Long-term salvation

Shockwaves and steel balls instantly filled the space behind the mansion's door, followed by smoke and building debris. Two breaths later, from the explosion and flames emerged only the vengeful spirit of Makabe Seijiro. Tortured in life, it had returned as the most terrifying vengeful spirit after the resounding "Great Compensation," driven by Kurosawa Sashige.

Now, the vengeful spirit was following Rhodes closely, ignoring the explosions and flames. Only the continuous shooting of the revolver could make it pause for a moment.

"Tsk... I really need to find those two girls quickly." Rhode kicked open a wooden door, and behind it was a classic Japanese-style corridor. The only good news was that he could see a corner at the end that split into two sides. "Wait, I remember that projector seemed to be made of spirit stones or something? What a joke! Forget Nioh, my only impression of Ninja Gaiden is the 3D anime... "

Muttering to himself, Rhodes randomly chose a direction and ran wildly. Looking up, he saw the hand of the vengeful ghost of Seijiro Makabe slowly emerging from the wall in front of him. However, he did not stop or slow down. Instead, he accelerated and slid past, leaving only a pulled flash bomb.

The flash bomb exploded in front of Seijiro Makabe, causing him to flinch slightly. When the light faded, Rhodes was no longer in the corridor.

After hesitating for a moment, the tall vengeful spirit gradually disappeared and no longer tried to pursue.

"..."

Rhode half-knelt by the door and listened carefully to the sounds in the corridor. After listening for a few seconds and confirming that there was no pursuit, he relaxed a little and looked back at the environment inside the house.

The most eye-catching thing in the house is the dolls that are displayed during the Hinamatsuri (Hina Matsuri) on March 3rd in Japan. On this day, parents will set up a stepped display table for their daughters, and place small dolls in different clothes from top to bottom, also known as "Hina Dolls".

But for some reason, the display stand, which was supposed to have an auspicious seven tiers, now only had six. Even the figurines on top were tattered, missing limbs. If you walked further inside, you could see a low screen, against which a figure, seemingly holding a human head, was silhouetted.

A few whispers began to echo in the house, becoming clearer and clearer, but the intermittent voices were filled with resentment and anger:

"Because we agreed to stay together forever..."

"We ran away together..."

"Everyone... is dead..."

Rhode frowned slightly and walked quickly past the screen, only to see a girl lying behind it.

Tiancang cocoon.

Amagura Mio's sister possesses powerful clairvoyance, which is why she was drawn to the Red Butterfly of Minamigami Village, leading to the subsequent story. Judging by the time, she should have been possessed by Kurosawa Sae by now, awaiting the return of Amagura Mio (Kurosawa Yae) to complete the ritual.

Thinking of this, Rhodes stepped forward and gently woke the girl up:

"Wake up, Tiancang Jian, your sister needs your help."

"Sister...sister...Mio..."

The girl's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, immediately seeing a handsome young man looking at her. Before she could scream, a warm hand covered his lips. A deliberately lowered voice, with a hint of magnetism, penetrated the girl's ears like a thread:

"Keep your voice down. There are still many vengeful spirits wandering around this mansion," Rhodes whispered. He released her hand, carefully examined the girl in front of him, and said with a smile, "You really do look a lot like your sister."

"Mio?! She's here too... Eh? Where am I?"

After briefly explaining the current situation, Rhode reached out and pulled the girl up, placing his palm on her cheek, which had already begun to turn red with shyness. After feeling it quietly for a few seconds, he let out a long sigh.

"It's okay, at least you didn't give me that inhuman feeling, but your body temperature might be a little high... Sorry, it's my fault, Miss Tiancang."

"Just call me 'Cocoon', Mr. Rhodes."

The girl whispered, her personality much softer than her sister, Amagura Mio, and she seemed to be very dependent on her. This was normal; Amagura Mio's legs were not easy to move, which would definitely affect her daily movements.

After restocking his ammunition and equipment, Rhode recalled what had happened when he first entered the Kurosawa Mansion. However, the mansion had long been distorted by the energy of the other world and Kurosawa Saeki's resentment. The map had long since become useless. Now, the only thing he could rely on was probably...

With that thought in mind, Rhode turned around and met Tiancang Jian's eyes. The latter shrank her neck like a frightened deer, making him want to bully her.

"Can you feel or see where your sister is?" Rhodes asked. He wanted to take a break from his busy schedule to smoke a cigarette, but when he took out the cigarette box, he found that his lighter had disappeared, so he had to put the cigarette box back into his pocket.

"I-I'll try."

Tiancang Jian took a few deep breaths, closed her eyes, and immersed herself in the darkness:

The girl opened her eyes, startled to find herself standing amidst a sea of ​​black and white corpses and blood! She screamed in terror at the horrific sight before her, but heard nothing. The vengeful spirits of those who had tragically perished on the night of the Red Blessing Festival rose from the corpses and floated upward through the ceiling, seemingly arriving in Kaishin Village in this manner.

Complete the ceremony...

Complete the ceremony?

Done, done, done, done, done, done, done—countless voices overlapped and poured into Tiancang Jian’s ears, causing her to cover them subconsciously. Just when the girl was about to collapse, a ray of light shone from above her head.

She raised her head and saw the golden sun in a trance.

The scorching and beautiful golden sun was hanging in front of her, making the girl want to embrace it, and in fact, she did so.

With the help of the sun's light, she turned her head to look into the darkness and saw another herself/Kurosawa Yae and the girl in a white dress running away. They walked and stopped, and finally disappeared into deeper darkness.

"……cocoon?"

"Ms. Tiancang?"

"Ms. Tiancangjian!"

The sound exploded like a huge bell, suddenly waking the girl from the vision. Only then did she realize that she was hugging the man she had met for less than a few minutes.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Mr. Rhodes! I didn't mean it!"

The lovely girl immediately apologized with three consecutive 90-degree bows, trying to prevent the man in front of her from seeing her blushing face. Rhode just scratched his head, not understanding why Tiancang Jian suddenly hugged him... Could it be that Kurosawa Sasaki wanted to hug him?

"Alright, alright, that's enough, Jian, I didn't suffer any loss either."

"No...that's not the question!"

"Ahem, let's end this topic." Rhodes quickly put the matter aside and asked seriously, "Have you found any trace of them?"

"They went deeper into the mansion."

The girl said so.

Chapter 102: Falling into His Spell (3K)

Deeper?

The depths of the Kurosawa residence led directly to the Hollow, the rift in the other world that was still leaking energy. Going deeper into the mansion was clearly not a good option for Amagura Mio and Asuka Ikiki. Was it Kurosawa Yae's inducement? Or was it Saegi's coercion?

Thinking of this, Rhodes couldn't help but glance at Tiancang Jian out of the corner of his eye and found that the latter was looking around in panic, with his left hand tightly grasping the end of the chest hanging so that he could barely keep up with Rhodes' pace.

Looking at the girl limping, Rhode sighed, squatted slightly, and said:

"Come up, I'll carry you on my back. This really wastes time."

"This...I'm sorry, Mr. Rhodes."

"Is the only thing you Japanese can do is apologize?"

"Well, what else can I say..."

Tiancangjian protested softly, but the girl still wrapped her arms around Rhodes' neck very naturally, hugging him tightly like a koala... She sighed with happiness that only she could feel when hiding in the kotatsu in winter, her eyes slightly narrowed, as if she would fall asleep in the next second.

Hearing a faint purring sound like a sleeping cat, Rhode shook his head in amusement and prepared to stand up. At that moment, he felt like he was carrying two people on his back! The coldness, as if he were in a damp pit, was creeping into his skin, passing through his muscles, and freezing the warm blood in his veins.

Rhodes suddenly turned his head to look, but only saw the already dazed Tiancang cocoon.

"..."

He frowned slightly, but still took a step forward. The weight on his body became heavier, and a wisp of cold wind - the girl's breathing from behind was no longer moist and sweet, but a whisper of hatred and resentment - the cold wind passed through Rhodes' ears, pulling back and forth like a wood saw, tearing his earlobes into blood in a few seconds!

"Let's go complete the ceremony," Rhodes said, "with Kurosawa Yae."

The cold wind immediately receded, and the weight on his back returned to normal. The weak airflow from the girl's breathing made the wound on Rhodes' ear a little itchy.

Her thoughts are too easy to guess... After all, even if she has a strong power of resentment, she is essentially just a little girl.

Just like Alessa in Silent Hill, it's a tragedy.

Rhodes sighed inwardly. He didn't waste any more time, and without paying any attention to the wound on his ear, he quickly ran out of the house.

The moment of the Great Retribution approached, causing the entire Kurosawa mansion to tremble slightly. A speck of dust fell from the ceiling, casting a grimy tinge on both men's hair. Unlike before, the corridors and rooms had returned to normal, though the vengeful spirits that lingered there remained as troublesome as ever.

After jogging to avoid several waves of attacks from the vengeful spirits, Rhode turned the corner to rest for a while. Suddenly, the girl behind him spoke up and whispered a reminder in his ear:

"Marks, Mr. Rhodes, there are marks on the wall."

Following the direction of the girl's finger, Rhode saw a small arrow mark on the corner of the corridor. The mark looked like it had been hastily scratched with a dagger, and it was crooked, so only the general direction could be seen, but it was enough.

He ran in the direction indicated by the arrow. At the end of the corridor after the last corner, he saw a door that had been opened a crack. The chains and locks that had originally bound it had fallen to the ground. A little red light and panicked screams leaked out from the crack of the door.

Seeing this, Rhodes took a deep breath and ran away. The violent movement shook the Tiancang cocoon on his back, making the girl let out a series of cute panicked cries.

The girl grabbed the straps of her bra and barely opened her eyes against the strong wind. The next second, the sound of the door being kicked down and the roars of the vengeful spirits rushed into her ears, causing her to subconsciously bury her head in Rhodes' neck.

Before Tiancang Jian could figure out what was going on, she was thrown aside by Rhodes. Tiancang Mio stretched out her arms to catch her sister, but the force made the two of them roll into a ball, and after hitting the wall next to them, they both screamed in pain.

"Mr. Rhodes!"

Asuka Iki, who was holding a projector, looked at Rhodes in surprise. The latter took out a revolver, but before he could fire a few shots, he found that the vengeful spirit in front of him - the head of the Kurosawa family, Kurosawa Ryokan, had been beaten to pieces, and the vengeful spirits dressed as priests on both sides were also disappearing with long unwilling howls.

For a moment, the entire room was silent, with only the crackling sound of the signal stick being pulled open.

Under the crimson light of the signal stick, Asuka Iki, who was holding a projector, had a blood-red shadow on her face, and wore an innocent smile, as if she were some kind of serial killer who enjoyed killing people, yet also had the innocence of a child pulling out the head of a frog... The personality that this girl occasionally revealed was also quite crazy, probably caused by her previous long-term state of self-destruction and misery.

Rhodes: “…”

However, what is the reason for this feeling of loss when the hero is late to save the beauty, and the beauty ends up dealing with the villain herself and killing a bunch of his minions in the process?

Looking at the way these ghosts died, it felt like they were being bombarded by intense fire, suffering the same pain they once experienced in life. But regardless, Rhode was glad that both girls were safe.

His eyes fell on the projector in Asukai Muki's hand. This thing would be even more powerful in the hands of someone with strong "spiritual power". Then he thought about the girl in front of him with a shy smile and her perception of the abilities of the other world...

Rhode placed his hands on Asuka Iki's shoulders and said seriously:

"Ms. Asuka Ikiji, please take responsibility!"

"Eh eh eh?!"

Elsewhere, Amakura Mio helped her sister to her feet, quietly asking about her condition. The two sisters supported each other, looking like the same person reflected in a mirror. In a trance, Rhode seemed to see the Kurosawa sisters in white kimonos standing before him, their hearts overflowing with joy at seeing each other.

Just like the Tiancang sisters today.

"Miss Tiancang," Rhodes said. He took out a rope from the storage space and walked towards the two girls hugging each other. "Just in case, I need to tie you up with a rope. Then I will give Miss Tiancang Mio a hammer and ground nails. I think you should know what to do."

"...Although I can't understand it, your decision is always right. Please," Tiancang Mio exchanged a glance with her sister, and still allowed Rhode to wrap the nylon rope around their slender waists. After the rope was tied tightly by Rhode, Tiancang Jian suddenly looked at her sister and said with a smile:

"It would be nice to tie us together with a rope, so that we will never be separated."

"elder sister……"

"After we leave this village, you'll have plenty of time to spend together," Rhodes said with dead eyes. "Are you ready now?"

After receiving two angry looks that scolded him for being unromantic, Rhodes bent down to pick up the Lord's Key that was dropped by Kurosawa Ryokan's vengeful spirit when it dissipated, and prepared to open the door leading to the "void" deep in the room.

Even standing in front of the door, Rhode could sense the darkness brewing and almost impossible to suppress.

It was like a swamp in early winter, with thick mud clinging to the skin, unable to dry or wash off, dirty and smelly, and a faint chill piercing into the bone marrow, snatching away the vitality from the flesh and blood - taking away only the body and leaving behind the helpless soul, which was twisted by the filthy resentment.

Honestly, Rhode now regretted not bringing Abigail along. After all, with her presence, any rifts in the otherworld would be "sealed." This situation was a bit tricky, relying solely on the strength of the Amagura sisters... However, since Amagura Mayu (Kurosawa Saeki) hadn't met Tachibana Jutsuki, it seemed unlikely the situation would end in a bad ending.

In addition to letting Rhodes put the solution to the problem of fighting against incorporeal enemies on the agenda, this trip also aimed to find a way to close the cracks in the inner world without relying on Abigail. At least those small and medium-sized cracks should be able to be closed independently by the future Army Without Borders.

If there really was no way out today, Rhode could only do his best to save the girls' lives and call Irons to urgently airlift Abigail to Japan.

Why does this sound like Abigail has some ultimate weapon?

While mumbling these utter nonsense, Rhode, on the surface, solemnly admonished the three girls for various precautions. His finger rested on the key already inserted into the door lock. In an instant, a long corridor, as if dug by bare hands, rapidly unfolded before him! Sweeping in a gust of wind, Rhode's gaze followed the curved rock face straight to the sacrificial site, where priests and vengeful spirits, wielding long staffs, stood. It was as if everything had returned to the day of the "Red Gift Ceremony."

Rhodes subconsciously turned the key, unlocking the door. A breeze with a stale and moldy smell blew in from the crack of the door, bringing the breath of death here.

The door opened wide. Gazing at the vengeful spirits in the corridor behind it, Rhode expressionlessly pushed Asuka Iki, who was holding a projector, toward him. He then put on a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and noise-canceling headphones. Then, he patted the girl's shoulder and asked sternly, "What are you doing?"

"Is there enough ammunition (film)?"

"If it's enough to defeat the vengeful spirits in this room... I can probably use it two more times," said Asukai Muji, leading the way into the corridor. Rhodes followed closely behind, firing steadily with his revolver, killing those vengeful spirits that were not worth wasting film on one by one.

"Be prepared, Muji. We will definitely have a strong enemy to deal with next. If something goes wrong, run away immediately. You don't need to worry about me."

"Yes, Mr. Rhodes!" The girl was excited about being able to fight alongside Rhodes. "I will try my best!"

"There's no need to be so loud..."

At the same time, the moment the door opened, the light in Tiancang Jian's eyes disappeared. She took mechanical steps and followed behind Rhodes and the others. Tiancang Mio, who was connected to her with a rope, looked at them worriedly and followed.

Soon, the only sounds left in the Kurosawa family's mansion were the hollow sound of wind and the howling of vengeful spirits emerging from the cracks.

Chapter 103: The Wrathful Spirits Retreat! (3K)

Rhodes placed his hands on the shoulders of the girl in front of him and advanced carefully and quickly into the depths of the tunnel.

At the beginning, some wooden supporting pillars and wall panels can be seen in this tunnel connecting to the "virtual" space, but it soon becomes winding. Although the widest area is large enough for a car to pass through, the narrowest part can only allow two people to walk side by side, and it even seems a bit narrow.