V1 Chapter 13: Up for a Round?

Just as Yae Sakura began to question her sanity, she noticed two surviving yokai stealthily approaching Natsuki, preparing to ambush her.

"Watch out!" Yae Sakura shouted, immediately ready to charge forward.

But before she could move, Natsuki let out a scream. The SU-22 Grenade Launcher, which she had been struggling to support on her shoulder, fired a round directly at the two yokai.

The explosive blast sent the yokai flying over ten meters. The recoil knocked Natsuki backward, sending her crashing to the ground. The grenade launcher clattered aside.

Yae Sakura rushed to Natsuki's side and helped her up.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm okay... it just hurts so much," Natsuki replied, gazing up at Yae Sakura with a pitiful expression. The weapon's power was undeniable, but its recoil was equally devastating. And this wasn't even a charged attack; if it had been, Natsuki wouldn't have stood a chance.

Even without the charge, Natsuki felt as if every bone in her body had been shattered.

"You should rest for a while," Yae Sakura said, helping Natsuki sit down before retrieving the SU-22 Grenade Launcher.

Despite its massive appearance, the SU-22 had been heavily optimized to reduce both recoil and weight. Otherwise, no ordinary human girl could possibly wield such a heavy weapon, and even if she could lift it, the devastating recoil would surely cripple her.

"Okay," Natsuki replied meekly, settling onto the ground. Her face was streaked with soot, making her look like a small, ragged beggar.

Only then did Yae Sakura turn her attention to the yokai Natsuki had blasted away.

As expected, the two yokai were still alive.
Despite having lost their limbs, yokai possessed remarkable regenerative abilities and would recover in no time. It wasn't simply a matter of brute force; killing them required specific countermeasures. Otherwise, even a nuclear strike might fail, and some yokai might even grow stronger due to the radiation.

Yae Sakura's Spiritual Power and Sword Force, however, were perfectly suited to suppressing yokai. After all, she was a miko—the natural enemy of yokai and spirits!

"I need to ask you something," Yae Sakura said, drawing her Spiritual Blade and pointing it at the two severely wounded yokai before her. "If you lie... you know the consequences."

"Y-yes..."

The two yokai, utterly terrified of Yae Sakura and Natsuki, nodded frantically.

"What's going on around here?"

-

After questioning the two yokai about the incident, Yae Sakura's face lit up with excitement.

Two great yokai were actually engaged in battle!

Yae Sakura had been eager to test her strength against a great yokai, as they represented the pinnacle of power in this world and served as the perfect benchmark. If she could easily defeat one, she would have little to fear in this world.

After getting directions and seeing that Natsuki was exhausted from firing her cannon, Yae Sakura hoisted Natsuki onto her back and raced toward the site of the great yokai battle.

As she ran, she checked her recent rewards:

• First kill of a high-level yokai: 20 Crystals

• First annihilation of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: 50 Crystals

Seventy Crystals—excellent! She was one step closer to her goal of 2,400. However, it seemed only the first-kill bonuses had been awarded. Perhaps annihilating the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons had overridden any other rewards.

Still, it wasn't bad. First-time rewards were usually quite generous.

However, Yae Sakura increasingly felt burdened by having Natsuki with her. If she were alone, or at least with a capable companion who could defend themselves, she wouldn't be so vulnerable.

This solidified her resolve to get Natsuki back home as soon as possible.

Soon...

Carrying Natsuki on her back, Yae Sakura arrived at the battlefield of two great yokai. An impossibly massive monster was locked in combat with a long-horned young girl dressed in an exquisite kimono.

The colossal creature resembled a spider, its seventy-to-eighty-meter-tall body leaving Yae Sakura utterly stunned.

It was like something out of a kaiju movie, except this time the monster's opponent wasn't Ultraman, but... this peculiar young girl.

The stark height difference between the two felt bizarre.

"Yae-sama, that's... the legendary earth spider! Shouldn't we retreat immediately?" Natsuki stammered, her voice trembling with terror as she stared at the monstrous spider.

The earth spider was a legendary great yokai, capable of effortlessly destroying an entire city. Humans stood no chance against it.

"No need," Yae Sakura said. "This is my prey. Natsuki, hide yourself. I’ll deal with them quickly and take you back to the city."

She surveyed the area, found a suitable spot to set Natsuki down, and then fixed a solemn gaze on the two great yokai before her.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Yae Sakura sensed that the Spiritual Blade in her hand was thrumming with excitement.

Then it struck her: the Records mentioned that earth spiders had once been worshipped as gods!

They were divine beings. No wonder the Spiritual Blade was so eager.

Corrupt gods were precisely the Spiritual Blade’s prey.

"Yae-sama..."

Natsuki tried to speak, but her words caught in her throat as she saw Yae Sakura’s eyes shift to a crimson hue, matching the color of the Spiritual Blade in her hand. A flicker of fear silenced her.

Yae Sakura removed her cloak, revealing her long, slightly curved ears, and strode directly into the middle of the battlefield between the earth spider and the long-horned young girl.

The two great yokai, locked in fierce combat, were completely taken aback by the sudden intervention. It was common knowledge that any creature witnessing a great yokai's clash would flee as far as possible, rarely daring to interfere.

"My beautiful lady," Yae Sakura said, addressing the two great yokai, "would you mind relinquishing this earth spider to me?" Compared to the pretty young girl, slaughtering the hideous earth spider would undoubtedly be more satisfying—and come with no psychological burden.

Just two or three days prior, Yae Sakura had been an ordinary human, never having taken a life. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, she felt no qualms about slaying yokai. Killing humans, or beings closely resembling them, still triggered an unconscious resistance within her.

The yokai she had slain previously had all been grotesquely hideous. The young girl before her, aside from the delicate horns on her head, appeared indistinguishable from a human.

So... I guess I'll have to deal with the earth spider myself!