The 7CH Ghost Story: The Sea of Trees and Transcendence

On the second floor, a single figure sat in formal meditation atop an altar bathed in bright light. Like the masked men from before, this man also wore a mask made of white cloth. Of course, his mask was of noticeably higher quality. Beneath the altar lay a brutally mangled corpse that appeared to be the woman Kiyohira had mentioned. That bastard Kiyohira would be devastated if he learned the woman he tried to save was dead.

The lighting was so intense that the man in the white mask seemed submerged in pure white radiance. The cultists would surely have found the sight sacred.

“What do you mean?”

In response to my question, the man in the white mask raised a smartphone in one hand and shook it. Though I couldn’t see his face, the gesture somehow gave the impression that he was smiling. He held up the phone and began reading in a clear, deliberate tone—like someone reciting from a textbook—yet completely devoid of emotion.

It definitely sounded familiar. Ah! Could it be…? The reason it hadn’t clicked immediately was because I hadn’t heard those words. I had read them.

“You were the one leaving comments on 7 Channel?”

“This place is terribly boring, you see. It’s convenient for collecting offerings who willingly come to die, but boredom is unavoidable. The fact that you didn’t recognize it right away means you’re not KZHRSMITH. Then it must be the friend with abundant yang energy who came with you? Or perhaps the fighter friend you’re looking for?”

My earlier question was finally answered. I had wondered if this phony shrine had a precognitive esper, but that wasn’t the case. This man had simply read Kazuhiro’s post on 7 Channel and realized we were coming.

From what Kiyohira had said, there seemed to be other shamanistic ways to detect intruders in the forest, but the method that had revealed us was the 7 Channel bulletin board.

“It’s the friend with abundant yang energy who came with me.”

“You’ve caused significant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠damage to our Lady Shirashira. Now you must repay it with your life. With that enormous yang energy of yours, you should be more than enough to compensate for the harm done!”

The man in the white mask flicked his finger, and an ominous white aura surged toward me. I quickly rolled to the side to dodge, but I couldn’t avoid it entirely. The white energy grazed my left forearm, and blood sprayed out as if I’d been sliced by a razor blade.

Every time the man in the white mask flicked his finger, blood inevitably flowed from somewhere on my body.

The white ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠energy moved freely through the air, making it impossible for me to dodge everything. As I evaded in all directions, the statues and lights inside the building were caught in the white aura, shattering and going dark.

The man in the white mask was different from the opponents I had faced so far. He was the first mage-type enemy I had encountered. Moreover, he was a high-level, malevolent being who had continuously killed people here and offered them as sacrifices to gain immense power. He existed on an entirely different level from the PMC soldiers I had easily dealt with or the thugs who relied on brute force.

I stopped dodging and drew forth the power of the Abyss into my hands, beginning to strike down the white energy. However, the overwhelming number of lights in this place seemed to suppress the Abyss’s power. The lights had clearly undergone some kind of shamanistic treatment. Still, as I batted away the white energy, I realized something.

The thing called Shirashira was probably this white aura. When I struck it with my hand, I felt a slight physical resistance.

“What exactly is Shirashira?”

I already had a rough idea of Shirashira’s true nature, but I deliberately pretended not to know in order to buy time. I was also genuinely curious about its exact identity.

“Even on the verge of death, you’re still curious. Very well, I’ll tell you the truth. Shirashira is a god of this forest with whom I formed a contract roughly one hundred and ten years ago. A deity on the verge of being forgotten and vanishing. That’s why I was able to make the contract on such favorable terms.”

His voice sounded remarkably young, yet he claimed to be over a hundred years old? Perhaps sensing my skeptical expression, the man in the white mask continued.

“Heh heh. This body is only eighteen years old. But my mind has lived more than one hundred and sixty years… Through secret arts, I am able to reincarnate while retaining my memories.”

“Something like that is possible…?”

A guy capable of infinite reincarnation, something I’d only read about in novels… Well, I myself was someone who had possessed a body, which was also the stuff of novels.

“Have all your questions been answered? Then it’s time for you to die!”

At the same time as the man in the white mask shouted, I thrust out my hand. There was a reason I had been stalling for time. I had been gathering the power of the Abyss.

Shinkaihime’s Eight Hands — One Touch Becomes Ten Thousand Branches.

The black energy that bloomed from my hand instantly split into hundreds, then thousands of strands, shattering every light on the second floor. The brilliantly lit second floor of the shrine plunged into darkness in an instant.

“Shirashira! Kill that bastard right now!!”

The man in the white mask must have sensed the threat as well. He summoned the white energy from within the darkness and hurled it at me. Because the second floor was now filled with darkness, Shirashira’s true form was revealed.

Shirashira looked like a massive jellyfish made of white light. What I had perceived as white energy was merely one of the thousands upon thousands of tentacles attached to it. The reason it had used such an enormous number of lights was probably to conceal this appearance. Although it was composed of light, its form instinctively inspired visceral disgust in anyone who saw it.

Since Shirashira was made of light, it seemed to possess a light attribute. In the darkness, it could not exert the same power as before. The situation had completely reversed. With hands imbued with the Abyss, I could easily swat away its tentacles. When Shirashira’s tentacles touched my Abyss-infused hands, they shriveled up with a sizzling sound.

I drew out the power of Shadow Dominion to its maximum and bound both Shirashira and the man in the white mask with the surrounding shadows.

“Ugh! Physical pain means nothing to me! I will reincarnate and kill you!”

The man in the white mask and the fallen god Shirashira each screamed in their own way. Ignoring them, I silently chanted the incantation in my mind. I wasn’t worried about him reincarnating. After all, his soul would never be reborn again.

Then, an Abyss darker than darkness itself opened its maw.

“Since I’ve given you both a hard-to-obtain god and an infinite reincarnator this time, I’m sure the Daughter of the Abyss will be pleased, right?”

The Abyss swallowed the man in the white mask and Shirashira whole. Then it spat out a single sheet of paper in front of me.

Something was written on the paper.

Did I give her something too good? This looks like an invitation from the Daughter of the Abyss…?

###

About five minutes after dealing with the man in the white mask and Shirashira, the police arrived. Since vehicles couldn’t enter the area, the officers came running, drenched in sweat. Considering they had to run, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arrived fairly quickly. It seemed they had made an effort.

However, contrary ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the police’s hope that it wouldn’t be a major incident, six people had been kidnapped, the perpetrators were tangled together in death, and the only survivors were the few I had punched in the face. There was also a victim’s corpse on the second floor, turning it into a far bigger case than the police had anticipated.

“Aigoo…! To have resolved such a matter, you are truly remarkable, Mr. Taira!”

“Ah! There’s a corpse hanging from a large tree about four kilometers outside. That person is also a victim here. It seems this cult shrine murdered people and disguised the deaths as suicides, then hung quite a few bodies.”

“Aaaah…!”

“And I clearly reported that there were corpses, but they just hung up without even asking for the location?”

“Aaaah…!”

My pointed words left the balding police chief flustered. He kept making awkward sounds and wiping away sweat. Looking around, I saw other officers taking statements about the incident.

The surviving cultists were bound with ropes and dragged away by the police. The kidnapped victims and we ourselves followed the officers on foot.

The forest paths of Jukai remained dark, and strange sounds occasionally brushed past my ears, but I felt satisfied that I had resolved one matter for now.

After walking for quite a while, we reached the parking lot where we had left our car. Somehow, several reporters had already set up camp there.

“This is a chance for both of you to increase your fame. Go do the interviews. Or just take their business cards and tell them to meet near the lodging this evening.”

“Will it help with next year’s salary?”

“If we become famous, our next opponents in the ring might be a bit more well-known…”

Since both of their professions benefited from publicity, I told them to go do the interviews. They said they would only take the business cards and headed toward the reporters. I got into my parked car and started the engine. Suddenly curious about their reaction, I pulled out my smartphone and entered the thread Kazuhiro had created on 7 Channel.

As expected, the one person who had been consistently visible was now gone. While I was browsing the board, the car door opened and Kazuhiro and Kiyohira got in.

“You didn’t do the interview?”

“We said we’d only take their business cards, remember? We got recommendations for a decent lodging nearby and arranged to do the interviews there. While we’re moving, the reporters will interview the victims.”

“I also arranged to do the interview with Kazuhiro at a café near the lodging.”

I see. I entered the lodging Kazuhiro had been recommended into the navigation and began driving. The recommended lodging was a hotel next to Lake Shoji near Jukai. On the way, Kiyohira made a call and began reserving the rooms.

After finishing the call, Kiyohira said he had booked three rooms with views of the lake. Since I had asked for separate rooms because something felt off, he had reserved three.

By the time we arrived at the hotel, it was already six o’clock. Kazuhiro and Kiyohira had arranged to meet the reporters at seven, so we decided to eat first. We were quite hungry, so we quickly unpacked at the hotel and headed to a decent-looking restaurant.

The restaurant was a fusion place typical of tourist spots, designed to look good in photos. I ordered pasta, steak, and other dishes totaling three portions for myself, while Kazuhiro and Kiyohira, also quite hungry, each ordered two portions.

After finishing our hearty meal, we left the restaurant, patting our full stomachs.

“We’re supposed to meet the reporters at the café. What about you? You’re one of the heroes of this incident too, you know?”

“It’s fine. I’m going to go to my room and sleep, so see you tomorrow.”

“That’s a shame. I was thinking we could have a drink tonight.”

Both of them looked disappointed when I said I was going straight to bed. I watched them head to the café, then entered my hotel room. We had divided the keys earlier, so there was no chance of my friends barging into my room.

“Come out.”

Once inside the hotel, I spoke clearly. At my words, the temperature seemed to drop suddenly, and a pale-skinned, naked ghost appeared.

It was the ghost I had seen in the Jukai forest before heading to the shrine. Even at a glance, her figure was excellent, and seeing her right in front of me confirmed that my eyes hadn’t been mistaken. Her body was truly outstanding. For some reason, this ghost had attached herself to me. The whispering sounds that had been brushing past my ears earlier seemed to be her doing.