The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

She looked up in the direction where Hachiman Hikigaya had left, her face filled with worry.

I hope the fox in that shrine will be alright.

.............

The Inari Shrine is not far from the railway tracks.

With Hachiman Hikigaya traveling at full speed, the man and the fox arrived at the foot of the mountain where the shrine was located in less than five minutes.

Looking towards the mountaintop from afar, one can see a dense swarm of blue butterflies swirling in the sky, enveloping the entire mountain.

Occasionally, a few rays of golden light would seep through the gaps in the butterfly, but they would immediately be concealed again.

"grown ups...."

Sensing that his companions were engaged in a fierce battle, the little fox perched on Hachiman Hikigaya's shoulder immediately became tense.

"It's alright, we'll be there to help right away..."

After offering a word of comfort, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately rushed up the steps toward the mountaintop.

Midway through, the enemy seemed to have noticed his presence. A swarm of butterflies broke away from the main force, fluttering their wings and flying towards Hachiman Hikigaya.

Hachiman Hikigaya fearlessly charged forward, summoning his demon-slaying sword along the way, infusing it with spiritual power, and then slashing it forward.

A massive sword aura instantly detached from the blade and flew towards the butterfly in front of it.

In an instant, a rain of butterflies descended the stone steps.

Even with the deaths of many of their companions, the remaining butterflies still flocked to Hachiman Hikigaya one after another.

As Hachiman Hikigaya channeled his spiritual power into the Demon Slayer Sword once more, he was about to unleash another butterfly rain when he discovered that all the butterflies in front of him had suddenly vanished, replaced by steel needles gleaming with a cold light!

"Swish, swish, swish..."

With a whooshing sound, steel needles rained down on the protective array that Hachiman Hikigaya had temporarily activated, making a clanging sound.

Is it just a simple steel needle?

At first, Hachiman Hikigaya was extremely cautious in the face of the needle rain, fearing that some special attacks hidden among the countless steel needles could pierce his protective magic array.

However, despite the attack, he advanced another hundred meters or so, and he could already see the top of the torii gate in the distance, but the attack he had expected did not come.

Hikigaya Hachiman felt relieved and quickened his pace.

Meanwhile, Sanzukawa and Hiroshi, who had already stormed into the shrine, had one hand in their pocket and the other around the neck of a shrine maiden.

The other shrine maidens were scattered around the two of them.

"Did they come a little too fast?"

Upon arriving at the foot of the mountain from Hikigaya Hachiman, Sanzukawa and Hiroshi knew that their plan to seize the shrine that day had failed.

After all, even with the help of the Killing Stone, he would never be able to defeat Hachiman Hikigaya on his own.

The only reason he was standing there was to take something from the shrine, so he wouldn't end up with nothing.

Upon discovering that Hachiman Hikigaya was about to arrive, Sanzukawa and Hiroshi dared not delay any longer.

He carried the head priestess of the shrine directly to the tightly closed shrine gate.

"No way!"

The priestess saw through Sanzu River and Hiro's intentions, and she struggled frantically.

However, her divine power was only enough to barely keep her body from disintegrating, and she was completely unable to stop Sanzukawa and Hiroshi's actions. She could only watch helplessly as Sanzukawa and Hiroshi used her to break open the shrine's gate and then left carefree with the container containing the incense offerings from the past few months.

By the time Hachiman Hikigaya and the little fox arrived at the mountaintop, Sanzu River and Hiro, along with the swarm of butterflies, had already disappeared, leaving only a group of heavily injured priestesses lying on the ground.

"Everyone....."

Seeing the miserable state of his fellow countrymen, the little fox on Hachiman Hikigaya's shoulder immediately darted over.

Midway through, it transforms into a human form wearing a fox mask.

Then, golden light emanated from her body and fell onto her injured companion on the ground.

The golden light was instantly absorbed by the witch on the ground, and then everyone barely regained their ability to move, helping each other to their feet.

Just as the little fox was about to ask what had happened at the shrine, a golden pillar of light suddenly appeared before them, and then a fox shrine maiden as tall as Hachiman Hikigaya appeared in front of everyone.

"What exactly happened just now?"

Looking at her junior, who was mostly injured, the life-sized shrine maiden anxiously inquired.

"The shrine was attacked by a human..."

The shrine maiden lying at the shrine entrance was the most seriously injured. Even with the little fox's treatment earlier, she could only barely prop herself up.

Hearing the life-sized shrine maiden's question, she struggled to explain the whole story, emphasizing that the incense container had been stolen.

Chapter 195 Negotiation

"The container for incense was stolen?"

Upon hearing her companion's words, the life-sized shrine maiden's expression changed slightly, and she flashed into the shrine containing the container.

Sure enough, the container that was originally placed in the center to store incense was gone.

"how so......"

Her body disintegrated and then solidified again; the life-sized shrine maiden seemed unable to accept this happening.

"A container for incense? What happens if you throw that away?"

Seeing the life-sized shrine maiden's strong reaction, Hachiman Hikigaya looked down and asked the little fox beside him.

"The container isn't important; what matters is that it contains the incense offerings this shrine has received from human prayers over the past few months..."

Because she had diverted her energy to heal her companions, the little fox's body had lost much of its luster. At this moment, she had transformed back into her fox form and was lying outside the shrine, her voice filled with exhaustion.

"Can incense be stored?"

Shouldn't that thing be like it's described in novels, automatically flying into the body of Inari God once it's generated?

"Of course, it's good to be prepared for any eventuality. But I never expected that after decades, the incense offerings would be stolen again..."

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

Upon hearing the little fox's words, the heavily injured fox witch lowered her head in shame.

If it can hold on just a little longer, it can last until Hachiman and the others arrive...

"No, it's not your problem at all."

The life-sized shrine maiden, having finished inspecting the shrine's interior, came out just in time to hear her companion's words. She shook her head and took all the blame upon herself.

"Ultimately, it's my fault for not allocating enough combat forces to guard this place..."

"No, none of you did anything wrong..."

A rather gentle voice suddenly came from mid-air.

Then, with a flash of white light, a woman dressed in a magnificent twelve-layered kimono appeared before everyone. Accompanying her were the three-tailed fox that Hachiman Hikigaya had seen before, and three life-sized shrine maidens wearing masks.

"Lord Inari!"

Upon seeing the woman who had just appeared, the little fox exclaimed in surprise, then transformed into human form and respectfully bowed to her.

At the same time, all the other shrine maidens greeted Inari in unison.

"Please don't bother with those complicated formalities, Mr. Hikigaya."

Just as Hachiman Hikigaya was struggling with how to greet Inari, Inari spoke up and resolved his problem.

Then, the Inari Goddess made several hand seals in the air in front of her, and a halo of light spread out from her body, instantly passing through everyone in the shrine.

"Thank you, sir..."

The shrine maidens, now fully recovered, once again expressed their gratitude to the Inari god.

The Inari god smiled and nodded in response, then looked at Hachiman Hikigaya and extended an invitation.

"Mr. Hachiman, may we go inside and talk?"

"of course can!"

Upon hearing Inari's words, Hachiman Hikigaya was taken aback at first, then quickly nodded.

"Then, please..."

Before anyone knew it, the Inari deity, who had been standing in the open space, had appeared behind Hachiman Hikigaya. He was now standing by the door, extending a hand and inviting Hachiman Hikigaya to enter the shrine.

"So fast!"

The sudden display of power by Inari God shocked Hachiman Hikigaya.

Seeing that she had successfully intimidated Hachiman Hikigaya, Inari's smile became even brighter. She then walked into the shrine and sat down in the main seat.

Hachiman Hikigaya, having regained his senses, followed closely behind and sat down in the guest seat.

As the two settled down, the shrine gates suddenly closed, leaving only Hachiman Hikigaya and Inari Kami behind.

Looking at Hachiman Hikigaya sitting in front of him, Inari God went straight to the point.

"Although this is our first meeting, I have actually been observing Mr. Hikigaya for quite some time."

"Eh?"

"Of course, please don't be angry. My observation only pertains to your exorcism. I have no idea what you did the rest of the time."

"Um... could you tell me exactly how long they started observing me?"

As he spoke, a hint of helplessness flashed through Hachiman Hikigaya's mind.

He discovered that those powerful beings, whether exorcists or gods, seemed to have a great fondness for spying.

"To be specific, it should have started when you came into contact with Chiba, that deceased demon king."

Thank goodness...

Hearing Inari's words, Hachiman Hikigaya breathed a sigh of relief.

All told, he had only been in contact with that ghost king for a few days.

In other words, Inari God only recently started paying attention to him.