Chapter 127 – Episode 16. 7CH Ghost Story Flood Damage and Buddha’s Attainment
We cross the collapsed torii and head to the shrine. The outside of the shrine was eerily quiet. There was no sound of leaves shaking in the wind, birds chirping, or even insects. Feeling a subtle sense of anxiety, we quieted our footsteps and walked around the outside of the shrine. There was a high chance of being caught by fanatics if they went through the front door, so they decided to look for the back door.
Luckily, I looked around and there was a door at the back of the shrine. The shrine had the characteristic smell of a wooden mansion. The first floor was quiet. However, when I concentrated with my master’s senses, I could feel the presence of people on the second floor and in the basement. From the sounds of muttering on the second floor, it seemed like cult members were holding a meeting. The timing was good. If we weren’t holding a rally, we would have started fighting now.
“There’s probably a way to go underground here.”
“Underground? “Isn’t it a little scary?”
Kazuhiro said, slightly disgusted by my words. Kiyohira also looked nervous. Well, if we went into the basement and the door to the first floor was blocked, we would be trapped, so it was dangerous for all three of us to go in.
“One person will have to guard the door, who will do it?”
“I will protect it. “If you get caught protecting Sumikazu, you’ll get beaten up a lot.”
Although it was dangerous to have just one person guarding it, I could quickly join in if I heard a commotion on the first floor, so Kiyohira decided to guard the door to the basement, and Kazuhiro and I decided to go down to the basement.
We quickly found a way down to the basement and started going down. There was a button at the entrance to turn the light on and off, so it wasn’t dark. The basement didn’t have the dungeon-like atmosphere we thought of. However, several people were lying in a divided room that clearly felt like a wooden prison.
“Brother, these people really seem to have been kidnapped.”
Kizuhiro, who entered the shrine and continued taking pictures, spoke quietly. When I went all the way down, there were a total of six people lying down. Everyone was lying around haphazardly with empty, hopeless eyes.
“Well, I didn’t wear a mask…” ? “Have you come to rescue us?”
One person was lying down and saw us and said. From what I heard, it seemed like believers were wearing masks even inside this shrine. The man lying down staggered out of his seat. And started crying.
“Please, let us escape!! Please!”
“Shh! Be quiet! “I will listen from above and come down!”
When Kazuhiro spoke, placing his index finger on his lips, he was the only man to quiet down. The others also tried to say something, but were silenced by Kazuhiro’s actions. And I quietly whispered, “I’m sorry, please don’t leave me behind.”
The six people trapped inside the wooden bars were three men and three women. Two of the men were middle-aged, one was our age, and the women looked to be in their late teens or early twenties.
“Were you all kidnapped from Jukai Forest?”
“Well, I was kidnapped outside the forest, on the outskirts of Kofu City.”
“I was kidnapped by men in Gotemba City…”
As I was looking at the people, I suddenly became curious and asked the people who had been kidnapped, and they said that two people had been kidnapped outside of Jukai Forest. The man who screamed for us to escape was kidnapped in Gotembashi, and the youngest-looking woman was kidnapped in Kofu City. He looked like he was around high school, so his parents must be really worried.
Both Kofu City and Gotembashi were cities not too far from Jukai Forest. This probably means that the pseudo-religion called Shirashira has some influence outside of Jukai.
“I’ll release you now. “Please stay quiet.”
“Thank you thank you… !”
“I will never even think about suicide again… !”
Of course, there was no way there was a key or anything, and the wood was all quite thick. But in front of these people, Shinkai Yatsudena didn’t want to show her dealing with her abyss. So she kicked her hinges a few times in the prison, which was her weakest part, and she couldn’t overcome the impact and her hinges fell off. . Then the prison door tilted and fell to the floor with a thud.
Because they were locked in three cells, two to each room, it took quite a long time to break all the hinges. As everyone was being taken out of the prison and about to go up, a commotion was heard from the first floor where Kiyohira was guarding.
It seemed like the meeting had ended on the second floor and Kiyohira was standing blocking the door leading down to the basement. I went up to the first floor first.
“Kazuhiro, we’ll resolve it soon, so close the door and wait!”
After speaking to Kazuhiro, I closed the door and turned around to see a group of masked people who looked to be around 30 years old, with their swords drawn, coming out and surrounding Kiyohira.
“Kiyohira, you too, stand behind me.”
“What are you talking about? I of UMC…”
Even though Kiyohira was a UMC fighter, she had a body that would bleed if she was hit incorrectly by her sword. So it was easier for me to deal with him if he stayed back.
“Have you ever killed someone?”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“Those guys are standing there with knives ready to kill us. And I’m going to kill those guys too. “Watch it.”
I took a step forward.
“Shirashira said there would be an unpleasant visit today… “You’re really here!”
One of the masked men said. You knew we were coming? At this point, is there really a person with Azuma Sawayanagi-level precognitive abilities at this shrine? If not…
“Shirashira-sama! “I will get rid of these unpleasant uninvited guests for Shirashira-sama’s sake!”
“Ah!! Sirashira!!”
“Keeeee! Offer your heart!!”
Each one screamed and ran at me, raising their swords above their heads. The posture looked very sloppy, but all of its seemingly sloppy actions were full of intent to kill us. I could feel Kiyohira behind me getting nervous because of that fear.
But until a few days ago, I was fighting PMC soldiers with guns. I couldn’t be afraid of the simple-minded cultists.
I concentrated my mind and used telekinesis to knock down the fanatic who was running in front. Naturally, the fanatics who followed me tripped and fell, creating chaos in front of me. Since everyone was holding knives, they ended up falling and cutting and stabbing each other. Even the guy who tried to jump over it without falling was forced to fall using telekinesis.
Kiyohira behind me may not have noticed, but I didn’t miss the current situation and delicately adjusted my telekinesis to turn a light cut into a deep cut, and change a situation where I was stabbed in a non-vital spot into a situation where I was stabbed in a vital spot and died instantly.
In an instant, the area 1 meter in front of us became a veritable hell due to screams of pain and blood splattering. I leisurely blocked the blood droplets that were about to splash on me with my telekinesis, one by one.
After waiting for a moment, I slowly approached and kicked the lucky fanatic who was still alive in the face. Still, my friend Kiyohira is surprised, so I shouldn’t show him the scene of me killing him myself. Each of the fanatics who was kicked in the face by my foot fainted at once.
“What on earth is this?”
“We’re lucky that we stumble over each other’s bodies.”
“Is it?”
Kiyohira tilted his head as if something was strange, but he would never have guessed that I had telekinetic powers. I think this time too, I was just lucky.
I left the confused Kiyohira alone and opened the basement door. Then I saw the face of Kazuhiro, who was waiting with an anxious expression. After that, six pairs of eyes each looked at my face.
“What happened?”
“One person fell, and after that, everyone fell, struggled, stabbed each other, and committed suicide.”
“What?”
“Come out first. “Let’s get people out quickly.”
Kazuhiro, who said he understood what I meant and came out, was startled when he saw the pile of his corpse, but soon regained his composure and helped the people come out. On the contrary, the people who came outside were not surprised to see the corpse and each cursed that they had been punished by heaven.
“I’ve been here the longest and these guys have killed at least ten people…” !”
“Tsk! Those trashy guys!! “He died well!”
Kiyohira’s face hardened as he looked at the kidnapped people, who were each cursing. Why are you doing this?
“Doesn’t exist… “The woman who was arrested today is not visible here.”
I’m sure I saw Kiyohira being taken away. Where did she go?
“Oh, in that case, she most likely went straight to the second floor. My friend was also kidnapped here with me and she went straight up to the second floor… And she never came down again, she huffed… !”
The woman who followed Kazuhiro outside as if she heard us told us to go to the second floor. I’m not sure, but it seemed like there was some kind of condition to keep him alive or kill him right away.
“I’ll go to the second floor, so Kiyohira and Kazuhiro, please send these people out of the shrine.”
“… Let’s talk later. “For now, I’ll do as you say.”
Kiyohira looked into my eyes for a long time and nodded, saying that she could see that she did not see any fear in my eyes or that I was making a sacrifice. I felt like I needed to tell Kiyohira and Kazuhiro the truth after this incident that I had supernatural powers.
With Kazuhiro taking the lead and Kiyohira keeping behind her, I went up to the second floor alone while the kidnapping victims made their way to the exit.
