Chapter 74 - 73. Temple 2/2
Chapter 73
Although I was angry when Takashi once again compared me to a demon, I calmed down rather quickly under the rather pleasant conversation with Saeko and Kyoko, and my mood changed to a peaceful one. I wasn't even particularly affected by the sight of the temple courtyard littered with corpses when we climbed the steps. The same can't be said for the others.
"And what does that mean?" Saeko asked, taking a more comfortable grip on the bokken, clearly not averse to testing her new capabilities in practice.
- Hmm. Apparently, they have long been dead, but due to the purification of neutral spiritual energy, they do not rise. - Takashi said looking at the nearest corpse, before adding worriedly. - What worries me is where they are from. Let's say there are no creatures around the temple, because they sense some danger from this place, but these. There were originally a couple? So, the dead are not brought to the Kumano Temples, they come here to pray for the happiness and peace of their already buried loved ones.
- Maybe these aren't locals, but those who came from the street? - Hayashi suggested.
- I think I know what's going on. - I began. - While we were conducting the initiation, Oz was busy patrolling and based on our findings, at night the zombies become stronger and perhaps even smarter. I think there were survivors in the temple who hoped that the zombies would not be able to get here, but at night the cleansing was unable to suppress the strengthened undead who were already purposefully looking for survivors.
- That explains a lot, - the time traveler nodded, before sighing tiredly for the umpteenth time, running his fingers over the consequences of his mistake and continued. - And it also complicates everything. After all, it means that the curse is even stronger, and if we add to that that it is based not only on energy, but also on the physical, like a virus, then to solve the zombie problem we will need a ritual of such power that its energy would be enough to destroy all of humanity, unless a weakness in this curse is found.
"The ritual you propose is based on neutral spiritual energy?" I asked.
- Yes, - Takashi confirmed. - It would be the easiest to obtain, although naturally the energy of light would be more effective, but it requires a special kinship and even then it would require an initiation rite.
"I have a predisposition to light, but is it really that hard to get this element?" I asked curiously.
- Yes. After all, we are not talking about the holy energy used by clerics, which is not much better than neutral spiritual, but about one of the primordial elements. This is not only not simple, but also quite dangerous. After all, like darkness, this element affects the mind and if you are not careful, you can become a thoughtless fanatic, who will consider any other elemental magic heresy.