Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

The Soul Summoning Society, with a history of nearly two hundred years, sways between fire and water, leading countless so-called "heroic spirits" into purgatory.

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Chapter 205: Manipulating Souls

Kosuke Iwasaki's body is suspended deep in the dark clouds.

Under the scorching heat, he can switch to the clouds and mist at any time, where he is not directly affected.

These people probably thought that the entire black cloud was his true form and would be damaged by the high temperature.

However, in reality, if the combustion cannot be completely covered in one go, it is essentially the same as having no effect.

He coldly watched the hellish scene below, which instantly turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Those survivors, along with their hatred and despair, were completely annihilated in the indiscriminate thermite spray, not even lasting a second.

"That saves trouble." He remained unmoved by the comment.

But his work was not finished.

Long before the offerings began to kill each other and their blood soaked the ground in front of the temple, he had already silently manipulated the flowing blood, guiding it to meander across the ground and outline a huge, umbrella-shaped sacrificial pattern that almost completely enveloped them.

Taking advantage of the lull in the thermite bomb, he descended from the dark clouds, hovered in mid-air, and assumed a kneeling posture.

As the thought drove it, the umbrella-shaped pattern drawn with blood suddenly lit up with a dark red glow, which even the flames could not conceal.

At the same time, under Iwasaki's full control, the dark cloud in the sky began to condense and compress towards the center, its shape changing rapidly, eventually forming an enormous eye that looked down upon all living beings from above.

Black mist churned within the hollow pupils of the giant eye. Below, amidst the pile of burning corpses, hundreds of terrified eyeballs were precisely gouged out by an invisible force, rising like raindrops falling backward and gathering within the black cloud-like eye.

Densely packed, like malignant cysts embedded in an abyss, they formed a terrifying pupil.

"Sacrifice. Begin."

I offer:

A mind nourished by lies, a spine forged with violence.

A heart consumed by greed, pupils stained with filth.

This is a filthy body, this is a sinful soul, offered in exchange for the 'unknown', to purify the world.

I beg for knowledge.

Om-!

The enormous umbrella-shaped blood map suddenly burst forth with a blinding crimson light, resembling a gaping maw leading to an abyss.

Meanwhile, the giant black cloud in the sky, with its pupil composed of hundreds of human eyes, cast a cold and holy gaze upon the blood umbrella pattern.

The next moment, on the mountain of burning corpses below, wisps of gray-black mist, visibly twisting and struggling, exuding a strong aura of sin and resentment, were forcibly extracted from the charred and curled-up bodies.

They emitted silent shrieks under our gaze, writhing wildly like grease thrown into a furnace, yet unable to resist the terrifying suction from the giant maw of the blood umbrella!

Whoosh!

Countless gray-black souls flowed into the sea, greedily devoured by the scarlet umbrella-shaped blood diagram.

After the last trace of soul fragment was completely sucked into the giant maw of the blood umbrella, the hundreds of human eyes that made up the pupil of the giant eye in the sky exploded one after another.

There was no flying blood and flesh, only streams of pure, dazzling white light, containing immense information and energy, pouring down from the shattered eyeballs and precisely and surging into the crown of Iwasaki Kosuke's head below.

"Well--!"

Iwasaki's body jolted violently as an unprecedented torrent of knowledge and power surged into his mind and body, leaving him frozen for several seconds.

Countless insights and experiences regarding the essence of the soul, the core of manipulation, and the construction of domains—all related to the spiritual abilities of the soul—are deeply etched into my mind like a brand.

You have achieved Intermediate Growth: Soul Manipulation

The soul controls the body, and you control the soul.

You have obtained: The Invisible Profound Mystery

The sins of this sacrifice were so immense that he directly unlocked intermediate abilities, along with an invisible evolutionary ability.

Needless to say, he can manipulate souls. Even though he certainly can't do it for a long time or perform any very difficult operations at the moment, the resulting understanding of the essence of the soul is more valuable to him than any ability.

The formless and profound darkness allows his black cloud form to no longer be a brief burst of power under the "overdraft" state, but to truly become a core ability that he can use regularly.

Although the scale, duration, and intensity under normal conditions are far inferior to the sky-covering black cloud domain under the [Overdraft] state, it means that he finally has a trump card that he can use without sacrificing his life, which can be considered a significant improvement in ability.

The flow of knowledge brings satisfaction on a spiritual level.

Only this kind of improvement in strength can make Iwasaki feel an instinctive joy.

Beneath the blurred black robe, a satisfied smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Knowledge and skills—these are what he truly seeks.

He had no interest in wasting his energy playing house with the authorities; it offered no real benefit and was simply a waste of time.

The time limit for overdrafting is almost up. Iwasaki pondered for a moment, then made the dark clouds slowly shrink, revealing the illusion of painful struggle.

He hid among them until the dark clouds had almost completely disappeared, then used the "color-changing factor" to become a white cloud of smoke that could be seen everywhere, and silently escaped from the burning ruins.

Reporters in the distance witnessed the entire process of the Tokyo Shokonsha being turned into a sea of ​​fire; the heat was so intense that they could feel it even hundreds of meters away.

Most of the reporters were speechless and could only hide awkwardly behind cover, staring blankly at the scene.

What professionalism? In this situation, not running away is already quite worthy of a journalist's identity.

After the dark clouds twisted and dissipated unnaturally, revealing the original overcast and rainy sky, many reporters finally snapped out of their daze.

The camera refocused on the reporter's forced composure, with thick smoke and scattered flames still billowing in the direction of the spirit summoning shrine in the background, and a lingering, indescribable smell of burning in the air.

"Dear viewers! This is Masako Yamaguchi, NHK's frontline reporter! Just now, we witnessed a thrilling battle."

The reporter's voice trembled slightly with relief, yet couldn't hide his professional excitement: "Under the devastating barrage of fire, the terrifying black cloud that the demonic mist had condensed has finally begun to dissipate! It contracted, struggled, and finally... retreated! Modern firepower has once again proven its formidable combat power; even the demonic mist is powerless to resist!"

However, reporters from different camps reacted in a variety of ways.

From sobbing to suppressing laughter, or simply bursting into uncontrollable laughter, you can find it all here.

"We witnessed the military's swift and decisive actions. We also saw the Tokyo Shrine of Souls, this sacred hall that carried the memories of countless heroic spirits, reduced to ruins in the flames—what a loss!"

"A disaster triggered by a gathering of extremist groups ended in an extreme manner. The fire destroyed the shrine, and it also destroyed any remaining life that might have survived inside."

"On-site confirmation! The black cloud, suspected to be demonic mist, showed signs of unstable contraction after the US military's burning attack and eventually dissipated! The military has not yet been able to enter the core area, and the main building of the Soul Summoning Society has been confirmed to be severely damaged! The casualties are unknown. Let us... cough cough, pray for them!"

"Where's the cannon? Bring it up! Forget about work, I want to set it off right now!"

The reporters, who already disliked each other, almost came to blows.

Above the Summoning Society, taking advantage of the disappearance of the dark clouds and the restoration of the signal, the commando team deployed nearby drones to conduct reconnaissance, but found virtually no valuable information.

"At the instant the aluminothermic oxidant was applied, severe turbulence did indeed appear at the edge of the black cloud, indicating that ultra-high temperature combustion had a significant interference and destructive effect on the energy body it constituted."

"However, after the ritual that appeared to be a sacrifice was completed, the dark cloud began to shrink violently, exhibiting a deliberately chaotic characteristic in the process."

"Considering its previous ability to basically ignore our special aerogel blockade, this is more likely a strategy adopted by the demonic mist as its bursting ability is about to expire."

"Our initial assessment is that high-temperature combustion and special aerogel do have an effective suppressive effect on the demonic mist, but the main reason for the target's retreat is more likely that the sacrificial ritual has been completed and the time limit for its extraordinary ability has expired, so it has chosen to withdraw voluntarily. There is no reason to be overly optimistic."

Leon compiled the experts' quick conclusions, added his own judgment, and reported them to McCullough.

McCullough largely agreed with Leon's assessment.

The demonic mist wasn't driven away, but rather retreated; they were unaware of the extent of damage this operation had inflicted on it.

When faced with an enemy that has no physical form but can fly, one feels so helpless.

Unless a truly inescapable and completely enclosed trap is set up to lure the target into it, it is impossible to capture them.

Forget about inhalation weapons; their effective range is too short.

“Regarding the Minister of Defense, he has a request,” Leon said slowly and carefully. “He wants to publicize this ‘victory,’ and we can either tacitly approve or support it.”

victory?

As the commander of the Japanese forces, McCullough must have had some understanding of the various factions in Japan, and after a little thought, he roughly understood the reasons behind his actions.

How sad.

However, those right-wing groups didn't actually rise again because of Amy's initial support.

Now, however, they can no longer fully control it.

Within the far right, there is a growing number of people who hate them.

They certainly wouldn't dare to take action against the American troops, but the Defense Minister's attempt to use them as a shield might not succeed.

Half a day later.

At an emergency press conference.

The Defense Minister stood under the spotlight, pale-faced, with sunken eyes and graying hair. His expensive suit was wrinkled and clung to his body, as if he had just crawled out of a disaster site.

This is the result of his meticulous makeover by a professional makeup artist.

In front of him were countless cameras and reporters, while the background screen showed a frozen image of the burning Summoning Society.

"Fellow countrymen!" The Defense Minister's voice was filled with an almost tragic fervor, a stark contrast to his weary appearance. "This very morning, in the heart of Tokyo, we experienced yet another evil attack!"

"A villain codenamed 'Demon Mist' has brazenly attacked the Tokyo Shokonsha, where a solemn memorial service was being held!"

He took a deep breath, as if drawing strength from the air: "But evil can never triumph over justice! Within the framework of the great U.S.-Japan alliance, and with Commander McCullough's decisive and powerful support! Our Self-Defense Forces soldiers, our extraordinary countermeasures units, fought side by side with the U.S. military, bravely and fearlessly! In the end—"

The Minister of Defense clenched his fist, his voice trembling with excitement: "We have successfully dealt a heavy blow to that demon who has killed countless people! We witnessed firsthand the terrifying dark cloud struggling painfully under the flames of justice, and finally collapsing and retreating! This is a victory for all those who fought for the peace of Tokyo! This is a great victory for the forces of justice!"

At this point, his voice suddenly choked up, and his eyes instantly reddened.

Amidst the frenzied flashing of countless cameras, this Defense Minister, who at least appeared to hold a high position, made a move that caused an uproar throughout the room—he abruptly pushed aside the podium, took a step forward, and, facing the cameras and everyone present, performed a deep, standard, and professional kneeling, his forehead slamming heavily onto the cold floor!

He has practiced this dozens of times.

"Alas, the price of this victory is too heavy!"

He lay prostrate on the ground, his shoulders heaving violently, his voice choked with sobs, which carried through the microphone throughout the hall: "We have lost the sacred Resurrection Society! We have lost so many glorious lives! As Minister of Defense, I am deeply responsible, and I apologize to the people!" Tears streamed down his face and dripped onto the floor.

In order to survive, his acting skills at this moment are comparable to those of countless film emperors in film history.

The room was deathly silent, save for the clicks of camera shutters and his suppressed sobs.

This was his only lifeline.

He firmly placed the ultimate decision-making power of the operation on the great Japan-U.S. alliance and the decisive support of Commander McCullough, portraying himself as a grieving but responsible person who carried out the necessary actions, and an apologizer who paid a heavy price for victory.

The purpose of celebrating victory is to salvage a little dignity and political capital, so that when the angry far-right wing settles scores with him, they will at least have some reservations about his reputation as a victor and the complex international factors behind it.

The tearful dogeza was a performance of sob stories for the public and media, an attempt to garner sympathy and offset the overwhelming wave of shrine destruction.

He crawled on the ground, praying for only one thing: to survive, even if it meant being as insignificant as an ant.

just

Among the reporters, an unremarkable woman pulled out a pistol from her bosom, her gaze slightly vacant, and while everyone's attention was focused on the Minister of Defense, she rushed straight out of the press box.

Amidst the bodyguard's terrified gaze, as if thinking, "I'm doomed, my job is gone," he pointed his pistol at the head of the Minister of Defense, who had just looked up after hearing the sound.

"Go to hell and atone for your sins to the fallen heroes! Long live the heroes!"

boom!

Before the Minister of Defense could even react, everything went black, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

At that moment, the bodyguard who had rushed forward barely reached the woman's side, their fingertips no more than a meter apart, yet it was a distance between life and death.

They couldn't even stop the woman from firing a second shot.

However, it was aimed at his own head.

Two gunshots rang out, two lives were lost.

The news signal was abruptly cut off, and countless citizens stared in disbelief at the panicked news anchors on television trying to salvage the situation.

Has the right wing become this rampant?!

Even right-leaning ordinary people can't accept this! We have to take strong measures!

Amid the chaos of the press conference, in a shadowy corner unnoticed by anyone, a dark figure silently swept past.

Chapter 206: Acting Minister