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

The courtyard is paved with gravel and has a small pond. Several cherry blossom trees are planted in the courtyard, their withered branches crooked and twisted, as if they are baring their teeth and claws.

The moment he stepped inside, Kujo Toru sensed something was amiss.

The aura of the underworld in the rear hall was much weaker than that in the main hall.

This change was noticed not only by him, but also by Asagi Yoshino.

He kicked away all the rubble with his right foot, revealing a layer of white powder at the bottom. After sniffing it, Kujo Toru confirmed the powder's identity.

"It's actually lime..."

An idea suddenly flashed through his mind, and he stopped in his tracks, carefully examining the layout of the dwelling.

Chao Wufang was puzzled, but he stopped anyway, wondering what he had discovered this time.

She has completely given up.

After tonight's experience, she felt that all her reading of Shinto scriptures had been in vain, as she couldn't understand anything. She might as well have just waited for Lord Kujo to interpret them for her.

If I don't have the brains for it, I won't waste my energy.

"It seems that Yato-gami is about to be resurrected."

The sudden words surprised Yoshino Asatake quite a bit, so much so that she doubted whether she had heard them clearly.

"resurrection?!"

When Yatogami was sealed away four hundred years ago, it had already lost its physical body; what was sealed was its soul.

If Kujo Toru meant breaking the seal, Asatake Yoshino was actually somewhat prepared.

After all, it had been ten years since Daimura and Kurokawa Shrine were completely destroyed. In such a long time, it was quite normal for the seal to loosen and be broken by Yatogami.

But what's with the resurrection?!

However, Kujo Toru had no intention of explaining at the moment, and instead headed straight for the mansion.

Let alone Yoshino Asagi, even he, if it weren't for the blessing of the ritual incantations in Onmyodo and the sudden flash of inspiration just now, probably wouldn't have been able to see the truth behind it.

From the very beginning, neither the Kurokawa Shrine nor the burning mountain ritual existed to suppress the underworld and the Yato-gami, but rather to revive this vengeful spirit.

Although several key aspects remain unconfirmed, if true, one can only say that the person who created such a design is truly remarkable.

Not only were his ideas bold and imaginative, but his use of Yin-Yang techniques and rituals was also almost taken to the extreme.

It's unclear whether this was done by the Kurokawa family or by someone else behind it.

However, according to the information provided by Yoshino Asatake and the inscription on the stone tablet in front of the main hall, Toru Kujo leans more towards the latter.

It's just unclear whether the Kurokawa family was aware of this and willingly pushed it forward.

With the same merciless kick, both the barrier and the mansion's gate were breached, completely opening the rear hall to Kujo Toru.

The entrance hall was quite spacious, at least enough for Kujo Toru and Asagi Yoshino to walk side by side.

The room was pitch black, without a single ray of light, but this darkness didn't affect the two of them much.

I went straight in.

crunch.

The wooden floor made an unpleasant sound.

Although the Kurokawa Shrine has been completely destroyed by the aura of the underworld, and the past ten years have not left any traces of time on it, judging from the inscriptions on the stone tablet, it is still an old building that was built during the Taisho era.

Even though the Kurokawa family had done many repairs in the past, it was difficult to avoid aging, just like the floor underfoot, which had turned black.

Just stepping on it feels soft, as if it might break completely at any moment.

Asatake Yoshino gripped Muramasa tightly with her right hand, her eyes blazing as she surveyed the furnishings of the room.

He followed carefully behind Kujo Toru.

Having previously encountered an attack from remnants of the spirit within the main hall, she dared not let her guard down in the slightest.

"Lord Kujo, there are drops of blood on the floor."

She spoke softly, pointing her left hand to her feet.

Kujo Toru glanced at it and saw a few drops of bright red blood dripping down beside the girl's shapely, smooth calves, showing no signs of drying.

"Yes, I know. We'll talk about it later. I need to investigate something here first."

Things have varying degrees of importance, and this is a matter of urgency.

For Kujo Toru, defeating Yatogami is no longer the most important thing right now.

This is a typical Japanese-style mansion. The two walked along the deep corridor and came to the end, where a sliding door blocked their way.

Without resorting to force to clear a path, Kujo Toru pushed open the door normally and walked inside, much to Asagi Yoshino's surprise.

The space suddenly became spacious, and another courtyard appeared before us, surrounded by rows of rooms with their paper sliding doors tightly closed.

A gravel path runs straight through the courtyard, leading to a narrow back door, beyond which lies the mountain forest.

The courtyard behind the main gate is for welcoming guests and is considered the outer courtyard, while this is the actual living area.

Asagi Yoshino's body tensed up.

Because there are lingering spirits everywhere, at least a dozen or so.

Although there weren't as many remaining priests as in the main temple, at least they didn't move; they just stood there quietly.

The remaining people in the courtyard were all doing their own thing.

They had no sense of reason whatsoever; they were merely a lingering image, endlessly repeating what they did on their last day.

Judging from their clothing and appearance, these remaining people should be the servants of this mansion.

"Today is the first time Miss Ritsuki has presided over a grand festival since becoming a shrine maiden. We must quickly remind the master to prepare."

A short-haired girl hurried down the corridor with her head down, passing right through Asagi Yoshino's body, making her shiver involuntarily.

Although these things are not even spirits and have no effect on the human body, the psychological unease is still hard to get rid of.

Kujo Toru keenly noticed her words.

No need to mention Ritsuki-san; she most likely refers to Kurokawa Ritsuki, the last shrine maiden of Kurokawa Shrine.

Could that so-called master be the head of the Kurokawa family, Kurokawa Ritsuki's father?

A thought struck me.

"Let's go, let's follow her."

The two followed the girl's remaining body to a room door, where they watched as she knocked on the door.

"Sir, the ceremony is about to begin."

He then stood still, clearly waiting for a reply from the person inside the room.

However, Kujo Toru and his companion did not need to abide by these Kurokawa family rules and simply opened the door and went inside.

This is a typical quiet room, with bookshelves in the corner filled with classic books.

A middle-aged man wearing a black haori with bird patterns knelt in front of the painting, looking at the open book in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Kiritsuki. I still made Ritsuki a priestess. Please forgive me, your useless father..."

The soft voices drifted through the quiet room, and then the middle-aged man made no further sound.

Clearly, these were all that remained of his legacy.

Kujo Toru first took a close look at the painting hanging behind him.

The painting on the shakuhachi board is not complicated in content.

The two men stood side by side, one dressed in a dark purple hunting robe and a tall hat, handing a book to the other man who was wearing a kimono with a bird pattern.

The words "[Spring of Taisho 2nd year]" are written next to it.

Is this the benefactor mentioned on the stone tablet?

Kujo Toru gave the man in the hunting robe a deep look.

Unfortunately, the profiles of the two people in the painting are completely blank, and it's unclear whether this was intentional on the part of the artist.

Of course, it's also possible that the artist himself never saw what the two people actually looked like, so he couldn't draw them.

After all, it was the second year of the Taisho era, which is 110 years ago. If it were an ancient painting that had been passed down from that time, it would be difficult for it to be in such good condition if it were just hung up like this.

Looking down at Can Nian, he reached out and picked up the book in front of the middle-aged man.

Asahi Yoshino also curiously peeked over.

Silver-white hair slipped down her shoulders, and a faint fragrance wafted from her body.

The paper begins by stating directly:

[A gift from a noble person, the mountain-burning ceremony.]

Every ten years, one girl aged fourteen to eighteen from the Kurokawa family lineage must be selected. After being cleansed of impurities, she can become a priestess and preside over the mountain-burning ceremony on the last day of the seventh lunar month.

[Once one becomes a priestess, one's mind should be free of obstacles and perfectly pure, only then can one be reborn as a celestial being during the ritual.]

[Those who are celestial beings are pure and immaculate, and can ward off calamities.]

As for the "calamity" mentioned here, it can be understood as either Yatogami or Yomi.

It seems that after the Kurokawa family rebelled, although they did not obtain the inheritance of the Asabu main family and the sacred sword Muramaru, they did obtain the burning mountain ritual from the man in the hunting robe.

For the next hundred years or so, this ritual was used to protect the peace of Daigo Village.

If the shrine maiden is chosen from among many, why were Kurokawa Kiritsuki and Kurokawa Ritsuki circled on the list from ten years ago?

Two priestesses appeared in the same year?

Kujo Toru put the question aside for the time being and continued to look ahead.

[A secret technique for cleansing oneself of impurities.]

[Women of marriageable age must enter the underground palace to undergo the baptism of the Five Hells, temper their minds, break free from their shackles, and return to their pure and unhindered state.]

The so-called five hells are the feet, arms, abdomen, chest, and skull.

These few simple lines of text, however, contain a strong sense of bloodshed.

When Asahi Yoshino saw this, her face turned pale.

The Five Hells mentioned in this secret technique refer to five kinds of punishments: amputation of the feet, cutting off the arms, disembowelment, piercing the chest, and beheading. These punishments use physical pain to stimulate the four souls of the person experiencing them.

After the final beheading, the physical body dies completely, and the four souls, stimulated by the pain, reach their strongest moment, thus transforming into a spirit body and possessing powerful spiritual energy.

However, throughout the entire process, the person undergoing the execution must not die before the final beheading.

In other words, one must not only have an extremely strong will to survive, but also an inhuman will to gradually perceive the passing of one's own life.

Furthermore, one must not harbor even the slightest resentment, otherwise the transformed spirit will be directly twisted into a vengeful spirit, making it impossible to preside over the subsequent burning mountain ritual.

As for the fate of the losers, need I say more?

"This is utterly evil magic!"

The girl gave her evaluation, but only regarding this secret technique.

She couldn't draw a conclusion about the Kurokawa family's actions.

On one side are Yatogami and Yomi, who need to be suppressed; on the other side are countless young girls of the Kurokawa family who have died unjustly over the past century.

Both sides are too burdensome.

Kujo Toru nodded in agreement with her point of view.

I turned two more pages, and the paper was blank, with no other content.

As soon as the book was closed, an orange flame suddenly ignited, licking the pages. Moments later, the book, which contained bloody secret techniques, was completely reduced to ashes and disappeared from the world.

"Let's go and check out the other rooms."

Kujo left without looking back and began to open the paper sliding doors one by one to search inside.

Judging from the contents of the book, the Kurokawa family did not seem to discover the trickery behind the mountain burning ceremony, but only regarded it as a means to suppress the disaster.

He is now almost certain that the Kurokawa family was kept in the dark by that man in the hunting robe from the very beginning, and that the man was trying to revive Yato-gami from the start.

However, it's still uncertain whether that person left anything behind; we need to check again.

If the other party can fool the Kurokawa family once, they can fool them a second time.