"Now tell me..."
A white smiling pattern appeared on Ye Xing's pure black mask as he asked in a conversational tone, laced with amusement.
"Why exactly are you keeping me trapped here? Could it be that you're all masochists? Do you enjoy being tortured?"
"Kill... kill you!"
Among these four evil spirits, Hashihime possessed the strongest power and was currently the only one still capable of speech.
Originally lying on the ground, the bridge princess suddenly stood up, extending her hands with sharp nails stained with blood, letting out a piercing roar as she lunged towards Ye Xing standing there.
"Boring."
Ye Xing merely sidestepped slightly, avoiding the bridge princess's seemingly fierce attack, then directly extended the pale ghost hand, its five fingers piercing into her neck.
Immediately after, the sharp black nails on his right hand swept across like blades, brutally slicing off the bridge princess's right shoulder from her body.
As the flesh chunk fell to the ground, Ye Xing slightly opened his mouth, swallowing the black smoke it transformed into. Listening to the bridge princess's desperate screams as if they were the world's most perfect and pleasant symphony, he nodded with satisfaction.
"Excellent. Raw consumption remains the freshest, and it's even better with accompaniment. Such splendid dining ambience."
By now, Tamamo-no-Mae, who had been secretly watching from the upstairs window, had grown numb to such scenes.
The same events had been repeating over this period - once, twice, again and again.
The only difference being which body parts Ye Xing consumed each time.
At this moment, while feeling chilled and fearful towards this professional exorcist's ruthlessness, Tamamo-no-Mae couldn't help but feel a trace of relief.
Fortunately, when she first encountered him in the Reverse World, they had established a contractual partnership.
If she had made one wrong step back then...
Would she have ended up like these four beings, suffering the cruel torment of watching her own body being gradually devoured piece by piece?
Just the thought made Tamamo-no-Mae shudder.
Looking at the four evil spirits lying on the ground, even her eyes revealed a hint of reluctance.
Too tragic.
Truly too tragic.
The ability to continuously regenerate through the black mist's power, making them difficult to completely eliminate through normal means - this should have been a good thing.
But because of this trait, these four evil spirits born from people's negative impressions in the Hyakki Yagyō legends were practically living in hell.
Constant regeneration, followed by constant devouring.
It was truly a living hell...
After resting for such a long time, Tamamo-no-Mae felt she had recovered some of her strength, so she left the abandoned building and stood beside Ye Xing.
"Ye Xing-kun..."
"You can walk already? Recovering quite quickly."
Hearing Ye Xing's words spoken with laughter, Tamamo-no-Mae couldn't help but tremble.
Recovering quickly...
Wasn't necessarily a good thing...
Tamamo-no-Mae genuinely feared that Ye Xing might get a sudden impulse and eat her.
"Have you... learned anything?"
"No."
Ye Xing shook his head while casually crushing the Nozuchi-bō's bald head, replying indifferently.
"Judging from the current situation, this so-called black mist only enhances certain evil spirits' regenerative abilities without boosting their power. They're still quite weak, just difficult to completely eliminate. Moreover, the black mist itself doesn't possess offensive capabilities."
Tamamo-no-Mae showed a puzzled expression, hesitating as she said.
"This... isn't that a good thing?"
"It is indeed a good thing."
Ye Xing nodded, his black overcoat and the mask on his face simultaneously dissolving into black flames as he spoke softly.
"No matter who is behind this scheme, since they know about the contract between us, they should understand that relying on those evil spirits that attacked you before and these four endlessly regenerating buffets in front of us won't be enough to kill me."
"Judging by these four creatures' abilities..."
As he spoke, Ye Xing held Onimaru Kunitsuna in his left hand and vertically split the crawling Nozuchi-bō in half from the crown of its head, then opened his mouth and devoured the left half of its body into his stomach.
Tamamo-no-Mae noticed his expression of enjoyment and suddenly realised something.
Was this exorcist truly devouring evil spirits just to protect humanity and enhance his own power?
She couldn't help but feel...
That Ye Xing simply enjoyed doing such things?
What a pervert!
"They weren't created to confront me, let alone eliminate me. They seem more like they're meant to buy time."
"Buy time...?"
Tamamo-no-Mae repeated these words, gazing thoughtfully at the increasingly dark crimson moon in the sky.
"Considering the nature of the Reverse World... Could it be that the mastermind believes something will happen in the real world that will be reflected within the Reverse World, giving birth to... a powerful being capable of killing you?"
At this point, even Tamamo-no-Mae herself sounded uncertain.
Logically speaking, her deduction made perfect sense.
The crucial question was: what kind of terrifying event would need to occur in the real world to give birth to an evil spirit in the Reverse World powerful enough to rival Ye Xing?
After all, even she herself - nearly legendary throughout Japan - had only been on par with Ye Xing when they first met.
Not to mention now, after he had devoured countless evil spirits and experienced numerous exorcism battles, he had become much stronger than before.
To create a new evil spirit in the Reverse World to confront Ye Xing?
How utterly foolish. Was that even possible?
Ye Xing seemed to read Tamamo-no-Mae's thoughts as he slowly spoke.
"Actually, compared to the elusive legends of mythical creatures that don't exist in reality, what humans truly fear are things that could potentially happen."
"Things that could potentially happen... like what?"
"How should I know?"
Ye Xing adopted a carefree attitude as four black longswords formed in his right hand. He walked over and firmly pinned the four evil spirits - Nozuchi-bō, Takame, Hashihime, and Inugami - to the ground before walking with Tamamo-no-Mae to the first floor of the abandoned building, smiling as he spoke.
"Let me use your lap as a pillow."
Tamamo-no-Mae was momentarily stunned, then appeared somewhat shy yet eager as she quickly knelt on the ground, lifting the hem of her kimono to reveal her plump, pale thighs.
"O-okay, please lie down."
Since Ye Xing had made the request, he didn't hesitate at all, directly placing his head on Tamamo-no-Mae's lap and lying back to rest with his eyes closed.
Tamamo-no-Mae tucked a strand of her long black hair behind her ear, looking down at Ye Xing resting on her lap, her face unconsciously flushing with a faint blush.
The silent Lord Ye Xing...
Was truly beautiful.
"Since you already know that the Reverse World is likely to give birth to an evil spirit capable of matching you... or at least one the mastermind believes can match you, then why do you still..."
"Compared to the real world, I actually prefer fighting in the Reverse World."
Ye Xing gave a very simple answer.
"Because here, I don't have to consider any collateral damage at all, nor how much destruction I cause to the surroundings. After all, they're just evil spirits. Therefore, rather than leaving hidden dangers, it's better to take this opportunity to eliminate that thing, whatever it may be, once and for all."
"Besides, I'd like to taste it too."
Hearing Ye Xing's words, Tamamo-no-Mae didn't respond verbally, merely maintaining her silence to allow him to rest with his eyes closed and prepare for the potential battle ahead.
However, she noticed one detail.
Ye Xing hadn't said he was trapped in the Reverse World, but rather that he preferred fighting here compared to the real world.
Did he... possess the ability to travel between the two worlds without using a Gate, and outside of both Demon Hour and Human Hour?
Thinking of this, Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly had a strange feeling.
In this incident, the one playing the role of the villainous boss... didn't seem to be on the enemy's side?
On the contrary, the enemy side appeared more like the protagonist group, using every scheme possible, carefully planning, searching for the villainous boss's weakness, and preparing for the final battle.
And this villainous boss was currently lying on her lap, looking completely relaxed without any tension.
So, which side would ultimately emerge victorious in this battle?
...
Half an hour later, inside Kyoto Power Station.
"That's all there is to it."
Miko Yotsuya was breathing slightly heavily, her face showing clear fatigue. She could only support her weakened body by pressing Mikazuki Munechika's blade tip against the ground.
How much time had passed?
She couldn't remember clearly.
How many evil spirits had she slain?
She couldn't count them anymore.
Miko Yotsuya only remembered that she had been continuously swinging Mikazuki Munechika, ceaselessly cutting down evil spirits until her arms could no longer be lifted.
Within the hundred-metre radius around her, the eyes that had filled the air were no longer open like they were at the beginning. As Miko Yotsuya's power was nearly exhausted, these eyes gradually closed, eventually shutting completely.
The Domain had dissipated.
"Finally..."
Seeing the disappearance of those eyes in the air, the Ushikubi-no-Onna breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked at Miko Yotsuya, who was surrounded by evil spirits, with no trace of the scorn and mockery she had shown before in her eyes.
The air was now filled with wisps of black smoke formed from the slain evil spirits.
Because Miko Ytsuya's speed in killing the evil spirits had been so fast - even faster than the rate at which the black smoke could dissipate - it was as if a hundred-metre radius of black fog had formed in the real world.
And of the thousands of evil spirits...
Less than one in ten remained now, not even a hundred left.
The Ushikubi-no-Onna didn't know what this so-called Domain Expansion ability actually was.
She only knew that the eyes that had appeared in mid-air seemed to provide Miko Yotsuya with a complete field of vision without blind spots, allowing her to move freely even when surrounded by layers upon layers of evil spirits.
The weaker evil spirits would freeze in place the moment they made eye contact with those eyes, and some even exploded on the spot.
Fortunately, Miko Yotsuya didn't seem very proficient with this ability.
Otherwise, all the thousand evil spirits might have been wiped out here.
But in the end...
'My victory.'
The Ushikubi-no-Onna curled her lips into a cruel smile, walking slowly through the circle of evil spirits until she stood before Miko Yotsuya.
She admired the other's body, not out of lust, or the natural hostility evil spirits feel toward psychics, but rather a fanatical desire to possess this body.
'Your body...'
The Ushikubi-no-Onna reached out her hand, the madness in her eyes growing more apparent.
'...is mine.'
Just as the Ushikubi-no-Onna's hand was about to touch Miko Yotsuya, a girl's voice came from not far away.
"Please!"
The moment this word was spoken, before the Ushikubi-no-Onna could even turn her head, she felt the sky instantly darken.
BOOM!
A tremendous roar echoed through the cloud layer.
The Ushikubi-no-Onna felt an instinctive sense of danger and, without any hesitation, instantly teleported dozens of metres away.
A blinding flash of lightning struck the ground, accurately hitting the evil spirits.
"That's..."
Miko Yotsuya, who had already prepared herself for death, her golden eyes dimmed from exhaustion, forced herself to look up upon hearing the familiar voice.
Through the dissipating black smoke of the evil spirits, she saw a familiar figure running toward her.
"Miko, are you alright!?"
Hina Amano quickly ran to Miko Yotsuya's side, her face full of anxious concern as she supported the other's body.
"Hi... Hina..."
Miko Yotsuya managed a weak smile.
"You... finally... can you finally see evil spirits now?"
Hearing this question, a complex expression flickered deep in Hina Amano's eyes, but she replied as if nothing was wrong.
"Yes, I'll explain later. Someone from the Metropolitan Police Department contacted me, saying something was happening in this power station and they needed my help, so I came."
"I see... so that's how it is..."
Miko Yotsuya had almost forgotten that the Supernatural Society had someone like Hina Amano, a psychic with rather special abilities.
Though she had forgotten, it seemed Rio Futaba hadn't.
Aside from Ye Xing, the other members of the Supernatural Society didn't actually know that since their trip to Itomori Town, Hina Amano had gained the ability to observe and could harm evil spirits.
Rio Futaba's initial thought was simply that since Hina Amano couldn't observe, she wouldn't be harmed by ordinary evil spirits.
In such circumstances, being unable to see evil spirits was actually an advantage.
Though Hina Amano couldn't be harmed by evil spirits nor harm them herself, special entities like the Ushikubi-no-Onna, who had taken over human bodies, were another matter entirely.
Of course, if Miko Yotsuya hadn't been in dire straits, Rio Futaba wouldn't have wanted Hina Amano - whose physical abilities were merely those of an ordinary human with no special powers beyond weather manipulation - to participate in such a dangerous operation.
But with Ye Xing absent, the Supernatural Society had to mobilise all available resources to have any hope of saving Kyoto.
"Tch... who... is this now..."
The Ushikubi-no-Onna couldn't help but frown at Hina Amano's appearance.
The reason was simple.
The original plan hadn't accounted for the intervention of what appeared to be an ordinary human girl.
After returning from Itomori Town, though Hina Amano had been able to observe evil spirits all along, she had chosen to ignore them, just like Miko Yotsuya had done initially.
On one hand, this was Ye Xing's advice - he said only those who could remain unfazed when facing evil spirits that could appear at any moment were suited to become professional exorcists.
On the other hand...
Hina Amano had realised that the reason she awakened her Mystic Eyes was similar to Shoko Makinohara's situation.
Shoko Makinohara had been close to death.
While she... the more she prayed, the larger the semi-transparent rainbow-colored areas on her body became, bringing her closer to being spirited away.
Hina Amano didn't want the Supernatural Society members to feel sad or pressured about her situation, which was why she had kept this information secret.
Looking at the low-level evil spirits that had been nearly wiped out again by the recent thunderbolt, leaving only about a dozen remaining, and then at Miko Yotsuya's golden eyes, the Ushikubi-no-Onna gritted her teeth and silently retreated.
Hina Amano's sudden intervention had disrupted the original plan.
Attempting to take over that psychic girl's body now seemed impossible.
However...
The time was almost up.
"She retreated..."
Watching the Ushikubi-no-Onna disappear into the darkness, Miko Yotsuya had no intention of pursuing.
Her power was almost completely depleted.
Hina Amano's ability might seem intimidating to spirits.
In reality, Hina Amano was what you might call a glass cannon.
Extremely powerful offence, but defence practically zero.
Rather than chasing after the Ushikubi-no-Onna, Miko Yotsuya prioritised Hina Amano's personal safety.
After all...
Once Ye Xing returns to the real world, none of these things will escape.
"Miko..."
Hearing Hina Amano's voice, Miko Yotsuya forced herself to pull herself together.
"What is it?"
As soon as Miko Yotsuya finished speaking, she noticed a look of terror appearing in Hina Amano's eyes. The girl raised her hand to point ahead, murmuring.
"That... what is that..."
Miko Yotsuya followed the direction of her pointing finger and saw that, at some point, a white wooden Gate stood quietly not far away.
"Is this a Gate? No... it feels different."
Miko frowned slightly as she observed the white Gate in the distance, wondering if this was also a Gate.
Why did its appearance and the feeling it gave her differ completely from an ordinary Gate?
Just then, the white Gate was suddenly forced open.
Under Miko Yotsuya and Hina Amano's shocked gazes, a massive crimson-black vortex cloud surged out from the gap in the Gate, flying high into the sky.
As the crimson-black vortex cloud appeared, golden thread-like rays of light emerged from the ground, converging towards the vortex cloud high above.
"What... is this exactly?"