Part 2
Tenma's eyes widened in stupor and regret.
His gaze was fixed on something in midair - the place that the paper that had just flown out of Tenma's pocket had given off light. His face was drained of blood, his lips were tight, and he stared intently at the place.
As he was dumbstruck, the cafeteria's windows were shattered one by one, and black shikigami invaded from the outside one after another.
The shikigami let out hideous laughter, jumping back and forth. They jumped to the ground, pushed over tables, flew out of the cafeteria, and continued infiltrating the interior of the academy. It wasn't just here. This scene was probably also playing out in the various other rooms of the academy. The sound of students' screams came from all directions along with the shouts of teachers.
The barrier had been broken.
Moreover, what had broken it was--
"Get up!"
Touji roared. Tenma shrank back in fright.
The shikigami that had just spoken had suddenly descended from around the ceiling, its target Harutora.
"Knave!"
Kon shouted. She released fireballs at the shikigami approaching Harutora.
Kon's fox fire hit its head. The shikigami wailed, thrashing in midair. Its upper body burned, and every time it flapped its wings, sparks scattered towards the surroundings. Using this time, Harutora quickly condensed his aura.
He infusing his magical energy into the shakujou. The rings on the front of the shakujou began spinning rapidly.
"Take this!"
He stabbed outwards.
Lag appeared over the shikigami's entire body, and it flashed unstably, finally exploding loudly. Afterwards, all that was left was a scorched charm floating down to the ground.
"...W, We did it!"
"No! There are still a lot. Everyone, leave the windows and form a circle!"
The black shikigami still invaded the cafeteria. Listening to Touji's instructions, Harutora, Natsume, Kyouko, and Suzuka immediately complied.
But,
"Tenma, what are you doing!"
Kyouko cried.
Tenma didn't move.
His mind was blank. He couldn't understand the situation just now. No, his mind refused to understand.
"Tenma! Get back!"
Harutora shouted, his face pale. The sound of shattering glass came from behind him a gain and he unconsciously looked back. A black shikigami broke the window and descended behind Tenma's back.
Its extremely hideous exterior was like a monster from a nightmare. But Tenma's mind was still paralyzed and he couldn't react for a while.
"Hakuou!"
Kyouko called forth her defensive shikigami. This shikigami resembled a knight clad in white armor. It was a 'Model G2 Yaksha' created by the Onmyou Agency.
Hakuou materialized in front of the shikigami about to crush Tenma, hitting it with its equipped katana by a hair's breadth. The cut shikigami showed lag and stopped moving. In this time, Kyouko rushed to Tenma, grabbing his arms and forcefully pulling him up.
"Idiot! What are you spacing out for! Snap out of it!"
The shikigami that had been cut by Hakuou let out an angry bellow, pulling away from the Yaksha. But it didn't show any signs of fleeing. It flew above a table and bared its fangs and teeth, threatening Hakuou - and the six students. Kyouko summoned her other defensive shikigami Kokfuu, which raised its spear next to Hakuou.
Harutora and the others adjusted their positions, adding Tenma and Kyouko into the circle.
"Tenma-kun, are you hurt?"
"Be careful, Tenma! This is a real battle right now!"
Natsume quickly checked Tenma's condition and Harutora kept watch over the surroundings while anxiously scolding Tenma. After hearing the words of the two people worried about him, Tenma's brain finally regained its function.
With his arm still being grabbed by Kyouko,
"......Sorry."
He spoke words of apology.
"Sorry, I'm really sorry. It was all my fault that......"
Tenma muttered with a pale face, unable to face up to Harutora and the others.
The reason the academy's barrier had been destroyed was extremely clear. Tenma had unknowingly brought Doman's charm - that small piece of paper - into the barrier. Just as Doman said, barriers were basically all used to stop enemies entering from the outside, and they couldn't endure an attack from the inside. The barrier the Onmyou Academy had prepared to deal with Doman had been completely demolished by Tenma's mistake.
The outcome he had brought was the situation before him.
"What should I do. It was all my fault...... I never knew anything. Sorry. I, I......"
The other five people had also noticed the reason the barrier had been broken. Kyouko let go, murmuring "Tenma......". The sympathy audible in her voice pricked Tenma's chest like a needle.
His shame and self-disgust had reached a level where he wanted to die. It assaulted him like a tsunami.
In order to help everyone, or at least to not become a burden, he had desperately worked hard up to now, but in the end he had ended up here with no way of turning things around. It wouldn't help no matter how much he apologized and regretted.
He had let the enemy invade the Onmyou Academy.
If this went on, there would definitely be injuries and deaths among the teachers and students. But Tenma didn't have the strength to stop this situation from occurring.
"......Sorry."
Apologizing couldn't resolve the problem, but he had to apologize. Tenma continuously repeated himself as if he were talking in his sleep.
But:
"Hah? What's up with you?"
Suzuka suddenly scowled and scolded him ferociously. "...Eh? Tenma unconsciously raised his head.
Suzuka didn't hide her anxious feelings, glaring sharply at the surrounding shikigami while glancing at Tenma:
"Tricks like hiding a charm to destroy a barrier from the inside are the oldest tricks in the book. It was just coincidence that you were chosen as the pawn. No, it was because you were related to this guy that he set the trap, right? This guy's his target. You just come along with him. Frankly, you're too self-conscious!"
"That......"
Her words were indeed reasonable. The enemy wouldn't possible target a small fry like him. Doman had also mentioned that he had 'specifically chosen someone near the Tsuchimikados'.
But he had been chosen as the target of the trap because he was the weakest link in Harutora's group. Tenma was somewhat self-conscious, but he still hadn't left Harutora and the others. It was proof that he didn't have strength - that he was naive. He was useless, nor did he have any talent.
But:
"The opponent's 'D', right? I already said many times, he's so powerful that the Mystical Investigators were shocked. Someone of your level couldn't possible cope if he eyed you. So what exactly are you thinking? What remorse, you're just acting disappointed and way too arrogant. Enough, glasses, hurry up and pull back so that you don't impede us!"
Suzuka's words were merciless. But because of this, the words clearly didn't have any deliberate sympathy or consolation. Her unconcealed rough tone blew away all of Tenma's gloom.
Touji smiled upon seeing the speechless Tenma.
"......A point for Dairenji, huh. Indeed, there aren't many people who would notice if Ashiya Doman were playing around with them. At least I don't have that kind of confidence."
"Yeah. It's like Dairenji and Touji said. Everyone's the same for not having seen through the trap. Alpha and Omega's inspections today morning were even more detailed than usual, but in the end they weren't able to notice the charm. This isn't the fault of Tenma alone. Though it's regretful, the opponents' skills are on another level."
"Really. In the end, it's always Natsume and I who trouble everyone. But you never hated us and you still get along with us fine, right? Isn't that right, Tenma."
Touji, Natsume, and Harutora consoled Tenma.
Harutora continued speaking.
"After all, we're just students. No one's mature yet, and that's why there's meaning in working together. Isn't that right?"
"......Harutora-kun."
His companions' words flowed into his heart. Finally, Kyouko patted Tenma's shoulder.
"Have you heard this? Save regret and despair for afterwards. Right now isn't the place for those, right?"
"Yeah, I agree completely with Kyouko's opinion."
Touji replied while surveying the surroundings.
Now, there were already more than ten black shikigami that had invaded the cafeteria and that had probably chosen Harutora and the others as targets. They didn't charge to other rooms, instead circling around them.
Harutora raised his shakujou again, and Kon turned the blade of her wakizashi outwards in front of Harutora. Kyouko had Hakuou and Kokfuu advance forwards a step, and Natsume, Touji, and Suzuka all showed serious, fearless expressions as they confronted Doman's shikigami.
Complying with Touji's plan, Harutora and the others put their backs to each other, forming a ring facing the surrounding shikigami. Tenma felt that even if he were added to the group, he couldn't raise their overall battle power.
But,
"Sorry...... Thanks."
Tenma walked in between Harutora and Kyouko, turning around and entrusting his back to his companions.
The black shikigami shrank their enclosure. Their numbers had now increased to almost twenty.
One of them met his gaze. The shikigami's crimson eyes rounded, its teeth gnashing audibly as it emitted a hideous laugh. It drooled as it pranced around mockingly.
He probably couldn't defeat that shikigami. He probably couldn't do it himself, whether it was driving away the enemy or guarding against the opponents' attacks.
But at the least, he wasn't scared anymore.
His breathing was as difficult as if he had been buried in sand, and his chest was filled with a huge feeling of powerlessness and remorse. Still, Tenma made every effort to focus completely on dealing with the battle before him.
Suzuka glanced at Tenma again, checking that the six were all able to act.
"......Well?"
"What do we do now? It's fine if we defeat every single one of them."
Suzuka checked the collective opinions of everyone by way of a question.
Then,
"Natsume, you decide."
Touji said decisively. Natsume stared at Touji over her shoulder with an "eh".
Touji didn't turn around.
"Among everyone, you're the key person. We'll trust your judgment. Dairenji, you don't mind, right?"
"......Hmph. I'll leave myself if I'm unhappy. You and I are different, I'm fine even by myself."
"I see. You're going to fight alone against this group of shikigami? Quite a miserable scene, even if you won't lose."
"Hey! You've been wanting too much since just now, headband! Why were my words twisted like that!"
"It's alright, Suzuka-chan. No one would leave Suzuka-chan out."
"What do you mean, leaving out! I wasn't your companion in the first place! What's more, you're really looking down on a Divine General! I'm really strong! One of only a dozen in the nation!"
Suzuka declared again angrily. The other five could only sigh again.
...In some sense, this was also an ability.
Harutora thought happily. Though Suzuka herself wouldn't be willing, teasing her like this probably wasn't a problem. Even if they were surrounded by Ashiya Doman's shikigami without a way of turning the tables like now.
"Natsume, it's up to you."
Harutora also gave the decision-making responsibility to Natsume.
Natsume thought for a moment, then:
"......At least Ashiya Doman said once that he wouldn't harm other students. Anyway, it's fine if we just worry about ourselves."
After hearing Natsume's serious remark, Touji immediately made a joke. "Well, we don't the time to worry about others anyway." In the enemy's proclamation just now, only Harutora's group had clearly been 'designated as a target'. For the time being, they could only focus on protecting themselves and finding a teacher for possible assistance.
"......But, it's hard to contend with 'D' with just us. The barrier was broken, so basically all we can do is wait for the Onmyou Agency's assistance."
"Understood. So do we wait it out? Or do we just escape outside the academy altogether?"
Natsume replied cautiously to Harutora's question.
"In the current situation, we can't possibly escape without being noticed by the enemy. If we are noticed, he might pursue us outside the academy, and then the street outside will be damaged. We have to avoid that kind of situation."
"Then it's decided, we'll hold fast."
Touji nodded his head in understanding.
"It'll probably become a protracted battle, but we can't escape underground to the magic practice field, so--"
"......A, Are there other empty practical training rooms? Practical training rooms all have barriers, though they aren't as strong as the magic practice field. We should have more of a chance if we go take refuge there."
It was Tenma who mentioned this plan. Natsume immediately adopted Tenma's opinion.
"The enemy's numbers are very large. We can't exhaust ourselves to fight them one by one."
"Right. Our charms also have limits."
"Yeah. We should escape to a practical training room's barrier and conserve our power. If the barrier is broken, we'll move to a different practical training room. We'll control our exhaustion as much as possible and continuously win small amounts of time."
Kyouko also nodded approval to Natsume's strategy.
"Understood. Then, closest to here is - the eighth practical training room."
"Well, before that, we have to break out of here."
Touji smiled slightly.
At some point in time, the number of shikigami surrounding Harutora and the others had already grown to an innumerable level.
The shikigamis' forms were all different, but overall their forms were similar, just like a 'shikigami group'. They didn't look like modern spiritual disasters, but rather like the Heian period Hyakki Yagyou that made trouble during the night.
Natsume breathed deeply again.
"......Everyone, ready? Let's start moving slowly. Make sure not to leave your companions, and maintain the circle."
"Okay, Natsume. Anyway, there's no reason to hurry."
"Yeah. Harutora said it. Also - Touji, how long can your 'transformation' last for?"
"As it is right now, twenty minutes. But it can only last five minutes if we're fighting at full power."
"Understood. Then, we'll wait for a critical moment for Touji to step in. I, Harutora, and Kon will be in front, then Kurahashi-san and Touji. Kurahashi-san, position Hakuou and Kokfuu to the left and right of the circle.
"Understood!"
Then, last is Tenma-kun and Dairenji-san. Dairenji-san, stay at the back......"
"Very nice. You talk so big. I'll enjoy being at the back, then. Me, the 'Child Prodigy' of the 'Twelve Divine Generals'."
Suzuka heavily stressed the phrases 'Twelve Divine Generals' and 'Child Prodigy' in her reply. "Yeah." Natsume smiled slightly.
Harutora and the others complied with Natsume's instructions, quickly moving to their positions. The shikigami didn't attack, slowly narrowing their enclosure. The frontline shikigami scratched the ground with their claws, emitting strange sounds to scare them.
"...Really, it was like they were trapped in a beast's cage.
Harutora's hand that gripped the shakujou sweated coldly. He wiped the sweat with the hem of his uniform, then held the shakujou again.
"......Alright. Then...... let's move."
Natsume quietly gave the instruction. Harutora and the others nodded, carefully starting to move.
The first target was the exit of the cafeteria. Harutora and the others were next to the tables by the windows, so they had to pass through almost the entire cafeteria on the way.
The shikigami surrounding them noticed the movements of Harutora and the others.
Their intimidation surged, and they even started to feign motions of charging forward. Harutora, at the front, responded to the shikigamis' movements one by one, calmly changing the direction he pointed the shakujou. Before he realized it, he was clenching his teeth so hard it hurt his temple.
Harutora had just had the thought that it was 'like they were trapped in a beast's cage'. Now, it seemed surprisingly appropriate. The movements of the black group of shikigami extremely resembled hounds surrounding prey. Each individual moved chaotically, but the group they formed was extremely organized and seemed to have a 'hunting rhythm'.
Right now, it was just an 'overture', but it was rapidly playing towards a climax - Harutora's whole body felt so.
"......Hey. It's almost......"
"......Ah. It's here......"
Harutora and Touji whispered quietly.
The conversation of the two obviously also floated to the ears of the other four. Their nerves were extremely tense, and they could probably even clearly hear the sound of the people next to them swallowing saliva.
In this period of stalemate, Harutora and the others continuously crept forward. Compared to them, the shikigami's actions became even more agitated and upset.
The balance was finally broken.
A shikigami in front - in front of Harutora - suddenly let out a roar and charged forward.
"It's coming!"
Harutora swung the shakujou, stopping the shikigami's charge. Kon instantly swing her wakizashi, cutting the shikigami's leg.
But the shikigami wasn't cowed. It wasn't concerned about Kon's attack, forcefully pushing away Harutora's shakujou. Harutora hastily infused magical energy into the shakujou, using the ring-formed blade of magical energy to cut open the shikigami.
Even so, the shikigami still approached Harutora.
It was unsure whether this kind of black shikigami could feel pain or not. Its anthropomorphic, bestial face stared at Harutora, no feeling of pain visible on it. As it suffered intense lag, it still showed excited feelings for hunting its prey.
"...Ah, this thing!"
Harutora upped his magical energy again. Just then, Natsume's arm flashed by from the side as she used a charm - a metal-element charm - to hit the shikigami.
"Order!"
The charm became sharp blades, cutting apart the shikigami's neck. The shikigami finally stopped under an outbreak of lag.
But, other shikigami attacked again. With the first shikigami as an impetus, all of them moved to kill Harutora and the others like a surging wave.
Touji, Kyouko, and Tenma chanted incantations at the shikigami. Charms flew and magic exploded sequentially. Hakuou and Kokfuu also slashed their katana and spear horizontally.
But it was hard to resist.
The black shikigami were extremely strong. Each one was 'hard to deal with'.
They either avoided Hakuou and Kokfuu's blades, or simply continued charging forward unhindered after being wounded. With Harutora, Touji, and Tenma's levels of magic, stopping the enemy's advance already took their full power. After they combined everyone's' strengths and attacked repeatedly to finally defeat a shikigami, another one would charge up to replace it from behind. They had mentioned an extended battle, but they had to go all-out from the start. If they slacked for a moment, they would immediately be engulfed by the group of shikigami.
"Hey, hey! This group feels like small fry, but they're not at all!"
"This is bad! If this goes on, our charms will be used up quickly!"
Harutora brandished the shakujou and shouted, Tenma flung charms while shouting with a pale face, and even Natsume and Kyouko didn't have time to reply, already burdened with continuously using magic and chanting incantations. Kon, Hakuou, and Kokfuu, who were outside the ring, were overwhelmed by the many black shikigami.
"Kon! You're getting too far from us!"
"H-Harutora-sama! I am alright!"
Even Kon's slashing wakizashi had trouble opening up a path, and with the enemies concentrated on both sides, she couldn't rashly use her foxfire. Even so, Kon slashed furiously to keep the enemies from approaching Harutora.
...Bastards! We defeated the first shikigami so easily, so we underestimated them!
Looking back, the shikigami that had become the medium Doman spoke through had constantly been touching the academy barrier while he had been conversing with Harutora and the others, unconcerned about the intense lag its body had suffered. That shikigami had received quite serious wounds at the time.
But shikigami didn't show injury on the outside at all. Hence, Kon and Harutora had unconsciously underestimated this kind of shikigami when they had easily defeated that one.
More importantly, there was a significant difference in number between the two sides, as well as in overall magical energy. But the most glaring problem was that six could not contend against many. Never mind advancing in the direction of the exit, it already took their full strength to maintain a circle in front of these overwhelming numbers.
No, they were reaching the limits of even maintaining a circle.
"Bastards! We can't conserve our power right now!"
The shikigami slashed their claws, unafraid of the thrown charms. Touji, who was almost slashed, swiped the bandanna off his forehead.
He planned on releasing the seal of his oni, and Natsume didn't intend to stop him. She didn't have the leisure to make an order in the first place.
But, just then.
"...Get back."
Suzuka ordered.
At some point, a book had appeared in Suzuka's hand - a beautifully-bound scripture. The scripture opened by itself in Suzuka's hands as if it were being turned by the wind. The pages inside flew into the air one by one, folding, sticking, and overlapping to rapidly form 'shapes'.
Fine shikigami with actual size were created mimicking the forms of many wild beasts. Moreover, they vigorously paced back and forth as if they had been given life. Harutora unconsciously gasped. He had witnessed this before. These were the original shikigami of the 'Child Prodigy' Dairenji Suzuka.
The paper shikigami that Suzuka summoned collided head-on with Doman's black shikigami.
Use numbers to combat the enemy's numbers. The paper shikigami had already passed through the circle, attacking the black shikigami through the gaps between the other five - according to their master's orders - and beating them back.
They readjusted their almost completely crumbled formation. In moments, the two sides had already become evenly matched. Putting aside Harutora and Touji, who had witnessed it before, as well as Natsume, who knew her power, Kyouko and Tenma, who witnessed this scene for the first time, looked back at Suzuka, stunned. The 'Child Prodigy's magic was this shocking. Finally catching his breath, Harutora cheered loudly with a huge smile.
"Amazing! Amazing! Suzuka!"
"Ha, so easy."
"As expected of Suzuka. You're making my heart race!"
"Gya! I-I-Idiot! What are you saying all of a sudden, you idiot!"
Suzuka's retorts also became disorganized as her face suddenly reddened down to her neck. Fortunately, Suzuka's shikigami could probably move independently, and they weren't affected by their master's embarrassment, indifferently holding fast to their duties.
She was young and had originally been a researcher, but the power of a Divine General really was deserving of their fame. She was fearsome as an enemy, but after becoming a companion, she was extremely reliable. Harutora couldn't help but feel grateful.
...Yes. I never thought the day would come to fight alongside this girl.
His battle with Suzuka before the 'Imperial Hill' altar seemed to have already become a distant memory. Thinking carefully, it hadn't even been a year. If he told his past self about the current situation, he definitely wouldn't have been able to believe it.
No, it wasn't just Suzuka. Maybe Touji could have passed, but a year ago he couldn't possible have imagined facing enemies in battle together with Kyouko, Tenma, and Natsume. Come to think of it, who would he be with one year later, and what would he be doing? These incredible emotions spilled forth from Harutora's chest as he fought alongside his classmate companions, surrounded by the shikigami released by a legendary Onmyouji.
Touji, who didn't release the seal, put his removed headband into a pocket of his uniform.
"......I see. You just wanted to prove that you could 'deal with them easily alone'. But, Dairenji, has your magical energy really been sealed?"
"O, Of course! Let me make it clear, this is all I can do! You have to think of something yourselves!"
Suzuka replied, the redness still not vanished from her face.
Come to think of it, Suzuka had only summoned only about a dozen shikigami. It was indeed a bit insignificant compared to the torrential numbers she had displayed last summer.
But this dozen was already enough to bring about an even battle against Doman's shikigami. To Harutora, who had only thought about buying time without any intention of driving away the enemy, this fighting power was enough to rejoice over.
"Also, why don't you start fighting for real too! Indeed, these things aren't all idiots, and they have some frightening numbers. But no matter what, they can't reach the level of the Armored Juggernaut as an enemy, right?"
Suzuka glared over his shoulder from behind him with a fearsome gaze.
The one she was eyeing angrily was - Natsume, at the head of the group.
"......Okay."
Natsume looked ahead and replied with that.
Using her 'original' voice that she forgot to hide:
"I finally understand thanks to you. If we're defeated, our strategy of buying time will lose its meaning. Rather than continuing to exhaust everyone, it's better to escape into a barrier as soon as possible."
Suzuka gasped, and Harutora and Touji muttered 'idiot', their cheeks twitching. Kyouko and Tenma, who didn't understand what Natsume was talking about, seemed to doubt their own ears.
Natsume wasn't concerned about the surrounding reactions.
She focused her entire concentration:
"I'll make an opening - Come, Hokuto!"
Natsume summoned her shikigami. Ahead of them - behind the backs of the black shikigami that formed an enclosure - appeared a golden, dazzling light.
The light source carried a majestic aura. Doman's black shikigami howled in consternation upon touching the aura.
On the other hand, the light source suddenly extended, becoming a shining golden ribbon of light, and then contracted.
A dragon appeared.
Its body was about ten meters, completely covered by golden scales and with two horns and a mane. This was the Tsuchimikado family spiritual beast that Natsume used, Hokuto.
At the same time as Hokuto took form, it showed a look of surprise as if to say 'how cramped'. This cafeteria could be called spacious, but in the end it was indoors. In particular, the height of the ceiling was only the level of a normal building, and Hokuto's horns would hit the ceiling if it just slightly raised its head. From Hokuto's point of view, this space was stifling.
More importantly, there were a large number of Doman's shikigami in this narrow place. Hokuto stretched its long body. The terrifying presence that the shikigami gave off seemed to also make Hokuto feel unhappy.
But compared to the shikigami, who suddenly lost its vigor, the current Natsume was raring to go.
"Hokuto! Obey your master! Strike down these black shikigami! Open a path ahead of us!"
An awe-inspiring and aura-filled voice commanded Hokuto.
The dragon's body shuddered for a bit, and it changed expressions.
The change was so obvious that even Harutora and the others could even see it clearly from behind.
Hokuto floated in the cafeteria while looking down upon Doman's many shikigami.
Ssssss... It took a deep breath, and then roared loudly.
The air in the room shook intensely as if there had been an explosion, the roar becoming a shockwave. Harutora, who stood with Natsume at the frontlines, seemed to feel his own heart momentarily stop beating.
Hokuto's roar carried an indignant draconic will and a noble aura. Doman's shikigami showed intense lag just from being immersed in the roar.
Using this opportunity, Hokuto attacked.
Its level of agility was completely unfitting for its gigantic body. Its golden scales flashed sharply as it sped through the narrow room.
It moved like lightning.
...Uwah!
An appalling pressure made Harutora hold his breath. Hokuto cleanly swept away the shikigami before Natsume and Harutora.
Moreover, it utilized its whole body, using its claws, body, and tail to strike down the black shikigami surrounding the ring. The strong aura pressure that was released at a close distance even almost blew away Harutora and the others. "Uwah!" Tenma fell on the ground, hastily standing back up.
Probably because its momentum was so great, Hokuto planted its claws into the ceiling and floor, carving out long gashes before stopping. Then, it did the same thing again. It charged towards the area where the shikigami were numerous, defeating the enemy with impunity.
Harutora and the others were dumbfounded.
"Th, That thing's so incredible......"
Harutora had already witnessed the dragon's strength, but this time Hokuto was brave and cruel. It was extremely rare for the capricious dragon to immediately follow its master's orders, and even Suzuka, who had urged Natsume to use her real abilities, widened her eyes, unable to speak.
"Hurry! Let's leave the cafeteria now!"
Natsume commanded, rushing towards the entrance first. Harutora and the others came to their senses, following behind Natsume while maintaining the circle.
Behind their backs, Hokuto defended against countless enemies, showing a brave fighting spirit. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time Hokuto had flown around indoors. If Doman's shikigami were monsters, Hokuto was a beast, and they didn't even dream of coming close. Harutora and the others couldn't even figure out whether they were fleeing from Doman's shikigami or avoiding Hokuto.
"Hey, it's going too far! The floor won't even stop shaking!"
Hokuto was merciless, wantonly twisting its body. Every time the dragon's horns hit the ceiling, a large amount of dust fell from the ceiling, and every time the dragon's tail struck the ground, it would shake like a ripple beneath their feet, practically like a ride in an amusement park. Harutora had actually bitten his tongue three times while saying the words just now.
Every enemy was very strong, so maybe Hokuto couldn't be merciful. If this went on, the cafeteria itself might be destroyed before they drove out the enemy shikigami.
"What are we going to do about the reparations afterwards?"
"Bakatora! Enough, hurry up and run!"
Touji's voice came from behind his back. Harutora clenched his teeth and continued to sprint.
Then, they escaped the cafeteria.
They arrived in the corridor. There were also Doman's shikigami here. But, here there was distance between the two sides. Kon threw fireballs and Natsume also threw charms. After using wood-element charms to bind the burning shikigami, Harutora mustered his strength and swung his shakujou.
The shikigami that had been smashed against the wall fell to the ground alongside intense lag. Even so, their materialized bodies still didn't disappear......
"We don't have to force ourselves to destroy the enemies! Right now we need to avoid expending extra energy!"
Harutora and the others complied with Natsume's instructions, swiftly passing through the corridor. The bound shikigami still wanted to obstruct them with their bodies. Kokfuu stabbed them directly with its spear as they passed by, while Hakuou was responsible for checking the shikigami that appeared in front of them. After Kyouko used a protective charm to erect a defensive wall to stop the enemy's movements, they passed by them.
Their goal, the eighth practical training room, was downstairs. They couldn't use the elevator right now.
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