This is the exorcism hammer passed down through the Kiriryuin family.
She had heard from the elders in the family before that this hammer had an extremely good effect in exorcising evil spirits.
However, Kaede had never used it herself before.
At this moment, realizing she hadn't been able to uncover anything about this hypnotic ring, she curiously took out the exorcism hammer.
She planned to try using it on the ring to see if it could reveal its true form or uncover its real origins.
"But this ring is still borrowed. Although that guy Hikari isn't very likable, I can't damage someone else's property. I'll just test it carefully..."
Kaede held the hypnotic ring between her thumb and index finger, then gradually increased the pressure, squeezing the ring to test its hardness.
After discovering that this strange hypnotic ring seemed quite sturdy, far more so than diamonds in the human world, she placed the ring on the table, gripped the small hammer, and gave it a light tap.
Clang~
A crisp sound rang out, but the ring showed no change after the strike.
"This shouldn't be happening. I clearly sensed all kinds of strong negative energy from this ring. The exorcism hammer should have some effect, right?", Kaede was puzzled.
"Maybe I didn't hit it hard enough? Too light?"
Thinking this, Kaede swung the hammer again, this time with a bit more force.
When she still saw no reaction, she continued tapping away.
The small exorcism hammer struck the even smaller but eerie eyeball gemstone ring again and again.
Kaede felt somewhat helpless.
She had already struck the ring dozens of times, but the hypnotic ring remained completely unaffected.
This gave her a deep sense of frustration.
"Let's take a break..."
Just as Kaede set down the exorcism hammer to rest, she suddenly noticed that the hypnotic ring on the table seemed to have changed slightly.
She quickly picked up the ring, which had been struck dozens of times, and examined it closely again.
"This ring is sturdy enough, the hammering didn't leave any marks. But the exorcism effect doesn't seem great either. I don't know if it's because the family's exorcism hammer is old and worn out, or if the ring's power is too strange, or maybe the ring's energy isn't actually evil... I can't figure it out."
"But! The red eyeball at the top of this ring seems to have opened a little wider. And it's become even redder?"
Kaede looked at the hypnotic ring with excitement.
None of her earlier research had yielded any results, but now the ring had suddenly shown changes. Naturally, she couldn't contain her joy.
"Our Kiriryuin family's exorcism hammer is still quite useful. Let's try another strike."
"This time, I'll use a bit more force."
Earlier, Kaede had been holding back because the ring belonged to Hikari, and this was Yukino's home, she was just a guest.
But now, perhaps because she felt she was on the verge of a breakthrough with the hypnotic ring, a strong restlessness surged in her heart.
She didn't want to hold back anymore, she just wanted to uncover the secrets of this strange ring as quickly as possible.
Kaede raised the exorcism hammer high above her head, then swung it down with force, aiming straight for the red eyeball on the hypnotic ring.
Bang!
A crisp sound echoed as the eyeball on the hypnotic ring suddenly refracted a pink light.
Bathed in the crimson glow, Kaede stood frozen in place, her face suddenly flushing with two spots of red.
———
The hypnotic ring, struck hard by the exorcism hammer, suddenly refracted a pink light.
Kaede's vision blurred momentarily.
She stood dazed for a few seconds.
Then, her fair, delicate cheeks suddenly flushed red, her entire face turning scarlet.
"Ah! What were all those things that just appeared in front of me?"
The exorcism hammer fell from her hand as she covered her blushing face with both hands.
The moment the pink light flashed, countless suggestive images had flooded Kaede's vision.
Like a revolving lantern, they flickered before her eyes as if she were watching a 3D holographic movie up close, one of the restricted variety.
It seemed to depict a man and a woman engaged in intercourse, with a rich variety of positions and techniques.
The bold scenes left the powerful yet still-virginal oni woman utterly flustered and bewildered.
Most importantly, the male and female leads in those images bore an uncanny resemblance to the imagined scenes of her best friend and Hikari. The same ones she had envisioned while listening to the commotion next door late last night.
"What the hell is this stupid ring?"
Kaede stared speechlessly at the hypnotic ring lying quietly on the table.
The dark red eyeball gemstone on the ring now seemed to be staring back at her.
She suddenly felt as though this eyeball belonged to a beautiful woman, silently watching her all along. The dark red gemstone seemed to harbor a seductive and enchanting aura, truly bizarre.
"Probably just my imagination. How could a ring have life? It's just too weird..."
Shaking her head in exasperation, Kaede picked up the small exorcism hammer from the floor and put it away.
Then, she reached down and rubbed her flat, soft belly, giving it a light pinch.
"Did I eat too little today, and researching this ring took too long? Am I just hungry?"
"Why does my stomach feel so warm, like it's uncomfortable unless it's filled with something...?"
"Whatever, it's getting late. I'll stop here for now and go to sleep..."
Resigned, she put away the hypnotic ring, which had shown its eerie side but yielded no conclusive results.
Carefully, Kaede removed her shrine maiden robes, making sure her two horns didn't get caught in the sleeves.
After neatly folding the robes at the foot of the bed, she rubbed her sore waist and arms from all the research, then gently lay down.
Though she turned off the lights and pulled up the covers, she didn't close her eyes. Instead, she stared blankly at the ceiling, as if waiting for something.
After about seven or eight minutes, she rubbed her belly, her expression growing impatient.
"Why hasn't it started yet tonight? I clearly heard them say after dinner that they were going to go at it again. Did that useless human really run out of stamina?"
Oni possessed excellent hearing and vision. When she entered the room earlier, she had overheard Hikari and Yukino whispering in the living room, hinting that they would be as lively as last night.
To avoid being woken up in the middle of the night again, Kaede decided to wait until they finished before sleeping.
Of course, she could also take this opportunity to address her own needs.
For some reason, after researching the hypnotic ring, her belly had felt warm, and she couldn't resist the urge to take matters into her own hands.
Listening to the real thing and doing it alone were, of course, vastly different experiences.
So Kaede waited patiently.
But today, Hikari and Yukino were dragging their feet, driving her crazy.
After anxiously waiting for over ten minutes, her body so heated that sweat began to bead, she was on the verge of taking action.
Finally, the soft moans she had been longing for drifted faintly through the wall.
For Hikari and Yukino, this was just their daily routine. But for Kaede, it was the perfect time to practice her skills.
She didn't understand why.
Just yesterday, she had been annoyed and irritated by this, feeling it was disrespectful to her as a guest.
But today, she found herself eagerly anticipating it.
What had once been a reluctant act now felt strangely proactive.
However, to Kaede's dismay and surprise, after barely an hour, the neighboring room fell completely silent.
This left her, her breathing growing increasingly rapid, utterly stunned.
———
In the master bedroom of Yukino's home.
On the spacious double bed.
Hikari quietly held the still-trembling Yukino in his arms.
Gently, he patted the smooth back of the white-haired snow woman.
"Yukino-chan, are you okay?", Hikari asked with concern.
"I-I'm... okay. N-not too bad."
"It's just... your electricity... is too... too powerful..."
Yukino's eyes were mostly rolled back, her lips trembling uncontrollably, but she forced herself to answer to reassure him.
"You're probably just not used to it yet. You'll adapt with time," Hikari comforted her.
"Mhm!", Yukino nodded, nestling against him, though her face showed a hint of guilt.
Hikari, however, reassured her.
Today, Yukino hadn't been as resilient as usual.
Though Hikari had already been intimate with quite a few women, most were humans, so their endurance fell within normal ranges.
Some were more gifted, others less so, but they were generally similar.
Among them, the most formidable was undoubtedly Yukino, the snow woman with the strongest stamina.
Even against Hikari's prowess, she could usually battle for hundreds or even thousands of rounds, lasting three to four hours or more.
When Shinoomiya Nanahime and the others joined in, they often relied on Yukino to redistribute resources, so to speak.
But today, after Hikari used his newly acquired electric current emission ability, Yukino was quickly overwhelmed.
Perhaps water's conductivity played a role.
Her natural gifts, in this case, became a double-edged sword.
"It's my fault for being useless. If only I had a strong physique like Kaede-chan's oni body, I could satisfy you better...", Yukino murmured against Hikari's chest, disheartened.
"It's fine, Yukino-chan. You're already amazing," Hikari said, kissing her forehead. Yukino immediately smiled, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents.
Hikari didn't push further, simply holding the cool, jade-like snow woman as they slept.
———
But in the neighboring room.
Unbeknownst to Yukino, the very oni physique she envied was now suffering from an immense dilemma.
Kaede didn't know that Hikari's experiment with his new electric current emission ability had overwhelmed even the battle-hardened Yukino.
But she could tell that the show next door was over, the "drama" had ended.
The problem was, oni possessed incredibly robust physiques, so Kaede was far from finished!
Originally, she had been smoothly driving her "manual transmission" to the accompanying soundtrack. Now, she was utterly frustrated.
Her current situation was like being forced to stop right at the edge!
It was as if she had been happily eating hotpot and singing while driving up a slope, only for her car to run out of gas just as she was about to crest the hill and speed down the other side.
Now, stuck halfway up, she could neither ascend nor descend. The unbearable discomfort was indescribable.
"Ugh! Yukino-chan is so useless!"
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