Tokyo Ravens - Volume 8 - Chapter 5.3

Part 3 
She had trembled when she faced the Nue and despaired when she faced Doman. But the first time she clearly realized she was going to die was in the battle against Shaver. 
An overwhelming opponent. 
True killing intent. 
But even if she and Harutora had died in battle together, she wouldn't have had any regrets. if there was a world after death, wouldn't being reborn there be unexpectedly relaxing? 
If even she could make friends and enjoy life in ways that she didn't even dare to imagine...... 
It might be more relaxing compared to timidly feeling out and walking through the darkness or compared to squandering her life facing a future that she didn't look forward to. 
It was better to die without knowing anything than to face a fated, rending despair. 
She inadvertently thought of such things. If she could welcome the final moment together with Harutora, she would be satisfied and consider it an unexpected fortune. 
But. 
Harutora definitely wouldn't agree. Harutora definitely wouldn't think death was a good thing, nor would he be satisfied. 
Then, she hoped that Harutora could live on. She hoped he could live on forever and ever. Then, if Harutora still lived, she would also want to live. With him and next to him. 
She hoped that they could share their experiences and conquer the difficulties before them together. 
But-- 

 

Harutora's aura burst forth. 
"Harutora-kun!" 
Strength had already flooded from Harutora's body like a raging torrent before Natsume screamed. The strength bursting in all directions wasn't magical energy carrying Harutora's consciousness, but rather pure spiritual power. Moreover, the amount and density reached a level where it would endanger Harutora's surroundings. 
...This was bad! 
Kon, who endured her master's aura, started swaying and soon fainted after shouting "Ah", collapsing powerlessly. Natsume also unconsciously put up a simple barrier to protect herself, but Harutora's spiritual energy almost shattered the barrier. The customers of the stores and the shop workers noticed the abnormality without even having to look and screamed loudly as they fled in all directions. 
Several fireworks shot out above her head again. Natsume cried out in the surrounding commotion. 
"Harutora-kun!" 
But Harutora still didn't respond no matter how loudly Natsume shouted. His eyes were empty and he didn't move. His consciousness clearly hadn't returned to normal. 
His strength was going out of control, and that wasn't it. 
"What did you do to him!?" 
She roared at Takiko. But Takiko was focused on her magic. Her red hair danced in the air as her hair ornaments swayed while vibrating rapidly. 
Ten hair accessories. [30] 
They swayed lightly to and fro. 
"As I thought!" 
...Lingering Spirit Calling Magic! 
Natsume knew the incantation Takiko had chanted just now. She had used a magic called 'Sacred Words', an incantation used in concert with ten artifacts known as 'Ten Sacred Treasures'. But the 'Ten Sacred Treasures' were artifacts deeply hidden in mystery, and there were no records of them in ancient records or in texts like the Nihon Shoki. It was only viewed as a divine mystery because of passing allusion in the Sendai Kuji Hongi [31] and the law-related text 'Ryo no Gige'. 
These ten treasures were the Okitsu Kagami, Hetsu Kagami, Yatsuka no Tsurugi, Iku Tama, Makaru Tama, Taru Tama, Chikaeshi no Tama, Hebi no Hire, Hachi no Hire, and the Shimamono no Hire. One could exercise divine might by chanting an incantation in concert with these treasures. But when this magic was used in the ancient 'Chinkonsai' [32] , ten 'jades' were prepared to parallel the 'Ten Sacred Treasures', and the swaying 'yura yura' technique was used. Takiko had used her hair decorations as 'jades' to reenact the ancient magic. Those decorations themselves were special magical tools. [33] 
But, 
...Why! 
Lingering Spirit Calling was a magic belonging to Imperial Onmyoudou and was currently designated as banned magic. The reason was that Lingering Spirit Calling was 'soul-related magic', just like its name. The magic was cloaked in mystery, and it was so strong that it could even 'revive the dead'. 
"What do you want!? What are you doing to Harutora-kun!?" 
She questioned Takiko again, but the red-haired girl still didn't budge. Though the aura coming off of her body was nothing compared to Harutora's, it was still respectable for a first-class practitioner. 
"......Natsume-dono......" 
A feeble voice made her come to her senses. It was Kon. She crouched beside Harutora, unable to even stand. The strength coming from her master had increased by a lot, but that couldn't be seen at all. As expected, this was different from his aura purely going out of control. 
Afterwards, Kon didn't even make a sound, but her intent had already been completely conveyed to Natsume. Even if Harutora's condition wasn't a simple loss of control, he was undoubtedly releasing an intense aura. If this continued, it was very likely that his aura would be exhausted. She had to stop it soon. 
Natsume focused her determination and she reached for her charm. The charm Ohtomo had made. 
But, 
"...Don't move." 
A sudden motion came. The aura made Natsume inadvertently back off. A young man she had seen before appeared in front of her. It was Takiko's shikigami, who had appeared at the end of the mock battle yesterday. She seemed to recall that he was called Kumomaru. 
"Back off!" 
She swung her hand and roared. But Kumomaru stubbornly stayed between them, making no motion to let her pass. Natsume's blood boiled. 
"Order!" 
Natsume swiftly turned to charms when she realized that she couldn't resolve this relying on words and released one. A fire-element charm. The opponent was a shikigami. She had used a charm from point-blank range without holding back. But-- 
It was ineffective. 
Kumomaru didn't even take a defensive stance. He just stood there indifferently, his entire body was immersed in scorching flames. Not even a little bit of lag was produced on the shikigami, shocking Natsume into speechlessness. Then was the next charm magic. She released an earth-element charm, a metal-element charm, and a wood-element charm one after another using Five Elements Mutual Generation. She changed to a magic focusing on speed, raising the magic's power in the blink of an eye and shooting out a high-density stream of water. 
But, 
"It's no use." 
Kumomaru easily blocked the jet of water produced after Mutual Generation with the palm of his right hand. The exploding torrent of water shot into the surroundings, splashing into a storm-like whirlpool of magical energy, but the shikigami didn't budge. Natsume instantly doubted her own eyes, feeling as if she were caught in an illusion. 
Kumomaru flung off the drops of water on his right hand, slowly proclaiming to Natsume from the center of the magical energy whirlpool. 
"I don't want to hurt you. Please be cooperative for now." 
The eyes Kumomaru looked at Natsume with were full of anguish and compassion, as if he had known Natsume for a long time. 
Natsume gritted her teeth. 
This shikigami, his master Takiko, and the Yakou fanatics were all like this. They always put on an expression as if they understood Natsume the best and pretended to know everything while blindly pushing their expectations of Natsume onto her. What did they know about her? She wanted to question him loudly and couldn't hold back. 
"...Come, Hokuto!" 
Right now wasn't the time to hold back. A strong aura appeared, answering Natsume's summons. A golden ribbon of light even more brilliant than the flowers of light dancing in the night sky extended and grew. 
A dragon giving off a divine aura appeared, leisurely looking down below it. 
What the dragon saw was aura running out of control, Harutora standing still like a soulless shell and a shikigami with an appalling spiritual pressure, Kumomaru. And Takiko, who looked like she was being possessed by a divine spirit. 
The Hokuto whom she had always been able to keep cool-headed had become more dignified along with its master's growth. The dragon instantly picked up Natsume's intentions, twisting its body in midair and charging at Kumomaru like lightning. 
Kumomaru perfectly avoided the pouncing dragon, and Hokuto also stopped itself before crashing into the ground, pursuing Kumomaru as if crawling along the ground. Kumomaru dodged and Hokuto chased. The dragon's giant body cleanly smashed the surrounding tents out of the way. 
Kumomaru's movements momentarily slowed. His body swayed, dragging his right leg as he slipped through the air. Unexpectedly, Kon had pulled off this surprise move. She had originally been in a condition where it was hard for her to move, but she had still approached Kumomaru by surprise while he was avoiding Hokuto and slashed at his right leg from behind his back with her wakizashi. 
Kumomaru turned a somersault and leaped into the air, and Hokuto rapidly soared into the air to fight with him. It was as if it had cooperated with Kon for this perfect opportunity. Kumomaru, who couldn't move at will in the air, shouldn't be able to dodge. 
But, 
"...Namu Great Bodhisattva Hachiman." 
Kumomaru chanted an incantation in midair and brought his hands together. Aura instantly exploded from his clapped hands. 
The burst of aura hit the approaching Hokuto head-on, and though the somewhat-cowed Hokuto bared its fangs and continued to chase, the momentum of its attack had been weakened and Kumomaru twisted his body to dodge. Moreover, using Hokuto's horn as a foothold, he slowly kicked off down to the ground. 
Natsume held her breath in shock. 
...Just now, that was! 
It wasn't magic. No, in theory it would be classified as belonging to first-class magic, but it was different from magic that used methods. It was close to Harutora's going out of control in a sense. It was a primitive magic that had appeared before 'techniques'. 
In any case, Natsume's charm magic from before was a drop in the bucket against this kind of might. She became conscious again of how frighteningly strong this shikigami was. 
"...Give up." 
"!" 
Even while facing Hokuto, Kumomaru still wasn't flustered. His attitude felt more 'troublesome' than Shaver's excited, blade-swinging attitude. It was unfathomable. 
But in that moment, Kumomaru also panicked. He hastily leaped off the ground, practically flying back to his master - to Takiko. 

Then. 
A group of white paper shikigami poured towards Takiko like an avalanche. 
"Suzuka-san!" 
The shikigami slid between the approaching group of shikigami and his master by a hair's breadth, swinging his arms as if scattering mist. A fearsome spiritual pressure burst out and Suzuka's group of shikigami were swept away like true paper. But just then, the 'next person' charged up, giving off demonic aura, his armor flashing with an exorbitant will to fight. 
It was Touji. 
"Take this!" 
With a splitting roar and the force of a cannon, the living spirit-empowered Touji smashed his fist into Kumomaru. But Kumomaru blocked Touji's strike, with the strength of his whole body, directly with just one hand. The arm he gripped Touji's fist with just shook slightly. 
Touji shouted happily from under his iron helmet. Then, he started fighting. He continuously punched, kicked, and swiped at the enemy, giving him no breathing room. Kumomaru caught, avoided, and counterattacked as much as he could. He kept his master behind him and didn't retreat half a step. In addition, he even slowly advanced, pushing Touji back as he unleashed a storm of attacks. 
Touji remained immersed in his attack and continued to fight strongly; however, Kumomaru was unfazed. Never mind overcoming his impregnable defenses, he didn't even budge. But Touji still didn't let up. He had other things to try. 
"......Natsume!" 
There was no need for him to remind her, as Natsume had already realized Touji's intent. While Touji was entangled with Kumomaru, she charged towards Harutora with all her might. She gripped Ohtomo's charm in her hand again. 
Just as Kumomaru noticed their intent, 
"Order!" 
Natsume threw the charm at Harutora. 
Ohtomo's charm split into tiny pieces. The pieces surrounded Harutora and swirled into an eddy after splitting. 
The charm Ohtomo had prepared instantly dispersed Harutora' crazed aura, just like during the mock battle. The swirl slowly shrank and the pieces finally entwined around Harutora's body. Then, Harutora's body shuddered sharply. 
"Harutora-sama!" 
The moment before he collapsed to the ground, Kon, who had recovered her movement, supported him from below. 
Harutora's aura stopped overflowing. Ohtomo's magic seemed to have also 'scattered' the Lingering Spirit Calling magic that Takiko had cast. The moment Kon grabbed him, Harutora suddenly regained consciousness. 
"......Eh? Just now, I......" 
Harutora let out a weak groan. "Harutora-kun!" A relieved expression returned to Natsume's face and she ran to his side. 
After confirming the success of the operation, Touji also stopped his attack and pulled away from Kumomaru. Just then, three more people ran panting to the parking lot that had become a battlefield. 
In the lead was Suzuka, who had sent her shikigami, and following behind were Kyouko and Tenma. 
"What are you doing!? That's not at the level of a joke anymore!" 
Suzuka roared. 
Then, Kyouko also shouted: 
"Takiko-san! What's going on!? Please explain!" 
She questioned with wide eyes, clearly angry. Tenma tried his best to understand the surrounding situation. Touji retreated beside Suzuka and the others, focusing his whole mind on Kumomaru. 
Harutora, Natsume, and Kon. Touji, Suzuka, Kyouko, and Tenma. Takiko slowly faced the students who had held out a friendly hand to her just yesterday. Her ornaments had already stopped shaking, and calm had returned to her red hair. The somewhat unsuitable rumbles of fireworks exploding in the distance reached the location of Takiko and the others. 
Takiko's expression was extremely serious under the illumination of the fireworks' light. 
She silently stared at Touji, Suzuka, and the others, then her gaze moved to Harutora's group. Kumomaru calmly stood in front of Takiko, naturally staying able to move at a moment's notice. 
"......I'm the one continuing the Souma blood......" 
Takiko suddenly proclaimed. 
"Once, our Souma clan joined hands with the Onmyouji Tsuchimikado Yakou out of a common desire. The outcome was that our hope was shattered, but we still didn't give up. As the descendant of the Souma family, I will achieve my clan's mission." 
Then, Takiko extended her arms, raising the birdcage she had held in her hands - and the raven shut inside - towards Harutora. 
"Tsuchimikado Harutora. You are Yakou's reincarnation." 
She asserted matter-of-factly. 
First Harutora, then Natsume, Touji, Suzuka, Kyouko, and Tenma momentarily failed to understand the meaning in Takiko's words, showing empty expressions. 
Harutora, leaning on Kon's shoulder, said: 
"......Wh-What did you say?" 
He asked back, perplexed. The others stared at the dialogue between the two with bated breath. 
Takiko said: 
"Harutora. You were originally the main family's child...... the child of Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi. Natsume, you were the 'decoy' that person prepared. Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi gave up his duty as a Tsuchimikado and cast a 'curse' on the reincarnation of his great ancestor to confuse others. His intentions no longer need to be discussed. You two are very pitiful for being imprisoned by that man's curse since your birth. I will release that curse. As the descendant of Tsuchimikado Yakou's former allies." 
...What...... 
Natsume didn't understand what she was saying at all. Though she felt like Takiko had gone crazy...... While her expression seemed like she was forced into a corner, she was very clear-headed. 
Harutora was the main family child? 
She was a decoy? 
...What did that mean? 
What was Takiko saying? 
"......Hey, Takiko." 
Touji asked with a fearless tone - but one revealing wariness. 
"Do you know what you're saying? Do you have any proof?" 
"......The truth will show itself." 
Takiko replied to Touji's challenge with one sentence. 
Then, 
"Go, 'Raven's Wing'. Return to your master's side." 
She released her extended hand that held the birdcage. 
The birdcage dropped, its movement seeming extremely slow. The birdcage made a sound upon hitting the ground - it opened. 
The raven inside flew into the night sky from the opened exit, spreading its more than a meter-wide wings. It flapped its black wings powerfully. It looked like a raven formed from the essence of the dark night -- 
It opened its eyes. 
The area that they had originally taken to be black eyes were actually closed eyelids. The true eyes that revealed themselves below the eyelids were dazzlingly golden. Natsume followed its flapping movements, finally noticing when it was above her head. That raven had three legs, and each time it beat its wings, golden light scattered from its black body. 
The legendary yatagarasu. [34] 
The symbol of the sun in Onmyoudou. 
"......A yatagarasu?" 
The also-airborne Hokuto - 'that' Hokuto - tensed its body in fear upon facing the inexplicable aura it gave off. The yatagarasu dancing in the night sky gracefully flapped its wings with no concern for the dragon, its body melding with the black night as it scattered stardust-like particles of light into the surroundings. 
It resembled a divine bird. 
Natsume and the others silently looked above their heads as if petrified, like they had been bewitched. The raven elegantly swung around-- 
It descended rapidly in a glide. 
Towards Harutora's head. 
"Haru--" 
It wasn't fast, nor was it sharp. It didn't feel as fierce as an attack from Hokuto at all. 
But they couldn't stop it. The yatagarasu dropped down to Harutora as if it were flying in a different dimension. 
It spread its wings and stopped the moment it was right above Harutora, then its body disintegrated, crumbling like sand and becoming many feathers. 
The black feathers danced, covering Harutora like an illusion. Natsume and the others could only watch helplessly from the side. 
So before they realized it, Harutora was wearing an outer coat. An outer coat that both resembled a cape and a coat, seeming as if it were woven with raven feathers. 
The coat of the legendary Onmyouji. 
Tsuchimikado Yakou's clothing, the 'Raven's Coat'. 
Dark light covered Harutora, and in the next moment, the lower hem of the Raven's Wing beat sharply as if were a wing. Kon, under the wind pressure, was dematerialized and vanished. 
"...Harutora-kun!" 
As Natsume screamed as if her heart had split, Harutora flew into the night sky.