"Huh? Hmmm... Is this a dream?"
The young Matsushige girl rapidly regained consciousness and began to recall the dream she had just had. And she grimaced. It was a dream that showed her foolish and ignorant self from a time long gone.
But at the same time, she felt a sense of powerlessness. Yes, she wasn't a fool. She knew she had limited time left. There probably wouldn't be any opportunity to seek revenge against that man within that time. No matter how much she seethed with anger, she wasn't someone who didn't understand such a thing. And that's why she felt this overwhelming sense of powerlessness...
"Really, such a foolish story... Wait, huh?"
As she sighed and mocked herself, a sudden realization hit her. She became aware of her current situation.
She was being held. Wrapped in soft fur. That was fine. It was probably a dumb bear she had borrowed from her grandfather. But wait... they were running?
"Huh? Huh? Huh?"
It was only now that she noticed the commotion around her. The screams, the noise, the smell of dampness in the air, the dimly lit surroundings.
"Huh?"
Botan raised her head and looked around. What she saw immediately was a mummy, a dead body wrapped in bandages. The underground passage was dim and narrow, and mummies were rushing through it one after another, running and charging forward.
'Grrroooaaarrrr!!'
Right after that, the mummies were crushed by the sharp claws and fists of the Onikuma. They were pulverized like clumps of earth, sending dust flying as they were easily dispatched. But they didn't stop. The mummies kept coming, one after another, without interruption.
"Uwaaaah!!? Bear-san!! Hurry!! Hurry and advance!!? They're coming from behind too!!?"
"Don't cry and start intercepting them already!!? Ugh, these weaklings are annoying!! How many are there!!?"
Cries that were close to screams echoed from behind the ritual circle. One of them sounded almost on the verge of tears. Similarly, from behind her, the sounds of mummies growling and being sliced or crushed were audible, but... the situation didn't seem to be going well.
"Sigh... Come out, Shunka (Swift Blaze)."
Understanding the dire situation at hand, she pulled out two talismans from her pocket. She drew one of them out, which was the proper way to invoke the curse. It depicted a small, two-tailed cat, the bakeneko, a shape-shifting cat spirit (nekomata). She summoned it.
The whole situation was in chaos. The numerous mummies, in a state of panic, were frightened and scrambling in the presence of the cat, which symbolized both divine punishment and protection in the Dark Continent. Considering the legends of the bakeneko, it was only natural for the half-dead mummies to be terrified and flustered. However, Botan was well aware that this was only a temporary measure to buy some time.
And so, she acted.
"…'Dankai Gekito (Severing Strike).'"
Seizing the opportunity that arose, Botan chanted a curse using another talisman. Immediately, a single strike of high-pressure scalding hot water was unleashed. It swept through the mummies that filled the passage before her, mowing them down and pulverizing them.
The trick wasn't anything significant. It merely involved infusing the large amount of water sealed within the talisman with fire release to form and increase the pressure of the steam instantly. The impact of the scalding hot water and steam, which could cut through rocks and shatter them, was something that a top-notch exorcist could easily reproduce with their bare hands or tools. It worked in this confined space, but it was nothing more than a trick. In fact, it wasn't even her original idea. There were records in Nanban of using a similar technique to tear demons apart or flood the lairs of green imps. However, it quickly became obsolete once countermeasures were taken.
"..."
"..."
"Genbu, catch that outsider and run. While the ones behind are in disarray, we'll make a breakthrough."
'Grrroooaaarrrr!!'
'Nyaaa...'
In response to Botan's cold stare, the youkai itself roared as if in agreement. The bakeneko perched on Botan's shoulder also let out a cry.
"Huh!?"
"Hyaa!!?"
And so, the bear swiftly grabbed Tamaki and the others and began dashing down the path where the obstruction had disappeared. The mummies that had turned into mere limbs or splatters still wriggled on the floor, but the beast showed no mercy as it trampled them without hesitation.
"It seems we've gotten ourselves into quite a mess. ...Let's talk about the details after we shake them off."
Thus, while being rocked in the bear's belly, Matsushige's granddaughter caught a glimpse of the pursuing swarm of mummies and casually declared. With a small sigh...
...
...
...
The situation was simple and straightforward.
After instructing the deceitful, maliciously rigged human-faced lion to be beaten to death by the bear, Botan succumbed to heatstroke and collapsed. Wondering what to do with this situation, Tamaki was suggested by Shishimai to hide in the shade, which was only natural.
Fortunately, they could already see a building ahead. To those familiar with the Dark Continent, it resembled a square pyramid tomb. The group hurriedly ran into the stone structure. It was cooler inside. They took a short rest, then the group ventured deeper into the tomb's interior. The earnestly obedient youkai bear carried its master in its arms and led the way, searching for an exit from the 'Mayoiga'. And that's how they encountered the swarm of mummies that had been set as a trap.
"I see. Well, first of all, can you tell me... why you've (bear) decided to follow their command without permission!?"
After shaking off the swarm of mummies and hearing the circumstances up to this point, Botan, who was being held in the youkai bear's arms, struck the bear's belly with a punch. Unfortunately, Botan's strength was far too weak, and the bear's fur and fat were far too thick. The punch only sank into the elastic belly with a soft 'thump' sound. It only made her even more frustrated.
"Ah, could you please not bully that child (bear) so much? I-I suggested that I come along...!!"
"That's why I'm scolding you!!?"
Tamaki tried to defend the downcast Onikuma, and Botan half-heartedly shouted back. It was more problematic for a shikigami to obey the orders of unrelated individuals than to act independently when the summoner was unconscious. What did this bear think a summoner was!?
"Huff, huff, huff. That's enough. I'm exhausted as well. We'll put off dealing with this matter for now... but don't think it's forgotten, okay?"
Botan realized that further questioning would be pointless and decided to spare her limited energy. She scolded the bear for misunderstanding her intentions but couldn't help feeling relieved by its reaction.
Putting aside the carefree and useless youkai bear, Botan shifted her gaze to Tamaki and the others.
"I won't call you a busybody this time. After all, you saved me. I appreciate it."
"N-no, I should be the one thanking you. I almost fell for the trap. Thank you for saving us."
After coughing, Tamaki replied with gratitude. Matsushige's granddaughter furrowed her brows in annoyance at Tamaki's behavior.
"Hey... I might be intruding, but who are you? You seem acquainted with this naive one, but you act distant. Can you tell us who you are?"
Shishimai was clearly suspicious and confronted Tamaki. Botan turned her gaze from Tamaki to the interrogator.
"...I'm from the same profession. There's no need to provide any further information. If you work in this field, you should know that asking probing questions won't necessarily lead to the answers you want."
Shishimai frowned, seemingly expecting such an answer, and still appeared disgruntled as she clicked her tongue. Meanwhile, Tamaki was sandwiched between the two and feeling flustered.
"Uh, um... can't we all get along?"
"There's no need for that. If she's going to act like that, I'll respond accordingly."
"There's no point wasting time on this farce. Let's move on. Time is limited, especially now when it's as precious as gold. We can't afford to waste it."
Tamaki's attempt to mediate was immediately rejected by both parties. The atmosphere was one of complete refusal. Tamaki's expression twisted uncomfortably.
"Go, Genbu."
'Grrrl...'
Ignoring Tamaki, Botan ordered the bear to move forward. With a pat-pat, the onikuma started to walk. Seeing this, Shishimai pushed Tamaki from behind, urging her to follow. Tamaki had no choice but to comply. And so, amidst the heavy atmosphere, the group advanced through the narrow and dark passage.
"...We've gone quite deep."
After walking through the narrow passage for what seemed like quite some time, Tamaki couldn't bear the silence any longer and murmured. After doing so, she looked around at her companions, feeling uneasy.
But there were no scoldings or insults. The companions behind her shrugged their shoulders, indicating that they didn't care. The companions ahead of her glanced at Tamaki impassively, but that was all. Botan quickly turned her gaze back to the dark depths.
"..."
The stone passage seemed to continue underground. The floor of the passage seemed to gently slope downward. Paintings and patterns began to be engraved on the walls along the way. Hieroglyphs resembling cats, crocodiles, and even characters made of peacock stone and jade were embedded in them.
