192 – Collapse – 7

If she was going to be abandoned, she would rather—.

She was in a state of despair.

Perhaps she wanted to vent her anger.

A massive prison with no way out.

Friends and older sisters who disappeared one by one every time she came to her senses.

Acting out a repeating daily routine without any hope, she merely pretended to notice nothing as she waited for her own death to approach someday.

This was not the first time outsiders had come.

As she always did, she acted as a lively and innocent shrine maiden, leaking information to outsiders as much as possible to a degree that would not be obvious to the other shrine maidens.

If she could plant even a tiny, minuscule fragment of doubt, that would be enough.

Because, just maybe, they might break this prison.

Because they might completely kill that abominable monster who, despite claiming to be a shrine maiden of the underworld goddess, clung only to the life before her.

Of course, her expectations were not high.

The outsiders were usually strong and confident, but in the end, they all became Kurenai’s prey and were sacrificed.

This time was bound to be no different.

She had held a slight expectation because there was at least a shrine maiden who wielded divine power, but that woman did not seem to have the ability to communicate directly with God and destroy this unreasonable ‘sanctuary.’

The other woman was ridiculously strong, but even so, she was infatuated with a single man and couldn’t pull herself together.

The man leading them was extremely handsome and seemed to possess power rivaling Kurenai’s, but he did not appear to possess the special quality needed to destroy this sanctuary.

His main armament being two shields, of all things—it was like a joke.

At the very least, one would have to be a mage who had reached the legendary realm to find a way out of here, a path of survival.

And… the remaining man.

First of all, just finding him was difficult.

“Who are you?”

It was a mistake to follow that man even at the cost of using shikigami.

Confronting the man who had approached hidden in the moon’s shadow on a quiet night and pointed a dagger at her neck, she finally admitted that she had underestimated him.

And for good reason: his appearance was ordinary, and the mana felt from him seemed to be Rare-grade at best.

How could she have known he would be capable of using a stealth technique unknown even to her, moving while evading Kurenai’s attention?

“Who are you to investigate us? Do the other shrine maidens share the same purpose? …Did that Kurenai order you to do it?”

He had an expression that looked as if he would run and slit Kurenai’s throat immediately if she replied yes.

“How did you know?”

“Because this is my specialty. Hiding, moving, and investigating. So—are you not going to talk?”

“…I can’t tell you.”

“Fine, then—”

“I wasn’t trying to cause any harm! I can swear to it. It’s just—there are things that become dangerous simply by knowing them.”

The man blinked.

“If there’s some kind of problem… let’s go together and talk to Brother Jun. If there’s something troubling you, if you just consult Brother Jun, somehow…”

“No!”

She ended up shrieking.

Surprised by her own voice, she trembled and clung to the arm of the man holding the dagger as she bowed her head.

“It will become even more dangerous. If you want to survive even a little longer—please, I beg you, do not pry.”

“…”

The man appeared to contemplate.

However, since he was also moving in secret here, he would not be able to act coercively against her.

Sure enough, the man let out a sigh and spoke.

“Fine… then prove your innocence.”

“Innocence?”

“Open your status window. You’re not going to say you can’t even do that, are you?”

“…What?”

She could not prove her innocence through the status window, but she could prove her alignment and abilities.

It would show whether she was a threat to the Lumen party, and that she did not play an important role in this barrier.

She did not know if he was convinced by that, but… the man spoke with a reluctant expression.

“I am still suspicious, you know? But since we’ve experienced more than a few strange things since coming here… I’ll keep my mouth shut as you said for now. Instead, stay by my side the entire time we’re here. If you do anything funny… you know what will happen, right?”

“B-By your side, yes…!”

Having absolutely no resistance to men, her face ended up turning red at his dignified and spirited declaration.

Realizing too late that what he had said could be highly misunderstood, the man also blushed and explained that he did not mean it that way.

“I said that to monitor you and make sure you do not do anything suspicious! And I would like you to help me as much as you possibly can.”

“If it’s something I can do…”

“Well, you know.”

The man’s face grew red enough to be clearly visible even in the dim surroundings.

“Things like shikigami… I was wondering if I could handle them too.”

…The reason the man had readily agreed to keep his mouth shut must have been because he wanted to make this request.

The moment she thought his embarrassed appearance was cute, she vaguely had a thought.

Perhaps the reason she had been trapped and suffering in this barrier all this time was all for this very moment, this meeting.

Of course, in the next moment, she shuddered at her own thought and strongly told herself that there was no way.

After that, quite enjoyable days followed.

She stayed close by his side just as he wanted, teaching him the shikigami arts, and as expected, he learned it in no time.

Not only that, she also leaked the information she had carefully gathered to him.

“Only those with Kurenai-sama’s permission can enter the main hall where the altar is located. So what you are looking for is probably there as well. I have never been inside either, but I have roughly planned a path to sneak in, so if we follow that—”

“If you tell me that much, isn’t that basically telling me everything?”

“Do you think there is anything Shin-kun could do even if he knew that? I only… wanted to prevent Shin-kun from moving recklessly, getting caught by Lady Kurenai, and hastening his death.”

“…Could you stop calling me ‘Shin-kun’? It is a bit cringey.”

“What on earth is wrong with calling Shin-kun ‘Shin-kun’? Besides, for someone who claims to dislike it, you seem to be smiling very brightly…”

“Sorry for being an otaku, it is because I’m an otaku…!”

Yes, she had to admit it.

She had no immunity to men, and staying close to a polite, kind, and cute man was bound to make her grow attached to him.

“No, I am not cute.”

“I can declare with certainty that Shin-kun is cute.”

“Actually, that is a bit of a trauma for me…”

So when she heard from him that there was a woman who treated him like a cute younger brother, she was honestly a bit piqued.

Because she could tell what he thought of that woman.

“…Shin-kun is cool.”

“What? You said I was cute earlier.”

“You complain even when I try to agree with you.”

As the date of one month drew closer, she became anxious.

Because she did not want to lose him like this.

But even so, she did not think she could do anything about it.

If, what if she acted differently from what Kurenai expected of her?

When she thought that she might be the one offered as a sacrifice, she could not dare to take a single step forward.

“Do not worry too much. I have already figured most of it out. We have Brother Jun, and we will be able to escape the barrier without any issues.”

“…”

“So… would you like to leave with us?”

“…I…”

Although it was the very statement she had been waiting for so desperately, she could not bring herself to nod.

She was afraid of drawing Kurenai’s hostile glare.

She liked the man, but she was even more afraid of death.

In the end, this was as far as she could go.

No matter how much she tried to muster up courage, there was nothing she could change.

Countless repetitions of the month, countless repetitions of despair and resignation…

At the end of the countless accumulated memories of the repeating days that everyone else had forgotten, they all became heavy shackles holding down her body and mind.

“I am… sorry…”

“I see. Then it cannot be helped.”

The man withdrew without trying to persuade her any further.

She quickly realized that a resignation similar to her own was reflected in the man’s eyes.

Perhaps he thought that she did not like him.

He had completely lost his confidence due to a long unrequited love.

An affection welled up within her, wondering how even that part of him could be so similar to her—but in the end, that was as far as it went.

Lacking courage, the two could not deeply interfere in each other’s lives and ended up stepping back.

As she wept in regret until the moment of the ritual, she realized at some point that the cycle had repeated once again.

While sighing, ‘As expected,’ she realized before long.

That the outsiders, including that man, were all unharmed.

That perhaps they might truly overcome Kurenai.

She rose from her seat.

She instinctively felt that now was the last chance to take that single step.

* * *

—But that man rejected you.

The sticky voice of a young woman flowed into her head.

—The man who appeared while forgetting all his memories of you treated your feelings as infinitely light. That is why he rejected you… That must be how you tried to understand him.

“…”

—But it was not like that. You tried hard enough. Even without his memories, you were still drawn to each other just the same. The fact that he had no memories—was merely an excuse to easily discard you and run away at the end.

“…N-No.”

—All men are like that. Even if they prostrate themselves and serve you like a queen as if they would offer the world, once they lose interest, they turn away coldly as if they never did. Yes, even though you only showed a slightly honest feelings.

She instinctively knew that it was the voice of the goddess they served.

Kore, the goddess of spring, seeds, and cycle.

Persephone, the goddess who rules the underworld.

—However, these were merely names accepted on the Leta continent to secure as many believers as possible and elevate her divinity.

On the continent they originally came from, she was called by a different name.

“Lady Izanami…”

Izanami.

In Japanese mythology, she was the goddess who descended to earth with Izanagi and gave birth to Japan.

After dying while giving birth and descending to the underworld, she became the undisputed queen of the underworld, declaring that she would kill a thousand people a day in revenge against Izanagi, who had come to fetch her but fled in disgust at her rotting body.

—You were abandoned too, weren’t you? Is that why you sought a chance for revenge? To offer your body to summon my power and take the revenge of death upon them!

“That is not it.”

Death invading her whole body.

Even as she felt her breath choking from the dense divine energy, she shook her head with difficulty.

Indeed, Eun-shin had rejected Renka’s feelings.

However, she, who was similar to Eun-shin, understood very well his painful feelings even as he rejected her.

“I did not want him to suffer after leaving the barrier… I wanted him to forget me… That was why.”

—Do not lie. You did not think this ritual would end just by sacrificing your body, did you? You already knew everything was distorted. You knew my power would run wild because of those abominable men!

“…”

Of course she knew.

It was all just an excuse.

“If you were going to reject me after treating me so kindly.”

If that was the case—she wanted to make him unable to forget her until the very end.

By showing him her death in front of his eyes—imprinting it deeply in his brain—she wanted to make him unable to forget her, torturing him for as long as possible.

Her desire was completely opposite to the excuse she had first made.

“Because I was… certain that the barrier would break this time.”

—Yes, you knew. As soon as you saw up close the terrifying power of that man—the man who commands the man you love—you realized. This time, this prison would truly break! That was why you could approach even more boldly. Without any hesitation, you tried to dedicate everything to that man!

“But…”

—But that man rejected you with a pathetic excuse. He lost interest. He could not bear you falling to the status of a slave. Your existence felt heavy to him.

Spewing all kinds of curses, the goddess…

Izanami, who hated all men and wanted to kill them, spoke.

—Surprisingly, an opportunity has come to you. A chance to take revenge yourself. Hold my holy relic, and accept my power.

“H-How…?”

—You are now Izanami’s shrine maiden—and a Letan. You are not a slave; you can do anything you want freely!

So hurry and take revenge on the man who abandoned you.

The goddess whispered stealthily.

Realizing the existence of the holy relic that was already held in her hand, she opened her eyes.

She felt a somewhat cozy touch.

Beyond the darkness surrounding her, a glowing hole was visible.

“Am I really… free? Did I not die?”

—Yes, surprisingly, it is thanks to that girl who swallowed all the curses and death overflowing in this space and ran away. Could this not be called destiny?

“Freedom… a chance.”

Then, this time for sure.

“If I still have a chance, I want to see Shin-kun…!”

—Once you meet him, what do you want to do? Speak honestly, my priestess.

“I want to be with him…! I want to cling to his side forever so that he will never forget me!”

—…Well, I figured as much.

The goddess let out a sigh.

—Then get out quickly, you foolish girl. Before the death that will soon rise again swallows you. In the name of Kore, the goddess of the cycle, I will make your dead and buried seed bloom again on the ground.

“Shin-kun!”

Blinded by love, the woman was no longer even properly listening to the voice of the goddess she served.

—Instead, you must never fail. You must not lose your man like I did!

“I understand!”

Like that, holding the half-remaining holy relic in her hand, she escaped from the underworld.

And on the surface she escaped to.

She smiled brightly as she faced Eun-shin, who had recalled his previous memories.

Eun-shin was a little afraid of such a version of her.