On the talisman Tomoe threw could be seen the character for ‘close’.
And by way of ‘closing’, a wall of spiritual power had essentially been erected to people people and shiki from reaching the 2nd floor.
It appeared that even sound could not pass through, for a shiki could be seen seemingly yelling while banging on the invisible wall, yet no sound could be heard.
『I can see you two aren’t just normal people, but just where did you come from? 』
“We’re not normal alright.”
A wry laugh resounded as Ryou sent the bird-type shiki flying with a punch.
It quickly dissipated afterwards, but he didn’t even spare it a glance and just turned to the group approaching from the corridors.
『What are you doing!? You suddenly broke in, so the least you could do is name yourselves! 』
“What you say we take half each?” Ryou asked.
It was a murmur of strange creatures completely unlike the ones found in illustrations or mascots. They did not look the slightest bit adorable. There was an aesthetic to them that made them feel alive.
At the head on each corridor was a shikioni slamming its club but no sound could be heard.
It was an hair-raising attack from both sides, yet neither Ryou nor Tomoe panicked.
“This is just the second floor, so just blow them away with that ridiculous spiritual power of yours,” Tomoe said.
If anything, Tomoe was even pointing at the enemies and telling Ryou to wipe them all out.
The enemy was evidently a criminal exorcist family. Moreover, these were all just shikis, so there was no reason to hold back.
“It should be possible given the traits of spiritual power, ahaha…” Tomoe said.
Ryou had thought similarly, but when he saw how she was acting, he calmed down and wryly smiled.
“Sigh, I can’t believe I’ve survived this long with a childhood friend like you. Good job me,” Ryou said.
Amidst sighs, Ryou stretched out his hands toward the corridors, then he released his spiritual power and filled them with it.
Spiritual power could not harm anything other that natural objects unless directed to; hence, the corridors were left unharmed.
The shikionis, however, was left with no room for escape.
『Huh? What───！？』
A voice sounded both surprised and bewildered, but the light of spiritual power swallowed it alongside the rest of the mob, and everything was erased without a trace.
As beings created by spiritual power, they could not maintain their substance before that violent stream of spiritual power, and in its wake, not a trace of their existence, not even their spiritual power, remained.
“Alright! So, good enough for you?” Ryou said.
“…I can’t believe you’re completely fine even after releasing that much spiritual power,” Tomoe murmured.
“Hey! You were the one who told me to do it! Why are you acting like I did something wrong!?”
The two childhood friends started quibbling again as they proceeded through the right corridor.
Not splitting up when they were already few in number was another lesson drilled into them by the academy.
They checked the names of the rooms along their way, and as expected, the second floor did not have that plate that read: President’s Office.
But just when they were about to finish their tour, they sensed something and suddenly stopped.
“I see you children have good senses. Consider this as payback for earlier.”
A man dressed in a kimono without a hakama emerged from a room with a plate that read: Personnel Department.
He was similar in age to those in the first floor, and in his hands could be seen several talismans.
That alone made his intentions clear.
“I don’t know which house you came from, but— Wait! Wait a second—Gyaah!?!?”
Alas, neither Ryou nor Tomoe had any ear to lend him, and he was immediately given a serving of fists and sheathe.
A punch broke his nose, while the sheathe lodged itself into his stomach and took his breath.
The talismans he’d prepared fell from his hands in vain, and his consciousness sank into the darkness.
Winning was a given, but their complete lack of interest in their enemies’ words was due to their master.
『───Don’t just stand there and listen to the enemy while they talk. If you’re that free, then you might as well use that time to land a blow. 』
『As for gathering information, you can do that during the torture and interrogation afterwards. 』
『You can listen to their noble cause all you want after you beat them so bad they’ll never be able to stand up again… Well, that’s if they can talk anyway.』
There were clearly some problematic things there, but their master nonetheless wore a smile.
First was victory. Control the situation first, then dialog, complications, and other troubles could come, but only after winning.
But while that was also true, it was really more because of their animosity toward these people that they were acting like this.
But then again, these were people who would go so far to revitalize their own house that they would work together with another organization to bring about a Dimensional Interference Device that could very well cause a raybeast outbreak. For people who only cared about themselves, not even the other houses, there was never any reason in the first place to hear out their excuses or sympathize with them.
“We’ll be going to the third floor next, so… What are we gonna do about this guy?” Ryou said.
In the end, they decided to just leave the man they knocked out and returned to the stairs.
There, the people that were obstructed by Tomoe’s Barrier of Closing could be seen desperately trying to get in.
Some used their swords, while others used their spells, and others used their shikis, but in the end, not even sound managed to penetrate.
The space had been completely ‘closed’. It was remarkable how a single talisman could be responsible for such a phenomenon, and in fact, the enemies were quite shocked.
Meanwhile, Ryou was just bothered by how that same talisman now prevented them from using the stairs.
“That’s easy. You just do this.”
But Tomoe already knew the answer to that, and she gently overlapped a second talisman on the talisman closing the space.
A talisman that read: Explosion.
“W-Wait!?”
As soon as he read that character, Ryou hastily covered his ears, and in the next moment, a powerful impact shook the building and space right in front of them.
The enemies that had gathered by the stairs took on that attack directly, and shiki and exorcist alike were blown away.
Fortunately, it was an explosion of spiritual power, so the building stood unharmed.
Moreover, it was directional, so only the sound reached them.
“…I’ve forgotten because Nakamura’s around, but you’re plenty nasty too.”
Ryou sincerely said as he looked around him.
Tomoe has always been thorough.
Those that were sent flying into the walls or the handrails, or those tumbled down the stairs, all of them – without exception – were thrown around without their consciousness in tact, their weapons and jutsus shattered.
Not even the vessels of their shikis remained. If anything it was strange how no one died.
Apparently, Tomoe showed no mercy to anyone she considered her enemy, and that caused a shiver to crawl up Ryou’s back.
“I think someone’s been rubbing off on you.”
“D-Don’t say that, that’s so scary! I-I’m not that bad, you know… At least, I shouldn’t be…”
Tomoe’s face twitched as she denied Ryou’s accusations, but when she objectively analyzed what she’d done, her eyes swam.
Ryou felt like throwing a jab there, but the sound of footsteps fast approaching from above could be heard.
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