Tokyo: I am the Lord of All Demons!

She fainted after being suppressed by the ghost's power upon seeing it, and then woke up after the ghost left.

The moment she woke up, the clever Fujita Misaki saw the beans in Shimizu Suzune's hands, and then, thinking of the red and white shrine maiden outfit she was wearing, she suddenly understood.

Fujita Misaki did not forget her best friend's identity as a shrine maiden, but rather the education she received from childhood did not allow her to believe in supernatural phenomena.

As a young woman, Fujita Misaki is a staunch atheist who has always regarded science as the only truth and has always looked down on Japanese religions such as shrines and temples as organized modern frauds.

This is why Fujita Misaki was willing to accompany her best friend on a live stream to explore ghosts. If she had known that ghosts existed, she would never have dared to do this.

People subconsciously fear the unknown, and even if someone is an "atheist," it doesn't mean they aren't afraid of ghosts.

Just now, after encountering the ghost, Fujita Misaki lost all thought, and her mind completely shut down.

What I saw with my own eyes was utterly insignificant compared to those empty "beliefs."

However, rather than exploring science and urban legends, Fujita Misaki is now interested in Shimizu Suzune's identity as a shrine maiden and her exorcism methods.

Yes, no explanation is needed. Fujita Misaki knew that it was Shimizu Suzune who got her out of the predicament, and it was more likely that she used beans.

"Rin, can I have some beans?" Fujita Misaki asked, looking at the beans in her best friend's hand.

Although Fujita Misaki quickly recovered, the fear she had just experienced still lingered in her mind, prompting her to want to take control of her own destiny.

"Sure." Faced with her best friend's request, Shimizu Suzune had no reason to refuse.

She wasn't sure where the ghost had been driven away; it might be outside the old house, or it might be further away. If both of them had the ability to exorcise ghosts, they would undoubtedly be safer.

However, the crisis is not completely over yet, and we still need to avoid wasting beans.

Shimizu Suzune grabbed two handfuls of beans and handed them to her best friend, adding, "Use them sparingly! Remember to check for ghosts before throwing them away!"

Like Shimizu Suzune, the "shrine maiden exorcist," ordinary person Fujita Misaki also gained inexplicable confidence after receiving the beans. Now she can't wait to catch the ghost that scared her and then enhance its power!

She asked, "Where are we going now?"

After pondering for a moment, Shimizu Suzune decided, "Let's go back the way we came."

Fujita Misaki had no objection.

And so, the girls, who had obtained the exorcising beans and courage, returned to their original room under the watchful eye of a certain spider.

Inside an apartment in Tokyo.

Without any lights, Makoto Araki, hidden in the darkness, kept an eye on the two girls on the spider map while watching the live stream and the comments.

Several minutes had passed since they encountered the ghost, and the live stream was still showing the ceiling, with the girl's screams and ghostly cries heard from time to time.

Especially in the later stages, the lack of any activity from the two girls caused panic among the viewers in the live stream chat.

[Oh no, the crucial three minutes have passed; the streamer might be finished.]

Is the streamer finished?

Anyone nearby? Hurry and act now! While it's still hot!

[Are you a person?]

[Have you called the police? Why haven't we heard sirens yet? What are these incompetent people in Tokyo doing?]

All I can say is, if you don't court disaster, you won't get yourself killed!

Calling the police won't help; we need to report this to the shrine! Let the priests and shrine maidens exorcise the demon!

[But isn't the streamer just a shrine maiden?]

The panic in the comments section is getting higher and higher, and the "fear" that Araki Makoto has gained is also increasing, currently approaching 4 units!

Just then, the live stream changed. The phone that had fallen to the ground was picked up, and a beautiful face appeared in the center of the screen.

Sure enough, the live chat exploded again:

【? ? ? 】

The screen is full of question marks.

[The streamer has come back from the dead!]

【No, are you a human or a ghost?】

[That's enough, the streamer has already been killed by the ghost, this is just a stand-in.]

[The anchorwoman's complexion is so rosy, how could she be a ghost? I'd believe it if you said the woman next to her was a ghost!]

[I am the priest. I have already organized my brothers to head to the scene. We are going to let the streamer experience what it means to have the masculine energy of men.]

I still maintain that this is a pre-recorded video, unless the streamer responds to the comments.

Looking at the screen full of impersonal comments, Shimizu Rinne frowned, randomly picked one, and replied in an annoyed tone: "Hey you with the ID 'Shan Hai 666,' who were you calling a ghost just now?"

Upon hearing this, Fujita Misaki also joined in. She knew that the person being cursed in the comments was herself, because she had just encountered a ghost and her face was pale; she hadn't recovered yet.

She rested her head next to Shimizu Suzune's ear and smiled, making a peace sign to prove that she was alive.

It would have been better if they hadn't responded; once they did, the comments section went wild again.

Holy crap, she responded and even read out my ID. Looks like it really is a live stream.

[Lingyin-chan looked so cute when she was angry just now! She scolded me, she scolded me!]

My sister stepped on me!

[Dude, why are all the comments off-topic? We're still investigating ghosts, aren't we?]

[Red SC comment: Celebrating the successful exorcism of the shrine maiden Suzune-chan!]

Did anyone notice the container she was holding? It was filled with beans.

Shimizu Suzune ignored the comments and checked her followers, finding that her follower count had increased from 30,000 to 100,000.

In the live stream, the two girls returned to the original room. Fujita Misaki took the lead and easily opened the sliding door that she couldn't open before.

Shimizu Rin followed them out of the courtyard and out of the old house, and did not encounter the ghost from before again along the way.

With viewers in the live stream as witnesses, the two girls returned to the Cayenne. Shimizu Suzune continued to interact with the viewers, while Fujita Misaki, who was sitting in the driver's seat, then started the car.

Shimizu Suzune touched up her makeup, then pointed to the top left corner of the live stream, "If you haven't followed yet, please do so. Follow the streamer, and I'll take you on a ghost hunt without you having to leave home. I'm ending the stream now."

Then, click "End Playback".

Then, the Cayenne disappeared into the darkness.

The live stream has been turned off.

However, what puzzled Makoto Araki, who was hiding in the apartment building, was that the increase in "fear" did not stop after they stopped broadcasting, and is still slowly growing.

[Fear +1]

[Fear +1]

What's going on here?

In the system's explanation, "fear" only brings direct benefits, but no indirect benefits.

What is direct benefit? It is the fear that comes from witnessing something firsthand and experiencing it on the spot.

This means that if the person is not afraid on the spot, but only feels afraid afterward, there will be no benefit.

Chapter 6 Old House and Car

Nerima Ward, Tokyo!

District Police Station!

According to regulations, the Japanese police do not accept cases involving the supernatural, no matter how many people report the case or how vividly the description is presented.

It's 11 p.m. tonight. Officer Shi Heishi is on duty at the district police station. He was already in a bad mood because he had a fight with his girlfriend, and shortly after starting his shift, he started receiving a constant stream of emergency calls.

Moreover, all the evidence points to a certain "ghost hunting" live stream on TT Live.

But so what?

This is the modern era!

It is the 21st century.

You're telling me there's a ghost?

That's great. Ishiguro was just worried about not having a reason to refuse to respond to the call, so he gave a unified reply: he would hand it over to a nearby shrine to handle.

On the same street as the district police station, just a few dozen meters away, the interior of a large shrine was still brightly lit.

Sakuraba Shrine!

Unlike police stations, shrines are not staffed at night and do not handle business. However, at this time, a large number of priests and shrine maidens were gathered overnight.

Priests are of higher rank than priestesses, and their attire differs slightly; the former wears a white robe and a black hat, while the latter wears a red and white priestess's outfit.

The priest leading the group is now fifty-two years old and currently holds the position of vice-chief priest of the shrine, making him the second most powerful person in charge.

He had been feeling unwell recently and had already gone to bed, but then his boss called and demanded that he go to the live broadcast site to save people.

Noguchi Akihiko didn't want to go at first, and kept complaining about why the police station wouldn't go. The reply he received was that "the police are not in a position to handle supernatural cases" and could only transfer the case to their shrine.

However, Akihiko Noguchi, who had served as a priest for many years, had never seen a real ghost, nor did he know how to exorcise one.

Could it be...?

Are you suggesting he use his usual tricks and consecrated artifacts to fight ghosts? What a joke!

Fortunately, Akihiko Noguchi did not believe in ghosts. He believed that behind every so-called ghost story must be a human being, and once this premise was established, the battle plan could be determined.

To ensure everything went smoothly, Akihiko Noguchi ordered his team of five to each carry not only consecration tools but also steel pipes, machetes, batons, and other items for self-defense. Once they were fully equipped, the group boarded the shrine's official vehicle and headed to "The Phantom of the Old House."

Whether you are human or ghost, if the consecrated ritual implements don't work, then use "truth".

Sitting in his official car, Akihiko Noguchi even asked his colleagues to turn on the live stream to see what kind of trouble was causing this.

Unfortunately, when he watched the live stream, he didn't see the so-called ghost; all he saw was a bare ceiling.

"The Phantom of the Old House" is not far from Sakuraba Shrine, only a three to five minute drive away, and the vehicle arrived at the scene in no time.

There was more than one old house, and Noguchi Akihiko wasn't sure which one the two girls were in. To avoid alerting them, he decided to park his car about 500 meters away.

Subsequently, Noguchi Akihiko's five colleagues, four men and one woman, got out of the official car one after another and went to the trunk to retrieve the consecration tools and their respective cold weapons.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Akihiko Noguchi took out a dark-looking weapon from a hidden compartment in the front of the car and concealed it inside the large white robe of a priest.