Supernatural/Anime Crossover: Where Did My Romantic Comedy Go?

But actually, Kujo Toru had already realized what was going on when he heard this.

Because Shinto magic unlocked the ritual specialization, he actually had a lot of knowledge about rituals.

He didn't understand it before simply because he had never heard of the burning mountain ceremony, and the shrine's records didn't mention it either.

Just as one cannot imagine something one has never seen, one cannot deduce the function of a ritual based solely on a name.

But things are different now.

"No, this is not a ritual to pray to the gods, this is sealing away the great filth."

Kujo Toru stated his opinion directly.

Zongfang Qingye glanced at him with some surprise at first, then, remembering his identity, a knowing look flashed in his eyes, and he nodded:

"That's right, so in folklore, this kind of ritual was originally called 'sealing the mountain'."

Kujo Toru fell into deep thought.

Since the burning ceremony was actually meant to seal away the evil spirit, what exactly happened that caused the evil spirit to trigger a landslide, leading to the complete destruction of the town?

Did the ceremony fail?

"Mr. Munakata, can you confirm where this mountain-burning ritual in the book originated?" Kujo Toru asked calmly.

"According to the ritual procedure, everyone lined up to go up the mountain, forming a long dragon shape, which should be to seal the snake god or the water god."

Munakata Qingye shook his head:

"Kyushu is a mountainous island and has been prone to floods since ancient times. Locals believe that the floods are caused by a giant snake turning over, but it is difficult to confirm this based on this alone."

However, he soon pulled out a map from the pile of documents.

"But coincidentally, I often go to remote villages in Kyushu to gather material, and I had heard about the tragic landslide described in the book from the locals."

As he spoke, he gave Kujo Toru a smile:

“Kujo-kun, you know that although maps and news can be erased, people’s memories cannot be erased. This is also my original intention as a folklorist, which is to record and study these things that may disappear at any time.”

The finger points to a circled area.

The map was completely blank, without even place names.

"Daomi Village is located deep in the mountains in southwestern Fukuoka Prefecture."

"Dai-Mura?"

Kujo Tetsu repeated the name, his expression somewhat serious.

"Yes, that's right, it's Dai Yu."

The two exchanged a glance and understood each other's thoughts.

In Old Japanese, 【代】 means substitute or stand-in, while 【御】 usually refers to deities or nobles.

The meaning of their combined phrase is self-evident.

What's even more troublesome is that the pronunciation of Daiyu is [yomi], which is exactly the pronunciation of [Huangquan].

Kujo Toru found it hard to believe that this was a coincidence.

Munakata Kiyono pushed up his reading glasses:

"I heard about this from the locals when I was in Misaki Town, which is nearby, last year. Ten years ago, a village was completely buried by a landslide, and only a high school girl survived."

"Although there was no related news report, I looked up the local chronicles in the local library and it is true that such a thing happened."

"Actually, that was the place I originally planned to visit next time."

Kujo Toru looked up at him.

Munakata Kiyono returned the smile, his face showing a hint of regret:

"But judging from Kujo-kun's expression, this plan is likely to fall through."

He's just a folklorist, not some reckless fool who knowingly rushes forward despite the eeriness of the place.

Having lived this long in this line of work, he is well aware that there are indeed certain things in this world that ordinary people cannot access.

After putting the documents back into his briefcase, Munakata Kiyono rose to take his leave.

"I hope this will be helpful to you, Kujo-kun. I still need to visit Mother Goddess, so I'll take my leave now."

"Yes, Mr. Munakata, take care."

Volume 1: Chapter 133 Erii Uesugi's Physical Problems

Before leaving, Munakata Kiyono made a special trip to the worship hall to pay his respects and put all the cash he was carrying into the offering box.

All I can say is that they know the rules very well.

Moreover, the information they brought was indeed quite useful.

The address of Yomiyama Middle School after its relocation, which had been shrouded in mystery, has finally been revealed.

That evening, Toru Kujo began searching for information about Daimura.

As Munakata Kiyono said, the latest news is stuck ten years ago:

[The Daimyo Village Burning Mountain Festival has officially begun, and the town hall will hold a fireworks display that evening!]

There were no more news reports after that.

They suddenly disappeared without a trace.

It's as if an invisible hand is erasing the relevant information.

Clearly, this is the local governance group forcibly suppressing news of the tragic landslide.

It matches perfectly.

As for whether the thing suppressed by Daimura has escaped, Kujo Toru's current opinion is that it hasn't.

It's probably in the same state as the black raccoon.

It is something that is still sealed, but can slightly affect the present world, and this can only be done in the near future.

This can be seen from the fact that Kurokawa Misaki and Kyogoku Natsuhiko only recently started collecting the bodies of the Seven Luminaries Yomi Festival.

However, Kujo Toru is still unable to confirm the specifics.

After all, the complete annihilation of Daimyo Village was a decade ago.

Moreover, the landslide was quite peculiar.

If the other party truly possesses the power to cause such a natural disaster in the mortal world while still sealed, why not simply break the seal directly?

After closing his laptop, Kujo Toru turned to look out the window.

The sky had already darkened.

I chatted with Munakata Kiyono for more than two hours, and it's already past six in the afternoon.

Although the town hall of Misaki Town's act of blocking information was intended to benefit its own political career, in a sense, it actually did a good thing.

This effectively prevents curious outsiders from making pilgrimages to the area, thus preventing the local deities from secretly expanding their influence.

"We can start preparing to visit the Daiyu Village ruins."

Kujo Tetsu's idea was simple: if he could exterminate it, he would; if not, he would reseal it.

Just like we treated the Black Fox back then.

However, it's currently the final exam review period, so it's not easy to ask for leave.

Hiratsuka Shizuka's side is easy to talk to, but the main problem is that Soubu High School has strict requirements for attendance.

He already took a full week off last week, and if he has to do it again, there is a very high chance that he will have to repeat the year.

Everything else is negotiable, but this is the one thing that Kujo Toru cannot accept.

He couldn't bear the embarrassment of being held back a year.

Fortunately, he now has an excellent reason not only to skip class and go to Fukuoka openly, but also to use public funds for meals and drinks.

early morning.

After washing up and changing into his Soubu High School uniform, Kujo Toru opened the door.

A crimson figure had already appeared in the square in front of the main hall.

Her dark red long hair was tied up with white sandalwood paper and fell behind her head.

Even the loose-fitting shrine maiden outfit couldn't hide the girl's graceful figure.

He held a bamboo broom in his slender fingers and meticulously swept the stone brick floor.

It's Uesugi Erii.

A week has passed since she last came here, and the cooldown period has ended.

"Morning."

Kujo Toru raised his hand to greet her.

The priestess turned around, saw him, and her slightly listless eyes immediately lit up.

He took out his notebook from his pocket and started writing and drawing on it.

【Good morning】.

"I'm going to school and I can't stay with you today, so you'll have to stay at the shrine quietly."

Perhaps because he had recently gotten used to taking care of Suzumoto Mayu, Kujo Toru subconsciously used the tone he used when talking to a child.

However, Erii Uesugi was not angry. Instead, she nodded vigorously and then lowered her head to write again.

Kujo Toru did not rush to leave, but stood quietly in place, looking at the little shrine maiden's delicate profile with a thoughtful expression.

He knew that the little witch was not actually a simple human.

The concentration of her inhuman bloodline was extremely high, and it possessed both divine and demonic power.

Rather than calling her a half-demon, it would be more accurate to describe her as a yokai-like deity with a humanoid appearance.

In Shinto terminology, this is equivalent to a living god.

If she could fully utilize the power within her body, she would far surpass all the yokai and gods that Kujo Toru had ever seen.

It can definitely reach the level of a great demon.

It's just strange that the little shrine maiden's own four souls are quite weak. Compared to Kujo Toru, she's not even as strong as an ordinary person, and she can't control this power at all.

This means that the other party usually doesn't dare to speak, because their abilities might go berserk.

The body gradually deteriorated under the erosion of this bloodline.

Although the little shrine maiden's family seems to have some means to suppress this change, in Kujo Toru's view, it is ultimately something that cannot last, and it is only a matter of time before it completely slides into the non-human side.

To completely eliminate this problem, the little witch's four souls must be strengthened so that her spirit and flesh can achieve a balance.

And coincidentally, he happens to have just such a thing on hand that can resolve the hidden dangers she faces.

Fresh persimmons.

Although it looks like a persimmon, it is actually the heart of the White Serpent God, which is as large as a valley in the world of Sekiro, and the sacred soul of the White Serpent God resides inside.

This thing is of little use to him; at most, he can use it to enhance the Holy Bone Sword, which possesses the same dragon and snake aura.

The problem is that he is equally uneasy about the Holy Bone Sword.

If the little witch could devour the fresh persimmon, it would actually solve one of his problems. Not only would his physical issues be completely resolved, but his abilities could even be further enhanced.

However, Kujo Toru wasn't sure.

If it succeeds, that's fine, but what if it fails? What if the White Serpent God is resurrected through the little witch's body?

He is not yet confident in handling this situation.

Let's put it aside for a while and talk about it later.

Kujo Tetsuko thought to himself.

Then a piece of paper was shoved directly into his face:

I also want to go and see the school.