Chapter 6: The Phantom Women of Black Princess Mountain

Spiritual power "reserves" are fundamentally innate, and rarely increase after reaching adulthood.

Considering she could not assist him with this limitation, she focused her energy on bolstering his toxin resistance. The venom carried by the man-headed spiders of the "Spider Nest" was a threat even to seasoned exorcists—even that boy from the Tsukigaro family had fallen victim to it. That Hyakusuke, a low-level shinobi with such meager abilities, could endure for so long after being bitten before the venom took hold was entirely due to the toxin-resistant body Gehua had spent so much effort crafting for him.

"You must think I'm bullying you because I'm always dosing you with medicine, don't you?"

The young girl gazed lovingly at his sleeping face. Thinking of the troubled expression of her beloved, her pupils grew hazy with intoxication, and a sadistic smile blossomed at the corners of her mouth. Gehua had to admit, she loved seeing him in such a predicament.

But on the other hand, it was also genuinely for his own good.

Through long-term pharmaceutical conditioning, Hyakusuke’s body had developed an incredibly high tolerance to drugs and toxins... though, of course, that alone was not enough. Gehua was also using drugs to strengthen his resistance to sorcery, enhancing his physical adaptability to provide him with a degree of immunity and defense against the offensive spells used by demons and human sorcerers alike. Furthermore, she was secretly modifying his speed, reflexes, and flexibility. When injured, his body’s regenerative mechanisms would also perform better than those of an ordinary person.

In truth, Gehua possessed many methods to enhance a human tenfold, granting them superhuman strength—but those were forbidden arts that would only turn a person into something neither human nor ghost, transforming them into a demon or a monstrosity. She had no intention of letting her beloved become such a thing; if he did, he would never be able to achieve status in the surface world and marry her with honor.

"Oh, right—and endurance. His muscular endurance and cardiovascular stamina have been strengthened accordingly, and, of course, his endurance in that regard as well."

Gehua considered herself a young maiden with a budding heart, and her requirements for her beloved were naturally that he be "heroic and extraordinary, considerate and understanding," even demonstrating exceptional prowess in the bedchamber during the night.

"Time to increase the dosage again~"

Chuckling softly, Gehua covered her mouth with her long sleeve. Filled with anticipation for the future, she hid the pill from her sleeve under her tongue.

"...There’s no tea here, so I’ll just have to feed you directly."

The girl held the specially crafted pill in her mouth, her small, crimson tongue flicking as she prepared to feed it to him mouth-to-mouth. Her eyes were those of a pure, lovesick girl, yet simultaneously clouded like those of a drug addict, her mind filled with wild, vivid fantasies.

*Don't worry, I will elevate you to a high position once more. Everything you lost in the past, I will help you reclaim. After that, we will strip away everything from the Kurohimeyama house together. Whatever you desire, I will offer it to you, present it as tribute to you...*

Gehua was moved by her own thoughts of "self-sacrifice." Imagining herself literally offering everything up to him, a bewitching laugh escaped her lips.

Suddenly, a thick, murderous intent erupted, and the air in the room took on an icy texture. In an instant, the air that had been breathable was replaced by something suffocating. Even Gehua, a powerful exorcist, felt the hairs on her neck stand up. Her hyper-sensitive sixth sense made her keenly aware of the discord in the atmosphere.

"...It’s the shadows."

She looked down and suddenly noticed that on the tatami mat, the shadows of the man and herself had overlapped, merging into a murky darkness. It felt as though this shadow possessed an adhesive pull, gripping her limbs like a mire. This eerie sight only caused the girl to pause for a moment.

"I see, is that so?" she sneered.

This must be the handiwork of that damp, gloomy woman—a "shikigami" hidden within the shadows, one that even she hadn't noticed at first. The shadow on the tatami expanded like foul water, and from the murky, dark depths seeping into the floor, tentacle-like things began to extend.

Suddenly, a line of blood-red text emerged from the lake-black shadow:

—Do. Not. Touch. Him... Or I will slaughter you.

Through the shikigami hidden in the shadows, the intense murderous intent, malice, and violent personality of the eldest daughter of the Kurohimeyama house were laid bare in these words.

"Kuku~~ So you finally couldn't hold it in anymore."

Gehua giggled, masking her mouth with her sleeve, her voice sounding chillingly dark: "I thought you might keep playing the fool forever; I didn't expect you to show your hand so quickly."

—He. Is. Mine.

Gehua, who had been feigning a mocking attitude, could no longer maintain her smile. Her brows and the corners of her mouth were filled with fury.

*Your property?*

She bit her lip, struggling to suppress her boiling emotions.

*It was because of the vile things you did in the past that he ended up like this... If it had been me, if I had met him first, he would never have become this way—*

Gehua’s body also radiated a powerful wavelength of spiritual energy. She stared fixedly at the blood-red text, the ghost-fire ignited in her eyes revealing the ferocity of someone who had crossed the boundary between sanity and madness.

*Hum...*

The atmosphere was influenced by the two transcendent exorcists, and the air began to warp. The overly intense spiritual energy interfered with the material world; the surrounding air molecules vibrated at high speeds, and an invisible, powerful gale began to blow through the room.

Gehua’s shoulder-length hair drifted in the air, like a vengeful Hannya demon. Her expression grew increasingly ferocious, showing no sign of yielding as she displayed her hatred and anger. Like a dark nebula, she exuded a terrifying black aura.

—I will absolutely kill you.

—It is only a matter of time. One day.

As if staring at each other across the void, the two half-sisters confronted one another through their shikigami. Suddenly, the man lying on the floor let out a painful groan—the sound of someone struggling to breathe.

*Oh no.*

The phenomena triggered by their excessive confrontation had spilled over onto Hyakusuke. Realizing this, both sisters simultaneously withdrew their power.

"There now, it's fine... sleep well."

Gehua reached out to soothe the unconscious man, as if calming an infant. She was certain her dosage was sufficient to keep him asleep until dusk.

"That woman..."

Her gaze dropped, staring coldly at the shadow retreating into the floor. Gehua knew her sister hadn't played this trick merely as a warning. That woman’s murderous intent was genuine.

"...I haven't seen her use this shadow-manipulation ability before. Has she acquired a new 'Shiki-Blade'?"

Gehua bit her thumb in frustration. That wretch's power was growing again. She had no idea how many cursed blades she had forged by now. As long as she was given time, the woman with the power to sing to time would eventually possess the strength to oppose the entire clan. When that day came, the first thing she would do was kill Gehua.

However, the logic remained the same: the moment she found her sister's weakness, she would ruthlessly snuff out her life as well.

Eliminate romantic rivals, eliminate obstacles, eliminate everything standing in her way—even if it were her own kin, her mother, her sister, or those closest to her... This was the way of life for the demon-women of the Kurohimeyama clan.

"Sooner or later... sooner or later... I will surely do it."

She muttered to herself with a gloomy expression, her voice so soft that no one could hear.