Chapter 27

 27 Wings of Guidance

*Fictional town and temple. No real model.

Following the flapping crow that led the way, they turned down a side street. After walking for a while, they found a small park surrounded by a fence, nestled between houses in a residential area with generous spacing.

The park had only a few basic play equipment and benches, and the area was quiet and deserted. This looked like a good spot.

Ten and the others rushed straight to the slide and ducked underneath it. When Minato caught up and handed them the apple pies, they formed a circle facing each other and all took big bites at once.

Even though they tried to hide behind each other's bodies which didn't really help at all their sneaky behavior was so endearing that Minato said nothing.

He crouched down on the side facing the street, figuring this would at least block them from any passersby.

"The apples are so crispy!"

"So this is what pie tastes like so….flaky!"

"...Mmph mmph!!"

"Utsugi, swallow before you talk."

"How rude. That's what you get for stuffing it all in at once."

"...!"

Behind him, he could hear their voices of praise and usual banter. When he held a plastic bottle over his shoulder, it was immediately grabbed and gulped down eagerly.

As the scent of apple pie drifted to him, Minato felt a twinge of regret that he hadn't bought one for himself. He looked at the stone pillars on either side of the park entrance.

The crow that had guided them was perched there, watching them. Not cawing, not moving.

Waiting. That's how it felt.

The three finished eating quickly but thoroughly, savoring every bite, then emerged from behind Minato.

"Minato, sorry about that."

"Yeah, sorry for the trouble."

"It was delicious! Fresh-baked really is something else like a completely different food!"

"It's okay. Nothing beats freshly baked pie. By the way, is that crow trying to tell us something?"

Minato took the empty bottle, put it in his bag, and stood up. Seri, standing diagonally in front of him, looked up with just his neck.

"I can't tell exactly, but it seems like it wants to guide us."

"You can't really understand it?"

"Animals aren't as intelligent as humans and don't have a common language. They communicate by projecting strong emotions at us."

Torika explained while looking at the crow. As they headed toward the park entrance, the crow took flight going in the opposite direction from the narrow path they'd come through.

They all exchanged glances and nodded, then followed the low-flying black shadow.

A few minutes later, they were walking briskly through the narrow paths between residential houses. Traditional Japanese homes with large yards lined both sides. Occasionally there was a stylish modern Western-style house. The paths were winding, but they never got lost.

Because they weren't being guided by just one crow anymore.

Winged creatures kept arriving from all directions crows, pigeons, sparrows lining up in clusters on the walls on both sides, showing them the way to their destination. They could keep moving forward without stopping.

The power lines overhead were packed with pigeons and crows. Under countless watching eyes, urged on by the constant sound of flapping wings, they hurried onward.

Not one of them made a sound. They simply formed lines, welcoming Minato's group.

From an outsider's perspective, it must have looked bizarre. Minato could painfully feel their expectations bearing down on him.

Gradually, Ten and the others running on all fours ahead of him began to look more tense.

"...This is terrible."

"With this much corruption, people definitely can't live here."

"So dirty, so smelly~"

The surrounding houses were strange too. Despite it being the middle of the day, all the curtains were closed, trees in the yards had branches and leaves growing wild and untended. Many houses had "vacant" signs. Everything was filled with a melancholy, deteriorated atmosphere.

But Minato couldn't perceive any of this himself only the sad, run-down appearance.

No matter how deeply he breathed, he couldn't smell anything particularly strange. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see any unusual filth.

The further they went, the slower the three's pace became. Minato's expression clouded he couldn't perceive with his five senses the miasma growing thicker and thicker.

"Are you okay? Is it too much?"

"We can still go."

"We're fine."

"Still good, still good."

"I'll go first then."

The three answered in unison and changed formation, surrounding Minato who had become a walking air purifier from behind as he took the lead.

Relief seeped from Ten and the others' presence. Though their training had increased their resistance to corruption, they were fed up with how terrible the surrounding pollution was.

Their vision was awful. The stench was just as bad.

Though the sun should still be out, barely hidden by clouds, the area looked like night due to the black miasma flowing toward them like massive waves.

In the midst of all this, Minato covered in a glowing jade-colored sphere thanks to the protective charms stuffed in every pocket of his clothes dispersed the miasma and attacking evil spirits one after another as he advanced.

A single stream of pure jade light cutting through the black sludge.

Minato carved out a path forward.

The way everything cleared up so quickly was almost laughably refreshing. The evil spirits former humans and animals were exorcised without question, continuously raising cries of resentment and death screams.

The divine messengers thought that Minato, who couldn't hear any of this, was surely blessed.

Eventually, a solemn temple with a double gate came into view. Right at the wall of the house closest to the temple, the line of welcoming birds suddenly ended.

Minato looked back over his shoulder. Against the cloudy sky, a massive flock of birds filled the power lines, house roofs, and walls, seeing them off.

All the birds cried out loudly toward Minato wrapped in brilliant jade light. The air itself trembled.

Receiving this great cheer, Minato's group stopped in front of the towering two-story gate. The characters on the hanging plaque were obscured by black haze and unreadable. Below it stood two Nio guardian statues. Their robust bodies in their powerful stance, their stern yet valiant expressions all were only faintly visible.

Finally, Minato could see the miasma.

This place was terribly corrupted.

This temple had been fairly famous with a constant stream of visitors. But after a series of misfortunes befell the head priest and monks, visitors stopped coming, and now it was abandoned.

There wasn't a soul in sight, and an eerie silence hung over everything.

Minato took out his smartphone and made a call. It connected after three rings.

"...This is Kusunoki. Yes, we just arrived. Where are you, Harima-san?"

"I'm on the back gate side. You're at the front gate?"

"I think so. There are Nio guardian statues here."

"Then that's the front gate. Sorry. We can't even get close."

"...I see."

He couldn't bring himself to say they'd arrived fairly easily.

He looked down at Ten and the others pressed close to both his feet, staring intently into the gate. Their stern expressions clearly showed that what lay ahead would not be easy.

"We can go inside, right?"

"...I know it's too late to say this after requesting your help, but please don't push yourself. ...If worst comes to worst, running away is fine."

"We'll do what we can."

He ended the call and faced the gate again. The path extended beyond the gate, continuing straight into the depths. Through the square cutout dyed in dim darkness, he could see the main hall with its tiled roof.

Minato slowly began climbing the low stone steps.

The thickening clouds blocked out the sun. Winter wind howled, making the trees surrounding the temple groan. They rustled violently, as if rejecting their presence.

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