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The system sprite, Kagura, spoke up in his ear.
Asher understood immediately.
Looks like he'd run into a mini-boss.
Otherwise, there was no way the system's reward would be this generous.
"Since that's the case…"
He looked at the Long-Tongued Hag, who had just broken free of the Word Spirit binding and was now staring at him with a chilling glare.
Asher raised his hand without hesitation.
The next second—
Five flashes of light burst into existence around him.
When the blinding glow faded, every shikigami Asher was currently able to summon had appeared at his side.
"Th-this is…?"
The girl hiding behind him stared blankly at the five shikigami that had suddenly appeared, her mind completely frozen.
Asher had no intention of explaining anything to her.
"Go."
His voice fell, fingers forming a sword seal as he pointed toward the depths of the dead-end alley where the Long-Tongued Hag stood.
The five shikigami received the order and charged at her instantly.
In the blink of an eye—
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the shikigami slammed into the hag.
The fight erupted all at once.
It had to be said, the Long-Tongued Hag truly lived up to being a system-certified mini-boss.
Her combat power was terrifying.
Even when surrounded by five shikigami, she didn't fall behind at all.
Especially the Parasitic Spirit, which had already advanced to two stars. Compared to its performance back in the residential building, it was clearly much stronger now.
Even so, it was still only barely keeping up with the Long-Tongued Hag, if not slightly at a disadvantage.
The clash between the five shikigami and the hag turned the already filthy, run-down alley into a complete wreck.
The walls on both sides were covered in cracks, spiderwebbing outward where massive力量 had slammed into them.
The sight left the blonde girl with twin ponytails standing there in a daze, completely forgetting the danger she herself was in.
Only one question kept echoing in her mind.
Is this guy really human?
How can he possibly…?
Asher didn't spare her thoughts a second.
Watching the shikigami fighting the Long-Tongued Hag, he frowned slightly.
If this dragged on, it clearly wouldn't end well.
The noise alone was already way too much. If they didn't finish this quickly, it was bound to draw unwanted attention.
Just then—
A shrill, ear-piercing screech rang out.
The Long-Tongued Hag snapped her head, her tongue whipping out like a steel lash. It struck the largest shikigami, the Parasitic Spirit, and sent it flying.
It smashed into the alley wall with brutal force, leaving behind a dense web of cracks.
The sheer power was shocking.
But it was also in that moment, as she finished that heavy strike, that Asher caught the brief opening.
"Word Spirit: Bind!"
The chant left his lips, and two iron chains burst from the ground like venomous snakes. They wrapped tightly around the Long-Tongued Hag's body, locking her in place for a short time.
"Yamausagi!"
Asher called out again, shouting the true name of his only R-rank, three-star shikigami.
Receiving the command, Yamausagi didn't continue her basic attacks. Instead, she controlled her green mount, a mountain frog over a meter tall.
The frog opened its mouth wide and spat out a ring-shaped surge of energy.
It was Yamausagi's ultimate skill.
At the same time, Asher formed hand seals, flinging out several basic talismans in rapid succession.
In an instant, Yamausagi's ultimate combined with Asher's onmyoji techniques.
The fused attack slammed straight into the Long-Tongued Hag, who was still bound in place and unable to move.
Boom!
A massive explosion shook the alley.
The shockwave kicked up a violent gust of wind, forcing both Asher and the girl behind him to shut their eyes.
After a while, a familiar, pleasant voice finally echoed in Asher's mind.
[Ding! Host has successfully defeated the yokai Long-Tongued Hag! Reward obtained: One Onmyoji-exclusive skill gacha draw!]
As expected.
When the dust settled and Asher opened his eyes—
All that remained was a deep crater about a meter wide.
There was no trace of the Long-Tongued Hag left.
If not for the sheer amount of destruction around them, one might have doubted whether the monster had ever existed at all.
"Haa…"
With the yokai eliminated, Asher let out a long breath.
Using onmyoji techniques repeatedly in a short time, plus summoning five shikigami at once, was a huge drain on him.
Luckily, most onmyoji burned through mana.
Asher burned stamina instead.
Still, even though the hag was defeated, it wasn't a flawless victory.
Out of the five shikigami he had summoned, only Yamausagi, the strongest and highest-quality one, was still in decent condition.
The other four were seriously injured.
Shikigami couldn't die, but they'd still need at least a full day of rest before they could barely recover.
Even so, compared to the reward he'd gained, the cost was well worth it.
As Asher silently weighed the gains and losses, a cautious voice sounded behind him.
"Um… excuse me… who exactly are you?"
He snapped back to his senses.
With a thought, he dismissed his shikigami and turned around.
The speaker was the blonde twin-tailed girl he'd just saved.
"Me? Just a passing onmyoji," Asher replied calmly.
"A-an onmyoji?"
For a brief moment, her expression went blank.
For people of this country, the profession of onmyoji wasn't unfamiliar.
But this was the first time she had ever truly seen one of the legendary onmyoji in person.
And if the boy who saved her really was an onmyoji, then everything made sense.
The summoned monsters were his shikigami.
The strange powers he used were onmyoji techniques.
"So that's how it is…"
"Either way, thank you so much for saving me, Mr. Onmyoji. If you hadn't…"
Just thinking about the Long-Tongued Hag's horrifying appearance made a chill run through her body.
If Asher hadn't shown up in time, she would've been killed on the spot by that thing.
Hearing her thanks, Asher's lips curved into a faint smile.
Then he spoke again, his tone casual.
"No need to thank me."
"After all, saving you wasn't free."
"…Eh?"
She froze, letting out a confused sound.
Asher didn't explain. He just narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled at her.
She understood immediately.
He was asking for payment.
For a split second, the tall, heroic image she had of him cracked a little.
But thinking about it again, it was only natural.
Even if he hadn't said anything, there was no way she could just do nothing.
No matter what, he had saved her life in a moment of absolute danger.
"Then… how much yen does it cost for you to save me, Mr. Onmyoji?"
"....."