ch61-ch80 · 083-ch69

Chapter 69

"In today's news — shocking footage. It appears an adventurer was possessed by an evil spirit inside Shinjuku Tower."

"Ah, here it is. A ghost possessed a female adventurer!"

"The female adventurer attacks her own party members. It looks like a scene from a horror movie, but this footage is real — it actually happened in Shinjuku Tower."

"The monster responsible is called a Demon Specter. Until now, ghost-type monsters have never possessed humans. Today we have a representative from the Shinjuku Tower Adventurer's Guild here as an expert."

Every TV station reported on the incident of an adventurer being possessed by an evil spirit in Shinjuku Tower.

Famous adventurers and Adventurer's Guild affiliates were brought in as experts and commentators, emphasizing that this phenomenon was unprecedented.

The footage, sourced from the adventurer streaming site 'Tower Tube,' showed Yuuka, possessed by a Demon Specter, groaning and attacking her fellow adventurers.

The only saving grace was that Futami Yuuka's face had been mosaicked out.

The news spread not just on TV but online as well, spreading like wildfire.

◇

While the world buzzed with talk of the incident, an emergency meeting was convened.

The attendees included representatives from the Shinjuku Adventurer's Guild, the government's Shinjuku Tower Division and Magic Countermeasures Division, the Japan Exorcist Alliance, and Sai and Hexaria.

Sai and Hexaria had been invited as experts.

Before this group, Sai gave his explanation.

He described the situation at the scene and what measures he had taken.

He explained the chain of events.

"...That's the flow of it. I went with the rescue team. I'd seen people possessed by evil spirits in the other world as well, and just a little before that, the Exorcist Alliance had consulted me about exorcism magic. When I shared that with Saria, she prepared some holy water for me just in case."

Everyone present at this meeting knew about the relationship between Sai and Hexaria.

So he held nothing back and told them everything.

"I see. So that's how it went down..."

The chair of this meeting was the Adventurer's Guild Master.

The man bowed his head to Sai.

"At that time, even the rescue team had no knowledge of exorcism. If you hadn't been there, Mr. Yamana, there could have been even more casualties. As someone who oversees adventurers and the Adventurer's Guild, I want to thank you again."

"I'm just glad we kept the casualties to a minimum."

To continue the meeting, Yoshimura from the Shinjuku Tower Division spoke up.

"Even so — an adventurer possessed by an evil spirit... I thought that kind of thing was supposed to be impossible?"

Ichijō, Hiyori's father and the coordinator of the Exorcist Alliance, spoke up.

"That's correct. At the very least, there have been no precedents until now."

Hexaria sighed and added her input.

"I shall explain that. As I mentioned in my earlier lectures, the amount of mana on Earth is gradually increasing. Centered around dungeons around the world... in Japan's case, Shinjuku Tower. And as mana increases, the magical essence contained within it also becomes more active. Evil spirits grow more active as well."

Following Hexaria's words, Sai supplemented.

"Evil spirits becoming more active means possession is possible, but it also means curses and the like will become more active than before."

This content had been covered in Hexaria's lectures not too long ago.

And everyone in this room had attended Hexaria's lectures.

So they all understood and accepted Sai and Hexaria's words — and some of them buried their heads in their hands.

"So in the future..."

"We'll be seeing incidents like this, won't we..."

The members of the Shinjuku Tower Division and the Adventurer's Guild exchanged these words.

Their expressions were grim, every single one of them.

A new category of adventurer trouble — one involving evil spirits — had been born.

The rescue team in particular had never anticipated dealing with a possessed adventurer.

Countermeasures would have to be considered.

But nothing could be prepared overnight, and there was the question of how to announce it.

The challenges were piling up.

As everyone struggled with the problem, Ichijō raised his voice.

"We've examined Futami Yuuka's body. It appears she has a 'spiritual medium constitution.' That seems to have worked against her in this case."

A spiritual medium constitution.

It referred to a body type that was easily possessed by spiritual entities, including evil spirits.

It was possible that this was why Futami Yuuka had been possessed by the Demon Specter.

"So only people with a spiritual medium constitution can be possessed...?"

"This is merely a precursor. Before long, the same problem will occur throughout Shinjuku Tower, regardless of spiritual medium constitution."

Adventurers being possessed by ghosts.

That kind of problem was going to happen everywhere?

"Is there any good countermeasure?"

"Ah, there's something good for that."

To the uneasy Adventurer's Guild man, Sai showed a small charm.

"A standard shrine charm for protection and warding off evil. With mana increasing, they should be even more effective than before."

Charms weren't something you could see and tell whether they actually worked.

In modern society, they were mostly thought of as a kind of good-luck charm.

But someone like Sai, who had trained his Mana Perception, could tell how much power these charms held.

The effectiveness seemed to vary by shrine, but at the very least, they had the power to repel minor evil spirits.

"So in floors where ghost-types appear, charms will be essential..."

"That's right. Of course, when dealing with something like a Demon Specter, charms alone won't be enough. But for low-level ghost-types, you won't have to worry about being possessed."

Hexaria followed up on Sai's words.

"Above floor ten, you'd be better off learning exorcism magic outright. Purification magic to banish evil energy would also be good to have."

In areas with high mana concentrations and large numbers of ghost-type monsters, large amounts of evil energy would accumulate. Purification magic was originally a spell for dispelling toxins in the atmosphere, but from the standpoint of bringing in clean air, learning purification magic wasn't a bad idea.

"And holy water would also be wise to have on hand. Not everyone can use exorcism magic."

In fact, Sai himself couldn't use exorcism magic, and magic that borrowed a god's power wasn't something anyone could use.

In this very incident, Sai had dealt with the situation by splashing holy water on Yuuka.

The Adventurer's Guild man pondered.

"Holy water... what do we do about that? Ichijō, do you have any good ideas?"

"In Japan, we have shrine holy water, but honestly, it doesn't have much power. I don't want to create too many obligations, but should we request help from the Ash Order?"

The Ash Order was the Western exorcist alliance.

Special Bureau Devil Extermination Agency. Commonly called the 'Ash Order.'

An organization formed for the purpose of exterminating devils.

They would surely be able to provide powerful holy water, but from Ichijō's perspective, they weren't a group he particularly wanted to owe favors to.

As Ichijō made a troubled face, Hexaria scoffed.

"Are you a fool? Request a blessing from the gods you yourselves worship. Now that mana has increased, the effectiveness will also change. The same as with charms. Try it first."

At Hexaria's advice, Ichijō involuntarily bowed his head.

"Hexaria. I'm truly glad you're here. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. If you're grateful, then hurry up and do something about that driver's license matter."

"That will take a little more time... We're currently making preparations..."

It was something Sai had asked about a while ago.

There were several hurdles to overcome to get Hexaria enrolled in a driving school.

They couldn't just assign any random person to be her instructor.

Ichijō was currently working on adjusting the details.

As the meeting progressed, the immediate on-site countermeasures were starting to take shape.

First, have adventurers carry charms.

Second, promote exorcism magic and purification magic at the Adventurer's Guild.

Continue discussions to prepare the system for situations that might arise in the future.

And then, the biggest remaining issue was...

"How much of this information do we release?"

...This.

The Exorcist Alliance had already confirmed that the threat of evil spirits was intensifying.

Currently, thanks to barriers and other measures, the harm to ordinary citizens was minimal.

There were the minor spiritual disturbances that had existed since ancient times, but they were within the range that ordinary exorcists could handle.

However, from now on, centered around Shinjuku Tower, there was a possibility that ordinary citizens could be possessed by evil spirits.

The possibility of a neighbor suddenly being possessed by an evil spirit... was entirely real.

The Adventurer's Guild Master offered his opinion.

"We need some time to think. But I think it's better not to hide it."

The Exorcist Alliance, led by Ichijō, followed suit.

"Yes. Demons and evil spirits... Some citizens have already begun to notice. And since we have the framework of mana activation as the cause, a gradual approach — suggesting the possibility bit by bit — would be best."

Until now, the Exorcist Alliance had kept the existence of demons and evil spirits hidden.

But starting with the Majin attack last year, then the story of the aberrant monster 'Shadow-Eater' that appeared in Kakuriyo, and now the growing power of evil spirits...

Hiding things was no longer feasible.

If anything, it was time to judge that it was better to disclose it as a problem that could occur at some point in the future.

"Hmm... Tell me when the time comes to disclose it. I'll share it as a possibility in my lectures as well."

"That would be a great help!"

Ichijō bowed his head to Hexaria.

And so, despite carrying significant unresolved problems, the meeting came to a close.

Sai thought.

She had come to Japan to confirm Sai's safety.

But there were so many things that had been saved by her coming.

The battle against the Shadow-Eating Demon King would have been unthinkable without her.

This time too, nothing could have been done without her — sharing magic that Sai couldn't use.

And if the lectures on magical power hadn't happened beforehand, today's meeting might have descended into complete chaos.

That wasn't all. The appearance of a mysterious being like a High Elf had, in a way, slightly prepared the ground for ordinary citizens to accept the existence of evil spirits and demons appearing outside Shinjuku Tower.

In a sense, things were going too smoothly.

This situation. This flow. Sai found it suspicious.

================ Thank you very much for reading.