Did he die?
Because of me?
Shiori sat on the ground, staring blankly at Kazuki who made no movement. Her heart palpitated.
If Kazuki had not pushed her away, that terrifying ghost face would have definitely entered her body… If an Extraordinary Individual like Kazuki were killed by the ghost face in one blow, she would not be able to withstand for one second.
At this moment, her heart was swamped by an indescribable feeling. Her gaze was unfocused.
That feeling was hard to be expressed, but it was overwhelming.
Aokiji rushed toward Kazuki. As he examined the latter's breath, a freezing and eerie turbulence occurred. He shuddered, not because of the fear, but the chill.
"Come here and help out, Chiba-san!"
Although Aokiji arrived slightly later than Shiori, he had heard what Kazuki said.
Kazuki urged them to exit the school! Even though he did not know the reason, he had no choice but to follow the instructions. The moment he turned, he saw Shiori sitting on the ground, staring into blank. He anxiously prompted her, "Chiba-san, hurry up and come over. Kimura-san isn't dead yet!"
Isn't he dead yet?
Shiori snapped back to reality and responded promptly. She stood up hastily. Seeing that Kazuki was still breathing, she heaved a sigh of relief.
She went forward, intending to help Kazuki. But, her hand instinctively retracted at the touch of his body.
It was freezing cold, deep down to the very core of the spine!
Shiori clenched her teeth. Together with Aokiji, they lifted Kazuki up, one on the left and another on the right. They could hear Kazuki's subconscious muttering, resembling the buzzing sound of a fly.
"It's warm..."
Warm? Both Aokiji and Shiori looked at each other awkwardly. Half of their bodies were frozen as they were supporting Kazuki.
"It's… It's probably the ghost face's ability. Let's get out of the gate!" Aokiji said in a trembling voice as he tried hard to endure the freezing airflow from Kazuki.
Shiori nodded as she shivered involuntarily. She was also affected by that chilly airflow emitted by Kazuki.
Buzz, buzz!
As they were about to move forward with Kazuki, a crisp buzzing sound came from the ground.
Aokiji looked down. It was the Sun, and Moon Sword Kazuki always wore. It was buzzing continuously at this moment. He bent down to pick up the sword, kept it into its scabbard on Kazuki's waist without further examination, and briskly walked to the school gate together with Shiori, supporting the unconscious boy.
They had to be quick. Behind came the sharp wails of agony, reminding them of the horrifying monster in Akichi High School.
Furthermore, their bodies could not bear the corrosive frost from Kazuki if they did not speed up.
——
After a long while, Kazuki worked with the sword's spirit of Sun and Moon Sword and successfully banished the terrifying ghost faces from his Sea of Consciousness...
He did not expect the most formidable attack from the Multi-armed Evil Ghost to be those fragile ghost faces, instead of its arms.
As the faces rushed into him, he felt the excruciating pain as though his body was scorched! However, his body was still icy cold… In the meantime, the ghost faces were wreaking havoc within his Sea of Consciousness.
In a fraction of a second, the three attacks immensely hurt Kazuki. Battling at his home field was his most significant advantage. Besides, the sword's spirit of the Sun and Moon Sword was able to enter his Sea of Consciousness. Together with the fact that the Multi-armed Demon had not achieved the Metamorphosis State, he barely survived.
In fact, the ghost faces in his body could be cast away with ease by a Ghost Expelling Talisman, but neither Aokiji nor Shiori knew how to do so.
His eyes were yet to open, but Kazuki could already feel a soft body close to his skin.
With a bit of deducing, he knew that Shiori was lying in his arms.
As he was freezing, it was only natural for him to seek warmth by hugging something. Although it did not help, it was a reflex action.
Kazuki did not purposely sleep on. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of eyes, which were as dark as the black crystals, glaring right at him, without blinking. Shiori's face was pale, and her lips colorless. Her entire body was shivering involuntarily.
Seeing that Kazuki had awakened, she parted her lips, intending to speak. But, even that was too difficult for her.
The exile of the ghost faces gradually brought his body temperature back to normal. However, Shiori, who was afflicted by him, was not recovering at the same rate. Moreover, he was clueless about how long had he been hugging her.
With thoughts in mind, Kazuki let go of Shiori and stood up right away.
Upon seeing this, Aokiji, who was standing aside, was glad, "You're finally awake, Kimura-san!"
Kazuki did not speak but proceeded to fumble out three strips of Ghost Expelling Talisman from his pocket. He threw one of them at Aokiji and another two at Shiori. Although his reiki was condensed within his body, there should not be an issue for him to use the enchanted talisman.
The Ghost Expelling Talisman helped Aokiji to recover quickly. As a man in his late twenties, he was in his best years. He was affected much less than Shiori, as Kazuki had been hugging Shiori after they exited the school gates.
As for Shiori, the two Ghost Expelling Talismans accelerated the recovery of her body temperature as her countenance began to redden.
But, the freckles and black spots from her make-up dampened her beauty.
"For this time, both of you, especially Chiba, might get severely ill when you return. But this is normal. Just rest well, and you'll recuperate."
After that, he disregarded the two of them with no intention to explain further. He scanned the surroundings and realized that they were standing in front of the school gate...
All of a sudden, Kazuki halted his steps. He instinctively rested his hand on the Sun and Moon Sword that was tied to his waist.
There was a pale-white figure quietly standing at the gate of Akichi High School. Its eyes were purely black, there was not a tinge of white. The figure was made up of merely black and white. The familiar silhouette alarmed him.
"The spirit has been standing there since we came out, constantly watching us..." Aokiji came to Kazuki's side and explained in a muffled voice, "Yet, it hasn't come out of the gate. It has only been standing there and watching us for the past 10 minutes."
Aokiji did not dare to stare at it. The scene of the menacing pale figure standing in the depressing and dark night was terrifying enough.
Kazuki was stunned after he listened to Aokiji. He paused for a moment and said, "Thank you."
Both Aokiji and Shiori did not leave him behind but brought him out of the school gate as the spirit continued to stare at them for another 10 minutes. Their effort to suppress their fears to wait for him to awaken was worth his gratitude.
"Kimura-san, without you, Chiba-san and I would be dead back on the second floor of the school's building. If we dumped you, how are we any different from a brute?"
Aokiji did not accept the credit because that was what he ought to do.
Kazuki made no comments. Seeing how the pale figure continued to stare at him, he marched upright to it after some consideration.
Seeing that, Aokiji was shocked. He opened his mouth, but the words stuck at his throat. After some thoughts, he followed Kazuki. Shiori, who had just recovered, massaged her sore legs, stood up slowly and caught up with them. Her eyes were filled with curiosity.
"Can you speak?" Kazuki came to the school gate, distancing himself five meters from the pale figure, and asked straightforwardly.
Upon hearing his voice, the pale figure looked at Kazuki and nodded lightly.
"What is your name?"
"I'm Ito Shunji."