Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

“Don’t give up at a time like this,” Yuri interrupted, his voice sounding ominous. “According to the previous plan, I will focus on the middle lane—if possible, you’d better take the opportunity to regain your strength, and then we can still win head-on. It’s settled then.”

Without waiting for a further reply, Yuri opened the door and stood in the hallway.

While inside the house, I didn't notice anything unusual, but I discovered it as soon as I went outside.

The corridor was pitch black.

It's certainly possible to turn off lights at night to save electricity, but it's unlikely that there will be absolutely no light.

To avoid being too conspicuous, the lights inside the house were turned off early on, but the corridor lights outside were not under Yuri's control, so there shouldn't have been none left on.

It looks like there's a power outage.

A question popped into Yuri's mind—he had darkvision, the Sin Eaters had darkvision, but where did the Hunters' darkvision come from? Why hadn't he thought to ask that when he was in the hospital?

At the end of the corridor, a group of ghosts appeared.

"They have absolutely no creativity. They always use the same trick. Don't they get tired of it?" Yuri cursed inwardly at these guys for their endless laziness.

But he still had to deal with it. Yuri tentatively took a few steps away from the door, but when he saw the large group of ghosts rushing towards him, he quickly retreated back to his original position.

Just then, I heard a clattering sound coming from the room's glass.

The moonlight isn't bright tonight, but if someone were outside the window, they should still be able to see a shadow through the curtains—there's no shadow here now—in other words, a ghost is knocking on the window outside.

There's no need to think too much; it's obvious that some ghost was trying to squeeze through the window but was blocked by the glass protected by the talisman. There's really nothing to say about the creativity of these traitors in this regard.

Yuri put the gun back in his pocket and continued to stand at the door, waiting for the main group to arrive.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Yuri has fought against the ghost aggregates many times, and he is now quite adept at it. Moreover, this time he has an advantage that he did not have before.

He punched into the horde of ghosts, his arm getting tangled up by their hands and feet. His hand grabbed an ankle, but he couldn't tell which ghost's foot it was—it didn't matter anyway.

Yuri began rapidly drawing energy from the ghost.

In the past, I deliberately restrained myself to avoid conflict with sin-eaters, but now there is no need to continue to do so.

Yuri continuously channeled the absorbed power into the protective barrier.

He had known for a long time that incorporating foreign energy into one's body was extremely painful, but using it immediately would make things much better.

A single ghost is much stronger than a single rat spirit, so it falls right into the range of this move.

The effect was surprisingly good. With Yuri taking in energy with his left hand and expelling it with his right, without suffering any damage himself, the ghost aggregates were being rapidly weakened—after the energy Yuri absorbed from them turned into a shield, they themselves could not break through.

Ultimately, they were just a cluster of ghosts forcibly brought together by external forces. They were grouped together to avoid being defeated one by one, but this did not increase their power.

We've already clashed head-on, so what's the point of hiding now?

The sphere in front of us has been almost completely dismantled, but there are still no special signs. The knocking outside the window has not stopped, but whatever it is, it has not broken through the window.

The instant Yuri shattered the aggregate in front of him, the ghosts that were still able to move did one thing: they all pounced on him and tried to entangle his hands and feet.

Compared to the dozen or so ghosts at the beginning, the remaining five ghosts are quite pitiful, but they still rushed up with resentment.

However, when there were many people, they hadn't accomplished anything, but when there were few people, they had—Yuri suddenly noticed that behind him, in the opposite direction from the aggregate, an unfamiliar figure had emerged, holding the same rapid-fire weapon as Hirozaki.

Yuri quickly fell to the ground, pulling the ghost that was haunting him down with him, and dodged the oncoming bullets.

If he had waited for the enemy to fire before taking cover, it would have been too late. This time, Yuri performed exceptionally well, directly anticipating the opponent's attack.

Anzai missed his first attack and immediately retreated behind the corner, giving Yuri no time to pursue.

Yuri killed the ghost that was entangled with him, sprang up, and pulled out a pistol from his pocket.

"We meet again, Mr. Anzai." Yuri raised his voice—the hotel rooms were well soundproofed, so as long as he didn't shout at the top of his lungs, he shouldn't disturb anyone else.

Besides, didn't those muffled thuds just now manage to get anyone to shout? The gunshots were clearly audible in the empty corridor in the middle of the night.

Anzai made no response, and Yuri didn't even know if he was still in the same place.

After a while, just as Yuri thought he might be able to deal with the guy who was still persistently banging on the window, another group of ghosts emerged from the same spot.

It's definitely not a simple plan to drown Yuri with ghosts, but rather a plan to launch another attack from behind while Yuri's attention is drawn to these ghosts—no, that's not right.

Anzai is right in the middle of this pile of ghosts!

Yuri ducked to dodge two of the three shots in quick succession, but he still couldn't avoid one... It's hard to say whether he dodged the other two or if they simply missed from the start.

While hindering Yuri's observation, Anzai's shooting angle was also blocked by the ghosts—yet he remained undeterred, firing his shots and then retreating.

"This can't go on any longer," Yuri thought.

Yuri stepped back slightly, returning to the inside of the room. He hadn't wanted to do this, as it might allow firepower to spread into the room and threaten Yuka Yamanaka, but standing in the corridor would only leave him vulnerable to being attacked.

Even though there was only one person on the other side, the difference in shooting range was too great.

After a while, the ghosts began to pour into the doorway, but Yuri alone kept them out—bullying these weaklings was no problem, and he didn't even need to use a gun.

After a brief resistance, the ghosts began to retreat rapidly, except for one who was being held by the neck by Yuri and didn't have time to escape.

While it's said to be swift, Yuri could catch up at any time if he wanted to, but leaving the room and entering the corridor meant facing another sniper shot, so it was still considered—

Yuri realized what was happening and quickly gave chase.

Sure enough, in the opposite direction of the ghost's retreat, Anzai stood there with his gun. As soon as Yuri came out, he started shooting. He had been preparing for this firing for a while. All three bullets hit Yuri, one of which entered Yuri's head from behind.

However, if he hoped to achieve anything particularly great, he would be disappointed. After taking the bullets, Yuri dragged the pursuing ghosts behind him as a shield, while extracting their essence to heal himself.

As long as there are enough weak ghosts nearby to use as stepping stones, Yuri, who is willing to risk everything, can quickly recover from his injuries. Therefore, as long as he doesn't go too far from the room, he has nothing to fear.

Yuri returned to the room the instant his two shields were hit and dissipated.

With weak ghosts participating, they couldn't inflict effective damage on Yuri—it wouldn't be impossible if they had more powerful weapons, but blowing up a hotel without hesitation to eliminate an enemy was probably beyond their capabilities.

If no weak ghosts participate, then it's time for Yuri to use his pistol.

If Yuri were flesh and blood, the mistakes he has made would have been enough to kill him countless times. But he is not, so he has a considerable margin to bear failure, while the hunters... they should still be mortal beings.

A bullet entered the room, shattering the windowpane with a crash. The bullet itself pierced the curtains, grazed Yuri, and embedded itself in the wall near the door.

It must have been fired from a height similar to this room... If Yuri had a little time, he could determine the exact location based on the trajectory of the bullet—in any case, it was most likely across the street.

Yuri had no time to think that "it wouldn't matter even if we knew where the attack came from." He rushed to the window and grabbed the ghost that was crawling inside.

The second bullet entered the lower half of the window, pierced the curtains, and struck Yuri, who was standing behind it.

This bullet was different in design from the previous ones, and its power was also greater—Yuri dragged the ghost in front of him and absorbed its essence at the same time.

The third bullet entered from almost the same spot, piercing through the nameless ghost and causing it to dissipate. It then struck Yuri's shield but ultimately failed to break through.

The firing of bullets has temporarily ceased.

It's already quite remarkable that Anzai could move so quickly along both sides of the corridor; it's impossible for him to appear outside the building.

This is the second person.

Hey, Akemi, do you know what? I was shot in a hotel with a weapon that had a range of about 100 meters. In my opinion, the Japanese police's gun control efforts have been a complete failure.

Another ghost crawled in through the window, and Yuri, who was crouching behind the wall below the window, immediately reached out and pulled it over, then began to beat it.

It's so nice that this isn't a floor-to-ceiling window.

Before they could finish dealing with this, more ghosts started entering through the doorway—in fact, if the ghosts had been a little faster, one or two of them could have rushed in before Yuri could react—but they didn't.

There must be a conspiracy. Yuri, keeping a watchful eye, dragged the ghost in his hand behind him and rushed toward the door.

Then, just as he made contact with the ghost at the door, a bullet flew from behind and killed the shield.

Yuri quickly ducked, only to be kicked in the neck by the ghost in front of him. The injury was minor, but the humiliation was intense. He quickly stood up and then squatted down again. Another bullet flew over, piercing through the two ghosts in front of him and causing them to vanish together.

The ghosts at the door dispersed again, and there was no movement from the window either, so it seemed that the enemy was plotting a new scheme.

Yuri really wanted to catch his breath, but now the opponent was deciding when and how to attack, and all Yuri could do was hold on and not get killed.

To console himself, Yuri had been quite resilient—if he hadn't been constantly absorbing the essence from these former repeaters and puppets, the injuries from all those bullets would have been enough to hinder his movements.

Another unfortunate piece of news is that it is clear that the "hunters" can observe through the eyes of ghosts—or even without observing through the eyes of ghosts—and their grasp of Yuri's actions is not only extremely accurate but also remarkably accurate.

There might be some issues with timing; Yuri's speed couldn't possibly outpace a bullet, but he still had a chance to dodge the hidden gunshot outside the window, indicating that the person responsible for firing from outside the building couldn't keep track of the movements inside in real time.

Was it a spirit site? Anzai used the spirit site to pinpoint Yuri's (and likely Yamanaka Yuka's) location, and then somehow, like by phone, informed the archers outside...

Before Yuri could figure out how to confirm, the ghosts poured in through the door again, this time their ranks were somewhat sparse—only two ghosts had been killed in the corridor just now, and although the total number should not be that large, this obvious sparseness should be intentional rather than a lack of ghosts.

Yuri continued to crouch down to block them, wary of them passing over his head.

Then a bullet hit him in the back.

The angle was wrong. If it were still the same almost horizontal shot as before, it should have flown over Yuri's head—had the archer's position risen? Yuri quickly grabbed the ghost in front of him, lifted it with a half-over-the-shoulder throw, and moved it to the side near the window, continuing the same old routine of absorbing spiritual essence.

The ghosts at the door retreated again, and then another bullet pierced through the gun in Yuri's hand.

It was a terrible situation. Yuri gritted his teeth and persevered. He felt like a big, clumsy guy in a movie, only moving when someone slapped him, relying entirely on his own strength to hold on.

But a better solution couldn't be found for the time being.

178. Holding firm.

After some time, the fighting continued, and although the situation had changed drastically, the fighting still continued.

"Yuri, are you alright?" came Yuka Yamanaka's voice from under the bed.

Yuri, who was banging the heads of two ghosts together repeatedly, immediately replied, "I'm fine, how about you? I just saw one of the ghosts trying to lift the sheet and crawl inside."

Yuri almost panicked and followed them in. If Yuga Yamanaka hadn't told him he could handle it, he might have actually crawled inside—and then he would have been locked in a fierce fight with the ghosts in the cramped space under the bed, leaving all the outside space behind, making the situation even worse than it is now.

“I’ve already subdued you. Are you in a bad situation?” Yamanaka Yuka didn’t pay much attention to the crisis she was facing. “The talismans you left me should be enough to fight one and a half… two more. Count two for myself. You should do what you can.”

"My personal situation is fantastic, but the overall situation isn't so great!"

After realizing they couldn't defeat Yuri immediately, the "hunters" changed their fighting style.

First, they tried to manipulate the ghost to perform subtle actions—specifically, to make the ghost that came in through the window draw back the curtains.

At the time, Yuri, who was stuck at the door, didn't realize what was going on for a moment, but it didn't take long before he understood when the ghost clumsily started pulling.

The curtains blocked the outside view, which was very detrimental to the gunman's aiming—whoever the gunman was, he had to rely on reports from insiders to fire.

Initially, the curtains also blocked Yuri's view, which had a significant negative impact on his dodging ability. However, Yuri has now largely gotten used to Anzai's call-out rhythm and dodges far more often than he gets hit.

To increase their firing efficiency, the enemy attempted to pull back the curtains to visually confirm Yuri's position. They may have realized Yuri was unlikely to retaliate at this distance and felt that being seen wouldn't be a big deal.

Based on the idea that "what the enemy does is what I must oppose," Yuri immediately returned, but just as he was entangled with the ghost of the curtains, the ghosts at the door began to pour in again.

So, taking advantage of the moment when the ghost in his hand was pierced by a bullet again, Yuri removed the talisman from the curtain.

The glass was originally meant to keep ghosts out, but it's long since shattered. While curtains could also prevent ghosts from passing, they could easily just lift them up...

Then let's just stop having contact with ghosts! It was already on the verge of collapse after having several holes in it, and if a ghost shakes it a few more times, it'll really be finished.

Then they returned to the doorway.

Another moment passed.

"In the mountains, could you try calling the police?"

Yuri didn't want to make this request; calling the police when there was clearly a mole within the force sounded suspicious—but the current situation made him desperately want someone to share the burden.

"No—I've tried, there's almost no signal—the other side has blocked the signal using a spirit field-type ability!"

"Didn't you say they couldn't master the ability immediately?" Yuri should have controlled his voice, but he couldn't.

"I do not know!"

After the curtains failed to keep the ghosts out, they poured in from both sides, eventually causing one to slip through and crawl under the bed.

The good news is that, as Yuka Yamanaka just said, she won.

The bad news is that it's unknown how long the enemy's ghostly offensive can last.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The bullet passed through the protective barrier again, but this time it didn't hit anything outside the barrier.

Yuri had retreated above the bed, using a large circular support to buy time.

It's effective at preventing ghosts from entering, but as for avoiding being shot... with such a large target, as long as the gunmen outside the hotel keep firing, they're bound to hit it no matter what.

Moreover, since Yuri had left the door, Anzai on the outer corridor also began to peek outside the door—Yuri had closed the door and put up a talisman before leaving, hoping to buy time. This plan was quite successful at one point, until several bullets pierced the door and knocked the lock off.

So this unlocking method actually works!

In the midst of this crisis, an opportunity presented itself to Yuri.

Anzai, who was pacing back and forth at the door, seemed to think that as long as he stayed behind the ghost, he would be safe—he believed that Yuri would not be able to break through the ghost's defenses and catch him quickly enough.