Tokyo: I am the Lord of All Demons!

In any case, Ishikawa Risa will not serve as the person in charge of the shrine. If a shrine maiden were to be appointed, it would be Shimizu Suzune!

It was already afternoon.

The sun is high in the sky.

Risa Ishikawa walked alone inside the shrine. Because the shrine was completed but not yet open to the public, and there were no staff members, it was very quiet.

No, it wasn't just calmness; rather, Ishikawa Risa felt a bit of terror here, as there was no one else around.

Risa Ishikawa apologizes for using the word "horrible" to describe the shrine's environment, but that's her immediate feeling.

It's really strange.

Previously, when Risa Ishikawa encountered the Ara Shrine, she could feel the blessings of the supreme deity to some extent and see the divine light flowing continuously within the shrine.

But now, Risa Ishikawa feels that this is just an ordinary building, and she doesn't feel any sacred atmosphere at all.

Is it because it's not in use yet? Ishikawa Risa was completely baffled, but she didn't want to stay in this kind of place any longer.

She felt uneasy staying there, even for a second, as if her divine power was draining away.

In order to escape this awful place as soon as possible, Risa Ishikawa even abandoned Shingo Kishimoto and escaped on her own before sending him a message.

In the message, Ishikawa Risa certainly wouldn't say that she went out because she was scared; she simply sent a message: "Find me in the parking lot after you've finished dealing with things."

Then, without waiting for Kishimoto Shingo's reply, he went straight to the parking lot.

The problem is that the parking lot is not very safe either. Even though it's broad daylight, the ghostly aura here is even stronger than the divine power.

"...What's going on?" Ishikawa Risa touched her head, looked up at the sky, and tried to see the sun.

However, she was surprised to find that the sun seemed to be shrouded in shadow...

Yes, the sun is not invincible; even ordinary cumulonimbus clouds can obscure its light.

Chapter 185 Wild Ideas

Ishikawa Risa had never experienced anything like this before. She could only pick up her phone and prepare to call Shimizu Suzune to ask her senior what was going on.

However, just as she picked up her phone and before she could make the call, she noticed someone suddenly collapsing in front of her.

"Eh?!" Ishikawa Risa's pupils shrank, and she quickly took a few steps back, summoning her Bond Staff at the same time and assuming a fighting stance.

Lying in front of Risa Ishikawa was an elderly man in his sixties. He lay motionless on the ground, seemingly no longer a threat to Risa Ishikawa.

Logically, if an elderly person falls, Ishikawa Risa, who is said to be a divine messenger who can save the world, has an obligation to go forward and check on the situation.

However, she did not take any action.

Something's not right.

Even from a distance, Ishikawa Risa could still see wisps of blue smoke rising from the old man's body, which looked like the ghosts being scorched by the sun.

Furthermore, even when the elderly person fell, the passersby did not react, acting as if they hadn't seen anything and coldly walked past.

It's important to know that the situation at the scene wasn't just that the elderly woman had fallen; Ishikawa Risa was also holding a beaded staff.

Even so, these passersby acted like robots, only knowing how to do what they wanted or should do, ignoring everything happening around them.

Upon closer inspection, Ishikawa Risa discovered that many of the passersby were not human at all; they were actually ghosts disguised as passersby.

No, rather than pretending, it's more accurate to say that these people have had their souls and bodies corrupted by ghosts, ultimately becoming like beasts, devoid of their own souls.

This was a situation that Risa Ishikawa had never encountered since she became a divine messenger.

Furthermore, this is likely not solely caused by ghostly activity. In principle, even if a ghost is hidden inside a human body, it would still be difficult for it to withstand the intense sunlight.

However, the bodies of passersby possessed by ghosts nearby seemed to be unharmed; the only one who was unwell was this elderly man who had fallen to the ground.

Therefore, Ishikawa Risa is now more inclined to believe that the fallen old woman may be a trap, intended to lure and kill her.

Subconsciously, Ishikawa Risa was told that what was happening in reality was definitely not a simple ghostly activity, but rather that something was wrong somewhere in this world that was causing this.

Considering all of the above, Ishikawa Risa decided not to wait for Kishimoto Shingo any longer. She turned and ran, fleeing the parking lot.

After escaping the parking lot, Risa Ishikawa immediately called Suzune Shimizu to ask if she was in the Shinto Hall.

However, the other party said:

"No, I'm not in the Shinto Hall right now. I'm at Suwa Shrine in Tokyo Bay. Come over here!"

Risa Ishikawa had no idea why the other person was at Suwa Shrine in Tokyo Bay, but before she could find out, the other person had already hung up the phone.

The sound is that of a water bell.

The telephone also belonged to her.

Ishikawa Risa repeatedly confirmed that all the evidence indicated that the person who just answered the phone was Shimizu Suzune herself.

However, having just been nearly lured and killed by a fake, Ishikawa Risa is now hesitant to trust others, fearing that they might also be fakes.

Indeed, why would Shimizu Suzune, as the messenger of the Aragami, go to the shrine of another god? This doesn't make sense.

Could it be that there are other gods in this world, such as the "Suwa Okami" enshrined at Suwa Shrine?

That can't be right, can it?

Risa Ishikawa had originally planned to call Suzune Shimizu again to confirm, but considering her earlier impatience, she decided not to bother her and instead go to the location to check.

Since Fujita Mino disappeared from her contacts, Shimizu Suzune has become the only person Ishikawa Risa can trust. If she loses her again, she will be at a loss.

As for Kishimoto Shingo?

This person has no real ability, and since he's not a divine messenger, Ishikawa Risa doesn't believe he can bring her anything.

On a whim, Risa Ishikawa is currently located near Senso-ji Temple and Asakusa Ara Shrine. To get to Suwa Shrine, it would be a 10-kilometer walk.

But for the divine messenger, a distance of ten kilometers is only a hundred meters; with a little more effort, he can reach the finish line.

And so, Risa Ishikawa ran southeast in the direction she remembered, and soon saw Suwa Shrine.

This is a large shrine, no different from other shrines, using torii gates as the entrance to distinguish between the real world and the divine world, with classical palaces behind the torii gates.

What Ishikawa Risa cared about wasn't these buildings; she wasn't here for tourism, but to find someone.

To her surprise, there wasn't a single person to be seen inside or outside this huge Suwa Shrine, not even the priests and shrine maidens who are standard staff members of a shrine.

No, not to mention people, there was no birdsong or insect chirping at all; the air seemed dead, eerily quiet.

Risa Ishikawa's sixth sense told her that something was definitely going on, and it was probably very bad.

But having already come this far, Risa Ishikawa had no reason to turn back; she was determined to reunite with Suzune Shimizu no matter what.

Risa Ishikawa put her hands to her mouth, making a megaphone shape with her hands, and shouted, "Shimizu? Shimizu!"

No sooner had those words been spoken than a voice came from a shrine on the east side of the shrine: "Ishikawa, is that you?"

The voice was Shimizu Suzune's, but Ishikawa Risa still responded with some skepticism, "Is it Shimizu?"

A voice came from inside the temple: "Yes, come in quickly, I'm in the temple on your left!"

However, when the other party said those words, Ishikawa Risa's suspicions began to deepen. Shimizu Suzune's usual way of speaking was not like this; she should have been more composed.

Therefore, Ishikawa Risa couldn't rule out whether the person in the temple was real or fake, and was somewhat at a loss for what to do.

Seemingly sensing Ishikawa Risa's hesitation, the other urged, "Ishikawa, what's wrong? Stop dawdling, I'm right here, come in quickly!"

This statement deepened Ishikawa Risa's suspicions, and she became even more convinced that there was something fishy going on in the temple.

Why must we go into the temple?

Firstly, there might be an ambush inside.

Secondly, the enemy might be a ghost that fears sunlight, so it would be easier to kill Ishikawa Risa by luring her inside. As a divine messenger girl, Ishikawa Risa would certainly not be so foolish as to leave the area exposed to sunlight.

Considering the above two points, Risa Ishikawa thought for a moment and called out to the temple, "I won't go in. Could you come out for a moment?"

But the other party continued to try to win him over psychologically: "Why? Don't you trust me? I considered you a friend!"

Seeing the other party's aggressive attitude, Ishikawa Risa thought for a moment, then deliberately let out an "ouch" and plopped down on the scorching hot ground under the blazing sun.

The other party seemed impatient with Ishikawa Risa's "screams": "What are you dawdling about again?!"

At this point, Ishikawa Risa could almost conclude that the person in the temple was definitely not Shimizu Suzune, because she wouldn't be so harsh on her.

Now that she was sitting on the ground, Ishikawa Risa began to put on a show: "Oh dear, Shimizu-senpai, please save me! I was just injured in the leg by a very strange person, and it's bleeding! It hurts so much! I can't move!"

At that moment, a grumbling voice came from inside the temple: "Didn't I tell you to send all the ghosts away before she arrived? How did this happen?!"

The sentence initially sounded like a clear, melodious bell, but later it began to sound like a man's voice.

A rough male voice.

So it was exposed after all?

Risa Ishikawa stood up, gripping the staff of fate, her eyes and ears scanning the surroundings, ready to launch a defense at any moment.

Sure enough, as the curses rang out in the temple, Ishikawa Risa could clearly feel the sound of running from all directions, like a vast army.

Those are all far away.

The nearest one is this temple.

Then, a wisp of black smoke slowly rose from a corner of the temple, and a huge black face appeared in front of Ishikawa Risa.

When it saw that only Ishikawa Risa was in the shrine, it cursed, "Kid? Where's the kid?!"

The black-faced man turned his head and cursed at Ishikawa Risa, "You brat, how dare you try to fool me?"

The black face was very large, like a small house, and as it spoke, it even sprayed saliva onto Ishikawa Risa's face.

Facing the large, dark face, Ishikawa Risa showed no sign of panic: "Who are you? Why are you pretending to be my friend?"

There's absolutely no need to panic.

It's broad daylight now, and the buffs that the Divine Messenger Risa Ishikawa possesses are enough for her to take on the Demon King alone. Why would she be afraid of a mere monster like you?

However, this little monster looks a bit strange. It has some ghostly power, but not much.

That small portion of its ghostly power was evaporated by the sun in the sky the moment it appeared, leaving only the majority of the unknown power.

Although those powers also appeared black, they didn't quite resemble demonic power, and Ishikawa Risa couldn't understand them.

Perhaps that's how it happened; that large, black face laughed: "Hehehe..."

"What's so funny?" Ishikawa Risa's face darkened, and she swung her Enmusubi Staff, unleashing her divine power to strike the big face.