“So, does that mean Kotone is being held captive right now?”
“It’s not captivity; it’s protection.”
The sharply-dressed man raised his glasses as he spoke, having visited Yuka’s house. With his hair neatly parted to the side, and his suit devoid of wrinkles, Yuka thought it clearly indicated his work habits.
“He probably just sits at a desk all day, looking at papers. Maybe he has some photos, but the gap between seeing something in person and just seeing it in pictures is massive.”
“The blood in the pictures just looks red, but the blood seen in person is sticky and reeks. When a first-timer vomits, it’s not just because they’re shocked by the state of the corpse; it’s the combination of all the senses experienced there.”
……In fact, a corpse that’s overly gruesome seems less realistic when seen up close. It’s the remaining senses that make you fully realize that it’s reality.
“Do you really think that way?”
The grandfather slowly opened his mouth.
His calm expression was far from Yuka’s somewhat emotional face. Still, there was no denying that there was some blame in his tone.
Initially, the grandfather had also regarded Kotone with suspicion.
However, even an ordinarily emotional person would struggle to view Kotone as merely a monster after seeing her environment and personality.
Kotone maintained her good nature even in such circumstances. In an environment where she could snap at any moment, she continued to endure.
“Do you really think keeping that girl there and immobilizing her is protection? To me, it sounds more like bait.”
“……”
The man couldn’t deny it.
“I’ve heard that you lost your information book. Even if there are some who haven’t lost it, they must be laying low for now. After all, they can’t afford to lose their lives. In some sense, you might not even realize that you’ve betrayed yourselves.”
The grandfather paused for a moment, scrutinizing the stiff-looking civil servant. While the man’s expression remained blank, Yuka didn’t miss the brief moment when his gaze flitted away from the grandfather’s.
Realizing the situation, her anger grew stronger, but for now, she held back. After all, no amount of anger would change their stubborn minds.
“If you can’t find them, you plan on making them come to you, right? Since you’ve been trying to lure Kotone out, you’re digging a trap to make them come.”
“That’s why it’s ‘protection.’”
Before the grandfather could finish his sentence, the man spoke up.
“They aren’t the type to care how many people die if it’s for their goals. In that situation, it’s impossible for that girl to protect herself while alone.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The grandfather didn’t say it in a mocking tone; it was simply flat.
“Then, if you’re in a situation where you can’t protect Kotone, what are you planning to do?”
“……”
The man seemed to be trying hard to keep his silence from carrying too much meaning.
However, ironically, his silence conveyed significance, which Yuka could grasp.
“Is that… why you’re trying to leave me there?”
“……”
Once again, silence was the only response.
And Yuka felt she understood the reason behind it.
*
“Kuro?”
“Meow.”
As Shii came into the house holding a cage, Sota was a bit flustered.
“Is something wrong with Kurosawa?”
“Well, that…”
Shii tilted her head slightly as she answered.
“Actually, I don’t really know either.”
Facing her confused older brother, Shii calmly explained.
“Today, the senpai didn’t come to work. I tried contacting him, but got no response.”
“Then what about Kuro?”
“I met her in front of the shop.”
“That’s… strange.”
Sota couldn’t help but say that.
He couldn’t say he knew Kurosawa well. They had shared a meal once and hung out more often than expected, but he wasn’t as close as Shii was.
However, it was natural in circumstances like this to think, ‘Is something going on?’
He at least didn’t think she could be irresponsible enough to abandon her pet, so it wouldn’t make sense for her to bring a cat while working.
“Meow.”
Kuro, who lazily stretched after wandering out of the cage, casually headed towards the living room.
When they followed her, they found her sprawled out on the sofa, yawning widely as if nothing were wrong.
“……That’s definitely Kuro, right?”
“I did think for a moment it could be someone else…”
But no matter how they looked at it, that relaxed demeanor looked just like Kuro they had seen several times before.
……Is this all just a false alarm?
Were cats truly so indifferent when their owners faced problems? Sota and Shii, who had never owned pets before, couldn’t say.
Though neither of them planned to sleep, they began rolling on the sofa like Kuro, with looks of discontent on their faces, and soon exchanged glances.
“……I did bring some snacks.”
Shii said as she pulled out several cat snacks from her bag. Kuro’s ears perked up.
“For now, let’s keep her with us until we hear from him. If something happens, we won’t be able to face Kurosawa.”
“Yeah.”
At Sota’s words, Shii nodded with a smile.
“Meow.”
Kuro meowed while looking at the two of them.
*
“Is this it?”
The old man asked, looking at a bundle of branches that appeared ordinary at first glance.
“Yes, it’s all we have.”
“……”
Upon hearing Kagami’s words, it seemed that acquiring them wasn’t that easy. If it’s all they had, then that was that.
But the man next door seemed to think otherwise.
Judging by how his mouth hung open in confusion, this didn’t seem like something that would usually exist in the ‘normal state.’
“How many talismans can be made from this?”
“……You could probably make a lot.”
“Hang on a moment.”
The man waiting nearby interrupted the conversation between Kagami and the old fellow. Both individuals looked at him impassively, not showing displeasure.
“Do you plan on using all of this? Isn’t the existence itself nothing less than ‘uncorrupted fossils’?”
“You’ve used my cooperation before, haven’t you?”
“That time… it wasn’t just some ink that mimicked color, was it?”
“It seems you thought just writing on paper with suspiciously glowing ink was enough to conclude that.”
Perhaps regaining a bit of calm, Kagami spoke as if joking.
“I made that glowing ink back then…”
“……Excuse me.”
As I struggled to follow the conversation, I raised one hand.
“Can you tell just by looking if that’s wood or something else?”
“Oh, there are features.”
The man quickly answered my question.
“It’s hard to tell at a glance, but if you keep watching, you will slowly see a blue light flickering. In the spirit texts, it says, ‘transparent flames flicker.’”
Spirit texts… Even if I can’t remember much else, I know that name. “Necronomicon” translates to it in Hanja. Just like I wouldn’t forget ‘Cthulhu,’ the most central subject of that myth, forgetting about this would be difficult. I used to read Wiki pages about such things intently.
Wasn’t that man’s field of research folklore studies? In that case, it wouldn’t be strange for him to be aware of a title like ‘spirit texts’ rather than ‘Necronomicon’ or ‘Al Azif.’
By the way, it stands to reason that spirit texts aren’t ordinary books, but are able to remain intact even after reading them. Perhaps Kagami’s talents are of that kind.
Besides, it’s a bit strange to speak of names of books that ordinary people wouldn’t know, as if it were nothing. But it’s true that otaku often think everyone knows what they do.
“……”
Hearing that, I stared at the bundle of branches.
Slowly, I saw something flickering like mirage above the branches. Just as they said, it looked slightly bluish. I couldn’t be sure if it was transparent or blue, but I could say it was definitely ‘visible.’
“But don’t think of touching it. Your body will catch fire.”
“No way.”
The man rebutted Kagami’s words.
“I’ve touched it before, right? While it does say it ignites the unclean, that’s simply a folktale. Ancient people must have thought it was divine after witnessing such mysterious natural phenomena.”
“……Do you think that isn’t divine?”
“Hmm? I guess so. Many things that were accepted in the past as scientific or laws of reality have been denied in the modern age.”
“……”
I looked at Kagami. He simply shrugged.
Perhaps he’s such a thorough atheist that he cann’t accept those things at all. People go mad after reading the necronomicon because they understood at least a bit about the content of that book; but this man looks like he only regards it as ‘academic.’
“Why hasn’t such a peculiar… plant been disclosed in academia?”
“Well, it’s just that it hasn’t been presented yet.”
The man spoke confidently, smiling seriously. His shoulders even looked quite proud.
“Not just from our research institution, we are collaborating with quite a few others. I hear that branch is part of a tree called ‘Abun’; perhaps due to its remarkable phenomena, it’s frequently gathered for personal use worldwide—ah.”
Seeing everyone in the room stare at him, the old man’s face turned slightly red.
Perhaps it was because he was getting too carried away with information that only he knew?
“……It’s said that it hasn’t been disclosed in academia.”
The old man, who seemed stunned, was helped by the head of the group, who finished his sentence to me.
“It’s basically ‘hiding’ it.”
“That’s not the reality. The youth over there probably thinks that too. It’s not certain, as research hasn’t been concluded definitively, nor the phenomena accurately understood. It’s expected to finish research and announce it once conclusive.”
So, we are saying that this gentleman has an ‘embargo’ on him.
“Eh? Excuse me?”
“Alright.”
While the man was about to say something, the head of the group turned his head toward Kagami and said,
“If it’s materials, we’ll provide what we have too. Please make as much as you can to ensure we can successfully block it. And.”
“I would prefer to refuse if it’s a sacrificial offering.”
Kagami interrupted the old man’s words.
“We consider that to be ‘precious power.’”
“……Understood. Then let’s do our best to thwart the prophecy.”
The head of the group stood up to say that.
“Eh? Excuse me? Is that what we’re talking about? To thwart, are you really going to use them all to perform some ritual?”
“It would be an even more significant matter.”
Kagami said with a smile.
“It will burn away much more than you thought, and essentially with little meaning.”
Yet, there was no laughter in his eyes.
*
As the old man left the room, another person walking alongside him asked,
“What do you think about the prophecy?”
“If they lie once, they can lie again. They say that cult was originally one.”
With his cane, the old man advanced forward, speaking calmly.
“Do you think it’s a lie?”
“……‘Think again.’ It concerns the contents of the prophecy that prevents the disasters. Do you think that by thinking again, we can stop the Hyakki Yagyō?”
“……”
“If something can be changed with thought alone, then one should be able to change the Hyakki Yagyō itself just through simple thoughts. But we have no basis for such a claim. Meaning that…”
“……It’s likely that it’s not an actual prophecy.”
“Exactly.”
“Then why are you listening to that girl?”
“Because of the evidence. Considering the state of the corpses and the anticipated affiliations, it’s simple: that woman, what was her name again? Kosuzu Kurosawa? That terrorist is targeting that girl. They probably judged that it’s a way to attract attention. We can’t afford to let her slip away.”
The old man exhaled softly.
“There’s not enough time to move outside of Tokyo. It’s hard to defend in a widely open space. Plus, there are too many escape routes. Let’s draw them all in here to finish them off. Even if the woman manages to hide safely, they are bound to send their main forces to get hold of the girl.”
“Understood. Then we’ll prepare accordingly.”
As the man bowed his head, the old man nodded in response and entered the elevator.
“If at all possible, if you cannot protect the girl, ensure that she ‘does not get handed over.’ We must eliminate any possibility of a situation where we don’t know what will happen.”
Although it was a repeated statement, the old man added once more,
“……I’ll keep that in mind.”
Through the closing door, we could see the old man nod.
*
“Meow.”
Kuro, who had been sprawled across Shii’s lap, suddenly perked up her ears.
“Kuro?”
Seeing Kuro suddenly struggle to rise from her comfortable position, Shii spoke up in surprise.
“Meow!”
“Kuro, what’s wrong?”
Seeing Kuro ruffle her fur and let out a loud meow, Shii blinked in confusion.
“What’s the matter?”
Sota, sitting nearby, spoke in surprise as well.
“No, Kuro just…”
Kuro leaped off Shii’s lap and landed on the floor.
“Hiss!”
And emitted a furious sound unique to angry cats.
Those yellow eyes fixated on the entrance.
Shii and Sota exchanged glances and stood up.
“Did someone… arrive?”
“Hiss!”
At Sota’s muttering, Kuro meowed again.
But the doorbell—
Ding dong.
“……”
As Sota turned his body towards the entrance, the doorbell rang again.
Shii and Sota looked at each other again.
……Is this strange?
But soon, such thoughts faded away. Animals like cats have keener hearing than humans and can easily catch sounds that people can’t notice.
People often think of ghosts when they see cats staring at empty space, but in reality, it’s more likely that they’re listening to some small noise that people can’t hear, or watching tiny insects invisible to the human eye.
Ding dong.
So, Sota moved towards the door without suspicion.
“Hiss!”
But Kuro blocked his way.
“Kuro?”
It was just a simple step, enough to have crossed over, but Sota blinked, halting his steps.
“What’s wrong? Someone’s there, isn’t there?”
Bang, bang, bang.
Before Sota’s question could finish, someone knocked on the door.
Hard. With the force of a fist.
[Sota!]
A voice came from beyond the door.
[Sota, Shii!]
It was a familiar voice.
“……Mom?”
Shii mumbled, her face turning pale.
Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong.
The doorbell rang again,
Bang, bang, bang.
And then came another heavy knock against the door.
“……”
Sota was about to move towards it, but he froze in place.
Not because of Kuro.
“Hiss!”
It was because he thought he understood why Kuro was making that noise.
[Sota! Are you in there? Open the door! Please!]
From beyond the door came his mother’s voice.
It sounded as if she were being urgently pursued by something. Like something terrible would happen if they didn’t open the door right away.
“Hiss!”
“Kuro.”
Sota hurried towards the door as Kuro moved to block his way once more.
Bang, bang, bang!
The door shook as if it would break, then suddenly the noises that had been heard from beyond ceased.
“……”
Sota and Shii silently listened for a moment.
If the person on the other side was really their mother, and the situation was dangerous, then naturally, they should open the door. Regardless of their relationship, a life is not something that should be taken lightly.
Besides, she is their mother, right?
However, the two of them felt a chilling sensation more than that. This situation itself felt far from normal.
The two of them’s eyes fell on Kuro.
Now that they thought about it, Kuro had suddenly appeared in the house before.
And come to think of it, it was too late for anyone to visit.
“……”
As the two exchanged glances again,
Crash!
“Gah!?”
A loud sound echoed as something collided violently against the door, startling Shii into a scream.
Crash!
Bang!
The door slammed repeatedly, starting to bend inward.
“Shii, get behind me.”
Sota instructed, and Shii quickly moved behind him to hide.
In that moment,
Crash!
With one final massive sound, the doorknob exploded, and the door flew open wide.
“……”
Shii held her breath, an unsettling sound mixed into her inhalation.
“Still…”
A voice came from beyond the open door.
Or rather, from ‘behind’ it.
“How about we let mom have a little help?”
Suddenly, ‘mom’ collapsed forward.
“There was no use as a hostage. Just wasting my efforts.”
She bore wounds across her body, blood flowing freely. Was she dead? The wounds were dire enough to be fatal, yet she didn’t look entirely dead. One thing was certain, that if left as is, she would definitely die ‘for real.’
As ‘mom’ stumbled in with… a person who looked strikingly like Kotone said.
“……Well, this is fine. It’s a bit of a waste, but within the expected range. You two, just stay still for a moment, okay? If you don’t want to end up like your mom.”
The woman said, pulling something from her white coat pocket.
It was a small bell.
The kind that could dangle from a cat’s neck.
As she raised it…
Wooosh!
She suddenly dodged to the side.
Thud.
A knife embedded itself where she had stood.
“……What do you think you’re doing to Sota?”
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