Chapter 158: The Appearance of Tsuchimikado Yakou
The Onmyō Academy.
As the place that nurtured the seeds of Onmyōdō and cultivated the future of Onmyoji, the Onmyō Academy was known as one of Chiyoda Ward's twin horns of Onmyōdō.
The other horn was naturally the Onmyo Bureau.
Compared to the headquarters of the Onmyo Bureau, which had been completely rebuilt after the Supernatural Recovery into a modern international commercial complex, the Onmyō Academy had retained its original appearance.
It was composed of several five and six story teaching buildings.
Retro chandeliers, old staircases, quiet dormitories, and aged corridors filled the academy with a heavy sense of history. Just standing before it was enough to make one feel the atmosphere left behind by the passage of time.
At this moment, it was lunchtime at the Onmyō Academy.
Young students full of vitality walked out of the teaching buildings in small groups.
Some held milk tea.
Some headed toward the cafeteria for lunch.
Some gathered beneath the trees, excitedly discussing recent news.
Unlike ordinary people outside, who were still worrying about the future, these students seemed far more energetic.
"Did your class receive the notice? The Onmyō Academy seems like it will make adjustments soon because of the instability in Onmyōdō."
"I knew about it long ago. It sounds like we students might have to go home and wait for a few days."
"Really? Our mentor said it hasn't been completely decided yet."
"Graduation season is almost here. Have you decided which Onmyōdō organization you want to enter? The Onmyo Bureau, the Onmyo Alliance, or one of the Supernatural Affairs Offices?"
The moment the topic turned to their future, the students' discussion became even more intense.
"Ayu and I originally planned to enter the Onmyo Bureau. Both our parents work in the Curse Crime Investigation Department, so we would at least have some backing there. But now..."
The young man did not finish.
But everyone present understood what he meant.
"You were thinking the same thing? Yesterday, my old man called me late at night and talked about where I should go after graduation. He told me to think carefully. He said think carefully, but everyone knows what that really means."
The student scratched his head.
"I want to go too, but the question is whether they would even accept me."
"With the Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department presided over by the legendary Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei, we have to try our best to get in."
"Exactly."
"If we can board this rapidly rising ship, perhaps under that great person's guidance, we might restore the glory of the Onmyōryō from 853, suppress the supernatural forces of this era, and die without regret."
"Right. Even if the Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department doesn't send anyone to recruit this time, I'll still find a way to pass their formal interview and recruitment process."
"I'll give it a shot too."
"Mm."
While the Onmyō Academy students discussed Gin Tsumugi and the Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department with growing excitement, none of them noticed that the person at the center of their conversation had already appeared quietly at the academy gate.
"I didn't expect our Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department to be this popular."
Gin, who had lowered his presence with a talisman, listened to the excited discussion drifting over from the academy entrance and smiled faintly at Kasugano Sora beside him.
"It seems recruitment will go much smoother than expected."
"This is all thanks to the Director's prestige."
Kasugano Sora spoke truthfully.
She had never personally experienced recruitment season at the Onmyō Academy, but back when she was still at the White Fox Office, she had vaguely heard Iwanaga Kotoko mention similar matters.
In previous years, during the graduation season of the Onmyō Academy, the Onmyo Bureau, Onmyo Alliance, and government organizations always took the main share.
The Onmyō Academy itself would also retain some outstanding graduates as instructors.
The remaining scraps would then be divided among private Onmyōdō organizations such as Supernatural Affairs Offices.
And one had to know that these leftovers often had mediocre talent.
Some Onmyoji families would even step in and snatch a portion of those remaining candidates.
But now, because of Gin's sudden appearance, the situation had changed completely.
His prestige alone had suppressed the Onmyo Bureau, Onmyo Alliance, government organizations, and the private Supernatural Affairs Offices.
The best resources had now become something the Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department could enjoy first.
"I do not deny that the students who successfully graduate from the Onmyō Academy all possess considerable potential in Onmyōdō."
Gin looked toward the students walking through the campus.
"But recruitment still needs to follow the standards of the Myriad Dharma Supernatural Department."
"I understand, Director."
Kasugano Sora nodded.
In Iwanaga Kotoko's absence, matters such as recruitment at the Onmyō Academy would have to be handled by her entirely, just as she had handled various trivial affairs for Gin back in Kyoto.
It had to be said that after being brought into the White Fox Office by Gin and experiencing many supernatural incidents, Kasugano Sora had matured greatly.
Both her personality and her way of handling matters had changed.
She was no longer the little girl who could only rely on her father, mother, and older brother.
Life and death.
Separation from blood relatives.
Existing alone in a non-human form.
Sometimes, such things truly could become powerful catalysts for independent growth.
Of course, for those with weak minds, they could also become crushing burdens.
Fortunately, Kasugano Sora belonged to the resilient type.
She was not as fragile as she appeared.
The moment Gin brought Kasugano Sora through the gates of the Onmyō Academy, he felt a peculiar sensation sweep over him.
It was a deeply familiar sense of déjà vu.
He had frequently experienced that feeling during the advancement of the role-playing system, within the thousand-year dream where he returned to the memories of the Heian Period.
It was exactly the same as the Strategic Barrier established by the Onmyōryō back then.
At that time, it had not been called a Strategic Barrier.
It had generally been referred to as the Great Onmyō Barrier.
"A Strategic Barrier with the ability to identify Yokai."
Gin's eyes moved slightly.
"The Onmyō Academy has inherited quite a bit of the Onmyōryō's foundation in this area."
This type of Strategic Barrier with a special function was rare.
Aside from the powerful defensive abilities possessed by ordinary Strategic Barriers, it also had exceptional sensitivity toward Yokai.
No matter how a Yokai disguised itself, it would be detected and blocked outside.
However, existences like Kasugano Sora, who had signed a Shikigami Contract with Gin, were directly classified under the shikigami sequence and would not be blocked.
In that regard, the barrier was quite reasonable.
This Strategic Barrier had once been the unique Great Onmyō Barrier of the Onmyōryō.
After the Onmyōryō relocated from Kyoto to Tokyo four hundred years ago, its original address had been the current Onmyō Academy.
It was completely understandable that the Onmyō Academy had inherited more of the residual foundation left behind by the Onmyōryō.
It was just a pity that time had passed.
The Onmyōryō, once the absolute center that ruled Onmyōdō, had eventually split into three.
The Onmyo Alliance in Kyoto.
The Onmyō Academy and the Onmyo Bureau in Chiyoda Ward.
What was even more regrettable was that with the decline of Onmyōdō, even the successors of these three branches could no longer sustain themselves.
The thousand-year-old Onmyōryō had finally come to an end in this era.
"I wonder if I will meet any old acquaintances in the Onmyō Academy."
Gin seemed to sense something and murmured to himself.
"Old acquaintances?"
Kasugano Sora was startled.
Before she could think any further, Gin suddenly stopped walking ahead of her.
She nearly failed to stop in time and almost bumped into him.
"Director, what's wrong?"
Kasugano Sora quickly asked.
Gin did not answer her immediately.
He simply turned his head toward a grove with a pavilion on the right side of the path.
"Come out."
His tone was calm.
"That aura like cold, rotting flesh is nauseating even when suppressed."
"Who is it?"
Kasugano Sora immediately looked in the direction Gin was staring.
What entered her sight was a youth wearing the same black school uniform as the other Onmyō Academy students.
His yellow hair gave off the first impression of a delinquent.
However, the weariness and maturity in his eyes far exceeded the age shown by his appearance.
Most importantly, a strange and eerie aura faintly emanated from his body.
Even the nearby flowers showed slight signs of decay.
"This is... the aura of the Underworld?"
As a spirit, Kasugano Sora was extremely sensitive to the aura of the Underworld.
"We meet again, Ancestor."
The yellow-haired youth bowed respectfully to Gin.
Gin looked deep into the young man's eyes.
"Should I call you Tsuchimikado Harutora now?"
His gaze became meaningful.
"Or Tsuchimikado Yakou?"
The one standing before him was Tsuchimikado Harutora.
The reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou.
A rare Onmyoji who was constantly at odds with the Tsuchimikado Clan and detested by them.
"Yakou?"
Kasugano Sora looked at the yellow-haired youth in shock.
Could this person really be the reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou?
The rare Onmyoji from half a century ago who had integrated Japanese supernatural spell systems such as Onmyōdō, Esoteric Buddhism, Shugendō, and Shinto, then combined them with his own interpretation to create the modern curse technique system and establish Imperial Style Onmyōjutsu?
The Onmyoji widely believed to have undergone reincarnation through the Taizan Fukun Festival?
And also the primary culprit who caused a massive Spiritual Disaster across Tokyo?
"The name Yakou is already part of the past."
Tsuchimikado Harutora did not seem too concerned about the name from his previous life.
"You may simply call me Tsuchimikado Harutora, Ancestor."
"Your current state is quite interesting."
Gin looked at him meaningfully.
"Your soul is severely corrupted. The power of the Ghost Gods of the Underworld is almost transforming your body into a vessel for their descent."
"As expected, nothing escapes Ancestor's eyes."
Tsuchimikado Harutora gave a wry smile.
"I deeply suspect the original intention behind Ancestor creating the Taizan Fukun Festival."
His tone carried faint helplessness.
"Was it purely to reverse reincarnation and resurrect the dead, or was it meant to scheme against certain people?"
As he spoke, Harutora glanced meaningfully at Gin.
Gin only smiled slightly.
He answered Tsuchimikado Harutora's question quite frankly.
"At the beginning, the Taizan Fukun Festival was indeed a Forbidden Spell used purely to resurrect the dead."
"But as the relationship with the Underworld gradually became strained, the Taizan Fukun Festival naturally evolved into its current form."
His voice remained casual.
"Of course, if your strength were great enough to suppress the entire order of the Underworld, these side effects could basically be ignored."
After all, the Taizan Fukun Festival was a Forbidden Spell that connected to the Underworld and borrowed its authority.
The "him" from a thousand years ago had achieved the feat of sealing the Underworld and imprisoning the Ghost Gods.
After that, although the Taizan Fukun Festival still retained its effect of reversing life and death, the passage torn open toward the netherworld would inevitably attract the scrutiny of the Underworld's Ghost Gods.
It could cause them to descend into the mortal world.
Just like when Dairenji Suzuka had used Tsuchimikado Natsume to perform the Taizan Fukun Festival back then.
Although the Ghost God had devoured her brother's soul at that time, under normal circumstances, such a situation would have simply been declared a failure of the Taizan Fukun Festival.
It would not have directly summoned a Ghost God into the world.
The Tsuchimikado Harutora standing before Gin was the same.
In his previous life, Tsuchimikado Yakou had used the Taizan Fukun Festival to reincarnate himself, only to draw the attention of a Ghost God.
Moreover, this Ghost God clearly seemed to have its own plan.
Perhaps fearing that a direct descent would create too much disturbance and draw Onmyōdō's attention, it had begun slowly using its power to reshape Harutora's body from the moment he awakened.
It wanted to turn him into a vessel capable of fully containing a Ghost God's power.
"Ignore it, huh..."
Tsuchimikado Harutora could not help chuckling and shaking his head.
"Perhaps only Ancestor possesses such ability."
"I am merely a descendant. I dare not harbor such grand ambition."
Only someone who had truly come into contact with the Underworld and understood it could truly comprehend how terrifying the man before him was.
Only then could one understand the weight carried by the name Great Onmyoji Abe no Seimei.
Sealing the Underworld.
Imprisoning Ghost Gods.
Just those words alone were enough to inspire dread.
If one investigated more deeply, the vast and majestic power contained behind them would be enough to make even a genius who had once touched the realm of Great Onmyoji tremble.
Tsuchimikado Harutora took a deep breath.
Then he bowed to Gin once more.
"Ancestor, I hope to make an unequal trade with you this time."
"An unequal trade?"
Gin looked at Tsuchimikado Harutora with a half smile.
This inequality was clearly directed at him.
However, Gin did not refuse immediately.
He was interested in hearing what Tsuchimikado Harutora had planned.
"Tell me."
"I wonder..."
Tsuchimikado Harutora stared directly at Gin.
"Are you interested in the root of the Underworld's order?"
....
https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03].