Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume 6 Chapter 5 (section)

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“Well, should we go then?”

“Bou-san?”

“The five people from the riot and the three Rokubu. Which one do you think is the culprit in this case?”

Bou-san looked around at us. We were bewildered and looked around at each other.

Yasuhara-san spoke,

“There are too few clues to choose one of them.”

When he said that, Bou-san lightly sighed.

“If that’s the case, —John. Let’s split up between the five and three.”

“Alright.”

“Lin-san, what are you going to do?”

When Bou-san asked, Lin-san responded,

“I cannot go. Since one of my shiki was knocked away in today’s uproar, I cannot leave here.”

“Knocked away?”

When I asked, he replied,

“Yes. It’s presence hasn’t disappeared, so it should return in a little while, but in the meantime, if I don’t stay here, Naru will be vulnerable. —May I suggest something?”

“What?”

“I think it’s better not to disperse your powers. I think there will be heavy resistance.”

Bou-san raised his eyebrows. He looked at the bandage that was wound around his arm with displeasure.

“...good grief. —[[Ghost_Hunt:Volume6_Translator's_Notes#Eeny_Meeny_Miny_Moe|Eeny, meeny, miny, moe]].”

Bou-san raised his finger. He pointed towards the cape.

“We’ll clear away the most numerous ones. Since it’s five. We’ll try an exorcism.”

It was as he said this. Suddenly, an impact like a side blow ran through the house.

<font size="4"><center><b>***</b></center></font>

“What is that!?”

Soon after I raised my voice, heavy footsteps were heard running through the corridor. 

“Takigawa-san, the temperature is decreasing.”

When I looked back toward Lin-san’s voice, the video of the six thermography instruments had turned blue as if they had been dyed. On the screen where only number data is displayed, the numbers were rapidly changing. While watching, the word ‘ERROR’ was increasing all over, and just like that, the word ‘ERROR’ filled every screen.

“Unit three has stopped.”

The video on camera three was interrupted. Following that, the monitor screens went out one after another.

“Bastards...”

To Bou-san’s words, Yasuhara said,

“I guess they made the first move.”

“I thought we’d go visit, but they left from over there.”

“Isn’t that our gain?”

“If it’s a beautiful lady.”

“Is that so? If it’s an ugly woman, then it’s just an annoyance?”

“That particular sort is persistent.”

“I see. Experienced words carry weight.”

...when Bou-san and Yasuhara-san unite, there isn’t even any tension.

The sound of heavy steps continued in the corridor. Overlapping that, a low sound became audible. What John described as, “the breathing of a sleeping dinosaur.” The low sound gradually grew stronger as if creeping and it became clear that it was the voices of people. Low, low voices like the singing of people.

“Huh? Aren’t those the words of a sutra?”

“If the opponent is the Rokubu, it would be just like them to do that. Are those three the culprits?”

“The one’s applying pressure are the monks? I guess it’s not too appreciated.”

“At the very least, if they were nuns.”

...how long are they going to keep up this imprudent comic dialogue?

“Shōnen, stay here. Lin, I'm counting on you.”

“Alright.”

“Mai, Masako, Ayako. We’re going to have a look at the situation. Stay here until then.”

“Oh, I’m going!”

In reply to Ayako’s strong voice,

“If you recklessly leave, you’ll be hit by whirlwind sickles, and it’s very painful.”

“I understand the danger!”

“When you become damaged goods with that personality, offers of marriage will disappear. —Which brings me to John. Let’s be good friends and draw the short straw.”

“Alright.”

Bou-san and John went running out of the base. I stopped Ayako, who was going to follow them.

“He told us to wait.”

“Even so, I can’t comply!”

“Even if we go, we’ll just get in the way! At the very least, let’s see what happens.”

“Don’t combine me with you! I’m a professional!”

Being yelled at, I got offended.

“Considering that, you haven’t been useful, have you?”

“It couldn’t be helped. Because of the conditions in this place, I’m able to help here.”

...she’s able to help...here?

When I tried to ask in return, the lights suddenly went out.

“What happened?”

“It seems like a power line is out or the breaker tripped.”

It was Lin-san’s calm voice. Due to the moonlight coming in through the window, my eyes immediately became accustomed to the darkness.

“At any rate, I’m going.”

“Wait, Ayako!”

Just then, Masako raised her voice.

“...over there!”

Masako was pointing at the window. From the eaves above the window, something elongated was hanging. It appeared to be a human arm. Only one arm was hanging down.

While watching it, the hand scratched at the air. It was wriggling as if struggling, then another arm came hanging down. Both arms grabbed the eaves. Then, an upside down human face looked in from the edge of the eaves.

It was the face of a man. The man looked inside the room, then very slowly leaned forward. Remaining upside down, he stretched both his hands out towards the window and pounded on the glass. Right after, the man crawled out from the eaves without even falling. As if he was a gecko or something, he crawled on the glass and revealed his whole body.

The man crawled out to the center of the glass. Another hand immediately appeared from the eaves. Then a woman appeared. From the sides and bottom of the window, hands could be seen sticking to the glass.

I had unconsciously backed up to the opposite wall. Men, women, children… The window was rapidly filling with people who had crawled out upside down from the roof and were clinging to the glass. All of whom peered inside expressionlessly.

One struck the glass with a bang. Another one imitated that. Before long, all of them had started to pound on the glass. The movement was mechanical without expression.

“Yasuhara-san, come here.”

Masako prompted Yasuhara-san. She made him sit against the wall and sat herself beside him, then she clasped her hands together. With her eyes closed, she moved only her mouth and began chanting something.

They started to pound the glass in a uniform rhythm. The glass began to steadily tremble. Each time a fist connected, the glass visibly rippled… it was cracking. It would break soon.

Lin-san whistled with his fingers. At the same time, Ayako cut the nine syllables. In a hair’s breadth, the glass was shattered inward. Figures were scattered outside the window and others came leaping inside.

“Mai, there’s no need to hold back because they’re spirits of the dead!”

“Okay!”

I answered and poised both hands— then I screamed.

From the window frame that had broken glass, a woman was trying to crawl inside. Her body was full of wounds and half of her face was smashed and caving in.

However, I knew it was Nao-san.

<font size="4"><center><b>***</b></center></font>

—Why? Why is Nao-san..?

“Mai! Stop idling!”

I nodded, then readied my hand even though I felt discouraged. I mean, that was Nao-san, right…?

A little girl crawled towards the adjacent room.

“Rin, Pyō, Tō, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zen, Gyō”

That peculiar nine syllables came from Lin-san. As if repulsed, the child went tumbling out the window. It’s expressionless face momentarily showed pain, and because of that I became increasingly paralyzed.

We were not the target of the that crowd coming in from the window one after another. It was the adjacent room. Did they want to release Naru from there or the being possessing him...? Even if they were knocked outside the window, they came crawling up again. It was futile against their persistence and insatiably.

When I bolstered my courage and raised my hand, a sharp pain shot through my wrist. I was surprised and when I looked, there was a thin cut. Then, blood began to trickle.

Ayako screamed. Red spread over the shoulder of her white shirt. Lin-san was covered in thin cuts, too.

There’s no way we can compete… with this…

Something suddenly grazed across the side of my face. There was a dull sound and it stuck in the floor by the window.

“On kirikiri bazara bajiri hora manda manda un hatta!”

I momentarily looked between the ritual instrument that rose up from the floor and the figure that had leaped into the room.

“On sara sara bazara hara kyara un hatta, on amirito dohanba un hatta,”

Suddenly, the swarm of dead tumbled out the window.

“On biso hora daraki shabazara hanjara un hatta, on asan magini un hatta, on shaugyarei makasan maen sowaka!”

Bou-san, who was also covered in cuts, ran up to his [[Ghost_Hunt:Volume6_Translator's_Notes#Tokkosho|Tokkosho]] and pierced it over again.

“Try to enter if I put this here!”

A man appeared from below the window. He extended his hand, trying to enter the room, then vanished below the window as if repulsed by something. Although they approached the window one after another, something there seemed to cause intense pain and they were unable to enter.

I slumped and sat down. My tension dissolved, then I suddenly broke into a cold sweat.

“Where’s Brown-san?”

After being asked by Lin-san, Bou-san replied,

“He’s leading the young master and the others. They’ll be here soon.”

“Did something show up over there?”

After Ayako asked,

“Those things showed up! We were surrounded by a band of drowned corpses. I’m telling you, it’s like a zombie movie.”

Just as Bou-san said this with a bitter expression, a scream was heard from the direction of the corridor.

When we ran into the corridor, screams could be heard from the direction of the main building. Following after Bou-san, who broke into a run, Ayako also broke into a run. I was in doubt, looking between the inside of the room and the pitch-dark corridor. Masako nodded.

“Be careful.”

I nodded, then followed after Ayako.

<font size="4"><center><b>***</b></center></font>

The screaming was taking place in the corridor a little past the entrance. Akifumi-san and the others could be seen crouched in the corridor. Katsuki-kun or Wakako-chan, or one of the children was crying. And something faintly white was flying pest-like about the area. John, who stood nearby, was sprinkling holy water and driving them off. 

John shouted.

“Please don’t touch this! You’ll have a hard time.”

...hard time?

Just as I stared back at him, a white thing changed its angle and flew towards me.

“Un hatta”

It disappeared as if dissolved by Bou-san’s voice.

“John! Hurry over here! It’s safe if you go to the base!”

Nodding, John spoke to the others around him. Akifumi-san, who was holding Katsuki-kun, was the first to rise, then everyone stood up and ran towards the base.

Despite John saying, ‘Don’t touch,’ there was no way to avoid them. While I staggered without regard to hitting them, I ran towards the base. Being careless and running without thinking, a white thing hit my stomach as I started to approach the base.

I felt an impact. The impact, which pierced by stomach, was from something hard. I fell to my knees on the spot. A severe pain ran through my body from my stomach to my head and toes and it was impossible to breathe. I couldn’t even scream. Something warm came rushing into my hand, which I had immediately lifted to hold my stomach. The stench of blood greeted my nose.

..I...was stabbed..

I thought so in surprise with my mind that was paralyzed with pain. When I fearfully checked to make sure, there wasn’t even a scar there. There wasn’t one stain on the outside of my t-shirt.

“Mai! Are you okay!?”

“What... is this?”

Following the initial impact, the pain had left without me noticing. Staring blankly, the white thing came flying towards my shoulder as well. I tried to avoid it this time, but I didn’t make it in time. A soundless scream came out. It was scorching pain. Suddenly, there was the sensation of blood splashing against my face. It felt like... my upper arm had been twisted and dislocated from the socket.

...It was simply pure pain. Of course, there weren’t any scars anywhere.

“Mai!?”

“Don’t touch the white things!”

Distracted by me, Bou-san was attacked by a white thing and staggered violently.

“...ow”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not at all okay… shit.”

Bou-san joined his fingers.

“Kyataya hanjasa hadaya sowaka!”

Suddenly, the color red flooded my mind. Crimson… transparent light. It wasn’t seen with my eyes, but I sensed light. After the light disappeared, there wasn’t even one white thing left.

“It’s over now... go on. Protect the little kids.”

“Right!”

I ran and rushed over to the side of Teruka-san, who was leading Wakako-chan by the hand. 

“Are you alright?”

“Yes...”

Teruka-san, who answered with a tense expression, was also covered in thin cuts. Wakako-chan had a dazed expression. I lifted Wakako-chan and ran. I feverishly ran down the dark corridor back towards base.