Divine Favor

Inside the dim tunnel, the brutal evil spirit was completely reduced to ashes under the exploding divine flames. The spectral space constructed by its power collapsed, and the bus, which had been traveling at high speed within the tunnel, suddenly returned to normal space. Looking up, the light at the end of the tunnel was clearly visible ahead.

"Great... we finally made it out... ah!" Seeing this, Keitaro, who had just managed to stand up by grabbing the iron railing, spoke happily. But then, the floor of the vehicle began to shake violently again, and Keitaro nearly fell to the ground because he couldn't keep his balance.

"This is bad... with that evil spirit gone, the bus is out of control!" Seeing this, little Yayoi, who was still lying on the floor, shouted loudly. One had to realize that this bus had been racing through the endless spectral space with immense horsepower for quite a while. The speed the vehicle had accumulated was now extremely high; if it lost control now, the consequences would be unthinkable!

Hearing this, Keitaro, who was closest to the driver's seat, immediately grabbed the steering wheel with his hands. Just as he wanted to step on the brake to stop the bus, he suddenly realized a problem... he didn't know how to drive.

Whenever they went out, it seemed Eiko was always the one driving, and he just sat in the car. Because of the supernatural accidents he had encountered before, he had once isolated himself at home. Looking at the pedals before him now, he had absolutely no idea which was the accelerator and which was the brake.

'Dammit! How do you even drive this thing?!'

At that moment, Keitaro screamed in his heart. From the driver's seat, he could clearly see a sharp turn not far from the tunnel exit. The guardrails and signs on the side of the road told him that beneath the guardrail was a steep slope. If it continued like this, the entire bus would surely crash through the guardrail, plunge down the slope, and everyone would die.

They had just escaped the evil spirit's imprisonment, only to be pushed to the brink of another crisis. Watching the imminent traffic accident unfold before their eyes, everyone on the bus had their hearts in their throats.

'What should I... do...'

Gripping the steering wheel, Keitaro watched the approaching crisis with wide eyes. Panic-stricken and helpless, he had no idea what to do, yet he knew clearly that the lives of everyone on the bus were in his hands.

Just then, a gentle and soft female voice whispered in Keitaro's ear.

'If you don't know what to do... then just try anything...'

'Try anything?'

Hearing the whisper, Keitaro's heart jolted, and a trace of determination appeared between his brows.

That was right—trying anything was better than sitting still and waiting for death!

Gritting his teeth, Keitaro sat firmly in the driver's seat. The moment the bus shot out of the tunnel at high speed, he followed his gut and yanked the steering wheel toward the curve. The entire bus lurched violently as it veered sharply. Eiko and the others were thrown to one side by the inertia of the turn, screaming as they hit the walls.

Under Keitaro's control, the bus exiting the tunnel completed a sharp turn, nearly scraping the roadside guardrail. The friction between the vehicle and the guardrail created a piercing screech and a trail of sparks. Keitaro's sudden turn successfully avoided the fate of plunging down the steep slope. However, because the turn was too wide, the entire bus charged toward the center of the road, smashed through the median guardrail, and began driving against traffic on the downhill lane on the other side.

Hardly had he steadied the steering wheel when a sharp honk sounded in front of him. Keitaro looked up to see a car charging straight toward the bus.

His heart tightened. Keitaro continued to turn the steering wheel, controlling the bus to narrowly miss the car. He knocked its side mirror clean off before continuing to speed forward. Several more cars were approaching in succession ahead of him.

"Dammit!!"

Keitaro roared from the bottom of his lungs as he looked at the oncoming vehicles. Then, his hands began to operate purely by instinct. The clunky bus moved in his hands like a swimming fish, darting left and right, avoiding every single honking vehicle that came his way.

In this manner, a social recluse who didn't even have a driver's license, had barely touched a car, and had only driven in games, drove the bus forward with reckless abandon. With completely chaotic maneuvers, he perfectly avoided dozens of major traffic accidents in a row... As the saying goes, as long as one is lucky enough, no matter how haphazard the operation, one can still hit the mark.

Behind the driver, Eiko and Miko gripped the railings in terror, bracing themselves against the violently shaking interior. Watching Keitaro drive like a madman, Eiko shouted in utter confusion.

"Ke-Keitaro! Since when did you know how to drive?!"

Hearing Eiko's words, little Yayoi watched Keitaro's frantic movements and said in a low voice.

"This isn't driving... this is divine favor..."

After narrowly avoiding another oncoming vehicle, Keitaro's expression froze. He saw a flat lawn appear on one side of the road ahead. He turned the steering wheel toward it while simultaneously stomping on the pedals below as if guessing, and then, with perfect accuracy, he hit the brake.

Accompanied by the piercing sound of tires screeching against the ground, the high-speed bus left long skid marks as it charged toward the railing. After smashing through it, the bus plowed into the lawn. It carved long furrows into the soil, and its speed dropped sharply. Then, just as the entire vehicle nearly flipped over due to the severe tilt from inertia, the bus finally came to a halt. The tilted body leveled out, and the interior gave one last shudder.

And so, after emerging from the evil spirit tunnel and brushing past death dozens of times along the way, the bus finally stopped. Once the shaking ended, a profound silence filled the cabin. Keitaro slumped over the steering wheel with a vacant expression. Eiko and Miko, their spirits shaken, still gripped the railings tightly. Only little Yayoi stood up after a long moment and spoke calmly.

"It stopped..."

"It... it stopped... are we saved?" Eiko still gripped the railing tightly, her eyes wide as she murmured in disbelief. On the other side, Keitaro sat up straight in the driver's seat, looking at the lawn through the shattered windshield and then at the steering wheel in front of him.

"It stopped... we're saved... I, I actually did it..." Gripping the steering wheel, Keitaro's eyes showed a hint of excitement as he whispered.

A young man who had never touched a car had managed to pull off a scene straight out of a movie purely by instinct. Every reckless maneuver had been perfectly accurate. Although his head was spinning, his blind guesses hadn't failed once from start to finish. This was a miracle, a miracle among miracles!

"Could... could it be... that I have the legendary talent of a God of Driving?" Keitaro said excitedly, looking at his hands.

Meanwhile, little Yayoi's gaze was fixed intently on the space beside Keitaro. Her skull-shaped pupils contracted. At this moment, she concentrated all her attention, pushing her spiritual vision to its absolute limit.

Then, beside Keitaro, she saw a hazy, golden phantom.

"I see it... this feeling is..."

Just as little Yayoi was slowly murmuring, the extremely hazy golden phantom suddenly vanished into nothingness. This sight caused her heart to jolt.

Even after pushing her spiritual vision to such an extreme, she still couldn't witness it clearly? Just what kind of existence was standing there...

Yayoi whispered in her heart. She was realizing that she was attempting to peer at a high-level existence that she could not comprehend.

"Forgive my rudeness... please excuse me..."

Decisively turning off her spiritual vision, Yayoi whispered and immediately bowed slowly toward the front. Seeing this, Eiko and Keitaro couldn't help but look on in shock.

What was wrong with Yayoi? Was there something else in this bus?

Seeing Yayoi act this way, a chill ran through Keitaro and Eiko's hearts. They had never seen Yayoi take such a low posture. Usually, no matter how powerful an evil spirit she faced, she could confront it calmly without fear, even standing her ground before deities. Yet now, Yayoi was showing such a demeanor.

Did she see something?! Following Yayoi's lead, Keitaro also looked in terror toward the direction she had been staring. However, though he possessed some spiritual vision, he could see nothing at all, which only intensified the chill in his heart.

'Did this child... sense that Lord?' Miko, standing nearby, was also stunned by Yayoi's actions. Just as Yayoi was bowing respectfully, a soft voice sounded in her ear.

"What a child with remarkable talent..."

As the whisper faded, Yayoi felt a slight warmth spread through her body. A sense of comfort rippled through her and then slowly dissipated. Feeling this comfort, Yayoi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in her heart before standing up from the floor.

"Thank you for your forgiveness..." Yayoi said respectfully. When facing a high-level existence that was beyond comprehension, absolute and sincere respect was necessary.

Just as everyone was feeling confused by Yayoi's behavior, the sound of sirens suddenly wailed in the distance. The sound made everyone jump, and they suddenly realized something.

A public bus had not only been speeding but had also smashed through guardrails and driven against traffic for a long distance. After scraping countless vehicles and crashing off the road, it would be strange if no one had called the police.

"If you don't want to be caught by the police and treated like terrorists, you'd better leave now." A familiar, soft whisper echoed in Miko's ears. Hearing this, Miko looked down at the rocket launcher in her hand and shuddered.

"Everyone, I'm taking my leave first..."

Without chatting much with the comrades she had just fought alongside, Miko immediately packed the rifle and rocket launcher into two hand-carried cases and hopped off the bus to make her escape. The remaining trio looked at each other and also immediately set off to vanish from the scene.

...

As the sun set and night fell, after a long run, Yayoi and the other two finally distanced themselves from the scene of the incident. Amidst heavy breathing, they arrived at a nearby parking lot.

"Whew... whew... finally got away... if the police caught us, it would be a mountain of trouble..." Keitaro said while panting, setting down little Yayoi, whom he had been carrying on his back.

"Whew... regardless, we're finally completely safe. It's a pity we couldn't catch any powerful evil spirits this time..." Eiko said, wiping sweat from her forehead. Hearing her words, Keitaro shot her a look.

"Forget it... we're lucky to be alive. Don't even think about catching evil spirits... they were all wiped out by that violent miko." Thinking of the miko who used firearms, Keitaro felt a lingering fear, but also a slight sense of security. It turned out that in this dangerous hidden world, there were other powerful exorcists besides them... even if their methods were a bit unexpected.

"Ah, right... Yayoi, what happened to you on the bus earlier? Did you see something?" Eiko asked curiously, looking at little Yayoi. She had truly never seen Yayoi act like that before.

Hearing Eiko's question, little Yayoi paused for a moment. She remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking.

"I... think I saw a god..."

"A... a deity?" Keitaro asked in surprise. Yayoi replied in a heavy tone.

"Yes... and no... It seemed to have the nature of a deity, but it was completely different from the gods I've encountered before... In short, I cannot describe its existence, cannot understand it, and cannot see it clearly...

"It is not on the same level as the gods I've seen before, or even Kuwago... Fortunately, it is a benevolent existence. Otherwise, my reckless peering might have caused immeasurable consequences..."

As Yayoi finished her murmur, the scene fell into silence. The expressions on Eiko and Keitaro's faces froze. After a long moment, they both swallowed hard.

"Does... such an existence really exist in this world?"

"Why... would such an existence appear on that bus?"

Hearing these questions, Yayoi thought for a moment and added.

"I think... it probably has something to do with that Rambo Miko... We might be able to find her. If we can establish a connection, it might help our future actions..." Yayoi said slowly. Keitaro and Eiko nodded slowly, while simultaneously complaining in their hearts about the name 'Rambo Miko'.

"Alright, it's getting late. Let's talk more when we get back. I'll go get the car out first," Eiko said directly. They had specifically come looking for the cursed bus this time, so they had parked nearby and walked to the legendary bus stop.

Hearing Eiko's words, Keitaro's eyes suddenly lit up. Seeing Eiko holding the keys and preparing to get the car, Keitaro waved and shouted.

"Hey! Eiko! Can I drive on the way back? I just realized I have a real talent for driving!" Keitaro shouted loudly. Hearing his words, Eiko was stunned.

"You... drive?"

Seeing this, little Yayoi wanted to say something, but after thinking it over, she kept her mouth shut.

...

Five minutes later.

By a utility pole on the side of the parking lot road, a small car was crashed. The front of the car was completely dented by the pole, and steam drifted out from within. Keitaro was struggling and muffled under the pressure of the airbag, while Eiko was frantically trying to rescue him. Little Yayoi, who hadn't even gotten into the car, watched all this from the side and nodded silently.

"Confirmed. That was indeed divine favor..."