Chapter 63 (Patreon)

Daimonji Mountain.

Aoi Todo, Maki Zen’in, and Mai Zen’in had managed to corner the Serbian Dancer in the mountains.

“Momo! Are Noritoshi and the others here yet?!”

Mai’s voice rang out from below.

High above them, Momo Nishimiya swept through the air on her broom, scanning the forest beneath her.

“They’re coming! I can see them heading this way!”

At the front line, Aoi Todo stood face-to-face with the Serbian Dancer.

He couldn’t exorcise a Special Grade Cursed Spirit by himself.

But holding it back?

That much was enough.

“Tell them to hurry it up!” Todo shouted without taking his eyes off the enemy. “This thing can make clones!”

The next instant, the Serbian Dancer’s body blurred.

One became ten.

Ten became dozens.

Then hundreds.

In the blink of an eye, Todo was surrounded.

A strange, distorted sound spilled from every clone at once, crawling into his ears and dragging at his movements. His timing dulled for a fraction of a second.

And that fraction was enough for the clones to rush him all at once.

Maki and Mai moved from the outer edge, cutting down and shooting through as many clones as they could.

If they let the swarm pile onto Todo, even he would be buried alive under the sheer numbers.

Then—

Bang!

A car burst through the trees.

The tires tore across the dirt, drifting sideways as the vehicle smashed through several clones in one violent sweep.

Maki’s eyes widened.

Standing on the roof of the car was Yuta Okkotsu.

“About time!” Maki shouted.

Yuta jumped down from the roof, his expression tense as he looked toward the sky.

“Everyone, be careful! The other Special Grade can fly!”

Mai’s face changed instantly.

“Momo’s still up there!”

Todo clicked his tongue.

“Okkotsu!”

Yuta looked at him.

“Take the front. Keep these clones busy.”

Todo’s cursed energy surged.

“I’m getting Momo.”

Yuta nodded without hesitation.

“Got it.”

He stepped forward and took Todo’s place at the center of the swarm.

The Serbian Dancer clones turned toward him all at once.

Yuta slowly exhaled.

Then he placed his hand on the hilt of Enma.

For one brief moment, his presence changed.

“This is…”

His fingers tightened.

“…power.”

The blade moved.

A slash appeared where no blade should have reached.

The space ahead split apart, and the Serbian Dancer’s clones were severed in half along with a wide stretch of forest behind them.

Trees collapsed one after another, the cut so clean it looked unreal.

Up in the sky, Momo saw the group finally join together below.

But then her brow furrowed.

The Special Grade Cursed Spirit that had been chasing the car was gone.

“…Where did it go?”

She looked around, but noticed nothing.

Behind her, the Karasu Tengu appeared silently.

Its voice was cold.

“Here.”

Momo’s entire body went rigid.

A chill crawled up her spine so fast she forgot how to breathe.

For a second, it felt as if she were standing at the entrance to the underworld.

The Karasu Tengu raised its naginata.

The blade tore toward her neck.

Clap!

Momo vanished.

In her place, Aoi Todo appeared midair.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed into the night sky.

The Karasu Tengu’s blade tore across Todo’s body, but not deep enough to kill.

The Cursed Spirit narrowed its eyes.

“…Who are you?”

Todo’s lips curled into a wild grin.

“How rude.”

His leg drew back.

“Get down there.”

Then he kicked the Karasu Tengu straight toward the mountain.

Boom!

The impact shook the forest.

On the ground, Momo stood frozen, still trying to understand what had just happened.

“W-what…?”

Mai rushed toward her, letting out a breath she had been holding.

“You’re alive. That’s what happened.”

“Alive…?”

Momo blinked.

Then her thoughts caught up.

“The swap… Todo saved me.”

A moment later, something crashed violently into the ground in the distance.

Todo clapped again and returned to the ground, landing near the others.

His expression had lost its usual playfulness.

“Both Special Grades are here now.”

He looked toward Maki.

“Tell your teacher in Tokyo to move. We can keep them trapped for now, but don’t get the wrong idea.”

His eyes sharpened.

“Together or not, we won’t hold them forever.”

Maki nodded and immediately called Ragnar Kagenou.

“Teacher Ragnar. Both Cursed Spirits are at Daimonji Mountain.”

His calm voice came through.

“Good work.”

“What do we do now?”

“Use the shield I gave you. Release its True Name.”

Maki’s grip tightened around the shield.

“And after that?”

Ragnar’s voice remained steady.

“Stay behind it.”

The call ended.

Maki turned sharply toward everyone.

“Everyone, get behind me!”

The Kyoto students looked confused, but no one argued after seeing her face.

Mai frowned.

“What’s going on?”

Maki planted her feet.

“Ragnar-sensei’s attack is coming.”

That single sentence made Yuta’s expression change.

He immediately withdrew Enma and stepped back behind Maki.

Mai noticed.

“…Okkotsu?”

Yuta’s voice was quiet.

“Don’t stand outside the shield.”

Kasumi Miwa swallowed nervously.

“Is it… really that dangerous?”

Yuta didn’t answer right away.

Then he looked up.

“It’s coming.”

Rustle.

A soft wind passed through the mountain forest.

The leaves trembled gently.

For a moment, it was almost peaceful.

Then the sky changed.

An oppressive weight descended over Kyoto.

Momo’s body began trembling before she even understood why.

“W-what is this…?”

Mai’s revolver slipped from her fingers and hit the ground.

She didn’t notice.

Miwa clutched her head and crouched down, her breathing turning shallow.

If she kept looking at the sky, something inside her felt like it might snap.

Todo stared upward, his face unusually grim.

“Hey, hey…”

Even his breathing slowed.

“What the hell is that?”

Noritoshi Kamo looked toward the darkened sky, his eyes wide.

“This is… Special Grade?”

His voice was tense.

“No. Calling this a natural disaster would still be too small.”

The two Special Grade Cursed Spirits were the direct targets.

And even from this distance, everyone could feel it.

Death had already cast its shadow over the mountain.

Maki gritted her teeth and forced herself to raise the shield.

“True Name—Pseudo-Registry.”

She drove the shield into the ground in front of them.

“Noble Phantasm—deploy!”

Blue light burst from the shield.

Lines of energy spread outward, forming a massive defensive barrier before the group.

At that same moment, the dark sky above Kyoto began to split apart.

Golden radiance poured through the clouds.

The city, swallowed moments ago by darkness, was suddenly bathed in light.

But no one mistook it for salvation.

It was destruction.

A pillar of golden light pierced the black clouds.

Within it, the tip of an enormous spear slowly emerged from the heavens.

Todo stared at it in silence.

Then, for once, his voice came out low.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The spear continued descending.

“That isn’t something a human should be swinging around.”

The Kyoto students could only watch the impossible sight above them.

It wasn’t just them.

Every jujutsu sorcerer fighting cursed spirits throughout Kyoto felt it at the same time.

Under that radiance, the difference between sorcerer and ordinary human seemed meaningless.

A moment later—

The golden light fell.

For an instant, everyone in Kyoto saw nothing but radiance.

The mountain disappeared.

The trees disappeared.

The cursed spirits disappeared.

Everything was swallowed by light.

Then came the explosion.

Golden brilliance lit up the entire night sky, turning all of Kyoto as bright as day.

The torrent of light crashed down over Daimonji Mountain.

The Serbian Dancer and the Karasu Tengu were erased inside it, their bodies evaporating before they could even resist.

And within the blue shield, Yuta, Maki, Todo, and the others barely survived.

When the light finally faded, the dark clouds above Kyoto had vanished.

Only a silent night sky remained, filled with stars.