Chapter 175: Revive, Four-Leaf Midnight!
Night.
A time when all is silent.
A shadow quietly infiltrated the Yotsuba family cemetery grounds.
Although the Yotsuba main family had relocated to Misaki Island, the main family cemetery had not yet found a suitable location for relocation and thus remained here.
Shiba Kuuya, Shinonome Maaya, Yotsuba Kazuma, Higashiyama Motohide, Yotsuba Ayame, Yotsuba Hyouma, Yotsuba Yuuma...
These ancestors of the Yotsuba family were all laid to rest here.
Much like the current Mahiro, Miyuki, and Tatsuya, the former Shinonome family had distinguished themselves at the Fourth Research Institute and established the present-day Yotsuba family.
They could be considered the pinnacle achievement of the Fourth Research Institute's technology at that time.
Or perhaps all Ten Master Clans originated similarly, with Kudou Retsu ultimately taking the lead in establishing the Master Clans Council.
"Ah, found it, found it..."
Deep within the cemetery, Mahiro located Miya's grave, which appeared noticeably newer than the others.
As for why he came here in the middle of the night?
Of course, it was because his words to Miyuki that day weren't empty talk—he genuinely wanted to put them into practice.
To see whether human power could glimpse into the legendary boundary between life and death, a realm traditionally reserved for gods.
It's important to know that this world also contains spirits (souls), meaning spiritual energy exists.
Therefore, resurrecting the dead wasn't an easy matter.
Just like Tatsuya, who possessed the power of "Recomposition" yet couldn't reverse the life and death of those who died natural deaths.
"Apologies. Pardon my intrusion, Aunt Miya."
Before the tombstone, Mahiro stood bathed in the eerie breeze and raised his right hand forward.
His dark eyes faintly glowed with a dazzling crimson light, resembling twin vermilion predatory orbs in the darkness, as a pentagram magic circle gradually materialized.
"Dimensional Formation: Shambhala"
An ethereal purple taiji spiral enveloped the gravesite, and unnoticed by anyone, a skeleton silently teleported out from the sealed tomb into his hands.
"Good, good, it's not cremated ashes..."
Mahiro breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Like traditional families, the Yotsuba family didn't practice cremation—each generation buried in the cemetery was interred through traditional burial.
However, too much time had passed.
The beautiful, luxurious clothes that once wrapped the body had long decayed, and the once lovely flesh had been reduced to stark, bare bones.
Perhaps this was what they called a "bony beauty"?
After robbing Miya's grave, Mahiro instantly returned to the mansion via Shambhala and closed his door.
Perhaps the commotion he caused was somewhat excessive, disturbing Minami who had just gone to bed.
She gently knocked on his door.
"Master Mahiro, did you just go out?"
"Ah, yes, just handling some business, retrieving something."
"Do you need my assistance?"
"No need. Minami, you should sleep now, or you might not wake up in time for school tomorrow."
"Please remember to call me if you need anything."
After these words came from outside the door, the sound of slippers on the floor gradually faded into the distance.
Mahiro let out a slight sigh of relief as his frantically beating heart gradually calmed down.
Wait, why do I feel like a thief?
At this thought, he unconsciously raised an eyebrow before shifting his gaze to the bed.
Bright moonlight illuminated the neatly arranged, stark white bones on the bed, their slender frames glowing with a jade-like luster.
For some reason, the scene reminded him of Inuyasha—specifically when the demon witch Riteo stole Kikyo's ashes to resurrect her.
But Mahiro didn't dwell on it. Instead, he pulled out his long-unused exclusive CAD Nightmare and aimed the barrel at the skeleton on the bed.
The Copy Eyes immediately activated.
[Initiating trace of individual information body change history]
[Confirming restoration time point—2094...]
Gradually, sweat began beading on Mahiro's forehead.
While he could currently trace information bodies back up to two years, the further back he went, the greater the pressure he had to endure.
During the process, all information from the target would flood into his mind in an instant.
Even corpses were no exception—from the moment of death, through gradual decay, bacterial decomposition, until turning to dust.
All of this would manifest in his mind.
It was far from a pleasant experience.
[Beginning restoration.]
After confirming the time point and reading the information, Mahiro slowly pulled the trigger.
Pure white light dispelled the darkness in the room.
The skeleton on the bed began to reverse its timeline—nerves, blood vessels, and flesh grew from the bare bones, eventually covered by skin.
The once-deceased—Shiba Miya—had returned. With her hands crossed over her lower abdomen, she was restored to her complete, unharmed state.
Her jet-black hair spread across the bed, her serene face gradually regaining color from its pallor, and her chest beginning to rise and fall rhythmically.
Her flawless white body lay there on his bed.
Miya had returned, but not completely—one final step remained. Her spirit or astral body was still dormant and needed awakening.
Hmmm...
This made the scene feel even more like the demon witch Riteo's resurrection.
Despite this thought, his hands moved swiftly. He pulled out an Enhancement Drug combining Tyrant and Demon's Extract from his chest and aimed it at Miya's chest.
"Return to life, Shiba Miya!"
Sssht!
The needle easily penetrated her chest, directly into her heart.
As the drug injected, the unconscious Miya let out a pained moan, her delicate limbs trembling instinctively.
Under the drug's influence, her astral body gradually revived.
However...
"Why hasn't she awakened?"
He had been using the "Eye of the Spirit" to observe Miya's condition. Both her physical body and spiritual energy had recovered to normal human levels and were gradually strengthening.
But Miya herself showed no signs of awakening.
Could it be that she's pretending to sleep because she's unaccustomed to returning to the world of the living?
Mahiro thought this might be possible, so he threatened: "Hey~ Aunt Miya, if you don't wake up, I'm going to play a prank on you~"
No response.
And Mahiro was a man of his word, so he reached out and grabbed her breasts.
Hmm, quite soft.
He estimated Maya was probably about the same size—truly sisters through and through.
But Miya still showed no reaction, even when he applied some strength, leaving red handprints behind.
It seemed she wasn't pretending—she genuinely couldn't wake up for now.
Like someone who had suffered a major accident falling into a deep coma, needing time to awaken.
Perhaps a day, perhaps a year, or possibly never waking up again.
But for Mahiro, achieving this much already counted as a great success—he had successfully taken the first step toward taboo.
The corners of his mouth uncontrollably turned up wildly, while a wave of drowsiness washed over him.
"Yawn~ It's getting late, I should sleep first."
Mahiro stretched heavily, shifted the sleeping Miya further inside, then lay down on the bed preparing to sleep.
As for giving up bed space for Miya?
That was absolutely impossible. He was the one who had pulled Miya out of hell—why should he give up his sleeping spot for this woman?
He had no interest in doing such foolish things.
Rather, thanks to his lack of peculiar fetishes, he hadn't done anything to the resurrected Miya, merely using her as a hugging pillow.
A faint, elegant rose fragrance quietly filled his nostrils.
Quite pleasant.
However, there was one thing he was curious about—for some reason, while reading information, he discovered that this woman was actually still a virgin?
What was going on here?
Could it be that when restoring her body, that part got restored too?
As he pondered, his eyelids grew heavy, gradually sinking into dreamland.
...
Early next morning.
Knock, knock, knock
"Young Master Mahiro, time to wake up."
Minami's daily wake-up service roused him from sleep.
But after a night had passed, Miya still showed no signs of waking, remaining with closed eyes and rosy complexion, as if having a pleasant dream.
"Whatever, if she's not awake, she's not awake."
Mahiro wasn't in a hurry either, leisurely putting on his school uniform before leaving the room.
He ate breakfast as usual, going to school with Minami and Miyuki.
However, when the sound of the front door locking echoed through the entrance, this sleeping beauty in Mahiro's room suddenly trembled her eyelids, slowly opening her eyes.
Wine-red eyes reflected the ceiling, her slightly trembling cherry lips taking a long time to slowly utter her first words in several years.
"...Where... is this place?"
Miya felt like she had a dream, a very long dream.
She clearly remembered those days recuperating at the main family estate.
Waking every day watching her body gradually deteriorate, with no improvement even after being hospitalized.
Her mental energy withered daily, her body gradually failing.
Finally, the heart that had accompanied her for decades stopped beating.
That feeling of life stepping into death.
After that, she felt as if she had been locked in a cold place, surrounded by darkness, unable to hear or see anything.
Gradually, she sank into an eternal slumber.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she first felt warmth.
Like the spring sunshine arriving after winter's departure, it shone upon her body, dispelling the cold and darkness.
Within the blurred boundaries, she seemed to hear a voice calling out to her—
"Revive, Shiba Miya!"
The voice sounded familiar, but the way it was spoken was rather amusing.
By past standards, this kind of state would probably be called "chuunibyou," right?
Yet after that, she felt herself sinking back into silence, her body growing warm and comfortable.
But she couldn't control it—even moving a finger felt like an impossible luxury.
Finally, after enduring countless hardships, she managed to open her eyes.
But what greeted her was an unfamiliar room.
"...Where is this?"
After several years, she spoke again, though her voice was slightly hoarse.
Sitting up from the bed, she realized her body was completely naked, so she wrapped herself in the bedsheet and got down.
Perhaps because she hadn't moved for so long, her legs were still somewhat uncooperative—she staggered a few steps, stumbling and falling several times.
But thanks to the walking experience stored in her brain, she quickly adapted and was able to perfectly control her legs, maintaining her balance.
She began to look around the room.
Outside the window were unfamiliar buildings, likely part of a residential area.
Then she examined the room more carefully.
It was clean—spotless.
But it was so clean it felt eerie, with absolutely no information about the owner of the house.
Not even a name, let alone a single photograph.
She wanted to leave the room and look outside, but she found the door was locked from the outside and couldn't be opened.
Glancing out the window, she noted the second-floor height. Without a CAD, jumping down would either kill her or leave her crippled.
With that, Miya confirmed one thing—
She had been kidnapped.
Just like during her recovery period, when someone had tried to break into the main house to abduct her.
"Though I don't know where these petty thieves came from, to dare do such a thing... they're truly bold..."
Her wine-red eyes glowed with a faint red light.
It was an ability she had mastered after intensive study of Mental Structure Interference Magic—even without CAD assistance, she could forcibly interfere with the opponent's subconscious area, thereby preventing them from casting magic.
She called this existence "The Gate."
At this moment, she seemed to reclaim the dignity of The Ruler of Lethe.
And so, time passed until evening.
The setting sun dyed the horizon blood-red, casting its glow upon the streets.
Her mind empty, Miya gazed out the window when she suddenly heard the sound of the door unlocking.
The owner of the house had returned.
Realizing this, Miya sat upright on the bed, tightly clutching the bedsheet to cover herself, her eyes shimmering with an eerie light.
She was determined to see exactly who had the audacity to do such a thing!
But when she saw the person entering through the door, she froze instantly, the faint light in her eyes vanishing immediately.
"Oh, you're awake."
"You are... Mahiro?!"
"I'm surprised Aunt Miya still remembers me."
After Mahiro entered the room, the door automatically closed behind him. He pulled a chair from beside the desk and placed it in front of Miya.
Sitting there, he watched the astonishment appear on Miya's delicate, beautiful face.
"How did you... No, how did I end up here? Where exactly is this?"
Seeing this person who should least likely appear outside seemed to have thrown Miya's thoughts into disarray.
"Well, I know you have many questions, but there's no need to rush. I'll answer them one by one for you."
As he spoke, Mahiro flipped his palm, and a cup of hot tea instantly appeared in his hand, which he offered to her.
"Would you like some?"
Seeing his miraculous technique and sensing the rising aroma of tea from the cup, Miya's willow-like eyebrows furrowed slightly as she shook her head.
"No need. First, answer my question. Why are you here?"
"Fine."
Mahiro indifferently picked up the teacup and took a sip, then answered unhurriedly:
"First, my presence here is entirely thanks to your sister, Maya. I don't know what nerve she touched to release me from the Fourth Research Institute, and she even specially approved for me to attend school."
"Second, where is this? Naturally, it's the home Maya arranged for me. Not bad, right?"
Under his somewhat flippant teasing, Miya's expression grew even more serious.
Her fingers gripping the sheets turned slightly red, clearly indicating her inner turmoil.
"Alright, alright, I was just asking. No need to answer if you don't want to."
"As for the last point, why are you here? Simple—because I saved you."
"You should remember that you died three years ago, right? But some things happened during these three years, so I had no choice but to retrieve you from your grave and revive you. It seems my research was successful now!"
"Wait, you said you saved me and revived me?! That's impossible!"
Miya suddenly interrupted him, denying his claim.
"I know your eyes copied Tatsuya's 'Decomposition' and 'Recomposition' abilities, allowing you to trace information bodies through the 'Eye of the Spirit."
"But that only traces the surface of information bodies and fundamentally cannot touch the spiritual level."
"Even that child couldn't accomplish such a thing, so how could you possibly do it!"
Hearing Miya's lengthy explanation, Mahiro nodded in agreement.
"Yes, you're absolutely right. Simply tracing information bodies indeed can't achieve it, nor can it reverse life and death, because once the spirit body weakens, it's an irreversible situation."
"But what if I possessed means to touch or even alter spiritual power?"
"That's utterly impossible."
The Yotsuba family itself excels most in non-systematic magic related to mental interference. It could be said no one understands the structure of the spirit body better than her or the Yotsuba family.
Interfering is one thing, but reversing the exhaustion of the spirit body?
That's completely delusional!
She was about to retort like that, but when she met Mahiro's pitch-black eyes, she couldn't help but swallow her words.
Because she realized he was completely serious!
Moreover, Mahiro was an anomaly among magicians—an even more abnormal existence than her own child Tatsuya—born as the natural bane of all magicians.
He could analyze any magic and reconstruct it.
Therefore, she couldn't be certain whether he had truly mastered the means to alter the state of a spiritual body.
"It seems Aunt Miya is starting to believe me somewhat." Mahiro smiled faintly.
"Well, you could say that."
Miya closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She understood her physical condition perfectly well—the fact that her spiritual state could be completely transformed now was undoubtedly his doing.
"However, you just said I've been dead for three years? And many things happened during these three years, right? What exactly occurred that made you awaken me? Don't tell me you want me to help you deal with Maya?"
"If that's the case, I can tell you clearly—that's impossible."
Miya's voice was calm, devoid of any emotion.
If one were to speak of Mahiro's hatred toward Maya, perhaps no one understood it better than her, because she had once touched Mahiro's spiritual body and knew that emotion all too well.
Similarly, she was also the one who best understood what kind of feelings her younger sister Maya held toward Mahiro.
It could be said that the relationship between this mother and child was the most distorted and pathological.
"Of course not, I wouldn't be that bored. If I wanted to deal with Maya, I wouldn't need your help—I could manage it myself."
Mahiro chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
"I just wanted to ask you—do you still remember your husband, Shiba Tatsurou?"
"What are you trying to do?"
"Nothing much. I just wanted to tell you that Shiba Tatsurou remarried, and it happened the very year you died."
As he spoke, the corners of Mahiro's mouth slowly curled into a pleased smile.