I Save The World In A Doomsday Text Game

Chapter 252-1: Celestial Demon! Ascending to Godhood Through Incense! (1)

[Your attention, however, was not on Tsukishiro Murasakiyo, who had already resolved to die, but was instead fixed in a daze on an object atop the divine platform.]

[It was an ancient bronze incense burner, its outer engravings deliberately erased.]

[You discovered the Coiling Cloud Dragon-Patterned Censer (Rare-Grade Item)!]

[In a sudden movement, you darted forward, seized the incense burner, and immediately retreated behind a pillar…]

[This action provoked the monster into a series of furious roars, the sound of chains clanking without end.]

[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo looked at you in confusion, unable to understand why you would do such a thing. In her eyes, the censer was just an ordinary ritual implement without any remarkable qualities.]

[You obtained the Coiling Cloud Dragon-Patterned Censer (Rare-Grade Item): The outer surface of this incense burner once bore engravings of a flood dragon coiling among clouds, but these were deliberately obliterated, leaving only faint, mottled traces.]

[Using this item will slightly increase your Incense Power (Faith Power).]

[You sensed the Incense Power contained within the censer and felt something strange.]

[Compared to other censers you had acquired, this Incense Power held no trace of filth or corruption, its force was astonishingly pure, untainted by even a speck of impurity.][Your heart tightened with unease, and you hurriedly questioned Tsukishiro Murasakiyo…]

[From her explanation, you learned that this kind of censer existed not only here in the main hall but also in the Worship Hall.]

[The No-Illusions Shrine did things differently from other shrines. Ordinary shrines had worshippers hold burning incense sticks and bow piously before the deity’s statue, completing an offering only after the incense was fully consumed.]

[But the high priest of the No-Illusions Shrine, citing the immense crowds of worshippers and the long queues that often formed, had set up censers on the divine platform so that believers could simply light their incense, insert it into the censer, and leave immediately.]

[This greatly alleviated the problem of worshippers waiting outside half the day to make an offering. It also allowed the shrine to collect even more Incense Power…]

The censer, unlike the incense sticks, was a sinister implement capable of absorbing Incense Power directly into itself.

“This impostor high priest is secretly siphoning the Incense Power!”

According to Senior Sister, when she had entered the No-Illusions Shrine years ago, these censers were already present.

In other words, the impostor had been masquerading for many years… Given how prosperous the shrine was, the Incense Power this false priest had secretly accumulated must be astronomical.

When Lin Xun had previously used censers, not only had his Incense Power increased, but his Dragon Embryo attribute had also improved correspondingly.

If the impostor had been gathering Incense Power uninterrupted for so many years, its strength must have grown to an utterly terrifying level.

“How are we supposed to fight that?”

Lin Xun could only think that if they ended up confronting the impostor high priest head-on, it would be no different from a scripted execution.

[Do you wish to reveal your identity as a Dragon God’s Descendant and speak frankly with Tsukishiro Murasakiyo?]

He hesitated for a moment and selected ‘No.’

Given the enmity between the human faction and the yokai faction, such a move would almost certainly turn an ally into an enemy.

Among the yokai, he was a Dragon God’s Descendant, a vessel of divine will, so no matter the grudges they bore, they could only obey the divine mandate.

But on the human side, he was merely a foreign mage. On what grounds could he expect them to trust and obey him?

Amateru Sakiina was merely the lowest-ranked deity under the Ancient Heavenly Enma.

Carrying Amateru Sakiina’s weapon as proof was no different from carrying the land god’s walking stick, it inspired no confidence whatsoever.

[You and Tsukishiro Murasakiyo fell silent, waiting quietly for the Nesting Rite offering ceremony to conclude. When it did, the impostor high priest would escort the shrine maiden alone into the main hall…]

[This was your only chance to escape!]

[…]

[…]

The game text abruptly ended here without continuing.

Lin Xun racked his brain, trying to devise a way to handle what was coming next.

Even after a long time thinking, no solution presented itself. For now, he could only take it one step at a time.

Minute by minute, time passed. Before he realized it, dusk had fallen and night had arrived.

[The distant bustle of daytime worshippers had faded into silence. In the stillness, only the monster’s ragged breathing remained…]

[Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from far outside the main hall, dry leaves crunching underfoot, each step jarringly loud in the night.]

[You cautiously peeked from behind the pillar, sight passing over the tall, gaunt monster toward the hall’s great doors…]

[With a creak, the main doors swung open. An aged, stooped figure dragged a woman clad in white robes and a scarlet hakama inside…]

[The monster let out a furious roar, but its voice could not penetrate the sturdy Void Domain enclosing the hall.]

[It tried to lunge forward, but the aged figure merely lifted a hand. Instantly, the chains binding the monster tightened, dragging it back.]

[The chains stretched taut. No matter how the monster strained, it could not move.]

[The impostor high priest seemed to sense something. It looked toward your hiding place, its gaze piercing the thick pillar to fall upon you.]

[It smiled faintly and, still dragging the unconscious shrine maiden, began walking straight toward you…]

[As it approached, it spoke in wonder, saying it never expected the Palace Master of Iya Palace to have assumed a new form. It seemed that, like itself, you were… not human at all.]

[While speaking, the impostor high priest had already reached you, the shrine maiden still in its grasp.]

[You looked at the slight gap in the main doors. Through it, you glimpsed a black palanquin waiting outside. Beyond that, not a soul was in sight.]

[At your side, Tsukishiro Murasakiyo was fully tense, ready to sacrifice herself to buy you a chance to escape the moment you gave the signal.]

[Do you wish to attack immediately?]

[You signaled to Tsukishiro Murasakiyo to stay calm, then raised your voice to sternly question the old man before you, Why had he impersonated the high priest of the No-Illusions Shrine, and why had he transformed the true high priest into a monster?]

[The woman beside you was stunned when she heard this, while the impostor high priest showed a faint smile.]

[It looked you up and down, its expression suspicious and surprised. In all these years, you were the first to see through its disguise… No, the first yokai to do so.]

[“Since we are of the same kind, I will let you die knowing the truth…”]

[With that, it removed the enormous ceremonial hat from its head, revealing a bald scalp without a single hair.]

[That bizarre head shape struck you as familiar, like a squat winter melon set on its side!]

[You discovered the Celestial Demon – Nurarihyon!]