Chapter 18. I'm really just an ordinary person. ...
"The greatest and most devastating event in human history."
Wang Ma Xiaoji looked at the book cover and read out the name of the comic book.
"And then, let me see that the author is... Eiichiro Saiyama."
After saying that, Wang Ma Xiaoji temporarily looked away from the book cover and looked over with a smile: "Is that so, Kozuki no Kazu?"
His words sounded vague, but Tsukino and Chiya understood what he meant and shook their heads: "As far as I know, there is no manga with this name published by Eiichiro Saiyama."
"Eh~ no." His gaze returned to the comic book he was holding, his fingers lightly tracing the cover. "But there's usually publication information at the end of the book, so I can just flip through it and find out, right... hmm?"
Wang Ma Xiaoji suddenly froze on the spot.
The purple-haired boy's hand had just turned the page of the comic to see what was going on when he stopped. His gaze was fixed on a page that he had randomly turned to, but his purple eyes looked unexpectedly empty at that moment, as if he were actually staring at something that did not exist there.
This was truly an unusual situation; he had never been held captive and stunned for such a long time before.
At least in Tsukino and Chiya's memories, such a thing never happened.
However, Tsukino and Chiya probably know what has happened.
He walked towards the direction where Wangma Xiaoji was, and when he came to the side of the purple-haired boy, the purple eyes suddenly blinked and returned to their normal state.
"Are you alright?" Tsukino and Chiya asked.
Wang Ma Xiaoji's complexion looked worse than before; his already pale complexion appeared even paler... although it wasn't very noticeable in the dim light.
He lowered his head, looking listless, and said in a daze, "Ah la la la... I'm fine. And it seems I'm experiencing something interesting like soul travel. Right now, I seem to be standing here, but my soul has actually drifted to the side of a river. Let me see... There's a black and white bear cooking soup on the other side of the river."
Tsukino and Chiya: "...Has it even drifted to the Sanzu River? By the way, why is it a black and white bear?"
Panda? But if it's a panda, why not just say panda?
Wang Ma Xiaoji: "Hahaha, who knows~ Maybe I was just saying it offhand, after all, I am such an unpredictable liar~"
During their brief conversation, Wang Ma Xiaoji seemed to have recovered and was back to normal.
He continued what he hadn't finished, casually flipping through a few pages of the comic book before turning to the last page and nodding knowingly as he did so: "Hmm, I see, I see."
Tsukino and Chiya leaned closer and looked down at the comics in each other's hands: "I can't see anything."
The only thing that's good about this comic book is the cover.
Upon opening the pages, they discovered that almost every page was stained with blood, making it impossible to discern the actual content. Even the surviving sections were not significant images, rendering the plot impossible to piece together.
Under these circumstances, unsurprisingly, the publication information for this comic was also obscured by bloodstains, and no useful information was revealed.
Tsukino and Chiya concluded, "It seems we can't glean any clues from the contents of this manga."
“Eh—but we can’t do it through this comic book—” Ouma Kokichi drawled meaningfully.
Tsukino and Chiya nodded: "That depends on whether what you just 'saw' is useful."
"Kozuki knows exactly what I'm doing~ So why did I see those things? Was it also due to the influence of spiritual barriers?"
“Actually…” Tsukino and Chiya said, “If you are only within the range of spiritual barriers, but your spiritual perception is not high enough, it is still difficult to suddenly see things like ‘strange past experiences and memories’.”
At most, one might feel uncomfortable. Of course, those who see it will also feel uncomfortable, mentally disoriented, or even more severely affected... That's why Oma Shokichi's complexion turned sour at that time.
"Hahaha, so I really do have a talent for using dark magic~"
"That's wonderful," Tsukino and Chiya praised in a monotone tone. "But magic and all that sounds so unscientific."
"Huh? Does that mean the supernatural is scientific? Speaking of the supernatural, I did see something interesting just now. And... it might even be the key to solving this incident. But before that, I need to confirm one more thing..."
Wang Ma Xiaoji still had a smile on his face, but compared to his previous radiance, although the corners of his mouth were turned up, there was no smile in his eyes.
"Kozuki, you..."
"—Are you sure Eiichiro Saiyama is still alive?"
The air suddenly fell silent.
After exchanging glances with Ohma Kokichi for a few seconds, Tsukino and Chiya broke the silence again, pondering, "Well, since you asked, I'm not so sure about giving a 'confirmed' answer... So you saw him die?"
"Haha, as expected of Kazuya Tsukino, you guessed it right away~" Ouma Kokichi readily admitted, "In that case, it's no problem to tell you..."
Tsukino and Chiya: "..." No, for our safety, the clues we see should be shared in the first place.
However, he didn't say anything, but listened quietly to Wang Ma Xiaoji's story.
...
…………
"I see." After listening, Tsukino and Chiya looked up at the several spears hanging on the wall of the room. "I think I know how to deal with this anomaly."
Based on what Wang Ma Xiaoji just described, it seems that Saiyama Eiichiro was indeed murdered, and even turned into the strange creature they had encountered before.
But... according to my investigation, he should still be alive and well.
However, it's better to deal with the immediate issues first. As for Eiichiro Saiyama's matter... let's talk about it after we all get through this night.
"But just in case, my suggestion is to investigate the rest of this room and the other rooms we haven't been to yet... What do you think?"
*******
"Looks like we're in luck."
After searching every room in the mansion, the two of them returned to their bedroom on the second floor.
This is Yukimura Mio's room, the place where Yukimura Mio was attacked, the first place Tsukino and Chiya entered after going upstairs, and also... the place where they planned to end everything.
Because here, they successfully found something they would need later.
"Kono knows a lot of things~" Ohma Kokichi casually started a conversation, "Even as the 'Ultimate Exorcist,' you should be able to handle it, right? After all... someone from Hope's Peak actually approached you, didn't they?"
"First of all, I should clarify that I am not an exorcist and I don't know much about paranormal events. Even my experience in dealing with strange things as an Indian is mostly from what I heard from Mr. Hachishiki of Kujo-kan."
Tsukino and Chiya were not surprised that Ohma Kokichi knew that Hope's Peak had contacted him to try to verify his talent, and he calmly explained.
"The reason Hope Peak approached me about a former Indian is because she's the high school girl editor I told you about who worked for a paranormal magazine. She mentioned me in one of her articles. But that doesn't mean I can be called 'Ultimate Level'."
"I think you, Wang Ma... haven't actually experienced many paranormal events. Or rather, most people in this world don't have much of a connection to paranormal events."
"However, the number of people in the world is astonishing. So although the number of people who know about paranormal events is much smaller than the number of people who don't, it is still quite a large number."
"Although the people at Hope's Peak want to study talents related to 'paranormal' because of their lack of understanding, I might indeed be able to enroll with a talent like 'Ultimate Exorcist,' but I am actually very clear that according to Hope's Peak's standards, I am not 'Ultimate.'"
"After all, Hope Peak University's undergraduates are 'top talents in all fields of society,' but I am not considered top."
Tsukino and Chiya knew very well that they were just ordinary people without any special abilities (or calamities). In this respect, they were at a disadvantage compared to other high school students with special abilities when it came to handling paranormal events.
"Moreover... in terms of intelligence and physical skills, I'm not particularly outstanding."
He was no match for his father in terms of intelligence, nor for his mother in terms of martial prowess. Tsukino and Chiya wondered why they weren't considered ordinary.
Besides, he's still running away from home, so it's probably better for him to keep a low profile.
During their casual conversation, the two made all the necessary preparations.
"Just move the things next to me, okay? Ugh, I'm exhausted."
Wang Ma Xiaoji clapped his hands. Although he said that, he showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
"So, the next 'hands-on' part will be handed over to Kozuki, who isn't particularly outstanding in either intelligence or physical skills. After hearing what Kozuki just said, it's actually a bit scary, after all..."
Wang Ma Xiaoji laughed as he said something that sounded a little scary: "Hehe, if anything goes wrong, we might all die."
"After all, it involves our own lives." Even when questioned, Tsukino and Chiya remained unmoved. "So even though my physical skills aren't outstanding, I will do my best."
"...Well, although I still want to say something, Kozuki and that unchanging deadpan face are really boring. No matter what I say, you'll still have the same tone and expression. So, compared to this—"
After giving a perfunctory sigh, Wang Ma Xiaoji reached out and shook the comic book he was holding.
"The bizarre is definitely more interesting. Let me begin! Three, two..."
Before the countdown even reached zero, Wang Ma Xiaoji shouted excitedly at an extremely loud voice, "This comic book in my hand..."
"—It's even worse than garbage!"
The next second, the bedroom window, which had been tightly closed, made an unusual noise, and the glass suddenly shattered for no apparent reason.
A note from the author:
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Weird: Who's cursing?!
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