The Lifeline

“Your method of divination... it wouldn't happen to be the Planchette, would it?”

In the spacious classroom, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, Miketsu spoke to the chestnut-haired girl with a broad forehead, Akiko Shikaku. Hearing her words, Akiko couldn't help but feel a slight sense of surprise.

“Of course. Heh, I didn't realize you knew a thing or two...” With a condescending air of approval, Akiko chuckled. Miketsu responded in an uneasy tone.

“It’s nothing. I’ve just seen some rumors online. I know a bit about the Planchette and the saucer divination. But I heard playing these kinds of games is very risky. Is it really okay?”

“Hmph, it’s only dangerous for half-baked amateurs. I’m different. Don’t you worry; with my exquisite technique, I guarantee this divination will be perfectly safe.”

Akiko spoke with confident laughter. Meanwhile, Miketsu was internally scoffing at what ‘technique’ could possibly be involved in such a crude, low-level divination art...

Despite her internal critique, Miketsu eventually sat across from Akiko. After Akiko placed a prepared sheet of paper on the table, she held a small brush over the paper, which was covered in various judgment words. Miketsu reached out, her hand overlapping with Akiko’s as they gripped the slender brush together, keeping the ink-stained tip perpendicular to the paper.

Once everything was ready, Akiko began to recite the incantation to summon the Planchette.

“Planchette, Planchette, I am your past life, you are my present. If you wish to continue our bond, please draw a circle on the paper...”

Listening to this modern, internet-viral version of the Planchette incantation, Miketsu’s lip twitched. Just as she was thinking that such a nonsensical spell couldn't possibly work, she sensed a jutsu-shiki forming on the brush they shared. Immediately, a possession invitation was broadcasted into the surrounding demon realm.

‘Holy crap... that actually worked?’

Seeing the jutsu-shiki take effect, Miketsu was momentarily stunned. Then, she immediately and discreetly hijacked control of the ritual, beginning to adjust the range and intensity of the demon realm broadcast.

‘Since it’s been a while since I’ve opened a Planchette session, let’s randomly pull a few stronger malicious spirits to burn for entertainment~’

Inside a desolate courtyard within an abandoned convalescent hospital, the exorcism mission of the Onmyoji girl, Yura Keikain, was nearing its end.

In a decaying, empty room inside the low-rise building, a large five-pointed star barrier was glowing with blue light. Within the seal, several lanky, deformed malicious spirits were trapped, struggling incessantly in an attempt to escape the powerful spiritual power barrier. However, they were completely powerless; they could only wait in despair for the final judgment to arrive.

Standing before the five-pointed star barrier, Yura maintained the magical array with a single-handed seal. Her expression was serious and focused as she continuously channeled spiritual power to keep the spirits imprisoned, not daring to relax for even a second.

“You still have some strength left, but this is the end...”

As she spoke, Yura pulled several talismans from her pocket, gripping them tight as she prepared to throw them and finish off the malicious spirits in the array once and for all.

“They’re all quite strong. I’ll seal them first and see if I can turn them into shikigami...”

But just as Yura was infusing spiritual power into the talismans, the malicious spirits within the barrier suddenly underwent a strange change. In an instant, they all began to struggle frantically. They reached their hands upward as if trying to touch something, much like a drowning person desperately clawing toward a lifebuoy floating on the water's surface.

The howls of the malicious spirits echoed through the rotting room. They struggled upward as if they had found a savior. Just as Yura was feeling bewildered by their behavior, one malicious spirit seemed to successfully grasp an invisible object.

It had responded to the summons coming from a mysterious, distant place.

Suddenly, the spirit’s entire deformed and hideous body was snatched by a powerful force, flying directly out of the barrier. Simultaneously, Yura felt her own barrier being interfered with by a massive power; the ghost she had been restraining was being pulled away.

“This—is this a summoning ritual? And such a powerful one? Ugh!”

Yura dropped her talismans and formed seals with both hands, concentrating with all her might to stabilize her spell and resist the mysterious demonic power that had suddenly interfered. However, she was shocked to find that she was completely unable to defy this force. One of the malicious spirits in her barrier successfully grabbed that invisible “lifeline,” breaking free from the spiritual power restraint through the sheer force of the irresistible summons. It flew out of the open window at high speed toward the distance, leaving behind the other struggling spirits and a stunned Yura.

“No... no way... It was actually summoned away!” Looking at the escaping spirit, Yura was momentarily at a loss.

The malicious spirit that had successfully answered the summons sped through the sky, letting out a frantic laugh. Its mouth split wide with joy as it soared. It soon saw the destination of the summons: a school.

Upon seeing the school, the spirit’s already mangled and hideous face became even more twisted. With its warped mind and chaotic sanity, it had already decided how it would “thank” the summoner who had rescued it. Afterward, this sunny campus would become a bloody playground for its rampage. It even let out a terrifying, sinister cackle at the thought.

Finally, the triumphant spirit dived through an open window into a classroom, flying into the crowd of students and attaching itself to the slender brush.

Then, the spirit felt an unbearable, searing heat erupt from every part of its spiritual body.

“Gyaaaaaah!”

The agonizing burning tore through the spirit’s mind. Its terrifying cackle instantly turned into a wretched wail. The golden demon-slaying divine flame swallowed its spiritual body in a mere heartbeat. Its ugly, horrific form was incinerated into nothingness in an instant.

However, whether it was the hideous ghost or the sacred golden flame, only those with high spiritual vision could see them. Thus, although many students were gathered around, not a single person witnessed the scene.

Everyone in the classroom was still waiting for the divination to begin.

From Akiko Shikaku’s perspective, she saw a blurry black shadow fly onto the brush in her hand. Seeing this, Akiko smiled slightly and waited for the Planchette to draw a circle on the paper to signal its arrival. However, the pen on the paper showed no movement at all.

Seeing this, Akiko felt a slight pang of anxiety and spoke up directly.

“Planchette, Planchette, have you arrived? If so, please draw a circle on the paper.”

After Akiko finished speaking, she waited again. For a moment, the air in the room grew still. Everyone was waiting for the brush to move, but it remained motionless. The silence became somewhat awkward.

‘The guy attached to this... move already! Move fast, just like before!’

Looking at the stationary brush, Akiko grew increasingly frantic, shouting in her mind. But the silent brush still did not respond to her words.

“It doesn't seem to be moving...”

Miketsu tilted her head as she looked at the completely unresponsive brush. Hearing Miketsu’s words, Akiko’s heart raced with urgency, and she spoke up again hurriedly.

“Don’t—don’t panic. There might be a small problem. Just let me try again!”

As Akiko spoke, she began to earnestly recite the summoning incantation again, attempting to invite the Planchette once more.

“Planchette, Planchette, I am your past life, you are my present...”

On the other side, Yura, who was dealing with the remaining spirits in the abandoned hospital, suddenly felt that same powerful ritual interference again. The spirits trapped in her barrier, which hadn't been fully sealed yet, suddenly began to struggle wildly as if they had found a savior. They reached toward the sky, pushing and shoving each other until another lucky spirit successfully grabbed the lifeline.

“What? Again?!” Yura was shocked by the interference and once again fought to prevent the spirit from escaping. However, she failed again. A spirit excitedly followed the summoning channel out of Yura’s barrier and flew out the window, leaving the remaining few spirits behind to sigh in disappointment.

The spirit that successfully broke free was just like its “predecessor.” With a twisted, horrific smile, it was summoned to the ordinary campus. Then, just as it was about to show off its power, it was ignited by the golden god, twisting and burning away in mournful struggle.

The feedback of this scene from the demon realm into the vision of normal people was simply that Akiko recited the incantation again, yet the brush held between Miketsu and Akiko still showed no trace of movement. The silent void pushed the awkwardness of the atmosphere even higher.

‘What is going on... I clearly summoned a Planchette! Why isn't anything moving?!’ Akiko roared silently in her heart. Refusing to believe it, she recited the incantation yet again.

“Planchette, Planchette, I am your past life...”

Following Akiko’s words, the spirits in the distant hospital barrier saw another “lifeline” descend from the sky and scrambled for it. In the end, another lucky spirit was successfully summoned, breaking through the barrier Yura had painstakingly maintained. It attached itself to the brush and, as expected, was incinerated on the spot... The final result was that Yura had one less spirit to deal with, while the brush suspended over the paper still hadn't moved an inch.

Seeing this, Akiko was stunned, but her stubbornness drove her to continue the incantations.

“Planchette, Planchette...”

The situation repeated. A spirit was successfully invited as the Planchette, then burned to death on the brush.

“Planchette, Planchette...”

Another spirit was incinerated; the brush remained motionless.

“Planchette, Planchette...”

Summoned, then burned.

“Planchette, Planchette...”

...

Finally, after countless attempts, Akiko felt her mouth going dry from reciting the incantation. Yet, the brush on the paper still showed no sign of moving or writing. The patience of the surrounding students began to wear thin, and they started whispering among themselves.

Looking at the unmoving brush and hearing the whispers of the students, Akiko became even more desperate. To save face, she chose her final resort.

‘I have no choice... I’ll have to move it myself...’

With that thought, Akiko began to forcefully drag Miketsu’s hand along with the shared brush. However, she found that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move the brush even a fraction of a millimeter.

From that moment on, the Planchette divination officially turned into an arm-wrestling match. Yet, Akiko could not budge the brush on the paper in the slightest, even as she strained with all her might, her face turning bright red.

‘What’s happening? Could it be that all the Planchettes I summoned are refusing to move?’

Akiko thought this way, never considering the possibility that Miketsu was actively resisting her. Because she was using almost all her strength and the other party showed no reaction—not even appearing to exert effort—she concluded it had to be the summoned Planchette working against her!

Why were these Planchettes acting like this today?!

The awkward silence continued. At that moment, Miketsu looked at the flustered Akiko and spoke softly.

“It seems the Planchettes are all busy today. How about we call it a day... and try the divination another time?”

Inside the abandoned convalescent hospital, within the decaying, empty room, the Onmyoji girl Yura Keikain stood frozen. She stared blankly at the gradually dissipating barrier and the empty room... All the malicious spirits that had been imprisoned were now gone without a trace.

Yura had never encountered such a sudden situation. After snapping out of her daze, she turned her gaze toward the window, looking in the direction where those spirits had flown and disappeared.

“Was it over there? The source of that powerful summoning ritual...”

Approaching the window, Yura looked into the distance and murmured with a determined expression.

‘I can't just leave this alone... I have to find out where those spirits went... and the source of that bizarre ritual...’