Chapter 51: Trying the Ease of Death

"Apologies, I am late."

Standing atop a building sliced cleanly in half with the imposing posture of a supreme conqueror, 'Nakano Miku' glanced sideways, her expression tinged with apology.

This was her very first time borrowing Nakano Miku's body. However, the physique of an ordinary student—which could even be considered sub-health at best—was clearly insufficient to meet her demands, hence the extra time required.

Halting his backward momentum, Dilu steadied his surging breath.

"General Minamoto arriving in person is already the greatest of fortunes. If this poor monk is not mistaken, the General is temporarily borrowing this young maiden's vessel through the art of spirit possession. I wonder if the General is confident in subduing the Tsuchigumo in her current state?"

"That creature hasn't recovered its full strength either, but given that level of power... Master, you should go stop the rampaging horde of demons first."

The previous commotion had already driven the monsters into the urban area. For the people still stranded in the Edogawa ward, individual demons possessing bizarre abilities, their might amplified to extraordinary heights by the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, were undoubtedly a nightmare.

"Be careful, General." Dilu did not hesitate. Remaining here would only be a burden to Minamoto no Raikou; the gap in raw strength was an insurmountable flaw.

The gap between the second and third ranks could still be bridged through extraordinary means—such as Yamada Ryo utilizing the power of thousands of lingering souls opened through the back door, allowing her to fight on par with ordinary third-rank beings. But the third and fourth ranks were completely different realms entirely.

Despite relying on the power of his Dharma implements, he had been beaten into complete submission. Rather than staying here as a vulnerability, he might as well go bully some lesser yokai.

Clutching his Zen staff, chanting scriptures, and forming hand seals with one hand, Dilu leaped directly toward the largest target—a towering blue oni.

After his departure, a joyful roar erupted from the ruins.

"Minamoto no Raikou!"

Bursting through a cloud of dust, the Tsuchigumo appeared visibly larger—by at least several meters—than when it first emerged, its demonic visage twisted into a grin of unmistakable joy that anyone could recognize.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, old friend!"

With that, it raised its pincers, intending to give the 'Nakano Miku' before it an embrace that would snap her waist in two.

'Nakano Miku' executed a spatial flash and vanished. The Tsuchigumo's sweeping pincers crossed paths, grasping at empty air before detonating!

The razor-sharp kinetic energy unleashed by the sweeping pincers retained its momentum, transforming into invisible blades that ravaged hundreds of meters to either side, slicing everything in their path to pieces!

The next instant, a slash of purple blade-light descended from the sky like falling thunder, cleaving straight toward the Tsuchigumo's still-unrecovered limbs.

*Screeeeitch—*

Following a sound of high-intensity cutting that set one's teeth on edge, the 'thunder' dissipated, leaving a pair of stark, visible gashes carved directly into the Tsuchigumo's front legs!

The familiar sensation of pain arrived. Overjoyed, the Tsuchigumo raised its head and locked eyes with 'Minamoto no Raikou', who had leaped onto another building and assumed a combat stance.

Sharp point against piercing awl.

There was no need for preamble; the two sides were destined mortal enemies.

A few breaths later, the figures of the human and the demon flickered across the landscape. Continuous thunderous explosions and collisions echoed in their wake. The earth rumbled, fierce gales whipped up from flat ground, and a ferocious aura enveloped the entire city.

What followed was a spectacle far more violent and destructive than the missiles previously deployed by America.

The earth was churned up, buildings collapsed, and steel-reinforced concrete offered no more resistance than paper before these two carbon-based life forms, being ruthlessly battered and pulverized.

Throughout it all, Minamoto no Raikou did her best to steer the battle toward less populated areas. Yet, she was constrained by the fact that the city beneath her feet was Tokyo—a bustling metropolis with a population in the tens of millions.

Regardless of where their battle drifted, the locals invariably found themselves muttering the exact same phrase:

*Please don't come over here~~!*

The Tsuchigumo displayed a speed and agility that defied human understanding for a creature of its colossal size, while Minamoto no Raikou demonstrated to the world what human potential truly meant, using the vessel of a teenage girl.

As for Tokyo's defense forces...

The Metropolitan Police Department and the Self-Defense Forces were left eating dust in their wake.

Calibrating coordinates for various weapons took time, and locking onto targets took time. Yet time was precisely what they lacked most.

Furthermore, another unit of rampaging yokai had launched an attack, tying down the vast majority of their forces.

*Bang!*

A gigantic golden palm pressed down, and a monkey-like yokai instantly attained enlightenment under the illumination of the Master's boundless Buddhist power, turning directly into ashes.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master." A nearby SDF captain hurried over, opening his mouth as if he had something to say.

Dilu naturally knew what he wanted to ask.

"With General Minamoto present, I believe she will be able to hold off the Tsuchigumo. What we must do is clear away the obstacles for her and prevent these yokai from running amok."

Earlier, Dilu had remarked that luring the newly unsealed Tsuchigumo to Tokyo would at least give them a fighting chance. As facts proved, his intuition was correct: facing a Tsuchigumo that had recovered a portion of its strength merely gave him a chance to transition from fighting to dying.

The greatest contribution he could make right now was to create a relatively fair duel environment for Minamoto no Raikou.

Hearing that Dilu intended to stay and fend off the yokai, the SDF captain's expression brightened with relief.

Then, his mind went blank.

Wait. Did the Master just refer to her as... *she*?

***

*Heading toward Taito Ward.*

Minazuki Haku swiped across his perspective interface, watching the Tsuchigumo and Minamoto no Raikou—two merciless bulldozers—carve a path of destruction all the way from Edogawa Ward toward Sumida Ward, with their trajectory firmly set on Taito Ward.

This was going to cost him his life.

No one had mentioned that supernatural battles would be this earth-shattering! Shouldn't combatants stand in designated spots, taking turns trading blows?

What was the deal with fighting while demolishing entire neighborhoods along the way?!

Past Taito Ward lay Bunkyo Ward!

To this, Minazuki Haku would say:

I am demolishing this exact area precisely because Edogawa Ward lacked a respectable Inari shrine.

Moreover, this was also his deliberate attempt to showcase the terrifying mobility of the supernatural forces to the public.

Nuke the site from orbit?

That's ancient history, old man.

"The karmic prayer energy spent on this Tsuchigumo fellow was well worth it." Watching the Tsuchigumo transform into a monstrous bulldozer, Minazuki Haku nodded in satisfaction.

If not for the startup capital provided by the scroll at the very beginning, creating a colossal yokai like the Tsuchigumo would have taken him until the Year of the Dragon.

He would have had to lay the groundwork with utmost caution, slowly introducing bizarre ghosts and ghouls to inoculate this world against shock—rather than merely letting the Three-Tailed Skeletal Cat and Dilu make the police department realize that the world held more than just surface-level beauty, but also hidden demons and monsters; followed immediately by a newly unsealed grand-grade yokai teaching them a harsh lesson to make them take the supernatural seriously.

And the next step was—

Casting his gaze toward the Garden Inari Shrine in Ueno Park, Taito Ward, Minazuki Haku's attention locked onto a miko who was devoutly worshipping the Inari deity.

Her waterfall of pink hair was incomparably soft, glowing with the hue of cherry blossoms. Clad in a red-and-white *kuchiba* attire, a white robe, and a crimson *hakama*, the standard miko uniform possessed an irresistible charm when worn by her.

At this moment, the miko was offering fervent prayers to the deity enshrined within this sanctuary—the God of Inari.

She had no intention of running. Or rather, she dared not run.

"Ukanomitama-no-kami," Yae Sakura murmured as she knelt in prayer, her eyes and face overflowing with desperate supplication.

"Your humble devotee begs of you. No matter what it takes, as long as you can restore my younger sister to health, I am willing to pay any price."

This was an irregular prayer—one that completely violated standard rituals, formats, and protocols.

Yet Yae Sakura had no luxury of time to worry about such formalities. She could only plead with the deity through this humble and desperate gesture.

Clinging to a sliver of hope.

Yokai and samurai had already manifested; surely, deities must exist as well, right?

If deities existed, could their miraculous power allow her sister to stand once more?

No, if it was a deity, it must be possible.

As a mere girl, she was powerless to carry her sister—whose limbs were completely shattered—while fleeing through the crowded streets. Her only option left was to offer a prayer—one that could only be described as... pitiful—to the deity she had worshipped since birth.