In the mist.

All the sounds around were gone.

The chirping of insects, the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops, and even the busy sounds of the soul slayers on the radio in the car, everything was gone.

In my ears, the breeze blowing from the village seemed to whisper, but it couldn't catch a single word.

"Stop."

A few hundred meters from the village, Qiao Qiao stopped the van.

He stepped out of the car, the fog damp and sticky, with a jerky feel that made it hard to breathe.

"It's better to wear a gas mask."

Qiao Qiao said a word, and took one off and put it on himself.

At the end of the road is a green meadow that stretches out around the village, full of life but also a little eerie.

Towering trees with huge canopies of trees sits in all corners of the village, enveloping the city.

Raising his head, Qiao Qiao saw a full moon glowing crimson, which was shedding a hazy glow.

The road behind him was obscured by a thick fog, and no one knew what was in it.

The whole city is filled with a certain atmosphere of silence and madness.

In Qiao Qiao's spiritual vision, he could feel that the spiritual power around him was converging towards this village in some special form.

At this moment, there seems to be a huge vortex in the sky above the village, and it is difficult to escape.

"Uruz4, you stay here, use the drone to investigate the village, Uruz3, go find a suitable fire support point, the others, follow me, keep the communication normal."

"Yes!"

The shrine maidens sprang into action.

Nanase unfolded the communication equipment and confirmed the contact with the outside world.

Unfortunately, while the six people in the fog were able to communicate with each other normally, they were cut off from the outside world.

"The first priority for everyone is to keep themselves safe."

Qiao Qiao admonished.

Although they did a good job in the Soul Removal Martial Arts, they were still only new recruits, and it was the first time they had faced such an actual strange event.

The drone took off, and the cameras quickly transmitted the situation of the village back.

With the help of efficient drawing software, a simple topographic map was quickly drawn.

"This is Uruz4, and I've teleported the battle map to everyone's pad."

Qiao Qiao also changed into a tactical vest, and at the wrist of his left hand, the LCD screen showed a topographical map of the village.

Since he had seen the materials of the Removal Spirit Martial Arts before, and roughly analyzed the map of more than 200 villages in Mt. Hiei, Qiao Qiao quickly recalled the relevant information about this village.

The village, called Moyama Village, was one of the first villages to be established on Mt. Hiei, during the Taisho period, when Kyoto's cities were rapidly expanding into the mountains and forests.

But then, a vicious incident occurred in Maoshan Village.

A certain youkai, for unknown reasons, attacked this small mountain village, causing the entire village to be sacrificed with blood, giving birth to countless resentful spirits, and disturbing a large area near Mt. Hiei.

It even crossed the Kamogawa River and affected the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

The spirit-slayering masters in Kyoto gathered their forces and stormed the village of Moyama, and eventually, the entire village was completely purified.

Of course, the inhabitants of this place have long ceased to exist.

As a result, the village became an abandoned village, and because of the events that had happened in the past, it was closed until the Heisei era was lifted decades later.

Of course, the relevant information has been sealed, and for most young people, it is just an ordinary abandoned village where no one lives.

Since there had already been a battle, most of the village's buildings were incomplete, and the entire village had a decadent, desolate feel.

However, the trees that grow in the village burst out with vigorous vitality, and from a distance, under the moonlight, there is an illusion that the trees are emitting light.

Qiao Qiao looked at the map.

"The three areas with strong spiritual power are B3, C7, and E1, and I speculate that the shrine maidens of Riki Shrine may be one of them, and as for the remaining two, maybe they are where the kidnappers are."

After a brief glance at the village, Qiao Qiao quickly made a judgment.

After marking the map, he and Shinki Shinki and other shrine maidens quickly entered the village.

......

Yui Takeda, the shrine maiden of Riki Shrine, squatted in the corner with her head in her hands, shivering.

What, what's going on?

She looked at the other four companions.

There was a panicked look on everyone's faces.

After all, under the shrine maiden, they are only teenage girls, and when they encounter this strange situation, they can maintain their composure only a few, and most of them will be like Yui Takeda, panicking.

It's weird.

Yui Takeda thinks back to what happened before.

They were already in the process of exterminating the spirits, and because they couldn't find the remaining source of resentment, they searched the village.

Suddenly, Yui Takeda seemed to hear a word.

But before she could hear what she was talking about, the fog suddenly began to fill all around, the towering trees rose, and the whole world changed.

At first, Yui Takeda thought it was a new way to perform martial arts, but after joining up with their companions, they realized that they had arrived in a completely different village.

And that's not the end of it.

Because after a minute, Yui Takeda saw the youkai.

The yokai had no face, wore an old kimono, and had a broken sword hanging from his waist.

At the first sight of the youkai, Yui Takeda was stunned.

Can't beat it.

This isn't a replica of a simulated wraith or anything like that.

It's a real monster.

In most cases, they are youkai that these young shrine maidens can't reach.

And this monster is too strong.

It is powerful that can be seen at a glance.

I'm afraid that the five shrine maidens present together may not be able to solve it.

And not only that, but in this city, there are many more similar yokai.

A kimono samurai without a face, moving with a sword.

The five shrine maidens of Riki Shrine immediately hid.

They found that the faceless warriors did not seem to enter the room.

It should be safe for now.

Yui Takeda thought.

I don't know when my father will be able to find him.

She looked at the omori-shaped pendant around her neck, which had been processed by the Riki Shrine, and if Yui Takeda was in danger, the people of the Riki Shrine would be able to find her as soon as possible.

However, it had been more than ten minutes since this strange situation appeared.

Yui Takeda didn't feel any trace of any other soul slayer.

"Don't worry, we have a problem with the Spirit Removal Exercise, and the other Spirit Removal Masters will be able to find it soon."

A shrine maiden comforted everyone.

Yui Takeda nodded, holding the pendant tightly.

In the corner of the room, where the five people were not aware, their shadows suddenly moved.

Click-

Yui Takeda found that his pendant was cracked.