashiro changed from his pistol to charms. The pistol was meaningless because the oni was his opponent. But it was debatable whether even changing to charms would have 'meaning'. Thinking calmly, Yamashiro's chance of victory had completely vanished.
"So what about that guy?"
"Our business is over. Let's withdraw."
'Shadow' replied coldly to the oni's confirmation.
Right afterwards.
"We're not going to kill him?"
The oni looked over his shoulder to glance at Yamashiro as he spoke. A frivolous attitude as if he were asking about lunch. Tension shot through Yamashiro's entire body.
But 'Shadow' spoke coldly again:
"It's alright."
"He's an enemy, you know? You might regret this."
"It's alright. For now, it's not a situation where we have to kill him."
A calm and composed tone that made it hard to believe he had been shot. But the eyes behind his glasses looked cold yet steely.
Right now wasn't a situation where they had to kill him, so they didn't. His words didn't hint at any anger or resentment at the one who had just shot him. On the other hand, he naturally mentioned that he wouldn't kill if there was no need. A calm, Mystical Investigator judgment just like Yamashiro's pulling out his pistol.
But - Yamashiro thought.
Supposing that he was in a situation where he had to kill, he feared that 'Shadow' would have issued the order with the same 'calm and composed tone' as he had now. In contrast, even if Yamashiro's bullets had critically wounded him, 'Shadow' would have undoubtedly ordered a retreat in a 'calm and composed tone'. He didn't show any wavering emotions.
His hair stood on end. That was 'Shadow'. The Onmyouji who had held the identity of the 'Mystical Investigators' Shadow' in the past, whose name was spoken with fear on the inside of the magic community. He had not yet arrived that territory. Yamashiro had to admit that.
"Also--"
'Shadow' borrowed the oni's shoulder, his gaze falling on the cane at his feet. After he stamped on the end of the cane with his foot, the cane jumped up and came back to 'Shadow's right hand.
"We don't have any free time to deal with this kid anymore. That guy's power has increased when we weren't looking.
A dull thud sounded above the heads of Yamashiro and the others as if that were a signal.
The heavy destructive sound of a block of metal being hacked open. Yamashiro immediately looked up in the direction the sound came from. It was right above. Though Yamashiro couldn't see it from his position, he could see aura.
Kogure.
"Haah!"
Kogure, who split open the bar door and jumped onto the emergency staircase, unleashed a slash. Immediately before it hit, the oni carried 'Shadow' and leaped into midair from the emergency staircase.
The landing that 'Shadow' and the others had been was easily fragmented by Kogure's slash. "Yamashiro!" After Kogure descended to the stairs in a flash, he shouted and leaped over the portion he had destroyed. He landed onto a landing below and continued rushing down the stairs towards the ground. Yamashiro, woken up by Kogure's voice, hastily chased after him.
On the other hand, the oni who had leaped into midair descended while carrying 'Shadow'.
"...Hmph."
He twisted his body in midair and kicked the railing of the emergency staircase. He offset the momentum of his fall while changing his trajectory, heading towards the back alley that faced the emergency staircase.
"Haah!"
Kogure swung his sword with one hand as he rushed down the staircase. A blade of magical energy attacked the oni who couldn't dodge in midair. But this time 'Shadow' defended against it with a protective charm. The oni, who was knocked back even more by the force of the slash, landed in the center of the back alley with 'Shadow'.
Kogure, confirming the position of oni and Ohtomo, shouted loudly.
"Now! Deploy!"
A caw from the distant night sky responded to him.
Kogure's crow tengu shikigami. The four crow tengu, who had been waiting for their master's signal, glided over from above to seal off the back alley.
Magical-energy-filled caws resounded back and forth in the back alley. "Ugh!?" Yamashiro's face inadvertently twisted. It wasn't just ear-piercing. The raucous waves of magical energy disrupted other spells, upset the flow of magical energy, and severely lowered the accuracy of magic. In other words, it was magical energy disturbance.
The oni placed 'Shadow' on the road and inhaled loudly. His demonic aura instantly swelled and the surrounding spiritual pressure suddenly surged up.
"YAAAHHH--!"
He roared.
The outer wall of the building cracked as it shook. An oni's bellow, the sound containing magical energy. In terms of might, it seemed comparable to Kogure's slash.
But even so, the crow tengus' surround didn't break.
The shikigami seemed to have gotten quite some spiritual power from their master Kogure beforehand. Their outputs were uncharacteristically high. Also, the crow tengu fought according to their master Kogure's orders, and in comparison, the oni wasn't 'Shadow's shikigami. He was unable to reach his complete potential. Upon observation, one would notice that slight lag had started flashing over the oni's body. The oni itself was also a spiritual entity. The effect of the interference was showing itself.
The crow tengus' interference wasn't a magic that would defeat 'Shadow' and the oni and instantly achieve victory. But just like he had announced at the start, it was extremely effective if used to hold them back until support arrived. Also, this kind of powerful interference was useful against 'Shadow's powerful yet very complex magic spells, while in contrast, it almost didn't affect the magical-energy-filled slashes of Kogure's divine swords. It was a reasonable strategy against an opponent who used precise techniques.
Kogure leaped over several steps, charging down the stairs with all his might. Yamashiro endured the interference while desperately chasing behind Kogure.
Would this work? Just as Yamashiro found hope--
"Arrgh! What is this, it's so noisy!"
A familiar voice came from a floor above. In some sense, it was an even more painful voice than the caws of the crow tengu. It was probably the pony-tailed female oni who had been chasing Kogure. It seemed that she had appeared.
"Mezu! Destroy this thing from the outside!"
The red-haired oni looked upwards and shouted loudly. "Ohh, a chance to show off!" The ponytailed oni replied loudly. Then, demonic aura swelled above their heads this time.
After the ponytailed oni took a bit of a running start, she leaped into the air. "Yah!"
Then, she let out an unbelievable scream that the red-haired oni's bellow couldn't match up to.
Yamashiro couldn't help but stop and cover his ears at this bloodcurdling scream. "Ugh!?" Even the advancing Kogure's pace was thrown off. Of course, that scream also contained powerful magical energy. It was like a curse bomb.
The ponytailed oni descended into the back alley before her after screaming. The interference of the crow tengu was broken, as if overwhelmed by her pressure.
Smash. The ponytailed oni split open the asphalt road. The waiting red-haired oni looked back at 'Shadow' with a "hey".
'Shadow' pressed on his left forearm with the right hand that held his cane. After receiving the red-haired oni's signal, he stepped in a strange pattern that seemed as if he were slowly dancing while keeping that posture. Yamashiro came to his senses and stared in shock.
"Far Step!?"
A high-level magic of 'Imperial Onmyoudou'. He planned on slipping into the spirit flow and escaping from this place. Even so, he couldn't believe that he could perform Far Step wounded and with a fake leg.
"Shit......!"
As Yamashiro gritted his teeth.
"? ??? ??? ???!"
Kogure clearly chanted Bishamonten's mantra. After changing the way he gripped his trusted blade, he threw it down as if to stab the ground beneath his eyes.
The divine blade infused with all his magical energy turned into an arrow from the heavens that pierced into the asphalt road. A large portion of the asphalt road caved in and cracked radially.
Also, the magical energy carried by the blade continued slipping underground, exploding from the earth. The surrounding asphalt road split open, heaving up like an earthquake. 'Shadow' lost his balance as he performed Far Step and the ponytailed oni fell on her butt. Yamashiro also almost fell off the stairs because of the shaking that assaulted the building.
"......Directly to the spirit flow!?"
Far Step was a long-distance instant movement technique that used the spirit flow. Kogure had suddenly thrown the spirit flow into chaos, impeding the usage of Far Step.
But it was quite a crude action.
"Regroup formation!"
Kogure issued an order to his shikigami while charging down the stairs again. Then, the ordered crow tengu started their interference again. Kogure was going to hold them back no matter what. Yamashiro inadvertently went breathless out of surprise at that resolute will and emotions.
Then, when he reached the second floor of the building, Kogure jumped over the rail and landed directly on the road.
He drew out the sword he had thrown and pointed the blade straight at 'Shadow'.
"...Surrender!"
He declared.
Even though he had continued running with all his might and used several big moves, he still seemed composed.
"............"
'Shadow' didn't respond. He still held his forearm, silently confronting Kogure with an expressionless face. "That guy's so annoying." The ponytailed oni who had fallen on her butt stood up, and the red-haired oni also stepped forward in annoyance as if to protect 'Shadow'. However, Kogure's blade didn't shake an inch before these two true oni.
Yamashiro stopped, preparing charms from across the railing of the second-floor portion of the emergency staircase. He might obstruct Kogure in a close-quarters fight. He judged that he could only support from behind.
Though 'Shadow' was wounded, the opponents ought to have the upper hand in overall fighting power. But if they were just trying to hold them back......
'Shadow's expression changed.
"Sorry, Zenjirou. Though I really think this is a bit crafty, we're serious too."
What was he talking about? As Yamashiro thought this:
"Hoh. Are you talking about this old man, my lord?"
A child's voice rang out.
The crows' caws echoed raucously in the nighttime back alley. That voice was calm and composed in the midst of the churning aura and magical energy. That alone was hair-raising.
The voice that rang out was from the roof of the building across from them. Yamashiro looked up, his entire body going stiff. A small figure was gazing over from there. He couldn't see very clearly because of the darkness and the distance, it was a boy who was at most an elementary-schooler. He wore suit-like clothing. Also, he wore blood-red sunglasses even in the dark night.
Though it was his first time meeting him, he had naturally heard information about this external appearance. Even supposing that he hadn't heard, he would have been able to conjecture by seeing that ominous aura.
The practitioner 'D' that the Mystical Investigators continued to pursue.
The ara-mitama that called itself the legendary Onmyouji Ashiya Doman.
"Aah--! Doman-sama~! What a charming entrance~"
The ponytailed oni's face brightened and she cheered and waved her arms at 'D'. Even the red-haired oni shouted "Master!" with happiness in his voice. If one was looking, it could be seen that the strength of the two oni clearly increased the moment they noticed 'D' appear. Those oni were the shikigami of 'D', and not 'Shadow'.
"............"
Kogure looked up at 'D' from the road. But he didn't plan on lowering the blade that still pointed at 'Shadow'. His expression was dangerously taught, and his eyes held an intense light.
"Hoho." 'D' smiled happily at Kogure's attitude.
"That's quite something. You, Onmyouji Kogure Zenjirou. It looks like I came at quite a good time. My lord. We're going to 'play' here, of course?"
"...Priest. The spirit flow is disrupted. Please lend me your power. We're going to 'pass through' a bit forcefully."
"What? I just arrived, and you're planning on retreating?"
"Right. ......For now, it's not a situation where we have to fight."
'Shadow' stared at Kogure while speaking calmly.
Those were the words Yamashiro had just heard.
"Hold on, Boss." "You dare to oppose Master?" The two oni both approached 'Shadow' threateningly. But 'Shadow' completely ignored the oni, staring intently at Kogure alone. Kogure also accepted 'Shadow's gaze head-on, not moving his own gaze.
Then, towards 'Shadow's and Kogure's demeanors.
"......Hmph."
'D' said quietly.
"......Fine. I'll have my fun later. Ah. Then at least we should make a magnificent exit, right?"
'D' started slowly chanting an incantation as he announced this. Alongside that, an inky black wind with a viscous feeling of weight started churning around 'D'.
The black wind spread through the dark night, picking up its power in the blink of an eye. Intensely. Intensely. The wind spun into a powerful gust. Then in moments, it turned into a giant tornado. The back alley shuddered because of the out-of-season storm, signs and other things dancing through the air like paper. The Tengu who initially tried their hardest to resist ended up being blown away wailing by the wind.
"Ugh!"
Yamashiro's body also almost floated up, and he gripped the staircase railing tightly. Even Kogure seemed to have become unable to stand. He was down on one knee, sticking his sword into the ground by his feet for support.
In contrast, the two oni readily exposed their bodies to the powerful wind, letting their ponytail and red hair fly about as they cheered fiercely. 'Shadow' was also unaffected by the wind and he started to slowly dance the pattern that had been interrupted before.
The black tornado filled the surroundings with darkness. Brief snippets of the dancing 'Shadow' could be seen through the gaps of the violently-gusting wind.
"Jin!"
Kogure shouted agitatedly. But 'Shadow's steps showed no traces of disarray.
Then--
Suddenly, everything was sucked into the ground.
The wind stopped and the scenery brightened. The great magical energy filling the space dissipated.
Yamashiro surveyed the back alley. Then, he looked across at the roof of the building. He couldn't see 'Shadow', 'D', or the two oni there. They had withdrawn after obtaining their information, just like they had planned from the start.
Kogure stood up, pulling out the sword stuck in the ground.
Kogure silently stared near where 'Shadow' had vanished for just several brief seconds.
Then, he turned and ordered Yamashiro:
"Yamashiro. Let's go get Miyoshi-san and return to the Agency."
His voice and his expression were indistinguishable from when he had been on standby in the van. Yamashiro was stunned for a moment.
Suddenly, he cheered himself up. Then, he cursed "Damn" to urge himself on, nodding back at Kogure.
Tonight's operation had ended in failure. But their mission still continued.
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