Full Release
Once enlightenment dawned, it all became effortless. Every time a crescent slash of aura hurtled toward him, Kenichi swung his sword to meet it head-on, cleaving it apart. The aura shattered into nothingness.
"Just die already!!!" The wolf Oni Kaikoku's face had lost all composure, now twisted in pure desperation. He screamed for death while unleashing slash after slash from his stationary position. Of course, every aura strike vanished into futility.
Why isn't the bastard coming at me? If he charged directly, it would spell trouble for Kenichi—that much was obvious. And Kaikoku surely knew it too.
Kenichi felt a flicker of doubt, but one glance at the yokai's frantic expression made it clear. ...The guy's scared.
Scared of being bound in chains again. Scared of being sealed in that pitch-black coffin. Scared that one of those aura-slicing strikes might claim him instead. Paralyzed by "what ifs," he couldn't advance. Even knowing Kenichi was wearing down, that sliver of doubt rooted him in place.
What a coward. Kenichi realized then that the creature was just another living being. Its regeneration was unprecedented, but it felt fear all the same. Limbs regrew easily enough— but what if its head came off? Would it really survive that?
I can win this.
Kenichi's face lit with ecstatic certainty as he cleaved through another incoming aura slash. With a single swing, he dismantled Eris's magic barriers as if they were paper. Even flesh that had shrugged off Cento's spells could be carved away.
I'll kill it. I'll be the one to end this thing.
The trance state. Muaji-kyeong. Mindlessly batting away aura, Kenichi pressed forward. Step after relentless step.
Whoosh—! The flames of his soul roared to life. A faint demonic energy clung to his Demon Sword as it sundered the aura.
Closing the distance bit by bit, Kenichi grinned, lips curling upward. With his technique and spirit both surging, he was utterly convinced he could cut the Oni down.
Or so he thought.
"...Huh?"
Kenichi's balance suddenly faltered mid-swing against a massive aura slash, just like before. His head spun dizzily. He recovered quickly, but the vertigo left his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
...Ah.
Kitagawa Kenichi's mouth fell open slightly. Like everyone else, the limit he'd long ignored had finally caught up to him. The toll for pushing his body so brutally had come due.
The sword felt impossibly heavy in his grip now. ...Damn, it's too much.
As Kenichi's movements slowed to a crawl, the wolf Oni noticed the shift. Despair gave way to dawning hope on its face.
"...Yes! Die! Just die already!"
It unleashed slashes with renewed fury. Kenichi barely parried, forced to backpedal in turn—right back to Eris's side.
His arms shook violently just holding the sword. He needed to move faster, but his counters grew sluggish. Then, inevitably, he missed a beat.
Ah, can't block it—
"You idiot!"
Eris, who'd been watching in stunned silence, yanked him back just in time. Kenichi stumbled into the barrier, and the golden-haired mage stepped forward with a grimace.
"...Stars, please."
Facing the onslaught of aura slashes, she poured every ounce of mana into the barrier. Scratched and scarred, it responded to her plea with a golden glow—thickening ever so slightly.
Kwaaaang—!!!
The aura slashes raked across every direction with savage fury. Nails on chalkboard screeched as the barrier shuddered on the verge of collapse. Star mage Eris Betelgeuse gritted her teeth, holding it together with everything she had.
And in the end—
It held.
The aura ran dry first. As Kenichi steadied himself with a relieved exhale, a thud echoed—something collapsing.
He whipped around in alarm. Eris lay crumpled, eyes squeezed shut.
"...Ughhh."
She clawed at the ground, trying to rise, but her mana depletion pinned her down. Whirr— The barrier that had shielded them flickered faintly, then vanished.
With the greenhouse dome gone, acrid air enveloped them.
"..."
Gulp. Kenichi swallowed dryly, tightening his grip on his sword.
Kaikoku eyed them suspiciously at first, then grinned ear-to-ear upon realizing no trickery. He clapped and bellowed with laughter.
"Haha! Yeah, you should've dropped by now! Chasing yokai all dawn? No wonder you're beat! Haha!"
"..."
"Gotta hand it to ya—didn't think you'd push me this far. For real. But that doesn't change the punishment for bothering the elders, right?"
Grinning slyly, Kaikoku stepped forward—then winced at a burning sensation underfoot.
Fwoosh! His foot ignited.
It was no spell or magic—a purifying flame infused with the power of the gods.
"...What the hell—"
Kaikoku scowled and stomped irritably. Boom! The flames sputtered out pathetically against the wolf's paw.
Momentum surging, the Oni charged straight at Kenichi.
"—Don't get cocky, you brat!!"
Aura flared around its foot as it kicked with full force. Kenichi clung to his shaking sword, but it wasn't enough.
Kwaaaang!
He dispelled the aura but flew back from the Oni's raw power.
"...Guh!"
With Kenichi down, only one stood unscathed. Or was she?
Sawamura Cento stared blankly at the yokai before her. Kaikoku looked down at the shaman with hazy pupils, smug satisfaction on his face.
"Yeah, no way you'd be fine after a ritual that big."
The others were prodigies for their age too. But this shaman was different. Just watching her sent chills down his spine. Pretty face aside, she was too dangerous to keep around.
She might recover and slit my throat the second I turn away.
Abandoning leisure, Kaikoku extended claws toward her nape—sharp aura gleaming, promising instant death on contact.
Or so he thought—
井 (Well), 鬼 (Oni), 柳 (Willow), 星 (Star), 張 (Stretch), 翼 (Wings), 軫 (Chariot)
⟨ Four Guardians' Aegis ⟩
Suddenly, Cento's brooch flashed. Seven constellations rose from the red gem, scattering to form the shapes of the Four Guardians. A crimson barrier, blessed by divine protectors, shielded its shaman from the aura.
"...Wh-what?!"
Kaikoku recoiled in shock—the exact moment clarity returned to Cento's eyes.
A barrier?
Sawamura Cento gazed dazedly at the brooch on her chest. The red gem sparkled. Ichimaru Shiki had given it to her, vowing he'd always save her.
Eris's barrier had cracked under the aura, but this one stood firm, unyielding.
"You damn pests!!!"
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
As Kaikoku pounded futilely at the shield, Cento murmured blankly.
"...So he didn't completely abandon me."
She closed her eyes, delving into tangled emotions. What did she truly fear? What mattered most in life?
...Ah, of course.
She didn't want to die. She couldn't let the others perish either. If she survived, she had so many questions. Dragging her in with promises, then ditching her so carelessly—how irresponsible could he be?
Ichimaru Shiki. She'd confront him, demand answers.
Resolved, Sawamura Cento made her choice: summon the monster to slay the wolf.
With a faint smile, she whispered.
"Come on, then."
Fwoosh! Fire kindled in her crimson eyes—oni flames.
Kaikoku, hammering the barrier, froze upon meeting that gaze. He turned to stone.
The wolf's pupils quaked violently.
"...I-impossible."
Those weren't human eyes. They burned with a monster's soulfire—top-tier, gaze alone overwhelming. An ancient being from a bygone era, impossible in modern times.
...Can't beat that.
Teeth chattering, Kaikoku backed away, then realized: surrounded by the spirit vein's barrier, where could he flee? If it recovered, survival was nil.
Eyes clenched shut, the wolf Oni steeled itself.
...Kill it now!
Or die trying. Pouring all mana into his claws, Kaikoku ignited blazing aura.
Oni Kaikoku thrust with full might.
"—Boneflesh Carnage!"
Kkiiigigig—!
Aura met crimson barrier in a ferocious shriek unlike before. The wolf Oni strained to sever her nape; Cento glared back, her pupils radiating eerie heat.
Can I do it?
...No, I can. Definitely.
Until now, only petty wishes for luck or money. But killing? That too was possible.
Convinced, Cento prepared to command the entity within: slay this yokai. The price? Irrelevant. Even death tomorrow— she'd survive now.
The monster in her crimson eyes stirred.
"—Hiiiik!!"
Sensing it instinctively, Kaikoku flared his aura wildly. Awakened by mortal peril, it surged fiercer than ever—crack! Piercing the barrier?
More time, and it'd break through.
But Cento's lips moved faster.
The thing right in front of her—
"...Die—"
"Whoa, that's dangerous!"
Before the divine incantation could form, the narrow-eyed man seized the wolf's wrist—faster than words.
No warning, pure suddenness. Cento, wreathed in red aura, and Kaikoku mid-flare—both eyes widened.
"...What?"
The narrow-eyed man, Ichimaru Shiki, beamed at the yokai.
"Ah, sorry, but could you give me a moment with my friends?"
"...And who the hell are you—?!"
"Hmm, if you'd rather not... no choice then."
Ichimaru Shiki scratched his cheek sheepishly, murmuring softly.
"Guess we'll do it the hard way."
Shwick!
Kaikoku felt his right hand detach abruptly. Not just the wrist—severed from the shoulder. Stumbling back in shock, he stared at his severed arm in the man's grip.
"Ah, no need for this anymore."
Shiki tossed the wolf's arm aside like trash, then turned to his comrades. Golden-haired loli Eris Betelgeuse was off to dreamland; idiot Kenichi sprawled on the ground, lighting up.
"Shiki!!"
Shiki waved casually at the fervent call, then faced Cento. Unlike Kenichi, her face twisted, crimson pupils glaring with unnatural heat.
Swallowing a sob, she steadied her quivering lips.
"...How long have you been there?"
His hair now fully white, Ichimaru Shiki replied nonchalantly.
"Mm, right after Kenichi got hurt? Since you called for me, I'd say."
"...What? Shiki, you have no idea what we've been through—"
"—Then why!!!"
Kenichi snapped his mouth shut at her scream. Shiki met the bizarre heat in her crimson eyes.
Cento forced composure over her trembling face.
"...Why didn't you show sooner?"
"For experience and growth, I suppose. Once I step in, your progress stalls fast."
"...That make any sense? Why not appear right away? No, that's not—"
She waved at empty air, then swept her face, settling on her question. With the pitiful look from that evening street encounter, Sawamura Cento asked.
"...You'll discard me if I become useless?"
Shiki brushed back his bangs, briefly revealing even his narrow eyes. Then, the usual sly smile returned.
"As if. You're all precious talents who'll save the world."
"...Ah."
At the artful dodge, Cento's face became indescribable. Eyes clenched shut, her dusty pink locks drooped.
A small voice reached his ear.
"...A tiny bit attached, though."
Cento looked up blankly.
"Yeah, can't discard you after all."
Uncharacteristically, Shiki's twisted smile and teal eyes peeked through. Meeting her gaze, he scratched his white hair and spun to the yokai.
Oni Kaikoku still gawked dumbly.
"...You."
"Haha, thanks for waiting so patiently! You're nicer than expected!"
Shiki clapped delightedly.
"Know this? Lines and moves wasted on mooks look decent on mid-bosses like you."
"...What the—"
Nothing but smiles from the narrow-eyed man.
"Means thanks all around."
Shiki reached into empty air.
Complete Release
Under the blood-red full moon of the spirit vein's night sky, the white-haired man seized the void. Eyes twinkling with mirth, twisted smile intact.
Click. In the ashen world where all stilled, his formless blade manifested.
Manhae
The blade rent time itself.
Kenichi stared blankly at the scene. Shiki's sudden arrival and Cento's outburst were shocking enough—but this?
I'm still gripping my sword just fine...
"...Huh?"
Somehow, Kaikoku's head had flown.