Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

The head priest of Yasaka Shrine stopped what he was doing, as did everyone else. Even Tsuchimikado Yasumoto, who had secretly brought in the twelve divine generals and was preparing to set up an array, was stunned.

Everyone looked utterly dumbfounded, as if their jaws were about to drop to the floor.

Only Senjougahara Hitagi, who had been observing coldly throughout, spoke with utter sarcasm, though her expression remained seemingly unchanged: "Oh dear, what's going on? Mr. Tokugawa, why do you look so unsteady on your feet? Ah, I meant your head."

"So you meant that head couldn't stand up straight!" Fujimaru Ritsuka retorted forcefully without turning her head, then shook her head and sighed, "This... Mr. Tokugawa? No wonder the Red Dragon Cutter Muramasa reacted so strongly. I thought it was because the sword, as a righteous partner, sensed an overwhelming evil! I didn't expect it to be a lucky coincidence, hahaha."

Everyone was inwardly screaming: "I'd be a fool to believe you!"

But how did the other party figure it out?

Everyone stared at Tokugawa Nariaki with extreme caution, but only he suddenly realized what had happened: "Ah, I've been exposed?"

Terrified by the special attack against Tokugawa, passed down through the Muramasa Demon Sword lineage, even his mind and soul were not quite clear.

Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed, "I didn't expect that we could find the Dead Apostles in just one meeting, and they were the ones that were almost impossible to detect."

The eight members of the Kansai Spellcasting Association all wore grim expressions.

Now is not the time to get bogged down in exploiting the opponent's weaknesses and pressing our advantage, but rather to think about a crucial question: how many others, like Tokugawa Nariaki, possess the terrifying ability to perfectly disguise themselves even after transforming into a Dead Apostle?

They knew perfectly well that if the Dead Apostles wanted to, they could maliciously drain the blood of others, turning them into inferior Dead Apostles similar to those in the Chiba incident, thus creating a frenzy.

The old monks quickly lowered their esoteric hand seals, tucking them into their sleeves as if nothing had happened. Several priests swiftly dispersed their summoned spiritual weapons, and all stood unanimously beside Fujimaru Ritsuka, glaring at Tokugawa Sera with utter contempt: "Pah, scum!"

Tokugawa Nariaki: ? ? ?

If it weren't for the influence of the Muramasa demon sword, I would have given that damn a claw strike each of them long ago!

He tilted his head and glared at his friends across from him who had betrayed him so quickly.

The scene changed so quickly that Yui Yuigahama leaned against Yukino Yukinoshita and asked blankly, "Where am I? Who did Fujimaru Ritsuka hit? And who are we going to hit?"

Yukino sighed, patted Yui, then patted the equally bewildered Abigail, and remarked, "With your intelligence, you're about the same as Abigail."

"No way!"

"Abby is clearly a little smarter!"

Leaving aside the girls' private conversation, Fujimaru Ritsuka promptly called out, "Utaha, come and clean the floor!"

"I'm coming!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha emerged from the shadows, and with a wave of her hand, a binding artifact, crafted by two great magicians and specializing in binding Dead Apostles, tightly ensnared Tokugawa Sairei. The latter froze, completely losing consciousness.

The board members suppressed their curiosity and glanced at the rope several times to confirm whether it was possible to mass-produce it.

Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't rush to respond to the others, but instead walked towards Tsuchimikado Yasumoto: "Well, Mr. Tsuchimikado, didn't I tell you? When disaster strikes, everyone flies away. And some people will even take the opportunity to pack up their companions to please their masters."

He pulled Tokugawa Nariaki to the center and placed him beside him, then casually sat down cross-legged, looking every bit like a kidnapper negotiating with a hostage.

Everyone silently returned to their seats, including Tsuchimikado Yasumoto.

First, they displayed overwhelming power to intimidate us, using the pretext of being offended to justify their attacks on other organizations; then they exposed the traitor within the association, not only confirming the truth of his words but also reiterating their own strength, mystery, and superiority.

Look at us. We are not only inferior in strength and knowledge, but also in the resources we have. Even our only possible unity has vanished. Is there any point in this association still existing?

Tsuchimikado Yasumoto was starting to feel a bit weak, completely overwhelmed by Fujimaru Ritsuka's combination of punches, and even lost all his teeth.

However, he didn't know that Fujimaru Ritsuka was secretly rejoicing.

Before he came back, he had a big plan—no, two plans.

Plan A: Find a way to exploit the other party's weaknesses. Since they have a lot of internal conflicts, we might be able to find a partner to support them.

Plan B: As the "father" of Japan, the United States, there might be a mole within. As Chaldea, whose Chiba City was ravaged by Dead Apostles, I naturally feel obligated to seek revenge upon discovering Dead Apostles here, right? Shouldn't I also question the situation of the rest of you? Divide them, manipulate their mentality, and then find allies.

Of course, there's a fifth member among the Four Heavenly Kings, and Fujimaru Ritsuka naturally has a third plan: go all out!

Regardless of the situation, we'll just push forward and crush them with our own strength, not caring about deaths or commotion.

The third plan was something he absolutely didn't want to use, since if he accidentally killed a few of the opposing team members, those would be valuable combat resources.

But after receiving a message from Senjougahara Hitagi, he still decided to rush over without hesitation. Why? Because there was a natural ally among them, someone skilled at manipulating people's minds—so why not go for it?

Unexpectedly, the Crimson Dragon Cutter stirred slightly as they approached the small palace. Although it immediately stopped as if in disgust, it still aroused some suspicion in him. So, he had Kasumigaoka Utaha hide, and while communicating via earrings, he tried his best to investigate Tokugawa using the Chaldea-made Dead Apostle Detector.

In a sense, the Dead Apostles are all dead. Although this guy's body is just like a normal person's, what living Tokugawa would make Muramasa's cursed sword give up the urge to cut him down?

Only a dead Tokugawa, whose blood is slowly losing its vitality and whose inner self is beginning to die, would prevent the demon sword Muramasa from having the urge to strike—of course, he would still restrain himself, for this is a profound karmic bond rooted in blood ties.

Since there was nothing to hide, he gestured for Kasumigaoka Utaha to come over and took out a small, palm-sized dressing mirror-like object.

It wasn't a smooth mirror surface, but rather a crescent moon engraved on it using magical techniques.

Hecate, the goddess of the moon and the triad of chance, is the protector of sorcery, witches, and magic. She also has authority over the souls of the dead in hell, making her a powerful warlord under Hades in the past.

After studying the live specimens captured from the mansion, Lisa discovered that with the power of the goddess who possesses authority over hell and the underworld, she could use this mirror artifact to identify the true nature of the Dead Apostles.

However, it took quite a while to confirm the magic tool's authenticity, given that Tokugawa Saire was a guy with a perfect disguise.

Fujimaru Ritsuka introduced the special features of the mirror in her hand without any exaggeration, only with pride and confidence, and asked Kasumigaoka Utaha to show it to the others.

As the bright white moon gradually transformed into a dark, crimson moon that seemed to have fallen into the underworld, everyone became slightly uneasy.

They heard it perfectly clearly: this thing uses power to distinguish between life and death, it's high-end and sophisticated, and it means that it's not only effective on the dead, but also has a similar effect on all non-living beings.

This is amazing! I want one of these too!

If the timing weren't so bad, they would all flock to Fujimaru Ritsuka and ask how they could get such a good thing.

After all, everyone knows that this world is not a place where magical tides rise again and old, dusty antiques of the past will be transformed into treasures with endless uses.

Only a few national treasures have acquired power commensurate with their status through widely circulated myths and legends. For example, the Atsuta Ōkami (the shrine of Atsuta Shrine), also known as the Kusanagi sword. Another example is the Yata Mirror enshrined at Ise Grand Shrine.

So, everyone was pretty poor.

But at this moment, it was Tsuchimikado Yasumoto, as the rotating chairman, who spoke up: "Thank you, Fujimaru-sama, for exposing this scoundrel for our association! Alas, I never imagined that the Tokugawa family, the pillars of the samurai class, would turn into such a monstrous state!"

Everyone subtly rolled their eyes at the Tokugawa shogun he was praising so highly, as if no one knew what kind of old silver coin Tokugawa was, right?

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and said, "So now, Mr. Tsuchimikado, I feel that something is definitely wrong with your association. It's a bit chaotic internally, which makes me, as your neighbor, quite uneasy."

They are indeed neighbors, separated by the Nagoya metropolitan area, which acts as a buffer zone.

Tsuchimikado Yasumoto took a deep breath, trying to lower his blood pressure, and forced a smile: "...That's true. So I hope Chaldea can be lenient and offer some assistance."

"Well said! I never expected Chairman Tsuchimikado to be so insightful and righteous. I admire you greatly. I suppose you can accept my proposal now." Fujimaru Ritsuka clapped her hands in approval.

At first, Tsuchimikado Yasumoto showed a slight smile: Hmph, he's still young after all.

But the second sentence made him feel uneasy.

That sounds like...

"...I suggest that Chaldea become your association's guiding unit, assisting in institutional reforms, enhancing execution capabilities, ensuring a deep pool of talent, and procuring suitable potions and tools for wartime reserves. By the way, I've also heard that one of your family members has unique insights into the association's operations; perhaps you would consider stepping down and yielding the position?"

"...I think Mr. Fujimaru Ritsuka seems to have a deep misunderstanding about our association. Does he really think we're easy targets?"

Tengshe, Zhuque, Liuhe, Gouzhen, Qinglong, Tianyi, Tianhou, Taiyin, Xuanwu, Baihu, Taishang, and Tiankong are the twelve divine generals who are the direct descendants of Abe no Seimei.

"Even though my mastery of the twelve shikigami is not yet perfect, and I am not even as good as my nephew, I still possess the great formation passed down by our ancestor Abe no Seimei!"

The twelve shikigami, whose faces and figures were indistinct, began to rapidly assemble along a mysterious formation, soon to transform into a powerful array that would envelop the entire small palace.

"Hiss... Is it that solid? It doesn't even budge. Mr. Tsuchimikado's array formation is quite good, it's just that he's slow to set it up normally."

"Indeed, although his skill level is not as good as my nephew's, he is still very capable when it comes to setting up formations. It takes two of us to handle him. I think Mr. Fujimaru might not be able to handle it with just a little effort."

The board members nearby were just watching the show, not really involved. Let Tsuchimikado clash with him to show our strength. This small show of force is enough to demonstrate our determination.

They failed to notice that their mindset had shifted from initially looking down on Fujimaru Ritsuka to now striving for equal dialogue.

Then, Fujimaru Ritsuka pulled Kasumigaoka Utaha over from next to her, much to everyone's surprise.

What's going on, bro? Are you trying to use a girl as a shield? How despicable!

"Sigh... I'm really destined for a life of hardship... Tsk, it doesn't seem that difficult after all."

Kasumigaoka Utaha held a calligraphy brush in her hand, wielding it freely in the air as she wrote and chanted incantations. With each movement, beams of magical light shot into the great array in the sky, which was about to be activated.

"Ha... The five elements are not in equal strength, failure."

The Tengshe and Zhuque cried out involuntarily, flames spread, and Taiyin and Baihu let out painful groans, their momentum weakening.

"The yin-yang ratio is incorrect, resulting in failure."

The grand formation was already slowed down due to the uncontrolled power of the shikigami inside. After a ray of spiritual light entered, it immediately came to a complete stop, as if a machine had been jammed by a discordant gear.

"Incorrect interpretation of the array patterns, misguided understanding of the profound meaning, failure."

The complex incantations on the great formation were silently erased by her clear, cold voice, and the entire formation ceased to be a threat.

"Most importantly, even the energy of the shikigami's ritual was not harmonious, resulting in failure."

"stop--!"

Amidst Tsuchimikado Yasumoto's bloodshot eyes, Kasumigaoka Utaha mercilessly made the final stroke. A faint, ethereal light drifted towards an empty space, just as Tsuchimikado was relieved, thinking the other party had shown mercy, when the great formation exploded.

That empty space was where the energy of the twelve shikigami was intertwined. After being ruthlessly broken open, their final, barely functioning operation was nothing but empty talk.

An endless torrent of magical energy swept past, and Tsuchimikado Yasumoto, who had a certain mental connection with the twelve shikigami, was thrown to the other side of the small palace.

He coughed up blood, ignoring the wood chips flying in the air, and tried his best to sense the presence of the twelve shikigami.

Only nothing.

184. What game are we playing? We'll crush them with productivity!

"These are the 'Golden Crow Collection' and 'Brief Decisions on Divination' left by our ancestors, which record the great wisdom of our ancestors. As a member of the Tsuchimikado clan, although our family has declined, we must at least study the wisdom of our ancestors well."

During his childhood, his ailing father, despite his own discomfort, taught him, a child who was not particularly handsome, word by word.

The Tsuchimikado family has long since declined beyond recognition. The only things they can be proud of are their surname, which seems like a curse, and their family library.

He studied and researched relentlessly, but lacking great wisdom, he could only memorize those obscure words and phrases, thus living a thousand-year-old dream with his father. In that dream, the Tsuchimikado family's past glory still lingered.

......

"What did you say? The knowledge passed down from our ancestors can actually be used?"

He would never forget the day he was astonished to find his old book and to try the divination techniques in "A Brief Guide to Divination" and they worked.

Even though he hadn't yet resonated with the extraordinary material, he was still able to unleash the power of the fur. No matter how insignificant the trick seemed, he was still moved to tears even though he was over fifty years old.

The hope for the family's revival is within reach.