“Alright, 琴子-san, Kayako is gone.” Lin Ze felt a sense of incongruity watching 琴子's actions.
Sigh… 琴子 finally relaxed, glancing at Lin Ze with a mix of emotions. She had so many questions, but this wasn't the place. They needed to talk elsewhere.
All the strange occurrences had vanished. 琴子 took out her phone and dialed a number, “Come in. Call an ambulance, clear the site, and repair the damage.”
Shortly, a group of men in black suits entered and began working methodically. 琴子 looked at Lin Ze's clothes, soaked through with Kayako's blood, and instructed a staff member, “Get him some new clothes.”
“Lin Ze, come with me.” 琴子 led Lin Ze back to her room in the shrine. “I'll go change, and you change here too. It's best if no one else touches those clothes, burn them yourself.”
琴子 went into the inner room and removed her damaged, blood-stained inner garments. Old injuries covered her body, and new burns were added to the mix. 琴子 chanted an incantation, and the burns quickly healed and fell off, leaving behind new scars.
“Mr. Lin Ze, we only have these clothes at the moment. Please forgive us.” A black, tailored suit was sent in.
“It's okay, thank you.” Lin Ze took the suit. After the staff member left, he changed. As soon as he was done, 琴子 came out. Lin Ze wondered if there were cameras in the room.
“Let's eat something. You haven't had lunch. We can talk while we eat. What do you want?” 琴子 wore a black, gender-neutral suit, a cigarette in one hand, and the old clothes in the other. She seemed to have regained her composure.
“I'll leave it up to you, 琴子-san.” Lin Ze was indeed hungry and didn't mind.
琴子 nodded and tossed the clothes she was holding to Lin Ze. “They're stained with Kayako's blood. Burn them together.” Then she went to the side and made a call to order food.
Lin Ze looked at the white inner garment and black underwear in his hands, feeling awkward. He glanced at 琴子, who was already on the phone, and took his clothes out to find a place to burn them.
“Mr. Lin Ze, you can burn them in the furnace here.” Hearing Lin Ze's footsteps gradually fading away, 琴子 made a second call. She had simply sent Lin Ze away. “Hello? Investigate Lin Ze for me. Send me every detail you can find. Hurry!”
“Lin Ze!” Suddenly, Tsukino and Makoto appeared from outside. “They just made me sign a contract. Now I'm one of them.” He whispered to Lin Ze quietly.
“That's good. They should be at a high level. It's a promotion, but be careful.” Tsukino had become part of their department in the blink of an eye. It was a bittersweet situation for them. They were promoted, but they would no longer be dealing with simple humans.
“Haha, don't worry. They told me they actually serve powerful exorcists, providing them with some convenience, mainly taking care of after-effects. It won't be too dangerous.”
Makoto looked Lin Ze up and down. Why had he changed clothes? But he looked more mature, quite handsome. And just how powerful was the disturbance? She had felt the ominous aura emanating from inside the shrine while standing outside. This was a shrine! There were dozens of Shinto priests and her sister inside. How could it still do that? What exactly was he?
Makoto's gaze made Lin Ze uncomfortable. He gave her a confused look. “Where's my sister?” Makoto hadn't seen her sister come out, so she asked Lin Ze.
“Oh, she's on a call inside.” As soon as he finished speaking, 琴子 came over. Makoto noticed that her sister had changed clothes too, and her mind became more active. Her strange gaze caused a vein to pop on 琴子's forehead.
Just bear with it… This is my sister. “Stop staring. Lin Ze and I are going out to eat. Tsukino-san, get familiar with your work. Makoto, go home.”
“Huh? Why? Just the two of you going out to eat?” Makoto wouldn't really think anything was wrong. She knew her sister well, but after being here for so long, she hadn't seen anything. Now, they weren't even taking her to eat and were sending her home?
“Makoto!”
“Alright!” Makoto looked at the retreating figures with a sulky expression. She suddenly felt like her sister was about to leave her. Wuwuwu…
琴子 refused any offers of transportation and drove Lin Ze herself, with him sitting in the passenger seat. “Lin Ze, do you know? I’ve been in this line of work since I was little. I’ve given everything to it. Those men in black suits are the ones the government calls in to serve me. It's because I've been dedicated to protecting humanity from demons for so many years. I'm telling you this so you can fully trust me. I swear on my life I won’t harm you. So in our upcoming conversation, I hope we can be completely open and honest.”
Lin Ze knew she wouldn't harm humans, but he was afraid of harming her! He leaned back in his seat, relaxing slightly. His voice was devoid of any suspicion, “I believe 琴子-san wouldn’t harm me. It was my fault for keeping the existence of that Kayako a secret, but I need to know if you can face a fraction of its power. Otherwise, if I drag you into this, it would be a death sentence.”
琴子 suddenly pulled the car over to the side of the road, took off her sunglasses, and looked directly into Lin Ze's eyes. “I have no fear of death. If I'm fully prepared, I can't say I can completely counter it, but surviving is no problem. So you don't need to worry about me. Even if I'm powerless, at least I can help you understand and prevent you from going down the wrong path. Lin Ze! This isn’t your battle alone. If things don't go well, besides you, me, and Kayako, countless others will die.”
琴子's words made Lin Ze silent for a long time. He suddenly realized his thoughts were wrong. “You're right… This isn't my battle alone. It was my fault.”
琴子 restarted the car. Her voice softened. “I know you're worried about me, about involving others, but we're exorcists. If we retreat when we know we're outmatched, who else can stand in the front line?”
“What's the situation with that Kayako? You said she's supposed to be fine. And what do you mean by a fraction of its power? I need you to tell me more.” 琴子 had countless questions that Lin Ze needed to answer. For her, the grudge incident had just revealed the tip of the iceberg.
Lin Ze didn't have anything to hide, but what he was about to say would probably be even harder for her to accept. “That was indeed Kayako. Remember I told you it can manipulate time? Did you not believe me? That Kayako is a branch from another timeline. It was sent here by an unknown force. Her appearance is an effect of its power, and it was created. Only the Kayako in our world is the only one.”