Yeah." Hara Kenji curved his eyes, letting out a smile. He nodded slightly and averted his gaze, after a long silence, he spoke up and asked, "What about you? Are you feeling afraid?
"So, do you really intend to do that?" Kisaragi Chiyo threw the question back at him.
“Why not?” The Evil Spirit asked again as if he had heard something amusing; his shoulders shook, a short laugh squeezed from his raspy throat.
"Why not?" the Evil Spirit asked softly once more.
Kisaragi Chiyo sensed that Hara Kenji was in a bad mood; even though he had a smile on his face, she could still sense that her next answer might be very important.
It was just like a death question in a visual novel, where choosing the wrong option would lead to a game over.
What kind of answer do you want to hear?" Kisaragi Chiyo sighed helplessly, "Agreement? Or should I.. express disgust?
When Kisaragi Chiyo spoke those last two words, Hara Kenji frowned deeply.
"I asked Hozuki about the Vessel.." Hara Kenji abruptly brought up another topic, his brow furrowed deeply throughout his speech, showing clear signs of repulsion.
He said that for a perfect Vessel, one must eliminate the body's spirituality while ensuring that all its physical functions remain active.
"And a person's spirituality comes from their soul." Hara Kenji's expression was calm, yet he seemed to carry a hint of sadness.
If even your soul is erased, you will truly be dead, without even the possibility of going to Hell.
"Even so," the Evil Spirit suddenly grabbed his wrist, clutching it like an iron vise that made his bones ache. The Evil Spirit's face was as pale as snow. He lowered his head, his eyes filled with urgency and an even heavier emotion.
He desperately wanted to demand a promise from Kisaragi Chiyo.
"If that day truly comes.." Kisaragi Chiyo gazed at the wailing wind and snow outside the window, a vast expanse of white. The thickness of the snow visible before her seemed even greater than before.
Then eat me.
Hara Kenji fell silent, the grip he had on Kisaragi Chiyo's wrist tightened even more.
No." The Evil Spirit spoke in a stiff tone, staring intently at Kisaragi Chiyo's face, as he said, word by word, "You know perfectly well that this isn't what I want to hear.
“I cannot promise something I cannot do.” Kisaragi Chiyo did not avoid his gaze, he raised his hand, resting it gently on Hara Kenji's shoulder.
The surroundings had become silent at some unknown point, of the scattered guests who had once been in the rest area, only Kisaragi Chiyo and Hara Kenji remained.
I say," Kisaragi Chiyo looked into those dark purple eyes and asked after staring for a moment, "Hara, do you want to do it?
"What?" Hara Kenji, sounding like a dog that had its tail stepped on, nearly jumped in shock upon hearing those words. The gloomy expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of bewilderment that made him look somewhat adorable.
What are you talking about?
The young man's choice of words was a bit more direct than the slightly more subtle "hug" used in Japanese.
“Perhaps you prefer the term 'creampie'?” Kisaragi Chiyo tilted her head and looked at Hara Kenji. Contrary to her words, the young woman's expression remained calm, as if she had just been talking about the snow falling outside.
"That's.. that's too lewd.. Chiyo-chan." Hara Kenji's eyes darted around wildly as he covered Kisaragi Chiyo's mouth with his hand, preventing her from saying any more words that would disturb his mind.
Now is not the time for this.
Hmm," Kisaragi Chiyo raised her eyebrows slightly, easily breaking free from Hara Kenji's grasp, looked at him with a teasing gaze, "Haven't you wanted this all along?
Hara Kenji fell silent, then Hara Kenji nodded.
But then again.
"In that regard, I am a traditional type of man." Hara Kenji watched the young man's lips move with a deep, unreadable gaze, shook his head.
"Traditional type?" Kisaragi Chiyo blinked, looking confused.
"At least.. at least wait until.." The last two words were muffled in the Evil Spirit's mouth.
A wedding?" Kisaragi Chiyo revealed a look of uncertainty. "Making a promise like getting ready to return to my hometown to get married after everything is over.. at a time like this, it feels far too much like a death flag.
"Even though I do have such plans," the young man said, casually dropping a bombshell.
"What plans?" Hara Kenji felt like his ears might be failing him.
"The one you just mentioned." Kisaragi Chiyo repeated patiently.
"Really?" After confirming the answer was exactly what he had thought, Hara Kenji felt his head begin to spin, his heart felt light. Having suddenly been fed such a massive piece of news, he, who had only finished dinner not long ago, felt a bit of a food coma setting in.
"Didn't I tell you?" Kisaragi Chiyo asked, her tone somewhat hesitant.
"Not at all." Hara Kenji recalled everything, certain that he had absolutely no idea about this matter.
Fine," Kisaragi Chiyo said, spreading her hands. "Then you know now.
Am I really not dreaming?" Hara Kenji's expression turned somewhat dreamy. "There seemed to be a type of mushroom in that sukiyaki just now that I didn't recognize.
You can go ask Matsuda," Kisaragi Chiyo thought for a second, deciding to dump this trouble onto Matsuda Jinpei. "He is also in the know.
Fine then." Hara Kenji felt a surge of jealousy. "It's clearly a story about three people, yet I'm the only one who doesn't know..
"Hmm.. so this was actually a surprise?" Kisaragi Chiyo didn't dare admit that she had actually just forgotten; subconsciously, she had already taken it for granted that the future of the three of them would definitely be intertwined.
Hara Kenji said nothing, staring at Kisaragi Chiyo with a faint, skeptical gaze that seemed to ask whether she believed him or not.
He finally withdrew his gaze with a sense of satisfaction, only after he had stared at her until her skin crawled.
"I'm going to find Little Jinpei and get a clear answer." Hara Kenji rubbed his hands together, seemingly quite dissatisfied with Matsuda Jinpei's secrecy.
Kisaragi Chiyo opened her mouth as if wanting to say something more, but the Evil Spirit before her vanished as quickly as a gust of wind.
Then, after a few dozen seconds, Hara Kenji walked back and picked up Kisaragi Chiyo, who he had left behind, carried her away together.
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Author's Note: Thank you for the support, my little angels. Mwah 030
Chapter 142
In the pitch-black environment, with a sharp hiss, the candle was lit, reflecting the expressionless face of the young man in the mirror.
Kisaragi Chiyo stood in the bathroom, holding a white candle, the orange-red flame dancing upon the wick. All around was an unnaturally deathly silence; not even the slightest sound could be heard, as if he had suddenly been cast into an isolated space where sound could not travel. In this small patch of darkness illuminated by the candlelight, Kisaragi Chiyo was all that remained.
Kisaragi Chiyo stared at the candlelight in the mirror, the flames dancing within his misty-gray eyes. He looked down at the time on the watch held in his right hand; it was exactly the right moment, as the hour and minute hands both came to a halt at twelve o'clock sharp.
The candle was blown out, the bathroom fell into complete darkness once again. But in the next second, the candlelight flickered and reignited within the mirror, another face, also holding a white candle, appeared in the mirror.
"Lord Hozuki." Kisaragi Chiyo called out the name of the person in the mirror first.
The environment on the other side of the mirror was the same as her own—equally pitch-black, with the only source of light being the candlelight held in her hand.
Good evening." Hozuki nodded slightly. "I've finished everything on my end. How are your preparations coming along?
"Anytime." Kisaragi Chiyo took a deep breath and slowly exhaled; his face appeared somewhat pale in the darkness, but his gaze was steady enough.
"When do we start?" the young man asked.
Perhaps it was because the winter in Hokkaido was too cold, or perhaps it was due to the continuous snowstorms lately, but Kisaragi Chiyo had already begun to feel an impatient desire to bring things from the past to a close.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be right to let the dog at home keep worrying like this.
"Soon." Hozuki didn't give a specific time, but based on the other party's efficiency, he would likely arrange a time to depart within the next day or two.
Kisaragi Chiyo and the others came to Hokkaido this time to find the body of the Great Serpent, which was coiled and hidden in a place that could evade the pursuit of Hell.
Because of the reasons regarding his body, he needs to constantly change vessels; so far, those vessels have been no different from old clothes that can be discarded to him.
And in the process of searching for a suitable vessel, the body that contained most of his soul was hidden away by the other through special means, in order to evade Hell's manhunt for him.
A weak Vessel can be discarded, but that monster's corpse is different; it is his last resort and means of survival. Therefore, ever since the other party suffered a setback last time, he has become even more cautious.
This is also why Hell has been unable to accurately lock onto his presence for all these years.
This guy is like a rat in the sewers; Hell has sent people to track his aura several times, only to find nothing but a highly mutilated corpse.
Although there are monsters among these corpses, the vast majority are humans. They consist of both men and women, spanning all age groups; they are all victims whose bodies were stolen by [[]], at the moment they became Vessels, their souls were completely erased, leaving them with no possibility of passing on to the afterlife.
"I have some information here that might interest you." Hozuki pulled a registry from his sleeve, which listed the names of all the victims whose bodies had been taken by [[]].
"Shinato Kento." Hozuki read out a completely unfamiliar name.
"Who is this?" Kisaragi Chiyo frowned, searching through his mind, only to find that he had no impression of this name whatsoever.
“Shinato Kento, forty-three years old. Eleven years ago, his family reported him missing to the police, but after searching for seven days and seven nights, they found nothing.. until not long ago, someone called the police reporting a strange smell coming from a neighbor's house. After the police arrived at the scene to investigate, they found a highly decomposed male corpse in that rental apartment."
After identity verification and comparison, that is indeed the Shinato Kento who went missing eleven years ago," Hozuki said, shaking the register in his hand, his pitch-black eyes turning toward Kisaragi Chiyo. "Don't you find this timing a bit familiar?
Familiar, of course it was familiar.
Eleven years ago, when he returned for revenge, the shrine and the village were burned down one after another, Kisaragi Chiyo lost her only relative; it was a period of time that was like a nightmare.
"So that Shinato Kento is the new body he took after escaping from Hell?" Kisaragi Chiyo asked with difficulty.
Hozuki nodded, confirming his guess.
At the same time, he has another identity.
What?
The leader of the Church of Hope." Hozuki finished speaking and then added, "It should be the former leader; after Shinato Kento was found dead, they quickly elected a new leader.
A tool that can be manipulated by them.
Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent for a moment after hearing Hozuki's words. He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the dancing flames in the mirror, only after a long while did he slowly ask, "And is [] also related to the Church of Hope?"
He is the founder of the Church of Hope.
Wasn't it said that this cult was originally just a way to amass wealth?" Kisaragi Chiyo frowned. "Could it be that even as a non-human, you have a desire for worldly money?
After all, he was human to begin with." Hozuki did not seem surprised by the fact that the Church of Hope had been founded. "As long as he has money, he can enslave others, do even more things, even do so without getting his own hands dirty.
For example, using it as an excuse to select suitable vessels.
"The people who committed suicide as sacrifices?" Kisaragi Chiyo felt that this point was somewhat inconsistent with his goals.
It's not entirely because of his instructions," Hozuki shook his head. "Part of the sacrifices were made because he wanted to create evil spirits to use for himself, another part was done entirely by other factions within the Church of Hope.
“This cult isn't as united as one might imagine; the only reason they gather is because he shows them so-called 'miracles,' dangling them before them like a carrot.. Perhaps you find these things absurd, but isn't that the very nature of humans—absurd existences?”
"Sacrifice is something that has existed since ancient times." Hozuki's tone was calm, even though his own cause of death was a human sacrifice performed by ignorant villagers seeking rain.
I have one more thing," Hozuki said, changing the subject. "You should know of a man named Miki Yuma, shouldn't you?
Kisaragi Chiyo naturally knew, because Miki Yuma was Miki's full name—the person who had sent him those threatening letters and the Curse Dwarf.
He's gone missing." Hozuki's expression turned somewhat serious. "He disappeared from the hospital three days ago.
Missing?" Kisaragi Chiyo's gaze grew solemn, he narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Hozuki. "Could he also—