The Hell Girl Project

In the upper reaches of the divine realm, at a hidden branch of the Sanzu River, rolling black clouds churned across a somber sky. High above this eerie firmament, three massive, dark-red rifts flickered in and out of existence, aligned directly with the fog-shrouded river channel in the distance.

The mist that usually blanketed the river surface was even denser now. However, it was no longer the freezing chill of before, but a scalding steam. The once bone-chilling Sanzu River now resembled a hot spring, with heat rising in plumes. Across the surface of this river-turned-bathhouse, countless water spirits floated motionlessly. On this water that looked for all the world like a public bath, Enma Ai rowed her small wooden boat forward at a leisurely pace.

"Ugh..." Miketsu remarked bluntly. In her memory, in order to cope with the rapidly expanding population of permanent souls in the Underworld, Inari had supposedly assisted the Underworld in building several infrastructure projects, including signal base stations. However, considering this was a remote branch of the Sanzu River, it was perhaps normal that the signal hadn't reached here yet. Unable to browse her phone or play games, a bored Miketsu looked at the flowing water around them and then at the back of Enma Ai, who was rowing diligently.

"Can't you go a bit faster? Rowing by hand like this is way too inefficient. Since you frequently exile people to Hell, it means you travel this waterway often. Haven't you ever thought about retrofitting this boat with an engine or something?"

As Miketsu spoke, she reached out and tapped the wood beside her, seemingly scouting the boat for modification space. In her view, rowing by hand on such a long stretch of the Sanzu River was a colossal waste of time. Hearing Miketsu's words behind her, Enma Ai replied in her usual cold, flat tone.

"This river is thick with mist... rowing makes it easier to control the direction..."

"Easier to control the direction? Are you afraid you'll lose your way because you aren't used to handling an engine? That's an easy fix. Just install a navigation system. It won't matter how thick the fog gets."

Hearing Miketsu's suggestion, Enma Ai's rowing hand paused for a moment. After a brief silence, she continued in her indifferent, aloof voice.

"I will consider it in the future."

For the next period of time, Enma Ai continued to row the small boat forward. Perhaps because the mist on the river had become thicker and heavier, her rowing was slower than usual. Sitting on the wood, Miketsu watched the back in front of her, thought for a moment, and spoke again.

"By the way, what is your name? 'Hell Girl' is just a title, isn't it?"

After Miketsu finished speaking, it wasn't long before Enma Ai responded indifferently and briefly.

"Enma Ai."

'Enma Ai...' Miketsu savored the girl's name, then nodded slightly.

"Since we're bored anyway, tell me your story. You couldn't have been born doing this job as the Hell Girl..." Miketsu asked about her past, but this time, Enma Ai ignored her, simply continuing to row in silence.

"Don't want to talk? That's fine..." Miketsu said with a smile at the girl's attitude. Then, she stood up and moved silently behind Enma Ai.

"I'll just borrow something for a bit."

Miketsu whispered behind her. Enma Ai started at the sudden sound near her ear, then felt a slight itch on her head. When she turned around in shock, she asked, "What are you... doing?"

Seeing Miketsu had plucked a strand of her hair for no apparent reason, Enma Ai spoke with heavy wariness. Miketsu responded with a smile.

"It's nothing. Just borrowing a little medium."

As she spoke, Miketsu activated her causality vision. Holding the strand of hair, she grasped the thread of causality extending from it, tracing the effects of the present back to the causes of the past. Using that single hair as a medium, Miketsu began to reverse-engineer Enma Ai's current state and everything she had once endured. Miketsu's eyes drifted upward slightly, shimmering with a wondrous radiance. her gaze seemed to pierce through the boundary walls, witnessing the torrent of causality atop the Celestial Realm, seeing through the axis of time to the various tribulations the girl before her had experienced in days gone by.

A three-eyed spider, entangled souls, a burning village, falling earth, the gaze of a young boy... scene after scene flickered in Miketsu's eyes. After reviewing the summary of the girl's life, a trace of melancholy appeared on Miketsu's face.

In an instant, Miketsu had seen through Enma Ai's entire life, knowing her past and present as the Hell Girl. Enma Ai's original name was simply Ai. She was born centuries ago in an isolated mountain village. This village had a tradition called 'Sending the Seven-Year-Old,' where every seven years, according to tradition, a girl would be sacrificed to the mountain god the village worshipped. However, Ai's cousin, Sentaro, could not bear to see her die. He secretly saved Ai, hiding her away and providing her with food for a long time. But the good times did not last. The village struggled in the following years with poor harvests. Coincidentally, just as the entire village was consumed by anxiety, the hidden Ai was discovered. The village's anxiety turned into a concentrated rage directed at her.

In the end, Ai was sacrificed again. As punishment, the villagers forced Sentaro to bury Ai alive with his own hands. However, that very night, Ai—who had been buried alive—crawled out of her grave as a vengeful spirit, driven by endless resentment and her innate spiritual talent. She personally slaughtered everyone in the village except for Sentaro, turning the entire settlement into a sea of fire.

Afterward... she was found by a mysterious and powerful entity that called itself 'Hell' and took the form of a three-eyed spider. This messenger of Hell imprisoned the souls of those who had died at Ai's hands and forced her to become the Hell Girl in the name of atonement, tasked with dissolving the never-ending resentment of the mortal world.

"...Just now, what did you do? What did you understand?"

"Nothing much... just some things that happened in the past. History is etched into time and never fades. Even if you don't speak of it, there are ways to read it..." Miketsu listened to her words and spoke frankly. Enma Ai fell into a long silence. She now understood that the mysterious girl before her had somehow learned of her past. Her secrets seemed to have no cover before this person; in the other's eyes, she was seen clearly. For a moment, a trace of fear appeared in the look Enma Ai gave Miketsu. No one can remain indifferent when they are completely seen through.

"Indeed, Little Ai... you've been the Hell Girl for so many years. I wonder if you've ever thought about this? What exactly is the meaning of the Hell Girl's existence?" Raising a finger, Miketsu spoke to Enma Ai with a serious expression. After hearing the question, Enma Ai answered without hesitation.

"The meaning of the Hell Girl's existence is to dissolve the resentment in this world."

"Bingo~ Correct answer. The Hell Girl does indeed exist to dissolve resentment. Then, Little Ai, have you thought about this? Why does the resentment of the mortal world need to be dissolved?" Miketsu raised a second finger as she spoke. At this second question, Enma Ai fell into another silence.

Seeing the silent Enma Ai, Miketsu's expression hardened, and she spoke seriously. "The Hell Girl Project is a necessary stage in the evolution of the divine realm's management of the human realm..." Miketsu spoke slowly. Hearing her words, Enma Ai froze in place, only speaking after a long while.

"Management... of the human realm?"

"Correct answer. You understand well, Little Ai..." Miketsu smiled and praised her, then looked toward the sky and continued.

"At the end of the Sengoku era, the century-long chaos of the yokai ended. The new overlords of the demon realm who emerged from that chaos partitioned and ruled the demon realm, establishing a new order. The yokai disasters that had lasted for a hundred years gradually subsided. For the human realm, the threat from the demon realm gradually shifted from out-of-control yokai to evil spirits generated by humans themselves."

"Evil spirits originate from humans, and as the human population exploded, they also proliferated rapidly. Gradually, they replaced yokai as the greatest threat to mortals from the demon realm. The heavier the disasters caused by evil spirits, the more innocent people died at their hands... The demon-slaying forces of humanity found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the explosive growth of evil spirits."

As Miketsu spoke, she looked past the stunned Enma Ai toward the distance. Ahead on the river, the thick mist had gradually dissipated. Upon the calm water, a massive crimson Torii rose up. This was the site of the 'Hell Girl Project.'