(Heartfelt thanks to 'Magical cc' for the 1888 reward! And thanks to 'Kaede no Chōrei' for the reward!)
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By the time the moon had climbed to the very highest point in the night sky, the clamor that had been echoing above Hakurei Shrine had, without anyone noticing, completely vanished as though it had been snuffed out.
Those who had already collapsed drunk all over the ground aside, the people who remained sober gradually fell silent. Holding their sake cups, they raised their heads and looked toward the night sky.
And in that boundless, pitch-black sky, where there was no light besides the full moon, the sober yokai all saw it.
A tiny red streak of light, as faint as a match flame, suddenly rose from behind Hakurei Shrine. It shot into the air and flew toward the deep night sky at neither a fast nor slow pace.
"Boom—!"
With that tremendous blast, the dark night sky was instantly illuminated by an unknown light source. An incomparably dazzling flower of multicolored light exploded high above, and amid a thunderous roar, a picture as beautiful as a blossom was imprinted in everyone's eyes.
It was a firework.
A firework brilliant, dazzling, and beautiful enough to fill the entire night sky within everyone's field of vision.
When that firework burst in the sky, the immense sound made everyone's ears ring and their chests tremble. For an instant, even their hearts seemed to stop beating.
Before that dazzling flower of light had even faded from the yokai's pupils, another huge blast rang out. Another explosion. Another radiant flower bloomed in the night sky.
"Boom boom boom boom—!"
Before long, the entire sky above