Chapter 353: Easy to Coax...

Its own "miko" was killed.

"Roar!!!"

The false god-evil-spirit let out an enraged bellow.

"Stop howling. It's obnoxious."

Rei Ao was already annoyed by the noise.

He raised his right hand.

Crack!

A crisp sound came from overhead.

Miko and Hana looked up.

"Whoa, what is that?"

Hana's mouth hung open in astonishment.

From the sky above came a rush of frigid air—

two colossal hands formed of solid ice.

"Let me help tear off that fake shell you're wearing."

Rei Ao's right hand closed in an empty grip, and the pair of icy hands seemed to come alive, reaching for the false-god evil spirit.

"Roooar!"

Sensing danger on instinct, the false god-evil-spirit spun around, trying to flee into the mountains. But those colossal hands belonged to Rei Ao—like an unbreakable iron cage slamming shut, sealing its fate.

The frozen hands clutched it as if grasping a tiny chick.

"Rooooar!!!"

The false-god evil spirit gave a terrified howl, but it couldn't stop the icy hands. Like plucking feathers from a chick, they ripped away its golden outer shell.

Stripped bare, it revealed the nauseating, twisted form beneath—enough to make one's sanity plummet.

"An evil spirit!"

Miko cried out in alarm.

The creature's entire body was wrapped in a familiar pitch-black aura—the same that enveloped every evil spirit.

"tsk-tsk, your true form is hideous,"

Rei Ao remarked, shaking his head.

"You can't change what you are—you'll always be just an evil spirit."

Snap!

He snapped his fingers. The two icy hands suddenly flung the enormous evil spirit into the air like a pebble. Then they flattened into great palms.

Smack!

Using a classic "squash-the-bug" motion, they smacked it between them. A shockwave rippled outward, shattering the icy palms into countless glittering shards that rained down over the mountainside. The evil spirit itself was nowhere to be seen.

[Ding! Trade complete!]

Turning back toward the dumbstruck Miko and Hana, Rei Ao asked, "You two alright?"

Miko was first to gather herself, nodding like a pecking chick.

"Rei Ao-nii, I'm fine~."

Hana, a moment behind, snapped out of it and, without thinking, blurted, "Big Chungus Oniisan—are you a magician?"

"???"

Miko gave her friend a bewildered look.

Big Chungus?

She recalled an image of herself holding an… item to be licked in both hands. Her cheeks immediately turned the shade of a ripe apple.

"H-Hana, what are you saying?!"

She blushed and quickly covered Hana's mouth.

"Mmm, mmm!"

Hana, confused, tried gesturing with her hands. She would swear she definitely didn't see wrong—something was very, very big just now.

"Miko, don't overreact."

Rei Ao stopped her attempt to muffle Hana, smiling as he patted Hana's head.

"At least she's telling the truth. Besides, Miko, you've seen it and even used it, so just stay calm."

Big is big. Nothing wrong with that.

"Ugh, Rei Ao-nii!"

Hearing she'd been singled out, Miko shot him a shy, reproachful glance.

"Eh?!"

Hana, finally catching on, realized that Miko had not only seen it—she'd even used it?! She gaped at her friend in disbelief.

Blurting out, "Miko, you already took a step onto the grown-up path behind my back?!"

"Ugh!"

Miko was so embarrassed she was on the verge of tears.

"Alright, alright."

Rei Ao rescued her from further awkwardness.

He stretched out his hand, producing ten dark-blue crystalline tokens.

"These are new protective charms for you two."

"Protective charms?!"

Hana immediately pulled out the black crystal pendant around her neck—it looked quite similar. She suddenly realized, "So you're the 'Rei Ao' Miko told me about."

"That's me. And you must be the cute, big-chested Hana Yurikawa she talked about—Hana, right?"

"Hehe, cute~"

Hana grinned in a silly, happy way.

"That's me, Hana!"

Flattered by his praise, she seemed to have already forgotten the scary incident just now. Possibly her mind just worked in a very simple, single-track manner.

Accepting the protective charm, Miko asked anxiously, "Rei Ao-nii, was that thing an evil spirit too? Why didn't our charm work on it earlier?"

"It was an evil spirit, yes. But you could also call it the 'god' of this shrine, relying on people's worship for faith."

"A god?"

Miko felt a wave of revulsion. How could the god they revered be such a monster?

"Of course, it wasn't really a god," Rei Ao went on, pointing around the shrine.

"That thing was an evil spirit that drove out the real occupant, trying to use stolen faith to become a so-called deity."

And the "godhood" he meant wasn't one of those mighty, omnipotent deities up in the heavens. In this world, it was closer to the concept of "Yaoyorozu no Kami"—basically a type of yokai.

Becoming a god would just mean transforming from an evil spirit into a yokai-like entity, freer in nature, nothing to do with a true divine being.

"The new charms I'm giving you retain the old charm's functions, plus a protective shield and a means to attack if you choose."

He had barely finished when—

Crack!

A shard of ice shot out from in front of Hana, striking a large tree a hundred meters away.

Crunch!

In a mere blink, the entire tree turned to glittering ice under the sunlight—and then shattered completely.

"That's amazing!"

Hana's eyes widened in shock.

"It's like magic!"

Miko nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Hana, you can't waste such a precious thing on a demonstration like that!"

"It's fine," Rei Ao reassured them. "There's plenty of energy in each one, and it's not precious at all."

In truth, it was anything but precious—practically cheap. All he'd done was casually pour some magic power in and install a few unconditional magic seals.

"Hold onto these. If you ever run into an evil spirit like that again, you won't have to worry."

"Thank you, Rei Ao-nii!"

Beaming, Miko stowed her charm away.

"And here, Miko, you should—"

Hana began, intending to return the charm in her hand.

"No need to give it back to Miko."

Rei Ao stopped her.

"Since you're her friend, this is my gift to you as her boyfriend and future husband. Take it."

"!!!"

Hearing him call himself her boyfriend and future husband made Miko's head spin.

"Re–Rei Ao-nii…"

A small smile played on Rei Ao's lips.

"Miko, do you want to be my wife?"

He had said from the second time they met that he would genuinely make Miko his. Naturally, he saw no reason to hesitate, and pulled her into his arms. She didn't resist—in fact, she nestled in willingly, burying her face in his shirt.

"Mm."

And then he heard the faintest little hum of agreement, quieter than a mosquito's buzz.

Rei Ao smiled broadly.

Miko, you really were quite easy to win over.

~~~

Thank you for voting!

For Every 100 Powerstone = 1 Bonus Chapter!

Patreon(.)com/Bleam

— Currently You can Read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Others!