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| ==Chapter 2: Hishigami Mai @ Copied Ill Will == | | ==Chapter 2: Hishigami Mai @ Copied Ill Will == |
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| “Th-then why would Akki Rasetsu go out of their way to go to Kyoto?” | | “Th-then why would Akki Rasetsu go out of their way to go to Kyoto?” |
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| “Think about it the other way around. Kyoto is a rare city that has both over a million people and countless Youkai. Bizarre phenomena that would stand out elsewhere will get buried under everything else in this city. The best place to hide a tree is in the forest, right? Akki Rasetsu’s project probably has little to do with Kyoto itself.” | | “Think about it the other way around. Kyoto is a rare city that has both over a million people and countless Youkai. Bizarre phenomena that would stand out elsewhere will get buried under everything else in this city. The best place to hid e a tree is in the forest, right? Akki Rasetsu’s project probably has little to do with Kyoto itself.” |
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| So if you are hoping for this story to have me solve the mystery while going around to all the Kyoto sightseeing spots, eating tons of delicious local food, and providing steamy fanservice scenes at a hot spring, you should give up right this instant. | | So if you are hoping for this story to have me solve the mystery while going around to all the Kyoto sightseeing spots, eating tons of delicious local food, and providing steamy fanservice scenes at a hot spring, you should give up right this instant. |
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| “Did you already find data related to Akki Rasetsu’s headquarters or the details of their project?” | | “Did you already find data related to Akki Rasetsu’s headquarters or the details of their project?” |
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| “It’s nothing that great. These are just subcontractors, so they might not have been told any of those details.” | | “It’s nothing that great. These are just subcontractors, so they might not have been told all any of those details.” |
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| As I spoke, I compiled the fragmentary information I had acquired from multiple phone calls and emails. | | As I spoke, I compiled the fragmentary information I had acquired from multiple phone calls and emails. |
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| “Eh? You know she’s going to leave her house? But this is the middle of summer break.” | | “Eh? You know she’s going to leave her house? But this is the middle of summer break.” |
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| “She has her extracurricular lessons year round. She lives in a scenery protection zone where cars are banned from entry, so her father is unlikely to take her to and from those lessons. And even if he does, I can create an excuse to separate them.” | | “She has her extracurricular lessons year round. She lives in a scenery protection zone were cars are banned from entry, so her father is unlikely to take her to and from those lessons. And even if he does, I can create an excuse to separate them.” |
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| We once more walked through the streets of Kyoto that looked straight out of a period drama. I knew where Amemura Ryuu-chan’s lessons were held, so I headed there. To disguise myself as a tourist, I peered into souvenir shops, ate dango while embracing the Sunekosuri, and had even more fun with the Sunekosuri while heading to our destination. | | We once more walked through the streets of Kyoto that looked straight out of a period drama. I knew where Amemura Ryuu-chan’s lessons were held, so I headed there. To disguise myself as a tourist, I peered into souvenir shops, ate dango while embracing the Sunekosuri, and had even more fun with the Sunekosuri while heading to our destination. |
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| “Oh? Do you not do that kind of thing anymore?” | | “Oh? Do you not do that kind of thing anymore?” |
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| “We never did it. It’s a family rule. We aren’t supposed to prepare to meet our ancestors even during the Bon festival because it will make a monk come.” | | “We never did it. It’s a family rule. We aren’t supposed to prepare to meet our ancestors even during the Bon festival because it will make a priest come.” |
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| ''… | | ''… |
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| ''A monk, you say? | | ''A priest, you say? |
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| “But you do go visit your grandfather’s house, right?” | | “But you do go visit your grandfather’s house, right?” |
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| ''So her grandfather’s house is on the beach. | | ''So her grandfather’s house is on the beach. |
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| ''Does that mean that monk she mentioned is it? | | ''Does that mean that priest she mentioned is it? |
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| “Is your grandfather a fisherman?” | | “Is your grandfather a fisherman?” |
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| ===Part 7=== | | ===Part 7=== |
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| An Umibouzu.
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| As the name suggests, it was a giant Youkai that appears in the sea. Most theories suggested they were created by the gathering of regretful souls in an area filled with a large number of drowning deaths in the past.
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| Living beings had souls, but they were difficult to handle. At the very least, they could not be easily removed such as with an organ transplant and they could not be replaced with something artificial either.
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| I felt the concept was a bit similar to quantum cryptography.
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| The mass of information definitely existed, but if someone forcibly tried to observe or touch it, it would transform into “something else”. That made it almost impossible to use or intentionally alter the information source of the soul when it was in its pure form. That was something only a god could manage.
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| Of course, Western demons used contracts written on parchment to remove human souls, but I don’t really know how that works. If they could perfectly control an act of god like that, I doubt they would be content simply being known as demons regardless of whether they are a pure species or if they can’t fully use that power and are looked down on by evil gods.
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| But I digress.
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| I was talking about the driving force that keeps living beings moving.
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| Directly interfering with it was difficult. The instant someone touched it, the information would change. However, it could still be used even after it transformed into “something else”. When those remnants gathered and took on a new form, they would create a certain type of Youkai.
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| One example was the Shichinin Misaki that let the oldest victim finally rest in peace once a new victim arrived.
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| Another was the Funa Yuurei that would sink a ship if not given a bottomless water ladle.
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| However, those should not be seen as having any real connection with the original human. A living fish and fish meat were two different things and a human did not gain the will of the fish upon eating fish meat. In the same way, that which became a Youkai did not care what its raw materials were.
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| “By the way, the Illness Magic User is an exception among exceptions. He has a single soul and is still a living human being, but he uses magical charms to give his own hateful grudges strong directionality in the form of illness magic. In our business, you need to borrow the power of a Youkai or demon to produce effects above a certain level, but he creates those curses solely with his own power. He’s quite the monster. He might be on the same level as that noble’s grudge that shook up Kyoto during the Heian period.”
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| Upon returning to the inn, I explained that to the Sunekosuri.
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| I had modified my own body, but it was still based on the power of the Shikigami known as the Deadly Dragon Princess. He was truly an oddity in his ability to produce paranormal phenomena without relying on a Youkai in any way.
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| “But to constantly produce enough hatred to give form to those curses, his organs must be a mess from the intense stress. When he was in Hyakki Yakou he would reduce that with the help of incense, but I wonder what he does now.”
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| While embracing a massager like a body pillow and vibrating slightly, the Sunekosuri stuck out his long tongue and said, “An Umibouzu, is it? From what I have heard, they are not much different from a Funa Yuurei. I have heard it is merely an issue of regional differences in what form the drowning dead take when they change.”
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| “More or less.”
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| “So this is a giant Youkai that frequently appears in areas of the sea where lots of people have drowned? So what about the area Amemura Ryuu-chan’s grandfather works in?”
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| “I checked it out. His house is on the coast at the northern side of Kyoto. Thirty years ago, a powerful typhoon sunk a bunch of ships there. Her grandfather was working there at the time, so that fate must have become intertwined with his own.”
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| Of course, you could find some sort of great disaster or accident in most areas of ocean if you went back 50 or 100 years.
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| “So preparing to meet their ancestors calls in the Umibouzu,” said the Sunekosuri sounding a bit downhearted while embracing the massager. “The ones who died in the accidents did nothing wrong, so it’s a sad story.”
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| “That’s how it is with those Youkai. The materials may be the thoughts of the dead after their souls have been transformed like a destroyed piece of quantum cryptography, but the Youkai created is something completely different from the original people. If the created Youkai is a deadly one, they will not hesitate to bare their fangs against a lover of one of the humans before death. The rules will have already been overwritten.”
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| What was Akki Rasetsu hoping to do with this Umibouzu?
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| The next thing to investigate was…
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| “Where is this Umibouzu?” asked the Sunekosuri. “It’s an ocean Youkai, so Amemura Ryuu-chan’s grandfather’s house or the surrounding area seems the most suspicious.”
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| “Wait, wait. If it just has to be ocean water, the fish tanks at a sushi restaurant might qualify. Technology has come a long way in this age. We should probably expand our search to include aquariums and ocean water pools.”
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| “Uuh…”
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| “And whatever Akki Rasetsu’s ultimate objective is, they’ve located themselves in the center of Kyoto to ‘hide a tree in the forest’.” It wouldn’t make sense for it to be so far from their headquarters. That would be the same as leaving the tree outside the forest.”
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| “S-so do you have any idea what area might be suspicious?”
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| “The dance classroom.” I raised a finger. “The exterior is made to fit the period look of the city, but the inside has a full complement of fitness facilities. And that includes an indoor pool.”
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| These days, dance lessons were given in PE class for elementary and middle schoolers. Kids sure had it tough. How did they see dance lessons at that age where they began seriously wondering how the standard subjects in school would help them as adults?
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| But something had caught my attention while watching the girl.
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| “Amemura Ryuu-chan had a bag while leaving the dance classroom, remember? It was too large to simply hold her dancewear. She may have had a swimsuit in there as well so she could play in the pool after her dance lesson. Faithfully attending lessons in this heat has to be tough. The dance classroom might provide that ‘free service’ to prevent children from skipping.”
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| “Then has someone switched the pool water with ocean water? B-but anyone would be able to tell if they tasted it. And it would sting people’s eyes.”
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| “Then they just have to do it with water no one will ever get in their mouth,” I replied casually. “For example, the water in the sterilization tub the kids enter up to their shoulders in before entering the pool. Anyone with any sense will keep their delicate face out of it. And even if someone does taste it by accident, they don’t know how powerful disinfectant is supposed to taste. Even if it tastes quite salty, they would probably just think that is how it must taste.”
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| “For most of the swimmers, that ocean water would be neither harmful nor helpful…"
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| “But Amemura Ryuu-chan would be different because of her family’s fate with the Umibouzu. Whenever she periodically uses the pool and enters the sterilization tub beforehand, she stimulates the Umibouzu. It’s the same as using her biometrics to open a lock restricted to a specific user. And it is all according to Akki Rasetsu’s project.”
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| “You said Amemura Ryuu-chan’s mother is cooperating with Akki Rasetsu to escape her debt, right? How does that tie in?”
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| “She probably set the days Amemura Ryuu-chan goes to her lessons and ensures that she goes to the dance classroom without skipping. And of course, they make sure the mother does not know what is truly going on. They might have another guiding agent in the dance classroom who ensures the girl always plays in the pool after the dance lesson.”
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| The dance classroom itself held no danger. There would be no problem if the mother told someone the days of the week her daughter went to dance lessons and no one would find it odd she made sure her daughter always went. It may have been an odd command, but the parents would have no problem if they were told to ensure their daughter was not involved by keeping her schedule the same as before.
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| How naïve.
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| If someone was paying money, they would be gaining something worth the money spent.
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| “So that means…”
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| “We need to investigate that dance classroom’s facility and instructor.”
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| ===Part 8=== | | ===Part 8=== |
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| And so I took action in the middle of the night.
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| I met up with the Illness Magic User in the darkness of the night and we headed for the dance classroom’s building.
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| The building was about the size of a gym and was three stories tall. It was still made to match the period setting in its looks, so it was almost laughable. The inside was likely crammed full of cutting edge fitness equipment.
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| After we circled the building to check on the situation, I tapped the Illness Magic User on the shoulder and said, “As today’s guest, you need to charge in and wipe them out.”
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| “Why do I need to do what you say?”
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| “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. But if you don’t do anything here, you won’t get another time to shine. It would be insulting if you asked me to split the reward 50/50 after that.”
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| “…”
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| The Illness Magic User sighed, stopped hiding, and walked boldly up to the front entrance. It seemed the idea of sneaking in never even occurred to him. He kicked in the door and set foot inside the building while a home security alarm rang.
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| In the next instant, a deep darkness seeped out from every window in the building.
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| The Sunekosuri’s entire body jumped slightly.
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| “Wah…wah wah! Wah wah wah wah wah!! I-is all of that illness magic!?”
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| “There’s no escape for anyone inside.”
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| An unrelated security guard might be inside too, so he would start at a level which would only knock them unconscious. But once he had checked everyone inside, he would increase it to a truly deadly illness.
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| That’s how it was with that combat-obsessed idiot.
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| He practically announced that ''it was harder for him to limit the damage done.
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| ''…Now then.
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| “It’s about time we made our move.”
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| “Eh? But the Illness Magic User is still inside. If we go in there, we’d be caught in the middle of it.”
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| “We’re not going in,” I said while circling around behind the building. “This may indeed be a base for Akki Rasetsu. But can we say for sure the entire project is contained here? Is it possible they have other bases or hideouts? Where are their VIPs? Attacking this place might not be enough to cut Akki Rasetsu’s Achilles tendon.”
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| “Th-then what are you going to do?”
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| “Look over there.” I guided the Sunekosuri’s gaze while holding him in my arms. “There it is. A large truck with a silent electric engine. A dangerous vehicle on a dark night.”
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| “Huh? But aren’t vehicles banned here in order to preserve the look of Kyoto?”
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| “Generally, yes. But a city of over a million can’t function like that. A few vehicles are allowed an exception at specific times. Any work that would destroy the atmosphere is done in the middle of the night so no one will see it.”
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| And Akki Rasetsu had prepared transportation in one of those.
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| The Illness Magic User was on a rampage within the building and it was obvious they were trying to transport something out.
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| “Look, look, look. The backdoor opened and they brought something out... What is that? A metal tank?”
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| “It’s bigger than a refrigerator. It takes five of them to carry it.”
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| “I guess they’re trying to escape with the ‘trick’ set up in the pump room.”
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| I had concluded they were luring Amemura Ryuu-chan into the building’s indoor pool so she would touch the “ocean water” at set intervals. That would provide the proper stimulus to the “monk” that was likely a type of Umibouzu. That meant they might be transporting the small pressure tank for the sterilization tub.
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| In other words…
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| The “monk” was contained within that tank.
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| “What are you going to do now?” asked the Sunekosuri.
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| “Simply stealing that won’t bring this to an end. I want to know where they’re taking it. That will likely be Akki Rasetsu’s most important base. That tank will be joining other things they don’t want destroyed and people they don’t want killed.”
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| Just as everyone would head to the emergency staircase when the fire alarm rang, a sudden attack would put people on guard for simultaneous attacks from multiple direction while evacuating the most important items and people to a safe place
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| Which meant…
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| If I followed them, I would be led straight to the location in which the enemy had gathered all of their weak points.
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| “Th-then you are going to tail that truck?”
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| “That would be the normal method, but I don’t have a vehicle of my own. I’d like to attach a tracking device.”
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| “…It does not look like you will be able to sneak close to it. There are five men carrying the metal tank and six got out of the truck.”
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| “Then I’ll have to approach without sneaking,” I said offhandedly while pulling my video camera out of my handbag.
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| “What are you doing?”
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| “People working in the underworld of society don’t like to stand out. I’ll use that against them.”
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| I attached a random cable to the video camera, stuck the other end of the cable into my handbag, and approached the large truck.
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| They quickly spotted me and tried to stick a hand into their pockets, but I shouted out before they could.
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| “Attack☆Late Night Dinner!!”
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| “Eh? Ah?”
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| “Okay okay. Today, I’ve come all the way to Gion in Kyoto! What an age we live in. Even an amateur like me can easily ''make an internet broadcast TV show'' just by using i@Stream! Okay, now it’s time for the usual ''live broadcast interview''!! Truck drivers like this always know the best places to eat.”
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| “Wait, wait!! What do you think you are doing!?” frantically protested one of the men.
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| Yes.
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| He protested peacefully.
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| If he pulled a handgun out here, he would be making his world debut holding it.
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| “You have to ask? This is a net show. ''It’s broadcast live worldwide.'' My equipment is a bit small though because my budget isn’t very big.”
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| “No, wait. We are…um…in the middle of work right now. We aren’t allowed to do this kind of thing. Surely even you are banned from working a different job while at work. So…”
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| “Okay, thank you very much.”
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| After approaching close enough, I tossed aside the video camera and grabbed the man’s arm. I then twisted his elbow around and upwards, swiped a suppressor-equipped handgun from within the man’s shirt, and killed all of his Akki Rasetsu comrades with it.
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| ''Oh, that was louder than I expected.
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| The nightmare lasted only 5 seconds.
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| When caught by surprise like that, all they could do was stand still.
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| [[Image:Zashiki_v02_171.jpg|thumb]]
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| “Wh-what are you-…Hot!?”
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| “Oh, sorry, sorry. Did I touch you with the barrel when it was hot from the gas? While I’m at it, I’ll apologize for something else, too. I lied about the worldwide broadcasting, so don’t worry.”
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| I grabbed the collar of the one remaining man and slammed his back against the side of the large truck.
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| I then pressed the barrel against his forehead.
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| “Now, how about you tell me everything you know? What is this? What are you doing with it?”
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| “Ha ha… I’m just a subcontractor. I don’t know any of the details.”
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| ''I thought you’d say that.
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| I aimed the gun lower and fired a single shot into the man’s right thigh.
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| I of course made sure to stop up the throat I was grabbing at through his collar to keep him from crying out.
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| “Gh…mgh!? Cough cough!!”
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| “Next, I will remove the suppressor and fire it from within your hand so it leaves gunshot residue. The gunshot will make sure the nearby residents come running out. I will run off and leave the gun here. The gun that killed your comrades will remain and you cannot run off with that leg. Whether you’re found guilty or not, your face will probably be on the front page of newspapers across the nation. You will make an enemy of not just Akki Rasetsu but the entire occult industry that wishes to remain hidden. Do you really think the bars of a prison cell will be enough to protect you then?”
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| “…I-I don’t know much. I’m telling the truth about that!”
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| “Tell me what you know.”
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| “Generation after generation, the Amemura family has worked as sailors. The tradition goes back as far as the Heian period. And the family has a tradition of letting the bodies of their dead wash into the ocean from their ships. They stopped doing that in recent times, but the Amemura bloodline is still strongly linked with the ocean around Kyoto.”
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| “So this ‘monk’ isn’t an Umibouzu?”
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| “Technically, we don’t even know if it is a Youkai. It is closer to a vague family guardian deity. But large accidents have happened in that ocean a few times. The unrelated people who drowned there were incorporated in with their ancestors. That may have given it properties similar to an Umibouzu.”
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| ''Wait.
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| ''Then what is Akki Rasetsu’s true goal in stimulating this ‘monk’ using Amemura Ryuu-chan?
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| Suddenly, the building’s backdoor slammed open.
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| “Tch!”
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| I tossed the man aside and fired several shots at the back door while beginning to run. Once the magazine was empty, I threw away the handgun, picked up the video camera I had dropped, and fled as quickly as I could.
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| Several gunshots quieted by suppressors rang out behind me.
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| ''Not good, not good, not good!!
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| I frantically moved my legs and leapt behind cover while the Sunekosuri approached from a different route.
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| “Honestly, what are you doing!?” he shouted.
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| “I did what I needed to do. It’s time to disappear.”
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| “Eh? But what about that truck? It’s going to leave!!”
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| “I said I was going to attach a tracking device, remember?” I raised my index finger as the Sunekosuri froze in place. “If I had simply attached a tracking device underneath the vehicle, they would have found it right away. That is why I made the Akki Rasetsu courier think I was approaching to ask how the Amemura family is related to all this. ''That was a decoy objective.'' If they are satisfied to know why I was there, they will not think about looking for a tracking device. Okay?”
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| “Y-you…”
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| “Now let’s lose our Akki Rasetsu pursuers without slaughtering them. I want them to think I frantically ran off after being interrupted in the middle of gathering information. Once they feel safe once more, I can return and catch them off guard.”
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| ===Part 9=== | | ===Part 9=== |
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| No matter how far you are from your target, there is nothing to be afraid of as long as you know where it is. I ran around the streets of Gion to lose the pursuers from Akki Rasetsu and then took a very roundabout route to the location indicted by the tracking device. Upon arriving, I saw a thick forest and the roof of a building.
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| “Found it, found it. It looks like an ancient mansion that was designated a Tangible Cultural Property.”
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| “It does look like something that could be on the same list as Kinkaku-ji or Ginkaku-ji.”
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| Not only was it a large Japanese-style estate, but it seemed to include a small forest with it. It looked like someone could become stranded within the grounds of the residence. The fact that something like this could exist in the middle of a city was why one could never underestimate Kyoto.
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| “It seems they have also hired exclusive firefighters in the name of keeping this precious cultural asset from being damaged. That means they have the right to temporarily hold off any requests for emergency services.”
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| “That would definitely be ideal for running a secret project. But is the person who owns the mansion involved with Akki Rasetsu?”
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| “I don’t know. Amemura Ryuu-chan’s family was dragged into it with money, so this may be the same.”
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| “…Debt? But this is such a large estate.”
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| “Which means it takes money to maintain it. Plus they will get less monetary aid as a lot needs to be done related to the Intellectual Village as well. The culture needs to be preserved, so it cannot be remodeled to be more energy efficient. Even the smallest scratch requires an expert craftsman to repair. Being designated a cultural asset can be quite a bother.”
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| The location of the tracking device told me the large truck had already entered the grounds.
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| “How are you going to sneak in? Even I can tell they have guards all over the place.”
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| “With this many people on one side of the grounds, there must be over 100 of them in all. But that also tells us they are protecting something important enough to warrant that.”
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| Movies often had scenes of attaché cases being transported while handcuffed to someone’s wrist. In reality, that would only tell everyone to attack you because you are carrying something valuable. This was the same.
| |
|
| |
| I pulled out a radio.
| |
|
| |
| “? Are you calling in the Illness Magic User?”
| |
|
| |
| “If he learned I was using him back there, he would attack me in anger. That isn’t what I’m doing.” I shook my index finger. “Now, Sunekosuri-kun. You saw how large that truck was, right? Did they really need all that space when the metal tank was only a bit larger than a refrigerator?”
| |
|
| |
| “Huh? Now that you mention it…”
| |
|
| |
| “That extra space was for shock absorbing equipment. In other words, the contents of that metal tank need to be kept in a delicate state. It likely contains the ‘monk’ after it was altered with Amemura Ryuu-chan’s help.”
| |
|
| |
| “And?”
| |
|
| |
| “You still don’t get it? I attached a tracking device to the bottom of that truck. It would have been a waste to only attach a tracking device when I had the chance. I also added something a little more fun.”
| |
|
| |
| “Y-you don’t mean…”
| |
|
| |
| It seemed the Sunekosuri had caught on, so I replied with a full-faced grin.
| |
|
| |
| “I do. I attached a remote-controlled bomb.”
| |
|
| |
| I felt a blast resound in my gut as an orange pillar of fire burst into the air from within the estate grounds.
| |
|
| |
| “I just detonated a bomb directly below that ‘monk’ that needed to be treated delicately. Whatever happens now, it isn’t going to be good for Akki Rasetsu. While the guards are focused on that, I can sneak in.”
| |
|
| |
| “H-have you completely forgotten all of this is supposed to be kept hidden!? You just woke up half of Kyoto with that blast! Everyone is going to focus on this area!!”
| |
|
| |
| “As I said before, the owner of an important cultural asset has powerful authority on his own land. Any nearby onlookers as well as the police and firefighters will be held back for a while. We don’t have to worry about anyone seeing us fight.”
| |
|
| |
| While holding the Sunekosuri in my arms, I slipped into the ancient estate’s grounds. The area was surrounded by bamboo thickets. Static ran through my radio every once in a while. Someone was communicating within 10 meters of me. Quite a few someones in fact.
| |
|
| |
| But they were not in their usual positions.
| |
|
| |
| It may have been small, but a route had opened up that I could slip in unnoticed through.
| |
|
| |
| I ran through the bamboo thicket while ensuring I made no noise.
| |
|
| |
| Finally, the important cultural asset came into view.
| |
|
| |
| “…Wow.”
| |
|
| |
| Overall, it was shaped like a hollow square with one side missing. A few large buildings were connected by covered pathways. The yard was neither dirt nor grass; it was completely covered with small tightly packed stones. It even had a pond filled with koi that might have cost millions of yen each.
| |
|
| |
| In a large open space in front of the main entrance, something was burning.
| |
|
| |
| It must have been the large truck I had blown up.
| |
|
| |
| But that was not the main problem.
| |
|
| |
| Something else was illuminated by the flames.
| |
|
| |
| It looked like a small elderly man. It was only about 130 cm tall. It looked like a human had been crumpled up so it was condensed into a single point.
| |
|
| |
| However…
| |
|
| |
| Its shadow stretched out oddly far. The effects of the flames were not enough to explain it. The shadow stretched for dozens of…no, it might have been over 100 meters. It looked as if the crumpled old man’s essence was leaking out in the form of a shadow.
| |
|
| |
| “Is that…?”
| |
|
| |
| “It’s the ‘monk’. But…dammit. I still don’t know what skill that Youkai has.”
| |
|
| |
| People were collapsed around it. They were likely the skilled agents of Akki Rasetsu…so how had they been defeated?
| |
|
| |
| “…No.”
| |
|
| |
| “What is it?”
| |
|
| |
| “The true form of the ‘monk’ is large enough to cast that shadow. The small old man we can see is probably the true oddity. It might be some sort of illusion or an interface for humans to contact it.”
| |
|
| |
| “So this ‘monk’ is actually over 100 meters tall, but we just can’t see it?”
| |
|
| |
| “It simply stepped on the annoying bugs gathered around it. What happened here is quite simple.”
| |
|
| |
| But in that case, it would be hard to find a means of defeating it.
| |
|
| |
| Just as an ant could not defeat a human, a human would have a hard time defeating that ‘monk’.
| |
|
| |
| That didn’t mean it was impossible, though.
| |
|
| |
| “Wh-what are you going to do now?”
| |
|
| |
| “Getting into a fight with that thing would be pointless. I’ll move around it and enter the mansion. Akki Rasetsu’s important items and VIPs will have been evacuated to there. Wiping all of them out comes first.”
| |
|
| |
| We circled around widely through the yard and to one of the outside pathways. We headed along it to sneak into one of the large buildings.
| |
|
| |
| But a voice called out before we could.
| |
|
| |
| It belonged to a young man.
| |
|
| |
| “There’s no need for you to do that. ''It’s already over.''”
| |
|
| |
| “…”
| |
|
| |
| I turned around and found someone standing along the connecting pathway. A man wearing a samue smiled thinly. I suddenly became intensely aware of the handgun hidden in my boot.
| |
|
| |
| ''Not good.
| |
|
| |
| ''When I begin relying on this, I’ve already 80% lost.
| |
|
| |
| This man contained something that made me think that.
| |
|
| |
| I could instinctually tell.
| |
|
| |
| “What is already over?”
| |
|
| |
| “You took too long, so we ended up killing the leaders of Akki Rasetsu ourselves. To tell the truth, we were hoping to get some help from the likes of you.”
| |
|
| |
| “A-a-are you from Akki Rasetsu!?” asked the Sunekosuri.
| |
|
| |
| “Yes? But they complained too much despite never doing anything themselves. After ending so many projects prematurely, we couldn’t help but get angry. We discussed it and decided the organization needed to be handed over to the next generation.”
| |
|
| |
| “…”
| |
|
| |
| “They’re all inside. You can have their heads. You can claim you did it. In fact, it would be problematic for us if you don’t.”
| |
|
| |
| I clicked my tongue.
| |
|
| |
| What would happen to my reward in this case?
| |
|
| |
| What if an assassin entered his target’s hideout only to find the target had committed suicide?
| |
|
| |
| You didn’t often hear about that ending with him getting paid. The client would find some fault in it and turn him away.
| |
|
| |
| “You lured us in to kill the leaders that were in your way.”
| |
|
| |
| “Yes?”
| |
|
| |
| “So was the project using Amemura Ryuu-chan a decoy?”
| |
|
| |
| “No, it didn’t go that far. That project was about 5th on the priority list. It would have been great had it succeeded, but it could be abandoned if something better came along.”
| |
|
| |
| “What were you even trying to access with that?” I frowned. “”That ‘monk’ is not simply an Umibouzu. It is a guardian deity of the Amemura family created from the vague idea of their ‘ancestors’. It changed form due to the effects of a major accident at sea, but the essence you wanted to contact was…”
| |
|
| |
| “That’s right. The guardian deity side,” readily affirmed the man in the samue. “If you follow the Amemura family back far enough, you will reach the naval forces of the Heian period. But skilled military commanders of that time would occasionally become targets of religious beliefs. People did not want to be haunted by them.”
| |
|
| |
| “Meaning?”
| |
|
| |
| “You need more explanation?” He shrugged. “To put it simply, this is a means of controlling a low-ranked god. The ‘monk’ may have fallen to the position of a Youkai, but it can be rebooted back to its position as a low-ranked god if a certain type of power is injected into it. …If a formula for that process can be determined, we will be able to freely change gears between Youkai and god. And that means we can drop gods down to the position of Youkai as well.”
| |
|
| |
| “…”
| |
|
| |
| ''I see.
| |
|
| |
| ''So the elderly leaders of Akki Rasetsu were trying to hold these people back.
| |
|
| |
| Hyakki Yakou was the top ranked organization in this business, so why did they focus on Youkai rather than gods? There was a good reason for it.
| |
|
| |
| These people had gotten so lost in their lust for power that they had lost sight of the risks.
| |
|
| |
| “The original objective of Akki Rasetsu was to rearrange humans into being Youkai. Basically, it was just another form of the common desire to be immortal. The mainstream method is to transform one’s physical body using the properties of Youkai that are attached to a specific person such as an Inugami or a Jinmensou. But my methods are different.”
| |
|
| |
| I waited for the proper timing of the conversation.
| |
|
| |
| I then grabbed my suppressor-equipped handgun from my boot and fired repeatedly.
| |
|
| |
| But I received the result I had expected.
| |
|
| |
| Without changing his expression in the slightest, the man in the samue pulled a long obi-like scrap of paper from his pocket and used it to deflect the bullets.
| |
|
| |
| The long, long piece of paper spread out around the man like a bird’s feathers.
| |
|
| |
| “If you attach a Youkai to a human, they will not perfectly fuse together. To remake the human, you must directly alter the human. I am researching the power needed for that. If there is a power that can raise a Youkai up to the position of a god, what would happen if you injected it into a human? Isn’t it exciting to think what would be created?”
| |
|
| |
| “That isn’t a magic charm. …It’s a scroll? Is it some sort of scripture?”
| |
|
| |
| “Yes. It’s just a hanging scroll. I am a Youkai artist. My name is Houjou Touji. I am fairly well-known, so maybe you have heard of me? I am an artist who mass produces Youkai art that creates sinister curses.”
| |
|
| |
| “I see. Art depicting Youkai or ghosts will ''possess strange power in and of itself.'' So that is your specialty. You thought you could give power to humans in the same way you give power to those scraps of paper.”
| |
|
| |
| “More or less. It wasn’t easy. I had to secure my arsenal while pretending to obey the leaders in their mainstream idea of using a Shichinin Misaki.”
| |
|
| |
| “In that case, why don’t you just carve a tattoo into your back?”
| |
|
| |
| “I tried that. Too many of the samples destroyed themselves while wielding the Youkai’s power. When it got bad enough, some of them even tore off the skin of their back and ''fled out the window.''”
| |
|
| |
| ''…Is that a Yuki Onna on that hanging scroll?
| |
|
| |
| I had no idea what level of reproduction that created, but that was a deadly Youkai I wanted nothing to do with.
| |
|
| |
| “Well, that’s more or less the situation. We leaked information to call in assassins from across the country that could take the blame. Akki Rasetsu’s leaders have already been killed. I have nothing left to do in Kyoto. I will give the credit to you. You can lie to your client and receive your reward. Any other questions?”
| |
|
| |
| “Do you really think I’ll let you leave?”
| |
|
| |
| “That’s what I thought.”
| |
|
| |
| The man in the samue who named himself Houjou stuck a hand in his pocket.
| |
|
| |
| He scattered countless small scraps of paper like confetti.
| |
|
| |
| They ignored the flow of the wind as they freely danced around.
| |
|
| |
| “The sort of oddity that can be drawn out by human hands can be mass produced as much as needed.”
| |
|
| |
| ''…Are these photos?
| |
|
| |
| ''And all of them show a Yuki Onna.
| |
|
| |
| “You often hear that people meet a horrible fate if they handle spirit photography too roughly, right?”
| |
|
| |
| “You’re quite the talented man. So you can do it with a camera too?”
| |
|
| |
| “Yes, but the accuracy drops even further. Oh, but don’t think just anyone can do this. Getting the exposure, focus, and angle just right is not easy. Just a picture showing the Youkai is not enough. ''You have to use the camera artistically.''”
| |
|
| |
| Even if they were crude replicas, this was approximately 200 objects with the same power as a Yuki Onna.
| |
|
| |
| And on top of that, nothing said Houjou had no other tricks up his sleeve. It was possible he had travelled around Japan and drawn or photographed Youkai with even more dangerous powers.
| |
|
| |
| What if he attacked simultaneously with all of those?
| |
|
| |
| “Now, how about we begin? If you made it this far, I assume you are no normal human. I cannot deny that I feel like seeing whether you are worthy of being drawn by my paintbrush.”
| |
|
| |
| ''…Not good.
| |
|
| |
| ''Could he be on the same level as the Illness Magic User? How did someone like this escape the notice of Hyakki Yakou? That organization must be falling into disorder in a lot of different ways.
| |
|
| |
| ''Now, what to do?
| |
|
| |
| “Feel free to come at me. But do not forget that you will meet a horrible fate if you treat these mysterious photographs and paintings too roughly and destroy them.”
| |
|
| |
| Not only did they cause harm, but it seemed the curse would double if you resisted and destroyed them.
| |
|
| |
| It was quite an excellent means of attack.
| |
|
| |
| Without thinking, I reached for the Deadly Dragon Princess. Pulling it out was the proof that I had 100% lost.
| |
|
| |
| But suddenly…
| |
|
| |
| An odd vibration came from the ground.
| |
|
| |
| It wasn’t an earthquake.
| |
|
| |
| It was the footsteps of some giant existence.
| |
|
| |
| Houjou and I simultaneously looked over at the source of the noise. A depression about the size of a small pond had been made in the large yard covered in small stones.
| |
|
| |
| The “monk”.
| |
|
| |
| That unknown thing with its invisible form had taken a step towards us.
| |
|
| |
| It spoke with a roaring voice.
| |
|
| |
| “…I will help you.”
| |
|
| |
| “Why would you be obligated to do that?”
| |
|
| |
| “…I have always been the one who protects the Amemura family. It is obvious they plan to harm the Amemura family.”
| |
|
| |
| ''I see.
| |
|
| |
| While Akki Rasetsu had achieved their objective and would soon leave Kyoto, it was possible they would eliminate the Amemura family to tie up all loose ends in that project.
| |
|
| |
| But…
| |
|
| |
| “I have no problem taking your help, but do I really look like a good person to you?”
| |
|
| |
| “…I have no time to worry about the good or evil of individuals. I must combat an even greater evil in order to defeat the ones who will harm the Amemura family.”
| |
|
| |
| “Either way’s fine with me.”
| |
|
| |
| And in response to this…
| |
|
| |
| The man in the samue, Houjou Touji, did not change his expression at all.
| |
|
| |
| With the same thin smile plastered on his face, he said, “My gallery is quite full. I doubt the interference of a Youkai or two will change anything. And I have no reason to hesitate in eliminating the remnants of a project we have already abandoned.”
| |
|
| |
| “So he says. What’ll you do?” I asked.
| |
|
| |
| “…I will bear all of the sins for destroying the artwork. The curse affects only the one who destroys them. I will bear all of it, leaving you free. And that will eliminate all of that young man’s weapons.”
| |
|
| |
| “He has 200 deadly ones around him right now. Do you have any idea how much pain you will experience receiving the death agonies of all of them? The idea that Youkai cannot be killed by normal means no longer holds in our world.”
| |
|
| |
| “…If I must die along with him, then so be it. As long as you remain, you can finish off this young man once he is unarmed. I am contained in the framework of the Amemura family’s ancestors, so I will naturally appear once more after enough generations of the family pass. My individual disappearance here is no real problem to the Amemura family.”
| |
|
| |
| “Let me be blunt. Amemura Ryuu-chan only sees you as a scary monster. She does not visit the family grave or Buddhist altar. You may have been originally created from their ancestors, but ''you are now a collection of the remnants left over after some souls were destroyed like a piece of quantum cryptography.'' In other words, you are not truly connected to Amemura Ryuu-chan through her ancestors. You are merely a Youkai that has taken on that role. Do you still feel an obligation to destroy yourself to protect them?”
| |
|
| |
| “…Did you think I was doing this in hopes of being thanked? As long as I can protect the Amemura family, that is all that matters.”
| |
|
| |
| “Heh.”
| |
|
| |
| I couldn’t help but laugh.
| |
|
| |
| Who would have thought someone as straightforward as this would have his time to shine in this world?
| |
|
| |
| “You are a true hero. Stick to that path and I will take care of everything afterwards,” I said.
| |
|
| |
| “…I thank you.”
| |
|
| |
| “No, thank you.”
| |
|
| |
| Ever so slightly…
| |
|
| |
| Houjou’s smile stiffened.
| |
|
| |
| “You can’t do it,” he said.
| |
|
| |
| “Do what?”
| |
|
| |
| “My gallery is full! A single Youkai can never take on the burden of it all!!”
| |
|
| |
| “That is not for you to decide. That is up to the willpower of the sort of ancestral guardian deity that can be found in any family.”
| |
|
| |
| His smile stiffened further.
| |
|
| |
| “We” took a large step forward knowing full well what that stiffening meant.
| |
|
| |
| ''Okay.
| |
|
| |
| ''It’s time to settle this, you bastard.
| |
|
| |
| <noinclude>
| |
| ===Notes=== | | ===Notes=== |
| <references/> | | <references/> |
| | | <noinclude> |
| {| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;" | | {| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;" |
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