Chapter 5: There’s No Need to Exorcise It

“I am Hakuryu, an exorcist.
The paranormal photograph that has been causing such a stir has reached me as well. This time, as a professional, I intend to carefully examine its authenticity. If necessary, I will perform an exorcism.”

A woman dressed in white, wearing a necklace adorned with a dragon crest, bows her head with calm, composed movements.
The screen switches to the paranormal photograph.

“…There is no need to perform an exorcism here.
Because—there are no spirits captured in this photograph at all.”

She stated this calmly, yet without the slightest hesitation.

“The location itself is extremely dangerous.
Without a doubt, a powerful spiritual presence lingers there. I would never approach it myself.
However, in this photograph, no spiritual entities can be confirmed whatsoever.
What I see here is excessive staging, or else crude manipulation—an unnatural quality that anyone who understands spirits would recognize immediately.”

She pointed to the girl in the center of the photograph.

“It is true that this girl appears frightened.
But that is all—nothing more, nothing less.
Even if we were to assume that such a number of spirits truly existed—jumping around and taking photographs in a space like that… it would go beyond recklessness and should be called sheer ignorance.
In the end, what is more frightening than spirits are humans who know no fear.”

The screen returned once again to a close-up of Hakuryu.

“I have no intention of wasting words on those who spread things like this while calling them ‘the real thing.’
However, everyone, please remember this one thing. Even if the photograph is fake, the location is real.
Do not approach it under any circumstances. Your life will not be guaranteed.”

A faint smile touched her lips as she quietly added,

“And as the saying goes—preparedness prevents worry.
I also offer a variety of exorcism items imbued with my spiritual power. Please see the description for details.
With that, may true peace come to all of you.”

She bowed deeply, and the video came to a quiet end.

After the video was released, the comment section descended into chaos.
Praise, devotion, criticism, provocation—all of it was mixed together.

"As expected of Sensei Hakuryu! You really notice things others don’t!"
"So the location really is the real deal after all… I’m definitely not going anywhere near it."
"I like how calm the sensei’s analysis is. No unnecessary scare tactics—very trustworthy."
"Seriously, sensei is amazing! This is the one person who’s legit. I actually feel at ease."
"Huh? Isn’t this just Hakuryu staging it herself? Fake as hell, lol."
"Seriously, I get it—idiots are way scarier than ghosts. Jumping around in a place like that, lol."
"I’ve got the sensei’s items displayed at home! Just looking at them makes me feel safe!!"
"As expected, the sensei really is different. I’m buying a talisman next time!"
"Nice contrarian take, lol. I’ll be contrarian too—guess the girl’s a ghost as well, hahaha."
"This was just about selling merch, wasn’t it? Trash the photo and funnel it into business—same old routine every time."
"Oh wow—so it just ends with mail-order sales after all. Psychics these days only care about making money."
"She used to be way more legit back in the day, but now she’s just a shopping-channel lady. Pathetic, lol."
"That scare-them-into-buying tactic—same old act, never changes."
"Saying it’s ‘the real thing’ would just get old anyway, so now it’s contrarian shtick to rack up views, right? lol"

There were words that could have saved her—there truly were.
But no one paid attention to them, and no one supported them.
They were lost among countless comments, and simply drifted away.