Hellfire 04
A perfectly ordinary residential building. Colorful clothes fluttered on the balcony. The sky was so dark it seemed to be falling, plunging us into eternal sleep. The stars were few and far between, emitting a dying light. The moon was so thin it was piercing.
Two crows flew in from somewhere and started cawing, adding a bit of desolate feeling.
"You don't have to apologize to me, Kazuya."
It seemed like this conversation had happened many times before.
You calmed down a bit and were looking through the materials that Teacher Ye Mo gave you. You had read them many times on the way here.
What is certain at this point is that this cursed spirit is of the resident type. It cannot stray too far from its birthplace.
"How long will it take Jay to patrol the entire building?"
"5 minutes?" Even Geto Suguru felt that 5 minutes was too long.
Forget it, you can't be compared with these supermen.
"I'm going with Jay."
"Huh?"
"When Mr. Ye Moth assigned the task, he completely forgot that I could sense the existence of the cursed spirit. Or perhaps he did forget, but he was just too cautious."
Your weakness is obvious: you are not good at close combat.
This is the consensus of everyone.
"So Ichiko knows where the cursed spirit is?"
[Boring, boring~]
You are happy to see Jay's thoughts come true.
"Well, I want to see the situation too. Please, Jie, take me with you."
"I came back to tell you the same thing."
“Please!” You clasp your hands together.
Jay can't carry out this mission alone.
It should be a consensus among everyone that you cannot take the elevator in a haunted place.
"Where is the cursed spirit?"
"Jay, I suddenly realized that Teacher Yegae is a really nice person." Your answer is irrelevant.
"What?"
"Even if I walked in openly, no one would notice me."
My thoughts were led astray by Teacher Ye Moth.
"Well, it's Hatsu-chan's technique." After saying this, Geto Suguru also realized the loophole in Mr. Yaga's words.
[Is Mr. Ye Mo looking for an excuse to coax Wu? ]
"I think Mr. Yemoth is not just trying to get Jay and me to carry out this mission together." It was you who asked Mr. Yemoth to arrange more double missions with Jay, and Mr. Yemoth understood. "Mr. Yemoth is reminding me."
After you mentioned that you could walk in openly, Geto released you, and the two of you climbed the stairs together.
Girls' uniform shoes are quite noisy.
It's late at night.
There are only you and Geto Suguru in the entire corridor.
The sensor light is on and off.
"I used to hate my technique and tried not to use it. But one day, I realized I loved it. I started using it without restraint."
"Hatsuchan is just to confuse others, right? It's not a big deal."
"Yes, I'm just using magic now to make others not notice me and not remember me. In a few years, will I feel that using magic to make others tolerate me is normal?"
You know how difficult it is to accomplish what you want. Of course, there's a shortcut. You don't even have to kill those old men; you can just turn them into your puppets. Then you'll have the final say over the entire world of sorcery. To exaggerate, you could even control the entire human world.
That's why that person wants your technique so much.
But such changes cannot last.
Everyone will die.
Maybe in the future your changes will also be changed by others.
You won't say anything.
"So please, Jay, take me to the fourth floor."
"I really can't do anything about you."
"He is very used to being led around like this..."
"Shhh."
[In the past, he would even take me out...]
Fushiguro!!!
[You are truly blessed by your parents.]
[You who are blessed by God are defeated by a wild monkey like me who can't even cast a spell.]
If you want to live a long life, don't forget what happened today.
Don’t think about it, Geto Suguru!
Let's continue living like this with Yuki, Satoru and Glass!
Don’t think about it, Geto Suguru!!!
[Jie was in a panic just now, what happened? ]
"Nothing, just a little nervous. A case that even a first-level sorcerer can't solve, so we're the only ones left..."
[We are on the fourth floor. Where is it? ]
【Room 405.】
After arriving at Room 405, Xia Yujie put you down and watched you take out a pen and stab it straight into your throat.
Yuki is not strong enough to break the pen.
Geto Suguru snatched the pen from your hand.
"Are you okay?" he asked you quietly.
You closed your eyes.
The violently beating heart caused the hands to tremble along with it, the body was gradually heating up, and was about to turn into a volcano and spew out magma.
Geto Xia Yu was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat.
The sweat turned cold in an instant.
Fortunately, the quality of the technical college uniforms is very good and you can’t tell anything from the outside.
Jay was too flustered.
"I'm fine, Jay. I was just using my technique to further sense the emotions around me. This is a covert operation. It would be bad to wake anyone up, Jay."
[At a time like this, at a time like this…] What else could he possibly be thinking about!?
【A real man. 】
What's going on?
【This is a "specific" cursed spirit.】
[“Specific”? It’s rare nowadays.]
Geto Summer Oil fell into deep thought.
[Diseases and their names that have caused great disasters in human history are extremely terrifying even to the majority of people who are not directly harmed. Curses for such "diseases with specific names" are called "Specific Disease Curses."]
It’s just that… Mr. Ye Moth didn’t mention at all that there’s a horrible disease here…
"It's 'specific' for a specific reason. Of course, it's also okay to call it a 'specific disease curse.' After all, death is an incurable disease that humans can never cure."
【はつちゃん? 】
This cursed spirit wasn't born from a fear of death. It died from a desire for death. However, the process of death was too painful for a child.
【？ 】
"I can't say more, Jay. I can only perceive emotions and integrate them to make reasonable inferences."
If "Jian" was still there, he could explore the memory.
Let’s go inside and take a look.
The door was not locked.
You open the door and the living room is empty.
The family moved away and nothing was left.
The cursed spirit was tiny, barely reaching your waist. Compared to Jay, it looked more like a lump of jelly. It would have been quite cute if it weren't for the tentacles wriggling around on the ground and making all sorts of noises.
Why are we born and why do we die?
The meaning of life and death does not exist in itself.
"Yes, I heard you. I deeply sympathize with your misfortune. This is not your fault. Please rest in peace."
The "Ai Rong Duan" is no longer effective.
It knows the meaning of its existence.
[Liberation... for humanity...]
You acted decisively to control it, took off your earrings, released a miniature "tent", and used "trance" to blow it to death.
Geto Suguru gave you a questioning look.
"The "Ai Rong Duan" has lost its effect."
[The cursed spirits that were "swallowed" by Goyu have become part of Goyu. Goyu can try to teach them.]
Can a cursed spirit truly understand the meaning of its own existence? No, this cursed spirit is not right...
As soon as it entered the house, its expression was so human-like.
"This cursed spirit is..." Jay's body was shaking. You moved closer and held his shoulders. "Satoru and I had been hiding something from Jay."
[Of course, the existence of the "Ten" is necessary, not just to protect the safety of ordinary people. Gojo must know that the sorcerer is also a curse.]
"Cursers are also cursed. Some culprits, due to resentment in their hearts, will become cursed spirits after death. This situation is very rare. This is the first time I have seen it."
"In Jie's heart, sorcerers have always been very beautiful..."
Beneath the cursed spirit is a copy of "The Complete Suicide Manual." You pick it up and hand it to Geto Suguru.
"He followed the manual and chose the most painless way to die."
"Dazai?"
"Jay can read books too."
I am also very literary.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to cause trouble for anyone."
"Is that the reason?!"
"That's why, Jay."
"Why aren't you talking, Jay? I thought you would say it out loud or at least say 'ridiculous' in your heart."
The sorcerer...has always been a very beautiful existence.
This child... doesn't want to cause trouble to others.
Geto Suguru tried to become the child and empathize with him.
[Danger will come if you see it. Curse spirits are unreasonable creatures like this.]
[It was me who made the move…]
[Just so you know.]
The sorcerer, who hadn't grown up yet, knew nothing. The danger was already there; he hadn't brought it upon himself! The danger was already in the house!
"What kind of resentment could a child have in his heart?" Xia Yujie tried his best to act as if nothing had happened.
"Jie hit the nail on the head. From what I've seen, he harbors no grievances. He became a cursed spirit simply because of the pain of death, the fear of death itself. He died to die, but in the end, death became torture."
"Jie, do you know why 'Ai Rong Duan' is ineffective? Because this kid hopes that everyone can be liberated and go to heaven to enjoy happiness after death."
Yeah……
I stood in the shadows and laughed at this ridiculous and absurd world.
"Cursed spirits are terrible beings. Even good wishes can be distorted." You finally concluded.
"That Yukiko was outside the door just now..."
The cursed spirit was exorcised and the mission was accomplished.
You and Geto Suguru can leave now.
Geto Suguru fell behind you and took a deep look at the empty room before closing the door.
"The ability of this 'specific cursed spirit' is probably to drive people to commit suicide." You deliberately hid it from Geto Suguru.
Simply being able to order someone to commit suicide is ridiculously powerful. The prerequisite is "having had suicidal thoughts." And... a brief thought probably doesn't count.
Unfortunately, all the sorcerers sent here had had such thoughts.
Logically speaking, a sorcerer's willpower shouldn't be that weak. Especially a first-level sorcerer. In terms of mind control, it could be considered "special grade."
"That's ridiculously strong, isn't it!?" Jie sighed, then pointed at himself and said, "Then why am I fine?"
"The technique can only be effective on one person at a time." The person chosen is the one with the highest suicide intention within the technique's effective range.
"That……"
"There's a time interval. Is Jay insensitive to numbers? Window's observations weren't wrong; it's indeed only at the level of a second-level cursed spirit. Taking the second-level sorcerer's death as the starting point, the first-level sorcerer died four days later, and today is the seventh day."
"It's only natural that a cursed spirit would choose the target that poses the greatest threat to itself. This incident was reported so quickly because Window lives here. But it was also because it was reported so quickly..."
Everything is implied.
The sorcerer wards off disasters for ordinary people.
Why?
This is what Geto Suguru is thinking now.
Out of instinct to avoid being disliked, Geto Suguru concealed the matter.
"Wu guessed wrong. This is indeed a task that requires two people to work as a team." Geto Suguru mocked his friend.
"Jay is wrong too. I can handle this on my own."
【Why? 】
"Because the spell of this cursed spirit is of the same type as mine. It was born only a few days ago, how can it compare to a battle-hardened me? If Gosho had been a little slower just now, I would have cleared its influence on me myself."
"Yeah……"
"But Jay is very fast."
You are never stingy with your praise.
"はつちゃん."
"Jay, is there anything else that's confusing?"
Can Hatsuchan make humans die voluntarily like that child?
"Nothing. I was just thinking about that child... If he had been discovered earlier..."
"He became a cursed spirit. Cursed spirits are the enemies of the sorcerer."
"But he has his reasons!"
"It killed two sorcerers."
That’s because the sorcerer is there to ward off disasters for ordinary people!
"This is an undeniable fact, はつちゃん."
"Jie, don't feel sorry for the sorcerer just because he turned into a cursed spirit. The beautiful sorcerer you imagined died at the very beginning."
"Hatsu-chan is right, cursed spirits will not sacrifice their precious lives for humans." Geto Suguru smiled.
The sorcerer is noble and powerful.
Cursed spirits are despicable and weak.
Vile curses come from inferior people.
Dirty, stupid, ugly...monkey.
How long will the sorcerer continue to sacrifice himself for these inferior creatures!?
No, Geto Suguru.
You can bear it.
Yuki and Satoru are still insisting.
You can't give up.
Can't be shaken.
The strong protect the weak.
Survival of the weak!
The strong protect the weak.
Survival of the weak!
…
Don’t waver!!!
"It's already this late, Jay must be very sleepy too, right?"
"Satoru told you not to stay up late."
When walking, Wu and Jie always have to accommodate your speed.
"If we hadn't come today, ordinary people would have suffered." You coughed a few times and opened your waist bag.
"It's not this medicine... I found it. Glass said I should take this at this time..."
【はつちゃん is weak, so don’t stay up late. 】
The sorcerer is always sacrificing!
"I'll tell Satoru."
"Come on, Jie. Don't tell Wu about it. I'm fine. I'm just an ordinary person with a weak body..."
"Compared to a conjurer, Yuki is too weak."
"Glass and I have been working hard on my body, Jie, don't deny it..."
A car stops in front of you.
It is the "window" responsible for receiving.
Mr. Yamaguchi rolled down the window. "Mr. Geta, Ms. Zenin, now that the cursed spirit has been exorcised, I'll take you to a hotel to rest."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Yamaguchi. You've arrived just in time."
Naturally, Geto Suguru will sit in the back seat with you.
Mr. Yamaguchi chuckled dryly and pushed his glasses up. "I've been terrified. Even a first-class sorcerer can't solve this case... I'm really worried that Mr. Geta and Ms. Zenin won't be able to come back..."
Mr. Yamaguchi dropped you off at the mission location and then left. He wasn't even an assistant supervisor, so there was no need for him to stay.
"I can finally go home and live here," Mr. Yamaguchi said sincerely.
【Coward.】
Don't say that, Jay.
[Sugaru, no, Zenin…]
"Miss Zenyuan, can you tell me about the situation? I'm a little curious."
You explained it briefly.
"I see... a cursed spirit that can cause people to commit suicide... Come to think of it, there are suicide sites all over Japan."
"Please don't say that, Mr. Yamaguchi. No one wants to die if they can live. There are places in this world worth cherishing."
"Miss Zenin is right. 'No one wants to die if they can live.' I am a survivor of a cursed spirit incident, and I have been able to see cursed spirits ever since."
The car turned a corner.
"Is Mr. Yamaguchi sad?"
"Ah... Miss Zenin discovered me. Young people would be thrilled to see the true side of the world, right? I wouldn't. Opening my eyes in the morning to see a cursed spirit lying on the ceiling is not a pleasant experience."
I’m so scared…
"Is this the cursed spirit that Jie and I exorcised?"
"That's it."
"Then why did Mr. Yamaguchi want to become a 'window'?"
"I figured since I can see now, and I can help people and get paid, there's nothing I can't do."
"Even a 'window' is dangerous, Mr. Yamaguchi."
"But dangers are always with us, Miss Zenin. We cannot deny them just because we can't see them."
"Thank you for your advice, Mr. Yamaguchi."
Get new words√
"What can a middle-aged uncle like me teach a young girl?" Mr. Yamaguchi said self-deprecatingly. "Why is Mr. Getsuyu so quiet?"
You touched Geto Suguru with your hand, and Geto Suguru responded, "Mr. Yamaguchi, when can we get to the hotel?"
【はつちゃん needs to rest. 】
"We'll be there soon. You two must be very sleepy after all this delay, right?"
"You too, Mr. Yamaguchi. Thank you for your hard work in picking us up."
“This is what I should do.”
There was a long silence afterwards.
No one can see each other in the dark.
"Here we are. I'm staying at this hotel too."
Tomorrow morning, I'll take Miss Zenin and Mr. Geta to the station and then I can go home.
"Thank you, Mr. Yamaguchi."
"You are so polite, Miss Zenyuan. I will go straight back to my room."
While filling out the accommodation paperwork, Jay kept a long face.
"Jay?"
"I just don't think Mr. Yamaguchi deserves your repeated thanks."
"Um...can Jay drive?"
Geto Suguru suffered a loss.
Minors cannot get a driver's license yet.
"Jay, there are very few hotels and inns that can accommodate us at this time. Mr. Yamaguchi changed here on short notice; he didn't live here before."
Geto Suguru opened his mouth with all his might and uttered "Oh".
"Don't take the help of the assistant supervisor and the window lightly, Jay."
But we are the ones who risk our lives.
"oh."
"Okay, okay, I don't mean to blame Jay. We really have a hard time too." You handed him the key, "This is the key to Jay's room."
"key?"
"It's just a small hotel, be patient." You patted his hand. Xia Yujie held your hand, and you couldn't let him go.
"My room is right here, Jay, go inside. See you tomorrow—no, later. Sweet dreams, Jay."
Can a smile also shoot into a person's chest like an arrow?
Geto Suguru doesn't want to let go of your hand.
Is this how Wu lives his life every day?
Holding hands, making an appointment... No, if it were Wu, they would also kiss.
Wu Ke is so happy.
There's nothing to envy, Geto Suguru.
Face it calmly.
Be friends.
"See you later." A stiff smile appeared on Geto's lips. He watched you enter the room.
A great loneliness overwhelmed him.
Can I really still be friends with them?
Geto Suguru staggered to his room.
It's a pity that the room hasn't been cleaned yet.
Never mind. I have no right to complain when I'm out and about. I hope Hantsukchan's room is perfect. Geto put his hand on the table, looking for the air conditioner remote, but instead found a piece of cardboard.
What?
He lifted up the paper.
A photo.
It emits a fishy smell.
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