Gu Jie, the mastermind, sat on a sofa in a house in Odawara, approximately nine kilometers from the scene. His expression was one of deep satisfaction.
Though the explosives were of an older USNA design, they had bypassed modern detection sensors without a hitch. The "flesh puppets" controlled by his Jiangshi arts had evaded all thermal and movement sensors, entering the hotel without being stopped once. The suicide terror attack he had orchestrated had succeeded with minimal loss.
He didn't believe the security was lax, nor that the city's defenses were low. To him, the fact that he had outmaneuvered the Kagurazaka family—who were highly suspected by Hlidskjalf to be headquartered in this area—was proof of his superior skill as an Ancient practitioner.
While it was surprising that the cursed seals embedded in the corpses had been suddenly "shattered," he sensed approximately forty dead. Including the injured, the count would surely exceed a hundred.
Not a single head of the Ten Master Clans had been injured; instead, a mysterious group had protected them. He would use Hlidskjalf to uncover the identity of that group later, but for now, things had gone according to plan: the Clan heads were unharmed.
This was not sour grapes. For Gu Jie, this was the preferred outcome.
Despite so many commoners being caught in the crossfire, the Ten Master Clans survived. Gu Jie intended to make that fact known to the world.
The Ten Master Clans will abandon you Japanese people to save themselves. You Japanese people will be killed because of the Ten Master Clans. The Ten Master Clans—specifically the Yotsuba—will be hated by their own people until they have no place left to call home.
Gu Jie stood up to depart, a dark, hedonistic smile playing on his lips. At his feet lay the corpses of the family who had owned this house.
Thirty minutes after his departure, a youth—Yugen—stepped through the front door. After checking pulses and confirming the family was dead, Yugen used Osiris Sight to read the residual memory information of the house.
(The activation point for the Jiangshi arts was definitely here. Gu Jie is likely under the illusion—thanks to Nightmare Phantom—that his targets were actually blown up...)
After verifying the data, Yugen unsheathed Seraphim. Using Ten-yo Shoran, he resuscitated the residents. Seeing as they hadn't been dead for more than a day, Gu Jie had likely broken in and killed them during the night. Yugen removed his mask and donned a pair of sunglasses embedded with a perception-masking seal before waiting for them to regain consciousness.
"Ugh... where am I?"
"Are you all right?"
"You're... wait, my wife! Is my wife okay?!"
"Yes. She seems to have just lost consciousness. I'm with the police. I noticed mail piling up in your box despite signs of people being home, so I let myself in out of concern and found you."
It wasn't technically a lie. As a member of the Shingon-kai, Yugen held the authority of the Imperial Guard, which carried investigative powers equivalent to the Superintendent General. He carried a pseudonym police badge for such occasions to prevent his true identity from leaking.
Once the wife woke up, Yugen questioned them. They recalled a stranger visiting the night before to ask for directions before being attacked. Between the illegal entry, the murders, the missing person cases in Yokosuka, and now this terror plot—Gu Jie's rap sheet was long. As for the USNA scandals involved? They had brought it on themselves; Yugen didn't even bother counting them.
"I see. Thank you for your cooperation. Please contact us if you remember anything else."
He handed them a number used by Shingon-kai agents acting as "investigators from the Ministry of Police." Yugen bowed politely, left the house, and once in the shadows, used Mirror Gate to return directly to his room at the Kagurazaka main residence.
Changing into civilian clothes, Yugen returned to the scene of the explosion. Police were conducting on-site inspections, and the media was swarming. Since there were no actual fatalities—and the "injured" were all disciples of the Shinnai-ryu Kenjutsu school—there were no real casualties to worry about. To prevent rumors, the police had issued a statement: "Due to the risk of remaining explosives, please refrain from spreading unverified information until an official Ministry announcement."
In the original timeline, the characters would have been interrogated by standard police. Here, Yugen had pulled some strings. The people questioning them were none other than Erika's relatives.
"Oh, Yugen. It was so boring since nothing actually happened... Oh, wait, it's Waka-niisan and Inagaki-san."
"Better that nothing happened, Erika. Tatsuya, everyone—good work."
"Yeah," Tatsuya replied.
Yugen had arranged this to prevent the media from framing the incident as a "terrorist act resulting from a mage feud." Having magicians as the investigators meant they didn't have to be on guard. While it might be awkward for the Chiba family of the Hundred Families to interrogate the Ten Master Clans, they treated it as strictly professional.
Soon, Kasumi, Izumi, Takuma, and Riri arrived after receiving the emergency alerts. They looked confused as to why Erika and her group—who should have had no connection to the meeting—were there.
"Senpai, why are you all here?"
"Erika and the others just happened to be playing in Hakone today. They rushed over when they saw the commotion," Yugen explained.
It sounded like a lie, but it wasn't factually incorrect. Erika looked away, stifling a laugh, while Leo scratched his head with a "here we go again" look. Kasumi and the others didn't seem to doubt it.
Izumi spotted her father, Koichi, among the Master Clan heads being questioned. She didn't run to him; instead, she let out a long sigh.
"Father is... well, as long as he's alive, I suppose it's fine."
"Izumi, could you at least wrap that in a little more sugar?" Kasumi winced.
"Is that so? Then should I say, 'I rushed here upon hearing Father was caught in a bombing, and I am simply relieved to find my worries were for naught'?"
"Sorry, Izumi. My mistake."
The sheer sarcasm in Izumi's "polite" version made even Takuma and Riri wince. Bystanders broke into cold sweats. Just then, a boy in the red uniform of First High's rival, Third High, appeared.
"Masaki."
"Eh... Kagurazaka. And Shiba-san, you're here too?"
"Yes, it's become quite an ordeal," Miyuki replied.
Masaki's expression was complicated as he looked at Miyuki standing beside Yugen. Everyone understood why. The engagement between Yugen and Miyuki was official, yet the Ichijo family had sent a formal inquiry challenging it. Miyuki found it annoying; her feelings for Yugen would never waver, and she wished people would stop adding unnecessary work to her life. Yugen intended to give Masaki one chance to back off—but there wouldn't be a second.
"So... the heads of the families are over there?"
"Yes, they're undergoing questioning."
"Questioning?! Excuse me!"
As Masaki rushed off, Celia, who was watching from the sidelines, whispered, "What's with that love-struck boy? That's the 'Crimson Prince'?" Erika, who had "revived," gave a deadpan look of agreement.
Katsuto Jumonji then approached the group.
"Jumonji-senpai, is the questioning over?"
"No, but I thought I should explain the situation to you all."
After introductions with the first-years, Katsuto turned his gaze toward Yugen. He clearly suspected the Shingon-kai—and thus Yugen—was involved in their rescue.
"Kagurazaka. We were helped by a group similar to the ones in Yokohama. Do you know anything about them?"
"...I might, but I have no obligation to answer, Senpai."
"Is that your answer as the head of the Kagurazaka family?"
"It is both that, and an answer from a different position... beyond that, I cannot answer even a head of the Ten Master Clans."
"I see. That's enough for me. Thank you."
Yugen could only hint that as the head of the Guardian House, the Director of Shingon-kai, and a Special Lieutenant General, the matter was classified. Katsuto nodded and moved toward Tomokazu Saegusa, the elder half-brother of Kasumi and Izumi.
As the families began to disperse, Mototsugu, who had been hanging back, called out.
"Yugen, shall we?"
"Yeah. Sorry, everyone, but please be careful on your way home. My brother and I have a big job left to do."
Miyuki, sensing the "Guardian" business, simply said, "Please be safe," and left with Tatsuya. Celia made a joke about Yugen and Mototsugu "having a thing for each other" and promptly received a knuckle to the head for her trouble.
Meanwhile, at the Japan Magic Association's Kanto Branch, Koichi Saegusa was called into a private reception room. There, he found Retsu Kudo—the former head of the Kudo family and Koichi's magical mentor.
"I apologize, Koichi. I know you're busy, but I had to speak with you now. Though, I suppose I no longer have the right to be called your 'teacher'."
"Teacher... was what you said to Lady Yotsuba yesterday true?"
"It was. I caused you trouble regarding your engagement... no, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I derailed your life."
Koichi was referring to Retsu's apology to Maya. His mentor had sold out the Yotsuba, leading to the incident that left Maya unable to bear children, which in turn broke the engagement between Koichi and Maya. Koichi had then been forced into a political marriage by his parents.
"I am just as guilty for yielding to 'those people,'" Retsu confessed.
"Then why didn't you resist? You should have told them their demands were selfish!"
"What if I told you the first ones to plot the breaking of that engagement were the Saegusa—the original 'Genotype' family of the Third Lab?"
Koichi went silent.
"Your parents wanted you to marry Maya or Miyuki to link the Saegusa with the Kagurazaka bloodline," Retsu explained. (Maya's grandparents had Kagurazaka ties). "But the Saegusa (written with different kanji: 三枝) didn't like that. They are practitioners of Esoteric Buddhism-based Ancient Magic with warrior roots. They despised the Kagurazaka for their 'court noble' origins."
To the Saegusa of Kai Province, the Kagurazaka's move into Hakone was seen as an invasion of their sacred territory around Mount Fuji.
"They threatened me through 'those people.' If I refused, they would have sparked a civil war between Ancient and Modern magicians. I sold out the Yotsuba to prevent that worst-case scenario."
"So you... sold them out to save the Ten Master Clans?"
"It was my responsibility as a foolish man who sought power but couldn't protect his descendants," Retsu sighed, thinking of his son Makoto and grandson Minoru.
Koichi realized that while he had been pestering the Yotsuba for years under the guise of "maintaining order," Maya had long since moved on. She had been saved by Tatsuya, and by Yugen Kagurazaka. Her heart was no longer in the past.
"Thank you for everything, Teacher. I hope you spend the rest of your days in peace."
Koichi left the room. He realized he couldn't keep letting the past ruin the lives of his children. He thought of Mayumi, who had looked so much like his younger, reluctant self when her own engagement was discussed.
Retsu sat back in the sofa alone.
"The old soldier fades away... Gozo's grandson (Yugen) and Genzo's grandson (Tatsuya)... those two will change the world. It's ironic that at this age, I find myself wanting to live just a little longer to see it."
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