Charles spread his flaming wings and soared through the air. Below him was a peculiar-looking RV.

This vehicle had been driven out from the garage of the villa where the two of them lived—meaning it was the property of Arima Tsuchimikado.

After all, he was the head of the Onmyōji Union, the foremost figure in Japan's occult world. The Tsuchimikado family was a prestigious onmyōji lineage, and the wealth they commanded was beyond imagination.

No one was in the driver's seat—the RV was being controlled by Benio's shikigami, Kōfun, which had possessed the vehicle.

Charles spoke into his phone: "I've already explained our mission. You should realize this journey won't be a peaceful one.

Let me be clear: I'll only step in if we face an enemy I believe you absolutely can't defeat. All other foes—you'll handle them yourselves.

Of course, I'll be training you along the way. So brace yourselves. This could be a trip through hell."

On the other end, Rokuro was the first to respond: "Bring it on! No matter how tough the training is, I won't give up!"

Benio nodded silently beside him, her resolve matching his.

Charles flashed a mysterious smile. "Is that so? Then I'll be watching closely."

They couldn't see Charles's face through the phone, but for some reason, both Rokuro and Benio felt a chill down their spines—a creeping sense of dread.

Rokuro put down his phone. "We're right here with him… so why did Charles bother calling?"

Benio replied, "Maybe he doesn't like vehicles. I heard Shimon Ikaruga from the Twelve Guardians is the same."

Rokuro laughed. "No way! Charles is that strong—he can't be afraid of riding in a car!"

"Exactly!"

"Hahaha!"

…

Charles had no idea Benio had just uncovered one of his secrets. At the moment, he was focused on their route.

"Trouble!"

Suddenly, the RV made a noise—Kōfun's way of warning them that it had detected an Impurity's presence.

The vehicle stopped, and the two exited.

"Looks like we've found something. Perfect warm-up before the real training."

Retracting his flame wings, Charles tossed out a talisman and opened a torii-shaped light gate into the Impurity Realm.

The moment they entered, they were met with a swarm of Impurities.

Clapping his hands, Charles said, "Alright. It's your show now."

Rokuro and Benio activated their talismans, triggering their spirit gear, and charged into the mass of Impurities.

Charles stood at the side, observing their battle.

Perhaps it was due to the damage to the Ame-no-Mihashira, but the Impurities were clearly stronger than the ones Charles had seen two years ago.

There were at least thirty large Impurities, and countless smaller ones.

Fortunately, Rokuro and Benio were also much stronger than they were two years ago.

Rokuro's punches cleared out clusters of enemies, while Benio dashed through the battlefield, each step leaving behind glowing pentagrams.

Their momentum was only stalled by one massive Impurity.

It stood over thirty meters tall, like two bodies fused back-to-back, with one head facing forward and the other backward—granting it 360-degree vision.

Its four arms, as long as its body and as supple as giant pythons, whipped through the air toward the two exorcists.

Charles grimaced. Impurities—aside from the Basara—were utterly devoid of aesthetic value. Just looking at this grotesque thing felt like it drained his sanity.

Ugly as it was, this one had some real strength. Its four arms created a deadly web of strikes, and the slower Rokuro was caught off guard—sent flying.

Benio didn't panic like an ordinary girl might—she trusted Rokuro wouldn't be defeated so easily.

She pressed on toward the twin-headed Impurity, leaping onto one of its snake-like arms and launching herself like a bullet.

But its arm twisted at a bizarre angle to intercept her.

Just before it struck, the spot where Rokuro had crashed exploded—and he burst out, overtaking Benio and smashing his fist into the oncoming limb.

The massive arm shattered—falling in pieces.

Midair, Rokuro and Benio regrouped.

"Flame Blade!"

"Crimson Sever!"

"Resonance—Twin Tyrant's Dawncry Blade!"

The two gripped the same sword. With their Resonance jūryoku combined, the weapon transformed.

Glowing runes spread across its surface as the blade split and expanded into a greatsword.

Together, they brought it down.

The twin-headed Impurity tried to block with its remaining arms.

But this attack, empowered by Resonance, cleaved through all three limbs—and continued into its torso.

A massive pentagram formed, and with a shriek, the creature turned to ash.

With the most powerful Impurity eliminated, the rest were cleaned up quickly.

Charles looked at the two and said, "As expected, you still need more training. If you struggle this much with a non-True Serpent level Impurity, you won't last long."

"True Serpent-class" Impurities were just one step below Basara.

They had intelligence, could speak like humans, and possessed terrifying jūryoku—far beyond the capabilities of ordinary exorcists.

The twin-headed Impurity was strong, but nowhere near that level. Charles's blunt criticism was warranted.

Just then, Rokuro frowned and looked off into the distance.

Benio asked, concerned, "What is it?"

Rokuro shook his head. "I don't know. Just a weird feeling… like something over there is calling me."

Charles seemed to understand. "If that's the case, we'll check it out."

He led the way toward the direction Rokuro had sensed.

The scenery in the Impurity Realm rarely changed—but soon, they came upon a ruined area.

Rokuro wasn't sure what exactly had drawn him here—but among the debris, only one thing stood out as unusual…

A little girl.

She was sitting on a tattered swing, looking about five or six years old, wearing an elementary school uniform. Her green hair was tied in twin braids, and her red eyes gleamed with life.

Finding such a child in the Impurity Realm was like discovering an angel in the depths of hell.

The girl saw the three of them and jumped off the swing, running toward them with a bright, innocent smile.

And in that instant, Charles felt as if his heart had been healed.

------------------

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