ch21-ch40 · 030-ch26

Chapter 26 — Shinjuku Demon Frontline ③

A wide-area evacuation and vigilance order was issued by the government around Shinjuku Tower due to an "unnatural magical reaction."

That day, after 3:00 PM, adventurers were prohibited from entering the tower except those already active inside. Conversely, they were forbidden from leaving Shinjuku Tower. C-Rank and above were to follow Adventurer's Guild instructions, while D-Rank and below were ordered to return home.

Some adventurers and civilians raised objections, but following the past incident at Shinjuku Tower where Guardians punished rule-breakers, the prevailing sentiment was less about opposition and more about "run if you don't want to die."

At 4:00 PM the same day, exorcists deployed around Shinjuku.

Among them were Hiyori and Mio.

Normally, they'd wear plain clothes for exorcism work, but this time they were participating in adventurer gear.

The enemy was a mid-rank class demon, but they had no idea what kind of foe they'd be facing.

All they knew was that it was strong.

For that reason, they wore slashing-resistant suits over their underwear, topped with impact-resistant clothing. On top of that, they'd borrowed defensive accessories from Sai.

Their weapons were the usual ones.

Hiyori's beloved sword, Shiroharai. Mio's staff-type magic wand.

They'd arrived earlier than the announced time, so the atmosphere was relaxed.

"Whoo, there's barely anyone here."

"It's eerily unsettling to see Shinjuku this empty."

"Miss. I just got word from the perimeter scouts. Some idiots who didn't evacuate... seems they found a few camera-toting idiots and are dealing with them now."

"Okay. Handle it as usual, please."

"Got it."

An evacuation order across a wide area of Shinjuku.

Naturally, there were people who wanted to film whatever dangerous thing appeared, no matter the risk.

Such thrill-seekers were surprisingly common. Hiyori had been taught this, but while it used to be just media personnel, lately many ordinary citizens also tried to secretly capture footage while hiding.

But the exorcists were an organization that had operated in the shadows behind everyday life for a long time.

There were established protocols for dealing with such voyeurs.

A single peeping tom's actions could throw countless civilians into chaos. They couldn't allow such recklessness. They'd politely ask them to leave.

That flow was already in place.

"So our first job in demon extermination is crowd control, huh."

"Can't we use the exclusion barrier we usually use?"

"We know from the announcement they'll be near Shinjuku Tower, but the exact location isn't clear. Instead, we'll set up the barrier once they appear."

One of the essential tasks exorcists must perform before battle is setting up an exclusion barrier.

It could be called an essential technique to prevent ordinary citizens from seeing demons — monsters lurking behind everyday life. However, it couldn't be used over very large areas.

So this time, the Ichijō family and other exorcist clans conspired with the government, settling on the form of "evacuating residents after detecting abnormal magical energy around Shinjuku Tower."

Since there had been incidents at Shinjuku Tower many times before, people were easily convinced, and civilian movement was quick. In a sense, they had Shinjuku Tower to thank.

...They were in the middle of discussing this when.

"Numerous ogre reactions detected near Yotsuya Sanchome! Front-line unit, please respond!"

"I thought it was mid-rank class?!"

"They might be minions. Let's go!"

When Hiyori and Mio arrived at the scene, it had become a battlefield swarming with hungry ghosts, evil ogres, and demons. Many exorcists were already fighting.

"There don't seem to be any mid-rank ones, but this many..."

Hiyori was stunned by the sheer volume of ogres — more than she'd ever seen.

"Each team, seal the ogres and deal with them methodically!"

"Ooooh!"

The front-line unit captain gave orders to the exorcists.

Modern exorcists considered it best to seal enemies with sealing techniques, then kill them. Though it consumed a fair amount of magic power, the flow was valued for being safe and reliable.

But there were opponents that sealing techniques couldn't easily handle.

Those were the mid-rank class.

"Look, Hiyori!"

"Gah, an Ushioni!"

An Ushioni was a deformed demon classified as low-rank upper or mid-rank lower.

It possessed vicious magical power, was a match for ordinary exorcists, and could be called a considerable threat.

In Hiyori's estimation, it was stronger than Redcaps — the high-ranking goblin variant.

Indeed, the exorcists facing the Ushioni were struggling — sealing techniques didn't work, they couldn't deal much damage.

"Mio-chan, that one's ours!"

"Yes!"

Hiyori and Mio charged at the Ushioni.

At that time, there were figures watching the exorcists' battle from the rooftop of a certain building.

A large, all-red man — Sōya. And a half-beast, half-demon fox-human hybrid — Rokuya.

"Ohh, these modern exorcists are doing quite well!"

"Hmph. They're weak compared to the old days."

Sōya answered cheerfully, while Rokuya sounded annoyed.

"Hehe, don't say that. They've trained this hard in a world without magic all this time. Admirable!"

"Hah! They should just kill 'em already."

"You really are something, Rokuya. Not being able to enjoy a good fight!"

"Says the idiot who got his nose cut off by an exorcist."

The large red man, Sōya. His large nose had been cut off, exposing his nasal cavity.

"Kakaka! It was quite the proud long nose, you know!"

Yes. In the past, the red giant had a large, long nose.

A demon with red skin, a massive body, and a long, large nose — anyone could imagine it.

Those who saw his form must have called him this.

A tengu.

"Speaking of, where'd Kinya go?"

"Hmm. He's gazing at that tower... Shinjuku Tower, was it."

"That thing, seriously, what is it? Doesn't seem like it belongs in the present world."

"It's a thing you'd hardly see even in Kakuriyo. We must make good use of it! KAHKAHKAH!"

The battle of the exorcists fighting on the front lines, including Hiyori, continued.

Though they were low-rank, the sheer number of ogres temporarily pushed the exorcists back, but the mage unit fired a massive volley of magic bullets, shifting the tide.

And Hiyori's defeat of the Ushioni spurred the exorcists on.

After taking down the Ushioni, Hiyori caught her breath and called out to Mio.

"Phew, that was more anticlimactic than I thought."

"I wouldn't say that. Look around you."

"Huh..."

Many exorcists were already completely exhausted.

Even though ordinary exorcists also trained in Shinjuku Tower, why was there such a difference in stamina?

Hiyori was surprised by the sight, but remembered Sai's words.

"'Magic control training is, to put it simply, the magic version of weight training.'"

It had only been two months, but maybe it was because of the intense magic training she'd done.

As a result, she could control her magic better, and her total magical capacity had increased.

"I see. What Sensei said was true after all."

"It seems so. Even just two months of training had plenty of effect."

That was when a loud thud echoed near Hiyori and Mio.

Someone had jumped down from a building.

"GAHAHAHA! Modern exorcists are so feeble!"

"Die already, you small fry!"

The two demons severed the necks of the exorcists before them in an instant.

"!?"

Panicking, the surrounding exorcists tried to open distance with their barely remaining stamina.

But one exorcist with a leg injury was too slow to escape.

The demons moved to send the pathetic exorcist out of the present world.

A magic bullet fired by the demon flew toward the exorcist.

"Kyahaha, die!"

"Eeek?!"

The fleeing exorcist screamed.

At that moment. A single flash from Shiroharai deflected the magic bullet.

Hiyori had cut in.

"I won't let you do any more!"

"Heh, still some lively ones left, huh. What're your names?"

"...Hiyori. Ichijō Hiyori."

Hiyori readied her beloved sword, Shiroharai.

Meanwhile, Mio closed the distance and assumed a magic firing stance.

"I'm Kuri Mio."

"Huh? Ichijō... you still have descendants left?"

Hiyori's spiritual sensitivity... her Mana Perception measured the enemy's strength.

The half-beast, half-demon demon possessed several times the magical power of the Ushioni.

If she fought normally, she'd likely lose.

So Hiyori provoked them.

"Did one of my ancestors get you?"

"Don't fuckin' joke! Like I'd lose to small fry like that!"

Something must have happened in the past.

The half-beast, half-demon demon shouted irritably.

"Kakaka! Don't get so worked up, Rokuya!"

So the half-beast, half-demon was apparently named Rokuya.

A name Hiyori had never heard before.

"Are you the demons who issued that announcement?"

Mio asked the question, striving to stay calm.

"Huh? Us, demoooons~?"

"GAHAHAHAHA! I see, knowledge of us has been lost!"

The big red man laughed loudly.

"We're 'Majin,' dummy~!"

Rokuya replied with a sneer.

"Majin?!"

"Captain! Set up the barrier, quickly!"

Hiyori shouted urgently to the front-line unit captain.

The captain hurried to prepare the exclusion barrier.

"Hiyori, what are Majin?"

"Just remember them as really, really strong demons. Kinda like named monsters."

"I see..."

Mio swallowed hard.

By Hiyori's estimate, these two Majin were mid-rank upper or high-rank class demons.

In Shinjuku Tower terms, maybe the Floor Boss of floor fifteen...

Sai might be able to fight them, but for Hiyori and the others, they were opponents they couldn't beat.

Unpleasant sweat trickled down her back.

Since she was a child, Hiyori had been drilled: "If a demon calling itself Majin ever appears, run no matter what." Her hands trembled slightly.

But Mio looked at the enemy calmly.

"Hiyori. Are these so-called Majin stronger than Sensei?"

At those words, Hiyori's fear of the Majin vanished.

Because even compared to the enemy before her, her teacher Sai seemed stronger.

"...As expected of Mio-chan. You're right, Sensei is stronger than these guys."

Hiyori and Mio readied themselves again.

"Oh-ho, there's a human stronger than us?! Then I must test which of us is superior!"

"Die, exorcists!"

"My name is Sōya! Children of men, don't die too easily!"

That day, 6:00 PM.

The curtain rose on battle with the enemy ringleader — the Majin.

The climax of what would later be called the "Shinjuku Majin Frontline" began.

================

Thank you for reading.