"Sorry..."

Upon hearing Yotsuya Miko's words, Hikigaya Hachiman lowered his head and realized he was still holding her hand.

He hurriedly let go and took a few steps back, showing a trace of apology on his face.

"I'm fine."

Yotsuya Miko shook her somewhat stiff wrist, smiling faintly as she looked at Hikigaya Hachiman.

She understood that the reason Hachiman had been holding her hand was to ensure her safety.

After all, both of them were very clear about the number of malicious spirits on the road just now.

"So, what should we do next?"

After regaining their freedom, Yotsuya Miko and Hikigaya Hachiman sat in a corner, recovering their strength while thinking about their next move.

Since she was a burden, Yotsuya Miko very consciously handed over the decision-making to Hikigaya Hachiman.

"Our target is here…"

Because only he could see the system panel, Hikigaya Hachiman roughly marked their current location on the floor.

"Since the previous exit is guarded by the Demon King, we need to head to another, farther exit, which is here..."

As he spoke, Hikigaya Hachiman pointed to another spot on the floor.

"But can we really get through?"

Yotsuya Miko had no objection to Hachiman's plan.

Though she didn't know how he understood the situation of this space, at this moment, she trusted him without doubt.

But thinking of the malicious spirits patrolling everywhere, her heart felt a bit faint.

After all, so far, various strange malicious spirits had appeared, so it was inevitable that some could see through their invisibility.

"Of course we can."

Yotsuya Miko's answer stunned Hikigaya Hachiman for a few seconds, then he firmly confirmed that they could escape.

Boom!

Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from the air.

Hikigaya Hachiman cautiously went to the window to check but only saw three fast streaks scratching across the sky.

It's time to go!

Almost instinctively, an alarm rang in Hikigaya Hachiman's heart.

He turned and ran back, grabbed the resting Yotsuya Miko, put a new concealment talisman on her, then swiftly hurried through the alleys behind the houses towards the new exit.

"What's that in the sky?"

Yotsuya Miko, pulled along by Hikigaya Hachiman as they ran, looked at the three lingering streaks in the sky and asked him while lowering her head.

"I don't know, but it's definitely not good news for us!"

Without looking back, Hikigaya Hachiman replied as he rapidly ran along the calculated route towards the exit, carefully watching the malicious spirits ahead and trying to avoid them.

.

.

.

The Demon King stood quietly at the exit, waiting.

Soon, three sonic boom sounds howled towards him.

"My lord..."

The imposing Demon King of this area respectfully bowed its head to the three figures who suddenly appeared before it.

"Have you found them?"

The one in the middle among the three figures didn't even glance at the Demon King but directly asked about the whereabouts of the exorcists.

"Not yet, but I have ordered my subordinates to conduct a carpet search around the area..."

Despite the Demon God's disregard, the Demon King didn't dare to show any displeasure.

It respectfully reported the plan it arranged and informed the three Demon Gods how it discovered the exorcists' trail.

"The sixth exorcist?"

Upon hearing the Demon King's guess, the three Demon Gods exchanged glances and then made a decision.

Whether or not the Demon King was right, it seemed necessary for them to personally take action.

"Only over forty minutes have passed; they shouldn't have gone far!"

The Demon God on the left said, suddenly slapping the ground.

Immediately, a shockwave spread rapidly outward centered on it.

"Warning, detected a powerful energy wave approaching, host please defend in place immediately!"

"!"

Hikigaya Hachiman, who was pulling Yotsuya Miko away, suddenly raised his head upon hearing the system alert.

Ignoring Yotsuya Miko's surprised look, he immediately deactivated the talisman effect on both of them, then activated the spell "Shield," enveloping them both inside.

"?"

Seeing two humans suddenly appear, several malicious spirits searching nearby were momentarily stunned; one of them quickly flew towards the Demon King to report, while the others summoned the malicious spirits around to try to trap the humans completely.

"Whoosh..."

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew.

The malicious spirit that went to report stiffened, then instantly turned into a black smoke and disappeared.

Next, the malicious spirits surrounding Hikigaya Hachiman and Yotsuya Miko similarly stiffened, and under Yotsuya Miko's astonished gaze, vanished without a trace.

At the same time, Hikigaya Hachiman felt the Shield formation being hit by a powerful force.

In just a brief moment, the "Shield" spell was about to fail!

He hurriedly injected spiritual power, reinforcing the fragile formation.

But before it was completed, a second wave of impact hit the surface of the formation.

"Crack!" A glass-shattering sound rang in Hikigaya Hachiman's ear.

Hikigaya Hachiman quickly grabbed Yotsuya Miko, who was nearby, pulling her into his arms, then covered them with spiritual power as the last defense.

"Bang!"

The next second, a strong force hit Hikigaya Hachiman's back, instantly knocking them both flying.

"Found them!"

Over ten kilometers away, a Demon God who was scouting suddenly opened its eyes wide.

It immediately took off, rushing towards Hikigaya Hachiman's direction.

Seeing this, the other two Demon Gods followed closely.

"I guess I don't have to go?"

Looking at the three Demon Gods' figures almost disappearing from his sight, the Demon King glanced at the completely flattened original building area, sighed, but still followed after them.

.

.

.

What does it feel like to fall from tens of meters high?

Anyway, Hikigaya Hachiman said he didn't want to try that experience a second time.

"You okay?"

After landing again, Yotsuya Miko immediately slipped out of Hikigaya Hachiman's arms, then looked at him somewhat helplessly as he had cracked the ground beneath them.

She wanted to help him up but was afraid of causing a second injury.

"Ahem, I'm fine..."

Thanks to continuous spiritual power reinforcement, Hikigaya Hachiman's physical condition was beyond abnormal.

Plus, the outer layer of spiritual power absorbed some of the impact force, so shielding Yotsuya Miko from the fall didn't cause him much harm.

After lying on the ground for a few seconds, Hikigaya Hachiman got up, dusted himself off, applied talismans on both of them again, and continued heading toward the exit.

But before they had taken a few steps, the three Demon Gods formed a triangle and surrounded them.

"Warning! Detected three Demon God-level malicious spirits, host is advised to request external aid or purchase automatic corpse collection service."