"Wryyyyyy——"
To showcase its power and ferocity, the Lost Demon decided to do what monsters in movies and TV shows do—wreck the props! Its five fingers, now fully transformed into sharp claws, slashed through the air, aiming straight for a seemingly ordinary steel-frame chair. The Lost Demon could already picture the terrified faces of all the humans in the room after it tore the chair in two with a single swipe…
Alas, some things can't be wrecked just because you want to.
Two massive letters emerged from the steel-frame chair: [Immortal Object]. Immediately followed by the crisp sound of bone cracking, the Lost Demon's deformed arm twisted a full three hundred and sixty degrees in the wrong direction before hanging limply under the pull of gravity, just like its head.
"yyyyy——"
Only the tail end of its "wry" remained in the roar.
"Good chance!" Yukikawa Yukie's eyes sharpened. She launched a flying kick at the dining table, intending to knock the Lost Demon out of the shop.
Clearly, even after seeing the Lost Demon's arm break, her thinking was still grounded in common sense.
The massive letters [Immortal Object] discreetly reappeared to complete the double kill. Yukikawa Yukie froze in her kicking posture, the icy coolness in her eyes gone, replaced by the blurry, tear-filled gaze of a bullied child trying hard not to cry.
A monster with a broken hand, a miko with a crippled leg. After their eyes met, sharing the same fate, the battle resumed.
The little shop turned into a blacksmith's forge, bustling with the clanging of steel amidst the flashing of blades.
Mo Bai watched this pathetic pecking match between weaklings while pulling noodles, feeling no emotional turmoil whatsoever. He even wanted to laugh.
"Hey, what's this girl's deal?"
"The miko from Yukikawa Shrine, the top dog in Shinjuku." The old man continued to eat his noodles with leisurely composure, completely ignoring the fight behind him. "Her spiritual arts are mediocre, but her spirit vessel forging and swordsmanship are first-class."
As the two spoke, the pecking contest between the two cripples was already nearing its end.
Weapons like the tachi are most vulnerable to dual-wielded weapons that can restrain, such as double forks or police batons.
Unfortunately, the Lost Demon's clawed hands were just hard enough not to be severed, and the narrow terrain of the small shop, along with its indestructible tables and chairs, further restricted Yukikawa Yukie's movements. Amidst a cacophony of screeching metal, the gorgeous, cherry-blossom-colored tachi was caught firmly between the Lost Demon's claws.
"Wh-what?!" Yukikawa Yukie couldn't hide the panic in her voice.
"Oh?" Mo Bai raised an eyebrow and shot the old man a look.
This is what you call first-class spirit vessel and swordsmanship?
If the Lost Demon hadn't already lost a hand before the fight, it could be filming a 'defeated miko' flick by now.
The old man pushed up the sunglasses on his nose. "Jie jie jie, if you think that way, Shopkeeper, you'd better be careful not to get your kill stolen."
Seeing the old man's confident demeanor, Mo Bai couldn't help but mutter.
"Could it be this miko still has an ace up her sleeve…?"
Before he could finish, another object flew out of the guitar case, hovering beside Yukikawa Yukie, who was stuck in a stalemate tug-of-war with the Lost Demon.
"Holy crap! Dual blades?!"
"Sakurafubuki?!" Mo Bai exclaimed, just as Yukikawa Yukie's own voice filled with surprise.
Mo Bai was a little baffled. You're using your own family's spirit vessel and you don't even know what type it is?
But Mo Bai had no time to ponder further, because what the old man said about a stolen kill was about to come true.
Yukikawa Yukie released the hand locked in the struggle over the sword hilt, grasped the spirit blade that she had no idea had appeared, and then swung it with all her might at the Lost Demon.
If that blow landed, all of Mo Bai's waiting and preparations this afternoon would be for nothing.
"Sit back down!!!" Mo Bai's voice boomed like spring thunder. Already a roar of frustration, it was amplified by the little shop and augmented by some unknown power, becoming even more grand and solemn.
Just as she was about to slay the Lost Demon, Yukikawa Yukie felt a jolt run through her entire body, and she could no longer hold onto the spirit blades.
"Not good! This suspicious restaurant is definitely trouble!" As the spirit blades fell to the floor, a thousand thoughts raced through Yukikawa Yukie's mind, and she began to tremble in fear once more.
She couldn't control her own body!
How could this be?!
She tried to reverse the flow of her spiritual power to break free from control-type arts, but after several attempts, Yukikawa Yukie came to a grim realization: her mind was clear, her spiritual power was normal, yet she simply couldn't control her own moving body.
Despair spread through her heart. The only silver lining for Yukikawa Yukie was that the Lost Demon seemed to be in the exact same predicament.
"Clap, clap, clap~"
"What a splendid Kotodama. Even this old man couldn't resist it," the old man said, applauding.
"It's not Kotodama… never mind, call it what you want. It's too complicated to explain to you."
Domain of the Heart's Manifestation: Propriety.
As long as certain conditions were not violated, Mo Bai could forcibly command an opponent to perform a corresponding action or state their purpose. Of course, the use of the Domain of the Heart's Manifestation: Propriety was not limited to just that.
The prerequisite for such a useful skill was its high cost. Mo Bai was currently three hundred billion points in debt.
For this, he had no choice but to travel all over Tokyo with his little shop, just to complete missions and earn points.
But…
It was worth it!
If the survival-instinct-driven System Sprite Xiao Bai hadn't come up with this thing, Mo Bai and Xiao Bai would have died on the very first day they transmigrated.
Pushing aside the image of that beautiful face from his thoughts, Mo Bai let out a long breath.
Regardless, he had managed to save the mob.
Considering the powerful background behind Yukikawa Yukie, it was... time to act cool again.
"Little girl, there's nothing wrong with slaying demons and exorcising evil."
"But your simple and crude methods just won't do."
Using a world-weary, aged tone, Mo Bai carried a bowl of Soul Repose Noodles over to Yukikawa Yukie, who had been forcibly ordered back into her chair.
Yukikawa Yukie felt the unknown power binding her dissipate, and she regained control of her body.
"You are?" Having received a good shrine education, Yukikawa Yukie deeply understood the principle of 'if you can't win, be meek'.
"This old man is Lu…"
"Ahem!" The old man coughed as a warning.
"Just think of me as a highly accomplished senior who wishes to remain anonymous."
"Senior." Yukikawa Yukie's expression turned respectful.
"She actually believed it?" Being called 'Senior', Mo Bai felt his face flush slightly.
"...Ahem, do you know why the chimi mōryō of this world can never be fully eradicated?"
"Why is that?"
"Because of—desire and resentment."
"Resentment causes ignorant spirits to fall into malevolence. Desire causes spiritual energy to congeal into foul energy."
"Simply slaying them cannot sever this karmic consequence."
"Then what should be done?" Hearing Mo Bai's refreshingly unconventional theory, the old man couldn't help but chime in.
"Whoa, he's pretty cooperative," Mo Bai silently gave the old man a thumbs-up.
"After days and nights of research, I have thought of a method: to satisfy the malevolent spirits with gourmet food, and thus end this unbreakable karmic cycle."
"Please!"
Without giving Yukikawa Yukie any time to doubt, Mo Bai placed the Soul Repose Noodles in front of the Lost Demon and set down a pair of chopsticks. The latter tremblingly used its remaining clawed arm to manipulate the chopsticks, lifting the noodles to the giant mouth on its chest.
"It's actually eating!" Yukikawa Yukie's eyes widened as she held her breath, watching a scene that shattered her common sense. "And it's using chopsticks!"
After eating the Soul Repose Noodles, the Lost Demon shuddered once, then again, and a third time…
Just as Yukikawa Yukie thought a miraculous scene was about to unfold!
"Blech~"
The Lost Demon magnificently vomited up the noodles it had just eaten.
________________________________________
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