After their stroll, when Ye Xing and Saki Kawasaki returned to the hotel room and gathered with the other members, it was already nearly noon.
Surprisingly, when they entered, Kazusa Touma was already up and waiting in Ye Xing's room along with Rio Futaba and the others.
Noticing everyone looking at the necklace around her neck, Saki Kawasaki blushed deeply and was about to say something when she scanned the room and asked curiously.
"Where's Yui?"
"She went shopping with Marin and Yukinoshita. They'll meet up with us sometime in the afternoon."
"Eh? Why didn't they let..."
Saki Kawasaki had been about to ask why Marin Kitagawa and Yukino Yukinoshita, the only two uninformed members, had to go out together, and why they had to bring Yui Yuigahama along.
But after a moment's thought, she understood the reason.
Although Marin Kitagawa's personality was quite cheerful...
She alone couldn't handle Yukino Yukinoshita.
It was predictable that if Yukino Yukinoshita went out alone with Marin Kitagawa, Yukino would probably only say two words the entire time.
"Hmm."
"Boring."
Who could handle that?
Only someone as naturally sociable as Yui Yuigahama could withstand Yukino Yukinoshita's cold aura.
Hadn't they noticed that in the entire club, Yukino Yukinoshita only addressed Yui Yuigahama by her first name?
'The natural airhead counters the tsundere' - the ancients truly didn't deceive us.
"Did you gather any information?"
Noticing the frivolous smile on Ye Xing's face, Rio Futaba secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Given his relaxed appearance, the situation probably wasn't too serious...
"The situation is much more serious than we anticipated."
Hearing these words, the hearts of Rio Futaba, Mai Sakurajima, Miko Yotsuya, and Hina Amano all sank.
Kazusa Touma remained as composed as ever, speaking calmly.
"Then... will you be in danger?"
Ye Xing smiled noncommittally.
"Who knows? Exorcism itself carries risks. Even for me, it should be the same, I suppose."
Kazusa Touma's eyes flickered, and under the astonished gazes of the other members, she uttered shocking words.
"Then don't go. After all, people are dying every moment in this world."
Kazusa Touma wasn't the type to disregard human life - it was just that, due to her family environment, she didn't know how to express her emotions, not that she lacked them entirely.
It was simply that compared to strangers, she valued Ye Xing's safety more.
Even if hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of lives were placed on the other end of the scale...
Kazusa Touma would choose the side with Ye Xing's life without hesitation.
"I'm afraid that won't do."
Ye Xing slightly bent down, leaning closer to Kazusa Touma's face, looking directly into her eyes as he said with a smile.
"Just like how you enjoy playing the piano, I also enjoy eliminating evil spirits. So I still need to do this."
"Well... alright then."
Worry showed between Kazusa Touma's brows, but she still nodded.
"Alright, let's get down to business now."
After reassuring Kazusa Touma, Ye Xing turned to Mai Sakurajima and the others, speaking slowly.
"The central area of Shibuya's commercial pedestrian street has been confirmed to have a Gate."
"Judging by how the Gate's opening level has increased to nearly ninety percent in just a few days, it's exactly as we speculated - this isn't a naturally occurring Gate, but rather an evil spirit secretly supplying power to this Gate."
Rio Futaba removed her glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she said worriedly.
"But... there haven't been any large-scale casualty incidents in the commercial street area..."
"Yes, I was just about to explain that point."
Ye Xing took out his phone and opened the email sent by Light Yagami.
"According to the message from Light Yagami, if we're searching for large-scale casualty incidents near Shibuya pedestrian street, there indeed haven't been any."
"But according to statistics from the Metropolitan Police Department's internal network, over the past twenty days, the rates of accidental deaths and suicides around Shibuya pedestrian street have been rising at an unnatural, extremely rapid pace."
"This growth curve has far exceeded the normal range of fluctuation."
"We can say with high probability that this is a supernatural incident."
After saying this, watching Rio Futaba and the others' surprised expressions as they seemed about to speak but hesitated, Ye Xing shook his phone and chuckled lightly.
"After all, we're in the information age now. We're modern exorcists - we need to make reasonable use of big data."
Rio Futaba sighed softly, her emotions somewhat complex.
As the chief strategist of the Supernatural Society, these were things she should have considered in advance.
She had already heard Light Yagami's surname - that quite uncommon surname - and vaguely guessed the relationship between that brown-haired youth and Soichiro Yagami, Director of Criminal Investigations at the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department.
Why hadn't she considered utilising the Metropolitan Police Department's intelligence beforehand?
Her thinking was still too limited, always feeling that exorcism couldn't be connected with the Metropolitan Police Department's internal network.
This evil spirit was very cunning, even using the method of dispersing its influence to avoid alerting humans.
Unfortunately for it.
Times have changed - this isn't traditional exorcism anymore.
We have technology now.
Ye Xing then pulled up a map on his phone and marked out the three-kilometre radius around that commercial pedestrian street.
"According to the incident reports compiled by the Metropolitan Police Department, this area has an abnormally high rate of accidental deaths and suicides."
At this point, Ye Xing paused slightly before saying something that made Miko Yotsuya and the others' expressions change dramatically.
"There are at least two Gates in this area, possibly even more."
"Two!?"
Rio Futaba exchanged glances with Miko Yotsuya and Mai Sakurajima. As psychics, all three women understood the severity of the situation.
This had never happened before in Kyoto.
Typically, only one Gate would exist within a five-kilometre radius.
After all, most evil spirits were simple-minded creatures.
Not only did they harbour malice towards humans, but particularly powerful evil spirits would even devour others of their kind to enhance their own strength.
This followed the same principle as two tigers not being able to share one mountain.
Just as powerful evil spirits would attack each other, the Gates, which could enhance power and held great attraction for evil spirits, would also generate repulsion effects between themselves.
Either they would merge into one, or they would explode.
This was confirmed information that Rio Futaba had obtained by consulting Tamamo-no-Mae, the great demon of the Reverse World.
Having two, or even more, Gates in such proximity...
Either this area was accumulating massive amounts of negative impressions from people, causing Gates to be born at an unimaginable rate.
But the area around Shibuya's commercial pedestrian street was bustling, lively, and very popular - not some eerie, terrifying place that people feared to mention.
So that possibility was ruled out.
That left the remaining possibilities...
Rio Futaba furrowed her brow, took a deep breath to calm the turmoil in her chest from her own terrifying conclusion, quickly regained her composure, and slowly spoke.
"The first possibility is that there might be multiple powerful evil spirits in the area that have fused with Gates."
"The second possibility is that the evil spirit behind this incident, hiding in the shadows, hasn't just fused with one Gate, but at least two or more."
"Whichever it is..."
Rio Futaba spoke with a grave expression.
"This will be the most difficult and dangerous operation our club has faced since its establishment."
Hearing this, concern appeared in Miko Yotsuya's golden eyes as she murmured to herself.
"Tugging one hair may move the whole body... Whichever it is, if we eliminate one Gate, we might alert the enemy... drawing the attention of the evil spirit hiding in the shadows. When that happens..."
After their recent exorcism activities, Mai Sakurajima had clearly developed a clear understanding of the difficulty involved in removing a Gate.
The thing was like a dungeon instance.
In the area where a Gate existed, there would inevitably be extremely powerful evil spirits, just like a boss guarding the level.
Only by defeating the boss could one approach the ultimate treasure.
"So that means we need to remove two Gates simultaneously..."
Just as Mai Sakurajima was speaking halfway through her sentence, Rio Futaba waved her hand to interrupt.
"No, three."
"Eh? But didn't Ye Xing say that in that area, he could only confirm the existence of two Gates?"
Rio Futaba let out a slight sigh, her expression grave.
"Given how cunning this evil spirit is, it's certain to have backup plans."
"Moreover, being able to simultaneously control two Gates, or command evil spirits that have fused with Gates, proves that it itself must be an existence that has fused with a Gate."
"My most unwilling yet highly probable deduction..."
"In this incident, there might only be one evil spirit that has fused with a Gate."
"But... it has fused with three or more Gates."
Hearing Rio Futaba's words, Mai Sakurajima and the others fell silent this time.
They no longer knew what to think.
This leap in difficulty is too great, isn't it?
Given the Supernatural Society members' current capabilities, dealing with one or two evil spirits fused with Gates—even with some ordinary evil spirits in the area—would pose no real danger.
After all, everyone except Yui Yuigahama has grown stronger.
But three evil spirits fused with one Gate each, and one evil spirit fused with at least three Gates...
These are completely incomparable situations!
Quantitative change inevitably leads to qualitative change.
Moreover, we're missing one crucial combatant this time.
Kyoto's famous empty-nest evil spirit, Hachishaku-sama.
"Can we... actually win?"
Faced with Mai Sakurajima and the others' concerns, Ye Xing merely responded with a smile.
"Just like always, we'll win. Of course, your definition of victory differs somewhat from mine."
Rio Futaba frowned slightly.
"What exactly is your definition of victory then?"
"Simple."
Ye Xing stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the overcast sky outside, his eyes revealing excitement and madness.
"As long as I capture it, what follows goes without saying."
"In that process, whether hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands die—it's all just part of the procedure."
"In the end, it's still my victory."
At this point, Ye Xing turned around to face the Supernatural Society members.
"However, your definition of victory should be eliminating the evil spirits while minimising civilian casualties, I presume."
Mai Sakurajima and the others remained silent, merely nodding to express their agreement.
"In that case, our first priority must be ensuring maximum evacuation of ordinary people from around Shibuya's commercial pedestrian street during our operation."
Rio Futaba nodded thoughtfully.
"Should we issue an advance warning using our Mask identities?"
"That probably won't work."
Mai Sakurachima pursed her lips, seeming to recall something as she smiled wryly.
"Typically, people only gather where celebrities appear. Even with sincere warnings, advance notices would attract more curious onlookers—completely counterproductive."
Just as everyone was at a loss, Ye Xing spoke up with a smile.
"I've already devised a plan for this aspect."
Hearing this, and recalling how Ye Xing had mentioned before their departure that their main objective was to return the famous sword Mikazuki Munechika to its rightful place at Tokyo National Museum, Rio Futaba seemed to guess something.
"You're not thinking of..."
"Exactly what you're thinking. As expected of the Supernatural Society's most important strategist—my beloved concubine truly shares a connection with her emperor."
Rio Futaba rolled her eyes, complaining with an exasperated expression.
"Always with the 'beloved concubine' this and 'beloved concubine' that. If you really think I work hard, at least promote my rank verbally!"
"Fine then, Noble Consort."
"Hey? Shouldn't it be Empress?"
"Ho, you're really reaching for the stars with that demand. No one makes requests like that."
"Tch, I wouldn't take the position anyway."
After this round of banter, the members' previously tense moods had relaxed somewhat.
Ye Xing gazed out at the overcast sky through the window, murmuring to himself.
"Speaking of which, it looks like it's going to rain. Oh dear, what should we do? We have club activities scheduled for this afternoon - it won't do if it rains."
Hina Amano wore an exasperated expression as she voluntarily stood up and walked to the window.
"Alright, alright, no need to hint at me."
Ye Xing patted Hina Amano's shoulder with a laugh.
"Having such an excellent general like you really puts one's heart at ease."
"What kind of strange talk is that? I don't understand."
Hina Amano looked out at the overcast sky, which seemed ready to release rain at any moment, quietly closed her eyes, clasped her hands, and whispered.
"Please."
With a strange tremor, as if the sky itself was responding, the dark clouds instantly dispersed, turning into clear blue skies.
"As expected of Hina."
Mai Sakurajima said with a smile, being the first to stand up and head outside.
"Let's eat first, then start our activities this afternoon."
"OK"
...
After everyone had headed out of the room, Hina Amano glanced back to confirm no one was watching her before lifting her sleeve.
Her wrist had taken on a strange, semi-transparent appearance, like a lake reflecting shimmering rainbow colours.
"This power..."
Hina Amano stared at her wrist, her eyes showing complex emotions as she murmured to herself.
"How much longer can I use it..."
...
That afternoon was sunny.
Outside a particular shrine in Tokyo.
Looking at the row of ancient-looking vermilion gates standing one after another, Marin Kitagawa's eyes sparkled as she murmured.
"So this is what they call a torii gate... This is my first time seeing one in person."
"This place is very effective, you know."
Miko Yotsuya checked some online news and said, surprised.
"The internet says that if couples hold hands and pass through the torii gate together to enter the shrine, they'll never be separated for their entire lives."
"Bullshit, right?"
Hearing this, Ye Xing looked up and complained.
"This bloody thing, isn't it for the land god? Does it also handle romance matters on the side?"
Miko Yotsuya's face flushed slightly.
"Anyway, anyway... it's very effective!"
When she said this, all members - except Yukino Yukinoshita, Marin Kitagawa, and Hina Amano - even Menma turned their gaze toward Ye Xing.
Ye Xing felt it.
The long-awaited battlefield had begun.
Hold hands and pass through the torii gate to never be separated for life?
Of course he didn't believe it.
But.
Whether he believed it or not wasn't important.
Looking at Kazusa Touma, Mai Sakurajima, Rio Futaba, Miko Yotsuya, Yui Yuigahama, Saki Kawasaki, and even Menma, it was clear they believed it.
Wait a moment.
Was there a strange option mixed in here?
Never mind, not important.
What mattered was, what should he do now?
Option 1: Hold no one's hand.
As the saying goes.
I'd rather do nothing than make a mistake.
Hold no one's hand - fair and just.
But judging by the situation, Rio Futaba and the others probably wouldn't agree.
Option 2: Hold hands with them one by one, just need to go back and forth... 1,2,3... seven trips to hold everyone's hand.
The problem was...
What about the order?
The first one and the last one both held special significance.
"Isn't this going to lead to a direct fight?"
The King of the Harem, the strongest exorcist in history, was currently facing a severe test.
Ye Xing narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at the faintly visible shrine beyond the torii gate, thinking to himself.
'To dare put me in such a difficult position, the gods here have already chosen the path to their doom...'
Gods: ? This became my problem?
Thinking this, Ye Xing suddenly revealed a meaningful smile and murmured to himself.
"Fortunately, I came prepared."
Immediately after, under the incredulous and shocked gazes of the women, he pulled something out from his chest.
Soft, bright red, perfectly complementing the vermilion of the torii gate.
"Come, come..."
Holding the red thread, Ye Xing tied it one by one around the wrists of Kazusa Touma, Rio Futaba, Miko Yotsuya, Saki Kawasaki, Yui Yuigahama, and Mai Sakurajima.
Then, he tied the other ends of the six red threads to his own wrist, smiling as he said.
"OK, all done."