At Hasegawa’s command, the senkaimon gave off a dazzling spirit light.
“Groups one through five, follow the jigokuchō and enter in order. Hold your formation and keep your heads!”
Hasegawa’s voice cut through the hum of spiritual pressure and reached every ear clearly.
Silas’s group moved at once.
He glanced back at Nanao, Harada, and the three nervous third-years behind him, then nodded and stepped into the light first.
The instant he passed through the senkaimon, a familiar weightlessness and warping of space washed over him, like moving through a thick film of water.
What followed was a brief moment of darkness and of silence, as though he were standing in an infinite void.
This was the Dangai, the space joining the Soul Society and the Human World.
Here the flow of time ran differently from the world outside, and the senses grew blurred.
Only a firm will and steady spiritual pressure could carve a path and find a direction through the chaos.
For Silas, none of it was unfamiliar anymore.
He guided his spiritual pressure steadily to form a road beneath his feet while keeping an eye on the teammates behind him.
Nanao and Harada both held themselves steady, and though the three third-years found it uncomfortable, they managed to keep up with the group.
After several minutes of running, a point of light finally appeared ahead, swelling rapidly until it filled their whole field of vision.
Their feet met solid ground, and an atmosphere utterly unlike the Soul Society rushed at them.
The Human World.
The first thing they felt was the slightly thinner concentration of spirit particles in the air, which left the third-years, accustomed as they were to the environment of the Soul Society, faintly uneasy.
What came into view next was a city district that looked somewhat different from the ones back in the Soul Society.
Low wooden houses ran on and on, and the streets were fairly wide but were only packed dirt, dark water standing in the ruts.
As far as the eye could see there were almost no lights.
Only the cold moon outlined the shapes of the buildings.
By comparison, the orderly buildings and spirit particle lamps inside the Seireitei seemed far more advanced.
“So this is the Human World…”
“It looks almost the same as the Soul Society.”
Several of the third-years looked around, their eyes full of novelty.
“Alright, focus. You can start looking for wandering souls now. Do you all remember the konsō procedure?”
At the sound of Silas’s voice, the group snapped to attention.
“We remember, senpai!”
“Calm the soul, confirm the basic information, issue a sorting ticket, then channel spiritual power through the hilt of the sword to the soul’s forehead to complete the rite.”
“First try to talk it through and settle the matter. If that fails… depending on the situation, you can use Bakudō to restrain them lightly and help the konsō along.”
“Your theory is solid.”
Silas nodded.
“Then your konsō internship begins as of now. Perform well. We’ll be giving you a grade at the end based on how you do.”
Once Silas had finished speaking, he signaled for everyone to concentrate their spiritual pressure in the soles of their feet.
With a light leap he landed on a high roof nearby, and his field of vision opened up all at once.
The others followed him up.
“Good. Now, per the plan, clear the souls in this area first. Watch your surroundings and keep talking to each other.”
Silas gave the order, and the work of the konsō began immediately.
Guiding souls on was not a complicated business.
The wandering souls were mostly ordinary people who still carried some attachment after death and drifted about in a daze.
Even a Shin’ō Academy freshman could describe the Soul Society as a wonderful place in a few words and get them to agree.
All it took was touching the end of the Asauchi’s hilt lightly to the soul’s forehead and feeding in a sliver of spiritual pressure, and the soul turned to points of spirit light.
The soul would then attach itself to a jigokuchō prepared in advance, which would carry it to its final destination in the Soul Society.
Silas and the other two were mainly there for security, guidance, and any accident that might arise.
The third-years learned the procedure and the technique of konsō by doing it.
“Aim for the center of the forehead, and be as gentle as you can, or the soul will find it unpleasant.”
“Watch your back. Keep basic vigilance even in the middle of a konsō.”
Nanao and Harada patiently guided the several students who were a bit flustered.
Silas, for his part, patrolled the perimeter of the group, staying alert for any danger in the area.
Under the guidance of Silas and the others, the third-years all successfully completed their first konsō.
The work moved along very smoothly.
A few hours passed, and the group they were leading had already sent more than ten souls on their way, a high rate of work.
The third-years gradually shed their early nerves as well, and their speech and movements grew more practiced.
For the occasional soul that refused to leave and squared up to resist, Silas used them straightforwardly as moving targets for the juniors to practice low-level Bakudō on.
“Watch closely. With this sort of lout it doesn’t matter if you’re a bit rough. And remember to dump him past District 60.”
Silas brought the hilt of his sword down hard enough to nearly stave in the cursing man’s skull.
As the freshmen watched that brutal technique of his, though, their eyes sparkled with admiration.
Nanao looked at the eager juniors with a touch of helplessness.
“His method isn’t wrong as such, but do try not to copy him. Remember to go a little easier with your hands…”
As time wore on, the juniors began to look tired as their spiritual pressure drained away.
Silas led them to a relatively flat roof for a short break, where they ate the rations they had brought to get their strength back. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“So this is the Human World. It feels even less prosperous than the Rukongai.”
Sato said it quietly.
“That’s because you haven’t been to the higher-numbered districts. Once you’ve seen how things are out there, you won’t feel that way.”
There was something low in Yoshida’s tone.
Kobayashi said nothing.
As one of only two girls on the team, she leaned quietly against Nanao, eating in small bites.
“Alright, finish your rest. We’ll do one more sweep shortly. If there are no souls left in this area, we can head back.”
Silas broke into their brooding at the right moment.
“We’re in luck this time. We haven’t even run into a Hollow.”
At Nanao’s words, something stirred in Silas.
The density of souls in this area wasn’t low.
By rights there should have been souls turning into Hollows, or Hollows drawn here.
It really was a bit strange.
“No Hollows is a good thing.”
Harada Heita looked nervously around the pitch-black streets, gripping his Asauchi tightly.
“But it feels… too quiet…”
Silas looked out into the dark night.
The taut string in his chest didn’t slacken.
If today’s internship could end quietly like this, all well and good.
But if something really was going to happen, there wasn’t much time left.
Once the rest was over, the group stood up, ready for one last sweep.
Even if there were no wandering souls left nearby, the number of konsō they had performed already met the quota.
According to the plan, they could already start making their way toward the assembly point.
At that moment, however, the denreishinki in Nanao’s arms sounded an alarm.
Nanao pulled it out and checked it, and her voice came urgent and grave.
“Everyone, I’ve just had a notification. There’s an abnormal spiritual pressure reaction nearby. It’s a Hollow…”
Before she could finish the sentence,
A roar full of violence and hunger tore across the night sky like a thunderclap.