Chapter 24: At the Third Quarter of the Hour of the Ox, the Torii Gate Becomes the Starting Point for a Magnificent Battle!

In the blink of an eye, Mita was decapitated by a single blade. The boy’s head rolled onto the ground, leaving a long trail of blood in its wake. His eyes still held an expression of utter disbelief, as if he could not fathom that the person he admired most would draw a sword to sever his head.

"A fine performance," Xiaogiu said, her light purple eyes glinting with a cold chill. "Too bad it couldn't fool me."

"Is that so?" A woman's voice drifted slowly through the shrine. "Could you tell me what part of the performance was lacking?"

The eldest princess of the Kurokiyama clan turned her head, only to see the speaker perched atop the tall, vermilion torii gate behind her, silhouetted against the moonlight of the night sky. In her right hand, she held a red-painted oil-paper umbrella, which she twirled, the vibrant vermilion spinning under the moon. Her kimono fluttered in the night breeze. The hem of the garment parted to reveal legs as pale as a slug, bare all the way up to the smooth, clean curve of her thighs. On her swaying feet, she wore two-toothed wooden clogs.

Xiaogiu’s delicate brows furrowed. She replied in a casual tone, "Mita’s personality was actually quite cold. He would fawn over those of higher status, but he was indifferent to those beneath him. He had no pity for the weak, lacked empathy for others, and would never have cried in a situation like this."

Even knowing she had stepped into an enemy trap, she remained calm. She probed her surroundings while feigning idle conversation. She radiated invisible spiritual power; the wavelengths, imperceptible to ordinary people, struck the space at the edge of the shrine as if hitting a wall. The fluctuations of her power were reflected back entirely.

*...A barrier?*

The eldest princess of the Kurokiyama clan realized this was a closed-type barrier, the kind from which it is difficult to escape without defeating the caster.

Suddenly, the boy’s head on the ground began to move. His hollow, unfocused eyes darted wildly, and his head spun in a full circle as a woman’s voice emerged from his mouth. "I see. That is worth noting."

Mita’s head twisted grotesquely. Centipede-like legs sprouted from the severed neck, and the parasitized head scurried away on a dense tangle of insect limbs, grabbing the right pillar of the torii gate to climb upward. The boy’s head crawled along the hem of the red-clad woman's kimono until it reached her right shoulder, where it stuck out its tongue and made a mocking face.

"Still, that was a cold assessment, my lady~~ I am not a ghost-woman of the Kurokiyama clan, devoid of blood and tears..." The voice shifted back to the boyish tone of Mita.

The woman in red patted the young head. "It is not polite to speak that way; this is the master you serve."

"Even if she is my master, she shouldn't go around cutting off people's heads, should she?"

Hearing the mockery, Xiaogiu raised the seventeenth blade in her hand, "Demon Blade: Misage-no-Ragu," and pointed the tip toward the vermilion torii. "Who are you? Are you with the Eight Blessings Society... Fierce Blessing, Inverse Blessing, Laughter Blessing, or perhaps Curse Blessing?"

The higher-ups of the Eight Blessings Society comprised seven individuals who styled themselves as "Fortune Gods." The organization was divided into eight branches, each specializing in different fields of the "Outer Arts," and each dubbed with a distinct title.

Fierce Blessing, led by "Bishamonten," was the combat-focused branch. Its members were all highly skilled warriors, rumored to include legendary martial artists capable of leveling mountains with their bare hands and altering the terrain during battle.

Inverse Blessing, commanded by "Ebisu," delved into dangerous, forbidden arts such as soul-reversal, the creation of artificial deities, and the consumption of ley lines. Their goals were radical, driven by the insane ideology of inverting the world’s disasters and fortunes to create a perfect utopia.

Laughter Blessing, ruled by "Maitreya," was a depraved group within the society, specializing in mental domination, hypnosis, suggestion, and brainwashing. In the game’s narrative, they were responsible for many of the more perverse and illicit scenes.

Finally, there was Curse Blessing, led by "Daikokuten." By integrating Western alchemy with local research into cursed artifacts, this branch functioned like a group of mad scientists, dedicated to creating bizarre, twisted inventions.

Little was known about the remaining "Four Blessings," but their actions were exceptionally secretive and their threat level could not be underestimated.

"Hehe." The woman with the umbrella sneered. "My lady, your memory is truly poor. Let me clarify: I am not sent by the Eight Blessings Society. My name is Furanuza Saki. If that name doesn't ring a bell, then surely you remember the title 'Shizuki'?"

Xiaogiu’s face showed astonishment. "The Shizuki Faction? ...I never imagined you would stoop to colluding with the Eight Blessings Society. Even the name 'Shizuki' is being tarnished."

At the moment she heard these words, the woman's face began to crack—or rather, the violent shift in her expression created such an illusion. Her face was contorted with rage, her eyes brimming with hatred. She bit her lip so hard that her teeth rattled.

"You... have the nerve... to say... such things..."

A violent killing intent swept over them. The woman in red released a massive surge of spiritual power, as if echoing her murderous intent. A chill ran down Xiaogiu’s spine, as if she were being pierced by thousands of tiny needles. Even as a powerful exorcist, she felt the onset of tinnitus and a cold shudder. A wave of demonic energy, powerful enough to pierce the heavens, emanated from the ruins of the mountain shrine, changing the very composition of the air.

The atmospheric pressure shifted drastically. A gale whipped up into fierce currents. Without even turning back, Xiaogiu sensed two massive, powerful demonic entities descending upon the shrine ruins.

The superior-level fiends hovered like small mountains. One was a black spider with an oval body and eight legs, its demonic aura mingled with a faint divine presence; it was a fallen indigenous deity. The other was a monk sitting atop a massive, floating seashell. The monk’s head was that of a giant squid, and he wore resplendent, embroidered monk’s robes woven with gold and silver thread. From the floating shell, which defied gravity, hung numerous wet, writhing tentacles covered in suckers.

"These are two guests who were invited," Furanuza Saki said, her sneer turning into a smile. "Lord Tsuchigumo seeks revenge for the giant spider demon you killed—or rather, for the fragments of its clone... As for the Great Reverend Sekishō, he is researching the fusion of humans and demons to give birth to new hybrid lifeforms, and he requires you as his test subject."

"Indeed." The squid-monster, Great Reverend Sekishō, moved his tentacles and spoke in a steady, human voice. "The conflict between humans and demons is merely a matter of racial difference. Even Shakyamuni said that all living beings are equal and possess Buddha-nature; there is no distinction. Humans and demons should not engage in endless slaughter. My goal is to resolve this dispute and achieve peace and harmony for all sentient beings."

The monster monk’s voice was filled with a sense of compassionate pity. "However, the demon tribes are too complex, and humans are too arrogant, always believing themselves to be the masters of all creation. In reality, your ancestors were merely apes that climbed down from the trees; compared to demons, you possess no superiority whatsoever."

"I believe the best solution is for humans to undergo total demonization and integrate into the demonic fold... Little girl of the Kurokiyama clan, may I invite you to participate in my project? If successful, this will surely benefit the people of this age."

Xiaogiu, naturally, would not believe such twisted rhetoric. She simply thrust the tip of her "Demon Blade: Misage-no-Ragu" into the earth. In an instant, a jet-black color spread from beneath her feet in all directions—it was a dense, creeping shadow. The black shadow expanded like a living, liquid entity, spreading rapidly outward like an ocean of ink.

"The Sixth, 'Nuregami-maru'; the Seventh, 'Koryu'; the Eighth, 'Akigarasu'; the Tenth, 'Shige'; ...the Eleventh, 'Juraja-maru'; the Thirteenth, 'Mandō Dokuhōmatsu'; the Fifteenth, 'Ararai Ren'ga'..."

Xiaogiu recited the names in rapid succession. With each name she called, a blade radiating intense demonic power sprang from the shadows. These were the demon blades she had forged herself, each sealing a powerful fiend, each with a unique form. Some looked as if they were forged from the bones of beasts, others emitted a bone-chilling cold, and some featured eerie steel blades glowing with a blood-red light. A dozen demon blades vibrated wildly in the moonlight, their violent auras swirling around them, releasing a frigid killing intent.

"I don't know if you are with the Eight Blessings Society, the Shizuki Faction, or some alliance of demons," the silver-haired girl said, her face half-shrouded in shadow, only her lips curling into a smile. "But crushing all of you will be enough."

As she spoke, the woman with the vermilion umbrella laughed, Great Reverend Sekishō let out a sigh, and even the mountain-sized Tsuchigumo vibrated the fine hairs on its eight legs. All three powerful entities expressed their disappointment at the foolishness and bravado of the girl who did not know her own limits.

"You are far too arrogant... Princess of the Kurokiyama clan."

As Furanuza Saki declared this, the spiritual power radiated by the two superior fiends intensified, turning the shrine atop the mountain into a vortex of energy. The howling pressure was enough to suffocate an ordinary person, yet the silver-haired girl’s eyes flashed with icy resolve. She swiftly drew "Ararai Ren'ga," a staggering long nodachi. Engraved on the gold collar at the base of the blade was the glowing number "15." She raised the great sword high, summoning a light from the void so bright it dispelled the night.

Because the light was so blinding, it scorched the three powerful beings present. Furanuza Saki was forced to use her umbrella to shield herself from the glare. Great Reverend Sekishō closed his eyes, sensing the changes through his demonic aura alone, while the giant spider retreated in fear of the light.

At the hour of the ox, the torii gate became the starting point for a spectacular battle!!