"First place!"
The moment she climbed the twenty or thirty steps and passed through the old torii gate, Chika spread her arms and loudly declared her victory.
The two of them had walked all the way up the mountain path and had finally arrived at the dilapidated Nishikida Shrine.
"Though, tests of courage don't have rankings~ hehe!"
"This shrine is more impressive than I imagined."
Ruri was quite surprised as she walked up. Although the shrine before them had clearly not been maintained for years, its size and the foundational structure of the main building spoke of its former prosperity.
The moonlight was now obscured by dark clouds, and the surroundings were dim. Only a few dilapidated stone lanterns in front of the shrine emitted a faint light, barely revealing the shrine's silhouette under the shroud of night.
Light?
Ruri asked in a low voice, "Chika, did you arrange for anyone to be waiting here at the shrine?"
"Hm?"
Chika was taken aback, but then she followed Ruri's gaze and understood.
"No, but Ryu-chan brought a lot of people over. It must have been the priests who lit them."
But the shrine was far too quiet; it didn't seem like anyone was there. Ruri pressed her lips together, not voicing her concerns to Chika.
"It's so quiet, huh?" Chika looked around, she too sensed something was off.
Just then, she vaguely saw a figure standing on the stone steps before the shrine's entrance in the distance. Its silhouette was blurry but its form was slender, looking just like Ryu.
"Ryu-chan!" Chika's eyes lit up, and she immediately waved and shouted, "How did you get here first?"
Just as she was about to step forward, Ruri suddenly grabbed her wrist, the force so strong it made her stumble.
"Wait!" Ruri's voice was low and urgent, carrying a rare hint of nervousness.
"What's wrong?" Chika asked, confused. "Ruri-chan?"
"I should be asking you what's wrong... Who are you greeting?"
"Ryu-chan!"
"Get a hold of yourself, Fujiwara Chika."
The maid took a deep breath. Her already fair face, illuminated by the faint light, seemed to be coated in a layer of sallow wax, her expression appearing somewhat stiff.
"In the direction you're looking, there's no one in my line of sight!"
"...Huh?"
Chika froze, but the instant Ruri's words fell, a sudden gust of wind swept through the mountains!
The leaves rustled violently, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees in an instant as the strong current lifted the hair from their faces. The wind made Chika instinctively narrow her eyes, and in the haze, she thought she saw something—a black shadow, rushing towards them at high speed!
"Get out of the way!" The maid had noticed it too. She yanked Chika hard as the black shadow shrieked past them, stumbling down the platform with a piercing scream.
Oink! Oink!
Thump!
The heavy body tumbled down the steps, the sound growing more distant.
"...A wild boar?" Still shaken, Chika clutched her chest. "I didn't get a clear look, but it sounded like one."
"It's a wild boar, but..." Ruri hesitated.
Could Chika really have mistaken such a beast for Ryu?
OIIIINK!!!
A high-pitched squeal echoed, sending a chill down their spines.
"Is that boar coming back?"
Ruri hesitated for a moment, but ultimately turned on her flashlight and led Chika forward.
However, they didn't enter the main hall—the place where the "figure" had appeared—but instead fumbled their way into a side hall.
Inside, the shrine was even more dilapidated than it looked from the outside. The wooden floorboards creaked, and the air was filled with a damp, musty smell. Ruri pulled Chika into a side room and quickly shut the rickety paper door.
"Thud!" A muffled sound came from outside, as if something had crashed heavily into one of the shrine's pillars.
From the sound of it, it did seem to be the wild boar, which brought Ruri some relief—wild animals were much easier to deal with than ghosts and ghouls.
Chika hadn't yet recovered, her heart pounding wildly. Hearing the boar still lingering outside, she subconsciously reached for her phone to contact Ryu, only to find it gone.
"Oh no, I dropped my phone... It must have been when the wind picked up."
Chika whispered the bad news in Ruri's ear. Ruri, however, was calm. She had already taken out her own phone, planning to call for someone to deal with the boar.
Just as she took it out, the screen suddenly lit up. The two girls held their breath, their hearts skipping a beat.
Thankfully, there was no notification sound. It wasn't LINE, but her work email.
[Where are you? Do you need help?]
"..." The two looked at each other, momentarily speechless.
"How does Ryu-chan know our current situation?" Chika's voice was barely a whisper.
"Well, who made him my master~"
Fearing they might alert the boar running around outside, they deliberately kept their voices low, straining their ears to listen to the sounds outside.
Ruri quickly typed out a message in reply. All that was left was to wait.
The sound of the wind outside gradually subsided, replaced by an eerie silence, as if even the chirping of insects had vanished.
"Hnff, hnff~"
Outside the shrine, the moonlight finally pierced through the clouds, casting its glow upon the ruined courtyard.
The massive beast stood on the platform, its tusks menacing, its heavy breaths puffing out faint white mist.
The two girls hadn't been wrong; the thing that charged them was indeed just a wild boar, a rather large one at that, now wandering around the shrine grounds. But from its frantic state, it seemed less like it was searching for something and more like a giant, headless fly, running around unable to find a way out.
As the surroundings grew quieter, it became increasingly agitated, anxiously pawing at the ground with its hooves, powerful enough to tear up even the bluestone-paved ground.
The moonlight shone on its body, casting a somewhat more slender shadow on the ground.
Suddenly, that shadow began to twist bizarrely!
"...Eh?" Peeking through a slit in the paper door, Chika and Ruri stared wide-eyed at the scene outside, their faces pale with fright.
The boar's shadow, as if being torn apart by some invisible force, suddenly stretched and contorted. Its outline gradually sharpened—and finally, it transformed into a human figure!
Vwoom!
The flames within the stone lanterns flared up, illuminating the courtyard scene more clearly. And the shadow became clearer than ever before—it seemed to have "stood up."
The human-shaped shadow seemed to be holding a two-handed longsword, its stance sharp, like an ancient warrior. In the next second, the shadow swung violently through the air.
Swish—!
A sharp sound, as if a blade was cutting through the air, seemed to echo. The boar let out a blood-curdling squeal. Its massive body was useless as its head was cleanly severed from its neck!
"—!"
Chika gasped, nearly crying out. Ruri immediately covered her mouth, and Chika reflexively covered Ruri's. They pressed tightly together, almost ceasing to breathe.
After a long while, there was no more movement in the courtyard. Ruri cautiously peered outside.
"...What was that?" Chika asked in a small voice.
"..."
Ruri didn't answer, just stared fixedly outside, her fingers trembling slightly.
"Phew... It's gone. I don't know what it was... but anyway, I can't see it anymore."
"Tonight's test of courage is a bit too intense... Mmph!"
Chika's voice cut off abruptly. Ruri also felt her body go rigid as if it had rusted. She instantly understood something, and a chill ran down her limbs, as if something had been drained from her.
But she was, after all, an elite corporate slave who could keep up with Ryu. Even so, she didn't lose her ability to think, and looked directly into Chika's eyes.
"Is there... something there?"
"..." Chika could vaguely make out a faint silhouette in the depths of the room.
"I understand."
Ruri gave a wry smile, her left hand quietly tightening its grip on Chika's.
The Fujiwara family's young lady had always been thick-skinned. After the initial shock, she reacted quickly, discreetly tracing twice on Ruri's forearm with her finger.
[Three]
[Two]
[One]
Flash!
The phone's flashlight suddenly illuminated everything in the room. The dark figure, startled by the unexpected situation, covered its face, while the two high school girls had already burst through the paper door and run outside.
"Aaaahhhh!!!"
Don't look back!
The roar and heavy footsteps were right behind them!
Suddenly, her footing gave way, and Ruri cried out as she fell to the ground.
"Ruri!" Without a second thought, Chika turned back to help her up.
In that moment of hesitation, a hot, foul stench washed over them!
—Swoosh!
In the nick of time, a "shooting star" flew into the sky. The intense white light made everyone instinctively squint, leaving nothing hidden in the night.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
A wave of heat surged, followed by the clash of metal!
Gunpowder-propelled bullets zipped past the two girls, delivering a devastating blow to the monster chasing them!
Flowers of blood bloomed on the ground. A three-round burst in just half a second left its entire head a bloody mess!
A familiar voice called out: "Are you okay? Ruri, Chika."
—Ryu had arrived!
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