[219]: Onmyoji

"..." Zen'in Akira first glanced at Cyr.

Was it really okay for this person to be here? Gojō Haru had introduced him as a junior from the Gojō clan, but…

Zen'in Akira had met nearly every member of the Gojō family in Kyoto, and none of them were named Gojō Cyr.

So this one must be from outside Kyoto. But a junior like that… was he trustworthy?

"Relax, Cyr-kun is someone you can trust," Gojō Haru said with a cheerful smile—though where exactly that trust came from was unclear.

Or perhaps… it came from Haru's confidence in his own strength.

"…About the curse users—they've joined forces with cursed spirits and founded a religious cult…" Zen'in Akira began to explain.

"The Fallen Heaven Sect?" Gojō Haru immediately recalled the name.

Fallen Heaven? That's quite the arrogant name.

Cyr grew interested and sat up straighter.

"One of the Zen'in clan's sorcerers stumbled upon one of their hideouts while on a mission. But…" Akira frowned as he continued.

"By the time they were discovered, everyone inside was already dead."

"It was like they'd all been sliced into pieces at the exact same moment," Akira said in a low voice, recalling the scene. "Some of the corpses even showed signs of being gnawed on."

Some of the bodies looked like wild animals had torn into them. The bones had been crushed—by something unknown.

But the bite marks… were human.

"Damn…" Cyr sat up even straighter. "And then?"

"The Fallen Heaven Sect was wiped out completely. That's it. There's no 'then,'" Akira said coldly. "But the Zen'in clan is still debating whether to investigate who or what caused the massacre."

The Zen'in clan had discovered the first crime scene. Since all the dead were curse users and no civilians were involved, they hadn't reported it to the Emperor.

Matters between sorcerers and curse users were handled internally.

As long as ordinary Kyoto citizens weren't affected, nothing needed to be reported. That was their privilege.

"So what exactly was the Fallen Heaven Sect?" Cyr asked, voicing the question he'd been wondering about.

He'd been listening to them talk about "Fallen Heaven" this and "Fallen Heaven" that, but it didn't ring any bells. He'd never heard of such a sect before.

It did sound a bit familiar—like something he might've overheard somewhere.

But the phrase "Fallen Heaven" wasn't exactly obscure. It was pretty popular in over-the-top fantasy stories, so it wasn't strange if it sounded familiar.

"It was a very devout cult. They worshipped Susanoo. They had large numbers and were quite active for a time," Gojō Haru explained.

"Susanoo, huh…" Cyr nodded in sudden realization.

That one he knew. Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo—collectively known as the Three Noble Children. Shinto deities, born of Izanami and Izanagi.

Still, it was surprising that curse users would worship gods at all.

Then again, maybe they were just weaklings.

Cyr himself didn't believe in anything. After all, who would worship something they could kill?

"So, you came here to discuss what to do with the Gojō clan?" Cyr asked, turning back to Akira.

The guy hadn't come here just for a chat. He probably thought the situation was getting serious and wanted someone to share the burden.

With Gojō Haru present, the Gojō clan naturally became the chosen partner.

"…Spare me," Gojō Haru leaned back lazily. "I've got no interest in getting involved with this sort of business."

Unlike the workaholic Gojō Satoru in the future—famous for his 007-style grind—Gojō Haru was more the hands-off type. He wore the clan head title like a decorative pin: a symbol of stability, not responsibility.

"…We're worried that something truly monstrous might have been born from within the Fallen Heaven Sect," Akira finally voiced his concern.

All the dead were sorcerers with considerable cursed energy—none of them weak. And they all died in the same place, at the same time.

How could they not worry something terrible had happened?

"Worrying won't help now," Cyr said with a yawn. "Can't find it anyway… And if something really did get born out of that mess, I doubt we'll need to look for it."

"It's like how famous yōkai always end up doing something big just to make themselves even more famous."

No need to chase them down—they'll show up on their own eventually.

"Cyr-kun makes a good point," Gojō Haru nodded in agreement.

"..." Zen'in Akira frowned but said nothing more.

The Zen'in clan didn't really want to get involved anyway. They were worried about getting burdened with extra responsibilities, so they'd pushed him to come to Gojō Haru in hopes of dumping the whole thing on the Gojō clan instead.

Most sorcerers didn't like wasting time tracking people down. They preferred being sent directly to a cursed spirit's location and killing it on the spot.

"Oh, right. Why don't you go talk to the Kamō clan instead?" Cyr turned to Zen'in Akira.

Why was it always the Gojō clan that got dragged into things? The Kamō family was one of the Big Three too, right?

Then again… the Kamō clan never really stood out much.

"Kamō… Their heir who inherited the Blood Manipulation Technique is only two years old," Akira said with some doubt in his voice.

The rest of them… weren't exactly known for their combat ability.

Overall, because of Gojō Haru's presence, the Gojō clan had an overwhelming edge in power. They were clearly the best partner for something like this.

"…Ah…" Cyr trailed off.

Two years old? What could a toddler even do? You couldn't exactly sit down and negotiate anything serious with a baby clan head.

So the Kamō clan's heir had fallen behind in this generation.

Never mind then.

"What were you two talking about before I got here?" Zen'in Akira changed the subject.

He remembered that when he'd arrived, the two of them had been discussing something about the Ten Shadows.

"We were talking about the latest buzz in Kyoto—the Painted Skin Ghost," Gojō Haru said with a casual smile.

"Painted Skin… oh, that woman ghost!" Akira recalled after a moment.

He had followed that situation for a bit, but once he found out it was being handled by the onmyōji, he'd stopped paying attention.

"Hearing you say that… the onmyōji still haven't dealt with it?" he said with a sneer.

"Apparently they're still tracking her down," Gojō Haru said, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

"Pathetic," Akira scoffed.

Sorcerers and onmyōji never really got along—it was like they were born to be rivals.

"Master, Lord Akiyama has come to visit," a maid approached and bowed respectfully.

"Akiyama? Bring him in," Gojō Haru sat up.

"Isn't that…" Akira's face darkened slightly as something seemed to occur to him.

The maid obeyed Haru's order and left to fetch the guest.

Five minutes later, a man in white kariginu robes and a formal black eboshi hat followed the maid into the courtyard.

He was dressed like a stereotypical nobleman from a Japanese historical anime.

Average-looking. Middle-aged. Nothing remarkable.

He looked like he belonged in a completely different world from Gojō Haru and Zen'in Akira, who both seemed to carry a natural beauty filter wherever they went.

Of course, Cyr was definitely on the same "beauty filter level" as those two.

"Lord Haru, we need your help," the plain-faced man said as soon as he reached Gojō Haru.

"…Called it," Akira sneered.

Because Gojō Haru possessed the Six Eyes, there was basically nothing that could escape his gaze. So… from a young age, people from all sides had constantly borrowed him for help.

°°°

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