-521- The exorcism of spiritual disaster

The next evening, as the sky was tinged with red by the setting sun, there was a slight change in Reiki within Tokyo.

The witching hour.

Starting at this time, spiritual disasters would frequently occur and last until dawn. They could manifest in various corners of Tokyo, a natural disaster that needed to be guarded against.

This time is also the busiest for the Exorcism Division.

To deal with the spiritual disasters occurring throughout Tokyo, exorcists would ride in specialized vehicles, speeding back and forth on the streets of Tokyo. This was a common sight in Tokyo.

However, earlier in a corner of Tokyo's Sutegami, the students of the Onmyo Academy were taking an exam.

Exorcism of the spiritual disasters.

The exam content had been announced a few minutes ago and was known to the first-year students.

Since the witching hour marks the beginning of spiritual disaster activation, conducting exams at this time might trigger unpredictable events.

Therefore, the Onmyo Academy decided to hold the assessment a bit earlier.

So, the first-year students of the Onmyo Academy gathered in a small square with bricks connecting the sidewalk and the lobby, here in Sutegami, to take the exam.

The spiritual disaster listed as the exam content occurred in the central area of this small square.

A closer look revealed that here, the invisible Reiki twisted and erupted from the ground like leaking poison gas, causing the air to seem compressed and distorted, presenting a dark, sinister, and heavy feeling.

This was miasma, or rather, the spiritual disaster formed by miasma.

The first-year students surrounded this spiritual disaster, which constantly spewed out like black smoke from the ground, and were fully focused on purifying it.

According to the basic procedure, when purifying a spiritual disaster, it is generally divided into two steps.

First, it is necessary to isolate the spiritual disaster with a barrier(Gekai) to suppress its damage to the surroundings.

Then, observe the spiritual disaster within the barrier, guide and correct it, or suppress it with powerful jutsuryoku and disperse it.

This is the process of exorcising a spiritual disaster.

With this in mind, the first-year students were divided into two groups: the Barrier Team, which would control the spiritual disaster with barriers, and the Purification Team, which would guide and correct the spiritual disaster using jujutsu. They executed different tasks.

The two groups were led by the second and third-ranked students in the freshman class and provided instructions to the students.

In other words, this exorcism was centered around Natsume and Kyouko.

Natsume was assigned to the purification group, while Kyouko was in the barrier group.

Currently, the barrier group surrounded the spiritual disaster in a circle. Each person had activated their own spell around them and gathered their spiritual energy towards Kyouko, who was at the center.

Following Kyouko's guidance, they connected to form a very complete barrier. It completely isolated the seething miasma, resembling dark smoke, which billowed like a black fog.

The purification group, led by Natsume, stepped directly into the barrier.

Some were chanting incantations to the spiritual disaster, while others were forming mudras, chanting spells, or using their family's talismans. They each used their preferred methods to exorcise the spiritual disaster.

Natsume stood at the forefront of the purification group. With one hand raised and eyes closed, she chanted.

'————Rin-Pyo-To-Sha-Kai-Jin-Retsu-Zai-Zen————.'

This was the Nine-Character Mantra, a powerful technique effective for purging evil spirits.

The Nine-Character Mantra had many applications. There was a simple method of swiftly forming the nine-character seal, and an advanced method involving continuously chanting the mantra, mixing jutsuryoku, and suppressing the spiritual entity through spiritual words.

The latter allowed the user to create a magical attack by just uttering the mantra, making it highly practical.

Natsume was utilizing an extremely advanced form of this chanting. Each breath she exhaled from her lips erupted with a powerful surge of jutsuryoku, like solidified words.

These text-shaped bursts of jutsuryoku were sent towards the spiritual disaster, causing it to shudder repeatedly.

Witnessing Natsume's performance, the others were inspired and released their own jutsuryoku successively, attempting to correct the spiritual energy's imbalance and restore it to normal.

However, as time passed, the expressions of each student turned somewhat grim.

At the rear, Rozen was watching the exorcism unfold, holding his head and chewing on a blade of grass, seemingly indifferent.

"Affected by the miasma?"

Indeed.

What was miasma?

Miasma was twisted spiritual energy.

In the Common-Style, it was explained that 'Spirit' referred to the existence of 'qi.'

Therefore, when encountering a spiritual disaster, individuals affected by twisted spiritual energy, or miasma, would suffer spiritual damage. They would bear the burden on both their minds and spiritual bodies, ultimately leading to fainting or even a mental breakdown.

In the automaton world, it was also stated that miasma was the breath of death and inflicted severe harm to the human body. Only those with strong spiritual power and magic could resist its effects.

Although the students present were not ordinary people and could to some extent come into contact with miasma, they were still first-year freshmen. They were not yet mature, and, combined with their first-time exposure to spiritual disasters at close range, it was very difficult for them to remain calm under the invasion of miasma.

Trying to remain unaffected was practically impossible unless they were at the level of Natsume and Kyouko.

The three practical instructors in charge of monitoring commented on this.

"They're not quite mature yet."

"After all, they're first-year students."

"If they don't have the ability to resist miasma, they should have pre-set protective spells and barriers against it beforehand. I hope they'll realize this in the future."

While the three instructors spoke, they remained focused on every moment, ready to step in and support immediately if any student became overwhelmed.

Under these circumstances, the students collectively faced their first exorcism task.

"Barrier team! Increase the output of your spells! Don't let the barrier weaken! Prevent the miasma from leaking out!"

Kyouko shouted loudly while maintaining the barrier.

"Purification team, everyone needs to pay attention! It's okay to take a bit more time! But make sure to properly correct the spiritual energy's imbalance! Don't rush it!"

Natsume instructed the students in her group, with a break in her actions.

To be honest, without Natsume and Kyouko, when facing the spiritual disaster for the first time, the students present might have declared failure amidst the chaos.

It was precisely because of Natsume and Kyouko's excellent guidance that the students could persevere, even though their faces looked a bit distressed, they still persisted diligently.

"Good."

"That's it."

"Keep up the effort."

The three instructors couldn't help but commend the students' performance.

At this rate, although it might take a bit more time, they should be able to successfully correct the spiritual energy and purify the spiritual disaster, right?

Anyway, there was no time limit for this assessment, so taking it easy was fine.

Natsume and Kyouko targeted this and continued to give systematic instructions to the students.

However...

"Hmm?"

Rozen, who was at the rear, suddenly frowned.

His superior Spirit Vision allowed Rozen to be the first to notice.

"The miasma is strengthening?"

Rozen's brow furrowed at this revelation.