-94- Put in a bit more effort

As Rozen and the others were making orderly preparations, the intense battle between the mountain god and Enenra continued to rage on.

The clash between these two Upper-level shikigami was not as terrifying as the battles between Servants during the events in Fuyuki City, but it was far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Especially the mountain god, its roars could shake the air, and its punches could shatter the earth. Under its rampage, the entire battlefield looked as if it had been bombed, becoming extremely chaotic.

In terms of sheer strength, perhaps even Domon Kira's Shuten-doji couldn't match it, and even Fuyuki City's Berserker might be weaker than this mountain god in pure power.

However, no matter how powerful it was, facing an opponent without a physical body rendered its strength useless.

Enenra's mist-like body simply ignored the mountain god's attacks. No matter how heavy the terrifying punches were, they would pass right through its form without causing any substantial damage.

Enenra seemed to understand this very well and disregarded all of the mountain god's attacks. It allowed itself to be pummeled by the non-substantial fists, while constantly changing forms. Sometimes it would envelop the mountain god like the wind, and at other times, it would coil around it like a snake. The face that appeared in the mist emitted scorching black smoke, burning the mountain god's massive body as if trying to melt it away.

Unfortunately, Enenra's attacks were also almost ineffective against the mountain god.

Even though it lacked agility, the mountain god's strength and defense were equally formidable.

If the mountain god's strikes could pulverize huge rocks, then its defense was strong enough to withstand even bombs with little damage.

As a result, both shikigami were trapped in a stalemate, unable to harm each other. They left behind traces of their intense battle on the battlefield, with the ground constantly being shattered by heavy punches and the surrounding trees continuously turning to ashes due to the burning.

Witnessing this fierce battle, Rozen couldn't help but feel envious.

"If only I could summon a Upper-level shikigami."

It was for this purpose that Rozen came to this world.

Now, after witnessing the power of Upper-level shikigami, Rozen's determination to achieve this goal became even stronger.

Then...

"Someday, I will have even the Top-level shikigami under my command."

At that time, Rozen would truly possess the strength to confront first-class Servants head-on.

After all, first-class Servants were mostly the Top-level shikigami. Only weaker Servants would fall to become Top-level shikigami, showing the strength of the Servants.

Of course, even a Upper-level servent could defeat a Top-level Servant if they had a powerful enough Noble Phantasm.

Compared to Servants with such uncertainty and potential, the two Upper-level shikigami before them, though powerful, had too limited means of attack and posed less of a threat than a Servant.

That being said, one shouldn't aim too high.

"I can't even summon a Upper-level familiar yet, so I shouldn't think that far ahead."

As Rozen pushed aside his thoughts, Domon Hinowa hastily tugged at his sleeve.

"Nuragami-sama, Raishin-sama has arrived."

Upon hearing Hinowa's words, Rozen quickly turned his head.

"Woah-----!"

On the other side of the mountain path, Akabane Raishin was running towards them, shouting in panic. Behind him, a group of colorful butterflies, the Gokuraku butterflies, was chasing after him, leaving beautiful trails in the air.

"I... I'm back! Are you all ready!?"

Being chased by a group of potentially explosive monsters, Raishin was both frightened and anxious, his forehead dripping with sweat.

If it weren't for the intense battle between the mountain god and Enenra, both of whom were focused solely on each other, Raishin's cries would surely have caught their attention.

"Finally, he's here."

Rozen's lips curled up.

"He's here!"

"So he's back!"

Kamo Subaru and Yuge Mutsura, standing on separate magic circles, also became energized.

"Now, then..."

Rozen took a moment to catch his breath and stood up.

"W-Wait!"

Just as Rozen was about to go out, Hinowa suddenly held him back.

"What's wrong?"

Rozen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

To this, Hinowa struggled slightly and then mustered the courage to ask, her face turning red.

"Why are you willing to take such a huge risk to obtain the token?"

Because obtaining the token would be equivalent to being engaged with Hinowa.

Why would Rozen take such a big risk just for that?

Domon Hinowa wanted to know the answer.

Naturally, Hinowa knew that the answer could very well be the same as what she was facing – an arranged marriage dictated by her parents and matchmakers. But could that reason alone be enough to make someone take such a huge risk?

Hinowa pondered over this.

And then...

"If you ask why, it's probably for a similar reason as yours," Rozen replied very straightforwardly.

"Similar... to mine?" Domon Hinowa was suddenly taken aback.

But it was indeed the case.

"Aren't you also helping us out to repay a favor, even if it means risking getting married off?" Rozen smiled cheerfully and continued, "In that case, for the sake of returning the favor, I can't let my old man outside lose face either."

Hearing this, Hinowa understood.

Rozen was doing all of this to prevent Akabane Kuukan from losing face.

If in this trial, neither of the two younger generations of the Akabane family succeeded and returned empty-handed, the Akabane family would undoubtedly be mocked by the Izanagi clan. At that time, Akabane Kuukan's honor would also be at stake.

"My old man raised me for ten years after finding me. I gotta do something to repay him," Rozen said.

"Although it's a bit foolish to risk it all just for a bit of honor," Rozen added with a wry smile.

If it weren't for Enenra's appearance, Rozen probably wouldn't have cared about all this.

But since the Izanagi clan even went so far as to summon Enenra, just to make the Akabane clan look bad, if Rozen didn't reciprocate and help the Akabane clan save their honor, how could he establish himself in their family in the future?

"So, I'll just put in a bit more effort ," Rozen said with a mischievous smile.

Watching Rozen's childlike grin, Domon Hinowa remained dazed in the spot.

Until Rozen left, Domon Hinowa didn't snap out of it.

"Nuragami-sama...."

In that moment, Domon Hinowa's heart raced.

From this moment on, there would always be a figure residing in a corner of Domon Hinowa's heart.