Kaze no Stigma

“…………!”

A man reading a horse racing paper while leaning against a wall noticed a woman pa.s.sing through the edge of his field of view.

Wearing a tidy blue silk kimono, she looked to be in her early twenties. The man inconspicuously raised the newspaper to hide his face, but did not take his eyes off the girl.

The woman, seemingly oblivious to her observer, continued walking at the same pace. The man folded the paper under his armpit, and drew a cell phone from his belt holster.

“I see her. Tailing the target.”

(Meanwhile...)

A middle-aged man dangled a silver chain over an opened map. There is a platinum ring at the chain that forms a loop, wavering at a height that almost touches the map.

“Hmm.....”

Suddenly, the chain began to shift in a certain direction, jerking unnaturally as if pulled by some invisible force.

The man traced the direction of the chain"s motion. Realizing he had gone too far, he moved back to his starting point, and after some trial and error he finally stopped at the point where the invisible force has led him.

“....Is this the place?”

The dowsing ring spun over a point on the map. The man noted the name of the location and reached for the phone on the table.

A young woman is stared attentively at a crystal ball. The beauty dressed up as a fortune teller that can be seen anywhere on the streets gave off a mysterious aura, even though it would be inappropriate to describe her this way.

The crystal ball of twenty centimeters is carved and polished flawlessly, yet for some reason there was a white mist at the its center.

In order to see through the mist, the woman glared intensely at the crystal ball, almost popping a nerve at her temple.

“....!”

Perhaps because of her effort, the white mist gradually dispersed, and an image resembling a building began to emerge.

The entire structure looked thin and long, and a black cross was set in the upper half of the white wall.

Zooming the image in on the entrance, the "fortune teller" carefully wrote down the words carved on the door.

“Speaking of which, how daring. This is indeed a blind spot.”

Smiling in praise at the unknown enemy, she walked out of the room to make her report.

(An hour later...)

The ten jutsu-shi led by Oogami Masayuki all gathered near a certain church at Ikebukuro. The purpose, needless to say, is to hunt down Misao, whom they have finally found.

The operation was a little rushed, as there was no time to hesitate. Although the hunters had failed to locate Misao"s hiding place up to this point, they suddenly managed to find her through a few sources.

It was so easy as to almost be too suspicious... or rather, a trap that couldn"t be any more obvious, akin to Misao waving her hand before their very eyes. One could say that she hid herself during a game of hide-and-seek, and then purposely stuck her head out, as if deliberately wanting Kazuma to catch her.

Nonetheless, Misao’s power should still be insufficient to defeat Kazuma. Precisely because of this, Masayuki acted with haste in order to put an end to this himself before Misao was defeated by someone else...

“Listen up people, there may even be a few among you that are on good terms with Misao, but such misconceptions end now. She is an unforgivable evil that has been corrupted into a demon, so do not hold back against her. In order to uphold the name and honor of the Kannagi, we must eradicate her with all of our might so that not even a single cell of her being remains!”

Standing before his gathered subordinates, Masayuki gave an emphatic speech. No one failed to understand that he really meant that “The survival of the Oogami family depends on this battle!”

Or rather, he meant nothing other than this. Emotions such as love, pity, and the pain of having to end his own daughter by his very hands were all but absent from the man. Perhaps he hardened his heart simply because the target is his own daughter - that would be a reasonable explanation, but it would certainly take a stretch of the imagination to believe that Masayuki truly meant those words from the bottom of his heart. His att.i.tude was just like that.

As Ayano left the group, she pondered while watching Masayuki"s back, "Maybe it was because of her father"s insensitivity that Misao couldn"t stand losing her brothers..."

Even so, the unpleasant feelings lingered in her heart. Perhaps it was merely the wishful thinking of a child, but Ayano felt that this was not the right way to raise a family.

Ren seemed to have the same thoughts, as his unease was plain.

“So then...“

After finishing his speech, Masayuki turned in their direction, a flattering smile on his face.

“If Kazuma comes over, please deal with him.”

“...Hmm.”

Under no obligation to put Masayuki at ease, Ayano blankly nodded in reply. Unsure of her answer, Masayuki frowned and asked again, “Are you sure it"ll be fine?”

“What do you mean?”

”Are you confident you can win against Kazuma?”

“How could I possibly be confident about something like that?” Ayano said frankly. Instead of trying to scare him, she simply stated her true opinion.

However, Masayuki"s expression immediately changed following those words.

“How.. how can that be!? Then why did you promise to take care of Kazuma!?”

“Do you even need to ask? It"s because I am the only who can do it.”

Ayano looks coldly at the shocked Masayuki, and brusquely added, “No matter what your thoughts may be, Misao must be eliminated - not by the hands of others, but by us, the Kannagi clan, so I will not let Kazuma make trouble regarding this matter. If was up to you guys, you would all be killed within three seconds. But, I can buy you people up to three minutes, so figure something out during this period of time!”

The whole area became quiet instantly. Again, Ayano was not trying to be an alarmist; the number she gave, three minutes, was already a very optimistic estimate.

To think that they naively believed they could relax simply because Ayano would be facing Kazuma for them... perhaps the image of the "weak Kannagi Kazuma" is still buried deep in their hearts after all!

“So, what is the battle strategy?”

Ignoring the tension, Ayano cut to the chase and confronted Masayuki. If they had intended to fight a prolonged battle, it was time for a change of plans.

“Y-Yes. We intend to lure Misao out from the church, and then chase her to the opposite park. This entire area has been secured, so there is no worry that other people may get involved in this. After that we are going to set up spiritual wards in the park. Misao will be like a fish caught in a net. The plan is absolutely foolproof.”

“Oh...”

This actually wasn"t a bad plan. In terms of battle strength, Misao is not much of a threat, so by sealing off all possible escape routes they shouldn"t lose even with ten people.

“But, who is blocking the area off? And, the ward is...”

Ayano"s voice trailed off when she recognized a female figure walking towards the area. The woman is wearing a tall and slim outfit with trousers. Though her face was partially obscured by sungla.s.ses, Ayano somehow felt that she had seen this person before.

“The barrier is ready. We can start any time.”

After a routine report, the woman took off her sungla.s.ses. Ayano"s eyes widened instantly.

“A-..Ahhhhhh.....!!”

Without thinking, she pointed and cried out. That is undoubtedly the woman from before, that Kirika holding hands with Kazuma at the love hotel street.

“Hi, Ayano.”

Kirika smiles faintly, looking at Ayano expectantly.

“...You know each other?”

“We"ve met,” Kirika replied nonchalantly. Masayuki glared at her with a grave expression.

“I hope you mind your tone. Ayano-sama has the bloodline of the main family, so she should not be spoken to directly like this...“

“Oh, excuse my rudeness.”

Kirika apologizes respectfully, gracefully cutting off Masayuki"s inevitable lecture, and saluted Ayano formally.

“I am Superintendent Tachibana Kirika from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Police..? The surname Tachibana, could it be that...“

"I am from a branch family,” Kirika smiled as she shrugged her shoulders.

Ayano only got more confused. The Tachibana name belonged to a famous Onmyouji clan. Even for a branch family, how is it possible for a member of the Tachibana clan became a police officer?

("Prepare a ward"------?)

Ayano instantly shifted her strict gaze to Masayuki.

“You sought the help of police?”

The duty of the Kannagi clan is to eradicate demons through direct combat, and the nature of their work requires cooperation from governmental agencies such as the police. Because of the clan"s close relationship with the authorities and their astounding efforts at protecting society for the past millenium, some unreasonable requests are still accepted.

But in this case, unrelated personnel like the police should never have been involved from the start. The criminal they are hunting down is from their own family, a Kannagi jutsu-shi descended into a demon. Moreover, that particular woman"s murders of over a hundred have left a great stain on the clan"s reputation. Such a fact should not be revealed to outsiders.

“N-No... This is because...”

Masayuki cowered at Ayano"s interrogation, but Kirika maintained her relaxed att.i.tude.

“Please calm down, we are helping in response to Juugo-san’s request.”

“Father...?” Ayano asks in doubt. Masayuki who is hiding behind Kirika hurriedly nodded in agreement

“That"s right, Oogami Misao’s hiding spot was also investigated and located by us.”

Even so, Ayano still didn"t understand. Why would her overly cautious father do something that even she thought was dumb?

Ignoring Ayano’s hostile eyes, Kirika defenselessly approached the girl. Then, she leaned in by the the threatening Ayano"s ear, and said softly so that only she could hear, ”Be mindful of what we know.”

Ayano trembled lightly. Kirika continued speaking, looking as if though she was stifling laughter, “Those things that you "do not want others to know", we already know very well. For example, what Oogami Misao did.... But, we have still not yet confirmed actual number of victims.”

(Should I kill her...?)

Ayano mulled it over. Although she would really rather not do so, there was no ignoring what Kirika said.

“You intend to threaten the Kannagi?” Ayano asked to confirm it one last time. If the other party nodded, there would be no turning back.

But Kirika calmly shook her head.

“Now, now, I am not so ignorant. Besides, a minor issue like this is not enough to use as a threat.”

“...What do you mean?”

“Ultimately the "value" of the Kannagi will not be shaken by this minor scandal. The higher-ups might use it as a bargaining chip if they knew of it, but this information will be kept safely with me.”

Ayano raised an eyebrow.

“Did you just say you won"t threaten us?”

“Don"t you get it? I"m trying to show my sincerity.”

“...?”

“What I mean is that you can kill me now... and n.o.body will ever know.”

“...! Why are you...?”

“This is a small price to pay for the trust of the clan head. Besides, we will also be on record as having helped the Kannagi.”

“....”

Ayano had a strange hunch. The "we" that had appeared several times in Kirika’s speech did not seem to refer to the entire police organization. There is only one explanation that she can think of - something bridging the unrelated powers of the police and jutsu-shi.

“Could you be that...? That...unit called Information Consolidation Department or something...?”

“To be more accurate, it would be the Special Investigation Unit. I am the chief of that department,” Kirika nodded proudly.

The Special Investigation Unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, a department that was only recently established. As if trying to hide from the others, the nameplate of this department lurks quietly in a corner of the bas.e.m.e.nt of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Everyone knows of the existence of this department, but the actual number of people that know what they do is very few, to the extent that hardly anybody within the entire police department even knows what the "Special Investigation" means at all.

In other words, no such department exists. Such an obscure department name could only have been created to conceal the nature of its operations.

For over a century after the ancient Bureau of Onmyou was disbanded, j.a.pan pa.s.sed on most of the spiritual protecting jobs to its people. In order to gain a foothold in the modern era, the SIU was established - the only government-run exorcising organization.

As they are unable to label themselves as exorcists in broad daylight, the department picked a general name implying that it "does odd jobs". It is even rumored that the name of the organization is even derived from the same p.r.o.nunciation as "dead spirits".

Leaving the etymology of government agencies, its establishment made a considerable impact in the field of exorcism.

“Oh, so there really is such a department. I hadn"t heard of any of its activities, so I just figured it for some kind of urban legend.”

From Ayano’s current understanding, it is something like that.

“Hmph.”

Kirika looked hurt by such a harsh comment.

“O-Of course we have been active! Restoring distorted spiritual fields, suppressing land-bound spirits and the like... it"s only because we"ve yet to obtain jutsu-shis with combat abilities that we"ve been unable to plan large scale exorcisms.”

“Ah, so you are a bunch of people that works in the shadows. That sure is befitting of a government function.”

Ayano put on a smug grin that was so arrogantly "cute" to the point that it made one want slap her.

But Kirika was an adult, after all. Instead of showing her anger, she kindly smiled, “Well, the higher-ups are always unable to understand our unnoticeable activities. Ayano, do you want to come over and work in the SIU? Even as part-time job?”

“I refuse.”

Ayano"s reply was firm. Yet, as if she just thought of something, looked questioningly at Kirika.

“Ah... could it be that, that one time you were trying to persuade Kazuma to join?”

“Huh? Ah, you meant the last time we met?” Kirika simply smirked.

Their positions were switched instantly. Ayano, now at a disadvantage, refused to give in and replied with a scowl, but her eyes revealed nothing but empty threats.

“Deep down, you really hope that I met with Kazuma only because of work, right?”

“N-No, I don’t...”

Despite her denying it with her mouth, Ayano couldn’t help but ask again:

“...So, what was it for?”

Seeing Ayano"s cowed look, Kirika replied, "I"m not telling."

“...!”

“Be it for private reasons or work, I am under no obligations to tell you anything. Isn’t that right?”

(This.. This woman..!)

Ayano’s eyes burned with murderous intent. Even against such a menacing glare, Kirika still maintained her relaxed smile.

As the two continued their battle of egos, a hand tugged at Ayano’s sleeve. She glanced down before promptly turning back to face Kirika.

“Don’t interrupt me, Ren. I must settle things with this woman...“

“But everyone is waiting for us.”

“Huh...?”

Ayano followed Ren"s gaze, noticing ten very disgruntled jutsu-shi"s observing their catfight.

Masayuki seemed especially impatient. Despite his best attempts to control his temper and anxiety, he was unable to hide a very obvious nerve pulsing at his temple. It was almost as if he was using all of his will to hold back the impulse to scream “Hurry up, you two brats!!!"

Instead of roaring, Masayuki asked with insincere calm, “It is about time to head for the church... Are the both of you ready?”

But of course, these two were not mere brats who would be afraid of someone like Masayuki. They turned to the man with the fake smile on his face, and icily replied,

“Then shall we?”

“Feel free to go now.”

Masayuki’s smile froze. He looked dumbly at the two with an expression that was neither laughing nor crying.

“I believe I said earlier that "we can start anytime". Or are you implying that there is some reason that we must go together with you?”

“Mm...”

“You better hurry and move along. If she escapes, are you going to take responsibility?”

“Mmm...”

After being blasted by the two’s words continuously, Masayuki’s face flushed red, unable to say any more. Facing the old man cursing her with his eyes, Ayano waved him away with the indifference one would shoo a dog away with.

“Mmmgghh... Everyone, let’s go!”

After shouting out as if venting his anger, Masayuki stormed off with loud and clear footsteps, pausing to angrily reprimand the jutsu-shi who were looking at each other curiously.

“Will you hurry up!”

“G-Got it!”

Watching Masayaki and company retreat in a huff, Ayano let out a sigh.

“Finally gone.”

At such a frank reaction, Kirika asked, smiling, “You seem to hate that old man a lot, don"t you, Ayano-chan?”

“Do you even need to ask! Someone who intends to harden his heart and kill his daughter "for the survival of his clan"... There is no need to put up with him!”

“Well in my case, it doesn’t matter as long as the Soushu is happy. Besides, do you really see a future for that guy?”

Ayano could only shrug her shoulders with a bitter smile.

“All I can say is that Father has no intention of destroying the Oogami family.”

Even so, as the head of the clan he can"t push all the responsibility onto someone else! Masayuki should know this is the head of his own family!

“"The one who is to take responsibility exists precisely to take up the responsibility"... I"m rather fond of that saying. By the way, do you really intend to fight with Kazuma?”

Kirika nodded as if deep in thought, and then suddenly changed the subject. Despite being slightly at a loss, Ayano still replied honestly, “Yeah, there is no one else after all. Though I may not be able to win, I can try to buy time.”

“...You don’t have to push yourself so hard. There is no shame in losing to that man.”

“I know. I don’t intend to put my life on the line for it. Besides, I have this kid with me.”

She patted Ren’s head, who had been silently standing beside her. He looked at Ayano in surprise.

“Huh..? Me too..?”

Without answering, Ayano changed her kind hand on Ren"s head into a wicked claw. A sharp pain shot through Ren.

“O-Ouch! That hurts Onee-sama!”

“Let’s work hard together, Ren! ♥”

“O-Okay...”

Ren could only give in to the fear and pain, nodding with tears in his eyes.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Kirika smiled sweetly in grat.i.tude, eliciting an instant greeting from the police officers.

The police roadblock shift slightly, opening a small gap large enough for a single person. Pa.s.sing through that small gap, Kirika, Ayano and Ren entered into the secured zone.

“……What a thorough job,” Ayano conceded with shock, looking with wonder at their surroundings.

The normally bustling city corner had been transformed into a literal ghost town. Not only were there no pedestrians, even the people inside the buildings seemed to have been all cleared away.

Kirika shrugged her shoulders lightly.

“Actually we only evacuated a few people. Most of the people sensed an abnormality and escaped before we did anything.”

“An abnormality...?”

Catching what seemed link the odor of rotten fish in the wind, Ayano frowned. The asphalt road surface felt strangely gooey. With every step, her sole seemed to be glued to the ground by a thin, sticky thread. Perhaps because of the earth"s corruption, the trees in the park tilted at a dangerous angle under the wind’s blow, as if they would topple any moment.

“It is rather common nowadays to hear others say that humans are a type of animal that has lost its basic instincts. But judging from this, it seems we have not completely lost them after all. Just think about it, isn’t it strange that no civilians or reporters have come to investigate the inspection area?”

“------Now that you mention it, it seems to be that way.”

Ayano recalled the scene when they were pa.s.sing through the checkpoints. The manpower present for this operation almost seems excessive for the empty streets, which would definitely arouse suspicion. Normally, Ikebukuro would never be so quiet with a police cordon set up.

(Normally, huh...)

Faced with a meaningless imagination, Ayano couldn"t help but reveal a bitter smile. In a situation where youki causes the wind and earth to be corroded, it isn"t even appropriate to think of the word "normal."

It was convenient of the civilians to notice the unnaturalness and escape. This way they wouldn"t have to worry about witnesses or casualties, and fight as they wished.

She grinned inwardly, and walked towards the center of the secured zone. The small church here was perhaps the farthest away from the word “Holy” in the world!

The preparations for battle were ready at the target area. Ten jutsu-shi surrounded the church, not letting even an ant through.

Sensing Ayano"s approach, Masayuki turned around.

“Ayano-sama and Ren-sama, please do not take part in this operation.

“I know.”

Ayano impatiently waves her hand towards Masayuki who reminded them once more.

The jutsu-shi are concentrating, waiting for Masayuki’s signal. He knows that Misao is waiting inside, and at this stage he does not intend to spend more time searching the interior.

He plans to burn down the entire church.

If ten Kannagi jutsus-shi were to release flames all at the same time, this kind of building would be destroyed before it even began burning.

It would be best if the matter could be settled just with this. In the case that she survived, they would follow the plan and force her into the park and eradicate her.

There exists no element nor chance of failure. Everyone believed firmly in their victory.

“Okay, begi……”

Right before Masayuki gave the go signal, the door of the church opened slowly. Masayuki quickly stopped his hand, and stared closely at the door.

Following a sharp squeaking sound, the door opened gradually. They were unable to see the interior at all, the darkness within rejecting the entry of all light.

On top of that, the darkness even began infesting the light. A certain black object pa.s.sed through the front door, and appeared in the s.p.a.ce filled with light.

It is someone dressed in a pitch black kimono - a black-haired girl wearing funeral robes. The human-shaped darkness eyed the group of people.

“…… Are you…… Misao……?”

Masayuki called his daughter’s name, as if moaning. The immense youki surrounding Misao continued to spread and corrupt the area around her.

“I welcome everyone’s arrival. Father as well, I am glad to see that you are still so healthy.”

Misao elegantly greeted them, announcing her sincere welcome with a gentle smile.

But anyone who knew Misao would have noticed that something was wrong. In the last ten years or so, Misao had never smiled like this towards Masayuki.

Of course, Masayuki did not even realize this. To him, Misao, who as a woman was not fit to become a fighter, was nothing more than a worthless existence to him.

Staring angrily at the daughter who is smiling innocently, Masayuki shouted from the bottom of his heart, “Silence! A dirty and despicable thing like you is not qualified to call me its Father!”

For a moment moment, the smile in Misao’s eyes vanished. But remembering her facade, she returned to her original expression.

“Sorry to have been so rude then. By the way------“

Misao looked around, verifying the faces of everyone at the scene.

“Where is Kazuma-san?”

“That guy has already been dismissed!”

Ayano answered at an astonishing speed.

“Whether he is capable enough is only secondary. We have no intention of hiring someone who does not plan to cooperate with us. This is not charity work.”

Looking down on the girl who seemed to have been waiting to say this, Misao"s lips curled up in a smile.

Ayano"s eyebrows jump up in an instant. Even if it was just for a moment, she saw the meaning behind that smile.

It was a mockery, an expression of contempt that one would only use to look down on others. It was an intolerable expression for a jutsushi from a branch family to make, especially one that has been corrupted into a demon.

“What is so funny……?”

Ayano questions in a suppressed tone.

“The att.i.tude of Ayano-sama is too ugly,” Misao replied, still smiling.

Ignoring the killing intent directed at her, Misao smiled and said, “Does Kazuma-san caring only for me make you that jealous?”

“------!”

The uprising murderous aura shakes the area, but Misao shows no signs of backing off. Unsure whether she was confident in winning, or had lost her sense of judgement-----

“Very well…… Speaking of which, we have yet to settle the score from last time.”

“Is that so…… I can’t recall such a thing.”

The face-off was like one of clashing swords. Their exchanged looks alone gave off sparks, building the tension until it seemed ready to explode.

Ayano quietly drew her Enraiha, its golden brilliance exorcising the nearby youki.

Faced with a sudden battle of femme fatales, the jutsushi from the branch families began trembling.

“A…… Ayano-sama. Leave Misao to us……”

Masayuki hurriedly tried to halt Ayano, but was silenced by her murderous aura. After all, the level between the two was completely different.

No one can stop them. Just as everyone at the scene is thinking this way------

“Excuse me, sorry to disturb when the two of you are so busy.”

With her ear at the mobile phone that is switched to vibration mode, Kirika made a routine announcement.

“Yagami Kazuma has appeared. He is closing in from the direction of the main road.”

Ayano’s body shook suddenly.

(I"m saved------)

Seeing this reaction, Masayuki sighs in relief.

“Ayano-sama------“

“I know.”

Keeping Enraiha raised, Ayano glared at Misao once more. The woman only lifted her chin in a smug grin of victory, noticing Ayano"s furrowed brow.

(There should still be time after killing her first……)

For a moment, Ayano considered this seriously. But now that she was calm, her personal feelings came second to the mission.

“Masayuki-san, please act as we have originally planned. Superintendent Tachibana, I will not ask you to fight with Kazuma, but please maintain the spiritual boundary. Okay?”

Ayano gives off commands one by one, and finally shifts her eyes to Ren.

“Let’s go stall Kazuma!”

“…… Yes……”

Ren droops his eyes, and nods to reply with a helpless tone. Ignoring Ren’s att.i.tude, Ayano forcefully dragged him off.

“Looks like I"m late, has it already begun?”

Sprinting on the empty streets, Kazuma grumbles, swerving as he turns a corner.

He saw Misao’s "invitation", but noticed it an hour later than Kannagi and the police. There was no special reason for it; he just happened to have fallen asleep.

Even though he leapt out of bed immediately when he sensed the rising youki, he could not deny the fact that he came late. The only good thing about this was that it was happening next to the hotel he was using as a base in his search for Misao.

(Speaking of which, to be located so close…… Even though I am not sure who it may be, but he"s good.)

Thinking about the real enemy who has yet to reveal himself, Kazuma speeds up. Perhaps due to all his wrong-doings most of the time, he did not reach the destination that easily.

Two shadows stood before Kazuma, stopping him. After identifying them with sharp eyes, he eventually let out a bored sigh.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Well, SORRY for being me.”

Hearing his disappointed voice, Ayano retorted impolitely in the same manner. She held Enraiha in her hand, her intentions as plain as day.

Leaving that aside...

“Why is Ren here as well?”

“Well, what do you think?”

Ayano opened her palm and slaped onto the bitterly smiling Ren’s head. A loud smack echoed through the street

“Obviously, we"re working together to beat you up!” Ayano exclaimed enthusiastically, but Ren backed off slightly, shaking his head vigorously from a place that Ayano couldn"t see.

Kazuma decided to leave Ren aside for now. Looking straight at Ayano who seemed ready to fight anytime, Kazuma grinned confidently.

“...Are you sure you came prepared?”

A fierce ki enveloped Ayano.

“Argh……”

It"s frightening. Kazuma is only standing there, but even that was scary enough already. She was completely unprepared, as there was not a single hope of victory.

“Even so, I must do this! Because only I can!”

As if trying to throw away her fears and hesitations, she raises the Enraiha with everything she has. She swings down the blade with all her strength.

“Take this..!! KAZUMA!”

A ma.s.sive plasma body burned the air and sped off. Looking at that object closing in at a high speed, Kazuma effortlessly waved his hand.

The fist entangled with wind sent the plasma bullet flying. The scorching flames veered off at a 90-degree angle, tearing a huge hole in a building caught in the fireball"s path.

(As expected, ranged attacks are useless...)

Ayano holds the Enraiha tightly, determined to go into melee combat.

As she gradually reduced the distance between them, intending to jump straight at Kazuma, he suddenly relaxed and took a step back.

“...?”

“I"m sorry to do this when you"re all fired up, but I"m in a hurry. I"ll play with you next time!”

Leaving this selfish remark, Kazuma rode the wind, flew into the sky... and disappeared. This was done by manipulating the density of air and causing a change in the refraction of light to create an effect of invisibility.

“Huhhh!?”

Ren who is standing further back gives off a sound of surprise. But Ayano has already seen this kind of trick before, and has come up with a method against it.

“Hmph...“

She raises Enraiha slowly.

“Did you think the same trick....“

Just as Fuu-jutsushi observe air flow, En-Jutsushi use fire- heat to see the world. Ayano cannot possibly miss a heat source with more than twice the temperature of the air.

“...would work on me twice?!”

A high-speed plasma bullet fired off, and accurately shot past the invisible Kazuma. Fortunately, for Kazuma, the layer of wind kekkai around him repelled the blast.

“Whoa!?”

Kazuma suddenly appeared in the sky. Having lost the protection of the wind, Fuu-Jutsushi are naturally unable to fly in the air------ and will of course fall down.

“Here we go...!”

Just before falling onto the ground, Kazuma regained control of the wind. His body flipped upright as his feet landed softly on the ground.

Looking at the proud Ayano, Kazuma sighed and lectured her, “Didn’t I tell you before? If you have time to study small tricks like this, you should go practice your sword skills.”

“It doesn"t matter. It"s pretty useful, after all.” Ayano shouldered Enraiha, laughing proudly.

“Are you disappointed that your technique was exposed?”

“...Not really. That aside... what are you going to do now?”

Ayano has already dragged Kazuma onto the ground, so she can use Enraiha to attack directly.

------That is, if she can hit him.

With Ayano"s abilities, she can"t even touch Kazuma. The difference in power is too great to be bridged by hard work or determination.

However, Ayano"s composed smile doesn"t fade.

“Did you really think I would go against you without thinking of anything?”

“Yup. After all, you"re an animal that moves on instinct,” Kazuma replied instantly. A vein rose in Ayano"s temple.

“Why, you..! Then, watch this!”

Ayano stretched her hand behind her, thrusting out the "thing" she grabbed towards Kazuma.

“Ultimate technique! (Ren) Barrier!!”

------(Please wait a moment...)

The stopped time started to flow again.

Kazuma sighs as if emptying his lungs. He looked at Ayano with pity.

“Anyway, explain to me just what on earth you"re doing.”

“Heh heh heh, no matter how wicked and inhuman you are, I doubt you"d be able to hurt Ren! As long as I have this Ren Barrier, even if I can"t win, I definitely won"t lose either!”

Hiding behind Ren whose entire body was lifted up by the collar, Ayano declared her stalemate with confidence.

While looking at this scene with a pained expression, Kazuma muttered, “...how should I say this, don’t you feel any shame as the next Soushu of the Kannagi?”

“I, for one, am embarra.s.sed...” Hung like a doll that had just been washed, Ren quietly mumbled.

“Shut up! I"ll do whatever it takes to win!” Ayano shouted, fl.u.s.tered.

“No, you still can"t win. You just won’t lose.”

“Ah...that"s... anyway. If you think you can break through this Ren Barrier, just try it!”

“Sure.”

Kazuma effortlessly released blades of wind that, arcing like boomerangs, sliced at both of Ayano"s arms from behind.

“Kya!”

Although they didnt"t reach the skin, both of Ayano"s sleeves were completely shredded, surprising her enough to drop Ren the Barrier.

Ren quickly escapes to a place where Ayano"s hands couldnt"t reach him. He naturally didn"t want to keep working with her.

“Hey, stop right there!”

Ayano tries to chase after Ren, but

------ Swoosh!

A blade of wind flying right before the tip of her nose made her stop in her steps.

She happens to look below her feet, and noticed that the surface of the asphalt was smoothly sliced through like b.u.t.ter.

A cold sweat ran down Ayano"s back.

“Well, I understand somewhat. Basically, you"re just trying to buy some time, right?”

Ayano was frozen, her intentions exposed. Kazuma p.r.o.nounced coldly, “I think I told you already, but I"m in a hurry to get there. If you keep fooling around... you"ll die.”

“....!”

As if being pushed by a ma.s.sive intent to kill, Ayano uses all her strength to move to the side. A blade of wind flew through the place where she had just stood.

This wasn"t a threat or an attack meant to disable someone. It was clearly aimed to slice a person in two.

(He"s gotten serious...?)

A shiver ran down her back. Ayano prepared to aim for the eyes, and focused every nerve in her body on the enemy in front of her.

Kazuma"s attacks don"t have any setup time or movements. He can release a lethal strike without even moving a finger. In comparison to dodging attacks like these, dodging bullets is much easier.

Ayano tossed aside her useless defense, prayed to G.o.d that she wouldn"t suffer fatal injuries, and thrust in a straight line.

Relentlessly striking wind blades continued to extinguish the flames surrounding her entire body. Ayano gave up on meaningless dodging attempts, and closed in on Kazuma in the shortest distance possible.

(...I reached him!)

Within striking distance, the sword is faster than jutsu.

Jutsu is the substantiation of one’s will. And so, when one uses jutsu, one must think; that means the signal must cycle through the brain. In comparison, when the body is using every muscle, sometimes even the most basic will of to "make the body move" may be left out entirely. For someone whose fighting skills have been trained to a certain extent, they have experienced the feeling of "striking before thinking". This speed cannot be surpa.s.sed by jutsu. No matter how much one trains, it is logically impossible to active jutsu subconsciously.

Ayano swung Enraiha down forcefully. It would be an understatement to describe the destructive might of the sword as merely "overwhelming." If a human was. .h.i.t...no, even lightly grazed by it, he would become a piece of charcoal.

Kazuma moved to the left to dodge the slice. Ayano pulled the blade back, reversing her grip, and cut diagonally upwards.

Kazuma dodged left again, simultaneously dashing inside Ayano"s guard, who had exposed her torso for the upward slice. Targeting Ayano"s right wrist, Kazuma"s disarm succeeded and Enraiha dropped from Ayano"s hand. If this had been a compet.i.tion, the judge would have probably announced Kazuma’s victory by now. But, this is an actual battle... and the blade that Ayano wields is Enraiha.

After dodging the palm strike aimed at her chin by twisting her body, Ayano focused her consciousness onto Enraiha. At the same time, the Enraiha that was flying in midair disappeared. Following that, she began collect energy in her chest area. Gripping her empty right hand tightly and focusing that burning, throbbing power within, Ayano once again formed Enraiha in her right hand within the blink of an eye.

She went for a vicious and sudden attack. Even though Ayano thought that her surprise attack was successful, this seemed to be within the opponent’s expectations as well. Kazuma bends backwards slightly, the tip of the blade swept by his body by a mere 4 millimeters.

Kazuma leisurely put distance between them once more, a smile appearing on his face. It was undoubtedly a smile of praise, though Ayano failed to realize it.

(Smile all you want!)

Determined to close the distance, Ayano leapt right at Kazuma. She slashed horizontally at Kazuma"s body, and continued to swing as he dodged backwards.

Kazuma eventually backed up against the wall of a building, unable to retreat any further. The joy of having forced the enemy to his end brought a sinister smile to Ayano"s face.

(I"ve got him....!)

All the muscles in her body tensed up, and her condensed power was all released at a single point. The sword tip struck straight at Kazuma’s face at the shortest distance possible. There was no way to dodge or defend against the scorching blade; Ayano firmly believed she had won.

A full-powered attack at that detestable face that is always laughing and joking around...

“Wha-“

Ayano"s eyes widened as Enraiha stopped dead before Kazuma’s face, as if halted by an invisible wall. No matter how much strength she used, the remaining distance of ten centimeters could not be shortened any further.

(A wind kekkai...?)

The truth was before her eyes, but Ayano still couldn"t believe believe it. A high level spirit jutsu can surpa.s.s physical phenomena------ she understood this common knowledge very well. But, just how much willpower must be concentrated to be able to make an air ward that is strong enough to withstand Enraiha? It was utterly incomprehensible to Ayano.

“Well, that"s just how it is,” Kazuma mumbled as if it were only natural, and the wind kekkai disappeared at the same time. Walking past Ayano who fell forward as was unable to draw her strength back in time, Kazuma used an intolerably arrogant tone to say, “Let’s stop here for today.”

Ayano was, of course, very agitated.

“Wha..What do you mean by "stop here for today"!? This is not a practice!”

“I accompanied you for some time already, what else do you have to complain about?”

"This isn"t over.”

Ayano quickly regained her calm and pointed Enraiha at Kazuma.

“You must stay with me until Misao’s punishment is over. Because this problem must be taken care of by our own people.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, that side can hardly fend for themselves.”

“...what do you mean?”

To Ayano’s question, Kazuma silently raised three fingers.

“Three? What..?”

Kazuma didn"t answer, but instead he retracted his ring finger.

“Two.”

Following that, he retracted his middle finger.

“One.”

The last one. Kazuma retracts his index finger, showing a faint grin on his face.

“Bang!”

Accompanied by an explosion, a pitch black pillar of fire erupted into the sky.

“Wha……”

Ayano stared in awe at the pillar of fire.

Black flames.

Unlike the black smoke created from burning of heavy oil, the flames themselves were black in color.

“Is that…… Misao……?”

“Is there anyone else that can use flames that are full of youki like this? Then it seems that the battle style of the Kannagi must have changed quite a bit ever since I left.”

Kazuma questioned her seriously. Perhaps he really wanted to know the answer to this question?

“We don"t have anyone like that!” Ayano answered rudely. Of course, Kazuma didn"t take offense and merely put an indifferent expression, shrugging as he walked off.

“H-hold it!”

Kazuma obediently stopped.

“What"s the matter? Is there someone among those people there that you hope will die? Then I don’t mind waiting a bit longer; after all there are only three minutes left.”

Ayano took a while to truly understand the meaning behind that sentence. Ren, comprehending his brother, fearfully asked, “Is Misao really that strong? That even ten people working together are still unable to defeat her?"

“Six.”

Kazuma corrects truthfully.

“------Huh?”

“After that blast earlier, the presence of four people disappeared.”

Ren was struck speechless, and in turn Ayano roared, “You should"ve said something like that sooner!”

“You should"ve realized it much sooner.”

“Y...you...”

“Calm down, Onee-san.”

Ren tried in vain to pacify the near-exploding Ayano as he looked at his brother with blaming eyes.

“Onii-san, why can’t you just get along with onee-san?”

“What do you mean by "get along?" Our goals this time are entirely different. She"s no friend of mine."

“Don’t tell me you still intend to defend Misao!?”

“Yup.”

Kazuma nods naturally at Ayano, who stared at him wide-eyed.

“……What are you thinking? Do you know how many people that girl killed!?”

“How would I know? I am not so kind as to pity a bunch of dead strangers.”

Kazuma spits this line out easily, and following that walks off without waiting for their reactions. Ayano hurriedly chased after him until she eventually overtook Kazuma.

The park wasn"t very far. Even though she ran, she was only faster by around ten seconds. But, that was more than enough.

(Find her, and settle it in one blow!)

She was confident. No matter how strong Misao may have become, compared to herself of the main family, their levels of power were entirely different. Just one strike from Enraiha should be able to eliminate Misao.

Ayano reached the park. She jumped over the fence at the entrance, and ran into the square.

There was no need to search for her, as Misao stood at the centre of the square. Despite being surrounded by jutsushi of the branch families, there was not a single trace of anxiety on her face; on the contrary, it was the jutsushi that seemed to be trembling in fear.

The time to worry over the face of the Oogami was long past. Planning to finish Misao off in one go, Ayano pushed the Jutsushis surrounding Misao aside------ and was shocked herself.

Misao did not even notice Ayano’s appearance as she happily played with a rubber ball. She wore an innocent smile, and gently dribbled the rubber ball at waist height. The group gaped at this simple repet.i.tion without any notion of boredom.

At a second glance, the rubber ball looked very old and tattered, its surface yellowish like the earth. The fading grayish black threads were spread around in great volumes, just like a bamboo curtain falling off continuously. Those wavering black threads, looked just like hair------

(Just like------?)

The instant she realized what that rubber ball was, Ayano felt gooseb.u.mps all over her body. Her hand clenched over her mouth, trying hard to keep from vomiting.

The messy black threads------ those were the hair of a man just over fifty years of age.

The red threads spread over the soil-yellow surface------ those were blood stains splattered on the victim’s skin.

The object that Misao was bouncing like a rubber ball was the head of a dead person. The face of the man who is planning to slay his own daughter for the survival of the family, now rebounded up and down between the ground and the white, tender hand.

Dum...dum...dum...

The sound of the bouncing “rubber ball” was abnormally heavy. Every time it hit the solid ground, more wounds gradually appeared on Masayuki’s painful and distorted expression.

Common sense dictates that it is impossible for a human head to bounce like a rubber ball. This may have been caused by psychic powers or something similar to move the head……

“…… Misao……”

Ayano was unable to say a word. What could she say to a girl happily playing with her father"s head?

Before the eyes of Ayano and company who were staring with their breaths held, Mis...o...b..unced the “rubber ball” diligently. If there was any purpose behind this action, that could still have been seen in a more optimistic manner. Like venting her anger on the body, scaring the enemy with her power, or a part of a jutsu ritual------ anything else would have been fine. But this is different. Anyone could tell that this action was meaningless.

She treated it like a child"s game. Like a kid using a crumpled piece of paper as a ball, Misao simply treated her father"s head as a simple ball.

“…………”

Misao suddenly hit the “rubber ball” with force. Jumping higher than before, the “ball” bounced to her chest area, and Misao stretched her hands out to catch it.

“What have you been doing since just now?”

No one understood her murmuring.

Yet, a voice answered in reply.

“It"s hard to explain so quickly, but I still rushed here.”

Like an avalanche, everyone’s eyes gathered at the same direction.

That relaxed expression without any tension did not waver at all under the stare of everyone in the area. Even though he possesses power that surpa.s.ses anyone, his demeanor was calmer and firmer than anyone.

Just that cheeky presence was enough to dispel the abnormal demonic aura given off by Misao.

Possessing the power to accept everything, Yagami Kazuma stood before the gathering as if his "right" to power was as natural as the air.

“Looks like I made it in time for the climax.”