-563- The new chaotic prologue

On the bustling streets, Saotome Suzu walked in silence.

By her side, Kakugyouki and the three-legged crow with jet-black feathers, appeared at some point and walked alongside her.

No one around noticed this conspicuous pair and the three-legged crow.

Amidst this situation, a very heavy atmosphere enveloped the two.

"So, what should we do next?" Kakugyouki broke the oppressive silence and asked.

To this, Saotome Suzu responded without a hint of hesitation.

"Continue searching."

Saotome Suzu replied in an expressionless manner.

"How should we search?" Kakugyouki neither opposed nor supported, just continued the inquiry.

This time, Saotome Suzu displayed the same lack of hesitation.

"Go to the Tsuchimikado family. There, Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi will surely have the answers we need."

That was Saotome Suzu's decision.

Kakugyouki seemed surprised.

"Are you finally planning to leave Tokyo?"

Kakugyouki appeared genuinely astonished.

However, Saotome Suzu did not offer any further response.

"Let's bid farewell to Douman first," Saotome Suzu said lightly. "It's time to end our contract."

"Very well," Kakugyouki shrugged. "I'll accompany you once more."

The two of them blended into the crowd and disappeared.

Not long after, they left Tokyo and headed for the Tsuchimikado family.

However, this journey was destined to be in vain.

Because Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi had already anticipated this outcome.

----

This was an altar located in darkness.

The altar wasn't large, and there was no light around. Only the flickering flames of the candles on the altar created an eerie atmosphere.

In front of the altar stood a young girl.

The girl was dressed in the uniform of the Onmyou Academy, with slightly curly shoulder-length hair, and a few small braids tied with beads, giving her a noble look.

On closer inspection, the girl's hair was a very conspicuous bright red.

Now, the girl stood before the altar, chanting incantations with unwavering focus.

"—As an Onmyouji in this realm, I respectfully inform Taizan Fukun and the gods of the underworld—"

The girl chanted this kind of incantation.

"—Here, under the sun and moon's light, I, Soma Takiko, in the name of a modern Onmyouji, inherit the secret technique—"

Jutsuryoku surged within the girl, causing the scroll she held, covered with well-wishes, to flip automatically.

"—O gods, please guide the lost souls—"

The girl finished the chant in this manner and tossed the scroll into the air.

"Boom!"

The scroll covered in well-wishes instantly ignited, turning into flames that drifted towards the altar.

There was a seal on the altar.

It was a Shikigami seal.

However, the inscriptions on the seal were not written in ink but were carved with fresh blood.

The flames landed on it, like ghostly fires, merging into the seal.

The girl then cautiously addressed the seal.

"Mr. Mutobe?"

The name the girl called out was this.

"Clang."

As if responding to the girl's voice, the seal emitted a hazy light.

Seeing this, the girl smiled.

"Welcome back, Mr. Mutobe. I look forward to working with you in the future."

Leaving these words behind, the girl extended her hand and collected the seal from the altar.

At this moment, a figure appeared behind the girl.

"Princess, I have returned."

The figure, bowing respectfully to the girl, was the young man who wore a single-lensed eyeglass and dressed in a gentlemanly manner.

The girl seemed to have sensed the young man's arrival long ago, turned around, and looked at the young man.

"You're back, Yashamaru?"

The girl referred to the young man in this way.

"Yes, Princess."

The young man named Yashamaru elegantly bowed while looking at the seal in the girl's hand, smiling.

"Has Mutobe been successfully summoned?"

Yashamaru spoke as if gazing at a comrade, looking at the shikigami in the girl's hand.

The shikigami emitted light once again, as if responding.

At the same time, the girl spoke.

"Mr Mutobe has been successfully summoned. Like you, he will serve me as my 'Yase-Doji.' From now on, you shall call him Kumomaru."

The girl named the shikigami represented by the scroll in her hand this name.

"Understood, Princess," Yashamaru nodded decisively.

"By the way, Yashamaru," the girl, as if recalling something important, suddenly looked at Yasamaru with an eager expression and said, "Have you seen Akikan?"

The girl, in an unexpectedly intimate manner, used Rozen's name.

Moreover, when mentioning this name, the girl's eyes were not only expectant but also longing and cheerful.

Clearly, the girl held a great fondness for Rozen, who was still an enigma.

Yashamaru didn't find this strange.

"Yes, Princess. I have already met Tsuchimikado Akikan. Therefore, there's an important matter I need to report to you."

Yashamaru, without losing his elegance, lowered his head and said so.

"It has been confirmed that Tsuchimikado Akikan is not the reincarnation of Yakou."

As soon as these words were uttered, the smile on the girl's face froze.

Then, the girl was shocked.

"It can't be!" The girl exclaimed, "Why is Akikan not Yakou's reincarnation? Isn't he Yasuzumi's son!?"

The excessive emotion caused the spiritual energy on the girl to become somewhat disordered.

"Rustle!"

Affected by the girl's spiritual energy, the entire body of the young man named Yashamaru exhibited a fissure reaction.

This young man was none other than the girl's shikigami. Now, with the girl's spiritual energy in chaos, he was affected, and even his materialization became somewhat unstable.

However, Yashamaru seemed to have anticipated the girl's reaction.

"Please don't panic, Princess. There must be a reason for this," Yashamaru advised while smiling elegantly. "After all, Yasuzumi-kun has always been evading his responsibility. Perhaps he did something, that's also possible."

The girl fell silent immediately.

Then, the girl spoke weakly.

"So, who is the real reincarnation of Yakou?"

This question was probably on everyone's mind, right?

To this, Yashamaru's eyes shimmered, seemingly having some thoughts in mind but not saying them. He then asked:

"Since Tsuchimikado Akikan is not the reincarnation of Yakou, how should we approach him?"

Upon hearing this, the girl hesitated for a moment, then looked at Yashamaru.

"Even if Akikan is not Yakou's reincarnation, his talent is evident to everyone. He can rival even the current Twelve Divine Generals. I believe we should accept him as our comrade."

As the girl spoke these words, she became more and more enthusiastic. The earlier weakness was gone, replaced by anticipation and eagerness.

"What do you think, Yashamaru?"

The girl asked her shikigami.

"Your decision is correct, Princess," Yashamaru immediately agreed. Though he continued to smile elegantly, he said, "My daughter have also become the shikigami of that person. That person is also formally the next head of the Tsuchimikado family. I think this decision is excellent."

"Right?" The girl immediately smiled and said happily, "Then, as planned, I will enter the Onmyou Academy to meet Akikan."

"Everything will follow your decision, Princess," Yashamaru bowed again and said, "We will also send someone to the Tsuchimikado family for surveillance and investigation."

"Yes, I'm counting on you," the girl nodded.

Thus, a new darkness began to approach, unveiling the chaotic prologue.