Tokyo Ravens - Volume 14 - Chapter 5.1

Chapter 5 - Advent, Transcendant 
Part 1 
The spirit flow connecting the heavens to the earth that extended from within the territory in Kanda Shrine vanished. 
The spell composing the Tenchuu Chifu Ritual's altar was undone and the magical energy vanished. Harutora bit his lip as his face paled. He looked to the side as he carried Natsume. 
The sun had completely set and the colors of the night already tinted the sky. But fire still burned on the shrine road that had become a magic battlefield. The wisps of flame drifted to the end of the ruined road. 
Kanda Shrine's Zuishin-mon was illuminated from the inside. The distinct darkness that had covered the gate was no more. Though a magnificent light came from the other side of the gate, it was accompanied by a powerful spiritual power. 
Sometimes, particles of light would rise upwards like snowflakes floating in the wind. 
The terrority had already become a divine realm - a secret world that that 'entity' in the center could clearly sense even from far away. More accurately, it wasn't that this 'entity' was in the center of the secret world, it was that the secret world was currently spreading out from the 'entity'. 
A mysterious entity like the time the Taizan Fukun Ritual had been performed, one that existed in all places near and far. A similar entity was now slowly revealing itself inside the territory. 
Both the people currently fighting and the people wounded on the ground gazed in the direction of Zuishin-mon. The spiritual might given off by that 'entity' couldn't be ignored, even from far away. 
The might of a god. 
"Damn......" 
If the god's aura weren't stopped inside the territory, it would instantly change the spiritual nature of the surroundings. 
...As he had thought......! 
The countless spirit flows that had been harnessed into the territory began to pulse ominously. Harutora knew very well the meaning of this activity. 
He clutched his fatigued arm with a strength he didn't even know he had. 

......What...... 
The girl before him was housing a god. 
There was no other pretense. It was as if the truth had been drilled straight into his head. The godly might around his body terrified Ohtomo's soul. This might be a feeling even more primitive than instinct. 
Ohtomo stayed turned around on the pedestal, holding the gun pointed towards Takiko. There were still bullets in the magazine, and Kurahashi had already fallen. At this distance, he definitely wouldn't miss. 
But he couldn't shoot. 
The finger pressing the trigger wouldn't move at all. Of course, it wasn't magic. Could his finger not move for a more profound reason? 
Then-- 
Takiko faced Ohtomo. 
A girl with red hair, wearing a black miko outfit. Her outline seemed to be shining right now. Aura gave off light that floated around the girl. Her red hair immersed in the light of aura resembled a burning flame, and the eyes that stared at Ohtomo resembled gems of a god. 
"Ohtomo Jin." 
Takiko said. 
Goosebumps formed all over Ohtomo's body. 
"Are you hoping for my destruction? Or the safety of your students?" 
Ohtomo couldn't say anything at all. 
Instantly, the aura erupting from the territory increased, whipping into a storm of magical energy. 
"Ugh!?" 
He hit a wall of the altar and collapsed onto the ground. 
"Shit!" Gozu fell to his knees, looking up with gritted teeth, and Mezu followed. 
Lag spread over their bodies. This was due to the gale from before - actually, the gale had been an attack aimed at the two of them, and Ohtomo had just gotten caught up in it. 
Panting, the oni stared at Yashamaru, who had gotten free of the illusion. 
The young man, with his slender, aristocratic body, seemed to completely recovered. Just like how a master gave his shikigami magical energy, Takiko was pouring strength into Yashamaru. Now, the defensive familiar had obtained her strength and the divine aura from her body, like a dependent [22] . 
Gozu was blocking the way. Yashamaru sent him flying with a blow, and walked straight up to the stone platform, in front of his master. He went down on one knee and lowered his head. 
"Princess." 
He said reverently, raising his head and staying kneeled. A blissful expression filled his face, as if his violence from just now had been a lie. 
"Princess Masakado, how do you feel?" 
Takiko smiled at the defensive familiar's question. 
"Still nothing." 
"Nothing? What do you mean?" 
"I haven't come to this world in very long. My human feelings still haven't returned, and who knows if they still can return... In other words, my feelings have become the feelings collected after his death." 
"Indeed......" 
Yashamaru replied happily. But this was an abnormal joy, seeming imbalanced and unstable. 
But-- 
In any case, that was no longer a problem. What was normal and what was crazy? Those fundamentals were already transforming here. This was no longer anything humans knew of. It was already a question of the 'world'. 
Because gods were beings in between humans and the world. People knew of the world through gods, and changed the world through prayer to the gods. Natural grace was followed by the formation of deep concepts, trust in the gods, and communication with the gods. That was whath appened in the ancient era as well as the recent past. Now, humans prayed to the gods and changed the 'world knowledge' that they possessed. That was what people called 'magic'. 
Right now, a god had descended to the world. 
It was natural that the world would change. 
...Damn! 
Moving produced intense pain. His ribs were broken or fractured. Also, the magical damage was extremely great. It had been a single strike, and he had just been collateral damage, but it was a surprise blow that he hadn't been guarded against. 
...Right. What about Tenma-kun!? And that rabbit! 
He hastily confirmed. Tenma was frozen standing, looking at the god's descent. But he wasn't hurt. He hadn't been blown by the gale just now. On the other side, the rabbit girl who had been with Natsume and the others was still lying in the same place on the ground. But the barrier closing her in was shattered. It looked lke the barrier had acted as a shield to block the gale. She, like Tenma, was frozen. Only the rabbit ears on her head swayed left and right as if stimulated. 
He thought of what Tenma had just said. He had come to stop Ohtomo in order to prevent the outcome Kyouko had divined. And although Ohtomo had been stopped, was this outcome good or bad? 
"The spirit flow looks disturbed, but Princess Masakado doesn't seem angry." 
"This place is slowly becoming suited for Princess Masakado. But... it's not enough. I'm not sure what to do." 
"It doesn't matter. Tokyo is Princess Masakado's realm. Anything can be done for the Princess." 
Yashamaru proclaimed calmly. Takiko didn't seem opposed to her defensive shikigami's statement. Perhaps her mind was slowly changing. Just like her spiritual body, which felt like something completely different after the ritual. 
"In any case, there's nothing to worry about, Princess. Rather, you must be tired. You can't ignore the burden on your body. Why don't you rest for now." 
Yashamaru spoke extremely respectfully, lowering his head again. 
The Souma desire of many years had been realized. But no one needed to know that to realize that this wasn't normal. The situation was no longer normal. But the situation would definitely get worse with time. 
But Takiko shook her head at her defensive familiar's words. 
"I'm fine. Instead, I wish for you to do something for me." 
Yashamaru raised his head. 
"Bring Harutora here." 
Takiko said. Ohtomo was taken aback. 
Yashamaru didn't ask for the reason. He smiled brightly and replied "As you will". Ohtomo clicked his tongue. 
...The safety of his students... 
It was very clear what he must do now. Ohtomo put a healing charm on himself, removing the wounds from the magic while standing up. 
"Gozu! Mezu! Are you alright?" 
"Hey hey, you must be joking." 
"Y-You can't order me around!" 
The two lions had dematerialized the moment Kurahashi had died. The only enemies were Takiko and her shikigami. But Gozu and Mezu were clearly frightened by the opponent's presence. But that was obvious, since the opponent was so frightening. 
Now that it was down to this, he could only rely on-- 
"What fun, what fun. To think I could see something so curious." 
Doman appeared in front of Ohtomo. He had come down from the Hall of Worship rooftop at some point. He stared carefully at the miko standing on the stone platform as he said, 
"I see. Although I've seen a god descend to possess someone before, this is the first time I've seen a god appear in a body. Though I imagined it, this is quite troublesome. Well, 'gods' don't care about others. Ah, what fun. This is truly a sight." 
Doman cackled happily, unusually excited, as he spoke. 

Speaking of which, Doman was an ara-mitama. But at this kind of unusual time it was a blessing that he was reliable. 
"Priest, help me stop them!" 
"Hehe, you say to stop them, but that guys's just something that 'exists'." 
"Don't make excustes, we need to stop them here no matter what!" 
Takiko had asked whether his desire was her destruction or the safety of his students. But his students couldn't possibly be safe if Takiko was left to her own devices. 
But, 
"You seem to have misunderstood something, Ohtomo-kun." 
Yashamaru said to Ohtomo. Ohtomo readied himself. 
"We'll won't do anything to Harutora-kun anymore. At least as long as you don't present any threat to the Princess's life. The world's already changing. She and I will be gods. If you want your students to remain safe, shouldn't you ask for our protection? It would be safest to do nothing." 
"......" 
Ohtomo gritted his teeth. 
What kind of nonsense - he couldn't say it. Importuning a god to avoid disaster. It was an extremely natural thing to do. That's what kind of things 'gods' were. Just like he said, they were already those kinds of entities. 
He felt like his brain was warping. 
"Sensei!" 
Tenma called out. He looked back in concern. On the rooftop bordering the Hall of Worship stood a young man bathed in the light filling the territory. 
Ugh. Ohtomo moaned even more painfully. It was Kumomaru. Kumomaru, who had gone to the Armored Juggernaut, had returned with his master's permission. 
"...Princess!" 
Kumomaru looked down towards the stone platform as his body shuddered in joy. 
"Although... I'm late... I finally... bid you welcome..." 
He went down on one knee, as if unable to endure it. 
Ignoring the defensive familiar's feelings, Ohtomo began to sweat. 
He didn't even know what Takiko alone could do, and also there were the two Yase Doji. 
"What should we do, my master?" 
Doman leaned and looked back. 
"It might not be bad just to listen to their proposal." 
"What!? Priest!?" 
"I'd be quite excited if they faced us as Onmyouji, but with them as opponents it would just be tiring and boring. Also, joining them would allow us to further approach the depths of 'magic'. And we'd even be able to figure out what comes before 'magic'." 
Saying that, Doman cackled. 
Suddenly, a scene sprang up in Ohtomo's mind - the scene of him confronting Doman at the academy. 
Back then, Ohtomo had surmised his true form, and Doman had invited him to come to his side. Something about diving into the depths of 'magic' together. 
"What they're doing is something like worshipping god. Challenging the limits of 'magic'. I feel quite good about it. If my master's desires can be realized, then what's not to like?" 
Doman spoke happily. That voice had the same kind of madness as Yashamaru's from before. But that was that. Doman's joy when he used magic was like Yashamaru's, the joy of an eccentric. That was how he was. 
And now that the world had changed from normal to abnormal, it might no longer be right to term their abnormalities as such. Perhaps their ways became normal, like common sense. 
His head felt dazed. He wanted to make calm judgments, but his basis for decision-making and his values had already started changing. 
What can I do for the students? What was correct? 
Have my decisions been correct from the beginning? The students had encountered danger - and he had let them leave the battlefield. But the students who had originally been kept aside had fought with their own power and run into quite a few crisises. THen, they and Ohtomo had gotten involved in various escapades and arrived here and now. 
His feet creaked like they were going to crumble away. He felt as if he were losing his balance. The feeling he'd gotten recently that his aura was becoming chaotic definitely wasn't his imagination. It was the truth. Ohtomo's aura was slowly becoming affected by being inside the territory. It was already starting to change. 
What should he do? Ohtomo's thoughts became lost in a maze. 
Then, 
"For now, run away." 
A warm, refined voice. A voice praising the moon on an excellent spring night [23] . 
It wasn't loud at all, but the voice reached everyone inside the territory. It was because that voice didn't belong to anyone present. 
That voice didn't sound like it had any fear of the god who was here or her dependents. That said, it couldn't be called uncivil either. 
It was extremely 'natural'. It was already used to entities like gods. 
It was Akino. 
But Akino was still lying on the ground, the eyes beneath her glasses wide with surprise, and her hands covering her mouth. 
She herself was more surprised than anyone who cast their gaze at her. 
Also, Akino kept her surprised expression, moved the hands covering her mouth away, and said again, 
"Doman. I seem to recall that you still have that favor from our competition of magic. I'd like you to return that now." 
She spoke again. This time, the polite voice was filled with teasing. 
But it wasn't Akino's voice. 
Then, 
"Oh, hehehe." 
Doman suddenly laughed out loud. In his small child's body, he covered his stomach and stamped a foot, bending over with laughter. 
He laughed so hard that he couldn't speak. 
"My, my. I've been dead for a thousand years, and now you want that? While you've joined the ranks of the Yaoyorozu no Kami [24] - how greedy can one be? Truly, even I feel like I chose to challenge a troublemaker." 
What in the world was this? Doman continued laughing, leaving the confused Ohtomo out of the loop. Yashamaru gave Akino a sharp glance as if noticing something. 
Takiko looked up at the sky, 
"Taizan Fukun, huh." 
She smiled meaninglessly. 
Doman was still laughing. 
"Master, I don't have enough power on my own. I'll take your spiritual power too, Master." 
"Wait, Priest." 
"I'm borrowing Gozu and Mezu too. Things have finally become interesting, so I'll keep you alive. Alright." 
"Priest!" 
As Doman refined magical energy, Ohtomo's body lost its energy bit by bit. Doman was sucking his spiritual power. Since he didn't even have his cane, Ohtomo collapsed as if the blood had left his body. 
...What happened just now, and what was Doman doing!? 
As Ohtomo became more and more depleted, Doman's magical energy went up by leaps and bounds. "What a meaningless thing you're making me do." As he complained, his spiritual presence swelled up to a powerful level of an ara-mitama. 
Ara-mitama, a form of god. As the oni cheered, the Yase Dojis' faces became grim. The two gods confronted each other inside the territory of Kanda Shrine. 
"Ashiya Doman." 
Takiko said. 
"I want to speak with 'him', don't interfere." 
"I don't recommend you do that." 
Doman replied. 
"He's someone that would even willingly use gods or demons. His mark is the bellflower, isn't it? Or are you incensed that you were betrayed, and this time you want to get back at Seimei?" 
Doman chuckled, his small body full of magical energy bordering on the divine. 
"Doman!" Yashamaru shouted angrily, but Doman didn't mind at all. He sucked in Ohtomo's aura without any care in the world, refining a frightening amount of magical energy very quickly. Then, Doman's body - the body of the youngster that Doman was possessing - collapsed. 
The ara-mitama named Ashiya Doman had abandoned the body he possessed. 
But Doman said one final thing with the fallen body. 
"We'll meet again, Ohtomo Jin." 
Then, even more of Ohtomo's aura was sucked away, and he slowly lost consciousness.