Charles flicked out a talisman, which unfolded in front of him to form a red sigil.
He reached his arm through the floating glyph—red markings snaked across his skin, forming a spell-infused armor over his arm.
In the next instant, he closed the distance to a massive Impurity and threw a seemingly ordinary punch.
But that simple straight punch blew a massive hole through the Impurity. The force continued past its body, carving a vacuum corridor in the air behind it.
A red pentagram appeared on the Impurity's torso—and the same symbol lit up on several Impurities caught in the aftershock.
Moments later, they all turned to ash.
Despite the overwhelming effect, Charles wasn't satisfied.
The outward shockwave looked powerful, but it had actually resulted from an imperfect containment of magical energy, causing wasteful leakage.
And then—he glanced at the enchantment on his arm. The red markings vibrated violently, then shattered.
As expected, the prototype talisman had flaws. It broke after a single strike. It still needed refining.
Still, even though Charles wasn't happy with the performance, that one blow had wiped out nearly half of the enemies.
The remaining Impurities were mopped up by Ryōgo and his team. At last, the mission was done, and they returned to the Seika Dormitory.
The results of the talisman test weren't great, but they pointed Charles toward a clear path for improvement. He was patient and confident he could perfect a spell formula of his own.
In the days that followed, Charles continued developing his custom talismans and occasionally entered the Impurity Realm—not just to experiment but to search for Yuto Ijika.
Recently, he'd encountered more Impurities with green net-like patterns—humans transformed through forbidden rituals into Impurities known as Fallen Ones.
Over the past thousand years, only one person had ever tampered with that taboo technique: Yuto Ijika.
That meant Yuto had definitely come to Narukami Town, though Charles had yet to pinpoint his location.
A few days earlier, Rokuro and Benio had been taken away by Tsuchimikado Arima.
Most likely, he had arranged for them to live together in their "love nest" to foster emotional development between them.
As for Charles, Arima had informed him he was temporarily relieved of duty. The two had powerful onmyōji protecting them now.
Specifically, that scheming woman—Subaru Mitejima, of the Twelve Guardians.
When it came to orchestrating romance between the Twin Star Exorcists, there was no one better suited than her.
Charles didn't mind the break—he returned to his peaceful routine. But the calm didn't last long.
While working on a new talisman one afternoon, Charles suddenly stood up, startling Ryōgo, who was watering flowers in the courtyard.
Ryōgo asked, "Mr. Charles, what's wrong?"
"There's a problem. I'll go deal with it," Charles replied.
He pulled out a gate talisman and opened the way to the Impurity Realm.
To track Yuto, Charles had scattered numerous shikigami across the Realm. One of them had just been destroyed, and the transmitted intel included an overwhelmingly powerful jūryoku signature.
And it didn't belong to an onmyōji. It was the aura of an Impurity—a powerful one. At this level, it could only be a Basara.
Charles had yet to see one in person, so this was an opportunity he couldn't miss.
As he stepped into the Realm, he immediately spotted a dark-skinned young man.
Though he had the appearance of a human, the netted patterns across his torso and the black sclera with red iris in one eye revealed the truth—this was an Impurity.
It was him—Kamui. The youngest of the Basara, and the one who had killed Benio's parents eight years ago. After absorbing their jūryoku, he had ascended into his current humanoid form.
At this point in the story, only Kamui would have shown up.
He was a battle maniac, driven by the desire to fight powerful exorcists. Word of the Twin Stars' emergence must have drawn him here.
Kamui spotted Charles and said, "You're an onmyōji, aren't you? You've got two choices—tell me where the Twin Stars are, or die! I'll give you ten seconds. Ten... nine... eight..."
"Wait a second," Charles interrupted, raising a hand. "What if I don't want either?"
Kamui raised his blank-faced gaze. "Too bad. You only get to pick one."
Then he vanished and reappeared in front of Charles, throwing a powerful kick.
The sound of a physical clash echoed out, accompanied by a dust ring spreading across the ground.
Kamui backflipped away, surprised. His expression shifted for the first time.
"First time I've seen an onmyōji like you. You're strong! Perfect—let's fight!"
Charles smiled. "So straightforward. I like it. I'm human, you're Impurity—there's not much else to talk about."
Then, just like Kamui before, he closed the distance in a blink.
Kamui's pupils contracted as he crossed his arms to block Charles's punch.
His feet scraped deep gouges in the ground as he slid backward, and the look in his eyes lit up with both battle spirit and exhilaration.
For someone like Kamui, who lived to fight powerful opponents, a foe like Charles was a dream come true.
Kamui stomped down, shattering the ground beneath him as he launched another attack.
He swung a fist at Charles's chest, but Charles parried with his palm and countered with a knife-hand strike—only to be caught.
The two locked in a test of strength, pushing against each other as energy crackled between them.
Before either could win, the ground gave out beneath them and collapsed. They separated and leapt back, skidding to a stop—only to rush forward again.
Kamui leapt high, aiming a kick—only for Charles to grab his ankle mid-air and slam him into the earth.
Kamui nearly blacked out, but caught himself with both hands and kicked upward, striking Charles's incoming fist to propel himself away.
Charles didn't pursue. He simply watched as Kamui recovered.
"What's the matter? Is this all the mighty Basara have? I was planning to test something new, but if you're done already, I won't get the chance."
Kamui showed no anger at the taunt. Instead, he grew more excited. "You've got more? Excellent!"
He pulled out a talisman. Charles noticed the twisted kanji for "Death Impurity" on its surface.
"Dead God's Shadow Kick—By the decree of this spell!"
Just like an onmyōji using a spell-armament, the talisman's power enveloped Kamui's legs, forming armor-like plates.
"Impurity Binding—Dead Impurity!" Kamui announced.
Charles felt the surge of dark power and nodded. "Now that's more like it. If you didn't step it up, I was about to get bored."
He also took out a talisman of his own.
"Flame Dragon Mirror Sigil—Flame Howl Dragon Destruction! By the decree of this spell!"
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Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
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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