Dark Gathering - Vol. 12 Ch. 46 - Route 1 1: Animal realm

[Forikorder]

They sorta did nothing before on that other case and people dropped like flies before. But this is the first time they are directly responsible. (and they did not seem to care)

If you mean the school mysteries no one died

Its kinda odd to judge their reaction while they are currently in a life or death situation, plus there's no way they could have predicted this

 

[Kambing]

I mean, there wasn't even a metal gate. Or hell, a sign inside. It's kind of a trope to have stuff all be sneaky and mysterious but it's also stupid. IRL sure they certainly don't have any external indication that nuclear weapons are stored in some given depot, there is an outer layer of secrecy (though mixed in with conventional weapons such that it's justified to have it be heavily fortified and defended by scary people with guns, analogy here would be if the monks put in "critical sect items and money!" in a vault there thus justifying securing it with a [public facing reason]). But the weapons themselves are clearly labeled. If anyone gets that far no point in beating around the bush on what there is.

So sure, have some disguise and then magic traps or whatever, but then if someone gets right down to that room anyway have a big freaking sign on the wall WARNING SEAL OF ANCIENT OUTER GOD ELDRITCH HORROR PLEASE CONSULT MONKS PLEASE in Japanese/English/French/Russian/Chinese/everything just on the off chance someone breaks in that far out of curiosity or getting lured in and genuinely doesn't fully understand what they're dealing with.

But "higher intelligence doing very subtle creeping corruption that waits patiently for its chance far beyond normal human thinking timescales" is rare but cool and scary to see done. Little tiny coincidences and twists that add up, how does one counter that?

Put in a sign is kinda tricky. We're dealing with unscientific danger here, it might even increase people curiosity. There's also a group of posessed with their own agenda. Also, from what I saw, that mummy is the guard/sacrifice that should be maintaining the seal.

I think I agree more about the idea that the ghost is playing a long game here. The monks isn't stupid, they're just being sloppy since the younger ones didn't even thought that it was that dangerous. "The seal and its surrounding area is already safe for millenia, if there's nothing happen then it's not a problem!" is what they probably thought, not anticipating that the mummy would give up his job and unintentionally attract people.

 

[BaladikG]

They sorta did nothing before on that other case and people dropped like flies before. But this is the first time they are directly responsible. (and they did not seem to care)

To be fair, Keitarou has a kind of fear-kink, Yayoi-chan don't care cause she want to kill the spirit who killed her mother (plus that i-dont-know-his-name-god) and the other girl is just a yandere for Keitarou so not much care left for the cannonfo- i mean innocent bystanders.

 

[BuyVelomobiles]

I mean, there wasn't even a metal gate. Or hell, a sign inside. It's kind of a trope to have stuff all be sneaky and mysterious but it's also stupid. IRL sure they certainly don't have any external indication that nuclear weapons are stored in some given depot, there is an outer layer of secrecy (though mixed in with conventional weapons such that it's justified to have it be heavily fortified and defended by scary people with guns, analogy here would be if the monks put in "critical sect items and money!" in a vault there thus justifying securing it with a [public facing reason]). But the weapons themselves are clearly labeled. If anyone gets that far no point in beating around the bush on what there is.

So sure, have some disguise and then magic traps or whatever, but then if someone gets right down to that room anyway have a big freaking sign on the wall WARNING SEAL OF ANCIENT OUTER GOD ELDRITCH HORROR PLEASE CONSULT MONKS PLEASE in Japanese/English/French/Russian/Chinese/everything just on the off chance someone breaks in that far out of curiosity or getting lured in and genuinely doesn't fully understand what they're dealing with.

But "higher intelligence doing very subtle creeping corruption that waits patiently for its chance far beyond normal human thinking timescales" is rare but cool and scary to see done. Little tiny coincidences and twists that add up, how does one counter that?

Even if someone had, for no apparent reason, been paranoid enough to want to reinforce a seal that had held for so long, who's to say the very act of reinforcement wouldn't break the seal? Like, maybe the grounds need to be kept in a very specific way to the ritual to work. Or hell, how about this: A construction accident breaks the mummy.

The seal worked fine enough. The only reason this even worked in the first place is because:

A) There was a group of insane kids going around literally chasing ghosts.
B) At least one of them has no regard for private property (And these are Japanese people we're talking about)., and opted to break in to the property
C) Precisely ONE of the kids (Not the one with no regard for private property) also happened to notice the phenomenon, AND happened to be with property kid.
D) They noticed the fake wall somehow.
And E) Private property kid decided that if you're going to break in somewhere, you may as well rip the place apart until you find what you're looking for.

It's fun to sit around and insist that they should do more, but as it stands, the sheer obscurity of the place was more than adequate save for this insane set of coincidences.

 

[bearybrown]

Nah.. the temple didn't even seal the house properly. Just bar windows and front doors, double or triple lock on back door.

And why the fuck the house is not part of the temple when they seal a fricking divine beast/horror under it.

 

[Forikorder]

Nah.. the temple didn't even seal the house properly. Just bar windows and front doors, double or triple lock on back door.

And why the fuck the house is not part of the temple when they seal a fricking divine beast/horror under it.

Like that would have stopped yayoi

 

[zanonyn]

Put in a sign is kinda tricky. We're dealing with unscientific danger here, it might even increase people curiosity.

No, you're missing the point: in order for anyone to have gotten that far to the place where the sacrificed sealing monk is there at all, they must already have some mojo. That's not "idle curiosity" that's breaking into a place, breaking through a false wall, breaking through any magic repellent, and getting to the final point. In the military analogy, it'd be like someone who had already bypassed wire fences, surveillance systems, armed guards, and fortifications to make their way all the way inside to the point where weapons are kept. Like, they didn't wander by walking their dog. If they've gotten that far at all then it's now one step away from danger and there are two possibilities:
1) It's someone who knows what they're doing and intends to break that seal on purpose. A sign causes no harm here, because they know what they're about already.
2) It's someone with mystic sense who got lured in somehow, like our humble party of adventurers here. They know magic ghost juju, but aren't actually malicious. They may (and again, this is what actually happened) think they're doing the right thing. This is where full disclosure, or better have actual serious defenses, is important.

The context here is a tactical WMD level demon god that an organization has been keeping sealed for centuries. It definitely feels like they were taking it curiously lightly. I guess you could argue they just got sloppy but man I dunno. Like, why even allow a road to go by there, why not have it be the center of some sanctuary? It was all rural way back in the day, they could have worked something out centuries earlier when it was cheap/free. Hence why it'd be interesting if it turns out to be subtle corruption, because in turn that might point to other aspects in human society, various active gods or ancient horrors that are taking advantage of twisting bureaucracy or whatever without anyone realizing it.

 

[zanonyn]

Even if someone had, for no apparent reason, been paranoid enough to want to reinforce a seal that had held for so long, who's to say the very act of reinforcement wouldn't break the seal? Like, maybe the grounds need to be kept in a very specific way to the ritual to work.

They didn't have modern walls like that centuries earlier, nor that paved road going by or whatever. So we can take it as given that no, it's not that sensitive and a disguise could be built over it after. There is no reason to think that the false wall couldn't be 10 feet of reinforced concrete followed by electrified bars and with security cameras outside. None of what I'm describing is more effort then what they already did.

The seal worked fine enough.

Obviously not.

The only reason this even worked in the first place is because:

A) There was a group of insane kids going around literally chasing ghosts.

That there exist a significant number of independent spiritualists and the gift can arise in a wide variety of people at semi-random is again part of the lore, as is the risk of possessed. For something that must never be released, anticipating independent actors is obvious. And indeed, they did! Active effort was made to hide it and protect it, so they weren't ignorant that someone might try to mess with it. So the question remains: if you're bothering at all, why not take it seriously?

B) At least one of them has no regard for private property (And these are Japanese people we're talking about)., and opted to break in to the property

I mean, duh, that's table stakes. It's not like even Japan has had zero robbery or crime ever come on. And anyone with their own agenda, be it possessed or someone seeking to undo the seal for other reasons, obviously isn't going to respect property, but having it be "abandoned property" reinforces that. Even regular people in general might feel compelled to break and enter a place that seemed abandoned and had someone saying "please help me!" That's not even a crime, there are emergency exceptions in law. That this "please help me" ended up being a trapped soul might mess up the legal side of things in theory but not the moral one.

C) Precisely ONE of the kids (Not the one with no regard for private property) also happened to notice the phenomenon, AND happened to be with property kid.

Again, could have been any spiritualist, for reasons good or ill.

D) They noticed the fake wall somehow.

Again, table stakes for someone who'd actually be a danger, of which there could be many over the centuries.

And E) Private property kid decided that if you're going to break in somewhere, you may as well rip the place apart until you find what you're looking for.

Yes? This is normal.

It's fun to sit around and insist that they should do more, but as it stands, the sheer obscurity of the place was more than adequate save for this insane set of coincidences.

lol. By your logic no one needs safes or even door locks. I'm glad you live somewhere you don't even need to consider security in the slightest.

 

[Forikorder]

its also likely their main concern was ghosts, theres no point installing cameras and heavy locks when the ghost can walk through them anyway

its physical location could also be "set in stone", it needs to be on a power line to keep the guard ghost alive or there are multiple seals set up like Yayois star, this one cannot be moved without ruining it and/or it cant be too close to the living because it can influence them which is where route 1 got the rumors, if it was in the temple the monks would get corrupted (faster?)

 

[BuyVelomobiles]

They didn't have modern walls like that centuries earlier, nor that paved road going by or whatever. So we can take it as given that no, it's not that sensitive and a disguise could be built over it after. There is no reason to think that the false wall couldn't be 10 feet of reinforced concrete followed by electrified bars and with security cameras outside. None of what I'm describing is more effort then what they already did.

Apples and oranges. A house built to older Japanese standards is a different beast to "Ten feet of reinforced concrete, electrified bars, and cameras". One hides the shrine, the other one brings in an entire outside construction
crew, and advertises that whatever is there is really interesting.

That there exist a significant number of independent spiritualists and the gift can arise in a wide variety of people at semi-random is again part of the lore, as is the risk of possessed. For something that must never be released, anticipating independent actors is obvious. And indeed, they did! Active effort was made to hide it and protect it, so they weren't ignorant that someone might try to mess with it. So the question remains: if you're bothering at all, why not take it seriously?

They had the greatest defense ever: Obscurity. And the only reason it failed is because the guy inside was deliberately trying to break free and advertising it to the crazy kids who just so happened to show up.

I mean, duh, that's table stakes. It's not like even Japan has had zero robbery or crime ever come on. And anyone with their own agenda, be it possessed or someone seeking to undo the seal for other reasons, obviously isn't going to respect property, but having it be "abandoned property" reinforces that. Even regular people in general might feel compelled to break and enter a place that seemed abandoned and had someone saying "please help me!" That's not even a crime, there are emergency exceptions in law. That this "please help me" ended up being a trapped soul might mess up the legal side of things in theory but not the moral one.

This is Japan, not Detroit: They're inherently more trusting and law-abiding than basically anywhere else. To the extent that you can have stalls entirely unattended and it will literally run itself; the people will come in, take whatever you're selling, then pay. You're really missing the context for how far out of the norm this kind of behavior is.

Again, could have been any spiritualist, for reasons good or ill.

Let me rephrase that: Precisely ONE of the kids noticed anything was wrong. And it wasn't the one who can literally see the spirits and energies with her special, magic eyes, but rather an entirely separate one who's been possesses all his life, and communed with a deity. This isn't your average jerkoff with some spirit sense. And what the extent of his senses? "Something feels... weird"

Again, table stakes for someone who'd actually be a danger, of which there could be many over the centuries.

More than enough to ward off anyone who even goes so far as to break into the house. Again: The first through tenth normal responses to sensing something "weird" about a house, and hearing a faint "help me" (Which, is literally the only other reason they went in for: Sabotage) aren't to grab a crowbar, break in to the house, then tear down walls.

Yes? This is normal.

Again: It's Japan, not Detroit.

lol. By your logic no one needs safes or even door locks. I'm glad you live somewhere you don't even need to consider security in the slightest.

Putting a padlock on my secret compartment just draws attention to it.

 

[bearybrown]

Like that would have stopped yayoi

Probably yes.

If the house is within temple's land, she need to go through the monks first and least knows the story instead of breaking seals for no reason or plan properly.

Right now she is a mass murder by association with the divine horror.

 

[Forikorder]

Probably yes.

If the house is within temple's land, she need to go through the monks first and least knows the story instead of breaking seals for no reason or plan properly.

Right now she is a mass murder by association with the divine horror.

Pointless hyperbole only stops you from being taken seriously

 

[nimo2]

I wonder if they are going to reflect on the fact that they caused a bunch of deaths.

Probably not.

When that medium lady died it was like "Oh no, anyways" so, why start now?

 

[Forikorder]

Probably not.

When that medium lady died it was like "Oh no, anyways" so, why start now?

she was already dead before they met and they knew that

 

[nhansieu1]

They don't seem to care about that all. They didn't care before why start now?

Me? Me!

At least Keitaro will care

 

[Imaterial]

What's wrong with this city every spirit here is so fucked up haha

Keitaro was a spirit magnet.
remember how Yayoi so hard gathering spirits before teaming up.

 

[Dradetias]

What's wrong with this city every spirit here is so fucked up ha

Nah, what's wrong with the entire world. I mean, powerful and dangerous ghosts are around left and right. And there's not even a good divine being that can keep those things from going rampage. So far, we have only seen freakish ghosts and some are even wicked god.

 

[Ink_Tide]

Nah, what's wrong with the entire world. I mean, powerful and dangerous ghosts are around left and right. And there's not even a good divine being that can keep those things from going rampage. So far, we have only seen freakish ghosts and some are even wicked god.

The true cursed knowledge is realizing these ghosts would have killed everyone ages ago and the whole setting's tension unravels in your mind as suspension of disbelief shatters.

This is legitimately the first time they've gotten people killed though. Honestly it's really just Yayoi who's responsible for the deaths here, just wandering in and breaking an ancient seal with barely any information (why the fuck wouldn't you check the temple first, it's right there!), which is uncharacteristically amateurish for Yayoi.

Knowing how this usually goes, Yayoi is probably going to be vindicated with "they were akready about to die anyway" and "Yayoi just guessed right that the temple was already compromised" retroactively, and the consequences will be forgotten.

 

[BuyVelomobiles]

Knowing how this usually goes, Yayoi is probably going to be vindicated with "they were akready about to die anyway" and "Yayoi just guessed right that the temple was already compromised" retroactively, and the consequences will be forgotten.

You were half right. The only reason they found the seal was because it was compromised. Had it been done correctly from the start, nobody would have even guessed.

 

[Ink_Tide]

You were half right. The only reason they found the seal was because it was compromised. Had it been done correctly from the start, nobody would have even guessed.

I've since caught up to the current releases here and I think the author recognized the issue but Yayoi's monologue in her defense was basically 'I'll do whatever I want because angy' so in some ways it was even worse than what I expected. Kinda disappointed with the writing of the protagonist trio and... living characters in this overall TBH. Feels like it was better before this volume.

I think the only characters I really care about anymore are Anna, maybe because she's in the background suffering constantly so she's not up front being written poorly, and glasses store man whose... name I have forgotten. Maybe it's just Anna after all, lol. I swear I've enjoyed what little I've seen of you, glasses store man!

A part of me wonders if there are consequences to Anna, a spirit born from (albeit manipulated) dragging others into her own suffering, being subject to all manner of new suffering... perhaps Eiko might end up a little less impotent in future conflicts if that manifested into Anna becoming a more personally connected Ghost Pokemon than the dolls, but that's probably just me fanfictioning some way to seeing more of any character that's less annoying and inconsiderate than Yayoi, less of a blank slate than Keitaro, and less of a down bad psycho than Eiko.