Somewhere in Tokyo.
Ritual Institute.
In the chaotic main hall, men and women in uniform hurried past.
The space was circular, with a ring of fixed benches along the walls.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were all covered with different types of animal pelts. Anyone entering for the first time would feel as if they had returned to a primitive society.
Brownish-yellow lion skins, striped Bengal tiger skins, antlered deer skins, beautifully spotted cheetah skins, Siberian bear skins, and Norwegian fox skins.
These Beast pelts were layered on all four sides—top, bottom, left, and right—thickly plastered onto the floor, walls, and ceiling without regard for cost.
On the pelts, strange symbols were drawn with fine brushes in a color resembling decaying green leaves.
Triangles, quadrilaterals, and bizarre characters and graphics intertwined; then, they began to glow.
The people coming and going seemed long accustomed to the oddity, striding past in tactical boots. Amidst the crowd, Usami Reiko waited anxiously at the front desk, checking her watch from time to time.
Sakai Takashi ran over from the other side of the ritual hall.
He wore a set of cream-colored sportswear, with undried sweat on his brow, looking as if he had just finished exercising.
"Here!"
Usami Reiko tossed a bag efficiently. Once he caught it, she immediately turned and walked back the way she came.
Wiping his sweat, Sakai Takashi took a firearm from the bag, tucked it into his waistband, and jogged to keep up.
"What's going on? Even you?"
"The support teams are on missions, and there's no one left to dispatch in the institute. The three of us are going."
"Three?"
"And that bastard."
Usami Reiko replied coldly. The two began to run, heading straight for the end of the corridor.
This place was also wrapped in layers of pelts. The light from yellow and dark green runes shone on the faces of the man and woman—the further in they went, the fewer staff members there were.
At the end was a massive iron door with a golden handle shaped like a ship's wheel. The front of the iron door was plated with silver.
As the Head of the Logistics Department, Usami Reiko naturally knew that this wasn't just some electroplating.
It was real silver and gold.
Although mystery could still easily pierce through them, after countless tests, these two metals were considered the top two categories.
They could barely weaken the dissipation of mystery.
Strange dark green light patterns flowed. After a few moments, the ship-wheel handle rotated on its own... Click—
The massive silver door opened from the outside, revealing an even busier space within.
Researchers in white lab coats were busy with their own tasks. Hearing the noise, a few looked up at Usami Reiko, their eyes moving coldly before they immediately lowered their heads to continue their work.
White Torch quickly walked over from not far away.
He was in dark green camouflage, with that necklace of countless iron tags still hanging around his neck.
"Director Usami, Sakai."
White Torch greeted the two and signaled for them to follow.
This was the second floor of the Ritual Institute. Unlike the nested layers outside, it was only here that one truly began to come into contact with the core of the Ritual Institute.
Including this time, it was only the second time Usami Reiko had set foot here.
"The 'secret rite' has detected the waveforms of a Chaos Ritual."
White Torch's deep bass voice was as heavy and gloomy as his mood.
"The 'secret rite'?"
Sakai Takashi rubbed his short hair, asking as he jogged.
"Code SMC-C-001: secret rite."
White Torch explained as he walked.
This was a set of rating regulations established by the researchers of the Ritual Institute after the secret rite appeared, specifically targeting mysterious items that might emerge in the future.
—SMC-C-001
SMC stands for Special Mysterious Class, and C is the grade.
Grade C:
The item possesses slight aggression and procedural consciousness.
The user must pay a price; in some cases, it damages the user's life.
(Includes physical disability, restrictions on life and behavior, confusion of sanity, brief mental chaos, etc.)
(Must not be held or used multiple times or for long periods.)
—
During the conversation, the three entered a space where all four sides were white.
Usami Reiko knew she was about to witness the so-called 'World's first' "special item."
The secret rite... is it?
A deep red beam of light swept over the three of them. Behind the walls, the sounds of various instruments roared.
Scanning, scanning, scanning.
Sakai Takashi stared blankly at the white walls around him, subconsciously moving closer to Usami Reiko.
"Hey, this place couldn't be..."
The woman nodded.
"By the way, I've never been in here," Sakai Takashi interjected with a grin. "What happens if the verification fails?"
A faint smile appeared on Usami Reiko's cold face. She pointed inconspicuously at the solid white walls. "If it fails, countless machine guns will appear there and turn you into a sieve."
Sakai Takashi:... "No way."
Facing the scanner, White Torch said without looking back, "If it doesn't pass, another measure will be activated. If that still doesn't work... we have one final insurance."
"A self-destruct system."
"The three of us can retire early."
Sakai Takashi waved his hand sheepishly. "Don't make jokes like that..."
"It's not a joke."
The scan complete, White Torch turned to look at the two. "It's not a joke. This place was originally designed as a location to protect important items."
"With the appearance of the 'secret rite,' the core section has become the 'special item Storage Room'—the place beneath our feet."
White Torch stomped his combat boots. "What you are about to see will be the World's first item possessing transcendent power."
"We'll talk about the rest later."
The cold machinery opened with a hiss of gas. A path wide enough for only two people to walk side-by-side led straight down, spiraling into the shadows.
White Torch took the lead, followed by Usami Reiko and Sakai Takashi.
The stairs extended downward step by step, with light strips under each step serving as a guide and illumination.
The further down they went, the more humid the air became, and the temperature dropped.
They could even hear the drip-drop of water.
Sakai Takashi felt a bit cold.
"Are we underground?"
The footsteps of the three echoed down the stairs, step by step, drilling deeper into the depths.
Judging by the echo, there was still a very long distance to go.
"Underground," White Torch answered succinctly, leading the two to the end of the spiral staircase, about five or six floors deep.
Before them, a very ancient 'man-powered' elevator appeared in their sight.
"This..."
Sakai Takashi was speechless. What era was this?
With his calloused hand, White Torch calmly struck a bell above the elevator shaft.
Ding-ling-ling—
The pleasant sound of the copper bell cast down into the dark shaft.
The sound of rope friction drifted up.
"We can't use an electric elevator," White Torch said. "mystery interferes with signals and imaging. Who knows if it will interfere with electricity?"
"Then the verification at the door..."
Hearing Sakai Takashi's retort, this top-tier Ritualist rarely showed an almost imperceptible smile. "Do you have a better way?"
White Torch's face was a mixture of complex emotions, seemingly hatred and helplessness. "This damn World has gone wrong, people have gone wrong, and machines have gone wrong."
"What else can we do?"
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