At noon in Tokyo International Airport, the crowd bustled, electronic screens flashed flight information, and the sounds of announcements, conversations, and rolling suitcases intertwined into the unique lively rhythm of a modern transportation hub.
At the check-in counter, Eriri hurriedly placed her suitcase onto the belt. Today, she wore a light blue hoodie and dark skinny pants for easy travel. Her long blonde hair was tied in a neat high ponytail. Her bulging backpack was stuffed with her digital tablet, sketchbook, and some emergency supplies.
Although Satoru Gojo had guaranteed that the procedures were all taken care of, this was her first time being "on a mission," and going abroad to investigate a cult and a special-grade cursed spirit at that. It was impossible not to be nervous.
Beside her, Genji was empty-handed. According to him: "I'll construct whatever I need when the time comes." This freedom made Eriri, dragging a heavy suitcase, a bit envious and somewhat speechless.
The check-in process went exceptionally smoothly. Whether it was the passport (Eriri looked at her brand new passport with a strange departmental seal, the corners of her mouth twitching), the visa, or the security checks—everything was seamless, and the staff even consciously directed them to the fast track.
"Is this... privilege?" After boarding a spacious Airbus A330 passenger jet and settling into a business class seat near the middle-front of the cabin, Eriri fastened her seatbelt and couldn't help muttering. She came from a wealthy family and often traveled business or first class, but this was the first time she had received such "special" treatment.
"It's a necessary convenience," Genji sat next to her by the window—he was finally "seated," though still retaining an ancient elegance. He looked with great interest at the precise structure inside the cabin, the soft lighting, and the tarmac outside the window.
The engines started, the plane taxied, accelerated, and lifted off. With a slight push and the roar of the engines, the giant steel bird broke free from gravity and soared into the blue sky. The city buildings outside the window quickly shrank, becoming like a chessboard, eventually replaced by a sea of cloud-like cotton candy.
When the flight leveled off, Eriri finally breathed a sigh of relief. She took out her sketchbook and pencil from her backpack and began drawing the clouds outside the window, which also helped calm her excitement and anxiety. Genji closed his eyes to rest.
The journey was initially calm. Flight attendants served drinks and meals, passengers either rested, read books, watched movies, or chatted quietly. Sunlight streamed through the portholes, casting bright patches of light in the cabin. Everything followed the standard template for a comfortable long-haul flight.
However, about two hours into the flight, deep over the South China Sea, with archipelagos like jewels and endless deep blue below, things suddenly changed.
At first, it was just a very slight, almost imperceptible bump. Most passengers didn't mind—turbulence is common on long flights.
But Eriri happened to look out the window, and her gaze involuntarily swept over the right wing.
The next second, her breath suddenly stopped, and her pupils sharply contracted.
Beneath the right wing, the massive, smoothly operating engine tail suddenly burst into bright yellow flames! Instead of being extinguished by the high-speed airflow, the flames spread rapidly, licking the engine casing and igniting nearby wiring and composite materials! Thick black smoke billowed out, especially glaring against the blue sky!
"Fire... the engine is on fire!" Eriri screamed, her fingers gripping the armrest, her fingertips instantly turning white.
Her scream was like a stone thrown into still water, instantly shattering the silence in the cabin. Nearby passengers followed her gaze, and suddenly, one after another, cries of horror, gasps, and shouts of "what's happening!" erupted! Panic spread like a virus! Flight attendants turned pale, urging passengers to remain calm, stay in their seats, and fasten their seatbelts over the PA system, but the tremble in their voices betrayed their inner panic.
Engine failure! 10,000 meters in the air! Over the sea! Anyone with common sense knew how terrifying this danger was!
Genji opened his eyes almost simultaneously with Eriri's scream. His deep indigo eyes were sharp as knives, instantly locking onto the engine outside the window. His brows furrowed slightly, not from fear, but with a cold, analytical focus.
"Engine fire... mechanical failure? Or..." His mind raced, his vast perception like an invisible radar, instantly covering the entire plane. The damage structure inside the engine, the speed of the fire's spread, the stress changes in the fuselage, and the rapid dialogue and actions in the cockpit... a flood of information poured into his consciousness.
Something was wrong.
The fire started too suddenly, and its spread rate didn't match the pattern of a common mechanical failure. The damage traces on the engine's key components, rather, seemed to have been... instantly destroyed from the inside by some high-energy impact.
Not just a mechanical failure.
At that moment—
"Ah—! Someone help!!"
"Help! Someone has a knife!"
"Monsters! They're monsters!"
Even more terrifying and bloody screams and shouts erupted almost simultaneously from various parts of the cabin!
In the front of business class, a middle-aged man who initially looked like a business elite suddenly pulled a short knife with an ominous black glow from his suit's inner pocket, screamed, and lunged at a defenseless passenger beside him, the blade plunging into the victim's throat!
In the middle of economy class, a "mother" holding an infant, her loving expression instantly twisting, pulled a thin, poison-tempered blowgun needle from under the baby's blanket and aimed it at an elderly person across the aisle.
Near the aft galley, two "flight attendants" tore off their uniforms, revealing tight-fitting garments covered in strange runes, wielding even larger scimitars and chains, and charged at the flight attendants trying to organize passengers with bright smiles.
Even more terrifying was that their eyes glowed with a murky, inhuman dark red at the moment of attack, and their bodies emitted a faint but real fluctuation of cursed energy, mixed with madness and malevolence!
They acted quickly, with clear targets. These were not random terrorist attacks, but pre-planned, organized, and clearly targeted killings and sabotage!
And the timing of their attack coincided perfectly with the moment the engine caught fire, plunging the entire plane into panic and distracting everyone's attention!
Their primary targets were not ordinary passengers, but the flight attendants, the seemingly undercover security personnel trying to maintain order, and... whether intentionally or not, they were moving to surround and intercept Eriri and Genji!
"They're cursed tools! They have cursed energy!" Eriri's face turned pale. She saw the "business elite" nearby stab a male passenger who tried to stop him through the shoulder, blood splattering on the seat and bulkhead. The strong smell of blood and the malevolence of the cursed energy made her nauseous.
Genji's eyes went completely cold. The suspicion about the engine failure was confirmed.
This was no accident.
It was a well-planned attack on this flight, or more precisely, an attack on him.
Use the engine failure to create panic and chaos. Use curse users disguised as ordinary passengers, or cursed tools, to commit close-range killings and destruction, pin down possible accompanying security forces, and achieve the ultimate goal...
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