"I detected … a mysterious energy in her soul, but I don't know what it is.
It's not completely negative energy, nor does it seem like a demon, nor is it some sort of curse …
"I tried to dispel it, but as you all saw just now, it's a burden on Amami-san, and the effect of dispelling it isn't very good.
"I dispelled a portion of it, but it'll immediately replenish itself. I tried to go deeper into her soul to see if I could find the main body or a core, but I failed as well.
"Dispelling and going deeper into her soul will be a burden on Amami-san, and this energy … feels incredibly powerful. If it's activated, I'm afraid that Amami-san …"
"She'll die?"
"… That's hard to say." Summer Night furrowed her brows. "It's not completely negative energy, but it feels quite strange, and I don't know what will happen if it's activated …"
"Right, it's similar to Uehara-san's mysterious Spiritual Creature!" she suddenly said.
What?
Similar to Mika's … Mashiro Kobayashi!?
Seiji widened his eyes in surprise.
Wasn't this too much of a jump?
"President, you're saying that the curse that Sensei has been suffering from for ten years … is the same thing as Mika's!?"
"No, that's not what I meant; it just feels similar," Summer Night denied.
"Uehara-san's is a Spiritual Creature, while Amami-san's soul is only a form of energy; the two are foundationally different.
But, I feel like the two are similar in nature; they're both chaotic, mysterious, and not obviously negative, but there seems to be a terrifying core hidden within … "
Seiji fell silent.
"At any rate, if this energy is activated, Amami-san will likely suffer tremendous pain, and in the worst case scenario, she'll die, and her soul and body … might change into something else," Summer Night said in a serious tone.
"In comparison, having nightmares is quite light … I'm not saying that having nightmares is something to be happy about, but … with such an unknown energy hidden within her soul, I feel that Amami-san is quite fortunate to be able to survive until now."
A period of silence fell between them.
Tears welled up in Saki's eyes.
"It's all because of me …"
"Editor Yoshizawa, there's no point in blaming yourself now. Sensei doesn't want you to be like this either," Seiji said.
The female editor bit her lip and looked at her friend who had fallen asleep. Her tears were about to fall.
"Right now, there are two ways to resolve Amami-san's nightmares," Summer Night continued.
"The first is to find a Spiritual Ability user who's even more skilled than me at dealing with this type of situation and try to treat him."
"The second is to find out what's affecting this energy, causing Amami-san's nightmares, and then think of a way to deal with it.
"I don't think we should use the first method. That's because even if we find a Spiritual Ability user who's even more skilled in soul spells and successfully ask for their help, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to completely cure him. More importantly, there's no way to completely avoid the tremendous risk of activating this power. "
"The second method is safer. A better understanding of this energy can also serve as a foundation for a complete cure. "
Seiji understood.
"In other words, don't be too rash. Don't think about removing it all at once. Take your time, right?"
"That's right. If we try to treat him too rashly and activate this energy, he might be instantly eliminated. "Summer Night nodded.
This was just like a bomb. Although he wanted to remove it, he didn't know how to do it.
If he accidentally activated it in the process of removing it, then it would be over for him.
Understanding this bomb first, finding out why it was moving, then stopping it, and removing it after a thorough investigation was the safest course of action.
But then again, just what triggered the nightmares?
Sensei started having nightmares on the second night of the school festival. The only thing worth mentioning before that was meeting Shouhei Hirai, but he didn't have any contact with Shouhei Hirai at that time.
Seiji reached a dead end.
Seiji fell silent once again.
…
Mai was investigating.
After learning about her employer's new situation from Seiji, as well as her conjectures, she began investigating Ling Yang Tachibana and Shouhei Hirai's family backgrounds.
And what she found out was …
Ling Yang Tachibana's biological parents were named Hinako Tachibana and Kazuya Tachibana. Hinako Tachibana was Shouhei Hirai's older sister, and her maiden name was Hinako Haza!
Why did the siblings have different surnames?
The only possibility Seiji could think of was that the siblings' parents had divorced, and the mother's side had reverted to her old surname, which also caused the children to change their surnames.
Mai didn't investigate this because it wasn't important.
The important part was that Ling Yang Tachibana's mother was Hinako Haza — the host of the Story of a Hundred Demons game ten years ago, the literature club president!
Just as Sensei guessed, these two things were connected.
Mai immediately called Seiji to inform him.
When Seiji heard this, he instantly felt like he had found a crucial piece of the puzzle!
"Where's Hinako Haza right now?" he asked.
"She's already passed away," Mai replied.
Just one year ago, Tachibana's family had been out traveling and unfortunately met with a traffic accident.
Both husband and wife died on the spot. Only Ling Yang Tachibana survived, and she was later adopted by her uncle, Shouhei Hirai.
She was already dead, and the anniversary of her death had been yesterday!
Seiji felt like an electric current was passing through his brain.
Ling Yang's mother, Hinako Haza, who was the host of the Story of a Hundred Demons game, had been cursed together with Sensei. She was no longer in this world.
But Ling Yang was Hinako Haza's daughter. Did she "inherit" something from Hinako?
If Hinako Haza had the same mysterious power as Peach-sensei, would this power be passed down to her descendants?
What if it was passed down?
Furthermore, what if this power was activated in Ling Yang Tachibana's body!?
The key to activating this power might be the anniversary of her death!
Perhaps Ling Yang Tachibana and Shouhei Hirai had gone to visit Seiji's grave yesterday, and something happened that triggered this change.
Seiji suddenly felt enlightened at this thought.
Thinking back to the school festival, Shouhei Hirai indeed hadn't come into contact with Sensei.
But Ling Yang Tachibana …
"Sensei, I'd like to ask you!"
Seiji immediately turned to the manga author, who had woken up by now.
"At the school festival, did Ling Yang Tachibana, that is, Shouhei Hirai's niece, run into you?"
"Er … I did."
Mayuzumi paused in surprise for a moment before answering.
"At that time … she ran into me, and that's when I noticed her."
Ten years ago in the Story of a Hundred Demons game.
A chance encounter at the school festival ten years later.
Was it really just a chance encounter?
Seiji didn't know.
What he was certain of was that Ling Yang Tachibana did indeed run into Mayuzumi Amami.
Mayuzumi started having nightmares on the second night, and was later attacked by Shouhei Hirai. Hirai was in an abnormal state of being possessed by an undead spirit, while Ling Yang Tachibana was nowhere to be found. It was highly likely that she had been taken away by a Spiritual Ability user …
Ignoring the fact that Hirai Hirai had been defeated, was Ling Yang Kagura really taken away? Or was it herself …
Something flashed in Seiji's eyes.
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