Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

Without waiting for the torch to go out, Yuri used his bare hands to grab the new strip of cloth that Akemi had taken out and thrown on the ground, and wrapped it around the burning torch. He paid the price by burning his hands—twice, in fact. There's an ancient magic trick called fire walking, which involves extremely rapid contact and separation to avoid burns, but that requires incredible speed, and Yuri needed to wrap the cloth at least once, making it impossible to avoid.

On the bright side, at least time was saved.

Holding up a new torch, Yuri moved forward cautiously, a chill rising from his body.

It's an illusion; spirits don't feel cold.

The shadows shifted as Yuri moved, and something emerged from behind a supporting pillar.

It's not very big; it looks long and narrow, probably less than two meters long, and it looks like a human figure lying on the ground.

Yuri slowed his pace further, moving closer to the humanoid figure.

The humanoid figure reflected a blue hue in the firelight; it had color, it wasn't just a black shadow. And... it was becoming more and more like a person.

"Yuri? Isn't there someone lying on the ground over there?" Akemi asked, her perspective shifting at some point.

“…I’ll go take a look first; something doesn’t feel right.” Yuri continued to approach the humanoid figure. The figure seemed to have something extra about it, and some parts were not as expected. He could observe it further once he got closer.

Upon getting closer, Yuri became certain that it was indeed a person, a young woman. She lay motionless on the ground, likely already dead—a thin, sharp object was piercing her chest.

“Mingmei? I suggest you don’t come any closer. This person is probably already dead.” Yuri continued forward and walked to the woman’s side.

There was no sign of breathing, no rise or fall of the chest or abdomen, and the face... the face was turned in a strange direction, with very obvious cut marks on the neck. If it wasn't dead, it was definitely a monster.

After a quick glance, the clothes on the body looked like a cheap suit, or rather, most likely a cheap suit, but Yuri didn't have the ability to tell the price of clothes at a glance, so he couldn't be sure. The clothing was somewhat disheveled, but it hadn't been undressed, perhaps because someone had searched the body for something, or perhaps the deceased had engaged in some physical activity before death. If someone had searched, it was impossible to tell whether the searcher had found their target.

Nothing identifying the body was exposed. A digital watch was worn on the right wrist; was the person left-handed? The watch screen was completely black, possibly because it was broken.

Yuri did not experience the usual aversion and tension one feels when seeing a dead body for the first time, nor did he show any signs of nausea. Of course, it would be troublesome if a spirit experienced these symptoms upon seeing a corpse.

After only a cursory examination of the corpse, even with his knees bent, Yuri discovered at least two fatal wounds, and possibly three depending on the classification.

First, the body's neck was twisted at an odd angle. If a normal person twisted their neck like that, it would definitely be broken. There were still traces of being cut on the throat. The wound did not reach the cervical vertebrae, but the parts before the cervical vertebrae should all be gone, such as the trachea and carotid artery.

Secondly, a thin wooden stick pierced the left chest of the body, not completely sinking into the ground, but Yuri, crouching down to examine it, was certain it had penetrated the torso. The stick didn't appear particularly sturdy; piercing the body without breaking halfway would require considerable skill… or some special method?

These two or three injuries, any one of which would be fatal to an ordinary person, were all present on the corpse. The murderer must have harbored immense hatred to commit such an act of desecrating a corpse after death.

As Yuri crouched down to observe, he also glanced at the face of the deceased.

Pale and bloodless, her pretty face was marred by a tense expression and wide eyes. Yuri wasn't an expert in this area, but intuitively... she was probably in her early twenties, not quite thirty.

There was a deep knife wound on my left wrist, cutting down to the wrist bone.

How long has she been dead?

“I didn’t see any signs of corruption, but there were no signs of survival either. It shouldn’t be long or short, no more than a day or two?” Yuri replied, then turned to look at Akemi, who had appeared beside him at some point.

When did you come over here? Didn't I tell you not to come over?

“This sounds a bit like what people would do to vampires in legends, but I’m not familiar with vampires, so I’ll leave that possibility aside for now. Although… I think it’s unlikely—do you think it was the shadowy figure who did it?” Akemi began to speculate on her own.

Do vampires really exist? However, Yuri agreed to put aside the possibility of vampires for now, since he knew virtually nothing about them.

“These cuts might have been made by the shadowy figure with a dagger, but piercing the chest with a thin wooden stick? Would the shadowy figure use such an inefficient weapon?” Yuri pondered for a moment. “It’s possible that the shadowy figure deliberately strung together the bodies of the people it killed, but I still don’t think it was made by the shadowy figure.”

Yuri pointed to the body. "You see, although the injuries were very severe, the victim's expression suggests she may have been aware of her fate, but there weren't any obvious signs of struggle, and there were no abrasion marks on the ground nearby. If a wooden stick had been used to pierce her chest, a dying person would have struggled."

After organizing his thoughts, Yuri continued, "I believe she was first attacked from the front with a sharp blade, dodged a couple of times, and then had her throat slit, killing her. Then, out of revenge... or for some other reason, the murderer twisted the body's neck and pierced her chest with a wooden stick."

"Don't you feel like something's missing from the scene?" Mingmei asked meaningfully.

"What's missing?" Yuri stood up and looked around. The body lay on the sewer floor, dressed in a blue-green suit, the clothes disheveled but not stained much. The neck had been severely injured, the head twisted to one side, likely indicating a broken cervical vertebra, but no obvious organs were missing. Upon closer inspection, there were several other minor injuries: a sharp object had torn the clothing, causing shallow wounds to the lower body. A wooden stick had pierced the left chest but hadn't sunk into the ground. The back was buried underneath and couldn't be seen. There was nothing particularly unusual on the surrounding ground. Nothing was missing, was it?

"I don't see what's missing?"

“Blood. Where is the blood?” Akemi pointed to the ground around the body. “With such a severe wound, blood should be sprayed everywhere.”

There was definitely no blood.

Yuri's first thought was that the person wasn't killed here, but rather elsewhere and then dragged here by the murderer—but that wasn't right. Regardless of where the victim was killed, such a large wound would have caused blood to spray everywhere, and the body itself couldn't possibly be free of it. Yuri approached again to examine the body, confirming that even the wound was free of blood.

My second thought is that this person was murdered elsewhere, and the killer patiently drained the victim's blood, cleaned them up, changed their clothes, brought them here, and completed the rest. This seems quite plausible.

Whether Yuri is such a troublesome killer is unknown, but it was clearly not the Shadow who did it.

Something still seems off.

“Is there anything that can simply remove the blood without leaving any other traces?” Yuri admitted he couldn’t think of anything. “First of all, it’s obviously not water—this body doesn’t look like it’s been soaked in water at all.”

“By scientific standards, it is clearly some kind of substance I have never heard of,” Akemi replied.

"What about from an unscientific standard?" Of course, substances that have never been heard of cannot be used as a reference.

“It is said that some blood-sucking monsters can supernaturally drain all the blood, leaving only a dried-up corpse.” Akemi pointed to the body in front of her. “But this one is clearly not a dried-up corpse.”

Ah, yes, Yuri realized what was wrong with what happened before.

Those minor injuries were caused through clothing, meaning they occurred after the body was clothed. However, since the body was not mummified beforehand, new wounds should have produced new bloodstains.

There was no such thing here, and even though the tear on the clothes and the wound below matched perfectly, not a single trace of blood was left.

This could only be done by draining the blood from the body beforehand, but that would turn it into a dried-up corpse. Yuri felt like he was trapped in a vicious cycle.

Soon, my thoughts were interrupted—something was behind me, and it looked like a shadow moving in the darkness. It seemed that my old friends, whom I had known for several days, had finally arrived.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Flames and Shadows

The inspection was temporarily suspended as the shadowy figure slowly approached from the direction the two had come from.

It seems that while examining the body, the shadowy figure returned, just in time to catch the two of them red-handed.

one two three.

Three shadowy figures have appeared so far, two of which are the size of children, and the third is the size of an adult. It seems the previous fire didn't completely destroy all three; one was damaged but survived. The remaining shadowy figure is intact and may have been absent last time.

After getting a certain distance, they stopped approaching, seemingly waiting for something. Yuri tried taking a few steps towards them, and the shadowy figures retreated accordingly.

Unlike the particularly fierce shadowy figures of the past, Yuri glanced at the torch in his hand. Perhaps it was this that made them wary?

Yuri observed them for a moment and found no sign of them conjuring any weapons. This certainly didn't mean they wouldn't do it in battle, but it meant that when they did, they would be further weakened, which was a good thing.

“They might be waiting for the other shadowy figures to approach together, Yuri. Should we attack immediately, or wait until they've all gathered?” Akemi made her assessment.

Yuri estimated he could handle one and a half shadowy figures, and with the torches, more than two. Considering their incomplete condition, three was a reasonable estimate. Akemi's level was similar to his, but she couldn't afford to get injured, so he was one less, so he counted two. He should still have some leftover strips of cloth, which could be useful if used well, so he'd count one. That meant he could handle six shadowy figures.

“Wait a little longer. If we get five, we’ll launch an attack immediately,” Yuri replied. “Also, take out the extra strips of cloth; maybe we can give them a surprise.”

There are two strips of cloth left. If used properly, they can cause serious damage to the shadowy figure. However, it is too dangerous to hold them in your hand right now, as they could easily set you on fire. So, Akemi puts the strips of cloth on the ground between the two of them for later use.

Time ticked by, and somewhere most people couldn't see—on the ceiling—a shadowy figure the size of an adult was stealthily approaching. Of course, Yuri saw it all.

"Hallway, lights." Trying the same approach as last time wouldn't be so easy, Yuri reminded Akemi with a key phrase. She should understand what Yuri was referring to; it had only happened two days ago, she shouldn't have forgotten.

Mingmei nodded, without looking up, and tightened her grip on the torch.

The shadowy figures remained in a standoff with the two, just as before. It seemed that the current situation of three in the light and one in the dark was still not the best for them.

"What if three of them come at once?" Yuri was very nervous. Although he had left a margin of safety in his previous estimates, he was worried that things would get complicated if he exceeded that margin.

Using his spare energy to observe Akemi's condition, Akemi appeared to be in normal condition, but beads of sweat were appearing on her forehead, indicating that she was also very nervous.

“Wait five more minutes. Even if no new shadows appear after five minutes, we’ll go for it. The torches might not last long.” Yuri added a new idea, and Minmei didn’t object.

The first torch burned for over fifteen minutes, and about ten minutes have passed since the cloth strips were changed. Dragging it out too long could indeed mean losing the most effective weapon against the shadow. From this perspective, the shadow's plan might be to stall until the torch dies out naturally.

After a while, another shadowy figure, about the size of an adult, arrived. This shadowy figure was probably the strongest of the remaining ones—it was significantly taller than its companion by a head and a half.

To Yuri's delight, after gathering five, the shadowy figure charged forward.

Yuri finally felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. He'd won the gamble—the shadowy figures knew they wouldn't receive any more reinforcements, so taking down these five would solve the problem. Besides, they probably didn't know how much longer the torches would burn.

The shadowy figure on the ceiling remained still, presumably waiting for an opportunity. Yuri strode forward and swung the torch directly at his first opponent.

The adult shadowy figure in front of him scrambled to avoid the flames and retreated hastily, but at the same time, two other short shadowy figures flanked him from both sides. Yuri waved his torch horizontally to drive them away, thus losing the opportunity to pursue the first shadowy figure.

Yuri tried to give chase, but the shadowy figure he was pursuing immediately retreated into the distance, while the other shadowy figure was clearly trying to bypass him and surround Akemi.

This isn't ideal; it's best to maintain a distance where we can support each other at any time.

Yuri retreated to his initial position.

From beginning to end, neither the one on the ceiling nor the tall, dark shadow at the end moved; were they waiting for their chance?

…………

Similar clashes have been repeated three times, and a fifth one is on the horizon.

Whenever Yuri retaliates, the shadowy figures immediately retreat. If Yuri intends to actively pursue the shadowy figures, all of them except the one being pursued will immediately try to bypass Yuri and surround Akemi.

I thought the shadowy figure was unintelligent—wasn't this split-attack combo going pretty well? Yuri felt he was being held back; if things continued like this, things would definitely get worse, and the torches couldn't burn indefinitely.

It wasn't that they hadn't considered letting Akemi deal with them while Yuri chased after one and took care of it first—but the tall, shadowy figure behind them could intervene at any moment. Even if it wasn't particularly skilled, it could easily trap Yuri, and Akemi would have to be distracted to deal with the shadowy figure that was about to pounce from the ceiling. This would put both of them in danger.

Of course, it would be great if the one on the ceiling pounced on Yuri, but that's not something Yuri can decide.

It's time to make a change.

As the adult shadow rushed forward, Yuri, as usual, waved his torch at it and drove it away—sure enough, two other small shadows began to threaten Yuri from the side.

This time, Yuri ignored them and continued to pursue the shrinking adult shadows, completely exposing his ribs to the smaller shadow.

The small, dark figure hesitated in place. Yuri took the opportunity to gain an advantage over the adult figure in front of him, destroying the dagger the figure was using to block and burning it, before quickly retreating to his original position.

The sixth time, as usual, the adult shadowy figure took the lead in the attack, but was forced back by a single attack.

This time, the small black figure couldn't resist the temptation and pulled out a dagger to pounce on Yuri—it seems that this was the last bit of strength they had squeezed out, and in Yuri's eyes, they had faded to different degrees.

Just as the dagger was about to pierce Yuri, Yuri's torch drew an arc and struck one of the heads.

Their height and long reach were still an advantage; by the time the smaller shadowy figures had a chance to attack Yuri, they had already been within Yuri's attack range for a long time.

The attack was even more effective than Yuri had anticipated; the flames cleaved the shadow like a sword, causing it to vanish into thin air.

It seems that it is not necessary to completely destroy all the components of the shadow. As long as it is damaged to a certain extent, the shadow will be unable to maintain its stability and will disintegrate on its own... In this respect, it is quite similar to a spirit.

If Yuri hadn't also been caught off guard and stabbed by the dagger of another small, dark figure, he would have definitely made a huge profit this time.

However, Yuri could withstand such weak and ineffective attacks—while the shadowy figure would be one less if it switched again.

Yuri didn't bother chasing the small, dark figure who had drawn a dagger and was retreating hastily. He maintained his stance while facing the adult figure from before.

This is the main force, and it can't be easily dealt with. The recent battle proved that even if we hit it, it's unlikely to win in one strike—it's getting further and further away.

The two dark figures retreated until they were together with the taller, dark figure who arrived last. It seemed that this one was about to make his move as well. Yuri began to mentally prepare himself.

Then Yuri saw the tall, dark figure conjure a short sword.

A short sword is a weapon with a blade that can be up to half a meter long. Yuri suspects that this might not be considered short, but when it was named, it should correspond to things like straight swords and longswords rather than simply a unit of length.

That would negate the weapon's advantage, and we also had to be careful not to cut the branches—after burning for a while, the torch was only about half a meter long.

Three dark figures, side by side, armed themselves, and approached Yuri.

Yuri could only encourage himself from the bottom of his heart—at least it wasn't a spear, right? If the other side came with three long weapons, with his clumsy stick technique, he would probably have no choice but to run away—and the way to the exit was blocked by the shadowy figure.

With little time to adjust his mindset, Yuri took the initiative and launched an attack on the shortest one, aiming to take down one by one.

The waving torch was blocked by the short sword formed by the shadow. Fortunately, Yuri withdrew quickly enough, otherwise it might have been cut off. Even so, a corner of it was cut off when they missed each other.

Yuri saw a portion of the scraped fuel fall onto the short sword, burning it—but as the flames landed, the short sword returned to its original shape, and as it did so, the tall, dark figure simply returned to its normal size.

“It seems it can do the same thing several more times, but the torch in my hand may not last until then.” Yuri felt a heavy pressure.

Yuri focused on dealing with the shadowy attacks. The adult dagger shadow couldn't translate into a real threat while Yuri was focused, and the smaller shadow could only serve as a distraction. But the short sword shadow was too much pressure. As long as it adopted a stance of going head-to-head with the torch in Yuri's hand, Yuri had to dodge, which meant continuing to retreat.

The distance Yuri advanced to engage them is being rapidly reduced, and he'll soon be back at Akemi's position. —Should we call Akemi to join the battle? Yuri can handle the air defense issue.

Yuri decided to make some further efforts himself while there was still room for maneuver.

First, simply waving torches was no longer an option; a change in strategy was necessary. Yuri held the torch horizontally, ready to thrust... as if wielding a short sword.

Flames can burn away an opponent's weapon, and this stance maximizes the contact between the burning part and the weapon. The torch's branches are a weak point, but the burning flames are not.

Yuri launched another tentative attack. This time, the shadowy figure with the short sword did not attempt to block but retreated directly, allowing the shadowy figure with the dagger on the other side to launch an attack. Yuri instinctively swept his sword again, but the shadowy figure with the short sword advanced again and slashed at the torch, forcing Yuri to withdraw it.

It seems that this approach wasn't entirely useless, but it came at a price. The price was a significant reduction in attack range. One-on-one would be manageable, but there were three in front of him—Yuri summarized as he seized the opportunity to burn the short sword again. At the same time, the other two shadowy figures were forcing Yuri to retreat with their daggers. The one with the adult-sized body almost managed to close the distance with Yuri, but fortunately, Yuri managed to push it away with his other hand, at the cost of taking a dagger himself.

It seems that relying on himself is indeed not enough. Now Yuri can only pin his hopes of breaking the deadlock on Akemi—Akemi!? Yuri saw a scene that horrified him.

Without turning around, Yuri saw that Akemi had dropped the torch on the ground and was crouching down to pick it up.

At this moment!? The dark figure in front pounced again. Yuri didn't have time to worry about Akemi's free time; he had to continue dealing with the short sword.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the dark figure that had been hovering on the ceiling descended from the sky, heading straight for the high school girl who was crouching on the ground. Its dagger was aimed at Akemi's head, but it did not cause any harm, only sparks flew from the cuffs she was using to defend herself.

The shadowy figure, having failed in its first attack, fell to the ground and launched another attack. Akemi parried with one hand, seizing the opportunity when the shadowy figure, thinking it posed no threat, became too reckless, and wrapped the thing she had picked up earlier around its body—a strip of cloth soaked in flammable material.