In Tokyo, building the Holy Light Girls team

With this question in mind, Natsuki, led by Rika, passed through a shrine that enshrined a statue of Inari, and suddenly Natsuki froze.

In his eyes, the cross of holy marks was automatically activated. The seemingly normal environment appeared to him as the statue was surrounded by layers of black mist, and he could even see a fleeting red eye. Xia Mu instantly realized that the target he was looking for might be hidden here!

However, now is not the time to take action!

He turned his gaze back and glanced at Rika, who was worshipping the statue.

The power of the holy light allowed him to clearly see tiny, crystalline lights emanating from the girl and then falling into the statue. The black mist surrounding the statue also visibly became more active.

Is it possible to absorb a person's vital energy through worship?

He frowned, a sense of danger rising in his heart.

This ghost is unlike the earthbound spirit I encountered in the stadium before. Its years of direct absorption of vital energy may have allowed it to grow to an extremely terrifying level of strength. Am I really confident in my abilities?

"Teacher Xia Mu, come here..."

Rika's voice came from ahead. He looked up and saw that the girl was already waiting at the corner of the side door. Natsuki then withdrew his gaze from examining the statue and followed the girl again.

As Xia Mu walked, he was quite puzzled. How could such an astonishing aura be hidden so deeply? Even his Holy Light ability seemed unable to completely detect it...

Soon, the two arrived at a room in a courtyard. After taking a sip of tea, Xia Mu looked up at the girl in front of him and asked, "So, it's just the two of us?"

Rika lowered her head apologetically: "I'm sorry, Natsuki-sensei, my mother is unable to come due to health issues. Please feel free to tell me what you want to say."

"A health problem?"

The girl looked up and told Natsuki about what had happened at the shrine, as well as the real reason why it had declined.

Just last year, this was an ordinary shrine. But at some point, rumors began to circulate that wishes could be granted at the shrine!

Suddenly, the worship here became very popular, and many people came to pray to Inari Goddess. It even attracted television stations to report on it.

As a result, the grand event did not last long. As time went by this year, more and more people found that their physical energy was not as good as before after praying to the Inari God. After Grandma Riko passed away, the place became deserted and lost its former glory.

Even now, Rika's mother, the previous shrine maiden, still maintains the custom of praying to the Inari statue despite what happened in the past. Her health is deteriorating day by day, and Rika has to temporarily put aside her school affairs in order to take care of her mother.

Xia Mu looked puzzled: "To grant a wish..."

boom!

The sudden sound startled both of them. Before Xia Mu could react, he saw the girl running quickly towards the corridor. He frowned and followed her.

A short while later, Rika went straight to a room next door. After forcefully opening the door, she looked at the woman lying on the floor with the blankets scattered around her and couldn't help but exclaim, "Mom..."

When Xia Mu arrived, this was the scene that greeted him—

The girl's face was filled with panic. She held her mother in her arms and kept calling out to her, trying to wake her up. However, her mother's eyes were tightly closed, and no matter how she spoke, she did not wake up.

"Mom... wake up... what's wrong... Mom..."

Xia Mu stepped forward and checked Rika's mother's breathing. She was still breathing, but her pale face made it seem as if her life was in danger at any moment!

"Ms. Xia Mu... Mom... she'll be alright, won't she...?"

Rika looked up, her eyes already filled with tears. Natsuki was about to call an ambulance when he suddenly sensed something and looked sharply to one side of the room!

In this small room, there was a huge fox statue, which, combined with the darkening night sky outside, looked eerie and unusual!

They have it here too?!

The moment the thought flashed through Xia Mu's mind, a red light suddenly shot out from the fox statue's eyes, and a black mist emerged from the statue, passing over Xia Mu's body and flying towards the direction where the mother and daughter were!

"Help--"

Rika immediately called out.

Just as the mother and daughter were about to be swallowed by the black mist, at this critical moment, the cross necklace on Xia Mu's chest moved without wind, and a strong holy light surged, covering his palm with a layer of golden light, and then he directly grabbed the black mist!

"Stop right there!"

……

Chapter 55 Ghost Fox

Outside the shrine.

Two furtive figures were moving slowly along the wall. One of them had her signature twin ponytails and was looking in the direction of the shrine with a puzzled expression in her mischievous eyes.

"That's strange. Teacher Xia Mu has been inside for so long, why hasn't she come out yet? Could it be that..."

Seemingly knowing what she was about to say, the white-haired girl behind her interrupted, "Teacher Xia Mu is not that kind of person. You can't make such wild guesses!"

The sudden sound startled Sayuri. Turning around and seeing it was Shiroshima, she patted her chest and said:

"Sayuri was so scared! Thank goodness it was Shirashima-kun—"

"What the hell! What's going on? Why did you follow me, Shiroshima? I was the one who decided to marry... cough cough, I'm the one who was following Natsuki-sensei! How could you..."

Sayuri bombarded him with questions, and Shiroshima turned her head away, her ears visibly turning red in the faint moonlight. She then whispered, "I was just worried about Natsuki-sensei..."

In fact, it was because of yesterday's events that the gymnasium became unusable, and a new venue is still being searched for. Regular volleyball training has also been forced to be suspended for a short period of time.

Having finally found some free time, she originally intended to look for Natsuki, but unexpectedly, she saw Sayuri secretly following her. As if possessed, she followed her, which led to the scene just now.

Seeing Shiroshima's unusual expression, Sayuri felt a jolt of fear and was about to emphasize something when she suddenly looked up, a cross of stigmata automatically appearing in her pupils. Her expression turned serious: "What is that?"

Above the girl's head, layers of black mist almost completely obscured the moonlight. Red flashes streaked through the black mist like thunderbolts, bringing an indescribable sense of oppression.

Even though she has encountered ghosts many times, Sayuri said that she has never seen such an amazing scale!

When she looked up, Shiroshima also noticed what was happening above.

Unlike Sayuri, the girl felt the ghosts inside her body stirring the moment she saw the black mist, as if they had seen something irresistible. This was a very rare sight!

Something is definitely wrong!

The face of a certain man flashed through the minds of both girls at the same time. Without hesitation, they jumped towards the shrine and activated their Holy Light form!

"Holy Light!"

……

Time goes back to ten minutes ago.

"Stop right there!"

Xia Mu shouted, and the cross necklace on his chest floated up. Holy light automatically emanated from his hands. Just as the black mist was about to touch the mother and daughter, he finally grabbed them and forcefully "pulled" them back!

Roar--

The black mist let out a roar like a wild beast, and then transformed into the appearance of a fox, with black fur all over its body and a tail like black flames connecting it to the statue behind it.

The wild and eerie atmosphere terrified Kanzaki Rika, who could only cling tightly to her mother in her arms, as if only in this way could she give herself some sense of security.

The moment Xia Mu pulled the fox back, it turned around and made a biting motion. Its mouth stretched to an astonishing angle, and the fangs formed by black mist inside gleamed with an eerie cold light.

There is no doubt that even a giant steel boulder would be unable to withstand this seemingly astonishing bite!

Xia Mu did not show any fear.

He merely snorted coldly, one hand gripping the black mist, the other surging with golden light. The moment the fox pounced on him, he accurately grabbed its neck and slammed it heavily onto the tatami floor!

puff!

The fox was severely injured and struggled uncontrollably, hissing and flailing its limbs, but it was still firmly controlled.

Golden light suddenly reflected in its eyes.

At this moment, Xia Mu pulled out his other arm, clenched it into a fist, and unleashed unprecedented power with golden light. He then smashed it heavily into the fox's head!

boom!

The fox stopped struggling, and its head was directly turned into smoke by Xia Mu's golden light, completely dissipating into the air. A hole appeared in the tatami mat below.

This was even after Xia Mu had held back his strength.

After all, he had only recently obtained the power of holy light and was already able to smash a wall, let alone this not-so-sturdy tatami mat.

After its head was destroyed, the fox's body gradually turned into smoke, and the surface of the statue returned to calm. The eerie atmosphere that had permeated the entire room slowly dissipated.

"Is it... over?"

Rika Kanzaki stared blankly at the scene.

Her mind seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened. Why would such a terrifying monster emerge from the statue? And why would Xia Mu, a teacher, possess such miraculous abilities to kill the monster in one fell swoop?!

Suddenly, as if remembering something, the girl subconsciously looked down and found that her mother's breathing had become steady, a faint smile appeared on her lips, and her face had visibly become rosy.

"Rika, your mother should be alright now..."

"Mother!"

After Natsuki spoke, Rika exclaimed in surprise, hugging her mother tightly in her arms. Overjoyed, tears streamed down her face, one after another, falling to the floor, symbolizing the girl's feelings at that moment.

Seeing this, Xia Mu smiled. Just as he was about to step forward, he suddenly raised his head, and the cross mark that had faded in his eyes reappeared!

"Who is it?!"

"Oh dear, oh dear, the demon fox I painstakingly raised has been destroyed in this way! This won't do!"

In the courtyard, from the darkness by the wall, a figure slowly emerged. The figure was tall with a delicate face, and its shadow, like a puppet, flailing behind it as if ready to devour someone at any moment!

When did this person appear?

"Who are you?"

Xia Mu frowned and asked.

He noticed the words spoken by the figure opposite him, and it seemed that Ghost Fox was indeed the person's doing.

And that strange shadow reminded Xia Mu of a white-haired girl. Could this person be a human being cursed, just like Shiroshima?

"So curious about my identity? Unfortunately, after joining the organization, I've given up on names and such. My current codename is Z!"

As he spoke, Z grinned, revealing sharp teeth that made him look like a wild beast, radiating a ferocious and wild aura!

Little did Xia Mu know that he wasn't paying attention to Xia Mu's appearance at the moment, but instead frowned immediately after hearing the word "organization" in Xia Mu's words.

What do you mean?

Are there many people like him?

Xia Mu originally thought that after experiencing things like the cross necklace, ghosts, and curses since coming to this world, his little heart was strong enough!

However, at this moment, Xia Mu felt that besides the things mentioned above, there might be many secrets hidden in this seemingly peaceful world!