"Suginami Ward. Once we reach Suginami Ward, you'll be safe."
Saeko Busujima had received this absolute assurance in exchange for Yukino Yukinoshita's extraordinary performance. Although Saeko didn't know exactly what had happened to Yukinoshita or what price she had paid, this assurance filled her with a strong will to survive. She believed that the righteous junior wouldn't intentionally lead them into harm's way.
This was clearly their only way out.
'Then… speed up!' Saeko urged the driver silently in her mind.
At this speed, they should arrive at the Suginami Ward border soon. But beside her, Miko Yotsuya vaguely sensed an extremely urgent and perilous situation closing in.
"…Busujima-senpai, if—I mean, if—we don't make it, how confident are you in fighting?"
'This…'
Noticing Miko's sheer panic and unease, Saeko was also unsure. She had only been practicing the ancestral breathing techniques for a few days. Even with Murasame's magical approval, her physical abilities couldn't have grown to an outrageous level overnight. That meant she was essentially like a child wielding a massive weapon, unable to unleash Murasame's full, devastating power.
Therefore, facing the impending demonic forces, she really couldn't make any guarantees. She couldn't possibly be as brave and fearless as her ancestor. That man was a legendary hero who built the Busujima martial legacy from scratch, slaying countless demons—a true samurai who emerged from the mighty Hojo clan.
"I might..." Saeko started to say, trying to find comforting words.
"Busujima-senpai! Look behind us!" Miko screamed.
'What...!?'
The raw terror in Miko's voice made Saeko's heart tighten violently, and she quickly turned to look out the rear window.
Nothing there?
'This couldn't be... Mr. Rom had said that Yotsuya was a "lucky one" with spiritual vision. If that's the case...'
Saeko gripped Murasame tightly and lightly drew the blade an inch from its scabbard.
Buzz—
A subtle, heavy fluctuation, seemingly emanating from the realm of consciousness itself, spread out from the steel.
Saeko looked into the rearview mirror again.
Through the reflection of the blade, a faint, terrifying outline was racing the speeding car. Its form was twisted and malevolent. It resembled a grotesque human body with an insect's tail, with countless whip-like hairs writhing below its torso to propel it forward.
And behind it, it wasn't just one. There were many more. They seemed to be in an absolute frenzy, roaring into the night.
"They can see! They can see!!" the monstrosities shrieked, their voices scraping like metal.
"Busujima! Busujima!!"
"Roar—!!"
Cold sweat instantly soaked Saeko's temples. She recoiled as if electrocuted, her face turning deathly pale as she fought down a violent wave of nausea.
'It really... It's all real... They actually exist...'
"Drive faster!!" Saeko yelled at the driver, having completely lost any hope of fighting them off. She had no doubt that if the car was caught, she and Miko would both be torn to pieces right here on the asphalt.
The malevolent aura radiating from the pursuing horde was almost tangible, leaving no room for worldly doubt. It was completely real. Not a visual illusion or a hallucination. The naked, sinister oppression struck straight to the soul, as if materializing the deepest, most primal fears of the human heart.
Out of the corner of her eye, Saeko noticed that Miko was also terrified, but strangely much calmer than her. This realization made Saeko smile bitterly.
'Is this the hellish world Yotsuya has to see through her eyes every single day...?' Saeko thought. 'Those demons behind us... let alone a group, even just one would be difficult for me to handle. That sinister sense of crisis is no joke. Even with Murasame, I might not be able to escape the pursuit of just one.'
'Ancestors. Ancestors... how on earth did you manage to slay these evil spirits...?'
At times like this, Miko Yotsuya's spiritual sense truly came into play. Her perception of the underworld was vastly stronger than Saeko's newly awakened sight. Faintly, over the roar of the engine, Miko seemed to hear the distant sounds of gunfire.
Was it just her imagination? Miko was even more frightened. She pursed her lips, tears welling in her eyes.
'Damn it… Why do these things always happen to me…' Miko cried internally. 'If this really is the will of the gods, I will definitely complain to them when we get there!'
The road ahead seemed remarkably clear. Saeko knew that her father must have used his military and police connections to subtly intervene and evacuate the traffic from this route. Every bit of speed they gained increased their chances of survival.
'Faster! Faster still!'
Her eyes were fixed intensely on the rearview mirror. But in an instant, her pupils contracted sharply as the lead monster lunged.
"Heads down! Yotsuya, get your head down!!" Saeko screamed.
Bang—RIIIIP!!
The reinforced steel roof of the armored SUV was violently ripped open like a tin can.
The driver in the front seat ducked instinctively but miraculously kept his foot on the gas, sweating profusely. If it weren't for his strict military training to obey orders under fire, he might have swerved and crashed them all.
And what the hell was that? Saeko hadn't been able to see the exact attack, but the top of the car was inexplicably sheared off. It was as if it had been sliced open by a massive, invisible scythe.
"Keep going!!" Saeko shouted loudly over the deafening whirlwind of the rushing air.
This was a race against time.
With that, she unbuckled her seatbelt, pulled Murasame fully from its scabbard, and stood up through the torn roof to confront the horde of monsters behind them.
They chased, and the humans fled. However, the biting wind and the brush with death seemed to strip away Saeko's paralyzing fear; the sheer adrenaline had unleashed her martial frenzy. After all, beneath her polite exterior, she was a bloodthirsty woman…
'No. It's too late! They're too fast!'
She adjusted her stance, preparing to grit her teeth, utilize the breathing technique, and wake Murasame to deliver a desperate, fatal blow to the monsters closing the gap.
But then, Saeko noticed their terrifying speed seemed to suddenly drop.
'No. Not slower. Is the car speeding up? No. They…'
Saeko watched in bewilderment.
'It seems they are deliberately slowing down… Why?'
Saeko was stunned. Through the mystical reflection of her blade, she could see several grotesque monsters with human faces halting in the street, their expressions turning extremely hesitant and fearful. A moment later, the enormous, scythe-wielding creatures stopped their pursuit altogether, letting out extremely unwilling, frustrated roars at the fleeing vehicle.
'Unwilling? They could easily catch up and kill us, couldn't they…? Why stop?' Saeko asked herself. If their speeds weren't so unequal, she wouldn't have risked standing up to confront them.
A sudden thought struck her. She quickly turned around to look at the road ahead.
At the upcoming street intersection, a huge, municipal horizontal sign stood tall across the road:
[Welcome to Suginami Ward]
Had they arrived? Not quite yet. They should still be a short distance from actually crossing the ward's border. Saeko couldn't understand the sudden retreat of the horde. But the sheer exhaustion from surviving the ordeal made her slump back down into her seat, her physical vision blurring for a moment.
As she blinked, the welcoming message on the municipal sign seemed to jump and shift. The ordinary, metal horizontal sign began to gleam with a heavy, oppressive golden light.
In her newly awakened spiritual eyes…
It was no longer just a city boundary plaque, but a massive, solemn, and impossibly dignified red Torii gate towering into the sky.
And as anyone with an ounce of traditional knowledge knew, only true shrines where a God actively resided possessed such overwhelming spiritual Torii gates to mark their divine domain.
'Gods? There are actually Gods?'
Staring blankly at that sacred, towering Torii gate, Saeko was utterly stunned.
'Was this the path to survival Yukinoshita spoke of…? Was this absolute, divine boundary why those demons, though unwilling, had no choice but to give up the chase…?'
How utterly unbelievable.
She turned to look at Miko, the veteran girl with spiritual vision. However, Miko was staring at the Torii gate looking even more dazed and overwhelmed. It was as if she had seen something utterly beyond her mortal comprehension resting above the ward.
This reaction made Saeko even more certain. Perhaps… they had indeed arrived at the true abode of the Gods…
"Stop the car!!" Saeko quickly commanded the driver as they crossed the threshold under the gate.
Ignorance is no excuse for disrespect. But since they already knew they were entering a divine domain, they couldn't be impolite by speeding through it recklessly.
Seeing the driver's lingering fear and hesitation after slamming on the brakes, Saeko slowly sheathed Murasame, let out a long, trembling breath, and simply said with a sigh:
"We're safe…"
We survived.
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