The Gifted Vol. 9: Into the Godless World

By Ryosuke Akizuki

“Ouija boards that invoke spirits reliably” … which appears on flea markets on the Internet.
Those who obtain the dubious items and hold séances for fun are possessed by evil spirits one after another in City.
Yoma and other exorcists belonging to a church are asked to exorcise the possessed people. They actually confront them and discover that some gifted person is behind the incidents.

Those possessed by evil spirits attack even the exorcists, and the damage is further escalated. With the help of Milo and his friends, Yoma gradually catches up with the one who has the gift of controlling evil spirits. However, behind the scenes, the terrifying enemy, whose presence was first revealed in the case of “The Demonic Face,” is once again active in the dark and is about to bring the case to an unexpected ending.

In order to settle the matter with the lawless opponent with no fear of God, Milo has decided to confront directly with the guy. However, when Milo confronts the most formidable gifted, he has already been set up with a carefully laid trap.

No one can predict this tragic ending …

The first season of "The Gifted" series will be concluded in the next volume!

This work was exclusively written for The BBB: Breakthrough Bandwagon Books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781435761537

Book preview

The Gifted Vol. 9 – Into the Godless World

Originally written in Japanese by Ryosuke Akizuki

Translated by Ryusui Seiryoin

Cover illustration by SAKUMA, Makoto

Cover design by SAKUMA, Makoto

Copyright © 2022 Ryosuke Akizuki / The BBB: Breakthrough Bandwagon Books

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 9781435761537

    Prologue

... So, whose spirit do you want to invoke here first?

Jazmin Salak, a classmate of Katharina’s, looked at the Ouija board placed in front of her and said with a slightly nervous look on her face.

Katharina Newman stole a look at the faces of the other three girls gathered in a vacant room next to her home. Across from her, Trista Pigeon sat staring blankly at a spot on the Ouija board. Trista was a pretty girl with medium golden hair that looked good on her, the vocalist of the now rapidly popular indie rock band named Bashert. Unlike the flashy costumes and makeup she wore on stage, Trista looked like a different person when she wore plain clothes and makeup close to her bare face.

Not celebrities, we should choose some close acquaintance at first.

Niyati Chandola, sitting to Katharina’s left, said so as if she talked to herself while pushing up her glasses. Niyati was a plain-looking girl with black hair in braids, but her face showed the beauty characteristic of Indian immigrants. They had become friends through their shared interest in the occult. If she pays a little more attention to her appearance, she would be popular with the boys, Katharina thought.

But what close acquaintance should we choose?

To Katharina’s right, Jazmin sounded troubled. Jazmin was a tall, large girl with long chestnut hair in a ponytail. It was she who organized this séance, having found the Ouija board at an Internet flea market that was said to invoke spirits reliably.

It was late afternoon on Saturday, February 11th. The curtains were closed, the room was dimly lit, and only the flames of the three candles on the candelabrum on the shelve cast a pale light around the room. Katharina’s mother, Evangeline, had gone out to a friend’s house early in the morning and would not be back until the evening. It was the perfect opportunity for Katharina to invite her friends over. Katharina secretly possessed a duplicate key to the adjoining room that she had found while sorting through the articles left by her deceased uncle. Louise Bonnat, the neighbor, had turned herself in to the police as the murderer of Katharina’s uncle, and the room next door had been vacant ever since. Perhaps because of the rumors that it was the scene of a murder, they did not seem to have found a tenant for the room.

Isn’t there anyone close to you that you want to invoke here?

As Niyati stared at her, Katharina thought back to her uncle, Alain Newman. Last July, her uncle was murdered by Louise, his lover, in a love affair. Her uncle would buy her anything she begged for, but it was a hassle for her sometimes to be asked to go out on dates with him. When she was questioned if she wanted to talk with him again here, he was definitely a person to whom it was difficult for her to give an immediate affirmative.

Well ..., I, err ...

Trista, who had remained silent until then, opened her mouth with an air of trepidation. Her eyes were vacant, and she was still staring at the Ouija board.

Trista, is there someone you want to invoke here?

Katharina turned her attention to Trista, trying to rid her brain of her uncle.

Umm, yes ...

Trista answered without looking at Katharina.

Who is it?

Niyati asked Trista as if rushing her. Katharina was slightly relieved that Niyati's interest had shifted from her to Trista.

I want ... to see Marva.

The moment the name came out of Trista’s mouth, Katharina could feel the two people on either side of her gasp like herself. Their classmate Marva Collet, the former vocalist of Bashert, had committed suicide last December by jumping from an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city. Katharina did not know the details of what was troubling Marva about the suicide. Katharina realized that she had been trying not to think about Marva until Trista told her the name.

... That Marva, right? Then, shall we invoke her here?

After a moment of silence, Niyati said as if she had made up her mind. She moved the planchette to the center of the Ouija board and placed the index and middle fingers of her left hand on it. The planchette was a heart-shaped wooden board with a circular hole at the tip, into which a glass was fitted. Katharina knew an urban legend that if you looked through the glass to the other side, you could see the invoked spirit.

Now, guys, get your hands on this quickly.

Niyati said to incite the other girls. Trista put the index and middle fingers of her right hand as if drawn to the planchette, followed by Jazmin, who put her right hand on it. Katharina hesitated slightly before extending her own right hand over the planchette. As her fingertips touched the surface, she felt a chill go down her spine.

You all know the rules, don’t you?

Niyati looked at each of the three of them in turn with slitted eyes through her glasses. Katharina's mind flashed back to the notes in the instructions for the Ouija board.

    ***

1. Never play alone

2. Never play at home

3. Never play in graveyards, old battlefields, or places of suicide

4. Play in a dark and quiet place

5. Conduct the conversation or ask questions by one representative

6. Never express provocative opinions or make jokes

7. Never ask for the date of your or someone you know's death

8. Never take your hand off the planchette during the process

9. Say goodbye and stop when the planchette starts drawing 8 or ∞

10. Keep someone’s hand on the planchette during a break

11. Say goodbye at the end

12. Never leave the planchette on the Ouija board unattended

13. Never burn down the Ouija board

    ***

So, let’s begin.

Saying so, Niyati looked at the planchette. The Ouija board was placed on the table so that Niyati, their representative (leader), was in front of it. From Katharina’s point of view, the twenty-six letters of the alphabet were printed on the board in a slight arc from back to front. The beautifully decorated typeface alphabet was arranged with A to M in the first row, N to Z in the second row, and the number from 1 to 9 and then 0 were lined up straight. At the top of the board, on the left side as seen from Niyati, was a sun with a face and the word YES; on the right side was a crescent moon with a face and the word NO as well. Then, at the bottom of the board were the words GOOD BYE in the same unadorned font as YES and NO.

Our hearts, gathered here, have become one on the Ouija board. The spirit of Marva, descend here.

Niyati chanted a séance spell solemnly. Katharina stared at the planchette for a moment. But there was no sign of anything happening.

Nothing happens, right? Although they said using this would definitely summon spirits, I wonder if it was a false rumor after all.

Becoming impatient, Jazmin muttered boringly. At the moment, the planchette suddenly started moving as if it had been brought to life.

W ... Whoa.

Jazmin, don’t let go of your hand!

Niyati immediately reprimanded Jazmin for pulling her right hand from the planchette in surprise. Jazmin hurriedly put her hand back on it. The planchette moved on the Ouija board as if sliding and stopped on the letter NO.

... Not a joke, is it?

Jazmin asked the other three fearfully. Katharina, too, suspected that this was someone’s prank. Jazmin and I did not intentionally move the planchette. If that is the case, then Niyati or Trista moved it ... If not, has Marva’s spirit really descended here?

"Jazmin, Rule #6 of the Ouija board says ‘Never make jokes,’ right? We should take this opportunity seriously ... The planchette stopped on ‘No’ may mean that the rumor is not false. I am the representative, so if you