"Two bows, two claps, one bow... Is that how it goes?"
Asakura, who hadn't really studied Shinto rituals, was a bit lost.
"Your expression needs to be more solemn, and your mouth should curve up about five millimeters more~"
Fujiwara Chika, behind him, was still giving chaotic instructions, as if she wanted to stir up trouble. Asakura decided to pretend he didn't hear her.
After puzzling over it for a long time with nothing happening, a light suddenly flashed in Asakura's mind.
That's right, I'm here to challenge them; why should I follow their rules?
So, he treated it as a mere ritual to trigger a mechanism, performed a very perfunctory worship, and then changed his silent prayer of 'Let me see if this god is healthy' to 'Please get out here'.
Hmm, looking at it this way, his previous prayer didn't seem very polite either.
In any case, his challenge declaration seemed to have finally reached the shrine's owner.
The previously calm mountain began to stir with wind, tree crowns swayed with the breeze, raising waves of verdant green.
Amidst the rustling sound of lush branches rubbing against each other, something seemed to have changed.
It was as if the door between 'daily' and 'non-daily' had suddenly opened.
Asakura turned around and looked at the shrine square, which was still empty for Muggles.
"How many can you see?"
He asked, because since just now, Asakura had noticed that the girl behind him had suddenly tensed up, and her breathing had become much more rapid from its original relaxed state.
Excluding the possibility of a sudden urge to pee, there was only one reason.
"Th-three..."
The girl whispered, her voice trembling slightly, clearly fearful of the invisible entities before her.
"Tsk, this is a bit troublesome."
Asakura clicked his tongue impatiently: "I can only see two, the pair with cat ears. Where's the other one?"
Not being able to see it meant he couldn't perceive it, which would weaken the effect of his Curse.
"It's right behind those two. It's a big one."
The girl whispered to Asakura, as if telling a secret.
"What does it look like?"
Asakura continued to ask.
He intended to strengthen his impression of the temporarily invisible entity through the girl's description, in order to activate the Curse [Candle].
Although the effect might not be as good, as long as it successfully activated, the opponent would be forcibly dragged into his perception, transforming from an 'invisible, indescribable, out-of-perception monster' into an 'enemy burned by [Candle]'. This way, he could target it.
"It looks like a fox, and also like an asparagus."
The girl said in a super soft voice.
What the heck is that?!
The image of the monster Asakura was trying to construct in his mind immediately became a complete mess.
At this moment, the two cat-eared entities, probably familiars or shikigami, attacked Asakura.
[Snake]!"
Asakura pointed into the air, and the two menacing humanoid monsters immediately disintegrated into a colorful, tangled mess of Snakes, subtly reminiscent of internal organs.
"Wow..."
Fujiwara Chika was startled by the sight before her, only able to express her surprise with a pale exclamation.
But then she immediately shrieked, "That big one is coming!"
"Tsk..."
Asakura's expression was grave. He couldn't even hear the sound of the wind from the opponent's movement, which meant that the entity was a very pure spirit, with almost no interaction with the material world. It would be even more troublesome to aim a spell at it.
Just as Asakura was considering whether to just stand there and take a hit from the opponent, then rely on Cursed Flame Scale Armor's counter-armor to identify the opponent (because it would get burned), suddenly, with a loud beeping sound, the old Ford car rushed out from the side.
Immediately after, it was as if it had hit an invisible large tree; the car's hood directly caved in, the windshield shattered into countless sparkling glass shards, the psychological cover also warped due to inertia, and even the passenger side door flew off.
Was it because it inherently possessed elements of 'Curse'? Even an incorporeal evil spirit would be hit by the vintage car, it seemed.
But this vintage car didn't stop. Accompanied by the screeching of its tires and the roaring of its engine as the accelerator was further floored, the vintage car directly carried that invisible 'big tree' and crashed straight into the vermilion-lacquered, mottled torii gate.
For some reason, Asakura felt as if he saw the vintage car's constantly flashing headlights saying, 'My mission is complete!'
The next moment, the entire car exploded directly from the fuel tank, turning into a huge, blazing fireball, and a black column of smoke rose, spreading intense heat waves in all directions.
"Ah..."
Fujiwara Chika covered her mouth, trying to swallow her astonished sound: "Was that car controlled by you too?"
"No, it has a certain degree of self-awareness. It probably went up to sacrifice itself to protect me."
Asakura shook his head, his voice low.
"I see... Well, please accept my condolences."
Hearing this, the girl's tone also carried a hint of sadness.
After all, she had just ridden in it all the way from her family's villa to here, which was a very special experience for the girl. She just didn't expect the farewell to come so quickly, like a mobile game script that forcibly tries to evoke tears by casually killing off a random passerby without any build-up.
"Damn it, now I can only carry you down the mountain..."
Asakura muttered to himself.
"Why is that the first thing you think of at a time like this?! Shouldn't you first mourn for the car that sacrificed itself?"
"Because tomorrow it will be brand new... old? Anyway, it will reappear in my garage, and you're so heavy... Eh, could it be that it committed suicide because it didn't want to carry you back and couldn't bear the humiliation?"
"This is the second time today! Exorcist-san, have you heard that even Buddha can only tolerate three times!"
"No."
Asakura said with a proud expression.
This made Fujiwara Chika just tap Asakura's shoulder with an 'I'm so annoyed' expression, which made the latter show a comfortable look, as if enjoying a massage with just the right amount of force.
At this moment, something emerged from the still blazing car wreckage next to the torii.
"That big one... it's still alive!"
Fujiwara Chika gasped.
"That's great..." Asakura's eyebrows raised slightly, and he said with an intrigued tone, "Otherwise, I'd feel like I came here for nothing today."
Looking at his eager expression, Fujiwara Chika suddenly felt that the terrifying monster, which had initially seemed so twisted and ferocious, now seemed subtly... pitiful?
Perhaps in a little while, it would regret why it hadn't died in the car accident.