CH 30.1

"Buzz, buzzzz...!"

"Aaaaarrrggghhh!!!"

In the underground tunnels that spread out like a labyrinth... the hordes of youkai, who filled the tunnels, have been killed without being allowed to resist by a single human being. But the monsters outside of human reason, who are out of the control of youkai mother, still rush to this best prey, which is a human who has strayed into their path... a woman with high spiritual power.

...without even understanding the difference in power.

"Get out of my sight, you insects."

Those words were enough. The next moment, one by one, they are ripped apart, blown apart, and turned into pieces of meat. The woman kicked away the youkai with only a fan in her hand, marching forward through the no man's wilderness.

It was a one-sided slaughter. The woman's face, as she slaughtered the monsters amid her ongoing slaughter, showed no emotion. The peach-colored girl, who still looks young but also gives off a bewitching atmosphere, is hardly interested in the countless lives she has taken, giving only a coldness to those who see her.

No, that's not it... the half-youkai fox, who follows her closely or furtively, senses the passion in her Lord's heart, although she is puzzled by it.

She recalled that moment when her Lord, Kizuki Aoi, who was enjoying something while staring at a hand mirror alone... suddenly widened her eyes, then her face turned pale, and finally her face became shocked and her expression became like a Noh mask at almost the same time.

And abruptly she stood up, got off the ox cart, and with only her, a half-Youkai, she ignored the surrounding people's restraints, or she eliminated them by force and went through the depths of the underground tunnels without even a single guide.

Her steps were unsteady as she walked through the intricate dark passages as if she knew the structure of this underground passage from the very beginning. Of course, this was not the case. In reality, she was searching for the target with dozens of shikigami and knew the direction and distance to the target by divination.

"Ah, ugh...."

And so, here they are. Shiro follows behind her Lord with an anxious look on her face. At her feet are countless piles of dead youkai scattered about. She worries more about him who stepped into this underground tunnel before her, as well as about her Lord, who has been in a swarthy mood since a few minutes ago. She had heard that there were not so many youkai in there, but she could not be so sure because of the amount of them lurking in there. If that's the case...

"Tomobe-san... is he all right?"

"Isn't it obvious?!"

The small, soliloquized words are answered by an angry, dough-filled woman, and Shiro's shoulders shake, her tail and ears droop, and she starts to get frightened. The dense rush of spiritual power, which can even be felt as if the Lord beside her is trying to kill her, brings tears to her eyes.

But after seeing the half-youkai girl, Kizuki's second daughter's face turns stern and she turns back to the front immediately. Then she mutters.

"Yes, he's safe. I must believe that. Otherwise, I will have to... Yes, I will take action. But there is a good chance he is fine, isn't there? I mean, it's just many little fish out there doing their thing. The creep is just losing control of these guys. So he must be safe. It wouldn't be special if he couldn't handle them. Yeah, he should be. I'm sure he's safe. I am certain he had the right bait and isn't foolish enough to not use it properly. Otherwise, with what he's capable of... No, it can't be! I don't want to think about it! It's impossible! No way! It can't be!!!!"

Aoi mutters to herself like a curse and yells at the end, at the same time she swings her fan vigorously with her passion. At the same time, a storm was generated. It turned into an intangible blade, and with a single blow, it obliterated the muddy stream of the threadworms that had come crashing in from the front, leaving not a single individual, not even a single piece of flesh. It was a frontal crushing blow with the massive firepower made possible by releasing enormous spiritual power with the utmost efficiency.

"Hehe... Hehehehe..."

Aoi laughed eerily, having destroyed all the threats in the vicinity, and with all her might. But it was a ghastly and terrible smile. Her expression colored with intense emotion was so terrifying that Shiro could not look at her directly, let alone call out to her. But...

"......"

Glancing at her Lord with a trembling smile for a moment, Shiro looked down. She gets another impression, too.

Yes. To her, Aoi's expression was like a lost child who is desperately looking for her parents out of anxiety...

* * *

'It' was hungry... yes, 'it' was starving badly.

'It' awoke from a warm sleep, its consciousness became clear, 'it' broke through the cradle that nurtured it and 're-birthed', and the first sensation it became aware of was hunger. 'It' was hungry for something indescribable and ineffable.

And as the blurred vision... more like a photoreceptor or a pit organ than the so-called naked eye or eyeball... came into focus and became clearly aware of its surroundings, its colors, and shapes, 'it' first became curious about the being existence and then became interested in it.

The being body, constrained by the mass of flesh that filled the walls and pillars of the great hall without a space between them, seemed to be very vulnerable. Then, with a sluggish and slow body, freshly reborn, 'it' ran up to the being and observed it from the corner of its eye and nose.

The being seemed to have no hard hair, no thick fat, and no strong muscles or exoskeleton. It with such fragile skin that could be damaged by the slightest thing, 'its' instincts clearly told 'it' that the being was a lower predator than 'it'. 'it' could see the fear in its eyes as 'it' flicked 'its' long tongue across its cheek. At the same time... 'It' is filled with a sense of brutal, cruel, and abusive superiority that is typical of youkai.

But at the same time...'it' felt frustrated. Feeling the emotions of a lower creature that fears its own existence in front of it, and its very existence itself. 'It' did not understand why. But 'it' did know that it was feeling an unspeakable sense of anger, frustration, and intense hunger at the mere sight of the creature. It was as if something precious to 'it' had been lost...

Therefore, 'it' tried to bite the being in front of 'it' to make up for the loss. Opening 'its' jaws to the limit, tearing 'its' soft flesh from 'its' head with 'its' wildly growing fangs, crushing its skull, and sucking its contents... 'It' was under the illusion that if 'it' could contain the being in its body, 'it' would fill something missing in its mind. So 'it' tried to prey on the being, but...

"Oh, my dear little boy. You can't eat him, okay?"

The words bound 'it' from the root of 'its' soul. The sensation of having one's thoughts forcibly smeared, the instinct violently and yet gently urging one to obey the words. It was an irresistible urge.

But 'it' reluctantly obeys the words. 'It' obeys its mother's command and goes to the "feeding ground" to start devouring the mountain of "food".

No... 'it' was sure of this as it gorged itself on the 'food'. The 'food' piled up in front of 'it' is not what 'it' seeks. Certainly, the physical hunger will be satisfied. But... something was missing from the cold 'food' before 'it'. It lacked something that the soul of the 'it' sought.

Not enough, not enough... something is missing. Something to satisfy this feeling of soul-unfulfillment, something to satisfy this craving, something to satisfy this sense of loss, is missing in this 'food'.

That's why it was an opportunity. When that fragile being stabbed 'its' mother with the dagger, 'it' sensed the loosening of the shackles that bind 'its' soul and body. The vulnerable beings fled from the hall, and 'mother' had not yet recovered from the shock and grief, and the yoke of the soul that held 'it' and 'its' family members captive had lost its power.

And 'it' was not so foolish as to miss its once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And so, 'it' disappeared and tracked down the 'fragile' ones, waiting with a subdued instinct for its more foolish brethren to weaken them. And when the opportunity presented itself for the brethren to be blown to bits, it finally...

* * *

"T-that thing is... from back then...!?"

Ako Murasaki's face tightens as she stares at the creature that appears before her. She had seen many horrifying creatures since she had entered these underground tunnels, but this one was special.

The creature that tore open its meat sack must have been created by mixing several creatures. It seemed to have the characteristics of all creatures, and yet it was different from any of them... The appearance of this creature, which showed a wild and violent nature that appealed to human instincts, made Murasaki take a step back, and her wobbly legs got entangled and she fell down on her butt on the floor involuntarily.

'Grrruuumble... Kukukuk!!'

The creature twisted its neck and let out a doglike snarl, then shook its bare, lipless mouth and slurped. The gesture, which reminded her of a human being in a cruel way, made Murasaki's shoulders tremble almost as an unconditional reflex, and made goosebumps appear on her skin in disgust.

Then, after taking a glance at the female in front of her, the monster shifts its attention to the fragile being that slammed against the wall. Under the cover of darkness, it stabbed the fragile being in the side with its sharp tail and slammed it against the wall. The human coughing and coughing, holding the wound and breathing heavily, cowering. The wound was uncontrollably flowing bright red blood through the gap between his hands, and it was already staining the floor widely.

Still, step by step... the creature approaches the dying man. With its characteristic tongue, it wipes the drooling mouth with a lick. And... the next moment the youkai turns around with a start and stretches out its tongue to catch the hilt of the sword that Murasaki has just pulled out.

"H-huh...!?"

Its thick, long, black, grotesque tongue covered in mucus entwines with Murasaki's hand holding youkai's sword. The sickening sensation made Murasaki involuntarily loosen her grip on the sword, and as if aiming for that moment, youkai snatched it away from her and threw it into the back of the underground tunnel.

The monster was indeed an instinctive beast, and it lacked reason, but it was not unintelligent or stupid. It understood well what the most dangerous threats were in this place. That is why it waited until the other compatriots had worn the little bitch down, or as it is now, acted like it was caught off guard and took away its weapons. If she had jumped at it outright, the monster would have been stabbed in the chest with the sword she pulled out on the spur of the moment, and they would have been forced to fight each other.

...yes, youkai understood that the sword was dangerous. The memory that has been stuck in its brain in fragments has been sounding the alarm bells. The memory of someone long ago had warned it of the danger of that sword, and how dangerous it was in the hands of that family. That's why the monster took the youkai sword when the human girl was caught off guard and neutralized it.

Now, knowing that its performance had gone well, the youkai's mouth hangs open in a derisive smile. Its mouth is twisted into a gaping maw, and a slurping stream of mucus stains the floor. In front of it, the female shudders in despair at the lack of a weapon against it.

It was foolish, youkai thought. One of the swords was a youkai sword and the other one was of some quality, but to step into this underground tunnel with only two swords and in such a light outfit? The human girl in front of it must have been very careless. Although even she had entered here fully armed to the best of her ability, it couldn't do anything.

"......?"

For a moment, the monster doubts its own thinking. What was it thinking? How could it have just been born and yet know that youkai sword are dangerous? Whose memory is this in the first place?

"Grrruuumble...!!!"

The slight puzzlement, however, did not take shape until a moment later, when anger, frustration, and impulse engulfed it. Just as it desires, the creature stretches out its freely moving tongue in the next instant and strikes the exorcist girl in front of it in the stomach.

"Ggh...? Cough...!!!?"

It might have been different if she had been in perfect condition. However, the blow was too much for Murasaki, who was drained of most of her spiritual power and was not even equipped with adequate protective gear. The girl fell backward and coughed with tears in her eyes. The next moment, she notices the shadow. But it's too late.

"Huh...!?"

When she turns to face forward, the face of the terrifying creature is standing right in front of her. Its mouth hung brutally open, and saliva dripped from its fangs onto the girl's cheeks.

The saliva was so viscous and foamy with a peculiar smell of translucent color, and it stained her white soft cheek. But she couldn't scream either, because she knew that to tear her eyes away from youkai now would provoke youkai and bring about her death.

"Ah...ah..."

A frightened girl of appropriate age with tears in her eyes, there was not a trace of the person who had slain hundreds of non-human monsters in her first battle today.

The monster smiles at the sight of her. Then it stabbed the girl sharply in the right arm with its tail.

"Ah... Aaaaaahhh!!?"

The tail penetrated through the palm of her right arm and went deep into the floor below it. The girl cried out pathetically in pain for the first time in her life. The monster slurps again with a derisive "Kukukuk!" It knew that this kind of injury was not so unusual for exorcists, especially for defective/stray exorcists, and that few people would be in agony from that kind of pain.

"Ugh... Ggh... Ah... No, what will you... Aahhh!? No!?"

The creature stretches out its black whip-like tongue. Murasaki senses a suspicious atmosphere from youkai and desperately tries to shake it off, but to no avail. She has lost much of her spiritual power and is now nothing more than a thirteen-year-old girl.

With a stroke on the girl's cheek, its tongue lightly curls around her thin, slender neck. Then, its tongue deftly twirls around the collar of the garment as if it were a hand. And at once, it grabs it and rips it...

"Aahhh...!? No!? Stop!? Aaahhh...!?"

Murasaki's clothes had been ripped off in a single slash from her neck to the valley between her thin breasts, her navel, and her left side. Her white skin was exposed, and her young physique was revealed through the fabric. She quickly tried to cover her body with both hands and screamed in pain as her hand was pierced. In response to her cries and screams, the monster chides him with an insect-like cry.

"Ughhh, p-please... Don't do this, please... Please, I beg of you..."

Before long, Murasaki was sobbing and pleading out of fear, despair, pain, and shame. A girl is just a girl, and a sheltered girl is just a sheltered girl. For a helpless child with nothing to rely on, it may have been only natural for her to beg for her life.

...even if it is disgraceful behavior from the point of view of the exorcists.

"Grrruuumble...!!!"

"Ah... no... please stop... What are you doing... Noooo...!?"

But, of course, such pleas for life were futile against youkai. Mucus dripped down from her chin onto the girl's abdomen. The flexible tongue slithered down the girl's lower body and traced her thighs. The girl feels an unknown fear and chill. No, her intuition as a woman told her. She knows what the creature in front of her is going to do to her.

(Yes, I remember, I think, my father said...)

Immediately she remembers her father's words that she heard when she was much younger than she is now. Youkai are cruel, cunning, tyrannical. And selfish, greedy, and covetous. They have neither reason nor self-control. They are loyal to their own desires, feelings, and instincts, just like animals. And for many youkai, power is the most important desire of all, and they will do whatever it takes to achieve it.

Yes, especially a girl with spiritual power is the best thing for youkai. Their flesh will increase their youkai spirit far more than that of mere humans and will lead them to a higher level.

But they can eat it anytime they want. In the end, when they are no longer useful. However, most of the time, before that, youkai flock to women in groups to drain their power regularly, and they are often found dead...!!

"No... no, no, noooo!? Someone help me!! No, please stop! Nooooo!!?"

Imagining the worst future that could befall her, she desperately calls out for help that is not coming. She cries out in despair and screams, not knowing to whom she is addressing. She screamed and screamed. It was all she could do.

On the other hand, Youkai, feeling superior to this wretched woman, began to prepare itself to finally conquer her, to subdue her, and to provide itself with an outlet for its desires. Its thick tongue slips into the gap between the girl's clothes. Then it stroked her thin waist while running its rough tongue over her soft, white skin. From there, the tongue moves up her small buttocks to her groin, and finally to her groin, where it reaches its tip. ...Seeing herself being defiled beyond recovery... Murasaki prepares herself, and her eyes close in horror. But then...

"I think you're out of your mind if you go any further than that...!?"

"Huh...?"

The next moment, Murasaki's eyes widen at the sound of that voice. At the same time, a monster scream rang out. Then, through her tear-stained blurred vision, she saw clearly. From behind youkai's back, a shabby servant thrusts a dagger toward the monster's heart...