Murillo was momentarily stunned, not at the fact that Cecilia talked back to her, but rather the nature of the question itself. She followed Cecilia with her eyes. "Why does that sound so familiar?" she thought to herself.
When they entered the conference room, Kaori was already waiting for them. Chris, his officers, and Cecilia all took their seats. He glanced in Kaori's direction. "I am to understand that you were not the one haunting your daughter?"
The motherly ghost nods modestly at Chris, "I stayed with my daughter to reinforce the seal that held the demon imprisoned within our family's blood, and to protect her from being possessed." She paused and glanced at the captain. "But the exorcists, the shamans, and faith healers, mistakenly thought I was the cause of the haunting, targeted me, and in the process inadvertently weakened the enchantments I placed around my daughter."
"Why would the demon target the child?" Cecilia asked, eager to know the demon's motives
"My daughter and I came from a long line of Shinto Priests and Priestesses. Once every few generations, a child is born within our family who possesses great spiritual gifts." Cecilia's hand balled up into a fist; she knew all too well that it was a curse, not a gift. "She wants to claim my daughter's body as her own so she could walk the earth again, have revenge on those who imprisoned her, and gain more power."
"You said she was your grandmother. Can you explain to me how that demon became your grandmother?" Chris probed, wanting to know the connection between them
"She is not a demon, at least she was not born one. Sato Saori was a Shinto Miko, a priestess like me." She begins to explain, "When I married Pablo, I came here with him in hopes that I could escape the sins of my family."
Chris's eyes sharpened, intrigued by Kaori's story. "My ancestor Sato Saori was a staunch supporter of the 'Haibutsu Kishaku' movement, which aimed to separate Shinto and Buddhism. Many Buddhist temples were closed or destroyed during this time, but Saori took it to the extreme." Kaori fiddled with her fingers, unsure if she would reveal a dark time during her family's history. "She led a bloody purge of the temple raids. For her murderous actions, my ancestors, her own family, captured and executed her in secret, using their blood; they locked away her soul."
The ghost continued with her tale, "What my family and I failed to realize was that the birth of the gifted child, like my daughter, is what she needed to escape her prison." She paused for a while, sobbing as she thought of her daughter. "Her anger and resentment had grown so strong that it fueled her rage to become a demon. I tried to reinforce the seal that kept her imprisoned, but she grew too powerful, so one seal is not enough. I managed to place more enchantments to protect my daughter, but the immense spiritual energy needed took a toll on my life force, and I died before finishing the last seal."
"Now that she's loose, what do you think she will do?" Chris inquired, asking for information so he could plan his next step.
"She will go back to Japan to have her revenge on the descendants of our family. First, though, she will find a place to collect as much energy as possible so she can push out my daughter's soul and make the body her own." Kaori revealed to the crew
"Is there such a place in this country?" Martinez asked, wondering if there were natural pools of energy.
"Shinto priests and priestesses believe in the way of the Kami, or spirits, right?" The chief officer pondered for a bit, "Mount Banahaw and Mount Cristobal."
"The Holy Mountain and the devil's mountain, respectively." Chief Murillo snapped her fingers after understanding what Chief Bustamante wanted to relay: "One has holy energy while the other is filled with dark energy."
"When we find her, how can we separate her from your daughter's body without hurting the child?" Chris inquired of the Shinto priestess
"I have learned a ritual to exorcise evil spirits. It can separate her from my child, and after that, I will use a sealing kamidana to imprison her. She won't be able to take control of Emily or anyone else once she is imprisoned," Kaori paused for a while. "But I will need certain items."
"What if it fails?" Martinez asked, concerned for the little girl who would endure such a ritual.
Kaori shed a tear for her child. "If we can't separate Saori from my daughter without harming or killing my child. I don't want her to suffer by being a vessel for imprisoning an evil spirit within her, but it is the best and only option."
Chris sighed before turning to his officers, "Murillo, Martinez, help our guest in her preparations." He turns to Cecilia, "Pink, you are off this case; this is too dangerous for a human."
"It's three in the morning in the human world. Finish preparations and return here by noon." Chris stood up and left the room. Cecilia ran after him to ask why she was being left behind and if she could change his mind.
"Captain!" she called out. "Why are you excluding me? I started this with you, it's just right that I finish it, plus I need to be there when the soul is collected!" she protested, being left out.
Chris turned around. "Do you know why I wanted you unbound from the ship?" Cecilia shook her head, waiting for the answer. "It's because you are a human…and humans die. I don't want a crew member who needs babysitting."
"Don't worry, I found a way..." Chris placed his hand over Cecilia's head, and the next thing she knew, she was outside the ship. "What the?" She tried to climb the gangway again, but a shield prevented her from even setting foot on the ramparts.
She saw the captain walking along the gold deck. "Really? An invisible wall?" she shouted at the captain, who only leaned over the rails while propping his chin on one hand with an insulting smile on his face.
She picked up a stone and threw it directly at the captain. To her surprise, the stone went through the barrier, and the captain caught it without any problems. "Really? You let a stone pass through? But you won't let me back in?"
Chris only grinned and then pointed at something behind her. Cecilia looked at what the captain was pointing only to see a couple of market goers pointing at her while laughing. Cecilia cleared her throat and fixed her hair, feigning that nothing had happened. She walked away from the scene, her right hand covering her face. When she was far enough, she ran as fast as she could back to her grandfather's house.
After Cecilia left, Chris felt a sudden shooting pain in his chest. He ran to his quarters and tore off his coat and shirt. He was in shock when the seemingly healed wounds began to bleed again. "What is happening? I thought I had my full abilities back?" The pain forced him to his knees, and then unconsciousness captured him
After a few minutes, Cecilia arrived at their home when her phone rang; it was an unknown number. "Who is this?" she thought to herself. "Hello?"
"Hello," the person on the other line responded, "I'm the old man selling amulets, the one who gave you directions back to Talanay? I have the thing that you wanted, the amulet that will seal your third eye. I'll be at the Ocampo Pagoda in Sampaloc at seven in the evening. I'll meet you there."
The call was ended even before she could speak, "Finally!" she thought to herself.