The movie's end credits finished, and the lights in the screening room slowly came on.
The soft light dispelled the darkness, also breaking that ambiguous intimacy.
Ise Hinata, like a startled rabbit, almost subconsciously tried to pull her hand out of that warm large hand.
However, as soon as she moved, that palm tightened slightly, re-enveloping her small hand with an undeniable force.
Lu Cheng stood up, as if nothing had happened, still holding her hand, and said in a relaxed tone, "Let's go, the movie is over."
Ise Hinata's heart skipped a beat.
She stood stiffly, letting him lead her, but she didn't say a word, and just like that, walked out of the screening room.
His palm still held... a reassuring power that she couldn't resist... At the same time.
Tokyo suburbs, a deserted factory area.
"Roar--!"
Accompanied by an inhuman, painful roar, a giant demon, covered in eyeballs and the size of a truck, crashed to the ground.
Foul-smelling blood, mixed with black demonic energy, splattered everywhere.
In the shadows of the factory, Ise Ryuichi knelt on one knee, gasping violently.
He was covered in blood, unable to tell if it was his own or the demon's. His combat uniform was tattered, and golden divine light intertwined with ominous black energy around him, making him look both sacred and sinister.
"Ha... Ha..."
He felt the power within him, intensified by the battle, growing more fervent, and a grim smile, mixed with pain and pleasure, appeared on his face.
Not far away, Kamiya Makoto collapsed on the ground, having almost exhausted all his spiritual power, unable even to stand up.
He looked at the frenzied Ise Ryuichi, his eyes filled with horror.
This man, after merging with that evil power, had become even more terrifying than a demon!
And in the highest part of the factory, unnoticed by either of them.
A slender figure stood silently.
Yukino Shita Chizuru looked down at the bloody battlefield below, her face devoid of any emotion, only a faint indifference.
Her gaze finally fell on Ise Ryuichi.
"Not enough..."
"This kind of toy, the time it can delay, is not enough for the Master's requirements."
She murmured to herself, her figure silently departing.
The mission Lu Cheng gave her was to delay and exhaust these two as much as possible.
For this, she released her demonic energy, and combative demons were drawn to it, becoming free tools... "Rumble—! Crackle!"
Piercing music, the frantic roars of arcade machines, and the excited screams of young people, like a surging tide, engulfed Ise Hinata.
She was led by Lu Cheng into a brightly lit, deafeningly noisy arcade.
Everything here was at odds with her past life.
The flashing neon lights made her eyes a little dizzy.
The noisy sounds made her ears, accustomed to quiet, buzz.
Like someone who had stumbled into another world, she instinctively clutched Lu Cheng's hand, as if it were her only lifeline in this chaos.
Lu Cheng felt her tension, and the smile on his lips deepened.
In Japan, where arcade games were popular, there were fighting games, racing games, and Pokémon—everything imaginable.
But Lu Cheng led her to a row of adorably decorated claw machines.
"Look."
Lu Cheng pointed to one of the machines, which contained snow-white, cute rabbit dolls holding carrots.
"Do you like it?"
Ise Hinata's gaze fell on the fluffy rabbit.
In the shrine, she possessed countless priceless treasures.
Yet there was nothing, like this rabbit before her, that simply by looking at it, made her feel... a desire to have it.
It was as if every girl should have one... "But... it has no life."
"Why do I find it cute...?"
But she still involuntarily nodded slightly.
"Cuteness itself doesn't need a reason."
Lu Cheng put a few coins into the machine and handed the joystick to her.
"Use your method to get it out."
Ise Hinata was stunned.
She looked at the joystick and buttons, feeling a bit helpless.
With Lu Cheng's encouragement, she mimicked the people next to her, carefully operating it.
However, the iron claw was like a drunkard, either missing or, at the moment of grabbing, releasing weakly.
Once, twice, thrice... The continuous failures, even her calm mind, began to feel a hint of frustration.
She didn't understand why she couldn't do such a simple thing.
Seeing her slightly puffed cheeks, her adorable look tinged with unwillingness, Lu Cheng smiled.
He leaned down, close to her ear, and whispered in a voice only they could hear.
"What are you doing?"
"Praying for that one percent luck like an ordinary girl?"
His warm breath brushed her earlobe, making her body tremble slightly.
"Don't forget who you are."
"Can a mere machine stop the Amaterasu Shrine Maiden?"
These words precisely pierced Ise Hinata's heart!
Yes... I am the Amaterasu Shrine Maiden!
I am the existence that carries Japan's National Luck!
A ridiculous yet exciting thought frantically sprouted!
So, use a little bit of... power to grab a doll?
But then, her rationality screamed wildly!
This... this is a great disrespect to the gods!
It's blasphemy!
However... she looked at the cute rabbit in the glass window, and then at Lu Cheng's encouraging gaze beside her.
The heart belonging to a "girl" at this moment, overwhelmed everything.
She took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she reached out and grasped the joystick once more.
This time, a faint wisp of divine power silently seeped from her fingertips, intertwining around the fragile iron claw!
Under her will, the iron claw, with a precision and stability that defied physical rules, firmly grasped the rabbit doll, and without the slightest tremor, dropped it into the exit.
"Thump."
A soft sound.
When Ise Hinata bent down and picked up the fluffy, soft rabbit doll from the exit.
Her mind was blank!
All the mumbo jumbo about power or no power.
She only knew that she had finally caught it!
"I... I caught it."
A strange emotion, mixed with immense joy and a hint of "immorality," instantly broke through all her dams!
So... this is what it feels like!
To get something you want for yourself, it's so... happy!
But for her, this was a forbidden joy, a betrayal of sacred duty, solely to please herself!
She shouldn't be for herself; her everything, her power, was for this land... As she held the rabbit, immersed in this unprecedented impact.
A warm large hand gently rested on the top of her head, softly caressing her smooth silver hair.
Lu Cheng looked at her surprised and delighted expression, as if she had discovered a new continent, and smiled contentedly.
"Well done."
His voice carried a hint of doting, like praising a child.
"It seems you've begun to understand the true use of power."