Night at the Inari Shrine, within the Inari Secret Realm.
Eirin floated silently in mid-air, gazing at the pitch-black sky. Beside her, Miketsu glanced her way and spoke in a flat tone.
"What is it? Are you worried your apprentice won't be able to escape?"
"No, I believe in Toyohime's abilities. She should be able to handle that situation... I am worried that she might care too much about other things," Eirin said slowly, her voice tinged with clear concern.
"Care about other things..." Miketsu pondered Eirin's words with a hint of confusion. At that moment, on the clearing below them, the magical array—the one previously used to trap Toyohime and which they hadn't had time to erase—began to glow once more.
"They're here..." Eirin and Miketsu looked toward the glowing array simultaneously, immediately sensing an unusually massive surge of energy within it.
"This power is..." To the stunned eyes of Miketsu and Eirin, the teleportation array flared with blinding light. A colossal amount of energy poured out, forming a dazzling curtain of light.
Clearly, neither Eirin nor Miketsu had expected this teleportation to cause such a massive disturbance. Both tensed up, preparing for battle.
Under their watchful eyes, the massive curtain of light rapidly solidified. As the light dissipated, a giant mechanical metal longbow, over a hundred meters long, appeared in mid-air. Then, under the pull of gravity, the giant bow plummeted straight down.
Boom!
With an earth-shattering roar, the giant bow, weighing thousands of tons, slammed into the ground. It tore countless cracks into the earth and crushed a vast swathe of trees. Clouds of dust billowed upward as the entirety of Mount Inari and the surrounding area trembled from the impact. The foxes across the mountain were jolted awake from their slumber, miko woke up in a panic in their beds, and nearby residents opened their doors in unease, trying to figure out what had happened.
Miketsu’s mouth twitched at the sight. She never imagined such a massive object would suddenly drop from the sky. She felt fortunate that she had specifically chosen a wide, deserted area within the Secret Realm for the array, anticipating a possible battle. Otherwise, heaven only knew how much of her property would have been destroyed by such a crash. Damaged buildings were one thing, but it would have been a disaster if any of her foxes had been hit.
"Toyohime... she actually teleported the entire Monitoring Pavilion down... As I thought, she couldn't leave her moon rabbit soldiers behind," Eirin murmured. She seemed to have anticipated this possibility. At that moment, Miketsu suddenly remembered something unfortunate.
"Oh no... Your other apprentice is still tied to that tree. We haven't let her down yet..." Miketsu said slowly. Eirin froze, and as their eyes met, her expression changed as well.
Sensing trouble, the two immediately flew down toward the clearing where the array had been drawn. Miketsu transformed her divine bow into a demonic blade, conjuring a whirlwind of demonic energy to disperse the thick dust. Finally, they found Yorihime, still tied to the tree.
Less than five meters away from the massive metal object, Yorihime sat slumped on the ground, her body limp. Her skin was deathly pale, every hair on her body stood on end, and her eyes were rolled back so far that only the whites were visible from pure terror.
Seeing that Yorihime was unharmed and merely frightened, Eirin breathed a sigh of relief. Beside her, Miketsu sniffed the air, catching a faint, strange scent coming from Yorihime. Miketsu’s heart skipped a beat.
This poor girl... she didn't actually wet herself from fear, did she?
After Eirin performed some emergency stabilization, Yorihime recovered from her daze. She looked at Eirin and Miketsu in a trance, then focused her gaze on the towering steel wall before her. Suddenly, as if sensing something, she began to whimper and cry out, her expression filled with extreme panic as she struggled violently against her bonds.
Yorihime’s wide eyes darted back and forth between Miketsu and Eirin, her demeanor urgent as if she were trying to convey a vital message. Miketsu and Eirin shared a look before Eirin reached out and tore the cloth strip from Yorihime’s mouth.
"Hah... hah... Quick, hurry, Master! Sister is in grave danger! Please, go save her! Lady Uka, Master, please!"
Yorihime shouted the moment her mouth was free, gasping for air. Hearing her words, Eirin’s expression shifted instantly.
Eirin knew that the two sisters, Yorihime and Toyohime, shared a sensory connection. If Yorihime said this, then Toyohime’s current condition was undoubtedly critical.
Eirin immediately took flight. After a brief search over the fallen mechanical bow, she found the breach opened by the arrow of light. Flying into the opening, she discovered a group of moon rabbits huddled together in a panic. In the center of the rabbits lay Watatsuki no Toyohime, collapsed on the floor.
Seeing this, Eirin flew over, pushing aside several moon rabbits to reach Toyohime’s side. In Eirin’s eyes, Toyohime’s state was horrific.
Toyohime’s eyes were half-closed, her breathing was incredibly shallow and rapid, and her body was twitching unnaturally. Her face was ashen, and she was shivering, her mouth moving as she let out unintelligible sounds.
Is this the backlash from forcibly using power far beyond her limits? At this level of severity, she’ll die if I don’t act now...
Eirin’s face darkened. She immediately began taking emergency measures to stabilize her apprentice’s condition, but because the symptoms were so severe, they seemed to have little effect.
Just then, a soft golden glow began to envelop the dying Toyohime. Under the influence of this gentle power, Toyohime’s frantic breathing slowed slightly and her symptoms eased, though they remained grave.
"Thank you... I need a quiet place now..." Eirin said, thanking Miketsu for her intervention. Miketsu nodded and turned to look back at Tsuruha and Konkiku, who were approaching, drawn by the loud crash.
"Prepare a room for them and arrange for blessings..."
"Yes, Lady Uka..."
Tsuruha immediately sprang into action, helping Eirin transport the unconscious Toyohime. Under the worried gazes of the moon rabbits, Toyohime was carried away.
Afterward, Konkiku leaned in and whispered into Miketsu’s ear.
"Lady Uka... what should we do with these rabbits?"
"Ugh... round them all up and put them with the previous batch."
"Understood..."
Konkiku departed immediately after responding. Miketsu looked at the crowd of uneasy moon rabbits before her and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"The number of freeloaders just keep increasing..."
Rate on N.U.
