“Meow… be gentle, meow…”
“No way, little kitty. You were born to be devoured by me, y sister!”
In the heart of the sacred shrihe most revered and holy spot was the room of the shrine maiden. At this very moment, the esteemed shrine maiden, Misako, was in a private chamber of her room, watg ses not meant for public eyes.
If oo turn on the lights in this private chamber, they would see not only magical dispy ss but also numerous piles of books scattered around. Most of these books had covers that suggested dangerous tent.
These were part of the treasured colle of Misako, the esteemed shrine maiden who had amassed these various items over the years—things referred to as manga.
The reason for having such items was due to the existence of people from other worlds in this realm. They spread the knowledge from their inal worlds to this one, causiain aspects of otherworldly culture to circute here.
This had been happening even before Misako was cast into the abyss. Some of the races that had ehe abyss had preserved this cultural phenomenon.
“Hm… It seems that my earlier indifference was merely due to that person.”
Misako, mung on cookies and sipping iced tea, tio watch a magical dispy s showing a detailed analysis of the anatomy of foxes and cats.
“Speaking of which, if these two little ones discover the truth after all this… their expressions will surely be iing.”
One was a shy cat who became bashful upon approag her, while the other was a fox with a traditionally demure demeanor but another side when alone. Holy, this was the most mischievous pair Misako had entered retly.
[How has it beely?]
“Grrr!”
The sudden voi her mind startled Misako, causio make a fox-like sound.
[...Sorry, did I scare you?]
“It’s… it’s fine. Is there something you need?”
[No, just wao know about ‘her’.]
“Ah, her…”
Misako pulled up the image she had set aside earlier. In the dispy, the simuted version of herself was engaged in a fierce battle with a young girl.
Even the once pleasant se of a warm sun, fragrant flowers, and a gentle breeze had turned into a hellish ndscape.
“Her mental state hasn’t improved much, but her strength has signifitly increased.”
Misako specuted that soon, even at the highest iy of the simution, the simuted version of herself might not be able to match her.
[Is that so…?]
“It’s alright, even if I ’t ha, there’s still you, isn’t there?”
Sensing the worry in the voice, Misako attempted to fort the entity.
[...Yes, we mustn’t give up until the st moment. And you musther.]
“…”
These words made Misako pause, her hand halting mid-air with a cookie, as she fell silent.
“...I uand.”
[Good, the’s leave it at that for now. We’ll discuss it further ter.]
The voi her mind fell silent, and Misako looked up at the young girl on the s whose once pristine clothes had bee tattered.
‘Don’t disappoint me…’
…
Some time ter, after tless days of releraining, the young girl had regained her bat instincts and even surpassed her previous strength.
Unfortunately, her memories had still not returned.
“Tomorrow, you won’t o go to the training ground. e directly to see my true self.”
This was what the simuted Misako had told her yesterday at the training ground.
Following these instrus, the young girl arrived at the tral area of the shrine.
“You’re here.”
Misako was fag away from the girl, looking at the rge tree ahead, seemingly lost in thought.
“...Do you know? This tree is the desdant of the one you saw in the simution at the training ground.”
Misako approached the tree aly caressed its trunk.
“I haven’t seen the inal one in a long time.”
She reminisced about the days when she and her panions used to py, frolid nap uhat tree.
“...Well, let’s get to the point. It’s time.”
Turning around, Misako snapped her fingers, causing the se to transform into a barren wastend devoid of flowers and trees.
“This way, it won’t affect the surroundings. e, let me see your strength!”
The petite shrine maiden unleashed her power, creating a pressure even more intehahey first met, pressing the grouh her.
However, this time, the young girl’s strength had grown signifitly. Not only did she withstand the pressure, but she also pushed it back a little.
“Impressive. But the real challearts now!”
Misako pulled out several sheets of paper covered in special runes from her shrine maiden robes. With a flick of her wrist, fmes and lightning appeared in the air.
This was distinctly different from the magic the girl was familiar with. Normal magivolved magic circles or intations, but this paper-based magic was beyond her prehension, and the energy used was different from ordinary magical power.
“This is demonic magic. Let me reintroduce myself. I am Misako, the Fox Shrine Maiden and leader of the bck demons.”
The bck demons were a raown only to a few or some ages ago referred them as simply demons out of ignorance. Bck demons doesn't look as they seem to be.
Monsters, as they were called, were beasts or objects mutated by magical power or formed from pure magical energy. Bck demons shared a simir in, gainiiender the influence of special magical power, either passively abs it or actively densing it. They generally used a unique form of magiown as demonic magic.
Initially, they were regarded as monsters by those in the know. Whenever a bck demon appeared, rge extermination parties were dispatched to hunt or capture them.
Of course, no one knew how many were for the sake of the world and how many were driven by personal desires.
To escape this fate, the bck demons chose to live apart from other races, gradually fading from view.
One day, a powerful entity stumbled upon their secluded existend forced them into war, bringing the bck demons bato publisciousness.
As the stoes, they eventually fell and were cast into the abyss. The bck demons were lost to history through cycles of emergend disappearance, and now only a beings who survived the war remember them.
“Ah, but I’m not old.”
Misako, still looking like a little girl, certainly wasn’t old. That’s what she said!
“Now that introdus are done, let me see if our bck demons once again make the world reize us!”
