Shadow Yuko's Hatred

Hiiragi Inori said this, she held several talismans in her hand in advance, and at the same time cast some enhancement spells on herself, preparing to go to the basement in one go to find out what was happening to Kanoe Yuko.

However, the last section of stairs proved to be exceptionally difficult to climb.

With each step he took down, the connection between Hiiragi Inori and the Ley Line became clearer.

Similarly, the resentment in the basement, which was almost materializing, was becoming increasingly apparent.

It seems that this Vengeful Spirit, which has existed for more than half a century and had a great chance to become a god but was abandoned by the upper echelons of the Shinto, has finally taken the most crucial step in the past ten years.

Even though I haven't felt the oppressive feeling of a top-tier level yet, judging from this resentment, it has already far exceeded the level of a normal first-tier level.

If they had come a few months later, they probably would have become a genuine top-tier Vengeful Spirit.

"Your boss really picked a good time to discover this place. Once the other party really becomes a top-level Vengeful Spirit, this school will probably be forced to experience a massive 'food poisoning incident'."

Just as Hiiragi Inori was mentally preparing to use all the Spiritual Power of her Miko Robes to forcefully suppress the opponent, a furious and chilling howl suddenly came from the direction of the basement.

This howl almost scared Itou Kaiji out of his wits.

He leaned shakily against the wall beside the stairs, stammering as he asked Hiiragi Inori what had happened down there.

But the next moment, a black shadow suddenly burst out from underground.

Just as Hiiragi Inori was preparing to fight with all her might, she was shocked to find that Kanoe Yuko's Vengeful Spirit didn't even glance at them before rushing past them in great anger.

At such speed, even Itou Kaiji didn't have time to react. By the time he realized what had just happened and screamed, Kanoe Yuko's Vengeful Spirit had already disappeared without a trace.

I don't know who provoked her, making her so irritable.

Hiiragi Inori stared blankly as Kanoe Yuko left, and for some reason, she suddenly thought of Miyauchi Hiyage was outside.

It seems that the only thing that can provoke Kanoe Yuko, who is outside the Miyauchi Hiyage.

Could it be that Miyauchi Hiyage, unable to contact them, caused some big commotion outside?

So how exactly did that boy, who was favored by the Sorcerers, provoke Kanoe Yuko to the point that she's now acting like she doesn't even want her old home anymore?

But Hiiragi Inori wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. After a few seconds of hesitation, she rushed down to the basement, intending to first establish a connection with the Ley Line here, resolve the barrier, and then search for Miyauchi Hiyage's whereabouts.

Chapter 180: Shadow Yuuko's Hatred

On Miyauchi Hiyage's side, after Kanoe Yuko had been "dazed" for a while, she could only confirm after reading these diary entries that the Diary she had obtained was indeed much more mysterious than her own existence.

However, with another warning message appearing on the Diary, Kanoe Yuko realized that now might not be the time to figure out the origin of this diary.

The most important thing now is to find out exactly what the crisis mentioned in this diary is about.

If she were still the same person who was in a daze and would start to feel sleepy after only ten minutes of activity each day, she might never have realized this.

But now, with the help of this Diary, Kanoe Yuko feels as if her spirit has been reborn.

It seemed like many years had passed since she had felt so clear-headed.

It was as if... she had returned to the time before her death.

But the next moment, she realized a problem.

It seems that I lost all my memories of my previous life from the moment I was born.

She only remembered that her name was Yuko and that she was a student at this school.

Then, based on the rumors circulating about her at the school, her identity during her lifetime appears to be quite diverse.

Sometimes she died of illness, sometimes she jumped to her death because of love, and recently there seems to be a rumor that she was brutally murdered by a serial killer.

Unlike humans.

A ghost is a being that changes depending on rumors.

As a ghost who has already died, all the rumors related to "Yuko" in this school seem to have some effect on her after the passage of time.

"Perhaps it's because I've forgotten my own memories and gradually started to lose sight of which one is the real me that I've entered that 'lost' state?" Kanoe Yuko analyzed in her mind.

It seems that this is the most likely possibility at present.

Ghosts are beings born from a single obsession.

If she can't even remember the last bit of obsession that gave her birth, then even if she can continue to survive on rumors, is she Yuuko's ghost, or "Yuko" pieced together from countless rumors and ghost stories?

Looking at the stone tablet in front of her, which also seemed to have weathered the test of time, she felt that she should be able to distinguish which ones were the real "Yuko".

Thinking this through, she turned to look at Miyauchi Hiyage behind her, and then sat down on the stone tablet that someone had erected for her.

Seeing this stone tablet seems to have made me a little more clear-headed.

She had already confirmed that no matter what method she used to try to bring up the Diary, the two ordinary people in front of her didn't seem to react, so she simply changed her approach.

Fujimiya Miki understood.

After all, she had seen Kanoe Yuko staring blankly at the stone tablet for almost ten minutes, and even uttering some words that she couldn't understand, which made her a little nervous that the other party might suddenly go berserk or something.

Fortunately, Ms. Kanoe Yuko seems to be quite rational at the moment.

She stood halfway behind Miyauchi Hiyage and asked, "Miss Kanoe Yuko, have you remembered something?"

Kanoe Yuko shook her head with a bitter expression. "I seem to have forgotten a lot of things, and at the same time, there are some memories in my mind that shouldn't be mine. I'm trying to separate them now, but it doesn't seem to be that easy."

"I feel like I experienced some unpleasant things in my life, which is why I chose to forget those memories after becoming a ghost."

She explained her memory situation to Fujimiya Miki.

"You just said you wanted to film my life story and post it online, right?"

"Now that you all know my real name, you should also know what happened to me in my previous life. Even if the investigation is unclear, it doesn't matter. Can you tell me what you know now?"

Looking at the warning message in her Diary, Kanoe Yuko continued, "Even if those weren't pleasant memories, I have to remember them now and find my true self again."

Fujimiya Miki hesitated for a moment.

She already knew the truth about what happened back then through Miyauchi Hiyage.

However, the truth is indeed too cruel and dark.

She didn't know what the consequences would be of telling this now-forgotten ghost this story.

Let Miyauchi Hiyage make the decision on this matter.

Miyauchi Hiyage secretly felt a sense of guidance from fate.

Then he opened his eyes.

"Although more than half a lifetime has passed, it is still a story that can make people feel despair. Miss Kanoe Yuko, your choice to forget that memory is indeed a kind of relief. Are you sure you can bear that past again now?"

Hearing Miyauchi Hiyage's serious tone, Kanoe Yuko couldn't help but feel a little shaken.

She seemed unsure whether she was truly ready.

She reached out and gently stroked the stone tablet with her name on it.

She seemed to be able to sense the regret and sorrow on the stone tablet.

"Has so much time already passed..."

Kanoe Yuko herself was somewhat dazed.

Has it really been that long?

She nodded casually at Miyauchi Hiyage: "Tell me, it's been so long, I think I should be able to let it go by now."

Miyauchi Hiyage raised his camera and adjusted the shooting mode.

Kanoe Yuko's figure disappeared from the camera lens.

The camera in this mode will not capture any supernatural images.

In the shot, there is only that stone tablet engraved with Yuko's name.

As dusk fell and darkness descended, the Miyauchi Hiyage's shadowy figures narrated the story once more.

However, he still used the original script he had written, which was based on the animation script.

The Kanoe Family, guardians of the era's shrine.

A school was built on the site of the original shrine after it fell into disrepair.

The great plague more than sixty years ago.

The death toll is rising every day.

The atmosphere became increasingly tense and apprehensive.

When an ignorant villager mentioned how in the past, sacrifices were used to appease the gods' anger, a group of people struggling on the brink of life and death felt they had grasped at their last straw.

"And the offering that the villagers finally chose," Miyauchi Hiyage Himekage pointed to the stone tablet engraved with Yuuko's name, and also to Kanoe Yuko sitting on the stone tablet.

"It was this Kanoe Yuko who was not yet 16 years old at the time."

Then came another long silence, with the camera only capturing a gentle breeze rustling through the trees.

Miyauchi Hiyage completed the recording of this segment with great satisfaction.

Kanoe Yuko did not interrupt his explanation at all.

His voice carried a hint of the Mana of fate, coupled with his years of experience making short videos.

The effect of the sky changing from dusk to darkness in the shot looks pretty good.

This part should be able to be included in the video.

He looked at Kanoe Yuko in front of him.

A look of reminiscence appeared on Kanoe Yuko's face at this moment.

It seems that the story told by Miyauchi Hiyage made her immerse herself in that past.

A hint of regret and sadness would occasionally appear on her face.

However, after Miyauchi Hiyage speaking, she shook her head at him.

"What you're saying seems to ring a bell for me; it does seem to be part of my past, but it doesn't seem to be the most crucial part."

She hesitated for a moment, then added, "If it were just that, it doesn't seem like I would find it so hard to accept."

Miyauchi Hiyage nodded.

That's true.

Kanoe Yuko has always been someone who is willing to sacrifice herself for others.

Originally, when she saw her sister's strange behavior before her death and mistakenly thought that her sister was preparing to become a sacrifice to save the villagers, she seemed to have considered replacing her sister with herself.

But who could have imagined that the sister she wanted to save would stab her in the back at the last moment?

Miyauchi Hiyage took two steps closer.

"Yes, I also think that's not the most crucial part. So, do you think there's something missing from the story I just told?"

Kanoe Yuko seemed to realize something, but then she shook her head violently.

If it were the old her, she probably would have already developed the idea of running away from the situation by now.

But now, this overly clear-headedness has made it impossible for her to choose to escape.

More than half a century later, that scene seemed to reappear in her mind.

The girl dressed in white sacrificial robes and wearing a white headband pointed at her and said in a voice she knew all too well, "The offering is Kanoe Yuko," a statement that was utterly cold and indifferent.

She stared blankly at the stone tablet beneath her and uttered the name she had forgotten for more than half a century.

"Shiko..."

As Kanoe Yuko spoke, Fujimiya Miki, standing behind Miyauchi Hiyage, suddenly felt a chill that seemed to come from nowhere.

She couldn't help but shiver, then pressed herself tightly against Miyauchi Hiyage's back, trying to make herself feel more comfortable.

Meanwhile, Miyauchi Hiyage slightly turned to the side, taking Fujimiya Miki a few steps back.

At the end of the path, the grotesque-looking Shadow Yuuko, emanating black energy, finally realized that something was wrong with her true form and followed the aura of her original body all the way here.

At this moment, Miyauchi Hiyage could clearly see that Shadow Yuuko's gaze was fixed on him.

Judging from the sudden increase in the strength of the embrace from behind Fujimiya Miki, because they had already established a connection with Kanoe Yuko, Fujimiya Miki could now see Shadow Yuuko's presence.

"It was you... who made me remember?"