259 All Good Things Must Come To An End

At night, the moon hung bright, and there were only a few stars in the sky.

Chiba Shiori and Kimura Kazuki were rushing toward the tram station. Thinking about what had just happened, Chiba Shiori said worriedly, "Kazuki, those yokai… Is there no way to deal with them?"

Any ordinary person would definitely have such worries.

"I was too careless on this matter," Kimura Kazuki said helplessly. "If I had just finished him off resolutely, it would be fine now." He was going to do it just now, but he sensed the presence of the people from the Department of Mysteries outside. He gave it a thought, and realised that they might also be investigating Takeshi Yuta. The two parties had crossed paths as the Department of Mysteries were also here to settle the matter.

He figured that since the people from the Department of Mysteries were here, he might as well hand the problem over to them. This time, he was positive that the Department of Mysteries would not be greedy for his loot. However, to his surprise, Takeshi Yuta still did something that would bring nothing but harm. It was clear that he had already gone mad.

He muttered, "Those yokai fled very quickly, and they ran in all directions, so I couldn't stop them. However, these yokai are a little less powerful. There is a high chance we will succeed if we wish to annihilate them completely." Just now as he was slaughtering up to 50 yokai with the Sun and Moon Sword, he sensed that the power of the yokai had not reached the First Foundation State. The power they wielded was nothing to worry about.

Of course, if what Takeshi Yuta had said about the yokai was true, that they had the ability to grow their power over time, then it would be a real headache. The most important problem was that the presence of the internal reiki meant that they could absorb reiki. He was worried that if this was coupled with intelligence, the yokai that fled would hide away from the humans to slowly accumulate their power. That would be a real disaster.

This was probably the reason why Director Mitani was so exasperated… This meant that these yokai were like a ticking time bomb, no one knew when it would go off.

Upon hearing this, Chiba Shiori did not know what to say. After all, she was powerless, and could not give any constructive suggestions. At the thought of this, she did not question him further. This case would also be dealt with by the Department of Mysteries, so nothing could possibly go wrong. Kazuki had also mentioned that those yokai were not that powerful.

The two chatted as they walked side by side.

Soon, Chiba Shiori recalled something, and she said softly, "If the contract is signed in the next two days, Yuriko's last wish can be considered as fulfilled."

Friends… When would I be able to break through this friend zone? Although her emotions were fluctuating, Chiba Shiori gave it a thought, and shook her head in silence.

At the sight of this, Kimura Kazuki fell into silence for a moment. "It has something to do with Yuriko, doesn't it." As Chiba Shiori acted like this, he could guess what it was related to.

Chiba Shiori remained silent, and said nothing.

"Have you grown fond of Yuriko?" Kimura Kazuki asked softly.

Yuriko and Chiba Shiori had already been close on the social network. After the former had died, her soul did not dissipate, but continued to live on in the house of Chiba Shiori. Deep down in her heart, Chiba Shiori probably did not want to fulfill Yuriko's wish, because her soul would then dissipate into nothing.

If Kimura Kazuki was not mistaken, Chiba Shiori was unwilling to part with her.

Humans are emotional beings. As an only child, Chiba Shiori would sometimes be envious of others that had siblings. The arrival of Yuriko had perfectly complemented this. Although they had just been together for around a month, the bond that they shared was strong. In fact, she did not want to see Yuriko ascending into heaven… And according to Kimura Kazuki, once her wishes were fulfilled, it was possible that the soul might not ascend into heaven and be reincarnated, but instead actually die for real. This had made Chiba Shiori even more reluctant to let go.

At the sight of this, Kimura Kazuki sighed in his heart. If he had known that this would happen, he would not have told her the truth. However, Chiba Shiori was a friend to him, so he would not want to hide this matter from her. After all, if Chiba Shiori were to see the ascension of Yuriko, then she would be suspicious of it. Compared to being confronted about it then, it would be better to tell her the truth now.

Chiba Shiori gently nodded her head.

According to Kimura Kazuki, after helping the specter fulfil her wish, the specter would transform into reiki, and the reiki could be absorbed to strengthen a person. Chiba Shiori did not feel that this was something cruel as Kimura Kazuki had the good intention to help the specter to fulfill her wish. Once the wish was fulfilled, she would probably be contended. Even if she did become reiki and was absorbed, it would also be a fair exchange.

However, she was a little reluctant to do so, because she had spent such a long time with Yuriko.

"If you want Yuriko to stay, there are two ways to do so." At the sight of Chiba Shiori's hopeful and expectant gaze, Kimura Kazuki immediately popped her bubble of hope. "But the condition is, you have to become a cultivator."

Both ways were to turn the spirit into a guardian spirit, Of course, according to the Japanese, guardian spirits were known as shikigami. 

The first way was pretty simple. After becoming a spirit, as long as there was a blood-related family member who could cultivate, it would then be able to become a shikigami without any negative side effects.

The second solution was a little less appealing. If there was no spirit in the family of the Japanese Onmyoji, one would need to find a spirit. Spirits that were not related by blood would need to share the years of their lifespan. In other words, if one signed a contract with a non-blood related spirit, one would allow the spirit to become one's own shikigami, sharing one's vitality with the spirit.

This form of sharing lifespans did not mean that if one lived until 80 years old, then the spirit would be able to live for 80 years.

It meant that if one was able to live until 80 years old, one would only be able to live for 40 years after signing a contract with a spirit. If one's descendents wish to sign the contract too, they would also need to share their lifespan to sustain this.

That was why most of the Japanese Onmyoji's shikigami were related by blood, and inherited through generations.

"There is nothing in this world that does not come to an end." Chiba Shiori smiled and said, "Since Yuriko had already died, she shouldn't remain in the world. Compared to the others, Yuriko had already been very blessed as someone is helping her to fulfill her wish."

"You are right." Kimura Kazuki nodded in agreement. "It is great that you can figure this out."

As it was late, Kimura Kazuki walked Chiba Shiori home. After ensuring that she was safely home, he left.

Once he got back to the Weier Apartment, he was greeted by the dishes of food on the table. After the dinner with Kumoko, Kimura Kazuki habitually translated a couple of contracts, and continued to draw the talismans.

When it was almost dawn, Furuhashi Sakurakyu suddenly appeared with a worried look just as Kimura Kazuki was about to rest.

Noticing that Kimura Kazuki was looking at her with curiosity, Furuhashi Sakurakyu smiled awkwardly, "Kimura-kun, I want to discuss with you about my problem of obsessiveness."

Harunaka's wish had been fulfilled, but she was still unable to ascend into heaven. This had been troubling her for a few days, and in the end, she decided to seek advice from a professional.