Long-term salvation

"Um, Mr. Rhodes," Amakura Mio had no appetite, so she only drank some water. A look of unrelieved worry and annoyance lingered on her face as she whispered, "My sister, Amakura Jian, is still in the village. I wonder if she's in danger."

"Don't worry, we're going to the Kurosawa family's mansion next. Your sister was most likely led there."

As Rhode spoke, he put several incendiary grenades and flashbangs on his waist. After he prepared his weapons and equipment, he stood up and his eyes fell on the projector in Tiancang Mio's hand.

In the game setting, this thing was designed and created by Kunihiko Aso. It is used to see "impossible things" and can repel or disperse evil spirits by shooting them.

This thing might be able to bring some solutions to Rhode's troubles... But now, the most important task is to find Tiancang Mio's sister, Tiancang Kan.

Chapter 99: The Dark Road Ahead

After a brief two-minute rest, Rhode stood up and leaned over the small ventilation window on the wall to look out:

Some evil spirits seemed to have sensed the presence of living people and were now slowly walking towards the house, holding pale blue torches in their hands, which made the surrounding darkness even darker.

Even the all-seeing eye mask could not capture the entire situation in the darkness. Rhodes could only see the eyeballs embedded in the shriveled and wrinkled faces of the vengeful spirits trembling randomly, like the barks of the dead trees he had seen when he went up the mountain before.

Observing the situation outside, Rhode silently pulled a flash grenade from his waist. He gripped the slender handle and threw it directly when the vengeful spirits approached the mansion! He suddenly retracted his body, allowing the blinding flash of light to rush into the house through the small window, illuminating the two girls' faces palely.

"ah--!"

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you sooner."

Rhode clasped his hands together and sincerely apologized to the two girls who had already begun to wipe their tears. He once again peeked out through the small window.

The nearest few vengeful spirits were stunned on the spot, their mouths wide open, their hands in front of their faces, their bodies in a state of fear. But this didn't last long. In just a few seconds, they had recovered. Darkness once again surged in from all directions, enveloping the vengeful spirits.

It helps a little, but not much.

Although the strength of the vengeful spirits of the villagers in Kaishin Village is average, and they are not as resistant to light as the dark captives in "Alan Wake", they are still troublesome.

"Let's get out of here quickly. The vengeful spirits are approaching us," Rhodes said as he walked to the Japanese sliding door at the deepest part of the house. As soon as his fingers touched the wooden door, scenes of villagers being slaughtered by the vengeful spirits flashed before his eyes.

A girl in a white kimono was standing in the pile of corpses, laughing loudly. A tall and somewhat twisted vengeful spirit was floating behind her, making a low and hoarse howl. The tortured tall body was filled with pure hatred and despair.

This is the vengeful spirit of the folklorist "Makabe Seijiro". As a sacrifice to delay the arrival of the "Great Compensation", after being tortured, it was thrown into the rift in the other world (the Gate of the Underworld, Hollow). After the ritual failed, it returned as the most terrifying vengeful spirit.

As for the girl in the white kimono...

"Kurosawa Saeki."

Rhode whispered the name, and everything immediately returned to normal. After taking a few deep breaths and calming himself, he opened the wooden door and walked out first.

The fire that had been started earlier had been extinguished by an invisible force. The dark night sky once again enveloped Kaishin Village, plunging it back into darkness. The darkness was like a solid fog, blurring the outlines of all objects. Only the faint blue torches flickered like dangerous points of light.

As if out of anger at outsiders who came to disrupt things, the active energy of the other world was aroused by a huge resentment, which was now falling like a torrential rain. Every drop of rain awakened the souls sleeping under the ancient village. They were filled with resentment in their previous lives and became terrifying vengeful spirits wandering the streets and mansions.

The sound of the system prompting the world's pollution points to rise kept ringing in Rhodes' ears. He frowned, opened the back door of the house, and ran head-on into a vengeful spirit with a withered and cracked face!

Before the roar of the vengeful spirit could be heard from its big mouth, Rhodes had already stuffed the muzzle of his gun into it. After firing two shots, he turned it into scattered soul fragments. Then he took out an incendiary grenade and hurled it at the mansion behind him, and the thatch covering it was immediately ignited.

The dim firelight illuminated the surrounding darkness, and also cast distorted shadows of the three people who left through the back door on the wall, which lingered for a long time.

Less than two hundred meters after running, Rhodes noticed that the fire behind him suddenly disappeared. He looked back and saw only balls of dark blue flames floating in the air. Under the dim light were the hateful faces of those vengeful spirits.

"Tsk..."

Rhodes didn't say much. He picked up the two girls, one in each hand, and ran towards the Kurosawa mansion at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary person amid their low screams. At this point in time, staying behind to fight those vengeful spirits would be a very bad choice.

The Kurosawa family is the largest family in Minamigami Village and is also the host of the "Red Gift Festival". In addition, there are four branch families, namely the Osaka family, the Tachibana family, the Kiryu family and the Tsuchihara family, who assist in management.

Now, Rhodes and his companions were heading to the Kurosawa family residence that was connected to the "Gate of the Underworld·Void".

But having said that, after running for a while, Rhodes found that he was lost - the shrill laughter lingering over the village was harsh and unbearable, and the streets in the dark had become as complicated as a maze, with one corridor after another, one corner after another.

Soon, Rhodes realized that the streets were extending infinitely forward, and the mottled walls and old buildings on both sides were extending straight into the darkness above. They were so tall and straight that Rhodes almost thought he had become the size of an ant!

"Darkness... darkness is gathering," Asuka Iki nervously grabbed a corner of Rhodes' chest, and Amakura Mio, who had never seen such a terrifying and desperate situation, grabbed Rhodes' arm tightly and looked around in horror. She had a small flashlight, but it was obviously useless at the moment.

Rhodes took out a signal stick, tore it open and let it emit a dark red light. Then he threw it forward - the dark red light fell down like falling into the abyss and soon disappeared.

It seemed as if the entire world only had the spot where Rhodes and the other two were standing. Beyond that, there was darkness. Even the vengeful spirits holding torches disappeared without a trace.

This is a bit tricky...

Just as Rhode was thinking about a countermeasure, Asuka Iki suddenly pointed in a direction and whispered:

"There, there's a little light."

Light?

Rhode looked in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. However, he did not hesitate, but picked up the two girls again and walked forward according to Asuka Jingmuji's instructions. After walking like this for about ten seconds, Rhode could also see the light:

It was a white-haired young man who was locked in a prison.

Fragments of memory flooded his mind, reminding him of the man before him—Tachibana Jutsuki, the older of the Tachibana twins. His "Red Gift" ceremony with his brother had failed, necessitating a new one. After helping the Kurosawa twins escape, he had committed suicide, consumed by longing for his brother and guilt. Now, the figure before Rhodes and the others was merely a spirit.

Perhaps it was because he had committed suicide before the great retribution arrived, or because of the boy's own kindness, or perhaps because of the little bit of warmth left in the resentful entity, he still retained some rationality at this moment. When he saw Tiancang Mio, he immediately frowned and said:

"Yae?! What are you doing back here? Leave with your sister!"

"I……"

"Sazhong has been brought back," Rhodes stopped Amakura Mio who was about to say something. He looked into the boy's eyes and said seriously, "Hyaku is making a move. We must find that girl quickly... Do you know how to get to Kurosawa's house?"

The boy nodded, raised his foot with great effort, and pointed in a direction. Rhodes then saw some vague shadows of buildings emerging from the darkness. The village filled with despair and pain reappeared, and the streets and alleys returned to their original state.

After finishing all this, the boy's face was filled with fatigue. He panted a few times, and his eyes seemed to have become clearer:

"You're not Yae, but she...never mind, it's not important."

"No, I'm Amagura Mio. I'm just looking for my sister, my twin sister." Amagura Mio took a few steps forward, bowed slightly, and said sincerely, "Thank you for your guidance."

Hearing this, the corners of the boy's mouth curled up slightly, and his face began to become illusory. After just a few breaths, only one sentence remained in the air:

"You two should always be together..."

Looking at the pure white light rising into the dark night sky like fireflies, Rhode sighed. He reached out and touched the girls' heads, comforting them:

"Let's go to the Kurosawa mansion, find your sister, and solve this matter once and for all."

"Okay."

"Who is Yae? And that... Sae," Amakura Mio felt the warmth coming from above her head, and her heart felt much more at ease. However, doubts and disgust towards the village festival arose in her heart, "And this abominable festival - this festival should not exist!"

"It's hard to say," Rhodes shook his head. He looked at the dark mansion and whispered:

"Let's go. We can talk a lot while we walk."

Chapter 100 Kurosawa Mansion

The Kurosawa family, the family that presided over the "Red Gift Festival" to suppress the "Gate of the Underworld, Hollow (Crack in the Backworld)", has its mansion located in the deepest part of Minamigami Village.

The ritual, which takes place every few decades, has been repeated so many times that the twin Jizo statues placed after each ceremony are enough to fill an entire mountain road. From the perspective of the people involved, this sacrifice is obviously extremely cruel, but from the perspective of the villagers and even ordinary people in the surrounding areas, this sacrifice seems noble and necessary.

Rhodes knew too well how much casualties a crack in the other world could cause - this could be seen from the cannibal trains whizzing through the New York subway. In the past ten years alone, the tombstones of missing persons were enough to fill two round-trip mountain roads.

It wasn't far from where Tachibana Jutsuki was imprisoned to the Kurosawa family, but the vengeful spirits holding torches blocked most of the road, so Rhodes had to jump from one roof to another and land more gently to avoid being discovered by the vengeful spirits.

This was particularly difficult when traveling with two girls.

"You should lose weight, Mio," Rod said, holding Asuka Iki in his arms and carrying Amakura Mio on his back. "Luckily, your sister isn't here, otherwise I wouldn't be able to jump over the path just now."

"Why don't you say Muji-chan!"

"Because she looks thinner than you," Rhodes said expressionlessly, "and you two got to know each other so well so quickly."

"Don't be jealous, Mr. Rhodes," the black-haired girl said, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Admittedly, this did ease his irritability and tension. "Ah, I can already see the gate of the Kurosawa family mansion—darkness lurks there, along with a girl's sorrow, resentment, and anticipation."

"It's Kurosawa Saeki. Even though she's very sympathetic, I still don't like her that much."

Tiancang Mio sighed and said, her face full of pain from being forced to eat dog food. But in the girl's heart, besides wanting to kill the adulterous couple in front of her, she also had some complaints about the girl from the Kurosawa family:

You're looking for your sister, what does my sister have to do with you?!

You should know that in 1929, after the ceremony of Tachibana Juzuki and Tachibana Mutsuki of the Tachibana family failed, the head of the Kurosawa family, Kurosawa Ryokan, chose his twin daughters, Kurosawa Yae and Kurosawa Sae, as the twin shrine maidens to perform the ceremony.

But with the help of Tachibana Jugetsu, the two sisters escaped from Minakami Village. The younger sister Kurosawa Sae fell off a cliff and was found and brought back by the villagers, but the older sister Yae was lost in the forest. She wanted to return to the village but was unable to do so because the ritual failed and the "great compensation" swallowed the village.

When Rhodes mentioned this, Amakura Mio immediately remembered the crying figure she saw under the torii before entering Kaigami Village - she was an echo of Kurosawa Yae's soul.

Unfortunately, Kurosawa Yae, who finally escaped from the forest, did not have a happy ending, but that is another story.

Jumping down from the roof, Rhode lowered the two girls to the ground. He shook his arms a few times, moving his shoulders as well. Finally, he twisted his neck and prepared to enter the Kurosawa mansion.

Unlike inside the village, there were no vengeful spirits holding torches outside the gate of the Kurosawa family's mansion. It seemed that the yin energy and hatred here were so heavy that even the vengeful spirits were unwilling to approach.

Walls extended from the darkness on both sides, like ropes hanging human hands, and in the center of the ropes was the gate. The gate was heavy and ancient, and a faint cold aura emanated from the cracks and the door, which made people feel uncomfortable even when looking at it.

"It seems the door can't be opened," Amakura Mio pushed hard, but found it didn't budge at all. Only the chilling air remained the same. "We need to find a key, or climb over from the top... Forget about the top, I think I saw something very sticky spreading out. It's a bit disgusting."

"There's no need for that. Stay away."

Rhodes flexed his fingers, and eight M72-LAW disposable rocket launchers instantly appeared at his feet! He picked one up at random, then casually aimed it at the door in front of him, and pressed the trigger on the outer barrel of the outer shell.

Before the roar of the rocket launch could be heard, an orange fireball mixed with gray dust exploded on the gate of the Kurosawa family. The heat wave wrapped in dust and smoke rushed in all directions, blowing away the milky white smoke that was wrapped around Rhodes. That was the only trace left after the rocket launch.

When the smoke and dust cleared, Rhodes saw a small hole in the middle of the gate, through which he could vaguely see the scenery behind the gate.

"The effect is average," Tiancang Mio whispered. She looked back nervously at the village and saw those blue torches approaching. "Hurry up, Mr. Rhodes, those villagers are coming!"

"Then give it a few more rounds."

Rhodes seemed very open-minded. If the door could not be opened after these rocket launchers were used up, he could still use the 120mm large tube!

In fact, the moment he entered Kaishin Village, if he hadn't seen the Amagura sisters running on the street, Rhodes would have planned to use heavy mortars to bombard the area with white phosphorus incendiary bombs, and then drive the tank straight into the rift in the inner world amidst the raging flames. Although this would have somewhat underestimated the dark forces in Kaishin Village, it was more than enough to rush into the Kurosawa Mansion during the chaos.

The gate finally shattered under the impact of the sixth rocket, sending wood chips flying. A long wooden bridge suddenly appeared before the three of them. It connected the gate to the Kurosawa Residence beyond. Beneath the bridge, dark water flowed from an unknown source, shimmering with a cold, eerie light. If one looked closely, one could see the horrified faces of countless victims beneath the surface.

Two dusk-colored lanterns were hung in front of the door of Kurosawa's mansion, as if welcoming the ignorant intruders.

Throwing away the bazooka, Rhode stuffed the rest of the contents back into his storage space and walked towards the mansion. The two girls exchanged glances before quickly following him. They didn't dare glance at the river beneath the bridge, or even at the shattered gate behind them. They simply followed Rhode closely.

Walking on the long bridge, Rhodes could only hear the creaking of wooden boards under his feet. There were no evil spirits around and no terrifying visions - the mansion itself was frightening enough, just like a poisonous snake coiled up in the darkness, quietly digesting the food in its stomach and waiting for new prey to appear.

The moment he entered the Kurosawa residence, he felt a gaze filled with hatred and resentment creeping up his back. A chilling aura seeped in through his sleeves and collar, rolling back and forth across his skin. The feeling intensified as he took a few steps inside, as if the entire interior of the residence had been distorted, transforming it into a maze of reality and illusion.

Exhaling slowly, Rhode dispelled the chill in his heart and turned to look at the two girls.

"You two, follow closely... huh?"

There was no one behind him.

Asukai Muji was not there, nor was Tiancang Jian. There was only the wooden door covered with bloody handprints!

Rhodes stepped forward and exerted a little force, only to find that the wooden door didn't budge at all. Behind him, the corridor of the mansion was rapidly extending and rotating, sliding doors were opening and closing, and the walls were trembling backwards and forwards, like a Rubik's Cube being twisted.

A few breaths later, a girl in a white kimono appeared in front of Rhodes with a cold face, and a tall and twisted vengeful spirit slowly emerged from behind her.

The vengeful spirit of Seijiro Makabe.

"As a girl from the Kurosawa family, is this how you treat guests?" Rhodes raised his eyebrows slightly. He lowered his right hand to the holster at his waist. "Kurosawa Sazhong, don't you look down on me too much?"

Before he could finish his words, dozens of stiff-footed puppets and vengeful spirits emerged from behind the sliding door. They lined up in scattered formations and slowly approached Rhode. The puppets all bore the same faces, a legacy amassed through countless reincarnations—the tragedy of the Kiryu family in the village. However, whether similar or different, the story could be traced back to the Red Gift Festival and the rift in the otherworld.

"...I think I can take back what I said."

Rhode sighed helplessly, but he suddenly pulled out the revolver from his holster and fired forward. The flickering gunfire made his azure eyes become exceptionally bright.

"I lied to you."

Chapter 101 Tiancang Cocoon

The .357 Magnum bullet spun in the air and passed through the twisted face of a vengeful spirit. The bullet then lost its cold luster, wrapped in the whistling sound of the mortal world and embedded into the wooden ceiling of the building's corridor, leaving no possibility of committing any crime.

Rhodes didn't care about this matter. He pulled the trigger and fired the second bullet. The distorted face of the vengeful spirit suddenly disappeared, leaving only a few low cries and helpless sighs echoing in the corridor, but these sounds were quickly drowned out by the roars of other vengeful spirits.

In addition to the vengeful spirits, there are dozens of dolls wearing kimonos. Their faces are no different from the twin girls of the Kiryu family, who were naturally also sacrificed in the "Red Gift Festival".

Compared with those vengeful spirits, the puppets that still have physical bodies are really vulnerable. Their wooden bodies will be pierced by bullets, and huge holes will be blown out behind their heads. The only thing worth mentioning is that they can still move after their heads are blown up.

In response, Rhodes simply threw out a few incendiary grenades, causing flames to rise in front of him.

The puppets stumbled through the flames, their limbs twitching with the vengeful spirits they possessed as they burned. Their ball joints enabled them to perform movements impossible for humans. The next second, engulfed in flames, they leaped up like jumping spiders and pounced on Rhode.

The flames and muffled sound hit the ground simultaneously, but the man was nowhere to be seen. The puppets simultaneously twisted their necks and looked toward the corridor beside them, and there—Rhode simply shook the ring in his hand at them.

Five explosions overlapped each other, sounding like thunder!