Chapter 169: Consecutive Victories
"Tsuchimikado Yakou… is that him?"
Standing on the platform, Abe no Yoshihira fixed his gaze on Tsuchimikado Harutora among the students below.
"A man who once possessed the potential to become a Great Onmyoji, yet ruined that possibility with his own hands by tampering with the Taizan Fukun Ritual. In his current state, reaching that realm again may no longer be possible."
Yoshihira was not the only one watching him.
Several of the ancient Onmyoji followed his gaze toward Harutora.
To ordinary practitioners, there was little unusual about the boy at first glance. But to the masters of the Heian Period, the traces left upon him were impossible to miss.
The aura of the underworld still clung to his soul.
A remnant of the price exacted by the Taizan Fukun Ritual.
Some of the ancient Onmyoji could only sigh.
The Taizan Fukun Ritual was a Forbidden Art for a reason.
It was connected to the boundary between life and death and, at its deepest level, existed as a means of interacting with and restraining the powers of the underworld. Trying to exploit such an art without bearing the proper consequences was nothing short of reckless.
And if anything went wrong, the backlash was merciless.
Harutora himself was proof of that.
Even now, his soul remained subject to the erosion of the ghosts and divine beings of the underworld.
Others reacted with considerably less sympathy.
The former heads of the Kurahashi and Soma families were among them.
Both men had fiery tempers, and from their perspective, the sight before them was almost unbearable.
The system of Onmyodo they and countless predecessors had risked their lives to build had been altered again and again by later generations. Imperial Style Onmyojutsu was already difficult enough for them to accept.
And now there was someone who had casually laid hands on a Forbidden Art connected to life and death itself.
To them, that went beyond recklessness.
It bordered on sacrilege.
Still, most of the ancient masters chose not to comment.
Kamo no Tadataka and several other respected figures of the old Onmyoryo understood one thing very clearly.
A thousand years was too great a gulf.
The Onmyodo of their era and the Onmyodo of the modern age had developed under completely different circumstances. It would be arrogant to judge every decision made by their descendants solely according to standards that belonged to the Heian Period.
That did not mean they agreed with everything modern Onmyoji had done.
It simply meant they knew better than to condemn an entire era without understanding it first.
They could also understand why the Kurahashi and Soma family heads were so irritated.
"Sigh… so they noticed after all."
Among the students below, Tsuchimikado Harutora rubbed the back of his neck and muttered under his breath.
He could feel the weight of several ancient gazes resting on him.
Some contained disappointment.
Others, disapproval.
A few were downright hostile.
Harutora did not need anyone to explain why.
He had brought this karma upon himself.
From the perspective of ancient Onmyodo masters, what he had done with the Taizan Fukun Ritual was probably the equivalent of tearing apart a sacred taboo with his bare hands and then wondering why everyone was upset.
There was not much he could say in his own defense.
Meanwhile, the selection test continued.
After Okawa Yuto's defeat, Kasugano Sora randomly selected another student from the Onmyo Academy.
This time, the defender possessed genuine Professional-level strength.
And after witnessing what had happened to Okawa Yuto, the student showed no intention of underestimating Dafudai Makoto.
The moment the match began, the academy student moved cautiously.
Their feet traced the steps of Yu Step across the arena, never remaining in one position for long.
Talismans were already held between their fingers.
A spell formula was being prepared.
At the same time, a shikigami was summoned to guard their blind spots.
Every movement had a purpose.
The lesson from the previous match was obvious.
Do not give Dafudai Makoto an opportunity to vanish from sight.
Do not allow him to approach from an unseen angle.
And above all, do not assume that an Onmyodo battle would be fought face-to-face.
The two exchanged several rounds of attacks.
Talismans flashed.
Spell formulas collided.
The shikigami moved between them while both Onmyoji repeatedly shifted position.
To most of the students watching, the battle appeared evenly matched.
But Amami Daizen and Otomo Jin soon noticed the problem.
"He's consuming too much spiritual energy," Otomo Jin murmured.
Amami Daizen nodded.
The student's decision to use Yu Step to disrupt Dafudai Makoto's rhythm was tactically sound.
The problem was endurance.
Yu Step was not a casual movement technique. Maintaining it repeatedly throughout an extended battle placed a substantial burden on the practitioner's spiritual energy.
Even for someone who had reached the Professional level, continuously using Yu Step while simultaneously controlling a shikigami and preparing Onmyo Arts was demanding.
If the battle continued like this, there was only one likely outcome.
The modern student would exhaust themselves first.
And that was exactly what happened.
After several more exchanges, the academy student performed Yu Step again.
This time, their spiritual energy faltered.
Only for an instant.
A slight disruption in circulation.
Barely noticeable.
The student realized the mistake immediately and attempted to cover the opening by launching another Onmyo Art.
But to Dafudai Makoto, it was already too late.
He had grown up in the Heian Period.
An era when monsters, spirits, and supernatural disasters were not distant threats discussed in classrooms, but things that could kill a practitioner the moment they made a mistake.
To someone raised in that environment, a momentary lapse was not a minor flaw.
It was an opening.
And openings were meant to be exploited.
"Release!"
Makoto raised one hand.
Spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, forming a crude talisman directly in the air.
There was nothing elaborate about it.
Nothing beautiful.
The technique simply struck.
Fast.
Precise.
Merciless.
The impact landed squarely at the academy student's weakest point.
Their body jerked.
Their vision immediately darkened.
The spell they had been preparing collapsed, and the student crumpled to the arena floor before they could recover.
For the second time, silence swept through the spectators.
"Dafudai Makoto wins!"
Kasugano Sora announced the result.
The unconscious student was carried away.
Two matches.
Two defeats.
The atmosphere among the Onmyo Academy students had changed completely.
Okawa Yuto had been highly regarded.
So had the student who had just lost.
Neither was weak.
Yet both had been defeated by Dafudai Makoto without ever forcing him into a truly desperate situation.
That realization created pressure.
The excitement that had filled the students before the test began was slowly being tempered by something heavier.
Respect.
And unease.
Then Kasugano Sora selected the third defender.
Another Professional-level student stepped onto the arena.
This time, however, the academy side had already watched Makoto fight twice.
Humans learned quickly when failure happened right in front of them.
The third student wasted no time.
The instant the match began, they attacked.
"All things beneath heaven fall within my grasp. By the original vow of Acala's true body, I swear to subdue wicked spirits and malevolent souls!"
Their hands formed the final seal.
"Swiftly, in accordance with the laws and decrees!"
Spiritual energy erupted.
"Immovable Binding Technique!"
Chains formed from condensed spiritual power and shot across the arena.
Dafudai Makoto barely had time to move before they wrapped around his arms and legs.
One chain tightened around his torso.
Another locked his stance in place.
Within moments, he was completely restrained.
The eyes of the Onmyo Academy students lit up.
"Got him!"
"That should do it!"
"He can't pull the same trick anymore!"
The binding was complete.
From where they stood, Dafudai Makoto had become a helpless target.
A few students were already imagining him being blasted from the arena in the next instant.
Unfortunately, reality rarely cared about expectations.
Dafudai Makoto looked down at the spiritual chains wrapped around his body.
There was no panic on his face.
For the first time since the selection test began, he started chanting a formal spell.
"Namah samanta-vajrānām…"
His voice was calm.
Measured.
Spiritual energy gathered around him.
The atmosphere on the arena shifted.
"Swiftly, in accordance with the laws and decrees."
Makoto raised his eyes.
"Fire Boundary Spell."
Boom!
Crimson flames erupted from his body.
The burst was so violent that it resembled a furnace being torn open from within.
The Immovable Binding Technique lasted only an instant.
The spiritual chains turned red.
Cracked.
Then burned apart.
Flames surged outward across the arena.
The third defender's expression changed immediately.
This was not the standardized Imperial Style Fire Boundary Spell taught in modern Onmyodo.
It was the Ancient Style.
A spell formula from the Heian Period, preserved in a form much closer to its original structure.
Its power approached the threshold of a true National-level Onmyo Art.
The difference was overwhelming.
The sea of fire swept across the arena.
The academy student had no opportunity to reverse the situation.
The outcome was decided almost immediately.
Once the flames dispersed, the third defender had been defeated.
Three consecutive victories.
Dafudai Makoto remained standing in the arena.
For a moment, he looked across the gathered students of the Onmyo Academy.
Then he spoke.
"If the Onmyodo of a thousand years later is truly this fragile…"
His voice carried clearly through the silence.
"Then I do not believe you possess any advantage whatsoever against the supernatural resurgence."
Makoto's gaze remained steady.
"Nor do I see much hope of you surviving it."
No one among the Onmyo Academy students answered.
After three consecutive defeats, there was nothing they could say.
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