Chapter 342

Rain.

Rain everywhere, beneath the rain curtain that blots out sky and sun, the inner world arrives faster and more ferociously than before.

The rainwater seems alive, dissolving, twisting, and reassembling the shrine's outline; spatial sense is scrambled, familiar roads vanish, the surrounding scenery grows more dilapidated, gloomy, and suffused with an oppressive dampness and despair that will not disperse; the shrine itself seems to have "come alive," exhaling a suffocating malice.

This is the inner world: within the rain curtain, Sato, waiting at the rear, suddenly moves without warning, directly attacking Uesugi Muneyuki—he whips an electric baton from his backpack behind him with extreme speed and thrusts it straight at Uesugi Muneyuki's back.

In the downpour, everything around is shrouded in a hazy blur; Uesugi Muneyuki appears defenseless, and once he is taken down, the National Goddess Shirakawa Mai will naturally belong to them.

However, Uesugi Muneyuki and Mai Xuejie are not unprepared.

In fact, the moment these people spotted Uesugi and the white-haired Mai, Uesugi Muneyuki already knew the leader, Takahashi, was at least problematic, because at that time he and Mai Xuejie were under the effect of a weak-presence invisibility technique, so anyone facing them would perceive them merely as an ordinary New Year-traveling couple; even those very familiar with the two would at most feel a sense of déjà vu and facial familiarity, impossible to recognize who they truly are.

Yet the opponent could recognize them, which proves the opponent is also an inner-world entity!

Normally, when two inner-world entities meet in the wilderness, the outcome is essentially predetermined—only one can survive.

But this is after all Uesugi Muneyuki's first encounter with such a situation; he differs from Mai Xuejie and for a moment still finds it hard to deliver a killing blow, and moreover the other three appear to have no inner-world aura; Mai Xuejie clearly realizes that at this moment urging Uesugi Muneyuki to actively kill is still rather difficult, so she simply agrees to proceed as a group of six—on one hand to let Uesugi Muneyuki witness the terror of the inner world, on the other she wants to know what these people are doing at Kurosawa Shinai, whether they possess information unknown to us.

Now, with Sato suddenly whipping out an electric baton from his backpack, Uesugi Muneyuki finally confirms: these four are indeed a group and come with ill intent!

In that case, I no longer need to pretend to be a gentleman!

Summoning Hironaka Mariko and Miyahara Toru at extreme speed, Uesugi Muneyuki roars in anger; Hironaka Mariko materializes from the void, her strength greatly increased after absorbing all the grudge power of Saijo Yasue, she lets out a sharp cry as her claws transform into purple light blades, she bats aside Sato's electric baton in one sweep—the modified high-voltage current blackens Hironaka's claws, and as Sato charges forward in his assault jacket, she leaves three purple-black claw marks on his body, from which blood immediately flows!

"Nya~nya~nya~" Miyahara Toru's reaction is also very swift; the emergency inhaler's shake-shake music sounds, and the smoke ghost spits out a thick stream of white smoke in the rain curtain, the dense fog completely enveloping the other three's location.

"You really are!" Takahashi finally reacts at this moment: "Uesugi, you really are an inner-world entity—no wonder you're so good at solving cases! I've suspected you all along!"

Having said that, Takahashi finally displays his inner-world ability: only see him extend his arm, light flickers, and a sturdy earth wall rises from the ground, sealing off the white smoke spat out by Miyahara Toru.

Earth-element ability?

Uesugi Muneyuki sees this and his expression stiffens.

And at this very moment, Mai Xuejie moves.

Behold: in the downpour, Shirakawa Mai's heavy down jacket instantly vanishes, transforming into her most traditional and orthodox set of white hakama and red trousers shrine maiden attire; a longbow crafted from Azumayama Senki wood extends from her back, the quiver full of wooden arrows made from hawk feather, she plants her feet, establishes her stance, nocks the bow, draws, and releases in one fluid motion—subsequently, one arrow flies forth, the arrow wrapped in white light piercing the rain curtain, becoming a whirling vortex of storm!

Hama no Ya!

Boom!

Takahashi's sixty-centimeter-thick earth wall shatters in a single blow; the arrow pierces the crumbling wall and lands not far away, blasting a crater on the ground over forty centimeters deep and more than one meter in diameter!

Holy shit!

Uesugi Muneyuki opens his eyes wide and gapes.

Is this an arrow? Not some RPG, right???

Takahashi and his two companions are also struck dumb by the sight before them.

This, this isn't what was agreed upon at all?!

"Tell me, who sent you to Kantou?" Shirakawa Mai says now, ice-cold; her expression is ice-cold, her voice ice-cold—having entered combat mode, Mai Xuejie in the downpour now resembles ten-thousand-year-old black ice: "Speak, and I may consider sparing your lives; otherwise..."

Mai Xuejie's icy bow and arrow twitch slightly: "The next arrow is for your head!"

"Tch! Just as Zuijin said!" Takahashi's reply sounds like a response to something: "Kantou indeed still has inner-world strong ones..."

"I give you three seconds: who is Zuijin? Where does your power come from?" Shirakawa Mai says coldly.

"I..."

"Three... two..." Just as Mai Xuejie is counting, Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly signals her to watch the main hall beside them!

Something bursts forth!

Within the inner world's main hall, a surging waterflow tears open the ruined roof completely; icy rain has never ceased for a moment, a blurred female figure clad in soaked white robes, long hair obscuring her face, her entire body entwined with water vapor and sorrow/anger, vaguely reveals her true form within the torrent; her eyes brim with weariness, as if disturbed, she coldly gazes upon the few who have entered the inner world.

"What is that?" Uesugi Muneyuki feels his Qinghui Stone vibrating wildly, he can only ask Mai Xuejie.

"That is..." Mai Xuejie, upon seeing the figure emerging from the rain, her expression drastically changes, she grabs Uesugi Muneyuki and pulls him behind her, shouting sternly: "Get down!!!"

Hironaka Mariko and Miyahara Toru immediately return to Uesugi Muneyuki's body.

The next second, a sky-flooding, earth-covering violent rainstorm flood instantly engulfs her and Uesugi Muneyuki's position!

Likewise, Takahashi's side immediately raises an earthen wall to block the oncoming flood!

Torrential rain and raging flood, that white-robed figure merely continues to linger within the rain curtain, faintly visible.

The sky-flooding, earth-covering flood rushes past; beneath the water's surface, a spherical light gradually emerges; Mai Xuejie and Uesugi Muneyuki behind her stand within a transparent spirit-power barrier, unharmed.

On the other side, relying on the spirit-earth wall to block the flood, Takahashi and his two companions are not so fortunate; although they have blocked most of the water flow, some droplets and vapor still inflict horrendous harm upon them, the corrosive water scraping against clothing eats away gaps, the air cold as ice.

This is not yet over; the rain-woman begins to murmur, extreme grief, despair, feeling abandoned—aside from Uesugi Muneyuki, the others before them involuntarily produce some hallucinations; Mai Xuejie reacts swiftly, she chants a few lines of the calming mantra, dispelling the hallucinations.

Yet Uesugi Muneyuki's attention turns instead to Sato on the other side—this taciturn big man is the sole person present who received no protection!

Precisely upon witnessing this scene, the remaining five people on the spot all gasp for cold air.

Behold: Sato, washed over by the violent rain, melts like jelly in the air, splitting into five parts; he screams in agony—his neck, waist, right arm from shoulder to elbow, left thigh flesh, blood, and bone all melt together into the flood, leaving only a shattered trunk and his desperate scream.

But this is not yet done; a low voice comes from within the violent rain, then the ground surges up with turbid mudflow, which pours back onto Sato's body surface; his shattered form is filled, devoured, assimilated by the mudflow; ultimately, a three-meter-tall standing frog person replaces Sato himself, in the downpour he opens his mouth wide, flicks his long frog tongue hard, and the only proof that Sato once existed is the human face embedded in the frog person's chest.

"Takahashi, Nakamura, save me..." This human face even still speaks, eyes rolled back, tongue lolling—Sato's head, down in his bones, instinctively shouts.

This extraordinarily bizarre sight before them makes the few still living feel a chill seeping into their marrow.

Because when Sato cried for help, the three-meter-tall standing frog person even grinned, it played with the electric baton in its hand, then charged straight at Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai!

Shirakawa Mai acts decisively, dropping the barrier; Mai Xuejie swings her Azumayama Senkyu to block the baton—the wooden longbow, surprisingly harder than the electric baton, upon blocking it, she whips the bow back and lashes hard at the frog person's face, instantly smashing half of it: "Muneyuki!"

Mai Xuejie feels a numbness in her wrist.

Even the dead man's power has been inherited?

"Oh!" Uesugi Muneyuki raises his finger; a spirit sphere precisely strikes the frog person's skull, the frog person's head explodes like a watermelon, blood and water spray everywhere.

Is it alive?! Seeing the frog person's exploded skull revealing clear bone structure and brain, Uesugi Muneyuki's expression grows grave.

This is no elemental construct or alchemical fabrication, but a living thing from the inner world!

"Save... Mom! Save!" On the frog person's chest, Sato's face still screams in agony, and just now the smashed frog head has actually begun to reassemble.

"No choice!" Mai Xuejie acts decisively, drawing an arrow.

Exorcism Arrow!

Bang! A flash of cold light arrived first, then the arrow in the light stream pierced and shattered the entire Frog Person, together with Sato's shattered skull, completely pulverizing this strange Frog Person.

"Huh?" A surprised voice came from within the Rain Curtain.

"Go!" After one strike destroyed it, Mai Xuejie immediately grabbed Uesugi Muneyuki and gestured for us to withdraw first!

At the same time, on the other side, Takahashi's side also encountered trouble.

In the flood, more Frog People appeared, and each Frog Person had an aged face growing on their chest; they were not as large as the new Frog People, most being about one to two meters tall.

They might have once been villagers living here, or shrine maidens from the shrine before, but neither the Uesugi side nor the Takahashi side recognized them.

"What the hell is going on!" Takahashi couldn't help but curse.

Zuijin didn't say there was such a situation! The Inner World might indeed give birth to some Inner World Biology due to lack of guardians, but no one knew it would be this terrifying!

And in the darkness, closely following behind the Frog People, there were also many things the size of watermelons.

As they approached, Takahashi and the three others couldn't help but tremble.

It's a human head!

No, it's a tadpole the size of a watermelon! The tadpole's back has a human face!

And as the rainwater washed over them, these Human Head Tadpoles began to grow hind legs, gradually approaching the three of them.

Under the nourishment of the rainwater, they are growing rapidly.

Ordinary attack methods are useless against these Frog People; no matter how they are destroyed, they will immediately regenerate, and even the Swiss Army Knife cannot tear open their skin.

In desperation, Takahashi used a talisman; amidst the golden light, they also temporarily disappeared.

The Frog People lost their target, standing in place, all simultaneously turning their gaze toward that figure in the Main Hall.

The woman in the Rain Curtain has a delicate appearance, a small face with soft features, her hairstyle with bangs enhancing her classical beauty—her black long hair styled in a traditional princess hairstyle, her pale skin in the dim light like porcelain. Most unforgettable are those eyes, that kind of melancholic restraint; the figure in plain white kimono appears and disappears faintly in the Rain Curtain.

Those who disturb my silence must die!