21st Century Necromancer

Ever since he took Saegusa Kyoko's soul to meet the Little Rice Princess, this was the first time Chen Yu had seen her.

However, compared to the last time he saw her, Saegusa Kyoko's condition made Chen Yu frown unconsciously.

Because Chen Yu had previously given her a black crystal filled with negative energy for the convenience of questioning, Saegusa Kyoko's soul had already absorbed a lot of negative energy before her burial. These negative energies, referred to by the Little Rice Princess as Yin Force, had strengthened her soul but also prevented her from moving on to Yomi.

The negative energy that Chen Yu had filled the black crystal with was purified and transformed, having removed impurities affecting the soul's purity during the transformation process. Thus, even though she had absorbed quite a bit, Saegusa Kyoko's state was still normal up until then, except for being unable to enter Yomi to pass on, there was no significant impact.

But the amount of negative energy that a black crystal could store was obviously limited. After the black crystal's energy was depleted, Saegusa Kyoko, having gotten used to absorbing negative energy, naturally started absorbing the dense negative energy within Kawakami Cemetery.

However, the negative energy in Kawakami Cemetery was naturally different from the purified energy from Chen Yu. This negative energy originated from the many deceased buried here, mixed with their attachment, resentment, and unwillingness.
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Naturally, absorbing such negative energy would contaminate the originally pure soul with impurities, and emotions would be influenced by the various attachments, resentments, and unwillingness contained in this energy.

Saegusa Kyoko in front of Chen Yu had obviously been affected. She no longer looked like a living person as she had before Chen Yu. Her pale skin, disheveled long hair, eyes with a vivid red hue, and the elongated, blackened nails on her hands all indicated that she was transforming into a fierce ghost.

"Doctor Chen, you're here! It's been a long time," Saegusa Kyoko seemed to still possess her reason, greeting Chen Yu enthusiastically when she saw him. However, when she saw Jounouchi Hiromi hugging Audis by Chen Yu's side, a flash of displeasure crossed her face, seemingly unhappy with Chen Yu bringing other people to see her.

Chen Yu certainly noticed the fleeting displeasure on Saegusa Kyoko's face, further confirming his judgement. Hence, he said to her, "Miss Saegusa, have you been absorbing the negative energy of Kawakami Cemetery?"

"Yes, since the power in the black crystal you gave me has been used up, I tried absorbing a bit," Saegusa Kyoko did not seem to think anything was amiss; she continued to absorb the negative energy around Kawakami Cemetery while she spoke, apparently indulging in the pleasure that came with absorption.

Seeing this, Chen Yu immediately frowned and raised his hand to scatter the negative energy that Saegusa Kyoko had been gathering, preventing her from continuing to absorb.

"Doctor Chen, what are you doing?" Saegusa Kyoko immediately looked at Chen Yu displeased, her eyes revealing a hint of anger. Fortunately, she still retained her basic sense of reason, managed to control her emotions, and remembered the favors Chen Yu had done for her. Therefore, she did not vent her anger on him.

"Haven't you noticed anything wrong with yourself?" Chen Yu reminded Saegusa Kyoko, while also secretly preparing a binding spell in his hand.

Had he been alone, it wouldn't matter to him if Saegusa Kyoko turned into the most ferocious ghost or evil spirit. But today, Jounouchi Hiromi was with him. If his fiancée were to be frightened, Chen Yu felt that even if he annihilated her completely, it would not be enough to atone. So, naturally, he had to be prepared.

"I'm wrong? I don't feel there's anything wrong with me; on the contrary, I feel better than I ever have!" Saegusa Mikie's face twisted into a mad smile, looking grotesque as her veins bulged and even cracks appeared in her soul body, from which visible grudges escaped, wrapping around her form.

"Mr. Chen Yu!" Jounouchi Hiromi cried out in shock at the sight. Witnessing such a scene in the middle of the night at a cemetery was indeed too startling, causing her to cry out involuntarily.

Seeing Jounouchi Hiromi frightened, Chen Yu immediately discarded the idea of waiting to see just how far Saegusa Mikie would go. With a binding spell in his hand, he restrained Saegusa Mikie, who had started to turn into an evil spirit, and at the same time began chanting another spell, "O all-encompassing Nether River, please cleanse this tainted soul, Necromancy Purification!"

Saegusa Mikie, already restrained, couldn't dodge Chen Yu's spell and was hit squarely by his purification spell. All at once, she deflated like a leaking balloon, ejecting a great amount of black grudges from the cracks in her body.

With Chen Yu's strength, destroying the soul of Saegusa Mikie, who had turned into an evil spirit, was nothing more than a snap of his fingers, but considering his fiancée was by his side and Saegusa Mikie wasn't the kind of evil spirit that harmed others, and her transformation was partly his responsibility, Chen Yu found no need to do something so cruel.

That's why he used a purification spell to cleanse her soul and wash away the grudges that clung to her.

When the grudges on Saegusa Mikie dissipated, she finally reverted to her original appearance, but she remained weak and pitiable, helplessly restrained by Chen Yu.

Chen Yu released her from the binding, and Saegusa Mikie collapsed to the ground, taking a while before managing to rise up. With an apologetic expression, she apologized to Chen Yu, "I'm sorry, Doctor Chen, I've caused you trouble again."

Having been cleansed of the grudges, Saegusa Mikie now fully realized what had happened to her and was naturally filled with gratitude for Chen Yu's help once again.

Looking at Saegusa Mikie apologizing to him, Chen Yu shook his head slightly, not taking the matter too seriously, but he couldn't help asking curiously, "Didn't I ask Little Rice Princess to refer you to the Inari God to serve as a Divine Servant? Why didn't you go? If you had become a Divine Servant, you wouldn't have encountered this problem."

"I... I don't want to be a Divine Servant," Saegusa Mikie lowered her head. She knew that her decision was somewhat willful, disappointing Chen Yu's kindness and rebuffing Little Rice Princess's face, but she truly didn't want to become a servant to the Inari God. "I want to follow you, Doctor Chen. May I?"

"Follow me?" Chen Yu felt a headache coming on. For him, having an extra ghost around wasn't a big deal; if it really came down to it, he could just toss her into the Necromantic Space.

But now he was engaged to Jounouchi Hiromi. If Saegusa Mikie were a man, it wouldn't matter, but she was a female ghost, which made Chen Yu worry that Jounouchi Hiromi might take it the wrong way.

"Mr. Chen Yu, she's so pitiable, just take her in. Besides, the castle on the island is so large, it could use someone to help clean and tidy up," Jounouchi Hiromi, however, appeared to be more sympathetic than Chen Yu had anticipated. Once she understood the situation, she turned around and persuaded Chen Yu to accept Saegusa Mikie, even finding a solution for her.