-96- [ Fire-rat Summoning ]

"Boom..."

Amidst the collapsing sound, the dilapidated shrine crumbled slowly as if it had been burned to ashes. Akabane Raishin, Domon Hinowa, Kamo Subaru, and Yuge Mutsura, the four of them stood together in front of the sea of fire, watching the scene with deep concern in their eyes.

"Hey, he couldn't possibly..."

Yuge Mutsura couldn't help but ask Akabane Raishin, his expression complex.

"No, he won't."

Akabane Raishin shook his head and answered, though his own emotions were far from calm.

"That guy actually went as far as to lure the Enenra into the shrine, along with himself, and then detonate the entire shrine just to defeat the Enenra."

Kamo Subaru's face was extremely conflicted.

At first, when Rozen communicated this battle plan to everyone, except for Akabane Raishin, whose expression changed and quickly tried to persuade him, the rest didn't quite believe that Rozen would go to such extremes.

Even when Rozen said so.

"Don't worry, it's not as dangerous as you imagine. I'm not the kind of person who jokes around with my life for a mere token."

Back then, Rozen spoke with a nonchalant tone.

Due to Rozen's relaxed and unserious demeanor, everyone also believed that he was not the type to joke around with his own life.

That didn't mean Rozen wouldn't fight desperately.

On the contrary, once it touched the most important things to Rozen, he would definitely fight with all his might.

For example, when the control room in Chaldea exploded, Rozen rushed into the fire without hesitation.

Similarly, during the Fuyuki Singularity, when he was almost fatally struck by Berserker, Rozen pushed aside Mash and exposed himself to the enemy's deadly blow without any hesitation.

Now, for the sake of Akabane Kuukan, who had raised him for ten years, Rozen didn't mind taking some risks, but he wouldn't sacrifice his life just to gain some face for the Akabane clan.

It was precisely because Rozen was such a person that everyone had a subconscious belief that he had a way out of this situation.

But now, looking at the collapsed shrine and the surrounding sea of fire, their hearts couldn't help but be tense.

"Nuragami-sama..."

Even Domon Hinowa's face was full of worry, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

"Roar!"

In this situation, the struggling figure of the mountain god emerged from the sea of fire, catching everyone's eyes. Obviously, being swept into the inferno was not much of a threat to the tough mountain god; it was more like a minor annoyance.

However, with the loss of it's target, Enenra, the mountain god might redirect its wrath towards Domon Hinowa's group.

"O...Ojou!"

"The mountain god is coming!"

Kamo Subaru and Yuge Mutsura started to panic.

"Didn't Nuragami mention this situation before?" Akabane Raishin quickly said to Domon Hinowa, "Hinowa, you must appease the mountain god's anger."

In this far eastern island country, it was common knowledge that a shrine maiden's prayers not only conveyed intentions but also could pacify a god's anger.

Rozen had already considered that once they lost Enenra as their target, the mountain god might turn its attention back to the intruders. So he had advised Domon Hinowa beforehand to use her prayers to calm the god's wrath when it posed a threat.

Under such circumstances, although Domon Hinowa was still worried about Rozen's condition, she took out the bell.

"Cling-ling..."

Amidst the pleasant chime, the mountain god's angry roar gradually subsided in the sea of fire.

"Roar!"

After a while, the mountain god seemed somewhat dissatisfied, let out a roar, and then turned its back to everyone present. It trampled the flames and left the scene.

The way it left seemed to be saying...

"For the sake of that shrine maiden, I'll let you go this time."

And so, the mountain god departed.

Rozen would surely be quite surprised if he were here, right?

After all, even though its anger was pacified, the mountain god still held hostility towards intruders. While it wouldn't immediately launch an attack, it would never let Domon Hinowa's group off the hook.

Yet now, the mountain god readily abandoned driving away Domon Hinowa's group. This was indeed quite surprising.

Perhaps even people from the Izanagi clan would find it astonishing?

Because it clearly demonstrated the high quality talent of Domon Hinowa.

This seemingly timid little girl might achieve even greater things in the future than Kamo Subaru and Yuge Mutsura.

She might even surpass Domon Kira.

If they were aware of this, would Domon Kira still be willing to marry Domon Hinowa into the Akabane clan?

This was truly a thought-provoking question.

The mountain god has already left, leaving behind a burning sea of fire.

Domon Hinowa's group stared intently ahead, and the longer the time passed, the more anxious they felt.

"This can't be...!"

Just as Akabane Raishin couldn't hold back and was about to step forward, there was finally some movement from the front.

"Cough...!"

Accompanied by a coughing sound, Rozen appeared from the center of the fire sea and approached them.

"Nuragami!"

Akabane Raishin exclaimed in both surprise and joy.

"Are you... Are you alright!?"

"That was amazing!"

Kamo Subaru and Yuge Mutsura also shouted in excitement.

"Phew..."

Even Domon Hinowa let out a sigh of relief, revealing her first genuine smile until now.

The smile was innocent and adorable.

What they didn't see was a fiery red rat scurrying beneath Rozen's feet amidst the flames. Wherever the fiery red rat passed, the flames lost their power, and there was no trace of heat left.

Under the protection of the fiery red rat, Rozen managed to rush out of the sea of fire and reached Domon Hinowa's group.

"Damn smoke...!"

Rozen was still coughing.

But Akabane Raishin was so thrilled that he hugged him.

"Well done! Nuragami! I knew this level of trouble would never faze you!"

While speaking, Akabane Raishin kept patting Rozen's back, making him almost suffocate from the coughing.

Immediately, Rozen pushed Akabane Raishin away, glared at him, but it didn't lessen Akabane Raishin's excitement in the slightest.

Not only Akabane Raishin, but even Kamo Subaru and Yuge Mutsura, who originally had issues with Rozen, softened their expressions.

As for Domon Hinowa, for some reason, her gaze toward Rozen appeared to contain something, causing Rozen's heart to quicken again.

After a while, everyone finally calmed down from their excitement.

"How did you do it?"

Kamo Subaru finally asked the question.

"Yeah, such a tremendous explosion, I never thought you'd come out unscathed."

Yuge Mutsura was also astonished.

To this, Rozen simply smiled.

Not far away, a fiery red rat disappeared soundlessly.

Rozen glanced at the scene and couldn't help but feel emotional.

"Thank goodness I had learned the 'Fire-rat Summoning' technique earlier."

Thanks to it, Rozen decided to use this risky tactic.