What does it feel like to hold a giant plush toy while riding a swing?
Takumi was now personally experiencing what a fully automatic swing felt like.
That huge, soft plush toy came with overwhelming pressure and a deep, smothering heaviness. Hachishakusama was like a tender, doting mother standing behind him, pushing him again and again on the swing.
That deep, all-encompassing maternal softness and indulgence was intoxicating. Once you sank into it, it was hard to pull yourself back out.
Luckily, her stamina was limited. After pushing for a while, she couldn't keep it up anymore.
So later on, Takumi started taking the initiative, driving the swing himself and rocking it hard, repaying Hachishakusama for all that kindness.
And the swing only climbed higher and higher, practically punching straight through the clouds.
Thankfully, this was the space inside the Record of a Hundred Demons, where anything could be simulated.
Only after one final abrupt stop did that scene of childhood joy finally come to a screeching halt.
"You wanted to pick a fight with an exorcist? Hachishakusama, you're still nowhere near enough."
"..."
Hachishakusama couldn't even speak. She could only breathe, and breathe, like a living human woman.
At the same time, her aura kept rising, clearly surpassing what the Slit-Mouthed Woman had been before.
As if sensing that Hachishakusama had gotten stronger, the Slit-Mouthed Woman shoved her way in from the first page of the Record of a Hundred Demons.
She stared at Hachishakusama warily, then her heart skipped a beat.
She'd bullied Hachishakusama earlier. If this woman ended up stronger than her now, wouldn't that mean she was screwed?
"Master~~ I want to ride the swing too. And they need to improve as well."
As she spoke, the Slit-Mouthed Woman expanded her domain and summoned Valetta and the elf sisters, Dina and Veena, out into it.
As if worried they wouldn't behave, she immediately lashed all three women several times with her whip, forcing them to kneel obediently.
Looking at the Slit-Mouthed Woman being this eager to improve, Takumi had no way to refuse.
"As expected of the very first one who followed me. Slit-Mouthed Woman, very good!"
"That's because Master taught me so well~~"
"..."
The moment he heard that syrupy little compliment, Takumi's mood instantly soured.
Was he really that much of a beast?
What the hell did she mean, taught me so well?
You've got some nerve.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Takumi immediately spanked the Slit-Mouthed Woman a few times in return and gave her a little more "improvement" herself.
Valetta, Dina, and Veena exchanged glances, then all obediently shuffled forward on their knees.
They had suffered plenty inside the Slit-Mouthed Woman's domain already.
Now that there was actually something sweet to gain, how could they dare disobey?
"Don't worry, there's enough for everyone~"
Even though they'd been vicious as hell before, they were still his servants now.
Takumi's attitude toward them had softened somewhat.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason. Takumi also had an idea in mind.
His Shadow Army didn't have enough intelligence, but Valetta and the others definitely did.
If he handed a portion of the Shadow Army's authority over to them, maybe they could quickly build him a usable power base in the human world.
"The only problem is figuring out how to let them move around freely."
Right now, all three of them were part of the Urban Legend Nightmare. It was impossible for them to just stroll around outside the domain on their own.
But in theory, if he remade their bodies, he could send them out.
The problem was that this kind of recreated body couldn't just be like the cursed-energy bodies they had here.
He needed to give them fresh, living flesh.
"Creating life... yeah, that's got some difficulty to it."
There were too many things involved in that, and Takumi still didn't have much confidence in pulling it off.
For now, he could only shelve that thought and see if an opportunity presented itself later.
At the moment, the more practical thing was to boost their strength first.
And as Takumi's own life level kept rising, dragging others upward with him was becoming easier and easier.
With a few harsh doses of medicine, the Slit-Mouthed Woman, Valetta, Veena, and Dina all began growing stronger at an explosive rate.
It was a shame they couldn't fuse with Servant Pieces yet, or he could've pushed them even higher.
Even so, their current strength had already reached the level of Ultimate-Class Demons.
Valetta, Veena, and Dina, who'd been feeling wronged just moments ago, now had drool at the corners of their mouths.
Their eyes filled with little heart shapes, and every single one of them was wishing Takumi would give them a few more heavy doses.
"Your soul bodies are only so strong. If you don't want to die, then sit still and digest it properly."
Takumi coldly tossed out that line, then pulled away without another word.
He had no feelings for any of them anyway.
The three women clearly understood their status as slaves, so they didn't dare hope for affection.
Now all they could do was work hard to absorb what he'd given them and wait for the next round of his favor.
When Takumi returned to reality, the first thing he saw was Tohru, Mio, Yuki, and the others squatting outside, lying in wait for him.
"The hell? What are you all doing here!?"
"Onichan, you suddenly disappeared. We were worried about you!"
Yuki had her hands on her hips, speaking with complete seriousness.
Then Mio let out a relieved sigh. "Good thing Miss Tohru said you were still here."
"What's that book? It feels creepy and full of dark energy."
Tohru curiously looked at the floating Record of a Hundred Demons.
She'd sensed earlier that Takumi was inside that book.
Because she was afraid something might happen to him, she hadn't dared touch it recklessly.
Takumi waved a hand, recalling the Record of a Hundred Demons into his palm before storing it back inside his body.
"It's the Record of a Hundred Demons. It's the technique I use to subjugate curses. Just now I was taming Hachishakusama, so it took a bit longer."
"Hachishakusama?!"
Yuki instantly shrieked, staring at Takumi in shock.
She'd heard of that old urban legend before.
"Why are you so worked up, Miss Yuki? What even is that?"
Clueless as ever, Asia looked over curiously.
Yuki couldn't really explain it on the spot, so she just pulled out her phone and searched it up, showing it to everyone.
Even Tohru crowded over to take a look.
"A female monster that goes 'popopo' and laughs like a freak, and has an eight-foot-tall body?"
"If it sees you, you get cursed, and then it kills you? That's terrifying!"
Tohru found it totally boring, while Asia looked visibly frightened.
For something that horrifying to exist in this world at all...
Reading Asia's thoughts, Takumi could only laugh helplessly.
"There are already angels and demons in this world. Why would something like that be strange?"
Looking out the window at the rising sun, he waved his hand.
"Alright, it's already morning, and I'm starving."
After fighting all night, Takumi needed to refill his tank.
The moment she heard that, Tohru immediately stepped forward.
"Leave it to me! This is my duty as a maid! Cooking is one of my specialties!!!"
After just one night, it looked like Tohru had actually learned quite a bit about maid work.
Still dressed in that maid outfit, she marched into the kitchen and began throwing breakfast together.
In barely any time at all, Tohru proudly served up an enormous slab of meat.
Looking at that steak with its wildly colorful cross-section, Takumi fell silent.
And Tohru was still proudly introducing it.
"This is grilled tail meat."
"Uh..."
Seeing that strange green juice still oozing out of the meat, Takumi found it a little hard to take the first bite.
Beside him, Mio and the others all looked like they were barely holding it together.
Only Asia looked completely serious.
She was genuinely worried about Takumi.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.