Chapter 145: Standing Alone (6)

"Damn it, damn it, damn it...!"

Ryosuke kept cursing at the message from the contact labeled 'Miko' on his smartphone. Strong expletives continuously flowed from his mouth, and his face turned deathly pale as if all blood had drained from it.

His palms were soaked as if they had been dipped in water, and cold sweat trickled down his body, chilling his back. When he finally came to his senses from the cold of the sweat, he picked up his smartphone and composed a message.

It was a sort of probing message to Rise.

But even after writing it, he hesitated for a long time as if something was bothering him, and eventually, instead of sending it, he deleted it all and replaced it with a sigh.

I shouldn't try to probe unnecessarily.

Ryosuke felt proud of himself for making a cool-headed judgment even in this situation.

Damn it, where did it all go wrong?

When he made connections with Elder Murata Ryunosuke?

When he happily grasped the rope he offered?

No. At that time, it was definitely a golden lifeline. It was a single spider thread that would pull me up from the bottom to that high place if I grabbed it.

Then what was the problem?

Was it joining and enjoying the orgy club led by Elder Murata Ryunosuke?

No.

He actually thought positively about that club.

It was a space where he could pick rare beauties as he wished, and feel the pleasure coming from his position and status. Moreover, in the process of rubbing naked bodies with other club members, he was able to form connections with an incredibly strong sense of intimacy, so the club activities were only beneficial.

Then what on earth was the problem?

When he introduced the next Chief Priest to Elder Murata Ryunosuke?

No.

No...

Introducing the next Chief Priest wasn't the problem.

If he hadn't introduced him, he would have seen a terrible sight.

He didn't know then, but now, now he could understand.

If Ryosuke hadn't made the introduction, he would have been forced to make it.

Whether he was forced to introduce or did it 'voluntarily'.

Either way, he would have made Ryosuke introduce him.

Ryosuke recalled.

The point when things started to go wrong for him.

When his life began to twist.

I made the wrong choice...

The next Chief Priest.

The strangely peculiar man who asked to be called 'Saigo'.

Before meeting the Elder, he gave Ryosuke two choices.

Choices given in the name of a gift and privilege for guiding him well.

Pleasure and superiority.

At that time, Ryosuke chose superiority.

Because standing above others was more enjoyable than anything else.

More enjoyable than having sex while on methamphetamine, more than the orgies with women lined up from TV, more than all the pleasures enjoyed by pouring out vast sums of money.

That was why he chose superiority.

And as a result of that choice, he gained spirit eyes and was able to walk a different path from others who were immersed in ghost sex with water ghosts.

Yes…

Until recently, he liked that so much.

The fact that he was different from others, more special than anyone else, felt so good.

But as time passed and his spirit eyes grew stronger, he realized something was wrong.

The spirit eyes, said to allow one to see souls that hadn't become evil spirits or ghosts, at first showed a faint smoke. In the form of translucent water vapor, or black smoke rising from firewood.

When he could see souls like traces stuck on glasses, he was just full of superiority, and he even approached them fearlessly and reached out his hand.

When he reached out, the evil-breaking power loaded in his spirit eyes would drive them away and make them disappear, so Ryosuke even enjoyed running around playing like a child, touching and erasing the faint forms of souls visible to his eyes.

But as time passed and the power of his spirit eyes grew stronger, the forms became clearer.

The smoke that was like water vapor became more vivid like billowing white smoke.

The ones like smoke rising from firewood gradually took shape and changed to resemble human forms.

The longer time passed, the clearer the forms became.

The white smoke like a translucent hologram of a person.

The black smoke like a terribly twisted nightmare.

Only then did Ryosuke notice.

That something was very wrong.

That the spirit eyes he possessed were not just 'special'.

But it was too late.

The spirit eyes had already become a mirror that clearly reflected the form of souls like people, a nightmare projector that reflected not their appearance in life, but their appearance after death.

He realized that the identity of the faint spirit body was a ghost without legs.

He realized that the black smoke was a ghost whose body had rotted and burned.

He realized that the smoke mixed with red was a ghost covered in blood all over its body.

He came to know things he never wanted to know, and saw things he never wanted to see.

But there was no way to close the spirit eyes once opened.

Ryosuke had no choice but to live with dead souls more vivid than living people by his side.

And there was an incident that put a period on Ryosuke's despair.

It was when he participated in a club meeting right after his spirit eyes fully opened.

At that time, Ryosuke ended up vomiting.

He couldn't hold back his nausea at the sight of people having relations with terribly bloated water ghosts.

At that time, Ryosuke ran out aimlessly and wandered the streets.

But throughout his wandering, he saw ghosts, and whether it was because his mind was greatly shocked and the evil-breaking power was disturbed, ghosts even flocked around Ryosuke. At that time, Ryosuke moved to what he thought was the safest place while screaming, and that was the Metropolitan Police Department.

He used his powerful position as a politician to force his way in and collected himself, and at that time, he happened to be able to see items in the evidence storage.

The yin-yang books and spirit tablets that made the ghosts scattered around the police department not dare to approach.

At that time, Ryosuke felt his eyes open wide and felt like he was receiving salvation.

He had an intuition that those were the light descending on his terribly changed life, and that they could liberate him from seeing these disgusting forms of ghosts that tormented him.

He thought that if he used yin-yang arts, he could distance himself from this terrible calamity given by the spirit eyes.

That was why he harbored a slight desire to betray the next Chief Priest, whom he hadn't dared to think of betraying due to fear and awe, and began to think about measuring the power of the onmyoji against the next Chief Priest.

To be precise, he wanted to see if he could escape from the shadow of Murata Ryunosuke, whose charm had completely fallen off after seeing him having relations with water ghosts, and escape from the influence of the next Chief Priest who controlled him behind the scenes by reporting him to the onmyoji and getting him thrown in prison.

But he wanted to keep the 'blessing' that gave him overflowing vitality intact, so these thoughts of his must not be discovered until the very last moment.

Only then could he benefit.

If he wasn't going to betray, he could ask the next Chief Priest for something else and ask for a way to reduce this terrible power of the spirit eyes.

If he betrayed, the next Chief Priest who sensed something amiss might take back the 'blessing' given to his body as revenge, so he wanted to make sure the betrayal wasn't noticed, or even if the betrayal was discovered, to make it so that the blessing couldn't be taken back.

That was why he stole the yin-yang books and spirit tablets to secretly make connections with the onmyoji side, knowing he would be caught, and sent them when Rise asked for a cursed object.

To orchestrate things at a level that barely allowed for excuses, just barely crossing the line.

So that he could tell the onmyoji, 'I secretly brought in materials that can be used for yin-yang arts in the heart of the enemy. So I am on your side,' to indicate his defection.

So that he could make excuses to Saigo Rise, 'I just wanted a cursed object and offered what looked most precious, but I didn't know it shouldn't be offered. I truly had no intention of betrayal, but I deeply regret that it appeared so.'

Yes.

His goal was to examine each other's power as if weighing it on a scale without crossing the line too much.

But…

The next Chief Priest's reaction was faster than expected.

『 The next Chief Priest has shown interest in the cursed object given by Uchikawa Ryosuke. There is an urgent matter to discuss regarding this, so please come to the shrine tonight. 』

Ryosuke looked at the message over and over again.

And he pondered over and over again.

Should I contact the onmyoji and ask for help? No. That would definitely be seen as betrayal. Then should I just go pretending to know nothing? But it seems they've noticed something, though it could just be showing interest. Should I call the Miko and ask what's going on? Or should I directly... No.

Countless hypotheses arose and disappeared in his mind.

His thoughts weren't working properly, as if formless smoke was filling his head, and it felt like it might burst at any moment. Moreover, he even felt the illusion of his forehead heating up, perhaps from thinking too hard.

After pondering for a long time like this, Ryosuke tightly closed his mouth, left the house, and started his car.

I'm going. I'll go and check it out first.

He made up his mind to go to the shrine, grabbed the steering wheel, and quickly reached the front of the shrine, pressing the pedal and cutting through the dark night road.

And as he climbed the stairs one by one, just before passing through the torii gate.

Ryosuke had no choice but to stop in his tracks.