Chapter 72: Mount Fuji Erupts
Dawn broke over Tokyo.
The stars faded first, then the pale moon. Beyond the horizon, the sun rose like a coal pulled from a furnace, spilling a thin warmth across the cold earth and pushing back the long unease of night.
For ordinary people, that was when the city finally began to breathe again.
Birds called from bare branches. Apartment lights flickered on one after another. Office workers crawled out of warm beds with hollow eyes and aching bodies, many of them carrying the dark circles of another sleepless night.
Since the Supernatural Revival, public sleep quality had plummeted.
That was what the surveys said.
The truth did not need statistics.
People were afraid.
A noise outside the window. A scrape in the corridor. A shadow under a streetlight. Any small thing could keep someone awake until dawn, clutching their blanket and staring into the dark, wondering if the thing they had heard was ordinary—or something else.
This was the shape of the era.
A society forced to continue functioning while terror seeped into its walls.
More and more historians had begun saying the present age resembled the Heian period from a thousand years ago. Yokai and specters ruled the night. Humans belonged to the day. The darkness had become foreign territory again, and modern civilization, with all its neon and concrete arrogance, was slowly learning that light was not the same as control.
Inside the White Fox Office, Iwanaga Kotoko woke on the sofa with a long yawn.
A thin silk quilt had slipped halfway down her body. It was hardly thick enough for autumn, but the office's air conditioning kept the room at a steady temperature, so she felt no chill.
She stretched lazily, then blinked at the room.
"Morning, Director. Morning, Sora."
"You're awake," Gin Tsumugi said from behind his desk. "Sleep well?"
The desk in front of him was buried under files.
Materials on the grotesque tree spirit incidents. Reports on the man-eating monster. Records from the already resolved Wedding Dress Tree case. Old notes, photographs, investigation summaries, and handwritten deductions were spread across the surface until the desk looked more like a command post than an office workstation.
Gin had stayed awake the entire night, re-examining every connection between the cases.
He had already untangled the broad structure of the grotesque tree spirit incident around midnight, found a temporary breakthrough, and assigned Kotoko and Sora their next tasks. Even so, several small doubts remained unresolved, and those fragments had kept him at the desk until morning.
"Pretty well, actually," Kotoko said, sitting up. "Strangely, it's more peaceful than sleeping at home. Maybe because you're here, Director. I'm starting to consider whether I should just move into the office."
She yawned again, then glanced at Gin and Sora with undisguised envy.
"But I really do envy you two. Neither of you sleeps all night, and you both still look perfectly alive."
With Sora's help, Kotoko put on her prosthetic leg.
She did not show the slightest embarrassment in front of Gin. Gin, for his part, had long since grown used to her boldness. After spending so much time together, he had already seen what he should and should not have seen. Pretending otherwise now would only make it awkward.
"If you want to be like Sora, I can arrange that," Gin said mildly.
Perhaps because his strength had advanced again, even after keeping his mind running at high speed for an entire night, he felt no fatigue at all.
Kotoko gave him a flat look.
"I'll pass. I have no desire to become a ghost."
Then she sighed.
"As for reaching your level through training, I'd like to say yes, but I do have some self-awareness."
Kotoko knew exactly where her talent in Onmyodo stood.
It was not terrible.
But it was not good either.
Compared to monsters like Gin Tsumugi or Dairenji Suzuka, there was no point even discussing it. She might not even be able to match an average student at the Onmyo Academy in pure technique. Becoming a National-level onmyoji in this lifetime was not realistic.
But lacking talent in Onmyodo did not mean she, the goddess of wisdom to the yokai, was weak.
Anyone who treated Iwanaga Kotoko as a mere clerk or decorative mascot of the White Fox Office would be making a lethal mistake.
When she used her trump cards, her combat strength was not inferior to that of a professional-level onmyoji. Otherwise, she would never have been able to handle so many commissions on Gin's behalf while he was away.
After washing up in the office bathroom, Kotoko stepped back into the room while tying her hair.
"Director, aren't you going to check those two sealed-off locations again?"
"No need," Gin said. "Destroy the grotesque tree spirit branches when you pass by. There's no point leaving them alive. The other side won't leave us any useful clues."
"Understood."
Since that was Gin's judgment, Kotoko did not argue.
The three of them finished organizing the key details and points of attention for the two ongoing incidents. Kotoko and Sora were just preparing to head out for their assigned tasks when—
Rumble.
A sound rolled in from the distance.
At first, it was low.
Then it swallowed the world.
RUMBLE—!
The roar tore through the sky like the voice of the earth itself breaking open.
The White Fox Office trembled violently. The windows rattled, shelves shook, and the spiritual wards lining the walls flared at once.
Across Tokyo, residential buildings, office towers, shopping complexes, and international skyscrapers shuddered under the force of the shock. Tempered glass shattered. Ordinary windows burst into glittering fragments. Cracks crawled across walls. Car alarms screamed. Streetlights flickered out in rows.
Countless civilians clutched their heads and collapsed to the floor, faces drained white.
Some had their eardrums ruptured by the pressure wave. Blood ran from their ears as screams rose from every district.
Panic spread faster than any curse.
Cries.
Sirens.
Wailing.
People shouting names into broken phones.
Tokyo fell into chaos.
And it was not only Tokyo.
Osaka. Kyoto. Cities across Japan felt the tremor and heard the roar.
Then came the sight that stole the breath from millions.
To the north, the sky turned red.
Mount Fuji had erupted.
The long-dormant mountain spewed fire and ash into the heavens, volcanic light bleeding across the clouds like a burning sea. Columns of magma burst upward in hellish arcs. Black smoke rolled into the morning sky, thick enough to blot out the newly risen sun.
It looked like the end of the world.
Dozens of military helicopters soon appeared, cutting through the sky in formation as they flew toward the erupting mountain.
Inside the White Fox Office, Kotoko stood by the window, staring at the horizon.
"Is this a normal eruption," she asked quietly, "or...?"
Her voice faltered.
Thanks to Gin's immediate reaction, the office itself had suffered no damage. The wards had stabilized the room before the shockwave could do more than shake the furniture.
Sora stood beside Kotoko, her face pale with lingering fear.
Gin looked toward the distant mountain.
His expression was grave.
"Yamata no Orochi has awakened."
For ordinary people, the eruption was already terrifying enough.
But Gin saw more.
Through his Spirit-sight, he could sense something rising in the direction of Mount Fuji.
An aura.
Evil.
Twisted.
Defiled beyond human language.
It was as though the filthiest thing in the world had begun clawing its way back into the human realm.
Kotoko's face changed.
"But Mount Fuji is guarded by the main force of Onmyodo, isn't it? The National-level onmyoji are all gathered there."
Gin had told both her and Sora about Mount Fuji and the mythic Yamata no Orochi before.
Because of that, they already had a terrible suspicion the moment the eruption began. They simply had not wanted to say it aloud.
If something had truly happened at Mount Fuji, then for Japan, for Onmyodo, for every person still living in this country, it would be a nightmare.
No.
Something beyond a nightmare.
The grotesque tree spirit incidents and the man-eating monster case were dangerous. If allowed to worsen, they could cause panic and many deaths.
But compared to Yamata no Orochi, even if those incidents became ten times worse, their consequences would still pale.
Gin did not answer immediately.
He simply stood there, silently watching the distant eruption.
Elsewhere, Japan's Onmyodo world moved as one.
For the first time in years—perhaps for the first time in this era—the major factions and organizations acted with complete unity.
Their destination was the same.
Mount Fuji.
"Something really happened."
Aboard a dedicated Omnyo Agency aircraft, Amami Daizen's expression was terrifyingly dark.
Beside him, Miyoshi Jugo looked no better.
The two led what remained of the Agency's available forces, rushing toward Mount Fuji with all possible speed.
"I hope we make it in time," Miyoshi said.
"The situation is critical," Amami replied. "Fortunately, Tsuchimikado Hirotaka sent a warning in advance. We at least had some preparation. Otherwise, the eruption alone would have thrown everything into disorder."
Miyoshi closed his eyes briefly.
His spirit-sight expanded to its limit.
At the same time, he activated his Onmyodo Framework, Heavenly Eye, preparing to observe the situation around Mount Fuji at the first possible moment and coordinate rescue.
"Let's pray the Bureau Chief and the others can hold on a little longer," Amami said.
His gaze drifted, just for a moment, back toward Shibuya.
"As for the rest... we can only leave it to those who remain."
At the Onmyo Academy—
"Academy Head, I'm going."
Ohtomo Jin stood in front of a helicopter ready for takeoff.
He was the only National-level onmyoji left behind to protect the academy, and now even he had to move.
Kurahashi Miyo stood before him, her aged face heavy with worry.
"Teacher Ohtomo," she said, "be careful."
Her concern was not only for him.
Her son, Kurahashi Genji, was at Mount Fuji.
So were the Agency Chief and the other onmyoji trapped there.
If those people truly met with disaster, then the entire Onmyodo world would be crippled. In this age of the Supernatural Revival, humanity would be dragged into an abyss with no light at the bottom.
"Don't worry, Academy Head."
Ohtomo's usual lazy smile was absent.
With a heavy heart, he stepped onto the helicopter.
In Kyoto—
"I hope Lord Arima and the others are safe."
A woman in a white gown stood with quiet elegance, her beauty refined and noble.
Behind her waited a line of onmyoji prepared to receive her orders.
Beside her stood a young man dressed in white hunting robes, his face covered by a white cloth.
They were two of the Twelve Divine Generals left to guard the Onmyo Alliance.
The "Empress," Onusa-jima Subaru.
And the "Tensei," Ro.
Behind them stood not only onmyoji of the Onmyo Alliance, but members of the Keikain Clan as well. The two forces had already united and were preparing to rush to Mount Fuji together.
"Snake... great serpent..."
Beneath the white cloth covering Ro's face, strange symbols shifted and changed, expressing emotions in place of features.
Hatred.
Agitation.
Confusion.
"Master... master..."
The symbols changed again.
Ro's emotions kept swinging between violent hostility toward Mount Fuji and a strange, searching calm. Recently, for reasons even he did not seem to understand, he had begun calling out "Master" again and again.
Onusa-jima Subaru had noticed the abnormality.
But she did not know what had caused it.
After all, Ro's master was the legendary Great Onmyoji himself.
Had something happened related to him?
The thought crossed her mind, but she pushed it aside. The situation was too tense to dwell on mysteries that could not yet be answered. Their priority was reaching Mount Fuji.
"Lady Onusa," an onmyoji hurried over and bowed. "Everything is ready."
Subaru raised her hand.
"All units, move out."
At her command, the gathered onmyoji advanced.
And in the shadows—
Several ominous existences communicated through a method no human ear could properly hear.
Their voices did not travel through air.
They moved through malice, old pacts, and the cracks between worlds.
"The serpent awakens. Onmyodo's strength has been gravely damaged. Once their power is drained further, the outside world will become our hunting ground."
The first voice was furious and excited.
"The order of this world will return to what it was a thousand years ago—the age of yokai and spirits."
Another voice answered, slow and measured.
"Expect too much, and despair will find you first. Do not underestimate the onmyoji of this era. And the serpent's madness is a problem for us as well. It is as troublesome for yokai as it is for humans."
"It does not matter," said a colder voice. "Chaos is acceptable. Lack of reason is acceptable. As in the past, we simply need not interfere with it."
Silence followed.
Then another presence spoke.
"Do not emerge hastily. Watch first. See what trump cards Onmyodo still has. No one knows whether that man left anything behind to counter us."
The moment those words fell, every voice went quiet.
As though a taboo had been touched.
Minutes passed before a strange voice, sharp with disdain, broke the silence.
"A man who died over a thousand years ago still frightens you this much. Ridiculous."
"Hehehe..."
A pleasant female voice laughed softly.
The mocking voice snapped, "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing," the woman said, her tone elegant enough to chill the bone. "I merely received an interesting piece of news."
She paused.
"According to word from the Underworld... he seems to have revived."
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
"Absolutely impossible!"
"His soul was torn to pieces. Even the Taizan Fukun Ritual could never restore him!"
The hidden existences erupted into panic.
Even the voice that had mocked them earlier turned shrill.
Fear had swallowed its disdain whole.
"Calm yourselves!"
A heavy voice forced its way through the chaos.
"The report comes from the Underworld. Those deities and spirits were beaten into terror by him long ago. It is very possible they encountered something carrying his aura and mistook it for him. It has happened before."
The voice continued, colder now.
"Besides, the Underworld may be spreading false information on purpose. If we fall into disorder, those gods and spirits imprisoned below may find a chance to see the light of day again."
The silence that followed was tense.
Then one voice said, "Correct. The words of those in the Underworld cannot be trusted."
Another agreed at once.
"He tore his own soul apart before our eyes."
"Yes."
"What we need to do now is push those two foxes into the open. Let them attract Onmyodo's attention while we continue weakening Onmyodo's remaining strength."
.....
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