-524- Phase 3

"Thud... thudthud..."

The sound of scattered stones falling to the ground replaced all other sounds, echoing in the small square.

The disoriented students and instructors, who had fallen on the ground in disarray, struggled to rise from the ground. They looked towards the direction where the spiritual disaster had occurred, all in a daze.

Upon closer inspection, the area where the miasma had previously emerged, with it as the center, had its surroundings within about ten meters completely upheaved. It looked as if it had been bombarded, with exposed bedrock and flying earth.

It had already transformed into a crater, with no trace of miasma. Only a few lingering flames, yet to dissipate, swirled around like eddies, making the air temperature rise slightly.

Everyone looked at this scene, stunned as if their souls had left their bodies.

"A... A single strike..."

A startled instructor murmured these words, leaving the students in awe.

Indeed.

A single strike.

With just a single strike and the power of the "Fire Realm Jutsu," Rozen had purified the spiritual disaster.

This was Phase 2!

As mentioned earlier, for a Phase 1 spiritual disaster, even with professional exorcists and reserves, it would take two or three individuals to comfortably purify it, restoring the spiritual energy.

And if it were Phase 2, even professional exorcists needed to deploy an entire squad to perform the purification. Otherwise, it would really test the onmyoji's capabilities.

To be able to purify a Phase 2 spiritual disaster alone, and with just one strike, was an onmyoji only numbering less than ten in the entire Exorcism Division.

Because of this, when facing a Phase 2 spiritual disaster, despite a whole class of students from the Onmyou Academy and three instructors, including outstanding talents like Natsume and Kyouko, they still struggled to control it.

In the end, Rozen managed to purify it solely with his own power, with just one strike.

How could everyone not be astonished by this?

"Cl... Clearly, he hadn't even summoned shikigami..."

"Yeah..."

Others looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

The students also knew that dealing with spiritual disasters would be extremely easy for Rozen due to the connection with the true dragon passed down through generations in the Tsuchimikado family.

With the power of the true dragon, it would indeed be possible to shatter even a Phase 2 disaster with ease.

But now, Rozen didn't summon the dragon. Instead, he suppressed the Phase 2 spiritual disaster using his own jujutsu.

This made the students once again understand that this person was not on the same level as them.

Even Kyouko remained silent, and Natsume had a face of helplessness.

However, neither the students nor the instructors noticed that at this moment, Rozen's expression wasn't relaxed at all. Instead, his brow furrowed deeper, and the magical energy surging within him showed no signs of weakening; on the contrary, it seemed to be gradually strengthening.

The reason was simple.

Leveraging his ability to "Spirit Sight," Rozen effortlessly discovered it.

A terrifying miasma, akin to a vengeful spirit, was rapidly approaching their location.

This miasma was far more formidable than the Phase 2 disaster they had just faced.

And it was many times more terrifying.

Now, this miasma, sensing the commotion on this side, was speeding towards them at an astonishing pace.

The students and instructors were completely unaware, still dazed in their original positions.

In this situation...

"Order!"

Rozen tossed several talisman into the air, releasing the written spells inscribed on them.

In the next second, the talisman emitted a glow, forming a barrier that protected everyone within.

"W... What's happening?"

Natsume was somewhat at a loss.

"Th... This..."

Kyouko was also bewildered.

The others were even more out of sync with the situation, just scrambling around.

Then, the extremely dense miasma descended like a shadow from the sky.

"Boom!"

In a muffled sound, the massive shadow fiercely collided with the barrier, causing a clash between spiritual energy and miasma.

The scene was like a gigantic boulder plummeting from the sky, colliding with Rozen's extended barrier, causing a storm.

Immediately after, the massive shadow was repelled, falling onto the ground ahead.

"Thud!"

In the moment it landed, the ground trembled slightly, informing everyone present just how massive the newcomer's weight was.

Everyone subconsciously turned their heads towards that direction.

A colossal entity entered the view of all.

"————!"

Looking at the towering giant before their eyes, at this moment, everyone present surpassed fear, standing frozen in awe.

"That is...!?"

Natsume held her breath."

"How could this..."

Kyouko covered her mouth.

"..."

Rozen also gazed at the looming presence, his eyes slowly narrowing.

In simple terms, it was a monster.

A genuine monster.

At first glance, the monster appeared like a giant gorilla, its entire body covered in dark fur, muscles bulging, exuding a formidable presence.

However, this gorilla-like creature easily exceeded a height of three meters. It had the head of a baboon, limbs of a tiger, a tail like a snake, and ghastly white hair. It seemed like a patchwork of various animals, reminiscent of a monster from mythology—a "Chimera."

Indeed, within the industry, this monster was referred to as the "Chimera Type."

It was a spiritual disaster.

It was a conglomerate of miasma.

When miasma surged to a certain level and materialized, it transformed into various monsters, becoming a presence akin to mythical creatures, possessing self-awareness and autonomy. People called it the "Dynamic Spiritual Disaster."

The monster before them was one form of a materialized spiritual disaster, the Chimera Type, also known as the Demon Type.

People who knew of its existence referred to it this way.

"Nue..."

———Nue.

This was one of the Phase 3, a materialized dynamic spiritual disaster.

Now, this entity slowly stood up, opened its mouth wide.

"Ooooooooooooooooooooooo————!"

A chilling, piercing howl emanated from the creature, resonating loudly.

It was an extremely high-pitched, deafening roar.

With this roar, the high-density miasma, unlike anything before, surged like a tempest, exploding in all directions.

Under this onslaught of miasma, everyone felt as if their souls were being assaulted, one by one letting out cries of anguish and screams.

In an instant, the students fell consecutively, over half of them fainting on the spot. The remaining few were almost unconscious, with only Natsume, Kyouko, and some instructors barely managing to hold on, clutching their heads tightly, a pained expression on their faces.

And in this moment, the Nue moved.

Like a raging gorilla bursting out, the Nue stomped the ground, leaped high into the air, and descended fiercely towards one of the students.

The person could only stare blankly at this scene.

"Kurahashi, no!"

Natsume couldn't help but shout.

The person targeted by the Nue was Kyouko.

"Oooooooooooo...!"

The Nue emitted a frightening roar, raising its heavy fist and aimed it at the dazed Kyouko.

"Boom!"

The impact resounded, echoing throughout the area.