Chapter 88: Kagome Hall (Part 16)

Toriumi Arisu woke up again and found her hands and feet tied up. Her whole body was restrained, and it was hard to move.

It seemed something unexpected had happened while she was unconscious.

She listened carefully and heard the breathing of several people nearby.

Because she couldn’t see, her hearing and other senses were unusually sharp. She didn’t need much effort to hear the conversation of the person next to her and catch the faint vibrations in the air.

Under certain circumstances, she could even hear sounds that humans normally shouldn’t hear.

For example, right now, in the enclosed space she was in, she could hear a kind of noise—the sound of death approaching, or rather, she sensed a presence of death.

“No need to pretend to sleep anymore, Miss Toriumi Arisu.”

She heard a voice. Someone was standing beside her, speaking softly: “No, that probably isn’t your real name, right?… I think you, like me, came here specifically for the ‘Vinaya Mirror’! But unfortunately, I already found the mirror a step ahead.”

“It’s you… Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi.”

Toriumi Arisu naturally couldn’t see Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi, but she could feel him wearing a smile full of evil thoughts.

She didn’t rush to speak. Instead, she listened carefully to the sounds around her. She could almost tell that besides herself, other people had been brought to this place as well.

“Could it be that you are the mastermind behind all this? If that’s the case, then Old Man Qiao, and the others… it was all your doing…”

“Correct. It was also to clear some obstacles, such as Hirakawa Shun and his lot.”

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi stroked a mirror with his hand. It was an ancient bronze mirror, its surface covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

“I used quite a few methods to get this ancient mirror…”

“The mirror… Could it be in the basement of Kagome Hall?”

“Not exactly. Hirakawa Shun hid the mirror. He knew some secrets about the mirror too, though not much. He might have misunderstood the mirror’s true purpose.”

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi smiled and said, “But that doesn’t matter now. Since I have this mirror, I must try it no matter what.”

“What do you want to do?”

Toriumi Arisu had a bad feeling. She guessed that Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi still didn’t know the real secret related to the “Vinaya Mirror.” He might have believed those rumors and, like those meddlers in the past, misunderstood the mirror’s effect.

“I plan to break the curse binding the mirror. Counting the people here, there are quite a few, so I want to give it a try.”

“Are you joking? Are you serious?”

“Serious! You said it.”

Fujimatsuri laughed. He waved his hand, and Toriumi Arisu heard a scream.

“Shikatori… You killed him.”

“He was already close to death anyway. But with Old Man Qiao, Saeki, Hirakawa Tsurutada, and him, that’s only four people. The curse of Kagome Hall still needs two more. Who do you think I should choose from the remaining people…”

Fujimatsuri gave a dark chuckle and ordered his helper Nagakabe Fuyuko.

“Fuyuko, drag the corpse to the ritual site. Oh, and cut off Shikatori’s left ear while you’re at it. I already have a pair of eyes, Saeki’s right ear, and Hirakawa’s nose. The tongue and heart are still needed to complete the sacrifice.”

Nagakabe Fuyuko didn’t speak. She dragged Shikatori’s corpse and walked toward one of the Collection Rooms.

The entire basement was a smaller version of Kagome Hall, with each Collection Room representing a corner.

In one of the Collection Rooms lay Old Man Qiao’s corpse. The one Nagakabe Fuyuko pushed open now received Shikatori’s body as well. Without a word, she opened the other four Collection Rooms. Two of them contained the corpses of Hirakawa Shun and Saeki.

“The key… It seems you have it. That means after you killed Hirakawa Shun, you disguised yourself as him and took the key from Madam Esumi.”

Hearing the sound of the Collection Rooms being opened, Toriumi Arisu remembered this point.

“Right. Then you found a chance to go down the mountain with Saeki, killed him, hid the body nearby, cut the power, and then together with Nagakabe Fuyuko, captured Shikatori. But… how did you kill Madam Esumi and Tsurutada…”

“Think whatever you want!”

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi gave a cold smile. “Originally, the sacrifice needed two more people. But unfortunately, there are four people here: you, Madam Fumiko, Mr. Utsumi, and Wakae. Toriumi Arisu, I’ll give you a chance. Choose two of these three to sacrifice, and let the third one live.”

He threw the girl a difficult choice. Besides herself, two of the three people present had to die, and only one could survive.

Toriumi Arisu naturally couldn’t accept this. She shook her head and said firmly, “You have no right to decide their lives and deaths arbitrarily.”

“The fact is… I do.”

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi gave Nagakabe Fuyuko a look. Her eyes vacant, she gripped a sharp knife and slit the throat of Fumiko, who had been gagged. Blood spurted out with a sickening sound.

“Alright! Now there are two left: President Utsumi and Saeki Wakae. Who will you choose next?”

He spoke with a smile, signaling Nagakabe Fuyuko to remove the cloth gags from their mouths.

Utsumi, his face terrified, begged, “Please, spare me, Fujimatsuri.”

“Wrong, Utsumi. The person you should beg isn’t me, but Miss Toriumi Arisu over there.”

“Okay… Miss Arisu, please save me! I don’t want to die yet.”

Utsumi’s face was a mess of tears. He was supposed to be a mature, steady, successful middle-aged man, but at this critical moment, his face was streaked with snot and tears.

Wakae huddled in a corner, head bowed, sobbing continuously.

This made Toriumi Arisu’s pretty face turn pale. For a moment, she didn’t know how to make the choice.

Just then, a sudden loud banging sound came from above the people in the basement. It was a violent noise, as if someone was using a sledgehammer to hit the basement entrance.

Everyone couldn’t help but look up, eyes wide, wondering who was pounding on the entrance above.

“It’s no use. The basement door is completely locked. That metal door lock can’t be opened from the outside.”

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi spoke unhurriedly, pretending to be relaxed as he smiled. “Besides, it’s too late now. No one can save you…”

Abruptly, a deep, booming sound exploded above the basement. It felt as if someone struck a drum right against their chests, so loud it seemed their hearts might burst.

Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi stopped speaking. He silently looked up, staring at the ceiling.

“…It’s here.”

A light sparkled in Toriumi Arisu’s eyes. She listened intently, more than anyone able to sense the movements above the basement.

From some unknown time, a massive presence had appeared above them. The “thing” stood still, breathing deeply. With each wave of its breath, in her abnormal perception, the entire upper room was gradually drawn into a rhythm like tidal waves.

“Breathing like flowing water!”

The girl’s face showed extreme surprise.

Bang!

Something hit again, followed by a series of dense blows, as if a giant was continuously hammering the iron door.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With each thunderous crash louder than the last, the basement’s iron door twisted with a crack, the doorframe shaking. A cold sweat drop fell from Fujimatsuri Shigeyoshi’s forehead.

Everyone standing in the basement felt as if the ground beneath their feet was trembling too.

It might have been an illusion caused by the vibrations, but it wasn’t entirely unreal.

Crash!

Instantly, the iron door above made a teeth-grating twisting sound. The next second, an explosive force shattered the entire welded iron door along with part of the floor. The center of the door bent into a bulge, crashed through most of the staircase opening, and fell to the ground with a clang.

“What… are you all discussing? Mind if I join?”

Fang Jing jumped down from the broken staircase, squinting as he looked over each person in the basement.