Let’s turn the clock back a little.
It was somewhat of a coincidence.
Right at the same time the two police officers came knocking on Kitahara Minakaze’s door.
Downstairs.
A chief priest dressed in a pure white kariginu, purple sashinuki hakama, and asagutsu shoes lowered his hand from a hand seal.
After waiting for the guarding police officer to leave with a wooden expression, he slid open the door and walked into a certain hospital ward.
Inside the ward.
Two people lay there.
They were none other than the miko and the Salaryman Uncle who had clashed with Kitahara Minakaze earlier that evening.
“Chief Priest.”
“…”
Seeing the chief priest enter, the Salaryman Uncle—whose injuries were relatively lighter—immediately made a show of struggling to sit up.
The chief priest waved his hand.
Gesturing for him not to move.
The Salaryman Uncle immediately stopped struggling.
In truth, he couldn’t get up anyway.
Both of them were in a rather miserable state right now.
The Salaryman Uncle’s right arm and both legs were in casts, hoisted high in the air.
His head was wrapped in thick bandages, and he wore a neck brace.
The miko, on the other hand, was in an even worse condition.
Upon hearing the noise just now, she had only shifted slightly and tried to open her mouth to speak, but the agonizing pain from her abdomen nearly made her pass out again.
The source of the pain wasn’t just the stab wounds, but also the lingering aftermath of Kitahara Minakaze’s punch.
The chief priest slowly paced over to the miko’s side.
The miko, her eye sockets deeply sunken, looked at the chief priest.
Breathing rapidly, she spoke in a voice as quiet as a mosquito, “Junichi, he…”
“You’ve worked hard.”
The chief priest shook his head.
After a moment of silence, his expression suddenly turned slightly strange as he said, “I went to see him. Rest assured, he will be fine.”
The miko breathed a sigh of relief.
After taking a few more rapid breaths, she said hoarsely, “I’m sorry… I disappointed you.”
In truth, she was the oldest member of the clergy at the Taira Clan Goryo Shrine.
She and the chief priest had known each other for a long time and harbored mutual affection.
To some extent, Taira Junichi—the son born to the chief priest and his ex-wife—was an obstacle to her.
But even if he was an obstacle, and even if deep down she harbored a dark sliver of hope that Taira Junichi would just die completely, she couldn’t show it right now.
After all, Taira Junichi had been beaten half to death right in front of her.
“Lie down.”
The chief priest shook his head, seemingly oblivious to the petty thoughts of the woman before him.
He turned his gaze to the Salaryman Uncle.
After a moment of silence, he asked, “Iwai-san, so this time was also a failure, correct? Could you please explain what happened?”
The Salaryman Uncle lowered his head and said, “It was because of that shrine maiden’s older brother again.”
“An ordinary person?”
“An ordinary person.”
The chief priest shifted his gaze to the miko.
Enduring the pain in her abdomen, the miko spoke with difficulty, “He is indeed an ordinary person, but it’s not as simple as him just having good reflexes. He’s practically inhuman.”
“Inhuman…” The chief priest lowered his head, pondering.
The Salaryman Uncle felt a bit apprehensive.
Fortunately.
The chief priest raised his head without any intention of venting his anger, simply saying that he understood.
The Salaryman Uncle breathed a sigh of relief.
It was truly wonderful to meet such a lenient employer.
He sighed in admiration.
After listening to their brief accounts, the chief priest didn’t press for further details.
He walked over to the Salaryman Uncle’s side, extended his right hand, and began to chant.
His voice was very soft.
But it carried a soothing quality that calmed the mind and soul.
As the chief priest chanted softly, the Salaryman Uncle slowly felt his agitated heart settle down, and a cool, refreshing sensation spread from his injuries.
The Salaryman Uncle didn’t understand the specific mechanics behind it; he only knew it felt incredibly comfortable, like bathing in a spring breeze.
He guessed it must be some kind of blessing.
“…”
The Salaryman Uncle subconsciously closed his eyes.
The chief priest standing beside him suddenly swayed.
The chanting also paused.
The chief priest smacked his own head hard.
Then, he resumed chanting.
Once the chief priest finished chanting, the Salaryman Uncle opened his eyes, wanting to express his thanks.
“Thank…”
But the moment he opened his eyes, he was met with a twisted face.
His words immediately caught in his throat.
“There’s no need.”
The chief priest’s gentle voice formed a stark contrast with his twisted, terrifying face.
Seeing this bizarre scene.
The Salaryman Uncle suddenly felt a bit cold.
A chill shot straight up from his tailbone to the crown of his head.
Meanwhile, the chief priest seemed completely unaware of his own abnormality as he walked over to the miko’s side.
“Taira-san…?”
The miko also saw the chief priest’s expression.
Enduring the agonizing pain, she shifted to the side in terror.
“Hmm? Don’t worry, you’ll be fine soon.”
The chief priest, his face twisted like an evil spirit, spoke in a gentle voice.
He raised his right hand toward the miko, preparing to chant.
And as he chanted.
His ferocious expression vanished once again.
He reverted back to the Taira-san in the miko’s memory—the humorous, refined man who made people feel as though they were bathing in a spring breeze.
The miko breathed a sigh of relief.
“Why are you not even as good as a kamuro?”
However.
Just as she breathed that sigh of relief, the chanting stopped.
The chief priest suddenly asked.
“What…?” The miko looked at the chief priest, whose eyes were closed and expression calm, and was just about to ask.
But the next second.
The chief priest’s hand clamped down tightly around her neck.
“I asked you, why are you not even as good as a kamuro?”
“No… are you Sadahito? Sadahito, you want me to trade the Three Sacred Treasures for my brother? Do you take me for a fool too?”
“Why did we lose? You ask me why we lost to Minamoto no Yoshitsune at Dan-no-ura? Kiyomune! It was because of you!”
“Haha, Tachibana no Kiminaga… I ripped your head off too. I told you I would definitely rip your head off, and look, I did it… Sob… You all take me for a fool, you all take me for a fool.”
The chief priest wore a peaceful expression, yet his mouth began muttering incoherent, disjointed words.
Finally, he began to whimper and sob.
Yet his right hand remained clamped in a death grip around the miko’s neck.
“Urgh—Taira—”
The miko, her face turning a bruised purple, raised both hands and grabbed the chief priest’s arm, trying to pry it off, but she couldn’t budge it at all.
The hand strangling her neck squeezed harder and harder.
His meaningless muttering grew faster and faster.
Snot, tears, and saliva streamed down the miko’s face due to suffocation.
She began to struggle desperately.
The desire to survive made her ignore the pain.
Her legs thrashed, and her hands began to wildly pound against the chief priest’s arm.
“I asked you, why are you not even as good as a kamuro?”
A faint smile suddenly appeared on the chief priest’s peaceful face, as if he had thought of something wonderful.
But in stark contrast to his expression, his voice grew increasingly violent.
He asked the miko that very first question once again.
The miko struggled.
Due to suffocation, she couldn’t utter a single word.
“Chief Priest!”
The Salaryman Uncle, recovering from his initial shock, shouted loudly.
“Hmm?”
The chief priest turned his head, opened his eyes, and asked calmly, “What is it, Iwai-san?”
It was as if he had no idea what he was doing.
While one hand maintained a death grip on the miko’s neck, he casually conversed with the Salaryman Uncle.
The miko’s struggles began to weaken.
The Salaryman Uncle looked at the double pupils in the chief priest’s right eye socket.
He fell silent for a moment and didn’t speak. Find the original chapter at g.com.
In truth, it was too late to say anything anyway.
Because the miko.
Had already been strangled to death by him.
…
“Ah…”
In the same hospital.
First floor, Dentistry Department.
The mute girl who had been sitting next to Kitahara Minakaze, the one possessing the [Bearing the Weight of Descent] status.
The eldest daughter of the Miyata family.
Miyata Yui stood with her hands behind her back, opening her small mouth as wide as possible to show her teeth to the doctor.
The still-charming female doctor used a small wooden depressor to press her tongue down.
After briefly examining her teeth, she looked up and said, “There are indeed signs of shallow cavities.”
Miyata Yui closed her mouth and smiled somewhat sheepishly.
The female doctor advised, “Don’t eat so many snacks from now on, and make sure to rinse your mouth frequently after eating…”
Hearing this, Miyata Yui didn’t wait for her to finish before immediately nodding vigorously, full of energy.
Seeing her like this, the female doctor smiled and said gently, “Then go take an X-ray in a bit…”
“Ah… Call the police! Quick… call the police! Someone’s head got chopped off! Their head got chopped off!”
The female doctor was just about to instruct Miyata Yui on what to do next.
When suddenly, a panicked scream rang out.
Interrupting her.
The female doctor frowned and gestured for Miyata Yui to wait.
While she herself ran out to ask about the situation.
Outside.
It was chaotic.
Listening to the conversations.
It seemed that some young man who had just been sent to the ICU.
Had his head chopped off.
Miyata Yui listened to the conversations coming from outside, not paying much mind to them.
After watching the doctor leave, she looked up at the ceiling.
Then, she dug into the pocket of her little skirt, pulled out a piece of candy, tore open the wrapper, and popped it into her mouth.
…
Still in the same hospital.
Inside the elevator.
“Oh?”
Fujiki Makoto, who had just finished questioning Kitahara Minakaze, suddenly stopped talking on his way down.
He pressed the button for the second floor.
Once the elevator doors opened, he stepped out.
Miwa Kei, sensing something as well, followed after him.
The two eventually arrived at the ward where the miko was staying.
They walked up to the door and stood still, separated only by the sliding door.
Inside.
The miko had just stopped struggling.
Miwa Kei twitched the corner of his mouth, dug into his pocket, and pulled out a cigarette.
“…Let’s go. Leave it be, it’s the chief priest.”
Fujiki Makoto stood quietly at the door for a moment before turning his head and leaving directly.
“Is it an ancestor from the Taira clan’s side?” Miwa Kei asked as he followed behind him, lighting his cigarette.
“Yeah.”
“Taira no Kiyomori?”
“No, this isn’t Kyoto, and right next door is Kamakura, the stronghold of the Taira clan’s mortal enemies, the Seiwa Genji… It should be that Taira no Kiyomori who was beheaded halfway by Tachibana no Kiminaga.”
“Is that so… Well, I hope he holds out. I really don’t want to go on a subjugation mission.”
Fujiki Makoto ignored him.
Miwa Kei didn’t mind.
With the cigarette dangling from his lips and his hands clasped behind his head, he sighed to himself, “How pitiful.”
The sound of their footsteps gradually faded away.
Meanwhile, inside the ward.
It was dead silent.
The so-called protection of ancestors, the blessings of gods.
Sometimes.
They were nothing more than beautiful fantasies born from the self-righteousness of outsiders.