Not a detective

Page 58

But Chizuko revealed a rather strange expression: "Well... I won't question whether this is even possible. The problem is that I need to go in too. You can't make me deaf as well. Besides, I suspect that the mechanism of this piano has nothing to do with whether the target can hear or not. Once it plays 'Für Elise' three times, something terrible will happen."

“You make a good point.” Asakawa Riku agreed; he didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

In the end, they followed the advice of Chizuko, the expert in dealing with yokai, and used her battle plan.

“I’ve checked. The usual playing time for “Für Elise” is about 3 minutes and 10 seconds to 3 minutes and 30 seconds. As long as we can finish it within 9 minutes, there will be no danger.”

“I will use all my firepower to quickly eliminate that piano. I cannot be disturbed during this time. So, Asakawa, you need to help me hold off the other [Bleeding Beethoven Portrait]. According to the ghost story, it shouldn't have such a dangerous attack mechanism. Just make sure it doesn't interrupt me. Then we'll deal with it together in the end.”

"If you understand, then go for it!"

...

As soon as I entered the music classroom, I heard the light and melodious piano music.

"Für Elise," originally titled "Bagathel in A minor," is a short piano piece composed by Beethoven in 1810.

It is a work that Beethoven dedicated to "Alice" as a memorial.

Asakawa Riku remembered that when her music teacher introduced the piece in class, he said that it was beautiful, short and exquisite, and technically simple and easy to play. It was almost a must-learn piece for piano beginners, but it had a high degree of artistry and expressiveness. He still found it beautiful today, if it weren't for the urgent and life-or-death countdown.

The eerie piano played by itself, with no shadows on the chair, yet the sound it emitted was elegant and beautiful, even better than the teacher's technique.

However, as Asakawa Riku listened, he always felt that something was missing, perhaps it was the emotion of a performer... It felt like he was mechanically repeating something.

"Stop spacing out, get moving!" Chizuko shouted.

So Asakawa Riku, following the battle plan, ran off to either side—

Before parting, taking one last look, Chizuko made a gesture with her left hand, grasping at the air, and suddenly conjured a long gray umbrella from her grasp:

"Tsukumogami - [Kara Umbrella]!"

It was the first time I had ever seen her use a weapon, but the long umbrella was not opened; instead, it was propped up on the ground, as if she were using it as a cane.

The folded umbrella handle and her left leg formed a support, while her prosthetic right leg was raised high, her skirt billowing as it crashed onto the playing piano!

...How can someone who is an Onmyoji use physical attacks?

Before she could even complain, she saw what seemed like a violent collision in the air, like the ringing of bells, which sent her legs flying.

That piano wasn't so easy to deal with. Chizuko spun around in mid-air, landed with the support of the "Tang Umbrella," and then rushed up again.

This time, it seems that "Akiku" can't help, after all, the piano has no fingers, but this future successor of the god is obviously more than just a few tricks up his sleeve.

The piano music continued, but Asakawa Riku didn't continue to pay attention; he had his own target to deal with.

Following the melodious tune, we walked to the end of the music classroom, where only one portrait hung on the wall—a portrait of Beethoven, which was very conspicuous.

After all, the portrait's eyes were wide open at that moment, and two red tear tracks, tears of blood, were streaming down from the corners of its eyes.

"sorry."

Although it was somewhat disrespectful to the music master, he had come this far, so he didn't hesitate and jumped up to tear the portrait off the wall.

Once you hold it in your hand, you must exert force to tear it apart.

Asakawa Riku doesn't know any spells or magic; all he can do is perform "physical exorcism."

But even after he gripped both sides of the portrait with both hands and exerted force for a while, the portrait did not budge!

This was beyond his imagination... After all, if he went all out, he could even break the concrete wall of the music classroom, so how could he not tear apart a mere portrait?

"drink!"

A surge of defiant anger welled up inside him. He placed the portrait on the ground, threw a punch, and the powerful force of the punch instantly pierced through his body.

After the terrifying sound subsided and the smoke cleared, even the table and chairs behind the portrait were shattered into wood chips, but the portrait itself remained intact.

Beethoven on that canvas is staring at Asakawa Riku, as if he's provoking him...

Does such a thing as paper or fabric actually exist in this world that can withstand a punch? It just looks like a picture frame on the outside…

"If I'm not mistaken, this portrait isn't that simple; it must have been bound by the rule that it cannot be destroyed by Aoandon."

Asakawa Riku realized the crux of the problem and instantly felt a sense of urgency...

His proud method of using brute force to overcome skill has failed. What should he do now?

Meanwhile, the portrait was still shedding tears of blood...

The Autumn of the Blue Lantern: Chapter Eighteen Beethoven, Shedding Blood and Tears

boom! boom! boom!

Asakawa Riku held the portrait in one hand and kept smashing it against the ground and the wall, even creating small dents and cracks.

However, the portrait remained intact, proving his guess was correct.

During this process, a strange thought even popped into Asakawa Riku's mind: If this thing is so hard, wouldn't it be the strongest shield in the world?

If you have this, you won't be afraid of anything, not even swords, spears, or bullets.

But then he thought it wouldn't work. He remembered that Chizuko-senpai had said that although the ghost stories created by Aoandon were powerful, they had to follow "rules" to function. Both of these ghost stories were confined to the music classroom. If they were taken out, they would lose their effectiveness, just like you can't carry this piano out to curse other people to death.

Thinking of this, Asakawa Riku gripped the portrait, forcefully opened the music classroom window, and threw it out.

Bang—but it bounced back from something in the air.

Asakawa Riku was stunned for a moment before realizing that the moment "Für Elise" started playing, the music classroom seemed to be sealed off by some kind of barrier, isolated from the outside world. Until the music completely stopped, nothing here could get out, which meant that the plan to "throw the portrait out to make it ineffective" had also failed.

There were still a little over three minutes left. I had already played two complete pieces. I glanced at the countdown on my watch and immediately sensed something was wrong.

I could only pin my hopes on Chizuko-senpai. Just as this thought crossed my mind, I looked back and realized that she was in the midst of a fierce battle.

"Weren't we supposed to hold them off...? How come there's so much blood?!"

She screamed in despair as she stepped into the pool of blood.

Here’s what happened: Ever since I stepped into this room, Beethoven’s portrait has been shedding bloody tears. At first, it was just two lines of tears. Asakawa Riku confirmed that it was neither corrosive nor toxic, and that even if it fell on the skin, it would just be ordinary blood, so he didn’t pay much attention to it.

But after Asakawa Riku started attacking the portrait, he seemed to be provoked, and the amount of blood he bled was enormous. Two jets of blood spurted from the eyes, shooting straight up to the ceiling like a showerhead, and then fell down, soaking both of them. Even the whole room was stained a terrifying red, creating a very strong visual shock.

That would have been fine, as neither of these two people were easily frightened. The problem was that, unknowingly, the blood had accumulated to the point of forming a small pool.

Asakawa Riku had no idea how so much blood had accumulated in that thin portrait. In any case, by the time he realized what was happening, the blood had already reached his calves and knees.

The water level is even slowly rising...

The music classroom had its doors and windows open, but the blood wouldn't flow out; instead, it was locked inside by a barrier, seemingly trying to fill it completely.

I thought the "Bleeding Beethoven Portrait" was a relatively safe supernatural tale, but now it seems I underestimated its existence.

"Ugh... How annoying!"

Chizuko looked annoyed as she stepped on the bloodstains, revealing an expression she had never shown before.

While not to the point of being obsessive-compulsive, she was still a clean girl, and the sticky feeling of her uniform skirt made her skin feel disgusting.

The pungent, fishy stench was so strong it felt like it was going to drown them all out.

"Senior, I've done my best. How much longer will it take you to resolve this?"

"How can we solve this situation... This piano is also a problem!"

Chizuko seemed to have exhausted all her efforts, but she still couldn't break through the piano's defenses. She used various spells that Asakawa Riku couldn't see to attack.

But the piano playing continued unhurriedly, its elegant rhythm completely at odds with the urgent pursuit, counting down the days of their lives.

This can't go on.

Asakawa Riku suddenly calmed down. He ignored the portrait, after all, there was no stopping Beethoven from bleeding.

Worrying is pointless; Chizuko-senpai is much shorter than him, and his blood pressure is rising rapidly. At this rate, she'll be the first to drown.

Suddenly, as if something flashed through his mind, he said:

"Senior, you've looked up information about 'Für Elise,' right? What's the background of this song's creation?"

He vaguely remembered that the teacher had mentioned it in music class, but he couldn't confirm it.

"Hurry, hurry, as the law dictates—ah, you're still saying this now? There's not enough time!" Chizuko's chanting was interrupted, and she said irritably.

"You're the one who told me that to exorcise a monster, you have to find its weakness. Since it's a created monster, there must be a way to defeat it."

Asakawa Riku shouted urgently, "Knowledge is power, isn't it? Now is the time to use our brains! We are the mystery club! We need to solve problems!"

"...Hmm! Let me think!"

Chizuko seemed to be persuaded. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and tried to think, but the irritating piano music and the blood under her feet made it difficult for her to calm her thoughts.

But in that instant, she seemed to realize something, opened her eyes, and her pupils brightened: "That's right... maybe you're right!"

"How to do it?"

Asakawa Riku reacted quickly; instead of asking for the reason, he directly requested instructions.

"Asakawa-kun, bring me that portrait, the portrait of Beethoven!"

"it is good!"

Upon hearing this request, without any hesitation, Asakawa Riku reached into the thick, disgusting pool of blood and accurately retrieved the portrait.

As he ran toward the piano with the portrait in his hand, he suddenly felt a tremendous resistance, as if the pool of blood beneath his feet had suddenly come to life, reaching out with countless hands that pulled him backward!

But this kind of confrontation was the least of Asakawa Riku's fears. He walked steadily forward, ignoring the surging current.

At the same time, the performance of "Für Elise" reached its last measure, and the tone gradually changed from passionate to calm. But the bleeding in the portrait seemed to speed up, slowly spreading over the waist and chest, and about to rise to the neck and the top of the head, as if it were moving from shallow water to deep water, and if it went any further, it would be completely submerged.

"Uh……!"

But Chizuko didn't have his strength to fight against the current, especially since she was unsteady on one leg and would slip and fall!

If you fall into such a pool of blood, the blood will rush into your mouth and nose instantly, and you may even suffocate!

"Get on my neck—!" At this critical moment, Asakawa Riku's strong arm actually grabbed her accurately, lifted her up, and slammed her onto his shoulder.

"Eh? Okay..."

Chizuko's vision swirled in the air, and she hadn't quite reacted yet.

Asakawa Riku, carrying the girl on his shoulder, pressed his hands firmly against the resisting portrait, and with the pool of blood almost overflowing his head, pressed down on the piano he was playing!

The sheet music, originally played mechanically, seemed to acquire human emotion in its final moments...

Goodbye... Therese.

Chizuko, sitting on the land of Asakawa, clasped her hands together and uttered a spell whose meaning was unclear.

With these words spoken, the final part of "Für Elise" ends abruptly in the middle of a note.

The portrait was shattered at the same time.

Then, all the blood disappeared...

Aoandon's Autumn: Chapter Nineteen Alice and Therese

After everything was over, they remained silent for a long time, sitting on the floor of the music classroom.

It seems like I'm resting, but I don't know what I'm resting for; I just feel very tired.

Until Asakawa Riku said helplessly:

"I may never listen to 'Für Elise' again."

The silence was broken when Chizuko covered her mouth and finally abandoned all pretense of composure, bursting into laughter.

"...Haha, anyway, it's been resolved smoothly."

"Was it successful?" Asakawa Riku glanced around. The entire music classroom was almost completely destroyed, with most of the dents being those he had smashed.

That's not all. Although the blood pool disappeared, the surrounding area was soaked and emitted a strong, lingering smell, making it feel like a murder scene.

Even if you wash the whole thing with detergent, it won't be able to be restored to its original state.

"It looks like music class won't be possible anytime soon."

Chizuko shrugged: "But we can't be blamed for eliminating such a dangerous hidden danger. I will entrust the cleanup work to the trustworthy Yorozuya. We will communicate with the school to seal this place off. It will be officially a renovation, but in reality, we will just demolish and rebuild it. If we leave it unattended, it will become a new ghost story."

Asakawa Riku was puzzled; he hadn't expected such an organization to exist.

"Who are they? Do they also know about the existence of this strange world?"

"I wouldn't call them that, they're somewhere between normal and abnormal middlemen. In the end, they're just making a living this way, but they're professionals and they won't let the secrets out."