Shinji Ikari, the pilot of Unit-01 during the Spirit Awakening Era

"Ahhh..." A large number of evil spirits broke through the ground and entered the small room. These believers of the Eternal Life Society screamed in despair. The belated judgment was carried out by even more evil spirits.

Chapter 358 The situation has calmed down? No, it hasn't!

"Gah...ha...ga...ha!" A middle-aged man with torn clothes staggered forward, leaning against the wall. The evil spirits behind him, after reaching a certain line, obediently dared not cross it, and just watched him walk further and further away from a distance.

"Damn it! Where did things go wrong? What was it..." The middle-aged man muttered unwillingly. He had originally brought a large group of subordinates, and after entering this place, he had also dragged along a bunch of unlucky people who had been attracted to this dream world for various reasons. He could have slowly tried and made mistakes, and then gradually entered the Palace of Kuse, instead of stepping directly into a dead end like this! "Could it be that bastard who set the fire? Or Aso Yuu who has been causing me trouble all along?"

The middle-aged man looked at his fellow cultivators leading into the depths of the Palace of Eternity, then glanced back at the large horde of evil spirits that hadn't completely dispersed. Intimidated by the power of the malevolent god, they dared not advance, but if this leader of the Eternal Order dared to turn back, they would tear him to pieces without hesitation.

"Damn it!" Having lost all his cannon fodder and most of his supplies, the leader of the Eternal Society glanced at the deep passage before him and stomped his foot angrily. Did he have a choice? Retreat? No, his current situation was inevitable from the very beginning, as he had chosen to flee deeper into the Palace of Nine Lifetimes. "I will not admit defeat! I will not admit defeat like this! Nine Lifetimes Linghua, I will stand with you! We will dominate this dream! Yes! I will become the master of this dream!"

Why would he set his sights on the Ninth Generation Linghua? It's simple: if the path to immortality is to advance further, then it must acquire even greater power! Immortality is merely a gimmick to attract people, a reason for ordinary people to spend money and worship them! Many have done similar things! The Yin-Yang Bureau may seem righteous now, but look at their secret scriptures—what did they do in those distant years? None of them were standing on the sidelines!

This era, this chaotic world, has given him the best opportunity! He must seize power! And this dream will become the most crucial part of his plan! He cannot allow himself to make any mistakes! After taking a few deep breaths, the cult leader took steady steps deeper into the passage; he had no way back!

But he probably never expected that not far behind him, camera flashes were going off continuously. Because it was a camera modified with relatively modern technology, Asou Yuu had added a continuous shooting function to it. Apart from using more film, it further enhanced the effect on spirits.

"Most of the Eternal Life Society's lackeys have been eliminated." Shinji Ikari sighed. They hesitated a bit when they acted, failing to save the unfortunate ordinary people who had entered this dream world. The scum of the Eternal Life Society had never disappointed Shinji in their inhumanity.

Enraged, Shinji Ikari showed them no mercy, letting them experience the joy of a night parade of a hundred demons! The rampaging evil spirits overwhelmed the unruly group.

"It feels really strange..." Kurosawa Rei muttered to herself. Perhaps because she was a photographer, her shooting speed was even faster than Asou Yuu's. Moreover, because of her abundant spiritual energy, the sound of the camera shutter was almost continuous. If there were a leaderboard, Asou Yuu would undoubtedly be at the bottom today.

"And we've even managed to send many of these guys' evil spirits to the afterlife." Asou Yuu pointed the camera at a spirit floating up from a corpse. Judging from the clothes this guy was wearing, it looked like the robes of a priest from the Eternal Life Society. Judging from the ferocious expression on his face, he must have been very dissatisfied when he died.

"Let's go. There won't be as many spirits covering for us anymore, so be careful when we follow. But having someone clear the way for us certainly saves a lot of trouble." Shinji Ikari smiled. Although some evil spirits were eyeing him menacingly, they didn't charge forward. After all, besides his own imposing presence as an S-class powerhouse, Shinji also possessed the aura of a ferocious god. This undeniable sense of superiority was the fundamental reason why these irrational evil spirits hesitated to advance.

The three of them followed the leader of the Eternal Life Society to the deepest temple in Naraku. They were somewhat impressed by this guy, who probably had no formal exorcism experience. He dealt with every challenge along the way and managed to break through all the obstacles leading to the deepest part of Kuze Palace! His intelligence and skill made Shinji and the other two exclaim, "He is indeed a man who does great things."

"Ugh..." They were already halfway there when Kurosawa Rei suddenly collapsed to her knees. Asou Yuu tried to help her up, but Shinji Ikari stopped her.

Shinji Ikari sensed a familiar feeling emanating from Rei Kurosawa—the same oppressive atmosphere that emanated from Kirie Himuro and Ayase Kurosawa. "We were careless...we got too close to her! Rei-nee probably has a problem," Shinji muttered to himself.

"She...and Reiwa IX?" Asou Yuu looked at Shinji Ikari in disbelief, her eyes filled with shock.

“It should be right…” Shinji Ikari shook his head. He should have been able to come down alone before, but he didn’t expect that, probably because the distance was too close, Kurosawa Rei, who had already actively called on the power of Kuse Reika, could directly connect with Kuse Reika here, which was entirely possible.

“Not entirely,” Kurosawa Aise said to Shinji Ikari in his mind. “After getting up close, I can confirm that there is too much sorrow in her power. This is probably why so many people have inexplicably entered her dream world… And this tattoo is very likely the most important part of the ritual, just like my box and the rope of the mist painting.” Kurosawa Aise’s words were also tinged with sadness. As the pillar of Mount Hikami, which is also the most important part of the ritual, Kurosawa Aise could understand this kind of sorrow very well.

"Now that you mention it... this is her power projection?" Shinji Ikari glanced at the tattoo on the back of his hand, which always seemed to be wet, and there was no doubt that it had been tampered with by Aise Kurosawa.

“But something seems different here.” Kurosawa Aise looked at the surroundings through Shinji Ikari’s eyes. She frowned. If Kuze Reika was out of control, then normally, this place should be a complete dead end, not to mention a place where “no living people are allowed to enter,” like the lowest level of the Himuro Mansion. But there was no terrifying stillness here.

“Her light sleep may have been awakened by Rei’s calls. Perhaps it was the sympathy she felt for her similar experiences that made her decide to help you, you unlucky fellow.” Shinji Ikari shook his head. When they were killing these Eternal Society scum, Shinji Ikari also saw some letters, diaries, and documents they had collected from the Palace of the Nine Realms, which described the general situation inside the Palace of the Nine Realms.

"Is there any danger?" Shinji Ikari frowned. Yuu Aso stood silently beside him, watching Shinji, who seemed to be talking to himself. He knew who Shinji was talking to, and it was best to remain silent when talking to someone as important as Ayase Kurosawa.

"Not now, because as someone with the Kurosawa bloodline flowing through her veins, her spiritual power and intuition are not weak, even better than Asou Yuu beside you. In addition, she has the power imprint of Kuze Reika on her body. You can think that she is seeing some memories belonging to Kuze Reika, or rather... she is communicating with Kuze Reika." Kurosawa Aise watched this scene and casually tapped Ikari Shinji, letting Ikari experience a little of what it was like to be the Great Pillar of Hyugayama.

Shinji Ikari's eyes widened. He never expected that Aise Kurosawa would share such memories with him. For a moment, he almost drowned from the illusory water. After taking a few deep breaths, Shinji felt for the first time that being able to breathe freely was a very happy thing.

"Oh? She's awake. Ask her what she saw? Is she really going down?" Kurosawa Aise shook her head. The shrine maiden of the Kuse family seemed to have a slightly weaker constitution. The environment at the Himuro family's residence and on Mount Hikami was far worse than the current environment at the Kuse family's residence...

"Ha...ha..." Kurosawa Rei gasped for breath, and at that moment, Ikari Shinji withdrew his hand from Asou Yuu. Asou Yuu immediately rushed over and hugged his girlfriend, comforting her while asking about her condition.

"She...her lover was murdered right in front of her." Tears began to stream down Kurosawa Rei's face, an unstoppable flow. She hugged Asou Yuu tightly, as if he would disappear if she let go. She didn't want to experience this kind of heart-wrenching loss a second time.

"It can only be said that the destruction of the Kuze family was entirely justified." Shinji Ikari roughly understood what was going on. For Shinji Ikari, this game was too far in the past. Apart from the scene of the female protagonist taking a bath, which he still had some impression of, he really didn't have any other memories.

“Yes! It’s not unfair at all.” Shinji Ikari’s imagination was very similar to Kurosawa Aise’s guess. It was just that Kuze Reika was chosen as the object of the sacrificial ceremony. Normally, such a person should not have too many emotions (here I have to say that the rules of Mount Hikami are really humane, there is even a ghost marriage). But for some reason, Kuze Reika had a lover.

Kuze Reika's budding worldly desires were most likely the direct cause of the ritual's failure. Of course, it's also possible that the man tried to save Kuze Reika but was killed in front of her, leading to the downfall of the Kuze family.

"Compared to my sister and Minakami Village, the Kuze family handled the situation quite well; at least the real world wasn't significantly eroded as a result." Shinji Ikari gave a small acknowledgment of the Kuze family's ability to clean up his mess.

"So... let's go down now! We absolutely can't let that guy desecrate this place!" After crying in Asou Yuu's arms for a while, Kurosawa Rei suddenly said very firmly. Since Kuze Reika had helped her, it was now her turn to help this poor woman end her long nightmare and let her truly enter eternal sleep with her beloved.

"Understood." Shinji Ikari glanced at Rei Kurosawa's wrist. The bracelet made of the barrier rope was still there, so she shouldn't be under control. Since Rei Kurosawa had made her decision, the two of them, as gentlemen, should naturally act in a gentlemanly manner. Besides, they had a lot of accounts to settle with the leader of the Eternal Life Society inside.

Meanwhile, in the real night sky, a spaceship was loitering outside a base on the moon, but it seemed... the other side didn't welcome their arrival.

"It seems that Shinji's actions have indeed caught SEELE red-handed." After Shinji fell into a deep sleep, Kozo Fuyutsuki did not wait for Shinji to awaken. Instead, he quickly went to a secret base with Shinji's father, Gendo Ikari, the commander-in-chief of NERV.

Although SEELE destroyed one of NERV's largest space bases, which did cause SEELE a lot of trouble, it doesn't mean that SEELE didn't have any backup plans during such a long preparation period. There were several alternative launch sites.

As for Babem's threat, in addition to official compromises and negotiations, SEELE also flexibly flexed its muscles. Two EVAs belonging to a certain Eastern power and Europe suddenly appeared in South America, and then fought a good battle against various chaotic warlords, recovering a lot of land and population for humanity, fully demonstrating its deterrent power.

Under these circumstances, the Babem Foundation, which originally wanted to vent its anger and test the mettle of NERV's superior unit SEELE, chose to back down. Moreover, the fighting power displayed by the Babem Foundation had made all parties quite wary, and their lives were not much easier.

With some issues arising in both New Tokyo and Tokyo, the most important thing for the Babem Foundation right now is to find Ayato Kamina. Time is of the essence, and the news of another Shinji Ikari advancing in rank has given them a jolt.

No one expected that the search team sent by Babem would commit such a terrible disaster...

Chapter 359 There is no paradise in the world.

"I have to admit, you are really amazing." Shinji Ikari clapped his hands, looking at the Eternal Life Society leader who had collapsed on the ground. He had actually managed to walk to the deepest part of the Kusei Palace by relying on the few evil artifacts he carried. However, because he was constantly overdrawing his life force on these evil artifacts, the Eternal Life Society leader now had a full head of white hair and was on the verge of death.

"You...you..." The leader of the Eternal Life Society looked at Shinji Ikari with a furious expression. "It was you who did this!" When Shinji Ikari appeared in front of him, the leader of the Eternal Life Society understood everything. What else could he not understand?

Some senior members of the Eternal Life Society coveted the immortal power contained in Mount Hikami and spread rumors to lure greedy people to the mountain. However, they never expected that Kurosawa Aise would directly trigger the massive Yozumi Riot, killing most of the various groups who rashly went up the mountain to seek death.

Not long after, news shocked the entire underworld: a photograph taken by Shinji Ikari was "accidentally" leaked by members of the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin and Yang). The photograph showed two women, each wearing a veil and dressed in a black and white shrine maiden outfit, sitting at a table. A top chef from the Totsuki Culinary Group was serving them a delicate baked goods. In the background, a senior agent from the Countermeasures Bureau looked extremely nervous. The Onmyōryō dubbed this photograph "Afternoon Tea of ​​the Two Gods."

From this point on, how could the Eternal Life Society not understand who benefited the most from this?! In their eyes, Shinji Ikari was a despicable villain who had stolen the fruits of their Eternal Life Society's labor.

“That’s right, and then, goodbye.” Shinji Ikari lifted the leader of the Eternal Life Society up, shook him twice, and dumped all the little odds and ends that Kurosawa Aise had pointed out onto the ground. Then, he kicked the man in front of him into the deepest part of the Kuze Palace, in front of the shrine. “Ninth Generation Linghua, Shinji Ikari and Kurosawa Aise have come to visit! Let’s talk about my friend’s matter, but before that, I’ll give you a toy to vent your anger on.”

"Pfft... No! No! No!" Shinji Ikari's merciless kick caused the Eternal Life Society leader, who was just a relatively strong ordinary person, to spit out a mouthful of blood. He only felt a pain in his abdomen, and then completely lost all sensation in his abdomen and below, as if his body did not exist. Let alone running away, even moving his legs was a luxury.

Then the leader of the Eternal Life Society saw a light blue skirt slowly drifting towards him, but at this moment, he did not dare to look up. Without a doubt, Shinji Ikari had used a method he did not know to awaken the fierce god in front of him, Reika Kuze!

In fact, Kuze Reika was able to awaken because she sensed that Kurosawa Rei, one of the few people who had been willing to listen to her pain for a long time, had come to the vicinity. As a fierce god, she was currently on the verge of madness.

"While Kuze Reika is indeed a fierce god and a very dangerous being, why are you blocking my way?" Shinji Ikari's tone was strange. After Kuze Reika appeared, Kurosawa Aise reached out and used his sleeve to shield Shinji. This was, in essence, a form of protection. Unless given Shinji's relationship with his older sister and his unexpected fiancée, directly confronting a fierce god would likely result in harm. However, given Shinji's current power level, this wasn't a major problem.

However, Kurosawa Ayase's attitude seemed a bit strange. She was covering Shinji Ikari's eyes, which probably wasn't just because she didn't want him to get hurt. After all, Shinji tilted his head, wanting to see what was happening on the field, even if he didn't want to see Kuze Reika, but Kurosawa Ayase still reached out and blocked his view perfectly.

"If you keep looking around like that, an ordinary girl might just gouge your eyes out, but I might just curse you." Kurosawa Aise said with a grin, saying the scariest things. "Not to mention trying to take advantage of a fierce god, aren't you afraid of freezing to death on the spot?"

"Uh..." Shinji Ikari seemed to remember something. Of all the bosses in the Zero series, the most simple was Himuro Kirie from the first game, with her simple white shrine maiden robe. The most elaborate, with the best details, was Kurosawa Ayase, whose mainframe had the best performance. And the most unrestrained, without a doubt, was Kuze Reika from the "Tattooed Voice" bag, who had a style of clothing called topless...

Shinji Ikari immediately understood and shrank back. He was joking; he had no intention of doing that. He hid in the dream world to avoid that troublesome Alice Nakiri! He didn't want to provoke a fierce goddess. Shinji Ikari said with a wry smile, "You're enough... really."

“I love hearing that!” Kurosawa Aise said with a smile. After a long period of loneliness, the boy in front of her brought the outside world to her. In the past, because Shinji Ikari was too weak, he was unable to bear her power and could only be an observer. But now, a part of her soul is with Shinji Ikari through life and death. Who could be closer to Shinji Ikari than her?

Kurosawa Aisei withdrew his hand, allowing Shinji Ikari to see what was happening on the field. Before Shinji could even look up, his gaze merely sweeping over the mountain scenery, he immediately looked down at the middle-aged man on the ground. At the same time, he took a deep breath to keep his mind clear, lest he be double-teamed by two fierce demons. Feeling the binding rope tightening on his wrist, Shinji suddenly realized that it might be three...

"This way of dying... speechless." It was the first time Shinji Ikari had ever seen someone rolling around on the ground with their head in their hands, repeatedly banging their forehead against the ground like the most insane patient in a mental hospital.

This didn't mean that Kuze Reika had already attacked the person in front of her. In fact, Kuze Reika didn't even glance at him. Instead, this audacious guy looked into Kuze Reika's eyes, and then... then boundless pain surged into his brain, instantly shattering all his consciousness.

After being overwhelmed by various forms of suffering, he lost the ability to think for himself. Perhaps what he really wanted at that moment was an eternal rest.

“We’ve clashed before.” Kurosawa Ayase floated up to Kuze Reika before him, his eyes narrowing. Women are hard to forget once they’ve been offended, especially Kurosawa Ayase, who is now a demon god. Unfortunately, he, Kurosawa Ayase, also knows a little about the power of dreams!

"You..." Shinji Ikari wanted to say something more. If the two evil gods really started fighting, the best-case scenario for this dream world would be its collapse. If the two were to fight to the death, they probably wouldn't even have time to escape before it disintegrated.

"You'd better not say anything more." Himuro Kirie's voice came from behind Shinji Ikari. Himuro Kirie, who had come out of the Divine Mirror, was looking around the space. When she saw Shinji Ikari trying to appease the two fierce gods, she stopped him without hesitation. Most of the time, family status is directly linked to strength.

In ordinary families, this strength might refer to economic ability, but in their different world, it refers to something very direct... power! However, Shinji Ikari, who had just reached S-class power, was really no match for the two fierce gods.

"Phew..." Shinji Ikari glanced back and let out a long sigh. For a long time, Shinji had developed the habit that if he encountered any life-threatening danger, as long as his sister was online, his life would basically be saved.

Shinji Ikari's reaction made Kirie Himuro raise an eyebrow, slightly lift her chin, snort coldly, and unconsciously a smile appeared on her lips. She reached out and tapped Shinji Ikari's head, "Although Ayase Kurosawa is protecting you, I'll remember this beating for you!"

"Hi...hi!" Shinji Ikari responded perfunctorily with a blatant "next time, I'll do it next time" attitude, scratching his head before refocusing his attention on Ayase Kurosawa's back. He couldn't help it; who knew if Reika Kuze would start chasing him after seeing something once she was fully awake! And Kurosawa Rei might even think he was a pervert, which would be disastrous! Ryoko Sakaki considered Kurosawa Rei a close older sister; if she said something inappropriate, he'd be finished.

"She actually recovered." Himuro Kirie ignored Shinji Ikari's wild thoughts and directly wrapped the barrier rope around him. A middle-aged man who seemed to want to minimize his presence was even rolling to the entrance while acting.

"No, no, no... Please spare me! I will never come near your territory again! How many offerings do you want? 50? 500? 2000? I can provide them to you immediately! I can prepare a grand ceremony that will greatly enhance your power! Any more than that will have to wait!" It must be said that, as expected of the leader of the Eternal Life Society, he immediately understood that his fate would probably not be good, and at the same time, he immediately offered the woman in front of him the price he could deliver, trying to get Himuro Kirie to let him go.

"..." At the other party's shout, everyone's eyes turned to look. Himuro Kirie frowned, threw the barrier rope, and the leader of the Eternal Life Society was once again thrown in front of Kuze Reika. "Shinji said, yours."

"..." And this time, by sheer coincidence, the leader of the Eternal Life Society made eye contact with Kuze Reika. A pain many times stronger than before began to surge through his mind, snapping his nerves.

"...What do you want to do?" Kuze Reika was still in a dazed state after just waking up, but after releasing some of the pain, her mind became a little clearer.

"I've come to talk to you." Shinji Ikari shook his head. "Although I'm not entirely sure, did you manage to preserve your boyfriend's soul?"

“Hmm…” Kuze Reika nodded silently. The pain she carried destroyed her, but it also made her who she was… Relatively speaking, the Yellow Springs Gate of the Nine Realms Palace is the most stable among all the known fellow cultivators, and in a sense, it is the closest to the River of Three Crossings in mythology…

"Then... this is my lifelong request." Shinji Ikari clasped his hands together, his face full of pleading. If there weren't so many people around, he might have even done a dogeza (a traditional Tibetan prostration) to show his sincerity.

At that moment, the expressionless Himuro Kirie decisively expelled Shinji Ikari from the Himuro family.

"Hmph! Dazhu doesn't have many boxes left." Kurosawa Aise said irritably.

"Anyway, you won't need it anymore." Himuro Kirie shook her head. After all, with the combined power of the two of them, they had already controlled Yozumi's power, so there was no need to continue such a cruel method of sacrificing excellent priestesses to stabilize Yozumi.

"So... Shinji has laid out his price. Do you accept it?" Kurosawa Aise stared at Kuze Reika in front of him, his eyes glancing downwards unnaturally, and he subconsciously straightened his back.

"I……"

"Ayato! The rice is cooked! You might need to chop the firewood in the back this afternoon, we don't have much firewood left." Hiroko Asahina said happily. This house, located in an abandoned village in the mountains, was the safe house that Shinji Ikari originally prepared for himself. It had plenty of rice, flour, cooking oil, as well as some salted meat, pickles, and various canned foods. It also had a generator, solar panels, and batteries to provide daily electricity.

Shinji Ikari had told them their location before they left. So after escaping from New Tokyo, the two hid here in a house that was almost completely isolated from the world, living a peaceful life as a couple, which caused a lot of trouble for TERRA and the Babem Foundation's search efforts.

It seems that one of the conditions TERRA offered to assist the Japanese government in suppressing the rebellion was that the Japanese government would send personnel to help them search for the missing Ayato Kamina! For TERRA, Ayato Kamina's sudden departure was like having their core ripped out. Vamilian alone could not contend with the massive number of Dolems held by the MU clan entrenched in Old Tokyo! They needed Winged God Seine to stand by their side!

"Okay!" Ayato Kamina, who was wielding a hammer to repair the roof, replied. They had only been there a short time, and many things were in a mess. Although the main structure of the house was still relatively intact, the two of them had a terrible experience because the rain that leaked down last night had extinguished their burning passion! The two of them could only come out of the bedroom and make up a makeshift bed on the floor in the living room.

Although he was laughing happily at the time, Ayato Kamina had been busy all morning repairing the somewhat dilapidated roof of the house. Even with his skills, he wasn't sure if everything would go smoothly tonight. Ayato Kamina suddenly felt that this kind of life wasn't so bad. He looked at the green mountains and clear waters in the distance, and the large, somewhat abandoned farmland behind the house, where something was planted. He thought it wouldn't be bad to live a simple and peaceful life here with his girlfriend.

"Dinner's ready!" Hiroko Asahina shouted from below. Although the abundance of supplies in the safe house that Shinji Ikari had built surprised them both, they were completely overwhelmed in the first few days, as it was their first time experiencing this kind of life.

The first day was basically spent eating cold canned food. Although the taste was okay, it was still a bit too much for the two young people. On the second day, they finally learned how to start a fire and cook. They ate undercooked rice with heated canned food, which made the two, who had been on the run for several days, feel happy. It wasn't until yesterday that they finally sorted things out and had some energy left. They snuggled together and almost did something.

"You're here! What did we eat today?" Ayato Kamina smiled as he climbed down the ladder, eager to give Hiroko Asahina a hug.

"Go wash your hands! They're filthy!" Hiroko Asahina slapped Ayato Kamina's hand away in disgust. "Vegetable stew with beef (dehydrated vegetables and canned beef) and rice, it's definitely cooked today!" Hiroko Asahina pulled a towel from the door and wiped Ayato Kamina's face.

"Oh! I'm starving!" Ayato Kamina and Hiroko Asahina playfully entered the house. "Didn't you put out the fire in the stove?"

"There's not much firewood left, and it's still warm. You can have some hot food if you want more," Hiroko Asahina said with a smile.

"Boss... there's smoke coming from a chimney over there!" Not far from the two of them, a group of hikers who looked like they were out camping were walking in the mountains. One of them suddenly pointed in a direction.

“It’s rare that headquarters’ intelligence might be accurate this time.” The leader took out a pair of binoculars from his waist pack and looked in the direction the team member was pointing. However, because of the distance and the weak light, he could only see a general direction. He quickly opened his backpack, took out a map and a compass, and after confirming the direction and approximate distance, he drew a small circle on the map. “Let’s go confirm it, and then we’ll evacuate.”

“Boss, there are only two of them, and they haven’t even received basic combat training. We can just take them down; this is free money.” Clearly, one of the team members wanted to earn more.

"Looks like you were sleeping during the briefing that day." Another team member laughed. "You think it's a joke that Shinji Ikari was with him?!"

"All right!"

"Enough talk. Let's get over this hill, have a good rest, and we'll be nearby by evening. There aren't any high points nearby, but that's okay, we can use a drone to take pictures directly! Hurry up, I don't think anyone wants to spend the night in the mountains."

"Yes! Boss!"

Chapter 360 Awakening from the Dream and Confirmation

"Oh my god..." Shinji Ikari, thinking that he was the only man present and shouldn't make the elegant ladies do the work, lowered his head and opened the gate of the shrine not far away, preparing to carry Kuze Reika's boyfriend out and put him into the large pillar box that was already filled with night spring water.

Then, as soon as Shinji Ikari opened the door, he was slapped away by Aise Kurosawa. The slap was so powerful that Shinji was completely stunned when he landed.

"Why did you hit him?" Himuro Kirie frowned, glaring at Kurosawa Ayase in front of her. "I have to come up with a plausible reason for hitting my brother Shinji Ikari, but what do you mean by this? Don't try to use that lame excuse that you're his fiancée! Don't think I won't take action here."

"Yes!" Kurosawa Aise gestured towards the interior of the temple.

"...It's all equally cruel." Himuro Kirie glanced at the scene inside the shrine, pursed her lips, and said, "Although we don't really seem to be alive, you don't think Shinji would like corpses, do you? But, Shinji, you'd better stay outside." Himuro Kirie turned back to look at Shinji Ikari, who was still lying on the ground in a daze, chuckled, and then said with a straight face.

Himuro Kirie, Kurosawa Aise, and Kuze Reika entered the shrine together. What they saw was... skin that had been peeled off in a failed ritual. It was undeniable that beneath the seemingly gentle environment of the House of Sleep, the methods used were quite cruel.

"Let's get started. Since we don't intend to make Shinji do the hard labor, then we'll have to do it ourselves. First, let's send those who have completed their missions, and those who haven't, to the other side of the Sanzu River." Kurosawa Aise sighed. The rules on Mount Hikami are not easy either, but the shrine maidens have all voluntarily borne all of this, whether it's the Himuro family, Mount Hikami, or even the Kuze family in front of them.

The three evil gods silently began to mobilize their respective powers, slowly freeing the priestesses from the temple and placing them onto several small boats moored at the edge of the Sanzu River. The three evil gods silently watched as the small boats, carried by the river, slowly drifted away.

“If we follow what Shinji said before, the Kuze family’s idea might be a bit extreme. The responsibility that should be borne here is to wash away the longing for the deceased and allow them to be reborn.” Kurosawa Aise stared blankly at the silently flowing Sanzu River. This Sanzu River was in no way inferior to the heritage of Mount Hikami.

"But this time, there's no need to notify the Onmyo Bureau. In the dream world, it's quite difficult for them to get in." Himuro Kirie sighed. During this series of events in New Tokyo City, Shinji Ikari was busy running around, but it seemed like he was doing all the work for others. He didn't seem to have gained anything himself. This idiot, he was so hot-blooded for his friends that he didn't care about anything else. She couldn't quite understand it, but she also felt quite warm.

"Alright, go get Shinji, it's time for us to leave." Kurosawa Aise took one last look at the tranquil Sanzu River. As the small boats drifted into the distance, some hazy figures began to slowly appear on the riverbank. The three looked at these people, "Is this... what it was originally like?"

"..." Kuze Reika looked at the people slowly walking away, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion, which was different from the education he had received since childhood.

"What we are suppressing is the so-called gate to the underworld or another world. Is there something we don't know?" Himuro Kirie thought of Shinji Ikari's unintentional remark earlier: such a small country as Japan is so plagued by disasters. It really makes the Japanese proud.

"This is what needs to be investigated." Kurosawa Ayase was naturally aware of Shinji Ikari's remark, and she was also a little curious about it. What kind of things were hidden in the distant past that they didn't know about? If this was just Shinji Ikari's nonsense, and Mount Hikami, Minakami Village, the Palace of Nine Generations, and the Himuro Mansion were all part of a seal... then what exactly was sealed within this seal?

“Linghua…” After the three returned to the shrine, besides Shinji Ikari, Yuu Aso, and Rei Kurosawa, there was a blurry figure standing beside them. But the moment it saw the three fierce gods slowly returning, this spirit suddenly became excited.

"I want it!" Kuze Reika stared in astonishment at the spirit before her, her heart pounding and her hands trembling with excitement. Covered in tattoos, Kuze Reika almost couldn't resist rushing forward. After being separated by time and years, she was finally reunited with her lover.

"It seems to be quite successful!" Kurosawa Aise lifted the large box next to him and glanced inside, where Kyuusei's physical body lay. "However, his spiritual power is not very good, and it's only a matter of time before he can't hold on. The erosion from the Night Spring is still present."

“Hoo…” Himuro Kirie reached out and wrapped the barrier rope around Kyuusei Kaname’s arm. “Although it can only treat the symptoms, as long as Kyuusei Reika remembers to help him, he should be able to exist for a long time.”