Chapter 13: The Identity of the Monkey Deity
Hikigaya followed Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko through the shrine.
The Western Heavens Shrine was much larger than he had imagined, but it also had far fewer people than he had hoped.
"There aren't many people here."
"That's because today is the day the shrine of the Monkey Deity is being opened.
Apart from the relevant personnel, everyone else has temporarily been cleared out.
After all, the shrine has been closed for a hundred years.
The Monkey Deity, having been lonely for so long, probably wouldn't be able to handle the temptation of too much human popularity," Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko replied.
Regardless of how much he was being controlled, that explanation wasn't wrong... or so it seemed—not!
Hikigaya was dying of curiosity.
"This Monkey Deity you're talking about—what kind of god is it? The committee didn't provide me with any material on this."
"It's not that they didn't want to provide it to you—it's just that even among the Four Great Houses, very few people know the Monkey Deity's identity. It's passed down orally and never recorded in writing." There was a trace of pride in Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko's voice. "Our ancestors made great sacrifices to bind the deity, so it could bring prosperity to the nation."
"You call it the Monkey Deity, so is it in the form of a monkey? What are its abilities?"
"Well, it can heal horses' diseases and make them stronger. It can also protect dragons and serpents."
"But doesn't its title imply it slays dragons?"
"'Slaying' actually means subduing.
Once rebellious dragons and serpents are subdued, they become allies and strengthen our forces. But the most important role is exorcism.
Our nation has eight million gods, but even more than that are spirits who failed to become gods and are instead referred to as youkai. You should be especially familiar with this."
Know how to feed different kinds of foxes and dogs? Komachi probably knows best...
"And what's the deal with the Demon Gate?" Hikigaya continued to ask.
"This place lies in the northeastern direction of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which is also northeast of Mount Fuji, making it the Demon Gate in Onmyoudou.
It's a very special location—it can connect with Demon Gates across Japan and serves as the primary route for malevolent spirits and evil entities to invade the human world.
That's why, long ago, the monks of the Tendai sect decided to use monkeys as guardians of the Demon Gate, while also worshiping Tokugawa Ieyasu as a guardian deity of the nation. That way, the Demon Gate could remain permanently sealed."
Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko patiently explained all this, but at this point, a hint of awkwardness appeared on his face.
"But because of this, we ended up offending the Martial Arts King of China. She was very displeased with this arrangement."
"Hmm, putting the Martial Arts King aside for now... earlier you said 'monkey,' so it's not a coincidence that the deity is a monkey, right?"
"There is some reason to it. Kyoto has many places where monkeys live, so the Monkey Deity's power receives a certain amount of support here."
So it's actually a monkey…
Hikigaya suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Combined with the attitude of the Chinese Martial Arts King, it made sense that someone like her would be upset about the shrine next door—this Monkey Deity probably had a connection to Chinese mythology.
So which monkey is the most famous in Chinese mythology?
"Don't tell me your Monkey Deity is Sun Wukong—the Great Sage Equal to Heaven from Journey to the West?"
Hearing this, Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko finally turned around.
"That's right. It's exactly him. Only he can suppress the malevolent spirits and evil entities here while also subduing rebellious dragons and serpents."
Hikigaya's doubts were finally resolved.
No wonder the Martial Arts King was so pissed off at the Western Heavens Shrine.
If he was the Martial Arts King, he'd probably burn the whole place down too.
It just so happened that the era when the Martial Arts King became a god-slayer matched the mid-Qing dynasty in China.
And the emperor at that time—coincidentally—was the self-proclaimed "Perfect Ten Elder," Qianlong, who couldn't even handle Myanmar.
So the Martial Arts King witnessed the entire decline of China—from a heavenly empire to a weakling.
Even if she wasn't influenced by modern nationalism, she probably had nothing but disdain for international friends. And Japan, of all countries, happened to be the most aggressive during modern times—its brutality probably only comparable to the chaos of the Five Barbarians during the Northern and Southern dynasties.
The fact that she merely wrecked the Western Heavens Shrine and didn't level the entire place shows just how broad-minded the Martial Arts King really was!
From this point on, Hikigaya stopped asking questions and followed Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko deep into the Western Heavens Shrine.
When he entered a forest made of peach trees, he saw an old shrine. It wasn't very large, just like those ordinary, humble shrines often seen on roadsides in rural Japan—simple and undecorated due to a lack of funds.
Sacred ropes had been tied around the shrine and peach trees on all four sides, releasing intense magical energy that formed a barrier.
At the entrance of the shrine stood a girl dressed in a shrine maiden outfit, holding a tachi (a type of Japanese sword).
Judging from the hilt and scabbard, the sword was quite old. It was definitely not some cheap thing bought from a street stall outside the palace.
If sold, Hikigaya estimated it could probably support ten Tamamo-no-Mae.
Hmm… without thinking, he had just used that dumb fox as a unit of consumption.
"Hikari." Yuri ran over happily and hugged her younger sister.
Hmm, this one's flat-chested and short—far from squishing anyone, she ended up bonking her head instead.
Hikigaya deeply felt how important proper nutrition was.
He had heard that drinking milk could help both grow taller and develop curves.
When he got back, he'd use martial arts training as an excuse to get Komachi to drink more milk—otherwise, she'd be in for some awkward situations in the future.
"Big sis!" Hikari 's muffled voice came from Yuri's chest.
Hikigaya couldn't help but feel sympathy.
Stop it! Your sister's about to die! You're crushing her the moment you reunite—this is a complete failure as an older sister!
Shaking his head, Hikigaya stepped around the sisters, who were having some sort of face-to-chest bonding moment, and looked into the shrine through a window—he saw nothing but total darkness. It was as if light itself had stopped existing beyond that point.
"We need to weaken the 'Bimawen' seal first, only then can it be opened…" came Hikari's trembling voice from behind.
They actually called him Bimawen directly? How lazy!
Hikigaya turned to look at Hikari Mariya and saw her staring intently at the entrance of the shrine, looking very uneasy.
She seemed extremely nervous.
After taking several deep breaths, under everyone's gaze, she carefully placed her hand on the sacred rope. The thick rope, which had been suspended in mid-air, suddenly fell to the ground and stopped emitting magical energy.
"Is the seal really weakened just like that?" Hikigaya walked to the side of the rope and, after a moment's thought, gave up on touching it—no way the seal was that fragile, but if there was some kind of defensive mechanism on the rope, and he accidentally triggered it, the entire barrier would be destroyed.
That would have nothing to do with what he wanted—it would be pure passive effect.
And that would basically make him the one helping the Martial Arts King vandalize the place.
"No, the rope is used to isolate the divine from the secular. It naturally deactivates when the time is up," explained Ena from the side.
While she was speaking, Hikari Mariya had already opened the sliding lattice door of the shrine.
Inside was still pitch-black, but a special energy began to seep out. Hikigaya noticed that Ena and the Mariya sisters were both looking quite uncomfortable.
Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko also showed signs of change—his expression had become much more wooden than before, perhaps because the magic controlling him was also being affected.
"I'll go in first. Ena, you and the others follow behind me. If anything happens, call me."
After giving this instruction, Hikigaya looked at Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko.
"Is it really okay to just walk in like this?"
"Yes. If you don't mind, I'd prefer to guide you myself—it'll be faster that way."
Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko's voice had become completely monotonous.
Then he took a step into the shrine, and his body was swallowed by the darkness.
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