Within the grounds of Higurashi Shrine in Itō City.
Luo Shu stood with a grim expression, his gaze fixed intently on the sacred tree, silent.
Just then, a cool female voice sounded beside his ear:
"Is this the world you live in?"
Hearing the voice, Luo Shu paused, then turned his head to see Kikyo standing nearby.
Noticing Luo Shu's expression, Chikichi Ogiwara, who was startled by Kikyo's sudden appearance, asked curiously:
"Director Luo, do you know this lady?"
He hesitated briefly before adding:
"It seems this young lady isn't among the registered personnel."
At the very least, Chikichi Ogiwara recalled that none of those who had entered the Abyss included this shrine maiden.
Hearing this, Luo Shu glanced at Chikichi Ogiwara and clarified:
"She's a new recruit for the SDS. Register her later."
"A talent recruited from within the Abyss? Understood."
Chikichi Ogiwara immediately grasped Luo Shu's meaning, nodded, and withdrew to give the two space to talk.
At this, Kikyo stepped forward calmly and said:
"You haven't answered my question yet."
Luo Shu sighed helplessly: "Surely the answer is obvious?"
Kikyo didn't argue, merely stating coolly:
"What about So'unga?"
"After jumping into the Bone-Eating Well, we came directly to your world, while So'unga is most likely still in the well on our side."
"That means we can't reach it, let alone deal with it."
"That is indeed a problem." Luo Shu couldn't help but frown.
To approach So'unga, they needed to enter the Bone-Eating Well, but doing so brought them to the modern era.
Thus, So'unga's location had become an unreachable foreign realm.
In this situation, dealing with So'unga was indeed a troublesome matter.
However, compared to So'unga, Luo Shu was more concerned about why things had aligned so coincidentally.
At this thought, Luo Shu's eyes flickered slightly as he turned to Kikyo and asked:
"Why did we encounter this teleportation just as we were about to deal with So'unga?"
Kikyo was taken aback by the question, but then furrowed her brows, her expression hesitant as she replied:
"What are you implying?"
Luo Shu remained calm as he explained:
"The first to enter the Abyss were members of the Onmyou Agency, and they were directly sent to the Underworld where Tōga's remains lay."
"Next were the Seto Group and the Pureblood Vampire nobles—both groups' whereabouts remain unknown."
"After them, the Nura Clan, Bujin-shū, and the Ministry of Environment all seem to have appeared near Musashi Province. And finally, when I entered, I ended up right near Kaede's Village."
Hearing Luo Shu's explanation, Kikyo's eyes widened in astonishment:
"You're talking about... distance?"
"Yes, distance."
Luo Shu nodded, then gazed solemnly at the sacred tree.
"Based on the order of entry, the landing coordinates of those who entered the Abyss first and those who entered last—like me—show a pattern of getting progressively closer to the sacred tree and the Bone-Eating Well."
"So, conversely, could it be that some entity has been trying to keep us away from the Bone-Eating Well and the sacred tree, but due to waning strength, the distance has been shrinking?"
At this conjecture, Kikyo's frown deepened:
"If that's the case, who is manipulating all this? Could it be So'unga?"
"No, there's another suspect."
Hearing this, Kikyo followed Luo Shu's gaze toward the towering sacred tree.
Instantly, her pupils contracted sharply:
"The sacred tree... How could that be?"
Luo Shu remained composed as he continued:
"According to the SDS intelligence records, manipulating Abyss entry points isn't unheard of. But generally, to achieve this, one must control the entrance itself."
"And such controllable entrances usually take two forms."
"Either Abyss Lifeforms... or Abyss Artefacts."
Luo Shu narrowed his eyes, his pupils reflecting the image of the sacred tree.
"The sacred tree, also known as the Tree of Ages, possesses innate space-time powers."
"Though it's unclear whether So'unga is controlling the Tree of Ages or vice versa, one thing is certain."
"It—or they—don't want us to remain in the Abyss Warring States..."
"Which means our presence here poses a significant threat to them."
"How can we prove this?" Though Kikyo was inclined to believe Luo Shu's reasoning, she still hesitated.
Luo Shu glanced at her and said, "You should have already thought of it."
After a pause, Kikyo exhaled softly:
"Enter the Abyss again?"
Exactly. The method was to re-enter the Abyss.
If the Tree of Ages refused their entry this time or deliberately sent them into a dangerous region of the Abyss Warring States, then the culprit behind it all would be obvious.
"Want to give it a try?" Luo Shu smiled at Kikyo.
"Try!" Kikyo answered without hesitation.
Her younger sister and the villagers who raised her were still in that world. In this situation, Kikyo's choice was obvious.
Hearing this, Luo Shu turned and called out to Chikichi Ogiwara:
"Ogiwara, how much longer until the passage opens?"
"Yes! Currently, the passage... Eh?"
Chikichi Ogiwara responded, then checked his watch and froze in shock.
"Calculating the time, it should already be open by now, but..."
Hearing this, Luo Shu turned to look at the completely motionless Tree of Ages and curled his lips:
"So it doesn't want to let us in at all?" He chuckled. "How telling."
"Suddenly, I feel like seeing what tricks these rats hiding in the sewers are playing."
Hearing this bad news, Kikyo's expression darkened as she turned her pleading gaze towards Luo Shu.
Meeting her look, Luo Shu smirked playfully:
"It seems recruiting Senhime Rin Getsu into our Familia beforehand was an extremely correct decision."
Saying this, Luo Shu turned his back to Kikyo:
"Though it might seem a bit forced, the teleportation passage we'll be using next is a special channel only available to the SDS core members."
Hearing this, Kikyo's expression didn't change at all as she said:
"Please tell me what to do."
Luo Shu glanced sideways at Kikyo's determined face and couldn't help but smile:
"Follow me!"