View source for The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume9 Stage3

===Part 1===

Kyousuke was not too surprised with what they found in this more rural area.

“Dowwwn wiiiith…theee Queeen…”

Below the fluffy cumulonimbus clouds, the train station area only had a shopping district with rusty shutters covering everything and a single giant shopping center that appeared to have absorbed all of the economic activity. A video production van must have been parked in the parking lot there because he could hear a cracked and dispirited voice from a speaker in that direction. The entire area had the desolate atmosphere of a summer festival where no one had shown up.

Toy Dream’s international revived city program had split the population into two groups: the metropolises flooded with lights that held year-round festivals as giant amusement parks, and the shadows that were not able to share in the festivities. This was clearly part of the latter.

And it was a truly hopeless situation ''since they just had to go bankrupt if they wanted to share in those festivities.'' If they worked hard to save money and actually managed to survive, they ended up like this. That was why Toy Dream’s charity work was often called an aerial bombing or invasion using the economy as a shield.

“Yawn.”

Aoi really stood out with her long silver hair, the white sarashi around her chest, and her shrine maiden outfit, but even with her hands on her hips, she did not gather much attention.

But that was because there was no one around.

The taxi boarding zone and the bus stop were both deserted.

Only the cicada cries were louder here. Was that due to the artificial-looking forests full of cedars and cypresses, or was it due to the lack of noise from Toy Dream 35’s ubiquitous parades and large LCD screens?

“This is incredible. The place feels like a video tape that’s been recorded over too many times. Is this really the home of Doctor S who brought the world one step away from disaster?”

“If you were developing a chemical or bacteriological weapon, would you really place your lab in the middle of a city of a million? I’m guessing a run-down and inconspicuous area was more to his liking. …And when you say video tapes, do you mean magnetic tapes? Even credit cards use chips nowadays.”

“Sigh, kids these days know nothing about atmosphere. I bet you don’t see spirit photos or UFO videos much anymore because no one uses film or tapes. Why would you take those away from me!? I always looked forward to those summer TV specials in my cave!!”

Hearing that made Aoi sound like part of a horror story herself. And large reels of magnetic tape were actually being used for backup systems in banks and such to prevent loss of data in case of an unexpected power surge or something. You know, those things you see in the background of giant robot labs in old tokusatsu shows or anime. If Aoi was to be believed, it was possible the tsuchinoko, mothman, and other unidentified creatures had moved over to that format for their exhibitionist needs.

Aoi held the back of her hand to her forehead, but more due to the bright sun than the sweat.

“So what do we do now? Is it still a fair distance away? It doesn’t look like there are any buses or taxis to use.”

“It won’t take that long. Doctor S would have used a lab far away from human civilization for the first generation. Maybe deep in the mountains or on a remote island. But if he wanted some level of human interaction and transportation options, he would not place his HQ in too difficult a location.”

“Is that how it works?”

“It’s within walking distance, so don’t worry.”

That said, the August sun was beating down on them.

As they walked along the shimmering asphalt, Meinokawa Aoi was quick to loosen her sarashi, grab the chest of her shrine maiden outfit, and fan herself with it. It was a perfect demonstration of the North Wind and the Sun. By the time they arrived, she might be soaked in sweat and looking quite indecent with her cheeks flushed pink.

“Phew, there really isn’t anyone around here, is there? Especially children. Even Houbi Village had more life than this.”

“It isn’t an abandoned ghost town or anything. But when it’s this hot out, all the kids are probably in their air-conditioned homes playing video games.”

“Everything I hear about modern children is so depressing.”

“You’re one to talk. My phone is full of icons for social games I certainly didn’t download, like this one where you launch balls with a rubber band or this one where you dig into the dirt to knock down towers. And let’s not forget all the in-game purchases I found charged to my account! What were you doing while hiding in my cruiser, you freeloader!?”

“Hey, you have no one to blame but yourself for taking so long to recover. It’s your fault for lying in bed instead of getting after me!! Heh heh heh. I still know how to act like a child! I’m young in body and soul!”

They sensed a definite change while discussing that.

All sounds had vanished.

Including the cicada cries that had been a constant companion.

Even the faint sounds of everyday life coming from the houses.

It was a deafening silence, like inside a cave full of stagnant air. Meinokawa Aoi looked displeased, so it may have reminded her of her shrine located deep, deep, deep belowground.

“This is different,” she said.

“It is,” agreed Kyousuke.

Aoi must have realized this was not the time to worry about the heat. She retightened the sarashi that acted as her vessel restraint as she said more.

“This mood of self-restrain makes cheerful voices feel like a taboo. But what are we protecting by suppressing our voices and preserving this mourning silence?”

The answer soon revealed itself.

The narrow roads of the residential district crisscrossed like a go board. Instead of apartments, these roads were lined with two-story houses and single-story houses with an otherwise identical design. It was like being inside a box of luxury chocolates or a house of mirrors that reflected the same image over and over again. It had to all be carefully maintained, but if you forgot to check the house numbers, it would be hard to tell where in the neighborhood you were.

And within all that, a single house stood out from the rest.

Even though it was the exact same design as the others.

“…”

It was a perfectly normal house with a concrete wall around it. It had a red roof, white walls, and a balcony on the second floor. It also appeared to have TV antennae for terrestrial and satellite broadcasts. There was a metal lattice door in front of the main entrance, although it did not look like it would do much to keep anyone out.

There was a nameplate next to the intercom.

It said Shiroyama.

“What is this?”

But Meinokawa Aoi had to question the ''ordinary'' house she saw.

Her artificial face tensed a bit.

Yes.

At the end of the mysterious experiment, the entire Shiroyama family had supposedly left.

And yet.

Aoi raised her voice nearly to a yell as she peeked over the concrete wall to view the yard.

“How long has it been left like this? I don’t actually have any scientific data to back up the folk belief that houses quickly fall into disrepair with no one living in them, but there is no way a house would look this pristine after nearly 10 years! None of the paint is peeling and the lawn looks mowed!”

“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

But Shiroyama Kyousuke did not even so much as stir as she shouted from so close by.

He stood motionless in front of the nameplate while a gust of wind blew the humid summer air across him.

He had returned.

Returned to this deep layer that had been erased from the world’s data.

This would change his thinking in some way. The recovery would begin here.

He thought he heard a click as some kind of circuit finally reconnected and the energy reached him once more.

The scene had not changed in a decade. If he wanted a logical explanation, he could assume that someone had been maintaining the place.

But he sealed away that weak opinion.

Since when did logic and common sense apply to the White Queen? Those things could be useful as a support, but binding his thoughts with them would only shorten his life.

So he knew what to say.

“''Time must have been stopped here.''”

“…”

“This is a holy ground. These coordinates hold some kind of meaning to the White Queen as well. With her, distorting time and space should not come as a surprise. In fact, it’s a little surprising we don’t see the house flipped upside down or floating in the air.”

Preserving the mourning silence.

The surrounding residents may have been bound by that subconscious reverence for a holy ground.

“Now, then.”

He was back to his childhood home.

But it was by no means a warm place. He probably would have felt more attachment to a rotting ghost house. He looked up at his starting point which was like a small but mysterious labyrinth.

“Let’s jump right on in and figure out what I can learn about my past and what it was the White Queen erased from the world. Should I wait for her here, or will the information here help me predict her behavior more accurately? ''Who will acquire the most accurate information first?'' Whatever the case, this house is sure to be the turning point.”