give it all to miss machima

Makima, who had a lot of experience with horror games, immediately took Amakura Mio and rushed over, following her all the way to the back of a building.

At one of the windows here, a white-haired boy, seemingly locked up, saw the two arrive and immediately called out to them:

"You really came back, Yae..."

Machima and Amakura Mio exchanged glances—whose name is Yae?

"You've mistaken me for someone else. Besides, Yae is your surname, right? What about your given name? It can't be Sakura or Miko, can it?"

Unfortunately, the boy ignored Machima and stared intently at Amakura Mio, saying:

"You must take Sha Zhong and leave this village immediately. She is currently at the priest's house. It's still not too late. The key to the priest's house is hidden behind a pair of twin shrines..."

Amakura Mio was completely bewildered—who is Sae?

"Excuse me, who are you...?"

"Quick, find Saeshige, before the big repayment begins..."

After a brief conversation, the two quickly realized that the girl in front of them was just like an NPC in a game, constantly urging Amakura Mio to find someone named Sae.

"She seems to have mistaken you for that person named Yae..."

Machima pondered, while also observing the boy more closely. She quickly realized that the one in front of her seemed to be a ghost as well—but he appeared to be in a stable state and was not aggressive. He also mistook Amakura Mio for someone else.

Machima stubbornly held onto the soft-feeling Amakura Mio, refusing to let her down from her arms, while shaking her head:

"Let's go. It seems this is just a lingering resentment, not enough to give us much information. But... it is a clue. Let's go check out that priest's house... Hey, where is the priest's house?"

The other party responded to this and told them to go to the largest mansion in the village.

Having received the answer, Machima leaped onto the roof with Amagura Mio in tow.

The latter was startled by the sudden weightlessness. When she came to her senses, Machima was already carrying her and running wildly on the roof.

"Wow...that's amazing! Sister Machima, are you a ninja?"

"That's right. I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm a Jonin from Konoha Village. I've been sent by the government to search for you two sisters."

Amakura Mio was stunned. Just as she was about to ask something, Machima had already carried her in a big leap to a large door.

"This looks like the place."

“Um…” Amakura Mio looked at the tall, thick wooden door in front of her, “Shouldn’t we be looking for that… key?”

"There's no time to look for keys, just watch carefully!"

Machima put down Tenkura Mio, then kicked the wooden door.

"Konoha - Whirlwind!!!"

With a terrifying kick, Machima smashed the door to pieces, then clapped her hands and picked up Amakura Mio again.

The latter now believed that Machima was a ninja.

Behind the gate was a ditch comparable to a moat, with only a wooden bridge leading to the other side. The two had only walked halfway when a female ghost dressed in white and soaking wet appeared under the bridge and pounced on them—her form looked much more solid and imposing than the other evil spirits, indicating that she was an elite monster.

But Machima completely ignored her. With a "Excuse me," she slid across the bridge and rushed into the courtyard behind the bridge.

Faced with such an unruly Machima, the evil spirit did not pursue them, but simply stayed on the bridge, glaring at the two with resentment.

"Oh ho, it seems this one is more like a bound spirit. It's stronger, but its range of movement is more limited."

Continuing to hold the girl, Machima entered the enormous mansion.

Even after decades, the building's former splendor is still evident—the owner of this house, in that era, was at least a large landowner.

Of course, this place is now a perfect haunted house. Just looking at the dark, bottomless corridor makes Amakura Mio's heart pound.

However, Machima was incredibly bold. Without saying a word, she strode inside, acting just like a tourist visiting a guesthouse.

"Um...should we be a little more careful?"

Terrified, Amakura Mio could only hug Machima tighter and pray that no evil spirits would rush out from behind those doors.

Shh, did you hear something?

Machima suddenly stopped and listened carefully. Soon, Amakura Mio also heard it; it was several hoarse voices, seemingly discussing something.

"The twins who were going to be adopted have returned..."

"Qi, he's here too..."

Chapter 156 The Twin Beauties Reunited

Before Amakura Mio could figure out what they were saying, Makima strode towards the source of the sound and, as Amakura Mio's heart stopped, kicked the door open:

"Baka yarou~ What are you muttering about!"

"..."

But there was nothing behind the door, except for an old notebook on the ground.

Machima raised an eyebrow, picked it up and looked at it, and found that it seemed to be the notes of a folklorist named Seijiro Makabe.

The Kurosawa family possesses numerous ancient records, most of which relate to traditional rituals, making this a valuable discovery from a folkloric perspective.

The secret ritual circulating in this place is called the Crimson Ritual, a sacrificial ceremony to seal the Gates of the Underworld using twins. It is divided into the regularly held main ritual and the Yin Ritual, a make-up ritual to compensate for the failure of the main ritual. It is said that if all these rituals fail, the Great Calamity will descend, at which time countless dead will pour out of the Gates of the Underworld, blotting out the sky and the sun...

[Munekata said that his childhood playmates, a pair of twin boys, disappeared after the last main ritual. I'm a little concerned about those missing twins; if we could find them, we might be able to find out the specific details of the ritual.]

Still asking about other people here? Are you sure you're not going to run away?!

Machima bets that this guy definitely sent it—maybe a really bad one.

When folklorists come to such eerie places, it's like investigators going to investigate ancient gods—it's no wonder something bad happens.

Judging from the current state of Minakami Village, it's most likely that the "Red Ritual" messed things up, causing evil spirits to appear everywhere.

But... do all rituals require twins?

Is this why the Amakura sisters were involved in Minakami Village?

As Machima was pondering, another woman's laughter drifted from afar, sounding both manic and sorrowful, accompanied by muttered murmurs that were still difficult to decipher.

"Are you laughing at my mother?!"

Distracted from her thoughts, Machima strode forward and soon arrived at a spacious room, but there was still nothing behind the screen.

Just as she was about to leave, annoyed, she suddenly felt something on the ground grab her ankle.

Looking down, I found that the old tatami mat, which was empty just a moment ago with only dust, was now covered with gruesome corpses.

One of them was grabbing Machima's ankle with his filthy hands.

Startled, Amakura Mio reached for the camera hanging around her neck to photograph the corpses on the ground, but was stopped by Machima—because when she looked up again, a girl in a kimono was standing right in front of her.

Machima didn't even realize how she had appeared; she looked like a ghost... oh, she was a ghost after all.

"--Alas!!"

Amakura Mio was so frightened by the kimono-clad girl who was almost in front of her that her mind went blank. What made her even more panicked was that Makima was not moving at this moment, but was still holding her tightly.

The reason Machima didn't run away was because this evil spirit was the most solid she had ever seen; if it weren't so pale, she would have almost thought it was a person.

And she didn't seem to have any intention of attacking the two of them. Instead, she stared at Amakura Mio with an incredibly yearning look, but then her gaze suddenly became empty.

Machima raised an eyebrow: "What's up?"

"Yae...you've come back after all."

The ghost girl ignored Machima and stared intently at Amakura Mio, her voice filled with sorrow.

"Originally, we ran away together, and we promised to stay together forever... but..."

"...The ritual failed..."

"The great reckoning has begun... Everyone is dead, all because we escaped..."

"Therefore... we must hold the ceremony once again..."

Amakura Mio was still completely bewildered, but Machima quickly came to her senses.

Tamiya Ryoko said that only one girl survived that year, so... that girl was Kyōsai Yae? And the girl in the kimono in front of us is her twin sister, Sae?

Because Yae escaped, the ritual failed, triggering a disaster that left the village desolate.

Now, she seems to have mistaken Amakura Mio for Yae, who has run away.

Machima slapped away the hand that was slowly reaching out to Amakura Mio and asked:

"Hey, since you're going to perform a ritual, that means... her older sister, Amakura Mayu, is here too? Where is she?"

The other party finally turned their gaze to Machima for the first time. Compared to the complicated look in her eyes when she looked at Amakura Mio, her gaze towards Machima was completely cold, as if she were looking at a dead person.

"Qi, another one... Run!"

"...?"

"Contract? Me? What exactly does that mean?"

Faced with the curious Machima, the kimono-clad girl... Sae slowly stepped back, then her entire body began to fade away and disappear into thin air.

Meanwhile, the corpses, or rather, the evil spirits, on the ground all around began to move.

"slip!"

With a kick away the ghost that was holding her ankle, Machima rushed out with Amakura Mio in her arms.

Not long ago, there wasn't a soul in the mansion, but now one ghost after another keeps appearing—some of them are strange creatures dressed in priestly robes.

"Hold on tight!"

With a startled cry from Amakura Mio, Makima Turn accelerated and then began a series of dazzling maneuvers.

No matter from behind, Makima nimbly dodged them, navigating the complex mansion with incredible agility. Almost every move she made looked incredibly dangerous, but the evil spirits couldn't catch her or even touch her, much like a speedrunner in a hurry.

Excuse me, excuse me~

"Excuse me, thank you~"

This almost playful and flamboyant movement undoubtedly angered the group of evil spirits. A few seconds later, an exceptionally cold aura suddenly wafted over. Machima turned around and saw a peculiar evil spirit attacking them.

This guy looked like he had suffered a lot of torture before he died—several nails were stuck in his body, one of his eyes had been gouged out, his limbs and fingers were all twisted, and he was bound with several ropes used for torture.

Although his clothes were tattered, they looked noticeably different from those of the ordinary villagers and priests.

Could it be that folklorist who left the notes?

It's possible to fight, but there's no need.

Makima already had a pretty good understanding of the mansion's layout, and with Amagura Mio holding her neck for filming, this kite-flying tactic allowed them to easily shake off the mini-boss of the level after a few laps, and arrive at a room with a display stand.

On the display stand, there were many dolls, but more importantly, on the tatami behind the screen, lay the unconscious Amagura Cocoon.

"cocoon!"

Amakura Mio struggled to jump down from Machima's arms and went to her sister's side to check on her.

Machima smiled slightly – Oh wow, the twin sisters are all here.

Chapter 157 The Truth Gradually Unveiled

Although the Tiancang sisters are twins, they do not look exactly alike.

Compared to her younger sister, Amakura Mio, who appears much cuter, the older sister, Amakura Mayu, gives Makima a more aloof... or rather, seductive feeling.

As Cocoon was awakened, the two learned from her why they had gotten lost—Cocoon said she felt someone calling her…

“That voice… wanted me to come over, and… she mentioned a ritual…”

"ceremony?"

Makima has basically confirmed that someone... or rather, something wants the twin sisters, Amakura and Amakura, to perform the Red Ritual again, thereby eliminating the current situation in Minakami Village.

So... um?

Machima suddenly paused slightly, because her older sister, Koko, suddenly hugged her younger sister tightly, pressing her face against Mio's chest with a look of adoration.

"Mio, will we... be together forever? Forever..."

"..."

Ah... the lilies in my hometown are actually blooming...

Are you kidding me? With so many girls he's slept with, how could Machima not be able to distinguish between familial affection and romantic love and possessiveness?

I never expected this older sister to have such feelings for her younger sister...