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Normally, without an invitation, there was no way to step into the barrier.
"What do we do then? Are we just stuck watching from here?"
Miko Yotsuya was a little stunned.
After all that effort, was the door really just going to stay shut in their faces?
"Don't worry," Rosen said calmly. "There are two ways in. One is being invited by whoever cast the spell. The other is… like this."
He pressed his right hand against the barrier. A wave of holy light rippled from his palm. With a little pressure, the outer layer of the barrier shattered like glass.
"Breaking it by force is still out of your league, so I'll lend a hand this time. But the Mountain God—you'll have to handle that yourselves."
Even so, Rosen wasn't about to just let them die. He would stay close, ready to intervene if their lives were truly in danger. Training was training, but he wasn't about to let his adorable companions get wiped out.
Once the barrier broke, the world around them shifted in an instant.
Where there had been dense forest, they now stood on a broad stone platform at the mountaintop.
Behind them loomed a weathered, crumbling torii gate.
Ahead stood a small, ancient shrine, its offertory box rotting from years of rain and wind.
"Huh? The shrine was here all along?"
"So the only way to see it was breaking the barrier."
"Look—the spirits stopped chasing us!"
Hana Yurikawa pointed behind them.
The ghosts that had been relentlessly hounding them now lingered at the shattered edge of the barrier.
Even though the wall was gone, they didn't dare take another step forward. It was as if something inside terrified them.
One by one, the spirits turned and faded into the forest.
"Those small fry can wait. You'd better focus on the one who actually lives here," Rosen warned.
As his words fell, two shrine maidens appeared in front of the shrine, each wearing red-and-white robes and fox masks.
When they noticed Rosen's group, their faintly human expressions twisted into something feral.
Their eyes narrowed, mouths stretching wide to reveal sharp fangs. They hissed in a language no human could understand.
Yuki Suou stiffened, recognizing them instantly.
"They're the ones who saved me… three times."
The masked maidens finally spoke words the girls could understand—directed at Yuki, their voices full of venom.
"You broke the covenant with the master of this mountain!"
"You must pay the price!"
Without another word, the two maidens lunged at her. Their hands, thin like dead branches, reached forward like monstrous claws.
The wind howled from the force of their charge.
Miko Yotsuya reacted first. Raising her holy sword, she dashed to intercept one of the maidens.
The maiden faltered, surprised that the human wasn't running but instead charging straight at her.
But whether it was the contract-breaker Yuki, or these intruders disturbing the god's peace—it didn't matter. All of them would become fuel for the god's strength.
Her claws slashed down—only for Miko's blade to cleave through, severing not just her hands but her head in one decisive strike.
The fox mask slipped aside, her face twisting in a strangely human expression of confusion.
The second maiden froze, realizing the danger.
But before she could even move, Mai Sakurajima had already vanished from sight.
A shimmer in the air—then Mai appeared behind her. The holy dagger pierced straight into the back of the maiden's skull.
The battle ended in less than ten seconds.
Honestly, it was no surprise. In the original tale, these fox-mask maidens weren't strong at all—barely capable of bullying ordinary spirits. Against anything tougher, their limits were obvious.
Back then, when Miko was nearly killed by an evil spirit disguised as a child, the maidens had stepped in to save her—though one of them ended up badly wounded in the process.
Two against one, and they still got beaten.
Rosen couldn't lie to himself. They were never that strong.
Now, with the fight over, Yuki stood stunned.
Wait… that was it?
She hadn't even done anything!
But before she could process it, all four girls felt it—a crushing presence pressing down from the sky itself.
The air trembled.
A massive beast tore through the heavens, towering like a mountain, its monstrous fox head held high.
Sunlight glinted off fur of white and gold, its body glowing faintly with divine light.
Majestic, imposing—it looked every bit like a god.
The moment it appeared, all four girls, save Rosen, felt their hearts seize in fear.
For just a moment, the thought struck them—Is this… a god?
But they quickly pushed it down.
Rosen had already told them: this Mountain God was nothing more than a monster wearing a god's skin. And if he said so, there was no way he was wrong.
"Miko, Hana, and you—newbie," Mai barked, her mind racing. "Just like we planned. Take it down, fast!"
She whipped a holy dagger toward the beast's massive fox head.
The blade sank into its forehead, and the creature screamed, its mouth splitting open like a four-petaled flower as a roar shook the mountain.
"Alright, my turn!" Hana shouted, gathering life energy between her hands. She hurled it like a cannonball into the monster's side.
The explosion scorched half its body black.
Another scream ripped from its throat.
Miko sprinted forward, sword glowing with holy light. With all her strength, she swung upward—cleaving its neck.
The monstrous body toppled to the ground, headless.
Was it over?
The thought barely formed when the corpse began to writhe.
Its skin split open.
From within rose something worse: a half-human, half-beast creature covered in patches of animal fur, foxlike hind legs supporting its bulky frame. Its arms were slim and pale like a woman's, yet its face was grotesque—bulging eyes, an upside-down triangle mouth.
And its abdomen…
Instead of a ribcage, dozens of women's arms stretched out, locking in place to form a cage. Inside, countless bells rattled faintly with each breath.
The grotesque form stunned the girls, the shock so sharp it hurt to look.
Even Rosen had to pause, quietly marveling at the sheer madness of this world.
These monsters were like deep-sea creatures—unseen by ordinary humans, so they just grew however they pleased.
"..."
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