-545- More and more chaotic

"————!"

At this moment, time in the entire training ground seemed to freeze, utterly immobilized.

Whether it was Kogure Zenjirou, Kagami Reiji, Kurahashi Miyo, or the other students and instructors, they all witnessed Raven's Wing, now a gust of black wind, landing on Rozen.

Rozen, in the midst of forming hand seals, channeling jutsuryoku, and preparing to cast a sealing jutsu, could do nothing in response, even though he had seen this through his "Mind's Eye."

Be it magic or jutsu, within this fleeting moment, there was no time to cast any.

In this situation, there was only one thing Rozen could manage.

"Hokuto!"

Like this, he called upon his shikigami that protected him.

"Clang!"

In the next second, a radiant dragon aura erupted from Rozen, transforming into a dazzling band of light.

"Boom!"

The black wind about to descend upon Rozen was instantly shattered by the surging dragon aura, rebounding into the sky.

The black wind thus turned back into the eight-foot crow, placing Raven's Wing in view.

The dragon aura erupting from Rozen then shaped into a true dragon, soaring into the sky and into the view of everyone.

It felt like they had been holding their breath, and the summoned Hokuto roared with great determination in the air.

The dragon's roar carried dragon aura that even blew away all the miasma in the vicinity, instantly filling the entire place with noble spiritual energy.

"A dragon!"

"It's a dragon!"

"The Tsuchimikado family's dragon!"

In the spectator seats, the students and instructors who had finally reacted saw the dragon in the sky and couldn't help but inhale sharply.

Even Kurahashi Miyo, after confirming that Raven's Wing hadn't possessed Rozen, breathed a sigh of relief and stared at Hokuto in the sky, showing a somewhat nostalgic expression.

Apart from them, everyone else was also completely captivated by Hokuto.

"Great!"

Kogure Zenjirou couldn't help but exclaim excitedly.

Kagami Reiji, too, looked at Hokuto in the sky, eyes shimmering, not revealing what he was thinking.

As for Rozen, when Hokuto appeared, Raven's Wing's gaze finally shifted from Rozen and fixed on Hokuto.

Facing Raven's Wing's gaze, Hokuto also looked back and issued a warning-like roar.

The dragon and the crow stood in a standoff. One emitted a noble and elevated spiritual energy, while the other emanated an ominous yet sacred spiritual energy. It was as if they had eyes only for each other.

It was only natural.

Just like Tsuchigumo seen before, Raven's Wing was also a shikigami developed by Yakou, distinct from the militarized Tsuchigumo. It was a guardian shikigami of Yakou, used exclusively by him and recognized only his spiritual energy, never choosing anyone else as its master.

Since that's the case, Hokuto, who also served Yakou, couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with Raven's Wing.

Both were shikigami who had exerted themselves for Yakou. While they couldn't be called friends, they were at least colleagues.

Seeing a familiar face, Hokuto issued a warning to the other, and Raven's Wing diverted its attention entirely from Rozen to focus on Hokuto.

Apart from Raven's Wing, there was another entity that had fixated completely on Hokuto.

That entity was the chimera.

"————!"

Watching Hokuto appear in mid-air and enter a standoff with Raven's Wing, the chimera let out an astonishing roar, completely disregarding Kogure Zenjirou and Kagami Reiji.

Seeing this, Kogure Zenjirou and Kagami Reiji were startled, as if recalling something.

"Not good!"

"Is it attracted by the dragon!?"

Kogure Zenjirou and Kagami Reiji each exclaimed.

Indeed.

Hokuto's appearance not only drew all of Raven's Wing's attention but also the chimera's complete focus.

Perhaps due to the difference in species, as mentioned before, creatures like dragons were fundamentally associated with water and manifested as yin-type water.

Because of this, Rozen had developed an icy breath for Hokuto, with remarkable power. Even Tsuchigumo, possessing the ability to weaken jujutsu effects, had succumbed to this move and ultimately fell to Rozen.

Moreover, the conglomerate of lost balance and fallen spiritual entities, now manifesting as miasma, was also yin-type.

In light of this, for lost spiritual entities like the chimera, also yin-type and possessing very rare noble spiritual energy, a dragon, another yin-type entity, was an exceedingly attractive presence. It was like pollen that attracted bees; the moment it appeared, it immediately caught the chimera's high attention.

Now, Hokuto's appearance made the chimera completely disregard the presence of everyone else, focusing solely on Hokuto. Its roars even carried a sense of delight.

But Hokuto was different.

For the heavily imbalanced and corrupted miasma, Hokuto was essentially extremely unwelcome. Even if both were yin-type spiritual entities, Hokuto was like crystal-clear spring water, while the chimera was murky and impure sewage. How could the latter possibly feel joy upon encountering the former?

At that moment, Hokuto, like seeing an eyesore, growled at the chimera.

A true dragon, a three-legged crow, and a monster—three entirely different entities stood in confrontation and roared, causing their dragon aura, spiritual energy, and miasma to spread centered around these three beings.

The scene was almost no different from a story in mythology.

As a result, whether it was Kogure Zenjirou, Kagami Reiji, Kurahashi Miyo, or the other students and instructors, they were all captivated by this spectacle. For a moment, they seemed to have lost their reaction.

No one noticed that the sealing jutsu had been interrupted.

Rozen, who had summoned Hokuto, wasn't looking at this scene. Instead, he turned his head, gazing in a particular direction.

"Was it there?"

Completely letting go of his abilities like Mind's Eye, Heaven's Eye, and Spirit Sight, Rozen finally sensed the location of the one who had interfered earlier.

The person was currently using a very advanced Invisibility Jutsu, practically impossible to be detected in this chaotic battlefield of spiritual energy and miasma.

However, since this person had intervened, with Rozen's abilities, in a state of full focus and utilization, if he couldn't find the person now, it would be a waste of his decades of dedication and asceticism.

It seemed the other party also realized they had been discovered, maintaining the state of Invisibility Jutsu and quietly leaving.

"Trying to escape?"

Rozen, nearly taken aback by the other party's sneakiness, naturally couldn't let them leave. After employing his Rigid Body technique on the himself, he dashed out, rushing out of the training ground.

The first to perceive this was Hokuto, connected to Rozen's consciousness.

So, disregarding Raven's Wing and the chimera, Hokuto let out another warning-like growl and swiftly turned, chasing after Rozen, darting out of the training ground.

"Woosh!"

Raven's Wing immediately reacted, fanning its wings without hesitation and followed suit.

"!"

The chimera also roared, stomping the ground, carrying a surge of miasma and caught up with Hokuto.

"Halt!"

"Trying to escape!?"

Kogure Zenjirou and Kagami Reiji didn't hesitate, quickly giving chase.

The once transformed battlefield of the training ground was instantly scattered, leaving only the students and instructors stunned in their spots.

Kurahashi Miyo wasn't stunned, but she also didn't chase after them.

"Is this also fate?"

Kurahashi Miyo sighed softly, as if foreseeing some future.

The chaos continued.

And it escalated.