As a junior shrine maiden, Ezuna has great respect for Himiko.
"Thank you for leading the way for them, Zhenna."
Himihu seemed to have already expected these people to come.
"Shunai, please stay, the adults will need to go up alone."
She bowed slightly to Zuo Cun, who was walking at the front.
"It doesn't matter, I'll leave it to Lord Himiko, Souna."
Several people called each other "adult", and they looked a little happy for a while.
After all, they are all people with a certain status in the village, so it is quite normal to call them like this.
It just looks weird.
Looking at the backs of several people leaving, Himiko looked at Souna with a smile.
"Please come in, Souna."
After praying to the mountain god and cleaning up, the three witches sat in a side room.
"I dreamed of something... something that made me a little uneasy, Himiko-sama."
In the silence, Souna's voice was trembling as she spoke.
"I saw the mountain god standing on the black lake looking at me. The top of the mountain and the village were burning with raging fire... Is that a dream of revelation?"
She looked at Himihu helplessly.
Sen no Rikyu couldn't give her an answer, and Samura couldn't understand her uneasiness, so talking to Himiko was her only choice.
Yiyu and Beimihu looked at each other, Beimihu sighed and shook his head slightly.
"Eshina, what you dreamed about... Himiko-sama and I also dreamed about it. There is no doubt that it was a dream of revelation."
"Lord Mountain God...are you angry?"
After hesitating for a moment, Souna asked cautiously.
"No, that's not anger."
Himiko opened his mouth to deny Souna's guess.
There was thinking and seriousness in her eyes.
"Ichiyo, Ezuna, although it may be a little hard for you to accept, but... the mountain god we serve is that kind of god."
"The mountain god of Mount Kurokawa is not a god standing in the sea of fire. The heavy rain in the sky proved this."
"That's not an accident, it's inevitable."
"He has always existed like this, but He uses another method to shape our happiness."
"And now... maybe He just wants to tell us something."
She pursed her lips and bit her tongue.
Then he raised his head and looked at Souna, and gently touched Souna's head with a gentle smile on his face.
"Don't be afraid, Souna."
"No matter what, the mountain god is our mountain god, do you understand?"
Ezina looked into Himiko's eyes, took a few deep breaths, managed to calm down her mood, and showed a somewhat forced smile to Himiko.
"I understand, Lord Himihu."
...
"Is there something wrong with your daughter? Or is she always like this when she comes to the shrine as a shrine maiden?"
Walking side by side with Samura, Takasugi Shinsaku's expression was calm but curious.
"Um."
Zuo Cun nodded.
"After all, she is already a witch serving the mountain god. Since she is walking up the mountain to pray, she must maintain that attitude."
"Although... forget it, it's nothing."
There was a little helplessness in his eyes, as if he didn't know what to say.
Fujimaru Ritsuka concentrated his attention.
The last time she went up the mountain, she had realized that something was wrong, but she didn't realize it at all while she was still on the mountain. She only discovered it after coming down the mountain.
"Miss Yukina, Miss Yuori, if there is anything wrong with me...please call me directly."
Fujimaru Ritsuka swallowed.
The environment of Kurokawa Mountain is the same as last time, a bit creepy.
"Call me to wake me up... Huh?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka turned around and found...
Where are Ms. Yukina and Ms. Yuori?
call--
On the dark mountain road, there was a strong wind, and the wind was bone-chilling and cold, as if it was going to cut off the skin and flesh.
"What is this place?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's mind was still confused - she didn't quite understand what was happening now.
Where are Yukina and Miss Nori?
And Mr. Samura and Mr. Takasugi, where are they?
Why... am I the only one left?
The black forest was blown by the black wind, and the leaves rubbed against each other, making a rustling sound, like the sound of bones rubbing against each other, or as if it was just the rubbing of leaves.
"...Matthew? Miss Lawrence? Da Vinci's kiss?"
"Can everyone...can you hear me?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka's shoulders were slightly trembling slightly.
look down.
You can't see the Yamagami Shrine on the mountainside.
look up.
You can't see the ring of mountains on the top of the mountain.
The black mountain road seemed to become endless, and the dense black forest completely isolated Fujimaru Ritsuka.
The sky was gloomy, just like Fujimaru Ritsuka's mood.
Fujimaru Ritsuka has never encountered such a terrifying situation.
No, this is not scary...but weird.
It's something difficult to understand.
She took out the simple divine seal that Lawrence had made for her that she had been wearing, and pressed a gem into it.
The woods are inaccessible, and the only road left in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka seems to be...
Go up and go down.
Go up, try to continue climbing this dark mountain road, go to the top of the mountain to see what is on the top of the mountain.
Go down, escape from here, escape from this...demon world.
Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't hesitate at all, she chose to walk up.
Even if there is no one around you now, you still have to go up.
Snap.
Fujimaru Ritsuka's feet landed on the next step.
Wow——
A biting cold came, and the dark clouds in the sky seemed to be angry instantly. The rain reflected the blackness of the mountains and forests, and poured down on the earth.
Fujimaru Ritsuka closed her eyes, took a deep breath, ignored these uncomfortable feelings, and stepped on the next step.
Open your eyes and walk up.
She seemed to hear a sigh.
In fact, she is not the kind of person who has a strong thirst for knowledge, nor is she a person without fear.
But - she knew that she was here to solve this singularity, and she was here to bring back those people she was familiar with.
And even if you don’t take everyone back, you still have to solve the strange things in this village, right?
She had to keep going up no matter what.
"why?"
"Why continue."
"You obviously don't have this obligation."
"In the final analysis, there are no extreme abnormalities in this world."
"Everyone is happy."
"I am happy."
"Are you going to drag others out of their happiness?"
The voice that was neither male nor female sounded in Fujimaru Ritsuka's ears, and it seemed to sound a little lonely and sad.
It was even a plea.
Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly raised his head.
Heavy rain is coming.
There seemed to be a person standing on the top of the mountain.