The Binding Vow of Lazarus

Chapter 91

Yaga was already barking orders. “Perimeter squad! Check all sectors — make sure no large curses got pulled by that blast of energy! Go, now!” His voice was hard as steel, cutting clean through the lingering hum in the air.

A cursed doll perched on his shoulder flickered, its mouth opening to project Tsukumo’s voice.

“We’re on it,” came her voice, calm but sharp. “I’ve got guards sweeping from the east wall.”

Yaga nodded once, never breaking stride as he paced along the outer edge of the ritual circle, double-checking every flicker of energy. He turned his head toward the group gathered nearby, his voice booming again. “Satoru!”

Satoru turned, the wind still teasing the ends of his coat, Six Eyes glimmering faintly beneath his blindfold.

“Good luck!” Yaga called out.

Satoru grinned, full of cocky confidence, though his hands flexed once at his sides, nerves hidden under bravado.

“Don’t need luck if you’re good!” he shouted back with a wink. Suguru snorted behind him. Then, without hesitation, the five of them stepped toward the portal.

The moment their feet touched the glowing ring, the seal responded. It shimmered and deepened in hue, gold and violet braiding tighter together like the breath of Sarah and Tamamo still lingered in its edges.

And one by one, they crossed the threshold. Satoru first, his coat snapping behind him like a banner. Then Suguru, hands in his sleeves. Boe followed, eyes flicking over every magical line, memorizing them even as she stepped in. Nanami and Rin, side by side, entered last.

The portal rippled. And then — just like that — they were gone.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

One by one, their eyes blinked open into heavy darkness.

The air was thick, almost suffocating, with the scent of incense, curling in invisible trails around them. From somewhere outside, a low, rhythmic sound echoed through the walls. It was a deep, resonant chanting unmistakably Buddhist.

Satoru's Six Eyes blinked to life in the blackness, casting a pale blue glow that cut through the shadows. He turned in a slow sweep, scanning the space then stepped back instinctively, placing himself between the others and the unseen danger, arms outstretched protectively.

“They’re trying to exorcise something,” he said, voice low but certain. “Tamamo I'm guessing.”

“This must be a temple,” Rin added quickly, reaching over to Nanami’s pack. She yanked out the flashlight and flicked it on, the beam slicing through the dark with a mechanical click. Dust swirled in the light like ghosts that hadn’t quite left.

The inside of the temple was drenched in crimson with all the walls and beams painted in a bold, almost jarring red in the flashlight’s beam. At the far end stood what had once been an ornate shrine, but the statue at its center had been shattered, its pieces scattered like someone had destroyed it in a fit of rage. Splinters of stone and flakes of gold leaf littered the altar steps.

The doors were shut tight, sealed and barricaded from the outside. There was no easy way out.

“They must’ve chased her in here,” Boe murmured, her voice low and tense. She kept close to the others, her back nearly brushing Nanami's. Her eyes swept the room with practiced caution. “That has to be why it dropped us here.”

Nanami stood still for a moment, his gaze fixed on the area where he'd hoped to see a portal. “There doesn’t appear to be a way back,” he said, more to himself than anyone else, but the worry edged into his voice before he could stop it.