Through the crystal ball, it was clear that the evil spirit behind Takahashi Ryoichi was devouring the souls of Hiroki Kakutani and Masaru Ota, who had just died.
"Eat, eat…"
This was the first time Sonoko had seen something like this.
"This is one of the evil spirit's abilities—devouring," Ren explained calmly. "By consuming souls that haven't yet dissipated, it strengthens its own soul. It's not a conscious reaction, but a survival instinct."
He continued, "Evil spirits aren't without limits. If they don't devour other souls, they'll begin to disintegrate and self-destruct over time."
"Normally speaking, two years is already well beyond the lifespan of an evil spirit."
"It just shows how strong Takahashi Ryoichi's obsession with revenge is. That unconscious hatred formed an invisible contract with the evil spirit, allowing it to remain attached to him far longer than usual."
"And because of that, the evil spirit returns some of its power to him. Otherwise, how could an ordinary person have the strength to split someone in half with an axe?"
Indeed, it was hard to imagine what kind of force was required to do something like that—not with a guillotine, but a regular axe.
However, if he gained power from the evil spirit, then it became far more plausible.
Judging by the situation earlier, with the aid of the evil spirit, Takahashi Ryoichi's strength might be comparable to a Warrior Path Sequence 8.
As for the evil spirit itself, it was nearly on par with him. The only thing that needed caution was its supernatural ability—specifically, its scream.
Then again, whether this particular evil spirit had a scream ability was still unclear.
Last time, while observing the evil spirits on Tsukikage Island, Ren had noticed that they didn't possess any true screaming ability, just mental interference.
He wasn't sure if Atsuko's evil spirit had the scream.
Staying vigilant, cautious, and curious, Ren took out the maple leaf gold coin. He silently asked whether Atsuko's evil spirit had the screaming ability, then infused it with spirituality and flipped it.
The coin landed—heads up.
Oh… so it does.
The evil spirit's scream was indeed mentally disruptive. If caught by it, it would be quite troublesome—especially since he'd also be facing the enhanced Takahashi Ryoichi.
In that case, it was better to target Takahashi Ryoichi first.
Glancing at the crystal ball on the table, Ren saw that Takahashi Ryoichi had already crossed the suspension bridge. Ren lightly tapped the table with his fingers, and the crystal ball darkened.
Ren stood from his seat.
"Sonoko, go stay with Ayako and Chikako. I'll take care of things."
"Ren, be careful."
"I will. Don't worry."
After reassuring Sonoko, Ren walked toward the entrance.
This might be the first time he'd used an extraordinary ability in actual combat, right?
That thought made him a little excited. But he quickly remembered Ryuuguin Seiya. The excitement was immediately tempered.
When facing any situation, one had to stay cautious.
At this moment, Takahashi Ryoichi—who looked mild-mannered—had already crossed the suspension bridge and stood before the villa.
His head was slightly lowered. His expression was indescribably twisted and menacing.
"It's time to act."
But just as he stepped forward, he noticed the surroundings getting brighter.
"?"
Subconsciously, he looked up—and a dazzling golden light shone down from the sky. The brightness stung his eyes and gave him a sense of foreboding.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
A sharp scream suddenly echoed through the air, catching Takahashi Ryoichi off guard. The familiar voice made him react instantly.
"Atsuko? Atsuko, is that you?!"
But he soon heard nothing. The world around him grew strangely quiet.
"Atsuko? Atsuko!"
Overwhelmed by unease, Takahashi Ryoichi immediately pulled out the axe hidden behind his back and kept his guard up…
Ahhhhhhh!
The evil spirit caught in the holy light suffered intense damage.
Holy light was like poison to spirits. When the radiant energy touched its body, the pain was unbearable—like being completely purified.
The agony was so great the evil spirit instinctively tried to flee.
But that panicked reaction came too late.
A glowing tarot card had already appeared before it.
The evil spirit opened its mouth to retaliate.
Too late.
Shh!
The holy-light-imbued tarot card pierced straight through it. Even though it had tried to counterattack, it couldn't keep up.
The divine energy inflicted devastating internal damage. The evil spirit didn't even get a chance to escape—it was incinerated by the holy light in an instant.
Click!
The villa door slowly opened. Ren stepped out at a calm pace.
He glanced at the unconscious Takahashi Ryoichi, who was now trapped in a dream. A faint smile appeared.
"The Nightmare ability is really handy. And the Solar-High Priest holy light is extremely effective against evil spirits."
Ren strolled forward and raised his hand to collect the remaining fragments of the evil spirit.
At that moment, clear river water appeared beside him. As the water spread, it began to draw together the spirit's remnants, gradually forming a metallic black skull-shaped whistle.
Ren examined it and confirmed:
"A whistle containing the scream ability of the evil spirit. It can cause significant mental shock to anyone who hears it."
Mental damage was the most troublesome aspect of evil spirits.
Attacks on the spiritual level had no fixed form, and most supernatural abilities were ineffective against spirits unless they had specific traits.
But once proper preparations were in place, the threat level of evil spirits dropped significantly.
In short, dealing with evil spirits was easier with source materials.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)