Chapter 8

"Scatter Flame!"

As Kien raised his hand toward the crow, the pattern etched on his arm pulsed, and a scatter of flames was released. By pre-etching the spell formula onto his arm, he could cast the spell without using a talisman and even shorten the incantation. However, due to the need for advanced spiritual energy manipulation, not many spellcasters could use this technique.

"Damn it!"

The scatter of flames, each as powerful as a grenade, flew at high speed. However, the crow dodged them all without even grazing.

"Explosive Demon!"

"Roar!"

But the crow was surrounded by the Explosive Demon, which had predicted its evasive path, and was hit by a burst of flames at close range. The spellcasters watching the battle sensed the end of the fight, but Kien's eyes saw a different scene.

"Not bad at all."

The crow, unscathed, flew through the burst of flames, deflecting the close-range flames with a burst of spiritual energy.

"But, that's way too inefficient."

Kien fired another Scatter Flame, this time over a wider area and at a higher speed. The crow couldn't dodge all of them and had to deflect the impacts with spiritual energy. Then, the Explosive Demon, waiting in ambush, released another burst of flames over a wide area.

"If this continues, we'll be running out of resources."

"No, Master Kien is aiming for that."

A veteran spellcaster explained to a younger one who couldn't yet use shikigami. If there was a connection via spiritual energy threads, the spellcaster could supply spiritual energy for prolonged action. However, a shikigami without a connection would run out of its internal spiritual energy and the spell would dissipate.

Reconnaissance shikigami have relatively good endurance. But if it continued to use spiritual energy to block such intense flames, it wouldn't last long.

"Master Kien understands this and is attacking in this manner. If he fights cautiously, he can defeat it without consuming so much spiritual energy. But there's no guarantee that the crow doesn't have other tricks up its sleeve. That's why he's trying to deplete its spiritual energy in a short time."

The veteran spellcaster was impressed by Kien's judgment. The crow might have been sent to buy time for some other scheme. Considering this, Kien's choice of a short, decisive battle could be the best option.

"Ha ha ha! Damn crow, you're really the best!"

However, only he knew that he had chosen this path just to wreak havoc.

---

The burst of flames and explosions raged within the barrier. The crow dodged, deflected, and nullified them all. In the end, the battle lasted for two hours, far exceeding the spellcasters' expectations.

"Impossible..."

"Master Kien..."

A historic battle that was etched into the hearts of all witnesses. The victor was—

---

---

"Finally, you're back, Crow."

Waiting on the veranda, a white crow returned. It was cold.

The connection was suddenly cut, so I thought something had happened. I even wondered if it had been bullied by other crows, but it didn't seem to be injured. It was an unnecessary worry.

"How do I make this crow disappear?"

"Hmm, I don't know that method either. But if you leave it alone, the spiritual energy it contains will run out and it will return to its original paper form."

"I see. Then, just rest in the living room for now."

The crow nodded and pattered into the living room.

"Well, it's completely dark now. Let's have dinner and rest. Oh, I need to buy some cat food."

"Wait, I don't need that. I can eat what you eat."

"What are you talking about? It's bad for your health to eat the same things as humans, especially green onions."

"No, I'm fine with it..."

"I'll go buy it, and you stay here."

"No, I..."

Another peaceful day passed.

---

"Amazing... really amazing."

Mizuka Mizukami, recalling the scene she had just witnessed, was visibly excited.

"I never thought that Kien from Hinoyama's place could be defeated by that white crow. Who is that white crow?"

The battle between the white crow and Kien at the temple. She had witnessed it through the eyes of a shikigami. The barrier around the temple was designed to prevent sound and images from leaking out, but for a spellcaster of Mizuka's level, it was easy to peek inside.

"The direction the white crow flew... Could it be Yuki Yuki?"

Before witnessing the battle, she had seen a young man through the eyes of a shikigami.

"At first, I thought it was just a coincidence. But maybe he really could see it?"

She had heard that he missed the opening ceremony because he had caught a dangerous criminal. If that was true, he couldn't be just an ordinary person.

Mizuka thought about this and made a decision.

"If he really is a yin-yang practitioner capable of defeating Kien, he might know the method to find the Cat God. Yes, I'll ask Yuki Yuki tomorrow."

Yuki Yuki's peaceful daily life was gradually falling apart.