Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

116. The Suspected Dead and the Return of the Investigation Team (4k)

The legend of the Lord of Mount Tai originated from the "In Search of the Supernatural" and was a personified natural worship and sacrifice to Mount Tai. After it was introduced to Japan, it became a god who controls life, death, honor and disgrace.

In the Yin-Yang Dao, the "Taishan Fujun Sacrifice" involves offering sacrifices to twelve underworld gods, including Taishan Fujun, Yama, and the Heavenly Official.

Murasaki Shikibu also possesses a strange passive spell called "Taisan Fukun Explanation Festival," which comes with its own narration. Kasumigaoka Utaha, through Murasaki Shikibu's spirit origin, is also able to cast some Onmyōdō incantations from the power of Taisan Fukun.

Therefore, when she used her powers against the monsters she encountered, she was surprised to find that these monsters were actually beings that disrupted the order of life and death and disturbed common sense.

"...Kasumigaoka, when you encounter monsters in the next wave, try using the Taishan Lord's talisman first, let's test it out."

Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes flickered as she gave the order.

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded, and the group continued onward. The ruins of the distant city were soon in sight, and Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others could already hear shouts and sounds of battle carried on the wind. At that moment, they were stopped once again.

It was a noble figure holding a holy sword, wearing silver-white armor and a blue-black knight's cloak.

However, that handsome and sun-like face had been shrouded in an ominous gray in the eyes of the Chaldean group.

He was the British Awakener who had abandoned his original name and inherited the name of Gawain Spirit Origin, but judging from his appearance, he was in extremely poor condition.

"Sir Gawain of Britain? What are you doing here?" Fujimaru Ritsuka shouted sharply, but the other party did not answer, only pointing the now-tarnished Sun Sword at them.

However, Fujimaru Ritsuka never expected the other party to answer; he was merely using his body and voice to cover up Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was casting a spell behind him.

"Mount Tai is the radiant image of the rising sun, inspiring all things to live. Sunrise and sunset, the cycle of life and death, all are given life and departed by death."

Shi Yu's incantation was barely audible at first, but the last sentence was resounding and thunderous.

She pointed the parasol forward, and the talisman transformed into red light, rushing towards Gawain who was charging towards her.

As the red light flew, it seemed to encounter an unpleasant aura. Spells appeared on it, eventually transforming into an illusory scene of the sun setting below the horizon in the west.

Gao Wen, on the other hand, had come to a complete halt. He could not escape the fact that his connection with the sun and his current situation, which was contrary to the laws of life and death, made him feel as if he had encountered a natural enemy and was being suppressed by it.

The armor melted away like paper, and the flesh on his body quickly lost moisture under the power of the incantation. Only the holy sword shone brightly, contrary to its usual behavior.

"Tsk." A reluctant click of the tongue rang out from somewhere, and at the same time, Gao Wen's figure vanished instantly, leaving only a slowly dissipating red light.

Fujimaru Ritsuka activated his Eye of Karma, his eyes like boiling fire, molten gold, and strangely colored ice. He surveyed the area, only to see a faint, familiar aura vanish into thin air.

"Did they catch that guy?" Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head, clearly dissatisfied.

She didn't have time to imprint the remaining power of the spell on Gawain.

Otherwise, we might be able to find the enemy's lair directly.

“…The aura is very familiar. It’s very likely one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and most likely someone we’ve seen before.” As soon as Fujimaru Ritsuka said this, the image of a certain clown flashed into everyone’s minds.

"It's really astonishing how they're like cockroaches, you can see them everywhere." Yui Yuigahama showed obvious disgust.

Strangely enough, when faced with those attacking monsters, Yui killed them one by one with a single strike, showing no mercy and never hesitating.

But once she realized that the other party might be an undead creature, she became hesitant and her hands were even shaking a little when she faced Gawain.

"Yuihama...you're not afraid of ghosts, are you?" Yukino noticed something and asked bluntly.

Yui Yuigahama blushed bright red and seemed flustered under the teasing gazes of the others.

She put her hands on her hips and said angrily, "What? Isn't it normal for a girl to be afraid of ghosts? You don't believe me? Ask Abby if she's scared!"

"Hmm... Yui-neechan, Abigail doesn't feel anything." Abigail innocently added insult to injury for Yui, causing the Yui-Hama ship to be severely damaged.

Silence is Albion tonight.

Everyone turned their heads away, not wanting Yui Yuigahama to see the smiles on their faces, and deliberately talked loudly:

"It feels so quiet, and there are no monsters on the road leading to the ruins."

"Yeah, the Joker probably redeployed all his forces elsewhere."

Yui Yuigahama pouted and stormed forward, saying defiantly, "Stop talking nonsense! Don't stop!"

She wielded the Great Tonglian, the Small Tonglian, and the Manifest Tonglian with supernatural power, unleashing the power of these three famous swords at a frenzied level for the first time. Dark emotions surged within her, finally settling into one thought:

Why not just kill these creepy guys from a distance?

------------

Hachiman Hikigaya, panting heavily, destroyed all three heads of the still struggling chimera in one swift motion. Watching the monster turn to ashes and leave nothing behind, he spat out a curse.

That poor bastard.

They had held out in Albion for more than half a month, and although they couldn't collect all the loot due to their circumstances, most of them still made a fortune.

Therefore, after resting for two or three days, when he heard that the monster tide had broken out again, Hachiman Hikigaya hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the call.

The amount was originally quite large, but half of it was paid off in one go. Wouldn't it be completely debt-free if it were to do it again?

However, many places on this trip revealed something strange.

First, there wasn't much support. Apart from a few large organizations sending out small teams that went deep into the enemy territory after the war started, the rest were all former comrades-in-arms.

Secondly, the proportions are odd; there are very few magic masters like Onmyoji and Magicians.

Thirdly, what gives Hachiman the biggest headache...

"Why is there nothing here again?!" Hachiman Hikigaya was furious.

This dramatic drop in income was completely unexpected!

From a blind spot, a silver-white slash came swiftly, and it looked like Hachiman Hikigaya was about to be turned into a dagger.

"A sneak attack, bad civilization." The tri-colored sword light softly forced back the prosthetic arm symbolizing the Celtic god of war. Tsukamoto Yakumo kept his head down and his hands relentlessly attacked the handsome man in front of him.

"Haha, Tsukamoto, how come you didn't notice that I was using a feinting technique?" Hachiman Hikigaya, having realized what was happening, ruthlessly cooperated with Tsukamoto Yakumo in their attack.

"Lying is not a sign of good civilization." Tsukamoto Yakumo didn't wait for Hikigaya Hachiman's reply; the longsword in his hand had already begun to change.

The devices opened one by one, the mechanism changed, and the sword blade of the three-colored light beam rotated, just like the raging wind that swept across the earth in ancient times.

However, just as everyone present was making way for Tsukamoto Yakumo's full release, an unexpected incident occurred.

The white-haired handsome man, his prosthetic arm futilely blocking the spinning sword of the God of War, was about to meet his doom, but even earlier than the God of War's punishment came the reckless attack of the Heavenly Demoness.

"Om..."

The voice was so low it was barely audible.

Three wildly spinning Bodhisattva swords, with the power to subdue all heretics, instantly pierced through the entire battlefield. Before their momentum had dissipated, they struck Bedivere hard in the side, sending him flying and causing him to lose consciousness and fall to the ground.

Tsukamoto Yakumo silently pressed down on the God of War's sword, resting it in front of him, and looked at Yuigahama Yui approaching from afar.

Yui Yuigahama: Huh?

She scratched her cheek, turned her head shyly, and said coyly, "Don't look at me like that. Although I saved you from the clutches of those terrifying undead, please don't fall in love with me, hahaha..."

Hachiman Hikigaya stared at Yui Yuigahama with dead fish eyes, speechless: This girl, it's been so long since I've seen her, I wonder where she's gone astray.

Oh, the case is solved.

He looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others who were catching up from behind, and showed an expression that was a mixture of disgust, joy, and surprise.

------

"My friend, it's been over a month since we last met, and you're still as sassy as ever." Fujimaru Ritsuka patted Hikigaya Hachiman's shoulder forcefully.

The latter scoffed softly, offering no rebuttal, and simply joined Fujimaru Ritsuka in finishing off the remaining monsters on the ruins one by one.

After Bedivere was knocked away, the remaining monsters were clearly in disarray for a while. The superhumans, who were already adept at seizing opportunities, decisively launched a counterattack, and the newly joined forces were the final straw that broke the camel's back, instantly obliterating the horde of monsters in front of them.

Looking at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who used complex spells and incantation diagrams to imprison the Awakened One Bedivere, Hikigaya Hachiman pouted and asked, "What's going on?"

"Ah, that all starts with Izanagi's orthopedic practices."

Keep it brief.

"I used my good looks to trick people into joining Chaldea, and I sacrificed my beauty to get them to go through fire and water with me."

Hachiman Hikigaya looked at him with disdain: "Did I ask why they're here? I asked if you know what's going on with this group of out-of-control Knights of the Round Table!"

As for Fujimaru Ritsuka's earlier joke, Hikigaya Hachiman took it completely as truth. After all, someone had once flirted between Charlotte and Mash in front of him in a short period of time, and even flirted with the summoned female servant from time to time.

...Speaking of which, who was it that was summoned again?

Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head, deciding not to think about it too much, since not all memories from his Spirit Origin could be fully recalled.

He subconsciously ignored the issue of the authenticity of the memory.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was unaware that Hikigaya Hachiman was secretly slandering him for his promiscuous private life and illicit relationships. If he knew, he'd definitely be in big trouble.

He was only slightly puzzled by Hikigaya's subtle gaze, but didn't delve into it further. He simply told him everything he knew in the future.

ゴゴゴゴゴ

At that moment, Hachiman Hikigaya's magical power surged forth, forming a miniature storm around him, and even condensing into floating onomatopoeia.

The other superhumans who were still cleaning up the battlefield or resting also turned their attention to this scene, whistling and cheering.

Fujimaru Ritsuka: Damn, that's so cool! I want one too!

Hachiman Hikigaya, whose style had drastically changed, now wore an expression as resolute and furious as Kenshiro's: "Hmph, there's actually a mastermind behind this, toying with us like this. What can I do for you? Just say the word. Today, I'm going to blast that guy to smithereens!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked him over from all angles and could only see the words "short of money" written all over Hachiman Hikigaya's body. He patted him on the shoulder understandingly and said, "I get it. But speaking of which, did you find anything else?"

Hachiman Hikigaya withdrew his magic, looking sullen. He had a feeling he had been tricked.

After explaining the lack of magic users in the team and the disappearance of the scouting team, Hachiman Hikigaya saw Fujimaru Ritsuka nod thoughtfully.

Instead of immediately telling Hachiman Hikigaya his thoughts, he picked up the broken sword on the ground and began to carve and draw.

Hachiman Hikigaya watched from the side, his heart churning with shock and trepidation.

What? King Arthur is down there?

What? The Seven Deadly Sins, the troublemakers, have gotten involved again?

What? Galahad, who seems perfectly normal, could be a traitor?

What? The Great Red Dragon is going to appear in just over ten days?

The shocking truth left Hachiman Hikigaya completely disoriented. He didn't even look at Ritsuka Fujimaru's deductions, but instead grabbed Ritsuka Fujimaru's shoulders tightly: "My friend, you must be joking, right? Hahaha, April Fool's Day is long gone!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at him sympathetically, but before she could speak, someone else chimed in.

"Honesty is a good civilization. Escape is a bad civilization." Tsukamoto Yakumo appeared silently, then pointed downwards. "I can feel an incredibly terrifying aura below. The reason I agreed to the conscription is because what's below terrifies me. I can't just sit idly by."

"Tsukamoto-kun, so you can talk a lot!" Hachiman Hikigaya exclaimed in surprise, then was glared at by both of them before he began to restrain himself with a mournful face. "Sigh, I had no choice... How come after meeting my friend, I keep running into such big events?"