The suffocating barrier was still thick with cursed miasma, but the last explosion had already faded. Pieces of corrupted flesh turned to ash and drifted like black snow across the ruined ground. Above, the sky within the barrier still shimmered faintly with pentagrams, remnants of Gojo Satoru's techniques.
The Onmyoji around him could only stare in shock, their breathing ragged. Even seasoned exorcists who had witnessed countless battles felt their knees weaken at the sight before them.
"Ah… it's truly worthy of Gojo-sama," one of them whispered, voice trembling. "To wipe away a tide of filth so effortlessly…"
Before anyone else could respond, a clear, elegant voice cut through the air.
"Fufufu… as expected of the Strongest. You make it look far too simple."
The unfamiliar voice made everyone tense. Even Seigen, who always wore that half-dead poker face, shifted his eyes toward the sound.
Standing calmly amid the crowd was a woman who had not been there moments ago. She was dressed like an aristocrat from the West, her kimono fused with European design. A fan hid half her face, but the corners of her eyes curved like crescent moons.
"…Why are you here, Subaru Mitejima?" Seigen asked quietly, his tone sharper than usual.
Yes—Subaru Mitejima. One of the Twelve Heavenly Guardians, ranked sixth among them.
She tapped the edge of her fan against her shoulder and laughed softly.
"Why? My dear Seigen, do you think something like this wouldn't draw my attention? Thousands of civilians vanish overnight. Such chaos threatens to destabilize the very order of reality. Lord Arima himself suspects a Basara is involved… and perhaps even a mastermind hidden behind it all."
The words struck like cold steel. Seigen's brows twitched, though his expression remained mostly unreadable. He, too, had thought the same. Large-scale calamities like this did not happen without cause. A Basara, perhaps, but more likely—someone pulling strings in the shadows.
As Seigen pondered, a massive white shikigami sheet floated down in front of him. His eyes rolled, unimpressed, staring at the crude drawing that appeared on the paper—a blushing emoji.
"(///)" (😳)
"…Seriously?" Seigen muttered. His dead-fish eyes said everything.
"Um, may I ask…" one of the younger female Onmyoji whispered timidly, her gaze darting between Subaru and Seigen. "Is it truly Subaru Mitejima-sama?"
The others gasped, realizing who stood before them. Not only had they just witnessed the legendary Gojo Satoru, but now they were in the presence of another Heavenly Guardian. Two legends in one night.
Excitement and reverence rippled through the ranks. If word of this spread, every Onmyoji in Japan would grind their teeth with envy.
"Yes," Subaru Mitejima replied gracefully, closing her fan with a snap. "We arrived from Kyoto only moments ago."
The young Onmyoji bowed deeply. "Thank you for coming to Tokyo, Mitejima-sama!"
"Truly, thank you!" the others echoed, lowering their heads in respect.
Subaru Mitejima only took two steps back, smiling politely, though her gaze shifted. Her eyes, gleaming like sapphires, landed on a petite girl standing among the civilians.
Umaru.
The younger sister of Gojo Satoru.
The aristocratic woman's smile widened.
She glided forward with elegant steps, and the crowd instinctively parted for her as though compelled. She stopped directly before Umaru, crouched slightly, and with a teasing smile, pinched the girl's soft cheek between her fingers.
"Oh my, aren't you adorable? So this is the sister of Satoru. No wonder he bragged that he has the cutest little sister in the world. He wasn't exaggerating." She leaned closer, her tone playful. "Allow me to introduce myself properly—I am Subaru Mitejima. And from today… you may call me your sister-in-law."
"Eh!?" Umaru froze, her face going crimson. Her thoughts scattered in chaos.
"S-sister-in-law!?" Kirara Hoshino standing beside her, echoed in shock.
Even the woman's, who had been watching silently listening, felt her entire body stiffen, her world turning black-and-white as Subaru's words echoed endlessly in her mind. Sister-in-law… sister-in-law…
Only Shiroha remained unfazed, her gaze fixed on Gojo instead, eyes sparkling with admiration.
Gojo, meanwhile, didn't seem to notice the chaos behind him. His attention was locked firmly on the towering figure approaching through the haze.
"…Well then, looks like the main course is finally here," he murmured, hands stuffed casually in his pockets, a sharp grin curling across his face.
The Samurai-class Impurity stepped into view. Its body was armored in layers of corrupted bone, its presence heavy enough to make even veteran exorcists break into cold sweat.
Slowly, the creature's clawed hand reached to its waist and pulled free a massive, rusted katana. The sound of metal dragging against bone echoed like thunder.
Gojo tilted his head, feigning awe. "Oh my, that's a pretty big sword. Very cool. But…" His grin widened. "Don't think for a second that it's enough to scare me."
The Samurai-class impurity didn't waste words. With a guttural roar, it gripped the katana with both hands and swung downward in a crushing arc.
"Brother!!" Umaru's cry pierced the air, her voice trembling as she shouted in fear.
Dust exploded upward as the blade came crashing down. For a moment, everyone thought Gojo had been split in two.
But only Subaru Mitejima chuckled behind her fan. "Relax. Do you really think your brother would fall to something so low-level?"
Her eyes gleamed as she turned toward Umaru.
"Perhaps you don't fully understand yet. In the Yin-Yang (Exorcist) world, before Satoru appeared, the title of strongest belonged to Arima Tsuchimikado. He was the undisputed peak."
The Onmyoji around her listened with rapt attention, hanging onto her every word.
"But after He appeared… the entire world changed. Now there is only one voice, one consensus. The strongest in existence is Gojo Satoru. Even a Basara would be crushed like an insect beneath him."
Her words left the younger exorcists trembling with realization.
The civilians too whispered in awe, understanding for the first time the scale of the man standing before them.
The dust settled.
Gojo stood exactly where he had been, hands still in his pockets, grin never fading.
The katana's tip hovered less than a meter from his chest, completely frozen in mid-air, cracks spreading through its corroded blade.
The Samurai impurity trembled, its arms straining violently, but no matter how hard it pushed, the blade would not move even a fraction closer.
"…Tsk. That's pitiful. Swinging such a big sword when you don't even understand how weak you are," Gojo said mockingly.
His eyes gleamed with that familiar brilliance.
The word was quiet, yet absolute.
Suddenly, the impurity's arms twisted grotesquely before bursting apart in a shower of black energy. It collapsed to its knees with a distorted scream, its katana crashing uselessly into the dirt and crushing several ruined buildings.
The crowd gasped in unison.
Gojo raised one hand lazily, extending a single finger. Crimson energy coiled at the tip, radiating oppressive power.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
The scarlet orb expanded instantly, pulsing with raw destruction. In the next second, a blinding shockwave erupted outward, slicing through the Samurai impurity like paper.
The earth trembled. A colossal pentagram lit the sky above, glowing brighter than the moon.
When the light finally faded, nothing remained of the Samurai impurity but drifting ashes.
Gojo exhaled slowly, brushing a few strands of white hair from his face. "Sorry. Didn't even let you finish evolving into a Basara. But honestly…" His grin sharpened. "I was getting bored."
...
If you'd like to support me and read chapters in advance, feel free to check out my:
Patr**on.com/Zero0000683
Discord.gg/fF384utk