Chapter 18: Evaluating Strength
"God of the Eastern Sea. God of the Western Sea. God of the Southern Sea, named Ju Cheng. God of the Northern Sea. Great Gods of the Four Seas, drive back the hundred ghosts and sweep away all calamities. Swiftly, by the command of law."
"Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation."
Five talismans rose into the air.
Drawing upon the vast power of the Four Sea Gods and amplifying it with his own spiritual energy, Gin Tsumugi chanted in a low, steady voice. The incantation was obscure and ancient, its cadence deep enough to make the air in the hall shiver. His fingers moved through seal after seal with practiced precision.
Then three pentagrams appeared in front of him.
They did not simply form.
They condensed, one after another, vast and solid, until three overlapping magic circles stood upright before him, layered together like interlocking gates of divine judgment.
The power of the Four Sea Gods coursed through them.
A righteous, majestic aura burst outward, thick with the force of exorcism. It felt less like an Onmyodo technique and more like a heavenly decree descending into the mortal world. The air burned. The hall brightened. It was as though every impure thing hidden in shadow would be dragged into the light and stripped of disguise.
"Go."
Gin brought two fingers together like a sword and slashed forward.
The triple pentagrams surged ahead.
As they advanced, they swelled larger and larger, their brilliance intensifying at the same time. The heat rolled outward in waves, vast enough to make it feel as though the entire evaluation hall had been flooded by sacred fire.
The five Guardian Shikigami used by the Onmyo Agency for strength assessment did not even have time to resist.
The moment the triple pentagrams crashed into them, they were obliterated on the spot, broken into fragments of pale starlight before dispersing into nothing.
Silence swallowed the hall.
Everyone present froze.
The strength evaluation hall was not empty. There were experts from supernatural offices, Onmyoji staying temporarily at the Onmyo Agency, and more than a few whose strength had already reached Professional Rank Six or Seven. For all of them to be left speechless by a single move said enough about the shock of what they had just witnessed.
A moment later, the uproar exploded.
"What kind of Onmyodo technique was that?! The Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation?!"
"He destroyed all five Guardian Shikigami with one spell. That has to be Professional Rank Nine strength."
"Definitely Professional Rank Nine. Those Guardian Shikigami may not be especially lethal on their own, but the Onmyo Agency embedded them with multiple defensive talismans and spiritual barriers that specifically resist Onmyodo techniques. Destroying three at once already means Professional Rank Nine. He destroyed five!"
"So this is White Fox, Gin Tsumugi... the rare genius who's said to stand shoulder to shoulder with the prodigy, Dairenji Suzuka."
"The younger generation really is frightening..."
It was impossible not to feel something.
Envy.
Jealousy.
Resentment.
A bitter sense of futility.
Gin was the youngest person in the entire hall. Most of the others were old enough to be his uncle, some even his grandfather. Onmyoji of his generation were rare here to begin with, and those that did exist were still struggling at Apprentice rank.
Yet the Onmyodo they had spent half a lifetime training had already been surpassed by a young man not even twenty.
Anyone faced with that contrast would feel as though their years of effort had turned into a joke.
Still, shock soon gave way to doubt.
"Wait... since when did the Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation have that kind of power?"
"And the one White Fox used looked different from the standard form."
Once that question was raised, others began wondering the same thing.
The Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation was not some unheard of secret art. It belonged to the Imperial style branch of Onmyodo and, while not common enough for every apprentice to use, it was certainly known to many present.
But no one had ever seen it display such overwhelming force.
More importantly, its conventional form was most effective against evil spirits, monsters, and masses of lesser ghosts. Its performance was weaker against living opponents, and even worse against the specially made Guardian Shikigami of the Onmyo Agency.
What Gin had used clearly was not the same thing they knew.
At that moment, a middle aged man in a suit stepped forward.
The instant people recognized him, the noise in the hall diminished.
"Lord Tougu."
"Lord Divine Eye!"
"Section Chief..."
The man now standing at the front was Miyoshi Tougo, the last National Level Onmyoji still stationed at the Onmyo Agency.
He was the head of the Clairvoyance Division of the Intelligence Section, a special clairvoyant officer known as Divine Eye, and one of the Twelve Divine Generals. With his powerful spiritual sight, he constantly monitored the flow of spiritual energy across Tokyo itself.
His presence here was not strange at all.
"Uncle Miyoshi."
Gin greeted him with familiar ease.
Given his connection to Amami Daizen, he was already acquainted with several members of the Twelve Divine Generals, and Miyoshi Tougo was one of them. There were even rumors that Gin's father, Tsumugi Takazawa, had once studied alongside Miyoshi at the Onmyo Academy.
Their relationship was not as close as the one he had with Amami, but Miyoshi had always shown him a certain degree of goodwill.
Miyoshi looked at Gin, then at the lingering traces of spiritual power still hanging in the hall.
"What you just used was the ancient form of the Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation," he said calmly. "The original version."
His gaze swept across the others as he continued.
"It is an ancient Onmyodo technique. By classification, it belongs to the National Level. The Imperial style Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation you know is only a simplified form created by Tsuchimikado Yakou for practicality and ease of instruction. Its power was heavily reduced in exchange for accessibility, which is why it only falls within the Professional Level."
He looked back at the stunned crowd.
"The two are not remotely comparable."
A sharp intake of breath spread through the hall.
Ancient style.
National Level.
Just those two phrases were enough to make people rethink everything they had just seen.
Then Miyoshi gave Gin a long, measuring look.
"Not bad. To have mastered the ancient Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation at your age means you've already touched the minimum threshold of a National Level Onmyoji."
The next words landed even harder.
"You have a real chance of crossing that boundary within three years."
The hall fell silent again.
This time, the silence was heavier.
Gin standing on equal footing with Dairenji Suzuka in talent, and now possessing Professional Rank Nine strength, did not automatically mean that everyone had already believed he would one day become National Level.
That boundary was a true chasm.
An absolute divide.
Too many brilliant Professional Rank Onmyoji had spent their whole lives slamming against it without ever passing through.
Yet Miyoshi Tougo had just said, in front of everyone, that Gin had hope of crossing it within three years.
That was no casual compliment.
That was nearly a declaration.
In the eyes of everyone present, White Fox, Gin Tsumugi, had already become a future National Level Onmyoji.
Gin himself remained calm.
"Uncle Miyoshi, you're praising me too highly."
But Miyoshi did not linger on that point.
Instead, his expression shifted slightly.
"By the way, what Yamashiro Hayato did last time was indeed wrong. After the incident, the Director punished him severely." His tone held restrained displeasure. "He had only just been granted the title of one of the Twelve Divine Generals and was too eager to prove himself."
Gin's eyes darkened slightly.
Tomie.
This was about Tomie.
That time, they had nearly sealed her completely, only for Yamashiro Hayato to ruin everything in a fit of arrogance, giving her the chance to escape.
"Uncle Miyoshi," Gin said, voice steady, "the Onmyo Agency should pay much closer attention to Tomie. Her danger level is not lower than that of any Great Yokai."
Miyoshi nodded, signaling that he understood.
But Gin could tell he did not truly take it seriously.
At least, not seriously enough.
He could only sigh inwardly.
The Onmyo Agency still had not grasped the full threat Tomie posed. In their eyes, she was merely a somewhat unusual evil spirit. And right now, with the Bureau already stretched to the brink, saying more would not change anything.
After that, Miyoshi exchanged a few more words with Gin, mostly repeating what Amami had already said earlier, warning him not to become too obsessed with immediate results. Then he left.
Given his duties, that was unsurprising.
As the man responsible for watching the spiritual flow of all Tokyo, Miyoshi Tougo had long since become one of the busiest members of the Twelve Divine Generals. And with the entire Onmyo Bureau now forced into multiple layers of emergency response, nearly everyone was doing the work of several people at once.
For him to have taken time out to observe the evaluation hall was already unusual.
The moment Miyoshi was gone, the crowd surged.
Business cards were thrust forward.
Flattering voices overlapped.
Invitations and attempts at recruitment came one after another.
"Director Gin Tsumugi, hello. I'm from the Ring Office. This is our business card. I hope you'll guide us in the future."
"Lord White Fox, my name is..."
"Director Gin, our office sincerely wishes to invite you..."
"Please, at least accept our card..."
No one was foolish enough to miss this opportunity.
If they did not curry favor now, while he was still only White Fox, then once Gin truly rose into the ranks of the National Level, they would no longer even have the qualification to stand close enough to speak to him.
At the same time, in the office of the Chief of the Magic Investigation Division, Amami Daizen received the results from the evaluation hall.
"Ninth Rank Professional strength. And he's mastered the ancient Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation."
He leaned back and smiled, the satisfaction in his face impossible to hide.
"This brat really did give this old man a huge surprise."
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
"It seems he's especially proficient in ancient style Onmyodo. The talismans he uses, the Five Pointed Star Incantation he relies on... even now, this new spell. They're all ancient style, not Imperial style."
To be honest, that part still puzzled him.
Neither Amami, nor Gin's father Tsumugi Takazawa, nor even the entire declining Tsumugi family possessed this many ancient style techniques.
He genuinely did not know where the brat had learned them all.
Still, he had no interest in prying.
Everyone had their own fortunes and secrets.
As long as Gin did not lose his way, that was enough.
Elsewhere, Dairenji Suzuka also received the news.
"Ninth Rank Professional already?"
Real surprise flashed across her face.
She had known White Fox was strong, but she had not expected his strength to rise this quickly.
Then, just as quickly, her expression turned satisfied.
"That's even better. The stronger he is, the higher the chances my plan succeeds."
She tightened her grip on a small, cartoon style ornament in her hand and lowered her gaze.
"Just wait for me, brother... I'll be able to bring you back soon."
Later, after the formalities were complete, Gin finally looked down at his updated onmyoji certificate.
[White Fox Office]
[Director: Gin Tsumugi]
[Professional Rank Nine Onmyoji]
In the lower right corner lay the anticounterfeit seal woven personally by the Onmyo Agency spiritual methods.
Gin closed the certificate and slipped it into his pocket.
"They even recorded White Fox as the official title this time."
His goal in coming to the Onmyo Agency had been fully achieved.
More than that, the increase in his official rank would raise the White Fox Office's standing considerably. With a Professional Rank Nine director at its head, the office would almost certainly leap into the top ten among Tokyo's supernatural offices.
That gave him a quiet sense of satisfaction.
After all, the White Fox Office was something he had built with his own hands. Watching it grow, step by step, really did feel a little like watching his own child get stronger.
Under the admiring gaze of the girls at the reception desk, Gin walked out of the Onmyo Agency.
Just as he passed the front entrance, a young woman stepping out of a commercial van paused and looked at him.
Hayasaka Ai.
Dressed in a sharp secretary outfit, she instantly recognized the young man who had just passed by her.
"So that's Gin Tsumugi, Director of the White Fox Office," she thought. "The one Young Miss told me to add to the list."
Her eyes lingered on his retreating back for only a moment before she looked toward the building itself.
"I should check the situation at the Onmyo Agency first. I just hope nothing unexpected happens again."
With that, Hayasaka Ai walked into the Onmyo Agency, carrying her quiet worry with her.
.....
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