Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

From his appearance alone, you wouldn't guess that he could be so easily subdued.

After unleashing that impact, the aggregate itself appeared quite weak—it seemed that this move was something it had only used when it was forced into a corner.

In other words, it would take the current aggregate some effort to tear apart Minagawa Dojin's spiritual armor, but with the spirit bound and Hirosaki Katsuya arriving one after the other to provide assistance, it should be no problem...

Hirosaki Katsuya! ?

Yuri checked again and confirmed that he hadn't misread it. The fool who had just been rescued from danger was stumbling and running towards danger again. His roar had clearly damaged his thinking ability, causing him to do something that was almost suicidal.

Moreover, because he was closer to the bound spirit, he came into contact with the aggregate first. Although he quickly regained consciousness under the stimulation of the ghost's arm and tried to pull himself away to break free, it was too late.

Yuka Yamanaka, regaining her senses, immediately shouted, "Mr. Hirosaki!?"

Katsuya Hirosaki struggled to respond, "Help me—"

As the girl who ate sins was about to run past, Yuri blocked her path, forcefully pressed down on her shoulder, and pushed her back a step.

"You continue with the ceremony setup, I'll handle things here!"

What Yuri really wanted to say was something like, "Don't end up like the Calabash Brothers saving Grandpa one by one." He couldn't think of a better way to describe the situation, so his words were inexplicably milder.

In Yuri's view, the current situation wasn't so dangerous. The aggregate was already weakened, and Yuka's spirit-binding was about to arrive. As long as he rushed up and pulled Hirosaki Katsuya down, the problem would be solved. Yamanaka Yuka's strength was no match for Yuri's, and Yuri was unfamiliar with the formation. The best arrangement was for Yuri to go and rescue the people, while she continued with her work.

Yuka Yamanaka stopped, but instead of continuing to set up the formation, she remained where she was, nervously observing the battle situation.

Well, as long as we don't follow her and risk a disaster. The power of the aggregate might not necessarily be able to defeat her, but if she rushes in and gets hurt, and her bound spirit suffers a loss as well, the whole situation will instantly become a mess.

Yuri moved quickly toward the three entangled figures. As he approached, the aggregate extended again... This time, only one leg could be used to stop Yuri, which was obviously not enough, but the aggregate had no other choice.

The twelve ghosts were crammed together, simultaneously entangling three people on the same side. With a limited number of usable limbs, Yuri easily bypassed the obstacle and made contact with Hirozaki.

"How come it's you... who helped me!" Hiroki's voice was still strong, and he didn't seem to have suffered any serious injuries. Although there seemed to be a scratch on his face, the wound wasn't very deep.

Yuri tried to use brute force to pull the aggregate's arm off Hirosaki, but to no avail. Hirosaki was in a lot of pain, though he didn't complain, but screams of agony were already coming out.

Yuga's bound spirit rushed to the other side and began poking the entire aggregate with the hilt of her knife to attract attention.

Yuri seized the opportunity, and when the aggregate's hand relaxed slightly, he placed the hat on Hirozaki's head. He then deployed a shield around Hirozaki with all his might, using it to deflect the aggregate away from him.

The aggregate was unwilling to give up, but it could not prevent the shield from creating a gap between the two, giving Hirozaki more room to maneuver and allowing him to cooperate with Yuri in breaking free.

Yuri suddenly had a brilliant idea: wouldn't it be wonderful if the shield could stay in place to block the opponent and simply pull Hirosaki out? — However, there was no room for any technical research in the current environment.

Yuri injected spiritual essence into his arm to enhance his strength—he suddenly exerted his strength and pulled Hirozaki out of his controlled state.

A little further away, Yuka Yamanaka seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and began to walk towards the place where the fourth magic circle was supposed to be.

"Th-thank you—" Hirozaki, still shaken, thanked Yuri. His arms and face were covered in bruises and even bloodstains, indicating some superficial injuries, but his vital organs appeared undamaged. It seemed that the aggregate's ability to cause damage was greatly reduced in its weakened state.

Yuri didn't rush to talk to him, but instead dragged him back a few steps, which should have completely gotten him out of the aggregate's attack range.

"What happened to you just now?" Yuri asked in a low voice, inquiring about his condition.

If the answer is "I was knocked unconscious by the sound waves and fell forward," that's fine, but if the answer is "I want to play an important role in this battle"... Yuri doesn't know what to do, but he'll definitely be very angry.

"My mind was a complete mess at the time, and then when I saw Dojin being pinned down, I... I don't know what I was doing." Hirosaki Katsuya's expression was quite distorted, but his words were still relatively coherent.

Mental interference, causing people to lose their minds and make wrong decisions, is truly remarkable. Hunters have used the same method, which must also be a kind of psychic power.

The aggregate cannot fire continuously, probably because it is not skilled enough... but it will never have the chance to become skilled enough.

Just as Yuri was pondering, Hirozaki, who was watching, exclaimed in surprise. Minagawa Dojin broke free from the suppression by forcefully kicking the entire aggregate. He looked a bit disheveled, but his spiritual armor was not broken, and his combat power remained intact.

Next, as long as Yuka Yamanaka, who is setting up the magic array in the corner, is not disturbed, the task will be completed.

141 Unknown identity

In the following minutes, nothing unexpected happened. After the burst of energy failed, the aggregate was weakened to an alarming degree... it could hardly exert any influence anymore, greatly reducing the risk ahead.

In the end, when Yuka Yamanaka activated the magic arrays at the four corners and began to reorganize the spiritual field, the two main combatants who had been struggling with the aggregate also retreated in time, watching as the aggregate was once again "blown up" into the air.

The process was very calm, but the blue flash in Yamanaka Yuka's hair when she activated the magic circle was more eye-catching.

"Is it a success, everyone?" Yuri asked in a low voice, without specifying a target.

“No, we should still take them apart, but I think if we go this far, there won’t be any more problems,” Hirosaki Katsuya replied in a low voice, who was nearby.

"..." Yuri wasn't so confident. He remembered what the sin-eating girl had told him before he arrived. Did she say "a very ordinary ritual"?

This is ridiculous! Overturned decorations don't always say that.

Before Yuri could notice, Minagawa had already dispelled his spiritual armor, stumbled, and regained his balance.

Although Yuri had anticipated that he wouldn't even stumble, his exertion might have been greater than Yuri had expected.

What appeared beneath the spirit armor... was still that same emcee's uniform she wore when she was working.

“Alright, everyone, we need to restart the funeral ceremony.” He returned to his original position. “Yuri… Yuri, could you stand near the door and face this way? You don’t need to do anything else, just be a spectator.”

Yuri demonstrated his support through his actions.

The spirit returned to Yuka's body and remained silent.

The remaining two people also went to the corner.

The ceremony began again.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Faced with the aggregate of ghosts bound in mid-air by the spirit field, Minagawa-do put on a great show.

If there were still people attending the funeral around, and the ghost didn't come out to attack anyone, this performance might still be relatively normal. But now... Yuri decided it was best not to speak rashly and just see what the outcome would be.

In this performance, Yuri seems to be in charge of posing as a guest at a funeral... It's hard to say whether this is actually effective, considering he was just fighting with a bunch of ghosts.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened this time. Although it wasn't immediately effective, the results of the Sin Eater Master of Ceremonies soon became apparent. As he described a few anecdotes about each of the deceased, the aggregate of ghosts began to stir and showed signs of loosening. Finally, after he described the simple past of all the ghosts, the aggregate finally disintegrated.

They all looked like candles flickering in the wind, after all, they had been fighting before... but none of them had truly perished completely.

Minagawa Dojin seemed to intend to carry the ceremony through to the end and complete the salvation—at least he didn't show any intention of stopping—but he paused the ceremony after Yamanaka Yuka raised her hand to signal him to stop.

"What's wrong? You know the ritual shouldn't be interrupted." Minagawa turned his head.

"Yes, but I'd like to ask a few questions at this last moment—about this matter."

“I agree, Minagawa. If this kind of thing keeps happening again and again…” Hirosaki Katsuya expressed his agreement, “We need to know what exactly is going on.”

Yuri remained silent, but he agreed.

“Alright, Yamanaka, you go and ask—I will continue to maintain the ritual.” Minagawa Dojin nodded in agreement.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"What interference did you experience during the ritual? What was the source of the disturbance in the spiritual field?"

The two intelligent ghosts looked at each other. "I don't know." "I didn't sense anything."

"Did you hear anything?"

“No,” a ghost answered.

“Yes, just now, when we suddenly couldn’t control ourselves and started spinning, I could hear a voice…” another ghost shuddered, “that voice told me to kill all the living people… why can they live, but I have to die? It also told me to kill you, because you can be resurrected, but I have to die.”

A voice?

"What kind of sound was that?" the sin-eater girl immediately asked.

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know how to describe it!" The ghost's struggle seemed genuine. "I didn't listen to the voice, I didn't even fully understand it, and then I lost control of my body!"

"Was that the first time you heard that voice?" Yuka Yamanaka asked from a different angle.

“It seems, no… I think I heard the same voice some time ago…” The ghost shook its head violently, “but I don’t remember what the voice said.”

"Could you think about it again?"

"I've tried it!"

"What about the distance?" "What about the direction?" "What are the features?"

The ghost's answer to these questions was always "I don't know" or "I'm not sure how to describe it."

Finally, Yuka Yamanaka gritted her teeth and asked a question that was quite different from her usual style: "Do you think that 'voice' has any similarities to the four people present, including me? Not just language, but also feelings and intuition."

Yuri's attention suddenly focused; he could sense that the others were also observing each other.

However, the ghost's answer didn't point to the worst possible outcome: "No, I don't feel any similarity at all." Upon hearing this, Yuka Yamanaka visibly relaxed, and the other two also became less tense.

Yuri felt a headache coming on. It wasn't that he particularly wanted "the killer to be among us!", but that way, at least the target would be clear.

The ghost's testimony is no longer sufficient to prove that the people at the scene are innocent, and it has also expanded the range of suspects to an extremely large extent... Yuri decided it was best to withdraw as soon as possible.

The questions about Yuka Yamanaka have been raised, but there has been no progress. The only gain is that the ghost is now free of problems and will not immediately engage in another battle after the ritual continues.

It was finally over—Mr. Minagawa continued the ritual and successfully completed it—the spirit field transformed into a gentle breeze that swept over the group of ghosts, and eleven of the twelve ghosts became transparent and gradually disappeared.

Their bodies transformed into some kind of ethereal energy, scattering throughout the entire spiritual field, leaving only faint afterimages that slowly dissipated. Yuri glanced at Yuka Yamanaka, who gestured for him to do as he pleased.

You're welcome then.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Yuri absorbed the power of the spiritual field and transformed it into spiritual essence, realizing that this method indeed had its enormous advantages.

First, the quantity was enormous—according to Yuri's estimates, the energy released this time was slightly less than draining all eleven ghosts. But in reality, the ghosts had just been huddled together after being beaten, so they couldn't possibly be in their full state—in other words, not only was the usable energy stored in their bodies released, but even a portion of their body structures themselves were disassembled and released as energy.

Secondly, when he usually absorbs the spiritual essence of the repeater, the spiritual essence is marked with the repeater's mark, which makes it impossible for Yuri to absorb too much spiritual essence in a short period of time in order to avoid his mind being disturbed.

The energy obtained in this way reduces the limitations in this regard. The ghost's imprint and consciousness dissipate together in the ritual. The remaining energy cannot be said to be completely pure, but it can still hold a considerable amount without being affected.

In fact, Yuri was not affected by replenishing the energy he had previously consumed in one go, and for a long time, the effect of this ritual would be limited but sufficient for him.

Thirdly, this is, after all, a good deed. He had wondered if this was tantamount to opening a ghost slaughterhouse... but judging from the ghosts' satisfied departure, being freed from such suffering was a good thing for them.

Even the tape recorder smiled – Yuri had thought they had no self-awareness at all.

Of course, there are always exceptions, for example... Yuri looked at the last ghost who was shouting loudly—the same ghost that had just been repeatedly questioned.

He did not dissipate, but remained in place. After a brief moment of confusion and helplessness, filled with resentment at being deceived, he was trying to "reason" with the sin-eaters (mainly Minagawa).

By Yuri's standards, Mr. Minagawa, who was in the wrong, maintained considerable restraint, merely using one hand to push away and block the ghost that lunged at him, without engaging in any offensive behavior.

The angry ghost intended to use his fists and feet, but his height disadvantage meant he could only attack Mr. Minagawa's arm.

His anger was not without reason—analyzing the angry shouts Yuri heard, he believed that it was Yamanaka Yuka's final question that ruined his mood for rebirth, causing him to miss the opportunity to escape the sea of ​​suffering. —No, he no longer wanted to escape the sea of ​​suffering; he now wanted to live as a ghost, so Mr. Minagawa's bowing apology and promise to send him away next time enraged him from another angle.

It seems he was quite reluctant to agree at first...

This is the drawback of the ritual: if the ghost refuses to be released, it will resist the ritual's effectiveness.

Yuri didn't know if he could forcibly exorcise the ghost under these circumstances... but even if he could, this would lose the original meaning of the ritual and be closer to Yuri's previous idea, namely, a ghost slaughterhouse.

He wanted to stay and see how things would go, but while Mr. Minagawa was distracting him, Yuka Yamanaka bypassed the scene of the argument and pushed him away.

It seems unlikely that there will be a second ceremony immediately.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

It was already evening when the sin-eater girl silently led Yuri away from the funeral home.

It was clear she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right moment to speak.

"Does this happen every time?" Yuri knew the answer was no, but at least it was a good way to start a conversation.

"Of course not, sigh..." Yuka Yamanaka sighed and turned the corner with Yuri. "This should be the third most dangerous situation I've ever encountered, and it just so happens that you happened to run into it."

You haven't seen much danger, have you? This situation can be resolved no matter what, it's just a matter of whether the outcome is perfect... I've almost been dealt with directly many times.

“I guess I was really unlucky,” Yuri chimed in. “But the outcome of this incident was actually pretty good, wasn’t it?”

“If I hadn’t asked so many questions, the ending would have been good.” Yuka Yamanaka sighed again. “But by asking so many questions, I not only didn’t get any information, but I also left another ghost to suffer.”

No, if the Sin-Eating Girl hadn't asked those questions, Yuri would have doubted her intelligence... With a dangerous person watching him, it's best to gather as much information as possible... But...

“That ghost has already regretted it; he wants to live in this world. Why do you say this is suffering?” Yuri stared at the other’s reaction. “Sin-eaters are people who have died once and crawled back from the dead. Should they really have such thoughts?”

To put it more seriously... everyone survives death, but sin-eaters, having flesh and blood, don't suffer, while ghosts do? Ghosts should leave this world and be reborn, but sin-eaters don't need to?

The girl who eats sins in front of me doesn't seem to have the kind of intelligence to justify such double standards. What reason could she possibly have?

"As you probably know, the underworld is not a happy place." The girl's voice was quite heavy.

Yuri didn't actually know this, but he had indeed heard the girl in front of him mention the environment of the underworld... ruled by a brutal god of the underworld? Is that right?

“I’ve talked about the gods of the underworld and the harvesters before, but actually the greatest danger that ghosts face in the underworld is the underworld itself—without spiritual essence to sustain themselves, they will soon be devoured by the underworld itself—we sin eaters call this state ‘building walls.’” The girl gestured. “Without spiritual essence, ghosts will be sucked into the structure of the underworld itself and spend their last moments in despair.”

Yuri listened quietly. He had never been to the underworld, but it seemed that this kind of underworld matched some of the legends.

“And what if they do? They can’t get physical pleasure, and their spiritual happiness will be gradually drained by the underworld. Only a very few ghosts can find happiness there—” Yuka Yamanaka turned her head to look into Yuri’s eyes, “In other words, those who maintain their lives by exploiting other ghosts can find happiness—for the vast majority of ghosts, the underworld is a hell, a place where you will die if you don’t struggle, and where you will live in great pain if you struggle… and die in great pain in the end.”