Casablanca dedicated to Mr. Nakahara

'Mountain Tea House' - a hot spring hotel that has become very popular in recent years. Although the location is not superior, the nearby artificially planted bamboo forest adds a lot to it.The boss is a middle-aged man named Sugimoto, and his wife helps to receive visitors.The family of three lives happily, and their daughter is studying at a university in Tokyo.

The ordinary but fulfilling daily life came to an abrupt end due to an accident. A week ago, strange things happened frequently in the guest room "Pianigen" in the northwest corner of the third floor.

At first, it was a hot spring in an open-air bath. Every midnight, the clear spring water gradually becomes turbid. The water temperature is just right and suddenly boils in a short time, bubbling and bubbling.In addition, the whole room was filled with a pungent smell of rotting animal carcasses.At dawn, these abnormalities disappeared without a trace.

After inspection by the maintenance personnel, there is no problem with the pipelines that transport the spring water, and the staff in charge of cleaning the room also cleaned and disinfected step by step as usual.

Shinsuke Sugimoto was so anxious that his hair turned gray, and the impact of this kind of supernatural event in his hotel was quite bad.In the past few days, he has received three resignation letters. Those who stayed behind either did not believe in ghosts or gods, or could not find suitable jobs for a while because of their livelihood. Once the anomaly of 'Pujiri' spreads, it probably won't take long for it to close down.

When he was overwhelmed, he suddenly remembered an old friend who also ran a hot spring hotel with an address in Yayuan.

After giving the employees a holiday, Shinsuke Sugimoto found out the reservation list of the current month from the computer, and notified one by one that 'the hotel will be closed for repairs in a short period of time'.Immediately, he contacted Yahara's old friends and told them all about the troubles he had encountered recently.

'Have you ever heard of the Exorcist? ' asked the man who was nearly fifty years old.

'Heard a little. ' Sugimoto Shinsuke frowned puzzled. 'I thought it was just an urban legend. '

'No, exorcists really exist.You remember the 'hot spring ghost' I told you about last year?My shop was almost closed at the time.Fortunately, a young man passing by helped me solve this problem. He is an experienced demon extermination master. '

'Great, do you have his contact information?Please help forward my request! '

'Ah, leave it to me. '

'Thank you very much, when things are over, I will bring a good wine to visit! '

The next day, 'Kido' lived in two exorcists who had been commissioned. One of them was Natori Monday, a popular actor whom his wife and daughter liked very much.

Shinsuke Sugimoto: ...something is not quite right.

***

The night is getting darker, and there are bamboo shadows under the star river.

Slightly different from the layout of 'Purple/Yanghua', the hot spring bath of 'Piankylos' is built on the right side of the balcony.Milky white marble covers the bottom of the pool, and the walls are covered with dark purple tiles.Its shape is an irregular pentagon, like a bellflower blooming in the wind.

Sitting on the rattan chair, Chang Jingsi glanced at the bath two meters away, and five square paper lamps were placed on the corners of the petals.The apricot-yellow light sprinkled into the pool, and a few faint ink marks hovered and swam like tadpoles among the mist.He picked up the teacup and took a sip, then put it back on the round table beside him.

"Today is the third day, do you want to make a bet?"

"No." Natori Monday took off his glasses and pressed his eyebrows, and the gecko-like monster residing on his body obediently lay on his neck.

The monster that haunted them since they moved in seems to have never appeared. According to the remaining breath, it can be deduced that the hot spring bath is the source of that thing.The crux of the problem is that as long as it keeps hiding and does not show up, the sealing formation prepared in advance will be useless.In order to lure the snake out of the hole, the hotel resumed normal business two days ago.

Could it be that they sensed the spiritual power of the two?

Natori put his glasses back on on Monday, his dark red pupils showing a little solemnity.Tonight is a Full Moon, and it will be at its peak in power for a short time.

"I'm going to Okinawa to shoot a commercial tomorrow."

"Really, actually you don't need to come here." Chang Jingsi folded his hands, wearing a well-made dark kimono that made his skin paler.

Natori remained silent on Monday and did not answer the call. A few days ago, he overheard the conversation between Ma Jingji and his assistant at the gathering of demons.According to the other party's usual style, this entrustment will inevitably end with 'killing the monster'.

At this time, there were 7 minutes before zero o'clock, and a shikigami covered in black and wearing a white mask appeared behind Jingsi Chang.It has limbs similar to human beings, but the proportions are very strange - the torso occupies two thirds of the whole body, less than half a meter below the waist.The ooze-like arm dragged to the ground, and there was no shadow under his feet.

"Being soft on monsters will only hurt you."

Natori Shuki turned his head and glanced at the young man's right eye, which was covered by a spell.Although the two are old friends, their different ideas and ways of doing things lead them to embark on different paths. "Exorcising the youkai who didn't do evil, this kind of thing——"

"Naive." Zhang Jingsi interrupted him, his exposed left eye was somewhat innately cold. "With your ability, you should be aware of the tyranny, resentment, and madness that is about to get out of control in the room these days. The reason why it didn't attack humans a few days ago is because it was waiting. What's more, on the night of the full moon, I met The one on the fourth floor. His flesh and blood are fatally attractive to newborn monsters."

"I will seal it." Natori Zhou said bluntly, even through a layer of lenses, his gaze was still very penetrating.

Zhang Jingsi smiled, and picked up the oiled paper umbrella placed on the side of the chair. "Then I'll wait and see."

***

The small pieces of paper cut into human shapes spontaneously ignite without fire, and the faint blue flames generated out of thin air are fleeting.In just half a second, there was not even a speck of ashes left on the ominous piece of paper.

Who is it?

Qianli put on his mask and gloves, and walked slowly to the window.Looking out through the bamboo window, the hotel seems to be separated from the outside world by a transparent film.

On the balcony protruding from the wall in the front left, several warm-colored paper lamps are lit, and the hazy light illuminates the surrounding square inch space.Not far away, the dark bamboo forest is completely integrated with the darkness, as quiet as a numb tomb.

Qianli frowned slightly. A few minutes ago, an unknown object exuding a cold aura broke into his range of perception.Although he couldn't see the opponent's body, the creepy malice was real.The place where the blade touched was obviously resisted by some kind of resistance. If I guessed correctly, what Murasame killed was not the product of the condensed ability, but——

The shikigami of the exorcist.

The hour and minute hands of the clock in the lobby of the hotel pointed to 'XII' at the same time, and the swinging pendulum suddenly stopped.All of a sudden, everything was silent, and the bright and clear full moon was dyed with a magnificent red circle from the edge.

Qianli, who was always on guard, retreated to the center of the bedroom, and pressed his right hand on the handle of the knife without haste.Even though the doors and windows were closed, the hem of the bathrobe was clinging to his calf.

The wind is tangible, not to mention that this gust of wind is also mixed with a strong smell of rust.

coming!

Qianli Wufinger gathered the handle of the knife tightly, and immediately took a small step forward.The seat lamp in the corner suddenly dimmed, and a layer of goosebumps appeared uncontrollably on the exposed skin.These abnormal phenomena were like a tacit signal, and he slammed forward, leaving only a vague afterimage on the spot.

The red and black Prajna ghost face magnified infinitely in the pupils of the visitor, followed by a bewitching demon sword.The frost-colored blade glowed red, and then severe pain swept through his body. 'It' pounced on the humans who attacked it like crazy, but it couldn't get close.The cold blade blocked its sharp claws, and dark red blood stains gradually appeared on the floor.

it hurts!

so hungry...

Hungry, hungry, hungry—

A shrill howl pierced into his ears, Qianli swung his saber again, and immediately dodged to the living room with one hit.Fighting invisible things is no difficulty for him, and assassins who live in the night have long been accustomed to being accompanied by darkness.It's a pity that ordinary people without spiritual power can't kill monsters, and neither can people with supernatural powers.

Fortunately, Murasame is special, but the wound left by the blade will heal itself in a short time, and Qianli knows this well.The 'artificial yokai' made by magic can be killed, but the real yokai are completely different. That's why he can tell that it's not a simple shikigami who came to him this time.

Things are getting more and more troublesome...

Qianli quickly glanced at the balcony, and when he was thinking, the alarm bell rang in his head.He turned sideways suddenly like a conditioned reflex, and the low table next to him was suddenly crushed by a huge force.The pieces of wood scattered on the ground seemed to have been corroded by acid, turning into a puddle of sticky black water after a while.

Gee.

Thousands of miles back several steps, decisively raised the knife to block.Under normal circumstances, ordinary people without spiritual power will be weak for a period of time when they come into contact with monsters. However, what he is facing now is an attack full of malice.

Ability——

His hair color and eye color instantly turned pure black, and vital signs such as breathing and heartbeat disappeared.Qianli looked at the gap between the opponent's moves and changed to holding the knife with both hands, and then slashed down hard.

"Ahhhhhhhh——" The sharp screams echoed in the air, and the temperature in the room suddenly dropped below zero.

not good!

The moment the thought came to mind, a gust of wind swept over his chest, and Qianli, who couldn't dodge, went straight through the wall and fell to the balcony, with a few broken bamboo boards under his body.The sharp claws of the beast scratched the front of the bathrobe, and there was a black claw mark on the pale skin.Because of the mineralization of his body, he felt no pain, nor did he bleed.

"It's so difficult..." Qianli whispered.

He looked down at the wound, the claw marks were very shallow.The black color is because the power used comes from round diamonds, a diamond genus with both hardness and toughness.

From a certain point of view, the multiple abilities of "Nation of Gems" can cope with any form of combat, but besides the side effects of shattering, it also has a very extreme flaw.The unknown microbes active inside the crystal feed on light, and the only unrestricted one at night is 'cinnabar'.

Other types of gemstones will become dull during periods of lack of light, and 'Cinnabar' can maintain normal actions by gathering weak light with its own venom.

The reason why it was not chosen is very simple - the hardness is too low.The heavy blow he had just suffered would probably have been turned into dust if replaced by 'Cinnabar'.

Qianli looked solemnly at the messy paw prints on the floor, and the silhouette of a monster loomed in front of nothing.The thick hair was covered with a layer of blood mist, roughly looking like a beast with a length of nearly two meters.Holding the knife handle in his hand, he retreated to the balcony, and his back hit a wall of air.

Enchantment? !

The dense gray fog struck from all directions like the tentacles of marine molluscs, and the unavoidable foot smashed the bricks and stones on the ground, and fell into the balcony of a certain room on the third floor in a blink of an eye.He rolled on the spot, and when he looked up, he found that the monster following him had landed in the center of a formation.

The mysterious characters bloomed with dazzling glare, and the dark golden chain protruding from the ground firmly trapped the monster in its original shape.The demon extermination master with brown hair and red eyes knelt on one knee, with a simple pot in front of him.With his left palm upright, he muttered words.

Qianli tilted his head, and a young man holding an oil-paper umbrella a few meters away looked at him with a smile on his face.Moving his gaze to the right, the bamboo bow suspended in mid-air was bent into a full moon shape, and an arrow with a spell on its tail was aiming at the center of his brow.

"Good evening." The young man greeted in a gentle tone, and at the same time, the shikigami who controlled the bow and arrow turned his target to the youkai who had broken free from the chain. "Do it."

The arrow wrapped in powerful spiritual power pierced through the air, followed by Natori Monday's sigh.