99th Spell: Uncovering Bodies

"I admit that when I first saw you, I did consider taking you into Kōsen custody—which is why I tipped off Evil Eye Maiya and her Taiwanese companion Tao-yi to your presence at the inn following the Gaikin Bank break-in," Ryosei said in a nonchalant manner. "But then I decided it would be more amusing to keep you on your toes, knowing I could kill you if you ever pose a threat to this school."

Haru couldn't believe Ryosei's words. "Is that why you killed the Kamikiri during the first Remedial Defense Against the Dark Arts Class? Just to scare me?"

"More or less," replied Ryosei.

"Does your son Daizō know you're an undercover Kōsen agent?"

"No, he doesn't, and I would prefer to keep it that way. Just…don't get into any more trouble, Ryuji, because I know what you are. And now that you know who I am, you would do us both a favor if you left investigations into Warumo-uragi and your connection to him to me and the rest of the Magical Enforcement Department—or MED for short."

Then Ryosei walked away, leaving Haru in a state of uncertainty and fear. So he decided to clear his head by trying to find his friends. Soon he found himself standing near Sabe-sensei's garden where all the magical plants grew, including the Ninmenju Tree Nayu gave Haru for New Year's with the tree's human head-shaped fruits laughing at him.

"You're not helping my mood!" Haru snapped, causing the fruits to shut up.

But to his right, he saw Daichi's ghost standing further down the sloped garden.

"Daichi," Haru muttered, running down the slope to her. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"Near the shrine," Daichi said. "They think they sense something in there, but we need you to check since we can't go past the torii gate."

Haru was confused. "Why can't you three go into the shrine? I summoned you into the ring of stones, didn't I?"

"The ropes above the gate have some kind of power that keeps us out," Daichi explained. "So unless you summon us into the ring of stones again, we can't go into the shrine."

Realizing he didn't have his beads from Necromancy, Haru decided to oblige with Daichi's request and entered the Shrine of Idesei while the ghosts of his stepparents watched. Like on Obon, the cave where the shrine was housed was dark even with the midday sun outside. Haru approached the shrine cautiously, unsure of what his parents sensed.

Suddenly, an unpleasant odor wafted through the air that was coming directly from the shrine. Bracing himself, Haru tried to open the doors to the shrine. Unfortunately, they wouldn't open. With all his strength, Haru pushed the shrine to the side. Behind it was a cave wall that had a knotted rope nailed to the rock.

"Now why would there be a magic rope here if there wasn't something behind it? Musukāi!" Haru said, waving his wand at the knotted rope.

As the Knot-Breaking Jinx was cast, the knotted rope broke. When this happened, the cave wall vanished revealing a hidden tunnel where the strong smell was coming from. Bracing himself, Haru climbed through the tunnel. He then used Firelighting Charm, which revealed a hidden chamber containing three rotting corpses. Two were charred from fire, and the third was smaller with dried blood coming from the throat and mouth.

"How long have they been here?" Haru mumbled to himself, covering his nose while trying not to throw up. "And why did no one smell them before?"

"Because Warumo cast a Scent Depravation Spell on the corpses," Shō said, emerging from the tunnel Haru just crawled through. "So no one smelled them until after he left Popuri's body, which caused the spell to be undone. It also seems he placed an Illusion Spell on the rope over the tunnel to hide it until you cast the Knot-Breaking Jinx."

"Where did you come from?" Haru asked. "I didn't see you following me."

Shō rolled her eyes. "That was the idea. I saw you talking to Maki-sensei near the Healers' Wing, though I wasn't close enough to hear what you two were saying. So I decided to follow you and ask you what Maki said."

Unsure of whether Shō knew Ryosei was an undercover Kōsen agent or not, Haru didn't want to jeopardize Ryosei's cover which would most certainly get him in trouble.

"He was just telling me that…he just saw Daichi's ghost near the Shrine of Idesei, and so I thought to investigate his claim," Haru lied. "After all, Daichi told me she wouldn't rest until her body was found."

"Looks like you got more than you bargained for," Shō noted, looking at the corpses. "It would explain why the Onryō Curse Warumo cast on you was so potent."

"How?"

"To cast the Onryō Curse, you need the body of the deceased to act as a medium. But if you kill someone and bind their ghost to your will through the Onryō Curse, it makes the haunting of the intended target more powerful."

"So you're saying Warumo…killed my stepsister after kidnapping her, just to cast the Onryō Curse on me?" Haru felt disgusted as the urge to throw up grew stronger. "But why did he bring the bodies of my dead stepparents here as well?"

"Probably to add their spirits to the Onryō Curse as well," Shō guessed. "Though from what I heard from Popuri's ghost, it seems your stepfather's ghost resisted Warumo's control while your stepmother's ghost wasn't able to—and that's why she appeared during your summoning ritual on Obon."

"How can ghosts resist being controlled by a spell?"

"The Onryō Curse only works on ghosts with either have weak wills or a strong hatred that's made them forget who really hurt them, which can be channeled at whoever the witch or wizard targets."

"Was Popuri aware of Warumo's actions the whole time? And why didn't my mother's protective seal react during the times I was with him?"

To be continued…