Chapter 3 - Old Foe

In a swift motion, I joined my pointer finger to the middle finger, with my thumb holding down the ring and index fingers, forming the sword fingers to build up my powers. In a determined gesture, I pointed to the sky and generated a point of power at the sword's tips.

“Hakai 破!” I cried and brought the sword fingers down, and stabbed right at the nape of the mammoth creature.

There was a deep-throated groan as I felt a tremour in its body. I refocused my energies and executed the Kuji-in (九字印), or Nine Hands Seal.

I commanded "临兵斗者皆阵列在乾“ and then in one decisive blow, planted my sword fingers on the back of the skull. Instantly, there was an ugly crackling sound before I heard the dark beast's bellow.

In a backstroke, it caught hold of me and threw me to the ground.

However, I broke free and somersaulted. My attack worked, and the beast has begun falling.

However, in a moment of lapse, I had a bad fall and landed on my back.

In my prone position, I found myself looking at the beast, eye to eye.

It was weakening, but the crimson in its eyes remained.

It tried to stand but I nimbly leaped onto its back. I raised my sword fingers and firmly planted it on the back of its skull. Immediately, the ground shook before there was a long, beastly groan.

As I sat on its back, I noticed a mark, faint but visible, on the right shoulder of the mammoth figure.

I drew closer to investigate but the mass soon disintegrated into streams of darkness that floated up into the atmosphere.

A close shave!

As I watched my gigantic opponent dissipate into the air, with a strong whiff of burnt, I felt the burden of the tussle and sat on the ground. I folded my legs in a meditation pose and began to heal my powers. As I raised my energies to my forehead and executed three deep inhales and exhales, I felt needle-prick pains at certain spots on my chest and back. I rechannelled my energies to the chest level and held it steady. I would need another hour before I am back to full power. It was a luxury I did not have as within minutes, I heard the flapping of wings again.

Who coordinated this?

From the intensity of dark vibes which I found to be suffocatingly thick, it was something more sinister than the gargantuan I had just defeated. I opened my eyes to find a swarm of repugnant rodents squealing right in front of me.

As I watched the spike-like thick hair, I felt a chill current crawling down my limbs. The rodents’ sharp teeth were polished like knives while their crimson eyes burned with malice. From their appearance, I deduced the conjurer is a seasoned practitioner of dark powers who was keen to display his tricks. Only someone steeped in the craft of darkness can create something equally repulsive.

“You are disgusting,” I mumbled as I extended a hand into my pocket and pulled out my yellow amulets, which had been nicely folded into rectangles and always kept in my jacket.

“You asked for it,” I said silently and raised the amulets above my head. I turned to the dark mass and commanded. “Powers of the worlds, I, Adam Wong the Omyoji, command you to be at my disposal. Group, charge, and destroy all darkness.”

There was a stuttering before a current of energy surged through my veins like a warm river.

“Tobu - Fly ” I commanded.

Instantly, streams of yellow energy rose from my palm, cascaded into the air, and formed spirals of light. It then spread over the dark masses and incinerated them, producing a wave of repelling stench. Many leapt at me, with some coming within inches.

Upon impact with the power cocoon that I had formed over me, there was a nasty sizzling sound as they were grilled. Within minutes, I checked the surroundings and found they had been cleared. In place of the armies of rodents was now a sheet of dark slime over the road.

I looked around and waited for the next round of offensive. However, nothing came. I realized I must hurry to locate Kelly. I ran back to the bin and searched for her phone. I picked it up and checked. I had better bring this back to the labs for retrieval.

I turned to head for my car when I heard footsteps behind me.

“Adam Takahashi!”

I swung around. A familiar voice and the next thing I saw was the sole of a shoe and a sharp pain on my cheeks that travelled up my nerves and bit my neuro senses. I winced and fell backwards. I took seconds to recover as rounds of guffaw dropped over me like sharp pins pricking my skin and ego

“You...”

A kick on the thigh as I lay, confused by the treacherous blow.

“You are pathetic. Onmyojis…”

“You are treacherous. Call me Master Adam,” I said but my pride earned a spit from my attacker.

“You are a disgrace, Adam. Fancy walking into a trap.”

My attacker shook his head. His voice was familiar, tucked away in a corner of my brain. I knew the owner but I was searching for a name.

“I just defeated you.” He added.

“You ambushed me!”

“There is nothing wrong with that, Adam. Bageta!”

“Who are you?”

“You spent too much time away from Japan. Too long and you have forgotten about me!”

I looked up as my eyes tried to figure out the person standing in front of me. Then my spine turned cold as I remembered the name.

“Ito? Ken Ito of the Black Robes? Kuroi Robu.

The lithe figure released an ugly chuckle.

“Robu!” I muttered, which is short form for Kuroi Rōbu- the Black Robes

“You still remember an old friend.”

I struggled to my feet and soon tasted iron at the corner of my lips. I was bleeding.

“You have never changed. Despicable and conniving.”

“Same for you. Clumsy in your moves, and yet you are revered by humans.”

I straightened to my full height and replied

“I am respected for the work I do. I helped people.

"Your work is a disgrace to our craft and our powers."

"I am proud of my work, and I rememberthat through our battles, we had proven to be the stronger ones.

Remember 2018?’

I was referring to 2018 when there was a clash between the forces of Tianmen So and the Kuroi Rōbu in Sapporo. That tussle resulted in high casualties, with many members gravely injured.

"Judging from our history, you cannot call us friends,” I added as I tried to stop my cheeks from twitching from a sudden attack.

“No friend would greet with a kick.”

“It is my way of saying ‘hello’

“Next time, you can drop a message and then we can meet for a meal.”

I countered with a dose of sarcasm.

“You don't deserve a meal.” Ken shook his head. “You deserved a beating.”

Ken went into a boxer's stance with his fists raised.

“You took Kelly?” I asked. "Where is she?"

“Dont talk about her!” He flashed his hands and pointed to the streets

“ You DAMAGED my creation. I have taken a long time to plan this.”

I tried to suppress a laugh. “You need to improve your skills.”

"And you need to be taught a lesson."

Ken flared up, raising his right hand and built with a ball of blue flame.

The Datsu - Blue Darts. I thought. Datsu is a famed power skill that relies on the cultivation of Yin energy in one's body. Usually, the practice requires the presence of extreme cold, like the winter conditions of the north. Once the cultivation reaches a certain standard, the practitioner can execute dart-like powers with alarming accuracy. A high-level master of Robu's magic will be able to deliver the Datsu with high frequency.

I quickly swerved as he threw it at me like a projectile. I somersaulted a couple of rounds to avoid the deadly attacks.

“You missed,” I taunted as he fired on. I leaped onto a car boot and somersaulted over him, landing behind him and slapping him on the back of his head. I had counted twenty darts.

"Twenty shots. Do you have any more?" I cried

Ken looked away and bit his lips. He was panting, softly and I could he had spent

a good deal of his energy.

“Is this the magic you know?” I continued. "Always some tricks instead of applying the true powers

of the Kuroi Rōbu."

Ken spat

“I am no longer the Ken Ito you met three years ago.”

"You mean in 2020 when we met at Kyoto and you tried to challenge us to a duet?

Ken bit his lips.

“I remember my teacher, Master Sato, held you in mid-air for a good minute.”

The comment was the last straw and Ken came at me with fists that I confidently blocked with my arms. I could feel the impact of each of his blows. As I reeled, Ken leaned forward and locked my arms with his, and then delivered a kick. I tried to leap backward but took a blow in my chest. With a firm arm twist, I broke the arm lock and delivered a firm slap on Ken’s face.

He backed off, seemingly incredulous I could have hit him.

“You…”

“Stop this kid’s fight. What are you trying to achieve?”

I asked, trying to sound indifferent, but the pain was crawling through my body.

“I have a mission, Adam.”

“Mission? This is Singapore. Stop messing around in Singapore. This is not Tokyo and the authorities here have no tolerance for fights.”

"If they are any good in stopping us, I would have been arrested a long time ago.”

I scanned Ken from head to toe and then back to head. I could not help but notice the aura of a dark-bluish energy shield that glowed. This indicated the presence of a latent energy brewing in his body.

I decided to prick his ego. “You and your magic.”

“My powers. Onmyoji, respect that. Do not assume your sect is the tip of the pyramid. You look down on other spirit masters."

"Your ego is fragile."

"I do not need your advice!"

“Your agility and magic craft may be well known but it will not carry you very far.”

“Look how loud my loser is talking.”

“You ambushed!” I looked around and demanded, “Where is Kelly?”

“Kelly Nishimura!” Ken stuck out a thumb and then turned it downwards

“The purple sorceress. I thought she would be a tough opponent but….”

Ken shook his head, and that elicited my anxious reply.

“What did you do to her?”

“Tenmen So claimed she is the vanguard of the next generation of Onmyojis but her performance was otherwise. I took her down so easily.”

I stepped forward and pointed a warning finger

“What did you do to Kelly? I warned you - if anything happens to her, my sect will declare war on Kuroi Robu. You will face all consequences."

Ken flashed a smug smile

"Do you think I care? My teachers found me hard to discipline, yet you dare to threaten me?"

“Tell me where is Kelly?”

Ken sauntered up to me. "Since you are begging for answer, Let me make you an offer - beat me and you have the answer.”.

I had had enough of the overflowing arrogance and lunged forward with a fist. Ken tried to duck, but I hit him right on the cheek. Swiftly, I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward, ready to deliver another blow on his face when he gave a robust twitch with his shoulders and shook himself free.

With speed, he swung around and delivered a palm towards me. I managed to swerve in time but I felt the force in that palm. He has indeed progressed. Before I could catch hold of Ken, he somersaulted away and landed on the top of a nearby vehicle

“Come on! Don't you want to know where Kelly is?”

Ken looked at his watch and challenged me again.

“Come on, Onmyoji! Show me what your powers."

From his position on top of the car, Ken cast a condescending stare on me.

“Adam, what are you waiting for?”