Watching the red threads of Itomori Town's guardian deity dancing jubilantly in mid-air, Hina Amano shook her head helplessly before replying to the elderly woman.
"What you said... does make sense."
"That's just how all things in this world are."
The elderly woman spoke slowly with deep emotion.
"Deities are only called deities because humans define them as such. If something truly exists that uses weather to threaten living sacrifices, then no matter what it calls itself, it ultimately remains evil."
Hearing these words from the elderly woman, Hina Amano's mood improved slightly.
Yet when she looked at the bizarre weather outside, her hands unconsciously tightened around the hem of her clothes, her face showing clear tension and worry.
The elderly woman brought over a steaming cup of tea, placed it in Hina Amano's hands, noticed her expression, and said with a smile.
"Your boyfriend went out?"
At the term "boyfriend," Hina Amano's cheeks flushed slightly. In the end, she didn't offer any explanation, simply nodding.
"Mhm..."
"Are you worried about him?"
"Yes..."
"Don't worry. Though the weather is strange, the rain isn't heavy. Nothing will happen."
Hina Amano sighed softly, thinking to herself that her concern wasn't about the dangers brought by the weather.
Rather, it was about the existence represented by this extraordinarily bizarre weather.
Ye Xing must... already be confronting that being by now...
Hina Amano knew Ye Xing was powerful—the strongest psychic she had ever seen. But exorcism wasn't a game; there were no clear numerical values, no hundred percent guarantees. Any battle carried risks.
"But..."
The elderly woman glanced at the clock on the wall, then suddenly looked puzzled.
"What's he doing going out so late at night?"
"Um..."
Hina Amano hadn't expected the elderly woman to wake up suddenly. Besides, she wasn't good at lying and was completely unprepared. After freezing for a few seconds, she could only come up with a clumsy excuse.
"He... went out to buy something."
"Buy something?"
The elderly woman frowned slightly, muttering.
"Late at night, in this remote wilderness... what could be so urgent to buy..."
Halfway through her sentence, the elderly woman seemed to realise something suddenly. She gave Hina Amano a meaningful glance, then turned and walked behind the counter, retrieved a small box, and came back, placing it in Hina Amano's hand.
Hina Amano looked down at the small box, her expression confused.
"This is..."
The elderly woman wore an inscrutable expression, patted the back of Hina Amano's hand, and chuckled.
"I know you young people are shy and embarrassed to ask. Though this inn is a bit old, we keep up with the times. We have these things prepared. I'm going to sleep now. You two remember to be moderate, alright."
With that, the elderly woman yawned, rubbed her eyes, and turned to leave.
Hina Amano examined the small box, completely unable to tell what it was.
"I'll ask Ye Xing when he gets back..."
...
Meanwhile, on a country road.
"Three."
Holding Onimaru Kunitsuna, Ye Xing vertically sliced a paper umbrella-wielding divine messenger in half from head to toe, then devoured them into his stomach.
The remaining divine messengers, witnessing this terrifying scene, instinctively retreated two steps before raising their hands to aim at him once more.
Boom!
Several heavenly bolts descended from the clouds, striking Ye Xing's body directly.
"Is that all?"
After the lightning faded, Ye Xing remained standing perfectly intact.
It wasn't that he was unharmed - quite the opposite. Having endured multiple lightning strikes head-on, even with his physical resilience, he had sustained severe injuries.
The black coat formed by evil spirit power was pierced through, leaving severely charred burn marks across his body's surface.
Even from behind the black mask, two thin streams of crimson blood seeped from his eyes, staining the mask's white smile pattern with a vivid red hue, creating an even more eerie and maddened impression.
The divine messengers watched as Ye Xing's severe surface injuries healed at a visible rate.
Within mere two or three seconds, the black, viscous evil spirit power had filled the gaps in the black coat, making him appear completely uninjured.
Only the blood-stained white smile pattern on the black mask remained as proof that what had just occurred wasn't an illusion.
"Continue."
Ye Xing raised Onimaru Kunitsuna's blade, still coated with the blood-like golden spiritual power from the divine messenger he had just slain.
He swallowed the remaining traces of spiritual power, his voice carrying laughter, though his eyes remained utterly emotionless as he gazed at the standing divine messengers.
"Let's have a competition."
"Let's see whether you can kill me faster, or I can devour you all quicker?"
Seeing three of his divine messengers already consumed, representing three hundred years of effort destroyed in an instant, the Weather God, hidden within the clouds, finally lost his patience.
A massive whale composed of rainwater, accompanied by clear, melodious calls, materialised again in the sky.
Outwardly, it resembled the previous whale in size, perhaps even slightly smaller.
But if Miko Yotsuya, Mai Sakurajima, Rio Futaba, Yui Yuigahama, or even Oda Noto with his weaker spiritual power or the Divine Godmother were present, they would clearly see that within this whale's transparent form flowed not ordinary rainwater.
But a raging, turbulent river of golden spiritual power.
"ROAR!!!"
Following the thunderous roar, the whale leapt from the sky, its massive body, infused with high-intensity spiritual power, descending like a cannonball toward Ye Xing, who stood on the ground.
"So this is the strongest strike..."
Facing the enormous whale charging toward him, Ye Xing considered only one thing.
How to devour every last bit of spiritual power contained within, leaving not even a trace for the Weather God, thereby depleting the opponent's power to the greatest extent possible.
Ye Xing didn't ponder long before reaching his decision.
He sheathed Onimaru Kunitsuna at his waist. The evil spirit power formed a ring-like circle on his ring finger, from which a sharp blade sprang forth with just a slight flick of his thumb.
The black blade cut the area of his thumb.
Golden lightning descended from the sky at a speed faster than the falling giant whale.
...
"That is!?"
Hina Amano, sitting at the hotel entrance, also saw this flash of golden lightning crossing the sky.
Among all members of the Supernatural Society, only she and Yui Yuigahama had personally witnessed the state when Ye Xing unleashed his Soul Materialisation power.
Even though she had only seen it once, Hina Amano could never forget the scene that occurred after that golden lightning flashed for the rest of her life.
"Does it really need to come to this..."
Hina Amano frowned deeply, her lips pressed tightly together, her face showing tension and worry as her hands unconsciously clenched together, murmuring to herself.
"You must come back safely..."
...
Meanwhile.
"How amusing."
The giant whale, which had nearly reached the ground, paused momentarily upon seeing a dazzling golden light, then immediately began swimming toward the sky upon seeing the human transform into a towering giant over ten meters tall.
Its reaction was swift.
Unfortunately, not swift enough.
"Trying to escape?"
Just as the giant whale attempted to swim away, its tail was caught by the palm of Ye Xing's massive form.
The next moment, an abyssal maw bit into its body.
The rain-composed, massive body ruptured, releasing the viscous golden spiritual power it contained.
"Oh? Spiritual power jam bread? Quite interesting."
Ye Xing paid no attention to the whale's cries of agony, after all, as the saying goes.
No talking while eating, no speaking while sleeping.
When it comes to eating, speed is paramount.
He quickly devoured the whale—with its rainwater exterior and spiritual power-filled interior—directly into his stomach.
During this process, the Weather God hidden within the clouds was driven nearly mad by the pain.
The whale was composed of part of his spiritual power.
The sensation was like watching his own left hand being eaten alive by someone.
The pain was secondary.
What truly mattered was Ye Xing's thoroughly enjoying attitude, treating this self-proclaimed deity as nothing but food.
Having lived for centuries, he had never encountered such a human before!!!
Is this creature truly human?
Without the slightest hesitation, the Weather God immediately issued a recall command to his divine messengers on the ground.
Lost spiritual power could gradually be replenished over time.
But if the divine messengers died, they would never return.
He understood which was more important.
A radiant, seven-coloured channel bloomed within the thick clouds.
The divine messengers holding paper umbrellas rapidly ascended from the ground, floating upward along the channel toward the sky.
Just as the divine messengers approached the clouds, safely distant from the human-transformed giant on the ground and about to return to their domain, the Weather God breathed a sigh of relief—only to witness an astonishing scene.
The giant on the ground, originally only ten metres tall, suddenly swelled in size, growing to a hundred metres tall in the blink of an eye. Its enormous hand reached out and directly seized the divine messengers who now appeared as small as ants in comparison.
The tattered paper umbrellas drifted down from high above.
Crunch... crunch...
Accompanied by distinctly audible chewing sounds, the Weather God nearly fainted upon seeing the golden spiritual power flowing like blood from the colossal giant's mouth.
The divine messengers he had spent nearly a thousand years creating - beings capable of directly interfering with the mortal world...
Had all been devoured in less than ten minutes.
This heavy fact made the Weather God feel as though he couldn't breathe.
Just then, something even more terrifying occurred.
After devouring the divine messengers, the giant formed by Ye Xing didn't stop there. Instead, it quickly extended both hands and grasped the entrance of the rainbow-coloured passage.
Though its appearance had completely transformed into that of a monster, those black pupils remained utterly unchanged, fixed solely on the world above these clouds. Its voice held no trace of amusement as it slowly spoke.
"So this is the place."
These simple words alone made this weather-controlling god experience unprecedented terror.
He cared not for the divine messengers' fate, nor for the spiritual power he had left in the outside world that remained unrecovered, directly attempting to close the rainbow-coloured luminous passage.
The rainbow-like radiance flickered, yet the passage's opening did not immediately seal shut.
Because Ye Xing's hands were straining forcefully against it, even pushing the opening wider.
The Weather God was so terrified that sweat poured down his back, immediately using all his strength in an attempt to close the rainbow-coloured passage.
After several seconds of stalemate, the passage's entrance gradually closed.
In the final remaining slit were Ye Xing's utterly emotionless, indifferent eyes.
'I can't enter this time, but next time, I will definitely get in.'
After the rainbow-coloured passage fully closed, the Weather God stared at the passage entrance where ten severed fingers remained firmly gripping the interior surface, his entire spirit thoroughly unsettled.
Recalling what had just transpired, he was already drenched in cold sweat, his heart filled with profound fear.
What surfaced in his mind were Ye Xing's eyes.
'This guy... is simply a monster...'
...
Meanwhile, Ye Xing dispelled his giant form, his black overcoat and pure black mask transforming into black flames that dissipated into the air.
The only abnormality left on the road was the significantly deeper accumulated water compared to elsewhere. Beyond this, no traces remained whatsoever, completely obscuring any evidence of the fierce confrontation that had just occurred between history's strongest exorcist and a deity.
The outcome was humanity's victory.
'Next time...'
Ye Xing raised his head, gazing at the gradually dispersing clouds in the sky, revealing a slight smile.
'When I catch you, you won't like what happens.'
...
Five minutes later, at the hotel entrance.
Seeing the figure ahead, Hina Amano froze for a moment, then stood up and, disregarding her bare feet, stepped into the accumulated water on the ground, running forward.
"You... you're back..."
Only when she got closer did Hina Amano belatedly realise that, even if she reached Ye Xing, she probably couldn't do something like hug him or give him a long, deep kiss like in television dramas.
After all, the two were just friends from the same club... not particularly close ones at that.
If Mai-senpai, Futaba, Miko, or those other girls were here...
They could probably do what she couldn't...
"Of course I'd come back."
Ye Xing smiled and nodded.
"Let's go to Itomori Town tomorrow."
"Okay."
Hina Amano obediently nodded, not asking further questions.
There was nothing to ask.
Since Ye Xing had returned now and appeared uninjured, this meant the weather-controlling deity had been defeated.
As for the battle's process...
For some reason, thinking of this, an image suddenly surfaced in Hina Amano's mind: Ye Xing wearing a napkin tied around his neck, sitting at a dining table, holding a lamb shank in his left hand and a roast suckling pig in his right, devouring the food with great relish, his face full of enjoyment.
"Pfft."
This mental image amused Hina Amano, and she couldn't help laughing aloud.
"By the way, have you drunk any water?"
Hearing Ye Xing's sudden question, Hina Amano froze momentarily, puzzled.
"Haven't drunk any, why?"
"Oh, nothing."
Ye Xing wore a half-smiling expression as he lowered his voice.
"I just thought, based on what just happened, you must have lost quite a lot of fluids. Your body urgently needs rehydration."
"Rehydration?"
Hina Amano was initially confused, but after a few seconds, she realised what Ye Xing meant by fluid loss. Her face flushed bright red with embarrassment as she punched his shoulder, torn between shame and anger.
"You... you... really..."
"No need to feel ashamed."
By the time they reached the room door, Ye Xing was already waving his hand dismissively with a laugh, speaking in a completely serious tone.
"As a beginner, losing to a powerful opponent like me - even losing that badly - is perfectly normal."
Hina Amano stamped her foot in frustration, gritting her teeth.
"You're still going on about that!?"
Ye Xing opened the door, asking with a smile.
"Shall we continue?"
"Wh-what do you mean continue..."
Just as Hina Amano was speaking, she suddenly noticed something.
Her expression changed in shock, and without thinking, she grabbed Ye Xing's hands.
"Your... your fingers..."
"Oh, this."
Ye Xing glanced down at his ten severed fingers, completely unconcerned.
"It's nothing serious, doesn't matter."
"How can this not matter!?"
Hina Amano pulled him into the room, first closing the door before retaking his hands, pressing her lips together with a complicated expression.
"You've lost your fingers - this is a disability! What are we going to do?"
"Oh, right."
Ye Xing nodded as if remembering something.
"Without fingers, we can't continue our earlier battle. But we weren't using fingers anyway, so we can still continue."
"You..."
Looking at Ye Xing's hands with ten severed fingers and hearing his usual flippant tone, Hina Amano felt both heartache and helplessness. She sighed.
"At a time like this, you're still acting crazy. Without fingers, what will you do in the future..."
A strong sense of guilt suddenly washed over Hina Amano.
If not for her... Ye Xing's fingers wouldn't have been severed; he wouldn't have become disabled like this.
What should they do now?
How could she repay this debt?
Offer herself? Take care of him for the rest of his life?
Just as Hina Amano's thoughts were running wild, she suddenly saw a thick black Qi covering the severed parts of Ye Xing's fingers.
In less than two seconds, ten fingers reappeared as if they had never been severed.
"You... this..."
Seeing Hina Amano's shocked expression, Ye Xing just smiled indifferently.
"The tools are back now. Shall we continue?"