As Yugen entered the guest room, he found not only Tatsuya, Mikihiko, and Leo but also the female members of their group. Tatsuya and Mikihiko were engrossed in a shogi match, while the others were either tending to their CADs or chatting casually. Naturally, everyone had changed out of their uniforms into comfortable casual clothes. Erika was the first to call out to him.
"Hey, Yugen! Something interesting happen?"
"Don't assume it's about something fun… If I had to say, maybe that I've become the next head of this household?"
The moment those words left his mouth, Mikihiko, well-versed in ancient magic, dropped the shogi piece he was holding. The clatter echoed his shock, though the others didn't seem as surprised.
Leo, concerned, spoke up. "Yo, Mikihiko, you okay?"
"Y-yeah… Yugen, is that for real?"
"What's the point of lying? Here, your piece."
Yugen answered Mikihiko's question, picking up the fallen shogi piece and handing it back before sitting beside him. Tatsuya, ever the curious one, glanced at the board and asked, "Mikihiko, is it that big a deal?"
"Well, yeah. This family—the Kagurazaka—is a titan in the ancient magic community, rooted in Onmyodo. Yugen as the next head? That's shocking."
"By blood, she's my great-aunt, but through adoption, she's now my mother," Yugen explained.
His detached tone stemmed from the surreal weight of the situation—so many outlandish developments dulled its reality. One thing was clear: he'd no longer act as a Mitsuya of the Ten Master Clans but as a Kagurazaka, a guardian family.
Erika turned to Mikihiko. "Hey, Miki, this mansion alone screams big deal, but how big are we talking?"
"My name's Mikihiko… Let's see. The Kagurazaka family sits at the pinnacle of the ancient magic community. They're said to hold authority surpassing even the Ten Master Clans, maybe even the Magic Association. That's what my father told me."
"No way… And Yugen's the next head of that family?" Erika gaped.
"Stop looking at me like I'm some monster," Yugen quipped.
In the modern magic community, ancient magic was obscure. Yugen had learned the Kagurazaka family was a sponsor of the Yotsuba, wielding influence and power on par with—or exceeding—Todou Aoba. Yet, their strength was dedicated to protecting the nation, not just through defense but, if needed, preemptive strikes: the role of a guardian embodying proactive self-defense.
"In a way, I'm now on the same level as Chairman Juumonji or Ichijou. They mentioned that the Magic Association will soon announce the next heads of the Kagurazaka and Kamiizumi families to the Twenty-Eight Master Clans and Hundred Families," Yugen said.
"Kamiizumi? You mean your brother?" Erika asked.
"Probably. Grandpa didn't say it outright, but I'd bet on it."
This meant the Mitsuya family would gain prestige for producing the next heads of both the Kamiizumi and Kagurazaka families. If Genji inherited the Mitsuya headship, their position would solidify. Given his father's and Genji's temperaments, they wouldn't flaunt this to make enemies, unlike certain families that belittled other clans.
"But it's Yugen, so it kinda makes sense," Erika mused.
"That's a bit much, don't you think?" Yugen sighed.
To avoid more scrutiny, he decided to shift topics with a proposal he'd been mulling over, one concerning everyone present.
"Leveling up all of us?" Miyuki asked.
"Yeah. After the spring terrorist incident and the near-accident on the way to the Nine Schools Competition, I think it's time we seriously boost everyone's skills."
"The latter… wasn't that just an accident?" Honoka asked.
"No, that was a different group from the spring."
Without naming "Blanche" or "No-Head Dragon," Yugen hinted at the possibility of similar incidents. The Thesis Competition in fall was notorious for trouble—why doesn't the government stop it? he wanted to grumble, but complaining about the inevitable was pointless. His investigations confirmed the Great Asian Union's involvement, with the New Soviet Union staying silent, likely seeing a GAU victory as a bonus. Even the USNA seemed to tacitly approve of the GAU's moves.
"The Nine Schools trouble was their doing too. My family handled it, but there's no guarantee they can keep doing so. You all need to be able to protect yourselves. So… I'm going to have you shatter every bit of magical common sense you've got."
"Wait, what does that mean?" Leo asked, bewildered.
It started with dismantling their "modern magic common sense." They needed to see that altering physical laws was child's play compared to true magic. Mikihiko, versed in both modern and ancient magic, spoke up.
"Yugen, are you saying our magic itself is inefficient?"
"Would it shock you if I said modern magic is fundamentally flawed?"
"What!?" Erika shouted.
Her outburst wasn't alone; everyone, including Tatsuya, was visibly stunned. Noting Tatsuya's rare expression, Yugen gently chided Erika.
"Look, they say modern magic achieved greater versatility than ancient magic, but while it lowered the barrier to entry, it also lowered the magic's quality."
"Lowered quality…?" Honoka echoed.
"It's true. It's uniform but lacks true diversity."
Modern magic's origins traced to a late-20th-century police officer with supernatural abilities who prevented a nuclear terrorist attack. Its system categorized magic into four systems and eight types—acceleration, weight, movement, vibration, convergence, divergence, absorption, and emission—all bound by "physical law alteration." Mental interference magic, though outside this framework, mostly required line-of-sight. Sensory magic felt more "supernatural," closer to true magic.
Having studied Tenjin magic, Yugen quickly spotted modern magic's constraints, primarily due to its military applications.
"Given nuclear deterrence, incorporating raw supernatural abilities into modern magic risked destabilizing military balance. Fearing this, magicians ensured modern magic didn't exceed that role. Researchers must've struggled with that."
"…Yugen, did you fully analyze all the Cardinal Codes?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yeah. The activation sequences I gave Miyuki and Shizuku were tweaked from those codes."
His answer stunned the room again. Even "George" and "Kana" struggled to identify a single Cardinal Code, yet Yugen claimed to have cracked them all. But his expression wasn't one of pride—calling modern magic flawed meant its foundational codes were equally so.
"Plus, magical control techniques are half-baked. When you list it out, modern magic has tons of room for improvement," he said.
"Denying modern magic… Are you picking a fight with the Ten Master Clans?" Erika asked.
"Not at all, but I'm no longer part of them."
His cold words reflected a truth: blindly accepting things stifled growth. His past life's exposure to creative works likely shaped this view, but after reincarnating, he'd aimed to replicate fictional supernatural phenomena, concluding modern magic fell short. It was too wasteful. His modern magic started from a different framework—not Tenjin magic but something inspired by ancient ruins, perhaps an ancient magic adaptation. Thanks to his reincarnation perk, he'd deciphered unresolved ooparts, a secret he kept to himself.
Why visit such places? Simple: Gouzou's hobby. Though publicly a magician, no one could punish or stop him—trying might turn the surroundings to ash. For instance, in Italy, Gouzou obliterated a mafia boss during a conflict. Yugen? He'd masked his presence and stayed out of it.
Hearing Gouzou's exploits, Yugen wasn't surprised the Yotsuba were allies—birds of a feather, perhaps.
"For magic to be magic, it should be like ancient magic—fire or lightning from your hands, far beyond modern vibration or emission types. That's why I trained."
"You're saying you'll raise us to that level?" Miyuki asked.
"Of course. But it starts with psion control."
Half-hearted psion control was foolish. CADs aided activation and control, but their convenience robbed magicians of true control. CADs required only sequence construction and output control. That sufficed for deployment speed and scale, but for stable, efficient magic with strong alteration, it was lacking.
"There's a saying: 'A magician perceives phenomena as they are, calmly, logically, and disciplines themselves strictly.' The speaker likely understood psion control, but it was mistaken as mere mindset. The proof? The original edition of that figure's book in the Kamiizumi family differs from the reprint at First High's library. I noticed thanks to my photographic memory."
"Psion control? Isn't that basic?" Leo asked.
"If you think so, try pouring psions into this," Yugen said, handing Leo a Rubik's Cube-sized black box etched with magical inscriptions, clearly a spellcasting tool.
The spacious courtyard outside the guest room was perfect for a test. Leo held the box, channeling psions. An orange psion shield—[Psion Wall]—unfolded, matching his psion color.
"Yugen, is that [Psion Wall]?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yup," Yugen confirmed.
Facing Leo's shield, Yugen touched it lightly and sighed dramatically.
"Nope, too thin. It's barely defensive, and your hardening magic won't reach full potential."
"No way… Then you try it," Leo challenged.
Taking the box, Yugen deployed a silvery [Psion Wall] without leaking psions, its density far surpassing Leo's. Murmurs of awe rose, but Yugen turned to Erika.
"Erika, break it."
"Full force, right?"
"Go for it."
Erika drew her baton, her usual playful demeanor gone. She vanished in a blur, charging straight at the shield. Instead of just channeling psions, she unleashed [Kirikage], a Chiba family secret sword technique, factoring in her trust in Yugen. Yet, her strike didn't even scratch the [Psion Wall].
"No way…" Erika gasped.
"Impressive strike, but it's proof you're not there yet," Yugen said.
"I'm done. I surrender," Erika said, raising her hands.
If [Kirikage] couldn't dent it, Yugen's swordplay would surely overpower her. Mikihiko, who knew them well, was stunned.
"Erika's swordsmanship is top-notch, and he blocked it…"
"Brother, Yugen didn't use any magic besides [Psion Wall], right?" Miyuki asked.
"Correct," Tatsuya confirmed.
Suspecting a new spell, Tatsuya used his "Elemental Sight" but confirmed Yugen only channeled psions into the box, using solely [Psion Wall]. Inspecting the box, he found it was just a metal cube with a magic circle—nothing more.
"To achieve that defense with just [Psion Wall]… You're a freakish genius," Tatsuya said.
"Says the engineer who shone at the Nine Schools Competition," Yugen retorted.
The heat drove them back indoors. Erika's technique was kept secret, and a servant brought cold drinks. Yugen began explaining, knowing clarity was crucial.
"Psion control has three elements: perception, circulation, and construction. Lack any, and control fails—true for both ancient and modern magic."
"Yugen-san, we never learned that in class," Honoka said.
"No surprise. Until now, I was the only one who knew. As of this moment, it's all of us."
Recognizing psions like visible light or sound was essential for magic. But true perception control went beyond sensing ambient psion waves—it meant clearly perceiving even minute psions. Mastering this enabled tactical or strategic-class magic. Yugen's conclusion came from experiments with [Reinforce] and full control of [Auditory Enhancement]. He trained psion control daily, even silently in the Shiba family's basement during his stay.
"So, that zazen you did during the Nine Schools training camp was psion control practice?" Shizuku asked.
"Exactly. Clear imagery and sequence tweaks matter, but with strong magic capacity, a [Psion Wall] alone can block most spells without relying on barrier magic. It ties directly to your magic control, making interference armor easy to add."
"Yugen, you're picking a fight with the Juumonji's [Phalanx]… Oh, wait, you already beat it," Erika said.
"What? That's news to me. What happened?" Shizuku asked.
Resigned, Yugen admitted he'd defeated Katsuto in a mock battle. Honoka was floored. Modern magic often required line-of-sight, a limitation tied to military concerns.
Perception control let you sense surrounding and personal psions; circulation control managed them. Without these, excess psions leaked during casting, or you unconsciously fed psions into a CAD, explaining why multiple CADs couldn't activate simultaneously—sloppy control.
"Construction control involves converting sequences to spells, output control, and maintaining active spells. That's tough without solid perception and circulation. Only those with specialized magic calculation areas can manage otherwise."
Tatsuya's [Material Burst] worked because of his vast psion reserves and specialized [Decomposition] and [Reconstruction] areas—a brute-force approach. Yugen didn't single him out but clarified it wasn't about Tatsuya.
"As a demo, I'll show you a bit of my psion control. Brace yourselves."
Focusing, Yugen gathered ambient psions, raising their density without using Tenjin magic. The intense concentration stiffened everyone's expressions, even Tatsuya's. When he dispersed the psions, the others were left stunned or breathless.
"No way…" Leo muttered.
"Such density…" Miyuki said.
"It's that thick…" Honoka gasped.
"You can't use magic properly—Tenjin or otherwise—without full psion control. Obsessing over tricks is fine, but neglecting fundamentals won't make you strong. Shin'in-ryuu's secrets rest on rigorous basics, and magic's no different," Yugen said.
Rising, he slid open the fusuma to the hallway. There, Hime and Yume sat crumpled on the floor, overwhelmed by his psion control, while Shuji caught his breath. Yugen flashed a wide grin.
"Time for psion control training. You're all coming along, right?"
Seeing Yugen's smile, Tatsuya couldn't help but think he resembled the final boss in a forced-loss event from a role-playing game.
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