Everything is Anime!

But the gothic-lolita girl's guess was rejected by the monk in the robes.

"Purifying Kishimojin isn't something an ordinary exorcist can accomplish. Besides, when we passed by that Buddhist temple, I sensed a fleeting trace of 'life flame.' Though faint, it strongly hinted at senjutsu."

"And more importantly, that area is under tight watch by the Sitri family. An exorcist is unlikely to use senjutsu and even less likely to come and go from that temple as he pleases. Most likely, the Underworld discovered a way to handle the situation—after all, the city's lord is the heir of the Sitri household, and also Leviathan-sama's younger sister."

The older generation hadn't managed to solve the problem, so nobody would expect a mere junior to handle it alone. The elderly monk surmised that the higher-ups of the Underworld must have found a solution.

Hearing this, the man and woman in the car agreed—affairs involving deities and devils wouldn't fall to some random exorcist.

"What a pity. Now that Kishimojin is purified, we can't let Lord Kuubou devour her power for growth."

They referred to "Lord Kuubou," also called the "The Moonless Dawn Embryo." It was a being crafted by upper-tier evil spirits through ritual sacrifices of human lives. Their goal: to create a monster capable of overturning the current biosphere. If it matured fully, they estimated, it could rival Underworld Maou or even main deities from various mythologies. In time, they would build a "paradise" ruled by evil spirits, just like the other mythic factions that hold most of the world's resources.

But just as a living creature requires time to develop from a fertilized egg, so too did Kuubou exist only as an "embryo." Feeding it demanded a steady supply of energy. Originally, Kishimojin and her tens of thousands of infant spirits would have been the perfect meal. Now, clearly, they'd lost any chance to exploit that place.

"We'll stick to our original plan, then, old man. Conveniently, one of our minions—who took over a school's head cook—poisoned quite a few students and teachers in the cafeteria. Let's send Lord Kuubou to consume the freshly deceased souls. After all, if we don't gather them, they'll just vanish on their own."

"Let's do that,"

the elder nodded.

At that point, the gothic-lolita girl continued:

"What about the exorcist, then? If things go on like this, he may find us. And I'm very interested in him."

"Keep monitoring him. If we get a lead, we'll send someone in. If the chance arises, best to take his body for our own—make him one of us.

We do need to expand our ranks, after all."

…

Meanwhile…

Ever since that night, Hikaru's routine was simple: attend class by day, return home to train by evening. In his downtime, he also studied the banner Kishimojin had gifted him.

—A Sacred Gear.

Its capabilities weren't bad. Once activated, it deployed a formation that could trap or kill, covering an area roughly the size of a school field. And that was just its basic function. Another ability let it absorb souls, growing more powerful over time—very much like the legendary "Myriad Soul Banner."

"Sacred Gears really do come in all shapes and sizes. Shame it's not a Longinus, just an ordinary type."

Hikaru sighed softly. If it were a Longinus, perhaps it could even suck in the souls of gods. Then he could just fling out a few godly remnants in battle instead of going in person. But he wasn't too bothered—this flag was just a bonus. Whether he had it or not made little difference to him.

He pressed on with his daily practice, especially regarding immortal qi and senjutsu. Light Power and devil magic didn't strengthen the body much, but immortal qi did. The stronger his qi, the more robust his physique became, and the firmer his foundation—letting him better wield Est's full potential. A high-performance car is wasted on a poor driver, after all.

At school, though, he couldn't train senjutsu. Instead, he was content flipping through extracurricular novels during class. He'd already mastered the curriculum, so there was no point in reviewing boring textbooks. But at that moment, the previously noisy classroom went quiet. Glancing up, he saw a striking figure approaching—Tsubaki Shinra, the black-haired beauty wearing the Kuoh Academy girls' uniform.

Noting her arrival, Hikaru had a good guess as to why she'd come.

~~~

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