Hearing this, Yusei frowned slightly. Reaching an altitude of ten thousand meters wasn't difficult, as whether by plane or using the Susanoo, he could easily fly up.
What he wanted to know was whether the so-called [Heaven] would obstruct them.
And that's exactly what he asked.
"Will this [Heaven] you speak of obstruct us?"
"It will... Huh?!"
Haruko jolted, then came to her senses. She looked at Yusei with hatred, her tone icy, "You brat, was it you who controlled me?"
Yusei smiled faintly, "As expected. Without systematic training in Genjutsu, relying solely on an unskilled eye to hypnotize an ability user isn't very stable."
"Hypnotized?"
Both Kaguya and Hina were stunned, looking at Yusei. Neither of them had noticed when Yusei had hypnotized the other party.
Yusei gestured for them to be quiet, while he himself looked playfully at the old lady.
"You think I don't know what you want Hina to inherit this shrine for?"
Haruko's expression was no longer amiable but cold, "Is that so? It seems the village chief and the others were exposed."
"Yeah, a clumsy performance."
Yusei nodded with feeling, looking as if it were indeed the case.
Haruko coldly watched Yusei and Kaguya without speaking. After a long while, she looked at Hina.
"Since that brat knows, you must know too by now, right? Make your choice. Will you voluntarily become this village's guardian, or shall I force you?"
Hina was startled, flustered, and instinctively tried to hide behind Yusei. But Yusei squeezed her hand, signaling her not to panic.
"I... I don't want to. And I... I also don't know what a 'guardian' is. Boss didn't tell me, probably afraid I'd be scared." After speaking, Hina secretly glanced at Yusei.
Seeing him smile and nod, she felt much more assured. She truly didn't know the details of this matter, as Yusei hadn't told her.
She didn't know why Yusei was bringing her here. But just now, he said he knew.
Her boss had a plan, and he was probably trying to trick the old woman opposite into talking, so they could fully understand the other party's motives.
Although Yusei hadn't discussed it with Hina, their tacit understanding was unexpectedly good. They each knew what the other was thinking.
The old woman glanced at Yusei, snorted coldly, and didn't doubt Hina's words.
"Very well. Let me explain simply: what you need to do is not difficult. You just need to live in this cold weather, staying here for your entire life."
Yusei raised an eyebrow but didn't speak, instead looking at Hina.
Hina shook her head and looked at the old woman, "I won't stay here my whole life! What's the point of being able to change the weather? And using the power too much will kill me."
Haruko looked coldly at Hina, "Of course I know it will kill you. But similarly, you can gain the respect of this village."
"I don't want that kind of thing."
"You refuse? That's not up to you." Haruko gave a cold laugh, "I anticipated this situation long ago, so I made preparations."
As her words fell, a bolt of lightning suddenly split the sky. With a roar, it struck Yusei directly.
Electric light flashed, crackling loudly. The wooden floorboards under Yusei's feet shattered.
Fortunately, Kaguya and Hina were unharmed, not caught in the blast.
Haruko coldly watched the scene, looking at Yusei enveloped in lightning, "Don't blame me. Blame yourself for meddling. And blame this young girl for having thoughts she shouldn't, making you stand up for her."
Kaguya immediately wanted to rush forward to check on Yusei, but she knew that touching the lightning would also electrocute her.
"Don't worry. Is it just this much?"
Yusei's relaxed voice came from within the lightning, stunning both Kaguya and Hina.
"You... you're unharmed?!" Haruko stared in astonishment at Yusei, who was completely unscathed.
As the lightning faded, Yusei stood there perfectly fine, not even his clothes damaged.
"Of course I'm fine. I have to say, the ability I recorded from Kanna is truly the natural counter to lightning."
Yusei said teasingly. The [Electricity Storage] ability he had recorded from Kanna was the ultimate counter to all electrical attacks. Lightning couldn't harm him. It would even charge him up.
Haruko's face turned colder. She stood up. Because she had used her power, her original disguise faded, revealing her true appearance.
At this time, most of her body was transparent.
"This is...?" Kaguya looked at the scene in shock.
"This is the consequence of overusing the Sunshine Girl's ability."
Kaguya nodded, her body shifting into a ready stance. She had already drawn [Nameless], prepared to support Yusei and Hina at any moment.
Yusei glanced at the vigilant Hina and Kaguya, who are ready for battle, then looked at Haruko and chuckled, "It's three against one now."
"Three against one? Not necessarily." Haruko sneered. Immediately, the roof of the shrine was torn open, and dozens of figures dropped into the room.
Calling them human figures wasn't right anymore. Each one had different limbs… some had spider legs, some had wolf claws, etc. They looked like monsters.
Their movements were agile, completely unlike ordinary humans. They landed all around, surrounding Yusei and the other two.
Yusei looked at these youkai and said curiously, "Since youkai are already here, why not reveal your true forms? Isn't this a mountain village full of youkai?"
"Heh, so you knew long ago." An aged laugh sounded. The village chief walked in through the main entrance of the shrine.
Yusei glanced at him, "So, you want to kill us?"
"Kill you? Not entirely... We want to eat you."
The village chief laughed, his body rapidly swelling. In an instant, he transformed into a ferocious beast with three heads, looking terrifying.
The massive body charged towards Yusei with great force. Knowing Haruko's orders, none of them attacked Hina. Their attacks were solely aimed at Yusei and Kaguya.
Yusei pulled Kaguya and Hina into his embrace. Lightning erupted around his body, shooting out in all directions without a single blind spot.
Those youkai looked fierce but seemed to be just empty shells.
Faced with Yusei's lightning, they were instantly electrocuted into charred lumps.
Yusei didn't pay attention to them. Blue energy surged around him. In an instant, a skeletal hand materialized and grabbed Haruko, immobilizing her.