Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume4 Chapter3 (section)

=== 2 ===

All the students evacuated the Art Room.

A vacant classroom. Tables arranged haphazardly. Blood-stained glass shards scattered all over the floor.

Most of the students were slightly injured in one way or another. They received treatment in their respective classrooms. 

“It’s my fault,” whispered John who stared blindly at the classroom.

John had conducted the exorcism in the Geography Room.

“This isn’t something you could have done anything about; we would never have expected them to escape to the classroom above.” I tried to console John. He silently shook his head.

Naru picked up a shard that had fallen on a table.

“All the fluorescent tubes fell out at the same time…?” Without moving a muscle, he surveyed the shard.

“Don’t you think that the spirit got more powerful?”

Indeed…

Normally, only one fluorescent light would fall out in the Geography Room; never before had 2 lights fallen out simultaneously.

Within my mind, a scene took shape.

Ayako brandishing her jade rosary. The will-o’-the-wisp escaping. The spirit escaping to other locations, tangling with the smaller wisps there. Wisps swirling around each other as though in battle. And then the larger wisp devouring the smaller one.

“This morning’s fire, too, was more severe than those previously reported. Luckily there were people near the Broadcast Room… otherwise it wouldn’t just be a small fire.”

Hearing Naru’s words, I could not help groaning.

“The Art Room… what strange rumors happened there?”

The monk answered in reply, “Indeed it was… ‘The Plaster Model that Changed Direction’. The plaster model’s direction changed suddenly. It suddenly turned to face the back on its own or something.”

“I don’t think that will happen again.”

“Mai?”

Everyone looked at me, surprised.

“I think the spirit that was here has already been devoured by the spirit that escaped from the Geography Room. Hence that spirit became stronger. It must be so.”

Naru looked at me darkly.

“Is that Mai’s intuition?”

“Yes.”

Masako and Ayako looked at me with complicated expressions.

It was like they wanted to tell me to shut up. But that was what I felt. The monk knocked my head.

“What should we do, Naru-chan?”

“Perhaps… it might be better to put off the exorcisms…”

“Yes. It would be troublesome if those spirits escaped again.”

Just as the monk agreed to Naru, “I will continue exorcising.” Ayako declared loudly.

“Hey hey, that’s not too good.”

“To prevent the spirits from escaping, I will erect a Kekkai (barrier) before exorcising. There shouldn’t be a problem with that?”

“Would such a simple solution work?” Naru asked calmly.

“I will show you.”

“In that case, please slowly exorcise those smaller, harmless spirits. If the spirit here was to escape again, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

A furious Ayako was rooted to her spot. However, Naru ignored her.

“If what Mai says is true… we have already let them escape once, if they escape again our reputation would be in danger.”

I felt a chill down my back.

If… spirits consume other spirits and grow, and that continues on and on… what would happen in the end?

If in the end only one spirit remains…

Just at that moment, Masako started shrieking.

“What’s wrong?!”

“What happened?!”

Masako, green in the face, squatted on the floor. Everyone rushed to her side.

I, too, walked towards Masako. – Suddenly, that appeared.

All of a sudden my vision inverted. Brightness disappeared; darkness descended. The floors and walls turned transparent. Quickly my field of vision widened, and in front of me was a view of the entire school. I know. I know it all: exactly what is happening at what location. Then I heard a sad cry. It was not Masako’s cry. Who is it… which other person?

It was the second floor of the South Block. That was the 2-4 classroom. A black will-o’-the-wisp waited.

A dark pit opened in the floor, white spirits were sucked into it.

What was that?! What happened?!

Suddenly the white spirit took on human form. It was a human figure that let out sad cries as it was engulfed by the black pit. 

That was… Sakauchi-kun?!

It was Sakauchi-kun. Hands outstretched, as though grasping at air, he was slowly engulfed by the will-o’-the-wisp. The dark flames surrounded him, and he sank slowly into the sea of fire.

Stop it…

I closed my eyes, blocked my ears.

Even then I could still see, hear.

Please… somebody stop it!

Please!

As quickly as it appeared, my vision suddenly went back to normal.

Masako and I sat on the ground, green in the face. Everyone else observed us blankly.

“What exactly… happened?” The monk asked urgently.

Before I could answer Masako spoke.

“Sakauchi-kun… has disappeared.”

Tears rolled down her doll-like face.

“It was just as Mai-san said. The spirits here are feeding on each other. Sakauchi-kun… had been devoured.”

Masako cried, looking at me. Her trembling hand grasped my arm. 

“You saw it too, Mai?”

“En…”

With a trembling hand I held Masako’s hand.

“It was really scary.”

“Yes.”

“What happened to Sakauchi-kun?”

Masako continued weeping and did not reply.

He was eaten…

and he had not been purified. Just like that, to never rest in peace, to be eaten by that monster…