Ryuu didn't hesitate.
Amaterasu.
The cursed black flas erupted from his eyes, forming the shape of a massive Eastern dragon, its body coiling through the air as it roared forward, engulfing the wave of cursed spirits before them.
The forest was instantly bathed in black fire.
Flas clung to the very fabric of existence itself, devouring each twisted spirit in sight. They scread, they burned, and they vanished—leaving behind only charred remnants of their malice.
The sky darkened, smoke rising like a funeral pyre as the cursed spirits were exterminated without rcy.
Yotsuya Miko watched in awe.
This wasn't an exorcism.
This was a purge.
Hundreds of curses were erased within minutes.
Ryuu observed the battlefield, feeling the residual energy absorbed into his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"…Not bad."
He could sense it—his eyes had grown stronger. This shrine was a goldmine.
A single quasi-first-grade cursed spirit would have given him similar benefits, but here, he had annihilated several hundred lower-grade ones.
He really had co to the right place.
Just as Miko was about to cheer, she froze.
The forest trembled.
Another wave of cursed spirits erged from the trees.
Their numbers were the sa as before.
Miko's face turned pale.
"They just keep coming…"
Ryuu smirked.
"It seems the curse pretending to be a god has been hoarding a massive stockpile of negative energy."
This thing had been absorbing people's wishes and fears, turning them into cursed energy to spawn spirits.
This wasn't just a shrine.
It was a factory.
But that only ant—
More prey for him.
Amaterasu flared once more.
Wave after wave of cursed spirits burned away, their agonized shrieks piercing the air.
Ryuu continued his relentless assault, and finally—
The shrine spirit gave up.
The attacks stopped.
Silence fell over the forest.
Ryuu closed his eyes briefly.
Then, with a slight smirk, he turned his gaze forward—
And found it.
The barrier.
A veil of spiritual energy flickered across an invisible wall, hiding the shrine from normal perception.
He placed a hand against it, feeling its composition.
"...So this is the entrance."
Miko stepped closer.
"Can we… get through?"
Ryuu chuckled.
"If we followed the ritual requirents, we'd need a human sacrifice with the shrine's cursed aura."
Miko's heart dropped.
"But lucky for us…"
He flexed his fingers.
"This barrier is trash."
Miko barely had ti to react before—
BOOM.
A shockwave erupted, sending ripples through space.
A blue skeletal arm materialized around Ryuu, its massive hand clenching into a fist.
—Susanoo.
With one punch, Susanoo shattered the barrier.
CRACK.
The air trembled.
The illusion collapsed.
And beyond it—
The shrine finally revealed itself.
---
The scene before them was unnatural.
A serene, picturesque mountainside stretched ahead, filled with blooming flowers and a peaceful ambiance.
It was too perfect.
Miko's breath hitched.
"T-This is it! The shrine!"
Ryuu grinned.
"Then let's settle this."
He extended a hand toward her.
Miko hesitated—
Then took it.
Her fingers trembled slightly, but Ryuu's grip was steady and warm.
Together, they ascended the steps.
There were no more illusions, no tricks—just silence.
The shrine stood at the top, just as Miko rembered.
A small, worn-down wooden structure.
A donation box.
A rusted bell.
A shrine that was abandoned by ti.
But despite its shabby appearance—
Miko felt it.
The malice.
It was still here.
Her hands clenched around Ryuu's sleeve.
"...I can feel it watching us."
Ryuu nodded.
"Then let's give it a reason to show itself."
He led Miko toward the donation box.
"Make your wish."
Miko took a deep breath.
Stepping forward, she dropped a coin into the box.
Then—
She rang the bell.
Clap. Clap.
She pressed her palms together.
"I sincerely thank you for saving three tis," she murmured.
The wind stopped.
The shrine was silent.
Then—
A gust of wind howled.
Leaves spiraled into the air.
The bell rattled violently.
And then, with a shudder, three figures appeared.
Miko's breath caught.
It was exactly as she rembered.
Two small fox-like figures—dressed in kimonos—stood before the shrine.
And behind them—
A towering beast, glowing with an eerie golden light.
The "Mountain God."
Its massive body resembled a fox fused with a ram, with four grotesque jaws splitting apart from its face.
Its empty, soulless eyes locked onto them.
The two small fox spirits gestured wildly, their mouths moving in so incomprehensible language.
But the Mountain God…
It was staring at Ryuu.
Its lips curled, baring jagged fangs.
It wasn't happy.
Miko shivered.
"This is just like my dream…!"
Her grip on Ryuu tightened.
The smaller fox spirits suddenly pointed at her, their bodies trembling with rage.
One of them even let out a shrill, furious cry.
Then, the Mountain God moved.
The bells on its body jangled ominously as it stepped forward.
Then, in a deep, guttural voice—
It spoke.
"Not enough. Not enough tribute."
Miko froze.
"You… are the tribute."
The shrine shuddered.
The Mountain God's aura surged.
Its jaws split wider.
A hand—thin, pale, unnatural—extended from its mouth.
Sothing dangled from its skeletal fingers.
A bell tied with red thread.
It offered it to them.
Ryuu's expression darkened.
"...Tch."
The Mountain God wasn't asking.
It was demanding.
And Ryuu had no intention of giving it what it wanted.
His Mangekyō Sharingan glead.
"This shrine really is broken beyond repair," he muttered.
"Good thing I'm here to burn it down."
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