Mutagen

SHOOOM!

Another barrage of talismans flew toward Mark before turning into different elemental attacks.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

At the same time, the gunshots also came. The bullets flew from somewhere, hitting the elemental attacks and destroying them. With half of the elemental attacks destroyed, Mark could retreat safely without needing to block them with his wings.

Mark flew and retreated quite a distance away as he felt the group of people approaching the place.

"Priestess!"

Someone called out while seven people in traditional Shinto clothing, four men and three women, appeared around the Priestess out of thin air. They immediately surrounded the Priestess, facing Mark, in an attempt to protect their leader.

At the same time, with a bright flash of light, Mei appeared behind Mark with her crystal-like rainbow wings and her sniper rifle in her hands.

Mark had no particular reaction to the arrival of the Onmyoujis, but the same could not be said about the Priestess, who was surprised by the female Demon that appeared behind her opponent.

As the Priestess of the Temple and protector of the Reclaimed City, she did not expect to see two Pureblood Demons lurking nearby undetected. What was stranger was that the female Demon\'s aura was pure. It was something that should not belong to a Demon at all.

"Everyone! Get ready to purge the evil!"

The Shinto Priest with a pair of sharp eyes, who seemed to be the leader of the seven, yelled as he prepared more talismans in his hands.

However...

"OW!"

The same Priest flinched and yelled in pain as something hit the back of his head.

"Who!" The Priest aggressively turned around only to fall speechless. "P-Priestess, why did you?"

The Priestess, using her fan that was now closed, hit the leader of the group on the back of his head. The hit was not that powerful. However, it was painful enough to take anyone\'s attention.

"Stand down, all of you. Put your talismans away."

The Priestess said with a dignified demeanor. She behaved differently compared to her childish and annoying act while talking and fighting with Mark. It was as if she was a completely different person.

Due to the order they received, the Onmyoujis became confused. Only the Shrine Maiden standing beside the Priestess seemed to have caught on as she silently made a dismayed face with her hand on top of her forehead. She only shook her head with a sigh as she stared at the back of the Priestess.

"All of you, say here," The Priestess said before turning to that dismayed Shrine Maiden. "Tsubasa, follow me."

The Priestess then left the protection of the group and walked forward.

"But Priestess!"

The leader of the group tried to protest. However, all he received was the Priestess\' silent stare.

Receiving the Priestess\' order, the Shrine Maiden named Tsubasa followed closely behind the Priestess. She had her hands inside her sleeves to take out a talisman, just in case. But as she looked at the Priestess\' back, she seemed to realize that it was unnecessary.

In the sky, Mark looked at Mei. But before he could say anything, she spoke.

"You\'re late. And you\'re not responding."

Mei then pointed at her ring, making Mark\'s ring vibrate as it reacted to hers.

This made Mark confused. He was wearing his ring, after all. Yet, he was sure he did not receive any contact from Mei while fighting the Priestess.

"Sorry for worrying you, but let\'s talk about the details later," Mark shrugged as he patted her head. "Follow me for now."

And with those words, Mark flew down towards the Priestess and the Shrine Maiden. He flew down at a slower pace, with Mei following closely behind him.

The six Onmyoujis could only feel a little nervous as the Priestess and who they perceived as the enemy approached each other. But since the Priestess ordered them strictly, they could only obey.

The Priestess and Mark soon stood in front of each other.

Mark stretched out his right hand forward with his palm facing the sky. And there, everyone heard him.

"We\'re done here. So, pay up."

The Priestess could only pout a little as she took out the item she promised to give Mark.

As their Priestess responded to Mark\'s words by giving him something, the reactions of the six Onmyoujis were priceless.

"I\'m not really satisfied with the outcome," The Priestess said in a low voice. "But it can\'t be helped. I\'m the one who chose this location."

"Yeah, it\'s your fault."

Mark unceremoniously blamed the Priestess. The latter could only stare at Mark in silence.

By the looks of it, the Priestess was keeping a facade in front of her followers. If these people were not present here, she sure would have been yelling at Mark already for not taking the fight seriously until the last moments.

"Oh, by the way," Mark seemed to remember something. "Can I have her head?"

Mark then pointed somewhere.

The Priestess followed Mark\'s finger in confusion, and he was pointing at the half-submerged petrified corpse of the [Boss of Oshiage].

"I don\'t really mind. It\'s just an [Infected] corpse."

The Priestess said.

"I\'ll take the head then."

Mark said as he signaled Mei to follow him.

Without waiting for any more words from the Priestess, Mark flew towards the corpse of the [Boss of Oshiage] and lopped its head off.

"We\'ll be going. Don\'t forget what you said before."

Mark yelled at the Priestess as he grabbed Mei by her waist. And then, the two vanished in front of everyone left in the area.

The Priestess and her underlings stared at the place where the two Demons vanished. The Onmyoujis seemed perturbed by the fact that the two just went and disappeared without a trace. They could not even sense where they went.

And in that sense, the Onmyoujis also felt terrified. Just how powerful were the Demons the Priestess was fighting?

"Prieste- Grandmother..." Tsubasa whispered beside the Priestess. "You\'re getting yourself into trouble again... To think you would pay a Demon to fight you..."

"What is wrong with that?" The Priestess replied, hiding her expression from the rest of the group. "It\'s not easy to find someone who can take on my [Light of Purification] directly and come out unscathed. It\'s been a long time since the last time I managed to properly stretch my arms and legs."

"That\'s..."

Tsubasa could not believe what she had just heard from the Priestess. The Demon that left just now was unaffected by that pillar of light? How? Just how powerful was that Demon?

"Those Demons are not enemies?"

Tsubasa carefully asked.

"If they are enemies, you and those kids back there would be dead, and I\'m not sure if I\'ll be able to do anything. You all are lucky. Why are kids here anyway?"

The Priestess grumpily whispered.

"Of course, to protect you! The other Priests and Maidens are also on the way."

Tsubasa reasoned with the Priestess.

"Hmmph," The Priestess harrumphed. "You kids are too stupid. How are you kids going protect me from something I can\'t defeat?"

"But!"

Tsubasa wanted to argue, but she could not refute the Priestess.

"Next time, if you kids witnessed me using my most powerful attacks, don\'t bother coming. It could be that the fight is ending... Or I\'m fighting something you kids can\'t handle. Don\'t go rushing to your deaths."

The Priestess warned Tsubasa. After all, her great great granddaughter, on her younger brother\'s side, was one of her most precious family members.

"It\'s Grandmother\'s fault. If you keep sneaking out like that, who wouldn\'t worry? It is really odd how the members of the Temple can only see your dignified side and not the real you."

"Can you blame me? The Temple is boring. I had already been stuck with the same scene for about two hundred years. Give me a break."

The Priestess sighed.

The Grandmother and the Granddaughter kept whispering to each other until the rest of the Temple arrived. Only then the Priestess decided to go home, as there was nothing else to do in this place.

It was no doubt that the Priestess was unsatisfied with the ending. Maybe, she could find another time to challenge Mark. Well, if she could convince him to join her shenanigans.

***

On the other side, Mark and Mei returned to the restaurant without anyone outside noticing.

When the two arrived, Mei sure was in a better mood than when she left worried about Mark. It looked like pulling her close by grabbing her waist when they left the ruins did the trick. She was definitely not an easy woman, but she was pretty weak with intimate physical contact with Mark.

Besides, the problem with the rings was no one\'s fault. If there was, it could be the Priestess\' fault. After all, she was the biggest factor that could affect the rings given by a God. After all, Amaterasu was a powerful Goddess, and the Priestess carried her aura.

It was just speculation, but it kind of made sense.

Mark and Mei had been wearing these rings since they received them from Bathala. Mark used [Miasma] around it, and it was unaffected. This was the first time that it malfunctioned, and the only change was the presence of the Priestess.

When Mark explained why he was fighting with the Priestess and what possibly happened with the rings, Mei accepted it. Of course, Mark still got a little scolding. After all, he did not notice the ring malfunctioning because he forgot to contact Mei and tell her he would be late.

Mark just smiled at her scolding, though. Mei was not scary. She just looked cute doing that.

And while all that was happening, Spera was just watching while drinking coffee. It was already late, after all.

When Mark and Mei finished talking, only then Spera chimed in.

"What is this anyway?"

That was what Spera first asked as she looked at the unpolished stone Mark put on the table.

"Something to repair this with." That was Mark\'s answer as he took out Mako\'s broken artifact. "At least, that\'s what Magwayen said."

As it turned out, the unpolished stone that the Priestess offered Mark was a similar kind of gemstone that the artifact had before it was used up by Mako.

Unfortunately, the stone was unprocessed. Mark would need to do the processing himself. Luckily, Magwayen found some help in understanding the markings inside and outside the artifact, and Mark should be able to fix it in time.

But as the three were talking, a visitor came.

Peeking from the kitchen door... It was the bob-haircut girl with a red waistcoat.

The Zashiki-Warashi seemed to be less wary as she put an empty bowl on the floor in front of the door while the three were watching. She still hid as much as she could behind the door, though.

"Do we still have red bean rice?"

Mark asked the two girls.

"We have, but uncooked."

Mei replied.

"Can you cook a bowl for her?"

Mark asked Mei, which she agreed to.

"Is it fine to give it food every time it appears here?"

Spera asked Mark while watching the girl behind the door.

"Yeah, it\'s fine," Mark said without hesitation. "They say that Zashiki-Warashis bring good luck. She might be the reason how I got this stone out of nowhere, after all."

Mark pointed at the unpolished stone. It was really something unexpected and lucky. Out of anything that the Priestess could have and possibly offer to him, she had this one. An item that Mark actually needed.

If it was luck due to the Zashiki-Warashi, then there was no need to deny it. He would like to have more luck.

And thinking about it now, as someone unbound by fate and destiny, luck was unexpectedly a valuable factor.