Ren watched with bated breath as the white-haired girl leaped forward to follow behind the oni, making good on her promise to break through the horde. While the teenager from earlier had jumped into the fray was well, Ren found the sudden appearance of the shrine's priest to be of the most note here. Everything was strange here, yes, but the fact that [i]he[/i] seemed to know more about the situation than all of them combined probably meant more than it seemed.

The sound of an explosion quickly dragged Ren's attention back to the group engaging the gashadokuro, and its source seemed to be pretty obvious at this point; the teenager's bokken had essentially blown up on impact, causing the giant skeleton to recoil for [i]just[/i] enough time for the speedy girl to slap the talisman on its head. The youkai, as well as all the smaller skeletons around it, seemed to stop moving before their bodies seemed to crumble into dust...

Save for the big one, in which case everything except the skull seemed to disappear. So long as it was just the skull, then...

With the problem at hand now settled, Ren turned towards the shrine's priest, who was rapidly beckoning the group to come over; of course, someone else had beaten him in getting through the portal, but the question he asked didn't seem to put the priest in a very pleasant mood.

"Is that any way to speak to your elders?" he asked, whacking the boy on the head with a paper fan as the group funneled back in through the portal. "No manners, I swear. You ought to learn some instead of stalking around the shrine like you were. We may not look it, but this shrine has eyes everywhere—both literally and figuratively, but mainly the latter."

With that minor lecture completed, the priest motioned towards the empty main hall of the shrine; as the other visitors were out near the donation box and the mikos busy handling those affairs, the place was relatively silent...

Which may have been in part due to the glowing circle beneath them that extended itself into a barrier around them.

"...In any case... Introductions. I am the priest of Koumi Shrine, Shinohara Izawa. I feel as if explanations are in order, considering how I failed to maintain the seal on today of all days.
This shrine is a gateway to what my ancestors called the 'city of mirrors'; though its true name has long since been lost to time, the land itself has not faded into obscurity. Centuries ago, our world and that world were split apart, with only a few places from which they could be accessed if not sealed away. That seal, however, seems to be weakening. Regardless of my attempts as of late, the hole in the barrier here seems to be growing stronger.
Here begins the root of your last problem and the start of many of mine. This 'city of mirrors' has long since been tainted by disease and corruption, and though I can purge the spread of it with things like the circle beneath your feet, I cannot feasibly defeat any creatures that end up making their way through. If this shrine was to fall, then the city would likely soon follow, and what would come after..."

Izawa trailed off for a moment and, after shaking his head, continued on.

"...Would not be pretty. I fear that gashadokuro that you have just defeated is only the harbringer of troubles to come, and so I must ask: can you travel through the portal here to handle problems that may occur? I know many of you are of supernatural origin, given your recent performance, and contacting anyone like the police or military would likely lead to me being brushed off as insane."

At the conclusion of that lengthy amount of exposition, Ren took a moment to stare at the priest before asking a few questions of his own.
"...Well, what about me? I've got no way to fight or anything, so--"

"The fact that the gashadokuro's minions dragged you in meant that you had more than enough potential within you. It is simply a matter of finding it."

"...What about that whole 'disease' bit? Aren't we all infected, then?"

"As I said, this barrier cleanses impurities like those. However, if you spend too long without removing them within this other world, you may end up falling and becoming like the enemies you face."

"...And the fate of the city is at stake?"

"Yes. Of course, I would assume that as word spreads about this ordeal, other people might ask requests of you as well. Any rewards they might give are yours for the taking; of course, if anything urgent arises, we will let you know posthaste and [i]also[/i] reward you accordingly."

With a sigh, Ren placed his right hand on his forehead and stared up at the ceiling from his place on the floor, the light and darkness intermingling with every passing moment.

"...Aaaaagh, I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I? Feels really hard to accept this as reality, though..."

"That is to be expected. If you have any more questions, I would be happy to answer them; otherwise, I would recommend you leave through the back entrance so as to not cause a disturbance outside."