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Owari no Seraph - Volume 1 - Chapter 3

Published at 7th of March 2016 09:36:56 PM


Chapter 3

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Chapter 3 - Freshman Representative

All the students were assembled in the auditorium.

They totaled 1100 people.

600 freshmen.

340 second year students.

160 third year students.

That was the breakdown.

The reason why there were fewer students as the school year went up was because, in each term, students would undergo numerous selection exams on sorcery techniques and based on their results, their ability would be evaluated and ranked, and if their capabilities were deemed to be unfit for this school, they would be forced to drop out.

And thus, by the time the first year ended, around half the students would be left. Thus as the school year went up, the number of students would be less.

Of course, the students would study frantically, and train. Raw fighting techniques, sorcery techniques; if one did not excel in both these areas, one could not survive in this school.

"But nevertheless, I'm exempt from this, I suppose."

Glen muttered as he looked around the auditorium which was crowded with students.

By the way, Glen had taken some kind of entrance examination to this First Shibuya High.

On top of the common math, language, and history exams, there were also a sorcery technical exam and a spell knowledge exam.

And he tackled all these shoddily. Rather, because the level of the questions were such that it looked like he would get all of them right if he did them carelessly, he had to do his best to think of erroneous answers as he tackled the exams.

And the outcome should have been a score that was too low for him to pass.

That would probably be what the grader thought. Why did this useless fella come take the entrance examination to this First Shibuya High where only the elites go to, he would have thought.

But for some reason, Glen was here.

He ended up getting accepted into a school for nurturing sorcerers, where the believers of 『Mikado no Oni』 enroll in, and where even among those who enrolled, only the most capable people would get accepted by the school.

In other words, there was no meaning to the exams.

"Which means in the end, no matter how bad my results are during these 3 years, I'll still remain here and continue to get picked on."

Glen murmured, but in contrast to what he murmured, he was strangely delightful as he looked intently at the students who were going to pick on him from hereon.

The students were cheerful.

While being hopeful about their new school life, they were also anxious of the competition that was going to start, and the chattering increased.

On the stage of the auditorium, the long greeting by the principal was about to end.

"You are students who are chosen. You are the seeds of light who might become candidates for the top brass within the 『Mikado no Oni』 in future. Hold that pride in your heart, and have a fun student life......"

Such a long talk had been continuing for quite some time.

Glen looked up at the principal.

Then, at that moment,

"Hey, Ichinose Glen. Answer a question of mine."

A voice called out to him from the side.

Glen turned towards the voice.

There, a girl clad in sailor uniform stood. Since she was just right beside him, she was probably in the same class as him.

She had almond-shaped eyes with a seemingly strong will, and red hair. Fair skin.

"Were you talking to me?"

Glen replied.

On hearing that, the girl then said with a somewhat mocking face.

"Is there anyone other than you who belongs to the filthy Ichinose House?"

"Filthy, huh."

Glen smiled at those words. He then looked at the girl and said.

"By the way who're you? Which high and mighty land did you come from?"

On hearing that, the girl's face turned into one of incredulity, and she touched her red hair. And then said.

"Hah, as I thought, the Ichinoses are ignorant on top of being rude. To think that you don't know who I am after seeing this hair."

By the way, Glen could already more or less guess who this girl was.

She was most likely someone of the Jyuujou House.

Rather, there should not be anyone among the learners of sorcery who would not know about that red hair.

Jyuujou Tohito.

He exorcised a legendary Oni all by himself, and the price he paid for that was a curse he took on, and ever since then, his descendants were born with red hair ---

 

That was written even in history books.

In other words, when Glen saw that red hair, naturally, he immediately knew that she was someone of the Jyuujou House --- one of the famous old houses, which could be counted with just one hand, that served the Hiiragi House; but, Glen said to her.

"Are you that famous? Are you an idol?"

Instantly, the red haired girl looked at him with a clearly disgusted face. She then said,

"...... it's a wonder someone with this level of knowledge could enter this school huh."

Glen then smiled and said.

"I happened to get everything right with my die rolls."

"We weren't using computer-marked sheets for our exams duh. Well, at any rate, you're probably unconditionally accepted so that the candidate successor for the next head of Ichinose House can learn his place."

After saying that, she continued looking at him with scornful eyes.

Glen then asked.

"And? What can the excessively self-conscious idol-wannabe possibly want from me?"

"Who is the idol-wannabe!"

Her almond-shaped eyes turned up a notch further. Even with that, the fact that her face did not crumble was probably because she was a beauty.

"Aah, you are really noisy. Then, tell me, who on earth are you?"

She then had a face that seemed to say "it's time to listen up and learn my name", and she said.

"I am Jyuujou Mito. Of that very Jyuujou House."

She grinned so smugly as if saying that there was no one who would not prostrate himself to her after hearing this.

Glen then said to her.

"Hehh."

"How is it? Is the fear getting to you now?"

"Hn ~"

"Fufuh, you may prostrate and apologize you know? Well, even if an ignorant Ichinose is to prostrate before me, it's not something that will make me happy though."

"You know."

"What is it? Are you really that happy to have me talk to you?"

Glen then replied.

"I still don't know anything about the Jyuujous though."

"I see. You're that happy huh. Then it's fine. I'll forgive your earlier igno...... I'll...... hey wait a minute. What did you just say?"

"Like I was saying, I don't know anything about the Jyuujous."

"Hey! Are you kidding me!? That Jyuujou you know? The descendant of that Jyuujou who sealed the 『Shiki of Kaede』 you know?"

"No idea."

"^^^^"

Her face looked as if she was trying to holler something but no words came out.

She then shook her head in an agitated manner,

"No no, don't get angry Mito. He's just a lowly rat of the Ichinoses...... you should already know that he doesn't have any form of human intelligence right? If you get angry with just a small thing like this, you'll spoil your family name. So calm down."

The red haired girl patted her small chest, and breathed in and out deeply as she said that.

What's wrong with her?...... Glen thought while looking down at her, and he then looked around once more. And he thought.

This place is probably filled with people like her.

At the very least, the only ones who could come here were those who had accumulated years of pretty strict training in sorcery since young. On top of that, this place was probably also filled up with those who were bounded by a hierarchical society based on lineages. And in that case, most of them were probably unsociable.

"Well, if we're talking about sociability, I shouldn't be the one to talk about others."

He laughed softly.

Mito then said angrily.

"What are you laughing about!"

"Ah? Nothing really."

"Well, fine. I don't think there's any need for me to introduce myself any further to an ignorant guy like you."

"I see. Well, I only know that you want to become an idol......"

"Like I said, that's not it!"

Yelled Mito.

And this time round, her yell was loud enough for it to reverberate within the auditorium.

And with that, the principal's words stopped. All eyes were on her.

Mito's face stiffened into one that said, oh no, I've gone and done it, and her face was flushed to a scarlet red that was no less than the color of her hair.

"A-Ah, erm, I beg your pardon. Please continue."

She said in a small voice.

And with that, the principal resumed his talk. The other students too turned away immediately. It was probably because they knew her lineage from the color of her hair. That was how famous and powerful the Jyuujou House was.

Mito seemed to shrink from the embarrassment.

Glen said to comfort her.

"Haha, it's great isn't it? In an instant, you caught everyone's attention like an idol......"

"I'll kill you you know?"

Dohn, Glen was struck in the back. The force of the blow was not too big. Well, that was as expected with a slender body like hers. In other words, she was probably the type that utilizes sorcery to confer her body with battle abilities.

Since, in the history books, it was written that the Jyuujous were people who overwhelm Onis with their brute strength.

That was how famous the Jyuujou House was as a militant house. Its members were often employed in the positions of assassins or escorts. She was probably also someone who possessed a considerable amount of ability.

That was thus why Glen looked at her with measuring eyes, and thought.

--- now, do I have the capability to kill her?

 

But, he did not give away his thoughts. Glen looked down at the Mito who had hit him, and asked.

"And?"

"What is it?"

"You were the one who started talking to me right? What do you want? Are you hitting on me?"

"Hitting on...... of course it's not that!"

Her voice once again was on the verge of becoming loud, and she lowered her voice frantically. It seemed like she was the type who got emotional easily.

Mito said to him.

"What I wanted to ask is about Hiiragi Shinya-sama."

"Hm."

"I saw you having a deep conversation with Shinya-sama earlier, what on earth were you talking about?"

She asked.

And with that, Glen more or less knew what she wanted to ask.

The Jyuujou House often served the Hiiragi House as their escorts. And thus, it was a given that she would want to have a grasp of the situation whereby Hiiragi Shinya was talking unreservedly to someone of the Ichinose House.

So Glen replied.

"It wasn't anything important."

"You're lying. I saw the both of you talking in a rather friendly manner."

"You were paying really close attention huh."

"Whatever, just spit it out. What in the world were you and Shinya-sama talking about?"

Vexed at her persistent question, Glen said.

"I mean, it won't do you any good even if you hear it. Do you really want to hear it?"

"Let me hear it."

"Ah ~, I mean, guys of our age can only talk about one thing."

"What would that be?"

"Girls."

"Eh?"

"Like who are the cute girls in class. And, Shinya said that you were cute, you know? He was thinking of asking you out tonight, he said."

"Huh? Eh......!?"

In a flash, Mito's expression changed. With a beet red face,

"Eh, eh, th-th-th-that's a lie right? I can't, do this...... Shinya-sama already, has Mahiru-sama......"

Mito said readily.

It seemed like the relationship between Shinya and Mahiru was a well-known thing, and there was no problem with it being publicized.

If so, why did I not know of this? The question surfaced in Glen's head.

If Mito could said it so readily, then this would definitely be something the Ichinose House would know of, and in that case, why did he not hear about it?

"It's my Dad huh......"

Glen murmured with a slightly troubled face. His father probably withheld the information to prevent him from hearing about matters regarding Mahiru.

If so, there was a possibility that the guards that were directly under Glen, Yukimi Shigure and Hanayori Sayuri, might know of this.

They probably also knew who would giving the speech as the freshman representative today. They knew it and hid it from their master.

Glen then smiled wryly to himself.

"Hah, what the hell? It's just a 5 year old brat's meaningless crush you know? Did it seem like I still have any kind of lingering affection for her?"

Mito resumed with a flustered look as before.

"B-Besides, it's forbidden for us retainers to get into that kind of relationship with the people of the Hiiragi House. So, can you please help me tell Shinya-sama that it would also be troubling for him?"

"............"

"And also, I really love and respect Mahiru-sama, so can you also tell Shinya-sama that we should pretend that this conversation never took place......"

"Ah? You are acquainted with Mahiru?"

On hearing that, Mito's expression changed again. Her eyes turned up angrily,

"I won't allow an Ichinose to call Mahiru-sama's name so casually!"

Her voice became loud again.

Glen corrected himself in order to pacify her.

"Ah ~, erm, are you acquainted with Mahiru-sama?"

Mito then nodded in affirmation. She then started proudly,

"Mahiru-sama is really beautiful, and she would come into contact with us kindly without regard to her station, it's like she's a goddess."

Goddess --- she called her that too.

It seemed like Mahiru was pretty well-liked.

Mito continued.

"On top of that, she excels in both the 'sword and the pen', and even in the entrance exam for this school, she was the top in all the subjects. To us who owe our allegiance to the 『Mikado no Oni』, to be able to serve under Mahiru-sama would be the ultimate blessed thing."

And so it seemed.

Top in all subjects.

Mahiru had cleared that school entrance exam as the top student.

In other words, among the freshmen, the most capable person is Mahiru? --- Glen pondered.

And those words surfaced in his head again.

If so, will I be able to defeat Mahiru? Do I possess the power to overwhelm the Hiiragi House?

But at the same time, another image surfaced in his head. No, it might be better to say that it inadvertently surfaced in his head perhaps.

The scenery of the time when he was still playing with Mahiru.

Green lawn.

Under the cloudless, clear sky.

Always beside him, the Mahiru who was always smiling happily, joyfully, innocently.

It has been 10 years since then huh, thought Glen.

Time flies.

Then, at that moment, the principal said.

"It has been a long speech, but that will be all from me. And next, let's move on to the greeting message from this year's freshman representative. This year's freshman representative was unanimously decided. We are honored to welcome the daughter of the very Hiiragi House to this school --- and now, Hiiragi Mahiru-sama --- I'll hand it over to you."

On saying that, the principal bowed.

Then, from the wing of the stage, a girl appeared.

With beautiful, long ashen hair, and dignified, resolute eyes. Even though her face was best described as coldly well-chiseled, she did not appear cold at all.

Gentle, graceful, and just like when she was still a child, she still had that same innocent look, it seemed. It was understandable why others would want to call her a goddess.

"............"

The crowded auditorium returned to silence in such an atypical manner that it would be hard to imagine that there were over a thousand people here.

Everyone's attention was drawn in by Mahiru.

Of course, just the Hiiragi name alone would have that kind of power. The power to silence all who were gathered here.

But right now, that was not the only thing that happened.

It would appear that the students were rendered motionless, struck by some sort of bright light that was inside of Mahiru.

Mahiru stepped up to the podium.

She looked intently at the students, greeted them lightly, and smiled gently.

"Thank you for the introduction. I am Hiiragi Mahiru. Today, I've been given the task of greeting you as the freshman representative. Pleased to meet you all."

A crystal clear voice.

With her voice alone, she seemed to have put the auditorium under a magic spell.

Beside Glen, Mito had a spellbound face.

A few rows in front of him, Hiiragi Shinya turned around to face him.

Of course, Mahiru did not turn her gaze towards Glen. It was probably difficult to find him among such a large crowd anyway.

"Thank you for the introduction. I am Hiiragi Mahiru. Today, I've been given the task of greeting you as the freshman representative. Pleased to meet you all."

Or maybe,

"She's not interested in the lowly, poor achiever of an Ichinose rat huh?"

As if she were singing without a hitch, Mahiru continued her greeting.

Looking up at her, Glen thought.

The distance between me and her hasn't changed much since old times.

 

Between God and the crawling rat on the ground.

 

Glen grinned at that thought, and after that,

"Haha."

Hidden from everyone, he clenched his fist.


 

 

Night.

The time was 1930.

After being made to listen to the talk about the school curriculum which was going to take place from this day onward, they had to take several sorcery-related tests despite the fact that the school entrance ceremony was just over, and only after the tests were done, Glen and his followers could go home.

The place that Glen was residing in was a unit in a high-rise condominium which was 15 minutes' walk away from the school.

It was a pretty large 5LDK unit[1] the Ichinose House had rented for Glen for him to attend Shibuya First High.

Rather, in order to prevent enemies from sneaking up on them, they had rented all the units on the above and below floors, and placed spell traps to guard against infiltration --- that was how cautious they were.

In other words, 4 other units aside from the one that Glen was staying in on this floor were rented. Totaling up the units on the floors above and below, there should have been 14 units in excess, but yet,

"Why are the both you in the same room as me?"

Sitting in a cross-legged fashion on the sofa of the living room, with a stern face, Glen said to the two girls in front of him.

They were his guards, Yukimi Shigure and Hanayori Sayuri.

The initial plan was to have them stay in the units flanking Glen's unit, but right now, the two of them, shouldering their backpacked luggage, had moved into this room.

Shigure answered Glen's question.

"...... as one would expect, as retainers, we should not leave our master's side under any circumstances......"

"You're hindrances."

"Uwuh......"

Following that, Sayuri said.

"B-But but, this unit is a 5LDK after all, and us retainers will just act stealthily and stay out of the way, and quietly live our life......"

"Though you have no precedence of managing that before."

"Auh......"

"That's enough, get out. I hate all this clamor."

"But."

"No buts. Just get out."

Ordered Glen. He pointed to the exit.

Then, the retainers nodded and said.

First Shigure,

"...... all right Sayuri. Let's pretend to listen to Glen-sama and get out first, and we'll return during the night."

Following that, Sayuri clapped her hands together,

"That's what you get from Yuki-chan, you're so sma......"

"Like hell you are!"

Bellowed Glen.

He then sighed and said.

"Even though you are my retainers, you don't even listen to what I say."

Shigure protested.

"But we're just putting your safety as our topmost priority, Glen-sama."

Yeah yeah, Sayuri too nodded in agreement.

"That's right. We are already prepared to lay down our lives for your sake, Glen-sama."

The two of them seemed to have no intention of leaving, and Glen folded his arms in exasperation. He then thought.

About the agony that he would experience from living with 2 girls in the same condo unit for 3 years.

They were all adolescents.

Which meant that they probably had to show an unusual amount of consideration for one another. That would be awfully troublesome. Just plain troublesome.

And so he said.

"Hey, do you girls really understand the meaning of living together with me in the same unit?"

Sayuri then cocked her head to the side and said.

"The meaning of living together, you say?"

"That's right."

"What will that be?"

Glen then replied.

He pointed to a carton box which had yet to be unpacked in the corner of the room,

"Do you know what's inside that box?"

Sayuri turned around to look at the box, and she asked.

"What's inside?"

"Porn mags."

"Eh......!!"

Sayuri's face stiffened in an instant.

By the way, that box did not contain any porn mags but the truth did not matter now.

Glen grinned and continued.

"In other words, it means just that. When you live under the same roof as a guy, you would need to bear with things like that you know? Knowing that, are you still going to say that you want to live here?"

"...... e-erhm......"

"All right. Now that you know that it's impossible to live together, quickly get out of......"

But, Sayuri cut him off and said. For some reason, her face was beet red and she squeezed shut her eyes,

"I-It's okay...... I-I've heard about this stuff from my father."

"Huh?"

"T-T-T-That this is also part of, m-m-m-my job, if you have n-n-n-needs a-a-at n-n-night......"

"What kind of stupid thing did your father actually tell you!"

Glen hollered but Sayuri continued.

"B-B-B-B-B-Be-sides, if it's for your sake, Glen-sama, I-I-I'll do it...... so, there won't be a need for you to use any porn mags......"

"Just get out of here already moron!"

In response to Glen's words, Shigure, who was beside Sayuri, merely said quietly.

"Hey Sayuri."

"Yes."

"Don't worry. There aren't any porn mags in that box. They are research books on sorcery."

"Eh?"

"There's no way our master would read those low-class porn mags right? Glen-sama is someone who's so busy with his intense training that he has no time for such things."

On hearing those words, Sayuri's face brightened up instantly,

"T-That's right! Just what I would expect of Glen-sama!"

"............"

"But if you do have those needs, do let me know in advance. I-I do need some time to get mentally prepared after all."

"............"

Following that, Shigure said.

"All right, I'll start cleaning up the room. Sayuri, you......"

"Yeah, I'll make dinner. Glen-sama, what'll you like to eat?"

Even though nothing had been resolved yet, the two of them started acting as if the conversation had already ended.

While feeling exasperated at his two retainers who only knew how to rebel against him,

"...... curry."

He merely replied.

"Got it!"

Sayuri responded joyfully, and with that, the two of them who were already bent on living in this unit started moving briskly.

"...... haah."

Glen took a deep sigh tiredly.

Still sitting on the sofa, he then took out his cellphone. He called home. After a few rings, the other party picked up.

"Glen huh."

On the other end of the phone was the man who was head of the Ichinose House.

In other words, it was Glen's father.

Glen replied to his father.

"Yeah, it's me."

"How're things over there?"

"My retainers aren't listening to me."

"Haha, I ordered them not to."

"Don't go about giving unnecessary orders."

"And? How's school?"

On hearing his father's question, Glen recalled what had happened today.

About having a cola thrown at him as early as while he was commuting to school, and about Hiiragi Shinya.

And also, about Mahiru at school. About how he thought that his father was probably hiding Mahiru's engagement status from himself.

He recalled all those things,

"Nothing special."

"I see. Nothing special huh."

"Yeah."

"Well, you are strong, unlike me."

"You are stronger, Dad. I'm just short-tempered."

"Haha...... I see. But, if the time comes when you need help......"

But, Glen cut him off and said.

"No problem. If I can't overcome such a thing, I can't call myself the next head of Ichinose right?"

"Is that so...... as your father, I would want to help you but, you are a son who has surpassed his father."

"There's no way such a thing could happen. Anyway, how're things on your side?"

"As usual. Don't worry."

"I see. Then it's fine. I'm going to hang up."

"All right. Glen."

"Hn?"

"Be careful."

His father said. Glen then nodded,

"Got it. See ya."

"Yeah."

With that, the call ended.

Judging that the call had ended, Shigure asked.

"Glen-sama."

"Hn?"

"Do you have anything you want me to unpack first?"

Glen turned towards Shigure and replied.

"No, just leave my stuff. Go unpack your own stuff."

"But."

"Aah, then, unpack the luggage in the room beside the entrance hall first. Since those contain sorcery tools."

"Understood."

Shigure bowed, and with small brisk steps, she headed into the room beside the entrance hall.

Glen looked intently at that petite back, then called out to Sayuri who was in the kitchen.

"Hey Sayuri."

"Yes, what is it?"

"How long before dinner's ready?"

"Erm, if you are okay with not letting it simmer, it'd take around an hour......"

"I see. An hour huh."

"Do you want it faster?"

"No, let it simmer. I will take a nap in the adjacent unit."

Upon saying that, Glen stood up. He then grabbed the long, black bag that was placed in a corner of the living room.

In this bag was a so-called Japanese sword.

The Ichinose House is primarily a house that had developed as one which combined sword skills with the use of sorcery, and when it came to just the use of the sword, they should not lose to the Hiiragi House.

Thus, if Glen did not use his katana, he could not utilize his full strength, but, he had no intention of drawing his katana from its scabbard in school.

He had planned to graduate without showing his true strength --- without showing the growth of Ichinose's sorcery to the Hiiragis.

However, he still needed to train.

Thus he grabbed the bag which was fashioned to be carried over the shoulder, in which the sword was kept. Extinguished his presence. So that Sayuri and Shigure were unable to notice his movements.

"............"

With that, he exited the unit.

He was heading to the floor above.

The Ichinose House should have completely modified a single unit on the floor above into a training ground. So he was heading towards that unit.

He advanced to the elevator from the entrance. and pressed the button for the elevator.

In this condominium, there were two layers of automatic locks; only a resident of the condo or someone who was granted access by a resident could take the elevator and they could only exit the elevator on the floor which they had access to but yet, someone was in the elevator that came up.

By the way, this condo had 27 floors.

And right now, Glen was on the 25th floor. Furthermore, the floor above, the 26th floor, was completely rented by the Ichinose House, and the 27th floor above that was where the owner of the building and his family lived.

And right now, there was a man inside the elevator.

A man in a black suit, roughly in his early 20s.

The only ones who could come up till this floor would either be the people of the Ichinose House, or the owner's family who was living on the 27th floor.

Glen looked at the man.

The man smiled, bowed, and asked,

"Good evening, are you going up?"

Glen nodded and said.

"Yeah, that's right. Are you going to the 27th floor?"

The man grinned and nodded.

"Yes."

"Then, you are with the owner's family?"

"That's right."

"Right. I see. We'll be looking forward to your acquaintance for the next 3 years."

"No no. It's us who are very pleased to have such a respectable tenant to stay with us."

He said.

Glen nodded, and got on the elevator. He turned around. He then looked at the floor selection buttons of the elevator.

The owner's floor, the 27th floor, was not selected. Rather, none of the floors were selected.

In other words, the destination floor of this man, was the 25th floor which Glen was at right now. But yet, this man lied and pretended to be with the owner's family.

And he even made a lie which would be found out the moment Glen entered the elevator.

Which meant, this man was,

"An assassin huh."

Glen lowered his body. He immediately tore open the bag he was shouldering, threw it away, and drew his katana from its scabbard. It should be a difficult thing to draw a katana in such a tight space, but he was already used to it.

The ability to use his swords wherever he was under any circumstances had been drilled into him since young.

The man reacted too. Rather, it seemed as if he was prepared, waiting for this moment. He brought out something from his pocket. He immediately knew that they were chains the instant his katana struck against them.

The chains were bounded by several charms.

He had never seen those charms before.

At the very least, they were not charms used by the Hiiragis.

The charms used by the Hiiragis were developed in sophistication based on Vajrayana and Onmyōdō, with elements of various sorcery science found throughout the world introduced into them; and the Ichinoses who had the same origin, could decipher them to a certain extent.

However, the charm used by the man was fundamentally of a different kind from those of the Hiiragi House and Ichinose House. It was probably based on Western Europe wizardry. Kabbalah or perhaps something else? It seemed like ancient Japanese sorcery techniques were mixed into it but --- anyway Glen was unable to decipher it.

The man tried to bind Glen's katana with those chains which had those strange charms attached to them.

Glen kicked the man's stomach with his foot, and prevented him from pulling his katana. He further went on to touch the sleeve of his school uniform with the fingers of his left hand. He then pulled out a talisman that had been tucked in there, and completed the Kuji gestures with his fingers.

Instantly, the talisman burst and disappeared, and at the same time, a flash of lightning appeared right before the man's eyes.

It was different than the spell used by Shinya on Glen this morning. Compared to what Shinya used, the one by Glen was faster, smoother, and possessed the power to kill a person.

The man's eyes widened. Little ghosts of lightning popped out and were about to pierce through those wide open eyes.

If the opponent was a normal person, his eyes would probably be crushed.

But Glen did not stop moving. He aimed at the man's neck with his drawn katana.

"Haha, ha, amazing...... no mercy at all."

While saying that, the man lifted his right arm.

However, Glen did not care and continued swinging his katana.

His swing was so fierce that it would not just sever the foe's arm, but also his neck.

But, Kihn, the high-pitched sound of what seemed to be metal clashing against metal rang out, and the katana was stopped.

It struck the bone of the man's arm. But if that was a human being's arm, it should have been severed. No, even if it were protected by iron armor, Glen was confident of cutting it apart.

But the katana stopped.

The man looked at Glen and smiled.

His eyes were not crushed. And at that moment, from the flesh of the arm that was cut, black smoke spouted and as if it possessed a will of its own, it started thrusting towards Glen......

"Damn, I'm disadvantaged in such a narrow place."

Glen immediately drew back. He jumped out of the elevator. At the same when he exited, he took out a few talismans from his pocket, and threw them. They stuck to the four corners of the elevator entrance, and created a barrier.

A barrier that would kill anyone who stepped out.

With that, he sheathed his katana back into its scabbard. He shifted his scabbard to the belt around his waist, and adopted an Iai pose.

Then, he said to the man in black suit inside the elevator. With a grin on his face,

"Now ~, come out. I will detach your head in my next draw."

But the man did not come out.

He merely smiled in delight, and using his dangling cut arm in a dexterous manner, he pressed the 「open」 button to hold the elevator door open.

The man then looked hard at Glen and said.

"My, as expected of the candidate successor of the Ichinose House. Scary...... to think that you can cut a human being who just happened to board the same elevator without any hesitation......

Glen looked hard at the arm that was spouting black smoke, and replied.

"Screw you, you aren't any human right?"

"Haha, that's upsetting."

"But you are no vampire either. Those creatures have no interest in humans."

"............"

"In that case, you must be an assassin sent by someone...... were you sent by the Hiiragi House?"

The man then grinned and opened both his hands,

"How smart......"

But Glen cut him off and said.

"Don't f**k with me. The enchantments on your chains don't belong to the Hiiragis. Besides, the Hiiragis won't send assassins just for the sake of killing people of the Ichinose House which they had been ridiculing. Now speak, who the hell are you?"

Glen then went on to lower his body. He gathered the strength to draw his katana into his whole body. Powerful enchantments had been imbued into the scabbard beforehand, and in order to invoke them, Glen kept twirling his ring finger and little finger again and again, inscribing the curse verses. Before long, all the curse verses were completed. It was a curse so powerful that it painted the blade which it was placed in red.

Glen then said.

To the man,

"If you don't tell the truth, I'll kill you, you know?"

The man then looked intently at Glen and replied.

"Aah, you saw through me that fast huh. I see. You are more capable than I thought......"

But in the midst of those words, Glen drew out his sword.

Rather, he never had the intention to talk right from the beginning. This fellow would not tell the truth anyway. When Glen asked whether he was an assassin sent by the Hiiragi House, he judged based on his lie that it was meaningless to talk with him.

So he unsheathed his sword.

The man's face turned into surprise for an instant.

But that was just an instant.

The katana came in from below the right side of the man's trunk. It immediately struck his rib. Kiiiiihn, like just now when he cut his arm, the sound of the katana blade bouncing off metal could be heard, but,

"Cut throuuuuugh it!"

Glen shouted. The red blade trembled, and with that it cut upwards. Slicing through the rib, it exited from the top of the left shoulder.

If he did not die from that, he would be a true monster.

Then.

"Haha."

The man looked at him and laughed.

He was really a monster.

From the cut torso, black smoke and chains wrapped in charms that he had never seen before came flying out, attempting to restrain Glen.

Once again, Glen tried to retreat back out of the elevator.

But his right arm, which was holding onto the katana, was caught. Looking hard at that, he thought. Should he detach the joint of his arm? But if he did that, his katana would be taken away from him. Then, should he ignore the chains once again and try to cut him?

However, was it the right choice to continue battling his foe inside the cramped elevator while he had yet to get a good grasp of his opponent's abilities?

Especially about that black smoke.

The chains were fine. Since he could more or less tell its capabilities. But he could not tell what kind of power the smoke possessed. At any rate, it would not seem good if he breathe in any of that. That was why during the battle inside the elevator, Glen had never taken a breath.

The man then said.

"You are truly amazing. You should already be rendered motionless by the poison in the smoke but yet...... you held your breath during our fight?"

Glen glared at his enemy and said.

"I don't want the praise of someone who can still jump around with a split torso after receiving my curse."

"Ah-haha, this is amazing right?"

Once again, the man laughed in delight as he spread his hands. Both the chains and smoke were squirming in mid-air as if they had a body and a will of their own.

Glen looked hard at them and said.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"A monster."

"Haha, despite what you see, I'm a full-fledged human."

He said.

Glen then scowled at those words,

"Human...... human huh. Which means that you have been modified into a ChimeraRemodeled Combatant through human experimentation?"

The man smiled and replied.

"Yeah. The Ichinoses --- the people of 『Mikado no Tsuki』 also do something like this right?"

But Glen shook his head.

"I don't know about the Hiiragis, but we don't. In the first place, even without human experimentation, I'm stronger than you bastard."

"Ah-haha, maybe."

"And? Enough of your show. Who the hell are you? Which organization do you belong to, and what's your purpose for coming here?"

Maybe it was because the man felt like answering honestly, he concealed his chains in his body, and even the smoke subsided. No, at the same time, even the cut-up suit had its tears closed up. Glen did not know what kind of setup was behind all that. Was that suit part of the body, or was it a separate thing?

Maybe during the next time when I attack, I should try using a fire spell to burn that smoke? Glen considered in his head.

At that moment, the man said his name.

"Well then, let me first tell you my name. My name is Kijima Makoto. I am with the 《Hyakuya Church》."

"《Hyakuya Church》?"

Glen murmured and narrowed his eyes on hearing that name.

《Hyakuya Church》 was the name of a considerably large sorcery organization that was said to be supported by a secret division of the country.

Though many ordinary folk were unaware of this, 《Hyakuya Church》 was a large organization that could be said to have supported this country from the shadows, with many politicians having received aid from it.

Throughout the ages, whenever the seat of power of the nation changed, the 《Hyakuya Church》 and the Hiiragi House, which was also a large-scale sorcery organization would repeatedly engage in skirmishes to determine who would become the backer of the ruling power; but, since the second world war, the 《Hyakuya Church》, having received the support of America, had become the backbone sorcery organization of this country.

Rumor had it that they would do anything to acquire power and influence.

Murder.

Kidnapping.

War.

And, human experimentation.

The terrible stories about how the children of the orphanages run by 《Hyakuya Church》 were treated were especially famous.

It was said that the parents of children with special talents were killed, the children were then assembled in the orphanages and terrible experiments were conducted on them repeatedly.

Maybe this man was also one of the monsters who were created from such an orphanage.

"I'm not interested."

"Haha, you're such a liar."

"So, what on earth do you want today? Are you trying to test my loyalty?"

Putting aside Hiiragi Shinya, why is this guy also trying to involve me in going against the Hiiragi House? This is only the first day of school you know?

Glen made a wry smile to himself.

Kijima then said.

"I checked up on your past."

"Don't do that without my permission duh."

"You are feeling a deep rage towards your current situation."

"Hoarh. And?"

"No offense meant, but with your powers alone, you have no hope of crushing the Hiiragi House."

"Heyh. And so?"

"But with us......"

But Glen cut him off,

"I'm not interested. Besides, even if I'm interested, I won't join you."

Kijimi then looked hard at Glen and said.

"Why is that so?"

Glen then grinned and replied.

"Since a long time ago, I've always liked the first prize. But if I join you, you guys will take the first prize right?"

"............"

"And then, the next time, the 《Hyakuya Church》 will be ridiculing the Ichinoses, isn't it? Don't f**k with me. We're done here, now disappear."

"............"

"Or should I erase your existence by killing you?"

With that, Glen once again gripped the sword in its scabbard.

Kijima then smiled.

"You can't......"

"I can win. If I really intend to kill you, I won't go easy next time."

"............"

"I'll definitely kill off anyone who has seen my true power. But I'll wait for 5 seconds. Go back. Go back and tell your higher ups that the Ichinoses won't change sides. I'm going to start counting now. Five......"

"............"

"Four......"

At that moment, he tightened his grip on his katana hilt.

With his consciousness, he touched the sealed portion of Kujakumaru --- a katana that would emit and give rise to a red curse aura originating from sorcery.

"Three......"

At that moment, Kijima's initial relaxed attitude disappeared from his face.

"Aah, damn, what the heck. You're completely different from before...... It's not a bluff huh. I got it. I'll be taking my leave here......"

"Two......"

"............"

Kijima then shrugged his shoulders, and pressed the 'close' button of the elevator. The elevator door started closing. In the midst of it, he said.

"But, you'll definitely regret not joining us......"

"One."

But at that moment, the elevator started descending. Kijima was gone.

Glen looked intently at the elevator,

"...... hah. 《Hyakuya Church》 huh. Will there be a war in the near future?"

Glen said with a small sigh as his hand left his katana.

And if that were to happen, then the chance of crushing the Hiiragis might appear, he thought.

That was how large the scale of 《Hyakuya Church》 was. It was rumored that their power had even spread to other countries. If that 《Hyakuya Church》 and 『Mikado no Oni』 clashed against each other, then during confusion, the possibility of the 『Mikado no Tsuki』 claiming supremacy might ---

At that moment, a voice sounded from the entrance.

"Glen-sama! Glen-sama!"

It was the voice of Sayuri. She was strangely in a fluster for some reason. Patah patah, the sounds of her running could be heard, and before long, she found Glen.

"Ah, there you are! Glen-sama! It'd be troubling if you just go out like that without letting us know!"

"Ah ~, no, I was just about to go to the training ground......"

Then, from behind Sayuri, Shigure said.

"We haven't finished cleaning up the training ground yet. We'll be done with it tomorrow, so please just rest easy today."

"Hm. Well, you're right. I'm a little tired today. How's the curry?"

On hearing his question, a shocked expression suddenly appeared on Sayuri's face,

"Ah, I've left the stove on!"

She rushed back into the room.

Shigure turned around and stared after her, then turned back to look at Glen, at the katana at his waist, and said.

"Did you draw your katana here?"

"Hn? Ah ~, that's right. This elevator waiting area is pretty spacious."

"Then, shall I prepare this area for you to train until tomorrow? It's also troublesome to keep going up each time."

"Aah, that'd be great. Please do that."

Glen wrapped his katana with the bag that was lying on the floor, and started walking.

Shigure then said.

"Glen-sama."

"Hn?"

"Did something happen?"

Glen then turned around, grinned at the somewhat worried-looking Shigure, and replied.

"Nothing. It's the usual."



 





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