It was as if something was shoving and crowding them; the small well opening seemed to be connected to an unknown pipe, and the yōkai were like sausage meat being squeezed out.
Disgusting—the mere association made Kagome gag. she felt like she wouldn't want to eat sausages for at least a year.
"It's okay, don't panic." Sū ěr patted the girl's head, soothing her. "Fortunately, we set up a perimeter around the Goshinboku and this well earlier. If these yōkai had charged out into the mountains, it would have been a disaster."
In truth, when Think had established this protection, she also intended it to serve as a warning system for any entities other than themselves emerging from the well. After all, if they could travel through time, who could guarantee that a second case wouldn't occur in the long span from the primordial era to the present?
Much like animals in nature will kill each other when living space becomes scarce, the yōkai confined to this small space by Think original spell were doing the same—not to mention more yōkai were constantly appearing from wherever they had come.
The large ate the small, and the small feasted on the large. In the few minutes Sū ěr and the others watched, the blood spilled from their mutual slaughter had already pooled ten centimeters deep, with much of it being swallowed by other yōkai before it could even hit the ground.
Sū ěr had already covered Kagome's eyes. The girl, who usually didn't get along with him, didn't make a fuss this time. Instead, she hid quietly by his side, avoiding a scene that would surely give a child nightmares.
Even though the sounds alone were enough to fuel her imagination and make her tremble.
Within these few minutes, Sū ěr saw several small yōkai who were lucky enough to survive grow a size or two larger after devouring the limbs and flesh of others. Their original bodies underwent further mutations—growing new claws or developing darker, harder carapaces.
"…So these are yōkai?" Jibril walked slowly to the edge of the barrier walls, sighing deeply.
Compared to the yōkai she saw after defeating Amaterasu—who had been somewhat timid after witnessing her power—this was the first time Jibril fully sensed the primal savagery and bloodshed of the yōkai race.
The ripples caused by the struggling yōkai were only centimeters away from her. She only had to lean forward slightly to touch the ripples with the tip of her nose—though she'd likely touch something else first. Even these undulating ripples couldn't stop her from seeing the faces of the demons pressed against the barrier.
Fighting, plundering, devouring; the winner takes everything from the loser. Compared to the modern yōkai of the Nura Clan, who Sū ěr found quite friendly, these ancient yōkai who thought only of victory and survival were more to Jibril taste.
"Can it go back to how it was?" Because Sū ěr was covering her face, Kagome's voice sounded somewhat muffled.
"Uh, probably?" Sū ěr sounded a bit conflicted.
If nothing else, the soil around the well, soaked in demon blood and corrupted by demonic aura, certainly wouldn't be growing any green grass or trees anytime soon. Even if plants did grow, they'd likely be man-eating plant yōkai. However, moving all that soil out, purifying it, and filling the area with fresh dirt and grass from elsewhere wouldn't be a problem… That should count as "restoring it to its original state," right?
"Just in case, let me say this upfront: your family's ancestral well and this tree possess this unique ability naturally. Even if I hadn't come, this would have happened. Or rather, if I hadn't come and these yōkai appeared directly, that would be the real disaster. You understand that, right?" Sū ěr said casually.
"Yes, I don't mean to blame you, Mr. Sū ěr," Kagome addressed him with such gravity for the first time. "Thank you so much for your help."
It wasn't his imagination; Sū ěr noticed that the girl, who had just been trembling and clutching his arm at the sight of the hideous demons slaughtering each other, had calmed down in remarkably short order.
"Sū ěr… how are you going to… deal with these yōkai?" The polite "Mr." was a mere flash in the pan as Kagome quickly asked her next question.
"Kill them," the answer came not from Sū ěr, but from Think. It wasn't even specifically an answer for her; Think was simply suggesting it to Sū ěr. "Did you notice? The yōkai are still pouring out. While we don't have to worry about the spell being breached, letting them continue to pile up like this is just too disgusting."
A cube of flesh and blood. If left unchecked, this scene out of a horror game would eventually manifest in reality.
"Wait! Can you hold on a second!!" Compared to the easy-going Sū ěr, Kagome had always felt a sense of tension and dread toward Think, but she couldn't help but raise her voice to interrupt now.
"What is it?" Her voice was cold as Think looked down and asked.
"Well, it's just… I-I think these yōkai surely don't want to risk their lives hurting each other like this, right? Didn't you just say it? It's as if the bottom of the well connects somewhere, but there's something terrifying there driving these yōkai out."
"So, um, I mean, if possible… could you give them a chance to live?"
Kagome's voice grew quieter as she spoke. It seemed she herself knew how absurd and unreasonable the request was, yet she insisted on expressing her thoughts.
This was courage and kindness beyond her years. This junior high school girl wasn't an ignorant "Saint"; rather, having clearly witnessed the cruelty of these yōkai, she still empathized with their position. In modern terms—the yōkai were simply forced by circumstances.
In that case, why not give them a chance?
"You realize, don't you? If not for the spells I established, they would have discovered your family shrine the moment they burst from the well. They would have killed your family, then every living thing they saw beyond the mountain… Do you still insist, even knowing that?" Think arched an eyebrow, asking with genuine interest.
"That won't happen—I will protect them!"
Suddenly raising her voice, Kagome shouted with determination.
There was no reply; Think simply watched as a faint, shimmering light began to emanate from Kagome's chest as she spoke.