The Dream
“Guardian Deity.”
Upon returning to the mountain shrine, the first place my footsteps led me was the shrine altar room, warmly illuminated by the soft, flickering glow of candlelight. Resting upon the sacred altar was a crudely carved wooden fox doll. When I was young, I had visited this shrine with my parents and whittled it with my own hands.
“If you were here right now, what would you say to me?”
The cursed brand on my body, having long passed a lukewarm heat, had begun to burn hot against my skin, tinged with a faint crimson hue. Cradling the mark with my other hand, I sank to my knees before the wooden idol and murmured into the quiet. Naturally, there was no reply, yet the words of encouragement the Guardian Deity used to offer seemed to drift toward me through the empty air.
‘Jun, when something goes wrong, you need only set it right. Never fear making a mistake.’
“……”
Things could go awry at times. So long as I found my way back to the right path in the end, it didn't matter if the journey took a little longer. Ms. Reina, Mr. Mark, Rin, Shion, Yuna… With everyone placing their trust in me, I couldn't afford to waver.
Under the gaze of the Guardian Deity—or rather, under the eyes of the little doll I had carved in their memory—I slipped my hand into my pocket. Inside were three wooden lots, each inscribed with a name: Rin, Shion, and Yuna.
I reached in, selected one, and drew it out.
The name written on the stick was…
“Shion.”
“Hm?”
“You don't have anything special going on tomorrow, right?”
Shion was busy pruning branches near the perimeter of the shrine. While I already knew the daily routines of the shrine maidens, I figured I should ask first just in case she had personal plans.
“Nothing. Why? Looking to hang out?”
“What? No, why would we be hanging out?”
For a fleeting instant, Shion's expression dimmed, subtle enough to be almost imperceptible.
“Hmph… Whenever you go into town, you only ever take Rin.”
“That's just for grocery runs.”
“And yesterday, you were helping Yuna make breakfast.”
“I was the one making it, and Yuna just lent a hand.”
I couldn't quite tell why, but she clearly had a small bone to pick. Still, personal grievances aside, business was business.
“Come with me to the cave tomorrow. The one up on the back mountain.”
“Why the cave?”
“I want to conduct a preliminary sweep and check if the demonic energy has intensified since the seal was first broken.”
“Really? Hmm… Fine by me. But weren't you supposed to head out for an exorcism request tomorrow, Jun?”
“Ah, Yuna's taking that one instead.”
“Yuna is?”
Her surprise was understandable. Up until now, I had always handled every exorcism and purification rite personally.
“The situation at the cave takes precedence, after all. Moving forward, I'm thinking of letting you girls handle the standard, low-level exorcisms.”
“Seriously? Does that mean I get to go next time?”
“Well… I'll think about it.”
“Next time is mine, not Rin's. Deal? I've been wanting to try my hand at an actual exorcism for ages.”
I decided against telling her that it wasn't something to be so giddy about. Investigating the cave was undeniably urgent, and the inescapable reality remained: my inevitable defeat had to be transferred onto someone else. Perhaps I should consider it fortunate that Yuna, the eldest among them, had been the one chosen by the lot.
“There's nothing special you need to prepare for tomorrow, Shion. We won't be venturing too deep into the cave, but just make sure to wear comfortable shoes.”
“I know, I know. You still treat me like a kid. Want me to start calling you oppa again?”
“Ah… n-no, that's not what I meant. Anyway.”
Letting out an awkward chuckle, I shifted my gaze toward the courtyard, where Yuna stood quietly. Facing the shrine altar room in silence, she looked as though she were steeling her mind ahead of tomorrow's exorcism. If only I could give her some sort of warning—but according to the ancient texts, giving prior notice would nullify the transfer entirely. My hands were tied.
“…?”
Perhaps sensing my stare, Yuna turned slightly. Our eyes naturally met.
When I offered a small, reassuring wave, a faint, gentle smile touched her eyes as she waved back. A heavy weight settled over my chest for reasons I couldn't quite name, but brooding over things that hadn't happened yet would do no good.
“What's with that? Are you two dating or something?”
“…Don't talk nonsense.”
For once, Shion's sarcastic jab was almost a relief. We would only know what lay ahead by taking action; vague as it felt right now, trusting in Yuna and biding my time was surely the right path the Guardian Deity had spoken of. Tomorrow promised to be a busy day, so after poring over the old texts a little longer, it would be wise to turn in early.
“……”
My arms and legs refused to budge.
The sounds around me were muffled and hollow, as though I were submerged deep underwater. Yet the fluid enveloping me was far from clean or clear; it felt thick, viscous, and suffocating.
“Ugh… mnh…”
Shapes began to coalesce beyond the murky blur of my vision. Shaking my head, I struggled to recall where I was and how I had gotten here, but my thoughts slipped away like water through fingers. Instead, the faint outline of a figure shimmering in the distance drew closer, snapping into sharp relief.
“Yuna…? And that's…”
One of the figures standing before me was unmistakably Yuna. But her robes had been torn open, barely clinging to her body on the verge of slipping off entirely. Her wrists were bound high above her head with cord, and she drew slow, labored breaths. With the front of her attire completely undone, her pristine, flawless white breasts were exposed for all to see, bringing a flush of mortification to my own face on her behalf.
Yet the one looming before her was… Could that creature even be called human?
A towering brute with dusky, charcoal skin and long, trailing white hair stood over her. The abrasive, suffocating aura radiating from him could mean only one thing—a demon.
“Wait… what is he doing with his hand…?”
Looking closer, the demon's broad hand had risen to engulf Yuna's breast in a heavy grip. A subtle shudder rippled across her shoulders for an instant, yet she showed no panic, as though she had resigned herself to this long before. She simply caught her breath, watching quietly as the dark, hulking hand kneaded her soft flesh like dough. His fingers sank deep into her yielding curve, shifting slowly and deliberately as if savoring every ounce of its warmth and weight.
I couldn't fathom what this scene was supposed to be, yet like a man bewitched, I found myself entirely unable to tear my eyes away from them.
“……”
The demon seemed to be speaking, but his voice was swallowed by the thick, viscous water separating us, impossible to decipher. Instead, what came into vivid clarity was Yuna being forced down onto her knees, pressed toward the floor beneath the demon's hand, stripped entirely bare. Her naked body, devoid of even a shred of cloth, glistened with a fine sheen of perspiration. It was an undeniably voluptuous silhouette—one that no man could claim to look upon without feeling a spark of desire.
“…!”
Yuna's eyes widened in sheer shock.
The reason was glaringly obvious: thrust right before her face was a male shaft rivaling a forearm in both length and girth. The monstrous organ, corded with thick, pulsing veins, twitching slightly as it was shoved directly in front of her gaze. Instinctively, Yuna recoiled, trying to pull back, but a massive hand seized her hair, dragging her face firmly forward once more.
And without hesitation, it pushed directly toward her parted lips, trembling from her heavy breaths—
“Hah, hah…!”
I bolted upright, as if bursting through the surface of deep water into open air. Gasping, I drew the crisp, chilly night air deep into my lungs and let it out in a shuddering breath.
This was… my room at the mountain shrine.
“An erotic dream…? Why in the world would I dream something like that…?”
For any grown man, a wet dream was nothing more than an uncontrollable physiological reaction, but I hadn't been the protagonist of that dream. I had merely been a spectator. A helpless bystander who couldn't even attempt to rescue Yuna, forced only to watch.
Feeling a strange, uncomfortable sensation below, I threw off the blanket to check, only to find a prominent bulge straining against my pants. An involuntary scowl crept onto my face.
“Haah…”
Hoping to wash away the unpleasant arousal, I climbed out of bed to splash cold water on my face. On the way to the bathroom, a troubling thought crossed my mind: could that dream have been some form of precognition?
Yet… the demon that had appeared in that vision clearly seemed to be an entity of immense power.
“Could a new demon have emerged from the Demon Realm through the breached seal in that cave…?”
I had never heard of any demon in this region possessing dark skin and flowing white hair. What was more, the demonic energy I had personally sensed at the exorcism request site was undeniably faint. Could a demon truly feed on that modest trace of malice and grow that formidable in the span of a single day? That made no sense.
“Phew… It was just a nightmare tinged with yin energy. Calm down.”
The darkness stretching down the corridor toward the washroom seemed to cast creeping shadows, as though invisible hands were slowly reaching out toward me. It only reinforced the need to thoroughly inspect the cave with Shion tomorrow.
And as for Yuna…
“……”
I couldn't offer her a warning, nor could I drop the slightest hint. Praying for her safe return was truly the only thing within my power.
Please… let a dream remain nothing more than a dream.
