Omniscient POV
Minagawa Natsume, along with Valerica, had already arrived at the Utsusemi Agency's base, and some time had passed since they entered and began progressing through the facility.
An alarm blared throughout the facility's interior. Having received Valerica's leak, the Five Principle Clans had dispatched their agents, who were now sending the relatives of the retrieved classmates, one by one, through the teleportation magic circle.
Immediately upon infiltrating the base, they had captured and interrogated one of the agency members, who revealed the location of the captives.
After shutting down the equipment in the room, all that remained was to retrieve them.
Natsume commanded Griffon to release a sudden gust, swiftly destroying all the cultivation tanks. Seeing this, Valerica couldn't help but remark with a fearless smile that it was a well-executed plan.
With the destruction of the equipment, it was likely that someone within the facility had already been alerted.
Though some Utsusemi monsters still squirmed within the facility, they were no match for the transformed Griffon, whose sudden gusts minced them all.
The relatives of Natsume's classmates, who had been held in the cultivation tanks, were successfully transported to the Grigori Institute.
Natsume then began moving her collapsed classmates from the passageway into the center of the magic circle Valerica had drawn for their relatives, ensuring they too would be sent to the Grigori Institute. The classmates who had lost their Utsusemi were also sent through the magic circle.
"Valerica! Can you sense any presence or something? Are there any classmates left that you haven't sent yet?" Natsume asked.
Valerica closed her eyes, sharpening her senses to detect any sign of life.
"...There aren't any," she reported.
At that, Natsume decided to resign herself. It was okay to take their time. It was okay if they encountered the Five Principal Clans' agents. They had already saved everyone! They had rescued all their classmates!
Thinking this, Natsume's initially surprised expression abruptly shifted into a frightening smile.
"...I guess this is also fine."
Valerica, her excitement barely contained, steadied her breathing before addressing Natsume.
"All that's left is to retrieve him. Head for the surface, Minagawa Natsume. The 'Hound'—Ikuse Tobio—is there."
"B-but!"
Natsume wanted to help everyone! Anticipating this, Valerica shook her head.
"Rather than the Utsusemi pupils, if you cannot suppress the 'Hound' above, you realize that you may not have a second chance to return, don't you?" Valerica said.
Simultaneously, Natsume was left speechless by the phenomenon unfolding within the room.
——From every direction, warped blades began sprouting.
This was familiar. It was only natural. They resembled the warped blades that Ikuse Tobio's puppy—Jin—had released.
Normally, such blades would only sprout from an object's shadow. However, this was different. An inexhaustible supply of blades was emerging from everywhere—the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the various pieces of equipment.
It didn't seem limited to this room either. In all likelihood, the entire base had been overtaken by these warped blades.
Seeing this phenomenon, Natsume instinctively understood the true meaning of Valerica's words.
"I understand. I'll go to where Ikuse-kun is first."
Announcing this, Natsume ran off, leaving the area in Valerica's care.
She sprinted through the passageway and took the emergency stairwell straight up. Blades were sprouting from every corner of the stairwell, one after another. Undeterred, she steadily climbed the stairs, exiting into another passageway. Ahead, she spotted a large double door.
As Natsume approached the door and touched it, a chilling sensation washed over her as if every pore on her body had opened. For a moment, her entire body trembled. Despite erasing her presence and being accompanied by the imposing figure of Griffon, an overwhelming unease gripped her.
Gulping down her saliva, Natsume pushed the door open and stepped inside——.
She was met with an abnormal world of blades. Countless blades sprouted from every surface in the room—some straight, some curved, some zigzagged. The room was a chaotic forest of sharp edges.
In the midst of this immense darkness, a bright light illuminated a figure: a middle-aged man wielding a shakujou, standing beside a gigantic lion. Nearby, two beasts radiated an ominous jet-black aura.
One was a large black dog. Though no blades grew from its body, its face was unmistakably Jin's. If the puppy had grown up, this was likely what it would have looked like.
The other beast, while dog-like in form, was a humanoid monster. Its protruding mouth and sharp fangs resembled a dog's, while its upright ears and human-like arms ended in razor-sharp claws. It stood on two legs, its dog-like hind legs supporting its frame, and six tails sprouted from its back——.
Sensing Natsume's arrival, the man turned to her and spoke.
"...Minagawa Natsume, is it? Fufufu, how good of you to have come. Nice to meet you. I am Himejima Hanezu. I presume you've heard this name before, right?"
Himejima Hanezu——. The name echoed in Natsume's mind. He was the one from the 'Utsusemi Agency,' the man who had appeared before Ikuse Tobio and Samejima Kouki.
Himejima Hanezu shifted his gaze back to the pair of black beasts.
"...You should understand somewhat, right?"
Surrounding him were several ritual implements—tokko—floating in the air, their supernatural power directed toward the black beasts.
The tokko moved freely, launching themselves at the black beasts in a relentless assault!
<
The humanoid black beast spat out a curse-like torrent of words, its voice dripping with resentment. The sheer malice in its tone was enough to unsettle the mind, leaving a lingering sense of unease.
The tokko Himejima Hanezu had launched failed to land a direct hit. Blades sprouted from the ceiling, floor, and walls, intercepting and shattering the ritual implements mid-air.
Himejima Hanezu, far from being dismayed, was ecstatic.
"...Already, my tokko have been seen through, huh? Observe, Minagawa Natsume."
Tobio's transformation had reached its peak, his monstrous form distorting the world around him into something unrecognizable.
Hanezu pointed toward a windowed wall, where the once-vibrant landscape had been replaced by a blackened void. The mountains and sky, once clear and serene, were now consumed by an all-encompassing darkness.
Though the sun should still have been shining, time itself seemed to lose meaning as the entire region was swallowed by suffocating blackness.
Natsume, who had arrived at the base earlier in the day, now faced this twisted reality. She watched in horror as gigantic, jagged blades erupted from the ground, tearing through the environment. The forested mountains surrounding them were being buried under the sudden, violent transformation.
Her gaze shifted back to the humanoid black beast. She immediately understood—Tobio had become this terrifying, blackened entity. In the corner of the room, a young girl lay motionless on the floor.
Natsume felt the weight of the situation. Tobio was no longer the man he once was—he had become a beast.
As Tobio let out a fearsome roar, the black lion lurking in the shadows sank into the ground. Its form shattered, scattering into the room like creeping darkness.
Tobio observed calmly, unfazed, as the battle unfolded.
With a swift, fluid motion, Tobio raised both arms and slammed them down. Instantly, massive blades erupted from the floor, stabbing upward into the ceiling. Some pierced the shadowy form of the lion, trapping it momentarily, but the beast violently shook itself free, destroying the blades in the process.
The black lion broke loose, charging toward Tobio at incredible speed. But Tobio vanished, reappearing in front of the lion with terrifying precision.
The two black beasts clashed at a speed beyond Natsume's comprehension, their battle a blur of darkness and violence.
Amidst the chaos, the black Hound, Jin, remained a constant presence, his red eyes glowing ominously as he calmly observed the fight.
Without warning, a thick, massive blade appeared behind Jin and skewered the black lion. Jin had anticipated the lion's movements, providing backup for Tobio. With one deadly strike, the lion was pinned, but it still unleashed a fiery breath aimed directly at Tobio.
Tobio, without hesitation, plunged his hands into the flames, stabbing into the lion's mouth. He thrust deeper as if reaching for the very source of the fire.
His voice rang out in a scream of rage and resentment, each repetition of the word "kill" echoing with ferocious, almost insane intensity, tears streaming from his eyes.
The lion, its body torn apart, finally collapsed. Its form melted into the surrounding darkness, vanishing as if it had never existed.
Natsume could barely comprehend the spectacle before her. Reality itself seemed to have shattered, leaving behind only raw, violent power.
The terrifying aura emanating from Tobio and Jin left her paralyzed with fear. She knew, deep down, that if she moved or tried to intervene, she would be seen as a threat as well.
The battle between Tobio and the lion was over, but their next target was clear: Himejima Hanezu. Before they could act, however, a third party arrived—a silver-haired youth.
Valerica stood at the threshold, her body trembling with a strange mix of fear and excitement. Upon witnessing the chaos, her smile twisted into one of ecstasy.
"...Despite visually confirming Minagawa Natsume, he hasn't returned to normal. ...Azazel!! Isn't this different from what you said...?!! What was that about a 'cute dog comparable to a heavenly dragon'...?!! This... this monster... is...!!"
Her voice trembled, but another, familiar voice cut through the tension.
"Repainting the surrounding landscape and changing into a black beast, huh? Geez, I never expected to meet a Longinus with such a shady history."
The voice came from the white dragon plush on Valerica's shoulder—it belonged to the Governor General of Grigori, Azazel. He continued, addressing Himejima Hanezu directly.
"Yo, chief engineer-dono."
Himejima Hanezu's eyes widened. He recognized the voice instantly.
"——!! …Grigori, huh?"
The Governor General, fully aware of the chaos, responded cynically.
"How about it? His power is quite irregular, isn't it?"
Hanezu's voice took on a mocking tone.
"...This is that 'Dog,' isn't it? The one incarnation that overthrows gods... it must be the Dog God of the Black Blade."
"Ah, that's it. That's the correct understanding. His black blade is said to cut even gods. However, in any case, I hear that boy was born with the Balanced Breaker active naturally."
Himejima Hanezu raised an eyebrow, intrigued but still unfazed.
"Isn't that something particularly rare? A person being born with that power..."
"Ah, that's right. ——Ikuse Tobio was the only one who was naturally born that way."
Himejima Hanezu chuckled lightly, his confidence unwavering.
"...That such a thing was possible…"
Valerica, her expression darkening, narrowed her eyes.
"It's not such an irregular thing," the Governor General continued, his tone almost playful as he reveled in the unfolding chaos.
"Ikuse Tobio's grandmother placed a seal on her grandchild, who was naturally born with the power to disrupt the balance of the world. You came into contact with him recklessly, didn't you?
You wanted to see it, didn't you? This form. Abandoning everything for the sake of witnessing it firsthand, right? Well, that comes at a price. It's nice to have a chance to enjoy watching you get sliced apart."
His ominous laughter echoed, chilling and foreboding as if it heralded the inevitable downfall of those who had dared to provoke the monstrous power now unleashed.
Azazel, now fully revealed, appeared unfazed by the chaos unfolding before him. His gaze shifted between Tobio, whose monstrous transformation seemed unstoppable, and the others present.
"Seems like this is beyond even your expectations, huh, Azazel?" Valerica remarked, her voice calm but laced with a hint of curiosity—or perhaps amusement. Her eyes remained fixed on the dark, chaotic scene.
Azazel grinned at her words, though his focus stayed on the shifting chaos caused by Tobio's transformation. His voice was steady, but there was a sharp edge to it as he addressed Lavinia and Valerica.
"Well, it's certainly a 'big deal,' as you put it. But it's not just about the spectacle. Tobio's power... it's not something we can just let run wild. We've all got our reasons for being here, but let's not forget the bigger picture, alright?"
Lavinia nodded, her expression grave. "Yes. It's no longer just a matter of containing the transformation... We need to find a way to deal with it before it escalates further."
Lavinia had already arrived. Her fight with Augusta had concluded. Lavinia had frozen Augusta's very soul, inflicting excruciating pain, and had even taken the orb of Incinerate Anthem. She had also captured and teleported Walburga to Akatsuki's prison for interrogation.
[A/N: Initially, I wanted to detail Lavinia and Augusta's fight, but now I'm rushing toward canon, not that it would change anything. In actuality, I am too lazy to write it and most people probably want the Slash Dog arc to quickly end. Let me know if you guys actually want the fight scene.
Lavinia was far stronger than Augusta, and the painful death was a result of the evil rituals Augusta had conducted on innocent people, as mentioned in previous chapters. The prisoner Mephistopheles had come to meet for information was this psycho girl named Walburga.]
Meanwhile, Natsume stood silent, her mind racing. Everything around her felt surreal, as though she were watching from a distance. The room was thick with tension, and despite her efforts to comprehend the situation, the sight of the battle between Tobio and the lion-like beast was haunting.
Azazel's presence seemed to calm the room, but only slightly. Natsume's gaze shifted from Tobio's dark form to Azazel. She knew little about this man, but there was a sense of authority in his words and actions that drew her attention. He wasn't just another bystander; he was a key part of this intricate puzzle.
"We'll need to act soon, Valerica, Lavinia. The 'Hound' won't just stand idly by as we sort this out," Azazel said, his voice low but commanding.
Lavinia's expression darkened slightly. "Agreed. We've seen the destruction he's capable of, and it's only a matter of time before it spirals beyond what even we can control."
Natsume felt a shiver run down her spine as the air grew heavier. The battle between Tobio and the beasts had momentarily paused, but the tension was far from over. She was beginning to understand that they weren't dealing with just any transformed human—Tobio had become something beyond their grasp, a force that could tear apart everything in its path.
"I don't know if we can stop this," Natsume whispered, her voice barely audible.
Azazel heard her and glanced her way with a knowing look. "Stopping it... might not be an option. But we can at least contain the damage."
As the words left his lips, Tobio's roar echoed through the room once more, and the shadowy blackness seemed to intensify, threatening to swallow everything in its path.
After that, Hanezu didn't wait any longer. With his magic power flaring up, he leaped toward Tobio. He still had one last thing to do before the others could stop him. Tobio, in his beast form, retaliated instinctively. Even before Hanezu could cast any spells, he was decapitated and dismembered.
But even in the face of death, Hanezu didn't falter. A large grin spread across his face as he uttered his final words, their echo ringing inside Tobio's mind:
"This is my last gift to you, Tobio Himejima. It should be possible for you with one of those ominous blades. The Five Principal Clans, the Himejima—destroy them!"
Seeing that, for the first time, Natsume realized that their battle wasn't just against a single transformed boy—it was against something far darker, something much more dangerous. The true fight was just beginning.
Having witnessed everything, Lavinia seemed to grasp the situation immediately.
Azazel turned to Tobio and added, "Lavinia, Valerica, let's stop this now. Lend me your strength."
Taking a step forward, Valerica followed close behind.
"Good grief, always cleaning up the mess. How long must I endure this?" Valerica muttered.
Lavinia removed her worn-out hat and advanced toward Tobio.
"Tobi, come back to us. We still have so much to talk about. Didn't you say you wanted to save all your friends?"
The three maintained a calculated distance. Valerica's glowing wings unfolded, a powerful magic circle appeared beneath Lavinia, and the ice princess materialized at her side.
As cold air filled the room, Azazel revealed his 12 black wings with a loud flapping sound. Lavinia spread her arms in sync with the princess, instantly freezing the room.
Even the countless sprouting blades were frozen in Lavinia's icy domain. Tobio and Jin, too, were encased in ice, though the ice around them began to crack almost immediately. Lavinia couldn't exert her full power. Her goal was to suppress him and turn him back to normal, not to hurt or kill him.
"Ikuse's grandmother! You used Buddhist magic to manage it!"
Azazel pulled out a sutra from his breast pocket. As he tied a token to his hand, the sutra glowed, its characters floating into the air. These characters surrounded Tobio and Jin, forming a chain that bound them tightly.
The ice and sutra-bound chains restrained Tobio and Jin.
"Valerica, steal his power now!" Azazel ordered.
Valerica, with a flap of her light wings, moved swiftly to touch Tobio and Jin. The silver-haired youth snapped her fingers midair.
"Divide."
"Divide!!"
The voice echoed powerfully, and Natsume noticed the aura around Tobio diminishing. The repeated cries of 'Divide!!' were accompanied by bursts of light from Valerica's wings.
Tobio and Jin's strength waned steadily. The darkness outside began clearing, and the massive blades cracked and crumbled.
Soon after, Tobio collapsed to his knees, his dark clothes falling away to reveal his true form. Jin, too, weakened, lowering himself to the ground.
Thanks to the teamwork of Azazel, Valerica, and Lavinia, the supernatural phenomenon subsided. The room reverted to its original state, the glass wall now displaying the serene mountain forest scenery.
Azazel sighed in relief. "Phew, one task down. The Himejima follow Shintoism, yet Ikuse's grandmother mastered a sealing technique like this and it cost her everything!"
While Azazel muttered, Natsume rushed to Tobio's side.
"Ikuse-kun!"
She confirmed his breathing—he was alive. He was still alive! Jin, who had transformed into a large dog, was also breathing, though exhausted.
Lavinia placed a hand on Natsume's shoulder.
"Everyone is safe. Let's go home, Natsume-chan."
Wiping her tears, Natsume nodded.