176 Minamoto no Raiko! (2/2)

Despite the loss of its right arm and left hand, it tried to claw its way back up again. It attempted to support itself using the stump of its left arm but lost its balance and fell over once again.

Seiji sighed and walked over.

”Farewell.”

The zombie had finally managed to climb up again when Seiji's blade descended upon its neck.

The zombie's head went flying, but it disappeared and transformed a puff of black smoke before reaching the ground.

The headless corpse slowly collapsed to its knees and also transformed into a burst of black smoke, which gradually dissipated.

Seiji watched the last strand of smoke disappear before he turned around and left.

He hurriedly ran around the school building and saw what was happening.

Natsuya was currently battling a tall, red-haired man with the aid of Hitaka and Rana.

'Oh, they must have defeated their respective opponents.'

'Er, this man’s appearance…' Seiji was utterly gobsmacked at the sight. 'Isn't this a fricking Shutendoji!?'

Look at that red hair and that huge wine gourd! Look at the handsome face that deserved a beating!!

Seiji coughed dryly. 'Alright, there's no need to get too excited.'

Who pulled that SSR card… whoops, this was a transformation from a synchronized spirit, right?

Who transformed into this? Was it Okubo!?

”Haruta-kun!”

While Seiji was still in a state of shock, Natsuya hurriedly dashed in his direction.

Hitaka and Rana combined their efforts and succeeded in drawing Shutendoji’s attention, enabling Natsuya to break free.

”President…”

Seiji was just about to say something when Natsuya suddenly pulled his arm and dragged him away!

Because Natsuya was running at such a high speed under the Body-strengthening Spell, Seiji flew through midair for a while as he was dragged like a kite.

Seiji was rendered speechless by the situation.

Natsuya didn’t slow down until after dashing quite a distance, when she finally released her kite Seiji.

”Haruta-kun, how’s your condition?”

”Pretty good—I was only lightly injured.”

Natsuya inspected his wound.

”Thanks for your hard work… The current situation is just as you see: Shutendoji has appeared! That’s the result of Okubo summoning a spirit to his own body and transforming into it.”

”I guessed as much…”

”It’s a forbidden technique for Yin-Yang Masters to summon spirits into their own bodies! I never expected him to do such a thing!! Not only that… coincidentally, he summoned Shutendoji!”

Natsuya looked at Seiji with a strange, indescribable expression on her face.

Seiji tugged at his mouth.

It was indeed far too coincidental.

Was everything actually not a coincidence at all?

If things were too coincidental, it was only natural to suspect that there was some unknown force behind it all… but what could possibly cause all this? Was there a force that could control it?

If it were truly a coincidence, just how unlucky was Okubo…

'Wait, unlucky!?'

Seiji’s eyes lit up as an explanation popped into his mind.

'Yes, there's one force out there that could influence all this!'

Even though the way this force acted was subtle and mysterious, it truly did exist, and it would bring ”Heaven-sent Calamities” upon anyone that harmed the ”Holy Maiden!”

That was Okubo’s greatest mistake.

Seiji deeply felt the subtle workings of karma as he pondered everything that Okubo had done.

”This is no coincidence, President.”

He looked at her, hinting his thoughts with his eyes.

Natsuya suddenly grasped what Seiji was hinting at, and her expression became one of realization, before turning into stunned amazement.

”Shika Kagura… if the ‘Reaper’s Curse’ can even influence this matter, then it’s…”

Due to the fact that it could be ”mitigated,” this mysterious force seemed rather subtle, and even somewhat insignificant.

But at this moment, Natsuya felt the mystical effects of karma, just as Seiji did.

”Okubo’s fate was already decided when he harmed Shika-chan,” Seiji said, before smiling widely.”I am his ‘Heaven-sent Calamity.’ And now, it’s time for my appearance as the final act. No, more accurately, me and you… Light-chan.”

Ahh, that’s right, Seiji-sama! a spirited voice exclaimed in Seiji’s mind. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but it’s great that I've encountered this vicious demon again! Light-chan continued in a voice filled with battle spirit.

When I saw this demon, I remembered many things, including my name. Just as Natsuya-sama inferred, my true name is... Minamoto no Raiko!

Minamoto no Raiko, where the word Raiko contained the character for ”Light.” He was the legendary hero and commander, renowned as a top-class demon slayer among his fellow samurai, and the most famous legend regarding him was—