At the foot of Shiraishi Mountain, tightly woven barbed wire fences completely blocked the mountain path entrance.
Standing outside the fence, the cold concrete wall sealed the adjacent empty lot like a coffin lid – the very spot where Mamiko and others had died.
On the ground remained various offerings and broken ritual implements left behind from the exorcism ritual.
“This is where the evil energy is most concentrated. To suppress the interface between this place and our world, we exorcists from the Kinki region have paid a considerable price.”
During Chief Priest Chōmei’s explanation, a woman in a business suit with sharp features and a traditional hime-style haircut calmly surveyed the concrete barrier.
“Have this dismantled. That being has already left.”
Chief Priest Chōmei froze at these words, thought for a moment, then glanced toward the woman known as the contemporary strongest exorcist.
Higa Haruko – descendant of Okinawa’s spiritual medium family, endowed with extraordinary spiritual power through bloodline inheritance, and recognized as the most powerful spiritualist in her family’s history.
“It… left?”
Higa Haruko gave Chief Priest Chōmei a brief look before turning to gaze at the bustling city in the distance.
“If it were still here, neither of us would be standing here speaking so casually. You were fortunate – it appears that being had little interest in humans.”
“Who knows what those fools did to attract such a creature.”
Chief Priest Chōmei recalled how Osaka’s exorcists had gathered here to suppress this dimensional breach, believing it to be another victory for human exorcism.
Yet according to Higa Haruko’s assessment, while all the exorcists had emerged injured, they had happily believed they had jointly suppressed the area and severed the being’s connection to this world.
The truth was that the being simply hadn’t been interested in them and had mercifully let them go.
At this realization, Chief Priest Chōmei’s expression twisted with frustration, but after a moment he could only sigh helplessly and compose himself.
“Does Haruko-san know the being’s origins?”
Higa Haruko turned sideways to face Chief Priest Chōmei.
“I’m an exorcist, not a god. With so many supernatural events occurring annually in Japan, not every incident has traceable origins or reasons.”
Having said this, Higa Haruko walked toward the vehicle parked by the roadside. Compared to an entity that appeared and disappeared for unknown reasons, she had more pressing matters to attend to.
As for the idea of completely suppressing this being, Higa Haruko hadn’t even considered it.
With her growing spiritual power, Haruko had gained deeper understanding of the saying “human capability has its limits.”
While most entities could be expelled or even suppressed, there were some beings she wouldn’t dare provoke.
As long as such entities didn’t intrude into the human world and cause significant harm, mutual non-interference represented the optimal state for both humanity and these beings.
Those who recklessly sought to exorcise every evil spirit they encountered were mere novices. Experienced practitioners like Chief Priest Chōmei and herself knew better.
There was never any thought of suppressing such entities. More often than not, exorcists adopted methods called suppression rather than exorcism.
Suppression meant containment, while exorcism meant eradication.
Containing a person versus killing a person—anyone with a brain could tell which was easier.
But evil spirits were different. To completely eliminate them, one had to trace them to their very roots to eradicate all hidden dangers. Leaving even the slightest opportunity could allow them to resurge, and in the process, one might uncover something extraordinary.
Not to mention the consequences of pushing such entities to desperation. Often, when Higa Haruko confronted these beings, she adhered to the principle of stopping at the right point.
If things escalated into a life-or-death struggle, Haruko wasn’t sure whether she would die, but she knew for certain that if the other side were pushed to desperation, many people would perish.
Chief Priest Chōmei was deeply aware of this as well. After a helpless smile, he followed Haruko and drove away from Shiraishi Mountain.
On the way back to the city, Chief Priest Chōmei glanced at Haruko, who sat expressionlessly by the opposite window in the back seat.
“So, Miss Haruko, what do you think is the underlying connection between the incidents at Shiraishi Mountain and those in the city?”
Haruko responded with indifference.
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. With the economic boom in recent years, people in this country have become restless and seek thrills. Who knows what they’ve done to attract such entities?”
“If they’re courting death, let them. Not to mention the Qingshi Gang’s notorious reputation in the Osaka area.”
Chief Priest Chōmei frowned slightly at her words.
“But several students and their parents had no usual connections with the Qingshi Gang.”
Haruko sneered coldly.
“Solving crimes is the police’s job, not an exorcist’s. I don’t care whether they’re connected or not. Exorcists only appear when evil spirits manifest in the world. Without evil spirits, what role or perspective would we have to intervene in public safety matters?”
“What does that have to do with us?”
After saying this, Haruko lost interest in continuing the conversation. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.
Seeing this, Chief Priest Chōmei sighed silently, fingered the Buddhist beads in his hand, and also closed his eyes to rest.
After all, the exorcism ritual two days ago had not only injured other exorcists but had also taken a toll on him.
Upon arriving in the city, Haruko bid farewell to the conflicted Chief Priest Chōmei. Standing by the roadside, she watched the black sedan drive away, then took out a cigarette from her case, lit it, and took a drag.
“Pff~”
Exorcists like Chief Priest Chōmei, who couldn’t bear to see evil spirits harass the human world and bring death and suffering, were not few in number.
It was precisely because of their existence that the exorcist community in this country hadn’t become a feared and dreaded group like those across the ocean.
Yet, because of this, the exorcists in this country had always been in a state of decline. It wasn’t due to incompetence but often because their sense of responsibility as exorcists led them into irretrievable predicaments.
Haruko remembered clearly a case three years ago that had shocked the entire exorcist community of the country.
A young and promising exorcist, while carrying out a mission, peeled back layer after layer of the case. After exorcising the female evil spirit, he discovered that the woman had become an evil spirit entirely due to her husband’s actions.
Domestic violence, abuse, burning her body with cigarette butts, forcing intercourse despite her pregnancy—leading to multiple miscarriages.
In the end, the man even grew resentful of his gentle wife for obstructing him from bringing other women home for the night.
Once, under the influence of drugs after being coaxed by a casual partner, he joined that woman in murdering his wife. After sobering up, he indifferently chose to dismember her body.
In the end, the man faced the consequences he deserved, but the exorcist was also stabbed to death on a rainy night by the man’s mother, who harbored irrational hatred.
Such cases were not isolated incidents. From then on, exorcists in the island nation began to separate from ordinary law enforcement, no longer intervening in secular ethical matters.
Focus on exorcising evil, dedicate efforts to maintaining order—this benefits everyone.