Chapter 65: Testing
Starting today, everyone in the Magic Investigation Department seemed to be paying attention to the director's office.
Ever since Gin Tsumugi and Dairenji Suzuka had been brought back to the Onmyo Agency, countless eyes had turned in that direction, all of them waiting to see what kind of punishment Amami Daizen would hand down to two of the brightest young talents in modern Onmyodo.
No one expected the first real news to be this.
Gin Tsumugi had successfully formed his Onmyodo Framework.
The revelation hit the Agency like a shockwave. The first people to hear it reacted almost exactly the way Miyoshi Jugo had when Gin told him in person.
"An Onmyodo Framework? Already?"
"He's really done it? White Fox actually succeeded?"
"That means he's basically standing at the gates of National Rank now..."
"He's all but guaranteed to become a National-level Onmyoji."
Some voices were full of excitement. Others carried envy so thick it was almost sour. A few, especially the older onmyoji who had spent their whole lives chasing a breakthrough they still could not grasp, could only laugh bitterly.
A veteran onmyoji in his forties let out a long sigh. "These young monsters really do live in a different world. I wonder if I'll ever have a chance in this lifetime."
Then came the second piece of news.
The name of Gin Tsumugi's Framework.
Myriad Laws.
That, more than anything else, set the whole Bureau buzzing.
"...Myriad Laws? That's bold."
"Bold? That's arrogant."
"As expected of someone who dared stir up chaos in the Tsuchimikado family. Even the name of his Framework sounds like he's challenging the whole history of Onmyodo."
"Myriad Laws, huh? Then let's see what this so-called Myriad Laws can actually do."
"Come on, let's go."
The younger onmyoji in particular could not help feeling a little irritated.
No one denied Gin Tsumugi's talent. No one denied that outlining a Framework at his age was already enough to leave most of them choking on dust for the rest of their lives. But Myriad Laws?
That was not just a name. It was a declaration.
Through all the long history of Onmyodo, how many great masters, clan heads, and legendary ancestors would have dared call their personal path something so grand?
If Myriad Laws failed to impress today, then White Fox Gin Tsumugi would become a laughingstock overnight. Arrogant. Overhyped. A genius too in love with his own legend. Even the reputation of the White Fox Office would take a blow.
So when word spread that Gin would be demonstrating his Framework and undergoing a combat assessment in the Evaluation Hall, people began dropping whatever they were doing and rushing over.
By the time the three of them arrived, the hall was already packed.
The vast testing grounds had become a sea of bodies. Onmyoji from the Agency had come. So had civilian staff. There were even onmyoji from branch offices and regional Supernatural Affairs divisions—some originally there for rank evaluations, others to renew their licenses—who had immediately changed plans the moment they heard the news.
After all, Gin Tsumugi's name had already become impossible to ignore.
A genius who had formed an Onmyodo Framework.
A young man who had joined Dairenji Suzuka in attempting the forbidden Taizan Fukun Rite.
The one who had caused a storm in the Tsuchimikado household and still walked away standing.
Any one of those was enough to become a lifelong bragging point for an ordinary onmyoji. Gin had managed all of them in a ridiculously short span of time.
So when the crowd saw him entering the Evaluation Hall beside Amami Daizen and Miyoshi Jugo—one a director, the other one of the Twelve Divine Generals, both National-class onmyoji—while speaking with them as if it were the most natural thing in the world, more than a few people felt a sharp stab of jealousy.
Connections really were convenient.
Judging from the atmosphere, the Agency was clearly not planning to press too hard on the matter of the Taizan Fukun Rite.
Some people inwardly fumed at the unfairness of it. Others could only force bitter smiles. What was there to compete with? Talent, background, backing from monsters at the top of the system—Gin Tsumugi had all three. That kind of gap was not something effort alone could bridge.
Still, before long, all those stray thoughts were pushed aside.
They had not come here to stew in resentment.
They had come to see Myriad Laws.
To see what kind of Framework could justify a name like that.
And the ones who knew Gin better were, if anything, even more curious.
Because Gin Tsumugi was not a flamboyant person. Compared to the other prodigies of his generation, he was almost absurdly restrained. Quiet. Careful. Low-key in a way that often made people forget just how dangerous he really was.
If even he had chosen a name like Myriad Laws, then there had to be a reason.
So the entire hall waited, breath caught in collective anticipation.
Gin stepped onto the temporary combat field that had been cleared in the center of the hall and looked over at the old man standing opposite him.
"Old man," he said, "you're the one testing my strength and Myriad Laws?"
Amami Daizen gave him a sidelong glance. "What? You think I'm not qualified to be your opponent?"
Gin immediately smiled. "Of course not. I'd never say that."
His tone was smooth enough, but inwardly, he had already tightened up.
The old man was still carrying a fair amount of resentment toward him. Gin knew that perfectly well.
And more importantly, Amami Daizen was troublesome.
Maybe not the most troublesome among the Twelve Divine Generals, but absolutely not someone to take lightly. No National Second-Class Onmyoji was easy to deal with, and Amami had spent years as the head of the Magic Investigation Department. He was not a man who spent his career exterminating mindless spiritual disasters. He hunted dangerous onmyoji.
That meant something.
Compared to fighting yokai, Amami Daizen was far better at fighting people.
Around them, the spectators grew visibly more excited.
A real clash involving one of the Twelve Divine Generals was not the kind of thing people got to watch every day.
Amami did not waste time.
"Kinji. Ginji."
The names fell from his mouth like the striking of a bell.
At once, two giant guardian shikigami materialized on the field with thunderous force.
Boom. Boom.
Each was over four meters tall, massive and imposing, their bodies reinforced with mechanical modifications that made them feel even heavier than their size already suggested. The one on the left, Kinji, was draped in magnificent gold ornamentation. The one on the right, Ginji, bore silver trim that gleamed under the lights of the hall.
They stepped forward in unison.
Steel-shod feet slammed into the ground with a deafening weight that made the entire combat field shudder.
"Brat," Amami said flatly, "don't go whining that this old man's bullying you. If you've got shikigami, summon them."
Gin said nothing.
Because if he really did that, what then?
Bring out Zenki and Goki?
The moment those two appeared, this place would not stay merely crowded. It would erupt.
And besides—
The old man was cheating already.
He had activated his Onmyodo Framework, Shingen, the moment the assessment began.
That casual remark just now had not been casual at all. Hidden inside it was a spiritual command. A Spirit Word spell. With a single line, Amami had sealed Gin's voice.
Silence.
For another onmyoji, that alone could have ended the fight before it properly began. Without a voice, there was no chant. Without a chant, no ordinary invocation. No shikigami. No countermeasure. If they panicked for even a second, Amami could flatten them in three moves or less.
Gin lowered his gaze slightly, his mind already working.
Five breaths.
That was how long he estimated it would take to break the Spirit Word technique wrapped around him.
.....
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