Crossover anime, a daily life that begins with hunting supernatural beings.

Page 14

Only after a heavy rain, when the air humidity reaches a certain level, and at the extremely special time of the Twilight Hour, will the projection of a temple located in another world briefly appear in this world.

So, the next step is to get there, right?

Rather than leisurely searching for routes that may or may not even exist, Sakurai prefers...

Vigorously miracle.

A simple and direct solution had already appeared before Sakurai's eyes.

That is...

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

After a moment's thought and a simple route plan, Sakurai released the oil-paper umbrella from his hand. Watching the umbrella float lightly downwards, Sakurai pulled out the short dagger from his shoulder bag.

Spread your arms, close your eyes, and lean straight forward.

With his feet off the ground, Sakurai's body plummeted downwards at high speed.

Along the way, he used his short dagger, which could cut through iron like mud, to poke holes in the cliffs, putting on a good show called a high-speed emergency landing.

Very soon...

Sakurai then arrived at the bottom of the valley.

He raised his hand and caught the oil-paper umbrella that had just drifted to the bottom of the valley.

The whole process was done in one go.

I shook the umbrella and carefully put the nearly dry umbrella into my shoulder bag.

Sakurai carefully surveyed the entire surrounding landscape.

There's nothing there.

Looking at the barren, damp ground, after a brief stroll, Sakurai arrived at this conclusion quite easily.

Are these temples only accessible to those with a special connection?

trouble...

In his mind, Sakurai muttered a helpless complaint.

He hates solving puzzles the most.

Okay, let's start thinking—

I have met all the conditions mentioned in the rumors, and I have done everything the old man said.

In that case, I should be able to see the true face of that temple.

"What's still missing?"

"Could it be that I really forgot something?"

After a brief exploration of the valley floor, Sakurai saw nothing but barren land.

Perhaps the answer lies in those records.

With one hand supporting his body, leaning against the cliff, Sakurai closed his eyes and recalled the rumors.

Legend has it that somewhere in this country lies a hidden temple, visible only to those with a special destiny. Once you reach there...

You can get everything you want.

"Can I get everything I want?"

Oh, I see. I understand now.

When Sakurai opened his eyes again, he realized what he had missed.

It's greed.

There are only those who ask the temple for something, and only those who come with wishes.

Only those who are deemed destined by this temple are truly worthy of its patronage.

After all, only people like this are the kind of people that the gods and Buddhas like.

This is putting me in a bit of a bind.

Let me think, what exactly constitutes desire?

Let's give it a try.

"Please, I have a goal that I absolutely want to achieve."

Sakurai, with a blank expression, stuffed the dagger into his shoulder bag and clasped his hands together, reading aloud in a monotone voice.

Then...

A wooden door appeared out of thin air in front of him.

Good guy...

So it really was triggered by voice?

The judgment of these destined people is really arbitrary.

Well, it's just an evil spirit after all, so we can't expect too much.

With a deep sense of speechlessness, I pushed open the door in front of me.

With a creak, Sakurai stepped inside.

16. I said it, and I mean it.

When Sakurai could see again, he had already arrived at the very center of the temple.

We skipped the main gate and the front hall and went straight to the final hall.

At the center of the main hall stands a large golden Buddha with a round and full face, a kind and gentle demeanor, and an imposing presence.

The Buddha statue sits cross-legged on a lotus throne, in the lotus position. The left hand is placed horizontally on both knees in the meditation mudra, and the right hand is placed on the right knee with the palm facing inward and the fingers pointing to the ground, indicating that the earth is the witness.

This is the image of a saint who has attained enlightenment.

However...

Unlike the magnificent Buddha statues, the rest of the main hall was extremely dirty and chaotic.

This is a contradictory and bizarre scene.

"The last place that was this dirty and messy was Mafuyu-nee's room."

With a wave of his hand, he blew away all the dust in the air. Sakurai stepped onto the tattered prayer mat on the ground and looked up at the golden stone statue that seemed to be in the shape of a Buddha.

"Your destined one, kneel down and pray sincerely, and I will grant your long-cherished wish."

A faint, almost imperceptible murmur rang in my ears along with the burning inscription; it was a peculiar tone that no human could comprehend.

Sakurai understands.

"Come on, I don't think you have the right to make me kneel down."

"I'm telling you, if they are gods or Buddhas, they should be omnipotent. Can you guess my purpose?"

Sakurai snapped his fingers, temporarily concealing his purpose, and announced loudly.

"Rude human, you are not destined to be with us."

"Those who blaspheme are followers of Mara, the devil."

The strange tone of the stone statue amidst the burning inscriptions was rebuking Sakurai's unreasonable behavior, and it was about to unleash divine punishment.

Mara, the Demon King, said: "In your degenerate age, I will send my disciples and followers to infiltrate your Sangha, wear your robes, and destroy your Dharma. They will distort your scriptures and break your precepts to achieve what I cannot achieve with force today."

"Come on, what kind of follower of Mara, the Demon King? I think..."

"Aren't you the disciple and follower mentioned in these words?"

Ultimately, isn't your goal simply to eat me?

"Well..."

"Your brain capacity is only so big."

"Since you can't guess, I'll mercifully tell you."

"You monster who impersonates gods and Buddhas, you are my target."

That's all I have to say. What follows is—

Fight.

The light of the knife flashed.

After severing the stone statue's head, Sakurai raised his head, gripped his short dagger in his backhand, and kicked the head in mid-air, shattering it.

Tilting his head to dodge the debris exploding in mid-air, Sakurai landed several steps back, leaning against the wall with his back against the wall, staring intently at the headless stone statue in the center of the temple.

In Sakurai's eyes—

The pitch-black aura surged from the magnificent Buddha statue, eventually engulfing the golden Buddha completely.

The stone statue was completely devoured, and in its place was a beast whose exact appearance was completely indistinguishable.

The beast disguised itself as the Buddha to satisfy its own desires.

The beast chanted Buddhist scriptures to bewitch people.

The beast stretched and twisted its body to destroy its enemies.

Those destined to meet are offered as sacrifices, and the fulfillment of wishes is used as bait.

It transforms into gods and Buddhas, devouring life.

The world is dangerous now...

Demons roam freely, and humans have no means to deal with them; the only way to save their lives is to become blind and deaf.

Such a world might truly be called the Dharma-ending Age.

but...