Tokyo Ravens - Volume 6 - Chapter 3.3

Part 3 
An innumerable amount of simple shikigami attacked the Onmyou Agency building. At the same time, they also confirmed several servant shikigami, each one seeming to possess quite a high level of spiritual power. It could be considered as an outstanding fighting force with the Onmyou Agency as its opponent. 
Amami, who was designated the commander, arranged a defensive stronghold with the building's barrier as its center, ordering that they stick to the basics and repel the shikigami. The enemies' numbers were more than planned for, but the personnel deployed beforehand were still enough to cope. The problem was the high-level servant shikigami. Considering how to rationally use their fighting power resources, Amami separated out four Independent Exorcists and subordinate units to go deal with them, becoming servant shikigami strike teams that left the building to attack. 
But, Kagami who received this order began a separate search operation. 
It was just cumbersome to bring subordinates to the battlefield that couldn't act as human shields for himself. Even if they could be useful for dealing with traps, he could use his own shikigami instead when the time came. After all, Kagami had originally taken the subordinates to be the higher-ups' supervisors to watch over him and he felt annoyed just by looking at them. 
"......In the end, the opponent is the old man from back then. I can't bring that group of trash." 
Kagami and Kogure were the same. They had both confirmed 'D's existence first-hand. 
They definitely couldn't forget that world. After the Onmyou Academy students had defeated the Nue, turning a certain crossroads into a battlefield, a magic that Kagami had never seen nor heard of before formed a barrier that fully encircled the entire area. Even with his, Kogure's, and Ohtomo's efforts, they had only been able to break the barrier at the very end. Three National First-Class Onmyouji. 
Also, the aura he had exposed before leaving had been quite unusual. Whether he was the original Ashiya Doman or not, 'D' undoubtedly possessed a strong power, enough to match an Independent Exorcist like Kagami. What's more, it had already been very long - actually, extremely long - since he had an intense magical battle. 
But 'D's location still hadn't been confirmed. He had just sent a large number of shikigami. Judging from this, he himself seemed to be focusing on controlling the shikigami, so he wouldn't come to the frontlines. If his attack ended in defeat, he could also escape without exposing himself. "I won't let him get what he wants." Kagami's eyes flashed strangely. 
First were the servant shikigami. Putting aside the simple shikigami for now, the aura connection between servant shikigami and their master couldn't be hidden easily. If he could suppress the servant shikigami, he could probably fiddle with it and find the location of the master. 
According to the reports, the enemy's servant shikigami hadn't yet been analyzed, but it seemed that several had been confirmed that were similar to Type-Ogres - in other words, oni. Actually, Kagami had vaguely noticed the enemy letting off a weak demonic aura before. He originally hadn't planned on being choosy, but if the enemy - if 'D' was using oni, his nickname of 'Ogre Eater' was already crying out in excitement. 
"Heh, heh, heh......" 
As he ran on the moonlight road, Kagami's mouth showed a violent smile. 
Then, the sword bag in his hands constantly shook as if it were possessed. 
There was a katana placed in the sword bag, the famous sword Onikiri that had cut off the arm of a certain oni in ancient times. At the same time, it was the vessel of Shaver, the shikigami Kagami used. 
Sincerely speaking, Kagami hoped 'D' could be a bit honest. Though Shaver was Kagami's shikigami, he had been taken away from his master because it wasn't necessary for him to take the stage in normal work. Now, Kagami had only received permission to use him to deal with 'D', and he had been returned to Kagami's hands. 
If they dealt with 'D' in this operation, the Onmyou Agency would definitely take Shaver back again. The current Kagami didn't have the permissions or rights to stop them either. Since he didn't have the power, he could only obey. 
Though Kagami was a stereotypical faithless bastard, he would inadvertently feel some sort of respect for someone whose strength overpowered his own, whether it was in magical energy, intellectuality, or even authority. For example, regarding his boss Miyachi, his senpai Kogure, or the Onmyou Agency organization, Kagami held pure admiration for their 'strength' completely unrelated with their personalities or ways of organization. That was undoubtedly the only reason he officially belonged to the Onmyou Agency. 
In any case, if the battle ended here, the possibility that Shaver would be stolen away again was extremely high. In that case, he needed to use this 'strength' as much as possible and savor some refreshment. It was a waste of energy no matter how many simple shikigami he smashed, but as for the ancient, strong servant shikigami...... Or even the mystery-filled 'D' himself...... There was only a meaning in wielding strength if he faced strong opponents. 
Then, after this kind of battle, his strength would also increase. Familiarity with techniques, and study of battle would become his own flesh and blood. 
He would consume his enemy - the oni. 
"......I won't let you run away......" 
Kagami himself probably hadn't noticed, but he was extremely 'ambitious' in a sense - even greedy to an abnormal degree. Moreover, it was this greed that sustained Kagami's strength. 
Kagami's hunt still continued. Putting the Onmyou Agency work to the side, he single-mindedly headed towards the servant shikigami - pursuing in the direction from which he felt a weak demonic aura. 
But the battle-hardened Kagami immediately noticed something strange. 
"......It's a bit strange." 
The enemy - the reactions of the hunted servant shikigami were slow. They didn't seem to be escaping, nor did they have any intention of fighting. Under normal circumstances, Kagami wouldn't feel doubt about such a reaction from an enemy, but this time was different. The current enemy was attacking the Onmyou Agency to steal the 'Raven's Wing'. Hence, why didn't they seem to want to attack? 
Kagami stopped moving. Then, the demonic aura he had been chasing just now also stopped moving. 
...Could it be that the enemy's goal was to lure me far away from the Onmyou Agency building? 
Luring away an Independent Exorcist that was an important fighting force of the Onmyou Agency, hence weakening the defensive power of the headquarters. So that's what was going on, 'D' was using a common, effective strategy. 

But even so, he was still a bit concerned about some things. If 'D' truly wanted to destroy the Onmyou Agency building's barrier, gathering hundreds of simple shikigami had no meaning at all. The Onmyou Agency building's barrier was undoubtedly the best such building-size magic in the nation. Letting a small number of strong shikigami gather somewhere and attack a single point might have hope. 
Or did 'D' have the means to destroy the barrier alone? Supposing so, it would be more effective for him to destroy the barrier as soon as possible and let the shikigami rush inside to create havoc. Never mind Kagami for now, the other of the Twelve Divine Generals would have trouble using strong magic out of concern for surrounding damage if they were mixed in with normal exorcists and workers. Even if Amami was using the barrier as a stronghold, strong magic could only be used 'outdoors'. 
"......What is his goal, exactly." 
Not moving, Kagami furrowed his brows and muttered quietly. The sword bag in his hands shook urgently, but Kagami didn't care. 
Just then, Kagami's phone received a call from Miyachi. He immediately picked up the phone. 
"Kagami. Let me ask, are you moving with Kogure right now?" 
An unexpected question stunned Kagami. 
"Hah? I'm alone. Did Kogure die?" 
"No, how's that possible. I was just asking." 
Miyachi laughed, speaking vaguely. Kagami clicked his tongue anxiously. That serious Kogure annoyed him, and this foxy boss - his 'strength' was another matter - also really pissed him off. 
But, Kagami's anxiety immediately turned to a different direction. 
"Well, it's nothing. Come back to the building. The shikigami you're chasing probably won't stop you." 
After hearing Miyachi's instructions, Kagami couldn't help but doubt his own ears. Not comprehending, he wanted to roar back angrily-- 
"Actually, the Onmyou Academy in Shibuya is being attacked right now too. Moreover, an Onmyouji whose appearance is similar to 'D' has been confirmed. Chief Amami judged that the attack against the Agency is a decoy, and redid the deployment." 
After hearing Miyachi's words, Kagami stood still, speechless. 
...The Onmyou Academy? 
Moreover, they had confirmed 'D' was there. 
He couldn't understand why 'D' would attack the Onmyou Academy. But the reason didn't matter at all. What was important was the fact itself that 'D' had attacked the Onmyou Academy. 
The 'D' that had made him caper not long ago wasn't at the Onmyou Agency, but had appeared in the Onmyou Academy instead. More importantly, Ohtomo was also at the Onmyou Academy. 'D' and Ohtomo, two prey that Kagami wanted to capture himself - 'demons' with powerful abilities. It was because he wanted to meet those two that he had been baited by the servant shikigami acting as a trap. 
"Come back immediately." 
After saying this, Miyachi hung up the phone. 
Kagami's body trembled for a moment. 
"...Bastard!" 
He hurled the phone onto the ground. 
...Could he catch up if he used Far Step [9] ? 
Far step was a high-level magic of Imperial Onmyoudou. One could enter the aura flow and perform long-distance movement. But his current location was too far from Shibuya. Such a large-scale decoy had been used to make the Onmyou Agency focus its fighting power on the headquarters. The enemy had definitely fully considered countermeasures to magic that could render the decoy useless - magic like Far Step. 
The most convenient method would be to set a trap in the aura flow. Confirming whether there was a trap would waste valuable time. 
"Bastard! Bastard!" 
Kagami tore off his sunglasses, staring at the distant Shibuya. 
"......Ohtomo. If you die, I'll never forgive you......" 
He ground his teeth and spat those words. Even as a joke, this was the first time Kagami prayed for the safety of his former colleague.