Too much!!

CHAPTER 12.

"Why is it so dark in here? Sensei, can't we get a torch or something?" Riku asked, scanning the school hallway.

There were three classrooms along the hallway, each shrouded in darkness, with rows of tables and chairs stacked together with a polished wooden entrance.

Short windows lined each room—two in every classroom—one facing the hallway and the other looking outside.

Another set of larger windows beside them in the hallway had thin wooden planks dividing them from top to bottom.

The three were about to turn into the next hallway, searching for the souls, when suddenly, a screeching sound echoed from behind them.

They turned quickly with Denji already running toward the source of the noise.

In an instant, a large monstrosity burst through one of the classroom windows. It was a disfigured mass of flesh with a bleeding eye, roughly the size of a fully grown sea lion, weighing around 800 pounds.

Denji slid back with a grin.

"Low rank soul, but strong enough for a good bonus!"

A short dagger materialized in his hand as he leaped toward the creature, trails of fiery flakes followed him.

He stabbed the left side of the soul, purging a torrent of red blood. He moved to the other side with blinding speed, and stabbed again.

A blue energy began wrapping around the dagger.

"It's time for exorcism, cutie!!" he shouted, slashing at the soul with lightning speed from multiple angles. Blood poured out like a fountain, splattering the walls and floor.

Soon after, the creature fell, beginning to evaporate into ashes. The blood remained, but they had a cleanup team for that.

"Let's keep moving, kids," Denji said, bouncing back to Ryu and Riku, who stared in awe.

They had never seen Denji fight like this or rather even try to; he had always been perceived as a incompetent teacher, but now he revealed a power they hadn't expected.

They hadn't even walked for two minutes before another soul burst through the left hallway, resembling a massive earthworm, even larger than the last one. It stretched an impressive length of about 10 feet.

Denji was about to lunge at it, but froze, his eyes widened as he noticed the creature expanding even further.

"What kind of emotion formed this? Bully or what the hell is this?" Ryu shouted, stretching his hand forward, and swiping it in a slash form.

An invisible slash sliced through part of the soul's body, but it only seemed to grow larger from the strike.

Denji quickly grabbed both Ryu and Riku by their clothes, quickly throwing them out of the window just as the soul lunged toward them.

Ryu and Riku's eyes widened in shock, their mouths forming an "O" as they plummeted toward the ground, screaming.

In an instant, a wave of wind cushioned their fall, gently easing them into a grassy area below while Denji landed beside them, unscathed.

The soul plunged out of the building, breaking bricks as it fell, crashing to the ground from three floors up.

Almost immediately, another set of souls—about ten or more—began to emerge from different parts of the school compound, smaller in size.

Denji turned to Ryu and Riku, who were just rising from the grass, brushing leaves off their clothes.

"Didn't you say you wanted to help? Deal with those while I take on their dad!" he commanded.

The two nodded, and sprinted toward the swarm of smaller souls.

"Am sure they could take on the soul with—" Denji started, but before he could finish, the large soul attacked. He quickly dodged, the dagger reappearing in his hand.

He leaped into the air, maneuvering his body with ease, and landed on the neck. He then stabbed it multiple times, dragging the dagger backward and creating a long, deep slash.

Blood poured out, staining the ground beneath him.

"Let's go, Biggie," he taunted, grinning at the soul.

Ryu swiped his hands again, unleashing an invisible slash that cut down three of the smaller souls instantly.

While Riku closed his eyes for a moment,  a shadow shikigami appeared behind him, taking the form of a black tiger, shadows swirled around it like waterfalls.

He directed the tiger toward the smaller souls, and in an instant, it appeared beside each one, slicing them down with ferocious speed. Riku infused his hands with dark energy, launching powerful fists at the remaining souls.

___________________

Gojin sprang up from his bed and looked out through the window, staring at the dark sky. He took it as the best time to explore the city; it's not like he could get kidnapped or hurt.

He also had a plan: Gojin intended to sneak out of the palace tonight and still get a pass from the clan head to go outside tomorrow.

"I can easily use Ki tapping to escape into the city, then get back here after three hours and still secure a pass to explore tomorrow," he thought, laughing mischievously.

He quickly placed his two pillows in a straight line and used his blanket to cover them, making it seem like he was still in bed if anyone decided to check on him.

Once that was done, he vanished and appeared in an alley in Harajuku, Shibuya, a little off from where he was supposed to appear. The clan palace was in Kyoto, so how did he end up in Shibuya, where the first-year academy was?

Simple: he hadn't focused on a specific place to appear, so he randomly ended up in Shibuya—though he didn't know this yet.

Stepping out of the dark alley, he saw a crowded street filled with hubs, shops and couples passing by. His face fell in shock as he began to realise that he wasn't in kyoto anymore.

"Where is this place? How the hell did I end up here?" He thought.

Gojin began to walk along the crowded street, glancing left and right in his blue pajamas. Teenage girls and boys, even adults, stared at him, exchanging whispers.

"What is a child doing out here at night? It seems like he got lost from home," a teenage girl whispered to her male friend.

Gojin overheard them and groaned.

"What is a teenager doing out here instead of helping her parents or sleeping? Kids these days are just spoiled," he thought.

Suddenly, another teenage girl approached him, bending down to his height. She noticed the blindfold over his eyes and reached out to remove it.

Gojin quickly pushed her hands away and stepped back.

She had long dyed blue hair, an oval face, and a sharp nose. Wearing a short skirt over a white crop top, she stood about 5'6".

She chuckled softly.

"Why are you wearing a blindfold? What are you doing out here at night? Are you lost? Where are your parents?"Gojin moved closer with a grin, stunning her with his confidence.

"Nothing, just exploring the city a little. Where am I?"

She stared at him for a moment before replying, "Shibuya, Harajuku. Does your mother know you're here?"

Gojin felt shocked and confused but hid it, maintaining a calm expression.

"Yes, she does. She's inside that store over there, so I just wanted to get some fresh air," he lied, darting past her.

She called after him, but he didn't respond. She started running after him, though Gojin was faster.

He sprinted ahead, eventually losing her as she panted, trying to catch her breath.

"Where's he going?" she muttered.

....

"What the heck? Why was she running after me? So dumb. Go find something to do if you're bored, you little girl," Gojin thought, glancing back to see if she was still pursuing him.

His hidden frustration began to surface; he screamed and held his head.

After a moment, he calmed himself down.

"Since I'm in Shibuya, Ryu and Yuki should be around here somewhere. I have to find the academy; I'm sure that's where they are."

He resumed his walk, moving for about 20 minutes. He passed a dark street where a streetlamp was flickering on and off.

"There might be some souls in here. I can test out my skills on them before continuing my search for the academy."

He turned around and entered the dark street, walking about two hundred meters before spotting a school building ahead—quiet and seemingly abandoned.

"I'm sure many souls will be residing there since that's where negative emotions are created: childhood horrors."

He ran to the front of the academy and saw a black veil covering the entire school.

"Huh? What is this? A field?" he questioned, placing his hands against it. They passed right through. He tried again with his other hand, and the same thing happened.

He moved inside and saw Ryu and Riku facing off against hordes of souls. He didn't recognize Riku, but the other adult was battling a large soul, likely someone Ryu knew.

Unsure of what to do at first, Gojin caught Ryu's eye. Ryu's eyes widened in shock.

"How did Gojin get here? Am I seeing things?"

Distracted for a moment, Ryu was suddenly attacked by one of the souls, sending him skidding across the ground.

Gojin rushed to his side, while Riku also came over. The number of souls was already dwindling anyway.

The souls began to approach them with a sound of laughter and tears mixed together. Ryu instantly stood up, ready to attack alongside Riku.

Suddenly, their bodies erupted in a powerful explosion, creating a large crater and destroying the structure behind them.

Ryu and Riku turned their gaze to Gojin, who was putting his blindfold back on.

[50 EXP rewarded!]

[A New Technique has been rewarded!]

[Bonus for Defeating a certain number of souls! Host has received the fifth heavenly eyes!]

[.....]