The seventh day since the disappearance of the strongest exorcist, Kyoto's number one eroge shooter, god of harems, natural enemy of love triangles and shipping wars - Ye Xing.
During this period, members of the Supernatural Society team, including the newly awakened psychic Haruno Yukinoshita, had been conducting searches throughout Kyoto City.
The result...
Nothing.
No Gates, no traces of that Hannya or its companion, and even the frequency of ordinary evil spirit appearances had dropped significantly.
The members understood clearly.
Beneath the seemingly calm surface hid a conspiracy that would inevitably claim many human lives - though no one knew when it would strike or in what form.
But there was one thing Rio Futaba didn't understand.
If that white Gate capable of causing earthquakes was merely a coincidence, and evil spirits didn't possess the power to manipulate disasters...
Then what was the point of all this after their plan had failed?
Admittedly, Hannya and the other high-level evil spirit possessed the ability to gather and command lower evil spirits.
But ultimately, only the two of them remained.
Another power outage?
If only two power plants were damaged, it wouldn't affect Kyoto's power supply at all. Moreover, the Supernatural Society members had recovered their peak strength. Though their spiritual power hadn't improved much since the last battle, their combat experience had genuinely increased, and they had gathered more intelligence about high-level evil spirits possessing human bodies.
From the moment Ye Xing defied their plan and wasn't killed by the powerful evil spirits born from the Reverse World...
The outcome of this battle had already become clear.
Even in the worst-case scenario where all the psychics of the Supernatural Society, along with the ordinary members, were killed, the moment Ye Xing emerged from the Reverse World would mark the death of both the Hannya and the other evil spirit.
What was it all for?
It wasn't until the afternoon of the eighth day that news finally arrived.
"Suspicious persons spotted, can you hear me? I've spotted suspicious persons here!"
Hearing Soichiro Yagami's urgent voice coming through the walkie-talkie, the members who had been sitting in the instrument room at Kazusa Touma's house immediately perked up.
Rio Futaba made a silencing gesture, indicating for everyone to quiet down first, before pressing the communication button on the walkie-talkie.
"Chief Yagami, what's happening?"
What came through the walkie-talkie wasn't just Soichiro Yagami's response, but also the faint sound of urgent police sirens.
"Kyoto Tower is under attack by unidentified individuals. According to the surveillance footage from the scene, one of them matches your description - a woman around thirty years old. The other is a male with a long sword hanging from his waist."
"These two have killed the security guards at Kyoto Tower, along with several police officers who tried to stop them while patrolling nearby. It appears that firearm bullets cannot inflict fatal damage on these two individuals. They entered Kyoto Tower five minutes ago and have taken all the tourists inside hostage!"
"Our Metropolitan Police Department has deployed heavy weapons units and helicopters, but due to Kyoto Tower's extreme height and being affected by air currents, the snipers on the helicopters cannot maintain a stable aim. And if what you said is true... that they're not human... we cannot inflict fatal damage on them. You'll have to deal with this."
Rio Futaba nodded slightly and said calmly.
"Before we arrive at the scene, we hope you can do your best to ensure the hostages' safety, and preferably not send police officers to their deaths either."
"I... I'll do my best."
"Not your best - you must."
After the walkie-talkie communication was cut off, Rio Futaba stood up, looking at the members waiting for orders. She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her nervous emotions.
"It seems this is their final desperate move. Whether Ye Xing is here this time or not... we absolutely must win."
"Understood."
Mai Sakurajima stood up, her expression resolute.
"We will win."
Rio Futaba nodded and began arranging the combat plan.
"Miko, myself, and Mai-senpai - the three of us can conceal our identities. We'll enter Kyoto Tower. With something like this happening, there will definitely be live television coverage on site. If we can avoid exposing our identities, it's best not to."
"And Hachishaku-sama can evade ordinary people's observation and has sufficient strength. She'll come with us into Kyoto Tower."
None of the members objected to Rio Futaba's decision.
Futaba, Miko, and Mai Sakurajima were the three most powerful fighters. Of course, Yui Yuigahama was also strong, but she hadn't yet mastered Soul Materialisation to create disguises, so she couldn't conceal her identity.
In such a public setting, it wasn't really suitable for her to take action.
After arranging the frontal assault team, Rio Futaba looked towards the remaining members and spoke slowly.
"Miss Yukinoshita, Yui, you two are responsible for protecting Hina's safety."
"Hina, you don't need to enter Kyoto Tower. Just stay in the surrounding area. If the enemies try to escape, I hope you can summon lightning to obstruct them. Can you do that?"
Hina Amano pulled her sleeves down slightly. Though she wore a smile, her eyes seemed somewhat complicated.
"Yes, no problem."
"Then it's settled."
Rio Futaba led the members of the Supernatural Society team towards the door, her expression serious.
"Let's bring this incident to its conclusion."
...
Meanwhile, in the Reverse World.
Tamamo-no-Mae watched Ye Xing, who had just devoured an evil spirit completely, stripping it bare. She had become quite accustomed to such scenes by now.
Over the past week, Ye Xing had basically only done two things.
Eating.
He ate evil spirits, ate human food, chased evil spirits everywhere to eat them, and ate voraciously.
And feeding.
The target of his feeding was...
Tamamo-no-Mae.
Whether Ye Xing had eaten his fill or not, Tamamo-no-Mae didn't know, but she herself had certainly eaten quite well.
"You've almost fully recovered."
Watching Ye Xing knead another evil spirit into a sphere, then smear it onto Onimaru Kunitsuna's black blade, allowing it to be completely absorbed, the gaps in the blade had nearly healed to their original state. Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly grew curious.
"Ye Xing-kun... since your... that... can enhance my power, if you directly gave it to Onimaru Kunitsuna, wouldn't it recover faster than through this method?"
"What kind of outrageous suggestion is that?"
Ye Xing turned to look at Tamamo-no-Mae, his face full of disbelief.
"Onimaru Kunitsuna is a sword! You want me to fuck a sword!?"
Tamamo-no-Mae: "..."
"That's not what I meant... I was thinking... never mind, let's not talk about it."
Just as the two were bantering and chatting idly, Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly noticed a dark mist coiling around the distant tower.
"That is..."
After seven days of exploration, not only Ye Xing but Tamamo-no-Mae had also gained a deeper understanding of the patterns of various phenomena in the Reverse World.
The black mist never disappears, only grows fainter or intensifies with the passage of time.
According to Ye Xing's analysis, when the black mist grew thick and viscous, it corresponded to night in the real world; when it thinned, it meant daytime had arrived.
Yet in certain specific locations - such as around that psychiatric hospital which once made evil spirits of the Reverse World flee in terror, filled with powerful and insane evil spirits that had now been completely cleared out by Ye Xing, leaving not even a trace of evil spirit residue - the black mist never thinned, forever maintaining its viscous, disgusting form.
Through this phenomenon, while unable to precisely determine how powerful the evil spirits in an area might be, one could at least identify which areas were relatively dangerous and which were relatively safe.
Of course, the so-called safety was only relative to other places in the Reverse World.
In the Reverse World, there was no such thing as an absolutely safe place.
Watching the black mist atop that tall tower grow increasingly thick, almost condensing into a semi-fluid state, Tamamo-no-Mae immediately realised this likely meant something extremely terrifying was happening at the corresponding location in the real world, thereby causing these changes in the Reverse World.
"We should go."
Ye Xing stood up, brushing the dust from his clothes.
His right arm had long since recovered completely.
Tamamo-no-Mae hesitated before asking.
"Go... where?"
Ye Xing smiled in reply.
"Kyoto Tower."
"But..."
Tamamo-no-Mae gazed into the distance at the tall tower, her pupils narrowing into vertical slits like a fox's, allowing her to clearly see hundreds of twisted black shadows swarming towards the tower.
"Many evil spirits are being drawn by the black mist there... If we go now..."
"It's time to return to the real world."
Looking at the dense crowd of evil spirits driven mad by the black mist crowding the path to Kyoto Tower, Ye Xing sheathed Onimaru Kunitsuna, murmuring to himself.
"Hmm... need to conserve spiritual power as much as possible for those on the other side. Onimaru Kunitsuna hasn't fully recovered yet; better not to use it in battle. In that case..."
Saying this, Ye Xing took out a silver nail about thirty centimetres long from his chest, looking at the hundreds of gathered evil spirits with a kind smile.
"Seems it's time for some traditional exorcism."
...
Meanwhile, beneath Kyoto Tower.
"Kyoto Television, Kyoto Television, bringing you live coverage!"
Whether by coincidence or because she'd been promoted after the Sunny Doll Killer incident, the reporter was the same one who had hosted the previous live broadcast, and even the cameraman was the same person.
"From what our reporter understands, the situation on site is extremely complex, with over two hundred tourists trapped on the top floor of Kyoto Tower. The kidnappers still haven't made any demands to the Metropolitan Police Department, only..."
Just as the reporter was mid-sentence, a white shadow suddenly appeared beside her like a ghost, pulling her away from her original position.
Before the female reporter could react, she heard a dull thud.
Thump!
A middle-aged man, or rather, what had been a middle-aged man's body, crashed to the ground. With the impact, flesh and blood splattered everywhere, instantly becoming a pool of mangled flesh.
"This... this..."
The female reporter was so terrified that she collapsed onto the ground, staring at the bloody scene before her and unable to hold back a panicked scream.
Rio Futaba, who had just pulled her away and saved her life, looked up towards the top of Kyoto Tower. There, the human-bodied demoness Hannya was staring back at her with a sinister grin through its ghostly mask.
"This creature..."
Suppressing her anger, Rio Futaba exchanged glances with Miko Yotsuya and Mai Sakurajima beside her, then strode directly into Kyoto Tower.
Before the on-site police officers could intervene, the commander, Soichiro Yagami, spoke in a deep voice.
"Let these three go in."
"But..."
"No buts."
Watching the three figures - Rio Futaba, Mai Sakurajima, and Miko Yotsuya - who had changed into disguises, making them unrecognisable as they entered Kyoto Tower, Soichiro Yagami let out a heavy sigh and murmured to himself.
"I'll leave it to you."
The decision to let them enter was his as the field commander.
If any severe casualties occurred among the hostages...
Even Soichiro Yagami, despite his numerous achievements, probably wouldn't be able to remain in his position.
But at this moment, he wasn't considering his own future at all.
"You must win."
...
Ten minutes later, Mai Sakurajima, Rio Futaba, and Miko Yotsuya reached the top floor of Kyoto Tower.
Pushing open the door, what appeared before them was not only the panoramic view of Kyoto through the windows, but also the over two hundred innocent people huddled together crouching on the floor, plus the man and woman Soichiro Yagami had mentioned, suspected high-level evil spirits.
Cold high-altitude wind blew through the broken gap in the floor-to-ceiling window.
"Welcome."
The man showed a cruel smile upon seeing Miko Yotsuya and the others arrive, speaking slowly.
"I've always wanted to taste what psychics are like."
His eyes revealed twisted ferocity as he examined Miko Yotsuya, Mai Sakurajima, and, especially, Rio Futaba's chest, grinning sinisterly as he whispered.
"Very good, six appetisers. After I kill you, I'll cut them off and savour them slowly."
There wasn't a trace of lust in the man's gaze, only pure cruelty and killing intent.
"Shuten-dōji..."
His identity was already crystal clear.
Possessing the powerful ability to command ordinary evil spirits, devising such a scheme, and these words reveal a particular fetish for certain parts of human women...
It could only be Shuten-dōji, the leader of evil spirits from Japan's legendary tales.
"Already figured out who I am? Doesn't matter."
Seeing his identity had been exposed, Shuten-dōji revealed his true form. His hair gradually lengthened, his face transformed into a red, ferocious demon, his skin turned crimson, and his body began to swell, even bursting through his clothes.
Beside him, Hannya's face completely transformed into a ghostly mask, sharp fangs extending from its mouth, gleaming with dangerous cold light.
Seeing these two suddenly transform into their true demon forms, the over two hundred tourists crouching on the floor showed expressions of terror.
"Is this your goal?"
Even at this moment, Rio Futaba still hadn't given up on gathering information. Staring directly into Shuten Dōji's eyes, she slowly spoke.
"Everything you've worked so hard for was all for today? What's the meaning behind it?"
"Meaning?"
Shuten Dōji's face grew increasingly ferocious, with crimson flames even igniting around his fangs.
He drew the long sword from his waist, swung it twice in the air, and spoke word by word.
"Killing people, creating fear - all of this is simply because I can, and I enjoy it."
"Just as I thought..."
Miko Yotsuya drew Mikazuki Munechika from her waist. The pale golden blade reflected sunlight, while her white coat with pale golden patterns gently swayed in the breeze. Her golden eyes stared emotionlessly at Shuten Dōji and Hannya.
"Lowly existences like you, no matter what you do, only seek to harm humans. You come up with so-called strategies simply because..."
Miko Yotsuya stared directly into Shuten Dōji's eyes and spoke word by word.
"You're afraid of him."
"Afraid? Afraid!?"
Shuten Dōji was enraged entirely by Miko Yotsuya's simple statement, his face twisting into a ferocious expression.
"I, the great Shuten Dōji, would never fear a mere human!? After I kill you all, he's next!"
Just as Shuten Dōji finished speaking, he suddenly heard a man's voice from behind him - devoid of any emotion, containing only pure killing intent.
"You said... you're going to kill who?"
He turned around to see a tall figure wearing a red Great Tengu mask and white ceremonial robes, staring intently at him with brown eyes that glowed crimson.
From this person emanated nothing but the purest killing intent.
Light Yagami removed his red gloves, his hands transforming into sharp claws resembling those of the Great Tengu. With undisguised murderous intent in his eyes, he slowly advanced towards Shuten-dōji, standing there.
"You want to kill him? Then I'll kill you first!"
Clang!
Light Yagami's claws swung forward, colliding with Shuten-dōji's long sword.
"You two go evacuate the hostages."
Miko Yotsuya said this to Mai Sakurajima and Rio Futaba, while Mikazuki Munechika twirled beautifully in her hand. Step by step, she approached the standing Hannya, speaking calmly.
"I told you, you would die by my blade."
"Is that so?"
A ferocious smile appeared on Hannya's demon mask as she whispered to her surroundings.
"Then please behold the gift we've prepared for you."
As her words fell, the previously calm stairwell of Kyoto Tower suddenly flooded like a black tide, swarming with hundreds of evil spirits so dense they overlapped.
Shuten-dōji pushed Light Yagami back with a sword strike, looking towards Miko Yotsuya and the others.
"Now tell me, who will die here today?"
Facing the hundreds of evil spirits that had formed an encirclement and filled the entire hall, Rio Futaba, Miko Yotsuya, Mai Sakurajima, and Light Yagami at the other end of the venue all felt tremendous pressure.
While fighting Shuten-dōji and Hannya with so many evil spirits present might still offer some chance of victory...
They couldn't forget the over two hundred hostages right before their eyes.
If they had to split their attention to protect these hostages...
They absolutely couldn't win.
Even if Miko Yotsuya, Mai Sakurajima, and Rio Futaba subjectively resolved to abandon saving the hostages and make killing Shuten-dōji and Hannya their primary goal, watching innocent humans die horribly before their eyes would inevitably distract them.
"Using innocent lives as leverage..."
Mai Sakurajima stared at Shuten-dōji and Hannya, who wore amused expressions like cats toying with mice, enjoying their pleasure, as she gritted her teeth.
"What a vicious scheme."
"This is your human weakness."
Shuten-dōji's crimson demon face revealed a triumphant expression.
"These low-level evil spirits mean nothing in our eyes. We wouldn't blink if a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand of them died."
"Despite being powerful anomalies, you still consider these weak humans as your kind, still get distracted by their deaths..."
"I've seen far too many of you so-called exorcists. You're truly boring and weak."
Just then.
Everyone present, including Shuten-dōji and Hannya, simultaneously sensed an abnormally powerful spiritual power fluctuation.
Turning to look, they witnessed a scene they had never seen in their lives.
Space seemed to tear apart, forcibly held open by two ghost hands of contrasting colours - one pale white and the other pitch black.
Within the rift was the red moon of the Reverse World, familiar to them, along with thick black smoke accumulated from the deaths of numerous evil spirits.
Through the nearly impenetrable black smoke, a foot slowly stepped out, landing on the top floor of Kyoto Tower.
The jet-black mask and the burning hem of the black coat fell into the sight of Shuten-dōji and Hannya.
"What truly repulsive creatures."