For every step that Kazuki took forward, there would be clattering and squeaking as his feet bumped into debris on the wooden floorboards.
The noise was not loud, but it was chilling to hear it in such a place that was rumored to be haunted. In the silence of the night, in the empty and run-down stadium, the sound of friction was enough to draw out fear from the depths of one's heart, especially if the person was alone.
Every single sound was capable of making the heart pound. Every sound of movement could cause the chest to constrict in fear.
However, Kazuki breathed steadily with a calm gaze. His right hand was placed on the hilt of the Sun and Moon Sword on his waist. His left hand was pinching the Spirit Stabilizer Talisman in his pocket. As soon as there was movement, he would be able to react immediately.
His eyes were fixed upon the dark entrance of the sports storeroom where the door had long since disappeared.
Speaking of which, not only was the gate of the main entrance of the school missing, the doors of the stadium and the sports storeroom had also disappeared.
When he passed by the teaching building with Shiori, he noticed the classroom doors on the first floor were gone.
I'm afraid that it is not only the first floor but the doors on the rest of the levels are also probably all gone as well.
This is very strange.
As he pondered about it, Kazuki sped up his steps and soon reached the entrance of the sports storeroom.
"Cough."
As he stepped into the sports storeroom, Kazuki could feel the burnt scent in the reiki intensify, causing him to cough violently.
"This evil ghost… Could it be that it has already entered the State of Mortal Shedding?"
The thought that arose in his heart was quickly brushed aside. This place was already a Class D area of contaminated reiki, but in the era before the recuperation of reiki, it was challenging for an evil ghost to enter the State of Mortal Shedding.
It's been five years since the fire. If the evil ghost had entered the State of Mortal Shedding, then contamination levels would have reached Class C.
Currently, as the contamination level had only reached Class D, it was apparent that the evil ghost had stayed here for the entirety of five years. Only with continuous contamination could this place reach such an extent.
Kazuki took out a Ghost Expelling Talisman, and with a touch of reiki from his hand, the thin Enchanted Talisman shook. In the night, a very mild curtain of golden light enveloped Kazuki's whole body before disappearing after a second.
In the next instant, Kazuki's breathing smoothened.
A Class D area of contaminated reiki was unbearable for Kazuki. Hence, he could only move freely under the protection of an Enchanted Talisman. With the protection of the Ghost Expelling Talisman, Kazuki could clearly feel the burnt scent become milder and could finally breathe unhindered.
Although the sports storeroom was big, it was possible to take it in entirely upon a sweeping glance.
However, the sports storeroom was so empty and clean that it was suspicious… Upon taking another two steps, Kazuki was able to acutely feel the fluctuation of reiki in the air without the confusion of the burnt scent.
This should be what the evil ghost left behind.
In no time, Kazuki had figured it out.
The soul itself was a large mass of reiki, thus as long as it moved, it would draw the reiki in the air and would leave behind traces.
However, it seemed as though the evil ghost was not here.
Although his heart was sure that the evil ghost was not here, Kazuki was still very cautious as this was always its territory. Followed the traces of reiki fluctuation, he quickly came to the back door of the sports storeroom...
As always, the door was missing.
Up until now, Kazuki was still wondering why these doors had disappeared.
Even while he was thinking about this, Kazuki did not stop walking. He carefully sensed the traces left behind in the air and followed the fluctuating reiki. Upon following the fluctuation of reiki, he arrived quickly before a building, and as he raised his eyes to look, he was stunned.
Turns out, he had reached the bottom of the teaching building without even knowing it.
This is bad!
Thinking of Aichi's scream just now, Kazuki's face changed.
He had previously thought that it was Aohi and the haunted house workers who had scared Aichi and caused her to scream. Yet now it seemed like they might have encountered an evil ghost.
Although Kazuki was worried, he managed to remain calm as his thoughts swirled in his head. According to the fluctuations of reiki, it was clear that the evil ghost was in this teaching building.
If Aohi and his group had really encountered the evil ghost, then something terrible might have already happened.
He wasn't worried about Aohi and his group. These people were the sort to explore places rumored to be haunted and would sooner or later run into trouble. Well, something probably already happened by now.
He was worried about what would occur if something did happen, and it was reported to the police. Then, if the police from the police station came, they would definitely lock up the place and restrict entry for a short time.
It was so rare that he was lucky enough to encounter an evil ghost. If he did not absorb it, Kazuki would certainly regret it in the future.
Thinking of this, Kazuki was just about to head upstairs, but as he thought more about it, he took out his handphone to call Shiori's number.
When he could not reach her, his brows furrowed.
"Yasuda, you bastard, I will never talk to you again!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Aichi. I just wanted to let you experience an atmosphere of terror… I didn't realize-
"What didn't you realize? Didn't realize I was scared? Yasuda, don't talk to me again!"
Holding his phone, Kazuki heard voices, and upon looking, he saw Aohi's and his group on the staircase, walking down from the second floor.
Aichi was at the forefront with tears still on her face. It was clear that she had been poorly scared. Yasuda, who was behind her, was laughing as he apologized.
Trailing behind them were two honest-looking young men who were probably the workers of the haunted house. Their expressions currently were a bit helpless as they walked behind without a word. Both of them were each carrying a terrifying rigid head that was covered in blood.
Kazuki had to look carefully before realizing it was a prop, leaving him somewhat speechless.
Shiori lagged behind at the end with her eyes full of disappointment. She had thought that they had discovered some sort of paranormal phenomenon, but it turned out to be just Aohi playing tricks.
Kazuki kept his phone as he quietly looked at this group of people.
Aichi who walked in front was the first one to see Kazuki. Her eyes flashed in embarrassment as she realized that her scream just now was too loud and had gotten the attention of the others.
It was all Yasuda's fault! As the thought popped up, she turned to glare at Aohi.
"Yasuda, what happened? Why couldn't I get through to your phone?"
Just as Aichi was going to greet Kazuki Kimura, Nakagawa Aokiji rushed toward them from a distance with an anxious expression on his face, obviously also drawn by the noise.
Moreover, his call could not reach Yasuda.
Upon hearing this, the worker behind Aohi roused, his face apologetic, "My apologies, I forgot to switch off the signal blocker."
As he spoke, Yamazaki Yuujin and Sakai Keiko had also arrived, both of whom were anxious and worried.
Aichi felt so ashamed that she was embarrassed to see everyone. She knew that because of her, tonight's expedition of Akichi High School was most probably ruined.
After this incident, everyone would probably not feel as adventurous.
Once everyone found out what had transpired, they could not help but laugh. No one blamed Aohi, and upon seeing his pleading eyes, they tried their best to comfort Aichi.
Kazuki watched on silently, but he had not let his guard down. Even though the gathering of the group had gradually formed a bit of Yang energy, he was still afraid of the possibility of an accident occurring.