Ryner, now conscious, was still stunned by the evil spirit's attack and drained from Rita's possession. As he gathered his thoughts, the full situation surrounding Shimoya and the evil spirit began to come back to him. He noticed Shimoya's expression was completely blank, and the confusion on her face mirrored his own. Struggling to sit up due to the lingering fatigue, Ryner suddenly noticed a piece of paper flutter to the ground—it was the one written by Rita.
He picked it up and read it aloud to himself. "If you're reading this, I've entered Shimoya's body to try and help her regain control. I want you to wake up the exorcist and tell him to prepare his chanting. It's the only way we can stop it."
"Hey, Jack Crow! Wake up, man, we need you!" Ryner shouted, shaking the exorcist.
Jack groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, you are so annoying. What did I miss?"
"After you were knocked out by that spirit, Rita possessed me and communicated with it. Then she entered Shimoya's body to help her regain control. She explained it in the note—here," Ryner said, handing him the paper.
Jack read it thoroughly, his brow furrowing. "I see… So Rita not only managed to possess you but also entered that possessed girl's body? That's really strange. I assumed she couldn't possess anyone since she's not completely dead… but I guess I was wrong."
"I believe she's trying to drive that spirit out of Shimoya's body. So when it happens, you'll have to be ready to do your thing and send it away," Ryner said firmly.
"There's no afterlife for this one, I'm afraid. The only place it can go is the underworld," Jack replied, his voice grim.
"I believe in you, Rita. I'm counting on you," Ryner whispered to himself.
As Rita opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar place. "So this is what the spiritual realm looks like from Shimoya's perspective…" she murmured as she wandered through what looked like an old, abandoned hospital. The walls were cracked, the lights dim, and the silence unsettling. As she walked deeper, the sound of sobbing echoed faintly in the distance.
"This place gives me the creeps… Then again, I'm a ghost. There's nothing to be afraid of," she said, trying to reassure herself as she followed the sound.
The closer she got, the more she realized what kind of place this was. "No way… Are those cages? And those surgical tools… there's blood on them," she whispered, horrified.
Her foot landed on something squishy. She paused and looked down slowly. What she saw made her jump back and scream. She slipped, lost her balance, and fell to the floor. As she turned her head to stand up, her face came inches away from a rotting corpse. Another scream escaped her lips as she staggered backward, nausea and disgust overwhelming her.
"What happened in this place?" she whispered, shaking.
After pushing herself forward a little farther, she finally reached the source of the crying. It was Shimoya—trapped inside a cage. "It really is her… but why is she locked up?" Rita asked herself. "Shimoya! Shimoya, can you hear me? You have to take control of your body now!"
Shimoya looked up at her slowly, tears rolling down her cheeks and a blank look still clouding her eyes. "Wait… you're that girl I took a picture of with Ryner. But… you were a ghost," she said softly.
"Listen to me. You need to take back control. You're the owner of your body. You're the only one who can stop him from the inside. All these horrors around you were placed here to frighten you—to convince you that the evil spirit has complete control. But he doesn't," Rita said firmly.
Just as she was about to continue, her voice caught. She felt something—something powerful. A presence loomed behind her. She turned around slowly, her spiritual form trembling. The evil spirit stood there, eyes full of rage and malicious hunger.
"How dare you try to ruin what's mine!" it growled before flinging her across the room. Rita crashed into a row of metal beds and surgical tools, sharp instruments clattering to the floor. Before she could recover, the spirit lunged at her, its hands wrapping tightly around her throat.
As Rita gasped, struggling for air, the spirit leaned closer. "You… you're different from other spirits, aren't you? What exactly are you? You smell like a human to me… What a precious soul you have. I can't get enough of it," the spirit said with a sickening grin. "Why don't I send your soul to the underworld first? Then I'll get to her next."
"No… I can't let him do this… This girl means something to Ryner. He really cares about her. He put himself in danger to help me… to help her. The least I can do is fight back," Shimoya said to herself as she gripped the bars of the cage.
Summoning an inner strength she didn't know she had, Shimoya bent the bars open and stepped out.
"What the hell?! That's not possible!" the spirit shouted.
Seeing an opening, Rita summoned all the energy she could and kicked the spirit in the face, momentarily stunning it. As it dropped her, she hit the floor and coughed, finally able to breathe again.
The spirit staggered back but quickly regained its posture, preparing to finish them both. Shimoya's voice then rang out—loud, sharp, filled with willpower.
"Leave my body alone!"
The force behind her words sent the spirit hurtling backward. It was thrown from her body, cast out like a shadow losing its grip.
As soon as the spirit was expelled, Ryner and Jack sprang into action. "I bind you to this spot! You are bound to this place by my talisman!" they chanted in unison.
The spirit froze, unable to move. "What?! What is happening?! I can't move!" it screamed.
"Holy water of divine retribution," they declared as they sprinkled blessed water onto the ground around the spirit. It howled in agony, smoke rising as the water sizzled on contact.
"You've done your part, Ryner. Now it's my turn," said Jack, stepping forward.
He raised his hand and began his final chant. "Soul Reaper of the underworld, I call upon you to seize this wicked soul and send him where he belongs. Appear!"
A towering figure cloaked in darkness emerged from a swirl of shadows. The Soul Reaper raised his massive scythe and, with a single swing, slashed through the evil spirit. The spirit screamed as it was torn apart and dragged into the abyss.
The Soul Reaper vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving behind only silence.