Crossing the Border

Was there nothing over there? Of course not. Miketsu knew very well what was there; she knew what that thing was far better than Saburo did.

Through her spiritual vision, she could clearly identify the eerie human face by the tree as a being from the demon realm. Moreover, it was different from the small abberations that could be seen everywhere and crushed underfoot. This thing emanated a very dangerous and unique aura, which manifested under her spiritual vision as wisps of black energy rising from its body. Such an ominous presence kept even the common abberations at bay.

It's a yokai...

The moment she saw it, Miketsu recalled what Tsuruha had told her about the more powerful and profound beings that lurked within the demon realm.

Miketsu had only been a little worried, so she had followed along for a quick look. She never expected to actually encounter a yokai.

A short while ago, after Saburo left, Miketsu had felt that something was amiss. She began to recall what Tsuruha had told her that morning about the yokai of the demon realm and the mortals of the human realm.

In the demon realm, there are a great many yokai and demonic beings that crave human flesh and even their souls. From within the demon realm, they constantly watch the mortals in the human realm, looking for an opportunity to strike.

For fragile humans, the human realm itself is their greatest protection. With the exception of a few who are powerful enough, the vast majority of yokai cannot directly cross the boundary between the Human and demon realms to attack people. Most of the time, they can only watch helplessly as delectable humans wander before their eyes, unable to lay a hand on them.

Therefore, if yokai and demonic beings want to harm mortals, they must first make them 'cross the border.'

This 'crossing the border,' according to Tsuruha, means to step over the boundary line between realms. Whether human, yokai, or god, one can interfere with things they normally couldn't by crossing the border.

Generally, aside from a few powerful ones, ordinary yokai don't attack humans by crossing into the human realm. Instead, they lure humans to fall into the demon realm, causing them to lose the protection of their own realm, and then tear them apart with claws and fangs. There are many ways yokai lure humans, but they all share a common key point: creating a karmic connection.

The demon realm and the human realm are two overlapping yet almost non-interfering planes of existence. But if an ordinary human actively establishes a karmic connection with a yokai, they will be bound to that yokai by the chain of karma, inevitably falling into the demon realm, losing the protection of the human realm, and becoming exposed to the yokai.

There are many ways to form a karmic connection, the simplest of which is a single interaction. This is the yokai's favorite trick: luring a human to interact with them. Even a single response, a call, a glance, an indirect touch, or even a moment of fear... all of these can form a karmic connection, large or small, becoming the medium by which a yokai can drag a mortal down. The only difference is the degree of difficulty.

Under the protection of the human realm, the creation of a karmic connection must be initiated by the human. Therefore, what yokai do is essentially to entice. They subtly interfere with the human realm across the boundary line, luring humans to create a karmic connection with them. The twilight hours of dusk and dawn, the 'ōmagatoki,' happen to be when the boundary lines between the three realms of the world are at their thinnest. At these times, the yokai's ability to interfere with the human realm is greatly enhanced. They can make sounds, create illusions, and cast bait, trying every means to get the 'fish' in the human realm to bite.

This time, the yokai lurking on the shrine path was clearly using illusions and sounds to lure passersby into its trap. Saburo, weakened by his illness, had diminished life force and a heightened sensitivity to beings from the demon realm. He also happened to be returning at dusk, making him a perfect target for this yokai.

When she heard about the strange sounds on the shrine path, Miketsu had already suspected that a yokai might be there. After all, she had just learned from Tsuruha that morning about how yokai attack humans, so the connection was natural.

So, with the thought that the yokai couldn't see her anyway and it wouldn't hurt to take a look, Miketsu walked a short way down the shrine path. To her surprise, she saw the very scene of Saburo being bewitched by the yokai.

In her haste, she grabbed Saburo without much thought. This snapped the bewitched boy out of his trance, but it also allowed him to see her.

At this moment, the atmosphere on the shrine path grew even eerier. Saburo looked at the serious expression on Miketsu's face and obediently kept his mouth shut, asking no more questions. Compared to that bizarre face, his intuition told him he should trust this 'miko' who had suddenly appeared.

Seeing Saburo quiet down, Miketsu breathed a small sigh of relief. She prepared to pull him away from there immediately. Her strategy for the yokai behind the tree was to pretend she couldn't see it.

If she had known this would happen, she would have gone to find Tsuruha first. When Miketsu came, Tsuruha was up on the mountain teaching the foxes and wasn't at the shrine.

Although she was now some kind of goddess and should theoretically be able to suppress evil and exorcise demons, she currently had no idea how to use her divine powers. She had no confidence at all in facing a vicious yokai.

So, what she was doing now was pretending to be a passing miko, kindly helping a worshipper who had accidentally lost his way. As for a vicious yokai about to attack a human, she hadn't noticed a thing.

According to Tsuruha, as long as she completely ignored the yokai and didn't form any karmic connection with it, it shouldn't be able to do anything to her. In fact... the yokai shouldn't even be able to see her, who existed in the divine realm.

And so, she pulled Saburo and started walking down the correct path off the mountain.

Watching the scene unfold, the yokai with the eerie face was clearly a bit stunned. It wasn't surprised that its prey, which was almost in its grasp, was being pulled away, but rather by how this white-haired miko could have appeared so suddenly.

In its eyes, Miketsu had simply materialized out of thin air, not having existed anywhere before. Just as mortals couldn't see it, there were things it normally couldn't see either. An ordinary yokai cannot peer into the divine realm...

"A miko...? Strange... strange... a miko who appeared so suddenly... one I've never seen before..."

The yokai muttered to itself in confusion. Hearing this, Miketsu's heart went cold. She knew exactly what those words meant.

That thing can see me now!

In other words, just like Saburo, I've crossed the border now. Does actively making contact with someone who has crossed the border also cause you to cross it?!

I actively interacted with Saburo, and Saburo had actively interacted with that yokai. Did the karmic connections form a chain that dragged me into this?!

At this thought, Miketsu's heart leaped into her throat. At that moment, the yokai behind her was already glaring with malicious intent.

"I don't care anymore. Neither the boy nor the miko will escape... Heh heh, I didn't expect an extra one to deliver herself to my doorstep..."

As it muttered to itself, the teeth on the yokai's bizarre face transformed into sharp fangs.