"Oh, it was like this…"
Yotsuya Miko began to tell the story.
After meeting up with Yurikawa Hana, she found that, as expected, Hana was being targeted by evil spirits again, so she put in some effort to lure them away.
Afterward, they took a car to a shrine.
They hadn't looked for a shrine in advance.
Instead, after they met up, Yurikawa Hana took out her phone to navigate.
The meeting place was Kawaguchi City.
The reason they were there…
…was because while surfing the internet, Yurikawa Hana found what seemed to be a very delicious snack shop nearby.
So they set that as their location.
Following the navigation, the two arrived at a shrine in a mountainous, suburban area that looked uninhabited.
So, they began to pray for blessings.
Just as their prayers ended and they were about to head back the way they came, she caught sight of something incredible out of the corner of her eye.
It was suspected to be the shrine's deity!
It was a giant fox.
It was emitting a golden glow all over, looking quite sacred.
There were also two 'divine messengers'.
Although they had human-like bodies, their faces were those of foxes.
Even though they emitted a golden glow and looked very sacred, she felt a strong sense of unease about them.
There was a sense of fakeness.
Moreover, she faintly perceived a strange, covetous look in the 'fox god's' eyes directed at Yurikawa Hana.
The kind that wanted to devour her completely.
This discovery made her even more nervous.
Unsure of the 'fox god's' true nature, she only felt that it was a formidable entity, so she didn't act rashly.
"…"
Listening to Yotsuya Miko's story, Lin gently pinched his chin with his right hand, his eyes shifting as he fell into thought.
He thought of the 'Mountain God'.
The bizarre fox spirit composed of bronze bells and many hands.
The first major boss in the story.
Just like how Guanyin gave Sun Wukong three life-saving hairs, this entity had given Yotsuya Miko three chances to save her life.
Once the three chances were used up…
…she would need to fulfill a vow.
In other words, she would need to provide an offering.
And the offering the 'Mountain God' wanted was suspected to be Yurikawa Hana.
It might also be Yotsuya Miko.
Of course, it might want them all.
Lin hadn't expected that Yotsuya Miko and her friend would still be targeted by the 'Mountain God'; it seemed to be fated.
But things were different now.
After hearing Yotsuya Miko's story, Tohru looked at Lin. "Lin, should I go take out that so-called god?"
The gods in her world were all very strong.
She wondered what the ones in this world were like.
Shuzen Akua said, "I can go too."
A slight smile touched Akashiya Moka's lips. "I'd also like to see just how capable this fox mountain god Miko mentioned is."
Shuzen Kokoa: "..."
Akasha smiled at Lin.
"Let's all go take a look."
Thinking about the information he had on the Mountain God, and seeing that everyone seemed very interested, Lin said with a smile.
"Alright."
Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Yotsuya Miko's gaze flickered.
Not a single person present was simple.
Excluding Shuzen Kokoa and Akasha, whose levels were unknown, she seemed to be the weakest one among the rest.
A short while later, everyone was ready.
Lin released his spiritual perception, extending it toward Kawaguchi City, and quickly found the shrine Yotsuya Miko had described.
It was being influenced by a certain power.
Like a barrier meant for concealment.
He raised his right hand, twirling his two fingers, and a Space Card appeared between them.
"Let's go."
Before his voice had even faded, the Space Card between Lin's fingers pulsed with a faint white light, and a force enveloped them all.
In an instant, the group vanished from the residence.
Without the slightest noticeable disturbance.
The next moment, in the outskirts of Kawaguchi City.
Lin's group of seven appeared at the bottom of the stairs leading to the shrine.
Ahead was a long flight of stairs.
Almost everyone could sense the 'bizarreness' of this place.
"??!!"
Seeing that they had instantly arrived at the shrine, Yotsuya Miko blinked in surprise, her curiosity piqued.
What kind of ability was this?
Spatial teleportation?
She'd never seen Lin use it before.
"Let's go. Up we go."
"Remember to conceal your auras. Don't want to scare it off."
His spiritual perception covered the entire mountain. Lin 'saw' that many evil spirits were hidden here, one of which was relatively strong.
That must be the Mountain God.
A glint of red light flashed in Tohru's eyes.
She was clearly also sensing her surroundings.
Hearing Lin's words, she suppressed the slight urge to simply vaporize the entire mountain with a single blast of dragon's breath.
The group concealed their auras.
Pretending to be ordinary people, they ascended the stairs to the shrine above.
The next moment, the 'Mountain God' appeared.
Along with its two divine messengers.
The 'Mountain God' looked at Lin's group, its gaze lingering on Yotsuya Miko.
After all, they had just met a short while ago.
It didn't expect her to return.
"How weak."
Sizing up the Mountain God, Akashiya Moka commented with a slight frown.
Tohru was a bit disappointed.
This 'god' was too weak.
She felt she could easily wipe out a whole bunch of them with a single swipe of her claw.
This thing deserved to be called a 'god'?
Shuzen Kokoa: "..."
Is it really that weak?
She actually felt the 'Mountain God's' power was passable.
Judging from its aura.
"They can see me!!!"
At this moment, the Mountain God realized Lin's group could actually see it, and it instantly became ecstatic, as if injected with chicken blood.
Under the gazes of Lin's group of seven.
The Mountain God's appearance began to change rapidly.
While it still had the general shape of a fox, its two eyes turned into bronze bells, and its body filled with them as well.
Numerous hands stretched out from below it.
Like the legs of a centipede or millipede.
Its appearance became hideous and terrifying, a wicked smile spreading across its face.
Wisps of black energy swirled around its body.
A complete contrast to the golden, somewhat sacred glow it had before.
"Immobilize."
Lin said softly.
An All-Phenomena Card materialized.
This was the 'Immobilize' Card.
A pure immobilizing power instantly enveloped the 'Mountain God' which had revealed its true form, turning it into a 'statue'.
It remained in place, completely motionless.
Unable to even use its power.
Sensing something was wrong.
"Yaa!"
One of the 'Mountain God's' divine messengers let out a piercing shriek, raising its hands to attack Lin's group.
The next instant, with a bang.
The other divine messenger suddenly attacked, sending the first one flying.
"Huh?"
Witnessing this, the five who didn't know the full story—Tohru and the others—were a bit surprised.
Why the sudden betrayal?
They looked curiously at the treacherous divine messenger.
With a thought, Lin acted.
A wisp of psychic power flashed out.
The divine messenger that had been sent flying by its 'comrade' was instantly killed.
Lin looked at the remaining divine messenger.
If he remembered correctly, this one used to be an exorcist.
"Kill… kill…"
The divine messenger tried to speak.
But its words were mumbled and difficult to make out.
However, Lin instantly understood its meaning: kill her.
"...Rest in peace."
Lin said to her.
A card named 'Purification' appeared.
The power of purification fell upon the divine messenger.
Wisps of black energy drifted from her body, finally coalescing into the figure of a woman, which quickly faded before their eyes.
Before vanishing, her face bore a smile.
It seemed to be one of gratitude and release.
"What was that?"
Seeing this, the women, especially Yotsuya Miko, were filled with confusion and curiosity.
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