Chapter 117: Subjugating Rabbit Escape
In that case, there was no need for Ren to intervene.
With a light leap, he flipped onto another pull-up bar that had survived the earlier demonstration and sat atop it leisurely, observing the scene below.
He would only step in if absolutely necessary.
If Megumi could handle the situation himself, Ren's interference would only invalidate the subjugation ritual and waste all of Megumi's efforts.
Megumi stood frozen for a moment before finally realizing the peculiar nature of this ritual.
Then he sprang into action, dashing after one of the rabbits.
The facts quickly proved that it was an utterly ordinary rabbit.
Despite having a head start and powerful hind legs built for hopping, it still couldn't escape a sorcerer enhanced by cursed energy.
Megumi caught up to it with little difficulty.
Throwing out both arms, he lunged forward and grabbed the trembling rabbit.
The rabbit kicked frantically in his grasp, letting out sharp squeals.
Megumi frowned and tightened his grip.
Crack.
The sound of flesh and bone being crushed rang out.
A moment later—
Poof!
The twisted body dissolved into shadows and vanished.
"Not an illusion."
Watching Megumi crush the rabbit, Ren narrowed his eyes.
"It has a real physical presence and genuine tactile feedback. That's its true body."
He began analyzing the situation.
"Does this shikigami naturally exist as a group, like Divine Dog? Or is its ability to create perfectly identical copies of itself?"
"If it's the latter, then things get interesting."
His eyes lit up.
"If I could apply that ability to myself the same way I applied claws..."
Compared to Ren's calm observation, Megumi was having a much harder time.
The moment he destroyed one rabbit, he immediately sprinted after another.
After several hurried strides, he caught up and blasted it apart with a punch.
Soon realizing that his efficiency was far too low, he quickly formed hand seals.
Divine Dog: Totality and Nue appeared.
One tore through rabbits with fang and claw.
The other rained lightning from above.
The training ground became filled with the shrill death cries of rabbits and the constant bang, bang, bang of shikigami dissolving into shadows.
Yet there were simply too many.
Hundreds of rabbits had scattered across the field.
Even with Megumi and his two shikigami working at full capacity, they looked pitifully outnumbered against the sea of white.
And as time passed, Ren began noticing something strange.
The rabbits weren't decreasing.
No matter how many were destroyed, their numbers remained unchanged.
In fact, the white tide seemed to be growing larger.
New rabbits were continuously appearing among the swarm.
"So it really is a duplication ability."
Ren's gaze sharpened.
Just a few minutes later—
While Megumi, Nue, and Divine Dog: Totality were still desperately hunting rabbits across the field—
Something suddenly changed.
The countless squeaks and screams filling the training ground stopped all at once.
Every rabbit froze.
Then they turned around simultaneously.
Blood-red eyes bulged outward.
Their tiny three-part mouths split open, exposing rows of white teeth.
A chill ran down the spine.
Then—
RUMBLE!
The white tide reversed direction.
Not only had it returned, but it had expanded several times over.
Like a tsunami.
A towering wave several meters high surged toward them.
In an instant, it swallowed Megumi and Divine Dog: Totality whole.
Divine Dog lashed out wildly, each swipe of its claws tearing multiple rabbits into pieces.
But it was useless.
The moment a gap appeared, countless more rabbits flooded in to fill it.
The endless white swarm pressed forward without pause, wave after wave, as though there were no limit to their numbers at all.
Only Nue remained untouched by the tide.
Thanks to its ability to fly, it continued soaring through the sky, periodically unleashing bolts of lightning into the enormous white mass below.
But compared to the endlessly surging rabbit horde, its lightning felt like little more than a drop in the ocean.
Before long—
Poof!
Nue suddenly dissolved into black ink and vanished from the sky.
At the same time, a section of the mountain-like pile of rabbits on the ground abruptly caved inward.
"Se-Senpai..."
Amidst the savage screeching of hundreds of rabbits, Ren barely caught a faint voice.
"Help... help—"
Without hesitation, he leapt into the air.
One punch exploded into the seven- or eight-meter-tall rabbit mountain, scattering countless rabbits in every direction.
Then he reached in and pulled Megumi out.
The next moment, he formed a hand seal with one hand, raised it to his lips, and blew gently.
A sea of flames erupted.
Like a breached dam, the inferno swept across the entire training ground in an instant.
The rabbits didn't even have time to flee.
Every last one of them was reduced to charred remains.
Only then did Ren set Megumi down.
"You have to eliminate all the rabbits right from the start."
The two exchanged glances.
That was Ren's conclusion.
Megumi nodded.
But a troubled look quickly appeared on his face.
Destroying all the rabbits at once sounded simple enough.
The problem was that he didn't possess a technique capable of doing it.
"Do you have any large-scale offensive abilities?" Ren asked.
Megumi shook his head.
The only broad-area technique he possessed that resembled Ren's was Max Elephant's water manipulation.
But water lacked the destructive power of fire.
"Then let me ask you this," Ren continued. "Can you still only maintain Max Elephant by itself?"
Megumi didn't understand where the question was leading, but he nodded awkwardly.
Summoning Max Elephant required an enormous amount of cursed energy.
Despite his efforts to improve his technique precision and reduce consumption, he could currently only sustain Max Elephant alone.
As for his other shikigami, he could maintain two simultaneously.
Ren sighed.
Yet the disappointment on his face wasn't particularly strong.
"In that case..."
He grinned.
"Let's go to the swimming pool."
Megumi stared at him blankly.
Before he could ask any questions, Ren grabbed him and headed straight for the school's pool.
After explaining their requirements to the grounds staff and temporarily clearing everyone out of the facility, the two arrived at the poolside.
"Go ahead," Ren said.
"Y-You really think this will work?"
Floating in the middle of the pool, Megumi looked doubtful.
Nevertheless, he formed the hand seal once again.
"Rabbit Escape!"
The white tide erupted anew—
This time from inside the swimming pool.
The moment the rabbits appeared, they immediately began shrieking.
Their hind legs kicked frantically as they tried desperately to swim toward the shore.
"Nue!"
Megumi formed another seal.
The giant bird with a human face appeared overhead.
Its talons grabbed his shoulders and lifted him into the air.
Then—
With a piercing cry, Nue beat its massive wings.
Electricity crackled between its feathers.
Several bolts of lightning slammed into the water below.
A chorus of miserable screams erupted from the rabbits.
Then silence.
Thick white steam rose from the surface of the pool.
One after another, the rabbits floated belly-up.
Their fur puffed out dramatically before quickly flattening under the water's weight.
A few tougher rabbits still twitched.
Struggling stubbornly, they continued paddling toward the edge.
Seeing this, Megumi issued another command.
Nue flapped its wings again.
More lightning crashed into the pool.
Electric arcs danced across the water.
Steam billowed upward.
This time, every rabbit stopped moving.
The next second, the white rabbits floating on the surface all transformed into black ink.
Yet instead of dissolving into the water, the ink seemed to lose all color and simply faded from existence.
"Success!"
Megumi closed his eyes, sensing the change within his technique.
Excitement spread across his face.
"Looks like it worked."
Ren nodded.
"Good."
Then he smiled.
"Let's move on to subjugating the next shikigami."
"Huh?"
Megumi opened his eyes in surprise.
"Right now?"
"Isn't that... a little too fast?"
"No problem."
Ren's grin widened.
"With me supervising, nothing's going to happen."
He patted Megumi on the shoulder.
"Let's at least give it a try."
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