I loaded the geek game

A female rider driving a black flame motorcycle, and a female kappa with superhuman strength?
This is truly an unexpected source of support.

The inexperienced Kobayashi couldn't recognize Ohara Saki and Miyako's identities, only knowing that these two saviors were incredibly powerful.

The seemingly ferocious Bingzhubu was beaten so badly that he became embedded in the brick wall after only one exchange with them, his rotting body, emitting a foul stench, even beginning to show signs of turning to ash.

This is a typical sign of the demise and decline of ghost stories.

The Bingzhubu was clearly doomed.

However, it's not over yet!
On this street in Shinjuku Ward, entangled with ruins, flames, and filth, even more astonishing things are happening one after another to Yuichi Kobayashi.

laugh!
A sharp whooshing sound suddenly came from high above!

Xiao Lin instinctively looked up, and on the exterior wall of the building above him, a mutated human-faced sore was opening its massive maw, preparing to devour the wall once more. But just as its sharp teeth were about to close—

A sharp, incomparably cold light, like a shooting star falling from the night sky, flashed by at a speed too fast for the naked eye to catch!
The cold light pierced precisely into the enormous eyeball of the man-faced sore, and then suddenly gouged and pried!
"Pfft——!"

With a tooth-grinding tearing sound, a large chunk of writhing, rotten flesh covered in sticky black blood was forcibly ripped out!
The human-faced sore convulsed silently and violently. Its distorted face froze instantly, then began to rapidly collapse and disintegrate!
Only then did Xiaolin see the true form of that cold light.

A uniquely shaped spear, with a thick spearhead and enormous size, its tassel resembling a bamboo leaf, gleamed with a cold, bluish-green light under the moonlight.

Famous gun·Dragonfly cut!
The figure holding the long spear stood lightly on the vertical wall of the building, defying gravity.

She was a cold and aloof young woman, whose sharp, sword-wielding aura seemed capable of cutting through the surrounding air.

Yuichi Kobayashi recognized the girl—

Tsurumi Aoi.

She is an elite exorcist in the countermeasures department, known in the exorcism industry as "the Scarlet Demon Sword Princess".

Tsurumi Aoi, dressed in a black stand-up collar windbreaker, fluttered in the fierce wind at high altitude, outlining her agile and slender figure. Supporting her standing on the vertical wall were several pale and slender arms that extended from her wide sleeves, seemingly boneless.

These arms, like living ropes, partially secured her body while others, like nimble fingertips, lightly touched the tiny protrusions on the wall, keeping her as steady as a rock.

The girl, expressionless, flicked her wrist, sending the rotting flesh impaled on the spear flying. At the same time, a cold glint flashed from the sleeve of her empty left hand!

A crescent-shaped blade of light, adorned with ominous crimson patterns of purplish-purple, swept across the core of the collapsing human-faced sore like a new moon!

The legendary sword, Onikiri!

With a flash of light, the remaining activity of the human-faced sore was completely extinguished, turning into a pool of rapidly evaporating black mud.

Tsurumi didn't even look at her own victory; the numerous arms swirling around her deftly retracted the two ornate weapons.

Then, she leaped down from the high wall and landed nimbly. A faint metallic clang could be heard from beneath her black windbreaker, as if countless sharp blades were humming within, ready to strike.

Just as Kobayashi Yuichi was stunned by Tsurumi Aoi's fierce and unparalleled entrance, a delicate and ancient sandalwood fragrance quietly filled the air, accompanied by a faint and mysterious scent. This peculiar aroma seemed to possess the power to soothe the soul, instantly dispelling the lingering unease and fear in his heart.

He followed the scent and saw another girl standing quietly on the ruins of a collapsed building not far away.

Unlike Tsurumi Aoi's sharp and edgy aura, this girl gives off a much gentler vibe.

She wore a beige blouse with a cross-collar and loose fit, similar to a shrine maiden's robe, but with a more fitted cut. The cuffs were neatly tied with dark gray satin ribbons for ease of movement. The navy blue pleated long skirt she wore had subtle tassel patterns that shimmered gently with her breath, perfectly complementing her elegant and refined demeanor.

However, this modern, spiritually inspired witch costume creates a strange contrast with the object she holds in her hand.

With her right hand, she gently lifted an ancient bronze incense burner, its flames flickering as if capturing the stars in the night sky. The rising smoke carried the calming and purifying scent of sandalwood, yet also concealed a captivating and mysterious fragrance. A slender copper chain coiled around her delicate wrist, making a clear, melodious sound with the slightest movement of her fingertips.

In her left hand, she held not some traditional magical weapon, but a pink Glock pistol. The soft pink of the gun stood out starkly against the backdrop of ruins and war, yet the faint, subtle runes engraved on its surface spoke volumes about the authority of this exorcising weapon.

This one is also a rising star in the Countermeasures Office, known as "Finger Goddess"—Kanoya Yukino.

Even a newcomer like Kobayashi had already heard that she and Tsurumi Aoi were disciples of that legendary exorcist who was "unparalleled in the world".

"It's actually these two..." In the hazy incense smoke, Kobayashi's tense nerves unconsciously relaxed.

Now that these two ladies have arrived, not only myself, but all my companions in Shinjuku are saved.

We have not been abandoned.

……

"Leave it to us next!"

Having just finished dealing with Hyoninchi's affairs, Miyako confidently patted her chest at Kobayashi, who was leaning against the wall.

Then, together with the headless rider, Ohara Hayami, they rushed into the depths of the streets and alleys.

“But Mr. Nagatomo and the others…” Kobayashi struggled to get up, but the intense pain and deep exhaustion made it difficult for him to move.

Just then, a gentle breeze brushed past him.

Kobayashi turned his head and saw a strange little beast with sleek, pinkish fur that had appeared beside him at some point. It resembled both a weasel and a beaver, and its tiny paws carefully held a dusty gray earthenware jar, from which a sweet fragrance wafted.

"Squeak-"

The little beast let out a soft cry, its round eyes sparkling as it tilted its head and gazed at Xiaolin with concern.

This must be the legendary Kamaitachi, right?
Xiaolin then noticed that the wound on his right arm had been covered by a layer of clear, gelatinous substance, and the pain had been significantly reduced.

It is said that the Kamaitachi, a type of yokai, usually travels in groups of three, with the smallest of them carrying a honey medicine with healing properties. This must be the little guy in front of us.

Before Kobayashi could even thank her, the little weasel had already leaped away like a gentle breeze, returning to Kanoya's side in a few bounds. It affectionately rubbed against her skirt before nimbly climbing onto the deer's shoulder.

"So good, so good."

Kanoya gently patted the little weasel's head with the hand that was holding Glock.

On a battlefield fraught with danger, such intimate interactions with one's subordinate shikigami seem like a fatal oversight.

Almost simultaneously, several dark figures sprang up from the shadows of the dilapidated buildings.

Those were several Yinmolu demons lurking in the shadows!
They spread their jet-black wings, shrieking sharply, and swooped down from the sky like arrows released from a bow, their decaying feathers raining down, heading straight for the seemingly unsuspecting Kanoya.

"careful!"

Yuichi Kobayashi, who witnessed all of this, gasped in shock.

However, the next second——

"YoYo--"

A languid, dreamlike murmur rang out at just the right moment. A sika deer, neither horse nor deer, slowly emerged from the shadows beside the shrine, its increasingly massive body exuding a leisurely air incongruous with the battlefield. The tips of its enormous antlers were shrouded in a hazy, unsettling mist.

The deer simply snorted casually.

Then, a bizarre scene unfolded:
The once menacing Yinmolu demons seemed to have suddenly lost their target. Their dive trajectory became erratic, and they flapped their wings in confusion, spinning around in disarray, only emitting bewildered gurgling sounds.

Immediately afterwards, a snow-white figure darted out from the shadows at the street corner like lightning!

With its pure white body and graceful movements, the wolf was incredibly agile. The lantern hanging around its neck drew a warm arc of light as it sped along, and the golden dagger in its mouth was dazzling and shimmering!
With a sudden flick of his wolf head, the golden dagger shot out a beam of light, accurately striking the center of the chaotic Yinmoro demons.

Just as the dagger was about to strike its target—

The wolf's massive body suddenly blurred, and in the next moment, it appeared as if it had teleported to the spot where the dagger had struck, seemingly merging with the golden light! Its sharp claws, gleaming with cold light, slammed down with the force of a thunderbolt at the disoriented evil spirits.

puff!

Where the sharp claws passed, the Yinmolu ghost didn't even have time to scream before it turned into wisps of black smoke and disappeared.

The wolf landed lightly and quietly returned to the side of the rooster's house, sitting down gracefully, its silvery-white fur shimmering softly in the light of the lantern.

"Squeak! Over here, over here!"

From the depths of the alley where the wolf had just appeared, another gust of wind swept in and landed steadily in the middle of the road.

The baby weasel's parents finally appeared.

The sturdy and reliable Kamaitachi father carried a giant club, while the slender and agile Kamaitachi mother held a scythe. Along with them, several exorcists from the Countermeasures Office appeared with the wind, including the slightly disheveled but determined-looking Nagatomo Masao.

at the same time--

Boom boom!

The muscular motorcycle, its two wheels wreathed in black flames, roared as it burst out of the darkness once more, carrying Mimiko, who had just cleared the flanks, and drifted to a stop.

The god of poverty appeared silently in the shadows, his withered fingers folded as he reported the surrounding situation to his master.

The red deer snorted again, shook its head, and the primordial miasma on its antlers rippled slightly; the wolf remained seated beside its master, its soft, furry ears still standing alertly atop its head.

At this moment, all the shikigami and ghost stories under Xiaoshi's command were gathered together.

The threat to the street has finally been eliminated, and the surviving exorcists have been rescued and are temporarily safe.

So--

That's the end of our pretend play!

"Next..."

Kanoya's gaze remained calmly fixed on the distance, beyond the dilapidated streetscape, locked on the direction of Shinjuku Station in the distance—there, the mutated railway spiders raged like mountains, stirring up clouds of dust with each swing of their segmented limbs.

The incense burner in her hand suddenly emitted a burst of blue smoke, and the pink Glock hammer made a crisp cocking sound.

"Xiao Kui, let's go take care of that big guy!"

……

Takamagahara Shrine.

"here we go."

Kamiya stood quietly in the shrine. Sensing something, golden law patterns flashed briefly in the depths of his pupils, and his gaze seemed to penetrate the barriers of space, casting his gaze upon the present world shrouded in gloom.

He "saw" it.

Tokyo is on fire, and the carnival of a hundred demons has begun.

But he cannot leave Takamagahara at this moment.

He silently calculated the time; the deadline for the prophecy he had given, "a year from now, to fight Ashiya Dōman," had arrived.

Prior to this, the core members of the Kamiya Group had discussed many times: If Ashiya Dōman chose to launch an attack during the Obon festival, while simultaneously initiating the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons in the Underworld, where would his target be?

No matter how you speculate, there are only three possible answers—

The Dark Side of the Moon, that forbidden land shrouded in eternal shadow; Yomotsu Hirasaka, the perilous border leading to the land of the dead.

These two locations are key nodes that seal the projection of the Divine Nest.

And the last one is here.

Takamagahara Shrine.

The core headquarters of the Kamiyagawa Group, the heart of the New Takamagahara forces.

If the Takamagahara Shrine is destroyed, the enactment of the new laws will become empty talk. At that time, even without Ashiya Dōman's intervention, the seals on the two divine nest projections will automatically disintegrate.

Therefore, Kamiyagawa could not leave Takamagahara. He even had to disperse his most trusted gods and shikigami, stationing them on the moon and in Hirasaka respectively, to closely monitor any movement at those two key locations.

"Xiao Lu and Xiao Kui will be fine."

Kamiya thought to herself.

This was the first time he had truly allowed his apprentices to face and resolve a crisis on their own.

Attention was then turned back to the interior of the shrine.

At this moment, the crimson torii gate at the center of the magnificent hall stood majestically. Here, countless wishes converged to their utmost, transcending the former heavy specks of firefly light, transforming into countless flowing, radiant ribbons of light. These rivers of light, imbued with faith and law, spiraled upwards along the temple's beams and pillars, weaving a magnificent net across the dome, ultimately converging like rivers flowing into the sea at the highest point of the temple—

At the end of the spiral stone staircase stands the main throne, symbolizing supreme authority.

The entire temple was permeated with an ancient, sacred, and majestic aura, as if this were the source of world order and light.

If true order and light still exist in this world.

Kamiya River stood silently at the bottom of the "Stairway to Godhood," resonating with the entire Takamagahara. The immense power of his will, like a gentle tide, washed over his soul wave after wave, attempting to push him to the supreme position of "Lord of Gods and Demons."

"Not even close."

Kamiya knew that now was not the time to sit on the throne.

Even though Kaku and the other craftsmen had done their utmost to compose the new laws for Kamiya, there was still one last step, one last crucial opportunity, before they could complete it all.

He could clearly sense that as long as he could complete that last sliver of opportunity, he could modify the old law of sacrifice left by Izanagi and write a new law that belonged only to him on the foundation of this world called "Izumo".

At that time, he will be completely free from the shackles left by Izanagi and become the true master of this temple.

"Just as Xu Fu said, Ashiya Dōman was the last piece of the puzzle."

Thinking this, Kamiya suddenly sensed something.

That extremely subtle yet soul-stirring "noise" abruptly intruded into this harmonious and magnificent resonance.

This noise doesn't come from the outside, but from within. It's as if the "rules" of the entire Takamagahara itself are emitting a rejection reaction of being eroded and "contaminated".

Kamiya even sensed a chilling cold emanating from the central torii gate of the shrine, a position that should have been eternally stable and formed from the purest willpower.

The next moment, a sudden change occurred!

As if stained by invisible ink, the vermilion of the torii gate is visibly fading and turning black, eventually transforming into a pitch-black that devours all light. The wooden structure of the torii gate begins to twist and swell, with dark red veins, like rotting blood vessels, pulsating slowly on its surface, resembling a huge, living, filthy organ.

Behind the torii gate, what should have been a sacred space where pure willpower converged, now vaguely revealed the outline of a distorted shrine.

Its eaves are not elegant curves, but are made of countless white, withered bones interlocking and pointing sharply in all directions, exuding an aura of death and blasphemy that is incompatible with Takamagahara.

This strangely altered torii gate and shrine are greedily drawing away the brilliant stream of spiritual energy flowing within the temple. The once golden river of light is now tainted with a murky dark color as it flows through them, like a clear stream being injected with poison, emitting a subtle yet teeth-grinding "sizzling" corrosive sound.

The ancient and sacred aura that permeated the entire temple was being rapidly polluted and diluted, replaced by a gradually intensifying sense of coldness and decay.

"I was just thinking of you, and here you are." Kamiya's voice echoed in the empty shrine. "You really dared to choose this place."

At the boundary between light and darkness, a figure silently solidifies.

It didn't break through space, nor did it arrive step by step. The figure simply stood there quietly, like a long-forgotten yet ever-present established fact, only now being rediscovered by the world's perception—

Ashiya Michiman stood before the black torii gate. (End of Chapter)