*Crack!*
The bamboo staff and Cypress Fan clashed, emitting a series of splintering sounds. The bamboo, unable to withstand the immense energy, began to crack and then snapped with a loud *crack!*
*Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!*
The surrounding sorcerers erupted in derisive hisses at the sight of Chen Chen's bamboo staff breaking. Abe Seimei's guards seized the opportunity to mock and jeer.
"Hmph, I told you not to put on such a show," Abe Seimei sneered, feeling he had outmaneuvered Chen Chen. "You said you'd use bamboo against me? Now that it's broken, what will you do?"
With a wave of his Cypress Fan, Abe Seimei's face twisted into a cold smile. "If that's all you've got, get off the stage! You don't deserve Kazusa, and you certainly don't deserve to be the Supreme Mage!"
At these words, the smile vanished from Chen Chen's face. Under the eyes of the crowd, he abruptly plunged the shattered bamboo staff into the ground before turning to Abe Seimei, who stood there dumbfounded, and sincerely apologizing.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have used bamboo. It wouldn't be fair to you. I should have used... leaves."
Chen Chen said, pulling a vibrant green bamboo leaf from the bamboo stalk that had been driven deep into the ground.
The entire crowd fell silent.
"Leaves?" Abe Haruya murmured, staring at the green leaf in Chen Chen's hand.
"Yes, leaves," Chen Chen affirmed, as if using leaves were the most natural thing in the world.
In Baku Yumemakura's *Onmyōji*, there's a famous dialogue between Seimei and Hiromasa. Chen Chen found this passage particularly insightful, believing it reflected not just Onmyōdō, but the very nature of power itself.
*Seimei: "What do you think is the shortest curse in the world?"*
*Hiromasa: "The shortest curse? Don't make me rack my brain, Seimei. Just tell me."*
*Seimei: "The shortest curse in the world is 'name'."*
*Hiromasa: "Name?"*
*Seimei: "Yes."*
*Hiromasa: "Like you're Seimei and I'm Hiromasa—that kind of name?"*
*Seimei: "Precisely. But also the names of mountains, seas, trees, grass, insects... all of them are a form of curse."*
*Hiromasa: "I don't understand."*
Seimei: "In essence, a Curse is a form of binding. You see, a name is precisely what binds the fundamental nature of things. If there were something in this world that couldn't be named, it would be nothing at all. You could say it wouldn't exist."
Hiromasa: "Your words are hard to understand."
"For example, though you and I are both human, you are bound by the Curse of 'Hiromasa,' while I am bound by the Curse of 'Seimei.'"
Hiromasa: "If I lost my name, would it be like I'd vanished from the world?"
Seimei: "No, you would still exist. It's just that 'Hiromasa' would have disappeared."
Hiromasa: "But 'Hiromasa' is me. If 'Hiromasa' disappears, wouldn't I disappear too?"
Seimei shook his head gently, neither confirming nor denying.
In Onmyōdō, the Curse is an ethereal and mysterious entity.
As long as something in this world has a name, it is bound by a form of restriction.
Only when one recognizes the existence of something and gives it a name does one cast a Curse upon it.
The more people who believe in or worship that thing, the greater its power becomes. Over time, the spiritual energy it possesses comes to be seen as "divine."
One could say that the "Curse" is the power of the human heart.
The "Leaf" itself is merely a "name," a constraint imposed by the world upon him. But what if it were imbued with power? What if immense power flowed through it? Would the "Leaf" then be unworthy of being called formidable?
Whether it's the "Leaf" or a "Divine Weapon," as long as the essence of "power" remains unchanged, then this "Curse" or "name" is merely a manifestation of that power.
The sorcerers watching their battle remained silent, quietly observing the unfolding scene.
Chen Chen's lips curled slightly as he looked at the grim-faced Abe Haruya. Gently grasping the bamboo leaf between two fingers, he smiled faintly and said, "Again."
As his voice fell, Chen Chen vanished without a sound.
Abe Haruya couldn't even catch a glimpse of Chen Chen's disappearance and frantically looked around.
"Here," Chen Chen's voice drifted from beside him, as if deliberately guiding him. Abe Haruya could sense Chen Chen's swift movements, which only slowed as he closed in.
"Hah!" Abe Haruya barked coldly, his Cypress Fan whirling rapidly, empowered by magical energy.
*Ding!*
Shadows of Cypress Fans, imbued with fierce momentum, danced through the air, colliding with the delicate bamboo leaf in Chen Chen's hand. Each impact produced the crisp, metallic clang of solid metal striking metal, causing the fan shadows to dissipate instantly. Only the rapidly expanding ripples of energy revealed the intensity of the clash.
"It's just bamboo! How can it block my Cypress Fan?"
"Why is he so strong?!"
Turning his gaze toward Abe Haruya, whose eyes grew increasingly dim, Chen Chen chuckled softly but remained silent. Blue light flashed beneath his feet. With a gentle step, he materialized beside Abe Haruya like a ghost.
This time, Abe Haruya seemed to anticipate the move. His Cypress Fan darted forward with lightning speed, each thrust leaving behind a trail of afterimages. The fan vibrated at terrifying speeds, its afterimages instantly filling the space before him.
Yet Chen Chen, whose movements were bizarre and unpredictable, didn't flee the onslaught. Instead, he calmly stepped into the heart of the storm.
*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*
The endless barrage of attacks surged forward, yet Chen Chen stood as if rooted in place amidst the seemingly infinite onslaught.
With infinitesimal movements, he dodged every thunderous strike of Abe Haruya's Cypress Fan. To an observer, it appeared as though all the attacks were aimed directly at Chen Chen, yet they passed through him as if he were a mere phantom.
"Hah!"
The afterimages of the white energy-imbued Cypress Fan first froze in mid-air, then, as if unwilling to yield, the area around the fan's tip flickered with an eerie cold light. Amplified by the white magical energy, each afterimage possessed the power to pierce stone walls. As Abe Haruya stared at Chen Chen, who was now within arm's reach, his cold battle cry suddenly erupted.
-----------------------
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