Chapter 103: Miss Kuchisake-onna Wants to Turn Herself In!
Looking at the utterly unconvincing Kuchisake-onna, who was pretending nothing had happened and trying to sneak away, Luke shifted his gaze to the only girl still standing nearby.
After thinking for a moment, he did not take any measures against the girl. After all, he did not have a skill like Great Oblivion.
Besides, dealing with ordinary people who had seen evil spirits was not his job. That was something Kasumizuki should worry about.
"Don't walk through places like this at night next time. Your classmates only fainted. They should wake up after a while."
Luke told the silver-haired girl in front of him.
"You can leave directly. If you're worried, you can wait for them too."
After saying that, he stopped paying attention to the girl and hurriedly chased after the Kuchisake-onna, who had already slipped quite far away.
Inside the alley, the Kuchisake-onna ran through the darkness, her feet moving incredibly fast.
After experiencing the taste of reality, she did not want to return to that hazy state where she could not remember anything clearly and could not understand anything.
Besides, an exorcist…
He would probably kill her directly without leaving any room, regardless of whether she had done anything evil or not.
Truly, exorcists were born evil!
"Little Kuchisake-onna."
"Don't let me catch you."
"Or you'll suffer dearly."
The voice following her like a shadow came from behind, chasing her like maggots clinging to bone.
If she got caught, the consequences would definitely be severe. The Kuchisake-onna hurriedly crouched beside a nearby trash can and silently chanted, "One with all things," stopping her trembling body and crouching there as still as a mountain.
Even in her spiritual-body state, she could not outrun that guy at all.
After briefly estimating it in her heart, in that short distance just now, his speed had already surpassed the current sprinting world record. From the sound of his voice, he even seemed extremely relaxed and comfortable.
That bastard refused to go make a name for himself on the sports field and insisted on becoming a little exorcist in this gloomy place instead.
The Kuchisake-onna looked speechlessly at the exorcist standing in front of her.
Luke directly picked up the exorcism sword and did not waste words with her.
The Kuchisake-onna reached out a hand.
"Wait! Are you a pervert? I already told you, the person on the manga frontispiece isn't me at all! If you keep this up, I'll call the police."
Call the police?
Luke looked at her speechlessly.
You of all things have the nerve to say that?
Evil spirits nowadays really were more distinctive than the last.
Putting aside that gossip-loving train evil spirit, the scissors evil spirit in front of him could likewise be seen by ordinary people, and her thought process was just as bizarre.
Ever since he met Yotsuya Miko, things had inexplicably become troublesome one after another.
"Right, if you hadn't mentioned calling the police, I would've forgotten…"
Luke cleared his throat and raised the exorcism sword high.
"Die! Scissors Evil God!"
He had come out tonight to exorcise this spirit precisely to test whether this would solve the mission.
Scissors Evil God?
The Kuchisake-onna hurriedly shouted, "Evil God? What nonsense are you saying? Don't slander a ghost! How could I possibly be an evil god?"
"If I say you are, then you are."
The Kuchisake-onna used her scissors to block the exorcism sword and fell silent. Raising her head, she looked at the exorcist who insisted on taking her life.
"…Are you trying to falsely report your budget and fleece the authorities?"
He also fell silent for a moment.
He was indeed trying to fleece the system.
"Of course not. I'm only…"
"Why am I explaining so much to you? Just hurry up and die."
The Kuchisake-onna gritted her teeth and poured out all the power she had accumulated.
Spiritual power gathered into a giant pair of scissors, stretching across both sides of his body.
Her hands gripped the two handles tightly.
Then she cut with all her strength.
Click!
Luke's figure retreated.
The Kuchisake-onna followed with her scissors and lightly twisted them, knocking aside the troublesome exorcism sword.
Next, with the scissors released as an exorcism tool, she cut its power through empty air.
A phantom blade shot toward his head from nothing.
Luke gathered spiritual power and easily defended against the phantom blade shooting through the air.
However…
He looked at the strands of black hair drifting through the air.
This spiritual power actually could not fully cover his hair. Some of his hair had been cut off by the Kuchisake-onna.
Speechless, he threw out several talismans. They struck the Kuchisake-onna's body, yet had no effect on her, who was attached to an exorcism tool.
"This is all because you kept pushing me!"
The Kuchisake-onna glared at him like a tiger watching prey.
Luke glanced at the exorcism sword nearby, then ran his palm through his hair and brushed away the loose strands.
"I didn't expect you, Scissors Evil God, to know a few Eastern evil arts. However, besides these techniques, I also happen to know a little hand-to-hand combat."
Luke took out the [Book of Strength] from his inventory space.
Strength +3.
His foot lightly tapped the ground, and he arrived in front of the Kuchisake-onna. Then he threw a punch with all his strength.
With a boom, nineteen points of strength directly blasted the Kuchisake-onna's exorcism tool back to its pre-release state.
This was the might of Newton's Second Law.
"To deal with something attached to an exorcism tool, other methods really aren't as useful as the great path of physics."
Luke looked at the Kuchisake-onna lying on the ground and nodded.
The Kuchisake-onna blankly held the scissors with their bent blades, unable to understand how such a hard exorcism tool had become bent like this.
Her figure was already faintly about to dissipate.
The Kuchisake-onna glanced at the exorcist, then took out a phone she had robbed earlier and tapped it with her fingers.
Beep, beep, beep.
"Hello? Is this the police…? Yes, that's right. I was involved in a group fight. I want to turn myself in…"
"…"
…
A nighttime izakaya.
Slightly dim light shone across the surrounding tables, creating a half-bright, half-dark atmosphere inside.
Several exorcists sat at the seats near the window, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere unique to an izakaya.
Looking at the few people who had already become drunk, Luke, who arrived later, placed the Kuchisake-onna's scissors exorcism tool in front of the tipsy Kasumizuki.
"Just like we discussed on the phone, this evil spirit is exactly the same as the one in the Scream horror manga. Even the location is the same."
Kasumizuki's cheeks were flushed red from alcohol. Breathing out the scent of liquor, she said to him with a somewhat speechless tone:
"Eh! Can you stop using Shadow Clone Jutsu? Why are you always swaying in front of my eyes… Also, call your real body out to talk to me!"
He really wanted to punch her like he had punched the Kuchisake-onna earlier.
What proper miko drank so heavily like this?
In her current state, there was probably no chance of discussing anything today.
Luke, who had not eaten dinner, unceremoniously sat down, picked up a chicken skewer, and hooked over a bowl of untouched simmered tofu.
"Right, what did you say just now?"
Kasumizuki shook her slightly sluggish head, but she had already forgotten his words completely. She glanced at the uneven hair on his head, one side long and the other short.
"…Also, don't you feel ashamed walking around with that hairstyle?"
"Heh, ashamed?"
Luke scoffed.
His gaze swept over the corrupt miko wearing a miko outfit while downing beer from a one-liter mug.
Then the diviner who had already forgotten north, south, east, and west after drinking barely anything, posing like a bodybuilder while chatting about daily gossip with his crystal ball.
And Matsuzuki Saki, the dreamwalker who had long since rolled under the table.
"Seeing you all makes me feel much less ashamed."
As he spoke, he bit hard into the chicken skewer.
Hm?
He took another bite.
"Why is this so bad?!"
This lousy chicken skewer was bland and fishy. Only the surface had a slight layer of alcohol and sweetness, while the chicken inside had not absorbed any flavor at all. Even with the scallion pieces, it could not hide the nasty fishiness.
"No idea. I didn't touch a bite."
Kasumizuki poured herself another cup of beer and thumped it on the table.
"Refill."
"Stop drinking and go sober up already—!"
Luke hurriedly stopped her.
"Oh, fine."
Kasumizuki patted her own head and raised both hands high.
"Check, please—!"
Luke speechlessly pressed the call button nearby.
"Hello, you'd like the bill?"
The server quickly came over with the receipt.
"…Mm."
Luke nodded, then glanced at Shibuya Jun, who had still been lively and chatting with his crystal ball a moment ago but was now sleeping deeply on the table.
Kasumizuki had fallen the same way.
Their speed in collapsing was truly impressive.
"…I'll pay."
Luke took the receipt, pulled out a ten-thousand-yen bill, paid the bill simply, and took the change.
These useless people.
If he had known, he would not have come.
He picked up his chopsticks.
Thin smoke rose from the small square barbecue grill. The smell of grilled meat spread through the air.
After picking up all the grilled meat from inside, he saw the three exorcists, who had suddenly sat back up after the bill was paid.
Each of the three had a different expression.
Kasumizuki looked smug.
Matsuzuki Saki wore a faint smile.
Shibuya Jun looked utterly pained.
"You weren't drunk?"
Luke swallowed the grilled meat, which had been marinated before grilling.
Mm. Much better than that chicken skewer earlier.
"How could I be drunk? I can drink a hundred cups without getting drunk and a thousand cups without falling! I simply don't love drinking that much."
Matsuzuki Saki said proudly.
"Why were you so generous, you bastard?! My fifty thousand yen! Ahhh—!"
Shibuya Jun immediately grabbed Luke's arm and wailed in pain.
"Also, aren't you underage? Why are you entering an izakaya? You broke the law, you know!"
"Go away. You smell like a rotten fish. The alcohol has soaked into you like barbecue marinade."
Luke pinched his nose in disgust, refusing to let the smell of liquor from him enter his nose, and pushed his body away.
"Besides, there's no law saying minors can't enter an izakaya, right? I'm not drinking."
"Cut the nonsense and pay up."
Kasumizuki urged Jun with disdain.
Jun muttered and pulled out the bills.
"Thank you for your patronage~ Fifty thousand received."
Kasumizuki happily took the fifty thousand yen and separated out thirty thousand.
"Ah, I'm happy today. In short, everyone who saw it gets a share…"
"This time, I'll treat."
The twenty thousand was split evenly between Luke and Matsuzuki Saki, and the extra ten thousand yen was handed to Luke too.
"What are you treating with?! That's my money!"
Jun said in agony.
"So… you were betting? Betting on whether I'd pay the bill?"
Luke looked at Kasumizuki and Jun.
He had roughly understood what was going on with these people.
He had felt something was off earlier.
Generally speaking, exorcists skilled in the mental field either did not drink, or had very good alcohol tolerance.
So he had been rather puzzled by their state just now.
He had not expected these two to be not only drunkards, but gamblers too, even using him as the bet.
"Yes. This guy kept provoking me, so naturally I had to cut down his arrogance."
Kasumizuki answered his question and pointed at Jun.
"So couldn't you be a little stingier? Why did you pay the bill?!"
Jun let out another wail.
"What does that have to do with me… You only lost fifty thousand because you got off easy. Gambling dogs never end well."
Luke snorted coldly in response.
"Enough. In short, that's it for today… Give me the receipt. I'll find someone to reimburse it."
Kasumizuki reached her hand toward him.
This girl was double-dipping.
Luke could not help laughing and handed her the receipt.
"Is that really okay?"
"What's wrong with it? No matter how you put it, we resolved a troublemaking cult. A team-building budget should be used when it can be used."
Kasumizuki muttered, put the receipt under her skirt, then raised her head and looked at him.
"You were talking about the Kuchisake-onna just now, right?"
"Mm."
He repeated the matter he had told Kasumizuki at the beginning.
After thinking for a moment, she swept her gaze over the nearby customers and spoke.
"Then let's find somewhere else to talk. It's not very convenient here."
"Fine."
"Do I need to go too?"
Matsuzuki Saki, who belonged to the outside support group, asked Kasumizuki.
Matsuzuki Saki was not from the Kanto area. He was outside support brought in this time because the cultists could enter dreams.
Because they were afraid there might still be follow-up problems on Miko's side, they had not let him leave yet, making it convenient for him to enter dreams at any time.
"Come along."
Kasumizuki said indifferently.
She patted Jun.
"Let's go."
Jun stood up with his head lowered.
"I'll call someone I know to pick us up. Let's head outside first."
Kasumizuki led the group out of the izakaya, found an empty place with no one around, and called someone to come pick them up.
"Right, there's one more thing I need to ask you."
Luke said to Kasumizuki.
"What is it?"
"After I fell asleep yesterday, I entered Miko's dream again. Although I didn't have the same control as before, I could still modify her dream to a certain extent."
He explained what had happened last night to Kasumizuki.
"…Is that so?"
Kasumizuki thought briefly.
He added, "But I vaguely felt that my spirit was slowly separating from her dream. So I wanted to ask whether this state will cause problems, or whether it will continue."
Kasumizuki nodded.
"It probably won't continue, and there shouldn't be a problem."
"Miko's spiritual trait is originally a talent that can connect the realm of the dead and reality. Because of what the cultists did before, your spirit, her spirit, and the realm of the dead became tangled together."
"Even though that evil spirit was destroyed, the connection between you two hasn't broken yet… So in that sense, her connecting your two dreams together makes sense."
"However, I don't think you need to worry."
"No matter how much she sees you as a protector, your souls are ultimately not one. As time passes, they will eventually separate."
"It is only a matter of speed."
"As long as you don't call on your own spiritual power inside her dream again, I estimate the separation speed will become faster and faster."
…
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