Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

Yuri was too exhausted to be angry with them; he had a very bad feeling about this. These reckless fools were whispering amongst themselves, completely unaware that Yuri, standing right in the middle of them, could hear them.

The ghost of Mika Taniguchi may or may not know about their arrival, but as long as they continue to explore, they will eventually find out.

Then something bad will happen—and even worse if these elementary school students split up to explore.

Yuri no longer trusts these young geniuses' self-preservation instincts. They may know some ways to deal with suspicious adults, but they probably have absolutely no idea how to deal with suspicious ghosts.

The likelihood that these elementary school students would stay together and never split up to explore is even lower than the likelihood that the ghost would let them go because they are still children.

His greatest hope now was that the ghost would arrive as soon as possible, before the schoolchildren scattered, while he still had the ability to simultaneously observe the location and situation of all the children and react quickly. However, if the ghost had even a little patience, this hope could only be dashed.

Then, the impatient ghost emerged from the direction of the living room, staring intently at the chattering elementary school students in the kitchen, paying little attention to the mole hammer standing among them.

Yuri took a step forward, merging with the figure of the elementary school student who was closest to the ghost. She looked up and met Yuri's gaze. According to the previous procedure, she should have started running at this point. But now, instead of running, she was approaching the kitchen at an extremely slow pace.

Yuri couldn't decipher the emotions in the ghost's expression; her face was contorted and conflicted—Yuri couldn't understand why she was acting this way.

It's safe to say it was definitely not well-intentioned.

The elementary school students were still chattering, but Yuri wasn't in the mood to listen to them. The ghost stopped when it got close enough, and stood facing Yuri from a distance.

If Yuri pounces now, he has a 50% chance of catching the opponent before they disappear. If he uses the Spirit Essence to accelerate, he can increase that chance to 70%. This might be the best opportunity he's ever had.

The variables that could change the situation are also very obvious... If the elementary school students continue to move towards the ghost, Yuri will have to take a gamble immediately, but if the elementary school students go out from the other side, there is still room to wait.

Yuri had some speculation about the ghost's unusual behavior. The most likely explanation was that it was one of her taboos or instincts—she couldn't let the intruder go, and if she were to release the intruder voluntarily, she would have to pay a price.

Yuri has already proven that she is absolutely no match for him, and she may have already made a painful but necessary sacrifice.

And here are... a group of several elementary school students.

If each one counts as one time, even as a ghost of a relatively low level, she can tolerate a certain number of acts that violate her taboos, but she probably couldn't withstand several of them.

This theory could explain her behavior and motivations, and if that's true... this is a golden opportunity that shouldn't be missed.

151. Using boiling water to stop it from boiling

As the elementary school students began moving toward the living room—towards the ghosts—the starting gun fired.

Yuri lunged at the ghost without hesitation, while the ghost hesitated for only a moment longer before lunging at the elementary school student.

This time difference won't make much difference, but this is the first time in a long time that Yuri has seized an opportunity to confront her (not counting the initial period when neither side knew each other's strengths and weaknesses). The chances of making contact with her have increased to... Yuri is too lazy to estimate, but in short, they are very high.

As the ghost moved, Yuri slightly changed his direction. In such a small area, he could have encountered it without changing direction, but he was determined to resolve the issue in this confrontation.

The ghost moved at a very steady speed, and Yuri bumped into it without any trouble—if the ghost's hand hadn't brushed past the child in the front first, Yuri would probably have started thanking the heavens for their protection.

The moment he forcefully slammed his opponent against the wall and relaxed his guard, Mika Taniguchi began to furiously strike him indiscriminately. Although she had previously proven that she couldn't effectively damage Yuri's shield, if she continued to pound on him like this, it would eventually wear him down.

"Stop right now!" Based on past experience, Mika Taniguchi wouldn't react at all... but Yuri still decided to make one last attempt to persuade her to surrender.

The elementary school student who was touched by the ghost shuddered slightly, but nothing else seemed amiss. Yuri could feel something clinging to him, but didn't have time to examine it closely—presumably, like the reporter, it was the curse of long-distance absorption. Whether his guess was right or wrong, as long as the ghost in front of him was dealt with, everything would be fine.

Unfortunately, his past experience was correct; the opponent had absolutely no intention of giving up. While hitting and kicking Yuri, they also tried to shove their nails into Yuri's mouth... The first step was blocked by the shield and failed, preventing Yuri from using his teeth to deal with the opponent.

There was no better way now; drastic measures had to be taken. Yuri began to extract spiritual essence from his opponent with all his might.

He had planned this step long ago. Although fighting between ghosts would also cause damage, it was not only slow but also inefficient. Directly extracting the opponent's spiritual essence would quickly eliminate their ability to resist. He had only stopped using the repeater a few days ago, and it hadn't reduced his proficiency in absorbing spiritual essence to the point where it was unusable in battle.

After it began, the other party struggled more violently, and Yuri was surprised to realize that Taniguchi Mika, this ghost, had no experience in dealing with this kind of ability. Her chaotic struggles did not slow down the outflow of spiritual essence, but instead further accelerated the loss of her energy.

She was in pain, but not more than her victims, Yuri gritted her teeth and continued her operation.

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.

Mika Taniguchi once had a wonderful family.

Mika Taniguchi once thought she had friends, but when she invited two friends over, she encountered robbers breaking into her home.

At first, they had a chance to escape, but when they saw that the robber was a woman, they didn't realize how much of a threat they were under—until the robber pulled out a pistol.

The robber cornered the three men, including himself, against the wall, tied them up, and threatened them to reveal the location of their valuables.

Mika Taniguchi was terrified of what was to come and did not dare to reveal that she was the head of the household's daughter.

A friend collapsed, bleeding. Mika Taniguchi didn't know if the blow the robber struck him on the head with the hilt of a knife was enough to kill him; she was too terrified to notice.

Another friend screamed, saying that Mika Taniguchi was the homeowner's daughter and only Mika Taniguchi knew where the valuables were.

The robbers forced Mika Taniguchi to search for valuables, but after she opened the safe in her house, she was no longer of any use to them.

Mika Taniguchi had a cut on her throat, and it hurt a lot.

Mika Taniguchi fell to the ground and saw her friend, who had somehow broken free... The friend appeared behind the robber and smashed the vase down, once, twice, three times.

Mika Taniguchi struggled, hoping the whistleblower would report the incident to the police, hoping the whistleblower would seek medical help—

Her voice couldn't travel; the other person came to Taniguchi Mika's side, once, twice, three times.

Mika Taniguchi lost consciousness, and when she woke up again... it's hard to say if it was really "awakening". She was in a dazed state for a long time. During that time, she didn't remember that she died, nor did she remember what she was supposed to do. She floated in the room, watching everything that happened next.

She just stared, her mind a blank, just staring.

Even if she called out, no one would answer, and she didn't call out.

A former friend set fire to the entire house, and the same person also called the police.

The parents broke down in tears.

Police found three bodies, but only two of them could be identified.

The police discovered that the age of the third body was incorrect, but mistakenly assumed it was an older friend of Mika Taniguchi.

People who were once friends, the murderers, were also among those who wept silently.

Some police officers became suspicious, but they couldn't find any results from their investigation.

The parents also left this place of sorrow.

Mika Taniguchi did nothing and simply fell into a deep sleep.

Until recently—she thought she was in hell, but a voice called her back—she couldn't remember what the voice sounded like, but she remembered the words in it.

The voice asked her if she was resigned to her fate.

How can it be?

Then the voice told me that I could begin my revenge.

Yes, revenge is needed. All invaders must pay the price—their blood and lives must be used to mourn for us. No invader can be spared.

Especially the murderer, Maruden Myo.

She actually dared to return here—how much time had passed? The ghost didn't know, but no matter how much her appearance had changed, the ghost recognized her immediately. Within three days of waking up, the lurking killer appeared outside the roof at night.

Unfortunately, the ghost didn't manage to catch her—the murderer, trying to climb in through the corner window, screamed when she saw the ghost's shadow floating over the former stairwell entrance and jumped awkwardly off the roof. Sadly, she wasn't killed instantly; unable to materialize outside the house, Taniguchi Mika could only watch as the ghost limped away in a sorry state.

Subsequently, Mika Taniguchi realized that it was her physical form that gave her enemy the opportunity to discover her. If she could attack in her spirit form, ordinary people would be unable to retaliate against her.

The ghost experimented on several subsequent intruders, discovering a way to attack in her spirit form. Realizing the curse wouldn't kill the intruders immediately, she convinced herself, "This is to make my enemies suffer more."

The enemy never reappeared, but Mika Taniguchi had a feeling that the enemy would eventually come, and at that time, she would drink the wine of revenge.

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 released his grip on the ghost in front of him.

Mika Taniguchi's strength declined rapidly after the spiritual essence was extracted, and her activity also weakened accordingly.

Her level is unstable, somewhat like she was temporarily promoted, but it's slightly different from the Rat King's case—the Rat King directly promoted a spirit rat with no foundation, while for her, her power was already in a state of uncertainty—it should only require the external injection of some spiritual essence to activate it.

But instability is instability. She drained all the extra spiritual essence injected into her, as well as the spiritual essence she had taken from potential victims during this time—Yuri felt that she had extracted almost everything that the other party originally possessed, leaving only a little bit... In short, now, she became obedient.

He was just too honest, turning into a broken record—his pupils dilated, staring straight ahead, unresponsive to anything, and his facial expression returned to its blank state.

Should this be considered resolved? Yuri sent a message to the hat in the distance, ending the shield.

I haven't felt any new signs of energy loss, so I think I'm all better.

Yuri, relieved, immediately felt dizzy. Even though he was standing still, he felt like he was being swayed back and forth.

This time, the energy absorption exceeded his capacity, so Yuri chose to lean against the wall and rest for a while.

Just now, at the very last moment, Yuri glimpsed the other's memories—memories mixed with a lot of background noise, and after Yuri filtered them out, it was probably a ghost story about a vengeful spirit who was provoked and determined to take revenge...

Your scope of revenge is too broad! Ms. Mika Taniguchi, I think it is necessary to have a proper discussion with you about the scope of legitimate revenge. If you were planning to go after that guy named Maruden Myo, even if the ghost directly killed her, Yuri could only sigh at the karma of cause and effect. But you just killed him as soon as he entered the house. Isn't that a bit too much?

Getting angry at the tape recorder was useless, so Yuri forced himself to calm down.

The side effects of excessively absorbing the spiritual essence of a single spirit are beginning to appear, and a voice in his mind is chanting words like "anger" and "blood."

If you listen carefully, it sounds a lot like Yuri's own voice.

He sighed and began to distract himself with other things... such as the elementary school students in the room.

In the short few minutes that he was wrestling with the ghost, they had already... just as Yuri had predicted, split into two groups and headed in different directions.

Oh right, there was another child who was also affected. Yuri saw him around the corner, floated over, and observed the spiritual energy on his body.

This spiritual energy was rapidly weakening and disappeared completely before Yuri could figure it out—this was a good thing, and presumably the same thing was happening to the reporter.

After he completely relaxed, he heard the children talking.

"Hey, that person shouldn't still be here, right?"

"I don't know, but there was no movement on the door, so that person was probably just watching the house and not hiding inside."

"If you hadn't noticed how quickly that person disappeared, we would have almost been fooled—they were really good at pretending. I thought they were just passing by. How could someone just passing by suddenly disappear?"

"Hehe, let's hurry up and look for him. There must be a reason why that person won't let us in!"

"He doesn't seem like a bad person to me?"

"They may not necessarily be bad people, but they definitely have ulterior motives. They may also be here to explore the haunted house."

"Then we must uncover the secrets of the haunted house before that person does!"

Yuri floated behind them, feeling even the energy to be angry was fading away. There was no point in arguing with these elementary school kids who were clearly just making wild guesses.

He hadn't expected these elementary school students to take his attempts to drive them away as instructions, the more he forbade them to do something, the more they wanted to do it… a premature rebellious phase? Thinking about it carefully, it probably wasn't like that; it was just that these kids had a very poor sense of danger. After all, they hadn't considered what would happen if Yuri really was a bad guy, planning to silence the reckless elementary school students who had discovered their secret.

There should be no remaining danger in the house, so letting them explore shouldn't be a problem. Yuri shifted his attention back to Mika Taniguchi—although the effects of the spiritual marrow hadn't subsided, he felt much better after resting for a while, and as long as he wasn't exposed to new stimuli, he shouldn't have another attack.

Before leaving, Yuri had to carefully examine the ghost's state. He recalled the memories that had been passed down along with the ghost's essence. Although some were missing, they still revealed a very important clue.

A voice asked her if she was willing, and the same voice told her it was time... Mika Taniguchi took these voices as sounds she herself made, believing them to be the culmination of her years of accumulated emotions.

Yuri disagreed. The ghost's abilities showed clear signs of being enhanced by external forces between activation and deactivation, so the voice was likely a message from an enhancer.

The uplifter bewitched her, urging her to seek revenge.

...Yuri revised her judgment. It might not have been a deception. After all, in the ghost's memory, the enemy had indeed reappeared—it was just that she wasn't skilled enough to seize the opportunity at the time.

The figure of the Ascended never reappeared, and the ghost never even considered that possibility.

So, what exactly is the purpose of this mastermind? Is it really just to help those in need?

Yuri collected almost no memories of the ghost from the era of the repeater—those things were considered unimportant and buried somewhere unknown. But what the ghost considers unimportant might not actually be unimportant, especially if someone frequently comes to talk to the ghost and ultimately offers help…

This story sounds a bit like a fantasy.

Regardless, a conspiracy exists, and the reporter wasn't the target; they just happened to bump into him on the street and were nearly killed. The fact that this possibility wasn't considered beforehand, or that even if it was, the person who orchestrated it didn't care, suggests that the mastermind behind it is no benevolent individual.

Focusing his attention on the ghost, Yuri determined that it possessed some kind of unusual quality. To be honest, it was extremely faint, so faint that Yuri would normally have simply ignored it, but now he was purely there to cause trouble, and he wouldn't let any suspicious signs slip by.

Keep this sense of alienation firmly in your heart. You can't find any memories of seeing it before, but you can use it as a comparison when you see it in the future—the last schemer did it to make himself stronger, what does this schemer want to do this time?

Yuri checked the interior one last time, making sure there was no danger to the elementary school students (unless he had done something reckless), before leaving the haunted house.

152. A sense of déjà vu

According to his last memory before leaving, the haunted house remains a haunted house, and various spiritual items will appear as he moves...

This illustrates two things: first, it is indeed a different entity from Mika Taniguchi inside the house; second, it is incapable of interfering with the outside world and can be left alone.

Ordinary people cannot see those spiritual items; they simply pass through them. The person who directly triggered the events here is Taniguchi Mika, while the indirect cause, and perhaps the root cause, is the mysterious voice that awakened Taniguchi Mika…

I think I've heard about this kind of thing somewhere recently.

Yuri searched his memory and discovered that a few days earlier, in a funeral home, he had also heard a ghost speak, "A voice told me to go—"

Once might be a coincidence, but this is twice, right? And judging by the timing, it should have happened around the same time.

However, there are still some differences. In the two instances, the people who made the sounds said different things. In the funeral home instance, it was a highly incitement, "Go kill them," while here, it was simply "Go take revenge."

The former clearly indicates an indiscriminate attack, while the latter, literally speaking, may not necessarily lead to such an outcome.

Of course, Mika Taniguchi did not hesitate to broaden the scope of her revenge. If the Mysterious Voice could have predicted this, even if it wanted to see this, it might not have bothered to do so.