-499- What a shame

The flames that dyed the night sky red raised the summer temperatures by tens of times, causing the atmosphere to exhibit a slight distortion due to the heat, swaying frequently.

Under the burning flames, Asura, who extravagantly used a large number of curse talisman, turned into ashes.

The shikigami group defeated by Hokuto transformed back into specially crafted pages of shikigami seals after a series of frequent fracturing phenomena, amid a cacophony of noise.

Dairenji Suzuka, positioned at the bottom among the <Twelve Divine Generals>, was thoroughly defeated by Rozen, who displayed his true strength for the first time in this world. Her face turned pale as she continued to retreat.

"Impossible..."

Dairenji Suzuka's voice trembled.

"He's just a student..."

Yes.

He's just a student, how could he possess this level of power?

What is a student?

A student is someone who hasn't obtained a professional onmyouji qualification yet.

Moreover, Rozen was just a first-year freshman, a complete novice who had been in the academy for less than half a year.

How could someone like him, who hadn't even acquired a professional qualification, be compared to the <Twelve Divine Generals> who had passed the national level exam?

At least, Dairenji Suzuka couldn't believe that she had been defeated by a mere academy student.

However...

"Even though you're one of the <Twelve Divine Generals>, you're still too young."

Rozen, standing atop Hokuto, looked down at Dairenji Suzuka and slowly spoke.

"Naturally strong in magical power, and your abilities aren't low, but lacking in practical combat experience. Moreover, if we're talking about the power of spells alone, combat isn't just about attack power."

This was the very reason why Dairenji Suzuka was defeated so decisively."

In the end, Dairenji Suzuka was still a researcher, not adept at dealing with natural spirits like exorcists, nor skilled in combat like mystical investigators. Being relatively young added to her struggle, resulting in Suzuka having strong abilities but not excelling in practical combat.

Suzuka was aware of her weaknesses and primarily focused on controlling shikigami in battles, supplemented by a plethora of curse talisman, leveraging her technique and curse power to compensate for this deficiency.

This was indeed a clever approach.

In this way, even compared to most professional onmyoji, Dairenji Suzuka was exceptionally powerful. It would be difficult for an onmyoji with just a 'Onmyou second class' qualification to defeat her.

Therefore, Dairenji Suzuka did possess the 'Onmyou first class' qualification, earning her a spot among the <Twelve Divine Generals>.

However, Dairenji Suzuka was a bit lacking when compared to others. As a national-level onmyoji, she could easily defeat many second-class national onmyoji. However, in comparison to the other national-level onmyoji specialized in dealing with spiritual disasters and curse practitioners, she fell short.

"What a shame."

Rozen sighed and shrugged.

"If possible, I'd really like to have a good comparison with those truly powerful <Twelve Divine Generals>."

Rozen lamented.

This regret undoubtedly stimulated Dairenji Suzuka.

"...!"

Dairenji Suzuka bit her lip and suddenly took out a talisman.

"Order!"

The curse symbol was launched by Dairenji Suzuka, shot into the air, flashing a dazzling light.

"Water talisman!"

Natsume immediately recognized the true nature of the talisman Dairenji Suzuka had launched and subconsciously wanted to take out an earth talisman.

"Wait, Natsume."

However, Rozen, using the ability of <Mind's Eye>, read an abnormality.

"The way this curse power is infused and the fluctuations of the curse technique... It's a modified type!"

Rozen saw through this.

As a result, the water talisman that had been shot into the air suddenly turned into a thick mist.

Dairenji Suzuka had modified the curse technique of the water talisman and changed the activation method, causing the water vapor summoned by the water talisman to directly turn into mist, shrouding the surrounding area.

There were only two reasons for doing this.

One was to hide and launch a surprise attack.

And the other was...

"She... she's running?"

Natsume was astonished.

In the moment when the mist spread, Dairenji Suzuka's spiritual energy disappeared, and her figure vanished without a trace.

Clearly, Dairenji Suzuka had used <Invisibility Technique> to conceal both her spiritual energy and her form.

Rozen raised an eyebrow, concentrating his magic in his eyes. He utilized <Spirit Sight> to observe the surroundings, simultaneously activating <Heaven's Eye>, releasing subtle magic waves.

However, due to the mist in the surroundings saturated with Dairenji Suzuka's curse power, even with the combined use of <Spirit Sight> and <Heaven's Eye>, Rozen couldn't detect her whereabouts for a moment.

"She planned the activation timing of this water talisman carefully, didn't she?"

Rozen instantly understood this.

"Clap!"

In an instant, Rozen forcefully clapped his hands.

"Boom!"

A powerful surge of curse energy immediately exploded from Rozen's body, dissipating all the surrounding mist in an instant.

Only then did Rozen's <Spirit Sight> and <Heaven's Eye> come into effect, successfully locating the target.

In the distant horizon, Dairenji Suzuka was riding a shikigami in the form of an origami bird, flying towards the mountain below.

"Hokuto!"

Rozen ordered his shikigami without hesitation.

Not needing to personally intervene and feeling a bit bored, Hokuto immediately perked up and, under Rozen's command, swiftly descended towards the mountain.

...

"Never thought it would turn out like this..."

Flying towards the mountain on her self-made shikigami, Dairenji Suzuka uttered a regretful sound.

To perform the Taizan Fukun Ritual, Dairenji Suzuka made many preparations.

A large number of talisman and shikigami were just the basic equipment.

In addition to this, Dairenji Suzuka had prepared means to break through the Tsuchimikado family's barriers, means to find Rozen's location, a second plan in case the other party didn't cooperate, and considerations for every other aspect. It was exhaustive preparation.

She had even prepared the location for conducting the Taizan Fukun Ritual in advance.

To conduct the Taizan Fukun Ritual, you needed not only advanced skills and knowledge but also a specific altar.

In the Tsuchimikado family, such an altar existed.

After all, the Tsuchimikado family had a tradition of conducting the Taizan Fukun Ritual for generations.

So, on a mountain peak named "Yukan" a distance away from the Tsuchimikado family, the celestial altar dedicated to conducting the Taizan Fukun Ritual was situated.

Dairenji Suzuka had long prepared to seize the celestial altar.

However, even with so much preparation, Dairenji Suzuka oddly didn't prepare a means of what to do if she lost to Rozen.

"Who would've thought that guy would become so strong? This is stupid!"

Dairenji Suzuka didn't know if she was resenting Rozen or herself, yelling in frustration.

Of course, Dairenji Suzuka wasn't at her wit's end.

"Given the circumstances, I can only use that now."

Dairenji Suzuka raised her eyes and gazed in the direction of the foot of the mountain.

There, a truck was parked.