CH 98.4

"You d*mn pests, gathering here...!! Huh, arrows!?"

The insects that attempt to surround us are met with a few of them falling from arrows shot from the front. I look towards where the arrows came from and see Hikorokurō's fellow crossbowmen. Gonta charges in with a spear, and Iruka joins him, rushing forward and slashing the surrounding youkai with her claws.

"What the hell are you guys doing here!? Why did you come back!!?"

"Shut up! It's not like we came here because we wanted to! If you guys mess up or fail, we're the ones in trouble!! And as expected, it looks bad, doesn't it!!"

The spear-wielder shouts in annoyance and frustration in response to my question. Swinging his spear, he drives away the approaching youkai while creating an opening. Seizing the opportunity, we slip through the gaps in the youkai's encirclement and continue onward.

"You d*mn bastards!! They keep coming one after another... Aaah!!?"

Gonta, swinging his spear in a frenzy, falls as a flying grasshopper youkai seizes the moment and bites into his throat.

"!? We have to help...!"

"It's already futile!! Let's run!!"

I try to turn back to help the spear-wielder, but Iruka points out that it's pointless and stops me. I immediately understand. Seeing the spear-wielder being devoured by the insects in an instant, I grit my teeth in frustration. Gritting my teeth, I turn around and run.

"Damn it, both Fire Commander and Gonta got taken down!! They're gone!!?"

"Stop complaining!! You made up your mind, didn't you!? Just load the arrows!! ...Hey, hurry up and get here!! We can't hold on any longer!! Uwaaah!!?"

The two crossbowmen, beckoning us while providing cover fire, are, however, crushed by Yamanba before we can regroup. One of them is smashed and becomes a red stain after being struck by Yamanba, and the other is devoured from the side just after firing the crossbow. Yamanba then looks at us with a blood-stained mouth, contorted into a twisted grin.

It was a gaze one would have when looking at prey.

"Tsk? Hey, hand over that spider!!"

"Huh...!?"

'Σ( ﾟДﾟ) Hey!? What are you doing, my little sister!?'

"Who's your little sister, d*mn it!!"

Iruka quickly takes a white spider out of my pocket and hurries away, insulting the spider and telling me to stay away. Yamanba watches Iruka closely and starts chasing her. She seems want to distract our pursuers and give us more time. The white spider is a great lure, just like it worked against Namahage, and Iruka is stronger than me, so she's better at stalling. But there's something else I'm concerned about...!!

"Trying to show off...!! D*mn it!!?"

Iruka cursed under her breath, and behind her, the youkai that had surrounded me before were now chasing her relentlessly. She had no option but to run as fast as she could. Suddenly, a deafening noise echoed in the distance!

"Iruka!!?"

"You d*mn beast!!?"

As I turn my gaze, I see Yamanba attacking Iruka. She lunges from the face, swinging her arms, and gouging the snowy ground. With the trees as her shield, Iruka desperately maneuvers and fights back, but it's clear that she won't last long. And the same goes for me.

'Bzzzzz!!'

"Tsk, they're here...!?"

Among the youkai closing in from behind different from before, the one resembling a large mosquito darts toward me, gliding across the snowy field. It had strange compound eyes and a drooling proboscis reaching out for me. It was much faster than me, and it was getting closer and closer...!

'I will not let you do it!!'

But suddenly, a puppet controlled by the old man who had suspended Kamui emerged from the forest. It charged towards the mosquito-like youkai and started fighting it.

'Bzzzzz!!?'

"Nuugh!!?"

Being known for its frailty, the large mosquito is easily torn apart just from the impact of the struggle. However, it swiftly retaliates by whipping its proboscis like a whip. In an instant, the wooden puppet's left arm and left leg are shredded and severed.

But that's as far as the resistance from the large mosquito goes. Immediately, the puppet spits out needles from its hannya mask's mouth and crushes the vulnerable head of the frail mosquito. Then, with a swift motion of its head, it directs its mouth toward the remaining youkai and spews fire.

At some point during the chaos of the Kappa extermination, this old man must have salvaged and replicated the improved "Imperial Fire" flamethrower. He installed it in a puppet. Using this flamethrower, dozens of insect youkai were quickly burned to ashes by the unstoppable flames that couldn't be put out with water and the remaining youkai were scared away by the fire.

However, this was the puppet's final stand. The flamethrower ran out of fuel in less than thirty count. Moreover, the puppet couldn't move anymore because it was heavily resisted by a large mosquito.

'This is... troublesome. It won't move.'

The puppet, having cleared out the small fry in front of it, was now just wriggling like a caterpillar. I rushed over to it.

"Master, I am indebted to you. The rest is up to me."

'Don't be foolish. Do you intend to die?'

"I am prepared to risk my life. It seems impossible for that puppet to activate, right?"

The old man fell silent in response to my request. It seemed like he was calculating the level of danger and the likelihood of success. However, there was no more time.

"Gggh...!?"

'Σ(＞Д＜) Aaahh!?'

At the sound of that roar and the booming noise, I turned my gaze toward Iruka and the others. It seemed like they had been struck by the shockwave from Yamanba's attack at close range. I quickly checked on Iruka and then looked back at the old man's shikigami, pleading with him.

"Please, hurry...!!"

'...It's a difficult task. Failure is not an option.'

"Of course...!!"

After a brief moment of silence, the old man gave in. Immediately afterward, the puppet's abdomen split open. And simultaneously, the condensed spiritual energy, which had reached its critical point, began to flow out.

The dense spiritual energy, so intense that even the calamity youkai reacted immediately, overflowed.

'Aaaahhhhhhh!!'

Yamanba, who had been approaching Iruka and the others, seemed to have noticed its presence or perhaps remembered it. She let out a chilling, ugly roar and, in the next moment, ignored Iruka and the others she had faced just moments ago, sprinting at full speed toward me, no, toward the puppet.

"Rather, it's convenient...!!"

Glancing at the approaching Yamanba, I sneered. While sneering, I pull out what I had embedded inside the puppet's abdomen.

It was the trump card I had prepared as bait for the Namahage.

"Really now, the princess has a terrible personality, doesn't she? What kind of 'insurance' is this?"

I cursed, picturing in my mind the mocking expression of Gorilla-sama. How much did she see through... as I was pondering such thoughts, Yamanba captured me. Yamanba gripped me tightly, bringing me close to her face. And I could clearly see every single wrinkle on her face.

"Hahaha, your face is filled with wrinkles and stains. You should take care of your beauty every day, huh? ...Gggh!?"

The response to my taunts was a searing pain throughout my body. The sound of bones breaking echoed through my entire body. Damn...! It's not like it actually understands my words, right?

And then, Yamanba opened her mouth, attempting to swallow me and what I held in my grasp whole. Countless sharp teeth, resembling those of a shark, lined her mouth. They drew closer. In response, I pushed 'it' into Yamanba's mouth.

The thing I pushed it was "Emerald Mass (Jade block/翡翠の塊')" that the spider had prepared some time ago.

"Enjoy it to the fullest!!"

And I activated the mechanism.

'Groaaarr!?'

An anomaly occurred within what Yamanba considered a delicacy. Yamanba frantically tried to spit out what had been pushed into her mouth. However, someone wouldn't allow it.

"Oryaaaahhh!!"

'Haah!!'

The puppet and Iruka simultaneously slammed Yamanba's lower jaw shut. More precisely, the puppet leaped and headbutted, while Iruka kicked, preventing Yamanba from spitting it out.

And now, the moment arrived. Light overflowed from Yamanba's mouth. I sneered. And suddenly, I remembered a scene from a movie and chuckled lightly.

"Extermination complete... or something like that?"

A torrent of intense light engulfed my field of vision...