Transformed into the leader of an esoteric sect in Japan

"No, the desserts were wonderful! It's just that you're so beautiful, I got a little mesmerized." Kurosawa Shizuki replied somewhat awkwardly.

"Is that so..." Suzuki lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly, a tempting blush rising on his cheeks.

Ando, ​​who was standing next to her, gave Kurosawa Shizuki another sharp tap on the back of the head. Ando looked at her irritably and said, "Hey, Kurosawa, no one is allowed to be glib in my club!"

Just then, someone hurriedly pushed open the door, and the fourth member of the club arrived.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, am I late?" The girl rushed in, looking flustered and panting, making Kurosawa Shizuki worry that she might not be able to stop and fall flat on her face.

The girl, with a temperament like a small animal, was slightly shorter than Kurosawa Shizuki. She had big, watery eyes and wore high-prescription glasses. Her bob hairstyle was adorned with a cute bunny hair clip.

However, what caught the girl's attention most were the gemstone bracelets she wore on both hands. Her left hand had a ruby, and her right hand had a lapis lazuli. If Kurosawa Shizuki's perception was not wrong, both bracelets were influenced by a strange, invisible technique. Her left hand had a flame-like burning gem, and her right hand had a tomb-like solemnity.

"Akagi-kun, you're going to be late in five minutes," Ando said with a grin, glancing down at his phone. "If you really are late, there will be a very severe punishment waiting for you."

Since her surname is Akagi, this must be Akagi Kana, the one in the Ghost Club whom Kurosawa Shizuki had never heard of before.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It won't happen again! I'll be more careful!" The girl called Akagi just kept apologizing with tears in her eyes and kept bowing. She gave people a very weak feeling. Such a girl inexplicably made Kurosawa Shizuki feel a strange destructive urge.

“If apologies were enough, what would be the point of punishment?” Ando said coldly. “None of that matters. Did you borrow the ‘combat record file’ I asked you to prepare from the rental shop?”

"Of course I remembered that! I went to borrow it as soon as school was over! It's definitely one of director Geneco's most classic thriller short films, an excellent work that lets us feel the true charm of horror movies. From beginning to end, the dark story is permeated with a strong sense of chill and sadness, and at the end, the story has an unexpected and exciting twist!" As soon as the "Combat Record Files" were mentioned, Akagi, who had just been apologizing with tears in her eyes, suddenly became excited and started to recommend it to the club members. Her big eyes were full of the enthusiasm that belongs only to otaku, and it seems that she is indeed quite interested in the field of urban legends.

Akagi pulled a videotape from his bag. The video was called "Silence!" The cover showed a woman covering her mouth, her wide, terrified eyes staring at the camera. A doorway was reflected in her dark pupils, and behind the doorway, a pale, blurry figure pushed open the door and walked in.

What the heck? Kurosawa Shizuki was once again shocked by Ando's various eccentric behaviors. So, their so-called "strategy meeting" was just watching a horror movie while eating snacks? We received an invitation from a clown that gave us such a dangerous feeling, and we're going to Cursed Paradise the day after tomorrow. Ando Chinatsu, you should be a little more in a hurry!

P.S. Regarding the other two members of the Ghostly Tribe, each has a long backstory. We've tried our best to portray their personalities and characteristics, so they should be quite distinct, right?

PS2, this recommendation is to soothe the injustices of the world, and to be worthy of those who have wronged the world.

Section 44, Chapter Forty-Four: The dancer's name was Adela Mendoza

The members of the sneaky club, chattering away without any sense of urgency, ate snacks and sipped tea, chatting idly as time slipped by.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves mentally. If you get scared, you can jump into my arms. The president can comfort your frightened little hearts with his broad chest!" With a carefree laugh, Ando Chinatsu stuffed the videotape titled "Silence!" into the VCR. The VCR gripped the tape with a hoarse clicking sound and started running, making a dull, creaking sound, like the groan of a dying old man.

Everyone closed the doors and windows, drew the curtains, and turned off the lights. They gathered in a circle with great interest, just like the curious young people in horror movies. They were dangerously interested in things that people of their age shouldn't be watching, unable to suppress their curiosity, and were completely unconcerned even if it meant breaking dangerous taboos.

On the old television set, the screen first showed static, then a long, slow shot appeared. The black and white image showed only a distant view of a Western European city. As the camera zoomed in, flocks of birds soared and flew past the clouds. Red bricks and tiles, ancient castle-like buildings, a crowded market, and maze-like marble streets were visible. Thick smoke billowed from chimneys, horses' hooves trampled the bricks, and the citizens were elegantly dressed with reserved expressions.

The subtitles appeared: "1928, the history of origami, the city of Celalia, the Red Death." A city name I'd never heard of before; perhaps it was fictional.

The camera zooms in on a place that resembles a university, passing through rooftops, windows, and attics, finally arriving at a place that resembles a dance studio, a restless dance studio.

A middle-aged man, smoking a cigar and wearing a greasy waterproof trench coat, impatiently fanned himself with his top hat, frowning as he watched a female dancer spin her body and perform a swan-like ballet.

He shook his head and waved to the dancer, "No, that's not what I want. Next one."

The first female dancer left the stage, and the second male dancer came on. He had just started a light and lively tap-tap dance when he shook his head again: "No, men can't do it."

The third female dancer, with her supple limbs stretching and closing, drew perfect circles, showcasing the spirit of life. "No, that's too frenetic, too noisy."

The androgynous dancer performed a powerful solo, exuding a postmodern avant-garde vibe. "No, too rough, too mediocre..."

The Feathered Robe Dance of the Eastern Kingdom. "It's not the same feeling..."

The Noh mask dance, paired with a melancholic singing voice, goes, "No, no, no..."

……

The picky man rejected one dancer after another until, after all the dancers had finished their performances, he rejected them all.

"Is this Celalia, the dance capital? Is this all the dance moves you've presented to me? It's so inferior, so boring, so uninteresting!" The man casually tossed the jewelry at the dancers with a contemptuous look on his face. Each toss produced pure gold jewelry, sparkling diamonds, and flawless jade. The dancers reveled in the jewels, fighting and tearing at each other, their previous composure and elegance completely gone.

However, the man's eyes were empty, so empty as to be almost desolate, as if there was no one in this world worth his attention.

In the midst of the bustling world, the man suddenly noticed the only girl among the dancers who remained unmoved amidst the scattering jewels. She turned around as if to leave, wearing a gray-blue dress and a sun hat with a silk brim. When she took off the hat, she revealed a youthful, innocent, and pure smile, seemingly a student from a local university.

The man's keen eyes noticed, however, her near-perfect physique beneath her thin clothing:

Achieving a level of machine-like precision. Tendons bound the white bones, encased in smooth, taut skin. This was not something a human should possess; it was a sacred body reserved for those in mythology, yet now it had become a reality before his very eyes.

Even without the girl dancing, he knew almost at first glance that she was the one he had been waiting for.

He called to the smiling girl, took her delicate hand in his, and gave it a light kiss: "Miss, would you like to dance for me?"

“If it’s just a dance, sir, I’d be happy to.” The girl had dark red eyes, like congealed blood or decaying roses.

"May I ask your name?" the man asked with deep affection and obsession.

"Adela Mendoza, known as the 'Shadow Dancer,' is from the Ligeia Society." The girl's laughter, however, carried the hiss of some wild beast.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Wow, how romantic! By the way, is this really a horror movie?" Chinatsu Ando exclaimed, breaking the mysterious atmosphere created by the film, while munching on potato chips.

"Minister Ando, ​​can you have a little patience? Isn't it a basic formula for horror movies to have an artsy opening that leaves people feeling intimidated?" Akagi Kana rolled her eyes at Ando Chinatsu. "Some horror movies spend 90% of the entire film in a dull build-up, with the high-energy moment only suddenly arriving in the last 10%."

“I actually hope the whole film has this romantic atmosphere,” Suzuki-senpai said with a gentle smile, “that unique feeling of searching for someone among many and finding your destined one.”

Adela Mendoza... Why does this name sound so familiar? Kurosawa Shizuki felt very puzzled, but she shook off her doubts and tilted her head back to gulp down another mouthful of her favorite soda.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Subtitle: "Operation Sunset. Awakening the path to silence."

A quiet dance studio, under the spotlight.

Adela's entire body was covered in iridescent paint, and she stood on a high platform.

She was dressed like a foreign dancer, adorned with necklaces, barefoot, with bells on her bracelets and anklets jingling with her movements, and a cinnabar dot on her brow, like a third eye.

She danced to a mesmerizing rhythm, her movements devilish, with layers of veils swirling around her dreamlike figure. Every movement was as sharp as lightning, and the irresistible beat was like the roar of thunder!

Thump, thump, thump, thump, her jade feet tapped the ground one after another, thrilling and breathtaking, like towering waves rising and falling.

Her body suddenly froze, as if time had stopped, turning her into a solemn wax figure.

The spotlight spun, shining on the other end of the stage, where a man dressed like an ancient priest, wearing a crown of mistletoe and with Byzantine purple dye on his face.

The man chanted his incantation, and the dancers began to dance wildly again, thump, thump, thump, and everyone seemed to hear their hearts pounding.

He brought in a cow, which went limp under the dancer's frenzied movements. He then used a sacrificial knife to slaughter the defenseless cow, its blood flowing across the stage. The dancer's steps rippled across the blood...

The man held the bull's heart high, sang an ancient hymn, and sat down facing the dancers. Once again, he used the sacrificial knife to cut open the bull's heart, blood gushing out and completely staining his white sacrificial robes red.

“The cracks in the world’s surface are ruptured in the dancer’s steps,” he murmured, his hands trembling. “My love, hear my call, return from the shadows to the world. Let us reunite as in the covenant, never to be separated again.”

Several montage shots flash by—

The man stood by his beloved's bedside, her smile bittersweet, and wept bitterly.

The man buried his lover in a gray grave and placed a bunch of purple irises in front of the tombstone.

The man searched feverishly in the library called Time Pivot, and finally found a magic book with a gray cover.

He turned the pages of the magic book, stopping at the last page: "Sunset Ritual, a ritual to awaken the dead."

The scene ends, and we return to "reality".

From within the shattered heart, wisps of dark red mist began to rise, and the smoke-like figure of the dead coalesced, gazing at his former lover with sorrow and despair.

The deceased lover opened her arms to the man and embraced him. The man groaned and wept, his body dissolving in the red mist. He was dissipating into the mist and being devoured by the dead formed from smoke, but he did not resist. He willingly wanted to pass through the flaws in this world to another world.

The camera finally pans to the dancer who has stopped dancing. She covers her mouth with her hands, her large eyes seemingly filled with terror. She watches helplessly as the man melts away in his lover's arms, her body trembling.

A doorway was reflected in her clear, dark red pupils. The man, holding his lover's hand, disappeared at the end of that doorway, behind which seven colors of light shone.

She moved her fingers away, and a pleasurable yet wicked smile appeared on her lips. She let out moans that sounded like orgasms, one after another.

She turned around, and with a groan, peeled off layer after layer of clothing, the thin fabric flowing over her snow-white ankles like a butterfly shedding its skin.

Finally, she shed her human skin as well, revealing her scarlet, grim flesh, which emitted scorching steam and hissed. Blood-red wings unfurled from her back.

The End. Next, we'll show the film crew. Surprisingly, the entire film was made by one person; the producer's name is "Jennick Croser".

ps

Quiet!

Sexual orientation:

It's available for auction (I could probably auction this item, although the auction price is never certain).

Documents (books are immortal memories.)

A reel of nitrate film, labeled "STUMM!"—meaning "silence" or "mute." Next to it, in trembling handwriting, is the director's name: "Jennick Croce."

Research:

The projector creaked and groaned, silently projecting the image onto the wall. The film told the story of a foolish man researching forbidden science who recruited a dancer to lure the dead back into the world through a flaw in its surface. It was a fictional story, yet the title card read "Operation Sunset"...

The ritual is described in exquisite detail, chilling to the bone. First, the world's flaws, an effect shimmering in iridescent paint. Then, the dancer's irresistible rhythm. Then, the scholar recounts the steps; and at that moment, a smoke-like dead being swirls through the flaws to devour him! The film ends with a freeze-frame on the dancer's wary eyes. Had she intended to do this from the beginning?

Section 45, Chapter Forty-Five: I Should Just Quit the Club Sooner Rather Than Later

"What does this mean?" Chinatsu Ando asked, completely bewildered. "I clearly wanted to watch a youth horror film full of jumps and scares, or even a third-rate gore movie, or even a dull psychological horror film if all else fails, but what does this mean? I don't watch fantasy films or art films!"

Ando had only eaten half of his potato chips when it abruptly ended?

"As a movie, this is way too short!" Suzuki commented. "A normal horror movie should be at least 90 minutes long. We watched less than 15 minutes before it was over. It felt like there were so many more stories to tell: who exactly was the dancer, the man's past with his lover, how did the man learn that ritual from..."

This is probably not a fictional movie. Shizuki Kurosawa suspects that the film may simply be a record of a certain reality. Because it is reality, it will not explain the beginning and end of the story in a complete way like a movie.

"I do think it has a slightly chilling quality..." Kurosawa Shizuki felt a chill run down her spine. Is there anything in this world that is unrelated to the art of invisibility? How come we can see the shadow of strange and bizarre invisibility everywhere?

“This film was made in 1928. In an era when film was still a new phenomenon, it’s truly remarkable that the director could create such a short film all by himself!” Kana Akagi made no attempt to hide her excitement and joy. “Even setting aside the masterful dances, the avant-garde montage, and the actors’ unforgettable performances, the final scene where Adèle sheds her skin, grows wings, and escapes is a classic moment etched in history. No scholar can fathom how such a flawless shot was filmed in that era. The level of special effects is incredible!”

Is this really just special effects? Kurosawa Shizuki felt a chill run down her spine. Why did it seem to her no matter how she looked at it, that woman had really peeled off a layer of skin?

"The main plot of the film is still very clear: a man wants to revive his lover by finding a dancer to perform a special ritual. However, although the ritual eventually awakens his lover, it forces the man to pay the price with his life. It seems that all of this was the dancer's plan from the beginning..." Kana Akagi continued to explain to the club members.

[Congratulations! You have triggered the side quest, The Last Dance of the Pleasures. Find and watch the record file of the seven dances of Adela Mendoza, the Pleasures of the Shadows. Current progress: 1/7. Rewards: Dance - The Last Dance (Dark Purple), Secret - Drunken Prayer VII, Ritual - Sunset Ritual] Just as Kurosawa Shizuki was pondering the deeper meaning behind this bizarre film, the notification sound for the side quest triggered rang out again.

Wow, this side quest is amazing! It directly rewards a deep purple skill and a level seven secret technique! Kurosawa Shizuki was completely stunned by the reward from this side quest that she had inexplicably triggered. You see, her strongest basic skill, which she had relied on for survival since transmigrating, was the purple skill Black Spirit Body, which was also manifested by the level seven secret technique, Furnace Hymn. This side quest directly rewards a powerful secret technique of the same level as Black Spirit Body, plus a corresponding skill? That's incredible!

As for that ritual... Kurosawa Shizuki doesn't seem to have much need for it for the time being. Judging from the content of the film, this ritual seems to be able to awaken the dead? But the dead awakened in this way are definitely very dangerous, right? The protagonist of the film even lost his life.

If Kurosawa Shizuki has the chance in the future, she'll probably have to thoroughly investigate the dancer named Adèle Mendoza mentioned in the film. According to the system's hints, Adèle is the so-called "Shadow Pleasure User."