Anime Collector: Starting With the Malevolent Shrine

A black curtain shrouded the earth, and the dim starlight drowned in endless darkness.

The atmosphere in Iroha's house felt particularly heavy and oppressive.

Ayase and Kirino listened intently to her explanation.

"Look, that's all that happened! I was crying earlier because I accidentally hit my toe — nothing else! I wasn't sobbing over anyone. Don't you understand?" With a parched throat, Iroha looked at the two expectantly.

Ayase said seriously, "Iroha, how could we not believe you?"

"The reason you moved next door to senpai was because you encountered a ghost at night, not because you admired him and went through the trouble of moving."

"…"

"The reason you bought expensive ingredients was because you wanted to ask senpai to cook, not because you wanted to do something nice for him."

"…"

"The reason you eavesdropped at night was because senpai is some kind of Sorcerer, not because you were worried about him being with other women."

"…"

"The reason you were sobbing was because you hit the corner of the cabinet, not because you were heartbroken hearing senpai with other women."

After saying this, even Ayase fell silent.

"I wasn't sobbing! I just hit my toe and cried from the pain! And when they got to... that crucial moment, I hadn't even had time to wipe my tears." Iroha felt utterly numb.

She could imagine how she appeared in her friends' minds.

'Her beloved senpai being claimed by another woman, eavesdropping until she sobbed!'

This wasn't her at all, damn it!

But how could she explain it? Kirino and Ayase didn't believe in ghost stories — especially Ayase, who dismissed every word.

"We believe you." Ayase showed an angelic, gentle smile.

"You clearly don't believe a single word! Fine!" Iroha slumped in defeat.

She collapsed in her seat, drained of all energy. The bright lights made her feel like she belonged in some dark corner.

"Iroha, you mentioned that the gas tank explosion in Sōbu High's second year might have been caused by an Evil Spirit. Is that true?" Kirino couldn't help asking as she remembered seeing the monster.

At first, she'd dismissed it as an illusion, but now she wasn't so sure. She had definitely seen something that day, even if the encounter was brief. She'd convinced herself it was just exhaustion playing tricks on her mind.

Now that Iroha brought it up, her doubts returned.

"It must be false, right? Otherwise, wouldn't those shrines be packed with visitors?" Even Ayase, the skeptic, felt chills discussing such eerie topics late at night.

"It's not false!" Iroha retorted, her cheeks puffed in indignation.

But realizing she had no proof, she deflated once again.

"If Evil Spirits are real, then..." Kirino shuddered, remembering the grotesque monster.

"Don't worry, Kirino! Even if Evil Spirits exist, we're safe. I have these consecrated prayer beads from the shrine that ward them off!" Ayase lifted her snow-white wrist, jingling her bracelet.

"Ayase, didn't you say you didn't believe in Evil Spirits? Why did you buy a protective bracelet then?" Kirino asked, surprised.

"Oh, I didn't buy it for protection — I thought it was fashionable. I saw two senior students buying prayer beads at a shopping district stall, and they said it was the latest trend. I was too busy to buy then, but I found a shrine on my way home and bought one there."

"I originally planned to buy three bracelets — one for each of us — but the shrine maiden said they only had one left. So I had to get just that one. See the fox pattern carved on the beads? It's still vivid, even though it's starting to wear away."

Ayase touched the fox-carved beads regretfully.

Iroha, who had been sitting quietly nearby, suddenly perked up.

"Ayase, does your bracelet have a fox pattern?"

"Yes, it does. Have you bought one before?" The black-haired girl asked, surprised.

She recalled Iroha wearing a bracelet for a while but hadn't thought much of it at the time, assuming it was just another of her interests.

"Not just bought one — that bracelet was what made me encounter ghosts. Daiki-senpai explained that its seal wears off easily, and once it completely fades, it starts attracting terrible impurities." Iroha sat up straight and examined the prayer beads closely.

Just as she suspected, they were from the Sankō Shrine. Without hesitation, she pulled out her phone and showed them photos and comments about the shrine.

Kirino's brows furrowed as she sensed something amiss. When Ayase saw the comments, the color drained from her face — these photos showed a completely different Sankō Shrine from the one she remembered.

Iroha proceeded to share her experiences with them. By the time she finished, both the two girls were chilled to the bone.

Though skeptical, they couldn't deny the evidence before them. Something was undeniably wrong with the Sankō Shrine.

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Next door, Mei, who was devouring Big Daiki, furrowed her brows.

"San... Sankō Shrine... I... I've heard about it before..."

Daiki stroked her head, saying softly, "I've heard about it too."

More than just heard about it, he had once wanted to visit there himself.

If he could somehow collect the God of the Mountain sealed in the shrine, the reward from the Collection Space would surely rival that of Sukuna's finger.

{T/N: Just to make it clear that this 'God of the Mountain' is a Spirit from the anime Mieruko-chan. Sankō Shrine is just the made-up name for the unnamed shrine that appeared.}

But now he was hesitant. Suguru's words had revealed that the world was far more complex than it seemed.

The immortal Witch of Sardinia possessed a mysterious tablet that could steal Divine Power. Since merging with the Campione world, everything had become even more complicated.

The God of the Mountain lay sealed in the shrine's depths. Whether it was an Evil Spirit, a Yōkai, a Devil, or perhaps a Heretic God remained unknown.

It would be wiser to wait until Suguru obtained the Prometheus' Grimoire before taking any action.

"Mei, besides the Jujutsu World, what other similar forces exist?" Daiki asked while stroking her head.

"I remember quite a few. First is the most visible Public Safety Devil Hunter Division. Next are the Onmyōji and Onmyō Agency, who are responsible for guarding various Spiritual Veins."

{T/N: I'm unsure whether it's actually called Bureau of Onmyō or Onmyō Agency. While the former is the name that exists in our real world and might have been used, the latter is from the anime Tokyo Ravens. No character or related event has appeared yet, so confirmation of which one it is will only come in the future.}

"Jujutsu Sorcerers get along fairly well with both, but the most mysterious are the Mage Associations — arrogant groups who claim to serve the Devil King. Their true strength remains unknown, though their Great Knights are said to be powerful. These Associations keep to themselves and maintain a low profile. I've heard this generation's Copper-Black Cross and Bronze-Black Cross both have prodigies."

{T/N: All these terms come from Campione.}

Mei took a deep breath and shared everything she knew.

"The Devil King?"

"I'm not sure which Devil King they mean — I've never seen one. It might be something they made up." She spoke vaguely, her pearly teeth gently touching, her tongue unusually nimble.

"Such prestigious Mage Associations wouldn't deceive themselves, would they?" Daiki tilted his head up, pondering the world's mysteries, "What about the recent changes?"

"Changes? You mean the incidents with the Onmyōji, Daiki-kun?" Mei paused before continuing, "Someone unauthorized activated the Onmyōji's forbidden technique, breaking the Spiritual Vein seals. This caused outbreaks at various Spiritual Veins."

Daiki nodded. "That sounds quite troublesome."

"It is. I once heard Tengen mention that the Spiritual Vein seals were meant to contain something — they shouldn't be tampered with." She thoughtfully brushed away hair that had fallen on big Daiki.

"What thing?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Not sure. At the time it seemed... seemed to be about a well...cough cough cough." Mei choked on the white essence, her knowledge of these matters unclear.

It was something she'd overheard by chance while supervising at Jujutsu High.

❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊❊

During the chat with Mei, the three girls' faces had turned pale.

"What should we do?"

Ayase and Kirino were starting to believe. Fortunately, nothing terrible had happened yet.

"Let's just throw it away!"

Their senpai next door was shamelessly occupied at the moment. Going to find him now wouldn't be appropriate.

Better to dispose of it before Evil Spirits found the three of them.

"Should we bury it somewhere? What if someone else finds it..." Ayase took off the bracelet, concerned about simply throwing it away.

"Anyone who carelessly picks up discarded items deserves what they get!" Iroha didn't hesitate — she grabbed the bracelet and threw it.

Crack!

A sharp breaking sound echoed as the fox-patterned prayer beads shattered against the ground.

"Are these prayer beads really this fragile?"

She recalled her previous prayer beads being much more durable.

Before she could finish her thought, blood-red spatial cracks spread outward from the shattered beads at an alarming speed!

Daiki's eyes shot up, and Mei hastily dressed herself as they watched the approaching cracks reveal glimpses of ruins.

Ayase and Kirino stood paralyzed with fear.

But Iroha, having been through this before, screamed, "Senpai, save me!"

❊❊❊

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