Chapter 6: Revisiting Old Haunts
After quite a bit of fussing, the people of the Kansai Branch finally regained their composure and were able to discuss serious matters with Hikigaya.
Likely due to the embarrassment of losing their cool in front of Tamamo-no-Mae earlier, the group of men led by Chairman Konoe silently and consciously retreated into the background, leaving Grandmother Seishuin as the primary spokesperson. The first sentence out of the old woman's mouth went straight to the heart of the matter.
"Lord Rakshasa, how much do you know about the 'Demon Gate'?"
"Not much. It's basically the place where the Oni tribe comes and goes, right?" Hikigaya replied after a moment's thought.
Although he had some understanding of the history of Japanese Onmyoji, to be honest, he hadn't gone out of his way to learn specific Japanese paranormal lore. While he knew just by using his head that it must be quite different from the "Ghost Gate" of China, it didn't really matter—it wasn't like it could hurt him anyway, right?
"I see. As expected of Lord Rakshasa, there is indeed no need for you to be overly concerned. However, for ordinary people, it is a different story." Grandmother Seishuin's honorifics followed one after another. "Originally, through the protection of Enryaku-ji and Iwashimizu Hachiman-gu, Kyoto has been stable for many years. But since last month, the activity of the Oni tribe has suddenly intensified. Although we do not know what formidable existence is gathering them, it is clear that the opponent's objective is Kyoto."
"I think I understand the gist of it, but there's one thing I don't quite get." Hikigaya voiced his doubt. "Logically speaking, do modern monsters still pose such a great threat to humanity?"
The Oni tribe were also monsters, but it wasn't a single race; it was a general term for evil spirits, and the name certainly didn't sound benevolent. Most Oni were monsters adept at sorcery, categorized by their elemental traits into Water, Fire, Wind, and Dark—who possessed magic—and the "Brute" lineage, who did not. The Dark lineage was the most numerous, while the Brutes were the rarest.
But as Hikigaya said, the threat these monsters posed to humans was definitely not as great as it was in ancient times. The vast majority of monsters could be taken down by direct gunfire or artillery shells.
"Lord Rakshasa, why do you think the Oni tribes have considered the conquest of Kyoto as the ultimate achievement since ancient times?" Grandmother Seishuin didn't seem to answer Hikigaya's question directly, but Hikigaya understood what she was trying to convey.
The construction of Heian-kyo was fundamentally related to vengeful spirits and was built on a site "aligned with the Four Gods." Combined with the "Divine Gate Line" and "Demon Gate Line" formed by shrines and temples, the city was incredibly hostile to monsters before it fell—meaning its ability to empower them after a fall would be equally potent.
Tamamo-no-Mae was the first monster to ever breach it. As she had once told Hikigaya, for a monster, conquering Kyoto wasn't just about the empty title; by utilizing this auspicious land, a monster's power could skyrocket.
"So, another Great Yokai wants to establish a 'Hegemonic Empire'?" Hikigaya's expression was bizarre. Are monsters these days still this chuunibyou? Even humans would find that embarrassing, right?
"It is merely a guess. The opponent might be a monster that gains power through continuous reincarnation. In that case, it is inevitable that they would still harbor the mindset of the old era."
"Reincarnation, huh?" Hikigaya heard an interesting term.
Monsters don't have concepts like death or samsara in the human sense. "Reincarnation" was just the understanding of ancient humans; it likely referred to a type of monster that has no physical body and gains the ability to manifest before people through constant possession.
Doesn't that sound pretty weak? Just how pathetic had these Kansai people become that they couldn't even handle a monster like that?
Still, Hikigaya couldn't just ignore it. Even if Ena didn't care about the relationship between her grandmother and these locals, Hikigaya couldn't ignore Motoko Aoyama's side of things... Heaven only knew if this woman was his father's "little mom" or not! At the very least, Hikigaya was certain that Motoko Aoyama was very hungry for his father's body!
"Fine. I won't be leaving the area for a while anyway. Also, we'll be staying over in Osaka first." Hikigaya decided to take Tamamo-no-Mae to Osaka for a trip, partly as an extra thank-you for her protecting Komachi ever since she regained her strength.
While Tamamo-no-Mae usually acted like a "trash-tier" NEET, she was, after all, very strong and perfectly suited for that role. Since Hikigaya had brought her out this time, he'd had to summon a group of elite experts from the Ennead as replacements.
After giving the Kansai Branch a formal answer, Hikigaya stood up and bid everyone farewell.
There was a minor interlude: Tamamo-no-Mae adamantly refused to turn back into a fox. Hikigaya figured she was going through a "rebellious phase" and let her be. Then, the three humans and one fox retraced their old path back to the Senbon Torii of Fushimi Inari Taisha.
Figuring they shouldn't leave empty-handed since they were already there, Ena and Liliana went through the torii gates to the shrine to pick up a few lucky charms. Since Hikigaya couldn't participate in the worship, he watched from the sidelines as usual.
Tamamo-no-Mae was equally disinterested—not because she didn't like sightseeing, but because she had no interest in Inari shrines; she was far too familiar with them. She only wanted to see things that were either fresh or nostalgic. Hikigaya didn't know how to make her
feel nostalgic, but he felt he had a say in what was "fresh." That was why he wanted to stay in Osaka rather than Kyoto.
After Ena and Liliana obtained charms they were satisfied with, the group set off for Osaka. They found a hotel with a good environment near Shinsaibashi and checked in. Ena and Liliana stayed at the hotel while Hikigaya took Tamamo-no-Mae on a special line to Universal Studios Japan.
Of course, he made slight use of his privileges as a Campione; there was no need to worry about what kind of ticket to buy—they just went in and played.
As soon as they entered, they hit "The Flying Dinosaur," followed by Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Minions—they went through everything, not even sparing Sailor Moon. After the run-through, Tamamo-no-Mae was indeed having a blast. Then, just like a human teenage girl, she started obsessively riding The Flying Dinosaur over and over again.
Hikigaya had no choice but to wait below—next to him stood a group of other young men and older guys who were also waiting for their girlfriends or wives. After waiting a while and seeing that Tamamo-no-Mae still had plenty of energy, Hikigaya decided to wander around. After all, this was a place he had visited in his previous life.
In this world, Universal Studios hadn't changed much, aside from a few different attractions. Yeah, it was all cars—various "XX Speed" rides. He felt a bit nostalgic...
Then, Hikigaya saw someone who completely caught him off guard.
'Holy crap... is someone going to die at Universal Studios today?'
Thinking back carefully, in the manga he'd read, this guy's first case involved a killer who decapitated her ex-boyfriend while on a roller coaster.
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