-543- [ Raven's Wing ]

"Woosh—Woosh—"

These were the sounds stirred by the fluttering of jet-black feathers.

Suddenly, a jet-black crow burst into the training ground from the outside, breaking through the barrier above the audience seats. It disregarded the intense fire atmosphere, flying into the training ground and sprinkling bursts of dazzling fire powder. It looked ominous, yet carried a sense of holiness.

This crow hovered in the sky above the training ground.

Below its body were three unnaturally visible legs.

"The Three-Legged Crow!?"

Kagami Reiji reacted to this, his face showing astonishment.

"How!?"

Kogure Zenjirou could not believe his eyes.

Even Rozen was utterly astonished.

The Three-Legged Crow, a messenger of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, symbolizing the sun.

"Why would such a creature appear in the Onmyou Academy?"

Rozen stared at the jet-black crow hovering above, utterly amazed and puzzled.

Even more astonished, or rather, profoundly shocked, was Kurahashi Miyo.

"Why?"

Kurahashi Miyo muttered to herself.

"Why wasn't it taken out of the Onmyou Academy?"

Though spoken very lightly, Rozen heard it clearly.

"Taken out of the Onmyou Academy?"

Rozen suddenly understood.

The Yatagarasu before him was the dangerous item that Kurahashi Miyo had instructed them to retrieve from the director's office, a sealed forbidden item.

"Is that the item?"

Rozen appeared even more astonished.

What shocked Rozen even further was Kurahashi Miyo's subsequent reaction.

"No! You can't appear here!"

Kurahashi Miyo leaned out of the audience seats, loudly shouting at the jet-black crow hovering in mid-air.

"Get out of here! Raven's Wing!"

———Raven's Wing.

At the appearance of this name, everyone present was shaken.

"Raven's Wing?"

Kagami Reiji's eyes narrowed as he stared at the three-legged crow in the sky. "Is that really Raven's Wing?"

"Impossible!"

Kogure Zenjirou shouted, "Why would Raven's Wing appear in the Onmyou Academy!?"

This was exactly what Rozen wanted to know too.

The so-called Raven's Wing, as Rozen understood, should never be possible to appear here, let alone in this form. It was a special shikigami that Yakou frequently wore, known by the alias "Raven's Wing Robe."

Developed personally by Yakou, it granted the user not only the ability to fly but also spontaneous jujutsu, physical attacks, automatic defense and counterattacks, and even enhancement of magic power, making it a legendary-grade item.

Exorcists often wore anti-miasma armor to resist miasma during their work, designed based on the Raven's Wing. It was said to resemble a jet-black coat woven from crow feathers, earning Yakou the nickname "Dark Crow" during the Pacific War, and subsequently referring to onmyouji in later times as "Dark Crows," making it widely known.

However, since Yakou triggered the Great Spiritual Disaster, the Raven's Wing was taken over by the Onmyou Agency and managed under their authority.

Of course, it's called management, but in reality, it was designated as a forbidden item used by the culprit who triggered the Great Spiritual Disaster and was sealed.

In other words, Raven's Wing should rightfully belong to the Onmyou Agency.

"Why is it here now?"

Rozen couldn't help but wonder.

"Moreover, it's not a item but a shikigami?"

Knowing shikigami as Rozen did, how could he not recognize that the apparent Raven's Wing was a shikigami?

And not just an ordinary shikigami, but a servent-type shikigami.

"oooooooooooooooo!"

In the fiery sea that could burn all demonic creatures, Chimera seemed to sense the arrival of Raven's Wing and let out a howl that seemed hostile and malicious towards it.

However, Raven's Wing paid no attention, simply hovering in mid-air. A pair of golden eyes with three beads each were turning around the entire training ground, lingering on individuals present.

Seeing this, Kurahashi Miyo, who understood Raven's Wing the most, had her expression change and hurriedly spoke.

"No! Raven's Wing is searching for a host to possess!"

Kurahashi Miyo shouted like this.

"Searching for a host?"

"What does that mean?"

The others were completely puzzled, showing increasing unease.

In this situation, Kurahashi Miyo had no time to explain much and hurriedly clarified.

"Raven's Wing is a special shikigami that can transform into a curse item and a shikigami that can choose its own master. Only Yakou was recognized by it. Yakou's spiritual energy alone could make it manifest its true form. Besides him, anyone possessed by Raven's Wing will go into a berserk state!"

With this explanation, the expressions of the others present changed too.

Rozen finally understood. This was why Raven's Wing had been sealed. Kurahashi Miyo had been worried all along that this dangerous item would be affected by miasma, causing a massive disaster.

The reason was simple.

Once Raven's Wing was truly released and appeared in this miasma-filled Onmyou Academy, it would inevitably become like this.

It would turn into a state of urgency, desperately seeking a host, returning to its original appearance, and engaging in combat as if sensing danger.

The reason it came here was twofold: sensing Chimera as the source of danger and because there were many potential hosts here.

Now, Chimera was found, and to deal with this dangerous source, Raven's Wing began looking for a temporary host.

And for those possessed by it, as long as they didn't possess the spiritual energy of its former master, Tsuchimikado Yakou, they would inevitably go berserk.

In other words,

"Raven's Wing is looking for a temporary puppet to possess! We must stop it!"

Kurahashi Miyo explained urgently.

With this sentence as the trigger, Raven's Wing finally began to act.

"Woosh!"

Accompanied by the fluttering of its pitch-black wings, Raven's Wing carried a trail of luminescent powder and quickly surged toward a person.

Because it wanted to reclaim its original form and engage in combat, Raven's Wing naturally chose the person with the strongest spiritual power and abilities to possess.

So, who was the person with the strongest spiritual power and abilities here?

It was undoubtedly Rozen.

"!"

Rozen reflexively canceled the chanting of "Fire Realm Incantation" and instead conjured a psychic shield with "Magic Defence" in front of him.

"Bang!"

Raven's Wing, diving down at an incredible speed, collided heavily above, repelled as if its attack had been blocked.

However, Rozen didn't feel relieved. Instead, his expression darkened.

"ooooooooooooo————!"

With the cancellation of "Fire Realm Incantation," Chimera, freed from the vanished sea of fire, finally seized the opportunity and let out a deafening roar.

The dreadful miasma, released from Chimera due to the lack of suppression, erupted.

In an instant, the miasma rolled over the entire training ground, causing the ground to tremble and the students and instructors on the audience seats to be blown away without even having a chance to scream.

"Damn it!"

"You bastard!"

Kogure Zenjirou and Kagami Reiji successively became angry. One swung his blade, and the other drew a nine-character seal, breaking through the approaching miasma.

As for Rozen, he was already completely targeted by Raven's Wing.

"Swoosh!"

Raven's Wing, like a jet-black arrow, shot towards Rozen.

"You think of me as a puppet to possess?"

Rozen's anger erupted.

"If you're not afraid to die, come at me!"

And thus, the brawl erupted.

The situation was getting increasingly dire.