The air in the laboratory grew fouler by the day. Disinfectant, blood, sweat, and fear blended into a nauseating stench, like a pot of soup left to rot.
More photographs covered the walls. The stacks of experiment records on the tables grew thicker, and one batch of black body bags after another passed through the corner of the room.
Genichi stood before the examination table, staring at the cold corpse inside the tank.
The subject had been a young man in his early thirties, physically strong and determined. At least, that was how he had described himself.
Now, he was nothing more than a corpse. His entire body had turned blue and purple, his eyes bulged from their sockets, and his mouth hung wide open, as though he had witnessed something horrifying before he died.
The vengeful spirit had devoured his soul, leaving nothing behind.
"Number twenty-seven."
Genichi's voice remained calm as he recorded the corpse's subject number, name, age, and cause of failure.
Soul collapse, followed by a fatal backlash from the vengeful spirit.
Haruno stood behind him, her face pale and her fingers clenched around a folder.
She stared at the corpse, overwhelmed by an emotion she couldn't quite describe.
It wasn't sorrow or fear. It was numbness.
She had grown accustomed to watching these people arrive, get placed inside the tank, and have vengeful spirits injected into them, only to emerge as cold corpses.
Twenty-seven people.
Twenty-seven failures.
Twenty-seven souls that would never return.
Kirari stood at the doorway with her arms crossed, her expression perfectly composed.
She regarded the corpse without the slightest hint of emotion, as if she were looking at a broken machine.
Most of the volunteers sent by the Momobami Clan every day met the same fate.
She had grown used to watching them enter the laboratory, only to be carried out in black body bags.
So many had died that she could no longer remember their faces.
"Next."
Genichi set down his pen and raised his head.
Kirari nodded and turned to leave.
She returned several minutes later with a woman following behind her.
The woman kept her head lowered, her long hair obscuring half her face. Her expression was impossible to see.
Her body trembled faintly. Her fingers clutched the hem of her skirt so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
She didn't dare look at the equipment, the bloodstains, or the black body bags piled in the corner.
She simply kept her head down and followed Kirari into the laboratory one step at a time.
"This is number twenty-eight," Kirari said calmly.
Genichi looked up at the woman.
His brow furrowed slightly, and his gaze lingered on her for a moment.
Then he turned toward Kirari, a strange light flickering in his eyes.
"Are you certain?"
Kirari nodded.
"I am."
The woman raised her head, revealing a face identical to Kirari's.
It was Ririka, Kirari's twin sister.
Her face was deathly pale, and her lips trembled. Her eyes were filled with terror, yet she didn't retreat. She simply stood there and looked at Genichi.
"You know what failure means," Genichi said, as calmly as if he were stating an ordinary fact.
Ririka nodded.
"I know."
"Aren't you afraid?"
Ririka remained silent for a moment before shaking her head.
"I am, but I'm more afraid of becoming a burden."
Her voice was soft and trembling, but every word came through clearly.
Genichi studied her in silence before nodding.
"All right."
Kirari watched from the side as her sister approached the examination table. Her expression didn't change.
Haruno, however, noticed her pupils contract ever so slightly.
The experiment began.
Ririka removed her clothes and stepped inside the glass tank.
Pale blue nutrient solution rose past her ankles, knees, waist, and chest before finally closing over her head.
She shut her eyes. Her long hair drifted through the fluid like aquatic grass.
Genichi picked up a black chess piece and approached the tank, pressing it against the glass.
The piece sank into the glass, passed through the nutrient solution, and merged with Ririka's body.
Then hell began.
A terrible cold surged from the depths of her soul, threatening to freeze her entire being solid.
Her teeth began to chatter. Her lips turned blue, and a thin layer of frost spread across her skin.
She convulsed in the fluid like a fish thrown onto dry land.
Her eyes snapped open, filled with terror and agony.
She tried to scream, but her mouth was full of nutrient solution, and no sound escaped.
Haruno turned away, unable to keep watching.
Kirari remained where she was, her arms crossed and her expression composed, but her fingernails had already dug into her palms.
Genichi stood in front of the tank and watched Ririka struggle without the slightest change in expression.
His fingers tapped softly against his side.
One minute passed, then two, then three.
Ririka's struggles grew weaker.
Her eyes began rolling back into her head. Her body twitched, and her lips had turned a deep purple.
Her heartbeat was slowing. Her breathing grew faint, and her body temperature continued to fall.
She was dying.
"Survive, or die here."
Genichi's voice penetrated the glass and nutrient solution, reaching Ririka's ears with perfect clarity.
Her body jerked violently.
Then she began to fight.
It was no longer a physical struggle. It was a battle between souls.
Two beasts tore into each other, each trying to devour the other.
Little by little, Ririka ripped the vengeful spirit apart. She devoured it piece by piece, drawing each fragment into her own soul.
At last, Ririka successfully brought the vengeful spirit under her control.
Her body temperature gradually returned to normal.
The blue and purple hue faded from her face, leaving it pale before color slowly returned to her cheeks.
Her once-feeble heartbeat became strong. Her ragged breathing settled into a steady rhythm.
When she opened her eyes, something new had appeared within them.
Genichi opened the tank, allowing the pale blue nutrient solution to pour onto the floor.
Ririka slid out and collapsed to her knees. Supporting herself with both hands, she gasped for air as her entire body trembled.
"How do you feel?"
Genichi crouched in front of her.
Ririka raised her head, her face covered in tears.
They weren't tears of sorrow or pain, but of joy.
It was the indescribable joy of surviving certain death and being granted a new life.
She smiled. It was a faint, gentle smile, utterly unlike her sister's wild grin.
"Good."
Her voice was hoarse, yet it carried a strength it had never possessed before.
"I feel... good."
Genichi reached out and wiped the tears from her face.
"From this moment on, you're the second Spirit Tamer. More importantly, you became one through your own strength. In a sense, you've surpassed Kirari."
(End of Chapter)
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