Chapter 427: Arrival

Once a demon is born, it gradually becomes stronger, leading to more deaths—an absolute consensus.

The priests took this seriously, setting up altars in the plaza and other open areas in front of the apartment community. With the help of some local police officers, the crowd bustling about made for a grand sight.

Eileen, the Higa sisters, and their group had already reached the fourth floor of the apartment building, stopping at the door of apartment 406.

To Eileen's surprise, she could hear noises coming from inside the apartment, and she looked toward Higa Makoto at the front.

"Unresolved attachments."

Noticing Eileen's gaze, Higa Makoto said, "This can easily give rise to ghosts. It has no memory of dying and believes it is still alive."

As she spoke, Higa Makoto took out her phone, tapped a few times, and stopped at a blog account, showing it to Eileen.

"Target: Tanahara Hideki. He is still updating his blog."

A chilling atmosphere ensued, and those nearby who were ready to clean the house and set up altars involuntarily held their breath. Given the investigation, the target had been missing for at least two days, and all signs pointed to his death. What, then, was this freshly updated blog?

Eileen frowned and glanced at the phone screen Higa Makoto was holding up.

"Today the three of us made cookies. Chisa and Mom are very alike, both have a talent for cooking."

Eileen didn't read further but sighed internally.

Tanahara Hideki truly was keen on maintaining the image of a good father and a happy family, even as a lost soul still thinking about crafting his persona.

"He truly is a remarkable person," Eileen said flatly.

Higa Makoto nodded in agreement, put away her phone, and prepared to knock on the door.

"Sister!" Higa Makoto turned back at the sound of her sister's voice and saw her holding out a talisman, giving her a look.

"No need, it's too wasteful for a lone spirit," Higa Makoto said, turning back to knock on the door.

The knocks echoed down the quiet hallway, followed by footsteps that carried a hint of eeriness.

If the soundproofing were this poor, the building would have been uninhabitable long ago.

"He's here!"

Everyone outside the door could hear that voice, as if someone really was inside.

But they all knew the apartment's owner was already dead.

At this eerie peak, the firmly shut door unexpectedly opened.

A man dressed in casual clothes appeared, and behind him stood a woman, enhancing the fear, as the couple's smiles looked incredibly stiff.

It was as if someone had carved a rigid smile onto a corpse's face.

Despite this, the male host, as if oblivious, bore this inhuman smile and addressed the crowd at his door.

"Who are you?"

He seemed unaware of how chilling his presence was.

"I am Higa Makoto," she responded.

"A medium, here for your daughter Chisa."

"A medium?" The man and woman exchanged a look, their expressions suddenly becoming grotesque.

"It seems you know where my daughter is, please tell me."

Before he could finish, Higa Makoto swiftly formed a hand seal, her left thumb pressing against the base of her ring finger, with the little, ring, and middle fingers covering the thumb, and the index finger securing the bend of the thumb.

This was the Vajra Mudra.

After completing the gesture with one hand, Higa Makoto pushed towards the man's chest.

"Om!"

As spiritual power burst forth, the man and woman in front of her were forcefully pushed back into the living room.

Higa Makoto entered the dim room without expression, her hand gesture unchanged, extending her right hand to align it with the left.

"Ah, Ama, Ga, Bai, Sa, Nan, Maga, Ma, Nan."

She moved towards the living room, chanting continuously, emitting a serene aura that gradually enveloped the room.

Behind her, Eileen instinctively looked towards Higa Makoto, who softly explained.

"This is the Great Light Mantra, a Buddhist exorcism chant. Sister is performing a rite to guide their spirits to peace, to send them off properly."

"Understood," Eileen nodded, observing Higa Makoto chant and move deeper into the room, her eyes reflecting curiosity.

She could feel that under Higa Makoto's chant, the cold room seemed to gradually normalize.

The sinister aura was also slowly being dispelled by the power emanating from Higa Makoto.

Recalling her own bishop's comments on this Japanese saint, Eileen thought.

"Higa's exorcism rituals are quite unique, not confined to her inherited Shinto practices. She's intelligent and has learned many ways to expel spirits, effectively utilizing anything from gods to Buddha."

With this in mind, Eileen

 glanced back at the square, where many altars were set up, each uniquely decorated.

Around each altar were people dressed differently, including Shinto priests, Buddhists, shrine maidens, and even performers of Noh theater, all preparing for various forms of exorcism rites.

"Why does this feel familiar?" Eileen mused, reminded of her bishop.

"It's somewhat like the bishop's style."

Just then, Eileen felt her phone vibrate. Looking once more towards Higa Makoto, she pulled out her phone.

The message on the screen was from John Wick.

"Sister Eileen, I have completed the preparations."

Seeing this message, Eileen put away her phone and looked back towards the square.

Amidst her search, she spotted a familiar car parked among the altars, its mounted heavy machine gun gleaming coldly, somewhat out of place amidst the surrounding setup.

The appearance of the car disrupted the overall atmosphere, like a husky thrown into a pack of wolves.

Eileen slightly curled her lips, typing "Understood" into her phone.

The phone vibrated.

Sitting in the car, John Wick saw the message, pocketed his phone, and glanced at the surrounding people casting strange looks, expressionless, he closed his eyes, waiting for the demon's arrival.

He too had his method of exorcism, as the bishop had told him, whatever works.

"Vado Anyu."

Higa Makoto stopped her guiding ritual, gazing at the now empty but blood-stained living room, pursed her lips, dissolved the hand gesture, and turned to look at Eileen and others waiting outside.

"It's done, come in."

She walked to the balcony and pulled back the curtain blocking the light.

Bright light poured in, bringing illumination to the dim apartment.

"Sister!"

Turning back, she saw her sister running towards her, Higa Makoto raised her hand to stop her, then turned to Eileen and the crew setting up the altars.

"Start cleaning up. Make sure all offerings are prepared well to please the demon and draw it here."

"Yes!"

The crew responded and began to disperse, each attending to their tasks—some cleaning the filthy scene and blood, others organizing the clutter and rotten food on tables, and some spraying around, seemingly to dispel the residual evil aura.

Seeing this, Eileen also walked towards Higa Makoto, the only clean place being the balcony.

"Sister Eileen, I will take charge of drawing the demon here. Please take care of my sister afterward," Higa Makoto bowed deeply, earnestly.

"I entrust this to you!"

Eileen looked at Higa Makoto's visibly moved sister, nodded, "I will."

Higa Makoto also glanced at her sister, bowed again to Eileen, and then left.

"Sister Higa, what are you doing?" Eileen was still unfamiliar with these local customs.

Higa Makoto didn't follow her sister but explained as she watched her leave, "She's putting on the saintly attire, to welcome the demon as if greeting her own deity."

Soon, as the sun set in the west and the living room altar was set, everyone slowly left, Eileen saw a different Higa Makoto.

Her attire was lavish, resembling an intricate gown.

Higa Makoto wore a crown embedded with pure gold and pearls, with long white ribbons hanging from either side, fluttering with the wind, adding a touch of sacred elegance.

Her top was a traditional kimono, with plain white silk embroidered with golden Shinto patterns, with gold lace at the collar and cuffs.

Her skirt was a long red gown, her shoes white wooden sandals with lotus patterns, swaying lightly with her steps.

Additionally, she wore a belt carved with mysterious Shinto runes at her waist.

She looked extremely regal.

"The time is almost upon us." Higa Makoto's cool demeanor seemed somewhat mystical in this attire.

"Rest assured." Eileen nodded, standing by Higa Makoto, seriously.

"I will take good care of Makoto."

Higa Makoto nodded slightly, not concerned about her sister's expression, but turned to face the set-up altar, kneeling on the cushion, picked up the three incense sticks already placed on the table, lit them from the candle, and then inserted them into the incense burner in front of her, closing her eyes and began to chant.

Eileen glanced at Higa Makoto.

"This is the Welcoming Chant," Higa Makoto whispered.

"It's used in conjunction with the ceremony outside."

Eileen suddenly remembered the priests kneeling at the four corners of the apartment and the neatly arranged altars, nodding in understanding.

Although not fully clear, she knew this was the "Rooster's Crow Thrice" ritual performed before major Shinto ceremonies, symbolizing the arrival of dawn.

Meanwhile, outside, John Wick in the car opened his eyes, looked at the calm surroundings, and at the people ready on the

 altar, then thought for a moment and picked up the large backpack from the passenger seat, walking towards the back of the truck.

Climbing onto the truck bed, he stood behind the large-caliber machine gun, methodically opened the box beside him, revealing white bullets inside.

These were bullets developed by Hill, the white color due to the material not being copper steel or lacquered steel but from the sacred stones in the holy pool.

According to Hill, the sacred stones themselves retain divine energy, effective against most evil beings, particularly suitable for the local spirits of the island.

This scene seemed very abrupt, the shrine maidens on the altar prepared for the time to arrive, and the priests couldn't help but look over.

Many curious glances did not affect John Wick, who simply continued preparing, unpacking the backpack he brought, revealing the white grenades inside.

As time passed, the horizon glimmered with a pale gold, and the land, including the quiet apartment community, was tinged with the color of the setting sun, the leaves on the trees in the plaza gently swaying in the breeze.

The sun was slowly setting, and it was now dusk.

Just then, Higa Makoto, who had been chanting inside the apartment, opened her eyes, alerting the two behind her.

"The time has come!"

Eileen's hand quietly rested on the bag at her side, while Higa Makoto already held a talisman.

Higa Makoto seemed to sense what the two were doing, raised her head and stared straight at the altar.

"Rooster's Crow!"

Instantly! It was as if the crowd chanted in unison.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

The sound was robust and powerful.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Eileen instinctively looked towards the balcony bathed in dusky light, seemingly able to see the outside situation.

The priests kneeling at the outer periphery, holding their staffs, head bowed and shouting.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

A peculiar power abruptly accompanied this robust and powerful sound.

In the chants lingering around, the priests on the altar had already bowed, ready to welcome something.

Drums surrounding each altar were struck.

Boom! Boom! And the shrine maidens or priests on the altar also began to dance along with the drumbeats.

The shrine maidens wore colorful, beautifully patterned gorgeous kimonos, holding a fan, moving onto the stage with light steps, their postures elegant and upright, like blossoming flowers.

This was the shrine maiden's sacred dance.

Beside them, a priest dressed in white also danced in harmony with the shrine maidens, their light jumps and spins.

Each altar had its own activity.

From his vantage point on the truck bed, John Wick watched, the scene indeed magnificent.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

The final shouts from the four directions began to merge, forming a single voice.

Under the rooster's crow, Higa Makoto silently picked up a white paper placed before her, unfolding it with both hands.

The paper was filled with Chinese characters specifically written for the prayer subject, this was the Great Purification Chant Higa Makoto had composed for the "Tanahara Family."

She followed the text on the paper, reading it aloud, complementing the robust and magnificent sounds outside, harmoniously resonating.

Eileen watched the entire process, noting that the apartment complex, under these rituals and sounds, rose with a vast and peculiar aura, replacing the canopy of the sky.

She didn't know what it was, but she knew this aura was likely key in attracting the demon.

Drum and human voices mixed, forming a unique sound.

Outside the ritual, Eileen, Higa Makoto, and John Wick could only silently wait.

At this moment, Higa Makoto finally finished her chant, the sun also had reached the mountain's peak, about to set.

Suddenly, the sky dimmed, and all was quiet around.

Day and night outside switched back and forth abruptly, one moment dusk, the next darkness.

As Higa Makoto became tense, and Eileen frowned, Higa Makoto said:

"The boundary between the human and spirit realms is blurring, this is the witching hour, when demons and ghosts are most likely to appear."

With that, Higa Makoto stared at the altar in front of her as the outside turned completely dark.

"It's here."

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT