Demon-Slaying

The ordinary bus had been transformed into an alien space under the influence of numerous evil spirits. Affected by the dense yin energy, the interior of the vehicle had become a ghostly domain.

A chilling frost diffused everywhere. The lights on the ceiling began to flicker and jump amidst the sound of electrical static. Within the space of constantly shifting light, heavy shadows of ghosts emerged.

The once-empty bus was now crowded. Various ghostly figures sat in the seats and stood in the aisles, all with their backs turned toward Keitaro and the others in the back row. Seeing this number of spirits, the trio’s mouths hung open in shock.

"You... you've got to be kidding me! This number of evil spirits is just too much... Little Yayoi... this..." Keitaro, the black-haired young man, looked at the purple-haired girl beside him and spoke in a daze. Clearly, in this trio, the medium girl named Yayoi was the main force against the supernatural, while the other two were supporters.

"Yes, this number is indeed unexpected. More than thirty evil spirits. I admit my preparations this time were severely lacking," Yayoi said slowly as she looked at the numerous spirits. Her words sent a chill through Keitaro and Eiko’s hearts; if their main fighter was saying this, then they were truly in danger.

Though they had encountered many crises before, the exceptionally powerful Yayoi had always been able to handle them in the end. However, the intensity of this crisis clearly far exceeded their expectations.

Just as Keitaro and Eiko were falling into despair, the bus full of evil spirits began to move.

Whether sitting in the seats or standing in the aisles, the numerous ghostly figures facing away from the trio turned their heads at the same time. Without their bodies rotating at all, their heads spun one hundred and eighty degrees. Every single one of them wore a hideous grin, their mouths splitting almost to their ears. Thirty-some eerie, smiling faces on backs stared at the three people at the end of the bus. Instantly, the psychological pressure on Keitaro and Eiko skyrocketed, and they couldn't help but scream.

At the same time, using their heads as a pivot, the bodies of the evil spirits snapped forward to align. They opened their ear-splitting grins into terrifying maws and pounced toward the trio en masse.

Seeing this, Little Yayoi grabbed a handful of salt from her backpack and threw it forward. White crystals scattered through the air. The spirits at the forefront shrieked as they were hit by the salt, their movements stuttering. Seizing this opportunity, Little Yayoi threw a plush doll. In mid-air, a cloud of purple-black mist erupted from the doll, forming a fat evil spirit over two meters tall, holding a kitchen knife and wearing a paper bag over its head.

Raising its blood-stained kitchen knife, the spirit Yayoi released instantly decapitated the foremost evil spirit, which dissipated amidst a shriek. However, even more spirits took the chance to crawl onto the bulky body of the kitchen knife spirit and began to bite frantically. Yayoi’s spirit roared as it tore them off, but for every one it removed, more pounced on.

Clearly, while Yayoi’s kitchen knife spirit was individually stronger than the average spirit on the bus, it still couldn't withstand their sheer numbers. It was only a matter of time before it was overwhelmed.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side, Miko in the front seats also realized things were getting increasingly wrong.

Originally, she thought that if she just pretended not to see the many spirits suddenly appearing around her—just like before—she could bluff her way through. But in reality, after pretending for a while, she sensed that something was off.

The freezing air around her grew denser. The drop in temperature made her tremble involuntarily. The flickering ceiling lights brought hallucinatory flashes, and the music in her headphones became incredibly noisy as the electrical static grew stronger. A grinning ghostly face leaned in so close it was almost looking directly into her eyes.

Unlike the illusory feeling of ghosts in the past, Miko felt an unprecedented sense of physical presence from the entities surrounding her now.

'What’s going on? Why do these guys feel different from the ones before?!'

Miko, still pretending not to see, screamed in her heart. The fear filling her soul had nowhere to go. Although she sensed the abnormality of the spirits compared to what she usually encountered, as an ordinary high school girl, she had no way to deal with it.

Other than pretending not to see, what could she do? She could do nothing...

Amidst her overwhelming fear, Miko felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

At that moment, the evil spirit in front of her finally tore its grinning mouth wide open and pounced toward her with a roar. Miko’s pupils dilated sharply.

Is it... impossible to keep pretending?

Just as Miko felt her heart was about to stop beating, the giant ghostly face in front of her suddenly froze. It remained rigid in its original posture, motionless. The ceiling lights stopped flickering, and both the music and the noise in her headphones ceased simultaneously.

The world, in this moment, had stagnated...

The vehicle racing through the endless tunnel stopped. All the spirits were frozen in their current actions. Even the trio in the back, on the verge of collapse, were fixed in their final struggle against the evil spirits. In this entire space, only Miko remained, trembling slightly as she looked at the ghostly face before her.

"This... what... what happened?" Miko murmured in shock as she looked at the ghostly head frozen less than half a meter from her face. The continuous string of anomalies left her completely at a loss. Everything happening before her was far beyond her range of understanding.

Just then, a familiar voice sounded beside her.

"We only just parted ways a short while ago, and yet you've run into this kind of trouble..."

Hearing that familiar voice, Miko’s eyes seemed to go even wider. She snapped her head around to look beside her. There, sitting leisurely in the seat next to her, was a young girl.

"Fushimi... Inaba?!" Miko’s mouth opened and closed as she murmured. She recognized her clearly; the girl before her was the same Fushimi Inaba she had met just this afternoon. The difference was that Inaba was no longer wearing a school uniform, but a red and white miko outfit. Furthermore, her hair had turned white, and her pitch-black eyes had shifted to a crimson red.

"We meet again, Yotsuya Miko... I was wondering when we would reunite, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. Fate is always so fickle when left to its own devices, wouldn't you agree?"

Within the stagnant space, Miketsu sat in the seat next to Miko. She looked at the stunned girl beside her with a smile, completely ignoring the bus full of monsters.

"Inaba... Fushimi Inaba... It really is you! You really can see these ghosts! That big guy from before was definitely burned by you! You were the one who released that golden fire!"

Seeing Miketsu appear at this moment, Miko spoke loudly after a long daze, as if she had found a savior. She couldn't help but lean over and grab Miketsu’s hand, not even stopping to think about how the girl had suddenly appeared beside her.

"You... you're here to save me, right!"

Holding the girl’s hand tightly, Miko trembled with excitement. Finding a savior in her moment of crisis, her eyes filled with tears. Having witnessed the burning of the ghosts, she knew the girl before her definitely had a way to escape this predicament.

Facing the ecstatic Miko, Miketsu unhurriedly crossed her legs and responded with a calm expression.

"Yes, I am indeed here to save you. However, before I do, I want to ask you a question."

"Eh... what question?" Hearing Miketsu’s words, Miko asked in confusion. Miketsu responded bluntly.

"You possess a very powerful talent for seeing ghosts. Situations like today will only become more frequent in the future. Not all spirits can be avoided by pretending not to see them. The next time you fall into such a crisis... do you still intend to rely on others to save you?"

Miko paused for a moment, then slowly spoke in a daze.

"You... what do you mean..."

"My meaning is simple. Do you want to use your own power to oppose these spirits? Not through self-deception, not by relying on others, but being able to resist the threats from the demon realm with your own will," Miketsu continued casually. Her words clearly stirred Miko’s emotions. Miko opened her mouth and said excitedly.

"Of course... of course I do!" Miko spoke honestly. Having the talent to see ghosts, she had lived in fear for far too long. Living in panic every day, she desperately needed power that could provide a sense of security.

Hearing Miko’s words, Miketsu’s smile remained unchanged. She reached out toward Miko and said,

"Is that so? Then... sign a contract with me and become an Inari Miko!"

Hearing Miketsu’s words, Miko was stunned again for a moment. After repeatedly mulling over the girl’s words, she spoke in shock.

"Become an Inari Miko... You, you are..."

"Ah, me... I am but a deity, one of the thousands of Inari Okami spread across this country. Since I've only just taken office, I need a miko. It just so happens that you, with your talent for seeing ghosts, are quite suitable."

"A deity... Inari Okami..." With wide eyes, Miko swallowed hard, her overloaded brain struggling to accept the series of events unfolding.

"So, decide quickly. Are you willing to become a miko of Inari? If you aren't, I will resolve this current crisis for you. You'll get home safely, but you might encounter similar situations in the future. If you are willing, I will grant you power, allowing you to personally dissolve these ghosts."

Miketsu finished speaking and then fell silent, quietly watching Miko and waiting for her answer. It didn't take long before the other girl nodded solemnly and gave the answer Miketsu expected.

"So that I can get a good night's sleep in the future... I'm willing..."

"Heh, then let's not waste any time. I've already brought the standard equipment for an Inari Miko. Familiarize yourself with it now."

"Miko... equipment?" Hearing Miketsu’s words, Miko’s mind recalled scenes from TV of performing dances with kagura suzu for blessings or using an azusa bow to exorcise demons. She spoke to Miketsu with some anxiety.

"B-but I don't know how to dance, and I don't know archery..."

"Don't worry. I will grant you the corresponding blessings to use this equipment. Besides, with this gear, you don't need to know how to dance or use a bow..."

As Miketsu spoke, she pulled a long alloy briefcase from under her seat. It was engraved with exquisite rice patterns and a sharp, angular fox mark surrounded by a circle of five-pointed stars. Beneath the mark, a line of characters was inscribed.

'Inari Military Industry.'

...

The stagnation of time would not be perceived. At this moment, the trio of Yayoi and the others were hiding behind the kitchen knife spirit, relying on one ghost to fight others to stall for time. Fortunately, because they were at the very back of the bus, the spirits could only attack from the front, allowing Yayoi’s powerful spirit to block the assault... for now.

Thump, thump, thump!!

Just as Keitaro was watching the mutual slaughter between the spirits in terror, a series of dull thumping sounds rang out by his ear. He turned his face in shock and found that one bloody handprint after another was appearing on the window beside him. By now, they covered the entire glass.

"W-what..."

In Keitaro’s despairing gaze, an invisible force threw open the bus window beside him. Pale hands frantically reached in from the darkness outside like a blooming flower of pale horror. A human head with bleeding eyes emerged from the center of the pale arms, like the bud at the center of a flower.

At the same time, Yayoi’s kitchen knife spirit could no longer withstand the siege. It was torn apart and dissipated by the numerous spirits, and the front line of defense collapsed.

"It's over..."

Seeing that they were caught in a pincer attack from multiple sides, Keitaro couldn't help but murmur in despair.

Bang!

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion echoed through the entire bus. Accompanied by a flash of fire, the flower of limbs crawling in through the window and pouncing toward Keitaro’s group suddenly erupted into a mist of blood. The head within it exploded directly in front of Keitaro, and the entire bizarre spirit rapidly dissipated in a twist of energy.

The violent sound shook the whole bus. Keitaro, Yayoi, and Eiko—along with every evil spirit in the vehicle—simultaneously looked toward the source of the noise. Then, they witnessed a scene that left the trio in total shock.

A black-haired girl dressed in a red and white miko outfit was standing straight there. She wore large, orange-yellow glasses over her eyes and a receiver-like device on her ear. In her hands, she gripped a black object.

A stock, a receiver, a muzzle, a heat shield, sights, a magazine... In the eyes of the trio, no matter how they looked at it, the black object in the miko’s hands was a gun... and an assault rifle at that!

"A... miko...?"

"A rifle...?"

Keitaro and Eiko watched this extremely discordant scene, their lips twitching as they voiced their disbelief. Meanwhile, Little Yayoi nodded in understanding and spoke slowly.

"I see. So this is your way of demon-slaying?"

Looking at the predictive aiming reticle appearing on her glasses, Miko, dressed in her miko outfit, pulled the trigger. The pitch-black assault rifle roared as it fired, held firmly by her petite frame. Demon-slaying bullets sprayed out from the golden muzzle flash. Before the spirits on the bus could even react, their heads were shattered, their limbs severed, and holes were punched through their torsos.

Holding down the trigger, the newly appointed Inari Miko began a wanton strafing run on this bus laden with evil spirits, exterminating the wicked under a hail of gunfire.

Deep within the divine realm, Miketsu watched this scene from the bus and couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.

"As I thought... this thing is much easier to use than a bow and arrow..."