Chapter 23: The Day the Girl Met Her God

At the moment the young man's fist descended, Akeno's thoughts were carried back to that afternoon ten years ago—

A day she could never forget and would rather not remember for the rest of her life.

Blazing flames consumed the shrine, their fiery red glow reflecting on the cold, lifeless body of her mother, staining the once-pristine white of the priestess robe with the color of death. The peaceful forest was now filled with the shouts of the Himejima clan's exorcist troops.

"Catch her! Don't let that little bastard escape!"

"Nothing else matters, but that brat must be brought back! That's the head's order!"

"She's the abomination born of that traitorous woman Shuri and a fallen angel! If word of this gets out, the Himejima family's reputation is finished!"

"Kill her!"

"Kill her!"

"Kill her!"

Someone, please... save me...

Save... mother...

Amid the deafening cries of pursuit, a small figure dashed desperately through the western forested hills.

The girl's disheveled hair clung to her face, and her once-loose, comfortable priestess robes now became her greatest hindrance. Rushing through the woods, sharp branches tore at her clothes, leaving her tattered and covered in red and white strips of fabric—a trail too obvious to ignore.

But she couldn't care anymore. The only thing echoing in her mind was her mother's last words before collapsing to protect her:

"Akeno, run. Find... your father."

But where?

Her father, a fallen angel executive, was away on a mission for the governor of the fallen angels.

That's why the Himejima family came. They killed her mother, and now they were coming for her too...

The sounds of her pursuers drew closer. This time, the Himejima family had sent their elite exorcists, and despite her best efforts, the signs she left behind couldn't evade their detection for long.

"There she is! She's running that way!"

"Follow the footprints and torn fabric—she can't be far!"

"She must be killed!"

The death knell sounded in her ears. As the approaching footsteps grew closer, her body and mind reached their limits. The girl finally broke down, her emotions shattering under the weight of despair.

"Father... where are you... cough, cough!!"

Her dry, blood-tinged throat failed her, cutting off her desperate cries. Forced to stop, she bent over, hands on her knees, gasping for air as the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

They're going to catch me...

There's no escape...

Mother... Father...

I think I'm about to die, too.

Whether from exhaustion or surrender, she no longer feared the thought of a blade piercing her chest. Wiping the faint blood from the corner of her lips, she straightened her body.

As she lifted her head to take one last look at the afternoon sunlight filtering through the dense leaves above, what she saw wasn't the triumphant, cruel faces of her pursuers.

It was a boy.

He seemed to be a traveler, carrying a bag slung over his shoulder. He stood there, looking at her with a mix of curiosity and confusion.

"Wake up. I'm not your dad. And are you seriously okay like that?"

Run!

The girl opened her mouth, trying with all her might to warn him to flee.

She knew all too well the cruelty of the Himejima exorcists. They'd slaughtered their own kin to keep her existence hidden. There was no way they'd spare an unrelated bystander.

If she had to die today, she'd at least ensure he survived.

But her cracked throat refused to make a sound.

And just then, the voices of her pursuers drew near.

"Well, well. After all that effort, she's finally run out of steam."

"But that's how it should be. She's just a seven- or eight-year-old child, after all. To have made it this far is impressive."

"Such a pity. If she were normal, with stamina like this, she could've become an elite exorcist in the Himejima family. But no—she had to be tainted with the filthy blood of a fallen angel. Blame your mother for being such a disgrace, consorting with vile devils!"

Like a judge delivering the final verdict before an execution, the leader of the exorcist team stepped forward, brandishing a naginata.

The girl shut her eyes tightly in fear.

However, the boy's calm voice echoed.

"Those uniforms… So, you're from the Himejima family's exorcist unit? Instead of teaming up with those sorcerers to purge curses, you're here hunting down a little girl. What's the meaning of this?"

"What?!"

It was only then that the leader of the exorcists noticed another small figure standing next to the girl.

"A stranger's child? No choice, then. Apologies, but since you've learned the secrets of the Himejima family, I'll have to ask you to die as well."

"Huh?"

The boy appeared genuinely puzzled for a moment, then muttered under his breath, "Kill me? Now that's bold. If you manage to pull it off, the whole Hero Village would probably thank you…"

…

In less than the time it takes for a single incense stick to burn, several massive craters resembling meteor impacts marred the mountainside. The forest, noisy all afternoon, finally fell silent.

The leader of the exorcist unit was the last to be carried away.

Armor shattered into fragments, falling like fish scales scraped clean with the back of a blade. His once-proud spiritual naginata, which had exorcised countless devils, was broken into three pieces.

Even then, his thoughts clung to his family's power.

"You… you can't kill me! You hear me? If you kill me, the Himejima family head won't spare you!!"

"Oh, really? They won't spare me?"

Still impeccably dressed, the boy stood over him, picking his ear with his pinky finger before blowing on it.

"Well, guess there's no helping it then…"

With that, a single punch ended it all, sending the leader to his fate.

"...Hey, are you alright? Want some water or something to eat?"

Returning to the girl's side, the boy pulled out a finely crafted water bottle engraved with the kanji for "flower" and a large bag of classic-flavored potato chips from his pack, offering them to her.

"Here, take these. You can keep the water bottle. Take a train to Kyoto and find the big breast fox lady at Yasaka Shrine. Show her this bottle, and she'll know what to do. She'll take care of you—it's safe there. Oh, and here's some travel money. I happened to have some spare cash."

"What about me? Don't worry about it. Honestly, I don't really need these things anyway. My mom just made me bring them before I left home."

"If you head north for about twenty minutes, you'll hit the main road. From there, it's easy to get to the station. A two-hour train ride will get you to Kyoto, and if all goes well, you'll reach Yasaka Shrine before sunset."

"Alright, I've got other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave here."

"My name?"

"My name's Keikain Fukuki. The gods and Buddhas of the heavens take refuge in me. I'm the current acting head of Kyoto's Keikain family, traveling alone at the moment."

The next day, breaking news made the headlines of every major newspaper.

The main shrine of the Himejima family was flattened in a single stomp, with the family head slain. His head was mounted on the torii gate above the shrine's entrance.