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"Who are you?" A tall figure emerged from the icy mist.
His hair was the color of white oak, his eyes shimmered with a rainbow hue, and within each pupil were engraved the characters for "Upper Rank" and "Two."
The top of his head looked as if it had been splashed with blood, yet his face bore a harmless smile, and his words were steady and gentle.
"Is this your Blood Demon Art?"
He held two golden folding fans in his hands, first glancing at the barrier protecting Kanae, Kocho then tilting his head back to look at Kaito.
"Why protect this girl? Could it be that you want to compete with me for prey?"
"Huff... huff..." Kanae breathed heavily, assessing the condition of her internal organs.
A significant portion of her lung tissue had been frozen and damaged, making each breath agonizing.
If this continues...
She likely won't be able to use Breathing Techniques freely.
She quickly reached into her pocket, pulled out a packet of medicinal powder, and shoved it all into her mouth.
Although she had been suddenly saved, she couldn't confirm the identity of the newcomer. She remained on edge, gripping her Nichirin Blade tightly while doing her best to recover.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't lump me together with a stinky demon like you!" The young man in white standing atop the torii gate spoke.
"Look at the ground beneath your feet. Take a good look and tell me, where is this?"
"Stinky? How rude." Douma instinctively raised his arm, lowered his head to sniff his clothes, and then looked up again.
"Putting on airs, are you? I've never seen you among the Twelve Kizuki. How dare you face me, Upper Rank Two?"
"Really now." Kaito leaped down from the torii gate, his long hair and robes fluttering fiercely in the wind.
"Why won't you listen to what people say?"
He landed lightly on his feet, also waving a folding fan in his hand.
"This place..."
His face finally came into clear view of both the human and the demon. Black hair, black eyes, handsome features, and a smiling expression.
"...is the Seimei Shrine!"
Hearing this, Douma covered his mouth with his golden fan and laughed. "Seimei? That famous historical onmyōji, Abe no Seimei? So what?"
"So... have you never seen an onmyōji before?" Kaito formed a hand seal with one hand. "Bind!"
A pentagram pattern abruptly appeared beneath Douma's feet. Several semi-transparent chains shot out, intertwining and tightly binding his body.
Douma struggled briefly, then blinked in confusion. "Huh? I can't move?"
"It's just an ice clone. Please, stop putting on an act!"
A spiritual light glowed on Kaito's palm as he raised his hand and struck Douma's forehead.
Crack.
A crisp sound of shattering ice echoed. The Douma under Kaito's palm slowly crumbled into an ice sculpture.
"Miss, are you alright?" Kaito turned to look at Kanae inside the barrier.
"I'm fine." Kanae gripped her blade with one hand and covered her chest with the other, her eyes fixed intently on Kaito. "Are you really human? I'm sorry, but I've never seen a true onmyōji who actually uses spells."
Kaito smiled gently and simply said, "Regarding that, I think once dawn arrives and the sun rises, it will be clear, won't it?"
"True." Kanae also smiled. "Although you saved me just now, please forgive me for not being able to trust you completely yet, sir."
"I don't mind." Kaito closed his fan. "Rest well, injured swordswoman. Allow me to handle that Upper Rank Two gentleman for now."
"From the sound of it, you really aren't a demon?" Douma emerged from the darkness, curiously looking Kaito up and down while sniffing the air.
"Then why is it that you don't smell human at all?"
Kaito still asked gently, "Well, do I smell like a demon?"
"Not that either. What exactly is going on?" Douma seemed even more curious.
"Who knows? What exactly is going on?" Kaito's left hand fingers pinched several paper talismans out of thin air. The spell patterns drawn with spiritual power on them lit up.
"Experience it for yourself. Perhaps you'll find the answer."
He raised his hand and threw the talismans. The talismans, emitting a blue glow, scattered and shot through the darkness in several azure arcs, closing in on Douma.
"So this is your power?" Douma leaped backward. "It really does resemble the onmyōji from storybooks."
"Perhaps it's not just stories. Perhaps it's real?"
Kaito formed another one-handed seal. The talismans crisscrossed through the space Douma had just occupied, then curved through the air in arcs, relentlessly pursuing him.
"You really love to deceive people. This is why I hate men!"
Douma cautiously avoided directly confronting the talismans, swiftly waving his golden fans.
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Vines!"
Countless ice vines adorned with frozen lotus flowers spread out around him, weaving into a dense network to block the advancing talismans.
Boom!!!
The first talisman collided with the ice vines, erupting into a blinding golden light.
"Eh? What is this?!"
Douma let out a cry of surprise.
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!! Boom...
The talismans exploded one after another, their golden light merging into a continuous blaze.
"This... this is..." Kanae stared at the warm, dazzling golden light.
"It's sunlight!" Kaito explained. "The talismans are sealed with sunlight. I specially designed them to deal with the demons of this world."
"This world?" Kanae keenly noticed the unusual phrasing.
"Ah, let's talk about that later."
Kaito watched as the sunlight gradually dissipated.
"That guy isn't dead yet. He burrowed into the ground to escape."
"What?" Kanae became alert again.
"How should I put this..."
Douma, his clothes in tatters and his flesh charred black, emerged from the ground on the other side, looking utterly disheveled.
"You've really pissed me off now, you bastard."
The smile usually plastered on his face was gone, replaced by a deadly stare fixed on Kaito.
"Blood Demon Art..." He raised his fan and swung it down forcefully. "...Wintry Icicles!"
In an instant, countless sharp, gigantic ice pillars fell from the sky above Kaito and Kanae.
"Protect!"
Kaito rapidly formed hand seals. The barrier protecting Kanae rapidly expanded, enveloping Kaito as well.
Then, Kaito flicked his sleeve and threw out several more talismans to reinforce the barrier.
The icicles struck, producing a continuous, crisp clatter against the barrier.
"Blood Demon Art: Cold White Princesses!"
Douma's voice rang out from a distance once more. Two giant ice lotuses in the form of young girls materialized on either side of the barrier.
"Blood Demon Art: Water Lily Bodhisattva!"
A massive ice figure, resembling a seated Bodhisattva with hands clasped in prayer, materialized in front of the barrier, blocking the moonlight from above.
"Let's continue playing!"
Douma, his body now completely healed, stood on the shoulder of the Ice Bodhisattva, looking down at the two people within the barrier.