Chapter:50 The Shrine(4/?)

*.* Gojo's Pov. Continued .*.

The guardian Yokai's body slowly dissipated into a burst of red and blue mist, leaving behind only the residual traces of curse energy.

Gojo sighed, a mix of frustration and disappointment was evident on her face.

"Didn't even get to learn anything useful. What a waste."

She kicked at the mist, dispersing it further, and glanced at the shrine. The ethereal aura around the structure had diminished to a certain extent now that the guardian was dead, but the whirlwind of curse energy was still swirling overhead.

"Hmm... this trip's been nothing but disappointing after all. Hell, might as well see what secrets this place holds."

So far, her trip has been a disappointment, a couple of semi-grade two curse spirits, a grade two Oni, and a grade one guardian spirit. Forget about her, even a Grade One sorcerer would feel bored having to deal with this many insignificant creatures.

Gojo approached the shrine, but now that she was a bit irritated, she kicked down the door instead of properly opening it. The ancient wooden doors creaked before flying off their hinges and smashing into the floor on the other side of the shrine.

The interior was dimly lit, mostly from the outside light pouring in through the holes in the roof. The air inside was heavy from the amount of saturated curse energy flowing inside the shrine.

Gojo walked through the shrine, taking in the intricate carvings and decorations on the walls. As befitting the God of War, Bishamonten, most of the decorations were displaying wars and battles. The scenes depicted ancient folklore of gods and warriors slaying Yokai and evil spirits and from the design, it was quite clear that this place had a long history.

The further she delved, the more detailed the carvings became. Symbols and glyphs, paintings and tapestries, telling tales of battles between sorcerers and gods.

Yes, gods.

They were made from the uncontrollable energy of human belief and soul, and they didn't appreciate the presence of human beings who could control their source of existence. 

Gojo finally reached the center of the shrine, taking the 'Niwa' or the 'quasi-indoor gardens.' Well, a garden would be a bit of a stretch since all it had was one giant ancient tree and two stone pedestals.

The ancient tree before her pulsated with a large amount of curse energy, its roots spread across the ground like veins and were wrapped around the two pedestals. 

"Hmm, now this is more interesting,"

Gojo muttered to herself, her frustration from the earlier encounter with the guardian faded as her eyes narrowed in on the hollow of the tree. Something was hovering there, a finger, and she was pretty sure of what it was.

What caught her attention were the two stone pedestals, flanking the tree on both sides. Each one held a rather peculiar artifact. On the left was a metal urn, filled with ashes and a bamboo folding fan inserted face down into the ashes. On the right was a practical-looking Tachi, sheathed and bound by ritual clothes.

Gojo circled the stone pedestals, her gaze shifting between the two. Her focus was not on the artifacts on top but on the stone structure. 

"Let's start with you,"

Gojo said, addressing the pedestal on the left. She reached out and carefully touched the symbols carved on it, trying to decipher the objective of the stone.

"A sealing stone,"

she muttered.

"Used for binding and restraining spirits, perhaps. But what were they trying to seal here?"

Gojo continued to examine the sealing stone, running her finger over the symbol circuits carved into its surface. The stone felt cool to the touch, and a subtle hum emanated from it.

The stone was being powered by the tree, and the tree generated curse energy through the 'talisman' suspended in its hollow.

As she concentrated, Gojo felt the whirlwind of curse energy being absorbed by the tree, which then utilized the 'talisman' to channel it into the two pedestals. 

"These symbols are mostly for containment,"

Gojo muttered, deciphering the purpose of the engravings,

"But why would someone go so far as to use 'Ryomen Sukuna's Finger' as a battery."

She mused.

"A bit of an overkill in terms of a shrine barrier. Someone's trying to harness all the negative energy in this district to fortify the seal."

Her thoughts were interrupted by something she noticed on the sword pedestal. It was the kanji symbol for 'spirit'.

"Hmm, so they sealed a 'spirit' here?"

Well, the soul had different meanings to it when it came to the supernatural aspects of the world. For one, both curse 'spirits,' and Yokai could be called spirits since they were... well... spirits.

Yeah, she didn't get it as well.

"Must be some sort of abomination or something."

Gojo muttered, hoping to confirm her suspicion.

'I am done with dilly-dallying, just gotta deactivate the seal and take out whatever the heck is sealed here,'

She thought as she stood up straight and walked over to the tree, releasing a tired sigh.

The tree, for its part, was still pumping out curse energy, and the whirlwind above it was slowly being drawn into its hollow from where the 'talisman' supplied it to the two stone pedestals. 

Now there were two ways to go about deactivating the seal, the first and the rudest would be to destroy the tree. But Gojo wanted to keep it, 

'It's something I haven't seen before. It draws curse energy from the surroundings and concentrates it in one spot, maybe it can be used to stop the birth of a large number of curse spirits.'

And the second would be to take out the 'talisman.' 

But that would be a challenge, there was a concentration of curse energy in the hollow, dense enough to be a solid mass. If a normal sorcerer were to put his hand in that hollow, the said sorcerer would probably have to deal with a missing limb.

"But I am not an ordinary Sorcerer! Bring it on, tree!"

With a bold step forward, Gojo extended her hand towards the hollow. The cursed energy recoiled momentarily, due to Gojo's 'Limitless' barrier, but retaliated in full force, sending wave after wave of curse energy at her.

However, Gojo's mastery over curse energy was unsurpassable by ordinary beings, it far outclasses the instinctual defensive mechanisms of the tree.

Her fingers pierced through the first barrier... the second barrier... third... fourth... yet there was more to come, it was a clash between her control and the tree's raw power.

"That's it, come to mama."

She swiftly grabbed the "talisman," sensing its connection to the tree, and with a sharp move, ripped it out from the tree's hollow. A burst of cursed energy surged through her as she did so, and the whirlwind above dissipated. The roots of the tree, which were coiled around the pedestals, obediently withdrew into the ground.

"Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

*BOOM*

The stone pedestals burst asunder!

Now that the tree was no longer supplying the energy to maintain the seals, whatever it was that was sealed inside the pedestals managed to tear its way out into the world.

'One, maybe two?'

Thought Gojo as she shielded her face with her arms, not that she needed to do that, it was just a natural reflex to an explosion so close to her.

"SO LONG..."

The figure emerging from the Tachi all but growled, its voice hoarse from being sealed for a long, long time.

"IT HAS BEEN SO LONG...!!"

The dust settled down, revealing a woman or rather a Yokai in the form of a woman. She was a demon, no doubt about it.

Her long, black hair seemed to cascade like a waterfall to her lower back, and her eyes were glistening with a vivid red light that seemed to pierce into the very soul of all those who gazed upon her. She had a pair of fleshy, curved horns, pointed ears, and a lean body that stood at nearly 8 feet in height.

The thin straps of her pitch-black yukata hung loosely off her shoulders, allowing her delicate collarbone to be seen. A white fur collar was wrapped around her neck, adding a subtle elegance to her otherwise demonic appearance. Well, that five-meter-long Odachi resting on her shoulder didn't help much with elegance either.

'That curvy body*COUGH* I meant that sinister aura! No doubt about it, she's an Oni Yokai and probably a fallen spirit too.'

Fallen spirit referred to a Yokai who had fallen from grace by absorbing or devouring a positive energy-based entity such as a god or their contracted souls.

The Yokai woman's eyes narrowed as she looked down at Gojo, her gaze filled with curiosity and irritation. Gojo, on the other hand, simply stared back at the newly liberated spirit with an amused grin.

"WHO DARES TO..."

"OH MY~"

Came a second voice from the spot where the second pedestal used to hold the metal urn,

"IF IT ISN'T SUZUKA~"

The smoke settled, revealing yet another Yokai. Not an Oni, but a Kitsune.

She had long, flowing blond hair, fox ears that protruded from the top of her head, and nine tails that swayed gracefully behind her. She was about 6 feet tall, not counting her tails, and had a rather curvaceous figure too.

From behind the bamboo fan covering her face, a pair of mesmerizing violet eyes gleamed with mischief. She was dressed in a light blue kimono that was adorned with a floral pattern, tied up at her waist with a red cord.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Here's a double release for a Happy New Year!!!

And can you believe it! I had a fucking paper today!!! On the first fucking day of the new year! a fuckin paper!!!

FUCK YOU, EDUCATION SYSTEM!!!

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*