The sky gradually darkened until night fully descended.
Kawashima Toya sat nearby, watching the coffin with a look of genuine curiosity.
I wonder if it'll actually break out?
He hadn't made a move yet because he wanted to see if a Kyonshi at the peak of its nocturnal power could overcome the obstacles.
It was currently buried under a small mountain of sticky rice, and the coffin itself was covered in intricate patterns of ink markings.
He noticed an abundance of dog's blood, peach wood swords, and various other traditional charms.
"If it manages to jump out, then it's my turn."
Toya glanced at Excalibur resting beside him. He was perfectly content to play the role of the one who delivered the final blow.
As night took hold, the beach became eerily silent.
Aside from the occasional cry of a passing seabird, there wasn't a sound to be heard. Usually, on a sweltering summer night, the shore would be teeming with people looking for a cool breeze.
Thump!
Just as Toya was beginning to doze off, a sudden noise erupted from the coffin.
It sounded like something heavy was slamming against the lid from the inside.
Suddenly, the ink lines stretched across the wood flared with a brilliant, holy golden light, slamming the struggling creature back down into its prison.
"Oh?" Toya's eyes widened. "Actual ink markings? And century-old ones at that?"
He was impressed that such a relic existed here.
While it was trivial to him, in a world where malevolent spirits were becoming more common, such a tool was a godsend for ordinary people.
It was a high-quality item, likely used for over a hundred years without losing its potency.
Just as Toya began to lose interest, thinking the struggle was over, the creature inside seemed to gain a burst of violent energy.
The century-old ink lines began to fray under the pressure, looking as if they were about to snap at any moment.
"Go for it. I'm rooting for you," Toya muttered with a hint of anticipation, waiting for the lid to fly.
The Kyonshi seemed to take the encouragement to heart. Its struggles grew even more frantic.
Suddenly, as the lid creaked open just a fraction of an inch, a massive amount of sticky rice poured into the gap.
Crackle! Pop!
A series of rapid, muffled explosions echoed from within the coffin as the rice reacted with the creature's energy. The frantic movements slowed, eventually fading into silence.
"I guess I shouldn't have expected too much."
Toya picked up Excalibur and walked toward the coffin, preparing to put the poor thing out of its misery.
"Is... is someone out there?"
"Please, help me."
"I'm stuck in here and I can't get out."
A weak, fragile female voice drifted from inside the coffin. It sounded like a refined, gentle young girl. If the voice hadn't been coming from a burial crate, it would have been quite charming.
Toya stopped in his tracks, his expression turning thoughtful.
A talking Kyonshi? And a girl? This might be more complicated than I thought.
In the old movies from a certain distant country, these creatures were almost always male; female ones were exceedingly rare.
Furthermore, a low-level undead certainly wouldn't be capable of human speech.
A Kyonshi that can talk.
Toya instinctively took a step back, wary that he might be dealing with something from ancient myths.
He was strong, but the entities described in those legends were beyond the mortal realm—they were essentially immortals.
In those stories, a high-ranking immortal was only half a step away from being a deity.
Toya gripped Excalibur with both hands.
Maybe I should just unleash a Noble Phantasm and be done with it?
The creature inside seemed to sense the killing intent and cried out in a panic.
"Wait! I'm a good Kyonshi! I won't hurt anyone!"
"Please, no more sticky rice, or dog's blood, or ink lines!"
The voice grew even weaker. "Please... no more rice..."
Maybe I should give her a chance. Toya suddenly remembered that in a certain story, Jashin-chan had a kyonshi friend—a girl, if he recalled correctly.
Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
Toya's eyes sharpened as he peered through the coffin, quickly assessing the situation.
It was exactly as he suspected: a teenage girl was lying inside. She was in rough shape, likely because the sticky rice that had poured in earlier had caused her a great deal of pain.
"Let's see who you are."
Toya walked up and gave the coffin lid a firm kick, sending it flying. As the lid disappeared, more sticky rice tumbled in, landing on the girl and triggering a few more small pops.
"Ow..."
The girl let out a pained whimpered and struggled to sit up.
"Can you talk?" Toya asked calmly.
Before him sat a girl who looked to be around sixteen or seventeen. She had long, blue-purple hair tied into two cute buns.
Her skin was fair and delicate, showing none of the rot one would expect from the undead. She looked like an ordinary human girl.
It was only when she opened her mouth slightly that two small fangs became visible, confirming her identity.
Every movement she made was clumsy and strangely endearing. She wore traditional clothing from a distant era, and there was even a panda decoration on her chest.
Toya felt a flash of recognition.
I almost accidentally killed a harmless Kyonshi from the distant land.
If an undead was a threat to people, he'd kill it without a second thought. But if it was harmless, there was no reason to be cruel.
"Rawr!"
The girl let out a strange cry, twisting her face into what she clearly thought was a terrifying expression. She held up her hands like claws and lunged toward Toya.
"I'm going to eat you!"
"..."
Toya could tell she was joking. She didn't possess a shred of the murderous aura typical of her kind.
"Enough of that. Tell me what happened."
"What do you plan to do now?" Toya asked. "This isn't your hometown."
"So cold..." The girl, Kyon-Kyon, pulled back her "scary" pose and looked at him with a dejected expression.
"I don't want to go back to my old home. I originally wanted to stay in home and do good deeds to earn enough merit to become human again. But something went wrong... my coffin got washed out to sea and ended up here."
As she spoke, Kyon-Kyon grew more upset, her eyes welling up with tears as she recounted her tragic journey.
"Well, whose fault is it for leaking black gas?" Toya teased. "Do you have any idea how many people you scared? They brought out century-old ink lines and tons of sticky rice just for you."
"If you had waited until sunset, they probably would have buried you in a block of cement."
"Eek!" Kyon-Kyon's small frame shuddered with fear. "That's terrifying! Thank you for saving me, kind big brother!"
"Don't call me that. I'm not sure I can handle the responsibility," Toya replied, half-amused.
A Kyonshi took at least a century to form naturally, and powerful ones ignored the passage of time altogether.
There was no way he was going to be a "big brother" to a creature that was probably older than his entire family tree.
"Oh." Kyon-Kyon hung her head in disappointment. "Then... what should I do? I still want to be human again."
"Then come with me."
Toya thought about it for a moment and decided to take her in.
Sending her back home was too much trouble, and she could stay at the agency just as easily.
As for "doing good deeds," helping him with commissions was a perfectly valid way to assist others.