-968- Spirit Resonance

"Nagisa...!"

"Nagisa...!"

Both Kojou and Gajou exclaimed simultaneously.

The astonishing surge of magical power had turned into a chaotic shockwave, sending Kojou and Gajou flying as they were closest to Nagisa, causing the father and son to tumble to the ground.

"...!"

Rozen, also in close proximity to Nagisa, was affected, but he promptly used space manipulation magic to teleport away, reappearing at a safe distance from Nagisa and avoiding the oncoming magical shockwave.

"Whoosh—!"

Nagisa, who had sent everyone around her flying, was surrounded by a tremendous surge of magical energy. This magical energy turned into a turbulent wind, lifting her petite figure and suspending her in the air without falling to the ground.

Nagisa, in this state, seemed like the eye of a typhoon, her shrine maiden attire billowing as she floated within it. The formidable magical power continuously poured out, surpassing everyone present.

Including Natsuki.

Including Rozen.

"Perhaps comparable to the third-generation vampire elders... No, it might even exceed the second-generation royals," Natsuki remarked, her gaze towards Nagisa becoming increasingly solemn.

"Nagisa!"

"Nagisa!"

On the ground, Kojou and Gajou struggled to get up, shouting towards Nagisa amid the magical tempest surrounding them.

Meanwhile, Rozen remained floating, surrounded by phantom-like images of ritual tools. He knelt on the ground, forming hand seals and chanting a mysterious, eerie, and solemn incantation.

"————————"

Rozen continued chanting this mysterious and solemn incantation. Waves of magical power emanated from the floating ritual tools around him, spreading like invisible ripples throughout the surroundings.

This situation lasted for an unknown duration.

"————"

At a certain moment, the raging magical waves around Nagisa suddenly subsided, making the disappearance of the tempest extremely abrupt.

Nagisa, suspended in the eye of the wind, descended from the air and fell towards the ground.

Seeing this, Kojou and Gajou, almost without thinking, rushed forward and caught the falling Nagisa.

"Whoo..."

Rozen sighed in relief, extending his hand to make the phantom-like images of the ritual tools disappear, reverting them to runes that flew back to him.

"How is she?" Natsuki had been watching Rozen all this time and finally asked, "Did it work?"

At the question, Rozen gave a somewhat nuanced answer.

"Half and half."

Rozen provided a somewhat ambiguous response.

"Nagisa!"

At this moment, Kojou's voice, filled with pleasant surprise, rang out.

Because...

"Ugh..."

Nagisa's eyelids trembled slightly, and then she slowly opened them.

"Kojou-kun... Gajou-kun...?"

Looking at her brother and father in front of her, Nagisa weakly called out.

"Are you awake? That's great!"

Kojou's entire face relaxed.

Gajou also eased his expression but still looked at Rozen.

"What exactly happened just now?" Gajou asked.

After all, the sudden appearance of such astonishing magical power on his daughter's body was undeniably shocking.

Rozen scratched his cheek and shrugged.

"I tried to awaken the spirit attached to Nagisa using the 'Spirit Resonance' spell, intending to forcefully remove it. It seems like it failed."

That was the reason behind all this.

——Spirit Resonance.

This was an extremely ancient form of jujutsu.

Moreover, it is a highly secret ritual related to the "soul" that cannot be defined by general terms.

This ritual requires the use of ten sacred artifacts known as the "Ten Divine Treasures" to be successfully performed.

However, the "Ten Divine Treasures" are mysterious artifacts hidden in legends, with no record in sacred texts like the "Ancient Chronicles" or the "Japanese Chronicles." Information about them can only be found in the widely discredited "Records of Past Events" and the explanatory book on legal codes, "Legal Code Exegesis," both considered pseudo-historical. 

These ten divine treasures are the Shikitsu Mirror, Henitsu Mirror, Hachiaku Sword, Seigyoku, Soku Gyoku, Shi Han Gyoku, Michi Han Gyoku, Hebi no Hirezumi, Hachi no Hirezumi, and Hina Hina Mono no Hirezumi.

//// After digging a bit more in the wiki, I think this should be the formal Japanese name of the 10 treasures, though I'm not sure cuz there's no Chinese name version, and I'll change the previous chapter's English name too. ////

If one manages to gather these treasures and chants the ancient words passed down through generations known as the Buliu Incantation, the divine power can be manifested. Although this form of jujutsu is operationally challenging, according to the tradition, it can revive the dead, making it a sought-after secret ritual in the past.

Of course, in the modern world where soul-related jujutsu is considered taboo, this technique has been classified as forbidden.

However, it is also a profound technique within the Imperial-style Onmyoudou, a mystery with many unsolved aspects. Even the famous Yakou, who incorporated it into the Imperial system, hasn't completely unraveled its construction, making it a mysterious and enigmatic art.

Rozen had just used this particular jujutsu.

Although executing this secret ritual requires the collection of the ten divine treasures, in ancient times during the "Soul Settling Ritual," people widely used this technique, preparing ten jade stones to symbolize the treasures and using a special shaking technique to successfully perform it. Therefore, this jujutsu is also known as the "Jewel Resonance Technique."

Rozen simulated the ten divine treasures using talismans, allowing the successful execution of the ritual.

The reason for using this jujutsu was simple.

Because the ritual, said to revive the dead, is essentially a ceremony to call back the souls of the deceased.

In other words, it is a soul-summoning jujutsu.

Rozen attempted to forcibly summon the spirit attached to Nagisa using the "Spirit Resonance" soul-summoning technique, aiming to remove it from Nagisa's body.

However, the spirit turned out to be stronger than Rozen anticipated. It awakened just as Rozen was about to summon it, using immense magical power to repel Rozen's jujutsu.

Realizing this, Rozen promptly ceased the soul-summoning of that spirit and instead awakened Nagisa's soul, suppressing the spirit's occupation of her body.

Otherwise, Nagisa would have likely been possessed by that spirit, entering a state of war with Rozen and the others, armed with its immense magical power.

"So, the spirit is still attached to Nagisa's body?" Gajou's expression turned slightly serious.

"How is it still attached?" Kojou was equally astonished.

On the other hand, Nagisa, looking bewildered, seemed not to have fully grasped what had happened.

In this situation...

"Akatsuki Gajou."

Natsuki looked at Nagisa quietly and spoke.

"Your daughter might need to accompany me to Itogami Island."

With that sentence, the atmosphere became heavy once again.

"Itogami Island..."

Gajou fell silent.

The group remained silent, unsure of what to say.

Rozen looked at Nagisa, who still seemed dazed, recalling the events of the day and the ice rink in the ruins...

"The Fourth Primogenitor...?" Rozen had a premonition.

"Perhaps, the days ahead will be far from peaceful."

Because this is just the beginning and the starting point.