Far from the city center, in the outskirts of Chiba Prefecture, the tall buildings along the highway gradually became fewer, giving way to open fields and distant mountains. Rows of white, low-rise houses zipped past the car window.
"We received intel that people have been disappearing frequently in an abandoned shrine in Ichinomiya Town. It's definitely the work of a curse. Our mission is to investigate and exorcise it," Ijichi Kiyotaka explained as he drove.
Although both of the passengers in the backseat had already reviewed the mission details, having someone go over them again in detail was always helpful.
"It's said that before the shrine was abandoned, a man fell madly in love with a shrine maiden. But when he couldn't have her, he lost his mind and brutally killed her inside the shrine before taking his own life in front of the main hall."
"The shrine was sealed off for a long time. When it eventually reopened, visitors who came to pray started experiencing misfortune. Complaints piled up, and the shrine had to shut down again. Over time, it was completely abandoned."
"Now, it's become a famous haunted spot in Ichinomiya Town. Most of the missing people are tourists from out of town who heard about the ghost story and went there for a thrill—only to end up victims."
After listening to Ijichi Kiyotaka's explanation, Hikigaya Hachiman commented with a blank expression, "Sounds like some half-baked horror story made up by online forum users."
Ijichi Kiyotaka let out a small, helpless laugh. "Unfortunately, it's all true. It's likely that the grudge left behind by the shrine maiden, combined with the shrine's spiritual significance, gave birth to a curse."
The truth was, reality was often stranger than fiction. At least in stories, things had to make sense. Reality didn't.
"We're lucky that the disturbance was noticed early. The curse must have only just formed, which is probably why this mission was classified as Grade 3."
Even so, Ijichi Kiyotaka didn't look relaxed. There had been past incidents where a mission's difficulty was underestimated, leading to sorcerers losing their lives. That's why even low-level missions had to be taken seriously. "The ranking for this mission might not be accurate."
"Since it involves a shrine—a site of spiritual significance—even if it's labeled as a Grade 3 mission, don't let your guard down. If you determine that the curse is stronger than expected, retreat immediately. Don't take any unnecessary risks," he warned.
"Y-Yeah, got it…" Yoshino Junpei swallowed hard and nodded.
This was his first time going on a mission with people his age. Before this, he had always been under Nanami Kento's guidance, so he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.
After hearing Ijichi Kiyotaka speak so seriously, his tension only grew stronger.
"No problem. No one values their own life more than I do," Hikigaya Hachiman added. On this point, Ijichi Kiyotaka really had nothing to worry about when it came to him.
When it's time to kneel, I kneel. When it's time to run, I run without hesitation. When flattery is needed, I throw away my pride and flatter to the end. This is my pride. When it comes to admitting defeat, I'm the best there is.
Once they all agreed that if anything felt off, they would immediately escape—no, retreat—the car fell into temporary silence, leaving only the sound of tires rolling on the asphalt road.
Yoshino Junpei remained tense, his hands resting properly on his knees, showing no intention of making conversation.
Hikigaya Hachiman was more than happy with the silence, quietly watching the scenery pass by outside the window.
Ichinomiya Town was a coastal town, known not only for its beautiful seaside views but also as a town of peaches.
The rolling hills were covered with peach trees, and since it was the harvest season, the mountains were blanketed in soft pink. Lowering the car window, the breeze that blew in carried the faint fragrance of peach blossoms.
The black sedan didn't drive into town but instead followed the highway toward the outskirts. Eventually, it came to a slow stop in front of a long stone staircase.
"We're here. This is the place."
Ijichi Kiyotaka stepped out of the car, looking at an old caution tape stretched across the bottom of the stone stairs. A weathered "No Entry" sign stood to the side, covered in rust.
"Can you sense the presence of any cursed spirits?" he asked.
Hikigaya Hachiman scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm not really good at sensing that kind of thing."
Don't ask. If you must ask—Master Hayashizaki never taught me.
If he couldn't do it, then there was no way Yoshino Junpei, who was even newer to jujutsu, could either.
Ijichi Kiyotaka also felt a little awkward. To keep the situation from getting more uncomfortable, he said, "Anyway, I'll set up a curtain first. This curtain will force any cursed spirits inside the barrier to reveal themselves, but it won't restrict your movement in or out, so don't worry about that."
He recited an incantation, and after the curtain fell into place, he reminded them once again, "Please remember what I said earlier. If you realize you're no match, give up on the mission and retreat immediately."
"Got it."
The two nodded, exchanged a glance, and stepped through the curtain together.
As soon as they entered the barrier, the lighting dimmed noticeably, and the surrounding sounds disappeared. A strange silence spread through the area.
"Let's go." Hikigaya Hachiman glanced around. Not seeing any cursed spirits, he took a step toward the stone stairs.
"Mm… okay!" Yoshino Junpei quickly followed.
From the state of the steps, it was obvious that this shrine had been abandoned for a long time. The stone slabs were cracked and covered in moss, while wild grass grew unchecked along the edges. The quiet bamboo forest gave off an eerie vibe.
The weakened sunlight filtered through the curtain, casting faint, scattered shadows on the stone path.
Hikigaya Hachiman and Yoshino Junpei climbed the stairs. As they got closer to the shrine, even they—who weren't good at sensing energy—began to feel the sickening aura of a curse.
A quick glance to the side revealed ugly cursed spirits occasionally poking their heads out from the bamboo forest.
But they were nothing more than weak spirits, no different from flies—completely non-threatening and definitely not their target.
Now that they had spotted cursed spirits, the two naturally became more cautious, slowing their steps.
Luckily, they weren't attacked along the way and soon arrived at the front of the shrine. In fact, things went so smoothly that Hikigaya Hachiman found it unsettling.
A dark red torii gate came into view, leading to a small worship hall. It was unclear which deity was enshrined there, but the cursed energy in the area had become even denser.
"This should be the place, right?" Yoshino Junpei said hesitantly.
"This has to be it. There's no path beyond this." Hikigaya Hachiman appeared calm on the surface, but deep down, his nerves were starting to act up, and his palms were already sweating.
"Hikigaya, look over there," Yoshino Junpei called out, sounding like he had spotted something.
Stepping through the torii gate—its red paint peeling in places—they reached the shrine's center. Yet, there was still no sign of a cursed spirit. Instead, they found traces of human activity.
Scattered on the ground were a few hiking backpacks, empty water bottles, another supplies. Hikigaya Hachiman picked up one of the bottles and examined the faded label, the printed text barely readable. He instinctively blurted out, "This water's expiration date… it's from four years ago!?"
"Then these things must have belonged to people who came here four years ago?" Yoshino Junpei was equally surprised. But the missing persons case they were investigating had only been reported in recent days.
If these were from four years ago, then where did the recently missing people go?
"The real issue is, the cursed spirit still hasn't shown up," Hikigaya Hachiman muttered, tossing the bottle aside and scanning their surroundings.
His face grew serious. "Should we just leave?"
"If these things were left behind by people killed by the cursed spirit, then that means our target isn't some newly born Grade 3 cursed spirit. Instead, it's something that's been around for four years, and we don't even know what grade it is."
"An enemy like that isn't something we can handle right now."
"A-Alright." Yoshino Junpei had no objections. As he let out a deep breath of relief, a hint of regret surfaced in his heart.
He never expected that his first real mission would end in such an embarrassing retreat.
In the end, it all came down to his lack of strength.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Yoshino Junpei followed behind Hikigaya Hachiman, preparing to go back down the mountain the way they came.
Lost in his thoughts, Yoshino Junpei didn't notice that the person in front of him had stopped walking. He bumped straight into Hikigaya Hachiman's back.
"Ah, sorry… Why did you stop all of a sudden?" He scratched his head and stepped around the dead-fish-eyed boy. But the moment he saw the scene in front of him, his pupils shrank. "No way…"
The stone steps they had used to climb up the mountain were completely gone, as if they had never existed. Beyond the dark red torii gate, a dense forest had taken their place.
Cold sweat dripped down Hikigaya Hachiman's face.
A thought suddenly came to him. He pulled out his phone to call Ijichi Kiyotaka for help, but when he saw the "out of service" signal on the screen, he pursed his lips and fell silent.
Am I really going to die here?
No way, I don't want that!
"What do we do now?" Yoshino Junpei was panicking too. Instinctively, he looked to the only person who still seemed somewhat calm—the dead-fish-eyed boy.
You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?
Hikigaya Hachiman felt like crying, but standing around doing nothing wasn't an option either. He sighed and said, "That cursed spirit doesn't seem to be trying to kill us right now, so let's just walk around and check things out."
After hesitating for a moment, the two of them passed through the torii gate and stepped into the forest.
Not long after, covered in leaves, they emerged from the trees—only to find themselves back at the shrine from a different direction.
Silence fell between them again.
"Looks like we're trapped," Hikigaya Hachiman said.
He glanced around. The forest completely surrounded the shrine. Based on his guess, no matter which direction they walked in, they would always end up back here.
With a heavy sigh, the dead-fish-eyed boy sat cross-legged right on the dusty stone pavement. "That cursed spirit doesn't want to kill us right now. It's probably just watching us struggle and laughing at us."
"Ijichi-san should send help when he realizes we're not coming back. We just have to stay alive until then."
"Is that really all we can do…?"
Hikigaya Hachiman stared up at the sky without a word. The thick trees boxed them in, forming a round opening above, making him feel like a frog trapped at the bottom of a well.
Who knew how long they would be stuck here?
Crap, I don't have time for this. The culture festival preparations are already behind schedule. What am I supposed to do now?
Wait, why am I even thinking about the culture festival right now? I might not even make it out alive…
Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head with a bitter smile.
Yoshino Junpei sat down cross-legged like him, wearing the same bitter smile. "Are we really just going to sit here and wait for rescue?"
"Maybe we can find a way to force that cursed spirit to show itself. If we exorcise it, we should be able to leave," Hikigaya Hachiman said.
The problem was, the two of them were only Grade 3 sorcerers. What made them think they could take down a cursed spirit that had been around for years, with an unknown grade?
"Ijichi-san said the curtain should force the cursed spirit to appear. I don't know why it didn't work, but thanks to that, at least we're still safe for now."
Hikigaya Hachiman spoke absentmindedly as he reached over and pulled a backpack from the ground, rummaging through it.
A water bottle, a dead phone, and some tattered clothes. Judging by how old and worn they looked, they must have been here for years, further proving that this cursed spirit wasn't newly born—it had existed for a long time.
Why was it only discovered now?
Didn't anyone find out about the people who went missing before?
Hikigaya Hachiman had no answers.
The two of them sat around for what felt like forever. Hikigaya Hachiman passed the time playing Tetris on his phone, even though it had no signal. Meanwhile, Yoshino Junpei, unable to sit still, wandered around the area.
Inside the ruined worship hall, he found a wooden statue that had been placed as an offering. The statue had been damaged. Sunlight shone through a hole in the roof, casting an eerie glow on the headless carving. A strange atmosphere filled the air.
Hikigaya Hachiman glanced at Yoshino Junpei as he walked out of the hall and saw him fiddling with the offering box at the entrance. Without much thought, he warned, "It's probably best not to mess with anything. If you trigger some kind of trap and make that cursed spirit come out and kill us, we won't even be able to complain about it."
"Oh." Yoshino Junpei's curious expression froze for a moment. Then he quickly let go of the bell rope he had been holding.
— ¶ —————————————————————
But the bell rope was still affected by his movement, and a crisp ringing sound echoed through the silent shrine.
The blocks finally filled the entire screen, marking the end of the game. Hikigaya Hachiman glanced around, noticing the silence, and instinctively turned to check what Yoshino Junpei was doing.
He turned his head—only to freeze in place.
In the empty shrine, there was no sign of Yoshino Junpei.
"…Where did he go?"
Hikigaya Hachiman stiffly stood up. The last sound he had heard was the clear ringing of a bell.
"No way…"
With doubt written all over his face, he walked over to the offering box. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and lightly shook the rope attached to the silver bell.
The crisp ringing sound echoed once again in the deserted shrine.
…
(End of Chapter)
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