Anime Collector: Starting With the Malevolent Shrine

Boom—

Deafening thunder echoed through the air. Dark clouds rolled across the sky like galloping wild horses. The light drizzle transformed into a torrential downpour.

A dragon symbolizing thunder surged into the black storm clouds. The sheer volume of rain pouring down left observers speechless.

The Busujima dojō, lit by warm yellow lights, fell quiet.

The stunned Saeko carefully wiped up the "rainwater" that had spilled onto the dojō's wooden floor with a clean cloth.

『Host has collected Subaru Mitejima!』

『Reward: Mystic Spell Equip — Fire God!』

As the cold voice of the Collection Space faded, only the pitter-patter of falling rain remained throughout the dojō.

A jade-white arm covered beautiful eyes, breathing rushed. Waist-length golden hair spread across the wooden floor. Beads of sweat rolled down her temples, mixing with the rainwater.

Subaru's thoughts were too exhausted to function.

She hadn't expected Daiki to possess another powerful sword technique like Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. It had destroyed her Heaven Empress Master Talisman with lightning speed, preventing her from using the Mystic Spell Equip to enhance her strength.

After facing both the Smallpox God's Evil Eye and the blow from Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, Subaru knew she would need to use the Mystic Spell Equip immediately in their next encounter.

Otherwise, with his speed, she probably wouldn't even know how she died.

"What was that technique just now? Even without the Mystic Spell Equip, I'm still an elite among national first-class Onmyōji. Yet I couldn't detect even a hint of your sword drawing motion." Subaru, covering her eyes with her arm, felt chills down her spine.

Had this been a fight to the death, that lightning-fast strike could have easily killed her.

Before, she'd never truly grasped the importance of striking first — she thought it was merely about who attacked first, and falling behind didn't matter. Now his swordsmanship had completely overturned that understanding.

It wasn't just about drawing speed.

"When you made that strike, you weren't standing still, were you?" Saeko asked, looking up from wiping the floor.

Pure swordsmanship has its limits in attack range. Even with incredible Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, the blade's maximum length determines the swordsman's maximum attack range.

Saeko had noticed this limitation when she first witnessed the Tsubame Gaeshi technique, understanding why it served best as a trump card.

But this strike was different.

First, Subaru stood beyond Tsubame Gaeshi's attack range. Second, the wooden training dummies throughout the dojō exploded instantly. Finally, while her clothes were torn, her skin remained unharmed.

This proved that Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū could effectively attack at long range.

The precision of the attack left even Saeko in awe. If she could master both Tsubame Gaeshi and this new Sword Technique...

Her heart pounded heavily as she swallowed dryly.

"Almost there. The speed of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū isn't just in the moment of drawing — from the moment the draw begins, you enter the speed state."

Daiki's words made Subaru's pupils contract slightly.

He continued, "Though it seems I didn't move, I actually passed through the entire dojo. That's why I could instantly cut all the wooden dummies."

Saeko covered her mouth, her mind churning with shock.

Subaru raised an eyebrow and abruptly asked, "Isn't that like stopping time? You didn't do anything perverted to me, did you?"

Both Daiki and Saeko's gazes fell on her. The scattered golden bush above her entrance caught their attention.

Saeko glanced at the cloth used to wipe the floor from the immense "rain" that had fallen for hours before. At this point, was she still concerned about such trivial matters?

With this amount of squirts, she admitted she couldn't compare.

Subaru's face turned slightly red as she stammered, "That... that's different, I hadn't agreed to anything before!"

The rebuttal was weak, seeming to protest too much.

However, her concerns weren't unreasonable. Speed terrifying enough to rival time-stopping was truly frightening. She might just be standing here quietly, but a second later, Daiki would be done, and she'd be waiting nine months to have a baby.

How... terrifying!

Daiki answered, "It's different from stopping time. Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū is time-limited to completing one full strike — it can't be interrupted midway. As for your imaginings about having babies and such, that's impossible. It can't achieve such ridiculous effects."

Subaru heard the explanation and finally felt relieved.

The next second, she raised her head and asked in disbelief, "Wait, I didn't say anything about having babies earlier. How did you know?"

Daiki pointed to his eyes and said plainly, "My eyes have the ability of Insight — they can read people's thoughts through micro-expressions."

The mature woman blinked her beautiful eyes blankly, saying nothing.

"If you want to do it, you can just say so directly, no need to beat around the bush."

Subaru's face turned red as she quickly looked toward Saeko.

Seeing her gaze, the young woman immediately lowered her head.

The ability of Insight was quite intimidating. If you're not careful, all your thoughts might be revealed.

"Enough talk, it's time to go. I've stayed here long enough."

Daiki took out the Gun Devil's flesh slice from his Space Storage and teleported it to where Kishibe was, then stood up and put on his clothes.

Saeko hurriedly rose to attend to him, her patience remarkable.

In contrast, Subaru stared straight ahead, her neck stiff with defiance.

"I'll teach you these two sword techniques in a few days." As Saeko obediently adjusted his pants, he tilted her chin up and kissed her soft lips.

His words made Saeko's heart bloom with joy.

Subaru quickly asked, "What about me?"

She received neither his gaze nor answer.

She puffed up her cheeks, then — as if struck by an idea — rolled her eyes and asked in a pitiful voice.

"Inspector General, when can we do it again?"

Saeko's arm trembled slightly at these words — was this truly one of the most powerful Onmyōji, one of the strongest fighters of the Twelve Guardians?

"You get in line behind her!" Daiki answered with a smirk.

Subaru's mouth twitched.

Saeko was too embarrassed to look at the mature woman's expression.

"Yes, Inspector General!" Subaru said through gritted teeth.

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Meanwhile.

Kishibe lay in the hospital, his body completely wrapped in white bandages.

Suddenly, the Gun Devil's flesh slice fell from midair.

Wiping away the blood helplessly, his eyes remained as calm as still water.

If he weren't concerned about all of humanity, he would have quit this damn job long ago.

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T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!

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