Chapter 80.4

Chapter 80.4

Of course, the key point itself was protected by a curse that purified the unclean, but after nearly a thousand years of neglect, it no longer had the strength it once did. More importantly, the monster itself had eliminated any sense of pain in its production process, so this was not a problem. It kept touching, holding and melting its limbs... or tentacles... without caring how much they burned. The proof of this was that the grotesque creature had weakened to the point of collapsing in front of Yuka.

This was also to be expected; it was designed to self-destruct after a certain amount of time. Yuka passed by the convulsing and dying monster without any particular emotion.

“Well then,” she said after a pause, turning around at the front of the passage. With her childish appearance, this calamity youkai seems to be in a very good mood.

No, in fact, she was very cheerful.

"Okay, everyone, shall we go? Let's raise the signal of war. Let's avenge our losses. Let's remind them. Let them know their place. Let them fear the dark night again. And... this time, let's fulfil our long-cherished dream."

In an instant, countless pairs of eyes emerged and writhed in the darkness. Hundreds or thousands of lurking monsters were already excited. They were rejoicing, thinking of the horrors to come, or rather the hells to be wrought.

However, the monsters themselves were not yet driven by their impulse, and none of them roar or howl as they close in on their prey, for the sake of deceiving their own existence. It was the result of careful discipline and control, not the crude assembly of a mob, but rather an even more organized and trained “army.” At the sight of this achievement, the weasel cracked a cruel smile.

"Hehehe. You’re all such good children. Now march on."

At last the order is given, and the youkai herd marches on. Silently, breathlessly, like an army of humans planning a night attack...

* * *

'Servants, you're finally here. They've just started entering the secret passage. They've been advancing stealthily and should be here in half a minute,' reported the hummingbird shikigami.

"I see. Thank you for the reconnaissance. Please continue with the plan as previously arranged," I replied.

As the unemotional report was relayed by the hummingbird by my side, I expressed my gratitude. However, I do not make eye contact with it as I knew it was impolite. Especially, I had to concentrate on the task at hand.

Unfortunately, no matter where I went, I was still just a servant. I'm proud to say that had some experience in handling difficult situations and my equipment was better than most. However, even with that, the difference in natural talent and ability couldn't be easily overcome in this world.

Ultimately, exorcism is a job where everything is determined by spiritual power and supernatural abilities. No matter how much experience I have, my personal skills and bravery are only good enough to stop a medium youkai, and against a great youkai it depends on luck, not to mention calamity youkai. I mean, I had never successfully killed a great youkai in a legitimate way. And considering the number of monsters against this time...

"Could be over a thousand?" I wondered.

'At least fifty medium-level youkai and over five great youkai have been confirmed. I've also confirmed the presence of what appears to be a calamity youkai,' Botan's shikigami replied confidently.

"That's quite a lot of youkai," I remarked with admiration.

Most of them are ordinary young youkai and small youkai, but still the numbers are significant. And to have even the medium youkai, the great youkai, the calamity youkai, all in one place... This is getting troublesome.

"I wish I could have just destroyed the underground secret passage itself," I sighed in frustration.

It's a pity that the passage is so sturdy, probably built for the purpose of VIP evacuation. Even Iruka, who is better than me in terms of arm strength, could barely scratch the surface. ...Well, even if it is halfway blocked up, it is likely to be dug back up.

"My guess was also off," I muttered to myself.

'....Well, I'll at least listen to one of your grudges?'

The words naturally flowed out of my mouth. After a moment's silence, the Shikigami beside me turns to me and makes a suggestion.

I chuckled wryly in response, "That would be unreasonable. It's too late to do anything about it now, so I won't let it bother me."

To the Matsushige Botan, I was originally a natural target for extermination. I'm in a position where I'm being monitored and even cooperating with her. Especially when that irrational, short-sighted blue demon interferes, it's cruel to blame her. So, it's natural for her to value her own life.

'You're very determined, aren't you?' Botan said.

"I can't survive in this world if I don't make up my mind, you know," I replied.

This is a world where neither mercy nor compassion can be expected. There was no time to cry over every unreasonable thing.

'...You said so to that Ezo, but what are you going to do when this matter is settled? Will you flee?' Botan asked.

"Well, I'm not sure what to do. I'm still cursed, and I'm not even sure I'll survive. Everything looks dark and uncertain," I said, with a self-deprecating smile. Even I think it's irresponsible. There will be dangerous events ahead, but I couldn't compromise when it comes to my sister's safety. That would be counterproductive.

'...If worse comes to worst, I might be in danger too. Please be prepared to take appropriate action in that case,' Botan warned.

In other words, a warning to keep me quiet. Well, this is what I expected. Originally I approached her, so I can't say she's being unreasonable. If anything, it's more humane than being tortured and slowly executed. Being a servant was really a thankless job. Maybe it was time for a career change.

"Understood... Just try not to hurt me too much, if possible," I said.

'Just shut up,' Botan replied.

The hummingbird flew away, seeming exasperated. She cower. She's disgusted of me. It seems she didn't like my self-sacrifice or the aesthetics of destruction.

"Hahaha," I laughed.

I couldn't express my feelings in words, so I laughed in self-mockery. A kind of escape from reality...

"...They're here," I said

The self-mockery stopped when I heard the sound. The sound is still too far away for ordinary people to hear, but I detect its slight tremor, the sound of footsteps. The sound of an army, the march of an odd-looking column...

"I need to hurry,"

I said, feeling as anxious as I did about the impending battle and destruction. I may be concentrating, but the fact that my senses are becoming inhuman forces me to be as agitated.