Becoming a god in a low-key way in the supernatural world

Yasuhiro Ishikawa, sitting next to him, swallowed the last bite of his food, let out a burp, and looked satisfied and content: "Freshly steamed buns are definitely the most delicious."

Kotegawa took a sip of water, glancing at the Special Division vehicles that occasionally drove by on the road, and casually remarked, "Are all the Special Division specialists out tonight?"

“Not only the specialists, Onmyoji, and priests, but also nearly half of the bounty hunters registered with the official authorities…” Yasuhiro Ishikawa listed them off, “In short, martial law will be in effect in all areas for the next week. No one will be able to get a good night’s sleep until the matter is thoroughly investigated.”

Kotegawa looked at his dark circles, which were almost heavier than a panda's, and thought for a moment before saying, "Working while fatigued will make you much less efficient than when you have a normal schedule. Don't put the cart before the horse... What did you mean by the 'explosive' method you mentioned on the phone?"

Ishikawa Yasuhiro said with a grave expression, "If another large-scale ghostly street incident occurs in the next few hours, the Special Division will take action and eliminate them all—"

"Isn't this the normal way to deal with it?"

Ishikawa Yasuhiro paused, his expression growing more serious: "If it really turns out like this, it might mean that we've broken the balance first, which could provoke retaliation and cause the situation to spiral out of control."

"Since you've chosen to take action, why are you afraid of retaliation?" Kotekawa Shinji asked, puzzled. "Why not just continue with the subjugation? You have weapons and high-level power."

“That’s true—” Yasuhiro Ishikawa pointed to the sky: “You should know that we are protected by the gods, and for many years, we have never had such a large-scale ghostly wandering incident in the streets.”

What exactly does that mean?

Ishikawa Yasuhiro suddenly hesitated. He looked around and whispered, "Today, the head priest of Ise Grand Shrine prayed to Amaterasu Omikami, but received no response."

Amaterasu, meaning the embodiment of the sun, is the highest deity in the pantheon of gods in this country. In Buddhism, she would be like Shakyamuni... It sounds quite mystical.

Many myths and legends surround Amaterasu, such as her origin, which is said to have been born from the left eye of the father god in the origin of mythology. Another example is that she was once angered by her younger brother and hid away, causing the world to fall into darkness, thus giving rise to the demon realm—the source of all chaos.

I heard these myths from Aunt Akiba when I was very young... I listened to them as bedtime stories.

Now, as the head of the Special Section 1 spoke these words with such earnestness, he felt a strange sense of unreality and disorientation.

He subconsciously thought, "Maybe He thinks it's a trivial matter? Or maybe He's not home today?"

Ishikawa Yasuhiro looked at him helplessly: "The power of the gods is beyond our imagination, but it's impossible that we would lose access to messages just because we went out."

"What about the other gods? Everyone claims to have eight million gods, as numerous as the stars in the sky. Surely not a single one would respond?"

Yasuhiro Ishikawa hesitated before saying, "The shrine's intention is that we should not do anything else before Amaterasu responds... that's roughly it."

Kotegawa responded with an "oh," perhaps out of fear that asking other deities would embarrass Amaterasu and anger her... if she were truly that petty.

He thought for a moment, then looked at him and asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"

At this point, Ishikawa Yasuhiro immediately perked up: "That's how it is! If things really get worse, then by the day after tomorrow at the latest, we're going to see a demon general and need to investigate him... Don't look at me like that, I'm definitely on the list, so I hope you can come with me, just in case they're not fair and kill me..."

"A demon general?" Kotekawa Kami asked, his eyes gleaming. "What kind of strength?"

Regarding becoming a god, he had two thoughts: one was his own cultivation to slay stronger ghosts and monsters, and the other was to take over the Tiandu Temple. Of course, the best approach would be to pursue both at the same time.

The Special Division is a department that deals specifically with ghosts and monsters, so it's normal for them to know one or two evil spirits or monsters.

"The Demon General is second only to the Demon King, equivalent to the level of [Calamity], and possesses incredibly terrifying talents..." Ishikawa Yasuhiro explained, "But the most troublesome thing is not itself, but the Demon King behind it. To kill a Demon King, at least eight of the top shrine priests need to work together. They are the top three terrifying monsters below the gods. [Calamity] is at most a handy little brother in the eyes of the Demon King."

"Calamity?" Kotekawa Kami pondered. His current strength was a significant improvement from when he first faced the calamity. A month ago, he was even able to fight two at once, killing both the [Giant Monk] and the [Demon Princess]... But upon calming down and thinking about it, that battle was largely due to the power of [Nightmare] and [Four Directions of Impermanence]. If they were to truly face each other and fight with swords, he might be able to kill those two even if he was seriously injured.

But this is just a theoretical concept.

Humans can't compare to the recovery abilities of monsters and ghosts. Once he's injured and his condition doesn't improve, the most likely outcome is mutual destruction... Whether it's the [Ghost Princess's] clone and true form, or the [Giant Monk's] overwhelming brute strength, they're all enough to give him a hard time.

So if it really comes down to sheer strength, he might only be able to eliminate two or three disasters at most right now...

The appearance of Tiandu Temple made him clearly aware that [Impermanence of the Four Directions] and [Nightmare] were not without limits.

Neither of its talents is of any use in front of it.

Fortunately, it seems that Tentoji Temple doesn't have a good way to deal with him either.

The giant monk was killed by him, and the monks he kept in the temple dared not release him at will, or even let him in.

If it were any other powerful individual yokai, the situation might have been one-sided... Kotegawa was the one who lost.

Therefore, he may still be inferior to other great demons of the same level as Tentoji.

If one were to face the Demon King, the odds would likely be against them.

Right now, relying solely on his own strength, he's probably equivalent to two and a half Demon Generals.

If we use the [Nightmare] and [Impermanence] domains, we might be able to put up a fight against the Demon King.

Until it's clear whether the failure of [Nightmare] and [Impermanence] is due to the sheer size of Tiandu Temple, or to a significant difference in strength and status, it's best not to provoke the Demon King.

Of course, he still really wanted to kill the Demon King, including the Demon General...

By killing these people, he would be one step closer to his goal of becoming a god.

Seeing that he remained silent, Ishikawa Yasuhiro grew a little nervous: "Are you going?"

Kotegawa snapped out of his daze and said solemnly, "Bring a good sword and a set of protective armor. That way, if things really come to a head, I can protect you and help you escape! Also, you'd better give me some information on the Demon General and the Demon King so I can study it in advance and see if I can make more preparations!"

Ishikawa Yasuhiro was immediately moved and said, "Don't worry! Everything is absolutely ready!"

Kotegawa's benevolence and righteousness stirred his own blood, making him passionate and impassioned.

I'm going to headquarters tomorrow, I'll definitely steal... I'll definitely borrow the best equipment!

Life is priceless; worldly possessions are utterly insignificant!

A similar glint appeared in Kotegawa Kami's eyes. With special information available, becoming a god might truly be more than just a dream.

Chapter 106 The Giant Ghost Wandering the Streets (Part 3)

After finishing his conversation with Yasuhiro Ishikawa about negotiating with the Demon General, Kamiko Kotekawa went home. There were special agents on duty on the street that night, so he didn't need to do anything.

I got home at exactly 8:30.

Yuka and Mikazuki were watching the latest episode of "Strange Tales" on the sofa with the lights off and the curtains drawn.

This is a horror TV series masterpiece that has been running for over thirty years. It includes supernatural elements and human-made elements. In short, it is very scary, but also very entertaining, making people both frightened and unable to stop watching.

Just like now, the two of them are clearly terrified, but they're staring at the TV without blinking.

He stood there watching for a while; the TV was showing a conversation between a brother and sister after school.

The younger sister was terrified and hid from her brother, her eyes constantly glancing behind him, but she didn't dare to look.

My older brother, who is in high school, seemed very sleepy. He was walking to his room with his head down and back hunched over, rubbing his eyes.

The younger sister stood against the wall, her expression growing increasingly frightening.

At this moment, the camera shifts to the brother's back, and suddenly a pale, swollen female corpse appears in the frame.

The female corpse clung tightly to her brother's back, then slowly twisted her head behind her back, revealing an incredibly eerie smile on her swollen and deformed face.

A piercing scream rang out, and the screen suddenly went black.

At this, the two girls on the sofa also screamed, their screams so sharp they hurt your eardrums.

Kami Kotekawa, however, seemed quite engrossed in the observation, crossing his arms and saying, "This female corpse's makeup isn't very good. I've encountered one before—"

"Alright, we don't want to know!" Youjia snapped, "It's already terrifying enough! If you describe the truth any further, you'll be responsible if we can't sleep tonight!"

Kotegawa stopped talking, carrying a steamer basket and some still-warm stir-fried pork slices, and sat on a single sofa, eating while watching the second story playing on TV.

Half of the steamed buns I took earlier were given away, so now it's practically like there's nothing left.

Yuka and Mikazuki, huddled together on the sofa, looked at him and suddenly felt less scared...

After "Tales of the Strange" ended, Yuka looked at Kotegawa, who was opening the refrigerator door, and said to Mikazuki, "It seems that having a boy in the house is quite important."

Mikazuki thought for a moment: "But I remember you saying back at home that boys are completely useless..."

"Oh, I watched it with Sorata back then, and he was so scared that he cried."

"..."

Kotegawa took three cans of herbal tea and distributed them to them. He said to Yuka, "Glasses-kun's strengths don't lie in this area. When it comes to running a shop, I'm no match for him."

Youjia looked him up and down and shook her head, saying, "No, even if it's about running a shop, he can't compare to you... He's not as good-looking as you, and he doesn't have as many fans as you."

After thinking for a moment, Kotekawa Kamimi said, "I'm a bit special. It's unfair to Glasses-kun to compete with me. If you look at all of Tokyo, I think Glasses-kun is one of the best among his peers."

"Really?" Yuka asked with a very uncertain question.

Kotegawa took a sip of tea. "So this is my older sister?" he thought. He always felt his younger brother was utterly useless…

He got up and went to the bathroom to shower and wash up. When he came out in his pajamas after drying himself off, the two girls were also getting ready to rest.

"Furutegawa, Haruka and I discussed it... how about we stay out all night together?" Yuka suggested, raising her hand.

Kotegawa had no objection and pointed upstairs: "Sleep in the quiet room. I'll meditate tonight."

"No problem!" Jiaxing rushed back to her room to get her blanket.

Mikazuki Seisakusaku watched her retreating figure and said softly, "There seem to be quite a lot of cars on the road tonight."

"It's a patrol vehicle from the Special Branch; they're on duty all night tonight."

"About the ghosts on the street?"

“Yes, this is quite serious…” Kotegawa said softly.

"Was that person looking for you because of this?"

He shook his head: "There is some connection, but it's nothing serious, not a big problem..."

At that moment, Yuka suddenly came out of the bedroom, looking lingeringly surprised: "Furutegawa, it looks like there's something standing outside the window."

Kotegawa was taken aback, then stood up and said, "Don't be afraid, stay here, I'll change my clothes."

He strode back to his bedroom, changed into the trench coat he had just worn, took his sword, and walked towards the entrance door.

But just as they were about to open the door, they suddenly heard the crackling of gunfire from the street outside.

He took out his phone and checked the time; it was only 9:30, not yet late at night.

Mikazuki jogged over, looking anxious, and said, "Don't go out!"

"I'll just stay at the door and see what's going on."

He opened the door and went out, closing it behind him. He walked onto the street and looked in the direction from which the gunshots were coming.

A hundred meters to his right, with an unobstructed view, he saw several three-meter-tall black figures scattering and fleeing from the flashes of gunfire.

"Is it really ghosting again? And so early this time..." He looked away, stepped back, and surveyed the yard. There was a strange smell in the yard, but it wasn't strong, nor did it smell of people eating.

He twitched his nose, his doubts growing stronger.