Fatal Diagnosis

The instant the cursed spirit let out that strange sound, Rihito abruptly stopped charging, his expression shifting slightly.

His clenched right fist had gone completely slack, and his entire right arm trembled uncontrollably.

"What kind of attack was that?"

Feeling the prickling numbness in his right arm, Rihito's expression darkened.

A ranged attack, without any warning.

More importantly, there was no way to defend against it.

This time, it had only numbed his right hand. What about next time?

What if it stopped him from breathing? How would he deal with that?

Rihito's mind settled.

As things stood, a frontal assault offered no hope.

And even if he managed to reach it, the cursed spirit would probably just use the wards to toy with him.

How was he supposed to deal with it, then?

The cursed spirit did not stop attacking while Rihito thought.

It raised its pencil, hovering it over the medical chart again, seemingly preparing its next attack.

This is bad! Rihito thought.

He scanned his surroundings and quickly darted into Ward Fourteen on his right.

But the moment he entered the ward, he heard that strange sound from the cursed spirit again:

"Kekekekeke... Diagnosis... Fractured right leg!"

Crack!

A faint sound of cracking bone rang out.

A second later, the pain of a broken bone washed over him.

Thud!

Carried by his momentum, Rihito slammed into a bed inside the ward with a dull thud.

"Damn it!"

The pain of his fractured right leg drained the color from Rihito's face, and beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks.

"I got out of its sight, but I still couldn't escape the attack."

Rather than rattling Rihito, the intense pain made him even calmer.

But if the cursed spirit did not lock onto its target by sight, what did it use?

Enduring the agony, Rihito braced himself against the wall and rose from the floor.

He looked down, and his expression shifted slightly.

"My right leg looks exactly the same as before, and the bone is still intact. Could it be...?"

Rihito turned toward the cursed spirit at the doorway.

"So your so-called diagnosis only puts an illusion on me-one so convincing that even I believe it."

"A numb right hand, a broken right leg... They're nothing more than negative effects imposed on me."

"Nothing has actually happened to my body. As long as I can overcome this pain..."

At that thought, Rihito gradually straightened, no longer needing the wall to remain upright.

The pain was real. He could certainly feel it.

But his body was uninjured, so as long as he could endure the agony, it would not hinder his movements.

With that in mind, Rihito did something unexpected.

He lifted his right foot and stamped down hard.

A bang rang out, and dust scattered in every direction.

His right leg, afflicted with the "fracture" effect, sent a surge of agony through him, making his face even paler.

But the fighting spirit in his eyes burned brighter.

By then, the cursed spirit had crossed the threshold and was approaching Rihito.

Every face on its grotesque head wore a look of twisted delight.

"Stay... Stay here... Keep us company..."

The grating, overlapping voices echoed through the ward. Rihito's gaze sharpened, and he charged at the cursed spirit.

At the same time, he raised his left arm, aiming his palm ahead.

"Heat Blast!"

Boom!

A tremendous torrent of heat erupted from his palm, sweeping up clouds of dust as it surged toward the cursed spirit.

Seemingly sensing the danger, the cursed spirit retreated into the corridor.

At the same time, it raised the pencil in its right hand again, hovering it over the medical chart.

"...Diagnosis... Nausea and vomiting..."

"...Diagnosis... Deafness in both ears..."

"...Diagnosis... Numb left leg..."

In the blink of an eye, three more negative effects settled over Rihito.

Rihito stumbled, nearly losing his balance. His charge came to a halt once again.

His stomach churned with the urge to vomit, his left leg felt as stiff as a wooden post, and he could no longer hear his own breathing.

Though he could suppress these effects through sheer endurance, their impact on him was very real.

Ignoring them completely was almost impossible.

He had to find a way to clear these negative effects!

"Damn it! I'm at too much of a disadvantage. I need to think of something!"

With that thought, Rihito rushed out into the corridor and continued pursuing the cursed spirit.

It was not accomplishing much, but the best defense was an attack.

Only by doing this could he keep the cursed spirit from continuing its "diagnoses."

If it piled on a few more, he would be in serious danger.

The negative effects are inflicted through the medical chart in its hand. They must be something that targets the soul, or some kind of curse.

But since I only feel pain without any actual injury, these effects should exist only on the mental-or spiritual-level. If I get out of its range or wait long enough, they should fade naturally.

In that case, I'll have to try that method!

While he thought, the cursed spirit slipped sideways into another ward, then emerged from a different one.

It had widened the distance between them again.

Rihito wanted to rush over, but with the negative effects hindering him, it would take at least three seconds.

The cursed spirit raised its right arm once more, suspending its pencil above the medical chart.

I won't make it. At this rate, it'll wear me down until I die.

Then... let's try it!

Rihito stopped his pursuit, the cursed spirit reflected in his eyes.

He raised his left hand and placed it against his chest.

He held his right index finger upright, curling his middle finger slightly.

At the same time, the cursed spirit unleashed its attack.

"Kekekekeke... Diagnosis... Blindness in both eyes..."

The instant the cursed spirit put pencil to paper, the light vanished, leaving the entire world in absolute darkness.

Rihito knew it was not the world growing

dark, but complete and utter blindness!

The cursed spirit seemed to retain some intelligence, and its intent could not have been clearer.

This time, it meant to finish Rihito off.

"Kekekekeke... Stay here... Keep us company...!!"

The warped, piercing voices echoed through the corridor, drawing steadily closer to Rihito.

Rihito could neither see the cursed spirit nor hear its shrill cries.

But he could feel its malice.

The kind of malice born when ordinary people were imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital, their minds twisted as they slowly descended into madness.

Ten steps, seven steps, five steps...

The cursed spirit moved slowly, drifting through the corridor in an almost floating gait.

Like a ghost, it did not stir so much as a speck of dust.

Yet Rihito remained in the same pose, seemingly having abandoned resistance and allowing the cursed spirit to approach.

Soon, the cursed spirit reached him without any trouble.

Its pencil-holding right hand slowly rose, the tip aimed straight ahead.

At the point between Rihito's eyebrows.

Just as the cursed spirit thrust its pencil toward him, Rihito spoke.

His voice was quiet but firm, echoing through the deathly silent hospital corridor.

"Cursed Technique-Withering!"

The technique activated instantly, but its target was not the cursed spirit.

It was Rihito himself.

Azure cursed energy flowed, and under Rihito's precise control, he unleashed Withering in an astonishing way.

Withering accelerated the passage of time for its target, compressing decades into a few seconds.

But this time, Rihito applied it to himself, precisely limiting its accelerated passage of time to an extremely brief interval.

At that moment, Rihito's time accelerated.

In the normal world, one second was simply one second.

But under the technique's influence, while one second passed outside, his soul experienced ten seconds, a minute, or even an hour.

And as time passed, the "diagnoses" the cursed spirit had imposed on him faded away.

His right leg no longer throbbed with agony, and his left leg was no longer numb.

The distorted shrieks reached his ears, and the lethal pencil tip appeared before his eyes.

"Cursed Technique-Zero Coffin!"

Rihito turned his head, dodging the cursed spirit's attack.

Then he drove a fierce punch into its chest.

For the first time, the cursed spirit's mass of countless assembled faces stopped twisting.

Those eyes no longer stared at Rihito. Instead, they gazed blankly at the ceiling, as though recalling something.

Heat was stolen, and frost spread.

The grotesque, terrifying cursed spirit became a lifelike ice sculpture in the blink of an eye.

"Phew... Be free!" Rihito breathed softly.

Boom!

The ice sculpture shattered.

Shards of ice scattered across the floor beneath the moonlight.

Rihito glanced at the night sky outside the window, then turned and headed for the stairs.