Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

Is this the man in the black robes' own judgment? What is he planning to do?

The man in the black robe extended his left hand towards Yuri. Yuri, on high alert, immediately dodged to the side. The man in the black robe didn't deliberately aim again, but merely adjusted his general direction—and then Yuri felt a suction force.

The surrounding air seemed to stagnate, Yuri's movements slowed, and at the same time, a suction force was pulling him toward the black-robed figure.

We absolutely cannot let them pull us over like this! The other person hasn't even lowered the knife in their right hand yet!

Startled, Yuri began to retreat with all his might, reinforcing his one-time shield to counteract the gravity.

Fortunately, it seems that the opponent is not very mobile when this move is used, otherwise, as long as Yuri is unable to dodge, he can follow up and stab, and the matter will be over.

Yuri hasn't strayed too far from the opponent's thrusting range, and that distance is still decreasing—his resistance is somewhat effective, but not strong enough.

Yuri struggled for ten seconds, but was ultimately irreversibly drawn into the opponent's attack range—the opponent's weapon was already aiming, seemingly determined to kill Yuri with a single blow.

Even if Yuri doesn't take any precautions, he won't be killed in one hit, but if he doesn't dodge and gets hit repeatedly, it's no different from being dead.

I don't want to test whether I can be resurrected yet! Yuri activated the third suspension spell.

The second suspension spell was to change the properties of matter. The original plan was to use it to deflate the tires of the enemy when they were chasing after him in a car, but now it seems to have been completely useless. Yuri immediately put his hopes on the next spell.

Below the wall, there was a small patch of shadow. It was nearing noon, and although the shadow wasn't very large, it was still there.

Yuri forcefully pulled out a shadow in his mind, dragging out an irregular shape, which would have been best as a sphere or a square, but at this point he didn't care anymore—a layer of shadow enveloped his opponent who remained in place.

There are two ways to create a shadow: one is to make it a physical object, like the shadow dagger that some unknown group of wontons used to stab themselves and Akemi; the other is to keep it as a simple layer of shadow.

The latter is more difficult to interact with as a physical entity (though Yuri is certain it's not entirely impossible), and is extremely difficult to destroy. After all, it doesn't have a three-dimensional physical form, so neither cutting nor blunt force can actually hit its shadow on a plane.

Yuri was quite certain that this was not the final, complete form of the spell. The final version should be some kind of fluid shadow that was both difficult to attack and able to touch real objects... Unfortunately, he couldn't do that yet.

Now... as the shadows obscured his vision, the suction force generated by the opponent instantly ceased. Yuri quickly retreated, avoiding the sharp blade that pierced through the sphere, and began to pant.

Surprisingly, this tactic actually worked. It seems that removing the mark the opponent placed on you before engaging in combat made sense. This shadow cannot prevent the opponent from launching any form of attack (these attacks will pass through the shadow without hindrance), but it can block the opponent's vision, making it difficult for them to determine your exact location.

Without much hesitation, the other party strode towards Yuri's previous location, passing right in front of Yuri who had changed positions, and only stopped after bumping into the wall at an angle—while the strange-looking shadow followed the other party, continuously obscuring the other party's vision.

He had to immediately reconstruct the same spell in his mind, a move that wasn't without its flaws. It was very costly, required a long preparation time, and had a very short duration.

These three aspects can all be improved and optimized through continuous practice, but unfortunately, Yuri hasn't used them much in the past. Besides... it's almost noon now, and the shadows released at this time can't last long.

As for the fact that if the opponent runs too fast and exceeds the Shadow's movement speed, or enters a state that Yuri can no longer perceive, the Shadow will stop tracking... This can't be considered a weakness, but rather something he can't control. ...Actually, right now, as long as the opponent gets on a horse, they should be able to outrun the Shadow in terms of movement speed... But that action, unless they crash into a wall, would likely leave the battlefield.

Yuri frantically wove a replacement spell while rapidly analyzing the current situation.

Although I managed to find some tactics that were somewhat effective against this opponent through trial and error, they were all defensive measures. I could probably hold off this opponent until my spiritual essence was depleted, but winning was absolutely impossible.

We still have to rely on Akemi—how is Akemi doing?

The battle seemed to be going well, but Yuri hadn't been paying attention to it for several tens of seconds.

129 Sin Eaters

In the distance, Akemi had already grabbed one of the girl's hands, stopping her from getting any further away. There were some scattered talismans on the ground... Judging from the shield's depletion in the remote sensing, those talismans did have some effect, but unfortunately for the girl, the effect wasn't particularly good.

The shadows surrounding the tall figure beside him had already shown signs of weakness. To buy as much time as possible, Yuri cast the second shadow spell only after the first one had begun to fade. This would avoid wasting time due to excessive overlap, and the difficulty of timing... Yuri still had this much control over his spells.

He then immediately retreated to dodge the opponent's continuous thrusts.

This move was certainly not pre-planned, but it was definitely not aimless either... It seems that, out of Yuri's sight, the man in black was also actively searching for a way to escape. He seemed to have managed to gain a general sense of Yuri's location... He might not know the distance, but at least he had determined the general direction.

The opponent knew the approximate distance, or at least whether to move further away or closer—after Yuri quickly retreated a few steps, the opponent's attack suddenly stopped. The only reliable explanation was that he had realized that Yuri was no longer nearby.

It was unclear how he did it, but the solution was obvious: simply create a slight distance and continue to delay the opponent's attack. A bad feeling urged Yuri not to stray too far, at least to stay within a range where he could react at any moment. He didn't have the energy to figure out what this premonition meant.

Distracted again by the distance, it seemed Akemi's side was close to winning. In reality, Yuri had just witnessed Akemi throwing her opponent to the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. If only she could stall a little longer… it should be…

...Huh? What if the other party is stubborn and refuses to admit defeat?

Before Yuri could even finish worrying about Minmei, another problem arose on his end.

The man in the black robe swiftly swept his blade a few times, forcing Yuri back two steps. Then, shrouded in shadow, he began moving towards the two figures in the distance at an astonishing speed.

Did this guy sense the danger over there? When? No, now is not the time to hesitate. Yuri injected spiritual essence into his leg without hesitation and rushed over, blocking the opponent's path.

This reckless move cost Yuri dearly. His opponent used the momentum of the charge to strike with great force, and Yuri was forced to use his shield and his arm to fight the blade head-on. The blade pierced through the shield and then cut into his arm, destroying the integrity of his left upper limb.

Yuri pulled his hand back. Although he had used his spiritual essence for emergency repairs, the damage was still there, making it very difficult to control his left hand... It wasn't the most severe loss of a limb, but it was definitely not a normal superficial injury... But he had to do it. If he dodged, the other party would continue to rush forward without any regard... and then Akemi would suffer a serious injury.

The situation was quite dire. Under the opponent's attack, he could only hold out for a few more seconds. Unable to move aside, his room for maneuver was much smaller than before. It wasn't that he wanted this to happen to him—the best scenario, of course, was that the opponent would be forced to stop because of his obstruction, rather than stopping voluntarily because they had seized the opportunity to kill him—but in any case, the opponent had stopped.

Yuri felt he was about to die too—Akami seemed to have gained an overwhelming advantage, but if she didn't concede...

After a few rounds, and once again awkwardly dodging the black-robed man's attacks, Yuri had retreated to within three meters of Akemi, leaving him with little room to maneuver. Akemi had finally resolved the problem… or at least Yuri hoped she had.

"Stop! I don't want to hurt you!" Akemi lifted the girl from behind, one hand pinning her arm behind her back, the other gripping her throat. Honestly, even though she was on her side, the action and her words were undeniably villainous…

The man in the black robe did stop, but remained silent.

"Keep fighting—cough cough—she dares not—" the girl struggled to urge the man in the black robe to continue the attack...

Yuri felt that his side was becoming increasingly villainous.

"I wouldn't have dared at first, but if you keep pestering me, see if I dare!" Mingmei's anger suddenly flared up. "Don't push me!"

"You, you really, are going to kill someone for a conscious ghost?" The girl's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of her throat.

No, it was squeezed out of her throat; Mingmei's hand hadn't let go yet.

“...Actually, I meant strangling you unconscious. I don’t care what damage you might suffer from lack of oxygen during the process…” Akemi paused for a moment. “I didn’t intend to kill anyone, but even if I did use that kind of deadly method—I’m afraid killing a sin-eater wouldn’t be considered murder in the true sense.”

Upon hearing the word "sin eater," the girl struggled even more violently; she reacted.

"A sin-eater?" Yuri asked. "Is she really a sin-eater?"

Was that her spirit that was chasing and slashing at him just now?

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.

They had indeed seen this word when flipping through the book before, but for various reasons (for example, there are more than a dozen other situations that meet the criteria), the two did not directly determine that it was their target.

Sin eaters, or death walkers, or resurrectors... there are not many records about them, at least not many of the real ones.

In short... they are the dead who are unwilling to die and connected with a special kind of ghost called a spirit binder, and then, through some unknown method, they open their eyes again and are "brought back to life".

Such things usually happen within three days of death. If it's longer, the newly deceased person will inevitably join the ranks of ghosts (many people become ghosts right after they die, which is unavoidable), and at that point, they lose their special status... Although there are reports that particularly strong obsessions may allow someone to be resurrected in the same way long after death, that is, long after becoming a ghost, the credibility of these claims is frighteningly low.

Even among the newly deceased, not everyone has this opportunity, of course. If their numbers were even slightly larger, human society's definition of death might be completely destroyed.

There are a whole host of very common reasons why people die without becoming sin-eaters: some people are not obsessed enough, some people yearn for peace... most people are just unlucky, the opportunity has passed when the spirits find them, or there are no spirits to lend a helping hand at all, at least that's how the book explains it.

This "resurrection" isn't particularly real—the dead are still the dead—but from another perspective, it's terrifyingly real—the sin-eaters breathe, eat, have heartbeats, and bleed; from a realistic standpoint, they are indeed alive.

They did not survive.

If you use a ritual to resist ghosts from entering, the sin eater will be expelled, but if you try to detect life... the sin eater will not be in your field of vision.

They are the dead, not the living.

Their power is often concentrated on ghosts and related spirits, and they are often arrogant about having such power, which is only natural, as they themselves are among the best ghosts who have returned to the human world.

Their most terrifying legend is that any of the sin-eaters will never die again—unless their great wish is fulfilled, even if they are shredded, ground into powder, and their ashes scattered evenly across the entire surface of the earth, they will still return… This return may require some kind of price, but they will come back.

It is also difficult to trap them. They can always "die" by suppressing their "mode of existence" and then be resurrected in a new place. It may not be safer, but after a few times, they will come back.

When Yuri saw this part, he asked Akemi in great shock and anger, "In that case, isn't being an enemy of the Sin Eaters tantamount to destruction?"

Returning to the mortal realm with an obsession, immortal and indestructible until the wish is fulfilled—what terrifying power that is!? This, this, this is unfair—though naive, this was indeed Yuri's mindset at the time.

Akemi didn't give him the answer he was hoping for regarding the exact weaknesses of the Sin Eaters, such as... However, Akemi was quite certain that the Sin Eaters weren't invincible. According to werewolf lore—even seemingly unkillable Sin Eaters could be killed repeatedly. It's just that the author of this book was ignorant enough not to know the real method... and werewolf lore was too brief.

In any case, sin-eaters are supernatural beings, which also means they have a great advantage over mortals.

What Akemi meant when she said that "killing the sin eaters is not real killing" was this: if one knew in advance that they would be resurrected, it would only be a temporary banishment, nothing more.

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.

In reality, the conversation continued, and Yuri began to consider what it really meant that "the other party is a sin eater," and then he heard the other party speak.

"Damn it, cough, you don't understand at all—let me go, I promise... this time... a truce..." The girl's voice gradually lowered, and it was obvious that Akemi had squeezed almost all the air out of her lungs.

Akemi glanced at Yuri, then released her grip on the girl's neck. Yuri saw through the back of his head the girl gasping for breath in pain; it seemed she truly didn't want to die... Perhaps dying again wasn't a pleasant experience for a sin-eater either.

The scene came to a standstill, with only the sound of someone breathing heavily... and the villainous aura didn't seem to diminish at all!

Akemi glanced at Yuri without speaking, her eyes conveying a silent understanding, as if she were preparing to communicate with him through eye contact. It might be one thing to let it go at other times, but this time, perhaps it was best to let it go! Yuri remembered that just a few minutes ago, he and Akemi had communicated via voice, only to end up misunderstanding each other.

Yuri slowly stepped back, adjusting the position of his left hand to stabilize it in front of his chest.

He had just performed a quick examination of his arm and was certain that two issues were preventing his rapid recovery. First, the wound was covered with a very familiar-looking energy that was hindering regeneration. Second, the wound was indeed quite deep, and rebuilding the body's structure would require considerable effort. Moreover, probably because the injury was recent, the energy covering it was quite stubborn and could not be easily dispelled.

"Let me go, I promise I won't come back to cause you trouble this time—" The girl struggled for a moment but couldn't break free. "If I send my friends to attack right now, I'll definitely come back, and you won't get away with it!"

"Use that one? The one I mentioned seeing at the villa last time..." Yuri reminded Akemi—if Akemi knew that word magic, perhaps she could get the other party to swear not to come looking for trouble for a few days. If she said it directly, the other party might be on guard, but Yuri believed that even if she said it in such a roundabout way, Akemi would still remember.

Mingmei shook her head. "Don't even think about it. I do know how, but that method is useless against supernatural beings, especially those with strong obsessions."

What to do? Yuri was having a headache—the girl's words were very blunt, but she was right about one thing: if her spirit-binding attack came directly at him, even if Yuri and Akemi joined forces, they probably wouldn't win easily... or rather, they would most likely lose.

If Murakami Akisa were here, plus a werewolf, they would definitely have a chance... Maybe she alone would be enough?

Yuri and Akemi couldn't keep her on her guard forever. There were two spirits and a dead person present, and Akemi, as a living person, couldn't stay on high alert forever—if they could, it would be the other side's turn to fight to the death.

what can we do about it?

“I have one more condition.” Mingmei held her free hand in front of the little girl’s eyes and pointed it at Yuri. “Use your strength to heal his arm, and then don’t come knocking on our door for a day, and I’ll let you go. You can do that, right?”

"Tch, it's a deal then." The little girl pouted.

Why are you puffing up like that?! Yuri is still puffing up like that! What's going on here, getting beaten up for no reason and then getting entangled with this immortal guy?!

“Hey, I need to use one hand,” the little girl asked Mingmei.

Yuri tensed up; having only one hand meant she might retaliate, which would be very dangerous—but Akemi didn't hesitate for long before agreeing, releasing the little girl's hand and turning her towards Yuri.

Without making any suspicious movements, the little girl reached out her hand to Yuri's left arm. "Come closer, why are you standing so far away?"

Seeing the unconvinced look on your face, and worried that you might bite me, Yuri swallowed his true feelings and reluctantly moved closer.

The girl placed her hand on Yuri's wound and began to cast a spell; a not-too-strong energy enveloped Yuri's arm...

Then nothing happened.

"Eh?" Akemi asked, confused about what had happened.

"Huh?" Yuri knew perfectly well that nothing had happened, but wondered if there was something else going on.

"Huh?" The girl's expression changed drastically for some reason.

130 Misunderstandings and Intention to Compensate

Seeing the girl's expression, Yuri realized what had happened. "The treatment failed?"

"That shouldn't be the case, how could it have no effect at all..." The girl's doubt didn't seem feigned. "I'll try again."

The same thing was repeated twice, and the girl looked like she was putting all her effort into it the last time.

But it was still to no avail—even Akemi began to wonder what was going on.

"This...this...this..." The girl's expression was as if the world had betrayed her.

However, she finally blurted out, "Damn Styx—you're not a ghost!?"

……

An awkward silence fell over the room.

Fortunately, Yuri already knew he wasn't a ghost, or at least not a normal one... so it was only natural that he would be expelled from the ghost ranks one day.

As for what I really am... let's talk about that another year.

The key point is that this means—

While Akemi seemed to still be pondering, Yuri was the first to point it out—"Then I can't possibly be some kind of Qingming ghost, can I!?"

I've even been removed from the list of ghosts by you, how could I still be a Qingming ghost!

"This, this..." The girl was probably the first to realize this, but she clearly hadn't figured out how to explain it yet.

"So you still haven't realized it? You killed the wrong person—" Yuri pressed on, "I'm not some crazed spirit possessed by obsession, I'm just an ordinary... uh... basically an ordinary spirit!"

“Alright, Yuri, let me speak—” Akemi interrupted the conversation.

She released the little girl, whose head was throbbing and face was flushed. "I think this means that Yuri, that is, is basically not suspected of sabotage, right?"

The little girl didn't run away immediately, but stood there dejectedly. "Most of the suspicion is indeed gone, but, but..."

“But what?” Akemi was trying to soften her voice… to Yuri, it sounded a bit affected.