Chapter 133: The Spirit-Exorcism Tournament, First Match!

Mount Hiei, Kyoto.

While most of the city’s population was gathered near the Kamo River for the summer festival, waiting for the fireworks to begin, Mount Hiei was teeming with exorcists. By the time Qiao Qiao arrived, the opening ceremony for this year’s Exorcism Demonstration had already concluded.

According to Maki Shiniki, the opening ceremony was merely a series of speeches from representatives of various shrines, covering historical background and future outlooks.

"You wouldn't have liked it anyway, Qiao-san," Shiniki remarked.

"It’s not that I dislike it, per se. It’s just that such a method of conveying information is incredibly inefficient."

Qiao Qiao sat in his designated chair. The Shimogamo Shrine, being a shrine of considerable prestige, held a relatively prominent position. Seated next to them were the priests and shrine maidens from the Kamowakeikazuchi Shrine. Arisu Asano had accompanied Qiao Qiao to the mountain. While summer festivals were usually a delight for young girls, for a shrine maiden like Arisu, exorcism was far more intriguing. Besides, she had rarely seen the exorcism techniques employed by other shrines.

The spectators were seated on a temporary viewing platform erected at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, which provided a panoramic view of the mountain’s terrain.

"Wait, are we really supposed to observe this with the naked eye?" Qiao Qiao looked out into the mountain. It was night, and the landscape was shrouded in pitch-black darkness, save for the moonlight filtering through sparse patches of trees. There was no sign of vengeful spirits or supernatural anomalies—not even the shrine maidens conducting the exorcism were visible.

"Of course not. Look there, Qiao-san," Shiniki said, pointing toward a series of screens ahead. They were projection screens, and they were beginning to glow.

"?" Arisu tilted her head in confusion.

"I see. This is truly Kyoto, isn't it?" Qiao Qiao realized.

There were six projection screens. Five of them displayed footage captured by cameras worn by the five shrine maidens from the Fushimi Inari Taisha. The sixth screen seemed to show a composite view captured by multiple cameras controlled by shikigami.

"Good evening, everyone. As always, we will be providing commentary for this year’s Gion Festival Exorcism Demonstration. I am Nishimoto from the Kyoto Exorcism Association."

"And I am Higashino from the Onmyoryo."

In front of the audience sat two men in suits, speaking into microphones and providing play-by-play commentary.

"They even have commentators? How professional," Qiao Qiao muttered, stroking his chin.

"The Gion Festival Exorcism Demonstration is recorded in its entirety and sent to exorcist associations in every prefecture as reference material," Shiniki explained, suddenly producing a bag of potato chips from nowhere.

"Place your bets! The betting window is open!" Nearby, a man dressed in the robes of a priest was shouting in a low voice, a wad of cash in his hand.

"They even have a betting pool?" Qiao Qiao watched with curiosity.

Because Fushimi Inari Taisha was a famous and powerful shrine, the betting wasn't focused on whether they would succeed. The odds were based on time intervals—under or over thirty minutes—as well as the number of spirits exorcised and the final score. Some of the payouts were quite high. Qiao Qiao was not a man who relied on luck, but Arisu, caught up in the excitement, placed a 3,000-yen bet that they would finish within thirty minutes. The potential return was 3,300 yen; the odds were low, but the bet was safe.

The event felt less like a solemn ritual and more like a competitive tournament. Well, an exorcism demonstration was, in essence, a competition. Qiao Qiao turned his attention back to the commentary.

"The opening match features the formidable Fushimi Inari Taisha. Higashino-san, as a professional commentator, do you have any thoughts?"

"I think I might not have to work overtime tonight."

"Haha, indeed. Let’s introduce today’s participants. First, Shrine Maiden Kataoka from Fushimi Inari Taisha. She is twenty years old, participating in her third demonstration, and is a heavy-firepower specialist skilled with the Japanese longbow."

"Our second participant, Shrine Maiden Kumagaya, is twenty-one. This is her second demonstration, and she held the title of MVP last year. She is quite formidable."

As the commentators spoke, the screens displayed the participants' photos along with their stats—spiritual power, physical strength, agility, and three other attributes—making it look like a character profile from a video game.

"A heavy-firepower shrine maiden?" Qiao Qiao’s eyes lit up as he focused on the first participant’s feed.

The sixth screen was now introducing the venue: an abandoned village on Mount Hiei. As Qiao Qiao had noted, most of the structures were wood, with a few concrete buildings scattered throughout. The field was filled with obstacles and targets, including sources of resentment and simulated vengeful spirits.

"What? You mean these aren't actual spirits?" Qiao Qiao looked somewhat disappointed.

"Of course not. The sources of resentment used in the demonstration are devices manufactured to emit yin energy, and the simulated spirits are illusions created by spiritual power. Even so, for an ordinary shrine maiden, the combination is indistinguishable from the real thing," Shiniki explained to Qiao Qiao, who was watching this for the first time.

"Fair enough," Qiao Qiao nodded.

"Oh! Shrine Maiden Kataoka has stopped. At this distance, is she planning to loose an arrow?"

Following the commentator's words, the sixth screen switched to a side view of Kataoka. Dressed in red and white, she stood on a slope, holding her massive longbow, looking toward the exorcism site a kilometer away. She drew the bow.

*Hum—*

Dazzling light coalesced into an arrow, held taut against the string. Kataoka closed her eyes.

*Twang—*

The string snapped forward. The arrow flew straight ahead at a speed the cameras could barely track, striking the second-floor window of a small, two-story building.

*Crack—*

The sixth screen immediately cut to the interior. A Daruma-like object emitting dark energy had been struck and shattered into pieces.

"A truly magnificent exorcism!"

"Indeed. Shrine Maiden Kataoka maintained her *zanshin* perfectly. That shot was flawless in both execution and technique."

"But to land a shot like that from such a distance... I suspect only Shrine Maiden Kataoka could manage it."

"Quite right. However, the sources of resentment are often hidden in the corners of these buildings. A longbow alone might not be enough."

"Precisely, Higashino-san. The other four shrine maidens are beginning to advance into the zone. Fushimi Inari Taisha is looking very strong again this year."

The commentators continued their analysis.

"?" Qiao Qiao tilted his head. How did she know the situation inside the house? Even with "Mind's Eye," it would be difficult to pinpoint a target without prior knowledge. He had asked Arisu about this before; "Mind's Eye" was not omnipotent. Without a basic understanding of the spirit's location, one could not simply hit a target. If they could, the world would have been cleared of spirits long ago.

"That’s simple. Setting up these kinds of sources is a staple of the Exorcism Demonstration," Shiniki said. "Qiao-san, you haven't had a chance to study the footage from previous years, have you?"

"No, I was planning to look into it over the next couple of days."

"Well, in short, there are many 'routines' in the demonstration—specific patterns for how the sources are placed or how the spirits appear. If you master these, you can guarantee a basic score," Shiniki explained.

"I see. So, rather than a sandbox exercise, it’s more like an exam that follows a planned route." Qiao Qiao nodded and opened the materials on his phone that he had intended to study later.

During this time, the shrine maidens from Fushimi Inari Taisha destroyed another source and two simulated spirits. After watching for two minutes, he stopped the bookmaker, who was preparing to pack up his station.

"Can I still place a bet?"

"I suppose so, but the odds for 'under thirty minutes' are already very low. You won't make much money if you bet now." The man looked puzzled.

Qiao Qiao reached into his wallet, pulled out two 10,000-yen notes, and handed them to the bookmaker.

"I’m betting on over thirty minutes."

"???" The bookmaker stared at the two bills, completely bewildered.