Chapter 54: Bound
"That wasn't just a simple Spirit Word Technique."
Tsuchimikado Hirotaka's gaze was razor-sharp. After the first flash of surprise, he quickly found the answer.
"When he transferred us here, he must have diverted part of the talisman's remaining force and used it to amplify the spell."
Even so, as an old hand of Onmyodo, Hirotaka knew exactly how outrageous that feat still was.
Borrowing residual power from a transfer talisman to reinforce a Spirit Word, then using that to block Chizuru's enhanced Demon-Subduing Thunder Curse with such precision... that was not something he had ever seen from a professional-class onmyoji.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
Both sides wanted this battle ended quickly.
Hirotaka, Chizuru, and Natsume wanted to bring Gin Tsumugi down at once, then rush back to stop the Taizan Fukun Festival before it fully began. Gin wanted the same. The faster he crushed the three before him, the faster he could rejoin Suzuka and see the rite through to the end.
No one intended to drag this out.
Time, then, was everything.
Gin moved first.
He drew a talisman from within his robes and flicked it into the air. At the same time, his fingers formed seals in rapid succession, and a stream of Sanskrit rolled from his lips.
"Namah sarva tathagata-bhyo vishva-mukhe-bhyo sarvatha... swiftly, as the laws decree."
"[Fire Boundary Spell]."
Flames exploded outward.
They did not merely spread. They devoured. In the blink of an eye, the space around them was swallowed by searing fire, like the wrathful radiance of a Buddha descending into the mortal world. Moisture vanished from the air. The ground cracked under the heat. The world itself seemed to shrivel beneath that terrible blaze.
Chizuru sucked in a breath and immediately regretted it.
The air that entered her throat was so hot it felt like inhaling molten iron.
The sweat that had just formed on her brow evaporated before it could even slide down her skin.
"What kind of [Fire Boundary Spell] is this?" she hissed, instinctively stepping back. "Is this really something a professional-class onmyoji can cast? Even Miyaji Hanao's [Fudo Myoo Fire Boundary Mantra] isn't much stronger than this."
Beside her, Natsume's face tightened. She hurriedly erected a barrier around the three of them, shielding them from the unbearable heat pouring in from every direction.
"So this is Mr. Gin's real strength..."
Hirotaka watched the sea of fire in silence for half a breath, then spoke in a low voice.
"This is the ancient-style [Fire Boundary Spell], not the imperial-style version. The imperial-style [Fire Boundary Spell], and even the [Fudo Myoo Fire Boundary Mantra] above it, were both derived from this original form."
He narrowed his eyes.
"As for the true ancient-style [Fudo Myoo Fire Boundary Mantra], it disappeared centuries ago. Even so... this is the first time I've seen the ancient [Fire Boundary Spell] with my own eyes."
And it deserved its reputation.
Its power was already brushing against the level of a National-class Onmyodo technique.
Hirotaka dropped to one knee and slammed a hand against the earth, his other hand forming seals.
He began tracing an incantation directly into the ground.
"The eastern mountain's buds know not whether the young ferns of the plain are forgotten. If this be a curse bestowed by the one in the west, then let Heaven's Eight Hundred Days answer. Borrow the power of the Knot Binding Deity. Reflect it. Strip calamity away. Swiftly, as the laws decree."
"[Snake-Averting Curse]."
An invisible force spread out from beneath Hirotaka's palm.
Wherever it passed, Gin's blazing fire began to recoil.
No, not recoil.
Reflect.
The flames were being forced backward, peeled away by a power that deflected and purified in equal measure.
Gin watched the tide shift without the slightest panic.
"Using the [Snake-Averting Curse] to turn back my [Fire Boundary Spell]..." he said calmly. "A sound choice. But not enough."
He drew another talisman.
"[Demon Purifying Talisman]."
It was the same talisman he had used against the Wedding Dress Tree.
Against onmyoji, its demon-slaying properties were of little use. But that was not the only purpose it served.
The talisman ignited as it entered the flames.
In an instant, the [Fire Boundary Spell] surged.
The retreating fire flared brighter than before, its heat doubling, then tripling, until Hirotaka's reflected force was smashed apart. The line of deflection broke with a violent tremor, and the flames rushed forward again.
Hirotaka's expression sharpened.
At last, all traces of underestimation vanished from the Tsuchimikado side.
"Chizuru," he said. "Use the [Demon-Subduing Thunder Curse]."
"I know."
Chizuru's answer was immediate.
She summoned [Thunder] again, the specialized shikigami manifesting at her side in a surge of crackling golden light.
"This spell severs evil and destroys calamity. Swiftly, as the laws decree."
"[Demon-Subduing Thunder Curse]."
At the exact moment Chizuru unleashed her attack, Hirotaka and Natsume moved together.
The coordination between the three was seamless, not a single beat out of place.
"Rin, Pyo, To, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen. Swiftly, as the laws decree!"
"[Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra]."
Twice over.
The doubled mantra descended upon Chizuru's spell, reinforcing it mid-cast. The already terrifying thunder swelled violently, its radiance multiplying severalfold. A golden thunder dragon erupted from the blaze, carrying the force of heavenly judgment as it tore straight through Gin's wall of fire.
In the next instant, thunder and flame collided head-on.
The [Fire Boundary Spell] and the [Demon-Subduing Thunder Curse] entwined in a violent burst of opposing force, shredding one another apart until both disintegrated into boiling steam and scattered sparks.
That instant opening was all Natsume needed.
Her hands had already finished forming the seals.
"All things within the mortal world are under command. By the original vow of the true body of Fudo Myoo, I swear to subdue this evil spirit. Swiftly, as the laws decree!"
"[Immovable Binding Technique]!"
The earth split open beneath Gin.
Chains burst out from the ground like living things, rushing toward him from every direction.
Gin's eyes narrowed.
He could have broken them by force at the moment of emergence, but only if he acted immediately. Spiritual power surged through his body as he prepared to tear through the technique head-on.
Then two voices struck at once.
"Spirit Word: [Spirit Inhibition]."
"Spirit Word: [Spirit Disruption]."
Chizuru and Hirotaka had timed it perfectly.
One Spirit Word suppressed the flow of spiritual power.
The other threw it into disorder.
Against an opponent of equal or greater strength, Spirit Word techniques often had limited effect. Sometimes they failed entirely. But used at the right instant, in tandem, and against a target already mobilizing power, even a momentary interruption could be decisive.
And this time, it was.
Gin's spiritual flow faltered for less than a breath.
That was all.
But in a fight like this, less than a breath was enough to decide everything.
The perfect window to shatter Natsume's binding vanished.
The chains closed.
With a violent metallic shriek, the [Immovable Binding Technique] wrapped around Gin Tsumugi's body and bound him fast.
.....
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