[40]: Clue

Matsuki Yūya, his mind nearly frozen with fear, stared at the figure in the woods behind him on the screen. He no longer paid any attention to the streaming comments flashing by. His gaze remained fixed on that unmoving silhouette in the forest. After some time, a thought crept into his mind—perhaps the shadow was just something far away that appeared human from a distance or was this a case of something like a pareidolia? or maybe one of his fans had come to prank him? After all, he had announced his location before the stream started.

Just as he mustered up the courage to turn around and check, a sudden sight on the screen sent a chilling cold rush down his spine, freezing his blood.

Matsuki Yūya could swear he hadn't imagined it—the shadowy figure in the forest had disappeared in an instant!

Snapping back to reality, he quickly scanned the chat, noticing that his viewers were also discussing it. But unlike him, most of them assumed it was just part of the show—props or special effects. Of course, some were talking about ghosts and spirits in a more serious tone, though it was unclear if they were genuine believers or just playing along with the eerie atmosphere.

Matsuki Yūya raised his head to check with his two assistants, but the moment he did, his expression froze. A shadowy figure was walking right behind them… without making any sound!

Yet, his two assistants, still caught in disbelief, hadn't noticed. When they finally saw Matsuki Yūya's wide-eyed stare, they were about to react when a voice rang out from behind them.

"You guys… sure are brave."

Matsuki Yūya's heart skipped a beat, but then he froze. The voice—was human! Realizing this, his terror transformed into anger. He stood up, ready to lash out, but the glint of something reflective stopped him in his tracks.

'Is that… a sword? No way… It's gotta be fake, right? Who even carries real swords around in this day and age?'

Looking at the figure—clearly human, yet mostly hidden in shadow—Matsuki Yūya couldn't help but recall one of the theories surrounding the disappearances in this area: a serial killer.

Why did the idea of a murderer seem scarier than any ghost? Forcing a smile, Matsuki Yūya spoke nervously, "Excuse me… sir, we're just doing a livestream here. If we've disturbed you, we can leave right away."

One of the assistants, still reeling from the earlier fear, suddenly blurted out a curse and began to turn around, but in the next moment, he found an iron-like hand gripping the back of his neck, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.

"Don't turn the camera toward me. Didn't your mother teach you it's rude to film people without permission? Show some manners."

Now half-suspended in the air, the assistant dared not utter another word. He was well-built, yet the sheer strength of the grip left no doubt about the kind of power this man possessed.

Matsuki Yūya's suspicion about this figure being a serial killer grew. Even if he wasn't, this certainly wasn't just some prank by one of his fans. The man didn't want to be on camera, appeared to be incredibly strong, and was carrying weapons.

Swallowing hard, Matsuki Yūya discreetly pressed the emergency call button on his spare phone, ready to alert the authorities at a moment's notice. He didn't act immediately, though, fearing that it might provoke the stranger into attacking them.

Forcing another smile, Matsuki Yūya tried to scold his assistant, "If the gentleman doesn't want to be filmed, don't invade his privacy. Sir, you must be out here to enjoy the night or explore, right? We won't bother you any longer. We'll just pack up and go."

Shin released the assistant with the camera, patting him on the shoulder. He looked puzzled at Matsuki Yūya's words, wondering what the man was rambling about.

Earlier, Shin had planned to approach them directly but then realized they might accidentally capture him on camera. After all, he was walking around late at night with two swords, which might cause unnecessary trouble. To avoid this, he had positioned himself outside the camera's field of view before revealing himself.

He didn't care about the audio. What mattered was not being caught on video. In fact, if it weren't for the potential headache of explaining himself later, Shin wouldn't have minded being filmed at all. He had come looking for this streamer for a reason, though it seemed he had unintentionally scared them.

"Wait," Shin called out as Matsuki Yūya was hurriedly packing up, his voice to the streamer's ears sounding like the voice of death itself. "Have you been doing these ghost-hunting streams around here recently? Filming with your camera? Besides this place, where else have you been?"

Matsuki Yūya swallowed nervously. "No," he began, but under the stranger's intense gaze, he decided to tell the truth. "We've been to several famous spots nearby, but this place seems the most likely for any ghost sightings."

As he continued speaking, Matsuki Yūya slipped into his usual streaming mindset, but when he realized this, he stopped. He watched as the stranger stepped out of the shadows from behind his assistant. Matsuki was briefly stunned. The young man—no, boy, really—was strikingly handsome, the kind of face that could easily make it big on a livestream.

But before he could think more about that, his eyes caught sight of the sword the boy carried. Matsuki Yūya had used props like swords in his ghost-hunting stunts before, so he knew a thing or two about them. From the look of it, the sword in this boy's hand was no prop—it was the real deal. If it was sharpened, it could easily be a murder weapon.

Not daring to waste any more time, Matsuki Yūya recounted all the places they had been exploring for their ghost-hunting videos. He couldn't know for sure if this person was a murderer or just unhinged, but wasn't it said that people who came here to commit suicide were often mentally unstable or fed up with life?

What if this guy was one of those people, and before he left, he decided to take some of them with him? Matsuki cursed his decision not to bring any self-defense tools. It was all Shinji's fault. That guy suddenly fell ill, and because of him, they hadn't been fully prepared.

Shin gestured toward the livestreaming phone, signaling for Matsuki Yūya to turn it off. Sweat trickled down Matsuki's forehead. For a moment, he thought the boy was going to attack, but he quickly complied, muttering a few words to his audience before abruptly ending the stream, ignoring the flood of comments from his viewers.

Then he heard the boy ask, "Have you experienced anything strange recently? Think carefully."

Matsuki Yūya was tempted to reply, "You're the strangest thing that's happened to us," but the sword in the boy's hand silenced him. Still, he felt a bit of relief—the way the boy asked questions and wandered around after they turned off the cameras didn't seem like the behavior of a killer. After all, aside from grabbing his assistant by the neck earlier, the boy hadn't done anything to harm them. If he were a murderer, he would've incapacitated them by now.

So Matsuki Yūya racked his brain, trying to recall any strange or supernatural occurrences. As a ghost-hunting streamer, he'd never personally encountered anything paranormal, despite what some of his colleagues claimed. He always thought those stories were just for show, exaggerated to attract viewers.

Just as he was struggling to come up with anything, his other assistant, the one responsible for props, spoke hesitantly. "Yūya, what about Shinji? Would that count as something strange?"

Matsuki Yūya's eyes lit up, and he quickly added, "Oh, right! There is something, though I'm not sure if it's that strange."

"Tell me."

Shin, who had been inspecting some of the equipment they had set up, turned and fixed his gaze on them, clearly interested in this new clue.

Matsuki Yūya then explained. Their team actually had another member—Shinji—who handled a lot of the miscellaneous tasks. Two days ago, after they visited an abandoned temple on the only famous mountain in the area, Shinji had fallen ill with a high fever and had been in a state of delirium ever since. They initially thought it was just a cold or the result of exposure to the elements, so they took him to a nearby hospital before continuing their ghost-hunting stream. Matsuki didn't want to cancel the stream after promoting it, as that would've hurt his income.

Shin looked thoughtful. "Delirium… what exactly did he say? Were you with him at the time? Did you notice anything strange at the temple?"

Matsuki Yūya smiled awkwardly and shook his head. He was starting to understand that this boy was genuinely interested in hearing about real paranormal events. He wasn't just looking for a good story like Matsuki's viewers—he wanted something "real." But in Matsuki's mind, ghosts didn't exist.

"I see."

Shin's voice interrupted Matsuki's thoughts. Realizing he had no time to dwell on his musings, Matsuki recounted some of the delirious things Shinji had mumbled while he was feverish.

Shin listened, his expression pensive. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Was the entire incident recorded on your camera?"

Matsuki Yūya hesitated for a second. "Most of it, yes. We use the footage later to edit for behind-the-scenes clips or extra material…"

Shin nodded, then in a tone that left no room for argument, said, "Let me see it."

Matsuki Yūya wanted to protest that there was a lot of footage, and it might take a while to go through it all. Maybe they could leave first, find a safer place—like a police station—to review it. But when he opened his mouth, all he managed to say was, "Okay."

Shin took the camera and began quickly flipping through the recordings. Using his technique, he sped through the footage, reviewing it in mere moments.

Handing the camera back, Shin thanked them politely. "Thank you. You should head home quickly. Goodbye."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Matsuki Yūya to let out a long sigh of relief.

'Goodbye forever.' he thought to himself.

Quickly gathering his team, Matsuki knew the night wasn't over just yet—there was still the matter of dealing with all the footage. But for now, he was just grateful they could leave safely.

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