Occultic;Nine

KOTORIBAKO

A kotoribako is a wooden mosaic that is made of squares

approximately 8 inches per side.

WOODEN MOSAIC

It's a box that can't be opened unless the correct procedure is followed.

It's a magical item used to curse people to death.

CURSE

KILL

Those that are near where the box is placed have all their internal organs ripped apart,

INTERNAL ORGAN

and cough up blood as they die.

BLOOD

Only women and children are affected by it.

They say it originated around 1860

and supposedly was created to curse the village headman to death,

as that village was suffering from heavy taxes.

As long as it's buried in the house's yard,

all the women and children will die one after another,

and all the descendants will perish.

In other words, a kotoribako is defined as the box that takes children.

To make one,

the box must be filled with a female beast's blood, then left alone for an entire week.

FEMALE BEAST'S BLOOD

Before the blood all dries up,

a body part from the child that has been sacrificed must be placed within.

A BODY PART

The body part to use depends on the age of the child.

For infants, the umbilical cord, the index finger joint or blood is used.

INDEX FINGER

For children seven and under, the index finger joint and lifeblood.

For children ten and under, only the index finger joint.

The name of the box depends on the sacrifices in it. One sacrifice is an ippou.

SACRIFICE

Two makes nihou, three makes sanpou and four makes shippou.

And if there are eight sacrifices, it's called a hakkai.

If any more sacrifices are offered, the box will become dangerously strong.

Depending on the situation, the curse is said to last over a hundred years.

Nasty... Pretty nasty...

Gamon, you are the site owner of an occultic round-up blog, right?

Don't you have a tolerance for scary stories?

I-I'm not scared or anything!

By the way, this is really something I shouldn't be telling you.

TOUKO

But the information I got from a lead who has connections to Mumu

points to one of those kotoribakos somewhere in Kichijoji.

Wha... Kichijoji is way too cursed!

Look here, you guys.

A kotoribako is something that is absolutely no joke.

Don't think that you can easily find one. Got that?

Ryo-tas won't be able to go to the bathroom tonight!

More like, Myu-pom,

why are you so worried about this kotoribako?

I... think I want to go look for it as soon as possible.

It is only folklore.

We can't immediately find out if it exists or not.

Searching doesn't show anything, either.

If this really is a book of prediction,

A DARK WATER'S BOTTOM

maybe there is a hint of some sort drawn in here...

A hint, huh?

That's not an ordinary doujinshi.

It does have a lot of information in it.

Something that looks like it...

A shrine appears in this story.

In other words, the kotoribako is at a shrine!

That's too easy.

We should do everything we can.

There are three shrines in Kichijoji.

The Kyokkou Shrine,

the Musashino Shichimangu

and Toeda Shrine.

I believe there's one inside Inokashira Park, as well?

You're talking about Tenzaisama, right?

INOKASHIRA TENZAITEN

I've been there before.

I wonder if we can narrow it down?

It's a distinct art style.

It's not like she traced a photograph, either.

Only if the torii guard frame was drawn,

we'd have been able to narrow it down.

Different shrines have different shapes for the torii guard frames.

There are roughly 60 different variations.

What? Seriously? I totally didn't know that.

But there are no torii guard frames drawn within this doujinshi.

The shrine grounds are drawn pretty spaciously,

maybe it's the Musashino Shichimangu.

This title... "The Two Gods of Fortune."

Making a doujinshi out of gods of fortune... That's beyond imagination!

Perhaps this is alluding to the Seven Gods of Good Fortune?

If so, don't you think Tenzaisama in Inokashira Park is a bit fishy after all?

But these two aren't drawn with any characteristics of the gods of good fortune.

They're normal handsome guys.

Wait, wasn't Tenzaisama a temple and not a shrine?

Oh, was that so?

I do not think there was a torii guard frame, either.

That means... maybe we were mistaken to think with only shrines in mind.

What is it?

If we add temples, the number of possible locations goes up to nine.

Try searching with "Seven Gods of Good Fortune," "temple" and "Kichijoji."

Let's see... Oh, looks like there's one every January.

Kichijoji Seven Gods of Good Fortune rounds

I didn't know they had something like this.

Let's see... Inokashira Tenzaiten,

Inokashira Tenzaiten

Musashino Shichimangu

Musashino Shichimangu, Taiyouji,

Taiyouji

Taihousenji

Taihousenji, Anmeiji, Hitsugitaisha...

Anmeiji

Hitsugitaisha

Six places? Aren't there Seven Gods of Good Fortune?

I wonder why they're missing one—

Anmeiji

It's Anmeiji.

It's the Witch!

Kurenaino Aria!

K-Kurenaino Aria?

You really did come to curse me! It was a mistake after all!

Because I realized the truth hidden within Ririka Nishizono's doujinshi!

Kurenaino Aria, her accomplice, has come to curse me to death with black magic!

It's too perfect a story!

Sarai, her job is to curse people to death as the black magic agent!

Calm down, Gamon! There are no such things as curses!

But...

Ririka Nishizono is someone I have absolutely no knowledge of.

But what you were talking about just now

was something I was listening to with much interest.

Even though you just got here?

The one who was listening was my partner...

the Devil...

How ridiculous! Black magic and devils?

You've brought fantasy into this world, and furthermore, you use it as your trade.

At that point, it goes from shocked to disdain!

And on top of that, you say your partner is the devil?

Looking at you... You are still young.

Limit your jokes to your sense of fashion which seems to be cosplay.

If you can converse with the devil, can you summon him right here and now?

I'd love to meet one for once

and hear memories of Greek myths for future reference.

It's rather well done for a magic trick!

I've seen the likes of this on TV, as well,

but how did you do this without taking time to prepare—

This is your penalty for trying to test black magic.

No... for trying to test me.

Tried to test you? Penalty?

Like how we requested a black magic agent by lying that I was two-timing?

I knew it! I'm going to be murdered!

Like that light bulb just now, my head will burst!

Anyway, isn't it better for you to hurry on your way?

Normally, there is one god for each shrine or temple.

However, in Anmeiji, there are two gods of fortune. Bishamanten and Jurouzen.

Two gods of fortune... So kotoribako is in Anmeiji?

This world is full of ill will.

And all those wills are connected to one will.

It looks like it was merely our misunderstanding.

Who are you speaking to?

It was more unmerciful and cruel than the will of the devil.

An existence of pure white that knows no pain.

The one that embraces the large box...

The one that embraces the box at Anmeiji...

is a boy.

A boy whose hair, and everything else, is pure white.

Myu-pom!

So, what will happen now?

That guy...

Is something wrong?

I've seen him before... To think he'd be at a place like this...

My friend who's gone missing sent me one last text with a photo attachment.

The picture was of the road painted by the sunset, her shadow and a trading card.

It had unnatural white lines of light.

That alone makes it sound pretty bad.

And one word, kotoriba, was written with it.

KOTORIBA

Kotoriba...

Kotoribako?

If the boy Aria spoke of is at Anmeiji...

He may know something!

What's that sound?

I hear it from over there.

Who are you?

A white human... really was here!

Wait! That guy is trouble!

Hey, hey, Miss.

It looks like I made a mistake making the box.

There was something like an instruction manual online,

but I didn't read it well, so I couldn't help it.

But you don't normally read stuff like that, right?

Does anyone seriously read them?

About 80% of Japanese people build stuff

without reading the instruction manuals, right?

Chi...

I smell blood.

Hey, do you know my friend? She goes by "Chi."

Her name is Chizu Kawabata. She's a first year at Seimei High School—

I need a sacrifice.

I need a sacrifice inside the kotoribako.

It was written online that the sacrifice had to be someone that everyone loves.

Oh, but I'm still a minor so this won't be a crime. After all, I'm a minor.

I was taught that there was someone suited to being the sacrifice.