Chapter 032: The Five-Storied Pagoda

The process of awakening the priestess Chiyo was unexpectedly smooth—so smooth that Ye Shenwei could scarcely believe it herself.

She activated the Awakening Spell hidden in her palm, and a streak of azure spiritual light flashed, shooting straight into Chiyo’s forehead. The priestess slowly came to, her gaze clearing as though she were waking from a deep sleep.

“It worked.”

Ye Shenwei, tense and alert, watched Chiyo, waiting for the system to prompt the next stage of their mission.

Chiyo, now fully awake, glanced around in confusion. Yet even as she saw herself surrounded by countless grotesque demons and apparitions, she remained remarkably composed. Truly worthy of her priestess lineage—she faced the horde of evil spirits without losing her cool.

Su Cheng nodded quietly, one hand gripping his sword, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

But in the next instant, he sensed something was amiss. The awakened priestess Chiyo seemed to have discovered something, and suddenly walked right toward him.

Is this part of the story?

The moment Su Cheng looked up, his eyes met hers—eyes alight with joy. Under her gaze, he felt his disguise slip away, leaving him exposed and vulnerable.

A gleam of delight flashed in Chiyo’s dark eyes, as though she had found her beloved. She strode swiftly to Su Cheng, took his hand, and said,

“Please, take me away from here.”

“Huh?”

Su Cheng was utterly bewildered. What kind of plot twist was this? Wasn’t it a bit inconsiderate for the bride, in front of everyone at her wedding, to ask a male guest to take her away? What about the groom’s feelings?

He stole a glance at the Demon King, imagining a vast green field sprouting atop the king’s head.

Not just him—Ye Shenwei and Inoue Kaori were equally shocked by this turn of events. Was Su Cheng about to cuckold the Demon King in front of ten thousand monsters?

No matter how gentle the Demon King might be, he would surely tear Su Cheng apart.

“Miss, do you think this priestess knows Cheng?” asked Ye Shenwei’s companion.

Ye Shenwei shook her head, just as baffled. “Maybe it’s a plot requirement. Cheng doesn’t seem to know anything.”

Sakamoto Saburo was so excited he looked ready to shove a microphone in Su Cheng’s face and interview his thoughts.

At that moment, a song popped into Su Cheng’s mind: “Love is a light, so green it glows…”

Though this priestess resembled Kanbara Chiyuki, their temperaments were worlds apart. The Chiyuki he knew was a sweet girl-next-door, while Chiyo was cold and regal.

There was no chance he had any relationship with Chiyo beyond mere acquaintance—perhaps she had mistaken him for someone else?

What surprised them most was that, in front of all these spirits, someone had gifted the Demon King a giant hat of forgiveness, and the king showed no reaction, simply watching them in silence.

Could it be that the Demon King had chosen to forgive her?

Whatever the case, their priority was to finish the mission.

“Let’s go!”

Su Cheng gritted his teeth, seized Chiyo’s delicate hand, and pulled her out of the banquet hall without looking back.

The Ye Shen Squad readied themselves to break out of the hall.

“You scoundrel! How dare you ruin the Demon King’s wedding!”

A massive shadow fell before Su Cheng. The Spider Lady, one of the Demon King’s three chief generals, hung by silken threads, blocking the doorway. She glared at Su Cheng with vengeful hatred, clearly wishing to tear off his head.

Su Cheng, now committed, did not retreat. Instead, he drew his sword and charged.

“Kill!”

The chilling cry, heavy with murderous intent, rang out. With the mask of slaughter upon his face, Su Cheng seemed transformed into a god of death, his killing aura sweeping over the hall as if it were tangible.

His aura could suppress ordinary spirits, but had little effect on the Spider Lady.

His blade flashed coldly, cutting the Spider Lady to pieces and severing all her legs. Yet as they hit the ground, the legs turned into white silk, and new legs immediately sprouted from her body.

Bang!

Just as Su Cheng prepared to force his way through, a gunshot rang out behind him.

A silver bullet pierced the air and struck the Spider Lady right between the eyes.

Her exquisite, bewitching face shattered like porcelain.

“Kyōhei!”

Su Cheng saw Furukawa Kyōhei, dressed as an evil monk, step forward, a smoking revolver in his right hand.

Gun control in Nippon was strict, so Kyōhei’s revolver must be a game item, not brought in from the real world.

Few players in horror games used firearms—bullets were precious, and when they ran out, death was inevitable.

Ordinary bullets could hardly harm ghosts or monsters; they were at a disadvantage in supernatural scenarios.

But Kyōhei’s bullet was a special spiritual round, deadly to spirits, monsters, vampires, and werewolves alike.

Spiritual rounds were powerful but expensive—most players couldn’t afford them.

Kyōhei’s profession was Gun Master, a role with limited use in supernatural scenarios. This time, he had specifically exchanged for spiritual rounds to target monsters and spirits.

“I’ll cover you—go now!”

The Gun Master served as fire support and cover for the team, and Kyōhei’s skill would buy Su Cheng precious time to escape the Demon King’s wrath.

“No one leaves!”

The Spider Lady, her face now shattered, shrieked furiously, but Kyōhei held her back, preventing her from pursuing Su Cheng.

A thick aura of death leaked from the cracks in the Demon King’s armor, his eyes glowing red beneath the iron mask.

At the king’s command, a horde of demons and vengeful spirits surged out, chasing Su Cheng and Chiyo as they fled.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kyōhei’s revolver flashed, spiritual bullets striking the vengeful spirits, obliterating them completely.

But the monsters infesting the temple were endless—there was no way to kill them all.

Ye Shenwei and Sakamoto Saburo burst forth from the mob, slaying several monsters, but were soon surrounded by the endless legion.

“Onezen! Come help!”

Ye Shenwei’s abilities were ineffective in this supernatural scenario, and she was gradually overwhelmed.

The little monk pulled a paper talisman from his robes, folded it into a doll, and tossed it into the fray.

The paper doll grew in the wind, transforming into a towering Vajra guardian that blocked the monsters at the hall’s entrance.

A shikigami?

Su Cheng, having escaped the hall, marveled at the sight of the monk’s summoned shikigami.

Shikigami were spiritual entities employed by onmyoji, usually shaped from paper and summoned with incantations.

Their strength depended on the onmyoji’s spiritual power. Though Onezen could summon a Vajra guardian, it would not last long.

Taking advantage of this, Ye Shenwei and Inoue Kaori escaped the hall under the shikigami’s protection.

“Miss Chiyo, where should we go next?”

The area around the temple was enclosed by the Demon King’s barrier; they would not be able to leave before dawn. Having sabotaged the wedding and abducted the bride, they would now face relentless pursuit.

“My power has been sealed within the Five-Storied Pagoda. I must reclaim it to confront the Demon King,” Chiyo replied, her gaze lingering on Su Cheng with strange dependence, as if she had mistaken him for someone else.

A line of blood-red text appeared on the game screen:

“Mission Three: Proceed to the Five-Storied Pagoda to investigate the truth.”

Clearly, the pagoda was unavoidable.

In reality, the Five-Storied Pagoda was a tourist attraction at the temple, housing memorial plaques and a shrine. But in the game scenario, the pagoda was likely far more sinister.

“This mission seems odd—they want us to investigate the truth at the pagoda, not find a way to defeat the Demon King. Could there be some hidden secret in this temple?”

As a veteran of horror games, Ye Shenwei sensed the scent of conspiracy. The plot of the temple scenario was likely more complex than it seemed.

“From what we know, Chiyo appears to be the reincarnation of the Demon King’s lover, the princess he had an affair with in life.”

“Ha! The Demon King is certainly devoted. Even as a ghost, he can’t forget his past lover and seeks her reincarnation for another chance. The worst part is, she wants nothing to do with him and has given him a giant green hat.”

Sakamoto Saburo chuckled and gave Su Cheng a sly look.

Su Cheng’s face darkened. The Demon King’s enmity toward him was now surely locked in. If caught, his fate would be grim.

Players’ discussions about the story were automatically hidden from the NPCs, so Chiyo did not hear their conversation.

After a brief rest, the Ye Shen Squad hurried to the Five-Storied Pagoda within the temple.

According to Chiyo, her powers were sealed at the top of the pagoda, and the seal would need to be broken to restore her abilities.

Yet Su Cheng felt something was off—the plot seemed to be progressing too smoothly, as if someone were deliberately guiding them.

But with so few clues at hand, he could only proceed step by step.

Upon entering the first floor of the pagoda, a strange and terrifying atmosphere pervaded.

To their astonishment, the inside of the pagoda was a folding space, like a maze of spirits; to ascend, they would need to find the clues for this level.

“I found the stairs up!” Inoue Kaori’s excited voice called out.

The group saw an old wooden staircase in the right-hand corner of the tower, but the door was locked and could not be opened without a key.

Su Cheng approached, drew his blade, and struck the lock, but a mysterious force repelled his attack.

“Looks like we need to find the key before we can proceed.”

“Hey, do you think the key might be hidden in these jars?”

Inoue Kaori had spotted several jars sealed with black clay in the corner, clearly quite old.

Seeing them, Su Cheng was struck by a sense of foreboding. He meant to stop Kaori, but it was already too late.

Kaori opened one of the jars, reached into the water inside, and pulled out a clump of black hair.

“Weird—who would soak hair in a jar?”

At that moment, an eerie fragrance wafted from the jar. In the water, Kaori saw the face of a decomposing woman, her eyes gouged out.