95: Divine Realm
Shuya used his lightness skill to make his footsteps disappear, and quietly walked from upstairs to the front door.
He appeared at the front desk quietly.
Rena's father was indeed here.
He kept his head down, seemingly lost in thought, blending perfectly into the dim light.
Knock knock.
Shuya knocked on the front desk counter.
"..."
Rena's father was alerted.
He slowly raised his head, only to see a pair of eyes radiating an unusual light.
Shuya said softly, "Grandpa, can you tell me everything about Rena and the Fox God?"
"... good."
In his delirium, Rena's father blurted out everything he knew.
Shuya used something similar to hypnosis, but it couldn't actually make strangers obey his every word.
The main focus is on guidance, followed by assessing rapport and mental state.
Rena's father is quite old, Power of Will has greatly diminished, making it impossible for him to defend against many attacks.
It's not that Shuya is strong, it's that he's excessively weak.
In short, Shuya got the information he wanted.
He slowly walked back to his room, pondering the intelligence as he went.
Let's start with the conclusion.
Rena's father was indeed unaware of the inside story, but he still knew more than outsiders.
It turns out that when Rena was very young, probably five or six years old, she often said that she saw a beautiful white fox.
That fox often plays with Rena.
At first Rena's parents didn't pay much attention to it, until Rena Spirit Abduction for the first time on her Rena birthday, and they realized something was wrong.
For the first time, Spirit Abduction disappeared Rena three days.
Rena's parents called the police, and all the residents of the island helped search for her.
Finally, someone suddenly found Rena sleeping in the Shrine that had been searched countless times.
The idea of Spirit Abduction began to be brought up.
Some elderly people even exclaimed that it was a miracle and called Rena a shrine maiden.
But Strange Arts are different from martial arts; they are more secretive.
This mysterious phenomenon evokes fear in many people.
Children her age were warned by adults and all stayed away from Rena, leaving her all alone every day.
In this situation, Rena even played with the white fox.
Shuya believed that the white fox was the Fox God.
It seems the Fox God adores Rena too much, and is not satisfied with Rena only playing with Him for half a day before going home, which led to the birth of "Spirit Abduction".
Rena's father also said that ever since Rena first Spirit Abduction, she has been Spirit Abduction from time to time.
According to Rena, she was taken to a beautiful place by a white fox to play with Him. Each time, she felt like only half a day had passed, but in fact, two or three days had passed after she came out.
Shuya heard this but his doubts remained unresolved.
He still didn't understand why the Fox God had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep. According to Rena's father, the Fox God had always been very lively, and it didn't seem like it was sleeping because of a lack of faith.
But it's clear that Rena's father couldn't possibly know the answer.
All he knew was that Rena had Spirit Abduction.
The Spirit Abduction ended when Rena was around seventeen years old.
The white fox never came to play with Rena again.
After she stopped disappearing from the Spirit Abduction, Rena became pregnant shortly after getting married. Then her husband died, and she was busy raising her child, returning to the island only once a year. She had no further contact with the Fox God.
That's all that Rena's father knew.
This information certainly allowed Shuya to learn about Rena and the Fox God's past.
But the most crucial part, as expected, he didn't know.
Why did the Fox God suddenly go silent and stop contacting Rena?
Is it because she got married?
Is the Fox God really that sensitive?
Even so, He doesn't need to fall into a deep sleep.
What exactly happened in between...?
And why did Rena lose her memory?
Shuya intuitively felt that the root of the problem was during the period before Rena became pregnant, when she lost contact with the Fox God.
What exactly happened back then...?
As Shuya came to understand the situation, he instantly realized something, and his expression changed drastically.
He sensed it.
A powerful aura is rising from the very center of the island.
Has the Fox God already awakened?
Shuya quickly walked to the window and looked out; the Power of Will continuously being transmitted to the Shrine from the sky had been severed.
All their efforts were focused on the Shrine.
The Fox God.
They began to awaken from their deep sleep.
At the same time.
Squeak---
In the darkness, a jarring, slow sound of a door opening rang out without warning.
Shuya looked over, and a chill ran down his spine.
A long-haired woman wearing a yukata emerged from the dark room.
It's Rena.
But her eyes had completely lost their sparkle, and her movements were stiff, like a manipulated puppet.
Even Shuya in front of her, Rena acted as if she didn't see him at all, and walked step by step toward the stairs.
As Rena passed by him, Shuya couldn't help but call out, "Rena?"
"..."
Rena stopped. She didn't move her body, only turned her head, staring blankly at Shuya.
With her long, flowing hair, her mysterious aura reached its peak.
It subtly resonated with the atmosphere that always lingered on the Small Island.
Shuya swallowed hard, but his martial arts skills gave him some confidence.
He wasn't frightened and ran away. Instead, he asked in a low voice, "Where are you going so late?"
Rena stared straight at Shuya before answering.
Her voice was hoarse. "Didn't you hear me?"
Her voice was more alluring than usual, stirring Shuya's desire.
"What did you hear?"
But Shuya held the First Snow in his hand, the knife keeping him calm.
"He is calling me..."
Rena whispered.
"He is calling me..."
She took another step.
"He is calling me..."
Rena kept repeating this sentence.
Her silhouette was as fleeting as a ghost, and she walked unsteadily.
Good heavens, what exactly happened between this Fox God and Rena back then?
You want to mess with her right after she wakes up?
In short, just follow along.
Shuya quickly went back to his room, grabbed his crossbody bag, stuffed the Talisman inside, and then drew his sword and chased after them.
Although the Talisman he drew weren't very powerful, they might still come in handy; it's better to be prepared.
Shuya went downstairs in the direction Rena had gone.
He ran all the way down to the first floor, but he couldn't see Rena anywhere.
She was walking slowly, but now she's completely out of sight.
This is not surprising; she was clearly controlled by the Fox God, and cannot be judged by common sense.
In any case, there's only one place Rena wants to go.
Yamanaka Shrine.
Chapter 108 95 Divine Domain
Shuya think twice and chased after him out of the hotel.
As he passed the front desk, he noticed that Rena's father was fast asleep, slumped over the table, Shuya had just spoken to him.
Perhaps it was also the work of the Fox God.
Shuya ignored his condition and rushed out of the hotel.
He saw Rena's figure flash by at the intersection leading to the city.
He ran over immediately.
But when Shuya arrived, Rena was nowhere to be found.
Shuya realized that even if he hadn't gone back to his room, he wouldn't have been able to catch up with Rena.
Given the current situation... he no longer even dared to hope of intercepting Rena; he only hoped to reach the Shrine in time.
The shortest route to the Shrine is to first go through the city, then exit in another direction and head towards the mountains.
Shuya ran into the city.
He looked around and saw that the awakening of the Fox God had also affected the city, with many people lying on the ground, staggering and sprawling.
They were just asleep; they weren't dead.
Right now, only Shuya and Rena should be awake on the island... although it's hard to say whether Rena's state can be described as conscious.
But it's good that everyone is asleep; no one will bother them.