"Is this the place?" Retsu scanned the dilapidated and gloomy shrine before him. Dark green moss covered the cracks in the stone steps, the vermillion Torii gate was long since decayed and blackened, and a heavy sense of desolation permeated the broken walls and ruins.
He frowned as he sensed the surrounding air, and sure enough, he detected a faint residual demonic aura.
"Let's go, let's go up and look inside the shrine." Kikyo raised her hand to take the longbow off her back, then stepped onto the stone stairs.
The soles of their shoes crunched over dead branches and fallen leaves, the subtle sounds exceptionally clear in the silent mountain forest.
Continuing upward through the crooked Torii gate, the surroundings were so quiet they could hear each other breathing. Only the occasional bird call from afar emphasized the profound stillness of the area.
After the two returned from Kaedes Village last time, they stayed in the forest for a while longer. Kikyo successfully completed her training in Natural Energy sensing, but the idea of merging Natural Energy with Miko Spiritual Power progressed slowly, so the two decided to leave.
Not long after they left the forest, they saw a commission posted by the lord in the nearby Castle Town regarding the exorcism of this shrine. Following the location marked on the commission, they finally arrived here.
The shrine where they currently stood had been breached and occupied by a demon long ago.
Because the village where the shrine was located was extremely close to the Castle Town, its geographical location was very important. The lord had specially sent troops to suppress this demon, but they were ultimately defeated and routed by the demon.
After that, the lord continuously searched everywhere for priests, hoping to drive out the demon in the shrine. But the priests who came and went were either swindlers or lacked sufficient strength. Not only did they fail to exorcise the demon, but they all ended up as casualties under the demon's hand.
Over time, the shrine was completely abandoned, and even the village below the shrine gradually fell into ruin, becoming a deserted area.
Retsu and Kikyo quickly followed the stone steps into the interior of the shrine. Perhaps because this world was overrun by demons, or perhaps due to the Miko naturally possessing spiritual power, many shrines in this world were exceptionally simple, without excessive or complicated architecture.
This shrine was no exception. Walking in along the Sando, apart from the Temizuya which had long since collapsed to the side, all that remained was a dilapidated wooden house in the center. There were no other buildings besides that.
Retsu lifted his foot to kick away a rolling skull on the ground—it was impossible to tell if it was human or demon bone—and his gaze fell upon the only relatively intact wooden structure ahead. A dense demonic aura was continuously emanating from that house.
"It seems there's no need to preserve this thing." Retsu knew clearly that the demon was hiding inside, and he spoke with a decisive tone.
"Mhm. We should rebuild it later. Since the demon has lived inside for so long, this house is unusable." Kikyo nodded lightly, fully agreeing with his idea.
"Alright!" Retsu stopped wasting words, quickly formed hand seals, and roared, "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The next second, a massive fireball nearly ten meters in diameter surged from his mouth, carrying scorching heat, and slammed violently into the wooden house ahead. The decayed wood could not withstand the impact of the flames; it instantly collapsed and was immediately ignited by the scorching fireball. Roaring flames quickly engulfed the entire structure.
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