Edited
Mai opened the sliding door to check on Oliver. There wasn't a single movement from him. Unless looking with considerable care, one might think he wasn't breathing.
A small character was drawn on his white forehead. That was also written by Lin, although it looked like the red done by Indian women. Somehow it suits Oliver well.
The 5 shiki curled around him at specific points. Mai smiked at them before she shut the sliding door again.
Akifumi brought them some morning coffee a little while after.
Takigawa turned his gaze to Lin.
"Was there activity last night?"
"In the main building and a cove side room. Would you like to see?"
"I would."
The video appeared on the monitor. Unusual images were recorded of Hazuki's room and the corridor of the main building, and after that it was the cove side room. On both the screens of the main building, strange lights were reflected. It was something like dim, hazy lights. The light that appeared in Hazuki's room slowly floated around her futon and disappeared. The one that appeared in the corridor just quickly crossed the screen.
"What about the sound?"
"It is silence. There is no vibration. The other instruments are also within the range of normal values, however, the temperature dropped about five degrees."
"What about the cove side room?"
"I will show it on the monitor."
The camera that was placed in the cove side room was pointing straight towards the window. Occasionally, faint white lights were visible on the other side of the window. They were moving up from below.
"Are those spirit forms?"
"I do not know. Here as well, no change is seen other than the temperature."
"What's the temperature difference?"
"It is still five degrees."
Mai spoke then. "...the cave below..."
"What's that Mai?"
"Akifumi-san, is there possibly a path beside the cave? A sort of path carved out of the cliff… with a stone stairway there that rises up to the side of the shop..."
Akifumi had a blank look.
"...did you go and have a look?"
"Is the cave curved in the shape of a 'く' with a shrine in the back?"
"Did you go down to the bottom? You mustn't do that! That stone stairway is dangerous."
Takigawa looked at Mai. "What's wrong, Jou-chan?"
"I… had a few of those dreams and then projected again."
"What did you see?"
Mai talked about her dreams. All of it. It was no longer as embarrasing this life as it was in the first one. Although, Mai did avoid mentioneding specific names. Akifumi looked at her blankly.
"... Then, spirit lights came drifting into the cave from the sea. There was even the spirit of some sort of fish or something."
"The spirit of a fish?"
"That cave is like that."
It was said by Akifumi with a serious tone.
"Corpses flow in with relation to the tide. When someone dies in the surrounding sea, they drift into that cave. Especially people and large objects. Because of that, we have a shrine. The family dogs also washed up there."
Takigawa frowned.
"I'd like to see. Could you guide me?"
Akifumi nodded and looked at the clock.
"There's a little time until low-tide… It isn't accessible until the tide ebbs unless you use the stone steps."
"Incidentally, I'd also like to see where the stone steps are."
"If that's the case, I'll guide you around here a little. The tide should ebb soon."
...
Leaving only Lin to keep watch of Oliver and the equipment, they exited the shop in a group and walked along the cove in the garden. There was a stone stairway, which was in the process of collapsing, in the very innermost of the cove. Since the middle of the stairs was becoming a mere steep slope, it would be close to almost impossible for people to use.
"Why is there a stone stairway in such a place?"
When Takigawa asked, Akifumi answered,
"I don't really know, but it seems to be considerably old. Since it was here from the time when the shop was built. When my grandmother was a child, she went to the cave using this stone stairway. Though it seems it was already half broken since that time."
Tentatively along the cove, there was a surrounding handrail and low fence, and at the exit of the stone stairway there was a decent iron gate. From the gate, there was a small distance until the stone stairway, and from this side of the fence the water surface of the cove was not visible.
"When was the shop built here?"
"I heard it was during my great-grandfather's generation. Originally, there was a shop in Kanazawa, which likely transferred to here."
"So up until that time, the family didn't live here?"
"Right. But it's likely that the location where the main household originally lived was here. My great-grandfather came here several times, and it seems because of that he decided to transfer the shop to here."
"Do you know when the main household moved to this land?"
Akifumi tilted his head to one side.
"Let's see, it was…The oldest person of those with a tomb in the family temple was born in the Ansei era. I know little before that. If you would like, I could ask my grandmother for you."
"Please do. By the way, when was the Ansei era?"
Akifumi tilted his head.
"If I remember correctly, it was during the Edo period, but as for the details... anyway, it's been a long time since I was tested on that."
"Current high school students."
Takigawa suddenly looked back at Mai.
"My school is still on the Genji and Heike war. Although I do know about the Edo period as well."
"That is the teahouse."
Akifumi raised his hand. Having come walking on the sidewalk of a large garden, a small building was visible before our eyes.
"Is the cove not completely visible from the garden?"
"On the opposite side of the tea house and flowers— we can go to the cape point. It's possible to see from there."
Exactly as was stated, when they walked farther past the teahouse, they came forth into a neat little garden, and we were able to look down at the cove from there. Beyond the low hedgerow was the cliff of the opposite shore and the building, which projected from the slope. A set of beams could be seen, which supported the building. And carved out of the rock surface below the set of beams, a narrow path extended. Right of the path was the crumbling stone stairway, and to the left was the gaping hole of the entrance of the cave.
"Do you want to go a little farther?"
Akifumi said so and opened a small door in the hedgerow using a key. From there until the cape point, short pine trees sparsely grew in the meadow.
"Beyond this point there aren't any fences, so please be careful."
Walking just a little bit fearfully, it was fifteen steps until the point. Although called a point, it was not a vertical, precipitous cliff, but more or less a gentle slope with shrubs growing there. Beyond the slope became a cliff, and from there it was the sea. To the right of the point, the crack's open mouth formed the entrance to the cove.
"When viewed from above, it doesn't even feel like that much of a cliff."
When Takigawa said, Akifumi smiled. Suddenly, Ayako said,
"Hey, young master."
"Young master… But I won't actually succeed as the family head."
"I'm not worried about minor details. What are those?"
Ayako pointed to stones lined up between the pine trees. Five stones, each of which was about the size of an armful, were neatly arranged in a row.
"Oh, those? Even I don't know that. My grandmother doesn't seem to know either. They look like gravestones. I was told to leave them as they are and not touch them."
"Oh."
"Those are the graves of the betrayed spiritualists that cursed the land holders." Mai explained. "From the second part of my dream."
The others nodded.
There were rocks of various sizes protruding from the sea. Waves were breaking white against them. In front, there were conspicuously large rocks. One like a hill and the other a little smaller. In that place, a sacred shrine rope on each tied them together. John pointed with his finger.
"Yoshimi-san, what are those?"
"That's Okobu and Mekobu. Okobu is the large one and Mekobu is the small one."
"Okobu and Mekobu… Is that a sacred shrine rope tying them together?"
"Yes. But I think it's unrelated to any Shinto rituals. Since I think that rope is also rehung by local fishermen at New Year's."
After saying that, Akifumi-san spoke to Mai,
"You know, it's said that those rocks are a man and women who became like that after jumping into the sea from here."
Mai looked up at Akifumi.
"It's a local legend. Although her exact name was forgotten, a long, long time ago, there was a certain princess in this land. The princess had a lover who was a local fisherman, but there came a man who coveted her."
"Oh?"
"The man who coveted her was the son of a nearby noble and tried to force the princess to be his bride. The princess was unwilling and tried to escape with her lover. —They eloped. However, the letter with the written plans of the elopement had been secretly switched by the nobleman's son, and the two did not meet.
The princess realized the mistake and, in a panic, went searching for her lover, and as for the lover, he had killed the nobleman's son. He thought he had been betrayed since the princess had not come and the nobleman's son came instead. The two were able to resolve the misunderstanding, however, it was too late. So, they jumped into the sea from this cape. The story says that the gods felt pity for them and, so that there would be no possibility of them being separated again, changed the lover into Okobu and the princess into Mekobu."
"Just like the first part of my dream, huh."
"Yeah."
...
Upon walking back from the teahouse, there were trees growing densely out in front and some kind of roof could just slightly be seen peeking through there.
"Akifumi-san, what is that?"
"Oh, that's the shrine. But it's a small shrine without a Shinto priest."
He said and dropped his gaze to his wristwatch.
"It's still a little early. Would you like to go?"
"Actually, we need to go there. Ayako, this is why I had you dress in your priestess outfit. I need you to clear away the spirits. with the trees here before someone dies." Mai spoke as she headed in that direction. The others could only follow.
They exited the garden by going to the main building, and once they passed through the garden of the main building, they came out to the road. A torii gate was built a short distance away from the Yoshimi house gate.
The shrine was fairly neat. A little happily, Ayako said,
"Ahh, what a splendid shrine. Though it hasn't been cleaned properly."
"Is it splendid? The cleaning is done by my family. We've been the caretakers for generations."
It was a really small shrine that didn't seem anywhere near splendid. There was a small sort of stage, and there was only a lattice door on the interior.
"Splendid, splendid. This is probably the shrine of a patron god."
"What's a patron god?"
"To put it briefly, a god of the land. It's a village's guardian god. There's a kagura hall, or in other words, a place for ancient Shinto music and dancing."
"Right. In autumn."
"Young master, young master."
Now called by Takigawa, Akifumi smiled wryly.
Takigawa pointed out three side-by-side tombstones located in the corner of the grounds and asked,
"What're those?"
"Those are the Tohachi mounds."
"Tohachi mounds?"
"Tohachi mounds, written as eighteen. I'm not sure why, though. I think Tohachi is a sort of play on words since their also called the Sanroku mounds."
"Why?"
Akifumi replied,
"Three times six is eighteen, right?"
"Oh, I see."
"No one knows why they're called the Sanroku mounds. But three are here, right? And then there are the ones on the point of the cape."
"Ah, it was five, wasn't it?"
Akifumi nodded.
"Right. Therefore, there were six on the tip of that cape and maybe one was lost, is what my grandmother says."
Takigawa was thoughtful.
"Lost mound, huh?"
John spoke to Takigawa,
"A mound in this case is a grave, isn't it?"
"Exactly."
"Is there a reason for it not being there? I wonder if it's not related to the Yoshimi house incident."
Ayako snapped her fingers.
"That's it! That mound was the grave of a fox. And then, it was moved without permission when the shop was built. That curse then..."
"I already came to the same conclusion."
This was said by Takigawa and Ayako puffed her cheeks.
"Is that so!?"
"If it was Naru-bou, he'd probably say, 'Don't get ahead of yourself.' What do you think, Mai?"
"I think Ayako needs to get started on her shinto prayers to clear the spirits if we're going to save anyone in this case. It's the only way to wake up Naru."
Bou-san looked back in the direction of the cape behind us.
"In any case, I still want to take a look at that cave."
"Later. Ayako now, please. We don't have time to waste."
...
Ayako was holding a single bottle of sake and just the branch of a sakaki tree, which had a bell attached to it.
"Ayako, can you really do it?"
When Takigawa asked, Ayako laughed confidently.
"I'm telling you, leave it to me. There's no place better than this."
"Place?" John asked.
"...Yes."
Ayako looked over the compound.
"Although it's small, faith securely remains. The trees are also alive."
"The trees?"
Ayako nodded. She scattered sake on the roots of the compound's trees.
"There was a large camphor tree in front of my parents' home. A wonderful one with a sacred rope tied around it. It taught me various things from the time when I was little."
After saying this, Ayako frowned slightly.
"When I was little, since it would even inform me of the time of death of the patients that came to the hospital, I would get scolded every time I told my parents."
"...really?"
"To tell the truth, I don't think I have that much power. Still, I am a miko."
Ayako erected the sakaki in front of the mounds. There was a clear jingling sound.
"I will begin."
She put her hands together.
"I reverently offer this prayer for thy presence…"
It was the same prayer Ayako always did, but even so, it was much simpler than usual. And yet, it seemed like something profound, which was completely different. It was likely that Ayako's own aura was different.
Ayako smoothly proceed with the ritual, her hands folded in prayer,
"Hail, I pray to thee, descend here before us and grant thy protection."
After chanting, she put her fingers together. She was using the formal method for cutting the nine syllables, not the fast version.
"Rin..."
There was a clear chime from somewhere as if in response. I looked around the area. There were no silhouettes in the compound, which was heavy with fog.
"Pyō..."
There was a chime once again. Something shook right nearby. Each time Ayako cut one of the nine syllables, a clear sound responded.
"Over there..."
When Mai looked in the direction John was pointing, a figure drifted out from the trunk of a large tree. They watched it in astonishment. Figures drifted out from the trees here and there. They were faint shadows, but Mai knew they were people. There were many old men with beards grown long.
Those men, who had quietly gathered, walked calmly towards the sakaki. Whenever they reached the side of the sakaki, they would vanish. The sakaki's bell shook each time and made a sound.
After watching the last one disappear, Ayako carefully formed the sword seal. She began cutting the air, five horizontal and four vertical.
Mai watched it while being strangely impressed, even knowing it was the numerous time she had seen this same particular performance. She noticed there was still a silhouette in the distance.
As she watched, she knew it wasn't the old men from the trees, but a spirit. It pushed its way through the morning fog and walked calmly closer. Each time the figure swayed, there was the sound of water lapping. When she noticed it, the sound repeated throughout their entire surroundings.
Ayako bowed her head deeply and picked up the sakaki.
"Now, the time for all of you to rest has come."
Suddenly, the figure of a person rushed from the shadows. The stench of salt water assailed Mai's nose. Ayako shook the sakaki faster than Takigawa could form the sword seal. The bell rang and the figure that had rushed over vanished into the fog.
From there, everyone's jaws but Mai's just dropped and they could do nothing but watch. The spirits of the dead approached Ayako as if drawn in— it was like they were completely unaware of the rest of them — they would vanish just from the ringing of the sakaki.
She also shook the sakaki toward the figures. For a moment, as he was disappearing, their appearance returned to its original state, then they dissolved into a fog.
At last, black shadows flickered out from the mounds, however, they also just hung their heads at the ring of the sakaki and vanished.
After the figures ceased to approach, Ayako shook the sakaki toward the mounds to finish up. At the same time as the ringing sound, the three mounds cracked, making a noise.
Ayako erected the sakaki in front of them. When she placed her hands together, making a noise, the bell untied itself and fell. —With that, everything was completely over.
...
"Incredible… why did you hide that you have such tremendous power?"
When Takigawa asked on the way back, Ayako replied,
"I wasn't particularly hiding it. You see, until now, there were no trees that were living. I always said the conditions were bad."
"Well, I just thought you were being a sore loser."
"Even if I explained the situation, you would think I was being a sore loser, right?"
Mai giggled.
"It has to be a purified location with living trees. Although, it doesn't particularly have to be a shrine. All the same, the city shrines are full of leaves and other trash and when it comes to the trees, even the old ones are like mummies. I think the world is beyond saving when I see that."
Takigawa and John looked mystified. ...Mai certainly understood the feeling.
"It was good that the mounds happened to be in the compound this time, but what if they weren't?"
"If it's in the vicinity, I can call that far. The five who died during the time of the riots were also there, right?"
"They were there?"
"Yes, they were there. There were five spirits without heads. —Should I take you there now?"
"Well, the matter is settled now."
"Not yet."
At Ayako's frank words, Takigawa and John involuntarily stopped short. Mai already knew what Ayako was abou to say.
"What…?"
"I said if it's a spirit. There's something here that isn't a spirit."
"What did you say?"
Takigawa frowned.
"When I was performing the purification, there was a force that absolutely wouldn't come near. If it was a spirit, it should have come seeking purification; therefore, that wasn't a spirit. I don't know what it is, but it's a much greater force. I think that force is what was enslaving all those spirits as shiki."
"It wasn't the spirits of the Rokubu?"
"That wasn't the case. I think the three Rokubu were just shiki, too. For the spirits to gather in swarms like they did, it would have to be because there's a special power there, right?"
"Then… what is it?"
"It's 'Okobu-sama'." Mai responded.
"Did you say, 'Okobu-sama'...?"
"The driftwood that washed ashore from the sea. Because its shape resembled a Buddha statue, a shrine was built and it was enshrined in that cave. —It's an 'Ebisu'. A magnificent 'Marebito'." Mai continued.
Akifumi could only looked stunned at Mai's revelation. They hadn't even gone to the cave yet. 'How did she know?'
Takigawa made a bitter expression.
"It appears we have to deal with a god."
"Why do you think I insisted that Ayako perform her shinto now. We need Naru awake because he's the only one that can take it down." Mai stalked off.
...
On the way back, just in case, they went to examine the state of the mounds of the five people. Somewhat similar to the Sanroku mounds, the five mounds were also cleanly broken as if they had been sliced. The sacred shrine rope on Okobu and Mekobu had also been cut, and was drifting on the waves.
After that, they returned to base in succession, and then it was Takigawa who raised his voice first.
"...Yo. Long time no see."
Inside Lin was rading through piles of paperwork, and furthermore, supervising that was— Oliver.
Mai folded her arms and glared at Oliver, who was staring back at Takigawa.
The spirit possessing Oliver should have been one of the enslaved spirits, and the enslaved spirits were completely purified, so if one thought about it, it's no mystery that he had woken up.
"Ah, Shibuya-san, I'm glad you're safe." John smiled.
Oliver looked coldly at Takigawa and John waving their hands, then turned his face to Mai. He whinsed at the expression on her face.
"I'm sorry."
"You promised me." Mai's voice was ice-cold.
"I'm sorry."
"You never keep your promises."
The freezing tone of her voice made everyone in the room shiver.
"I'm sorry."
"Your sorries mean nothing to me right now. Say thank you to Ayako for waking you up."
Oliver didn't even turn his gaze to look at Ayako. "Thank you."
It was a completely indifferent reply.
Mai's glare didn't soften in the slightest and there was nothing Oliver could do with everyone else in the room.
Takigawa cleared his throat with a cough, "Well, it looks like the source of the curse isn't the Rokubu."
When Takigawa said this, Oliver replied in a brusque voice,
"It's 'Okobu-sama'."
Everyone but Mai and Lin stared at Oliver blankly.
"...how do you know?"
"My brain works differently than yours."
"Here it is!"
Oliver glanced towards Lin.
"The contents?"
"According to the contents of 'The Cursing Patron God', a certain shrine's goshintai, 'Okoboshi-sama', would curse if it failed to be worshipped. Since 'Okoboshi-sama' is an 'Ebisu' god, it's probably about 'Okobu-sama'. It's said that ever since 'Okoboshi-sama' has been worshipped, storms and high waves have ceased. Because of that, it was worshipped exuberantly, but if the villagers and iwai failed to worship it, then it would immediately cause a disaster. In particular, many people from the iwai household would die as retribution."
"Matsuzaki-san, what's an iwai?"
"Iwai…? Oh, it's talking about a hafuri. It's like a priest."
Oliver nodded. Takigawa spoke timidly,
"What does it mean...?"
Oliver looked over them with cold-hearted eyes.
"There's a shrine and there's a cave behind it. That place is where dead bodies drift to. There is a small shrine and an 'Ebisu' called 'Okobu-sama' enshrined there. From the cave towards the direction of the shrine there is a path that is carved in the steep cliff, and there is an old stone stairway. —Why was such immense construction done? Naturally, they decided to do it because of a purpose. Why would they carry out such immense construction merely for the sake of a boring cave. Of course it's because that shrine's goshintai is there. They were forced to do it for that reason."
Lin answered.
"Moreover, if it was an insignificant god, they wouldn't have done that. The being enshrined in that shrine is a god possessing power great enough to make them do that."
"I see. Then, that's the current legend?"
"That's right. Mai told me to expect there to be a legend around this area about a god possessing great power. That's why I had the documents looked over again. That's what Lin just finished reading."
Oliver said, then looked around at the others.
"'Okobu-sama' is an 'Ebisu' god, and furthermore, it frequently calmed the disasters of the sea. However, it's also a malicious god that curses if it fails to be worshipped. That shrine, which is considered to be dedicated to 'Okobu-sama', is now separated from the small shrine. This house is what's separating them. In all likelihood, this was originally part of the shrine. It would be logical to assume the compound was sold off in pieces."
"If the shrine had a hafuri, he would have lived near the shrine. Wouldn't that probably be here?"
"Probably."
"The place where the hafuri lived was divided when the tomb was built for the five ringleaders of the riot— that would be a reasonable conjecture. Moreover, it was resold as a private house."
"'Okobu-sama' believes that the inhabitant of this house is the priest that should worship it. Because the one who should be worshipping it isn't worshipping it, that person is cursed. The current folklore is evidence of this. So, although the household wasn't necessarily excluded while the fury of the curse was wielded, not everyone was killed. It deliberately left behind survivors since a priest is necessary in order for it to be worshipped."
Oliver looked around at them.
"We're going to perform an exorcism on 'Okobu-sama'."
Takigawa interrupted.
"Wait a minute. Do we need to exorcise it?"
"Of course."
"But, don't they just have to worship it?"
"It will repeat the same thing again if it isn't worshiped."
"Still, isn't it okay for the time being? Even though we're dealing with an 'Ebisu', it is a type of god. It's worse than a monster. You're the one who said there's no way to hunt a monster."
Oliver smiled. It was a thoroughly disturbing and magnificent smile.
"Are you saying to overlook that thing? No way."
"Oi!"
"It gave us so many pleasant experiences. It would be a courtesy to properly return the favor."
"Or do you want to retire?"
Ayako hurriedly waved her hand in response to Oliver's gaze.
"I...I can't do it. There's no tree over there."
Oliver's cold gaze turned towards John.
"Me, too… I can do it if it's a possessing spirit, but I don't know about an 'Ebisu'."
"Lin?"
Lin shook his head.
"I do not think I can compete with it. —Naru, you ought to leave it alone. That being is beyond our powers."
Oliver flatly ignored Lin.
"Bou-san?"
Takigawa's expression was extremely disgruntled.
"I could give it a try, but Naru-chan, in this case, we should do what Lin says..."
"I don't need anyone who's incompetent.
Mai?"
"If you forget your mirror, I'm never talking to you again."
Mai's voice was only slightly warmer than an iceburg.
...
They made arrangements while they waited for low tide.
"Um… you needn't force yourself to do it. Since we understand the source of the curse, we only need to worship it with great respect from now on."
Akifumi told them. With a bitter expression, Takigawa replied,
"Naru-bou's overtaking his rival. Anyway, we just have to try."
"But..."
"Well, for the sake of your future generations, we have to do it."
Akifumi deeply bowed his head.
After that, Takigawa said,
"Ayako, Mai, stay. What are you going to do, John?"
He said so while Oliver wasn't present. John replied,
"I don't think I'll even be useful, but I'll go anyway."
"I'm going, too."
When Mai said this, Takigawa lightly glared at her.
"You'll get in the way. Don't come. I don't think I can protect you."
"I'll protect myself."
"By the way, I will also go."
"I wash my hands of you."
...
They waited for low tide, then went to the cave. The cave where the 'Ebisu' had come. The sacred ground where there was a cursing god.
The cave was deathly quiet. There was the scent of the tide and the sound of waves echoing throughout the cavity.
Oliver's merciless voice resounded.
"Let's get started."
Takigawa exhaled once, then stood in front of the shrine and opened the doors. The figure of the strangely shaped driftwood appeared. There was a simple altar in front of the shrine.
Takigawa formed a seal, chanted a mantra and built an invisible temple herein. A barrier descended and the temple was built, then he summoned a Buddha there. The invisible temple was made from his energy. Therefore, if Takigawa were to lose consciousness, it would disappear immediately…
"On bazara gini harachi hataya sowaka."
Something gave off a sound from somewhere. The quiet, short sound disappeared soon after Mai strained her ears to listen. She heard it again and soon she could hear it a little more clearly now. The low sound came briefly, then disappeared again. When it sounded for the third time, Ayako looked around.
"...what's that sound?"
It gradually became clear. That unmistakable, low, low evenly spaced sound.
"Heartbeat." Mai responded.
It was certainly beating. It was the sound of an internal organ expanding and contracting.
Mai saw the cave wall moving slightly. The rock surface was very slightly pulsing in accordance with the beating. It had a smooth gloss that did not seem like rock… It was considerably dark inside here. Mai cautiously tried approaching the wall and gently reached out her hand.
"Stop it, Mai!"
Mai's fingertips touched it. The point where she touched had a rough and hard feel. Although she was sure beyond a doubt that it was rock, it was very warm.
"This..."
The beating sound became even louder. Every time it sounded, the surrounding walls trembled. Mixed with the beating, Mai could hear the sound of low breathing. It felt like they had entered the belly of a huge creature.
"Takigawa-san!"
It was John who suddenly cried out. Takigawa looked back.
"The entrance is starting to close!"
Already, the width that remained at the entrance of the cove side was only enough for a single person to pass through.
"Kyataya hanjasa hadaya sowaka!"
A red light quickly flowed into Mai's field of vision. It rushed through the inside of the cave, however, the state of the closed entrance did not change. Nevertheless, the movement, which was in the process of closing at a visible rate, came to a dead stop.
"It'll open naturally if we stop the source. Don't worry about that."
Oliver's voice spoke calmly.
The openings that remained at both the coast side and the cove side were only enough for a person to turn sideways and barely pass through.
The beating sound continued. The sound of breathing also continued. Then, at that juncture, a loud sound joined the others. It was a sound resembling someone shouting something in the distance somewhere. It was the voices of many people shouting at the top of their voice's with a scream. Though Mai looked around, there weren't any figures. The voices were echoing in a place that was somewhere separated by something thick. Probably on the opposite side of the cave wall... and now they drew nearer.
There was a dark hole on the opposite side of the wall, and from within that, a large number of dead people were shouting as they drew nearer — They came even closer. They would be here soon…
"In the beginning was the Word."
John spoke. He connected his fingers and closed his eyes.
"The Word was with God. The Word was God. The Word was in the beginning with God. All things were made by the Word. Without the Word was not any thing made that was made..."
The voices that came across the wall halted.
Just as Ayako sighed in relief, Oliver spoke sternly.
"Bou-san, the prayer."
"...Right."
Takigawa said and continued his mantra. At the same time, a pale light began to illuminate the surface of the wall. Faint light, which shined dimly, seeped out onto the surface of the wall and formed pale human faces.
One after another they rose to the surface here and there, and it seemed as though a countless number of masks were lined up. The faces appeared clearly, opened their mouths, and began to shout. Furthermore, two arms leisurely came out from beneath each face and went forward. The inside of the cave was filled with voices similar to screams.
"Naumaku sanmanda bazara dankan!"
The faces that had risen to the surface near Takigawa disappeared. Following this, Lin whistled with his fingers. Ayako cut the nine syllables and…
Mai opened up her cleansing aura. The spirits who neared her purified and left. More came. Mai continued to cleanse.
A red light flowed through the inside of the cave once again. A transparent red color extended over everyone's entire field of view. When it disappeared, they couldn't see any of the faces that had emerged on a great deal of the wall's surface.
Takigawa was just preparing his Tokkosho. He threw it into the shrine. It struck into the driftwood.
"Tari tsuta boritsu hara boritsu takimei takimei kara santan uenbi sowaka!"
At the same time as he finished speaking, Takigawa was blown back by some kind of force.
"Bou-san!"
"Takigawa-san!"
Ayako and John rushed over and helped up Takigawa, who had fallen to the bottom of the wall.
"Are...are you okay!?"
"Oww…"
"John. I'm sorry, but that Tokkosho..."
After this was said by Takigawa, John looked at the shrine.
"Break the driftwood with that."
"Right!"
With a shout, John ran up to the shrine. He pulled out the Tokkosho and raised it overhead. Before he had time to pierce the driftwood, John was flung back this time and crashed beside Takigawa.
"John! - Ayako!"
Ayako broke into a run instead. She picked up the Tokkosho dropped by John and rushed toward the shrine. Now Ayako slammed into the wall.
...it's completely useless. There's nothing we can do about it.
At that time, a sickening calm voice resounded.
"Is that all?"
Oliver turned his gaze toward Takigawa. His eyes were cold.
"How long are you going to play around, Naru. Bring out the mirror already."
Mai's voice burned with anger.
Oliver turned his gaze toward her.
"I already told you that this was something you had to do. The others are not capable of it. Only you and nii-san can do it."
Oliver only frowned.
"Get out your mirror already unless you want to land back in hospital. If you do that, we'll delay finding nii-san for a month. So stop wasting time and bring out your mirror. I'll even hold it for you."
Oliver looked at Mai in shock before extending the mirror to her. That weird static tension that indicated Oliver's PK was active began to fill the air.
The beating sound and sound of breathing was still resounding in the cave. And the shouts of people could be heard from far away. As Mai held the mirror towards Oliver so he could pass his pk energy back and forth between himself and Gene, and away from the sight of everyone else, she looked at the cave entrance. Somehow it was not a width where they would be trapped inside.
"Bou-san, are you okay?"
"I don't seem very okay."
"Go. It's enough… already."
Ayako led Takigawa by the hand. As she pulled, Takigawa raised his body.
"Naru-chan, sorry. I'm at my limit."
Oliver didn't reply. Lin helped Ayako lift Takigawa. John stood and supported Takigawa beneath his arm.
"Well, we're going back."
Lin and John supported Takigawa's arms and began to leave. Oliver had his back turned, oblivious of that. His gaze was fixed— toward the shrine. Although his hand was still on the mirror surface.
"Naru?"
Though Lin called, he didn't look back. The others, who had begun to hurry towards the entrance, looked back.
"Leave him to me, Lin."
Lin nodded reluctantly and quickly turned back. John lost his balance and Takigawa nearly fell over, but he hastily stood firm in place.
"Naru! Don't do it!"
Oliver didn't look back. Having built enough PK energy, he advanced towards the shrine. His hair lightly drifted up as if he was encircled by a gentle breeze.
There was a ringing in Mai's ears. She heard a low sound as if there were small insects or something flying deep within her ears. She lowered the mirror after a quick smile in it and waited.
"Ow…!"
It was like strong static electricity. Like what occurs when you touch metal during dry weather midwinter. There was a violent striking sound.
Oliver stood directly facing the shrine.
The air was distorted.
The air surrounding Oliver's body was clearly distorted as if a heat haze was rising from his body. It was rapidly thickening. The distortion immediately began spreading. Oliver clenched his lowered right hand into a fist and grasped the wrist with his left hand. His stance looked like he was trying to accumulate something in the tip of his fist. Then, the air began to bend and warp around his fist at a visible speed.
Suddenly, Mai felt something strange on her skin. Like when the little hairs on your body bristle just as your hair rises up. That feeling when static electricity happens… like when plastic sheets are brought close and rubbed together. She felt a gentle wind. It was something like an air flow rather than a wind.
Even the air around her was distorted. Everything looked shaken and distorted as if looking through warped glass or the inside of water.
"What is this?"
Oliver had raised his hand just before Takigawa spoke. The distortion ended and a mass of congealed air dripped from the inside of his fist. That's what it looked like. Lin spoke, but the ringing in Mai's ears was intense and she couldn't understand what he was saying.
Suddenly, Oliver swung down his arm. The air broke from the top of his fist. —That's what it looked like. A fissure was made in the air like a crack in warped glass and the scenery there was completely skewed. The fissure extended and began to spread in the direction in which his arm was swung down. In that moment, the glass filled landscape was torn to pieces and broke. The air crumbled, and the distorted image cracked along with the distorted shrine.
There was a strange feeling of air slowly creeping up from Mai's feet. It caressed her spine, then disappeared.
In actuality, it only took about ten seconds from when Oliver held his arm until then. After a long, long ten seconds passed, the same scene as before remained. The cave smelled of the tide and they all stood frozen as if rigid like the dark rock surface. Oliver remained standing. Mai could no longer hear the beating. There was neither breathing nor the voices. Instead, the sound of the waves could be heard.
The shrine remained unchanged with the door still open. However, that was excluding the driftwood inside there, which was broken. The fragments were scattered inside and around the shrine.
"What happened?"
Oliver silently looked back at Takigawa's weak voice. He had a sardonic smile on his face.
"The god is dead. This place is no longer sacred ground." Mai responded.
The entrance was completely back to normal, and from the wide open mouth one could see the waves break onto the rocky stretch. The horizon was visible beyond there and a white sky extended above that.
"This place is just a cave."
"That thing… disappeared?"
Mai nodded.
"I think so. Definitely..."
Takigawa exhaled.
"Right now, I'm full of the desire that you would have done it from the beginning if you were able to exorcise it."
Oliver said nothing. He turned his gaze toward them and started walking. Mai followed quietly behind.
"Let's go."
The others looked at each other, then hastily followed him.
...
Helping Takigawa, who were close to sinking to the ground, they went through the rocky stretch and returned to the coast. The tide had gradually risen and the stone path had become submerged to ankle depth. While staggering, they returned to the coast and sat down in the shade where it was dry and the waves could not reach. The pebbles on the beach were warm and Mai felt extremely relieved when she touched them.
"Bou-san, are you okay?"
Mai nudged Takigawa, who was exhausted.
"...I'm dying."
"Pull yourself together."
"...sleep."
"What about you, Ayako? Are you okay?"
"Well… it seems like I hit something hard..."
"Is it painful?"
Ayako looked directly at Mai.
"It's terribly painful."
"Are you ok Mai?"
A quiet voice interrupted their talk.
"... I'm angry, but I'm fine."
A heavy weight fell on Mai, wrapping her up in tight and solid arms.
"Naru!?"
"I'm sorry."
His quiet voice came from her shoulder.
"I should have listened you the first time."
"... I forgive you."
Mai responded quietly. For once, her voice was warm.