"So you're saying you were just pulled into a pitch-black space… and while your consciousness was hazy, your body moved on its own toward the candlelight?
But from what I saw outside, you were like a puppet—completely out of control, charging straight at her."
Shinkuji's gaze sharpened as she looked toward the distant God of Candlelight, her expression turning grim.
"And she didn't move at all just now… Is that one of her abilities too?"
They knew far too little about these so-called gods.
There had been no warning—no visible trigger.
And yet Futakuchi-onna had fallen for it instantly.
Now that Futakuchi-onna had reached SS-class, she was nearly on par with Shinkuji.
If even she had no resistance against that ability…
Then Shinkuji likely wouldn't fare any better.
But what puzzled her was this—
Why had only Futakuchi-onna been affected?
Neither Shinkuji herself nor the completely human Ayami Tendo had been influenced at all.
Could it be… that this technique could only target one person at a time?
In the distance, the God of Candlelight stared at them—particularly at the heavily injured Futakuchi-onna—with clear displeasure.
She had been just moments away from finishing her off.
Yet that meddlesome Jorogumo had interfered again and again.
"Candlelight Guides All Living Beings" was one of her trump cards.
If possible, she would have used it on Shinkuji as well.
But despite its power, the technique wasn't without limitations.
Its effective range was restricted—
to the distance illuminated by the flame atop her head.
Wherever her candlelight reached, the ability could take hold.
And clearly, Shinkuji and Ayami had been too far away.
That was why only Futakuchi-onna—the one leading the assault—had been caught.
Shinkuji's expression darkened further.
Futakuchi-onna's injuries were far too severe—she could no longer continue fighting.
And on her own…
there was no way Shinkuji could protect Ayami.
Not to mention that terrifying, unpredictable ability—
If she were to fall victim to it, she wouldn't even last long enough to stall for time.
"…Your injuries are terrible."
Ayami rushed forward, her face pale with worry as she looked at Futakuchi-onna's burned, mangled body.
"If you don't mind… please use this."
She pulled out a vial filled with a shimmering, multicolored liquid.
"I remember Ren telling me—so long as there's even a breath left, this can bring someone back from the brink of death."
In Ayami's eyes, both Shinkuji and Futakuchi-onna had ended up like this because of her.
If she weren't here—if she weren't just an ordinary human weighing them down—
then even if they couldn't win, escaping might not have been impossible.
"Lady Ayami… how do we use this?"
Shinkuji immediately recognized that anything Ren had entrusted to Ayami for self-defense couldn't possibly be ordinary.
Her tone grew urgent.
"Ren said it can be taken orally or applied externally… but given her condition, applying it directly should work better."
Without hesitation, Shinkuji uncorked the vial, intending to carefully pour out just a portion.
She knew how much Ren valued Ayami.
Something entrusted to her for survival would be unimaginably precious.
A resurrection-level item like this…
should be used sparingly.
However—
before she could proceed, Ayami frowned at her slow, cautious movements.
"Here, just give it to me!"
Snatching the vial from Shinkuji's hand, Ayami didn't hesitate—
She poured the entire bottle over Futakuchi-onna's body in one go.
The moment the iridescent liquid touched her—
A brilliant white light erupted.
And in that instant—
Futakuchi-onna's horrific burns completely vanished.
Not gradually.
Not slowly.
Instantly.
Even Futakuchi-onna herself only felt a brief wave of coolness—
and then everything was restored.
Ordinarily, even the strongest regenerative abilities required time.
Cells would need to repair, tissues to regrow.
But this…
skipped the entire process.
The moment the potion was applied—
her body was already back to perfect condition.
And not just her injuries—
Her stamina.
Her demonic energy.
Everything returned to its absolute peak.
Both Shinkuji and Futakuchi-onna stood there, stunned.
Even the God of Candlelight—who had been watching with detached interest—now looked as if her jaw might drop.
"That's impossible!
Those injuries were caused by my divine flames! No matter how strong a yokai's regeneration is, they cannot recover from burns inflicted by divine fire!
And her demonic energy—it was consumed as fuel by my flames! There's no way it could recover in such a short time!"
For the first time, the God of Candlelight sounded genuinely shaken.
Her divine flames were her core power.
Against yokai, they were practically a lethal poison.
And yet—
these two yokai had first broken through in strength for no apparent reason…
and now had returned from the brink of death in an instant.
There was no way they were ordinary yokai.
Of course, the potion Ren Kuroda had left with Ayami was anything but ordinary.
It wasn't a standard healing item.
It was a premium, paid item from another world—
a "Time Restoration Elixir."
Unlike conventional recovery potions, this multicolored elixir didn't heal wounds directly.
Instead—
it rewound the user's body to its optimal state.
That was why it bore the name "Time."
There was a limit, of course.
It could only rewind up to 24 hours.
Beyond that, it had no effect.
But within that window—
it was absolute.
That was why Futakuchi-onna hadn't just recovered her injuries—
even her stamina and demonic energy had been restored to their peak.
Despite the limitation, the Time Restoration Elixir was one of the rarest premium items in its original world.
A limited reward from a past event—
Ren had spent an absurd amount to obtain just ten bottles.
Its value rivaled even world-class items.
It was so precious that Ren himself had never been willing to use it.
Only after returning to this world did he finally part with it—
giving two bottles each to Ayami and Ryuuki as life-saving measures.
In truth, given Futakuchi-onna's condition—
even a third of a bottle would have been more than enough.
Ayami's earlier action…
was nothing short of outrageously extravagant.