"Mask..."
Chief Yagami, who was directing the police officers at the scene, saw Ye Xing appearing from the dust - having descended from the top of Kyoto Tower in a superhero landing style, with cracks forming in the floor tiles around his feet - and was momentarily stunned before breathing a sigh of relief. His usually stern, square face couldn't help but break into a smile.
"This guy... still such a flashy style of doing things... hasn't changed at all..."
As temporary leaders of the Supernatural Society team, Rio Futaba and Miko Yotsuya had left a favourable impression on Soichiro Yagami.
Yet in his heart, the only one he could truly trust completely, who could resolve any incident...
Was Mask.
Soichiro Yagami was also a dedicated Mask supporter.
...
Meanwhile, at Kazusa Touma's residence.
"Mask, it's Mask! He's finally back!"
Seeing Saki Kawasaki, Shoko Makinohara, Haruno Yukinoshita, and even the typically expressionless Kazusa Touma, who maintained a cold demeanour, along with the serious-faced Yukino Yukinoshita, all displaying excited expressions upon seeing Mask appear in the television broadcast, Marin Kitagawa couldn't help but pause in confusion, hesitantly asking.
"Wait... are you all... fans of Mask?"
Hearing Marin Kitagawa's puzzled question, Saki Kawasaki and the others, along with Menma, who remained invisible to Marin, belatedly realised something.
She was the only person present who didn't know Mask's true identity.
In Marin Kitagawa's eyes, Mask was distant and unreachable... calling him a hero didn't quite capture it, but, essentially, he was a famous figure she occasionally discussed with friends, with no connection to her daily life.
Now watching Haruno Yukinoshita and the others become so excited merely from seeing Mask appear on the television broadcast, Marin Kitagawa began to feel somewhat panicked.
Had she joined the wrong club?
Could it be that everyone in this club was a dedicated Mask supporter?
Wasn't this supposed to be the Supernatural Quantum Mechanics Research Society?
How had it turned into a fan club?
In that moment, Marin Kitagawa gained a new attribute.
The only person within the Supernatural Society kept in the dark.
Simply put, the clueless one.
...
This television broadcast about the Kyoto Tower incident had attracted widespread attention throughout Kyoto City.
Citizens watching from their homes, seeing Mask appear on live television for the first time since the Sunny Doll Killer incident a month ago, immediately put down their remotes and fixed their eyes on the screen.
Within moments, Kyoto Television's ratings soared dramatically.
The entire city of Kyoto was focused on this live broadcast.
Yet the person at the centre of the broadcast remained indifferent to the surrounding attention.
His eyes were fixed only on the frozen figures of Hannya and Shuten-dōji standing inside Kyoto Tower's Gate.
"Now..."
Ye Xing took out an approximately thirty-centimetre-long silver nail from his chest.
Though it appeared to be just an ordinary, sharp silver nail, when reflected in Hannya and Shuten-dōji's eyes, it dramatically altered their expressions.
In their perception, this was no ordinary silver nail.
It was covered in extremely dense black smoke, surrounded by a sharp, silvery-white glow of spiritual power.
This... was a spiritual object!
Yet Shuten-dōji and Hannya couldn't understand - in their memory, no spiritual weapon with spiritual power took the form of a nail.
This was just too bizarre!
"I've come for you."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ye Xing slowly stepped forward, gradually approaching Hannya and Shuten-dōji standing inside Kyoto Tower.
The two evil spirits' expressions changed, and they couldn't help but retreat backwards.
The television reporter witnessing this scene was even giving an impassioned commentary.
"Dear viewers, as you can see now, after the appearance of Mask, these two suspects wearing demonic masks seem to be afraid of him, continuously backing away!"
"The natural enemy of criminals, Kyoto's mysterious hero, Mask!"
Those most delighted by Ye Xing's sudden appearance were undoubtedly the members of the Supernatural Society.
Following them, however, weren't the police officers on site or Soichiro Yagami, but rather the television reporter.
Who would have thought their luck would be so good today - Mask actually appearing during a live broadcast!
If they could get an exclusive interview...
Wouldn't the viewership skyrocket?
Watching Ye Xing approach step by step, feeling the oppressive aura emanating from him, Hannya and Shuten Doji exchanged glances before simultaneously fleeing upward toward the stairwell.
Too terrifying.
Even though he could no longer maintain his Domain, this guy managed to emerge from the Reverse World, proving that, despite the sudden communication blackout, power outage, and the earthquake, all the powerful evil spirits formed from the collective human fear in Kyoto City had already been slain by him.
Facing such achievements, Shuten Doji and Hannya simply couldn't muster the courage to confront Ye Xing head-on.
Watching the two ferocious-looking evil spirits fleeing in panic up the stairwell, Ye Xing merely shook his head and chuckled softly.
"Futile struggle."
...
As Shuten Doji and Hannya fled upward, they found Rio Futaba, Mai Sakurajima, and Miko Yotsuya blocking their path at the top of the stairwell.
"Trying to run?"
Rio Futaba stared directly at Hannya, speaking coldly.
"Our battle hasn't reached its conclusion yet."
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"
Although Hannya feared Ye Xing's power, she completely looked down on Rio Futaba, whom she had fought before.
Those pale bone spikes formed from the other's spiritual power were nothing more than easily breakable twigs before her own strength.
Without the slightest hesitation, both of Hannya's demonic faces contorted into ferocious expressions, fangs glinting coldly as she directly lunged toward Rio Futaba at the top of the stairs.
"No need for help, I'll handle this myself."
Hearing Rio Futaba's words, Miko Yotsuya and Mai Sakurajima, who had been about to intervene, both nodded and quietly stepped back two paces.
"Tear off the disguise..."
Rio Futaba watched as Hannya lunged within striking distance, a pale, sharp bone spike extending from her palm.
"Bone Woman."
"Heh."
Looking at the sharp, pale bone spike thrusting toward its face, Hannya merely let out a contemptuous sneer, both hands directly grasping it as she said disdainfully,
"Still using this kind of attack? Haven't you learned your lesson..."
Just as Hannya was halfway through speaking, she noticed something wrong.
A week ago, when she had fought Rio Futaba, she had only needed to exert slight force - barely any effort at all - to snap the bone spikes she created like twigs.
But this time...
Even using all her strength, it was like a child trying to bend a solid iron rod - nothing happened.
"How can this be..."
Looking at the unbelievable expression on that ugly, demonic mask of Hannya, Rio Futaba spoke softly.
"Soul Materialisation is a power formed from the user's inner heart."
"And now, my heart is no longer confused like it was back then."
As her words fell, the pale white bone spike created by Rio Futaba erupted like fireworks on its surface, extending dozens of equally sharp bone spikes that directly blasted Hannya's hands apart.
"Damn it... mere human..."
Hannya looked at her palms dissipating into black smoke, kneeling on the ground as her demonic mask twisted grotesquely, emitting pained roars.
Without the slightest hesitation in her eyes, Rio Futaba directly used that bone spike to pierce through Hannya's demonic mask, simultaneously stabbing through the demon face on the back of her head.
"Finished."
After all, Hannya never understood the true nature of the power possessed by Rio Futaba and others as psychics.
Soul Materialisation is a power formed by the manifestation of the user's inner self.
The Rio Futaba that Hannya fought back then was mentally exhausted, with her brain in an overloaded state after not sleeping all night, and most importantly -
She was worried about Ye Xing's safety, uncertain about what to do next.
Yet what she had just faced was Rio Futaba, who had similarly expended vast amounts of spiritual power after a fierce battle against evil spirits. But with Ye Xing's safe return, her heart was no longer troubled, and she was completely at ease.
This shift in mindset naturally manifested in her Soul Materialisation ability.
Seeing that Hannya had died so easily due to misjudging Rio Futaba's power, Shuten-dōji's expression changed drastically, and he immediately fled downward.
But halfway down, he remembered.
Ye Xing was still below.
Both above and below were dead ends.
What should he do?
Just then, footsteps that made Shuten-dōji shudder came from below the stairwell.
"Run."
The jet-black mask appeared from around the corner of the stairwell.
"Keep running. Where can you possibly go?"
Hearing Ye Xing's mocking, disdainful words, Shuten-dōji's fangs glinted coldly as he drew the greatsword from his waist. Noticing the black scabbard at Ye Xing's waist, he snarled viciously.
"Hmph, it seems your Onimaru Kunitsuna still can't be used in battle. With just a mere silver nail, you think you can kill me, Shuten-dōji!? How utterly arrogant..."
"Too much talk."
Before Shuten-dōji could finish, Ye Xing had already flashed forward, appearing right in front of him.
Shuten-dōji's heart trembled, and he immediately swung his greatsword toward Ye Xing's neck.
"Pathetic."
To Shuten-dōji's surprise, Ye Xing didn't choose to retreat or dodge. Instead, he directly raised his left arm to block the path of the greatsword's swing.
With a grating screech, the sharp blade sliced through the black coat formed by spiritual power and the flesh of the left arm, before being stopped by the bone in Ye Xing's arm.
"Utterly pathetic."
What flowed from the wound on Ye Xing's left arm wasn't blood, but black smoke—exactly like that formed when evil spirits were slain.
"You don't understand battle at all."
Instead of retreating, Ye Xing pressed forward. Shuten-dōji tried to pull out his long blade, only to find it stuck deep in the other's flesh. Even with all his strength, he couldn't withdraw it.
"My weapon isn't Onimaru Kunitsuna."
"An exorcist's true weapon is themself."
As the words fell, Ye Xing thrust the silver nail in his hand toward Shuten-dōji's abdomen.
The latter reacted swiftly, immediately releasing his long sword and trying to grab Ye Xing's wrist holding the silver nail with both hands. His crimson demonic mask opened wide, sharp fangs glinting coldly as he lunged to tear at Ye Xing's neck.
Once again, Shuten-dōji hadn't anticipated this.
Ye Xing made no attempt to defend himself at all, like a bloodthirsty madman, allowing Shuten-dōji's mouth to bite into his neck.
And the next second...
"Argh!!!"
Shuten-dōji felt excruciating pain shoot through his shoulder.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that although Ye Xing lacked sharp fangs, he was mimicking his own actions—biting into Shuten-dōji's shoulder and viciously tearing off a chunk of flesh, swallowing it down.
"Come on."
What terrified Shuten-dōji most wasn't Ye Xing's actions, but the other's eyes that seemed completely unaffected by pain, instead growing increasingly excited and frenzied.
"Let's have a competition."
"Let's see who can devour faster - you, or me?"
...
Five minutes later, silence returned to the stairwell.
Shuten-dōji's body lay on the ground, the top of its head - which had returned to human form - now featuring a large hole where the crown should be.
Judging from its mutilated body and the lifeless, dull eyes that had lost all expression...
The outcome of this competition was undoubtedly Ye Xing's victory.
...
Later that evening, outside the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department.
"Chief Yagami, please say something!"
"Chief Yagami, is the Kyoto Tower incident connected to the large-scale power outage from some time ago? Are they the work of the same criminal group?"
"Chief Yagami, how did you manage to rescue all the hostages with only one innocent casualty in such a dangerous incident? It's nothing short of miraculous!"
"Chief Yagami..."
"Chief Yagami..."
Facing the reporters' cameras and microphones, Soichiro Yagami's square-jawed face was filled with helplessness.
When it came to tracking down criminals and solving cases, that was his speciality.
But dealing with these reporters' questions was proving difficult for the typically stern, serious, and somewhat socially awkward Soichiro Yagami.
He had no experience in this area.
As the field commander of the Metropolitan Police Department and the current most prominent figure in Kyoto law enforcement, Soichiro Yagami couldn't avoid this - at the very least, he couldn't keep avoiding the curiosity of both reporters and the entire city of Kyoto.
The Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten incident, the train malfunction incident, the Sunny Doll Killer case, the Kyoto Tower incident...
Any one of these cases, if they had occurred in other cities across Japan and been handled poorly, could have led to devastating consequences.
Yet under Soichiro Yagami's field command, all these incidents had concluded in the most satisfactory manner possible - with nearly zero innocent casualties, in what seemed like an impossible achievement.
Soichiro Yagami knew in his heart that this was because Mask had assisted in every incident.
But officially, he was the authorities' representative, the field commander of the Metropolitan Police Department.
He was essentially benefiting from borrowed glory.
Just as Soichiro Yagami was at a loss, unsure how to respond, he noticed the reporters suddenly freeze, their gazes fixed on something behind him, filled with excitement and fervour.
Noticing their expressions, Soichiro Yagami didn't even need to turn around to guess who was standing behind him.
"Good evening, everyone."
Ye Xing, wearing a black mask, walked to Soichiro Yagami's side, put an arm around his shoulders, and waved to the reporters with his other hand as he spoke with a smile.
"We will select one person to get an exclusive interview with Chief Yagami."
Hearing this, one of the bolder reporters immediately asked.
"In that case, Mr Mask, would you be willing to give an interview?"
"Me?"
Ye Xing affectionately patted Soichiro Yagami's shoulder and said with a laugh.
"I only provided some minor assistance. This Chief Yagami here is the real hero."
Chief Yagami couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this, thinking to himself, 'This lad is really putting me on a pedestal.'
Others might not know, but he knew perfectly well himself.
Forget previous incidents - take this Kyoto Tower case.
Rescuing hostages... what did that have to do with him?
He had simply received notification from the other party's companion, brought officers to the top floor, helped maintain order, and escorted the hostages down in groups.
This wasn't something that required a Criminal Affairs Director.
Even a kindergarten teacher organising a spring outing could have managed it, perhaps even better.
Chief Yagami tugged at Ye Xing's sleeve, covering his mouth as he whispered.
"I don't want to steal your credit."
"It doesn't matter."
Ye Xing smiled indifferently, equally quiet.
"Credit for Mask means nothing, but if you get promoted to a higher position in the Metropolitan Police Department, you'll be able to provide more help to me."
Chief Yagami sighed upon hearing this, unsure how to respond.
He completely failed to understand what this Mask actually wanted.
He didn't care about fame. He didn't care about money.
Could it be that he did these things just for fun?
Did such people exist in this world?
While Chief Yagami was pondering, Ye Xing had already begun scanning the crowd of reporters, suddenly spotting a familiar face at the periphery.
"That young lady, please come forward."
"Eh? Me?"
Among the crowd of reporters armed with cameras and recording equipment, Natsumi Suga stood out awkwardly, holding only a notebook. She froze momentarily upon being singled out by Mask.
"Yes, you."
Ye Xing nodded with a smile.
"You shall conduct the exclusive interview with Chief Yagami."
...
Meanwhile, in an apartment.
Though a cold beer can sat on the table before Shizuka Hiratsuka and a lit cigarette rested in her hand, she remained utterly motionless, even forgetting to ash her cigarette.
Staring at the replay on screen, watching the slender silver nail in Mask's hand, she murmured to herself.
"This thing... why does it feel so familiar?"