In the spell dream, that is, in the strange space created by the shrine maiden Hitomi.

The time background of dusk is also coming to an end, leaving only a deep twilight and silence, and the sky has taken on a deep, dreamy and tranquil blue.

But the city here is still dead silent, devoid of any life.

After all, this is just a dream after all, and Hitomi didn't leave a deep impression on the city of Tokyo, which would not have appeared if it weren't for a few modern people involved.

But the impression of those ordinary people on the city can only be expressed to this extent, and it is impossible for their spiritual power to project the details of the entire city into concrete images.

- Even the general textures are made up by their subconscious.

It can be said that the whole city is just empty and empty, and it doesn't add up enough to make the shrine created by Hitomi more ......

Well, realism.

If the dream is a terrible nightmare map, such as a world of consciousness like "Evil Within", then the whole city is a "danger zone". Even if you don't spawn the monsters, it's likely to collapse on their own and fall apart.

Only the shrine made by Hitomi is the kind that belongs to the "safe house".

Therefore, the three of them are reluctant to leave now, so naturally they are still in the shrine. They had different thoughts, different thoughts, and from time to time they looked out of the door of the shrine.

Because Hitomi was outside, it seemed that she was preparing something, but she didn't seem to want them to see it.

So although they all wanted to see it with their own eyes, the three of them finally chose to stay in this shrine and waited quietly.

Even the rebellious teenager of the second middle school who was unwilling to go away and was dragged into the shrine by his sister and forced to sit down and wait, not allowed to go out.

And during this time, Maki also exchanged information with the two of them, most importantly, with Chihaya, trying to find out as much as possible what was going on.

After all, according to the sharpness of her spiritual sense, although she was much sharper than ordinary people, she was the lowest among the three ordinary people here now, so she was the latest to wake up in this dream.

Therefore, I missed the previous conversation, and I didn't understand what the specific situation was, so I could only rely on my own brain and guess.

……

……

Among the shrines.

The conversation seems to have entered a dead end again-

"In other words, Chihaya-chan, you're not actually a shrine maiden? Did we all misunderstand before? Maki was once again confused, and her eyes circled to make her own conclusions.

"No, Sister Maki, I'm indeed a shrine maiden...... It's just not like the kind you understand.,Compared to Hitomi.,I'm just a shrine maiden by profession.,I don't have any special abilities.。 ”

The girl named Chihaya sighed, although she also frequently turned her head to look outside, a little absent-minded, but she still patiently explained to the other party.

"Is there such a big difference between a shrine maiden and a shrine maiden? Or is it because Chihaya-chan you haven't really inherited the shrine yet, so it's not ...... Don't have such capabilities? ”

Maki still can't understand that since it's the same shrine maiden, it shouldn't be any different, right?

Besides, she thought that Hitomi was unprofessional, the kind that works part-time-

When in this world, temporary workers are better paid than regular workers with formal staff?

"No, it's a profession for us, at least I've never heard of shrine maidens really having any special powers......

The young shrine maiden, who was an ordinary human, shook her head, her expression a little lost.

"I used to think that those things were some old legends, stories made up by people in the past, before I met Hitomi......"

“……”

“……”

"No, I feel like I'm getting more and more confused about the current situation, and I have to sort it out...... Then again, I'm really not dreaming right now, am I? ”

Maki thought about it with a bitter face, she found that she was really confused, and she couldn't figure out what was going on, she was really still dreaming, right?

She also felt that her worldview had collapsed now, and she began to wonder if the information she had seen and heard before was true. Or has this world never belonged to human beings, and many strange stories and legends are not groundless?

“…… Didn't I say it before, you are indeed dreaming now. ”

At this moment, a faint voice sounded, and the answer was concise and to the point. But it's not Chihaya, and this awe-inspiring and clear tone clearly belongs to only one person.

"Hitomi!"

Chihaya stood up abruptly, her voice full of surprise, but then, her pupils contracted suddenly.

Hitomi walked in from the outside at this time, and although she wanted to isolate these people before, but—

If these people resist, it is not feasible to forcibly expel them, and it may cause a certain impact or even harm to their spirits......

Therefore, Hitomi plans to simply wait until she has completed what she has to do, and just withdraw the spell.

At that time, this dream will disappear on its own, and the person who falls into this dream will naturally wake up without any effect...... At most, a considerable part of the mental power will be abnormally depleted.

It's like a person who doesn't have a good rest, but is more tired and loses more energy after a good night's sleep.

"Is it really a dream? Then I'm relieved......"

Maki nodded as if she didn't understand, patted her chest and felt relieved, she completely misunderstood what Hitomi meant, and just thought that all this was her own dream.

But in the next moment, the relaxed expression she had just revealed also froze instantly, and it looked no different from Chihaya.

"Hitomi! You! You...... Your hand ......" Chihaya's eyes widened and she stammered in exclamation, and instead of rushing forward, she took two steps back in fear.

“……！！”

Tomoya, the second-year teenager, opened his mouth wide and gasped, staring at the scene in front of him.

Hitomi's face was unusually pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her smooth forehead, she glanced at her empty left sleeve, but her expression was quite indifferent and calmly shook her head.

She whispered, "Don't worry, it's a necessary price." Moreover, the body on which I relied was originally a ...... It's just a puppet made by someone. ”

“……”

“……”

The three of them didn't know what to say at all, and there was a kind of deathly silence in the field for a while.

They seem to understand, but they don't seem to understand, but they all have a kind of realization for no reason...... This awe-inspiring and calm girl doesn't seem to have encountered some bloody plot in their imagination.

It's the kind of death that is worse and no one can change it, and it is bound to come—she seems to be ...... Not a living person anymore?

What happened to you, and why do you now say that your body is just a puppet?

But it seemed that it was exactly like that, her left hand seemed to be either injured or simply gone, but there was no blood flowing...... It's as if it's really just a doll that has removed one of its arms.

Hitomi has no intention of explaining this in further detail.

It's just a dream, not the real world, and it's not really her body. It's just that although it can't be said that spirit reflects matter, what appears here is her most real existence, called "self".

So it's nice to have an injury that is inevitable, or rather just to pay for a left hand...... After all, she wants to interfere with her body at the moment, or her soul, through this method.

The main thing is to try to see if you can directly remove a certain mark, about the mark left by that person in her soul.

After all, no matter what, Hitomi is now resurrected by that person, and it is indeed a marionette in the hands of that person, and there is no real free soul......

It's just that after he really implemented his idea, Hitomi knew that this possibility was not slim, but it was impossible at all, and that person's ability seemed to be extremely aimed at the soul.

So she finally changed her mind at the beginning, intending to take her own power to decide her life and death into her own hands.

At least don't be completely manipulated, and you can choose to destroy your own soul directly at a critical moment...... Even if you can't decide how you want to live, you must at least be able to decide how you want to die.

"That'...... Did what you're going to do succeed in Hitomi? Chihaya bit her lower lip tightly, trying not to look at the shrine maiden's empty left sleeve.

"It's a failure, that man...... It's coming. ”

Hitomi didn't hide anything about it, she had already sensed that her consciousness was locked by a breath, and she hadn't been able to remove the mark just now, but had actively touched it.

But it was nothing, if she didn't do anything, it would drag on for another night or two at most, and innocent people would be disturbed.

"In that case, it doesn't make any sense, does it? Why the hell are you doing that...... Isn't it possible to solve the problem by more peaceful means? ”

Chihaya couldn't understand it at all, and she didn't know what was going on between "that person" and Hitomi. The naïve girl only thinks that everything in this world has a chance to be resolved peacefully.

Hitomi raised an eyebrow, she was about to say something, but at this moment-

A palm came from behind her, and to be exact, only the white phalanges remained, and gently rested on her shoulder.

"I think she's right! There's no need to do this, but there's something you can discuss...... Aren't you causing trouble for everyone? ”

“……！！”

The witch was startled, she subconsciously turned around, and just a thought, the extremely powerful enchantment had been triggered!

A faint film of light spreads instantly, presenting an arc of outline and striking out.

However, there was no effect, the other party seemed to be just being blown by the wind, and her long hair was scattered and flying behind her, but she was still not moving, and the hand was still on her shoulder.

Mo Chen glanced at her lightly, smiled lightly, and then the hand slipped directly from Hitomi's shoulder, and grabbed her white wrist along her arm.

There was no warning at all, and even Hitomi herself couldn't detect how this was happening, and her left hand, which had been gone, was gently grasped, as if it had never been lost.

“……”

Feeling the cold sensation coming from the skin on her wrist, the shrine maiden pursed her lips tightly and fell silent.

It was just a moment that she understood that she couldn't do anything in the end, and the other party didn't need bluff deterrence, nor did she need to show her strength with great fanfare.

However, it was so simple that she saw the gap of despair.

There is no way, all ideas are in vain, and any resistance is just delusion...... In the face of absolute strength, no strategy and wisdom are worth mentioning.

She glanced at the three people not far away, and then slowly lowered her long eyelashes—

"I'll go back with you, please stop here, don't hurt anyone who has nothing to do with it......"