I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 407 Tathagatagarbha, Innate Sword Heart! Two-Foot Clone, Working Together! After get off work, Meeting the True Parents.
When the palace attendant arrived, he immediately recognized who among the group was the most extraordinary.

Although the girl in the white robe was petite, the peaceful feeling emanating from her was undeniable.

Moreover, those eyes resembled those of the deity whom the palace priest had worshipped daily, and also those of the Buddha statue he had seen sitting on a lotus throne, exuding a calm and serene aura.

Without a doubt, this is a Buddhist master with extremely profound magical powers!

The shrine maiden in red and white robes followed behind the priest, and was about to introduce Uesugi Tetsu to him when she heard what he said.

She peeked out and searched for a while before finally spotting this miniature "master".

The priestess was stunned, wondering if her priest had gone mad from spending too much time on the mountain and not interacting with ordinary people.

Chisa, who had just been discussing with Erchi which flavor of cotton candy was the best, blinked and looked at Uesugi Tetsuya, who was looking in their direction, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Only Kujo Machi was certain: "This priest of Shiratsu Shrine is quite capable!"

"You should know that although this girl looks to be less than ten years old, she is actually a true Buddhist high monk and master, capable of cultivating a sacred Buddha image!"
In many places, she might even be called a Living Buddha, a Dharma King, or a Hutuktu!

Thinking this, Kujo Machi secretly glanced at Uesugi Tetsuya again, but quickly looked away, startled by the large eyes staring at her.

"Hopefully, these two combined can cure it, or at least put up a fight against this demon."

Er Chi first bowed slightly in return to the palace attendant, then shook his head and sighed with emotion.
"My cultivation skills are still far from up to par; I'm not even half as good as you, sir."

The palace official paused, somewhat puzzled: "Why do you say that, Master?"

Erchi pouted her pink lips and looked at Uesugi Tetsu with a grin, saying, "Because you, Lord Miyaji, ignored the truly powerful yet ordinary Tetsu-sama, and instead thought that I was the most extraordinary person among everyone."

At this moment, the shrine maiden breathed a sigh of relief and quickly whispered, "Priest, actually, the gentleman next to you is the one who delivered the ema (votive plaque). As for this master..."

For a moment, the priestess was speechless.

Since she hadn't seen the girl whom the priest called a master when she accepted the ema, she naturally didn't know what to say.

Meeting the questioning gaze of the palace priest, Erchi smiled and clasped his hands together, delivering a devastating blow: "I am merely a lowly shikigami under this lord's command."

The priest's eyes widened slightly; he was truly shocked.

After hearing this, Miyaji suddenly felt that Uesugi Tetsuya, who had just seemed like an ordinary boy no matter how you looked at him, had suddenly become unfathomable.

Knowing it was his fault, the priest walked somewhat apologetically to Uesugi Tetsuya and sincerely apologized.
"I apologize, your concealment skills are truly profound. I was blind to your greatness. I still don't know how to address you..."

Although he said this, Gong Si thought of this boy whose background he couldn't even figure out, and his confidence couldn't help but increase.

"It's alright, my surname is Uesugi."

Uesugi Tetsu shook his head indifferently and looked at the blank ema in the priest's hand, saying, "This ema was brought to the shrine by my fox brother, who has now transformed into a five-tailed fox."

"A five-tailed fox?"

“Yes,” Uesugi Tetsu said with a hint of nostalgia, “one of the two stone sculptures at the foot of the mountain.”

The palace official was stunned, his gaze shifting as if he could see through the trees and steps to the two stone sculptures at the very bottom.

"It's so..."

He murmured to himself, then bowed deeply to Uesugi Tetsuya.

After bowing, the palace attendant tentatively asked again,
"I wonder where that person is now..."

"Brother Fox has gone very, very far, and he probably won't be coming back."

After the question and answer, the palace official fell silent for a moment.

Uesugi Tetsuya, however, was somewhat curious. He recalled the changing expressions on the priest's face when he saw the ema in the previous reincarnation, and couldn't help but ask.
"May I ask the Palace Master, what is the purpose of this ema (votive plaque) that has no inscriptions or engravings on it? Could you please explain?"

The priest sighed deeply: "Actually, this is something that the first priest of the shrine entrusted to his successors."

They told us that if we ever see someone who sends us this ema (votive plaque), we must treat them with utmost respect.

"But hundreds of years is too long. It's a miracle that this matter has survived. How could anyone remember what the purpose of this small ema (votive plaque) was?"

He smiled wryly and said helplessly, "When I was a child, I asked my master what this matter meant, but even my master didn't know at all. He just explained it to me and made me remember the aura of the ema."

How could this be?

Uesugi Tetsu frowned slightly in his heart.

If it were just something so insignificant, why would the dying palace priest in the previous reincarnation show such a rich variety of expressions when he saw it?
After pondering for a moment, Uesugi Tetsu said to the priest, "Could you please give this ema (votive plaque) back to the priestess and let her try to take it?"

After all, the third side quest is about handing over the "shrine ema" to the shrine maiden.

Although the priest didn't understand what it meant, he didn't say much and solemnly handed the ema to the shrine maiden.

The priestess, equally puzzled, accepted the challenge.

In the silence, no notification of mission completion appeared before Uesugi Tetsu's eyes—and the ema in the shrine maiden's hand was indeed the same one as before.

Why?

A question immediately arose in Uesugi Tetsu's mind.

Logically, he should have already completed his task.

He read the prompt carefully again and noticed that the task description read "contemporary shrine maiden," so he asked, "May I ask, is this the current shrine maiden of Shiratsu Shrine?"

The priest nodded: "Haruko is naturally the current and only shrine maiden of Shiratsu... Now that the incense offerings are scarce, apart from this child being willing to stay for free, no one else would be willing to stay in the shrine."

The priest's words were reasonable and well-founded, but they only made Uesugi Tetsu even more confused.

According to him, the mission should have been completed the moment he handed the ema to the shrine maiden Haruko.

Could it be that this place is not actually "Shiratsu Shrine"?
Or was the priest actually deceiving him, and that this Haruko was not the "contemporary priestess"?
However, both intuition and the performance of the palace chief in the previous cycle told Uesugi Tetsuya that the two ideas mentioned above were not valid.

"Strange things happen a lot in Asahikawa City..."

He murmured something silently, then, with a careful look, took the ema back from Haruko's hand and stuffed it back into his storage bag.

Then came a subtle silence.

It was the chief priest who broke the silence first, straightening his chest and looking at Uesugi Che and Erchi: "Now the once-in-a-century resurgence of the fierce monsters is about to begin. If we let it develop unchecked, I'm afraid it won't be long before life is ravaged again..."

With the help of a few people, there is still a sliver of hope that it can be contained.

Uesugi Tetsu, who was surprised that Miyaji would take the initiative to ask for help, nodded: "I was just about to talk to Miyaji about this."

He said calmly,
"Now that we're here, we can't just sit and watch this disaster happen before our eyes."

Er Chi smiled and nodded: "What Lord Che said is exactly what I was thinking."

Qian Sha echoed, "Whatever Master does, I will do!"

At this moment, Kujo Machi coughed twice, raised his hand, and said rather seriously, "Actually, I'm just an ordinary 18-year-old high school girl, can you please not count me in..."

Halfway through her sentence, she was about to steal a glance at Uesugi Tetsuya's reaction.

But as soon as she moved her peripheral vision, she saw that hundreds of scarlet eyes had almost completely enveloped her!
Moreover, neither the young Living Buddha nor the palace chief reacted to this!
Kujo Machi thought of the Five Elements Yin-Yang Technique again, took a deep breath, thumped his chest twice, and said solemnly,
"What I mean is, even if the strength of an ordinary 18-year-old high school girl is insignificant and nothing, I will still give it my all!"

Uesugi Tetsu nodded to the priest with satisfaction.

"That's right, Your Excellency."

Upon seeing Uesugi Tetsuya and Nisaku's replies, the priest instantly felt a significant weight lifted from his shoulders. He breathed a sigh of relief and addressed the group.
"Please come with me."

Afterwards, the palace attendant led several people into the main hall, then pressed a switch and entered a secret passage.

The shrine maiden named Haruko exclaimed in surprise, "I've been managing the temple for almost ten years, and I never knew there was such a path..."

The palace attendant's voice came from ahead.

"This is a place that can only be entered when the moment arrives, so of course Haruko can't know about it on ordinary days." Not long after, the group walked out of the secret passage and saw Miyaji peel off a talisman pasted on a black coffin, causing a strange aura to emerge.

—Somewhat familiar.

Just as Uesugi Tetsu's thought arose, he saw Kuji open the coffin lid, revealing a series of matte black padlocks.

There was a small quantity, roughly a few dozen, that was placed securely inside.

"Black chains!"

Now that the coffin lid is open, Uesugi Tetsuya instantly connects this aura with the chain in the sky that pierced through the [Miyaji's corpse].

The aura is almost exactly the same!
The priest, unaware of his inner thoughts, simply said, "If you all wield the [locks] to kill the [false people] in Asahikawa City, you will be able to stop the resurgence of the evil spirits."

The more false agents are killed, the stronger the deterrent effect will be.

"By the way, does Lord Uesugi know anything about the fake man...?"

"We already know this, so the Palace Master need not say more."

Uesugi Tetsuya understood immediately—the black lock was probably the "entry point" through which the chains absorbed power. By killing the fake humans, the black chains could be strengthened, thus resisting the arrival of the [Blood Moon].

So, is the reason for the existence of so many fake people this?
However, killing fake humans strengthens the chains... In a sense, isn't this equivalent to a blood sacrifice, except that the sacrifice isn't to a normal person?

Uesugi Tetsuya asked again, "Does the priest know the reason behind this?"

"I had no idea and never thought about it. My master never told me the reason when he was alive. I only knew that this rule existed."

The palace guard, who was about to distribute the locks, hesitated: "Lord Uesugi, is there perhaps a problem with this method?"

A deep worry appeared in the palace official's eyes.

"But the signs of the resurgence of the evil forces are becoming increasingly serious. If we don't act quickly, it may be too late..."

—It's all the truth.

"No problem."

After receiving the four padlocks from the priest, Uesugi Tetsuya said...

"It's just a routine question."

The priest also gave himself and the shrine maiden Haruko a padlock, and then breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "That's good."

Afterwards, Uesugi Tetsu talked with Miyaji and Haruko for another half hour, but did not obtain any more useful clues.

"Well then, Miyaji, Miss Haruko, I'll take my leave for now."

He had no choice but to use the pretext of killing the fake people to leave Shiratsu Shrine with a few people.

—For now, it seems that wielding the [Lock] to kill a large number of fake humans, strengthen the black chains, and seal off the blood moon is the "method to clear the level".

Perhaps.

The ethereal voice, two feet tall, resonated clearly in my heart.

She asked, "Lord Che, is this place similar to the former Kisaragi Station?"

"Yes."

“We can sense that the ‘calamity’ here is extremely severe… especially that Miss Kujo Machi, the calamity on her body is so thick and viscous that it has become tangible.”

Uesugi Tetsuko thought to himself that this was of course true, as this was a super core mission where if someone died more than 99 times, Asahikawa City would become completely unconquerable.

"besides."

Erchi continued, "The two priests and the shrine maiden in the shrine are a little strange, but we can't quite put our finger on what's wrong with them."

She added,

"—Just a gut feeling."

"Okay, I remember."

Uesugi Che narrowed his eyes.

He couldn't see anything wrong with the priestess either, but since the two-foot-tall man, who had already reached the realm of gods and demons, had spoken, there must be some hidden problem between them.

If their problems are related to the corpse of the palace official in the sky, or even the blood moon, it's normal that the two feet of newly ascended ghosts and gods cannot see it.

During the short descent down the mountain, Erchi also explained, "Our [Tathagatagarbha], Lord Che, can be understood as an extremely powerful innate talent for mental state."

Or rather, it's 'born with a sword heart'.

Even without development, one can surpass many people; with just a little research, one's mental progress can leap forward by leaps and bounds.

Of course, we weren't born with it; we acquired it unconsciously while completing the Heavenly Path.

Er Chi's voice carried an undisguised smile.

"We are able to possess the Tathagatagarbha thanks to the Amoghasiddhi Mantra given to us by the adults..."

"As for the matter of the Dharma Protector, I don't understand it well enough to explain it to you in a short time. Let's wait until things have settled down before I tell you in detail."

"it is good."

Uesugi Tetsuya then conveyed all the information he knew about Asahikawa City to Nisha-sama through the Konkatsu system, and then asked, "Nisha, do you have any particular thoughts?"

"Nothing is available at the moment."

Erchi finally hopped down the steps one by one, gazing at the steel jungle not far away, his eyes slightly lowered: "In our opinion, those fierce monsters may not be anything."

"The key is to keep this Miss Zhenzhi under our control and to absolutely prevent the blood moon from descending."

Er Chi let out a soft sigh.
"Although it doesn't feel good, it doesn't seem wrong to kill fake people to strengthen the chains... at least it can increase the time to make mistakes."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded.
“Let’s do this first, and then we can go see Kujo Machi’s parents.”

The petite girl nodded in agreement. She raised her hand and instantly grabbed a young woman walking on the zebra crossing a kilometer away. Then she asked Uesugi Tetsuya,
"Lord Che, she must be a fake, right?"

Uesugi Tetsu opened his Eye of True Sight and looked, then replied,

"Yes."

"Then we understand."

Upon hearing the word "pseudo-human," the young woman's face contorted with shock and anger as she tried to tear off the human skin. Suddenly, she was compressed into a small, red sphere the size of a fingernail.

Er Chi carefully examined the small ball for a while, and after making up his mind, he opened his mouth and uttered obscure and difficult words.

"Om Ah Hum!"

As soon as these three secret words were uttered, the fake people on the distant city streets collapsed in rows like straw being cut, their faces serene, as if they had fallen into a deep sleep like babies.

"So weak?"

Er Chi was slightly taken aback upon seeing this, not expecting these fake people to be so weak.

After thinking for a moment, she smiled as if to say, "I'm so smart," and muttered some words that Uesugi Tetsu couldn't understand. She then pulled out three other identical-looking "two-foot-tall men" from her body.

He handed over the padlock, grinned at the three versions of himself, and clasped his hands together, saying...
"Thank you for your help, gentlemen."

These three men, without a word of complaint, ran straight into the city, chanting "Om Ah Hum," and began sweeping away the pseudo-people in the city like street sweepers.

The girl turned back and smiled at Uesugi Tetsuya.
"Lord Che, let's go then."

(End of this chapter)