Chapter 5 - Soul Calling
Part 1
It had already been a very long time since that day--
The beautiful moon hung in the sky.
He looked up at the moon, while sitting on the porch of the residence.
He held a cup of wine. The aromatic wine diffused in the air.
Yakou-sama. A call came from within the residence, in darkness that the moonlight hadn't reached.
Have you still not changed your mind?
He smiled bitterly and sipped from his cup in response to that question.
Then, he replied, still smiling:
"Yeah."
Then, he dropped his smile and continued:
"Sorry."
The sounds of insects that came from the courtyard indifferently and softly alleviated the silence between them.
She quietly stared at her master in the moonlight.
Then, she sat properly and slowly bowed her head.
In any case, no matter what, their time together was precious.
"Kon! I'm counting on you!"
Harutora leaped backwards, glaring at Kagami. The materialized Kon used foxfire as a fiery smokescreen, and the Raven's Wing immediately turned to escape.
But.
"Aah?"
Kagami made a dangerous sound, casually slashing out with the katana in his left hand.
The foxfire smokescreen Kon put up was dispersed by the slicing blade. Kagami extended his right hand towards Harutora, curving his ring-decorated fingers into claws.
They tore through the air, first horizontally and then vertically. Kuji-kiri. The magical energy that had been infused into his fingers passed through space, making a grid pattern emerge in front of Harutora. "Ugh!" Harutora was knocked back by the magical wall.
It was the move that had repelled the Nue's charge before. If the Raven's Wing hadn't been wrapped around him, it wouldn't have been strange if he had died in the worst case.
Kagami stared with narrowed eyes at Harutora and said:
"Don't run around. I can cut off a couple of your arms and limbs if you want."
Though he was also a Divine General, he was completely different from Kogure - but he gave off just as much of an overwhelming feeling. The indescribable feeling of being in front of a savage carnivorous beast. Harutora dropped to a knee after being knocked back by the magic grid, glaring hatefully at Kagami.
...Why did it have to be now!
Independent Exorcist Kagami Reiji. The National First-Class Onmyouji known as the 'Ogre Eater'. He had crossed paths with Harutora many times. He was the worst person to have as an enemy right now.
"You took care of 'this guy' before."
After saying this, Kagami pointed the blade at Harutora. That blade was called 'Higekiri' and was the vessel housing Kagami's servant shikigami Shaver.
Kagami was talking about the Meguro Branch incident last month. Along with the Twin-Horned Syndicate sweep operation that the Mystical Investigators had carried out, Kagami had been chosen as Natsume's guard, and he had positioned his shikigami Shaver next to Harutora and the others.
But Shaver had destroyed the magical tool that a Twin-Horned Syndicate member had brought, leading to a chain of spiritual disasters. After he had been hit with miasma and lost control, he had attacked Natsume, Harutora and the others that he had been guarding. That was the first battle to the death in the truest sense that Harutora had experienced.
"Thanks to you, his spiritual power still hasn't been able to recover. Isn't that quite cruel?"
"Don't be ridiculous! Natsume and I almost died because of that guy!"
"Was it a good lesson? I heard that you 'grew' quite a bit, Harutora? But......"
Kagami grinned mockingly.
"It seems like the 'other one' didn't learn her lesson."
"You bastard!" Kon became indignant before Harutora, the fur on her ears and tail sticking up. Needless to say, Harutora felt his blood boil just like Kon. But Harutora suppressed his angry emotions with an iron will.
Who would listen closely to the howls of a mad dog? Kagami's provocations were meaningless. What he had to do now was escape with all his might. That was all. But that wasn't anything easy to do. He had to focus completely and make his move with all his soul. He couldn’t afford to be overcome by anger.
"............"
Harutora kept staring at Kagami and rose slowly. Kagami instantly showed an intrigued expression when he saw Harutora's attitude.
"You've become a bit cleverer? ......No, that's wrong."
Of course, Kagami had already understood the reason for Harutora's determination. Though he praised the fact that he didn't respond to the provocation, his attitude became even worse afterwards.
"This isn't just 'eagerness' to become independent, is it? Do you think you've become a tengu after making a fool out of Shaver [24] ? Or are you being led on by the Raven's Wing? Do you think that as the reincarnation of a legendary Onmyouji, you can match even a Divine General as long as you have the will to?"
"............"
He wasn't an opponent that could be negotiated with. He didn't think he could take him by surprise while he was talking either. He could only fight head-on. There was no reason to win. He just needed to escape from Kagami's grasp.
"Come to think of it, I have some interest in the Raven's Wing too. As well as Tsuchimikado Yakou's reincarnation. Even though kicking you flying won't be much fun if you're just an arrogant wild dog......"
Kagami spoke coldly and then stepped forward with his leather boots. Harutora gradually wove his strategy in that time. Kon also wordlessly drew her blade, guided by her master's fighting intent. The spiritual pressures of the two slowly rose, gradually approaching the critical point.
"Very good, come, Harutora. Just like I promised before, I'll send you flying with a kick."
That became the signal.
Harutora attacked with a blindingly fast speed, throwing charms towards Kagami. He rapidly infused magical energy into the magic that he had woven. Kagami's expression became serious once he saw those consecutive movements.
"Order!"
What he threw were protective charms. Three protective charms put up magical walls at the same time, forming a group according to their individually-woven magic and half-surrounding Kagami. At the same time, he threw charms again. This time there were five charms. Harutora rushed to the side as he watched them enclose the first magical wall again.
"............"
Swish. Kagami casually swung Higekiri without any interest.
Never mind the first magical wall, even the magical wall that had been put up afterwards was cleaved at the same time. Like a hot knife cutting butter. Kagami didn't even look at the magical wall, tracking Harutora who charged to the side with a cold look instead.
"What’s this supposed to be?"
Kagami's voice was more disappointed than contemptuous and even carried a trace of anger.
But that was Harutora's goal. To Harutora, this was the first and greatest opportunity for victory. He had gotten the 'Ogre Eater's' blind spot.
"Order!"
Magic activated as the barrier was cut through like cloth. What activated were the two wood and fire-element charms mixed in with the second group of protective charms. "What!?" Kagami turned around and a fire-element charm ignited because of the wood aura of the wood-element charm before him.
Wood generates fire, as per Five Element Mutual Generation. Moreover, the magic had been substantially altered to make the heat produce smoke rather than flame itself. It spewed smoke like a volcano, and black smoke blossomed inside.
Then, as if to condense that smoke, the second magical wall extended inwards. The cut portion repaired itself while completely covering Kagami in swelling black smoke.
The first magical wall had two goals. First was to conceal the element charms that had been mixed in with the protective charms he threw out the second time. The other was to make him think that the second protective charm magic had been the same thing as the first, by showing off original charm magic.
The first magical wall was to deceive him, and the second magical wall produced the now expanding black smoke that had been directed inwards. Also, he had rushed away from the magic in order to divert his gaze. It was an intricate combination magic.
Of course, he didn't think that this could defeat Kagami. But the black smoke shut inside scattered like Kon's foxfire and then was all compressed onto Kagami again. Moreover, when he was sealed inside the fire aura of the black smoke, the fire would conquer Higekiri's metal aura.
He had stopped Kagami. His magic had been specially woven for that goal - that strategy.
"Kon, I'm counting on you!"
"Y-Yes!"
Leaving Kon there, Harutora glided past the road with the Raven's Wing in a flash. Before the magical wall was destroyed and the black smoke dispersed - while Kagami's vision was sealed, he would leave the battlefield and rush into a narrow alleyway.
Leaving Kon behind was to further delay his pursuit, even for just a little. Kon would be able to dematerialize at the last moment and escape in secret. Anyway, time was precious. Moreover, it was a powerful opponent he would have slim odds against if they fought seriously. So, Harutora chose to put all he had into escaping.
He passed through a narrow alley, moving towards the street next to it. Right as he rushed out, he was illuminated by lights from ahead of him. A car that had just been approaching braked in a panic. Right before they hit each other, Harutora leaped over the roof of the car.
The road he flew out to was a four-lane, two-way road. There was traffic even at this time. Harutora immediately raised his height by several meters, but if he flew higher than the surrounding structures, he would be spotted at a glance from far away.
...Hide!
The instant he thought that, the Raven's Wing stealthed its wearer without Harutora needing to use magic. Though he was surprised, he felt more grateful. In this case - right as he was preparing to rise higher again.
"That's pretty neat."
A slash of magical energy flew at him. He couldn't dodge it. Even if the Raven's Wing immediately flipped its hem to defend, the slash cut through the fabric and knocked the midair Harutora flying.
"Ugh!?"
He hurtled above the road, crashing violently into a sign on the other side of the road. Though the Raven's Wing lessened the impact, he still had difficulty breathing. He desperately looked in the direction the attack came from, noticing Kagami's figure holding a katana at the exit of the alley he had just passed through.
...So fast!
How had he done that - as he thought this, he noticed the traces of magical energy underneath Kagami's' feet.
...Damn! He had used the aura flow!?
It was Far Step.
An extraordinarily high-difficulty magic of Imperial Onmyoudou that allowed movement through the aura flow lacing through the ground. Kagami had ignored the black smoke and the magical walls covering him and had escaped Harutora's trap through the aura flow underneath his feet.
He had clearly witnessed Kagami's Far Step before, but he had forgotten it when he formulated his strategy. He had been careless. Moreover, his stealth had been overly late even for being careless. If he had hidden himself at the same time as he had escaped, he might not have been instantly caught even if Kagami had escaped from the trap with Far Step.
Harutora staggered because of the violent impact of the collision. The cars passing by honked while frantically avoiding him. When he tried to stumble to the sidewalk, the next slash came. Though he rolled to avoid it, a car behind him sped into it.
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