With previous experience, the second infiltration into the Japanese style pavilion's alternate dimension was much simpler—just locate the Fox Spirit and burn a hole through with 'Candle'.
This time, Asakura still only brought Fujiwara Chika with him.
Mainly because the person who wished and created this alternate dimension, Shinomiya Kaguya, her wish itself felt like an escape and a desire for reclusion.
If it was just Fujiwara Chika, her friend, it would be fine, but if too many strangers appeared at once, catching her in the Japanese style pavilion would probably become significantly more difficult.
The giant Fox Spirit lay on the ground, whimpering like an abandoned dog, but Asakura kicked it in the butt.
"Stop with the dramatics, move it."
Don't let its current pitiful appearance fool you; this creature was a genuine great evil spirit. In fact, because people even worshipped it in ancient times, calling it an evil god wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Even though its power source, the shrine, had been sealed by Asakura with 'Scale', and it was forbidden from casually eating people to replenish its strength, in terms of sheer energy intensity, this wandering Fox Spirit was stronger than a single Holy Grail. If the entire shrine were included, even all seven Holy Grails combined probably couldn't compare to this creature.
This creature was also very skilled at 'granting wishes' in the past—though it used them as leverage to devour others' souls.
The Fox Spirit stood up on its hind legs, and its fur rippled underneath, followed by a sudden, somewhat unsettling, dense jingle of bells.
Whether it was psychological or not, Fujiwara Chika immediately decided that the musty tatami smell that permeated the Japanese style pavilion's alternate dimension had dissipated a lot.
Immediately after, the Fox Spirit extended its hands—yes, not fox paws, but long, slender, human-like hands, as if magnified, and gripped the paper door in front of it. The paper door, which had been incredibly sturdy and impossible to damage, shattered like a soda cracker in its hands, revealing the space behind.
It was a room much smaller than a normal Japanese-style room, no longer simply decorated in the Japanese style, but covered with various photographs. A long black-haired girl sat in the center.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that the photographs on the surrounding walls were not truly 'photographs' in the literal sense, but rather scenes deeply impressed upon her memory during her growth, extracted from her own recollections.
If there was anything amiss, it was probably that out of thousands of photos, over seventy percent used that gloomy, oppressive, underworld filter unique to BBC.
"Kaguya!"
Fujiwara Chika shouted in surprise.
But the one named Shinomiya Kaguya merely raised her eyes and glanced at her.
The next moment, countless paper doors closed again, re-separating the two spaces.
"It seems your relationship isn't as good as you thought."
Asakura said tactfully.
"No, Kaguya must just be shy! At times like this, if I just cling to her, she'll reluctantly give in!"
Fujiwara Chika said with a determined look, raising her small fist: "This is Chika's secret strategy for conquering Kaguya, never before revealed!"
"Aren't you revealing it now…"
The Fox Spirit pawed at the door for a while, then turned its head and let out a mournful gurgle, seemingly indicating that progress wasn't ideal.
Asakura sighed: "Step back."
The Fox Spirit, as if greatly pardoned, burrowed into the shadows and vanished.
"Huh, if that big guy is gone, how are we going to get to Kaguya?"
Fujiwara Chika asked, astonished.
"Don't worry, in front of me, there's no such thing as an 'obstacle'."
Asakura extended his hand, and the light of magic gathered at the tips of his joined index and middle fingers. But this time, it was not 'Candle', but the composite magic 'Scale', which had greater destructive power but was more mana-efficient.
He gently exhaled, like blowing out a candle on a cake, and blew the point of light from his fingertip.
The light point floated lightly onto the paper door.
The next instant, countless paper doors were burned through, as if pierced by a positron cannon, melting into an opening large enough for two people to pass through.
From the entrance, one could see that many doors behind it had been burned with the same outline, indicating that Shinomiya Kaguya had clearly created many doors to block them.
However, no matter how many doors, they could not block a single strike from 'Scale'. The countless doors formed a tunnel, which at first glance even gave the impression of a thousand torii gates.
"Let's go."
Asakura said lightly, and was the first to step into the tunnel.
Fujiwara Chika quickly followed closely behind, exclaiming along the way, "It looks so hot, but it's not hot at all when you walk on it, huh?"
"Because you are not the target of the flames. If I let the flames run wild, you would already be a roasted suckling pig from the scattered heat."
"That's mean! I'm not that fat!"
Asakura remained silent, only looking skeptical.
"Re-really! Although I love to eat, my weight is still within the normal range, definitely not fat!"
Fujiwara Chika explained even more vigorously.
However, the girl herself became increasingly unsure as she spoke, remembering that the other girls around Asakura, except for the one named Yanami who felt somewhat similar to herself, seemed quite slender?
"We're here."
Asakura said abruptly.
"Reached what? The critical point between plump and obese?!"
"It's where your friend is."
"Huh? Oh…"
Fujiwara Chika finally snapped back to reality.
Sure enough, after walking for a moment, the two soon arrived back in the small room filled with photographs.
"Kaguya-senpai…"
Fujiwara Chika called out softly, but Shinomiya Kaguya remained in a duck-sitting position in the center of the room, completely ignoring her calls, only her fingers moving slightly.
Fujiwara Chika then noticed that Shinomiya Kaguya was holding a small, toy-like object.
"An instant camera? Why would Kaguya-senpai be holding something like this?"
As if to answer the girl's question, with an almost imperceptible 'click,' a new photo was ejected from the instant camera.
It was a picture of Fujiwara Chika and Shinomiya Kaguya together.
"Sure enough, Kaguya-senpai hasn't forgotten me, I knew we were the best of friends!"
Fujiwara Chika, deeply moved, tried to go up and hug Shinomiya Kaguya, but inexplicably slipped on the tatami mat. Although it was a straw mat-like surface, it was even smoother than a waxed floor, causing the girl to let out a shriek that was far from ladylike, and she slid even further away…
Asakura carefully examined the photo and found that although it was a group photo of two people, Fujiwara Chika's smile was incredibly radiant, and her abundant assets were directly pressed against Shinomiya Kaguya, making the latter reveal an expression that was rather… annoyed? Uncomfortable? In any case, it was that kind of expression.
Then he looked at the almost imperceptible text below the photo, which was probably the theme of this picture.
"The Cancer of the World"
Asakura felt even more speechless.
Chika, are you two really friends…