With a huff, her unconventionally soft presence, as if a candle had been extinguished, subsided. And the next time she opened her eyes, her body was still intact, but what awakened was an utterly different person―

Her atmosphere shifted like a well-honed blade, and with a sharp look that did not fit her childlike face, she daringly untied her loosely tied hair and re-tied it at a high position.

“You’re in for it no matter what huh.”

I opened my mouth, and “that person” blocked it with an index finger with a grim look on her face.

“I’m sorry I implicated her in this…”

“My daughter agreed to it. It can’t be helped.”

But… Ayame withdrew a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of her skinny pants, tapped on them with her finger, and smoked one.

“Fifty… no, about sixty percent. My bad, but I can’t throw my full force into it. As you know, I’m using my daughter’s body as a medium, and I have no intention of abandoning that idiot (Hakamada), but I’m also not such a toxic parent that I would put my lovely daughter’s life in jeopardy.”

“Yes, of course.”

“And one more thing. You must retire when I instruct you to. As you are aware… what is occupying up ahead is a monstrosity so sinister that the ones who wander into the convenience store seem to be a bit mild. With such a thick layer of filth all over the school… that thing is sure to bring misery to a significant number of people. The theory is that when a monster grows this thick, it should be surrounded by dozens of professionals and exorcised.”

Ayame’s words were so spot on that I didn’t feel like denying them.

“A mistake will result in more than just an injury.”

“To save Hakamada, we inevitably need ‘her’ help. We can’t cross over to the by ourselves. It has to be ‘her’ who has a connection with him.”

I understood that after being corrupted by a supernatural force, it was not realistic to restore sanity to the dead. Once I challenged it, the odds of winning were infinitesimal.

I understood that, I did understand that. But still…

“I don’t want to let him die…!”

Staring at me, Ayame snickered, lit a cigarette with a lighter, and released a puff of smoke.

“Don’t misjudge the time of your retreat, as I told you earlier. That is a prerequisite for working together.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s decided then.”

After exchanging a final confirmation with each other, I pushed open the door, which emitted a shrill screeching sound.

Neither the moon nor the stars could be viewed from the rooftop, which was supposed to be so close to the sky, but it was not because of the clouds covering it. The air stagnated so much that it was dizzying and suffused with a negative, miasma-like atmosphere.On top of the chains and the padlock on the door, a large number of obstructions with “No Entry” written on them were placed outside the door and on the wire mesh surrounding the rooftop. Even if it was to prohibit students from entering, it was an unappealing sight to see on a school rooftop. However, it was likely that they did not want people to come to this place even if they had to go to such lengths.

Indeed, it seemed only reasonable that they would take such precautions given the severity of the miasma, which induced a shiver to spread from the tips of one’s toes.

“Ah… agh… se… n, i, o, r―”

Not even a moment could be taken for a deep breath.

That moment arrived immediately.

A “fear-inducing presence” similar to that of the sea of trees was emanating from the doorway, yet the space we entered was insignificant in comparison to the sea of trees―

I was bracing myself but a wave of dread swept through my overall body.

“Hey, hey, this is awful… I didn’t expect anything this bad.”

A black, dirty, shockwave-like gust of wind assailed me without warning from the front, causing me to feel nauseous and almost bringing me to my knees. As she adopted a fighting stance to keep up with the entity that appeared in front of us with a horrifying howl, Hirai’s visage grew even grimmer.

“Hah, she came right away.”

“Hyuga―”

Those who knew her well would have been compelled to avert their eyes.

“Se… n, i―or―”

Otherwise, it would have been difficult to believe that she was the one who was beaming in that picture―it was just too awful, way too awful…

“Agh―”

The figure, which was enveloped in abysmal filth―seemed to be a curse in human form only.

“Agh―aahh―ca… me… fffffffffooorrr… me… huh…”

From the corners of her mouth, which hung up, and her entire body, which trembled and twitched, red liquid like tears constantly dripped.

“S-Se, se, se, se, nior… I-I mi―ss… yo―u―aaaahhhhhhhh.”

Furthermore, she laughed incongruously, and the oppressive pressure to revive all living things was constantly poured into my head.

It was not that I had underestimated her.

With her crossing paths with Hakamada and having been devoured by the supernatural entity here seven years ago and now a part of it, I was prepared for how much she was capable of doing but just confronting her like this made me realize how reckless I was.magic

But…

Even so… I had a faint sensation.

Her true cry, which could only be expressed in words like an inorganic substance and which would never be understood by anyone, breathed at the bottom of the abyss.

Just being able to feel it was enough.

“Hyuga, I will bring you to reunite with Hakamada once again.”

So please lend me your power. I need your help to bring him back from the brink of death.

No hesitation whatsoever.

Inhaling heavily, I held the wooden sword with both hands and closed my eyes.

“Yagura…”

The mouth of the sheath was cut and the markup and flange were strongly joined together.

“―Come.”

Behind me, I could hear the reverberation of metal and armor. The guardian spirit of the armored warrior, who never spoke, firmly grasped my shoulder, signifying that all of my objectives had been conveyed.

“Come on, let’s get fired up.”

I nodded at Ayame’s encouraging voice, pulled my wooden sword out of its sheath, and stepped forward.

── Chapter 18.5 Promise ──

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