Chapter 11.6: Not Suicidal VI


    No<em>i</em>one could share an understanding, nor anyone who would even try to understand. Even<em>i</em>his family denied him, dismissing his words as creepy, attributing his lonesome childhood to the sudden awakening of his<em>i</em>powers.


    Its rather<em>i</em>tough not to be believed, isnt it


    Of course but it<em>i</em>was even more difficult for me when I was a kid. I got adjusted to being able to see specters, even if I didnt like it, and eventually grew unconcerned about it. But being called a liar no matter how<em>i</em>many times I was told that, I just<em>i</em>couldnt get used to it.


    I<em>i</em>seeTrantor: MadHatter


    It wasnt entirely unpleasant, though. Even<em>i</em>I made friends. For<em>i</em>the first time, people believed me and didnt use me of being a liar I was incredibly happy, and having even just one person believe in<em>i</em>you is<em>i</em>a real lifesaver.


    Smiling, Yakumo looked<em>i</em>genuinely happy as he responded.


    Thats<em>i</em>why I wanted<em>i</em>to use this power to drive away the wicked, to save those who believed in me, and thats why Im doing this.


    Youre<em>i</em>an outstanding guy.


    Hmm? About<em>i</em>what?


    Because, usually, when<em>i</em>you suddenly start seeing things like that in your life, staying positive like that is unlikely, youre amazing. I cant tolerate that kind of thing for<em>i</em>decades.


    There<em>i</em>was no way I was going to get used to it, and I didnt want to be stuck with that power for the rest<em>i</em>of my life.


    In the beginning, I thought<em>i</em>the same thing.


    Its fine<em>i</em>tough because at my age, I still freak out like a little<em>i</em>kid.


    I<em>i</em>wontugh. Nobody<em>i</em>can ept it at first. But<em>i</em>rest assured, that<em>i</em>power doesnt stay with you forever, it<em>i</em>can abruptly vanish one day, or gradually you be unable to see<em>i</em>it.


    Was<em>i</em>that true?


    I<em>i</em>dont know about the conditions, but I<em>i</em>do know of a precedent.


    If possible, it<em>i</em>would be preferable if this power would disappear sooner rather<em>i</em>thanter


    Haha, well, not while working<em>i</em>here, I guess.


    Youre<em>i</em>right.


    Even<em>i</em>Yakumo, who had been viewing specters and other apparitions since elementary school, stepped into a haunted ce voluntarily with a calm andposed attitude.


    Even if that<em>i</em>power didnt disappear, at worst, I might have a chance of familiarizing myself with it. No, but I wouldnt want to get used to<em>i</em>it.


    At<em>i</em>this point, Yakumo unexpectedly paused again. What was it this time?


    The<em>i</em>sudden halt made me pass through him.


    Why<em>i</em>did you stopNot shared on aggregator sites


    When I turned<em>i</em>around and said so I noticed that Yakumo, who had been speaking fluently up until now, was behaving oddly. The guy who had<em>i</em>beenughing hysterically and moving forward was so red in the face as if he had been coated with paint from the top of his head. With<em>i</em>eyes wide open, he was frozen in ce like a sculpture.


    The exact same miserable<em>i</em>state he was in when he first showed up.


    Yakumo!?


    What in the<em>i</em>world


    Close


    What!?


    Red<em>i</em>dripped from his eyes and mouth as he uttered the brief words, and I raised my voice in astonishment. Close? What did he mean


    The<em>i</em>ce where I copsed right, I recall it, I


    Before<em>i</em>his next words could be delivered, somethingpelled him to clutch his head andin of acute pain.


    W-What<em>i</em>happened! Hey!


    Its<em>i</em>the severe pain from that time. Probably because the ce is so close to! Ouch!!


    His form<em>i</em>went sharply blurred in that instant, and somehow, the transparency worsened. I couldnt find the appropriate words to describe it, but it seemed as if the entirety of the<em>i</em>guy I was seeing was fading away slightly.


    Hey, get<em>i</em>a grip!


    Though<em>i</em>I had assumed that specters could not perceive pain, Yakumo<em>i</em>in front of me was trembling with<em>i</em>pain and drawing heavy breaths.


    This<em>i</em>is bad


    What? Whats<em>i</em>bad?


    I<em>i</em>think the time limit is about to be over.


    Time limit thats.


    Yeah, my<em>i</em>main bodys pretty much at its limit, and my astral body is starting to get absorbed into this spiritual maic field.


    Whats<em>i</em>that?


    All those<em>i</em>who perish here are bound by shackles that prohibit them from attaining Buddhahood. Thats why staying here is if Im going to die here, so will I It seems like Im on the verge of perishing right now this is really the mummy hunter himself bes a mummy


    Dont be so feeble cant you do something about it!


    The<em>i</em>solution is to return to my body at once But its not good. The maic field is too powerful, and it is dragging me down. At this rate, I will be turned into an evil spirit


    Hey, wasnt that a rather unsavory development? Perhaps so, replied Yakumo. Contrary to his carefree words, Yakumo looked as if he was desperately resisting.


    Once that happens, Ill lose my ego, and I wont be able to return you to where you belong.


    Dont worry about others at a time like this! Hey!


    Before long, Yakumo suffered to the point where it was unbearable to watch him, and his voice was so agonized that he had to forcefully contain his screams.


    What should I do, what was I supposed to do? Having relieved my fears, Yakumos abnormal situation drove me to lose myposure once again. That was when it happened.


    The timing was unfavorable, and unpleasant things kept arising in rapid session. The air surrounding me felt noticeably frigid. An unnatural gust of wind swept through from behind, sending a rustle through the entire forest.


    Yakumo dropped to one knee on the ground and muttered abhorrently, This is bad. Donte.


    He stared into the darkness beyond the trees, seemingly ready to disappear at any moment. He looked as if he was threatening toward something.


    Sonny do me a favor. Get away from here, right now.


    You were telling me to escape!


    No time to exin something awfully nasty thing is about toe. Dont look directly at that.


    Awfully nasty isnt that not good?


    Thats the cause that I became like this. That thing is nothingpared to the small fry around here. Its an existence born from a conglomeration of resentment, envy, wrath, and filthy human emotions that have congregated in this ce, the source of the chain of events that drags many humans down with it, the genesis of all evil. An ordinary person living in the world would be psychologically afflicted if they saw that. Even a talisman is unlikely to help in stopping this exceptionally hazardous existence, so Ill do something to stop it. Thats why!


    <em>Go quickly</em>, he repeated.


    Sonny, there should be a ck van up ahead, search for it and yell with all your might, and Ill be right there!


    You!


    No time to hesitate! Get moving!


    At the yell, I was at a loss as I observed the suffering Yakumo, but I knew that if I stayed here any longer, the situation would turn out to be truly unptable, so I turned around several times and left the ce, leaving Yakumo kneeling on the ground, motionless. I rushed along the trailless path with utmost effort. Things would seriously be a disaster unless I somehow manage to locate the main body of that guy right now. That sense of crisis was the only signal that was directing all the functions of my being.


    I depended only on the shlight of the light which was not reliable. I didnt even have time to wipe the sweat off my face. Should I stop, I was sure I would cower in fear and never be able to run again. Several times the deceased, who seemed to have passed away here, shed into view, but I passed them by screaming and clutching the talisman in the pocket of my hoodie.


    A woman swayed with the branches and eyes wide open. A man tumbling to the ground, wearing a thin smile. A man and woman sitting side by side at the base of a tree, hands sped together, streaming blood profusely from their mouths and with half their tongues shredded. An elderly man, with half of his head missing, was flung onto a boulder.


    How many dead people did I witness in this ceAs I ran, my eyes welled up with tears.


    Why did I end up in a ce like this? Gradually, a sense of helplessness washed over me.


    What was I doing? Regret bubbled up within me. Indeed, I had agreed to be here. I went to this ce because it was sickening to see people die, even if they were strangers. Initially, I thought, Give me a break, but if I didnt cooperate, I would undoubtedly feel terribleter on, so I lent a hand to Yakumo for the self-centered reason of wanting to make things easier on myself. It wasnt because I wanted to save people. All because I didnt want to regret anything. Because I didnt want to create obstacles in my life.


    But, but, but, but


    These choices made in a momentary rush of tension shouldnt be made easily. In this world, there existed a convenient phrase, the right man for the right job.


    At this time, I once again thought to myself.


    The couple who would mindlessly venture to a haunted ce was foolish. And that I was an even greater fool for running around in the sea of trees with tears in my eyes, screaming at the top of my lungs, despite having chosen to do so myself.


    The pit of my stomach churned and the back of my throat shot up. Not even I could tell where I was running to anymore. The vinyl string that served as my lifeline had somehow snapped, and it was flopping around on the edge of my bag.


    There was no going back. All I could do was keep moving forward. Regardless of whether my face grazed by the grass or hit a branch, I ran forward as if I were struggling. It was so hrious that I felt like a wild boar running forward.


    In the midst of my desperation, I tumbled to the ground drastically, my feet caught in the thick roots of the tree without being aware of what was below me.


    A stone bare from the ground struck my head and sent me to the muddy soil. With an increasingly hollow feeling of hopelessness, I held my lightly bleeding head and feebly lifted myself up.


    The moment I looked up, calmness flooded through me. The atmosphere of the ce was different from before


    As usual, the branches and leaves were moring overhead, and I couldnt even see the night sky, but before I knew it, I found myself in a slightly more open area. The trees were not so dense, but instead, therge trees were all around me, and it was a vast ce.


    My face, knees, and everywhere else were sore from my rough fall, but I could still manage to move.


    Grabbing my shlight and picking it up, I vigntly illuminated the area.


    It was a hundred times more terrifying than any horror movie out there. The asional wind blowing incongruously from behind me nearly stopped my heart several times. The light reflected something, and I immediately jumped up at that, but I knew what it was right away.


    A car a car was there


    A dirty one-box type light car, which looked like it had crashed from a very high ce, its structure almost disintegrated, covered with dirt and dust. The window ss was heavily cracked and I couldnt see well into the car It was quite unpleasant to view a scrappy car in a ce like this.


    It was unbelievable that someone had abandoned the car. Why did this thing end up in a ce like this?


    I mean, wait This was It was a ck van


    My face twitched as I gazed at it. Yakumo had told me to search for a ck van.


    Then, could it be this one here


    Frightened, I searched around the van, lighting up the area, and looking for the shape of a person. This time I went around the back of the van, impatiently, and reached for the light.


    My heart shrieked louder than ever.


    I found it


    It was literally under arge tree that had been charred and left a trail of rough fall. A person wearing a red sleeveless parka, long hair disheveled on the ground, in a prone position.


    Hey


    A bright red spiked bat rolled near the arm that had been thrown out of the way.


    Yakumos two eyes were closed and his face was smeared with mud and blood from the preceding days rain, so I slid over to him and called out to him. I repeatedly shook his body.


    Hey! Hey! Can<em>i</em>you hear me! Hang on!


    Even<em>i</em>though I called out, he didnt even twitch. My whole body went into a state of fear.


    H-He<em>i</em>died


    At the conclusion of a chaotic process, I endeavored to keep my thoughts from bing disorganized and exploding. Right, breath, I had<em>i</em>to ensure he was breathing.


    I hurriedly<em>i</em>put my hand over his mouth.


    wewrw3rg


    Hey. This


    He<em>i</em>was not.. breathing