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It shattered.
It really shattered.
Was this kid trying to mess with me?
Out of the corner of her eye, Mitsue Takeda caught a glimpse of Miko Yotsuya's pale, panicked expression, and realized—no, the girl wasn't joking or pulling any kind of trick.
As someone with one foot already in the grave, Mitsue prided herself on being able to read people.
So…
Thump-thump… thump-thump…
Her heart, after a brief pause, erupted into a fiery, restless pounding.
If I can learn the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening without regret.
For someone like Mitsue Takeda, a devout seeker of the mystical path, this was the perfect description of her mood.
Her stiff face softened again into a kindly, grandmotherly smile.
"Child, don't be afraid. Maybe those prayer beads were just poor quality. I've got better ones."
Better ones?
Now Miko was truly frightened.
That strange incident the other day, the weirdness these past few days, and now—slipping on the beads only for them to shatter instantly—felt like a terrible omen.
She forced a wobbly smile that looked like she was about to cry.
"O-okay… Granny Mitsue, I'll pay you back for the beads just now."
"No, no need. If they broke because they were bad quality, that's on me—not you."
The two of them silently agreed to blame the whole thing on "cheap beads."
This made Hana YuriKawa pout her lips in mock annoyance.
Being naturally thick-skinned, Hana didn't pay much attention to this little "incident." She thought it was just some sort of performance act from Mitsue Takeda .
And when several more strings of beads snapped afterward, Hana became sure it was all part of the act.
If not for Miko's truly awful expression, Hana might've even applauded.
Of course… of course!!
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Mitsue stayed calm—after all, she had lived most of her life.
Her earlier slip-up was just because she'd been too focused.
"…Child, you should head home for now. Come back tomorrow and we'll try again."
"…Alright."
Watching one leave silently and the other skip away happily, Mitsue Takeda felt a restless heat in her chest, the kind you just have to let out.
A strange event.
A truly strange event…
In all her decades of "practice," she'd never seen anything like this.
But…
Strange events are good.
Strange events are wonderful.
Her wrinkled old face lit up with excitement.
She remembered the usual looks from her peers—tired and jaded.
The condescending gazes from those "in the know."
The accusations: "Fraud." "Scammer."
The overwhelming chorus of criticism, like it would drown her entirely.
Me, a fraud?
Her gaze followed the two girls' backs, growing more and more intense.
Maybe so…
But…
She lifted her head to the sky.
The colors of dusk were just starting to appear—the witching hour.
Wasn't that convenient…
If she wanted to verify her suspicion about that girl, this was the perfect chance.
Turning back, she dug out some old relics from under the counter—things she hadn't touched in years.
Exorcism tools, all ready to go.
Her logic was simple:
If the beads broke, then they must have worked, at least a little.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have provoked whatever was haunting that girl.
So maybe her tools weren't useless after all.
After some hesitation, Mitsue sent a message to her son, asking him to come by and check on her.
This was her just-in-case farewell.
Who knows—tonight someone might have to collect her corpse.
She smiled, as if she'd already made peace with life and death.
Am I a fraud…?
Finally took the bait, huh.
Seishū Minazuki had been waiting for a perfect new chess piece to join the game—
Mitsue Takeda.
In Miko Yotsuya's story, she was the so-called "Downtown Goddess Mother," blessed with spirit sight and spiritual power, but in truth completely incapable of handling high-level threats.
Here, in this slice-of-life mixed anime world, she was just a scholarly old woman with some theology knowledge… and a petty side hustle in scams.
Well…
In Seishū's eyes, that was the perfect professional background.
He decided to forcibly recruit this "veteran employee" into his plans.
Her appearance could divert the public's attention—
A perfect disguise.
He raised a hand.
Behind him, an oppressive swarm of curses stood silently.
"Let's go…"
He mounted a several-meter-tall dog-shaped curse, and, in a scene like a grotesque parade of night demons, began moving toward a certain location.
Seishū had already decided on the identity he'd use to walk among humans.
Now…
It was time to meet his first subordinate.
Huh!? I lost her?
Impossible.
Mitsue glanced around in surprise.
She'd been planning to follow Miko—partly to catch a glimpse of something supernatural, partly to use her tools to protect the girl.
Something was off.
She'd lived in Tokyo for many years; she knew the streets like the back of her hand. How could she lose track of just one high school girl?
Scratching her head, she figured she must've been careless.
But still…
!!!
Suddenly, a strange sensation made the hair on her neck stand on end.
The evening shadows were deepening.
But she knew—Tokyo is famous for being the city that never sleeps.
So where… where was everyone?
Cold sweat trickled down her temple.
She swallowed hard, her eyes darting around nervously.
No one.
Still no one.
The wide street had turned deathly silent in the blink of an eye.
It was like the whole city had become a ghost town.
In her chest, fear and excitement tangled together in a messy knot.
Could it be…
Could it really be…?!
She quickly pulled an exorcism tool from her bag.
The old props she used to "play along" now gave her a rare sense of comfort.
Silence.
Dead silence.
Walking down the street—
She could hear only her own footsteps.
Only her own pounding heartbeat.
In her mind, scraps of theology surfaced: human erasure… spiritual barriers…
The further she walked, the clearer it became—
A faint, eerie whisper was echoing in her ears.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Half like a pilgrim, half like an exorcist, she pressed forward in a jumble of emotions.
Closer…
Now she could make out the words:
➼ […King…]
➼ [Curse… King…]
➼ [Fallen… Angel…]
✦ The whispers weren't urging her forward—yet she felt like she'd gone mad.
At first, she walked cautiously.
Then faster.
Then running.
Her chest heaved like a bellows.
Her eyes burned with an inexplicable determination.
And then—her vision shattered.
The normal street scene cracked apart like a mirror breaking.
Beyond it lay something that made her skin crawl.
The sky swirled with blood-red mist.
The ground reflected it like the surface of dark water.
In the distance, a massive demon shrine rose toward the heavens.
Lining the path toward it, rows of monstrous spirits knelt halfway down, like an army paying homage.
But even kneeling, those towering, grotesque, and malevolent spirits were so huge she had to crane her neck to look up at them—
The kind of size that triggers a primal fear of giant things…
"....."