In response to Yotsuya Miko's question, Emiya said naturally, "As a sorcerer, I can't just ignore these things that look so strange and dangerous."
As long as one performs his duties and responsibilities well, Emiya feels that this is a normal thing and there is no reason for him to shirk his responsibilities.
as well as.....
"Isn't it my job to protect you?"
"......"
“Eh???!!”
Yotsuya Miko, who had been blaming herself for her wild imagination because of her high expectations and after hearing Emiya's previous words, was immediately shocked by Emiya's words the next second.
Really know what he's talking about, this guy!
———— ————
After about an hour's journey, Emiya and Yotsuya Miko successfully arrived at a shrine in the mountains.
Although located deep in the mountains where few people go, the decoration of this shrine is unusually formal and grand. Although the courtyard is clean, it is also covered with some moss, as if no one has visited it for many years.
And it was unusually silent here. Not even the sound of insects or animals could be heard. There was only the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
In fact, when he just stepped halfway up the mountain, Emiya felt the existence of some kind of barrier - it might be screening the people who can enter the shrine, which is why this place has not been discovered by outsiders until now.
So... apart from the Yin-Yang eyes, maybe there is something special about Jianzi?
Emiya set his eyes on Yotsuya Miko, and with his support behind her, Yotsuya Miko inexplicably gained some courage and walked quickly to the offering box of the shrine.
"Well, now it's time to fulfill my vow!"
She pulled a box from her backpack and placed it in front of her.
That was the bento that Emiya had just made not long ago.
Volume 1: Chapter 79: Inari's mountain god, or just a monster?
The so-called act of fulfilling a vow refers to the price to be paid after the wish comes true after praying to the gods for a certain wish.
With the rapid development of science and technology, humans have gradually lost their awe of gods, creatures that were once imagined by them, and are constantly discarding them like tools after use.
In the past, petitioning and fulfilling vows to the gods were extremely harsh.
Not only does one need to bathe and change clothes and perform many rituals before making a petition, but the price of fulfilling the vow must also be determined at the time of the petition and strictly implemented immediately after the petition is fulfilled.
It was precisely because people at that time understood that there was no such thing as getting something for nothing in this world, but had no idea in which direction to work hard that they gradually evolved a series of complicated rituals to please the unknown gods.
Yotsuya Miko remembered that right after she made the wish to be protected, the 'God' appeared once and may have told her the price and requirements she would have to pay in order to fulfill her wish.
Unfortunately, it wasn't that she didn't want to understand, but she simply couldn't understand what that strange language was saying.
Considering that many traditions include the custom of offering delicious food to gods, the only method that Yotsuya Miko could think of was to offer delicious food.
After all, other methods are really strange. For example, it is impossible for her to catch a bunch of animals for sacrifice, let alone sacrifice living people...
However, there were no strict requirements for the food offered. Fruits, special foods, meats, etc. were all acceptable. Then, the resourceful Yotsuya Miko found what she thought were the best food.
That's the bento made by Emiya himself!
To be honest, if she wasn't afraid that the 'God' would be dissatisfied with ordinary delicacies, Yotsuya Miko would be reluctant to hand over her lunch box.
No matter how delicious it is, eating the same food every day will indeed make people feel bored, but what can Emiya do? He can come up with new ideas every day.
Goodbye, my bento!
After finally making the choice, Yotsuya Miko felt heartbroken. She hesitated for a long time before finally putting the lunch box down completely and reaching out to gently pull the rope connected to the bell.
While Yotsuya Miko was struggling in her heart, Emiya was carefully observing the terrain of the entire shrine.
From within the torii gates that separated the human world from the divine realm, the entire shrine grounds appeared remarkably neat and tidy. Though moss had grown on the stone bricks, not a single fallen leaf lay on the ground, and there was no sound, a stark contrast to the chaotic forest outside.
Apart from the necessary torii, main hall, and two fox-like statues of gods, this shrine has no other unnecessary buildings.
No matter who originally built this shrine, since it is located in such a remote mountain forest, it must be a shrine dedicated to the mountain god.
At some unknown time, the villagers living near this mountain and river jointly built this shrine, probably with the intention of praying for good weather and a good harvest.
Because in most informal folk beliefs, mountain gods and rice lotus gods are overlapping concepts. Even the rice lotus gods in orthodox mythology are classified as mountain gods.
Because foxes prey on mice, which are harmful to agricultural production, the main messenger of Inari God is the fox, and he himself is also called the "Three Fox Gods" by the people.
The strange messenger of God that we just saw had the appearance of a fox. Even the two statues in front of the main hall were in the shape of foxes. The mountain god enshrined in this shrine is most likely the Inari God, or some evolution of him.
Having said that, what exactly is going on with those two strange-looking messengers of God?
Is it simply someone playing tricks, or... apart from creatures like curse spirits that are born from negative emotions, are there really god-like creatures born from faith?
They weren't the Old Deus that already existed in the mage world, but creatures born purely out of faith...
Jingle Bell----
Just as Emiya was immersed in his thoughts about this shrine, the bell in the main hall suddenly rang.
Although the main hall, which covers only a dozen square meters, has begun to decay in appearance, the bell sound is still as clear as ever.
wow ——————
Along with the sound of leaves falling in the wind, the "God-sama" mentioned by Yotsuya Miko also appeared in the center of the shrine.
Compared with the two people and even the main hall of the shrine, his figure is quite majestic.
The lower body looks like a fox, with multiple tails fluttering behind it, which coincides with Emiya's guess about the Inari God.
The only strange thing is that the head does not look like a fox, but rather like a goat's head, with a sharp mouth and long horns that are extremely obvious.
Of course, the most important thing is the golden appearance that does not look like a curse spirit at all.
If the cursed spirit can make people aware of danger just by looking at it, then this 'god' has even more majesty and sacredness.
In addition, the two gods' messengers were guarding him on his left and right, which made this feeling even stronger.
Yotsuya Miko subconsciously turned her head to look at the body behind her that was completely obscured by the shadow, and she subconsciously felt a sense of fear in her heart. It was not until she saw Emiya beside her that she felt much better.
No problem, it will definitely be fine.
Comforting herself in this way, Yotsuya Miko hurriedly clasped her hands together and gently clapped her palms in front of the offering box.
Thank you for helping me, thank you...
After completing a whole set of simple rituals learned from the Internet, Yotsuya Miko carefully turned her head, but found that the situation did not seem to be very good.
“???? ??!”
“????????? ?????? ?????????!!!”
The 'god' sitting in the center remained motionless, but the two gods' messengers took a step forward, muttering something incomprehensible.
But judging from their slightly ferocious expressions and mouths full of fangs, they didn't seem very satisfied with the tribute.
Just when the messenger on the left stretched out his hand and wanted to do something, the mountain god suddenly took action.
He stretched out his huge yet distinct claws and pressed them directly on the head of the messenger who was trying to attack him.
boom--!
The imagined scene of blood spilling everywhere did not appear. Its body simply turned into fallen leaves all over the ground.
The mountain god didn't care about the appearance of his messenger. He just slowly leaned his head forward and put the front part that looked like his mouth close to the lunch box that Yotsuya Miko had placed there.
"Great! It seems He doesn't dislike this offering."
Yotsuya Miko, who ran to Emiya's side in time, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this scene.
Although it is really strange that a creature like the mountain god would like to eat the bento made by Emiya, as long as the trouble can be solved, everything is fine.
"Don't let your guard down too much just yet, Jianzi."
Emiya still stared at the direction of the mountain god. He always felt that things would not end so easily.
If this was truly a benevolent god, the messenger would not have shown such anger just now, and the mountain god would not have smashed it to pieces without hesitation.
Sure enough, the next second, this creature that looked like a mountain god opened its "mouth".
It wasn't an action in the conventional sense, but rather His entire head suddenly split open, blooming like a flower bud, revealing a mouth full of fangs.
The four separated 'mouths' bit the lunch box together and then swallowed it whole along with the lunch box.
After completing this series of actions, the head returned to its original shape.
“???????? ???????? ???????? ????? ????”
“????????? ??????? ????? ????.”
The remaining divine messenger on the right spoke again, his expression obviously much calmer than before.
"See, I told you it would be alright."
"Emiya-kun made this bento himself. Apparently, even the mountain god would like it."
Yotsuya Miko seems to have developed a mysterious confidence in Emiya from a strange place.
It's okay to say that bento is delicious, but is there really a delicacy that can make people hallucinate, cure diseases, and even emit golden light when it's made?
That’s obviously not because it tastes good, but because it’s filled with powerful ingredients!
Also, that mouth has grown into that shape, does it really still have the sense of taste?
"I don't remember my lunchbox having this effect... Wait?!"
Just when Emiya himself was about to be deceived by this illusion of peace, the body of the mountain god suddenly moved again.
His head split open again.
It wasn't just the head, most of its body began to crack along the lines, wriggling wildly in the air like tentacles.
Human-like hands grew out of the body one after another, and then a large number of bells emerged, rising up together with the surging flesh and blood.
Finally, the flesh and blood condensed into a human-like head on top, except that it had a lot of messy hair on its head, and its two eyes were purely represented by bells.
From the appearance, it now looks no different from an ordinary cursed spirit, and is even more terrifying.
But during the entire process, the golden light covering its body never disappeared, even after it completely transformed into a monster.
With its internal organs exposed, it stretched out its strangely long cervical vertebrae and palms and slowly reached towards the two of them.
"W-why... doesn't it look like it likes this offering very much?!"
Even Yotsuya Miko, who had seen all kinds of monsters before, was frightened by it and took a step back.
Seeing the crisis approaching, Emiya immediately took two steps forward and protected Yotsuya Miko behind him.
"Perhaps it's because it's so pleased that it wants to sacrifice both of us?"
In earlier times, sacrificing living people to gods to pray for peace in a region was a common phenomenon!
"Hey, is this still possible?"
Is it wrong to have a bento that tastes too good?
"There's no time for more talk. Let's retreat to a safer place. See you!"
Emiya couldn't sense much cursed energy flowing from this now completely monstrous creature, but judging from its appearance, it was definitely much stronger than the special-grade 'Finger Curse Spirit' from yesterday.
"Trace on!"
Without waiting for the other party to make a move, Emiya projected Gan Jiang Moye and chopped at the head of the monster in front of him.
Puff-!
The sword blade was blocked by the mountain god's large, human-like hand, and after penetrating a little, it could not move forward any further.
Is it because its physical strength is too high?
No, that's not right... Gan Jiang Moye's exorcism inscription has no effect on this guy at all!
Even though he's become like this, he's still not considered a demon?!
"what!!!"
Suddenly under attack, the monstrous head of the 'mountain god' let out a terrifying roar, shaking the entire shrine... no, the entire mountain range.
There is no doubt that even if this monster cannot be regarded as a god, it is inextricably linked to the mountains and the land, and is completely different from an ordinary cursed spirit.
Emiya didn't have time to think deeply about these things, because the monster's other palm quickly slapped over at an exaggerated speed.
Unable to dodge in time, Shirou could only place Gan Jiang Moye horizontally in front of him.
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