Chapter 2

"Haa, haa, haa!"

In a dense forest, a girl was panting heavily.

She was wearing a black blazer and a white shirt, a black tie, and a skirt—her school uniform. She had black hair and purple eyes, and she was about 150 centimeters tall. Her beautiful black hair was cut short and had a glossy sheen. Her skin was pale, and she was a delicate and beautiful girl.

However, what was unusual was that she was holding a Japanese sword and facing a monster in front of her.

The monster she was facing was a giant spider. Its body was as tall as an adult man, and its total length exceeded three meters. It had sharp fangs and claws on its legs, and its numerous eyes glowed a menacing red.

This was a demon known as a Tsuchigumo, and it had grown powerful with age, emitting a strong demonic aura.

Demons. They usually live in a different world, the Netherworld, and rarely appear in this world. In the past, the boundary between this world and the Netherworld was closer and more ambiguous, so demons from that world frequently appeared here.

However, as time passed, the human population increased, nature decreased, and science spread, the boundary became more distant, and they rarely appeared in this world.

Still, occasionally, the boundary would warp, and demons would appear in this world. It was the duty of exorcists to defeat them.

(Not good. If this continues, I'll be in a bad situation.)

The girl was an exorcist, and among her peers, she was a fairly well-known practitioner.

This Tsuchigumo had appeared in this world by chance. Several people had gone missing, and it was determined that a demon was involved, not a human. The girl had been dispatched to solve the case.

The Tsuchigumo itself was a relatively strong demon. Moreover, this particular Tsuchigumo was even stronger than the average one. Still, she could handle it without any problem, as long as it was a one-on-one fight.

(I didn't expect there to be two of them!)

This Tsuchigumo was a pair. She had defeated one, but the second one attacked her immediately after. She could have handled it if that was all, but the unfortunate part was that one of its attacks grazed her arm unexpectedly.

In the first place, if she had been alone, she wouldn't have received this injury.

The reason was that another exorcist who had come with her had been caught off guard by the Tsuchigumo's surprise attack, and in that moment, her attention was diverted, giving the Tsuchigumo an opening.

The other exorcist was entangled in the Tsuchigumo's web and had lost consciousness, fixed to a nearby tree.

Furthermore, the Tsuchigumo's claws contained poison.

The powerful demonic poison was eating away at her body. It hurt, and the sensation in her arm was fading. She was trying to purify it and prevent it from spreading using her spiritual power, but this reduced the amount of spiritual power she could use for attacks.

Moreover, the poison was quite strong. Her purification ability wasn't enough to completely eliminate it. Instead, it was robbing her of her mobility and consuming her spiritual power.

"Kichi kichi kichi"

The Tsuchigumo clicked its mandibles menacingly, threatening the girl. In the depths of the forest, a web-like structure could be seen, with countless eggs and several people entangled in the web, held captive.

From the Tsuchigumo's perspective, the girl might be just another piece of prey. Or, enraged by the death of its partner, it might devour her right here and now.

"I have no intention of being eaten."

She took out a talisman from her clothes and threw it at the Tsuchigumo. The talisman stuck to the spider's forehead, and a massive flame appeared, engulfing the Tsuchigumo.

The blazing fire was intense enough to completely incinerate an average demon.

But...

"Kiiiii!"

The Tsuchigumo flew out of the flames. While some of its exoskeleton was charred, it was otherwise intact.

It approached her quickly and struck her with its legs.

She managed to block it with her sword but was thrown back and slammed into a tree.

"Ouch!"

She let out a small groan of pain and grimaced. Her body wouldn't move as she wished. The damage and the poison were affecting her. She had tried to dodge the previous attack but failed.

(No good. My vision is blurring...)

She was enhancing her physical abilities with spiritual power, but its efficiency was decreasing. Her body wouldn't respond. If this continued, she would share the same fate as the others.

(I have to move... I can't die here...)

She tried to gather strength in her limbs, but it didn't work as she wished. The Tsuchigumo approached her slowly.

Just then...

"What the heck? Why did it send me back to such a weird place?"

A voice, somewhat lazy and disgruntled, reached her ears.

She looked over and saw a black-haired boy wearing a white jacket and white pants, a school uniform.

"Your clothes are the same as before. Even though they were tattered there, they're clean now. This kind of service is nice, but this is ridiculous. I just got back, and I'm already dealing with trouble. Am I cursed or something?"

"Please, run!"

The boy, who was muttering to himself, managed to squeeze out a voice, urging him to run.

But the Tsuchigumo reacted to her voice and moved first.

It turned its mandibles toward the boy and released a web from its mouth.

"Aah!"

A scream similar to hers echoed.

The Tsuchigumo's web was highly adhesive and hardened upon capturing prey, making it impossible for even an exorcist to tear it apart easily. It was trying to ensnare the boy and carry him away.

But...

"Get out of the way."

A talisman floated in front of the boy, and the web, which was about to reach him, was repelled as if it had hit an invisible barrier.

"This level of attack won't penetrate my spiritual barrier."

The Tsuchigumo seemed to sense anger and charged, trying to pierce with its sharp claws. But the claws were blocked by the invisible barrier again.

It struck the invisible barrier several times, but its claws were destroyed first.

The boy glanced at the girl and moved to her side at an incredible speed.

"Are you okay?"

He crouched down, protecting her from the Tsuchigumo.

"Are you an exorcist too?"

"Sort of, I guess."

The boy, Shinguard Mahiru, answered ambiguously. He had his reasons for not fully identifying himself as an exorcist.

"But how about you? Can you still fight? You've been hit by the Tsuchigumo's poison and slammed into a tree."

"Yeah. Hold on."

The Tsuchigumo was approaching again, so he defended with another talisman. The talisman glowed and a visible barrier appeared upon impact.

Mahiru's defensive talisman was not easily penetrable. The barrier completely blocked the Tsuchigumo's attacks and its massive charge.

"To completely block that Tsuchigumo's attack..."

The girl was amazed by the strength of the defensive spiritual technique being used in front of her. How many exorcists in the industry could handle such a powerful defense, able to withstand the Tsuchigumo's continuous attacks without breaking?

"Well, this is the only thing I'm good at. Unfortunately, I can't use offensive spiritual techniques."

Mahiru honestly admitted his weakness. He did have offensive means, but he didn't intend to use them in this situation.

"From the dead Tsuchigumo over there, I can see you can use a technique to defeat it, right?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But now..."

"I see. Then get back to full strength."

Mahiru took out another talisman and stuck it on her forehead.

"Huh?"

"Stay still. It'll be over soon."

The girl was confused, but her doubts were quickly resolved. The pain in her body disappeared, and the poison seemed to be absorbed by the talisman. She felt her body recovering.

"This is..."

"Can you fight now? If so, I'll leave the rest to you. You don't want to keep getting beaten, do you?"

"...Yes. Thank you."

The girl stood up, thanked Mahiru, and readied her sword.

"Yaaaaaah!"

With a fierce cry, she raised her spiritual sword and brought it down with all her might. Light overflowed from the sword, and the Tsuchigumo was cut in half.

"Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii