Chapter 123 – Threat from the Spiritual Side
Kazumi sat in front of the table, her delicate eyebrows tightly furrowed. In her right hand, a water-based pen was constantly poking small black dots onto her notebook, which was quickly filling up with these black dots.
Kazumi had never expected such a situation to arise. It was almost ten o’clock at night, and in the dark night sky, a small black crow, a creature of the undead, had no aura of life about it.
Even a hero known for their perception would likely have difficulty detecting this small thing high in the sky. This was why Kazumi had sent out the Corpse Crow. After all, the heroes patrolling the surrounding streets were the more ordinary, punch-the-clock types, lacking any special perceptual abilities.
However, this was the first time she had used the Corpse Crow to scout for intel in the vicinity, and she immediately encountered a setback when an ordinary long-haired girl killed the Corpse Crow with flames.
“But this long-haired female hero who uses talismans…”
On the side, the Heroes Association’s official website was displayed on her phone. For the past hour, the girl had searched through every named hero on the ranking board and even ordinary heroes operating in second-tier districts, but she couldn’t find anyone that matched the young face that had appeared in her mind.
“Damn it, maybe it’s someone from the police department, or someone from another force who is hiding their abilities!!”
Impatiently, she pushed the pen in her hand forward. The black water-based pen rolled across the notebook and finally stopped when it hit the wall.
“Hoo—”
She let out a sigh, and this small release helped vent the anxious emotions from the girl’s heart. Kazumi knew better than to be hasty in anything she did, but this incredibly frustrating unexpected event had completely disrupted all of Kazumi’s plans.
“First, I’ve memorized that girl’s appearance. Although the probability is very low, if I encounter her again, I’ll recognize her at first sight.”
“She’s young, probably under eighteen, but it’s not impossible that she has the ability to disguise her appearance. I can’t use this as the sole basis for judgment.”
“The ability she used was fire, but she was holding a stack of talismans. Heroes with similar abilities also generally don’t match her appearance.”
“And the most important point is her expression!!”
Thinking of this, Kazumi heavily wrote down the word “expression” in her notebook and drew a circle around it.
The girl hadn’t extensively researched micro-expressions. She had initially looked into it to better understand her dog’s thoughts. But later on, Kazumi realized that for Sato Shinichi, the guy who wore everything on his face in front of her, there was no need for micro-expressions at all!!
However, even basic understanding allowed Kazumi to grasp the girl’s genuine emotions at that moment.
Fear, extreme fear, and towards Kazumi, or rather, the Corpse Crow that Kazumi was controlling at the time, she clearly displayed an expression of recognition.
This was extremely bad news for Kazumi. It meant that this ability user, whose origin was unknown, recognized, or at least recognized the Corpse Crow, or was able to distinguish undead creatures.
Slightly connecting this with the talismans she held, which carried a distinct meaning, Kazumi could vaguely guess their identity.
“But… isn’t this the world of heroes? Why are there Taoist priests, or rather, Onmyoji here!!”
Frustrated, she scratched her head. What Kazumi worried about most had finally happened: in this world, there existed groups that were hostile or, rather, could counter her abilities.
Kazumi was relatively open-minded about ability counters. Everyone’s abilities would inevitably have those who counter them, just as fire can be extinguished by water. But powerful flames could also evaporate water. This was a matter of ability traits; all one needed to do was become stronger.
But the problem was, if there was a group that stood completely opposite to you, whose mission was to eliminate you, and who would even pay with their lives, it was a difficult thing to accept from any perspective!!
Moreover, judging by the girl’s actions and expression just now, the Corpse Crow was destroyed by a ball of flame. And this mage, who possessed the ability to destroy Corpse Crows, would not show such an expression for something she could easily destroy.
Therefore, what she was afraid of was not the Corpse Crow itself, but what the Corpse Crow represented. But she couldn’t possibly see Kazumi from the Corpse Crow, and with Kazumi’s current meager coffin, it certainly wouldn’t inspire such fear.
After a meticulous and detailed analysis, the answer to the matter became clear.
“I’ve probably been framed!!”
The girl slumped onto the table, lamenting in despair. This was probably an unprovoked disaster. She might have been mistaken for something else of the undead that they feared, and that was why the girl using the power of talismans had such a reaction.
Actually, being mistaken wasn’t a big deal; the girl even had the possibility of using this guise to do more things. But the problem now was whether those people had the ability to find Kazumi. And if she were really caught, with the things in her black coffin, she probably wouldn’t be able to clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River.
“However, things should not be that dangerous yet. Since heroes are the mainstream in society now, it means that these so-called Onmyoji or ability users in this field do not have such powerful abilities. Otherwise, heroes would not hold such high status.”
“Or perhaps their method of operation is that they are unwilling to expose themselves in front of civilians. But this explanation doesn’t make sense either. Heroes are so prevalent now; even if they don’t want their abilities exposed, disguising themselves as heroes with abilities could easily deceive people. There’s no need to do this.”
In her normal state, Kazumi’s thinking speed was terrifying. She basically pinpointed the crux of the matter in an instant. She took out her phone and searched for various recent paranormal events, and the conclusions she drew mostly supported the girl’s conjecture.
“However, later I can still ask the dog. Grandpa Sato, as a hero, should have some contact with people in this field. Perhaps he knows something.”
Her tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. For Kazumi, no matter what happened, as long as she could find a solution, it meant the situation was not that bad.
She picked up her phone to check the time and found that there was still about half an hour before the boy finished his daily training. After thinking for a while, Kazumi decided to put down her phone and think about a fallback plan for the situation if it were exposed.
But before Kazumi could put down her phone, a familiar video call notification popped up.
Looking at the small flickering flame on her phone screen, Kazumi furrowed her brows in confusion but still reached out and tapped the small “accept” button.
The boy’s silly face appeared along with the chat window. Judging by his messy hair, it seemed he had come to take her video call right after showering.
Before the girl could even utter a greeting, Sato Shinichi on the other end of the phone smiled and spoke first.
“Good evening, Kazumi. Old man seems to have something to go out for, so today’s training time was moved up. I came to find you right after I finished showering!”
