This is a smaller country than you thought.

　A dragon was floating in the night sky, a dragon's head in the air, looking down on the city below, I murmured to myself.
　The journey that would have taken two days by carriage, the dragon would have taken less than ten minutes. I'm sure that with this amount of time, I'll be able to tour all of this mighty country in less than a month.

　Directly below them, the imperial city spread out.

　A large city. Looking down on it from above, it seems even more so.
　Within the long walls of the city, countless houses were lined up, and even in the middle of the night, the lights on the streets cast a dim light over the entire city.

　This city is more developed than any city I have seen in the Song Dynasty or the West, let alone Japan.
　How much effort did the people of this world have to put in to get to this point in their lives?

　I'm sure it's not important to me, though.

　I turn all the shikigami around me into bats and send them down to the city.
　The myriad of black wings that fall across the night sky are like a rain of shadows.

　My target is the brightest castle that rises in the center of the city - the Imperial City.

　The voices of the guards with lights in their hands reach me through the ears of the shikigami.

"Wow, what is this?
'Bat?　But why is this so...

　Eventually, the bats that landed on the ground and roofs are all turned into rats this time.
　As the rats of the ceremonial gods start to run, they break into the structures through every possible opening. Chimneys, vents, slightly open windows, holes in crumbling walls.
　Every time they reached a fork in the corridor, the herd split up and searched the entire building in the castle with all hands.
　There is no need to manipulate them in any particular way. The formula has been set up that way beforehand.

　Eventually - I gave a small smile.

I'm going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.

　Phew.
　I kicked the dragon's head and threw myself into the night sky.

　I'm going to have to step on the shikigami in the air and descend quietly into the city.

And yet...

　The Imperial City is built around the main castle, which rises in the center of the city, with several buildings around it, surrounded by a wall.
　There is no moat, and the gates are thin.
　It was completely like a castle for living and socializing. It doesn't look like it was built with the intention of hiding out in front of the enemy.

　Is that why?

　I landed in front of the castle walls and pointed at the uninhabited gate.

It's a fragile-looking castle.
The art of throwing rocks out of the ground.

　A rock the size of a small mountain was shot out - - and smashed the castle gate and the entire wall around it.

　Rubble scattered and dust rolled up.
　A little later, the screams and shouts of the soldiers could be heard.
　They would not immediately understand what had happened. Could there really be a sorcerer in this world who could create a rock far higher than the height of the city walls?

　I walked into the castle from where the walls had collapsed.

''Don't get distracted!　What happened!
"....the walls...

　From the rat's ears comes the voice of the guards.

'This could be an attack, everyone take up arms!　Go wake up the off-duty guys too!
"Hey ... there's someone in there!　Tell the guys in the tower!

"Law.

　I'm a little impressed.
　The confusion is receding. They seem to be quite skilled soldiers.
　The otherworldly brightness of the night, illuminated by the two moons, is nowhere to be found.

'Is that the attacker...?　Hey, I'm going to shoot you!
"f*ck........I'll do it........

　Coincidentally, arrows were shot almost simultaneously from the two walled towers that were nearby.
　I silently invoked the technique while walking forward without seeing them.

《Phase of Yang - the technique of the magnetic flux cloud》.

　An arrow aimed at me went limp and deflected away.
　Because I had increased the power a little too much, the arrow flew away from much in front of me in a misguided direction.

　A puzzled voice could be heard from the walled tower.

''What, the arrow...?
Just aim!　Keep him away from the castle!

　The arrows loom again.
　Of course, they were not going to hit.
　But it was never a good feeling either.

''It's ... depressing.''

　I flew to the walled tower and made a sign with my hand.

"Phase of the Soil - The Art of the Keystone

　Two gigantic monoliths wrapped in ropes descended and completely crushed each of the walled towers.
　At the same time, the voice from the shikigami ceased to be heard.

''Stop!

　I squinted slightly in the light of the torches. Before I knew it, the guards had gathered far in front of me.
　A man in the center of the room, who looks like a captain, shouts out to me, "Who are you?

Who are you?　What do you want to come to the Imperial City for?

　You're stalling.
　I stop and think to myself, "You're buying time.

　I suppose I'll wait for reinforcements, and urge you guys to evacuate while you still can.
　Oh, well. I'm going to advise you to get out of the way.

"Stay out of my way.

　The man who looks like the captain flinches at the sound of my voice.

"Make way for them, and clear the way. If you obey me, I will not take their lives.
Huh...!　Let go!

　As if he couldn't hold back anymore, the man who looks like the captain gave the order.
　I was going to use the Magnetic Currents again when the archers moved, and with a click of my tongue, I jumped back from the spot.
　A number of fire arrows shot up to the place where I was just now.

　This technique is not very effective against fire arrows.
　As the arrowhead's metal heats up, it does not provide sufficient magnetic repulsion.

　This is probably not the intention of the arrowhead, but it's a pain in the ass.
　That captain is also a bit of an eye sore. As long as you see that he has the archers nocking fire arrows again instead of normal arrows, it's safe to assume that he has seen through this weakness.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of it.
　

　When I think about it, there's no need to fight so many people.

It's so annoying.
"The Art of the Beam Beaming Fire Phase - White Flame.

　The pure white flames turned night into day.

　The fire arrows that were released evaporated in an instant, and some of the guards in front of them began to burn with flames.
　Although they weren't directly seared by the white flames, their equipment seemed to have spontaneously ignited from the radiant heat. Naturally, the human body inside couldn't possibly endure it, and the guards fell down with a flurry as it was.
　If the excess heat was not suppressed by the yin air, the "white flame" would be so strong.

　I smiled with burned lips as I healed the blisters that had appeared all over my body.

Haha.
It's our mission.

　A whirlwind appeared from the distortion of space and tore through the remaining soldiers.

　After raging for a while, once the scythe landed on the roof of the castle, it carefully licked the blood from the giant scythe that grew in its hands, as if it were grooming them. Then it turned into a whirlwind again, and proceeded to make the guards bleed.

　That is a particularly large and powerful individual among the scythes.
　If attacked by that scythe and wind blade, a cut would not be enough.

　I laugh as I watch the tragedy of screams and blood splatter rise.

"Hahaha!

　Amu once told me that he loves to fight.

　It's the same for me.
　No, I think we all do.

　It feels good to bring the bad guys to their knees with force.
　There is no substitute for the feeling of forcing one's justice upon another with overwhelming violence.

　There is neither good nor evil in this world.
　Everything depends on whether you have the power to do it or not.

　If it were me, I would be able to do all kinds of things.
　That's why I wondered.
　Why do I have to be so - why do I have to be so desperate?

　The white flames cleaved the air and melted the walls of the guards and buildings.
　The whirlwind that ran in all directions caused blood smoke to billow up one after another.

''Hahahahaha.''

　The loud laughter didn't stop.