Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

It turned out it wasn't too late—Yuri was originally going to grab the shadow and smash the second bottle on its head immediately, but he was slowed down because Akemi pulled him.

Yuri did not turn back, but his doubts should have reached Akemi.

“The route has changed, let’s see where it goes.” Mingmei conveyed the new plan to Yuri as quietly as possible.

Yuri glanced at the yellow dots on the shadowy figure—overall, there wasn't much change, but it was still a bit dimmer than before. The fuel was limited and couldn't burn for very long.

There was a risk; the spark might go out after only a couple of steps, and the shadowy figure would run away again. But Mingmei's suggestion was really tempting.

Soon, curiosity took over, and Yuri really wanted to know where the dark figure was trying to run off to.

The two slowed down and followed the shadowy figure, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

The shadowy figure didn't stop, instead changing its pace and heading in a slightly off-center direction—to Yuri, there was nothing special there except for the wall—could it be planning to use the wall to block its pursuers? If so, it was making a mistake. Not only was Mingmei an expert at scaling walls, but Yuri could also fly there directly.

And if extra time is wasted for this reason, Yuri will definitely smash the second bottle on it.

Fortunately, this did not happen. After approaching the wall, the dark figure quickly ran towards a pit in the ground—a manhole cover that had been partially removed.

Yuri thought it was time to stop it. They already knew where it was going, and they could search for the rest later.

He rushed forward, watching the dark figure recede further and further away—further and further away!?

The shadowy figure somehow erupted, accelerating its movements.

It was probably similar to the ability to unleash one's own spiritual essence, and Yuri felt very familiar with this move—unfortunately, Yuri couldn't unleash it in the same way due to energy limitations.

Even rushing forward at the current speed allowed, it was still too late; the dark figure slid into the sewer in a contorted posture.

Yuri kicked aside the obstructing manhole cover and jumped in.

—After drifting down the well wall, the dark figure still appeared to be trying to escape, and its speed returned to normal.

This is normal.

Without paying much attention to the vast, dark sewer, Yuri went straight for the dim yellow spark.

The chase didn't take long, and Yuri finally caught the shadowy figure again.

Before he could even celebrate his victory, he was struck hard in the back.

What's going on? Before he could think about it too much, Yuri dodged to the side.

There seemed to be a dark shadow behind me just now—and another dark shadow in my hand—was there more than one dark shadow?

A sense of crisis washed over him, and Yuri released his opponent, leaping to the other side, a dagger flashing across the spot where he had just been.

More than two!

Yuri's crisis didn't last long. As a beam of flashlight shone, the shadowy figures around Yuri came into view.

one two three four.

Including the one whose flames had not yet completely died out, there were four dark figures—three of which appeared to be intact adult-sized.

This was truly bad news. Yuri forcefully shook off a dark figure that lunged at him and continued to retreat. These figures didn't conjure daggers; instead, they rushed forward, intending to entangle Yuri—seemingly more interested in preventing his escape than directly harming him. Given the disparity in strength, if Yuri were to be grabbed by two or three figures, he would find it difficult to break free.

If he were to be grabbed right now, it would be troublesome. Yuri quickly moved towards Akemi Kōgen and broke out of the encirclement before the shadowy figure could complete the encirclement.

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————————————Author's Note——————————————

Dangerous operation, violation of regulations.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Storytelling

Three dark figures began to chase Yuri, while the one who had been on fire at the beginning continued to run forward—by the light of his flashlight, Yuri could see what appeared to be a puddle over there.

It would be abnormal if the sewer didn't have any stagnant water; it must be trying to extinguish the sparks on its body there. Unfortunately, Yuri doesn't have the strength to stop it now.

Yuri, on the run, desperately wanted to berate the designer who built such a massive sewer system—was he planning to drive in it? Now, the three shadowy figures could easily launch a combined attack on him. Although Yuri's side had the speed advantage, the sheer number of shadowy figures forced him to flee in a straight line, preventing him from buying time.

The bigger problem, of course, stemmed from his own carelessness—Yuri could see in the dark, and although the shadows had natural camouflage, Yuri should still have been able to spot the differences if he had paid close attention—but he was careless, and now he was in a situation where he could only run for his life.

Akemi seemed to want to get closer to do something, but Yuri shouted for her to stop near the entrance after she had already taken two steps—now the focus should be on how to escape rather than how to launch an attack.

Fortunately, there was a second bottle. Yuri held the bottle in his hand.

Yuri returned to Minmei's side before the shadowy figure arrived, with about ten seconds to go before the shadowy figure could reach them.

"Give me the lighter." Without wasting any time, Yuri made his request directly—he knew that Akemi always carried a bunch of gadgets with her. During the escape, he had already opened the second bottle and plugged the opening with his finger.

"What are you going to do?" Mingmei asked as she rummaged through her hands.

“Of course we should use the second bottle too, give them a good beating—and then we can run away.” The shadowy figure was almost upon them.

"Climb up once the fire is lit!" Yuri only had time to say this before he had to rush up again to stop the shadows.

He arrived just in time; before he and the shadows began to entangle themselves, at least one of them had shifted their attention to Akemi—these shadows were likely all of the same mind that they were more interested in Akemi.

Yuri had little fighting experience, and even less grappling experience. The shadowy figures were particularly suited to grappling, and Yuri confirmed his prediction that once entangled by multiple shadowy figures, he would be unable to escape without attempting to become ethereal.

During the struggle, the shadowy figures didn't focus on grabbing the bottle Yuri had sealed with his fingers, but they were certainly interested in Yuri's arm. Unable to let go of the bottle and the lighter, Yuri could only wave his arm in vain, and the situation became extremely critical.

"Don't come any closer!" It was so urgent that Mingmei was even prepared to step in and help.

He couldn't delay any longer. Yuri was already losing track of which of the shadowy figures wrapped around him was which. If he really got completely immobilized, it would be the end of him. He released his fingers from the bottle opening, and the mixture of silvery-white and black particles sprinkled onto himself—and, of course, onto the shadowy figures as well.

The shadowy figures didn't stop; instead, they tightened their grip even more. They probably didn't know what these particles were. If they had suffered losses before, they might hesitate for a moment, provided, of course, that they were intelligent enough to hesitate.

With his mind racing through unrelated thoughts, Yuri released the bottle and used his other hand to light a lighter. He tried to get the flame close to the powder, and with some effort, he managed to get it to touch the powder.

The flames rise.

Both Yuri and the shadows were burned by the flames, but their reactions were completely different. Yuri felt that he was being injured rapidly, but he did not lose control of his body, while the three shadows, which were almost indistinguishable from each other, quickly began to struggle wildly on the spot.

Then Yuri began to disintegrate into a spirit form.

When entangled, spiritualization may fail—some dubious books say this is because the interference between each other cannot be easily eliminated, while Yuri suspects it is because his attention is disturbed and he cannot effectively control himself.

In any case, the shadowy figures currently being burned by the flames are not making any effective interference; they are struggling in vain, trying to extinguish the flames from their bodies.

Yuri caught up with Akemi, who was halfway up the ladder. After Akemi left the well, he looked back at the still-burning flames. The shadowy figure seemed to have stopped moving; it appeared that the intense flames had an extremely powerful effect on it.

If Yuri weren't completely out of ammunition and supplies, and didn't even have any spiritual essence left to heal his injuries, he would really like to turn back and go in again to search.

Forget it, don't be reckless—there's nothing left to save your life now.

The two left the well and returned to the surface, then quickly increased the distance between themselves and the well.

That concludes tonight's exploration.

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 left school using the old method, and on his way home, his tidying up was interrupted by Akemi.

"What happened with the second flame?" Mingmei's voice was filled with doubt. "The two flames were so different. What did you do?"

Yuri thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth: "The first bottle did contain phosphorus powder, but the second one did not. The second one contained aluminum powder and iron oxide particles—as well as magnesium powder for ignition."

"So the second one burned particularly fiercely?" Mingmei frowned.

She may have forgotten this part of her chemistry book.

“That’s roughly it.” Yuri gave up on explaining the complex phenomenon, because he himself only had a superficial understanding. Specifically, he knew that it could burn, and that it could burn violently, but he didn’t know why it produced such a powerful effect.

"The result is good, but shouldn't you have told me beforehand?" Mingmei rebuked in a relatively gentle tone. "I only knew that the contents were different, and that the contents of the second bottle burned much more fiercely, but I didn't know it was really that fast. What if I had used it incorrectly?"

Yuri admitted that he had indeed miscalculated this part—he hadn't expected the flames to burn so fiercely.

As Yuri bowed his head in self-reflection, Akemi spoke again.

“I’m not without fault either. At first, I only thought of following the clues to find the shadow’s lair, but I didn’t expect that the lair might also be the most heavily guarded place.” She took a deep breath. “I really didn’t mean to put you in danger.”

"This will never end if it continues. We didn't do it on purpose. It's normal to make mistakes sometimes." Yuri was very open-minded about it.

Just like I said some time ago, as fellow participants in the same activity, we're all in the same boat, and no one would intentionally harm the other—we'll just be more careful next time.

Let's continue summarizing.

In terms of gains and losses, this operation was definitely a win-win situation overall.

Based on Yuri's assessment before leaving, at least two of the last three shadowy figures were burned beyond repair—whether they were completely annihilated is uncertain, but most likely they were—even if they could regenerate like spirits, they would have certainly died once before. The third shadowy figure was still struggling and might have had a chance to escape.

What if it were a person burned by these flames? Yuri found it hard to say. It wasn't that the flames weren't hot or intense enough, but because the amount of fuel was limited, they would definitely be severely injured, but whether it would lead to an even worse outcome was uncertain—and he sincerely hoped he would never have to try it. It would be quite good if it could have a significant effect on the shadowy figure who was clearly afraid of fire.

If you have to face them eventually no matter what, being able to reduce the enemy's numbers in advance is already a very successful performance.

Furthermore, knowing the origin of the shadowy figure, it is highly likely that the shadowy figure has its own base in the sewers.

That's a really, really huge sewer system. Does this designer really not care about wasting money?

Yes, that's right. Tokyo, this wretched place, is indeed prone to flooding because it's by the sea and has rivers running through it—but why build such a huge sewer system under a high school? Is it necessary?

"Don't ask me, I don't know either," Akemi said innocently when asked. "I'm new here too. If you're asking about my hometown, I can say that there's absolutely no such thing. Heaven knows what Tokyoites are thinking, right?"

In short, let's ignore for now why anyone would build such a huge sewer system—Yuri is certain that the Shadow didn't expand it himself. If he did, even a fraction of the power from that project could obliterate him.

Knowing that the Shadow was extremely afraid of fire, both the initial phosphorescence and the later raging flames had a huge impact on it. It seems that from now on, we should just use fire to deal with the Shadow.

Then there's the loss.

The material loss is negligible: two glass bottles, a lighter, and the chemicals stolen from the lab are gone. While morally wrong, the chemicals were free.

Yuri completely exhausted his remaining spiritual essence during the operation, leaving him with no energy left even for healing. —This seemed a bit strange; he clearly remembered reserving some for emergencies —Could he have used it up at some point? Unfortunately, he hadn't written it down at the time, making it difficult to recall exactly when he used it.

It's good that Mingmei wasn't injured this time.

Overall, although there was a thrilling moment along the way, the result was a great victory.

However, some questions remain unanswered.

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.

On the way, Mingmei slowed her pace, which usually meant she was about to speak.

Yuri slowed down and, sure enough, heard Akemi's question, "If the shadowy figure stays in the sewers during the day and never goes out, then why would it bring a curse to the students? I haven't heard of him going into the sewers. If he did, he couldn't possibly forget something so important."

Good question. Yuri just thought of that too and is trying to come up with a theory that fits the situation.

"Hmm... let me think..." he drawled, stalling for time, "I've got it—outside the classroom where we first discovered the shadow, if we look out, we can also see a manhole cover, right?"

"It seems like that happened—I can't remember exactly, but it's normal to have manhole covers on the road outside." Mingmei said she couldn't remember the specifics.

"Maybe he was seen by a shadowy figure lurking in the well when he passed by that manhole cover, and that's how he became—" Yuri felt he couldn't continue the story.

"Of all those people, he just happened to be chosen?" The female high school critic casually pointed out a huge problem.

"..." That's probably not very likely.

Yuri racked his brains and continued, "Maybe he just carelessly threw something down the drain, like a cigarette butt—if that's the case, he definitely wouldn't tell you, right?"

"Yes, because students are prohibited from smoking, but do you even believe what you're saying?" The critic's words didn't sound like a question.

Although he was not confident, Yuri continued to make up a story: "The Shadow is very sensitive to fire. If he throws a smoldering cigarette butt at this time and it hits the Shadow, it will arouse the Shadow's hatred and cause the Shadow, which cannot appear in person, to curse him. Then, when the Shadow is lying in wait nearby at night, we come and include us in the revenge."

Yuri felt like he was no longer knowing what he was saying—the story wasn't entirely nonsensical, but the conditions and coincidences were piling up.

“Indeed, the shadowy figure is very vengeful—” the critic hesitated for a moment, “and we were also followed home by the shadowy figure after our encounter with it.”

"But?" Yuri sensed there was definitely a "but" here.

"But why would the shadowy figure use a curse that jumps between different locations? Shouldn't it be aimed at just one person and cursed to death?"

“Hmm…” Yuri thought for a moment, “Maybe the shadowy figure can’t actually distinguish which student is which, so it hates all students and their friends indiscriminately? You see, the gatekeeper wasn’t attacked, but when you and I are together, the shadowy figure always attacks you first.”

“Let’s get this straight,” the critic said, rubbing his forehead. “You mean, the shadowy figure, as a vengeful creature, while it was in the sewers—”

“It’s not just sitting there, it’s poised to strike. It doesn’t seem to have any friendly intentions towards humans at all,” Yuri added.

"Okay, so the shadowy figure was sharpening its knife in the sewers, waiting to come out and commit evil deeds at midnight, when it just so happened to be hit by a cigarette butt. So it unleashed a powerful curse. It couldn't distinguish which student was which, so it just so happened to target the student and his friend with the curse. It just so happened that when I went to investigate, he just so happened not to tell me about his smoking. And then, just so happened that we ran into the shadowy figure when it came out to commit evil deeds at midnight these past two days. And then, just so happened that we were investigating the source of the curse, and just so happened that we discovered the source of the curse—the shadowy figure—and fought with it?" The critic raised his voice whenever he mentioned "just so happened."

In fact, aside from the fact that it just so happened to use far too many of those characters, it was basically a story Yuri had just made up. Yuri also suddenly realized that, based on the fact that the shadows were indistinguishable, the person who threw the cigarette butt and the first person cursed might not be the same person. However, adding that in would only reduce the number of people by one.

“I admit there are too many coincidences, but let’s look at it from another angle—even if all of these guesses are wrong, we’ve still made an enemy of the Shadow, and it was the Shadow who struck first—it’s only right that we strike back at the Shadow, isn’t it?”

The critics agreed this time.

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