Why is the Demon King like this?

"Lord, is this really alright?" the young priestess asked worriedly. "Chief Irita, who has gone missing..."

When the evil spirit's spiritual power waned, all four shrine maidens entered the mirage with shrine treasures. As the spiritual power surged, the entire mirage became extremely dangerous. She managed to escape thanks to the protection of the treasure bottle, but the chief priestess and the priest's sister both ended up trapped inside.

I don't know if it was because we explored too deeply back then...

"Trust Ms. Kamibata; after all, she is the head priest of Meiji Shrine!"

Fujitajima Tsukasa tried to remain calm, but his knuckles, which were turning white from gripping the weight, betrayed his emotions.

"Please take the treasure bottle back to the shrine and enshrine it first."

"yes!"

The two witches, one old and one young, knew the importance and urgency of the matter, and immediately left with the treasure.

Apart from the other four priestesses guarding the four sides of the barrier, only the priestess remained in the entire building, anxiously awaiting news from Yui Kamibata.

……

"Speaking of which, what are your ribbons, their porcelain vases, and their bows?"

Shinbata Yui smiled knowingly and slipped one end of the sash around Ao Keisuke's neck: "Did Ao Keisuke-kun notice?"

As Keisuke Ao reached out and gently touched the ribbon, an image flashed before his eyes.

"We call these treasures 'instruments of control.' Through continuous nurturing, prayer, communication, and even asking the gods for blessings, generations have poured their heart and soul into them, helping them to become instruments that govern the spirits."

Therefore, the older and more deadly the control artifact, the more powerful it is. Some are revered as "sacred artifacts" or "divine artifacts," especially treasures bestowed by gods, which are even more powerful.

The Inari treasure bottle we just saw is a control artifact containing the life force and divine power of the Inari spirit.

"Where's your sash?" Aoki Keisuke removed the silky sash from his neck.

"This is the control device used by the chief priests of Meiji Shrine throughout history. Just to gain their approval, it takes at least half a year to nurture it."

The "vessel" is actually a supplement to one's own abilities from a mystical perspective. Most people's spirituality has its limits, just like the vitality of the human body, which ultimately has its peaks and troughs.

The existence of control instruments can maximize the balance between oneself and the outside world.

Most users are not spiritually capable compared to the control device; they spend their entire lives doing nothing more than acting as a "starter".

Of course, the majority don't even deserve to possess the tools of control; they're just pure poor dogs.

To some extent, Keisuke Ao's use of the spirituality of the amulets can be considered a different path leading to the same goal.

The mighty Demon King has become... a guardian controller?

Upon realizing this, Qing Guijie's face turned green.

However, after the exorcism tonight, he should be close to reaching the threshold required for casting the spell—that is, successfully achieving "spiritual awakening."

This evil spirit is much more powerful than the combined spirits of the hair demon and the banyan tree spirit; hopefully, it will surprise him.

"Found it!"

The end of the ribbon suddenly trembled, and then, from the depths of the mirage, behind the thick fog, came a chilling roar.

The entire mirage trembled violently, as if knives were scraping through the air, cutting deep cracks in the air.

If it were just an ordinary Onmyoji who came in, he would probably try to find the two witches at the Garden Shrine first, and then slowly work his way up.

But who came in this time?

One is the chief priest of Meiji Shrine.

One is the unfathomable Demon King, for as long as one has spiritual power, there is no adversity.

There was another... drunkard, who was even more terrifying.

Without hesitation, Shinbata Yui charged straight towards the most dangerous place in the Mirage Realm. If the two priestesses were still alive, they would naturally be rescued safely once they dealt with the evil spirits.

But if they have already been murdered, searching for them would be a complete waste of time.

"The law commands! Subdue the evil spirit, the jade belt summons!"

The chief grabbed the silk ribbon in his sleeve, and a hazy white light flashed for a moment, illuminating the mist ahead.

Then the ribbon suddenly taut, and a tremendous force surged forth. The divine banner and robes formed a seal with their fingers, and with a single pull, the evil spirits deep within the mirage were directly bound and captured.

With a deafening roar, Shiraishi Chizuru's body jolted, and he abruptly opened his eyes.

As soon as I opened my eyes, a huge shadow loomed over me from afar.

"ah!!!"

The nightmare continued; she clung tightly to Qing Guijie's neck and commanded the car, "Run!"

Aokiji pinched her thigh in annoyance: "Isn't this what you wanted to see?"

"what?"

Chizuru Shiraishi paused for a moment, her eyes widening as she glanced at Keisuke Ao, then at the composed shrine maiden, and her confidence returned instantly.

She was a little embarrassed: "That was just a joke!"

—This is something she learned from Tsukishima.

In short, no one is paying attention to her expression now, but the mirage's sobering effect is really good. The female doctor who was just drunk is now full of energy (referring to being frightened).

"This is a really big guy..."

Eagerness appeared in Keisuke Ao's eyes. The mist broke through, and at the other end of the long ribbon, a huge, filthy "lump of flesh" was pulled out directly.

Countless corpses and flesh were pieced together by black silt, and the heads on them roared and trembled, eventually coalescing into a single syllable:

"minced!"

"minced!"

"minced!"

The dead were completely devoured; not only their souls, but even their corpses were thoroughly utilized.

A series of dark slashes fell from the ribbon, but failed to leave any mark on it.

Shinbata Yui's eyes were cold as she was about to summon the sacred fire to burn it to ashes when she was stopped by Ao Keisuke.

"let me--"

"But your eyes..."

"What does it matter?"

He put down the already awakened Shiraishi Chizuru and shooed her to Kamibata Yui's side.

Step by step, he stepped out of the protection of the ribbon and into the tainted spiritual realm. Under his urging, the amulet was already burning directly, and the spirituality surged like never before.

Aokiji's clothes bulged, and a fierce wind howled all around.

He raised his hand to shield the storm, clenching his fist as if grasping a seemingly invisible but sharp sword.

Why would he need a so-called "control tool"?

Unless it's a true divine artifact, it might not be as convenient for him as a gust of wind that he could grab at will.

Spiritual energy flowed wildly, filling this sword with substance.

"The fusion of body and spirit, the essence of gale and howl, gives rise to this invisible sword."

"I can sense that you possess a powerful weapon, so I'm going to destroy you from that angle!"

Aokiji laughed loudly, stepped forward, and waved to signal Shinban Yui to remove the long ribbon.

One by one, heads turned toward him, their lifeless, desolate eyes staring at him, shedding tears of blood, and casting down a curse of death.

Qing Guijie thrust forward with his sharp sword, shattering the black light.

"Clang clang clang!"

Dark blades flashed from all directions, but Keisuke Ao displayed superb skills, calmly parrying all the attacks.

The body, driven by overclocking, continuously generates power, requiring little spirituality in its strikes.

The sword in his hand is now the most powerful weapon of slaughter!

Each strike was accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that shook the surrounding air and air currents.

Shinbata Yui originally thought that Ao Keisuke was going to show off his terrifying fist technique that could defeat enemies with a single punch, but to her surprise, he casually displayed his superb spiritual control and unheard-of swordsmanship.

This is beyond what can be simply described as "powerful".

This makes one even more curious about how he mastered these techniques!

Compared to her, Shiraishi Chizuru was a complete novice, only able to see that Ao Keisuke was completely at ease, leaving her with a reassuring impression.

He's still just a high school student...

Yet it makes people want to cheer for him.

Just like the attitude that Keisuke Ao showed on the court back then.

He raised his right hand high, and the outline of an invisible sword vaguely appeared, as if a blue light was flowing around it.

Then, amidst a roar, the sword fell.

"cut!"

A gust of wind swept by, and the roaring behemoth was suddenly split in two. All the heads howled in agony, and the extended fingers twisted and gushed out foul blood.

"Hmm?" For the first time, Keisuke Ao stopped and chose to retreat.

The mirage trembled violently like never before, as boundless spiritual energy surged in from all directions, pouring into the split flesh ball.

The black sludge boiled and instantly glued the two separated parts of the body back together.

"Chop...chop it up!"