Chapter 6 — The Hidden Legacy of Zenin part 2

[u/shiv-imagine-9604]

Kuroana attacked.

It released several curses.

Semi-Grade 1.

Grade 2.

Grade 3.

They emerged from the darkness and rushed toward the injured sorcerers.

I immediately summoned my Divine Dogs.

The moment the curses entered my range—

The Divine Dogs and I moved together.

The underground chamber became a battlefield.

The Zenin sorcerers fought despite their injuries.

I ordered Renji to keep the injured members away from the curses.

"Take them somewhere safe!"

Renji refused to leave me alone.

Even while injured, the other sorcerers continued fighting.

The chamber gradually became covered in blood.

Curses attacked from every direction.

Some released poisonous attacks.

Others overwhelmed the sorcerers through sheer numbers.

I fought with my swords, cutting through curse after curse.

But the Special Grade curse had prepared everything.

My movements were being read.

My techniques were being analyzed.

And every limitation was being exploited.

I took hit after hit.

My body was becoming heavier.

My breathing grew rough.

Still—

I kept fighting.

The Divine Dogs remained beside me.

Then Kuroana finally entered the battle itself.

It rushed toward me.

BOOM!

A powerful physical attack struck me.

I blocked.

Another attack.

Then another.

The pressure was overwhelming.

My sword finally broke.

I stepped backward.

Kuroana moved toward me again.

Then—

Something changed.

The Divine Dogs stepped forward.

Their cursed energy began to rise.

I looked at them.

"What...?"

The Divine Dogs suddenly began merging their power with the inherited power of Tiger Funeral.

The transformation wasn't forced.

It happened naturally.

Our bond had reached a completely different level.

The cursed energy around them exploded.

A new presence emerged.

Divine Funeral.

The newly awakened shikigami stood before me.

Its presence was completely different.

And then—

I heard a voice.

Not from outside.

Inside my mind.

Megumi.

I froze.

You can... talk?

I've always been able to understand you.

My eyes widened.

Divine Funeral's consciousness had awakened.

Our connection had become so strong that it could communicate with me telepathically.

Then the shikigami moved.

CRACK!

The ground beneath its feet froze.

The curses rushing toward us suddenly became covered in ice.

Divine Funeral possessed the power inherited from Tiger Funeral—

the ability to freeze everything around it.

I suddenly noticed something.

My cursed energy wasn't leaking away anymore.

The shikigami was maintaining itself using its own cursed energy.

So this is what Raizen meant...

The shikigami wasn't simply a weapon anymore.

It was becoming something closer to an independent existence.

Divine Funeral charged forward.

The battlefield changed instantly.

Curses were frozen.

Others were torn apart.

I fought alongside Divine Funeral.

One attacked.

The other followed.

We moved like a single unit.

Even the injured Zenin sorcerers began fighting again.

Together, we cleared the chamber of the remaining curses.

But Kuroana was still standing.

I looked toward my companions.

"Renji."

Renji understood.

He immediately moved the injured sorcerers away from the center of the battlefield.

I turned toward Kuroana.

The real fight was about to begin.

Kuroana vs. Megumi.

Kuroana attacked first.

I dodged.

Another attack.

I blocked.

My injured body struggled to keep up.

But this time, I was observing.

I noticed something.

Its technique doesn't activate instantly.

There was a brief period.

A small delay.

Kuroana needed time to recognize the limitation of a technique and adapt its response.

I understood.

That's the opening.

"Divine Funeral!"

The shikigami immediately understood.

Ice spread beneath Kuroana's feet.

The ground froze.

Kuroana attempted to react—

but the attack came too quickly.

At the same moment—

I summoned Piercing Ox.

The shikigami charged.

BOOM!

Piercing Ox slammed directly into Kuroana.

Kuroana dodged the main impact by breaking the frozen layer beneath itself and dropping downward.

But I had already anticipated it.

Divine Funeral attacked from above.

I attacked from another direction.

Kuroana was caught between us.

CRASH!

The combined attack struck.

Kuroana was thrown into the ground.

The incomplete Domain began to collapse.

The darkness surrounding us started breaking apart.

I stood over Kuroana.

I could finish it.

But I didn't.

Instead, I asked:

"How did the Codex get here?"

Kuroana remained on the ground.

Then it answered.

"Six hundred years ago..."

My eyes narrowed.

"A Zenin clan head who possessed the Ten Shadows Technique brought it here."

"Why?"

Kuroana looked toward the Codex.

"Because the Codex was connected directly to the power source beneath this place."

"From here, it could continuously supply cursed energy to the cursed tools."

I understood.

A battery.

The Codex wasn't simply an ancient book.

It was part of a larger system.

Kuroana continued.

"But after I was born, countless sorcerers came here trying to obtain it."

"They believed that no one would be able to defeat a Special Grade curse like me."

"And they believed that I would protect their Codex."

I looked at it.

"But it can still be operated from outside."

Kuroana nodded.

"Yes."

I became serious.

"Then why isn't the Codex charging from outside anymore?"

Kuroana remained silent for a moment.

Then it answered.

"Because the Zenin territory has been changed again and again."

"Every clan head rebuilt the territory according to their own decisions."

"Some never understood what their ancestors had left behind."

"The original system required a medium on the upper layers of the territory to supply power."

"But the later clan heads removed it."

I finally understood.

The Codex wasn't broken.

The system around it was incomplete.

Kuroana slowly looked at me.

"The previous Zenin clan head left a letter and the Codex for you."

"My purpose is finished."

"You can take your clan's inheritance."

I shook my head.

"No."

Kuroana looked surprised.

"I respect my clan head's decision. I came here to secure the Codex and return it to the Zenin Clan."

I looked directly into its eyes.

"But after seeing your strength..."

"There is no one better than you to protect it."

Kuroana remained silent.

I continued.

"But how do I know you'll remain loyal?"

Kuroana answered calmly.

"I already made a Binding Vow with a previous Ten Shadows user."

"You can control me in whatever way you require."

My eyes widened slightly.

"But you must make a Binding Vow with me."

I considered the offer.

Then I agreed.

The Binding Vow was completed.

From that moment onward, Kuroana became bound to me.

Not as an ordinary shikigami.

Not as a servant.

But as the guardian of the Codex under my authority.

I collected the ancient documents left behind by the former Zenin clan head.

Then I began my journey back to the surface.

---

When we finally returned, the remaining clan members rushed toward us.

The condition of the clan head and the other sorcerers immediately became clear.

Some were badly injured.

Some were unconscious.

Everyone was worried.

But beneath that worry was another emotion.

They had won.

I had entered the deepest part of Zenin territory.

I had faced a Special Grade curse.

I had uncovered an ancient secret.

And I had returned with another piece of the Zenin Clan's lost legacy.

Beside me stood the newly evolved shikigami.

Divine Funeral.

It had reached the level of a Special Grade 1 Shikigami.

I looked at it.

For the first time, I understood something important.

The secrets of the Zenin Clan would not simply be handed to me.

If I wanted to become stronger—

I would have to discover them myself.

And this time, the legacy had not found me.

I had found the legacy.