"Sorry, this is all we have," said Sanae, walking into the dining room carrying a tray of hot tea and manju cakes.
"Please, you shouldn't have bothered," Matsuda said, sitting down after placing his large backpack on the floor with a heavy thud.
The sound of the backpack hitting the floor made the man called Nube swallow hard. He knew very well what was inside that backpack. From holy water, a Bible, grenades, a shotgun, to all sorts of unspeakable unholy objects. Nube quickly sat down next to Matsuda.
"I don't know how to thank you," said Tomoya, sitting across from them, bowing deeply.
He was amazed by the miracle that the two men in front of him had just performed.
Matsuda, with the Bible and his bluish glowing hand, managed to reduce Ushio's pain. Meanwhile, the thick-eyebrowed man, with his long silk mantra scroll, managed to create a spiritual barrier surrounding the house. Impossible things that Tomoya had never witnessed in his entire life.
"Thank you again, Matsuda-sensei, and—"
"He is Nueno Meisuke-sensei, an acquaintance of mine who is an elementary school teacher and spiritual expert," Matsuda said, introducing his colleague, while nudging Nube, who was busy devouring the manju cake.
The nudge caused Nube to choke.
Chough! Chough!
Nube hurriedly gulped down the cup of tea in front of him. But a second later, his face turned red because the tea was still very hot.
"Gyaaa! Hot! Hot!"
The silly and boisterous behavior inadvertently made Tomoya, Sanae, and Akio smile slightly. Meanwhile, Matsuda could only rub his face in resignation at his colleague's behavior. Unknowingly, Nube's relaxed and carefree nature managed to ease the atmosphere and make the family feel a little lighter.
"Please forgive me, I should have asked for permission first. But I already felt something strange about Ushio when she visited the clinic this afternoon," Matsuda said, bowing his large body.
"No, no, we are very grateful for your good intentions, Father Matsuda," Akio replied, bowing as well.
The conversation slowly turned into a cycle of exchanging apologies, thanks, and endless bowing scenes. The typical Japanese politeness cycle only stopped comically when a loud sound rang from Nube's stomach.
Growl...
"Hahaha... hahaha... sorry, I haven't eaten since noon. Hahaha," Nube said, laughing awkwardly and scratching the back of his head, resigned to being stared at by several pairs of eyes in the room.
Sanae looked at the large plate that was now completely empty. Her laughter died down.
"Fufufu... my, my, poor Nueno-sensei. It seems manju alone weren't enough. Let me cook something, okay? Is curry alright?" Sanae said with a gentle smile, getting up from her seat.
Matsuda could only lower his face in embarrassment at his colleague's gluttonous behavior.
"Hahaha... hahaha... really, you don't have to, Madam," Nube said awkwardly, scratching his head that didn't itch.
"This is the least I can do to repay your kindness," Sanae replied kindly. The woman began to open the refrigerator and busily select food ingredients for her cooking.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a little calmer and there were no more distractions, Matsuda finally plucked up the courage to ask seriously.
"If we may ask, what exactly is happening to Ushio? It doesn't seem like an ordinary curse."
Although Matsuda did not sense any anomalies from Ushio's body—besides the fact that the little girl's body continued to weaken over time—Nube's earlier statement made him quite wary. Nube mentioned that there was 'something' absorbing Ushio's life force.
Matsuda didn't quite understand the legends and mystical world in the Asian continent; his insight as an exorcist priest was only limited to European entities. That's why he immediately called his acquaintance after examining Ushio's condition earlier this afternoon.
Hearing Matsuda's question, Akio's expression instantly darkened. The middle-aged man stood up.
"Excuse me... I need a moment." Without waiting for approval, Akio patted Tomoya's shoulder gently, then walked away.
Tomoya only responded with a heavy nod.
"Please forgive my father-in-law. He still blames himself for all of this. Let me tell you about it," said Tomoya.
Matsuda and Nube nodded understandingly, listening carefully.
Tomoya took a deep breath. His hands on the table intertwined, gripping each other tightly until his knuckles turned white. His teeth chattered in anger, and his breath began to race. With a look full of hatred and despair, he said,
"It's all because of the Evil entity who pretends to be the Guardian God of this city!"
CLANG!
Hearing the words Tomoya blurted out, Matsuda froze in shock. For a split second, his grip tightened—crushing the cup in his hand. The remaining hot tea spilled, soaking the table.
"Hey, hey, hey! I know you're sad and angry, but can we at least get a prologue to your story first?!"
Nube exclaimed frantically, waving his black-gloved left hand at Tomoya.
Who starts a story by jumping straight to the climax like that?! Nube cried inwardly.
Even though the situation was very critical, Nube felt that the blue-haired man in front of him had an incredibly unexpected sense of satirical humor.
"S-sorry, sorry," Tomoya stammered. "Let me get a cloth first."
Tomoya hurried to grab a cloth at the sink to clean up the spill. In their seats, Matsuda and Nube exchanged glances; he felt a little mentally exhausted, even though he hadn't performed any exorcism yet.
Tomoya sat back down after clearing the broken glass and drying the table.
"Fuuuh..." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart. Then, he began to tell the story.
"Nagisa... Ushio's mother, as well as my late wife... when she was a child, she was very sickly," Tomoya said slowly, trying to recall the pieces of the past that Sanae and Akio had told him.
"Until one day, her condition worsened drastically. The doctor who examined her gave up and said that there was a possibility... that night would be her last."
Hearing that, Matsuda and Nube listened intently. Their expressions immediately turned serious.
"Knowing there was nothing more that could be done medically, Sanae-san and Akio-san could only resign themselves. That night, while Sanae-san was taking care of Nagisa at the hospital... a desperate Akio-san ran through the rain. He prayed and locked himself inside the old Kuou-no-Kami shrine in the middle of the forest. A shrine built by the early inhabitants to honor Kagenori-sama, the guardian of this city."
Tomoya took a breath for a moment. "I don't know much about the legends of this city, but..."
Tomoya raised his head, staring blankly at the ceiling of the dining room.
"That night, exhausted from crying and praying, Akio-san fell asleep in the shrine. In his dream, he met a figure who claimed to be the entity protecting the happiness of the city. The figure said... if Akio-san was willing to surrender Nagisa's existence completely to be bound to this city, Nagisa would be able to get through that critical night. Akio-san, blinded by despair, agreed without hesitation. And the next day... Nagisa really did miraculously recover."
The tears that Tomoya had tried so hard to hold back finally dripped down.
"Although Nagisa's childhood didn't change much, she was able to get through it happily," Tomoya said softly, recalling Nagisa's happy smile in the pages of the Furukawa family's memory album.
"And even from the first time I met her, Nagisa's body was already a little weak."
In between his story, Tomoya faintly heard Sanae sobbing from the kitchen.
"Until six years ago... when she was pregnant with Ushio, her condition suddenly worsened drastically."
Hearing that timeline, Matsuda's forehead furrowed sharply. His brain immediately connected the pieces of information.
'Six years ago...There was an incident in Kuoh. A large-scale disturbance tied to the Underworld... one that ended with new rulers taking over this city.'
Matsuda tried to connect the dots between that incident and Nagisa's condition.
'The timing was... too close to ignore. But was it really connected...?'
"And then..."Tomoya's voice broke.
"She died... right after giving birth to Ushio."
Tomoya wiped his tears roughly. His hands clenched even tighter until his knuckles turned white.
"I thought the nightmare had passed with time. But it turns out... that damn entity has come again. And now, it wants to take Ushio from me too!"
Tomoya's eyes, red from crying, now burned with anger and despair that was very intense.
Nube exhaled softly, his previously tense expression now softening.
"I'm sorry... for your loss."
He paused for a moment, bowing his head deeply to show his condolences. Likewise, Matsuda, even though his mind was raging trying to digest this series of information, the giant priest still bowed his head respectfully.
"If you don't mind," Nube continued his question in a rather probing tone.
"The shrine you mentioned... is that the shrine that was recently relocated to the outer border of the city?"
He pressed his temple, trying to dig into his memory.
"I remember reading about the dark rumors of that shrine before I moved to Domori City."
"You're not wrong, Nueno-sensei," Tomoya nodded in agreement.
"The shrine was forcibly relocated for the construction of a commercial project, which is now an apartment complex owned by a rather eccentric celebrity. Rumor has it, the apartment complex is very difficult to sell because it is known to be haunted and there are many strange occurrences there."
"Hmm..." Nube murmured softly while folding his arms, before finally turning to look at Matsuda.
"Matsuda-sensei, it seems we need to go to the location of the former shrine to investigate further." Nube's eyes glinted seriously.
"We don't have much time. My barrier won't hold for long... at best, until tomorrow evening."
"I agree. We better move now, before the night gets any later," Matsuda replied in agreement.
"Let me take you to that place," Tomoya said quickly, offering to join the fight for his daughter.
"No. Stay here."
Nube's voice turned firm.
"Right now, the safest place for you... is beside your daughter."
The thick-eyebrowed man pushed his chair back and stood up with determination.
Seeing his colleague was ready, Matsuda also stood up and slung his giant backpack, which looked very heavy, back onto his back.
However, just as Matsuda was about to turn his body to leave the dining room, his steps stopped. He saw Nube—who a second ago was acting cool—was now sitting sweetly back in his chair with sparkling eyes.
Sanae had just entered carrying a large pot of curry that was still steaming with a very tempting aroma of spices.
"Let's eat first, everyone. Sorry I could only cook this with the available ingredients," Sanae said with a friendly smile.
"Hahaha, thank you! Thank you very much, Madam! Hahaha!" Nube chimed in cheerfully, already ready with a spoon in his hand without the slightest guilt.
Matsuda could only stare at his colleague with a blank stare. The burly priest sighed a long, very tired sigh, lowered his large backpack back to the floor with a heavy thud, then sat down resignedly at his table.
However, in the middle of his umpteenth spoonful of curry, Nube's hand suddenly stopped moving.
His ears, which were very sensitive to spiritual frequencies, caught something.
A faint sobbing sound that had been playing in the background—a sound he initially thought was coming from Sanae—now sounded clearer and more heartbreaking. The crying was not coming from the dining room.
Nube turned his gaze towards the dimly lit living room, specifically to the darkest corner near the sofa where Ushio was lying weakly.
With an expression that turned serious again, Nube put down his spoon. He rummaged through his work bag and took out a clear crystal ball, a relic of his late teacher.
"Forgive me, it seems like someone has been wanting to join us," Nube said softly, breaking the silence of the dining table.
Matsuda immediately stopped chewing. Tomoya and Sanae stared at the spirit expert with a confused and tense expression.
Nube rose from his chair and walked slowly towards the dark corner in the living room. The air around the sofa felt much colder than before. Nube raised his bare right hand, channeling his spiritual energy (Reiki) into the crystal ball.
"Namaku samanda bodanan baku...(Homage to all the Buddhas in every direction.)" Nube began to chant a sacred mantra in a whispering voice.
A soft blue spiritual light glowed from the crystal ball, illuminating the dark corner of the room.
Slowly, Nube stretched out his shining hand towards the void, as if gently pulling an invisible thread from the boundary between the mortal world and the spirit world.
Instantly, particles of light began to gather in the air. Starting from the silhouette of a small hand grip, the light slowly spread to form an arm, a shoulder, until finally weaving a complete body that was slightly faded and transparent.
Tomoya's eyes widened. His breath caught sharply in his throat as if his lungs had just been crushed.
Behind him, Sanae dropped the empty plate she was holding, shattering it into pieces as it hit the wooden floor.
In the corner of the room, kneeling right next to Ushio's sofa, was a woman with shoulder-length short hair. Her soft face looked broken and covered in tears. The woman had been there all along, crying silently alone in the darkness, begging anyone in despair to save her daughter.
It was Nagisa.
The mother who should have been gone… was right there, trembling beside her child.