191 – Collapse – 6

“From now on, we will hold the ritual to offer sacrifices to Lady Kore and temporarily open the barrier.”

The ritual was held in the deepest part of the main hall where the goddess’s divine body was enshrined.

Placed on the central altar was a pomegranate emitting a fresh light as if it could be plucked and eaten right now, and as a bonus, the medal that Gi-jun had put forward after acting as if he was in great conflict.

A scene identical to twenty days ago… identical except for only two things, was unfolding there.

The reason the time limit was shortened was probably because Kurenai was wary of Gi-jun that much and wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible.

“……Renka.”

Eun-shin muttered blankly.

Yes, compared to the previous ritual, there were two differences.

One was, of course, that the holy relics placed on the altar had increased to two.

The other was that the shrine maiden attending close to Kurenai, in place of Murasaki who had been offered as a sacrifice last time, was now Renka.

Renka wore such a blank expression that anyone who had known her until now would be surprised, making it impossible to tell what on earth she was thinking.

The first heartbreak of her life—and perhaps her last—so it was only natural that she was shocked, but more than that, she wore an expression that gave off a strange sense of foreboding.

‘……Lucy, is it just my imagination? I’m feeling extremely anxious right now.’

—Actually, I think so too. But if we step forward now, Kurenai will notice. If, by any chance, she finds out that we are concerned about Renka, it might become even more troublesome.

He already had enough of a headache, and now another trouble was piled on top of it.

As Gi-jun knitted his brows, Kurenai, misunderstanding his gaze, let out a faint laugh and spoke.

“Fuhu, please do not worry too much. We are only borrowing the power of the holy relics temporarily, not consuming it.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

“It is a holy relic containing a truly hot energy. Although I do not know of it, it must be an item containing an absurd divinity…”

—Ahem! Did you hear that, contractor? You heard it clearly, right?

Kurenai spoke in a murmur as she stared intently at the medal, which was emitting a faint golden light on the altar.

There was no need to explain it at this point, but because Lucy was currently residing within the medal, the more Kurenai highly evaluated the medal, the more Lucy put on airs.

Indeed, since Kurenai could not tell them apart even when it was placed side by side with the pomegranate containing Persephone’s power, it was understandable why Lucy was boasting.

“Then let’s begin.”

“Of course.”

Kurenai began the ritual with a smile as bright as a safflower.

“Ah, eternal one who falls like winter and blooms like spring.”

She sang while dancing the Kagura dedicated to the Goddess of the Underworld.

Everything was the same as a month ago.

Renka, who filled Murasaki’s place, was also naturally blending into the shamanic song, just as a shrine maiden should.

Perfectly synchronized movements, a beautiful melody, and a terrifying mana blooming along with them.

Gi-jun watched this and consulted with Lucy.

‘What if Renka makes an unexpected move?’

—What do you mean, what? If it seems hopeless, we’ll have to give up on the evil spirit too and just break the barrier. I have to concentrate from now on, so don’t disturb me, contractor.

Acting cold only at times like this.

“Hyung, what should we do? Renka… perhaps.”

“Don’t think of ominous things.”

Perhaps Eun-shin, who had a deep connection with Renka, had also realized something; Gi-jun calmed him down as he fidgeted and focused on the ritual.

A dark, swirling mist rose, as if to shroud the altar where the pomegranate was placed.

Soon, the energy of the medal seemed to resonate with it, and a golden energy naturally mixed with it, forming a circular vortex.

A truly chilling yin mana and a mana that seemed to embody light itself mixed together, emitting a wave that overwhelmed everyone present.

“This is.”

Kurenai gasped for a moment, but—realizing she was already riding a tiger—she put on a sharp expression and shouted.

“We offer so many tributes to the Goddess of the Underworld, so please grant us a new cycle of spring!”

At that moment, the vortex expanded greatly, revealing the world filled with darkness beyond.

This was something that had never happened before.

“Whatever preparations you made, it’s already too late! This time—you can’t stop it this time!”

Kurenai’s sharp voice blended with the sound of the wind whipped up by the vortex, raging sharply.

Just as Gi-jun had devised a way to stop her, she too must have used some method on top of the existing ritual; compared to the last ritual, a far more overwhelming gravitational pull was dragging Gi-jun and his party members in!

“Lucy!”

—I connected it properly! I’m searching for the evil spirit… just hold on until then!

—Kieeeee!

In place of Lucy, who was controlling the holy relic, Ur grew giant, stepped forward, and pressed down on the floor.

The shrine maidens who were dancing the Kagura collapsed to the floor all at once—and Kurenai, who held the bell used for the ritual in one hand, widened her eyes and shook it.

“A spirit! To cheekily wield spiritual power in front of the Goddess of the Underworld!”

“The truly cheeky one is you, who shamelessly occupied the holy relic despite not even being the civilization representative.”

“Ha! I don’t know where you heard that from—but I was originally the person chosen to be the civilization representative! If only! If only Lady Kikyou had not died so miserably that day! I would have!”

“Guh—Jun, this is worse than what I heard! We might be fine, but the shrine maidens!”

The gravitational pull emitted by the vortex initially targeted only Gi-jun’s group—but as the divine power was twisted by Lucy and they stubbornly held out, it eventually mutated and went out of control.

Right now, everyone except Kurenai, who was controlling the holy relic, began to be dragged toward the vortex.

“Wait…… Renka!”

Excluding Kurenai, the one closest to the vortex was, of course, Renka.

As she looked like she would be sucked into the vortex at any moment, Eun-shin instinctively threw his body toward her.

Gi-jun, terrified by that, tried to stop Eun-shin, and Kurenai, grasping that there was a special relationship between the two, immediately aimed the bell toward Renka, but in the next moment—

Renka threw herself into the vortex first.

At the last moment, she was looking back at Eun-shin with a small smile.

“Ah?!”

It was not something he could say in front of the deeply heartbroken Eun-shin, but.

Gi-jun had to try incredibly hard to suppress his urge to ask if they were Romeo and Juliet or something.

But whether to call it good fortune or misfortune, the world did not rewind, nor did it collapse.

“Ha, did you think the ritual would end by sacrificing just one person? A truly foolish child to the very end…”

Even though she had intended to use Renka just now, Kurenai shamelessly babbled such words and shook the bell again.

“If you like that girl that much, you can follow after her! Sacrifice your body and contribute to the cycle led by Lady Kore!”

“……”

Eun-shin drew his dagger without a word.

As everything in the area was overturned and fluctuated, seeing him walk toward Kurenai without wavering, Gi-jun faintly realized that Eun-shin had not only learned shikigami arts here.

“Lucy, is it okay to kill that woman now?”

—Not yet, not yet——wait, now you can! I found it!

The moment Lucy cheered, the medal, which had been emitting a dazzling golden light, bounced off the altar and returned to Gi-jun’s hand.

Naturally, the vortex also contracted greatly, twisting once again.

“What?!”

From Kurenai’s perspective, who already believed she had taken possession of Gi-jun’s holy relic, it was something she absolutely could not believe.

“How?! I already completely dominated it with Lady Kore’s authority!”

—Kore my foot! If you want to oppose me, tell her to bring not just the underworld, but a darkness that covers half the world!

While Lucy was boasting, this time, something even more eerie revealed itself from beyond the vortex.

Fluttering lace dyed in pitch black.

Pale but beautifully sparkling skin.

Long hair fluttering like the night sky and two eyes shining bewitchingly.

The evil spirit, who had completely regained her beauty from when she was alive, was emerging with a sharp estoc in one hand.

—I have shown my benefactor a truly shameful sight…

As soon as she rushed out of the vortex, the evil spirit fixed her gaze on Gi-jun and bowed her head; her momentum—he could be certain—had reached a mature Legendary grade.

Even though it was by chance, it must have been because she was sucked into the underworld, which perfectly matched her wavelength, and absorbed a vast amount of its energy.

—Though I committed a great discourtesy and caused you trouble, fortunately, I have gained enough strength to make up for the troublesome effort. From now on, I will serve you with this.

—She’s really lucky. How does she get upgraded at the perfect timing wherever she goes? Is she some kind of game protagonist?

Lucy, the very person who had dragged the evil spirit out of the underworld to this side, grumbled that it was unfair.

That was also true, since a human who was originally at a level where it was doubtful if she was even Rare grade had gotten involved with Gi-jun, undergone several changes, and now appeared as a being who had reached the complete legendary stage.

“Wh… What is this? How, the authority of Lady Kore, how…”

Recognizing the evil spirit’s power, Kurenai gasped in astonishment.

Before long, the vortex slowly began to contract.

The gravitational pull that had been dragging everything around also died down.

This was because the connection to the underworld had grown faint as the evil spirit had sucked out the divine power contained within the holy relic.

“It can’t be like this… No!”

And the decrease in the power contained in the holy relic also meant that this barrier could no longer be maintained.

Kurenai rushed to the altar in a frenzy and grabbed the pomegranate, but at that moment, several pomegranate seeds rolled down.

Even if she hurriedly picked them up, they only slipped through her palm and vanished.

The holy relic, which had exerted its power for a long time, was finally completing its role and was about to collapse along with the barrier.

“No, no…!”

—No, seriously, I’m so mad. I originally planned to secure that holy relic intact!

—Is it not fine as long as I play a role that surpasses that? I am concerned that the squealing of that greedy pig might defile my benefactor’s ears.

—Hey, you, step outside.

Just as Gi-jun felt a sense of relief while listening to the bickering between Lucy and the evil spirit.

—Squelch.

A dagger was driven deep into the chest of Kurenai, who was holding the holy relic.

There was no need to ask whose dagger it was.

Eun-shin grabbed the collar of Kurenai, who collapsed on the spot, pulled her up, and looked back at Gi-jun for a moment.

“Do as you wish.”

“Thank you, Hyung.”

Everything they wanted had been achieved.

The barrier would also collapse soon.

As soon as Eun-shin received Gi-jun’s permission, he lifted Kurenai and threw her beyond the vortex that was just about to close.

Kurenai clutched the crumbling holy relic to the very end—but it would be of no help to her, who was already a corpse.

“……No, this is really the worst.”

When he raised his head, what he saw was not the ceiling of the shrine, but the wall of a cave.

The entire space melted away, connecting those inside to the place they were originally supposed to be… the volcanic cave of Uralta.

If there was a minor miscalculation, it was that even the shrine maidens in the village had been thrown into the volcanic cave as a whole.

Not to mention the shrine maidens who were performing the ritual, the shrine maidens scattered throughout the village doing their own work looked around in surprise at what had happened in an instant—and soon grabbed their heads and collapsed on the spot.

“……Ugh.”

“Ah, ahhh.”

Although they did not collapse, it was the same for Gi-jun’s party members, who began to suffer while clutching their heads.

He could roughly tell what had happened.

Escaping from the influence of the barrier… they must have remembered everything that had happened inside the barrier.

“In the end, nothing has been solved.”

—What are you talking about, contractor? We escaped the barrier, the party members grew stronger, and the evil spirit grew stronger too.

There were times when Gi-jun felt that Lucy was scary, and right now was one of those times.

—And the kid you wanted to save seems to have survived safely too.

But his thoughts changed immediately at her added words.

She raised her finger and pointed at a spot.

Beyond the vortex, which surprisingly had not disappeared and still remained.

A slender woman’s hand was reaching out.

In that hand, a half-remaining pomegranate was held.