Iernoon, the sea stretched endlessly before them, a clear view of the surrounding enviro. The sight of the suing over the horizon, casting golden hues across the water, was undeniably mesmerizing.

  "So beautiful…"

  Ran, who had always loved sic views, leaned against the guardrail, gazing at the breathtaking seascape.

  "Mmm, the o really looks stunning at this time."

  "Amamiya… huh?"

  Sonoko turned around, intending to call Reo admire the view.

  However, when she looked back, she saw that both Isumi and Ren were already by the guardrail, only they weren't admiring the sea.

  Instead, their eyes were locked onto their destination in the distasukikage Isnd.

  "There are quite a lot of evil spirits."

  " Lord Amamiya see them too?"

  "Yes."

  Even from this distahey could already make out malevolent spirits emerging in the evening glow.

  Tsukikage Isnd was fairly rge, yet there were more than a dozen spirits floating above it.

  To those with supernatural sight, the se was disturbingly unnatural.

  After all, evil spirits didn't ma easily, the ditions for their formation were strict.

  Strong lingering obsessiohe primary cause of their birth.

  If these spirits had also experienced wrongful deaths, their rese and influence would be eveer.

  This could be quite troublesome.

  "This trip is shaping up to be far more iing than I expected."

  Ren sighed.

  "Evil spirits tend to remain within a certain range. Since everyone here is protected by their diaries, it will be difficult for the spirits to approach them."

  "But for others, it might be a different story."

  "Please don't worry."

  Isumi immediately pulled out a rge number of talismans.

  These exorcism charms were alart of her preparations, she carried them everywhere, just in case.

  "I came fully prepared."

  "When we reach the isnd, I'll make sure Maria and the others carry these at all times."

  "If the diary offers prote, then those uo defend themselves should stay close to the diary holder."

  "Well, that's one way to ha."

  Ren's gaze remained fixed on the spirits.

  "For so many evil spirits to appear on one isnd… there must be a deeper secret hidden here."

  "Sanzenin has ao these kinds of things, right?"

  "Yeah."

  Isumi frowned slightly.

  "Mouri isn't good with them either."

  Ren instinctively blurted out Mouri's situation.

  Evil spirits weren't something most girls could handle.

  "I hate them too."

  "But after gaining the means to fight back, they barely bother me anymore."

  Isumi nodded in agreement.

  "I don't like them either."

  Having firmed the situatiathered everyone before disembarking.

  "Everyone, listen up."

  Hearing his call, the group assembled.

  "First of all, I o warn you, this trip won't be as easy as you might have thought, especially for the girls."

  Just from this siatement, an ominous feeliled over the group.

  "There are more than a dozen evil spirits at our destination, Tsukikage Isnd."

  "…???"

  The girls stared at him in stunned silence.

  Then, realization hit, and their expressions shifted drastically.

  This wasn't a joke.

  "Saginomiya and I believe that the appearance of these spirits is closely tied to certais that occurred on that isnd."

  "Evil spirits are almost always formed from human souls."

  "They have no subjective sciousness and are purely driven by ive energy."

  "Normally, their activity is restricted to the areas where they died, and they only appear at night."

  "But this situation… is highly irregur."

  As he spoke, Ren turned back toward the isnd.

  With the sun gradually sinking below the horizon, the spirits above the isnd were being increasingly active.

  "The range of their movements is far te."

  "Normally, this shouldn't be possible."

  At that moment, Isumi stepped forward.

  "Uhere's a special factor at py."

  "Their lingering obsession must be incredibly strong… and the murderer is still on the isnd."

  "This would expin why the spirits tio wander, because of their excessive rese and the powerful ive emotions tied to their deaths."

  "Isn't that really dangerous?"

  Ran couldn't help but interject.

  Her face had gone pale.

  The existence of supernatural beings was hard enough to accept.

  Knowing they were real was terrifying.

  "No."

  Isumi shook her head slightly.

  "The spirits that are freely roaming aren't ily dangerous."

  "If a spirit remains fio a specific location, that's when they bee truly dangerous. The pce where they died holds the greatest tration of ive energy, allowing them to directly harm the living."

  "But these spirits have expaheir area of activity, dispersing their ive energy. As a result, they 't cause direct harm."

  "At worst, they might induightmares or mild depression."

  "That's the lightest possible sequence."

  However, as she finished, Isumi hesitated.

  After a brief moment of thought, she decided to speak up.

  "Based on my assessment, a series of serious murders must have taken p that isnd."

  "The isnd is remote, located far out at sea."

  "If something signifit happehere, it's likely that no oside the isnd ever heard about it."

  "And if those who died had sneaked onto the isnd, even the residents might not be aware of their presence."

  Nagi, being quick-witted, immediately caught on.

  "So, if people were sneaking onto the isnd… then someone must be running some kind of shady busihere."

  "That would expin why so many people ended up dead, right?"

  Saginomiya Isumi nodded slightly, firming her specution.

  "I see."

  "Those who died were likely eliminated because of their involvement in underground dealings."

  "Sihey were disposed of, they harbored immense rese and transformed into evil spirits."

  Sonoko finally pieced together the cause of their appearance.

  For su operation to exist on a remote isnd, it had to be motivated by money.

  And those who perished likely met their end because the people in charge had no iion of sharing the profits.

  A bunch of fools who risked everything for money without sidering whether their employers would actually honor their agreements.

  No wohey became spirits.

  How could they not, given their grievances?

  "There are three industries in the world that gee the highest profits."

  "Prostitution, gambling, and drugs."

  "This isnd seems to be ied with all three."

  "Secluded from the city, with a sparse popution… it's the perfect breeding ground for these kinds of operations."

  Ren couldn't think of a locatioer suited for illicit dealings than this isnd.