Poor magical girls, work for me!

Night completely swallowed the neon lights of the residential area, and the Thousand Tuo Valley mountain area was immersed in a thick darkness far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. The few old streetlights cast a dim yellow glow beside the winding mountain road, barely outlining the contours of the trail.

A bus, no bigger than the palm of your hand, is parked next to an ancient tree.

"arrive."

The trunk of the ancient tree trembled, and a car door tore open to reveal itself.

Ryosuke Miyagi stepped out of the car, and the unique coolness of the mountain night immediately enveloped him. He tugged at his collar.

He stretched out his right hand, black slime rolled, and the "Witcher's Hunting Manual" was in his hand.

Walking along the path, click.

He turned on the flashlight in his left hand and shone it toward the intersection.

Begin to observe the surrounding environment.

Matsushima Yukio, Nanatsuji Kirion, and Momose Sena also got out of the car and followed.

Everyone behind him walked out, the car doors slowly closed, and the bus beneath his feet disappeared into the distance.

Yukio and Hoshina wore dark coats over their casual clothes, while Kirion carried her shrine maiden bag and carried a short-handled gohei in her hand.

Click...

The three women behind Ryosuke Miyagi turned on their flashlights, the beams piercing the darkness and ascending the moss-covered, weed-covered stone steps.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with even the chirping of insects being rare. The air was filled with the smells of soil, decaying leaves, and a faint, almost imperceptible, rusty, fishy odor.

"The resentment is already very strong."

Nanatsuji Kirion spoke softly, the white paper hanging from the gohei in her hand fluttering without wind.

"The resentment is almost tangible. Ordinary people who stay here for a long time will feel inexplicably tired, depressed, and even have suicidal thoughts."

Ryosuke Miyagi shone his flashlight twice toward the path behind him.

"This road leads to the highway, and people pass by it. That wild god attacked humans along this path."

Matsushima Yukio glanced at the path behind her.

"Should we wait for them to come to us on the highway, or...?"

"We went straight to Yue Temple and set up a protective barrier there."

Ryosuke Miyagi paused.

"Let's go."

About ten minutes later, a dark figure appeared ahead.

Illumination by lights!

The red and black colors immediately catch the eye.

It is a small and dilapidated stone torii gate.

The vermilion lacquer on the torii gate has completely peeled off, leaving only the grayish-white stone itself.

It's very old...

After the four lights swept across the area, they shone towards the back of the torii gate.

As the lights illuminated the area, the outline of a low, ancient building could be vaguely seen – that was the abandoned Yue Temple.

"I'll set it up here."

The gohei held by Nanatsuji Kirion began to tremble. The resentment was incredibly strong.

The wild god isn't home; it seems to have gone down the mountain to hunt. Now, in this pitch-black, terrifying atmosphere, if you just scare the girls a little, they'll scream and throw themselves into your arms. In the darkness, your restless hands can…

[Reward: Brief night vision (Find a target, scare them! Then! Touch them!)]

A green light flashed in Ryosuke Miyagi's eyes, and the pitch-black environment brightened.

The surroundings became clear.

His gaze was fixed on the distance.

Fifty paces behind the torii gate, the abandoned Gaku-shrine is not far away.

"That thing isn't home. Nanatsuji Kirion, you set up a barrier. Yukio-senpai, you stay here and assist Kirion. Hoshina and I will continue to explore further."

"Um."

"it is good."

Everyone agreed.

Ryosuke Miyagi continued walking up the mottled path.

Soon, the abandoned Yue Temple was brought into view by eyes that could see at night.

The small wooden hall had 30% of its black tiles broken, revealing the blackened rafters underneath.

The door is gone, leaving only a square, dark hole.

The threshold stone was worn smooth, with a concave center.

The hall was deep and secluded, with a stone ox statue sitting in the center, about half a person's height.

The stone ox was covered in dark brown stains, like dried paint mixed with mud. There were several charred marks from stubbed-out cigarette butts on its back, and an empty beer can was stuck at the base of a stone corner.

The ground was covered with cigarette butts...

The offering table in front of the bull statue was tilted to one side, with weeds already climbing up it. Among the piles of grass, Ryosuke Miyagi, who had night vision, could see a few rusted coins and moldy grains of rice scattered around.

Hoshina Momose shone her flashlight next to the bull statue.

"It should have been something to be worshipped, but now it's become like this... People no longer revere it, and... they don't even remember it anymore."

There should have been a pair of guardian dog statues on the left and right sides of the bull statue, but now only the one on the right side remains, with its head broken and only the jagged break above the neck remaining.

The base on the left side is empty except for a ring of moss marks, indicating that a heavy object was once placed there for a long time.

"Sena..."

Ryosuke Miyagi's voice caught her eye.

She followed her gaze.

The flashlight shone on the ground.

Several bloodstains and drag marks were found on the side of Yue Temple.

Hoshina Momose walked over and looked in the direction of Ryosuke Miyagi's light.

The scene made her pupils contract instantly.

On the side of Yue Temple, a stone slab hidden by waist-high weeds is revealed under the light.

The old stone slab was piled with all sorts of blood-stained human bones.

The stone slab is about two meters in diameter, with an uneven surface and a deep, reddish-brown color.

Piled up with white bones... there were broken ribs, leg bones shattered into pieces, cavities that had been broken open to extract marrow, and at the very top, three human skulls lay hollow and upside down.

A few bits of dried skin, flesh, and hair still clung to the skull, swaying slightly in the night breeze. The maggots were long gone, leaving only the cleanly gnawed bones.

In the center of the stone slab was a large, congealed blackish-red stain, its edges thick and raised, like an ugly scab. Several large, dead flies lay on it.

The scab was still throbbing...like something alive.

Momose Sena's breath caught in her throat. She covered her mouth tightly. The beam of the flashlight trembled violently, sweeping back and forth over the pile of bones and congealed blood.

"This...this is..."

Her voice leaked from between her fingers, trembling with suppressed disgust.

Ryosuke Miyagi's expression also appeared unusually solemn under the green light of his night vision ability.

He slowly approached, squatted down, and without touching anything, his sharp gaze swept over every detail.

"Fresh."

He said in a low voice.

The light shone on a spot on the edge of the stone slab that was a lighter color and had not yet completely turned dark brown.

He looked up, his night vision allowing him to see deeper into the grass.

Behind the stone slab, a patch of wild grass had been trampled down, forming a drag mark leading to the woods behind the Yue Temple. Scattered within the mark were several pieces of torn, mud-stained cloth, resembling fragments of suit trousers.

"It's feeding here," Ryosuke Miyagi's voice was icy. "Drag the prey back and... process it here."

Momose Sena's stomach churned.

She was no stranger to battles and wounds, but the impact of this primitive, savage, and profane "feeding" scene was completely different.

She could almost picture the vengeful wild god dragging the still-breathing victim here, trampling on it with its hooves, prying it open with its horns, and then feasting on it on the stone slab.

"It has made this place its den and its dining table."

Sudden……

Ryosuke Miyagi felt a sharp, cold pain erupt on the back of his neck.

A spiritual warning is in the air!

"not good!"

He immediately turned around and grabbed Momose Sena's hand.

"That guy's back!!"