"T-Teacher?"
Natsuki's words stunned everyone present.
Including Rozen.
"Natsuki-nee, you have a teacher?"
Rozen was genuinely surprised.
Because this was the first time he had ever heard that Natsuki had a teacher.
Of course, Natsuki knew Rozen would be surprised and gave a soft hum.
"It's only natural you didn't know. I never told you."
Natsuki spoke as if she were talking about someone else, like it had nothing to do with her.
"Senga Takehito is a renowned feng shui practitioner, a master of the Onmyoudou school. He had been the focus of interest and attention from many nations, even from a young age, due to his exceptional talents in feng shui. However, no one dared to use force against him lightly."
As an expert in military arts, Senga Takehito may have been a human, but once he set up his formations, not even thousands of soldiers could stand against him.
Even if his own combat ability wasn't strong, his strategic capabilities were formidable. For countries that rely on armies to conquer the battlefield, he was not someone to be taken lightly.
Thus, Senga Takehito was known as the Treasure of the East. In recent history, only one person could be compared to him in feng shui—Itogami Senra.
"This same Senga Takehito traveled the world when he was younger and paid particular attention to gifted children like himself. If he encountered such a child, he would invite them and teach them how to use their powers."
Natsuki shared a piece of unknown history.
"Because I'm a pure-blooded Witch, I was born into a contract with a Demon, inheriting magical power comparable to high-ranking Demon nobility and talent in Space Manipulation Magic. My Guardian power can even twist time and space. This power once caught Senga Takehito's attention."
In other words, this is why Natsuki received guidance from Senga Takehito.
"He's the one who taught me how to use my Witch powers. Even Aya received guidance from him. For us, he's a knowledgeable mentor."
That's what she said, yet her tone contained no hint of nostalgia or affection.
For a simple reason.
"Senga Takehito is actually a member of a magic terrorism group."
Natsuki's cold words tensed everyone up.
"A magic terrorism group...?"
Kanon murmured softly.
"That's right." Natsuki nodded, scanning everyone's faces. "Have you heard of the Demon Sanctuary, Iruwas?"
—Iruwas.
This name confused Nagisa, Kanon, and Avrora.
But Yukina seemed to recall something.
"The Demon Sanctuary of Iruwas..." Yukina said hesitantly, "Is Minamiya-sensei referring to the one in the Atlantic that was abandoned six years ago due to an incident?"
It seemed Yukina knew of this Demon Sanctuary.
Rozen also retrieved the memory from his mind.
In the Atlantic, there once was a Demon Sanctuary called Iruwas.
However, it disappeared six years ago.
The supposed cause was a flood that struck an aging power plant.
"They say that six years ago, a storm brought flooding to Iruwas. The neglected power plant exploded, destroying the foundation and submerging the entire city into the ocean. It vanished from the surface entirely."
Rozen explained as he looked toward Natsuki.
He had already started to guess why she brought it up.
Simple.
Because there was more to that story.
"What the public was told was a fabricated story released by the government. In truth, the collapse of that Demon Sanctuary had another cause."
Natsuki revealed the hidden truth.
Yukina's face darkened, seemingly realizing something.
Even Nagisa seemed to suspect something and spoke timidly.
"Minamiya-sensei just mentioned a magic terrorism group… could it be that Iruwas was actually..."
Nagisa's guess was confirmed by Natsuki.
"It was a man-made act of destruction," Natsuki stated bluntly. "A group that performs magic terrorism on contract attacked the Iruwas Demon Sanctuary, leading to its downfall."
That was the real story.
"Because a city was destroyed by a small, relatively unknown criminal organization, if the truth came out, the whole world would panic. Especially other Demon Sanctuaries would begin to question the legitimacy of their existence. Thus, all international bodies, including the Japanese government, decided the truth must never be revealed. The cover story about natural disaster and accident was used to bury it."
Natsuki's calm voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"And that so-called small organization was the one Senga Takehito belonged to—Tartarus Lapse."
—Tartarus Lapse.
A terrorist organization for hire that once destroyed a Demon Sanctuary.
"Senga Takehito was one of its founders. Most of its members were children he had personally invited from all over the world," Natsuki said with disdain. "He would teach them how to use their powers, then invite them into Tartarus Lapse to become his tools for killing. Even Aya and I were once part of it, though we both left later."
If that's the case, then this relationship becomes all the more complicated.
"I didn't expect Senga Takehito to target Itogami Island this time," Natsuki said with disgust. "Looks like someone hired them to destroy this place."
That explains why Senga Takehito cast the Eight Trigram Formation over the entire Itogami Island.
His intention was to destroy the island.
"Come to think of it, before Iruwas was destroyed, there were records of many strange incidents around its surrounding waters, similar to what's happening to Itogami Island now. This proves it."
So said Natsuki.
"Even though the Eight Trigram Formation has been broken now, with Senga Takehito and Tartarus Lapse's capabilities, they must have prepared something else."
Otherwise, a mere Eight Trigram Formation wouldn't be enough to destroy an entire Demon Sanctuary.
Even if Senga Takehito is a master of the Onmyoudou school, trapping a city in a formation is one thing, destroying it is another.
"Tartarus Lapse..."
Rozen murmured.