Dropout Exorcist Part 1 Chapter 11

 Chapter 11: Trump Card

"W-what just happened?"

"He's moved to the other realm, together with that man."

It was Ginga who answered Akane's question.

"T-the other realm!?"

"That's right. That man can move freely between this world and that one. He intends to fight on the other side."

—That's not quite right—

Another voice responded to Ginga's words.

A black magic circle appeared once more and Genna emerged from it.

"Welcome back."

"Yes. I never imagined I'd have to play a hand like that so early. But at least this should mean he won't be coming back anytime soon."

Genna replied, sounding as though some of the tension had finally left his voice.

"Y-you! What did you do to him!?"

"I took the liberty of leaving him behind in the other realm. With his strength, he won't die easily, even there. But no matter how powerful he is, he's neither a youjutsu-user nor a practitioner versed in crossing realms. Finding his way back here won't be easy."

Genna's goal had been to seal Shinya away in the other realm. After learning Shinya was the practitioner Ginga had reported, and seeing him take on both Kyouji and Rihito alone, he knew this was no opponent to underestimate.

A direct fight carried too much risk. They might not get away with mere injuries. One wrong move, and it could easily become fatal. So instead, he chose to seal Shinya away in the youma-infested other realm.

Traveling between this world and the other realm was no simple matter. Even for Genna, what had looked like the effortless opening of a path was only possible through extensive preparation, an immense amount of malevolent energy and a meticulously constructed ritual formula.

Even Genna couldn't use a technique like that repeatedly without consequence.

"This means I won't be able to travel between realms again for a while. Even so, I'd say he was more than enough of a threat to justify it."

"You'd rate a mere brat like that so highly?"

"Overestimating him would be a mistake, yes. But underestimating him and paying dearly for it would be even more foolish. Better to assume the worst and stay on guard, only to find he wasn't as dangerous as we thought. Don't you agree?"

"Understood. As you say."

"Ahh! That guy! I wanted to torment him and kill him myself! Hey, if all of us had gone after him together, couldn't we have beaten him!?"

"You insolent fool! You made a complete spectacle of yourself and now you dare question this man's judgment!?"

Ginga openly bared his fury at Kyouji, who had approached him. In Ginga's eyes, someone who had just been rescued had no right to question the master he revered. It was an insult he couldn't let pass.

"It's fine. There's a point to what you're saying too but even if it's a small matter ahead of something greater, I simply chose to be cautious. And besides..."

Genna glanced briefly toward Akane and Nagisa. At that alone, both of them flinched, like frogs caught in a snake's stare, their bodies frozen as though bound by an invisible force.

"W-what... is... My body, it won't move..."

"Ah, aahh..."

"You two are skilled practitioners for your age, I'll grant you that. But before me, you're no different from infants. Breaking that barrier and traveling between realms consumed a fair amount of my demonic power. Even so, immobilizing the two of you down is nothing at all."

A closer look revealed black malevolent energy coiled around them, binding them in place before either of them had even noticed. Genna hadn't immobilized them with his gaze alone. He'd restrained them by some other means as well.

"...Boss. What are you planning to do with these two?"

Rihito asked, a bitter look on his face. If he could help it, he didn't want anything cruel to happen to women. But once Genna had stepped in, that was no longer his decision to make.

"Let's see. A daughter of the Kyogoku clan and a daughter of the Hino clan. Both possess high spirit power and both are first-rate exorcists. They'd be valuable assets. We could brainwash them, fuse them with youma and make them our pawns, use them as breeding vessels or feed for youma, or offer them up as sacrifices in a ritual. No matter which option we choose, they'll prove useful."

At Genna's words, both of their faces went pale. They couldn't help but picture the hopeless future waiting for them.

"Yes, yes! Somehow or other, I'd love it if you'd hand these two over to me! Ah, either one's fine too, honestly!"

"You insolent brat! How many times do I have to tell you!"

"But look! My body, look what it got done to! Eating a human's the quickest way to recover, you know. And a human girl with high spirit power's got insanely high nutritional value, doesn't she sound delicious! I'll have plenty of fun with them first, though! Eating's not the only way to recover either! Raping them, torturing them, feeding on the fear and despair, all those negative emotions — that alone recovers a ton too!"

For the two of them, that was more terrifying than simply being killed.

"Ahaha! Nice, nice, that face! By the way, want me to tell you exactly what I do? First, I go ahead and rape them normally. After that, I slice off the two things they've got one at a time and eat them right in front of their eyes. The face and the voice a girl makes then! And then I eat all their arms and legs, keep them alive just like that, and rape them again, and drive them into despair."

It was a confession of pure madness. At the very least, this Ushioni called Kyouji was saying he'd done exactly that to other women before. Rihito grimaced at him but Genna and Ginga said nothing at all. They just watched Kyouji, looking utterly uninterested.

All Akane and Nagisa could do was grit their teeth, anger and frustration plain on their faces.

"Wait up. I ain't lettin' you do whatever you want with these two."

"What? Yashiro-chan? You're gonna do whatever you want with these two instead? No, no. I'm the one taking these two."

"That's enough out of both of you. These two are of high value to us. I'll take charge of them first."

"Ehh, I'd at least like a cut, you know."

"Then make yourself useful to me. Do that and I'll hand over one of them, or both, if you like."

"Aaas expected! A boss who gets it, that's the way to go! Maybe you should work harder too, Yashiro-chan, so you can get one of these girls?"

At Kyouji grinning his bull-faced grin, Rihito's face twisted like he'd bitten into something bitter.

Akane and Nagisa couldn't argue back at all. They couldn't even raise their voices. They couldn't resist.

(Letting scum like them say whatever they want! But my body won't move and my spirit arts are sealed off... Why, why did it come to this... Shinya's not even here, what am I supposed to do...)

Faced with a situation so utterly hopeless, tears welled up in Akane's eyes before she even realized it. She'd been forced to accept the truth. She couldn't resist the men standing before her, not even a little. And just like that, she was about to become these men's plaything.

The right thing to do was probably to stay strong and wait for an opening. But whether that chance would ever come was another matter entirely.

On top of that, she couldn't stop worrying about Shinya, who had been banished to the other realm. Akane was on the verge of breaking.

(...As endings go, this has to be one of the worst.)

Nagisa, too, had begun to sink into despair. The white-haired man had recognized the danger Shinya posed before anyone else and had already taken steps to deal with him. Considering how effortlessly he'd broken through the barrier, the overwhelming demonic power he wielded, and the ease with which he'd restrained them, she couldn't help realizing that resisting him was futile.

Even if she fought to the very end, nothing would change. No, she probably wouldn't even be given the chance to resist.

(...No. Even if it's futile... even if it changes nothing... I won't give up.)

If the men standing before her knew what she was thinking, would they laugh? Would they call her a fool? Would they dismiss her resolve without a second thought?

Pointless resistance. A futile struggle. Refusing to know when to give up. Let them say whatever they wanted. It might mean things ended up even worse for her because of it.

If she gave up, maybe it would be easier. Like Akane, she could let her spirit break and stop fighting altogether.

But she couldn't.

(That day, I made a promise to him. He told me... Never give up. Don't you dare give up. So no matter what happens, I won't give up.)

It was a childish promise, made long ago. A simple promise between two children. But to her, it was precious, more precious than anything else. Even now, it remained a vow she intended to keep.

So...

"Oh?"

Genna let out an admiring murmur. Nagisa was still struggling, pouring spirit power into her restraints in an attempt to break free.

A fierce determination burned in her eyes. Even now, she hadn't given up. Her spirit still hadn't broken.

"Impressive eyes, for a Kyogoku. I can see the strength of your will. Even knowing the gap in power between us, you still refuse to give up. I don't dislike that. But it's futile. Utterly meaningless."

"Aaah!"

The malevolent energy binding her tightened around Nagisa's body. Agony tore through her from head to toe. It felt as though the malevolent energy itself were devouring her flesh.

"I'm not going to tell you to give up. If you want to resist, then resist. Struggle until your very last breath, if that's what you choose. The outcome won't change. But it's better than surrendering now and living with regret. Even if all that awaits you is despair."

"S-still... I-I won't give up. Not until my very last breath... No... not even after I die!"

It was nothing more than bravado, a desperate attempt to keep herself going. Her face was twisted with pain, yet she still fought with everything she had to resist.

"Ahahaha! Look at you, trying so hard! Breaking a heart as stubborn as yours sounds like fun! That other girl's spirit's already broken, but you... I bet you're going to be so much more fun!"

Kyouji seemed to have taken a liking to Nagisa. With Akane hanging her head in silence, his interest had shifted to her instead.

But...

"...Shut up."

"Hm?"

"I said, SHUT UP! I've had enough of listening to you two ramble! My spirit broke? Yeah, it did. Up until just now! But you know what? I've got my pride too! You think I'm just gonna sit here and let you say whatever the hell you want? Let you do whatever the hell you want to me!?"

Akane roared. Nagisa's words had rekindled her fighting spirit. She drew every last drop of spirit power inward, compressing it within her own body. If she was going to end up as these men's plaything anyway, she'd rather blow herself up and take every last one of them with her.

Even if she couldn't kill them, she'd at least wipe those smug grins off their faces.

"Oh? It seems I underestimated you. But..."

"Agaaah!"

"As if I'd let you self-destruct. You two truly are remarkable. That man was the same. It seems this generation has produced some truly exceptional talent."

He forcibly suppressed the spirit power surging within Akane. His own technique scattered it before it could erupt, then absorbed it.

What a waste, Genna thought. But his goal came first, and to that end, they were nothing more than obstacles. Then again... perhaps there was still a way to make them his allies.

A thin, razor-sharp smile spread across Genna's face. Tonight had turned out to be an unexpectedly fruitful one. He'd made quite an interesting acquaintance as well. He was satisfied.

"That's enough for tonight. I'm sure that man and I will cross paths again someday. And when that day comes..."

A chill.

Genna was abruptly struck by a sensation that made every hair on his body stand on end. It was a sensation he'd never experienced before, something very close to fear.

"Is something wrong?"

Ginga was puzzled at the sight of his master. A moment later, he noticed it too.

Without warning, the five spirit talismans Shinya had left behind throughout the park shone with a dazzling light.

Three of them restored the barrier. The remaining two flew to Akane and Nagisa, attaching themselves to their backs. The malevolent energy binding them dissolved instantly, replaced by a separate protective barrier that enveloped each of them.

"T-this is..."

"Hoshimori-kun?"

The protective barrier expanded around them as though shielding them from everything outside. Warm light washed over the two girls, carrying with it a gentle heat. The fear and despair that had gripped them only moments before melted away, and a quiet sense of reassurance filled their hearts.

"W-What!? What's happening!?"

"Ngh! It's not just bright! Besides reinforcing the barrier, these three talismans are stripping away our malevolent energy too!"

"My lord, what is this!?"

"...He's coming."

Genna paid no attention to the others as his eyes remained fixed on one corner of the park, on the spot where Shinya had been standing just moments before.

With a sharp crack, a fissure split open in the air itself. At the sight, everyone, Genna included, fell silent.

Whenever the other realm connected with this world, space would normally twist and distort. The same thing happened whenever a High Rank youma or something even stronger appeared. Only the scale of the distortion changes. But this was different. Space itself was cracking apart, the fissure widening with every passing second.

"Are you telling me something's forcing its way through by tearing the boundary apart using sheer brute force!?"

With his own experience and knowledge, Genna understood exactly what this was, and at the same moment, he anticipated that whatever was about to appear was no ordinary thing.

The crack spread wider and wider. Then, at last... it appeared.

CRACK!

The boundary between the worlds shattered. And then, the presence emerged. The instant the boundary disappeared, a raging, overwhelming torrent of power came surging through to this side.

"Impossible. That's..."

Genna saw it. Floating within the shattered boundary was a solitary figure. It was a sight like a single painting come to life, or a myth itself had stepped into reality.

It was an angel. But not just any angel.

It was an angel in the form of a woman with three pairs of jet-black wings spread from her back. Long hair, black as midnight, cascaded down over a dress of the same abyssal hue. Suspended above her head was a crimson ring of light, the halo of an angel.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful. But a black blindfold covered her eyes, concealing whatever lay behind them. Around her neck rested a choker set with a single golden gem at its center.

A fallen angel. One cast down from the ranks of heaven. And judging by her presence alone, she was of extraordinarily high rank.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!"

The cry spilled from the jet-black fallen angel's lips. It was beautiful, almost like a song, and yet like a scream, the kind that captivated anyone who heard it. But the voice itself was a weapon, wrapped in overwhelming spirit power, it exploded outward as a shockwave that slammed into Genna and the others.

"Ngh! No way... Just her voice can do this!?"

"T-That's impossible! What the hell is that thing!? That's a monster!"

"Impossible. Something like that, coming out of the other realm!?"

Ignoring the others' panic, Genna alone remained calm as he watched the being before him. Then, almost immediately, he sensed another presence waiting in the darkness beyond the boundary.

It emerged slowly from the far side, drawing ever closer.

"Ah, aahh..."

"T-That's..."

The moment they saw the figure, relief and joy welled up inside Akane and Nagisa.Because it was him. He had come back.

"...Sorry to keep you waiting."

He — Hoshimori Shinya —  stepped through the boundary, calm and unhurried. At first glance, he looked exactly as he had before. Yet one thing had unmistakably changed, a cross-shaped mark now adorned his forehead.

As Shinya crossed back into this world, the fallen angel drifted after him as though serving as his attendant. At the slightest gesture of her hand, the fractured space began to mend itself. Within moments, the boundary was completely restored, as though it had never been broken.

"Well then. Shall we get back to it?"

A fearless smile spread across Shinya's face as he declared it to Genna and the others.