The response was swift. Within hours of the Prime Minister's desperate call, hundreds of Paranormal Department agents were mobilized. They were backed by a significant show of force from nearby U.S. military bases. Warships anchored strategically near Japan's coastlines, their grey silhouettes a stark promise of power. Overhead, military aircraft maintained a constant patrol, and ground teams swiftly deployed mobile missile systems, their targeting arrays locked and ready for immediate fire support if commanded.
Through a coordinated joint U.S. and Japanese forces began the daunting task of evacuating the remaining populace. Smaller cities surrounding Nasu and the ghost town itself were methodically cleared, residents who hadn't already fled guided to safety.
Once the civilians were out, the Paranormal Department agents moved in. The began to establish a barrier, encircling and effectively cutting off the primary miasma emanation from the Killing Stone. Simultaneously, smaller, more localized teams fanned out across Japan, setting up similar, though less expansive, barriers around the various secondary miasma sources that had erupted across the country.
As the barriers solidified, an immediate, if subtle, change was felt across Japan. The oppressive weight of the miasma subdued a bit, its suffocating influence lessening. For the Japanese people, already strained to breaking point, it allowed for a small, collective sigh of relief, a brief respite amidst the overwhelming fear.
The Japanese media, under advisement and immense pressure, immediately pushed a cover story. National news channels broadcast urgent warnings about an "unknown, highly contagious illness" that had impacted Japan, primarily around the Tochigi Prefecture region, strongly advising against travel to or near the affected zones. Of course, the narrative was transparent. No one truly believed such a thin veil. Online, reports of U.S. military involvement exploded. Pictures of warships, taken from civilian coastlines, were quickly posted on the internet, along with blurred images of strange energy fields visible against the purple sky. Netizens, not just in Japan but from all over the globe, quickly picked up on the discrepancy, their collective skepticism and global interconnectedness making a true cover-up impossible. Conspiracy theories blossomed, but for now, the immediate danger seemed to have been momentarily contained.
The next few days were relatively calm. The visible chaos subsided, replaced by a tense, uneasy quiet as related personnel, both American and Japanese, worked frantically behind the scenes. Scientists and magic experts from the Paranormal Department analyzed the miasma samples collected from within the barriers, while strategists planned for the inevitable next phase of the crisis. Everyone knew this was merely a temporary reprieve; the core problem, the breaking seal on Tamamo no Mae, remained.
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Kaito, Maria, Yumi, and Dante sat together in a secure observation room underneath Yumi's mansion. Before them, a large screen displayed live video footage, patched in from various sources. It showed U.S. supernatural agents at work as they maintained the newly erected barriers and swept through the miasma-affected zones.
"Maria," Kaito asked, his eyes still on the screen, a new question forming in his mind as he watched their movements. "Were you part of the U.S. government too?"
Whispers of the Past
Kaito, Maria, Yumi, and Dante sat together in a secure observation room within what appeared to be a discreet Association safe-house in Tokyo. Before them, a large screen displayed live video footage, patched in from various sources. It showed U.S. supernatural agents at work: figures in specialized gear moving with practiced efficiency, their tools and methods a blend of advanced technology and subtle, unseen forces as they maintained the newly erected Hollow Barriers and swept through the miasma-affected zones.
"Maria," Kaito asked, his eyes still on the screen, a new question forming in his mind as he watched their movements. "Were you part of the U.S. government too?"
Maria shook her head. "No, Kaito. I was part of a separate organization called 'Orpheus.' They splintered off from a U.S. government department for reasons that were never quite clear to me. My role there was… operational. We mostly received assignments: killing, capturing, or transporting various 'assets'—be they individuals with unique capabilities, objects of unusual power, or abnormal monsters. The specifics of how the organization truly operated, its command structure, or its ultimate goals, were kept entirely opaque from field agents like me. We just gets the mission and executed it."
Kaito turned his gaze from Maria to the other two. "Yumi, Dante, do you also know anything about Orpheus?"
Dante and Yumi exchanged quick glances. For a moment, their silent communication seemed to push back and forth, as if deciding who should speak, or perhaps what could be spoken. Dante finally broke the short pause.
Our organization's records on them are… less than clear, I'm afraid," Dante said smoothly. His words were vague, carefully chosen. "Their secrecy is indeed top-notch. It's almost as if they operate without leaving any discernible digital or paper trail, fueled by resources from an unidentifiable source."
Yumi's phone chimed with a new text message for Kaito, seemingly providing a collaborative, yet equally speculative, answer. "The United States discovered the secret to tapping into and developing psychic abilities from gifted individuals during the Cold War," her message read. "Perhaps core members of that project split due to ideological differences or conflicting ambitions and decided to establish a new organization, operating completely off the grid."
Kaito processed their responses, the vague answers only deepening the mystery surrounding Maria's past.
Kaito, still uncertain of what the coming days would bring, voiced his thoughts aloud. "Should we help them if they couldn't handle it?" He was vaguely aware of how powerful the newly unsealed Tamamo no Mae would be, given his frustrating battles against some of the Minor Apocalypse Beasts. He wasn't sure how powerful the United States would be either, given their immense military might and the presence of their paranormal agents. Durandal's earlier words echoed in his mind: the entity sealed was spiritual in nature. 'Would conventional weapons work on a spirit?' he wondered inwardly. 'Unless the US military possesses some kind of anti-spirit weapon, which is probable, given their colossal budget.'
Dante leaned back, a thoughtful expression on his face. "If something truly unexpected occurs, we will try to help. However, we must be careful to hide our identities, given the strength of the United States. To be on their radar is problematic for our own operations. Well, it will be mostly you and Maria that have to be careful, given that I will mostly play support, as Alpha fights in my stead."