He's gone.

The charred man just vanished without a trace.

This is crazy.

I, I think he truly died just now.

But why am I thinking this?

What about the things Zika told me before?

Can a ghost really die?

I mean, what about the rumor?

This all doesn't add up.

I don't understand this.

Maybe I can know things on an instinctual level, but this is beyond my comprehension.

Or is it?

Maybe I could force the knowledge into my mind.

However, I'm afraid of the reaction.

No, I know a better solution.

The all-around recipe whenever I need advice.

"Zika!" (I)

Hmm, there was a ping, but she doesn't seem to want to come.

Then a full-out assault.

"Zika, Zika, Zika, Zika, Zika, Zika, Zika, Zika, Zika, Zika!" (I)

"Outer god-forsaken void! Can't one be allowed to even hunt properly?! I was so close to getting this girl to break her mother's keepsake! And why the hell did you turn this place into the innards of some cosmic whale?!" (Z)

Should I remind her not to go too far with her tragedies?

"Don't give me this attitude! You have some explaining to do!" (I)

"Sure. What else could it be? So, how did you mess up this time?" (Z)

"I didn't, but you! He's dead!" (I)

Maybe I'm not all that collected, but that should be forgiven because someone died in front of me just now!!

"Sigh. It seems you're out of it. Gather yourself, before the digestion sets in here, and explain what happened. One thing after the other." (Z)

"The charred man. As you told me to, I came here to confront him. I was trying to keep it friendly, but then, then he just blew up!!?" (I)

"Grmble"

"Okay, okay. Calm down. Great ones." (Z)

"Just what happened here? Why did he explode? And why so strongly? He was almost finished and then this!" (I)

"Alright. I'm willing to go through this with you. So you're saying that the charred man exploded and died during this?" (Z)

"Not just died. I'm sure that he's completely gone! He vanished out of existence! I don't know why I know this, but I do!" (I)

"That's... unusual." (Z)

"So... you didn't trick me into killing him?" (I)

"Still so distrustful. No, I didn't. A wonder shouldn't be able to just stop existing. The rumor would all too soon lead to its reappearance. That's why exorcists don't bother coming into schools, despite all the potential victims. I mean, try to stop hundreds of adolescent teenagers from telling their stories. A practice in futility, I tell you." (Z)

"Vrrrm, vrrrm"

My phone!?!

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It's Chiaki!

"Uh, hello?" (I)

"Hey, Iori! I'm standing here with Kyumi. She can be quite the nice girl when she's not trying to kill ya! That honestly might only be the case cause she's mortally terrified right now. But whatever! Anyway, I'm calling you because she's totally freaking out at the moment! From one moment to the other she suddenly started rambling something about one of them being gone. I offered to check this for her, and here we are! So, do you know something?" (C)

What am I supposed to tell her here?

That a burnt corpse just lit up into a supernova and I have no idea how this is possible?

Well, that might be better than nothing.

"The, the charred man kinda exploded." (I)

"Okay, I'll tell her that!" (C)

"Bzzt"

"Wait!" (I)

I-I'm not sure if that should be conveyed like this.

Should I port there and clear up the misunderstanding?

"Okay, that kinda confirms it. You apparently managed to somehow completely get rid of that guy." (Z)

"But how is that possible?" (I)

"It's certainly odd. All common sense says that he can't be gone like this. That a wonder won't just fade away as long as there are believers. However, all evidence proclaims that this is the case. Things being as they are, with common sense last seen jumping out of the window, then... then I would look at the one most likely to have scared the shit out of it." (Z)

"You mean me?" (I)

Did she just blame me because I'm an outer god?

"Yes? But no. Actually... Oh damn." (Z)

Is it fine if I start growing concerned?

"What are you on about?" (I)

"There can only be seven wonders. Me, the nurse, the runner, Hanako, the mermaid, the librarian... and you." (Z)

What the heck!?!

"Grumble"

"Heaven's hell! Is there anything I can tell you without you freaking out?!" (Z)

"S-sorry. But what is that about me being a wonder?" (I)

"It makes sense. The collective memory of the students can only retain so much information. That's why we speak of a fixed number of seven wonders. It's certainly possible to replace a faded idea. That's what I did. Well, that ghost barely had anything going for her, so it's no surprise that someone so unrecognizable got lost in transition." (Z)

"I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself here, but when would I have replaced the charred man? Wouldn't I know about a rumor going on that I'm a supernatural being?" (I)

At this point, I'm sure that no one ever rolled their eyes at me so hard as this demon.

"Right... because you're doing such a great job at concealment. But for real, I would at least know about six fervent believers. One of them being able to power the whole city with her spiritual powers. That one alone might already be enough." (Z)

Does it work like this?

I only have to bring Chiaki with me and make a wonder vanish?

That sounds far too simple.

"But I didn't even compete for the position! Heck, I don't even want to be a wonder! Nor did I... want to kill the charred man. Did I kill him?" (I)

"As if you would have to actively participate to rank first. But you're right about one thing. The charred man wasn't weak. There might be better targets to replace than one of the top rankers." (Z)

"He said he was number one." (I)

"Sure he'd claim this. But power levels of supernatural beings aren't classifiable in total numbers. One can only take a guess at their relative strength. However, you are right, that the charred man was quite high up. I'd rather have thought of Hanako or the mermaid. Those two aren't very popular." (Z)

"So this is it? I only need to walk in somewhere and shatter the balance?" (I)

And another eye-roller.

"You should be aware by now that the answer to stuff about you is always yes. But I'm still trying to convey here that what you described shouldn't happen. A strong ghost can't just stop existing, only be transported to the under. Otherwise, exorcists would be extremely overpaid. What I'm trying to say is that the charred man should've never ended like he did. And where did the energy he used come from? It should be impossible for him to gather so much energy, if not... Whooaahh!" (Z)

"Wh-what is it? You look like you came to a conclusion." (I)

"He burnt his essence! Literally! That shouldn't even be possible. Quite unbelievable." (Z)

"Sorry? I think you lost me there." (I)

"Right. Once again the dumbed-down version. He somehow managed to burn his active faith. Think about faith like the returns you get from your stocks/believers. You're retrieving a continuous income and can live off it. Yet what the charred man did was basically turn everything he had into energy, to gain instant power." (Z)

"Did he burn his believers?" (I)

Does that mean that just now countless people died?!

"No. How would he even do that? The connection doesn't grant power over the donating humans, it just guides the supply coming from them. Instead, he assumedly burnt the very idea of his existence. His rumor, to the last afterthought." (Z)

"Wait, wait! He burnt an idea?" (I)

And that's supposed to make more sense?

"You're right. That shouldn't be possible either. However, it's at least not quite as ridiculous. After all, he was the embodiment of said idea. I can assume that there's at least a connection. I honestly didn't know that was possible, but here we are." (Z)

"So you're saying that nobody can remember him now?" (I)

"Not if they didn't have a special mental resistance. Your exorcist friend and sunshine girl are probably focused enough." (Z)

Chiaki and being focused, hah.

"And what now?" (I)

"What do you mean, what now? You're one of the wonders! Claim your title as their first, force them into submission, and get them to do your biddings." (Z)

Just why did I expect something like that from her?

"What are we waiting for? Things just got juicy." (Z)

Oh damn.