Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 5 The Two Realms Overlap
Looking at the empty corridor, Sayaka couldn't help but let out a mournful cry.

"Waaah, I don't want to stay here."

"Calm down," Aizen Yurika whispered, holding her hand.

"..." Nogizaka Ruka clenched her fists, feeling both self-reproach and resentment, and finally just lowered her head and remained silent.

"Nogizaka-san, you're the person here who knows the most about paranormal phenomena, do you have any ideas?" Mitsurugi asked.
"Let me think, let me think." Nogizaka Ruka squatted down, her pretty, androgynous face scrunched up, her shoulders trembling slightly, as she struggled to think of all sorts of information related to the ritual.

On the other side, Yu Jian was also deep in thought.

A spatial loop? Or a distortion of the senses?
From a scientific point of view, the former requires an astronomical amount of energy. It is hard to imagine that an existence with such enormous energy could not instantly kill a few ordinary mortals.
So, can we rule out the first possibility?

No, looking at it from another angle, do these rules really apply to ghosts? That might just be arrogance.

Is it a clever trick? Or is it based on some special natural phenomenon?

If a ghost possesses some kind of illusion that can distort the senses, where is the most likely place to be vulnerable?

A sudden inspiration struck him, and Yu Jian spoke abruptly:
"Sayaka, can I borrow your phone?"

"Huh? Okay, okay, please don't look at my picture." Seeing the usual calm on Mitsurugi's face, Sayaka subconsciously obeyed his request.

The standby screen is a group photo of several hot girls with strange heavy makeup standing close together, but the others are obviously distracted, either looking at their phones or their nails. Only Sayaka is staring at the camera with great enthusiasm, seemingly both part of the group and not part of it.

Glancing at the hesitant Sayaka, he knew this wasn't the time to meddle. Mitsurugi opened his email on his phone, then nodded slightly, a knowing look on his face.

"What did you discover, Mikage-kun?" Noticing the expression on his face, Yurika couldn't help but ask:

"The text message is missing."

After obtaining Sayaka's consent, Mitsurugi showed the phone screen to everyone.

The latest text message in the message box was sent at 3 p.m. The message was ordinary; Sayaka was asking for leave from the convenience store where she worked via text message.

Apart from that, there were no new messages in my inbox.

"How could this be? All those abusive emails are gone," Sayaka said in disbelief.

"I didn't hear the text message notification tone before," Yu Jian said slowly.
"Now that you mention it, I don't think I heard that either. I thought Sayaka had her phone muted." Yurika nodded in agreement.

"Huh? Why did I hear that?" Nogizaka Ruka exclaimed in surprise.

"If the phone calls and text messages are caused by ghosts, perhaps the other party isn't that powerful," Yurika concluded, drawing a surprising conclusion.

“During a normal ritual, that spirit couldn’t even affect anyone present. Sayaka’s phone also indicated that the hallucination’s duration was quite limited. If it wasn’t due to limited power, then it was due to some kind of restriction.”

“That’s why it forces others to break taboos.” Yurika looked at Sayaka, who immediately showed a grateful expression.

“Indeed, although we were trapped in the old school building, the ghost didn’t continue its attack. Thinking about it carefully, what happened just now was more like intimidation.”

Yu Jian suddenly flicked the ruler. The narrow metal strip gleamed with silver light. Although it was just an ordinary stationery item, it seemed like an incomparably sharp short blade when he held it, making people feel cold at the sight of it.

"Let's go back to the classroom and take a look." After saying that, he walked straight to the paranormal club's activity room.

"What?" Nogizaka and Sayaka exclaimed at the same time.

“It’s worth a try.” Lily nodded and followed closely behind.

Take away the broom that was blocking the classroom door, and Yujian pulls it open with one stroke.

Whoosh, a gust of cold wind blew out, and there was no sound in the classroom except that the window had been opened, which was the source of the wind.

"Someone wrote something on the blackboard," Yurika whispered, standing beside Mitsurugi.
"I am flowers, I am strong liquor, I am here to catch ghosts." They read out the contents written on the blackboard one by one, leaving everyone completely bewildered.

"It sounds like the ramblings of a madman," Lily said.
"Can ghosts go mad?" Yujian murmured to himself.

"I'm still alive, so I don't know the answer to that question yet." Yuriko even had the mind to joke, her composure almost like that of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Miken was amused by the strange thought that suddenly popped into his head, then noticed the unusual appearance of the window. Hijima High School usually starts in April, and only two weeks had passed; the weather wasn't particularly cold, so why was there frost and fog on the window?

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the windows were completely covered in frost, obscuring the outside view entirely, as if the old school building and the outside world were separated into two distinct realms. Even through the open window, his gaze could not penetrate the thick fog outside, and beyond that, all was pitch black.

In this light, breaking the glass is probably pointless, Yu Jian thought to himself.

"I remember now!" Nogizaka suddenly made a move.

Then, he ran to the pile of junk and searched frantically, and soon found a notebook that looked quite old.

"This is a treasure left behind by a senior member of the Paranormal Society. It contains a lot of rare content that is not found on other forums. That's how I learned the Silver Lily ritual. The senior also mentioned the more dangerous Ouija board ritual, but he didn't record the complete steps."

For a moment, the only sound in the classroom was the rustling of pages turning.

Undeterred by the brief calm, Yu Jian quietly closed his eyes and began to use his hearing to perceive the movements around him.

When the 'soul phenomenon' occurred before, Yujian did not see any suspicious figures, which means that spirits cannot be seen directly with the naked eye. This time, he plans to try his hearing and his intuition, which is even more difficult to describe.

To be honest, despite it being his first time encountering a paranormal event, he wasn't nervous. Instead, he felt that the other party was... a bit weak?

The biggest challenge is finding the target; as quantum mechanics says, if you can't observe it, you can't influence it, leaving you with strength but nowhere to use it. Aside from that, Yu Jian's mindset was remarkably peaceful, so peaceful that even he himself was surprised.

Looking back, it's not surprising. It's like a veteran who's been through the real battlefield going to a convenience store to buy cigarettes, only to be robbed by thugs with a pencil sharpener. Instead of feeling nervous, he might even want to laugh.

The "three-nothing golden finger" really did a lot of harm, forcing him, a delicate, sensitive, and kind art student who failed his postgraduate entrance exam, into a swordsman who was used to life and death and killed people without blinking an eye.

A few minutes later, the ghost didn't appear, but Nogizaka let out a cheer.

“Found it!” he said to everyone, pointing to a page in the old notebook.

"By borrowing the name of the spirit in its previous life, one can expel it when it goes out of control. If one possesses spiritual abilities, one can even forcibly command it to return to the underworld."

That sounds a bit like... a demon's real name? This could explain why the Silver Lily ritual is safer than a regular Ouija board ritual. The spirit's benevolent nature is one aspect, but the ritual's name directly mentioning its true identity is also crucial. In case of an accident, this can be used to stop the ritual.

That said, what exactly is the Netherworld? Is it the world of the dead?

Yu Jian pondered to himself that although he didn't feel much threat from the ghost, he didn't intend to act rashly.

If we're going to choose the tallest among the short, and since Nogizaka46, a paranormal enthusiast, has already found a solution, let's give it a try.

“But we don’t know the ghost’s name. You don’t actually think it was a Kokkuri-san that was summoned, do you?” Sayaka wasn’t stupid; she pointed out the key point in one sentence.

“That is indeed a problem.” Nogizaka hesitated again.

According to the notes of the senior members of the Paranormal Society, the materials for the ritual are very common, and even if trapped in an old school building, they can find materials on the spot. The only thing that is most crucial is the real name, which is difficult to obtain.

"Nogizaka-san, can I borrow your notebook..." Yurika glanced at Mitsurugi beside her: "Can we take a look?"

After receiving permission, she couldn't help but exhale into her palm, and a cloud of white mist immediately rose.

For some reason, the indoor temperature dropped noticeably not long after sunset.

Yujian took two steps closer and stood next to Yurika, naturally handing her his coat. Yurika didn't refuse, putting it on and softly saying thank you. Then she opened the old notebook and laid it out on her lap, moving slightly to the side to make room.

So the two of them stood side by side and began to examine the old notebook.

As he read on, Yujian gradually began to understand. Although the former president who left the notes was vague, judging from the details, the other party might be a genuine psychic.

According to him, the world inhabited by humans is based on matter, hence it is called the 'present world'. The so-called 'ghost world', on the other hand, is another dimension that leans more towards the spiritual realm.

The two worlds are like two sides of a coin, and in most cases, they will not intersect. In other words, ordinary people are unlikely to encounter paranormal events in their lifetime, or, to use the professional terminology in the notes, will not suffer from spiritual disasters.

A simple spirit communication ritual like the Silver Immortal can be understood as shouting loudly across a valley. Although the sound can be transmitted, the person remains in place, so the danger is not high.

However, the former president specifically emphasized at the end of his notes that the details of the ceremony should not be altered arbitrarily.

Although the chances are extremely small, most "I think" type changes will only lead to the failure of the ritual. However, if an accident occurs, the participants will inevitably be in danger.

The worst-case scenario would be if the Netherworld truly connected with reality, forming a special realm called the 'Eternal World', where individuals from the Netherworld could potentially interfere with or even enter the real world.

It's like overlapping two sheets of paper. The black and white colors, which were originally painted on different sheets of paper and did not affect each other, will be stained by each other after they come into contact, and become a different kind of gray.

The mortal realm is the gray area created by the fusion of reality and the underworld, and it is often a harbinger of spiritual disasters.

"What are your thoughts, Mikage-san? Even though this happened, you don't seem nervous at all," Yurika asked softly.

“I was also surprised by that.” Yu Jian paused.

"Besides, the squad leader is very calm. Aren't you scared at all?"

"Oh, does Miken want to see me scared? How mean." Aizen smiled, his eyes revealing undisguised mockery.

"To be honest, I can't even imagine what that would be like." As he spoke, Yujian looked at the two people arguing quietly not far away.

Although Nogizaka was a little afraid of Sayaka, he couldn't help but quietly retort when the latter spoke. The two arguing guys actually drew closer and closer, like two hedgehogs shivering in the cold wind.

Perhaps that's how an ordinary high school student should react to a paranormal event.

As for these two, well, they should be exceptions.

"Does Lily find this notebook useful?"

"Yes, the records of the Silver Immortal ritual are very detailed. It explains the principles behind the contracts, protections, and taboos involved in the ritual. It looks... very professional." Aizen Yurika gave a fair comment, the implied meaning of which coincided with that of Mitsurugi.

The notes are logically consistent and written in a style closer to an academic paper than simply collecting rumors. Therefore, Yurika draws a similar conclusion: the previous president was a true industry insider.

“I think so too.” Yu Jian nodded and looked at the two who were still arguing.

"Nogizaka-san, I have an idea."

Seeing the other person's gaze, he continued in a normal tone:

“Hold the ceremony again.”

(End of this chapter)