"Still, in the end, the one who won was me."
In the end, Lucan made that simple conclusion.
Without suspense—let alone that at the time the Black Princess had yet to recover from her serious injuries, Lucan was a magus who had been in seclusion on Mount Fuji for years, and that entire domain practically counted as his home field. In an even match, the advantage had always been his.
If he couldn't win under those circumstances, then what business did he have calling himself a magus?
Afterwards, Lucan naturally fought alongside the Black Princess against repeated assaults from several Dead Apostle Ancestors.
And although Lucan never disclosed the precise details of that battle with the Black Princess, simply imagining it was enough for Kishouin Kiara to grasp what kind of earth-shaking level it must have been—Sugawara no Hafu, at the pinnacle of mystery, crossing blades with a Princess of the Moon. It was undoubtedly a clash that defied the world itself.
A pity no one had witnessed it.A pity no one could see it.
"To think that I was only a little too late… and ended up missing such a world-shattering battle?"
Kishouin Kiara sighed softly. "What a pity. What a shame."
The train finally pulled into the station. As the doors slid open and Lucan stepped out at a leisurely pace, he cast a glance at the young woman beside him. Still wearing that train attendant's uniform, her voluptuous figure outlined by the fabric, hips full and legs long, she exuded that languid, bewitching air. Lucan only snorted.
"If you'd been there at the time, you'd probably have tried to stop us—"
"Ara ara… I really can't refute that, can I?"
Back then, Kishouin Kiara had not yet fallen into demonhood. She was still earnestly pursuing Buddhist teachings, wholeheartedly aspiring to save all living beings—a true living bodhisattva. It was only natural that she would not have thrilled at the sight of a clash of mysteries.
Ignoring this posturing coward who wanted to tease but never dared to actually go further, Lucan turned his gaze ahead.
"So, you didn't arrange anyone to come greet me?"
Leaving aside his identity as "Ruvist," hunted on all sides and requiring secrecy—As the leader of the Esoteric Sect,As the successor to Sugawara no Hafu's lineage,Wherever he went, it should have been natural for followers to flock to him, to herald his arrival.
To bear the weight of a thousand-year inheritance—such pomp should have been expected!
Yet the station was crowded with ordinary people coming and going, and none of it resembled the scene in Fuyuki City.
Kiara steadied herself, then only smiled with sultry charm: "Of course they wanted to come greet the Cult Leader."
"But I refused them all."
"Isn't it enough that I'm the one welcoming you?"
"… tch." Lucan's expression was strained. "Anyway—"
"After a thousand years, I've finally set foot in Kyoto once again."
Here, nine mystical associations of the Divine Organ Forgers spread their tendrils.Here, too, were the four great exorcist families, descendants of Minamoto no Raikou's Four Heavenly Kings, who inherited the curse-spirit system Lucan had once divided and left behind.
From this day forth—Kyoto would, without a doubt, erupt into chaos!
And once he had "arrived," Lucan's first step was naturally to head for Heian Palace—the gateway of the Sugawara Academy.
There, he would establish his base.There, he would set about fulfilling his tasks one by one—Meeting the Black Princess's thousand-year promise.Reclaiming the mysteries he had left within the Academy.And dealing with those Dead Apostle Ancestors of the Age of Gods Alliance who had infiltrated this city.
One thing at a time, in due order.
Then, Lucan suddenly remembered something.
"Come to think of it, I haven't notified Ciel that I've arrived in Kyoto."
Ciel's target—Roa—was also among those he ought to deal with.
That Dead Apostle, once his enemy, had long ceased to be a threat—but crushing him along the way was still necessary.
Besides, Kyoto was his home ground now!
Still, if he didn't say anything… treating it as a "surprise" for Ciel might not be so bad either.
At that same time.
Kyoto City, Souya District.
Located on the city's edge, Souya was an old ward. Here remained families just as ancient, households that had survived unchanged since long ago.
Among them, one name stood out—The Tōno family.
It was said they were a branch of an even older house from the Heian era, and that once upon a time they had even been esteemed by the various shogunates.
That was hundreds, even over a thousand years ago. And though they were merely a branch, to this day their mansion remained a landmark of Souya District—an authentic Heian-era estate rarely found even in Kyoto Prefecture.
Now, deep within that old-fashioned estate—
The current head of the Tōno family, Tōno Makihisa, tapped his cane against the floor, rousing the pale-faced boy who sat before him in a stupor.
"Father…?" The boy slowly raised his clouded eyes, as though waking from a dream.
"Shiki—just a few days ago, the 'Heavenly Demon' of the Burial Agency, Kishouin Kiara, appeared carrying the crest of Hafu."
Makihisa's voice was low, resonant, like stone grinding on stone. "Now, apart from the Tsuchimikado who stand aloof, and the Yagyō who promptly submitted, the Kyoto branches of the other six Divine Organ associations have already been eradicated. The true heir of the Peacock Lord has finally shown himself."
"And moreover, I have received word."
"That heir of the Peacock Lord is suspected to be the same man who inherited the legacy of Victoire Tuval, the Master of the Esoteric Sect."
"And the Esoteric Sect was the very origin of the Burial Agency—that is why the Heavenly Demon obeys his commands."
"!?"
The boy coughed violently, his body convulsing as vermilion marks in the shape of an ouroboros surfaced across his skin before fading.
It was as if something else inside him had reacted in horror.
Makihisa only frowned.
"Your inversion impulse… is growing stronger."
"Do not let it show. Do not tarnish our family's face."
He had misunderstood.
For the Tōno family, proud representatives of Souya's old lineage, were well-known not only as a wealthy conglomerate, but also for their possession of non-human blood. They had inherited demonic power from ages past.
That inhuman blood granted them supernatural abilities within the world of mystery—but also burdened them with the so-called "inversion impulse," a hidden craving for bloodshed and savagery.
To fall to it was to cast off one's humanity and become nothing more than a beast.
But what Makihisa did not realize was that his son's abnormal reaction was not only due to that impulse—it was also the influence of the Serpent of Reincarnation within him.
Shiki bared his teeth in a pale grin. "So… Father has finally decided to act?"
"To move against the Nanaya, whom you've confined within Mount Souya and keep under strict surveillance? Those descendants of the Nanaya whom you lured out?"
"On the contrary."
Makihisa shook his head.
"The four great exorcist houses trace back to the Peacock Lord of the ancient Heian era. In those days they were so glorious that even the shoguns and all the land depended on their protection. Yet until now, they have always been scattered, and save for when the Peacock Lord himself lived a thousand years ago, no one has ever commanded them all at once."
"Their whereabouts are elusive. Finding the Nanaya was already extremely difficult. The others—the Miko clan guarding Heian Shrine never leave, the Asagami and Ryōgi are all but impossible to locate."
"But now—this is the perfect chance."
"… Father, you can't mean—" Shiki's face grew paler still.
Though he didn't know why, the very thought made his instincts scream of death.
"Of course I mean it!" Makihisa's bestial gaze locked on him, fierce as a predator. "You've seen the terror of the Nanaya yourself, haven't you, Shiki?"
"This world, this nation of Yamato—it has never been only those four who bore the name of exorcists. So why is it that only they have remained pure, while families like ours, also exorcists, must carry flawed, inhuman blood? Why must we forever suppress the inversion impulse just to wield our power—when they need not!?"
"Exorcist" was never the sole title of those four houses.
In ancient times, many families emulated them.
But not all could inherit shards of divine bodies—splinters of gods manifested through the curse-spirit system as living gods, not true deities.
Others gained mystery by mingling with demons and monsters.
Kyoto had been full of such clans.
Yet until the shogunate's fall, as long as the Four Great Houses stood, all others were forced beneath their heel.
Even united, those lesser clans never dared oppose them.
And even now—if the Miko family of Heian Shrine issued a command, every clan in Kyoto would still obey.
Suppressed, utterly, throughout past and present alike!
Makihisa would no longer accept it.
He would change it.
"You can't possibly believe those old legends?" Shiki whispered hoarsely, his face ghost-white.
"I believe them completely."
Makihisa's eyes gleamed. "Why else do you think I've spent years elevating the Tōno name, not only amassing wealth in the human world but seeking status in the exorcist alliance, assassinating the old Saiki elder to take leadership of Kyoto's exorcist clans, even secretly contacting the Nanaya? All of it has been for this!"
The Nanaya had always carried the art of demon-slaying.
The Saiki elder, previous leader of the Kyoto exorcists, had also borne inhuman blood.
By then his inversion had nearly consumed him.
He was the perfect prey for the Nanaya.
Used as bait, they had drawn the clan out from hiding.And at the same time, he became the last obstacle to Makihisa's rise.
It was in that assassination that Makihisa had personally witnessed the terror of the Nanaya—and confirmed his own ambition.
"Only from this seat of power can I achieve my goal. Only with this authority can I gather the bloodlines of all four great houses."
For the legend said—
If the four bloodlines were united, the mystery of the Peacock Lord could be reborn.
With it, not only could the inversion be suppressed—But even ten steps beyond it could be taken with ease.
That was Makihisa's ultimate aim.
Shiki rasped: "Father… you want to become another Peacock Lord?"
"In the Heian era, that man alone suppressed all of Yamato's mysteries."
Makihisa's cane struck the ground. "If I gather his mystery in this age—what could possibly be beyond my grasp?"
"Now that his heir has appeared, he will summon the four houses. If we hide the Nanaya within our domain, we will be included in that call."
"Then we can glimpse the movements of the other three—especially those two who have remained hidden."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"
Lightning split the sky outside, illuminating Makihisa's cruel profile.
A once-in-a-lifetime chance… to die?
Hearing the thunder, seeing that sight,Shiki could only laugh inwardly.
Especially now that he knew the heir of Hafu was tied to the Master of the Esoteric Sect—
Strangely, almost as if another soul inside him sneered without restraint—
By his understanding,Victoire Tuval was probably still alive!
Rumble!
Thunder rolled.
"Thunder in October autumn nights?"
Elsewhere, deep into the night.
On the road to Heian Palace, Lucan tilted his head, gazing at the lightning outside the car window, brows slightly raised.
Driving, Kiara didn't turn her head. "If you don't like it, you could always disperse it."
"No need for that," Lucan said. "A little rain might be nice."
"… Wait. That doesn't look like thunder."
Though still far off—Though the strike had landed over a hundred li away—
Even at this distance, Lucan caught it.
He did not possess the all-seeing clairvoyance to view all of past, present, and future at will. To see, he still had to fix his target with magecraft.
But even without consciously casting any spell, with only the divine body's eyesight, he could clearly perceive all within a thousand-li radius.
From stars above to motes of dust below, nothing escaped him.
That was the hallmark of a divine vessel—To manifest as reality what magecraft could only imitate.
And so, this time, he truly saw it.
The true form of the lightning.
And, lit by its glow, a pale and delicate figure.
That was…
"Another Princess of the Moon!"