Chapter 3 - Twilight.

In the human village at the foot of Inari Mountain, amidst the bustling streets, Miketsu witnessed the bizarre side of the world she was in for the first time. The various existences before her, all beyond common sense, made her recognize a reality.

She had likely crossed into another world, not traveled through time.

Although on the surface this place seemed to be ancient Japan, this world had demons and gods, and supernatural powers she had never encountered in her entire previous life. So, it was highly likely she had crossed into a place similar to, yet completely different from, the world she came from.

What a headache...

Analyzing the information she had just gathered, Miketsu unconsciously rubbed her forehead. She had to slowly accept the fact that she was truly in a supernatural world and would likely have to face a host of gods and ghosts incomprehensible by common sense from now on.

To be honest, as someone who had been timid since childhood and steered clear of all horror movies, she did not like this.

"Lady Uka, is something wrong?" Tsuruha asked with concern, seeing her goddess standing frozen in place for some unknown reason.

"Ah, it's nothing. I'm just a little curious about these strange-looking things. Are they perhaps yokai?" Miketsu came back to her senses and quickly shifted the topic to the bizarre creatures before her.

"No, they are not yet worthy of being called yokai. At best, they can only be called 'Abberations'."

"Abberations?" Miketsu mulled over the new term, casting a questioning glance at Tsuruha.

"They are lowly beings that lurk within the Demon Realm. Their creation can be both artificial and natural. Many factors can produce them, such as the gathering of yin energy, the breeding of evil thoughts, contamination by filth, the condensation of resentment, or an imbalance of life force." As she spoke, Tsuruha scanned the surroundings, observing the numerous Abberations.

"Although these things are numerous, most are born in the morning and die by dusk. Many don't even live for a single day, forever lurking within the Demon Realm."

As she spoke, Tsuruha extended one of her paws and slammed it down, striking an Abberation that had just passed by her.

With a strange cry, the Abberation, which resembled a centipede covered in countless eyeballs, was instantly crushed. Its fragments turned into black smoke and dissipated.

"See? They are actually very fragile, so fragile they disintegrate on contact. Lady Uka, you have no need to worry about them. With your divine status, even a common yokai would be harmed just by touching you, let alone these things," Tsuruha said with a relaxed expression, as if she had just swatted a fly.

Seeing Tsuruha's demonstration, Miketsu breathed a small sigh of relief. Then she heard Tsuruha continue.

"Although ordinary Abberations are not dangerous, they cannot be completely ignored. This is the primary way yokai are born. A great many yokai evolve from these insignificant Abberations."

"Yokai? Are they also hiding in the Demon Realm? We won't run into them, will we?" Hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu raised an eyebrow and glanced around.

"Yes, yokai usually hide in the Demon Realm as well, but their numbers are much smaller compared to Abberations."

"Is that so..."

The thought that the Demon Realm of this world was hiding so many foul things made Miketsu's stomach churn. At the same time, she began to feel sympathy for the humans of this world.

"The Demon Realm is hiding so many things, yet these mortals know nothing of it. Isn't that extremely dangerous for them?" In Miketsu's mind, of the three realms, the Human Realm was at the greatest disadvantage.

"For mortals... ignorance is actually the safest state."

"The safest?" Miketsu was taken aback, not expecting Tsuruha to say such a thing.

"Yes. Because the Human Realm itself is the greatest protection for mortals. For an ordinary person, being able to see and hear impure things is not a blessing."

...

The sun slowly crossed the sky, sinking toward the horizon. The glow of the setting sun began to illuminate the land, heralding the arrival of night.

At the end of the long approach to Inari Mountain, atop the torii gate of the Inari shrine, Miketsu sat upright, concentrating. A faint light flickered in and out of her crimson eyes.

Watching the bizarre world before her appear and disappear at her will, Miketsu nodded in satisfaction. Ever since returning to the shrine in the morning, she had been practicing opening and closing her Spiritual Vision. After nearly half a day, she could finally master the switch, avoiding a repeat of the morning's situation where she couldn't turn it off.

"Phew..." Letting out a long breath, Miketsu's mood lightened considerably. She now possessed a small ability, unlike before when, despite being a god, she was no different from an ordinary person. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"I still need to adapt as quickly as possible..." Miketsu muttered to herself, scratching her head. After seeing the otherworldly beings of the Demon Realm with her own eyes, she felt a strange sense of crisis. Her intuition told her she had to adapt to this unfamiliar world quickly.

Although she was in the Divine Realm and had Tsuruha's protection, making her relatively safe and not directly exposed to the gaze of the Demon Realm's beings like ordinary humans, accidents could always happen.

With this in mind, Miketsu activated her Spiritual Vision once more, deciding to further familiarize herself with this new ability. Her vision immediately darkened, the air around her grew cold, and the beings of the Demon Realm appeared before her eyes again.

"There are more of them than this morning..."

Looking at the horde of miscellaneous Abberations that had appeared, Miketsu first calmed herself. After a brief observation, she noticed something.

The number of Abberations had increased significantly since the morning, and they were also more active. The crawling ones crawled faster, and the flying ones flew higher.

Is there a reason for this sudden change?

As she thought, Miketsu turned her gaze to the western sky and saw the solar disc nearly touching the horizon.

Twilight?

When she had just arrived, Tsuruha had warned her not to leave the shrine carelessly, especially during the transition between day and night. It was said that one was more likely to encounter impure things at this time—the so-called Omagatoki.

Based on her observations with Spiritual Vision, Tsuruha's words were true. Twilight did indeed have a strange effect; the entire Demon Realm became much more lively at this time. Moreover, her shrine truly offered a degree of protection.

In Miketsu's view, the world seemed split in two. In front of her, on the side of the torii facing the shrine approach, various Abberations, more active than in the morning, scurried and flew about. But behind her, in the direction of the shrine, it was clean and ordinary, without a single Abberation. Looking only at that side, Miketsu felt as if her Spiritual Vision wasn't even active.

With the torii as the boundary, these Abberations followed some kind of rule, not daring to cross the line by even half a step.

"The shrine is the domain of a god, and the torii is the boundary line with the mortal world. It seems that wasn't just talk." Seeing the phenomenon before her, Miketsu mused aloud. That statement was one of the basic facts Tsuruha had been drilling into her these past few days. However, she hadn't paid it much mind before. Listening to Tsuruha's mystical talk had felt like listening to stories; without today's experience of witnessing the Demon Realm, those words had held no substance for her.

Heh, it seems this so-called god I am isn't completely useless. At least this shrine can ward off some evil. But beyond that, there doesn't seem to be much else.

Would anyone still come to worship a god like this?

Resting her chin on her hand, Miketsu's mind wandered with random thoughts.

And just then, in her line of sight, at the far end of the long shrine approach, a figure appeared.