Tokyo: The Diplomatic District
Spencer was a man of absolute national righteousness. Therefore, his loyalty to Great Britain could never be questioned.
For the interests of the British Empire, he was willing to sacrifice everything—including his own Japanese family. In fact, he hadn't been back to the Sawamura estate to see his wife and daughter in a long time.
Perhaps it is an inner conflict?
He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Staying in his secular office overnight was definitely not an option. He should head back to the British Embassy... at least there would be faces of his own kind there. It would ease his longing for his homeland.
Speaking of local news, hadn't a fringe religious group called the "Visual God Cult" caused quite a few deaths on the outskirts of Tokyo a month ago?
Spencer chuckled indifferently. He didn't care much about that. It was just that Japanese politics seemed a little too peaceful lately.
Under the cover of night, he wrapped his tailored trench coat tighter around himself and left his office building. Autumn had arrived in full force. The wind carried a sharp chill, causing the blond, blue-eyed diplomat to shiver slightly.
"BEEP—!!"
A screeching car speeding down the wet driveway made him frown. When dirty rainwater from the asphalt splashed onto the hem of his expensive coat, Spencer firmly swallowed the curse he was about to unleash. As a British diplomat, he had to maintain his dignified image at all times.
However, looking up, the vibrant neon lights painting the night sky did impress Spencer somewhat.
Tokyo has really developed... these skyscrapers, the bustling traffic.
It seems no worse than the greatest cities in Great Britain…
With this thought, the man frowned even deeper, a flicker of nationalistic pride stinging him.
As he walked, the chatter of pedestrians drifted into his ears.
"Eh!? Another scary story? Ugh…" a young woman whined nearby.
"How could that be? Don't you like them? Then let me tell you about the rumors online of evil scientists creating monsters in the city," her boyfriend replied eagerly.
Spencer paused slightly. His diplomatic ears were always attuned to the word scientist. He scoffed quietly and continued walking.
Another attempt to smear the great scientific progress of the West. Typical Japanese superstition...
He couldn't help but glance at the young couple. They were standing under a brightly lit billboard that immediately drew his attention.
"We need the truth!"
"Do the Aristocratic Families really exist?"
"Long live the Empire!"
What nonsense! Spencer lost interest and continued his brisk walk. Behind him, the two young people were still flirting.
"Huh? How could secret societies and monsters really exist? Wouldn't it be terrible to have monsters roaming around?"
"Really, really! Believe me! Come upstairs to my apartment and I'll show you the leaked videos!"
Tsk... It's the same old routine to get a girl into bed.
Spencer was caught between amusement and exasperation. He had wasted several minutes of his journey listening to this trivial teenage nonsense.
Finally arriving at the embassy gates, Spencer paused to salute the Union Jack flying above the compound.
"May God bless the Queen..." He clutched the silver cross hanging over his chest and began to pray softly. This was a daily act of devout patriotism and faith.
It was a pity his colleagues had all gone home for the night, leaving him effectively alone. The embassy had specially provided luxury accommodations on the grounds for diplomats like him.
As he approached his front door, he inexplicably felt a chill and looked behind him.
Across the street, a tall utility pole illuminated by a flickering streetlamp cast a long, rigid, cross-shaped shadow on the pavement, pointing directly at the embassy gates.
This gave Spencer a sudden, inexplicable jolt of dread in his chest, which quickly morphed into displeasure. He was a fervent patriot who had devoted his life to Christianity.
Just as he was about to utter a curse at the eerie lighting, several drunken Japanese vagrants strolled past the gates, laughing and joking loudly.
"Monster! Hahaha! A monster!"
"Wrong, wrong, the rumors said it's an invisible monster!"
"Shut up! The movie said a cross can't deal with Japanese monsters anyway."
"What does that have to do with me saying it's invisible?"
"Shut up! I'm going to use this invisible monster as a urinal, hahaha!"
The drunkards made Spencer want to kick them through the iron gates. They were indirectly insulting his faith. But he restrained himself; there were too many of them, and a physical altercation would ruin his diplomatic status.
He walked into his embassy housing expressionlessly and locked the heavy oak door tightly. The noisy din of the Tokyo streets was finally cut off. Spencer felt a sudden sense of peace, as if his ears had been plugged with cotton.
Satisfied, he turned and walked down the hallway.
Tap... tap... tap...
Only his footsteps echoed in the empty hall. But for a split second, it sounded as if several other people had appeared out of nowhere to walk in perfect synchronization with him.
"Monster! Hahaha! Monster!"
From outside the heavy door, the drunkard's gruff voice penetrated the wood, making Spencer suddenly walk faster.
Strange… I never used to pay much attention to these auditory details…
Inside the Embassy Housing
Spencer entered the living room provided by the embassy. The cozy, oak-paneled room had a distinctly British feel. This brought a rare, genuine smile to his face.
He unclasped the silver cross from his neck and hung it on a small decorative hook on the wall. He took off his damp coat and tossed it onto the plush sofa.
But before he could even walk to the kitchen to brew himself a cup of coffee, a sealed envelope fluttered out from the inside pocket of his coat and landed on the rug.
An envelope?
Spencer picked it up with great surprise.
It was a letter from Prime Minister Atsuomi Ayanokoji.
Yes. The Prime Minister had been clashing heavily with the Fujiwara faction lately. Because of this internal political war, Ayanokoji's contact with British diplomats couldn't be too blatant. After all, he was the head of Japan; even if he was secretly securing Western-backed funding, he couldn't show any signs of being manipulated by foreigners on the surface.
Opening the envelope, the contents were roughly a request for Spencer to route British intelligence sponsorship into some of the Ayanokoji family's private, black-budget businesses.
For example: school district housing, shell corporations, software industries.
And highly classified research institutes… like the White Room.
Research institutes?
Spencer felt that this kind of word was appearing a little too frequently today. Evil scientists, invisible monsters, human experimentation…
!! !! ? ?
His heart clenched painfully, as if an icy hand had suddenly reached into his chest and squeezed it.
He stood up so quickly he knocked over his coffee table like a startled rabbit. His wide, terrified eyes were fixed on the wall.
It was the silver cross he had hung up just moments earlier.
Now… the cross was hanging upside down.
Impossible…
The necklace was weighted perfectly. It had hung up naturally. A cross could only hang upright on that hook. Had he accidentally twisted the chain and turned it upside down himself?
An inverted cross, in Christianity, is not a good sign.
It symbolizes the absolute mockery of the divine. It symbolizes the approach of the Devil. It is the breath of Hell.
"Who!? Who's there!?" Spencer shouted, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
His hand instinctively reached towards his waist, searching for a concealed firearm he wasn't carrying. Who was playing this sick prank?
He retreated slowly behind the sofa, his gaze never leaving the upside-down cross on the wall. For a moment, the entire experience of walking from his office to the embassy compounded into a crushing sense of unease.
The invisible monster. The shadow of the cross on the street. The footsteps in the hall.
The more he thought about it, the more horrified he became.
After a long while, there was still no movement in the house. No assassins, no intruders.
Spencer swallowed hard, cautiously walking over and removing the silver cross from the hook.
Sure enough. The chain was just twisted. It was just a misunderstanding caused by my own careless haste…
He couldn't help but let out a breathless, self-deprecating laugh. The stress of dealing with Japanese politicians was clearly getting to him.
Needing fresh air, he walked to the window and threw it open. While absentmindedly fiddling with the silver cross in his hand, he glanced down at the street.
The cross-shaped shadow from the utility pole was still stretching across the pavement in front of the embassy building.
It was just a coincidence, wasn't it… I'll have that damn utility pole removed by the city council tomorrow.
Frustrated by his own momentary cowardice, he casually tossed his twisted silver cross out the window into the night.
But somehow, caught by a strange gust of wind, the necklace flew across the street and the chain tangled perfectly around one of the utility pole's metal rungs.
In an instant, Spencer's pupils constricted to pinpricks, and he stopped breathing entirely.
The silver cross hung from the utility pole, perfectly upright.
But cast under the flickering, unnatural light of the streetlamp… inside the already enormous, inverted cross-shadow on the pavement, a second, deeper, pitch-black inverted shadow appeared.
In a flash, Spencer felt an absolute, freezing terror run down his spine.
Something is looking at me.
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