Outside, Takeda Mie hurriedly nailed a doll beneath a tree, then rushed off toward another location.
Perhaps noticing the actions of her and Rom, a large number of Ghosts had gathered around the shrine to obstruct them. Seeing yet another group of Ghosts approaching, Takeda Mie frowned and tossed a small steel ball from her hand. It was a Soul Scattering Talisman Iron Pellet given to her by Yotsuya Miko.
The pellet took effect quickly. Several streaks of black light swept toward the Ghosts, cleanly killing several of them. But after that, it went completely silent. She had no choice but to fling out a few more pellets, barely clearing a path for herself to another location.
For some reason, she suddenly felt that what she was doing now would lead to a terrible outcome. But even though she could divine other people's fates, she was utterly unable to see anything about her own. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come here again.
Miss Miko...
Hurrying anxiously toward the next location, she kept glancing toward the shrine, carrying her prayers with her.
Please, don't let anything happen to her.
"You..."
Miko panted heavily as she dodged the claw reaching for her, then switched to another kind of talisman and struck at the Mountain God before her. But after taking a certain amount of damage, the monster's injured parts began to regenerate at a visible speed.
"Just how... resistant is it to this kind of talisman?"
The gold shimmering across its skin seemed to proclaim its status as a deity. Its regenerative power and resistance to wicked talismans certainly made it seem divine.
Soul Scattering, Yin Thunder, Soul Severing, Calamity Breaking, Heart Devouring, Nightmare Annihilation, Body Shattering, Spirit Ruin... The Mountain God had extremely strong resistance to nearly every talisman recorded in the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding that Yotsuya Miko had learned. Even when she used a large number of Talisman Iron Pellets to strike its body all at once, she still couldn't inflict any threatening damage. Instead, the aftershocks of the talismans had finally left the two Divine Attendants gravely wounded and unable to move.
But none of that helped.
Watching the enormous claw lunge toward her again, Miko gritted her teeth. As she dodged it, she rapidly tore at her own Spiritual Sense, sending a streak of black light from her forehead toward the towering monster.
Soul Collision Art.
Yet all it did was leave the monster dazed for a little over a second. Then it attacked her again.
It was difficult to deal with.
Miko came to that conclusion and glanced anxiously behind her. She still had several arts she could use, but they all took time to perform, and the monster wouldn't give her any opportunity.
So, should she give up for now?
She panted heavily. Even though the power of her arts had given her physical abilities far beyond those of an ordinary person, constantly dodging the monster's claws at such intensity was taking its toll. If this continued, it would eventually hit her.
Or... should she hold on a little longer?
Two thoughts circled through her mind. The situation had reached the point where her life was in danger, yet Rom and Takeda Mie were still busy trying to destroy the barrier.
Could I... trust them?
Miko took a small step backward, then remembered the look on Rom's face when he saw this mountain.
It had been the regret of someone powerless to help.
Rom's loved one was the one who had died this time. What if Hana died someday?
Would she... be consumed by that same helpless regret? Even if she only retreated for a moment, even if victory seemed unlikely...
For some reason, Yotsuya Miko began to feel ashamed of what she was thinking.
She looked at the monster before her again and took a deep breath.
"I haven't tried this yet, but... here goes."
She resumed circling the giant beast, then flung all the Talisman Iron Pellets in her hand at it. Whether they were Soul Scattering Talismans or Soul Severing Talismans, what she was about to do meant she could no longer keep the pellets wrapped around her wrist.
Amid the violent explosions and the giant beast's roars, Yotsuya Miko began to chant the incantation that would help her continue casting while moving.
"Dark calamities float through ten thousand realms; all that they touch is left scarred. Filth and corruption are cast away, while hidden sins bring forth dust..."
As she spoke those obscure words in the language of the Xuanhui Realm, spiritual energy gradually gathered in her hands. But with most of her attention focused on controlling it, her defenses against the giant beast rapidly weakened.
The beast recovered from the barrage of exploding Talisman Iron Pellets... No, the damage caused by sacrificing every last pellet was too severe for even it to heal. Countless wounds split across its golden hide, exposing the gray-black ghostly aura beneath. It angrily swung both hands at the insignificant creature standing before it. This time, the insignificant creature didn't escape unharmed.
"Hard... to keep the heart from suffering; the liver and gallbladder, too, are shattered..."
Miko ignored the gash that had opened on her face and the Soul Screen Talisman smashed by a single blow, continuing to chant. Just as the monster was about to hurt her again, its presence suddenly weakened. Even the claw it had raised could no longer swing down.
A chance.
The thought flashed through her mind. Miko quickly finished reciting the last few lines, then stood still and rapidly wove her fingers together, hastening her control of the spiritual energy. Perhaps it was because she was in such danger, but she made no mistakes at all. The art came together smoothly, consuming all her spiritual energy in the process.
"Poisonous light chills the soul; behold, the Ten Afflictions!"
A small black-and-red sphere slipped from her fingertips and landed directly on the Mountain God, piercing its golden hide. Just as she had against the Kimono Ghost, Miko had once again unleashed the most powerful art she could manage: the Ten Afflictions.
No matter how strong its resistance was, the Ten Afflictions would still take effect inside it, growing stronger by using its body as nourishment until it completely annihilated the enormous beast. This time, the Ten Afflictions was complete.
"It isn't strong enough to ignore the ill omens of the Ten Afflictions."
Miko smiled. Her Spiritual Sense could feel the Ten Afflictions running amok inside the monster. She didn't know why it was only affecting the area just beneath the surface, but surely the thing was already dying.
Feeling its presence steadily weaken, she finally relaxed and thanked the two people hurrying toward her.
"Sorry for the trouble. If it weren't for—"
But when she looked at them, she saw terror on their faces. Rom even reached out toward her.
"Behind you!!!"
Behind me...
With all her spiritual energy gone, Miko felt nothing but exhaustion. The arts strengthening her body had all faded. She reached out with her Spiritual Sense, but the Mountain God behind her had clearly already...
"Thud."
A crisp sound came from a person's body.
Then came the muffled sound of someone hitting the ground.
The Choice She Should Have Made
The instant the hand behind her struck her and sent her flying, Yotsuya Miko clearly felt a force enter her body through her back, gradually battering her from within. But the damage was slight, more like the aftershock of a counterstrike.
Even so, the force sent her flying ten meters. The scrape against the ground tore her skin, leaving dozens of gashes. She couldn't help spitting up some blood, and only then did her lungs feel a little clearer.
"Pfft."
Thick blood splattered onto the ground. She looked at the pool of blood, touched the corner of her mouth, and felt its lingering warmth.
"Miss Yotsuya!"
Rom hurried over to Yotsuya Miko and tried to help her up. In the distance, Takeda Mie threw a doll, temporarily confusing the monster's vision.
"Are you all right?"
Miko shook her head and brushed the dust off herself. Her clothes had been torn in several places by the rough ground, revealing the garments beneath, now marked with the pattern of talisman lines.
Prison Spirit Remnant Soul Clothes.
The appearance of the talisman lines that had been concealed within the garment meant that the clothes refined into the Prison Spirit Remnant Soul Clothes had been badly damaged. That blow had barely been within their defensive limits. At least the protective artifact had served its purpose.
"I'm fine. It's only a minor injury."
She looked toward the Mountain God, which should have been gravely wounded or even killed by the Ten Afflictions. Then she froze, and her expression darkened.
"I see. It was using that golden outer layer of energy to hide its true form?"
Where the golden giant had stood was a terrifying face with bell-shaped eyes and an eerie smile. It had long, narrow arms and legs like a human's. Strips of paper inscribed with incantations wrapped around its legs, and fur covered its hunched back. Most nauseating of all was its belly, which was filled with countless pairs of hands and bells intertwined together, the arms clutching the bells.
The Ten Afflictions had indeed entered the giant beast's body. But Miko hadn't expected that its golden skin was only a disguise. Though the Ten Afflictions was still taking effect, it hadn't entered the monster's real body, so its power had been greatly diminished and was already beginning to fade. The Ten Afflictions couldn't be exposed to the air; no creator would allow such an ill omen to spread.
Miko's perception hadn't been wrong, either. The monster's presence really had weakened, because it had discarded its golden shell and revealed its true nature as a Ghost. In fact, it was now as weak as it could be. Without that body, which had been like a deity's and possessed extraordinary resistance, she could have overwhelmed the monster with her Talisman Iron Pellets without having to worry about its resistance or regenerative power.
But... that was only wishful thinking.
She had used up all her Talisman Iron Pellets. The spiritual energy in her Soul Repository was completely depleted, and she had no defenses left. On top of that, she was injured. Watching the monster recover from the brief confusion and turn its gaze toward Takeda Mie, Miko had no idea what to do.
"I did everything I could."
That was all she could say as she looked at Rom.
"Let's go. We'll have another chance."
Rom paused, then nodded.
"I understand."
He took five or six unused Talisman Iron Pellets from his pocket and handed them to Yotsuya Miko.
"Miss Yotsuya, these silver pellets should help you leave the shrine. We'll handle the rest ourselves. I'm very sorry for the trouble."
Rom took off his magician's hat and bowed deeply to Yotsuya Miko. Then he ran toward Takeda Mie, who was still struggling to use her tricks against the monster. Miko thought he was going to help Takeda Mie, but then she suddenly realized what he meant.
"Mr. Rom!"
She called loudly after him, her face full of confusion, doubt, and anger.
"We still have a chance! Next time... next time, we'll definitely defeat it!"
No. There wouldn't be another chance.
From the moment the barrier broke and they saw the monster shed its disguise and reveal its true form, Rom had understood that he had been wrong. The monster hadn't been unable to leave; its disguise had been holding it back. Now that it had shed that disguise, it could leave the shrine and kill him, Takeda Mie, and Yotsuya Miko. They couldn't escape it by relying on their own abilities. His misjudgment had put all three of them in extreme danger.
I really shouldn't have brought anyone here, should I?
Rom grabbed the exhausted Takeda Mie and dragged her out of the shrine without a word. Then he turned to face the monster.
"Hey. You can understand me, right?"
The monster lowered its enormous head in front of Rom and opened its jaws, but it didn't attack him. It only stared straight at him. Seeing that, Rom relaxed and smiled.
"What if you take me in exchange for letting those two go? You're badly wounded, aren't you? If we keep fighting... it's not certain who'll die."
He spoke as if negotiating, completely ignoring Takeda Mie's furious shouts behind him. He simply held the monster's gaze, watching its pair of bell-shaped eyes. They scanned him and Takeda Mie, then warily turned toward Yotsuya Miko, who was looking at it. The monster fell silent.
Then an arm extended from its mouth. A bell was clutched in its hand, and it stared fixedly at Rom.
The deal was simple: Rom would take the bell and become its servant, and it would let Takeda Mie and Yotsuya Miko leave.
"Rom, don't take that bell!"
Granny Saegusa shouted. She tried to enter the shrine to stop Rom, but one of the Divine Attendants, which had struggled to rise from the ground, glared at her with a vicious expression, forcing her to stop.
The moment he saw the bell, Rom's mind drifted back to that night. It had been another bell, placed right in front of him. He had been about to take it in a daze, but a pair of arms had wrapped around him, and someone else had taken the bell without hesitation.
So he smiled, his expression like someone finally set free, and took the bell.
"I was the one who should have taken this bell in the first place."
He closed his eyes and waited peacefully for death. But at that moment, he heard the monster roar.
"Wagggghhhh—!"
Nightmare Refining Art and a New Monster
Rom abruptly opened his eyes and saw something unbelievable.
The other Divine Attendant had attacked the Mountain God. It had suddenly turned against it. Yet when Rom saw the Divine Attendant's hand sign, he felt that it was strangely familiar. It was...
"Okamotozuko..."
Takeda Mie recognized the hand sign before he did. She knew it better than anyone. Without hesitation, she fired her last Talisman Iron Pellet at the Divine Attendant. Already like a candle guttering in the wind, it was caught off guard and turned back into a remnant soul. She rushed past the remnant soul and, while the Divine Attendant—no, Okamotozuko—was attacking the Mountain God, dragged Rom out of the shrine.
"That's Okamotozuko. She's broken free of the Mountain God's control. Let's get out of here while we can!"
But before she could finish, the enraged Mountain God struck Okamotozuko, who had taken the form of a Divine Attendant, and smashed her apart. Seeing the two of them running out of the shrine, it reached for them. Neither Rom nor Takeda Mie could dodge the blow.
But there was no need to dodge anymore.
"You seem to have completely forgotten about me."
Yotsuya Miko's voice came from far away. With it came a black-and-red figure.
When Miko saw Rom make his offer to the Mountain God, she finally understood. She quickly realized why Rom had done it.
If the Mountain God were still bound by the barrier, they could have escaped and waited for another opportunity to kill it. But now that the barrier was broken, the Mountain God was no longer restrained. It could pursue all three of them without end. They couldn't escape.
In other words, she had never been able to retreat in the first place.
She stared blankly at the terms Rom had offered and clenched her fists, regretting her own actions.
Why hadn't she carefully examined this so-called barrier? Why hadn't she prepared more Talisman Iron Pellets? Why hadn't she looked into the strange aura she had noticed mixed in with the ghostly energy? Why...
One scene after another flashed through her mind. She even wondered if it would have been better not to take part in this operation. But... what would she have done if she hadn't?
Would she have kept avoiding these powerful monsters and worrying about her present and future, while continuing to act inconsistently even after she and Hana had become close?
Whether or not she took part, the Mountain God would still become her nightmare, something she could never come to terms with—a part of her for the rest of her life.
And so, she understood.
Before you continue