Chapter 36: Setting the Trap
Deep within Kamimizu City Central Park, Yuigahama Yui gripped a leash tightly in her hand.
Beside her, her dachshund Sabre wagged his tail enthusiastically, sniffing through the grass with intense curiosity at the unfamiliar scents lingering in the area.
"It's so quiet here, Sabre."
Yui took a deep breath of the fresh air, scented with grass and trees, and smiled with her characteristic airheaded expression.
"Coming here at night was definitely the right choice! If we'd come during the day, there'd be people everywhere and you wouldn't be able to run around like this."
She crouched down and rubbed Sabre's long floppy ears, her voice carrying a rare sense of relaxation that she never showed at school.
At school, she constantly had to read the room, maintain the delicate balance within her friend group. Only here, in this empty park at night, could she drop the facade of the girl who always said "okay" and "no problem" to everything.
Here, there was no Yukinoshita's cold indifference, no Yumiko's domineering personality. Just her and her dog.
Here, she didn't need to interpret anyone's expressions or cater to anyone's conversation topics.
Most importantly, she didn't have to worry about Sabre losing control and running into traffic like he usually did.
"If only every day could be this peaceful..."
Yui murmured to herself.
However, flags like that always get knocked down as quickly as they're raised.
"HONK—!!!"
Just as Yuigahama Yui was catching her breath, blinding high beams and an urgent horn blast erupted from behind her.
"Eh?!"
Yui flinched violently, her survival instincts kicking in as she scooped up Sabre—who was still sniffing the ground—and leaped to the side of the path like a startled rabbit.
The next second, a red streamlined sports car roared past with a gust of violent wind.
The speed was terrifying. The turbulence whipped Yui's hair into chaos and lifted her skirt to a dangerous angle.
In that split-second as the car passed, through the not-quite-closed window, she caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar profile in the driver's seat.
The boy's expression was cold and indifferent. Only a single casual sentence drifted through the wind into her ears:
"Next time, watch for cars when you're walking. And keep the dog leash shorter."
"I-I'm sorry! I'm very sorry! I apologize for the trouble... huh?"
Her brain short-circuiting from the series of events, Yui instinctively shouted an apology.
This was her survival instinct honed over many years—whether it was her fault or not, apologizing first was always the safe choice.
Only after the red taillights disappeared around the curve at the end of the road did she belatedly process what had happened.
Wait a minute!
This was a pedestrian walkway inside the park! There was clearly a "Motor Vehicles Prohibited" sign at the entrance! Why would a luxury sports car be racing through here?!
He should be the one apologizing!
And that voice just now sounded familiar somehow...
"What the hell, what a rude guy! Racing through the park like that—does he think being rich makes him special?"
Just as her indignation was rising, before Yui could even formulate a proper curse about the reckless driver getting a flat tire, the ground began to tremble slightly.
An eerie crackling sound of electrical current buzzed through the air.
"ROAAAAAR—!!!"
A massive blue beast charged through, hot on the car's heels.
Lightning crackled wildly across its entire body. The moment its paws hit the ground, the asphalt road exploded into charred craters from the electrical discharge.
As this wolf-like monster passed by her, it actually turned its head in a surprisingly human-like gesture and barked twice in her direction.
Good dogs don't block the road.
Then it transformed into a streak of blue lightning and chased after the vanished sports car.
"..."
Watching the car and beast disappear one after another into the darkness, Yuigahama Yui stood frozen in the wind.
She clutched the trembling Sabre in her arms, standing there in a daze, feeling her entire worldview crumbling around her.
This had to be an absurd nightmare, right?
How else could she explain seeing a giant wolf reenacting a live-action version of Fast and Furious in the park?
This was Kamimizu City! A modern metropolis built on science and law! Why had it suddenly transformed into a tokusatsu film set?!
"C-could I still be dreaming?"
Yui pinched her own cheek hard.
"Ow! That hurt! Not a dream!"
In the distance, she could faintly hear the screech of tires grinding against pavement and explosion-like sounds resembling thunder.
Those sounds made her heart pound uncontrollably.
Her instincts screamed that she should immediately turn around and run home to hide under her blankets.
But a damned curiosity scratched at her heart like a cat's claws.
If that beast caught up to that boy, he'd die, wouldn't he?
And what the hell was that monster?
"I'll just take one look... from far away..."
Yui swallowed hard and hugged Sabre tighter. Like a sneaky thief, driven by inexplicable impulse, she crept toward that direction.
...
On the other side, Kazama Chiba had no idea he'd just traumatized a certain dumpling-haired girl.
Seeing that this lightning beast with godlike speed refused to be shaken off, he decisively slammed on the brakes.
"SCREEEECH—!!!"
The tires dragged two long black marks across the open plaza's surface. The Aston Martin executed a perfect drift and stopped smoothly in front of the fountain.
This location had an open field of view with no obstructions—the ideal spot to set a trap.
From his observations, this thing wasn't particularly intelligent, so he shouldn't try to fight it head-on.
While unbuckling his seatbelt, Kazama quickly pulled out The Shadow card from his pocket.
The card disintegrated at his fingertips. Black shadows came alive, spreading silently across the ground and covering the entire plaza's surface.
Next, Kazama threw out The Illusion and The Mirror cards.
The air distorted slightly.
Several perfect copies of Kazama appeared in different corners of the plaza.
His real body, meanwhile, grabbed the still-dazed Kerberos and scrambled up a massive oak tree nearby in a few quick movements.
Sure enough, the moment he concealed himself, the thunder beast burst into the plaza the very next second.
Its underdeveloped brain clearly couldn't distinguish which target was real. Seeing multiple prey appear before it suddenly, the beast roared excitedly and transformed into a blue streak of lightning, pouncing at one of the duplicates.
"CRASH!"
Its claws swept through the air. The duplicate shattered like foam.
The thunder beast froze for a moment, then lunged at another target with even greater fury.
It began rampaging madly across the plaza—pouncing, biting, discharging electricity. Every attack hit nothing but air. Every roar earned it only more mockery.
"Now's your chance, Kazama! It's getting tired—finish it off!"
Kerberos watched the panting thunder beast and waved his little paws excitedly.
But Kazama remained perfectly still.
"Wait a bit longer. Once it's burned through most of its magic, that's when we close the net."
Just a little longer. The moment it showed true exhaustion would be when the shadows lying in ambush beneath the ground would strike, binding it completely.
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