"ROAR—!" Just then, a furious beastly roar suddenly sounded. The house, engulfed by the Great Fireball Technique and burning fiercely, suddenly exploded. Scattered sparks and burning wood flew everywhere, landing on the ground and creating tiny bursts of fire.
Immediately afterward, the ground where the structure stood suddenly bulged upward, and a muscular demon covered in coarse, stiff fur burst out from underground.
However, the demon's appearance at this moment was particularly miserable. The fur on its body had been ignited by the flames, and its entire body was rapidly covered in raging fire.
"Roar!" The demon, having just climbed onto the ground, immediately spotted Retsu and Kikyo standing not far away. Enduring the excruciating pain of the flames burning its body, it let out a deafening roar and charged violently toward the two, the flames on its body trailing a long tail of fire in the air, looking particularly ferocious.
"Swoosh—!" Just as the demon rushed out of the fire's range, an arrow suddenly sliced through the air. The pure white Demon-Slaying Power flashed a dazzling white light in the air, striking the demon precisely like a meteor.
The moment the arrow hit the demon, the powerful Demon-Slaying Power contained within it instantly erupted.
A dazzling white light suddenly spread out from the arrow, completely enveloping the demon's massive body. Before the demon could react, its body rapidly turned into smoke and dust under the purification of the Demon-Slaying Power, dissipating into the air.
Kikyo, having dealt with the demon with a single arrow, put her bow back on her back and scanned the surroundings.
Because this place had been occupied by a demon for a long time, under the erosion of Demonic Power, hardly any weeds grew on the ground.
However, the scattered human bones, demon bones, and animal skeletons gave the place an eerie atmosphere everywhere.
"We'll have to clean it up thoroughly before we can live here." Kikyo frowned slightly, her tone carrying a hint of distaste.
"It's fine, this place isn't big. It won't take long, we can finish it in half a day." Retsu waved his hand carelessly, his tone relaxed.
In fact, when they accepted this commission, the City Lord, upon seeing Kikyo's Miko attire, specifically promised that as long as they could drive out the demon occupying the shrine, in addition to the agreed-upon reward, he would allow them to reside in the shrine.
Since he and Kikyo currently had nowhere to live, they immediately accepted the offer.
The lord probably thought that since the shrine had been abandoned for so long, no one would normally want to live there, so he had only mentioned it casually.
He hadn't expected the two of them to agree immediately, which delighted the lord, who even specifically added extra compensation for them.
Afterward, the two worked together to clear the surrounding debris. They threw the miscellaneous garbage directly into the still-burning fire pit to burn it away; once the flames were completely extinguished, Retsu used Earth Release to bury all the ashes underground.
Once everything was cleaned up, Retsu formed hand seals again and roared, "Wood Release: Four Pillars House Technique!"
"Crack! Crack—!" Accompanied by the crisp sound of wood growing, large amounts of timber surged out from beneath the ground, quickly constructing a magnificent two-story wooden building that stood firmly in the center of the shrine.
"Alright, finished!" Looking at the completely renewed shrine under the setting sun, Retsu let out a sigh of relief, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
"Is the house finished being built?" Kikyo's voice came from behind.
She had just walked up the stone steps at the shrine entrance, and upon seeing the brand-new wooden building in the center, she nodded with satisfaction, then continued, "The Barrier on my side is also set up. It will be difficult for ordinary demons to break in."
"Let's go inside and take a look." Retsu turned back to Kikyo, offering a smiling invitation.
"Mhm!" Kikyo nodded softly, pushed open the door alongside Retsu, and walked side-by-side into the room filled with the fresh scent of wood.
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