Chapter 295
295 – Honne
Fushiikazuchi no Kami (伏雷神).
In the Kojiki, it is described as a thunder god in the form of a maggot or a snake.
Its true form was a gigantic ‘dragon’ that could easily cross 300 meters when its long body was stretched out.
───!!!!
As the dragon, covered in black shadows all over its body, roared harshly toward the sky, the mountains, rivers and trees trembled.
Truly an overwhelming presence.
The name ‘God’ is not a waste at all.
【Kozue.】
“Yes, God.”
【Offer Kohei to the altar.】
After receiving orders from Fushiikazuchi no Kami, Kozue placed the Kohei offered with both hands on a plate on the altar.
Then, a bolt of lightning fell along with the thunderbolt and settled in the Kohei on the plate.
When Kozue picked it up again, he seemed to stumble for a moment, but immediately regained his balance.
“Hmm. It’s been a while since I’ve been there.”
The next moment, what came out of Kozue’s mouth was the voice of the god she served.
Kozue, who was swinging her arms around as if checking her body condition her, glanced at us who were looking at her with a blank expression and said, “Why are you so dazed?”
I asked carefully.
“So… “You’re God?”
Then, Kozue nodded with a confident expression.
“I just used Kohei as a medium and borrowed Kozue’s body for a while. Originally, a god and a shrine maiden are one and the same.”
As Kozue said that, she looked up at the sky, and the black dragon that was her body also looked up at the sky with a full moon.
“Ah… It’s a killing moon.”
Don’t say such lines with the body of a child who was in middle school until last year!
But I didn’t have the courage to say this to God, so I kept quiet and asked another question.
“But how exactly does the exorcism ritual work?”
Then, after borrowing Kozue’s body hers hers, Shiikazu Chi no Kami pointed to her own body hers hers.
“Before the Nether Gate opens, I burn as many souls as possible on my body. And when the Nether Gate opens, my body rushes in and transports the passengers safely to the Nether, and that’s it.”
“That’s an express to the nether world.”
“It’s not wrong, but the expression is a bit rude.”
When the man who had borrowed Kozue’s body looked at me with a cold expression, I turned my head away with a shy expression.
Anyway, then all that remains is to attain Buddhahood.
As explained by the god who borrowed Kozue’s body, the souls floating in the sky began to climb on the back of the black dragon one by one. Chiaki, who saw this, also got up and said that she had to go.
Ryuji, who was sitting next to him, saw that and grabbed hold of him in surprise.
“There’s still time left. Let’s talk a little more and then go.”
It looks uncharacteristically desperate.
He said he would send it to Chiaki if she wanted, but it seems like he didn’t feel like it.
Perhaps understanding Ryuji’s feelings, Chiaki sat down again.
The longer we talk like that, the more regrets will remain.
I didn’t want to disturb the two people’s last conversation, so I watched from a distance. Thinking that, I shook my head and looked up at the full moon in the sky.
‘They said today is the biggest day of the year when the moon is the biggest.’
Maybe that’s why the moon, which was much larger than usual, caught my eye.
As I was staring blankly at the moon because I had nothing else to do, I suddenly witnessed the moon’s surface writhing.
“Huh?”
I rubbed my eyes to see if I had seen something wrong, but it wasn’t an error.
The moon slowly turns red, like ripples spreading across the water.
Along with that, a black shadow is slowly eating away at the moon.
The total lunar eclipse has finally begun.
***
“The time has come.”
The Raijin who borrowed Kozue’s form, Fushii Kazuchino Kami, said so and raised Kohei above her head.
Then, the dragon that was lying flat on the ground slowly raises its body.
“We have to leave soon, so you guys should stop saying hello now.”
After hearing those words, Chiaki stood up and patted Ryuji’s butt.
“Okay then, I’ll just leave.”
“… Yes.”
When Ryuji forced a smile and nodded, Chiaki, who was staring at Ryuji, suddenly hugged him.
“Thank you so much, Ryuji. Thank you for not forgetting and remembering the promise you made to me when I was young.”
“Chi, Chiaki.”
Ryuji tried to push Chiaki away with a puzzled expression, but his palms only passed through her ghostly, insubstantial body her.
Eventually, Ryuji stopped her fussing and calmly accepted her hug. When Chiaki stepped behind her, she looked straight into her eyes and said,
“I will never forget the moments I spent with you.”
“Huh. I will never forget either.”
The two people said that and stuck out their little fingers to each other.
And then they shouted at the same time.
“I promise with my fingers! If you lie, I’ll swallow a thousand needles!”
“I promise with my fingers! If you lie, you will swallow a thousand needles!”
This is a promise that children often make.
But for the two of them, the weight of this promise seemed special.
“Then I’ll just leave, Ryuji. See you next time.”
“Yes.”
The two people wave their hands cleanly and part ways at the end, as if it were a brief farewell.
“You’ve definitely said goodbye, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then ride on my head.”
After hearing those words, Chiaki, who flew into the sky and climbed onto the black dragon’s head, waved his hand to me and Mahes, who were standing next to Ryuji, and then turned his head back to the front.
I asked Ryuji, who tried to pretend everything was okay until Chiaki left her place.
“Hey, are you crying?”
Then, perhaps unable to control her pounding emotions, Ryuji nodded as she shed tears.
“Uh.”
As we said our final goodbyes, half of the full moon in the sky had already turned black.
And that black hole was the true identity of the nether gate that Kozue and Fushiikazuchi no Kami had been talking about.
Chiaki’s soul over there will soon fly towards the moon.
“Why don’t you go and catch it now? You won’t regret it later, right?”
When I, who was next to him, said that, Ryuji shook his head with a confused look on his face.
“I’m okay with being hurt. So let Chiaki do whatever she wants.”
“…”
Originally, I wasn’t planning on interfering with the relationship between the two people.
However, as I watched the two people not being honest about their feelings until the last moment, I felt jealous.
“Frustrating b*stard.”
So I said it without even realizing it.
“… Huh?”
Ryuji looked at me with a blank expression, probably not thinking that the person who was comforting him next to him would suddenly swear.
But since I had already crossed the line once, I decided to let out everything I had been thinking about.
“What on earth is a nuisance to the Japanese, and what are their foolishness? Do you really think that Chiaki chose the path to Buddhahood on her own because she wanted to?”
“Oh, no, I…” ” “
“Shut up and listen to me first!”
I shouted at Ryuji, who was trying to say something with a pale expression, and pointed to Chiaki’s lonely back as she sat on the dragon’s head.
“After that guy died a miserable death due to an incurable disease, he endured a long period of loneliness with only the determination to see you again! How on earth would he have felt to hear that his first love, whom he barely met, died because of him?!”
“…”
Ryuji didn’t say anything.
No, he couldn’t say anything.
Unless he is truly an incorrigible idiot, he will have something to point out.
Because Chiaki kept lying with a smile on her face.
“There is only one thing I would like to advise you as a friend, Ryuji. Don’t disguise your true feelings with strange words. Don’t do something you will regret later, but act proudly and follow your heart.”
After saying everything I wanted to say, I took a step back.
Then, Ryuji, who was shaking with his fists clenched and his head down, suddenly spoke to me.
“Yuseong, can I ask you one favor?”
“… What is it?”
“Hit me just once. I’ll come to my senses.”
Saying that, Ryuji raised his head.
It was the eyes of someone who was firmly determined for something.
“Good.”
Bang!!
As asked, I hit Ryuji’s face with my palm.
Ryuji then stumbles and takes a few steps back.
No matter how determined he was, Ryuji said with tears in his eyes, as if the pain was still painful.
“Didn’t you hit me too hard?”
“If I had really hit you, your head and body would have separated?”
When I said that and shook my palm, Ryuji looked at my right hand with a shocked expression and then smiled and said.
“Thank you for asking me a difficult favor. It brought me to my senses.”
“If you need anything, just tell me. I’ll hit you again.”
Then Ryuji smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“I feel like I’m going to die, so that’s a bit… Let me ask you one more favor.”
Ryuji said that and looked at the black dragon that seemed to be about to fly.
“Can you help me bring Chiaki now?”
I answered without thinking for even a second.
“Of course.”
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