ch21-ch40 · 031-ch27

Chapter 27 — Shinjuku Demon Frontline ④

The battle against the demons calling themselves Majin began.

One was a fox-type half-beast, half-demon. Her name was Rokuya.

The big red man standing beside her called himself Sōya.

Though his nose was gouged out, exposing his nasal cavities, he was a tengu.

Opposing them were the modern exorcists.

Stepping forward were Hiyori and Mio. The other exorcists stood behind them.

"Captain, prepare the sealing technique!"

Modern exorcists specialized in sealing techniques and barrier arts.

Seal the enemy's power, then kill them. That was the standard exorcist fighting style.

And the strong point of this technique.

It was what the front-line captain was about to do now.

"Here we go, everyone! Binding Chains: Tenfold, Twentyfold!"

A single exorcist's sealing technique couldn't bind even an Ushioni-level opponent.

But what if the sealing techniques of many exorcists were bound together as one?

The sealing chains of thirty exorcists bound Rokuya.

"Huh?"

Dozens of chains restrained Rokuya's body.

Confirming the technique had taken hold, the captain shouted.

"Now, take down the tengu!"

"Thanks, Captain!"

Hiyori and Mio launched their attack on Sōya simultaneously.

If the two of them coordinated, they could overcome even a strong enemy.

But.

"You underestimated us too much!"

With that shout, all of Rokuya's chains shattered.

Rokuya kicked Mio, who was about to attack Sōya, sending her flying.

"Gyah!"

At the moment of the kick, Mio managed to wedge her staff-type magic wand between the incoming leg and herself, avoiding a direct hit — but she couldn't fully absorb the force, and was blown back.

"Mio-chan!"

Hiyori couldn't help but look at Mio being sent flying.

"Don't look away, little girl!"

Seizing the opening, Sōya punched Hiyori, sending her flying too.

Like Mio, Hiyori was blown back.

"So weak! Pathetic exorcists!"

The exorcists stood stunned at the instant exchange.

"Kakaka! They have some magic power, but they're still merely children of men!"

Sōya laughed loudly.

But Hiyori and Mio, who'd been sent flying, stood up as if nothing had happened.

"Whoo, that was close, Mio-chan."

"If we didn't have the accessories Sensei lent us, it would have been dangerous."

To the Majin, who hadn't come to the present world since the Edo period, it was shocking that the two were completely unfazed. They weren't wearing any armor, yet they took that attack and got right back up.

They'd never seen anything like it.

How could fragile humans take that attack and stand up?

"Hey, Sōya! Were you holdin' back?"

"I was not. And neither were you, Rokuya."

"Tch! I got a bad feeling about this! What a pain! 'False Scripture: Tamamo's Alluring Night!'"

The surrounding exorcists suddenly began groaning in pain.

"Hehehe, see? I'm your master now, yeah? Piss yourselves in joy!"

Rokuya was a spellcaster.

Her real job was to let a big man like Sōya handle the front line while she supported from the back with techniques.

The strongest technique Rokuya could use was this one — "False Scripture: Tamamo's Alluring Night."

The exorcists were already exhausted from fighting the horde of ogres.

Though some resisted, those caught by this technique could be manipulated at Rokuya's whim.

Just like the exorcist she'd turned into a human bomb that day.

Rokuya smirked, imagining the exorcists bursting apart.

But two exorcists were impervious to this mental attack.

The mental contamination resistance earrings they'd borrowed from Sai were working.

"Ha?!"

Rokuya's expression shifted to surprise as Hiyori charged toward her.

"Soul-Shattering Flash!"

Hiyori unleashed "Soul-Shattering Flash" — a purification-type attack Skill passed down among exorcists.

"Tch! Why the hell ain't my technique workin' on you?!"

Hiyori's finishing move only grazed Rokuya as she leaped backward.

But that was fine. The goal was to send Rokuya flying backward. The distance between them was now just right.

"Holy Magic Bullet... Gatling!!"

Because Hiyori was standing right in front of her, Rokuya hadn't noticed the person behind her. Standing behind Hiyori was Mio. She'd prepared a mass of holy-attribute magic bullets and fired them in a curve so they wouldn't hit Hiyori.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Rokuya's body burst into white flames of holy magic.

Caught off guard in her defense, Rokuya crumbled to ash.

"GAHAHAHA! What a pathetic sight, Rokuya!"

The tengu Sōya crossed his arms and laughed, watching Rokuya burn and scatter.

Hiyori asked in disbelief.

"We just killed your ally. Why are you laughing?"

"Ally? KAHKAKAHA! That vixen was no ally! She just happened to come along when I was passing into the present world!"

"What do you mean?"

Were this fox half-beast, half-demon and the tengu not a pair that came to the present world together?

"What, there was a guy who found a tear in the present world's barrier, so I came along when he invited me."

"And yet you both have 'ya' in your names."

"Yeah, that was for the technique when crossing into the present world! Not our real names — we were given aliases! Something about matching the names to make the world misidentify us! GAHAHAHA!"

It sounded like he was saying something important.

Hiyori wanted to ask for details, but would this tengu keep talking?

"The magic's thin and our names were changed, so we can't even bring out half our real power, but what of it? For the likes of you, a bit of focus should be no problem!"

Sōya concentrated his magical power and released his strength.

This was no joke.

His magical pressure exploded, increasing dramatically.

The exorcists behind them fell to their knees.

"Here I come, little girls."

Sōya assumed a stance resembling an old-school karate style.

The next instant, Hiyori was sent flying.

"Hiyori?!"

"Kakaka, you children of men can't even see it! Taste the power of a trained fist!"

Watching Sōya's honed body and his swinging fist, Mio was reminded of Sai.

This Majin was a warrior similar in type to her teacher, Sai.

Meanwhile. Let's turn back time a little.

At a location slightly removed from the battlefield where the modern exorcists including Hiyori and Mio had gathered.

That was where Sai was.

Standing on a building rooftop, Sai grasped the situation without excess or deficiency.

"So those are the 'strong demons,' huh. I see. They're like the demon-type or devil-type from the other world."

Hiyori and Mio were fighting a demon that looked like a fox beastman.

"I'd like to back them up, but they can probably manage. I'd better be the one to deal with you."

Sai's voice carried toward an empty void.

"Oh-ho. I thought I'd hidden my presence."

The space shifted and oozed, and It emerged.

It had a lean, fierce body, but its stomach area was a large mouth, with a strange mask on its head and twisted horns growing from it.

The deformed demon stood before Sai.

Sai spoke casually to this demon.

"I'm just an adventurer, so I don't really know, but are guys like you what they call demons?"

"Heh heh, 'just an adventurer,' huh. Well, fine. I'll tell you. Among demons, we are called Majin."

"Majin, huh. Looks like you've got some serious internal magical power. Must be pretty strong."

At Sai's remark, the Majin before him laughed with amusement.

"Oh-ho. You can read others' magic, can you? As I thought, you're no 'mere adventurer.'"

"Reading magic is something any halfway veteran adventurer can do."

He didn't know about Japan, but in the other world, it was standard technique.

As Sai said this, the Majin laughed.

"Ke ke ke. The world you were from must have been a realm of carnage."

"Huh? The world I was from... you mean—"

Sai's expression shifted at the Majin's words.

"You've also done a 'World Crossing,' haven't you? I can tell by the scent."

"Ah... I see. So this is also a world crossing... a Planeswalk."

"Oh-ho. Is there some difference? For my future reference. Tell me."

"Nah, it's not that big a deal. I triggered a teleportation trap and got thrown from the other world into this one."

Hearing Sai's story, the Majin before him laughed heartily.

"Hahahahaha! What! Hahahahaha! You got sent to the present world by a trap! Things like that really happen?!"

"Tch. Don't laugh. I was shocked too."

Sai clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Good, good. It's because people like you exist that the present world stays interesting."

Sai let his frustration show but pressed his own question.

"So, why did you come to this world?"

"As a reward for making me laugh, I'll tell you. It's simple — that tower from the Age of the Gods made it easier to come to the present world. I came to confirm things. Though the world crossing took quite a bit of my power."

The Age of the Gods Tower.

It wasn't a term commonly heard in this world.

If the Majin knew something, he wanted to hear it.

"That tower is called Shinjuku Tower, but do you know why it appeared?"

"I do not. At the very least, when it appeared, even the inhabitants of Kakuriyo were surprised."

The inhabitants of Kakuriyo... The way he put it suggested the Majin before him had held an aristocratic position in Kakuriyo — a different world.

But setting that aside, he didn't seem to have any particular information about Shinjuku Tower.

"So even Majin don't know."

The conversation continued casually, as if they were old friends meeting.

"Speaking of which, you. What's your name?"

"Sai. That's what they called me in the other world. What's your name?"

"Call me Kinya. Chieftain of the Majin who descended tonight."

Kinya answered, puffing out his chest.

"With a name like that, and that magical power... so that's it. You're the type that can't die, huh."

Sai confirmed it as if it were only natural.

"Oh-ho. You know quite a lot. Indeed. Even if I die here, my body merely returns to Kakuriyo."

It was the same as named demons from the other world.

Which meant Sai only had one option.

"Well then, sorry, but I'll have you make yourself scarce."

"Oh-ho. You're going to be my opponent. Fine."

The demons of the other world were the same — because they couldn't die, they were arrogant and haughty.

Kinya was probably thinking that even if he somehow lost to Sai, he'd just retreat to Kakuriyo for now.

In other words, he was underestimating his opponent... underestimating Sai.

Sai readied his blade.

In response, Kinya spread both arms wide in a relaxed stance.

Here, the battle between the middle-aged adventurer returned from another world and the chieftain of the Majin began.

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Thank you for reading.