Thursday — Afternoon,
Everything had been unusually peaceful.
The morning classes had passed without any trouble, and even the usually noisy classroom had settled down somewhat as the students returned to their seats after lunch.
The afternoon bell rang, notifying them that class is about to begin.
Ding—
Benio Adashino had just sat down when Kinako's anxious voice suddenly sounded inside her mind.
'Lord Benio.'
Benio's hand stopped halfway toward her desk, as a vigilant look appear on her face.
Kinako's voice became more urgent as if she scared.
'There is a large concentration of Kegare gathering approximately four kilometers southwest of here.'
Her faithful Shikigami rally the information to her.
Kegare?!
Benio's expression immediately became more severe.
She had only just sat down.
THUD!
Yet in the very next moment, she stood up again urgently. Her chair scraped against the floor — creating a disturbing noise that rang in the room.
Several students looked over in surprise and shocked.
But Benio didn't pay any attention to them.
She hurriedly began collecting everything from her desk.
Normally, Benio was someone who is very meticulous about keeping her belongings organized.
Not this time.
She didn't even bother arranging her notebooks properly. She simply gathered everything together and shoved it into her handbag like garbage not caring about how damage the books may get.
A pen rolled across the desk threatening to fall down.
Catch!
She caught it at the last second and threw it into the bag as well.
The sudden movement naturally attracted the attention of the girls sitting nearby.
"Benio?" Kitagawa Marin looked at her with concern, worried for her friends and confused about the sudden change in demeanour. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Shirakawa Shiroha also turned around.
"Benio, you're in a hurry."
"I have to leave early." Benio tightened the strap of her handbag using more strength then required.
"Leave early?" Marin blinked in confusion.
Benio nodded without bothering to explain further.
"Please tell Gojo-sensei that something urgent came up."
No — she didn't have time to explain or make any excuses that she normally does.
"Of course." Shiroha nodded understanding.
Benio turned toward the door.
"Please!"
With that, she rushed out of the classroom. Her footsteps quickly disappeared down the hallway.
"Benio..." Marin stared at the doorway, more worried about her friend then ever.
She and Shiroha knew the truth.
Benio wasn't simply an ordinary student.
She was an Exorcist!
And if she abandoned class and rushed away without saying anything...then something serious had almost certainly happened.
Marin quietly clenched her hands beneath the desk.
"I hope she's okay."
Shiroha gave her a small nod.
"She should be."
"But she's never left like that before." Marin's voice was filled with concern.
It wasn't the first time this had happened when they were together that is why she knew how serious and dangerous it was when Benio didn't even speak about it.
Shiroha didn't answer.
Because she was thinking the same thing.
...
A few seconds later—
Click!
The classroom door opened.
Gojo Satoru walked inside and casually looked around the classroom.
Then his gaze fell on Benio's empty seat.
"Hmm?"
Before he could ask anything, Chitanda Eru raised her hand.
"Sensei!"
Gojo Satoru looked toward her.
"Yes?"
"Benio said that something important came up and that she needed to leave early. She asked us to tell you."
Or so she heard from Marin and Shiroha.
"I see."
Gojo Satoru nodded.
There was no surprise on his face.
He already knew about it.
His Six Eyes had sensed Benio's movement the moment she left the classroom. The only reason he act was mainly so he could gave an opening for someone to bring it up and present an excuse so he could look away.
More importantly...He had also sensed the disturbance several kilometers away.
A concentration of miasma that look like it was from Magano.
Gojo Satoru glanced toward the window.
"So that's what it is..."
The disturbance wasn't particularly powerful enough. And he had already guessed that they were low-level Kegare.
Nothing that Benio couldn't handle. There was no reason for him to interfere.
At least, not yet.
It is normal for Kegare too attack the reality same for Devils and Demon — it's just that Kegare had more "freedom" to attack the reality then both Devil and Demon due to the barrier and rules that was already placed on the world.
Gojo Satoru turned back toward the classroom, it was a good way for Benio to gain experience and hone her skills.
"All right, everyone." He picked up the textbook from his desk. "Let's continue."
He opened it casually.
"Turn to page fifty-one."
The students obediently opened their books.
The classroom soon returned to normal.
But several kilometers away...
The situation was anything but normal.
...
Gray miasma covered the barren land. The sky was darkened in the same color as miasma.
The ground was cracked and dry, and countless twisted shadows moved through the fog.
Dozens of low-level Kegare had surrounded Benio.
They formed a large circle around her.
Their distorted bodies writhed as they emitted loud, animalistic growls.
"ROOOOAR!"
Another Kegare slammed its claws against the ground as if to show off it's strength.
Benio didn't move. She calmly looked around analysing the situation and her opponent, measuring their strength.
"Only low-level Kegare." Her voice remained composed, "Nothing difficult."
Even though she said that she didn't dare to let down her guard, she reached toward the charms that was stored inside her skirt pockets before throwing them in the air.
"Gouwanfu! Kougoufu! Idatenfu! Seidoukufu!"
Several charms were floating in the air before her as the letters glow with each chants that she utter.
Whoosh!
"Exorcist Enchanted Gear!"
The charms spread around her.
"Saigan Shishi — Swiftly as with the Ritsuryou!"
"Gaihou Goura — Swiftly as with the Ritsuryou!"
"Hiten Shunkyaku — Swiftly as with the Ritsuryou!"
Pale-blue rings of spiritual power appeared around her arms, legs, waist, and abdomen.
"Raisai Senkan — Swiftly as with the Ritsuryou!"
Before her spiritual power surged upwards covering her cute face.
As a fox mask appeared over her face, covering everything.
The two short swords in her hands passed through the floating charms.
The weapons immediately changed as their blades expanded and thickened.
The short swords transformed into broad double blades.
Benio slowly raised them, as she took a combat stand.
The Kegare reacted immediately, growling.
They could sense the spiritual power radiating from her body.
But they possessed no real fear. The only thing they felt was hunger — hunger for the spiritual energy that had presented itself before them.
They only wanted to devour the human in front of them with it to satisfy their hunger.
"ROOOOAR!"
The entire group charged simultaneously.
Benio lowered her body, leaning her upper body forward as her feet shifted slightly with one leg at front — leaving small marks on the ground.
Both blades were pulled behind her.
For a brief moment, everything became still.
Then—
"Izayoi Higan No Mai!" (Dance of the Full Moon Equinox)
Boom!
Benio disappeared with a loud noise.
Silver-white streaks flashed through the Kegare.
One.
Whoosh!
Two.
Whooosh!
Five.
Whoooosh!
Ten.
More and more flashes crossed the battlefield leaving a trails of white energy overlapping against each pther at one point.
The Kegare froze.
A moment later—
They collapsed.
One after another, the Kegare were cut down — leaving only the severed part and puple blood before turning into glowing pentagram-shaped marks and burning flame before disappearing into the air.
The entire battle was over in an instant.
Benio slowly straightened. She planted both blades into the ground, as she focused on her energy usage.
"That was easier than expected."
She had used much less spiritual energy and time that earlier to finished this group of low-level kegare, just when she was reviewing her battle—
Swooosh!
A small cloud of smoke suddenly appeared beside her.
Kinako emerged from it and landed on her shoulder, her face severe.
"Lord Benio!"
Benio glanced sideways, her focused on her Shikigami.
"What is it?"
"There is another Kegare gathering ahead." Kinako informed again before her voice turned a little uncertain, "And..."
"And what?" Benio's eyes narrowed.
"It appears to be much larger."
"How much larger?"
"....I'm not...certain." Kinako hesitated, "But there seem to be several Exorcist there too.."
Benio's expression changed.
"Exorcist?"
"And ordinary people."
Benio immediately picked up her double blades the moment she heard her last words.
"Then we have no time to rest." She turned toward the distant disturbance where Kinako was pointing. "Let's go."
Whoosh!
Benio immediately ran forward in an urgent sprints!
...
Another location in this hell like place—
The scene ahead was completely different from the earlier destroyed ground where there were a group of ten Kegare here there were hundreds of Kegare that were filling the ground with suffocating amount of maisma.
Their collective roars echoed through the entire area, the ground shook beneath their feet as they create a massive circle leaving only the center.
In the center of the battlefield stood five people.
Three were Exorcist while remaining two were the unfortunate souls who had been caught.
The three Exorcist were Ryogo Nagitsuji, Shinnosuke Kunizaki, and Atsushi Sukumozuka — even though they were experience in handling Kegare (low levels), the situation weren't good.
All three were injured due to having to fight against the massive group while also making sure the civilians were safe from both the Kegare and the maisma.
Their breathing was heavy showing how tired they were die to the long time spend fighting. Their white exorcist uniforms were torn and stained with dirt, sweats and their own bloods.
Several wounds could be seen across their bodies, while they weren't severe enough to kill them — it was enough to drain their strength and energy trying to mend their injuries.
Yet none of them had even thought about retreated.
They were still standing against the odds.
Still protecting the people behind them.
The other two people were completely different from the ragged Exorcists.
One was a young woman wearing the uniform of Shuchiin Academy.
She had long pale-blonde hair, with part of it tied into a ponytail on the left side.
Her delicate features and blue eyes gave her a distinctly foreign appearance.
It was Hayasaka Ai!
Hayasaka stared at the countless Kegare surrounding them. She couldn't maintain her usual composed expression as it crumble in front of their roar. She was scared — very scared, it was already a surprise that she is brave enough to not let fear overtake her.
She had always known that the world contained secrets.
As a member of the Hayasaka family that served Shinomiya Group for generations, Hayasaka had encountered enough strange incidents to understand that ordinary society didn't know everything.
But knowing about supernatural incidents and actually standing in front of hundreds of such creatures were two completely different things.
"Kegare..." She quietly muttered, the name of the monster that she had heard from her mother. "So these things really exist."
Rooooooor!
A Kegare roared nearby causing Ai to flinched in fear.
She couldn't help but turned toward the three exhausted people's who were trying their best to protect her and the other person.
"Why do I always end up in situations like this?" She asked this question to herself slowly, not understanding why her.
The answer went back roughly half an hour.
...
Thirty Minutes Earlier,
Hayasaka Ai had left school early today.
She had been walking across a pedestrian overpass, intending to enjoy the afternoon scenery before returning home and talking with her stubborn master.
The weather had been pleasant.
Everything had seemed completely normal with many people's walked along the sidewalks.
Then—
".——!"
Hayasaka stopped in her tracks as she seem to have heard something strange.
A faint sound.
"....——!"
Then another.
"...—!"
Then another.
"...HA—!"
It sounded like someone breathing heavily
"...What?"
She looked around as the back of her hairs stood up at the end.
There was nobody nearby.
Her expression became suspicious and paranoid.
The strange sound continued even as she had began walking towards it.
Then—
Her vision suddenly blurred as if the a mist beginning to cleared itself.
The space around her distorted.
"What?!" Hayasaka instinctively turned around to run from where she had come.
But she couldn't as the next second—
Everything changed.
The peaceful city disappeared.
She found herself standing in a strange, barren world filled with an unpleasant and distorted aura around her.
The sky was dark with an unpleasant wind sound flowing around her.
The ground was unfamiliar.
And everything about it felt wrong.
Hayasaka's eyes widened in scared as she touch the back of her hand that was now covered in goosebumps.
"Where am I?"
Before she could understand what had happened, she noticed someone else nearby.
It was Rokuro Enmado.
He had also been caught in the strange phenomenon but he didn't seem scared if anything he seem confused and angry?
The situation had become even more complicated when Ryogo Nagitsuji, Shinnosuke Kunizaki, and Atsushi Sukumozuka discovered them.
The three Exorcist had been carrying out routine training when they heard that Rokuro had suddenly disappeared!
When they were in search for him they discovered that a civilian had also been pulled into the Disaster Field, they immediately rushed over. Rokuro had the ability to protect himself but he isn't well diverse in spells — he wouldn't be able to cast a protection spell to protect the civilian from the surrounding maisma.
"Stay behind us!" Ryogo raised his weapon, after quickly casting a basic protection spell — it wouldn't be able to last for long but that should be enough to protect her.
"Don't worry. We'll get you out."
Hayasaka looked at him as she gain the liberty to composed herself as she pressed her hands together to stop the shaking.
Shinnosuke stepped forward.
"We'll protect you."
Atsushi nodded.
"That's right."
Hayasaka glanced at the three of them before turning towards the twisted being that had surround them.
She didn't know whether she should feel relieved or even more nervous at their confidence and proud demeanor.
Then the Kegare began gathering.
More.
And more.
And more!
The three confident Exorcist quickly realized that the situation was worse than expected.
Ryogo looked at Rokuro with worry.
"Rokuro, stay behind us."
Rokuro frowned. "I'm not running away."
Ryogo smiled—his usual smile.
"Nobody said you were."
He pointed toward Hayasaka.
"Just protect her."
Then he looked toward the other two.
"Shinnosuke. Atsushi."
"Yeah."
"Understood."
They have already work as a team and knows what he was trying to do without needing any order.
Ryogo took a deep breath before he looked toward Hayasaka, "We'll create an opening. Once we do, take her and run."
The last words were for Rokuro even though he wasn't looking towards him.
Rokuro's expression immediately changed, he just said that he isn't going to run and now he is selfishly asking for this.
"Are you kidding me, Ryogo?" Ryogo glanced at him with agitated look.
"What's wrong?"
"Look at your injuries!"
Rokuro clenched his fists.
"You're barely standing!"
Ryogo laughed lightly.
"I'm fine."
"You call that fine?!"
Rokuro's voice rose.
"Even if I die, I'm not leaving you three behind and running away!"
Ryogo's expression softened slightly.
"Rokuro..."
The words struck him harder than expected.
Rokuro's hands trembled.
He knew what power he possessed.
He also knew exactly why he had been avoiding it.
The last time he had used that power, the memories had left a deep scar in his heart.
He didn't want to become that demon again.
He didn't want to rely on that power.
But then—
"RYOGO!" Shinnosuke suddenly shouted with urgency in his voice, "BEHIND YOU!"
A Kegare had lunged forward with full strength.
Ryogo immediately turned and blocked it with his swords.
"Don't worry about me!" He pushed it back, throwing it against the others, "Take care of yourselves!"
Atsushi looked around as the disoriented kegare began to stood up again, visibly more angry then before.
"There are too many!"
The Kegare were approaching from every direction realising from the first move.
...
Present,
Rokuro's breathing became heavier as he stare at them. His fingers slowly curled into a fist, nails pressed against the skin tightly.
He looked at Ryogo.
Then Shinnosuke.
Then Atsushi.
All three were exhausted, mentally drain with their energy reserve flowing behind.
Rokuro's hand slowly moved toward the black charm that he is forced to carry.
His fingers touched the black talisman that look like a simple sheet of black paper.
The memories of the past resurface again.
"If you say you don't want to fight anymore. I won't force you."
"However, I want you to at least hold on to this." He had said while placing the black tailsman on the floor. "For the time, when you wish to protect someone even at the cost of you life....I am sure it will assist you."
The memory disappear as smoke clearing itself to reveal the harsh reality before him.
"Kegare...dispelled..." His voice trembled.
He tried again, the past haunting the poor child who wish nothing more than to run away. But he didn't. He couldn't.
Rokuro's breathing became ragged, the word stuffed itself in his throat.
'No...'
His eyes widened as he felt the forgotten pain.
The fear.
The hesitation.
The feeling of losing control!
His entire body began trembling as his guilt and fear haunt him. It look like a shadow like being in the shape of small child that was made my maisma, calling out his name. Happily with joy.
"Rokuro~"
"Rokuro~"
"Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~" "Rokuro~"
"ROKURO~" "ROKURO~" "ROKURO~" "ROKURO~" "ROKURO~" "LET'S PLAY" "ROKURO~" "ROKURO~" "ROKURO~" "ROKURO~" "HELP ME" "ROKURO~" "ROKURO~" "ROKURO~"
"""""ROKURO———SAVE US!!""""""
The figure turning into bizarre being one by one as Rokuro's lowered his head while covering his ears with a painful expression.
"I can't...I am—"
He couldn't do it.
He couldn't willingly summon that power again. Not after everything that had happened — His own fear and guilt was forcing him behind.
Then—
"Rokuro!"
Ryogo shouted.
Rokuro looked up with an obvious pained expression.
"Watch your back!" Ryogo was visibly worried and concern for him.
"...I'm fine!"
Ryogo blocked another attack from the Kegare before slashing his sword against the Kegare. The cut mark was not very deep.
"Just protect yourself!"
"There's too many of them!" Shinnosuke shouted.
Atsushi followed, "We can't keep this up!"
Rokuro's eyes widened.
He looked around even after purifying many Kegare there were not showing any sign of stopping.
And behind him stood Hayasaka, an ordinary person who had been dragged into a world she didn't understand.
If he refused to act...someone would get hurt or worsed — killed.
Rokuro slowly closed his eyes,his trembling gradually calm down before stopped.
He opened them again. His grip tightened around the black charm.
"I won't run."
His voice was quiet.
...
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Bonus Chapter:-
4 Bonus chapter at 100 powerstone
6 Bonus Chapter at 150 powerstone
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Word Count — 3,217