Chapter 106

4. The ●●● God

"Miwasaki!"

Katagishi and I took off our jackets and threw them over the flames clinging to him. The fire was persistent, clinging like a hungry ghost no matter how many times we beat it back.

By the time the flames were finally out, Miwasaki's arm was so badly burned it glowed red even in the darkness.

His back, visible through his scorched shirt, was a mix of blood red and charcoal black, with smoke still rising. He was breathing, but barely.

Katagishi carefully laid him down. His glasses, warped from the heat, fell off, and the lenses shattered.

"We gotta get him to a hospital fast..."

Miwasaki spoke, his breathing ragged.

"Forget me... go get what's ahead..."

"But..."

"If we turn back now, Fukagawa and the others will have died for nothing."

Katagishi bit his lip and nodded, as if enduring pain.

The way back was blocked. Even if we wanted to save Miwasaki, we had to go forward—there was no other path.

Katagishi and I stepped into the darkness.

Our footsteps echoed unnaturally. The space was enormous.

Unlike the path ruled by heat and dryness, here a sacred chill filled the air.

Katagishi waved his penlight, and a faint red shape emerged in the blackness.

"Is that... a torii gate?"

A torii over three meters tall stood silently. The two pillars were thick, like a giant's legs thrust down from the ceiling. Rusted chains were wrapped around the top beam.

A strong stench of rot pierced our eyes and noses from that direction.

"Miyaki, be careful."

"Yes. Let's hurry."

We moved forward cautiously, feeling our way through. As we passed under the torii, the scenery changed as if we had wandered into another world.

An old wooden sliding door stood alone. It led nowhere—just a simple door.

The name of the God Who Is There from the report crossed my mind. But the door was charred black on the upper half and half-destroyed. It looked like it had been ripped from a house that had burned down.

Behind it loomed something even larger than the torii. My brain refused to comprehend it.

At first, I thought it was a gray Buddha statue.

Its surface was cracked like stone, layered in multiple strata. Squinting, I could just make out black hair and a rusted gold hair ornament hanging from the vaguely human-shaped head. A dull-colored magatama hung at its chest.

A gigantic rotting corpse of a woman.

Her abdomen had a gaping wound filled with fresh blood. No—it was a vertical slit, from which yellowed teeth peeked out, exhaling hot, fetid air. It was a mouth.

We were speechless. Katagishi's voice trembled.

"What the hell... I thought the one here was the Kindling God..."

"Yes, I've never heard of a Territorial Divine Offenses that looks like that... I think that sliding door was the God Who Is There, but it's been burned down..."

The woman shook her head. The gold ornament and tin jingled, producing a sound both ominous and divine. Her black hair rustled, revealing glimpses of a gray face. I shouldn't have known this god, and yet I did.

A tongue peeked out from the mouth growing on her abdomen. The tip writhed like a snake, tasting the air.

As we stepped back, the lights came on, flooding the underground cavity with white light.

"What the hell are you doing down there!"

A sharp voice came from above. On the landing of the emergency stair behind the torii and the giant woman stood Kirima and Umemura. Katagishi ground his molars.

"They showed up..."

Kirima leaned forward, his face pale.

"Miwasaki...! Umemura, call an ambulance. First, give him first aid."

Umemura ran down the emergency stair. As he approached Miwasaki, who was breathing shallowly, Katagishi blocked his path. Umemura shook his head in disbelief.

"You don't want him to die, do you?"

Katagishi hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside.

I looked up at Kirima far above.

"Listen, you two. Don't move from there!"

His shout echoed. Even from here, I could see the cold sweat on his pale face. He was genuinely worried about Miwasaki. He wore the same expression he had when I broke a bone during gym class as a kid and he rushed to the scene.

His heart was still wavering. I wondered what he felt, standing in the place he had taken from my father, acting in his stead.

I suppressed my trembling and shouted.

"Were you lying to us all along, Uyuu?"

He widened his eyes like a boy who'd just been punched. The stern, harsh mask he always wore fell away, revealing the Uyuu Sadahito from the photograph.

"Why... is Rei..."

Before he could finish, a deafening roar and explosion erupted behind him.

The steel door was blown away with incredible force, embedding itself into the wall. In an instant, the flames surged.

"Miyaki!"

As Katagishi pulled me back, a dragon-like flame rushed past right in front of me. The searing red light and heat scorched the tip of my nose.

Umemura carried Miwasaki to the wall. Hellfire grazed right past him, crawling upward and licking the ceiling.

"This is insane..."

The flames swirling before us gradually took shape. A face emerged in the blazing fire of a burning candelabrum. It looked like it was either screaming in agony or grinning sadistically.

It was the Kindling God. It had melted the door and followed us—to kill us.

The flames flickered, extending their tips like tentacles. Umemura shouted.

"Kirima!"

On the emergency stair above, Uyuu Sadahito clutched his shirt collar. "Please," he whispered hoarsely.

At that moment, something like thread entwined with the flickering flame. It was a pure white, glossy silk thread.

The silk thread burned quickly, turning to black ash under the force of the flames. But countless threads surged forward like white waves, refusing to yield.

The Kindling God's expression twisted in rage. The flames writhed in agony, gradually overwhelmed by the silk threads and entangled. The red fire was completely wrapped in a white cocoon and vanished from sight.

Katagishi muttered in disbelief.

"Territorial Divine Offenses...?"

The cocoon burst. The flames were gone without a trace. Only the smell of burning and black soot remained.

A shadow fell from the ceiling, and when we looked up, pure white wings spread overhead. A giant silkworm moth flew above us.

Its soft white fur was singed in places.

The silkworm moth circled us protectively, then passed through the remains of the destroyed door and flew off.

"Thank you... guardian god of Kuwasu..."

Uyuu Sadahito closed his eyes in prayer.