291 – Gate to the Nether
The internal structure of the shrine I entered along with Kozue was much cleaner than I thought.
Perhaps the shrine’s main building was remodeled in a modern style at a considerable cost to use it as a residential space.
“Please take a seat in an empty seat.”
“Oh, yes.”
Following Kozue’s guidance, we sat down in front of the crippled table and looked around the living room with her embarrassed face.
No matter how you look at it, it’s a normal family home.
I felt a strange sense of life in the tangerines and rice crackers on the table, the family photos and cuckoo clock hanging on the wall, and the socks and clothes casually thrown on the sofa.
As I was looking around for a cushion, I found something white and picked it up unconsciously.
‘This fan… ‘
“What are you doing?”
Hurry up!
“Nothing.”
I put the things I was holding in my hands back to their original places, and sat down again with a sigh.
“???”
Kozue tilts her head with an expression of incomprehensibility.
Fortunately, it seems that his previous actions did not go unnoticed.
Anyway, Kozue came out with a teapot and teacup on a round tray and said as she put the tray down on the table.
“Follow yourself.”
“Oh, yes.”
Following her words, Ryuji takes the lead in pouring tea.
I asked as I saw Kozue sitting on the other side of the table.
“Are there any adults in the house?”
Then Kozue replied with a calm expression.
“My father went to the bank for work, and my mother died of illness when I was young.”
“…….”
The atmosphere suddenly becomes chilly.
I felt my throat burn and gulped down the green tea Ryuji poured me.
Kozue, who was staring at him like that, asked with an indifferent look.
“So, what exactly is your reason for coming to see me?”
“Oh, that’s-“
“I’ll tell you why.”
Ryuji suddenly interjected while saying that, looked straight into the eyes of Kozue, who was sitting across from him, and said.
“Since this morning, I suddenly can’t see myself in the mirror. I came to you because I wanted to know the reason.”
“I see.”
Kozue nodded with a face of understanding and took a sip of the green tea from the cup.
“I’ll be honest. Currently, the spiky-haired oppa’s soul is half-separated.”
“Puffy hair?”
Ryuji points at himself with a bewildered expression.
But Kozue nodded without any change in expression.
“Yes. Spiky hair.”
“Yes, yes, titles are not important.”
Ryuji forced a smile and nodded.
“So what exactly is the spirit you just talked about?”
Then Kozue put the tea cup he was holding in his hand on the table and said.
“Hon(魂), which means spirit, and Baek(魄), which means body, cannot exist unless either of them exist, and if they are separated, even if they are alive, they are dead. My brother’s soul is halfway out of the bag. If no action is taken, he will probably be completely separated and turn into a vegetative state.”
“I can’t.”
Ryuji muttered that with a shocked expression.
Since it was virtually the same as being judged terminally ill, it was inevitable that he would react like this.
「… Then, what should I do in order for Ryuji’s spirit and Baek to merge again?”
When Mahes next to her asked a question with a serious expression, Kozue lowered her eyes and answered.
“The best way is to remove the root cause. In the case of the prickly-haired brother, it seems to be caused by having two guardian spirits that he cannot handle with his vessel.”
「… ….”
After hearing Kozue’s explanation, Mahes was silent with a hard expression.
Chiaki, who had been quiet in place of him who seemed lost in thought, asked a question.
「But it wasn’t like that before, so why is it like this all of a sudden?」
“From my point of view, the balance itself is not bad. They balance each other’s energy while offsetting each other’s energy. But recently, it seems that the balance has collapsed once. It must have been tilted with.”
What caused the imbalance?
I thought about what happened two months ago, as Ryuji said earlier.
And I remembered one thing.
“Cultural Festival…”
And at that time, Ryuji had given up the initiative of her body to Chiaki in order to enter the beauty pageant.
「No way… 」
Chiaki also covered her mouth with a pale expression, probably thinking of the same thing as me.
“What is it? What’s going on?”
It’s only Ryu, but he doesn’t understand the situation, so he asks back.
In the midst of a chaotic atmosphere in many ways, the silent Mahes finally opened his mouth.
「Then I will leave Ryuji’s body.」
“What?”
Ryuji looks at Mahes with a startled look at Mahes’ sudden declaration of eviction.
But maybe Mahes has already made up his mind, his arms are crossed with a calm expression.
“When I leave my body, Mahes, what are you going to do with your wish?”
「Anyway, it’s just the wish of a specter who died thousands of years ago. It’s not something that has to be done. Rather, sacrificing the lives of the living to satisfy the greed of the dead would be dishonoring the name of Pharaoh.”
“But!”
「But, since you are sleeping, are you going to die instead?」
“Ugh…!”
Ryuji kept his mouth shut in response to Mahes’ question that hit the mark.
「Then can this save Ryuji’s life? Are you a girl?」
When Mahes asked such a question, as if he thought the conclusion was reached, Kozue calmly shook his head.
“No.”
「What?」
Perhaps it was an unexpected answer, Mahes put on a surprised expression.
To Mahesu, Kozue spoke in a quiet voice.
“As I just said, the phenomenon of separation of spirits was caused by the small bowl of the pouty-haired brother. If the soul in charge of yang energy escapes from the body in this state, the pouty-haired brother will be able to absorb the yin energy of this sister. They will be eroded by it and die in an instant.”
The person who needs to get out of this situation is not you.
“This is my sister.”
As Kozue said, she pointed at Chiaki.
***
“…Nonsense.”
If Ryuji is not to die, Chiaki must leave.
In the face of this tragic situation, Ryuji looked at Chiaki with a devastated expression.
However, Chiaki, the party involved, accepted the current situation surprisingly calmly.
「Okay. Then I’ll go.”
「Chiaki! You don’t have to go out!”
「I heard Ryuji will die if I don’t go out? Then the answer is already decided from the beginning.”
Chiaki smiled sadly as she said that.
「Anyway, I heard that a soul with strong yin energy like me isn’t very good at staying in this world for a long time. So it was better. It might be more helpful to Ryuji if you let go of your lingering attachments and become a Buddha.”
At that time, Fushiikazuchinokami, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, opened her mouth.
【If you think so, I can help. It’s time for the Nether Gate to open soon.]
“The Nether Gate?”
After hearing the term for the first time, I questioned it unintentionally, and it was Kozue who answered it.
“Only once a year, when the boundary between this world and the next world is blurring, the gate to the Nether, the realm of the dead, opens on the ground. Then, Izanami-sama’s family, eight snake gods, are spirits wandering all over Japan. They lead them to conduct a ritual to ward off evil by leading them to the underworld.”
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“Even a soul wandering on earth unable to let go of the lingering attachments of a lifetime can forcibly attain Buddhahood by borrowing the power of the Thunder God at the exorcism ceremony, so it’s a win-win.”
After hearing Kozue’s explanation, Chiaki nodded.
「Then please do so.」
“Chiaki!”
Ryuji raised his voice, but Chiaki didn’t change his mind.
Perhaps Chiaki was interesting, the black snake flicked its red tongue and said.
【A soul with power like yours might choose to go against the heavenly spirit. But why do you want to become a Buddha?]
Then Chiaki answered without hesitation.
「Because I like it.」
【Really.】
The black snake nodded as if it understood, and said to Chiaki, who looked at him with a hard expression.
【The ritual to ward off evil is held on the night of the full moon. When your heart is ready, then come back to this shrine.]
***
“Then, take a look.”
On the way home while being seen off by Kozue.
We didn’t say anything.
Some of the stories I just heard were shocking, but I didn’t know what to say.
If I were to use clumsy words of comfort in a situation like this, it would be like digging into the wounds.
As we walked without saying a word, we came to an intersection where we had to part.
“Then… I’ll be on my way. Thank you for today.”
“Huh? Uh uh.”
I couldn’t catch Ryuji talking weakly.
「See you later.」
「Goodbye.」
Two ghosts follow Ryuji.
As an outsider, I could do nothing but watch until Ryuji’s back completely disappeared from sight.