Charles leaned against a pillar, observing the gathered group of onmyōji.
So of them glanced in his direction. But given that he was part of a special assignnt 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 "diocre."
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 tal, 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 dinsion, 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 so unique strengths.
Charles knew that Magano, the dinsion where Impurities lived, wasn't so alternate world either. It had been created by the great onmyōji Abe no Seii himself as a dinsional barrier.
Arima had previously told Charles that he had sothing important he needed help with, but after instructing him to co here on ti, 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 mbers from various regional branches, most of them middle-aged or older. But among this batch were clearly younger individuals—so 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 fundantal essence of the world itself.
These two, then, must be this world's protagonists—the fad 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 seed 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 right. A divine oracle has co down. And this divine ssage 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 sothing so important seem so... ridiculous.
But Arima kept going:
"From ancient tis, there has been a solitary figure passed down through legend. One who possesses cursed power greater than even the great onmyōji Abe no Seii. 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 mory—the so-called "Divine Child" had a much darker truth behind it.
In ancient tis, human malice had given birth to beings known as yōkai, demons, and other monsters.
The great onmyōji Abe no Seii 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 dinsion using jutsu.
In the sky of that dinsion, he planted the Heavenly Pillar Tree—a massive tree that would draw in the negative energy generated by human malice.
That dinsion, corrupted and consud by yin energy, eventually beca 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, Seii ford the Onmyō Union and passed on the power of his twelve shikigami to the most gifted onmyōji, creating the Twelve Heavenly Generals.
But Seii 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 ford 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 ssage sent directly by Abe no Seii 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 Seii, who had created both Magano and the Onmyō Union.
What's more—Seii 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.
Seii had nad him the King Who Shatters the Stars—Hosei-Ō.
Why Seii in his era understood planets as spheres or thought such an outco 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 announcent 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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Reborn in Arica's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the Arican Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
Arican Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
Arican TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supre GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
[ 50 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[ 5 Reviews = 1 Extra Chapter]
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