Crushing

Time slips away quietly.

When the school bell rang, Izumi Takumi also received a message from Kato Kazuma.

Kazuma Kato: I'll be waiting for you at the Big Bang Burger.

"A burger joint?" Izumi Takumi asked thoughtfully.

Is this so that we can eat that Thunder Burger right after we finish talking?

Haki and Makoto, you really only ever think about yourself.

That makes sense, who wouldn't want to rush off to eat a Big Bang Burger after school, all flustered and exhausted?

Putting away his phone, Izumi Takumi grabbed his shoulder bag and headed out of the school.

Behind Izumi Takumi, Yukimura Mashiro silently watched his back.

……

"I remember the Big Bang Burger is over here."

After crossing a street, Izumi Takumi found the scenery before him to be completely unfamiliar.

Looking back, the once bustling street had become completely silent, and there wasn't a single person in sight.

Izumi Takumi narrowed his eyes and shouted sternly, "If you're from the Onmyōryō, get out here! Do you think you can call yourselves righteous people by sneaking around like this?"

The next second, a hearty laugh suddenly rang out in the quiet space.

"Hahaha, that's a good provocation."

Following the sound, Izumi Takumi looked up at the sky.

A man wearing sunglasses and holding a toothpick is standing on a neon "GG" sign.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Kato Taju, and I am the captain of the Tokyo Third Squad of the Onmyo-ryo."

Spitting out the toothpick he was holding in his mouth, Kato Taju jumped straight down from the sky.

Boom!

Amidst a bit of smoke and dust, Kato Taju landed on the ground unharmed.

He clapped his hands and approached Izumi Takumi with a smile.

"Izumi Takumi, a first-year student at Sakurazono Private High School. His parents died in a car accident a few years ago. Although they left behind a fairly substantial inheritance, it was clearly not enough for a student who couldn't earn money."

"Just recently, we discovered that your card received a remittance of five million yen from the 'Snow Joy' Group."

Kato Tajuru chuckled: "What exactly did you do to get such a large corporation to transfer so much money to you? Aren't you going to explain, little Onmyoji?"

Every time Kato Tajuro takes a step closer, Izumi Takumi instinctively takes a step back.

But soon, his back bumped into something.

Looking back, there was a semi-transparent barrier.

"Barrier talisman..." Izumi Takumi said with a serious expression.

He learned about the talisman through its transmission.

Using the talisman will generate a barrier within a certain range, sandwiched between world rifts.

To leave, you either need to defeat the person using the barrier talisman and steal it, or you need to break through the barrier with brute force and return to the normal world.

"I never expected this. A low- to mid-level Onmyoji would be so bold as to help a yokai."

Kato Taju's smile gradually faded.

"If you dare to help yokai fight against the Onmyōryō now, will you dare to help yokai kill people in the future?"

"Didn't you strike first? The Yukimura family hasn't done anything outrageous from beginning to end; they were only doing their own thing to protect themselves."

"Heh." Kato Tajuru sneered and said sharply, "What do you know? A monster is a monster. The blood of man-eating is etched in their bones."

"So what did they do?" Izumi Takumi countered. "Humans are divided into good and evil, and so are demons. Treat good demons kindly and evil demons evilly. Is that so difficult?"

"So you mean, you support monsters?"

A silver longsword flashed in Kato Taju's hand.

"Supporting monsters is to be an enemy of humanity. Today, I will right here and now slay you, you traitor to humanity!"

Without a word, Kato Tajuro kicked his leg and instantly appeared in front of Izumi Takumi.

Izumi Takumi was startled and tried to dodge to the side, but he was kicked away and slammed hard into the barrier.

"Since you can't be absolutely loyal to humanity, then you are absolutely disloyal." Kato Tajuru looked at Izumi Takumi lying on the ground and said coldly, "My job is to nip danger in the bud."

"Oh shit."

My internal organs felt like they were about to fall apart, and they were burning with pain.

His teeth shattered his mouth, and Izumi Takumi spat out a mouthful of blood, staring fiercely at Kato Tajuru.

"Oh? Still trying to fight to the death?" Kato Tajuru showed a surprised expression. "You don't look like someone in dire straits. You still have a backup plan?"

The difference in strength is too great; they can't even match each other in physical combat, let alone magic.

So Izumi Takumi doesn't really have any trump cards; all he can do is give Kato Itsuki a mild, ineffective grotesque slap.

With lightning speed, Izumi Takumi threw the paper dog from his pocket at Kato Tajuro.

Frowning as he dodged, Kato Taju bent down to look at the paper dog that had fallen to the ground, then chuckled, "So it's just a low-level shikigami. Is this all you've got as your trump card?"

Izumi Takumi remained silent, only thinking to himself.

"Let's go."

The paper dog moved a few times.

The little mongrel they had seen before appeared in front of them.

"A dog?" Kato Taju was stunned.

The little mongrel calmly stared at Kato Itsuki.

The next second, Kato Taju's hair stood on end, as if he were being watched by some terrifying being.

The little dog's body instantly swelled to the size of a three-story building.

Its fangs grew longer, and crimson wings that blotted out the sky sprouted from its back.

Just one glance was enough to make Kato Taju's soul tremble.

"Impossible! A low-ranking Onmyoji like you couldn't possibly contract such a powerful shikigami! Your soul couldn't possibly withstand it!"

Izumi Takumi was also dumbfounded. His little mongrel dog could transform?

Izumi Takumi ignored Kato Tajuro's shouts, just pursing his lips.

He really didn't have a contract; this little mongrel came to him on its own.

Kazuma Kato, unwilling to give up, pulled out a talisman and began chanting a spell.

"world……"

Before he could say more than a few words, the little mongrel slapped him with its huge front paws.

In the blink of an eye, Kato Taju was also swatted onto the barrier.

Several teeth were missing from his mouth, and his entire face was swollen like a pig's head.

Izumi Takumi, who had gotten up, looked at the unconscious Kato Tajuro and almost spammed "666" in the chat.

"Dog Bro is awesome."

Izumi Takumi wanted to walk towards the little mongrel, but the little mongrel shook its head.

Its body began to shatter, and its enormous form turned to ashes and scattered in the wind.

In the last second before disappearing, the little dog wagged its tail at Izumi Takumi.

"Woof!"

The attack has been resolved, but how am I supposed to get out now?

Izumi Takumi walked to the side of the unconscious Kato Tajuro and, suppressing his nausea, patted his body.

No barrier symbol found.

Izumi Takumi put on a stern face.

If you can't find the barrier talisman, you can't get out.

When Kato Tajuru wakes up, will he still die?

Unless I kill him right now...

Izumi Takumi had a serious expression. As a model young man, he thought that murder was something far removed from his own life.

But I never expected that the time for a decision would come so soon.

Izumi Takumi doesn’t want to die.

So he took a deep breath, stepped forward, and grabbed Kato Itsuki by the neck...

……