Tokyo Ravens - Volume 6 - Chapter 4.3

Part 3 
...That man! 
Harutora stared at the black-clothed old man from inside the altar's barrier. 
This Onmyouji, Ashiya Doman, was rumored to have competed with the Tsuchimikado family ancestor Abe no Seimei. 
This was already the second time they met, but during the first time, Doman hadn't come out of the backseat of his sedan. Even if he hadn't walked out, it had still been enough to sense that he gave off an unusual presence. 
And then now. Once they confronted each other, the peculiar and abnormal feel that he sensed at the time became even deeper. 
The most surprising thing was his small body. The small old man looked even more like a child between two oni, who were close to three meters tall. The two fearsome oni quietly stayed next to the old man, like dogs obediently waiting for their master's orders. 
The aura the old man possessed was very 'strange'. 
As for what was strange about it, Harutora couldn't explain very clearly, but there was a mysterious feeling of transgression. Harutora had confronted people with strong auras, like Kogure and Suzuka of the Twelve Divine Generals, and even that 'monster' called Kagami Reiji. But the 'type' of Doman's aura was different from theirs. 
"......There are differences in the spiritual type......?" 
Suzuka muttered quietly. "What's that?", Harutora looked back and asked. Suzuka stared daggers at Doman, her face tense. 
On the other hand, Doman leisurely looked at the altar. 
"......Hmm. The Tsuchimikado altar? Even this old man doesn't understand it well." 
He spoke while stroking his chin. 
"Never mind the lions at the entrance, it's a surprise that the 'predecessor' is out here. I see. I haven't considered everything...... The Onmyou Academy, hm......" 
Strong winds whipped through the roof, and hence Doman's muttering was choppy and unclear. They could only faintly feel that even if Harutora and Doman were looking at the same scene, there was a huge difference in what they could see. 
The altar for Tsuchimikado family rite, the Taizan Fukun Ritual, hidden on the roof of the Onmyou Academy building. What kind of scene did this altar map out in Doman's eyes? 
Just then, 
"......How is it?" 
The principal spoke to Doman. Harutora and the others all looked at the principal. 
"Did you find what you wanted, Priest?" 
"No, unfortunately not." 
"You won't find it, no matter how you look. I already said before, but that thing is not here right now." 
"Then where is it?" 
"I do not know." 
"Ho, ho. Well, wouldn't it be fine if you said the Onmyou Agency?" 
Doman wasn't mad, nor was he fretful. He replied gracefully. 
Then, 
"Honestly, my duty is already essentially complete. Before this, I already gave my investigation work to my shikigami. But I came to visit because waiting is too boring." 
"......Fujiwara-sensei...... Were those teachers you crossed hands with on the first-floor not enough to appease your boredom?" 
"Hmm? Oh, those people. Well, yes. Bluntly put, I'm already tired of seeing small fry like that, and it's very boring to cross hands with them. Though the komainu were fair." 
"......" 
"Hoho. Don't show that kind of expression. Don't worry, I won't kill, I'll just make everyone unable to move. ...Ah, though there's no longer a need to repair the vessels of those two komainu anymore." 
Harutora couldn't help but moan after hearing Doman's casual reply. 
...Fujiwara-sensei was--! Moreover, 'the komainu' meant Alpha and Omega? 
Just yesterday, their group had received Fujiwara-sensei's special teaching. Harutora felt incredulous at the fact that he had been labeled 'boring' by Doman. 
But thinking carefully, that was natural. Though Fujiwara had once been an exorcist, Doman - 'D' - was a honed practitioner who had led the Mystical Investigators in circles for many years. During the Nue incident before, he had even gotten the first move against Kogure and Kagami. Moreover, today he had attacked the Onmyou Academy alone. 
If he was the 'true' Ashiya Doman, his power was outstanding throughout history. He could be side to side with Tsuchimikado Yakou or even above him. 
The legendary Onmyouji, Ashiya Doman. 
After being hounded by countless shikigami and after escaping into barriers became their only method of confrontation, Harutora finally felt first-hand what kind of person this old man before him was. No, he had just come in contact with a small portion of his gigantic existence. 
"Well then." 
Doman joyfully proclaimed. 
"There's still time. What should we play?" 
"......Bastard......!' 
Harutora quickly took a stance, but actually, the current him was thinking of slipping away and fleeing. The many shikigami still left behind were strong enemies, and if he fought with the two oni and Doman himself, the outcome would be unimaginable. In any case, they could only abandon all direct assaults unless a miracle happened. "......We can only rely on God's blessing now......" Touji said to himself. Actually, there was no longer any need to formulate strategy in the current situation. 
But, 
"Natsume-san? Please stop." 
"...No, let me do it!" 
The principal suddenly warned her quietly, and Natsume also replied quietly. The conversation of the two of them extinguished Harutora's thoughts of fighting, but he immediately realized the true meaning of that that dialogue. 
The sound of breaking glass came from below the stairs, extending into a long reverberation. Then, the sound of something rapidly tearing through the air rang out again. The moment Harutora turned to look, a bright ribbon flew up high from the edge of the roof. 
"Hokuto!" 
The shikigami that they had left around the academy stairs, Hokuto. 
The dragon turned its long body as it flew high in the sky, its golden scales radiating with light and dissipating a divine aura to its surroundings, looking like a sun rising into the dark sky. That Doman also raised his head with a sharp gaze. 
"...The Tsuchimikado dragon, huh. I see. Not a bad show." 
Hokuto, who was in the sky, shouldn't have heard his comment, but it stared at Doman, letting out a majestic roar and attacking straight-on. Harutora knew that it was Natsume's shikigami, but the pressure it gave off still made his knees tremble instinctively. 
Doman didn't move a muscle at Hokuto's attack. The keen reactions of the oni waiting next to him definitely didn't lose to the dragon. 
They stomped on the ground and leaped up, attacking the charging dragon. One flew in front of Doman to act as a meat shield, and the other targeted the dragon's long body and struck from the side, its agile movements contrasting sharply with its lumbering outer appearance. 
But Hokuto's movements became even faster against Doman's two oni. 
It didn't pay attention to the oni blocking in front, twisting its body in midair and biting the oni attacking it. The oni flying in midair couldn't dodge, nor could it fight back, and was caught between the dragon's jaws. It either had lightning-fast rapid reactions, or Hokuto had planned on attacking the oni guarding Doman and hadn't targeted him from the beginning. 
Hokuto's giant fangs sank deeply into the oni's shoulder. With a toss of its head, it threw the intensely 'lagging' oni towards the other. 
The two oni were simultaneously knocked flying after crashing into each other. Hokuto clawed with its legs in midair, pursuing the two oni as if it wanted to break through the atmosphere. 
The two onis' bodies were pierced. 
The moment it passed by, Hokuto's claws tore through the face of the standing oni, and the oni's giant body was filled with lag. Hokuto dig its claws into the edge of the roof, instantly readjusting its position and extending its body to attack the oni a third time. These actions were enough to prove that it recognized Doman's oni as strong enemies and wanted to defeat them completely. 
Hokuto bit one of the two oni that were unable to move in their state of 'lag', suddenly raising its sickle-shaped neck and crushing the other into the ground with its claws. Harutora, who watched from the side, could also judge that the outcome had been decided and that it had been an overwhelming victory. 
"......So..." 
...So powerful! 
The momentum Hokuto had showed today was hugely different from before. No, even so, it was still incredibly frightening. When it had fought with the 'Armored Juggernaut' and the Nue, it hadn't had the 'ferocity' that it did now. The reason for this difference wasn't just with Hokuto. 

It was Natsume. 
Harutora looked at Natsume beside him. Natsume didn't notice Harutora's gaze, focusing her entire concentration on Hokuto. Her face was awe-inspiring, having never been this serious before. 
Now that he thought of it, Natsume was the kind to lose her cool in this kind of crucial moment. She wasn't good at dealing with surprises, and would immediately think of escaping when she encountered a situation that surpassed her expectations. 
But Natsume had gotten through many crises, and hence she had accumulated a lot of battle experience. Especially today, the feeling of guilt and that 'it's all my fault' in her mind seemed to play a positive role. The strong sense of responsibility in her heart supported her on the battlefield. 
Harutora had slowly progressed every day with his personal training. Touji, who was a beginner like Harutora, had also grown notably. 
Natsume wasn't excluded either. Though she hadn't exhibited obvious changes like Harutora and the others, she had also matured day by day. 
"...Dairenji-san. Are your paper shikigami still in the academy?" 
Natsume spoke up to confirm as she watched Hokuto. Suzuka, who had suddenly been called upon, retreated a half a step, quietly muttering "Eh?". 
"Th, They're still there. They're still at the stairs from before because you didn't come up with any new instructions......" 
"Please summon them here immediately. They'll contain him together with Hokuto. If we can divert his attention, we can buy time. ......Kurahashi-san, use Hakuou and Kokfuu too!" 
Unlike Harutora, who planned on giving up, his childhood friend fought Doman head-on - preparing to resist. Natsume's stern posture was clearly engraved into Harutora's mind. 
"......That's bad." 
Doman's tone was slightly bitter. 
Through his blood-red sunglasses, his unmoving gaze stared at the dragon that had defeated the oni. It seemed that Hokuto's strength had even surpassed Doman's predictions. Hence, the faint light of hope appeared in Harutora's heart. 
But, that wasn't it. 
That wasn't the case. 
"How disappointing. You're letting a dragon of this level just 'run wild'?" 
Doman continued speaking with the same bitter voice as before. Harutora couldn't help but doubt his own ears. 
"Natsume-san! Dematerialize your dragon!" 
The principal hastily ordered. Doubt and resentment inadvertently flashed through Natsume's heart. But she still made a prompt decision and followed the principal's instructions. 
But it was already too late. 
"...It's alright. Bind!" 
Alongside Doman's order, the two oni dissolved into viscous material. The two oni that had originally seemed like ink drawings seemed to return to their original ink state, their outlines suddenly crumbling. The dragon's fangs bit into nothing. Hokuto backed up with a cry. But the two oni didn't let it go, the sticky liquid - almost like molasses - binding around the fleeing dragon. 
Then, it constricted and suppressed its freedom. 
"Hokuto!" 
The entangled Hokuto wanted to rapidly escape to the sky. But the transformed oni seemed to be firmly rooted to the roof, sealing away Hokuto's movement. Natsume frantically tried to release Hokuto's materialization. 
But: 
"......What's going on!? I can't dematerialize Hokuto!" 
Harutora didn't understand the meaning in Natsume's words for a moment. 
With a grim face, the principal said: 
"It's because its connection with the present world is being forcefully suspended. This is bad. If this goes on......!" 
Right as the words left her mouth, the principal formed a seal with her hands. 
A resolved expression appeared on her face: 
"You who dominates everything, Kongou Doji - On bishibishi karakara shibari sowaka!" 
She rapidly chanted an incantation, thrusting her hand seal towards Hokuto and releasing magic across the barrier. The two oni binding the dragon released the dragon's body for a moment. 
It was only a moment. 
"Oh." 
Doman let out a joyful sigh, forming a blade seal with one hand and swinging it towards Hokuto and the principal. The torn-off oni once again tightly bound the dragon. 
Hokuto thrashed back and forth on the roof like a fish out of water. It flicked its giant body and moved its legs vigorously, but the two oni had completely blocked off the dragon's resistance, like a judo master holding down an enemy. 
"Hoho - how is it? This dragon will become this old man's shikigami if this goes on, you know?" 
Doman laughed while speaking. The blood drained out of Natsume's face. 
In legend, one of Ashiya Doman's shikigami had been stolen away by Abe no Seimei, and then he conceded defeat. 
But now...... 
"It's very troublesome and I'm normally unwilling to do this, but the Tsuchimikado dragon moves even my heart. When you add in the blood of Seimei, those thoughts become even stronger." 
Doman laughed and spoke like a child. Compared to him, Harutora and the others' spines were frozen, and despair was already visible on Natsume's face. 
...No way...... Hokuto was......! 
It was the absolute trump card of Harutora and the others. No matter what they ran into, they could deal with it as long as they had Hokuto. This Tsuchimikado family dragon - in some sense, it 'spoiled' them. 
Hokuto had instantly lost its ability to fight. Not only this, it was going to be stolen by the enemy. There was nothing that could dishearten Harutora and the others more. 
...It was really no good...... 
As he tightly gritted his teeth, Harutora angrily widened his eyes so much that the corner of his eyes almost split. 
Their abilities were different. Their levels were different. With the difference between them and the enemy, they could only choose to give up. He was in a completely different dimension. 
Touji clicked his tongue heavily. Kyouko's feet suddenly gave out, and Tenma sat on the stone stage with a plop. Even Suzuka was speechless. 
The strong wind howled on the roof. The valiant Hokuto still hadn't given up, tossing around desperately. But the master had 'admitted defeat' before the captured dragon had surrendered. It wasn't just Natsume. Harutora was the same, and so were the others. 
The principal helplessly clenched her fist. 
But, 
"No, no, Priest. An old man wouldn't steal a child's things." 
A light voice naturally reached their ears for some reason on the rooftop amidst the howls of the strong wind. 
Harutora and the other suddenly raised their heads, focusing their concentration on their ears. 
Then-- 
A 'thump' sounded. 
Thump, thump, thump, thump. The sound of footsteps came from the entrance to the roof. "Oh." Doman let out his most joyful voice since appearing before Harutora and the others. 
Then, 
"Ah, oh man. These stairs are tough on me. I have a fake leg, you know." 
They heard a griping voice that was no different from usual, but they couldn't help but want to cry. 
As he muttered to himself, he began climbing the stairs. Ohtomo, his head showing, looked at Doman, then turned to Harutora and the others, showing a smile mixed with bitterness and cordiality. 
"Well...... To be honest, I want to turn back. Principal, I want overtime pay for this, alright?" 
The principal smiled after hearing Ohtomo's words. 
"Ohtomo-sensei? Isn't it still the lunch break right now?"