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Chapitre 72

Like a man with skin wrapped around a skeleton—

That's how Toriguchi described him. And how would I describe him? Indeed, Hyōe's appearance was as he described—highly boned, but not thin; rather, it was as if the excess had been shaved off. His gaze was less sharp and more dull, carrying a sense of gravity. The space around his eyes seemed to distort.

Terada Heiwa was originally an ordinary, indecisive boy. A young man who devoted himself to his work without any goals. A man obsessed with making boxes with perfect precision. And now,

He is the leader of the Spirit Medium God Cult.

"My Lord, actually—"

Heibei stopped Sumi from frantically trying to make excuses.

"Who are you?"

The voice is loud and clear.

"Ah, isn't this the Master? It's an honor to meet you for the first time. I am Chuzenji, an ordinary exorcist. I've come here today for no other reason than this man has come to me for help. However, I have tried all sorts of spells without success. I know that I am not capable enough to defeat this monster, so I have come here to ask the Master to be merciful and lend me a hand."

Kyogoku-do maintained his unchanging poker face, with a smile that concealed a dagger. Natsuki-zu was the same; I kept wondering how they could so easily spout nonsense.

"Oh? So that's why you—"

Heibei stared intently at Kyogoku-do with a heavy gaze.

"Yes, I'm sure the Master has noticed. This man—as you can see—is possessed by a giant demon. I can easily exorcise and purify evil spirits, vengeful ghosts, foxes, and monsters, but I can't deal with demons."

"A demon? It's in this gentleman—"

His gaze shifted to me. I couldn't read his emotional state.

"I heard you specialize in subduing demons. Wow, that's truly remarkable. May I ask where you cultivate? To be able to subdue such troublesome monsters, you must possess extraordinary magical power."

"I—have never practiced cultivation, everything is—"

"Yes, it's all the power of the Mikoto God, right? But even if it's a sacred artifact with immense spiritual power, drawing out its power to benefit the world requires considerable human virtue."

Kyogoku deliberately interrupted Hyōe halfway through his sentence, intentionally preventing him from finishing. Although Kyogoku maintained a low profile throughout, he inexplicably exuded a sense of pressure. This rhetoric—no, this tone—was...

Junkong Kubo——

"You—you know very well. Could it be that you…"

"Don't worry, I'm the real deal."

Kyogoku-do concluded with a statement we didn't understand, then stared intently at Hyōe. His gaze seemed piercingly sharp. They stared at each other for a second or two. Then we were led to the inner prayer room. Up to this point, Hyōe hadn't had time to play his "know-it-all" trick on us.

The room was like a giant dollhouse—that's the only description that comes to mind. Although there wasn't a red carpet on the floor, the room was filled with boxes of all sizes, like doll decorations for Girls' Day, and shimenawa (sacred ropes) hung everywhere. I idly thought of the idiom "bon festival and New Year's" (note). The floor was also covered with wooden planks, so it didn't look much different from a dojo. On them were two rush cushions, like those used by Sengoku period warlords.

Note: Bon Festival is a Japanese folk festival for worshipping the spirits of ancestors. The idiom originally referred to two major folk festivals arriving together, implying a very busy period or a series of noteworthy events. Here, "sekiguchi" is used to describe the excessive decoration of a gacha room.

Heibei sat down on a cushion near the altar. Forced by the situation, I followed him into the room and had to sit in another seat. Nikaido Toshimi sat diagonally behind me.

What is Kyogoku-do doing? Where is Natsukizu?

Hei looked at me and threatened me with his loud, clear voice.

"Speak."

"Ah, that."

What should I say? I'm not like them, able to spout nonsense so easily...

"What's wrong?"

"I...I..."

"Hey, no, no, Kameyama, come over here. You'll get yourself killed if you sit over there."

Kyogoku-do suddenly came in, grabbed my neck, and lifted me up.

"Turtle, Turtle Mountain?"

“That’s right, Kameyama! You can’t stay in this room for long with your physical strength.”

It seems that Kameyama is talking about me.

"Your name is—Chuzenji, right? What does that mean? This room—"

"Master, you are truly wicked. You clearly know how much energy this man has expended. Look, he is already drenched in sweat without even needing your spiritual vision."

I'm often covered in sweat.

"This person does look a bit off, but—"

“This won’t do. This room might not be a problem for you, but even I have difficulty avoiding it. For example, that person—”

Kyogokudo pointed at Sumi.

"You're Ms. Nikaido, right? Even this lady is dangerous. She doesn't seem to have any special abilities—"

"What exactly are you trying to say?!"

Heibei shouted gruffly. Sumi seemed surprised that Kyogoku-do, whom she had never met, addressed her by her surname.

"Playing dumb won't help. This room is clearly full of monsters! Staying in a place like this for too long won't be enough to save your life. Kameyama, watch out over there."

I instinctively dodged.

What are you saying—

"Master, you did this on purpose, didn't you? You tore the demons off the believers and put them in this room. Now that you've captured so many, the believers should feel at ease."

"What nonsense are you talking about? All the demons and monsters are sealed here—"

"Haha, so this is the Mysterious Hall of Gods, I see."

In another corner of the room, opposite the altar, stood a pedestal resembling a shrine, upon which rested a paulownia wood box, its placement clearly different from the other boxes. If this was indeed the sacred object, its placement was rather strange.

Kyogoku silently walked towards the box. He glanced at Sumi along the way and said:

"Well, you'd better leave this room as soon as possible. You've been deeply poisoned by the demons and have developed a perforated stomach. No, while your health is worrying, if this continues, your family will also be affected, your father..."

Kyogoku-do suddenly stopped talking at this point. He walked to the box.

"Hmm, so this is the Mihako-gami. Hmm, it's really well made; as expected of a master box maker. Is this a work from Terada Hei'e's mature period, the greatest box maker in Japan?"

"My father, my father, what will happen to him?"

"What...what are you talking about?!"

Kyogoku-do's disruption strategy worked.

Kyogoku-do turned to Hyōe again and said:

"Mr. Terada! Aren't you afraid?"

"Hmm, scared—what?"

"Having collected so much pain and misfortune from others, have you thought about how to deal with it? No one can bear so much pain and misfortune alone and still remain normal."

"Damn it! There's something in this room..."

"The demon wasn't sealed inside the box! Are you saying you can't see anything?"

"Varied……"

"This room isn't just filled with demons and monsters; it's teeming with all the filth and calamities of the world! The signboard is indeed true; this is truly a place to seal away impurities. But to merely seal it without finding a way to quell it—I can only say you've gone mad!"

How imposing that proud man in black looks now!

“Master, if this continues, the distorted and twisted energy in this room will kill you.”

"What!"

"The demons aren't as simple as you, no, not as simple as the person who created this mechanism imagines. It's a pity that it's so pitiful to ask you to subdue the demon on Kameyama. Leaving such a large demon here and going back would endanger your life, Nikaido-san's life, no, even your son's life. If something really happens, I won't be able to sleep well. Although it's a pity, let's go find someone else. Let's go, Kameyama."

Kyogoku-do pulled me up as I was about to stand up, preparing to leave. Only then did I notice that Natsukizu had been standing at the entrance, staring at Hyōe.

Nikaido Toshimi stretched out her hand as if asking for help.

"Wait, please wait a moment. May I ask when my father will—"

"Please discuss this with the leader. Your father's liver is starting to have problems because of you, and if it's left untreated, his days may be numbered. You'd better be hospitalized as soon as possible and get your stomach treated."

After saying that, Kyogoku-do left the room without looking back.

Hei froze, unable to move.

"Oh right, Master, you'll go blind if this continues."

Finally, he relentlessly pestered me with this last sentence.

I hadn't figured out what was going on, so I just hurried after them.

Natsume and Kyogoku-do were talking quietly in the corridor. Although they hadn't agreed beforehand, there seemed to be some kind of tacit understanding between them.

"Now we just have to see when they take the bait."

"Who knows? I think it'll only take a moment. Ah, see."

What are you saying?

When I got to the entrance hall, Sumi followed me.

"Excuse me..."

"Is there something you need?"

"The...the leader of the sect—"

When we returned to the room, Terada Hei's attitude was completely different from before. He had lost his original dignity and sat in the same spot as if he had shrunk a size.

Kyogoku-do asked the question knowingly—he opened his mouth to inquire:

"May I ask what you need, Master?"

"Is...is there something bad in this room?"

"Why are you still bringing this up now? Weren't all of these collected by you?"

"To be honest—I can't see anything."

"That's probably true. You don't possess any special abilities, nor have you undergone any training. But didn't you already have this understanding before you did these things?"

"—You're right. But, there are things like this..."

"As I just said, this approach is not acceptable."

Kyogokudo approached the Goshin body of Goshin God.