Chapter 16 Returning to the Mansion.

Night had fallen, and the moonlight gently bathed the road leading to the residential area.

Tsukino and Chiya looked out the car window at the scenery, pondering the strange things about the "ghost painter".

He wasn't too worried about things like "the ghost painter might turn around and attack other people nearby after failing to catch them."

The supernatural has its own set of strange behavioral logic. If the supernatural were truly so arbitrarily capable of killing, its existence would probably be widely known long ago. The former Indians, such as Mr. Hachishiki, had many experiences of escaping from the supernatural. After failing to catch them, the supernatural would disappear and return to their "territory" to linger.

Some of these anomalies don't even have a "territory," but they possess a medium that allows them to appear. After an attack succeeds or fails, they vanish until another unfortunate soul successfully brings them back to life through the medium. No one knows where they go when they disappear; perhaps it's a space inaccessible to humans, and best left unknown.

As it stands, the ghost painter is indeed this strange.

As for the "medium" that made it happen...

Tsukino and Chiya's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

The car stopped, and it was time for him to set off.

*******

Tsukino and Chiya slightly raised their heads and looked at the building in front of them.

Despite having just "escaped" from this place, he and Ouma Kokichi returned here again—to Yukimura Mio's residence—in order to survive.

Someone at the hospital needed to keep a close eye on Yukimura Mio's condition, just in case the monster tried to kill her again. Ultimately, Matsuda Jinpei, who had been with her from the first aid to the hospital, stayed there.

Kenji Hagiwara, who had no marks on his body, drove the two high school students over and parked his car nearby, waiting for them to return.

Not long ago, they had also set foot on this land, and then, as if the first shot that heralded the beginning of everything had been fired, they heard a terrifying scream that could not be ignored at the door of the mansion.

Logically, with such a horrific commotion emanating from the mansion, the other residents of the neighborhood should have noticed. However, none of them realized the tragedy had occurred in Yukimura Mio's mansion until the ambulance Matsuda had called arrived, at which point they belatedly realized something terrible had happened.

...Undoubtedly, it was because the strange presence at the time brought a spiritual barrier to the mansion, so that the mansion and a small part of the surrounding environment temporarily became a strange space. It was not uncommon for incredible phenomena to occur inside, and it was normal for sounds not to be transmitted outside.

However, now that the strange creature has most likely left the mansion, this doesn't necessarily mean it's safe.

But they had to return here again.

After all, it seems they'll be dead as soon as it gets light! That would be mortal danger!

As someone who received the curse mark later, Matsuda Jinpei didn't feel anything special. However, as someone whose mark had been there for longer, at a certain moment when the four of them were exchanging information in the hospital, Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi all felt a "death omen" from the mark.

There was no time to rest. After quickly discussing their respective arrangements, Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi were driven back to the mansion by Hagiwara Kenji.

They originally came here to investigate clues, but their focus on rescuing Yukimura Mio delayed them. Now, they've returned to this place.

Generally speaking, in places where strange phenomena cause paranormal activity, some things that shouldn't be there will appear... and these seemingly insignificant things may actually be the key to solving the strange events.

As for Eiichiro Saiyama, the manga artist whose name appeared in ghost stories that they mentioned earlier... matters about him can only be put aside for the time being.

After all, although Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji only started to notice this person after today's experience, Ohma Kokichi, Tsukino, and Chiya had been keeping an eye on him since hearing the ghost story... Well, Tsukino and Chiya weren't really sure if Ohma Kokichi had done anything, but he had done a simple investigation into Saiyama Eiichiro.

Aside from the stunning depiction of corpses, everything else in his works can only be described as "ordinary." So even with the popularity brought by ghost stories, Eiichiro Saiyama remains unremarkable. As a manga artist, he's only someone that, when mentioned, might elicit a casual "Who?" from passersby.

To be honest, the manga is poorly drawn but the corpses are well drawn, and because the drawing is poor, it is difficult to get praise... With this kind of setting, Tsukino and Chiya almost suspected that Eiichiro Saiyama was the real person of the strange creature they met today.

But that's impossible.

The reason is that Eiichiro Saiyama is still alive and well, and a living person cannot become a monster.

……perhaps?

In short, compared to Eiichiro Saiyama, who is still alive, the next investigation is the key to their survival.

The two entered the villa.

Unlike their previous hasty visit to the second floor, this time their goal was to thoroughly search the villa, leaving no corner unchecked, since some important clues might be hidden in some dark corners.

"The light still won't turn on."

One of the first things to do after entering a room late at night is to turn on the light. After entering, Wang Ma Xiaoji went to the light switch and pressed it a few times before giving up.

Although the room was pitch black, making it almost impossible for Tsukino and Chiya to see the expression on the other boy's face, they could still guess from his cheerful voice and smiling demeanor: "But given the current situation... this might actually be good news~"

Tsukino and Chiya nodded slightly: "Indeed. The spiritual barrier hasn't disappeared yet, which means there might indeed be clues we need here."

Wang Ma Xiaoji tilted his head in confusion: "Huh? What are you and Xiaoyue talking about? I just wanted to say that this kind of atmosphere without the lights on is more like a horror game, and that's what makes a game fun~"

"Especially—"

As soon as Tsukino and Chiya turned on their flashlights, a lively-looking figure jumped out from the illuminated area.

"—Now is the time to make the game even more terrifying! Hey, is this the legendary nuclear flashlight that's essential for horror games?"

Under the flashlight beam, Ouma Kokichi's already unnaturally pale skin appeared even paler. Tsukino and Chiya promptly moved the flashlight away, directing the light elsewhere to avoid blinding Ouma Kokichi.

"Nuclear energy is not the point... but indeed, perhaps because of the 'consensus,' when many people believe in the effectiveness of flashlights in such situations, flashlights are indeed less likely to go out in such places, or even if they go out due to strange circumstances, they can be turned back on quickly."

"consensus?"

"No matter what faith or deity it is, it was not born before the believers. Rather, it was the collective 'consensus' of the believers that brought it into existence."

"Huh? Is that how you put it..."

While the two appeared to be chatting casually, they were actually not neglecting their search of the surrounding environment.

Before they even arrived at the mansion, while they were still in Kenji Hagiwara's car, they had already reached a consensus on the subsequent investigation.

Although their conversation seemed a bit nonsensical... they ultimately decided to act together rather than split up once they entered the mansion.

Wangma Xiaoji said, "Although it seems like it's fun to split up in horror movies, I also want to see Tsukino Kazuki's first scene of exorcising demons, hey, let me see!" and completely ignored Tsukino Kazuki's "Um, nothing like that happened..."

Actually, when he said "it's better for two people to act together than one to act separately," he was thinking... Although two people acting separately would be more efficient, for their own safety, it was best to leave no room for error during the search of the mansion. With two people... if one of them overlooks something, the other might be able to point it out in time.

Moreover, if they encounter any dangers or need to work together to complete a task, it is easier for the two of them to cooperate.

...Although they seemed to have slightly different ideas, they eventually reached a consensus on actions.

That's enough.

They have now searched the first floor of the villa, but have not found anything special.

Apart from the lights not turning on, nothing here seemed particularly noteworthy.

However, Tsukino and Chiya were not discouraged.

After all... isn't there a second floor?

The second floor is where Yukimura Mio's accident happened, and the study, which is generally closely related to "manga," is also on the second floor.

And there—

Tsukino and Chiya suddenly felt a strange chill rising without any wind.

As he prepared to climb the stairs to the second floor, the black-haired boy shone his flashlight towards the stairs.

—In the very center, illuminated by the light, there was a girl who had appeared silently at some unknown time.

She stood silently in place, her eyes seemingly oblivious to the sudden burst of light in the darkness, staring unblinkingly in the direction where the two of them were.

A note from the author:

----------------------

The consensus statement comes from the Werewolf Village and DMLC worldviews. In the Werewolf Village worldview, supernatural abilities are called calamities, which simply means that belief equals reality. Within an isolated group, if all members unanimously agree on and believe in a certain theory, then even if that theory seems utterly absurd to outsiders, it becomes a fact within the group and has practical effects.

Therefore, the less common sense a person has, the more likely they are to accept unreasonable calamities, and the more likely they are to experience supernatural phenomena.