I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 219 High School Martial Arts Tournament

island country,

Kochi Prefecture and Kochi City.

"Attention, citizens! Attention, citizens!"

"An extraordinary disaster, the 'Rift of the Underworld,' has appeared, with a presumed danger level of: Ghost."

Air raid sirens blared throughout the city, and all radios, televisions, computers, and mobile phones were broadcasting "Extraordinary Disaster Warning"—in fact, it couldn't really be called a warning, because the dark cracks in the sky were already clearly visible.

"Please proceed to the nearest shelter in an orderly manner. The Extraordinary Countermeasures Division headquarters has already departed and is expected to arrive in fifteen minutes."

With such a dense bombardment of information, unless one is truly asleep, everyone living in this city must already know about the impending supernatural disaster.

As for those who can fall asleep peacefully during air raid sirens, they can only wait to never wake up again.

"here we go again!"

"This is so troublesome, it never ends."

"Don't run around, keep order—"

Dense crowds of people emerged quickly from high-rise office buildings, ordinary multi-story apartments, and detached houses, leading the elderly and children, complaining as they headed toward the nearest shelter.

The extraordinary calamity of 'Yellow Spring Rift' is a 'ghost' when it is single, but a 'dragon' when it is plural.

Moreover, although it is classified as 'Demon-level', a 'Demon-level' super evil spirit will not actually appear from the beginning.

Thick, black 'mud' began to gush from the cracks in the sky, then fell like rain: these were countless low-level, incomplete evil spirits, worse than ordinary people, whose only advantage was their sheer numbers and immunity to physical attacks, which caused the disaster that endangered countless people.

"Children and women, move to the middle of the line!"

On the streets, citizens gathered into dense, dark streams of people, and strong, burly members of the 'security team' began to maintain order.

These 'guard team' members are all able-bodied men who have their own jobs. After passing the assessment, they obtained part-time positions in the 'guard team' and were able to receive government subsidies. Their duties include taking turns patrolling at night and stepping forward in the event of extraordinary disasters.

Buzzing buzzing buzzing

Amidst the sound of four propellers spinning at high speed, one after another 'Falcon' drones flew in.

These highly mobile drones have become best-selling products in island nations and even other countries: although they have problems such as high power consumption, short flight time, and susceptibility to being shot down by air defense systems, their essential function is to be quickly deployed to the battlefield.

Having this advantage is enough.

Brush, brush, brush, brush, brush

One by one, human figures flew out from these drones.

They wear specially designed police uniforms and carry jetpacks on their backs, enabling them to perform simple maneuvers in the air and also possess aerial combat capabilities.

"Exceptional countermeasures, the entire Kochi branch—"

The leading branch manager gave a loud order.

"Draw the knife!"

Clang,

As he drew his alloy longsword from his waist, the other special police officers followed suit.

"xxxx draws his sword!"

"xxxx draws his sword!"

"xxx draws his sword!"

"xxxxx draws his sword!"

The scene was quite childish at one point.
It was as if time had reversed, returning us to the Meiji Restoration era.

"on!"

Immediately afterwards, these 'rocket soldiers' soared into the sky to meet the falling evil spirits.

They must hold off—no, draw the attention of these evil spirits—before reinforcements arrive, buying time for ordinary people to take refuge.

Soon, Osprey transport planes appeared on the horizon. Meanwhile, the evil spirits were already swarming everywhere, densely packed.

"Guardian Spirit Squad, move out!"

The cabin door opened, and a figure—no, two figures—leaped out.

"Hahahaha~~"

Amidst hearty laughter, the female high school student demon with flowing golden hair opened her arms.

"This feeling of freedom is really great."

"Sister Yiyue,"

Still wearing her junior high school uniform, Higashi Takami reluctantly offered a reminder.
"If we don't do something soon, I'm going to be smashed into a pulp and become an evil spirit with you."

"I'm not an ordinary evil spirit; according to experts, I'm a possessed spirit!"

While refuting her claims, the high school girl's spirit entered the middle school girl's body.

The two are combined into one!

As the light in her eyes changed, the girl, now merged with the other, raised her hand.

An invisible rope shot into the sky and wrapped around the wing of the Osprey aircraft overhead.

As the hovering plane swayed slightly, the falling girl began to slow down, and after approaching the ground, she raised her other hand again.

Invisible ropes, like spider silk, flew out and wrapped around a building; with a pull, the girl swung towards it. Like Spider-Man, she traversed the building, soon arriving above an elementary school.

The school playground was already crowded with ordinary people seeking refuge.

Police officers, firefighters, and security personnel stood guard on the perimeter, armed with weapons, relying on their courage to fend off the evil spirits swirling in the air.

brush,

As soon as the girl landed on the school building, the rope in her hand swept out horizontally.

It was just an ordinary rope, but in the hands of the ever-growing 'Izuki', it whistled and roared.

Moreover, as a spirit, her attacks can inflict full damage on evil spirits: the long rope whistles past like a crescent moon, instantly tearing a large group of evil spirits in half!

“Hey, you evil spirits,”

"Come and play with me!"

The obedient short-haired girl burst out with a series of arrogant words, making Higashi Hsiao-mei inside her body feel her spirit burning.

How embarrassing!
but:

"Amazing!"

"Big sister, you can do it!"

"Is that someone from the Extraordinary Countermeasures Department?"

"She doesn't even look as old as my daughter; evil spirits are no match for her!"

Waaaaah...

The girl wielded the two ropes with great force, constantly drawing afterimages in the air: all the evil spirits that stood in her way were effortlessly torn to pieces and then vanished into thin air, while specks of light drifted towards the girl and merged into her body.

Brush, brush, brush, brush, brush

No one else was as bold as her, jumping out of the plane at an altitude of 1,000 meters.

Instead, they waited for the Osprey to descend before swooping down from the airport.

Various 'guardian spirits' appeared behind him: some were old men, some were young men, some were policemen, and some were samurai.
These guardian spirits are all their relatives.

Of course, there are exceptions:
"Love you."

"Leave Haruto!"

"You're the one who should get out—"

"Haruto is mine, you all deserve to die!!"

As soon as a well-proportioned, stylishly dressed young man with wispy hair covering his eyes landed, several female evil spirits appeared behind him, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

"Everyone, please be quiet, you are all my wings."

The young man, looking utterly dejected, forced himself to stay awake and console himself that the creatures behind him didn't seem like guardian spirits at all.

He's a male escort, or as commonly known, a gigolo; he makes a living by manipulating his clients. Unexpectedly, with the arrival of the extraordinary era, he even has a 'guardian spirit'.

Unfortunately, he was exhausted from having to appease these jealous spirits every day; his body was also failing him, as carrying so many evil spirits was also draining his life force.

Thinking of this, the male escort couldn't help but tilt his head to look to the side:

"Get the hell away from me!"

"Do you want me to trample on you?!"

A beautiful woman with exquisite makeup and equally fashionable attire, wearing high heels, looked behind her with a face full of disdain.

More than a dozen evil spirits were writhing on the ground behind her!
"like."

"Yua, step on me!"

Let's be together.

"I am your dog! Yua, please look at me more~~" These male evil spirits fought amongst themselves while crawling on the ground toward the beautiful woman, but once they got close, they became timid and dared not touch the 'goddess' in their hearts.

Such a scene even prompted the popular male escort "Chunren" to sigh:
Those simps deserve a terrible death!

After the others landed, they scattered in all directions, leaving the two of them standing to the side.

There's no way around it; putting aside the fact that these two's 'guardian spirits' are too bizarre, the unstable mental state of these spirits means they could easily go berserk at any time.

So let them team up, as the saying goes: a whore and a dog are a match made in heaven.

Congratulations, congratulations!
"Miss Yua, would you like to come along?"

“Okay, Mr. Haruto.”

Amidst the bickering and fighting of the sycophants and jealous women behind them, the two eccentric 'superhumans' also began their exorcism.

"Fuck me!"

"That evil spirit seems to care about me."

With just the slightest provocation, the evil spirits—no, the guardian spirits—behind them will swarm in.

"Don't even think about it, Haruto is mine!"

"How dare you covet my goddess! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

The scene was chaotic at one point, but for the Extraordinary Countermeasures Department, no matter who you are, you have to be used!

The extraordinary special police officers who have mastered the 'Uranium Light Wave Fist' are also on their way to provide support.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Shimane City,
"The 'Rift to the Underworld' has appeared again?"

In the corridor of the teaching building at Higashi Izumo High School, a group of high school students are scrolling through their phones.

Yes, in several places.

"What does this have to do with us? Master Zhixiong is here, and there are no evil spirits here."

The renowned Buddhist monk Shishio, known as the "Living Vajra," single-handedly fought against evil spirits in Shimane City, eventually achieving enlightenment and reaching the Demon level. He is one of the island nation's top combat forces: even modern armies must give him a wide berth.

Truly overwhelming the surrounding kingdoms!
Therefore, in the eyes of those who are 'unaware', this is the place where Master Zhixiong attained enlightenment.

Shimane City, which was originally a remote area, suddenly became bustling.

The influx of a large number of outsiders brought a strange prosperity.

Although Master Shio recently returned to Mount Koya to establish his own sect, there are still some extraordinary individuals in Shimane City who are trying to make breakthroughs here. At the same time, there are government extraordinary individuals who maintain the operation of the 'sealing magic circle' and easily deal with sporadic evil spirits.

"Forget about the 'Underworld Rift,' aren't you going to participate in the 'Martial Arts Tournament'?"

There are four competition events: swordsmanship, archery, karate, and horse racing.

Open to all high school students, the competition is divided into male and female sections.

"That means there are eight champions in total!"

A boy with a face full of longing,

"If you can win the championship, you can become a superhuman: and you'll start at the level of a strong dog."

The champion's reward, the 'Supernatural Potion,' is a treasure that money can't buy; only the island nation's government can afford it. Other forces would be lucky to produce 'Secondary' or 'Third' Supernatural Potions.

"You're dreaming!"

Another classmate didn't hesitate to shatter his illusion.

"These four events all involve real combat and competition, unlike the safe competitions of the past."

Karate and swordsmanship aside, archery and horse racing also involve real combat: of course, metal arrowheads and spearheads are eliminated, and points are scored based on hits. It's still extremely dangerous: for example, in horse racing, the impact of the horse and rider means that a fatal blow, even without a spearhead, can be fatal!
Do you dare to participate?

"Why don't you dare!"

The first boy retorted, his neck stiff with arrogance.

"Many extraordinary individuals will appear as guests at this competition, and there will also be shrine maidens from the Inari Shrine in attendance."

"As long as they don't die on the spot, they can be saved!"

"OK,"

"Get your school's qualification for the competition first."

To participate in this national martial arts competition, one must first pass the school's competition: any boy who has any confidence in his physique has been training like crazy lately.

If one can win a prize, one will naturally rise to prominence instantly, transforming from an ordinary person into a distinguished extraordinary individual.

Even if you don't get into the top three, just being able to make a good impression in a major competition is still a brilliant resume.

This will be a huge plus, whether you're looking for a job or doing anything else in the future.

"Oh no! I... I forgot to register!"

"Shut up—?!"

"Look!"

"Is that Busujima-senpai?"

"Is that guy Xiao, who's been making headlines lately?"

Upon seeing a man and a woman approaching, the students who had been chatting idly in the corridor immediately stood up straight and stepped aside, behaving with even greater respect than if they were seeing the principal.

Because these two people are the 'favorites' to win the championship at their school.

"Xiao Tongxue,"

Walking through these students,
With long hair reaching her hips, a tall figure, and striking features, she looked like a high school girl who resembled a 'Yamato Nadeshiko' at first glance, speaking as she walked.

"I didn't expect you to participate in the swordplay competition and win the class championship."

"It's just the parents' expectation,"

The boy beside her was not arrogant, but shook his head slightly.

"I don't want to fight. To me, hurting others is always wrong."

"My father taught me swordsmanship in the hope that I would become a policeman in the future."

?

His steps paused slightly.
The long-haired senior, 'Poison Island,' gave a reply that was rather ambiguous.

"That's it,"

"In any case, in this era, only strength can ultimately lead to one's dreams, right?"

After speaking, Busujima, a third-year student, turned to look at his second-year junior.

"See you at Koshien, Xiao-kun."

To enter Koshien, one not only has to fight their own school, but also compete with students selected from 19 high schools across Shimane Prefecture: each one is a talent that is 'one in ten thousand'.

To become extraordinary individuals, these contestants will absolutely give it their all, making the competition far more intense than any modern competition.

Even:
"Drug use, technological transformation."

"It's possible that an extraordinary individual might secretly intervene."

Among the extraordinary abilities, there are also those that can enhance the abilities of others: just a little bit of enhancement is enough for these contestants to crush others!

"I'm just participating for the sake of participating."

The high school boy named 'Xiao' scratched his head. He only participated because his parents asked him to.

Even so, his parents did not require him to win a prize.

"but--"

"You've trained for so many years, so let's meet at Koshien, Busujima-senpai."

Faced with the boy's outstretched fist, the tall Busujima was slightly taken aback, but he also smiled and extended his fist to touch it with the boy's.

"That's right."

Whether it's swordsmanship, archery, karate, or horsemanship—

It's all about competition, so don't waste time on polite phrases like "humble." Go for it, give it your all, and that's the only way to respect yourself and your opponents.

And for Busujima, the high school girl who turned and left:

It's so great to be able to openly and honestly crush your opponents and enjoy their cries of pain!
This seemingly gentle and reliable senior student has a strong innate tendency towards violence: reason tells her that she cannot hurt people indiscriminately; but instinct makes her crave blood and screams.

This era, this competition, is her journey of indulgence!

"filial piety,"

A first-grade girl ran over.
"What are you and Busujima-senpai talking about?"

"It's nothing, we'll meet at Koshien Stadium—"

Oblivious to the hostility in the girl's eyes, Xiao answered casually.

"Bukushima-senpai will definitely be fine, but as for me... I'll probably just make an appearance, right?"

(End of this chapter)