Chapter 40

All of us 13 students plus Miss Hanebana, Mister Kazuki and Mister Hideo go to the giant temple that has been identified as the headquarters of the military. We are riding a carriage which brings us to an entrance which isn’t available for the public. We get off the carriage. Mister Kazuki is parking the carriage and the horses while Miss Hanebana checks if everyone is there.

“Muraoka Minoru?” “Here.”

“Iwata Shuji?” “Here.”

“Isuri Bankoku?” “Here.”

After confirming that we did not lose someone on the way here - no idea how that should have been possible but oh well - we enter the building through the private entrance. We see long red and yellow halls with a ton of doors and offices behind them. After a while we stand in front of yet another door. Mister Hideo opens it and behind it we can see a giant stadium. On the other side of the door there were some seats.

“Okay, everyone! Listen up!” Miss Hanebana assigned each of us a seat. “We aren’t the only ones in this district! High ranking politicians, nobles and family members of the fighters are also sitting here… So you better behave well, understand?! I don’t want to get in trouble because of you…”

Thus, we go to the small district reserved only for special people. Only now do I truly understand just how prestigious our academy and the military truly was: A giant stadium, ready to be watched and adored by thousands of people in the greatest city of all of Japan. And we - mere students still on their way to become experts in Yokai slaying and the use of our blessings - become perfect seats for visiting this spectacle. Seats inside of the district with the most important people of all of Tojume.

I smile excited. I sit down next to Hibiki. I want to strike up a conversation with her and maybe talk a bit while the battles are going on.

The festival itself was explained to me properly: Each year, there is this giant tournament. The winner of said tournament is the new Leader of Yokai Annihilation, a very high rank in the military. Phanes - well, it is technically the winner of last year but since he exists it has always been Phanes - will fight as well, however he will only start fighting in the second round. There are six contestants. They will each have a one on one fight and the winner will emerge. Thus, there are 3 contestants. Two of them will fight again with the third one fighting against Phanes.

A small man with long robes steps into the middle of the field. Despite his at first kind of pitiful appearance he has an aura which dominates the entire stadium. Nothing has been said and nothing has been done and yet the entire audience which has gathered instantly becomes quiet. Even I myself cannot bring myself to say another thing. This is the aura of Emperor Sakuramachi.

“Greetings, everyone! Greetings to the great Festival of Yokai-Extermination! Today we shall celebrate the destruction we have brought to our enemies and the safety we have brought to our Empire!”

The crowd breaks out into a loud applause. The Emperor raises his hand and it goes quiet again.

“Now let us begin our great tournament to determine the head of Yokai Annihilation for this year once again! Our participants are the six who have defeated the most Yokai of the highest rank! Now, give another round of applause for the first two contestants!”

Thus, the tournament started.

The first two contestants have defeated 29 A-rank yokai and 11 S-Rank Yokai if you add them up.

“Huh… Are the S-Rank yokai that strong?”

Grand Magician Sherlock… Okay, this gotta stop. I will simply call him Sherlock from this point onwards. Anyways; Sherlock, who sits right next to me, answers me.

“Grandiose question! They are certainly strong without competition… That is if you ignore the SS-Rank Yokai of course. However, they are extremely rare as well.”

Kida, who sits behind us, also says something. “Yup, there are only 4 different types of S-Rank Yokai: Gashadokuro, Itsumade, Ubume and Yuki-onna… at least those are the ones we actually know of.”

“No, there are actually 5. You missed the Kitsune.”

I flinch a bit when I hear the name Kitsune since it reminds me of what once happened.

“Uhh… Yeah, of course. I only thought of Tamamo-no-Mae, because she was an SS-Rank Yokai.”

Sherlock looks at me. He does realize that I am getting overwhelmed. Kida leaves to go to the restroom, thus Sherlock explains it to me.

“Okay, basically: There are multiple Kitsune, but there has only been one Tamamo-no-Mae. And that Tamamo-no-Mae was an SS-Rank yokai since she was way worse than the other Kitsune. She was slain by none other than Phanes… Ah, if we are already talking about SS-Rank yokai: There have only ever been 6 known in history. And of those 6, only 4 have perished up until today. Ah, and of course 3 of them have been slain by none other than Phanes himself.”

“He did all that?! How old is he?”

“Not that old, actually. But Yokai do not age… and thus they keep on surviving, no matter what. Only when Phanes came around he was actually capable of beating them.”

“And the fourth one?”

At this moment the last of the three matches of the first round starts. The Emperor announces the last participant:
“...and his opponent is the new-comer, the one blessed by Light and Fate! Lunari, the woman who managed to kill 12 A-Rank yokai, 4 S-Rank yokai and one SS-Rank yokai!”

Lunari was a foreign woman wearing a blue dress. On her head rested a thin and high silver crown. In her hand was a long lance, glowing in a dark way, if that makes any sense at all.

The battle starts. I only now realize that I did not pay a single moment of attention to the previous battles: Something I want to change now.

The opponent of Lunari is some kind of samurai. The battle starts, Lunari quietly raises her lance and -

Out of the sky a slim, blue ray of sun shoots directly at the Samurai. He stands there, readily to attack Lunari. Yet, after being hit by this sun ray he does not move at all. And in the very next moment he simply falls onto the ground.

The match has been decided.