Charles leaned against a pillar, observing the gathered group of onmyōji.
Some of them glanced in his direction. But given that he was part of a special assignment ordered by the Onmyō Head himself, and many weren't familiar with the details, no one dared approach him.
Charles didn't mind. He wasn't particularly interested in socializing with them anyway. Especially since Tsuchimikado Arima had publicly referred to these very people as "mediocre."
Right now, Charles stood in a vast space that resembled an enormous cavern, though it was filled with wood-and-stone buildings.
What caught the eye most was the enormous pentagram drawn on the floor. At each of its five points, large kanji representing Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth were painted in distinct colors.
This was the Mirror Stillness Chamber—a special space constructed through jutsu, where onmyōji gathered to discuss major matters.
It wasn't a physical location in the real world but a magically sustained dimension, which allowed onmyōji from across the country to access it via various entrances.
To be able to construct such a stable, long-lasting space, jutsu truly had some unique strengths.
Charles knew that Magano, the dimension where Impurities lived, wasn't some alternate world either. It had been created by the great onmyōji Abe no Seimei himself as a dimensional barrier.
Arima had previously told Charles that he had something important he needed help with, but after instructing him to come here on time, the man had vanished—true to his usual unreliable self.
Charles still had no idea what Arima actually wanted him to do.
Soon, more people arrived at the Mirror Stillness Chamber—but this new group was noticeably different.
Until now, most attendees had been high-ranking members from various regional branches, most of them middle-aged or older. But among this batch were clearly younger individuals—some even wearing school uniforms instead of traditional onmyōji robes.
What drew Charles's attention was a boy and girl in those uniforms.
Both had strong cursed energy—strong enough that only a handful of the elders present could match them. And yet, by Charles's standards, their cursed power wasn't especially overwhelming.
What made them stand out was the nature of their cursed energy.
If Charles had to describe it, he'd say that the energy within them was more pure—closer to the fundamental essence of the world itself.
These two, then, must be this world's protagonists—the famed Twin Star Exorcists.
Since arriving in this world, Charles had spent days wandering Magano and then gone straight to the Onmyō Union HQ with Arima to study. He hadn't made any effort to track the current state of the plot.
Judging by what he was seeing now, things seemed to be just kicking off.
Suddenly, Arima—dressed in formal onmyōji robes—appeared atop a raised platform. Throwing out his arms, he shouted:
"Yaaah, everyone! Thanks for your patience! I'm Tsuchimikado Arima, the Onmyō Head. I appreciate you all gathering here today."
"There's only one reason I've called you all to this place. I bring you joyous—unbelievably joyous—news!"
"Yes, you heard me right. A divine oracle has come down. And this divine message tells us… that the long, long war between us onmyōji and the Impurities is finally, finally, finally—nearing its end!"
"That's right—the Child of the Gods! The oracle has revealed the appearance of this divine child! Isn't that the most uplifting news?!"
Charles couldn't help but shake his head. This was a matter that could affect the entire nation, yet Arima's exaggerated, almost theatrical delivery made it hard not to doubt the whole thing. Only Arima could make something so important seem so... ridiculous.
But Arima kept going:
"From ancient times, there has been a solitary figure passed down through legend. One who possesses cursed power greater than even the great onmyōji Abe no Seimei. The one said to purify all Impurities and bring an end to the accursed Magano—the Divine Child."
Charles, listening to Arima's speech, recalled what he'd read at the Onmyō Union headquarters.
What Arima was saying was consistent with the official records. But in more restricted archives—and in Charles's own memory—the so-called "Divine Child" had a much darker truth behind it.
In ancient times, human malice had given birth to beings known as yōkai, demons, and other monsters.
The great onmyōji Abe no Seimei foresaw that the power of negative emotions could one day destroy the world. So, beneath what is now Onmyō Union headquarters, he created a separate dimension using jutsu.
In the sky of that dimension, he planted the Heavenly Pillar Tree—a massive tree that would draw in the negative energy generated by human malice.
That dimension, corrupted and consumed by yin energy, eventually became a twisted, crumbling world: Magano.
As negative energy built up, it took form as the Impurities—monsters born of human hatred, fear, and sorrow.
To combat them, Seimei formed the Onmyō Union and passed on the power of his twelve shikigami to the most gifted onmyōji, creating the Twelve Heavenly Generals.
But Seimei knew that Impurities would never truly disappear—as long as malice existed in human hearts, their power would only grow.
So he devised a plan—the creation of the Twin Star Exorcists and the Divine Child.
The boy, Rokuro Enmadou, was formed from concentrated yin energy, born from the Heavenly Pillar Tree within Magano. The girl, Benio Adashino, was born from purified yang energy in the human world.
Together, the fusion of their yin and yang powers would birth a child of divine might—the one called the Divine Child.
Only this child, who could wield both powers, had the potential to purify Magano and wipe out the Impurities forever.
This so-called divine oracle? Charles strongly suspected it was a message sent directly by Abe no Seimei himself—reminding Arima that the Twin Stars had now appeared, and urging him to carry out the Divine Child plan.
And if there was a "god" in this world, it might very well be Seimei, who had created both Magano and the Onmyō Union.
What's more—Seimei had been ruthless. Knowing that malice was tied to humanity itself, he feared even the Divine Child might not succeed.
So his contingency was simple: eliminate the source—humanity.
Rokuro Enmadou wasn't just a Twin Star Exorcist. He had also been designed as a weapon to exterminate all humankind.
Seimei had named him the King Who Shatters the Stars—Hosei-Ō.
Why Seimei in his era understood planets as spheres or thought such an outcome would "protect" anything was a mystery—but regardless, that had been his plan.
Charles briefly found his thoughts wandering. These ancient mastermind types with long-range plans always ended up being the final bosses.
So really, digging up ancestral skeletons was just another shōnen tradition.
Pulling himself back to the present, he realized that a fight had broken out.
Arima hadn't directly revealed the identities of the Twin Stars. Instead, he had summoned the two during his grand announcement and demanded they fight at full strength.
To provoke the reluctant Rokuro, Arima had even mocked his dead friends.
If Charles had been in Rokuro's place, Arima's face would've been smashed in already. Naturally, Rokuro snapped and clashed with Benio.
Charles glanced at Rokuro's arm—aside from the color, it looked disturbingly similar to Yūdō's monstrous limb.
He shook his head. Yep. At this point in the story, the male lead really wasn't looking too promising.
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Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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