Chapter 3 - Time to Hunt 4 page

"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! 唵 嚩日啰 吽 颇吒! 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.

"唵 吠室啰 缚拏野 娑婆诃!"

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.

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 547