Volume 9 Chapter 4 (1/2)

[]

A twist of fate rapidly approached No, it was unclear whether it would arrive or not But at the tith to see it beforehand

The pressing state of the world Omens of war The Onmyou Bureau had been reestablished by the iven command as the Onic that was gradually declining

Could he do it? She answered yes without any hesitation when her master asked her this

How many people other than Yakou-sama would be able to complete a feat of this difficulty?

His ability was genuine His fervor towards ic and his lofty ambition had no equal She herself had become a first-rate practitioner because his ability had allowed her to bloom, so she understood

He was a genius

Such an extraordinary genius couldn't be granted wide-ranging poithout a purpose It was noith this difficult duty - that he had to complete his mission

”Can you lend th?”

She practically felt regretful at herher this Why did he still have to confirhed and apologized Maybe she had only been born into this world to assist hith She believed so

At that tifate At least she thought so

She didn't have any doubts at all

Pure and innocent, coedy

Of the ency to take back Harutora, it was actually Ten first

But it wasn't so in' He entered properly through the side door that the agency members used

”Sorry to bother this late at night My e of clothes”

He gave the na the paper bag in his hand with an extreetic cordial smile

The na was Fujiwara Kenichi He was the nephew of the teacher Fujiwara He belonged to the General Affairs Departh he lived in the city, he had been sleeping at the office recently He had heard this froo Also, he had also heard that he had another nephew, a highschooler nalasses His heart beat painfully behind his se didn't check with Fujiwara Kenichi after glancing at Ten hih the door instead

Zero casualties, zero day expended, and it only took a brief forty-fivehurt was Ten infiltration, and even if the powerful Mystical Investigator Ohto to say and no issue to point out with the infiltration - but to be honest, Tenroup of companions who could perform this stunt

Tenency building - after all, there was no need- and first checked the map on the wall

To an outsider, the On was a complex structure that seenorable, troublesome factor for an invader

But it was less to Tenma

”U work, but could you tell me where the research and development room is?”

He politely questioned an agencyan enthusiastic reply, and then thanked hiet lost at all and easily got close to his destination

Incidentally, Tenency was constructed to reach the depths of the agency building without using ic Moreover, in this time, Tenma had not attracted the enemy's eyes at all Then if you viewed Tenic, you could call its effectiveness superior to Ohto able to avoid the ene deep inside

What was truly important in a real battle were the results, not the process What's more, the smaller the effort required and the less conspicuous it was, the better In any case, Tenic was - in ter the enemy's ranks themselves

'Listen, Momoe Tenma'

Saotome's words reawakened in his h the corridor

'The Onht now The opponents don't have you in their eyes at all You have no quantifiable value to the Onency'

Though that was mean, it was the pure truth Unlike Touji, Kyouko, and Suzuka, he was just an ordinary Onood with practical skills, and he wasn't strong in actual battle either He didn't have any particular strengths

But

'But, the Onency is an 'enemy' to you Then to you, these current circuic against the On and the same value'

The so-called On talents pushed against each other, the elites who cliher 'up' It was very difficult for those people to notice an uniht, it was 'very difficult'

Then, that becae

'Even a wall that looks solid at first glance will cru the road can beco on the situation Listen up, pebble No, Moet and throw you out Sency perfectly for me'

If you fail, I'll et married He had been fiercely threatened in that otten over that fear, Tener turn back

”It's here”

The third research and development branch

It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed But no, even Tenma understood this

One could say that he had effortlessly infiltrated through wit and planning alone - but there were also other ways to see it For example, that he had no power to resist if the eneh the opponents weren't watching him, on the other hand, he would be instantly defeated if he was noticed In that sense, he was crossing a fearsoe risk and reaping the corresponding reward

What a gamble

He even felt stunned But he had gambled thus far to be of so but raising the stakes until the end He understood and decided this himself

Moreover, the real work starts now

Tenain

At the end of the corridor was a vast rooed in the depths and it was cut off by a glass partition His target was the sealed storage room that was on the other side of that partition

He had learned from Saotome that there were other security systelass partition But he had obtained a pass to get through there from her as well

The problereat visibility, and even at this ti to work at the desks

Even if he were challenged in that rooh But if he were noticed just once, it would be alain Also, if he were noticed while trying to enter, then even putting on a har the name Fujiwara Kenichi would be ineffective After all, it was a security syste

The entrance there It was so visible He wondered whether the people around would notice if he opened that door

He entered the corridor in front of the room Tenma hid behind a potted plant placed there and desperately racked his brain The ht commotion in another place, draw the attention of the people in the room over there, and then take that opportunity to sneak deep inside

Like if he pulled the fire alarm

Since it was inside the On, that kind of classical ic Okay Tenma decided to turn back and look for a fire alarm

But

”H-Huh?”

Suddenly, the bureau et noisy Moreover, they were co this way

E-Eh!?

Had he been noticed? Ten in the men's bathroom on the way He rushed into a stall and locked it His painfully-thu to burst

But

They're not co? I wasn't noticed?

The sound of footsteps running through the corridor soon grew distant He gingerly peeped into the corridor outside but didn't see anyone Puzzled, he caain

There was no one in the room Tenma's eyes widened

”What's going on?”

Though he didn't know the reason, this was an opportunity Ten out an identification card froh the security systeiven hilass partition Rather, several rooms were separated from each other The Research and Development Departical tools, and each of those rooms were all research labs Before Saoto Spirit Division, she had belonged to the Research and Development Department That hy she was familiar with the security system

Clutching the identification card, Tenma prepared to rush into the room from the corridor

But--

Suddenly, he felt a gaze and stopped in surprise

He spun around like a spring But there was no one behind him The empty corridor extended outwards

What was that?

No one was there, but he was being watched Ten around

Just then, so moved in the corner of his vision The corridor wall Near the ceiling Tenma reflexively chased it with his eyes

It was a spider

”A spider?”

A spider about as large as his thuency looked like it had the newest equipment, it seemed that it was still a structure with sos like spiders Could the gaze he felt just now have come from the spider? How could that be His nerves were too e

But

Huh?

The spider silently stared at Ten him as harmless He didn't knohether it was his mistake, but the spider's movements seemed mysteriously human But Tenma couldn't keep his mind off it when he saw this spider

An old, nostalgic, memory not suited for the moment

It was a complete coincidence that he was able to recall it

”'Trick Spider'?”

The instant he couldn't help but murmur, the spider's ed direction, looking back at Ten called and unconsciously watching the opponent's actions again No, ht truly be the case

This spider was a shi+kigami

Moreover

”Why is my mom's test product in this kind of place?”

Upon careful inspection, the spider was blue It was a trait of the aical tool manufacturer that Tenma's deceased parents had created

Moreover, if he scrutinized more carefully, that spider's blue color was a richer, deeper blue than the color of the ami that the Witchcraft Corporation created

This was the color of original shi+kigami test products of his ner This 'Trick Spider' was also one of those test products, but it hadn't ended up beco commercialized Hence, there were very few people who knew of the codename 'Trick Spider' The spider had stopped for that reason as well

”A 'Trick Spider'Coo”

Thinking of that codenaer, and old memories faintly awoke

Even a all the test products that his ami with one of the richest colors Basically, it was a detection-type shi+kiga to the practitioner's chant and which shared vision with the practitioner It only possessed the sath as an actual spider, and it could shoot out approxih to support ten ti spiders was known to be five ti that, its performance was quite low

But because of its shape and stealth, and because it used aly, it would theoretically be able toand absorbed the surrounding aura for a while Also, it would essentially require noas it was set up at the start The shi+kigaical energy systeh its activity was lie of five hundred meters from the practitioner, in the extre as it was set up by a professional first

Actually, Tenma had once asked his mother to let him use the Trick Spider as a child Hence, he particularly had recollections of it aami

When it had been first developed as a test product, the Trick Spider was able to enter narrow spaces that the humans couldn't, and even nor by these two, there would be a definite dea disasters and the like But it ended up being shelved and never coic was overly cumbersome and complex, and mass production was extre her mother's test products

I, I see! There's only two There were only two Trick Spider shi+kigami Why is it!?

Having once played with it, the young Tenma had felt quite disappointed when they decided to stop creating it, but his mother, the inventor, was pretty indifferent It was extreet nostalgic over now But Ten to recall it

Right, back then, I asked mom

The two test product Trick Spiders Ten used anyet one He still remembered his mother's words at the tiized to him

There was so and anted to privately acquire it That person was a customer who had recently become a leader of part of their custos with As thanks, they had given test products to him - she said

Wouldn't he just peep indiscriave it to that kind of person? Her conscience hurt

Hisa definite trust for that person That's right His mother had definitely said that

The most popular product that had established the Witchcraft Corporation's position was the 'WA S Whip' that was known as a binding shi+kigami

It was the Onation Department that was responsible for alators

”Could it be?”

Tenma walked close to the wall that the spider was on The Trick Spider still stayedto stare at Tenma

”Could it be that you're--”

Suddenly, as he was preparing to ask, therushed towards hiht this, he was surrounded by a raucous breaking sound, and the extrehtened Tenma's heart almost stopped

It came from the room He looked over there and couldn't help but doubt his eyes

The roo the outer wall had been shattered and deami - like various monsters painted with ink Moreover, weren't those Ashi+ya Doami that had attacked the Onmyou Academy last month?

”W-W-Why!?”

The spider jumped onto the shoulder of the extremely panicked Ten behind the potted plant and crouching down

The shi+kigami that invaded the room caused havoc in the vast rooency building through the corridor connecting the rooms Fortunately, the corridor Tenma hid in was the farthest from the room's s, but it was only a matter of time before they came by

Wh-Why? What happened?

The members had left the rooa from outside theBut why did Doman come? Tenma's mind was blank from incomprehension

”Ouch!”

Pain flared from his wrist

Looking carefully, the spider had moved from Tenma's shoulder to his wrist at soround and scuttled towards the depths of the corridor Following that, it looked back at Tenma

It was telling him to hurry

Indeed, things wouldn't be sih Doami seemed like they had been made lackadaisically, Ten them personally with his companions last month

”O-Okay--”

Ten to the spider Then, when he observed the situation in the roo

”Huh? The glass partition wasn't destroyed?”

There was a glass partition separating an inner portion of the rooah they approached and tried to destroy it, they experienced lag the moment they touched it

I see, it's the security system!

It looked like it had been enchanted with a barrier in addition to being outfitted with electronic security devices

But it was breaking down

The shi+kigath of the barrier It would be destroyed sooner or later The room on the other side would also be invaded

Ten

The spider was in a rush,to say so intently at the roolass partition within

If this went on, the shi+kigami would invade and advance sooner or later In that case, the goal Teno down the drain

Tenlasses But his hesitation was brief When Tenht of determination

Perhaps noticing the ath the corridor first returned to Ten onto Ten at Tenma

The Trick Spider couldn't speak, nor was it a shi+kigami that could use telepathy But ami his mother had et any strange ideas' was conveyed from the spider

Tenma smiled bitterly

Could this shi+kigami's master believe that Tenency alone? How rude Normally, he wouldn't take this kind of unplanned action As for 'strange ideas', he hadn't been thinking normally for a while now

He straightened his spine, narrowing his eyes

He focused his y

”Om marici sowaka”

He crossed the fingers of his hands together First was a Vajrapanihiht shoulder, and top of the head In the ti in from outside like an endless torrent

The spider probably read his mind and stopped all itsTen the incantation seven times

”Om abiteamaris sowaka Om abiteamaris sowaka”[2]

Finally, a group of shi+kigami noticed the corridor on this side and approached in a frenzy Crack An ill-boding sound calass partition in the interior of the roo flashed across its surface The barrier would be broken soon Tenma turned his hand seal into a stealth seal He infused his y

Stealth ic

It was a first-class ic that he had learned from Ohtomo before When Tenma had been worried about his own abilities In the end, Tenma had never been able to use it successfully, and he hadn't been able to get over his worries

But he still clearly reic is deep and vast, and there are many directions you can take No matter what kind of ability you have, it can beco Tenma's parents as an example

Actually, though he was dull and uniet all the way here Even his honest, well-, low-key character could still be used as a 'weapon' and becoic

He wasn't good at stealth ood But that was probably wrong Incorrect Despite judging himself as 'ic It matched him well

An innocuous s self-confidence These were all things that Tenma evaluated himself poorly for, but they were also honestly expressed on the outside Ten his skilled friends

He didn't fool himself or forcefully overwrite those evaluations of himself

He was at the bottom of his friends That was evident to others He aded the way he was 'viewed'

For example, when he faced others, ood impression but usually didn't think much of him They looked down on his

He would slip into those 'openings' Even if he still didn't have self-confidence Even if he was nervous

It was said that the trick to stealth ic was to erase one's self-consciousness

He had once believed thatat all He had believed it ness

That rong

Erasing the self-consciousnessoneself It was to see one's 'true face' completely objectively and to simply accept it

Tenhly transparent - and at the sa sharpened

Of course, first-class hts alone

But Tenma, Harutora, Touji, Kyouko, Suzuka, and Natsuardless of how disparate their talents were, he definitely wouldn't lose to the

”Om abiteamaris sowaka”

Doami swarmed around

They constantly passed around next to Ten towards the corridor

The spider on his shoulder shook slightly But Ten attention to the spider's reaction After he stood up straight from the shadow of the potted plant, he swiftly strode towards the room

His eyes were still half-closed His strides were like those of a priest walking before a go-shi+ntai[3]

The rooami leapt and landed near him A thrown chair landed with a crash behind hily because of theback and forth

'Gigigigi' Laughter resounded back and forth It was full of an oy

In the middle of all of this, Tenma took one step forward after another, completely unconcerned

The spider sitting on Ten its breath But Ten as if he were in a dream, and continued forward

Then--

With a booht poured in froinably ferocious flaah the flaaht because of the heat that cah the broken s

The spider seemed stunned when it saw that

On the other hand, Tenma stepped forith co

The fla noisily Tenh the intense chaos--

He reached the entrance of the glass partition deep in the room

The card reader for the identification card he had obtained from Saotome was next to the door With a click, the lock was released

He slipped in and closed the door ”Hah” Then, he finally took a breath

Well done Ten as if he had heard such a voice He smiled and replied ”could've been worse”, then immediately rushed into the depths of the corridor

Fortunately, thanks to the shi+kigaency oal was Research Lab One which was ae area

”Here!”

He noticed Research Lab One Using the identification card froain, he entered inside

Then--

”Uwah!”

The Raven's Wing was right in front of him when he entered It was placed on a wide platfore that Takiko had held before There was a raven inside it Upon close inspection, one would notice that it had three legs There was no

Originally, the Raven's Wing was a nated as a prohibited object It had probably beentaken back, but it seemed like it was still in the same form as before

Ten

”I-It's good that it hasn't been sealed yet But there's a barrier on this platforht? How do I undo it”

Unlike the security systes inside Then it should be constructed to be simple to undo from the outside Tenma looked around the platform and the interior of the research lab

Then, the spider on his shoulder jue It rapidly crawled to the side of the platform There was a metal cover there After Tenical pattern carved into the floor appeared

He couldn't tell what the ic was But he read the spider's intent In this kind of situation, breaking a tool or tasn't really - well, he would apologize, reco for mercy later

”Shatter! Order!”

He threw out a ht The char open the floor like an axe

The barrier on the platform was released ”Got it!” Tenma finally cheered loudly

He reached his hand towards the birdcage to pull it closer To be honest, the Raven's Wing was very scary Harutora had lost control because of it and Natsume had lost her life Moreover, it had supposedly been the attack of the Raven's Wing while possessing Harutora that had killed Natsume It was a symbol of misfortune to Tenma

But Saoto was necessary for Harutora He trusted her and her words That hy he had come here

Ten of the birdcage At the sa suddenly opened its eyes It stared at Tenolden eyes

”Go to Harutora-kun”

He didn't knohether the Raven's Wing knew hue, but Ten's eyes

”Ah, there's also soive it to Harutora-kun--”

Suddenly

With a flap, the Raven's Wing in the birdcage shook its folded wings

Then, it rapidly and gracefully left the casing that Tene Ten on his bottom

Paying no heed to the narrow rooed raven flapped above his head Every tiht were scattered around it It hadn't been that way the first time he saw it However, he couldn't help but feel that it was beautiful when he saw it now

The legendary bird, the yatagarasu

The yatagarasu looked up at the ceiling - upstairs It sensed it It was being called for In front of its gaze was Harutora ”Go!” Tenma shouted

”Go, help Harutora-kun! Ah, no, first this! Bring this note too!”

He took out the note froarasu that flew above his head The yatagarasu reacted, gliding down--

It flew by al the collar of Tens

”Eh?”

The spider quickly got onto Tens dramatically

Then, it beat them in a flash

The Raven's Wing flew up It fleay fro through the corridor

”Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

As he was held in its talons, Ten time

Su

Harutora automatically complied with that instruction

”Co!”

He called loudly

Immediately afterwards

”Yashamaru!”

”Yes, yes”

Kurahashi+ commanded sharply and Yashamaru stepped forward

”You're quite noisy, so I'll have you be quiet for a bit”

Kon readied her blade Pale blue flame - foxfire - burst forth to attack Yasha the foxfire while closing the distance like ure vanished Stealth

”Kon, I' on you!”

Harutora called out and retreated Kon's figure also vanished to chase Yashamaru, but in moments--

”Aah!”

She was hurled onto the floor, screa

During this time, Harutora formed a hand seal He put up a simple barrier around him in order to impede Yasha sneakily like before, Yasha the barrier

But

”Harutora-kun, if you're only at this level, I think the Taizan fukun Ritual ht be too heavy of a burden for you, you know?”

His white-gloved finger casually extended towards the barrier - and pierced it Then, he easily tore open the barrier as if he were opening curtains

”Scoundrel!”

Even as Kon, who had risen again, approached fro her blade, Yashamaru didn't turn around

”Sit”

First-class spirit language Kon was i with a thud Harutora growled and quickly re-foric binding seal His fluid movements were thanks to repeated exercise and the battles he had experienced, but it was overly unreliable to the current Harutora Still, when he didn't have any charic that Harutora could instantly use with his bare hands was quite limited

”Om bishi+bishi+ karakara shi+bari sowaka!”

At least he could aiic towards Yashamaru's face from this distance as a surprise As a result, Yashamaru made the stupid sound ”Gwah!?” and leaned backwards