Chapter 21: Kishimojin

Under these circumstances, Yayoi Hozuki reflexively swung her "Physics Holy Sword." But the newcomer raised his hand and caught the weapon.

Hikaru sized up the little girl in front of him, smiling faintly:

"If you attack the one you commissioned, your request becomes void."

Once she realized who it was, Yayoi Hozuki understood she'd attacked the wrong person. She immediately withdrew her crowbar-like weapon and apologized:

"Sorry, I was too anxious."

"Forget it. What's your name?"

Hikaru glanced around at the surroundings and at the statue; it appeared to be a temple. The small girl before him had dark purple hair, wore a deep purple jacket and shoes with skull patterns—an edgy, Westernized gothic look. But the most striking feature was her eyes: each iris was split in two, a double pupil. Given the eerie setting, anyone might suspect she was in the middle of some bizarre ritual.

"I'm Yayoi Hozuki. I'm the one who placed the request. Are you... a devil?"

She regarded Hikaru with curiosity, seeing none of the typical devil traits: no tail, no wings.

"No, I'm not a devil. We just work together."

He replied. No wonder she had looked so familiar in that brief projection—turns out this little girl was the protagonist from Dark Gathering. In that series, she wandered a world full of malevolent spirits, capturing them somewhat like an alternate form of Pokémon.

Her appearance in this fused universe didn't surprise him. After all, if ghouls and cursed spirits could be stitched in, malevolent ghosts could also join the mix. Besides, it fit quite neatly with the lore: since the Biblical God was dead, the system that managed human souls had broken down, leaving them no place to go. They either vanished or turned into evil spirits.

"Work together?"

Yayoi Hozuki blinked in surprise. So even these top-secret devil request jobs can be outsourced?

Before she could continue, the rustling noises outside intensified. A frigid gust howled, like the wailing of hundreds of souls. The girl's face grew tense.

"Kishimojin and her infant spirits have found us!"

"Doesn't matter."

Hikaru said calmly. Moments later, a black, Buddha-like spectral figure appeared in a fierce wind through the open temple doors. Inside, furnishings rattled and clattered under the blast, and a horde of black infant spirits crawled toward the two of them from every angle, drawn by the delicious scent of living humans.

Kishimojin's gaze locked onto Hikaru; the infant spirits focused on Yayoi Hozuki.

"What can you do?"

she asked, hoping they could break through the encirclement. If we can just get to the car where Sis Eiko is waiting at the foot of the mountain, we can escape this place.

"No need."

Hikaru said. A black wind whipped around him. It wasn't ordinary wind, but a miasma steeped in grudges—enough to suffocate a normal person and muddle their mind if they stayed too long.

"This'll be over soon."

In Yayoi Hozuki's eyes, Hikaru strode straight forward. The infant spirits reached out to grab him, but before they could touch him, a burst of golden light scattered them. Hikaru raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. He'd only been testing it, but the effect of his Light Power was unexpectedly good. Lucky for them they weren't annihilated earlier like the curses or devils I've fought…

"Aaaahhhh!"

The black Buddha—or Kishimojin—howled in fury at seeing her baby spirits destroyed. Despite having fallen into corruption, she retained a sliver of her old instinct not to harm children. Yet watching Hikaru wipe out hundreds of infant spirits with a casual gesture made her shriek in anger and lunge at him, dragging dozens of inky tendrils behind her.

No sooner had she leapt than a Spear of Light formed in Hikaru's hand. He launched it like a lance, and it streaked toward Kishimojin. Her black tails struggled to deflect it, but only held for a second or two before being run through. The spear then continued onward to pierce her heart, forcibly knocking her backward. Its tip drove three feet into the ground, pinning Kishimojin in place.

During its flight, the Spear of Light carved a vacuum through the air, ripping countless infant spirits to shreds in the resulting shockwave. Instantly, the area became much clearer. The roiling haze overhead was torn apart, revealing the moon's gentle glow beyond. The remaining infant spirits, though lacking intelligence, were driven by instinct to scatter in all directions after witnessing Hikaru's raw power.

Yet Hikaru gave them no chance to escape. Pinned to the ground, Kishimojin's Spear of Light flared brilliantly—like a giant spotlight—until it detonated with a roar. The unleashed holy force swept outward like a tidal wave, shredding countless more infant spirits in an instant.

When the explosion subsided, Yayoi Hozuki stared at herself in shock. She wasn't hurt at all. She'd assumed she'd be blown to smithereens by that blast. In fact, not even a single blade of grass around her was damaged.

As the smoke cleared, Hikaru frowned slightly.

"She's still alive? Not bad…"

~~~

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