Tokyo Outskirts: The Visual God Cult
"Have all the civilian personnel been evacuated?"
Inspector Juzo Megure stood firm, holding a Black Crow perched on his forearm, his face dead serious.
Beside him, Detective Wataru Takagi first glanced enviously at the strangely expressive Black Crow, then nodded, confirming the evacuation of the perimeter around the Visual God Cult headquarters.
Megure squinted at the cult building.
Thanks to the Black Crows and the cultivation methods bestowed by Lord Mizunotsuki, the Metropolitan Police Department's high command had quietly and rapidly assembled a superhuman tactical unit. All core members were equipped with Shikigami Crows and basic cultivation techniques, operating under the direct command of Superintendent General Hakuba.
The police officers surrounding the cult building right now were the vanguard of this new unit.
Just as Megure was about to order his beloved Black Crow to scout the situation inside...
"BOOM————!!!"
The building was collapsing! The ground was sinking inward.
But Megure was not frightened. Small scene. It's just a building collapse.
From the center of the dusty ruins, a writhing, fleshy monster dragged a battered, long-haired boy slowly out into the open.
"ROAR—!!!"
"I was right! I was right!!" The monster bellowed with Kenzo Masuyama's voice. "They shouldn't have given up on this experiment! I succeeded! I succeeded! HAHAHAHAHAHA…!!!"
The piercing, buzzing sound of the creature's voice seemed to pound straight into the officers' chests, emitting a suffocating sense of psychic oppression. The several-meter-tall creature, devoid of intact skin and dripping with corrosive acid, seemed extremely excited.
"I've regained my youth! My condition is better than ever before!" Masuyama roared, lifting the bloody boy. "Do you see, little mouse? This is the ritual! This is the power I have been seeking! I have become one with them!"
Masuyama's grotesque, shifting eyes suddenly locked onto the perimeter. "Ah... and a bunch of little ants..."
He paused, the faces on his body writhing in confusion. "Wait. You... you can see me!?"
The confused question startled Kakeru Ryuen, who was struggling desperately against the monster's grip, his crowbar long gone.
Ryuen's eyes widened in panic as he looked at the police line. He shouted with a mouth full of blood, "Get out! Get out now!! Don't gather here! Run!!"
Get out? Megure couldn't help but chuckle. But upon seeing the horrified, twisted faces of the elderly victims trapped on the monster's body, his smile vanished, replaced by cold fury.
"Divine Raven Special Forces!!" Megure roared.
"YES, SIR!!" The police officers surrounding the cult chanted in unison.
The sheer force of their synchronized shout, fueled by supernatural energy, made Masuyama feel a sudden chill. He remembered Gin mentioning that Mr. Kamo's forbidden notes came from Japan...
In Ryuen's eyes, these police officers seemed reckless and insane. They were chanting something while holding out a few black birds. Ryuen was currently being crushed in the monster's palm, his ribs shattered in several places. He was losing so much blood that he assumed he was hallucinating as he lay dying.
Could it be... that they can see it too?
Or was Masuyama lying to me?
What could those black crows possibly do?
What is that chanting...? Ryuen thought his eardrums were bursting.
"Zi and You clash! Yin and Hai clash! Chen and You clash! Wu and Mao clash! Shen and Si clash! Xu and Wei clash!" The police officers roared the Onmyodo incantation. "By the Decree of Fate—Controlling Objects is Void!!"
"CAW—!!!"
"BOOM —!!!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!"
Explosions are an art form.
The actual number of Black Crows wasn't that high, but moving at supersonic speeds coated in Yang energy, they delivered a relentless, endless barrage of strikes.
While the flock suppressed the screeching monster, two Black Crows darted in, grabbed Ryuen by his coat, and forcefully tore him from the monster's grip, throwing him back towards the police line.
Wataru Takagi caught him, sliding backward from the momentum.
Ryuen lay on the ground, his expression utterly bewildered. His stupor earned him a hard knock on the head from Megure's knuckles.
"Rookie. You dare to face the Supernatural Realm alone? Not bad courage..." Megure grunted.
This was the first time Ryuen had been "reprimanded" like a subordinate.
But... Rookie? Ryuen instantly understood. These were the professionals.
He wasn't the only one who had "luckily" discovered the Truth of the World. A massive faction had already conquered the Supernatural Realm.
But that wasn't his primary concern right now. Ryuen grabbed Megure's pant leg, coughing up blood. "Don't kill it! Those old bastards are inside it..."
"NO!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!" Masuyama screamed under the bombardment. "This shouldn't be happening! I've become them! I've become a God! I'm immortal! My ritual was perfect! My power! My body! Come back! All of you, come back!!"
Unexpected changes occurred.
Perhaps Masuyama's self-taught fusion was too weak and inherently unstable. After just a few waves of concentrated Yang attacks from the Black Crows, the abomination showed signs of disintegration.
The many faces, sewn into the flesh, began tearing themselves away.
From Ryuen's perspective on the ground, the monster was shedding flesh and blood like a stretched bowstring finally snapping. The stench of gore permeated the air, spreading a thick blood mist.
Finally, a wisp of the blood mist approached Ryuen, swirling until it transformed into a cluster of familiar, translucent, aged faces.
"Ryuen..."
"Child..."
"Let us rest in peace..."
"He was right... the ritual was successful..."
"But you are the vessel we've been waiting for..."
Ryuen remained silent. He simply listened to the echoing whispers of these old men and women, feeling as if he were separated from the chaotic battlefield by an invisible wall.
Perhaps the joys and sorrows of people truly are not shared. The police officers watched the disintegrating monster with expressions of righteous indignation. But no one could fathom the profound, conflicting emotions hidden beneath Ryuen's seemingly calm, bloodstained face.
As for Inspector Megure, he had never let the specific Black Crow on his own arm participate in the battle. He let out a long sigh of relief.
Our Metropolitan Police Department has finally stood up. We can handle such supernatural events ourselves. (Although it was entirely thanks to Lord Mizunotsuki's gifts).
Megure looked down at the boy. "Rookie. What is your choice?"
What choice? Ryuen looked up.
"To accept their gift, or to abandon them to the void?" Megure asked solemnly.
Ryuen knew the answer. Of course, I accept it. But what would happen after acceptance?
Megure pointed a stern finger at the dying, screaming fleshy monster. "Choose carefully, kid. If your willpower breaks, perhaps you'll just become like it."
Tokyo: The Fujiwara Residence
Deputy Commissioner Toshio Moroboshi had left.
But Minister Daigo Fujiwara remained in his private study, his heart still violently stirred.
He chain-smoked a cigarette, his eyes darting nervously around the room.
Moroboshi had told him many things. He had seen many things on the surveillance footage before the camera cut out.
The Extraordinary.
The Supernatural Realm…
He hadn't expected that the Metropolitan Police Department had already established one… no, two extraordinary tactical units.
Knowing the world-altering characteristics of the Extraordinary Realm, Daigo's heart naturally raced. The burning cigarette smoke reached his nose, snapping him out of his daze and subtly altering his expression into one of absolute resolve.
Entering the fray? That is inevitable.
And the Fujiwara dynasty's entry meant that the vast majority of the Japanese government's secular bureaucracy was officially getting involved in the occult war.
He abruptly stood up and walked to the window. Down below, he saw Moroboshi's black government car pulling out of the estate gates.
Daigo opened the window. The gloomy, rainy sky brought a cool breeze, but it couldn't cool the burning desire in his heart.
He suddenly remembered the very first sentence of Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's letter.
> [Mr. Fujiwara. Do you want to be the Prime Minister?]
>
Heh heh heh…
Kid. So, you already knew all along…
The Extraordinary. Having glimpsed the realm of the Gods, whoever harnessed this power would naturally elevate their political faction to absolute supremacy.
So, what should my Fujiwara family do next?
He took a deep drag on his cigarette, the embers glowing brightly in the dim room. Daigo's eyes gleamed with ruthless ambition.
We are in. At all costs.
The Fujiwara family absolutely has to get in!!
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