Kaze no Stigma

“Still not ready? How much longer do we have to wait, Hyoue?”

“Please, just a little longer.” Hyoue replied to the seemingly impatient person.

The person waiting for Hyoue closed his eyes pensively and walked away. Hyoue felt the wind blowing against him. The air was filled with the ki of the youma and pa.s.sed beneath Hyoue’s palm like a wind that would swallow anyone. It was already dawn by the time the shredded remains of the three people were discovered. This unbelievably serious situation completely shocked the entire Kannagi clan. The Kannagi clan was undeniably astonished. Before their reflexes could respond, the three defensively-prepared people were killed, without anyone else even being alerted. The Fuuga clan had been summoned in order to better understand the situation. Hyoue had gathered the youma ki to understand who the enemy was.

"Hmm"

"T—this is...."

Quiet concentration. Hyoue gathered the youma ki in his palms without letting any of it flow out. It was a very cold air. Even for powerful pract.i.tioners, the ki provided sufficient reasons to fear it.

“This was caused by Fuujutsu, and was created by a pract.i.tioner who is on a completely different level from my Fuuga clan. This pract.i.tioner trapped the three victims in a wind kekkai and then killed them.”

Hyoue’s report was not in the least, beneficial. Any pract.i.tioner could have easily deduced that from the sight of the incident.

“I understand that much. But, who did it?!”

“If you require a detailed report, I would like you to allow me more time,” Hyoue replied indistinctly.

“Then do it quickly! You and your clan can act...”

“Everyone be quiet!”

At Juugo"s angry voice, everyone present became silent. Juugo then spoke in a consoling voice.

“So it"s like that? Good job, you may retire... Right, how’s the health of Ryuuya?"

Hyoue appeared surprised at that moment due to the Suzerain’s concern over his son’s health.

“Yes… If he quietly recuperates, there shouldn’t be any problems. However, he can no longer recover to the level of working for the Kannagi clan anymore. This unworthy son really is an embarra.s.sment.”

"It can"t be helped if he is ill. Don"t blame Ryuuya, just focus on his recovery."

Hyoue bowed to Juugo’s words of grat.i.tude.

“Yes… Thank you very much. I will now give instructions to my subordinates….”

“Then please, I await your reply, Hyoue.”

The head of the Fuuga clan bowed silently and left.

The enemy was a Fuujutsu pract.i.tioner who loathed the Kannagi clan. Naturally, everyone thought of a certain person who had—coincidentally—just returned to j.a.pan.

“It’s Kazuma! He obtained strength for revenge and returned to j.a.pan! My fellow clan members, let us destroy the traitor Kazuma. Find him without delay and kill him!”

The person who made such an aggressive comment was the previous Suzerain, Yorimichi. Even though he was retired, he still had the air of a Suzerain. The entire clan loathed him, though he was unaware of it.

“Chichiue, please. We don’t have enough evidence to prove that Kazuma did this.” Juugo said in an attempt to stop Yorimichi"s tirade.

“You—! Who but Kazuma could have done this...?”

“Yorimichi, please hold your tongue. When you speak like that, it becomes impossible for us to discuss the issue.”

Genma coolly interrupted Yorimichi"s ear-shattering ranting, with a cold look that clearly expressed his scorn. The truth is, Genma looked down on Yorimichi with disrespect from the depths of his heart. To him, Yorimichi was a person who had no strength apart from scheming, yet was chosen as the Suzerain. In Yorimichi’s thirty years as Suzerain, the strength of the Kannagi clan reached rock bottom. Yorimichi"s inability to control the representative sword of the Kannagi clan and his inability to pa.s.s the sword onto someone else resulted in it being buried deep in the warehouse before Juugo’s succession to the Suzerain position.

However, Genma was not thinking about such a foolish item. He believed that the one to succeed the position of Suzerain should be the strongest pract.i.tioner of Kannagi. Because of this, he did not hate the current Suzerain, Juugo. Genma understood that his own strength couldn"t compare. Previously, he wanted to prepare his son to be the next Suzerain. This was not really a scheme; he just wanted to train and prepare Kazuma to give him the strength to become the next Suzerain.

Yorimichi didn’t have such beliefs, as he was the type of person who only had ambition for power. Or, at least that was what Genma thought of him. No matter how Genma tried to hide his thoughts, they were clearly revealed as he further enraged Yorimichi. Despite their close blood relationship of uncle and nephew, the hatred between the two deepened again.

“Y-You want to shield Kazuma? No... should I say that this is your scheme? Allowing Kazuma to go outside the country, having him learn jutsu to kill Juugo and Ayano, and finally letting Ren succeed the position of Suzerain?"

Yorimichi turned his accusing finger towards Genma. This kind of bad will was materializing like “sticky things connecting items together,” agitating the rest of the crowd.

“That kind of idea would only come from someone with low scruples.”

For Yorimichi to say such things was an almost insulting provocation. Genma did not try to contradict him out of the fear of making an extremely disrespectful reply if he did.

“Chichiue, that’s enough!”

Juugo cut in, interrupting the insulting diatribe. He decided to settle it by ordering Yorimichi to be taken away.

“Yorimichi, you must be tired. Please return to your room to rest.”

“Wait, Juugo! Genma cannot be trusted! If you don’t listen to me now, you will end up regretting it sooner or later!”

Yorimichi was hauled away like luggage. His harsh voice slowly decreased in volume until nothing could be heard.

“I really am sorry for the insulting diatribes of my father. Please forgive him on my behalf.”

Juugo placed both of his hands on the tatami in a slight bow. Genma replied indifferently, “I didn’t pay attention. The reason for such words is that the previous Suzerain cares deeply for the Kannagi clan.”

With an exchange of glances that instantly understood each other, they smiled at the same time. The time for chatting was over, and it was now time to discuss more serious matters.

“As the previous Suzerain said, the timing is too much of a coincidence. It is better for us to meet again and talk.”

Genma maintained his silence from the start, perhaps because he did not want to discuss his own son.

“Would Kazuma submit to our instructions willingly?”

“If he won’t submit, we will have to use force to bring him here. Even though he has gained strength, he is still Kazuma. Two or three people will be more than enough to capture him.”

“...That’s good, then. The selection of persons in charge of this a.s.signment will be your responsibility, Genma. No matter what, it is necessary to bring back Kazuma quickly.”

“Understood.” Even though Genma had just received an order to capture his own son, Genma was tranquil compared to others.

“Ayano-sama has returned!”

The serious expression on Juugo’s face began to relax. Genma put on a highly energetic and fierce look as well.

“Oh, I"m back!”

She appeared without even waiting a second. Bah! She pulled the sliding door open and caught everyone’s attention.

“I’m home, Otou-sama! Ehh...? What’s going on?”

An a.s.sertive young teenage girl appeared before the crowd, noticing the mood a moment later. Her long, pink hair that almost reached her back flowed along with the movements of her head, representing the blooming of abishoujo. At that moment, the "dark and cold" atmosphere completely vanished. Her spiritual energy completely cleansed the room"s atmosphere in one breath. The appearance of an unclear enemy who killed family members became muted. The people who had been discussing this situation nonstop now faced a blinding light. Their feelings of discomfort and distress completely vanished.

As if facing the rays of the sun, all movements in the dark ceased to exist. The girl in the doorway, a girl who had the ability to vanquish darkness with spiritual powers not unlike the power of light, was heir of the Suzerain, owner of Enraiha and Juugo’s daughter: Kannagi Ayano.

“How’s the report, Ayano?”

Juugo tested his daughter with the same serious expression that he used when asking other people. To him, that was the best way for a father to guide his daughter.

“Excuse me.” Ayano at that moment finished bowing. “The youma that was released was completely vanquished.”

“Hmm, good job.”

Finishing her report to the Suzerain as a pract.i.tioner, Ayano innocently continued her questioning.

“So, what actually happened, Otou-sama?”

“Hmm——earlier, three people had been killed without being noticed. This is a serious situation!"

Although they were distant relatives, Ayano quieted after hearing how three people from the family had been killed. The "serious situation" wasn’t the fact that "three people had been killed." Rather, it was because it was "without being noticed."

This was not some callous sentiment, but it was an understanding of what was of primary importance. For a girl of only sixteen years of age, who had such a strong will and discipline, it was surprising.

“n.o.body saw who it was? A Fuujutsu pract.i.tioner?”

“Of course there"s a suspect.” Faced with Ayano’s questions, Juugo replied heavily, “...It’s Kazuma.”

“Who’s that?”

Faced with this kind of close and revealing speech, Juugo’s "sun vein" furrowed.

“Think carefully about your older cousin’s name... the one who you fought against in the "Succession Ceremony" for Enraiha, the representative sword of the Kannagi clan."

“Older cousin... Could it be the Kazuma who left the family four years ago? Could that even be called a fight?”

Juugo secretly spied on Genma’s expression to see if there were any changes from hearing Ayano"s blunt words. Genma"s inner feelings were not apparent, as his outer unreadable appearance didn’t change at all.

“Right, I heard he left the country... and trained elsewhere. Later, he became a Fuujutsu pract.i.tioner?”

“That’s how it is. Supposedly, he returned to j.a.pan recently and changed his name to Yagami Kazuma. Yesterday, he met with the late Shinji during a job, where he beautifully completed it. It seems like he has trained very hard in those four years.”

“Kazuma... Looks like he hates us…” Finally remembering, Ayano looked distant.

“It could be like that,” Genma replied without any facial expression.

“But, even though it is like that, we cannot just kill him. If it was done by him, we need to use his life to pay for the crimes.”

“If...?”

Ayano turned to look at Genma, searching for a clue as to what Genma was thinking. Genma accepted Ayano’s look without any change. The one who disinherited Kazuma and the one who provided the reason for his disinheritance crossed gazes. The first to look away was Ayano. Strength as pract.i.tioners aside, her life’s experience was immensely surpa.s.sed. In reality, even with careful searching, she still lacked the confidence in her ability to win. Ayano stopped her meaningless gaze, and turned to look towards Juugo.

“So, what do we do next? Eliminate him?"

After seeing his daughter say such words so easily, Juugo immediately replied.

“We still cannot be certain whether Kazuma was the one who did it, but no matter. We should find him and talk with him first.”

“...Yes...”

Perhaps due to the mighty power that Enraiha bears, whenever Ayano was faced with a problem, she was inclined to use power to resolve it. Juugo had always hoped that she understood her position as the next clan chief and therefore had to be more flexible in her thinking.

“You have just finished a mission, you must be tired, today get some good rest.”

“...I understand.”

Even though she did not seem pleased, Ayano still obeyed her father’s words and quickly left the scene after bowing. The att.i.tude she portrayed by not even looking at Juugo showed just how unhappy she was.

“......This stubborn child.”

Juugo sighed as he muttered this. However, despite his tone being so bitter, he was still unable to hide the overflowing love he had for her.

It was easy for the information network of the Kannagi clan to find out where Kazuma was.

Finding him the next morning did not really require any special methods because he used his own name to register into a hotel.

Consequently, at Genma’s command, two pract.i.tioners were sent out.

Yuuki Shingo and Oogami Takeya were the strongest pract.i.tioners of the branch families. Even though they had opposing personalities, they were great friends. This combination, outside the main family, could be said to be without equal.

From Genma’s point of view, he had thrown in the two strongest cards at hand. However, the selection of the oldest son of the Yuuki family might have been a deadly mistake. Why? That was because this man had absolutely no desire to convince Kazuma.

“Kazuma, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I will cut you into ten thousand pieces.”

“If he dies, it will be problematic. At least leave him with the ability to talk when we take him back.”

As they waited for the upcoming report, they headed directly towards Kazuma. Of course, they had absolutely no desire to persuade him; however, they never expected that they would be a.s.saulted.

“Is the report ready yet?”

“It’s going to be ready soon.”

This kind of discussion couldn"t satisfy them at all. They didn"t know how many times they had asked. Given that the two of them were still waiting to receive the same report, it didn"t matter how much they asked…

“What the h.e.l.l are they doing, that useless Fuuga clan! It’s that one person, Kazuma; can’t they easily bring him over!?”

Shingo reprimanded angrily as they began turning the arrowhead towards the Fuuga clan.

“This is worrying. The Fuuga clan might even be connected to this situation.”

Takeya forcefully said some pretty words to sway Shingo. A situation in which the Fuuga clan was shielding him wasn"t impossible, after all. Takeya"s plan to insult them and redirect Shingo"s anger was certainly welcomed.

Thinking shortly, Shingo gritted his teeth angrily and said, “d.a.m.n it, they only have slightly sharper senses, what"s there to be complacent about?”

“Don’t say it like that. They"re just a bunch of sad people with non-discussable... Nil fighting power. Failing to do something this simple, aren"t they very pathetic?”

“That’s right, hahaahahahahahaaaaa…”

Just as Takeya had wished, Shingo had completely forgotten about the issue of the reprimand. Hearing this sudden liberated laughter, Takeya had a thought not unlike one from 10 seconds ago. “Still not ready yet?” Similarly, he felt it to be very slow and lengthy.

“Incoming, in the area right ahead, about 500 meters. Looks like he hasn’t noticed.”

Suddenly, amidst the conversation between the two, a voice appeared. It was from a jutsu used by the Fuuga clan called “Method of Summoning/Calling Spirits”. It allowed the wind to carry voices over large distances.

“He’s coming! I won’t leave him any limbs, arms or legs. Burn it all! Let’s attack!”

This was not voiced for anyone to hear, only Shingo’s mumblings to himself. It could be seen from his hatred-filled eyes that his pa.s.sion certainly could be really problematic.

Shingo rattled on about how he would execute Kazuma. He hoped Kazuma would at least put up some resistance before dying so that he and Takeya could slowly torture him to the brink of death. Shingo was determined to make Kazuma suffer as painfully as possible.

Takeya pulled a small distance away from Shingo from this, thinking "so this guy is this dangerous." And so, the distance between their hearts grew larger.

Just when a rift between their friendship was about to form, Kazuma appeared.

They faced the apparently defenseless and casual Kazuma. Takeya arrogantly greeted him.

“Long time no see, Kazuma!”

“…Oh, you"re the successor of the Oogami family?”

Kazuma paused for a moment to recollect his memories. However, Takeya took it as a display of shock as if Kazuma had just realized he was being ambushed. His arrogant upraising mentality weakened Takeya’s concentration.

“Do you know why we are here?”

Takeya questioned using a tone filled with superiority. At the same moment, he calmed Shingo, whose eyes were blood-shot and whose heart was filled with the desire to release his flames.

“No idea.”

Kazuma’s reply could not be any more honest. Yet, it was not entirely without a sense of taunting. He used a joking action to exaggeratedly shrug his shoulders and shake his head. As expected, he managed to p.i.s.s Takeya off enough for his veins to show.

However, Takeya succeeded in controlling his anger, and, after recovering his cool, began to explain.

“Yesterday night, three pract.i.tioners of the Kannagi clan were killed."

“Uhmm... and?"

Kazuma asked, with the same tone of supreme authority.

“The person who killed them was a Fuujutsu pract.i.tioner."

“……………………..”

“……………………..”

Their surroundings were covered in silence as a warm wind blew through the dusk on Tree-Shadow Road. The red leaves began to dance lightly, shined upon by a crimson sun that dyed them an even darker shade of red. This was the beauty that appears before the darkness that controls the world.

“……………..”

The first to open his mouth was Kazuma. It seemed like he detested the still silence even more than being stared at by the two men.

“So, what"s the matter?”

“The Suzerain has things to ask you! Follow us!”

“It wasn’t me. Are you finished?”

Kazuma said, clearly showing his desire to leave. He suddenly bounced to the side. An instant later, the s.p.a.ce that Kazuma had just jumped away from became engulfed in a fireball.

Kazuma looked towards the perpetrator. Shingo, using a tone like a natural-born deep-voiced singer, shouted.

“Hm hm hm, what’s the matter, you finally admit it? Then, there is no other way besides force to subdue you!”

At the same time, "tongues of crimson" surrounded Shingo and began to burn and dance.

Even though these flames were attached to Shingo’s body, his clothes were not burned. He was exhibiting an unexpected level of precision.

As the flames continued to move on his body, Shingo became so happy that his lips slanted. He proclaimed...

“If you refuse to talk about it, then you are very suspicious. I’ll burn off your arms and legs! Lessening the weight will make you easier to transport! I won’t kill you, but could you continue to live in such a humiliating condition? After the Suzerain finishes his questioning, I’ll be merciful, and kill you within one week! You can use that time to fully regret your life. I want you to know that after killing Shinji, I absolutely cannot allow you to continue living untroubled!”

a.s.suming that the future would be as Shingo claimed, Kazuma nevertheless was still faced with watching the crazed, laughing Shingo as if he was observing some kind of rare animal. He turned to Takeya and asked very seriously...

“So the Kannagi clan still feeds this kind of thing?”

“—No, ahh….hu….”

Takeya really had no reply. He, who considered himself to be normal, did not want to be a.s.sociated with the thing next to him as though they were of the same kind.

“Shingo always adored Shinji. Now he hates you for killing him, he is quite within reason.”

“That’s why I said it wasn’t me.”

“Then please go and clarify everything with the Suzerain.”

“I am no longer part of the Kannagi clan. If the Suzerain has business with me, tell him to come and look for me himself. Please pa.s.s it along to him like that.”

“It seems … The negotiations have broken down then.”

In order to make good on his words, Takeya raised his "ki." He then directed the surrounding fire spirits to dance with his conscience.

The surrounding temperature rose enough to be felt with the skin. Even though the fire spirits had yet to materialize, the surrounding area had clearly changed in physics.

Seemingly frightened by the emergence of such elevated fighting spirit, scores of red leaves continued to flutter down, instantly changing into ash and floating away before touching Takeya’s body.

Remaining subdued, Kazuma stood with his hands in his leather jacket, watching the two of them. It seemed like he had no desire to confront the Kannagi clan, though it was hard to tell from that kind of pose.

“This is your last opportunity. Yield humbly to us, Kazuma.”

Faced with Takeya"s final ultimatum, Kazuma raised his middle finger and said.

“Take a good look at yourselves before coming.”

Shingo and Takeya moved in complete coordination, releasing their fireball attacks at the same time.

“Die!!!”

“You idiot!”

The instant they started their jutsu, the two believed that victory would be definite. Two of the clan"s strongest pract.i.tioners were attacking at the same time. No matter what kind of strategy Kazuma had, facing those two ma.s.sive powers would be hopeless.

But...

Boom!

The fireball in Takeya’s hand suddenly exploded. He was incredulous that the fireball had such a big categorical runaway explosion.

The fireball, leaving Takeya’s control, was like a wild animal with its tooth pulled out. Even with the protection of the fire spirit, it was impossible to shield against the crash of the explosion’s force.

The shock struck his entire body and Takeya was simply knocked out.

(W, What? What just happened…? s.h.i.t, Shingo, leave….)

Unfortunately, Shingo had similarly lost consciousness, with black and blue continuously pulsing on his face.

As Kazuma returned his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket, he lowered his head to the two people before him. After flashing a condescending grin, he walked right by the two unconscious persons" sides.

Contradicting his wish to leave immediately, Kazuma stopped. As if feeling something, he looked towards the trees where there was no one.

“If you want to pick a fight with me, I won’t be merciful.”

At the same time, one of the trees split in half. There was no noise from the chopped tree. A guarding Fuujutsu pract.i.tioner slowly slid down from it.

Already forgetting to hide himself, this person stood while dumbly staring at Kazuma. As Kazuma turned to leave, he became fearful. “The one we lured was him? The prey we were hunting is this frightening thing——?"

“Seriously, father worries too much. I alone am enough. I don’t know how many times I have repeated this. When will he acknowledge me? Am I that untrustworthy?”

“The Suzerain acknowledges the young mistress" abilities, but as a father he is simply worrying about his daughter.”

Confronted with the disgruntled Ayano, the man in his forties cajoled her.

Ayano had been ordered to a certain temple in the city of Yokohama Yamate to strengthen the weakening seal inside. Coincidentally, this place was very close to where Kazuma had extorted every cent from his employer. Basically, this was where he had exorcised only a few days ago. However, Ayano knew nothing of this.

Upon arriving at the location and discovering that the seal had deteriorated to a point beyond the previously a.s.sumed limits, Ayano immediately discarded the idea of resealing it, instead deciding to eliminate the seal. Without any attempt to test it, she immediately ripped off the seal.

One of her favorite sayings was, “this method is faster.”

People without significant confidence in their own abilities would not say something like that. However, the two men that accompanied her knew that she had the prerequisite abilities needed to complement such self-confidence.

Certainly, Juugo also knew that she had this kind of ability, but such worries of a father were within reason. Even if Ayano described Juugo as stupid or foolish, most of time he still sent two or more people to protect her.

“He always lectures me. "Don"t mix work with your private life." "Don"t follow your own desires to do things." Isn"t that right, Uncle Masato?”

Still discharging her irritation, Ayano faced the said man, Masato, the younger brother of the head of the Yuuki family.

“Because he is the Suzerain, he cannot mull over such minor issues.”

A smile and a laugh appeared on Masato’s thin face. As a member of one of the branch families, he certainly was not thinking about the consequence, but it seemed like Ayano hadn’t really noticed or cared.

This man, Oogami Masato, although possessing strength greater than his older brother, disliked scheming for the position of family head. And so, he went off to Tibet to train like an eccentric person.

When he returned to j.a.pan, he was ordered to protect Ayano. Juugo held him in high regard, as from the first time Ayano went on a mission, he was continually responsible for her protection.

Ayano also had good feelings about this easygoing relative. Contrasting the princess-like treatment that most people gave her, Masato’s causal att.i.tude was quite refreshing for her and felt very good.

Consequently, they referred to each other (Uncle Masato and Ojo-sama) as if they were a real family.

“Maybe if it"s to allow the younger pract.i.tioner here to learn, this kind of reasoning is possible. Isn’t that so, Takeshi…Takeshi?”

“Ahh, yes!?”

The younger pract.i.tioner was staring at Ayano with eyes of admiration. Oogami Takeshi’s uncle had to call out many times before he finally paid attention.

“Did you not hear… Stop staring stupidly at Ojo-sama, and be prepared. We don"t know when the seal will be released.”

“Yes, I understand! Just as Uncle has said! It is really a great honor to be allowed to watch Ayano-sama"s striking fight method!”

In an attempt to look good in front of Ayano, Takeshi pointlessly shouted in a loud voice. He stared at Ayano with admiration and reverence. After all, to Takeshi’s generation of pract.i.tioners, Ayano had the status of a G.o.ddess. Being able to watch her striking method from close by, while guarding her, was a task anyone would accept.

“Yes——It’s——like——this?”

“Yes, it’s like that!”

The exhilaration of being able to talk to Ayano flowed from Takeshi’s entire body. Though, Ayano did not like being looked up to like that. It gave her the feeling that she was separate from normal people, instead becoming an ent.i.ty that she didn"t want to be.

Unfortunately, no matter how often she explained that, it was useless. It was Takeshi’s only, yet simple, means of showing deference to a much stronger and more beautiful existence.

“Ah, forget it. … It’s about time.”

Ayano, sensing the expanding ki of the youma, relaxed and turned herself towards the main hall. Her miniskirt started to flutter and dance.

Now, why would Ayano be wearing her high school uniform?

This was not only to allow her to normally attend high school. Since, if you thought about it, the best outfit for a high school student was their uniform. So, Juugo focused upon this point and added, within the range of his abilities, the best cla.s.s of defensive spells to it.

The uniform, in order to allow better transpiration, was woven from the best type of silk there was. That is, during the process of fabrication, air was mixed into it. Furthermore, everything was sewn from expensive materials.

As a result, a high school uniform was made from extravagant amounts of money and time. It would not be wrong to call it a work of art; since, the high cost certainly made it worthy. The money placed into this uniform was enough to buy a car, or even a luxury house.

Of course, Ayano paid attention to wear this outfit, not because of its capabilities, but because it was a gift given to her by her father. As a result, she frequently wore this outfit in combat.

In this uniform, the world’s most expensive combat outfit, Ayano watched as the seal began breaking. She took a deep breath and started moving and warming up her own inner strength.

Pah!

A clapping sound started to vibrate within the room. Ayano opened her two closed palms. A flaming line appeared between them. She grasped it with her right hand, swinging it horizontally.

The meter-long, burning line instantly materialized into a crimson sword.

There was no blunt side to this bright crimson sword, as it had two edges. The blade of the sword was surrounded by a golden flame, releasing vivid beautiful light. It was as beautiful as one could imagine.

The sword was the Kannagi clan’s supreme treasure, Enraiha. It was awarded to the Kannagi clan’s founder by the King of the Fire Spirits. It has been pa.s.sed down and used to defeat evil ever since. "

Ayano lifted Enraiha upwards, grasping the sword with her other hand as well and making a downward stroke. Golden pieces of the flame trailed behind it, spreading in all directions. In an instant, she beautifully stopped the sword before her eyes. Whether it was done ten thousand times or a hundred thousand times, this was a beautiful motion that could always be appreciated.

The vase of the shrine approached its limits and, with a “pong” sound, burst open. Even before the pieces could finish falling, a white light shot towards Ayano.

Ayano made a downward stroke with Enraiha, attacking the light head on. Upon contact, the white substance gave off a sound like sprinkling water on a burning hot pot and vaporized.

“Ugh, it’s sticky.”

Ayano mumbled after seeing it disperse in all directions. The material was connected by thin threads.

She redirected her vision to the inside of the main hall, seeing a few dots of light. The thing slowly moved forward and revealed itself.

“Wah…”

Ayano, inadvertently surprised, let out a gasp. The thing that had appeared was ——

Possessing a great number of eyes and beyond eight feet, covered with dirty yet rigid fur, the segmented animal produced sounds like “kulah, kulah” as its legs brought it into the open. Anyone would shiver upon seeing its full appearance, a monstrous spider freak.

“Earth Spider huh... Need help?”

“Not necessary.”

Ayano immediately replied. Though it produced a very disgusting feeling, there was no time for complaints. It seemed like she was more afraid of disappointing her otou-san, and fighting against spiders or c.o.c.kroaches was nothing in comparison.

(Come...)

Summoning fire spirits does not require chants and such. As if following Ayano’s thinking, fire spirits a.s.sembled themselves and flew into Enraiha. The light of the flame became even brighter, shining along the sword"s blade.

Within the range of her awareness, Ayano continuously summoned more spirits. Juugo had instructed her many times, "Don’t be like other pract.i.tioners. The spirits are not commanded; you can’t be too arrogant."

“The spirits have the same level of existence as we do.”

Juugo frequently repeated this saying, that spirits were the means to safeguard the existence of the world’s order. The Kannagi clan had a contract with the spirit king, and the spirits were only helpers.

Of course, Ayano also understood that her own strength was borrowed. The power was gifted for a short period of time, and only to seal or vanquish the inconsistencies in the world’s order.

Therefore, she was not ordering them, because such matters were unnecessary. If the correct way of thinking was clear, the fire spirits would certainly answer.

Having respect for the world, not obtaining huge power or being arrogant. Ayano, no matter what, always called out to them like this: “Please, lend me your strength…”

“V… Very formidable…”

Takeshi watched, dumbfounded as the enormous number of spirits gathered into Ayano’s body. The amount of spirits he could manage was only one small portion of hers. For him, it was the first time seeing the main family’s power, as different from him as sky and ground.

“Ah, formidable, right!?”

Masato said, smiling to show off his own condition.

“Even though we said it recently, no matter how hard we work, we won’t be able to reach such levels.”

His uncle’s reply already forgotten, Takeshi once again looked at Ayano.

Ayano, holding Enraiha, continued to confront the earth spider.

(What should I do… looks like I can’t get close…)

Even though the summoned spirits were already enough to destroy the earth spider, she really didn’t have the confidence given her distance from it. Even though Enraiha was an ancient sword used for summoning, it was necessary to employ it to its fullest potential.

In other words, she had to close in and puncture or split the earth spider, then, from the inside, burn its body completely.

(Of course, if that was done, more sticky stuff will probably fly out from the cut… after the explosion, the body"s pieces would fly everywhere… and if it"s female, after opening its skin, hundreds of spiders might come out… No———!)

Just thinking about it made her hair stand on end. Inside, Ayano started complaining bitterly. If Takeshi could have read Ayano’s inner thoughts then, his own thoughts of reverence would probably have disappeared.

The earth spider seemed to seize the opening that Ayano"s mulling gave. Using its long legs it made a "palapala" sound, as it turned its body and started moving.

“You want to escape!?”

Suddenly, white silk spat out from the tail towards the pursuing Ayano. At the same time, she pulled up Enraiha to face it.

Golden flames emerged from Enraiha, burning the spider’s web. Unfortunately, because of the blockage by the silk, Ayano still could not get close to the earth spider.

Ayano could only stop and focus her mind. She took a deep breath, tuning her ki, and calmed down.

(This kind of thing can’t do any real kind of obstruction. I"ll just kill it in a few seconds.)

Lifting up Enraiha, she performed a downward swing with her full strength. The golden flame, the highest level of fire purification, not only completely burned down the earth spider’s web, but also closed in directly on the earth spider itself.

Kaboom!!

With the sounds of the explosion, the earth spider was surrounded by flames.

“Got…Gotcha…?”

But, as Ayano dubiously mumbled while looking into the flames, what emerged was only a white coc.o.o.n-like object. What really surprised her was the “pishpish” sound of it splitting open.

Pang!

Like a thin layer of gla.s.s shattering, the middle of the coc.o.o.n split open and the earth spider reappeared, completely unharmed.

The webbing apparently contained some special component that could block spiritual energies. The spider had used that covering to hide its body and avoid the purifying powers of the flames.

“...It’s~ it’s quite formidable, hu~”

Ayano sang. At first glance she seemed very calm, but a careful study would reveal that her sun vein had already risen.

Ayano did not attack with full strength, but her confidence ebbed when she saw it being completely deflected.

“Only a little bug, don’t be so haughty ——!!”

Resonating with Ayano’s anger, an even greater amount of fire spirits gathered. There was no materialization, but in the vicinity, enough spirits gathered to equal a volcano opening.

“Then… regretting it now?”

Accompanying her anger, Ayano entered a selfless state. Her composure was completely engulfed by anger, and transformed into strength.

She continuously summoned stronger and even stronger spirits. This time, it wasn"t directly released into a single area but, using her immovable strength of mind, was released into one direction.

This time, Ayano held Enraiha perpendicular to her body. Focused on running after the earth spider, she took a deep breath and released it with a sharp “kiai.”

“Haa!!”

In an instant, the flame flew into the earth spider’s body. Its abdomen expanded and exploded, transforming it into a miniature torch.

Within this seemingly small torch gathered the entire area’s fire spirits. The explosion of the fireball continued to expand. This time the earth spider was definitely transformed into ashes.

Nothing was left. The pieces of the spider’s body and the youma spirit around it had been completed purified. Now, the temple where the youma was vanquished finally filled with the tranquil air that temples should have.

If an attack from the outside could be defended against, simply attack from the inside. Even though describing it was easy, actually doing it was close to impossible.

This was like the world’s own close relationship with the spirits. Like the life force of living beings.

The body of living beings that have water cannot remain unaffected by water spirits, and living beings that have heat house fire spirits within their bodies.

Though youma materialize, they can’t escape this rule.

However, in ordinary circ.u.mstances, controlling the spirits residing within the body was impossible.

These kinds of spirits, infinitely close to a living beings’ survival instinct, hold enormous willpower. The origin of life does not allow control to anyone.

Even a genius can’t control it easily as he would like. But in this world, no matter what, there are always people who spend their entire day saying "logical boundaries" are for foolish and sad humans.

“Heh. It was this kind of thing.”

Ayano released a pleasing smile and turned around to go back.

“Then, let’s go! ...”

She couldn’t continue her dialogue. Ayano stupidly stared at the two’s body language. Probably, the bigger body was Masato, and on its left was Takeshi"s body. Everything seemed to be just fine.

But——

(How come there’s no head…?)

The two were standing naturally. The taller one still had both hands in his pockets, and the other seemed unable to control his exhilaration, holding a fist in front of his chest.

It didn’t seem odd that they had no heads, for whatever reason.

Ayano looked toward the ground, where two round objects entered her eyes. Ayano stumbled, nearly falling over, but steadied herself. She knelt down and lifted one of them onto her knees. Even though it was quite heavy, Ayano smiled as she smelled the odor of the person that she really liked. Ayano hugged the head of the one who, from a very young age, fought together with her and taught her the ways of survival. Quietly, she mumbled.

“Uncle… head… fell down… uh…"

Ayano sadly smiled as she tried to put Masato’s head back on. Hoping that by doing this he would return to life, she stubbornly forced the head back on.

As if mocking Ayano, an unseen blade lightly carved into Masato’s body. In a second, the big body split apart into hundreds or even thousands of slices of meat.

His heart had stopped pumping a while ago, so fresh blood did not fly out from the sharp cuts.

Although there were no sounds of flowing blood or breaking flesh, strangely enough, it still gave people a feeling of reality.

Under the blowing of the wind, Masato’s body came apart without a sound. As if it had gone through a paper shredder, the pieces of meat danced in the sky like flower petals.

Ayano watched the frozen picture.

Drip.

Accompanying the sound of a water droplet, something fell on her face. Ayano unconsciously tried to remove it.

It was a bright red piece of meat, which still had some remaining warmth. Ayano’s consciousness seemed to pa.s.s through a filter as she realized what was on her fingers. She only recovered a small amount.

“No...”

It had once been a part of Masato’s body, but now he could no longer be described even as a corpse.

“I don’t want this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

At that moment, Ayano"s screams could be heard far and wide.

"Kukukukuku—————"

This sound that vibrated through the air, the snickering sound, wasn’t directly sent to the brain. To better describe it, accompanying this “sn.i.g.g.e.r” were some strong feelings. This derision towards the opponent’s “awareness” seemed to provoke and annoy Ayano.

Faced with the appearance of the enemy, due to frequent training of the body and spirit, Ayano instantly entered fighting mode.

She buried deep within her the feeling of anguish, subst.i.tuting it with the feelings of animation and antic.i.p.ation.

Directing her anger towards her opponent, she challenged it...

"Come out!"

Ayano had already surpa.s.sed the limits of anger that could be expressed on a human"s face, though she seemed determined that she could. She looked up.

It was that thing. In front of a branch on a huge tree stood a human shadow, completely without fear of danger and with its right hand resting in its pocket.

Since it was a place without much light, she was unable to clearly see her opponents face. It didn’t really matter, though, since the overflowing of evil ki already told her "this is an enemy."

Ayano silently swung Enraiha upwards.

There was no need to know who it was, nor was there the need to acc.u.mulate strength. All that was required was to calmly mix in the killing intent and kill it in one strike. The sharpened killing intent transformed the burning sword blade, whose flames flowed upwards.

Moving lightly, clearly defying its weight, that thing avoided the slash, leaping high onto the roof as if flying. That thing looked down towards Ayano, slowly moving its body as if to say "chase away."

This was clearly a trap, but Ayano bravely accepted this kind of provocation.

(Even if it is a trap, it doesn"t matter, I will definitely annihilate you.)

Deep within herself, she was submitting to such a type of anger. Ayano had already begun a rampage for revenge.

In the sky, the ki of a youma suddenly appeared.

“Hmm…”

Kazuma suddenly looked toward the sky. To conceal itself, it had gathered bit by bit in the sky. Suddenly, a wind blade flashed out. Kazuma had absolutely no time to defend, and even flying backwards to avoid it took his full effort.

The wind blade pa.s.sed right by Kazuma, who was still rolling away, and then, slightly changing its angle, sliced the Fuuga pract.i.tioner, Shingo, and Takeya in half with one strike.

“Wait! Wait a second!!”

Kazuma yelled mindlessly as the situation changed into something that he had not predicted.

(I... I was actually ambushed!?)

Actually, it was the first time he had been ambushed. Furthermore, it was an ambush with wind spirits? No matter who had summoned them, it was impossible for Kazuma not to feel the gathering of such a degree of wind spirits. No matter how great the Fuujutsu pract.i.tioner, the use of Fuujutsu could not deceive Kazuma. This was not a question of the difference between abilities, but that the rules were thus.

However, what had just occurred was that impossible situation. Kazuma immediately broke off his thoughts, focusing towards the thing in the sky.

“What’s… that thing...?”

A really small object, perhaps smaller than 20 mm, was floating in the sky about 20-30 meters above. Near it, five things rose and flew out.

“Someone’s hand…? Doesn’t seem so... red leaves…?

No matter how he looked, it didn’t seem like it was flying in the sky. It wasn"t controlling the wind. With a questioning look, Kazuma suddenly discovered what that thing really was.

It was a human hand. A strange human hand was flying in the sky. However, even recognizing it didn’t solve anything, as it still couldn’t change the fact that three people had been killed.

(Anyways, first let’s defeat it!)

Kazuma mumbled in a voice that only he himself could hear. The thing that looked like a hand flew higher into the sky... and disappeared.

“Wait! What are you actually thinking!?”

Kazuma protested to the wind spirits, as this was clearly against the contract. But, the spirits only made an uncertain sound, and they certainly couldn’t tell Kazuma the location of the strange human hand that disappeared.

“What"s going on…”

The miserable condition in front of his eyes, the corpses of Shingo, Takeya and the Fuuga pract.i.tioner, seemed just as if it was done by Kazuma.

The spirits disobeyed the contract? —— Impossible.

If Kazuma were to hear this kind of situation from someone else, he would have highly doubted the mental state of that person. This was why what just happened was a very irregular situation.

The spirits did have cognizant qualities. Initial Principle —— it was when the world was first created. Immutable laws were created alongside this existing world, and the spirits obeyed them, allowing this world to remain intact in this kind of shape and reality. Bees have to live in a beehive, and one part of himself recognizes his own existence. The portion, even if it had intelligence, couldn"t possibly think. And of course, it was impossible for spirits to have the type of free will to break a contract.

If the spirits had the free will to move about, then the laws of science would be broken. The world would be destroyed within three days.

All of the wind spirits should obey Kazuma"s command. Even the spirits contracted with that thing had to follow that rule. But it didn"t...

“An exception...”

Kazuma thought of the worst case scenario, and sighed weakly.

(There’s someone like me? No way…)

It made him lose his enthusiasm just by thinking about it. Perhaps he could be considered lucky... Of course, Kazuma did not want to think this way at all. He now had no spare time to indulge in thought.

Since he sensed a ma.s.sive amount of fire spirits coming towards him.

(So even Ifrit has come here? c.r.a.p, when did j.a.pan become a world of youma!?)

Even before he finished composing his thoughts, a situation appeared that he could not have predicted.

What emerged was not Ifrit, but a young girl. She had red flames and eyes of burning hatred, holding acc.u.mulated power in her right hand.

“Kazuma—— !!”

The strength of the fire spirits that gathered in her right hand had already crystallized. Ayano seemed to have made up her mind that moment.

Chop!!

Ayano quickly entered the rapidly retreating Kazuma’s vision, swinging the red sword that was, for the Kannagi clan, more important than anything else. It was the sword that had made his life very chaotic.

Faced with the G.o.dly sword that he would have preferred never to meet again, Kazuma yelled,

“Enraiha!? Are you Ayano!?”

The only answer was a sword flash from Enraiha. Kazuma tried his best to explain to Ayano, who was filled with killing intent and not listening to anything.

“Hey, hey, wait a moment, this is a misunderstanding! They weren’t killed by me… hey, you should listen to what other people are saying!”

Flaming white fireb.a.l.l.s continuously approached. Kazuma kept dodging and speaking, but Ayano seemed like she couldn"t hear at all.

Ayano was already too angry and had already forgotten herself due to the esteemed Masato"s death. She had no time to listen to people talking. Furthermore, given what her otou-san had told her, Kazuma was quite suspicious.

Dang!!

“Hey!!!”

The fireball that Kazuma thought he had evaded suddenly exploded, blocking his means of retreat. Noticing this, Ayano took advantage of the explosion to appear in front of his eyes while swinging Enraiha.

“Uncle’s revenge!!”

“!!”

With that, she did a two part strike with the intent of splitting Kazuma like bamboo. Kazuma escaped by shifting his body sideways, using his palms to catch the sword handle near its top. Facing Ayano’s fiery anger and blood-covered face, he yelled,

“Otou-san? ... Genma died?”

However, even before he finished saying it, he realized that it was a mistake. Even though Ayano and Genma’s relationship wasn’t so bad at first glance, if Genma were to die, Ayano would not try to avenge him.

Another person appeared in his head. The “uncle” from the Oogami family that Ayano had been very close to.

The name was probably...!!

—— Bam!

"Ugh..."

Suddenly, Ayano threw her head upwards and struck Kazuma’s chin. Because of his pondering, his reflexes were somewhat slower. Though he quickly evaded, the blow still caused dizziness and pain in his head.

Despite that, he calmly asked,

"Oogami Masato died?"

Ayano"s face became even more somber. She forced so much strength into Enraiha that its flames could be clearly seen even from a distance.

(Seems like that had the opposite effect...)

Kazuma shrugged his shoulders, sighing. He had no more questions to ask this person filled with such emotion. Faced with this confused, angry little girl, anything he did would be useless.

However, he couldn"t kill her. If he was to hurt Ayano, the fool’s father, Juugo, would completely recognize him as an enemy. This had to be avoided.

This was not because he feared Juugo, who was the Kannagi clan’s strongest pract.i.tioner, but when he lived as "Kannagi Kazuma," Juugo was his only ally. In order not to sadden him, he could only do one thing.

“Ah—— Ayano-chan? I’m —— leaving then, the issue with cleaning up the corpses will be left to you. Then, see ya.”

Skillfully avoiding the tenacious approaching flames, Kazuma escaped.

“——Wait, wait a second!”

Kazuma, turning his back to Ayano, leaped up, surrounding himself with wind, and flew upwards about 10 meters, disappearing.

“Wha... Where did he...”

Kazuma floated directly above her as she continued to look around.

Manipulating the air and changing the reflection rate of light. Kazuma made himself transparent, just as if he was wearing an invisibility cloak. If Ayano had looked closely, she could have seen the parts where waves emerged from high heat, but as she was being controlled by anger and had forgotten herself, she did not.

Kazuma took no pleasure in watching the troubled Ayano, but thought about what he had to do later on.

From the looks of things now, the one who killed Shingo and Takeya has made me his scapegoat. If even Oogami Masato"s murder is blamed on me... If they really believe that I am the one who killed Oogami Masato as well...

Will this become an all out war with the Kannagi? Hmmmm... interesting, but this feeling of being toyed with by someone else really sucks... So then, what should I do now?

Hehe, hehe.

Kazuma burst out laughing. The Kannagi clan and the mysterious Fuujutsu pract.i.tioner. Two of the strongest things in the world were already a.s.saulting his life. Of course, he could not ignore this.