Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

Now, two streams of blood-red tears slowly flowed from the eyes of the iron ox statue. The serene ox head also turned ferocious.

The further I walked, the more uncomfortable I felt. The faint sound of nails being knocked grew louder and louder.

The passing tourists remained oblivious, choosing to disperse simply because Tenmangu Shrine's opening hours were approaching.

After crossing three bridges, passing through torii gates and high gates, you will arrive near the main hall.

In the open space in front of the main hall of Tenmangu Shrine, there are two precious plum trees. It is said that they were transplanted from varieties favored by the Imperial Family in the past, and are extremely rare, so they deserve to be carefully cared for.

But before these two precious plum trees, there were two strange figures. Their foreheads were tightly bound with iron rings, three candles were held between their fingers, mirrors hung on their chests, they wore tall wooden clogs, strange Noh masks on their faces, and they carried hammers and nails.

Tap, tap. One tap after another, they swung their hammers, chiseling at the scarecrow nailed to the tree.

"If we never meet, all our troubles will naturally disappear. There is no need to resent the coldness, nor to feel ashamed of our own incompetence."

"In the mire of emotions, one's clothes are always wet; mired in muddy fields, one's regret deepens daily! An ancient song says: 'I regret drawing water from the mountain well, though shallow, it still wets my sleeves.'"

The monotonous song slowly began, repeating the same few lines over and over, overflowing with sorrow and resentment.

"Ah, listen, what a beautiful song!" The voice was like that of a young man, yet also like that of a boisterous woman, androgynous.

As the voices rang out, one by one, priests wearing Noh masks with long horns on their heads slowly emerged from the main hall, like puppets on strings.

Quan Gongsi, whom Masahiro Naruzo had seen before, also followed the leader with stiff steps, much like a subordinate.

The person who spoke first had clown-like makeup on his face and was dressed in a neat black double-breasted suit.

The meticulous, old-fashioned attire was paired with the owner's manic smile.

"I am so grateful that the commander of the Shinsengumi and several other unknown successors have come at such a sacred moment. I am extremely excited."

Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't interrupt, and Machio Naruzo, understanding her intentions, negotiated: "The Shinsengumi are here, so why don't you stop and await your fate!"

The clown didn't respond at all, but just continued talking to himself: "Well then, guests, the show is about to begin. Please look forward to a feast of jealousy."

Snapped.

He snapped his fingers, and the priests roared. The masks, as if alive, began to writhe, transforming into the same color as human skin—or rather, each mask fused with the priest's head.

More than fifty priests all transformed into jealous ghosts, Prajna.

"It's in the way."

With a loud shout, Machio Meizo instantly changed into the Shinsengumi's blue haori and uniform, and like a fish, he passed through the obstacles. The dense swarm of demons had no chance to stop him.

The twin swords at his waist had been drawn from an angle that would be difficult for an ordinary person to draw, and he slashed freely at the pretentious clown.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~ Terrifying, terrifying, terrifying."

The twin blades disappeared into the air, passing right through his body.

The strange clown had turned into smoke, and his androgynous voice echoed from all around.

"Oh dear, Lord Invincible Sword, I advise you to focus your attention on these people first. Although the ritual is already beyond repair, hahaha~"

"Tsk."

Jie Xiongming sighed. His plan to capture the leader first failed, and instead of successfully beheading the enemy, he found himself surrounded by the priests.

"Mr. Jie Xiongming!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was speechless—you call this a strategy?! It's just blindfolded recklessness, I could do that too!

Fujimaru Ritsuka, Yukino Yukinoshita, and Yui Yuigahama have already summoned their Heroic Spirits, while Kasumigaoka Utaha quietly hides to the side, using her earrings to contact Kaiki Deishuu in the distance.

"Don't come any closer, don't worry about me, take care of those two guys next to the plum tree."

He barely managed to stay afloat amidst the assembled priests who had transformed into Prajna.

The priests were not only possessed by Noh masks, but they all turned into monsters. Their wide priest robes were torn apart, revealing their dark blue muscles. Without exception, they all had developed well-developed pectoral muscles on their chests, as if their genders had been reversed.

"You think you're the only one with muscles? Don't you think I'm one?!"

Machiyuki Meizou's body also began to grow rapidly, reaching a height of over two meters. His Shinsengumi uniform was stretched taut, as if it were about to explode at any moment.

It must be said that the Heroic Spirit's armor is truly controllable; it wasn't torn or ripped apart even after all that.

It seemed that Machigami Naruzo could hold out for a while longer, so Fujimaru Ritsuka and the other two immediately changed direction and attacked the strange creature next to the plum tree.

Thud. All three weapons pierced into the wood without exception.

"Oh dear, this is terrible. We're going to be held accountable for damaging natural scenic spots and cultural relics."

Is now the time to talk about this?

73. What rotten fish and shrimp?

Fujimaru Ritsuka drew her blade from the plum blossom tree, a tree she cherished, and saw the priests, who had transformed into Hannya, surrounding her.

Fujimaru Ritsuka raised the Twilight Muramasa, looked at them warily, and shouted with a wry smile, "Invincible Swordsman, didn't you say you could hold out?"

"It's true that I can manage, but there are just too many of them."

Jie Xiongming, with his perfect muscles, fought against the priest who had transformed into a prajna, secretly regretting his actions.

I shouldn't have used my Noble Phantasm right at the start, just because that clown looked so cool.

Like the other members of the Shinsengumi, Machio Meizou's Noble Phantasm was an enhancement of the swordsmanship he had learned in his lifetime as Saito.

It was an invisible sword of freedom, not relying on pure speed, but approaching with a special pace, disrupting the enemy's perception of time and distance, causing them to misjudge the timing and lose the opportunity to retaliate, dodge, or defend.

This is a Noble Phantasm that is almost unmatched in close combat, unless one possesses invincible defense or overwhelming violence.

However, precisely because this was a powerful Noble Phantasm in close combat, Machio Naruzo completely failed to notice that the opponent's true form was not actually there, thus wasting a large amount of magical energy by using the Noble Phantasm in vain.

He's already done quite well to have withstood the attack of twenty or thirty Hannyas. Not to mention he's also managed to prevent the Hannyas from causing trouble for Fujimaru Ritsuka and his group.

"You're really too incompetent. It's a good thing we came this time, otherwise if it were just you and Hachiman, we would probably have been humiliated."

Fujimaru Ritsuka wielded Twilight Muramasa to block a swift grab.

It's so hard.

The priest, who had transformed into Prajna, was unarmed.

They attacked directly with their sharp claws, just like zombies.

Even a sharp demon sword like the Twilight Muramasa could only barely cut through their hard outer skin, leaving a deep wound.

It's worth noting that Fujimaru Ritsuka once conducted an experiment, demonstrating that he could easily slice through a steel plate two centimeters thick with a single stroke of his Muramasa Twilight Blade.

"Same here!" Yukino Yukinoshita swung her sharp sword-like feet with all her might, but she only managed to achieve the same effect as Muramasa Twilight.

Yui Yuigahama, who awakened later and was weaker, had no time to reply. She retreated to Yukino Yukinoshita's side, and the two of them joined forces to deal with the attacking enemies.

They can manage. What about Kasumigaoka Utaha?

He struggled to slash back the attacking Prajna with a single stroke, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

|﹏⊙))

Ah, Kasumigaoka Utaha is hiding behind a tree, watching quietly.

Bringing Kasumigaoka Utaha this time seems to have been the right decision. Even with the Eye of Karma busy observing the claws closing in from all sides, there was no time to observe the ritual itself.

These thick-skinned guys are such a nuisance!

"Why are you so strong? I'm so envious, so jealous! I want a body as strong and muscular as yours!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was a little helpless: Big sister, be serious! They're fighting! What are you doing? Oh my god!

As the Prajna before them howled with jealousy, the other Prajna in the arena roared in unison. Their bluish-green skin turned crimson, and their muscles swelled further. Each of them transformed into a giant about three meters tall.

A sharp claw strike barely tore through Fujimaru Ritsuka's sword encirclement, leaving a mark on his body. But Fujimaru Ritsuka retaliated with a backhand upward slash, easily severing his opponent's arm.

Something's wrong. The attack seems more powerful, but it's still within our control, while the defense is actually more vulnerable.

Yukino Yukinoshita became even more excited, as she was already tired of giving a bunch of thick-skinned guys scraping therapy.

She began to laugh wildly, her figure transforming into a graceful swan, slashing, thrusting, and chopping... like the magnificent movements of spreading wings, beautiful yet containing a deep killing intent.

"Hahahaha, again! Again! I'm not satisfied yet!"

In an instant, three of the Prajna warriors surrounding the two of them were sliced ​​into pieces by the sharp sword feet.

"Excellent! What a beautiful dance, what elegant movements! Lady, thank you so much for letting me see such magnificent dance moves! I could never do that, it's truly enviable!" The clown's delighted voice rang out, and he even clapped his hands, completely disregarding the casualties among the monsters he controlled.

......

I felt a strong sense of unease once again.

Utaha Kasumigaoka was hiding in the back, communicating remotely using her earrings and the clay boat made of shell wood:

"Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others seem to have the upper hand and there are no problems, but strangely, that clown doesn't seem to realize that he is heading towards defeat at all."

“Failure? Hmph.” Kaiki Deishuu said gloomily, “He’s already in an invincible position. Look at the Ugly Woman next to those two plum trees?”

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked closely and was surprised to find that the two Ushi no Toki women were slowly changing.

Horns began to grow on their heads, and the masks had merged into their skin. They began to transform into the appearance of the Prajna, and their bodies grew much larger. But they still held hammers and slowly and deliberately struck the scarecrows on the trees, singing mournful songs.

"See? The ritual has begun. The two Ushi no Toki you see are not physical entities; they have become phenomena, part of the ritual. I never expected anyone could pull this off. Whether Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others act or not, the ritual will continue. When the two Ushi no Toki have completely transformed into Hannya or True Serpent, the ritual will be complete."

"Mr. Kaiki Deishu, didn't you already have a plan? Is there any other way?"

"I can't stop the ceremony from going on, but we can achieve our goal."

"What do you mean?"

Bei Mudshou did not answer, but as he muttered an incantation, a burst of light shot up from behind the main hall of Tenmangu Palace, forming a mark composed primarily of five stars.

"Oh hahaha~ Kikyo's mark? Very good, very good, continue!"

The clown said nonchalantly, "Bei Mud Boat's methods have worked."

Fujimaru Ritsuka felt that with each strike she made, the cuts were deeper than before, and the movements of the Hannya members became increasingly slow.

Even the magic-depleted Jie Xiongmingzao wielded his not-so-sharp twin swords, cutting his way from Nantianmen to Penglai East Road, and broke through the encirclement.

The four joined forces and their attack accelerated, instantly cutting down all the Prajna warriors on the field, causing rivers of blood to flow.

Jie Xiongming took a breath and shouted loudly, "Thanks to my companions' arrangements, your conspiracy has been exposed and can no longer proceed. Why don't you obediently come out and surrender, kneeling before my perfect muscles?"

"Hehehe, thank you, thank you?"