A long silence followed in the study.
Shuichi Akai finally accepted the fact that the world was entirely unfamiliar to him now. Ultimately, Innsmouth had forced the elite agent to open his eyes and take in the "absurd" cosmic truth.
Since that was the case, whether he admitted it out loud or not was irrelevant. It was there. They were there…
He also knew that the political aftermath of this matter was far from over. Far from it. The lingering threat from Innsmouth remained like a poisoned fishbone stuck in America's throat. But America had no physical way to resolve it, so the government could only bury its head in the sand like an ostrich.
'If I don't look at you, then you don't exist…' Akai thought bitterly.
However, "ignoring" it also required immense political skill. The blood-soaked battlefield at the front, the thousands of deaths in the coastal towns, the absolute devastation of heavy military firepower—all of these required a "reasonable" public explanation.
Of course, these were not things for the men in this room to worry about. The higher-ups in Washington were busy with their own massive cover-ups; it was none of their concern.
"What I'm trying to ask is," Director Joseph began, his voice tight, "are these kinds of supernatural incidents common?"
"...Unfortunately, yes. Many, very many," Yusaku Kudo replied.
He seemed to have been scratched right where it was most sensitive. His eyes lit up, and after taking a deep drag of his cigarette, he recounted the bulk of his paranormal investigations over the past few days. The "truth" of the hidden world was finally being laid bare to the federal agents.
"I'm sure you've already guessed it," Yusaku continued. "Most beings in the supernatural realm possess one key characteristic: invisibility to the mundane eye. Since they are effectively invisible, their antics in reality can easily be 'reasonably' explained away by mortals who cannot see the truth. For example, gas explosions. Or wild beasts breaking into homes. Or generic government conspiracy theories."
Upon hearing this, a sharp chill ran down the spines of the FBI officials. They thought of all the bizarre, unsolved case files they had seen and heard about in their daily careers. It seemed... that was indeed the case! News of catastrophic "gas explosions" and "wild beast attacks" was almost commonplace in rural America. And government conspiracy theories were the ultimate cliché to bury the truth.
'So, it's not that we don't know,' Akai realized with a heavy heart. 'It's that humanity has always actively chosen to ignore it.'
Some ignorant citizens even considered these bizarre, violent tragedies a standard national phenomenon in America.
Of course, Yusaku had his own ulterior motives for saying all this. Japan... his homeland had recently been in "deep trouble" as well. A rapid series of major supernatural events had occurred, featuring entities who could easily be considered Gods in the eyes of mortals. Just thinking about it sparked endless, terrifying speculation.
Yusaku's recent frantic scouring of ancient books and occult antiques was precisely based on this idea. He hadn't expected to achieve instant success. But what if? What if he obtained the "key" to unlocking a legendary path for some extraordinary entity? Wouldn't that allow him to owe a favor? Wouldn't he be able to thrive and protect his family in the new supernatural hierarchy? If he did well and was granted a helping hand by a True God…
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. His leg trembled almost uncontrollably beneath the desk, and he unconsciously lit another cigarette.
'Calm down…' Yusaku told himself. 'This kind of thing is all about luck. The most important thing right now is to stick firmly to Hahn Cliff's coattails.'
"So..." With a slight nod, Akai gradually understood everything Yusaku was implying.
His green eyes grew increasingly clear and sharp. Since extraordinary events were occurring globally, the FBI was essentially "not guilty of a crime" for losing at Innsmouth. How could a mortal military possibly contend with the cosmic "Gods" he had seen? But while they couldn't afford to offend the Gods, they certainly weren't going to let mortal terrorists off the hook!
'The Black Organization…' A chilling, murderous glint flashed in Akai's eyes.
"Mr. Kudo, do you know anything about the syndicate? The Black Organization?" Akai asked.
His words instantly reignited the burning anger in the room. This was especially true for Director Joseph, whose men had suffered catastrophic losses. The Director squinted dangerously, barely noticing the cigar burning down to his fingers.
'That organization…' Joseph couldn't help but sneer inwardly. 'This time, they've really painted a massive target on their own backs…'
America naturally didn't dare to argue with Innsmouth anymore. But they could clearly direct all their national hatred and military vengeance toward this underground Black Organization. Damn troublemakers. Bloodthirsty butchers. Scoundrels who thrived on apocalyptic chaos. In the eyes of Director Joseph and the federal government, this damned syndicate had to bear full responsibility for the entire disaster!
Speaking of which… Yusaku was also profoundly annoyed with them. His own son, Shinichi Kudo, had been ambushed and drugged by the Black Organization. Although Shinichi had inadvertently become younger instead of dying, the Organization's initial intentions with the APTX-4869 poison could never have been so benevolent.
However, there was one thing Yusaku truly couldn't deduce. Perhaps the Black Organization was terrifying enough to ordinary governments, but it was still just a mortal underground syndicate. In the face of the cosmic supernatural realm, it was probably no better than an ant. Therefore, why would the Deep Ones of Innsmouth seemingly "cooperate" with the Black Organization's experiments?
'Supernatural... The Black Organization must have somehow acquired supernatural backing or abilities of their own... Interesting.'
Having reached this logical conclusion, Yusaku's eyes grew even colder. The enemy had supernatural abilities, but he didn't? Oh, wait. He indeed didn't. But he had Hahn Cliff. He outright refused to believe that an underground organization could compare to the legendary Baron Lionheart, who was under the watchful eye of the True Gods!
They spent the next hour exchanging classified information about the Black Organization. Everyone's vigilance towards the syndicate reached its absolute peak.
Finally, Lovecraft, blushing slightly from nerves, asked the last pressing question. "Ahem, Mr. Kudo... may we perhaps pay a visit to Mr. Hahn?"
Of course not.
Yusaku shook his head firmly. He wouldn't stop Hahn Cliff from further socializing eventually. But that would have to wait until Yusaku had fully established his own "status" as the primary liaison. Besides, Hahn Cliff needed to patrol his territory to prevent a repeat of the previous major incident in the Longleaf Pine Forest.
So, Yusaku accepted the gatekeeper task without batting an eye, smiling broadly and mysteriously at Director Joseph, Akai, and the others.
'I am Hahn's number one representative. Understand?'
Japan: Tokyo, Suginami Ward
Seiran was currently quite comfortably reaping the massive harvest of points he had sowed overseas.
Although the apocalyptic uproar initiated by the US military was quite dramatic, they certainly knew how to rapidly cover their tracks. The public excuse of a localized "nuclear leak" wasn't really that bad of a cover story. Despite the fiercely heated discussions on the international internet regarding an American nuclear disaster, the US, being the strongest nation at present, easily maintained a degree of media restraint.
The establishment of Innsmouth as an absolute "forbidden zone" had directly shattered the US government's arrogant morale. At least for the short term, they wouldn't dare to provoke any supernatural conflict. In the future, when facing more extraordinary events, they would be forced to adopt a highly conservative and far less aggressive attitude.
'That's right…' Seiran thought, lounging on his luxurious bed. He was very satisfied with the US government's newfound sensibility. 'Isn't it much better to just obediently generate fear points for me?'
Looking at his system interface, his points balance read a staggering 360,000. He'd made an absolute fortune off their terror!
In an excellent mood, he happily embraced the beautiful police inspector, Miwako Sato, and gave her a deep, possessive kiss on the lips, entirely ignoring her blushing, feigned resistance. She had already completely submitted to him during her shift yesterday; what was there left to be shy about today?
It had to be said, a well-trained police officer's body was incredibly resilient and possessed a spectacular level of stamina and athletic tone. If one wasn't careful, a lesser man's soul could easily be sucked away by her sheer physical enthusiasm.
Noticing the nervous apprehension of the other policewomen assigned to his private detail today, Seiran simply chuckled and waved his hand, pulling them into the fray.
'Let's celebrate!!'
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Give me powerstones.
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