Chapter 288: The Curse Dispelling Ceremony

Tarou Sakagami uttered with a complicated expression, “This idea was created by the previous Onmyoji and shrine maiden of Unto Shrine.”

After all, the Onmyoji and shrine maiden of Unto Shrine were one of the villagers from Sakagami Village.

The curse of Sakagami Village troubled them equally. Thus, every Onmyoji and shrine maiden who were appointed racked their brains to come up with a way to dispel the curse.

A year ago, they did not see the Majin after removing its seal, so the villagers of Sakagami Village thought that they were fooled. They forced the last Onmyoji of Unto Shrine, Naonari Sakagami, to death and even ransacked the entire shrine.

Unto Shrine had been established for almost 1,000 years, and the information that was recorded there was far more complete and perfectly-kept compared to the one in Sakagami Village.

As the chief, Tarou Sakagami had meticulously read through a lot of the information. He found out about the origin of Sakagami Village’s curse and learned that the Onmyoji and shrine maiden from Unto Shrine had been painstakingly looking for a method to remove the curse. Although the knowledge made Tarou Sakagami feel guilty, it shone a beacon of hope in the desolate despair. This was because the information revealed that the people from Unto Shrine had already figured out a method.

The previous generations had always tried to dispel the curse with methods that they concocted themselves, without any input from the people of Unto Shrine. However, the current method was based on Unto Shrine’s writings. Even though the records claimed that the results were unknown, Tarou Sakagami knew that this was the last saving straw for Sakagami Village.

The immense pressure from the broken seal, the Majin’s escape, and the curse on Sakagami Village had always been asphyxiating for the villagers. Now, the Majin has emerged again to create mayhem, killing Tarou Sakagami’s son and Yuuta. If the curse were not to be dispelled soon, then more people from the village would perish.

Tarou Sakagami kept silent when he noticed that Kimura Kazuki was eyeing him inquisitively. Evidently, Tarou Sakagami had no intention of revealing the method of dispelling the Majin to him, even though the ceremony was going to be held tomorrow.

“I’ve already told you the things that you wanted to know. Please keep your promise to protect the people in Sakagami Village during these two days.”

Kimura Kazuki simply nodded and replied, “I will.”

Since Tarou Sakagami did not want to divulge the method to him, he did not force it out of him. After all, they will find out when they witness it tomorrow night.

Sei Shigeru did not have any opinion about it, much less Harunaka and the others.

Rather than simply waiting and letting Kimura Kazuki solve the matter with Sei Shigeru, Harunaka and the others hoped that they could join in as well. Otherwise, they would feel very invisible and useless.

Although they were there just to enrich their experiences, it would definitely be better if they could assist them as well. Harunaka, in particular, knew that her senior had brought her here simply because it was convenient. After she had turned her mother into a Shikigami, senpai asked her if she wanted to follow him or return home. Eventually, she answered that she would follow him to Sakagami Village.

However, she was of no use at all for the past two days. Now that she could contribute to the mission to protect the Sakagami Village, she was evidently overjoyed.

However, Harunaka would be disappointed in the end.

Yuuta’s death was caused by Otome Sakagami. Her aim was simply to make Kimura Kazuki continue to stay in Sakagami village and never leave.

From the first time she saw Kimura Kazuki, she was greatly entranced by him. The energy within his body was so immense, she was salivating at the thought of it. If she could absorb all the essence from his body, she believed that her capability would be enhanced tremendously.

However, she was still uncertain if she could defeat Kimura Kazuki. Even though she had been sealed for more than 1,000 years, she spent most of her time sleeping. Once in a while, she would wake up and bewitch the shrine maiden and Onmyoji of Unto Shrine if they were merely ordinary people. Otherwise, she would not bother doing it as an Onmyoji who could practice had unwavering determination, thus manipulating them would cost her an immense amount of energy.

Therefore, Otome Sakagami stopped killing people and wreaking havoc after Kimura Kazuki decided to stay.

The entire Sakagami Village safely endured the night. The next day, the village became deathly silent again during the daytime. The villagers were extremely exhausted after being busy for the entire night.

They were active at night but slept during the day. Unknowing people would have thought that the villagers of Sakagami Village were night owls.

Throughout the whole day, Kimura Kazuki stayed in the village. Harunaka felt relieved but disappointed that the aforementioned Majin did not appear again.

On the second night, Sakagami Village was bustling with noise again. However, it was different from previous occasions. Unlike their usual somber selves, everyone in Sakagami Village was beaming with ecstasy.

About 100 people from the entire village had assembled in front of Tarou Sakagami’s house.

Tarou Sakagami stood on a bench and took a deep breath, before announcing loudly, “Tonight, we will finally dispel the curse that had been plaguing us for more than 1,000 years. As everyone knows, Sakagami Village had performed countless ceremonies to remove the curse in the past but sadly failed. However, our method today was born from the efforts of many generations of Onmyoji from Unto Shrine. After all, they were from the Sakagami Village and they were exceptionally skilled. The ceremony tonight will definitely be a success!”

Guilt flashed in the villagers’ eyes when Unto Shrine was mentioned, evidently recalling the incident that happened a year ago.

However, a year had passed since then. The memory came back to them but they did not reveal too much emotion. If the curse was successfully dispelled, then they would rebuild a new shrine and worship all the future Onmyojis from Unto Shrine as their gods.

Tarou Sakagami’s speech was not exactly encouraging and did not inspire great confidence. However, a spark of hope was ignited in everyone’s eyes. Only the cursed ones could truly comprehend the suffering and pain brought by it.

Tarou Sakagami swiftly led about a hundred of them and marched to an open area.

Kimura Kazuki followed the group and watched silently from behind. Sei Shigeru and the others stared at the villagers closely, while Harunaka and her other two friends looked on curiously.

Following Tarou Sakagami and Granny Sakagami’s command, the villagers formed a circle with a smaller circle within it. After half an hour, each person was half a meter apart from one another. The outer circle consisted of adults and elderly people, while young people stood in the inner circle. Meanwhile, Otome Sakagami stood right in the center.

Kimura Kazuki frowned when he saw the scene, unable to decipher what nonsense Tarou Sakagami was up to.

After another half an hour, Tarou Sakagami and Granny Sakagami stood at the outer circle after he had inspected the formation. Then, he said solemnly, “Now, let the ceremony begin! Those who are standing on the outer circle, please pick up your tools.”

Kimura Kazuki’s eyelids twitched furiously when he saw the ensuing scene, as each of the adults and elderly people in the outer circle had taken out a sharp small knife. A foreboding sense of an impending horror arose in his heart.

However, his suspicion would soon be realized.

“On the count of three, everyone please begin.”

“One, two, three…”

When the countdown ended, Harunaka could not help but cover her mouth, aghast at the harrowing sight. Meanwhile, Furuhashi Sakurakyu who had been standing behind her daughter widened her eyes as well in pure terror.