Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

"Yuri!"

Yuri knew what to do without Akemi needing to elaborate. After forcing back the short-sword-wielding shadow, Yuri suddenly turned around, exposing his back to the dagger-wielding shadow that lunged at him, and quickly rushed towards the parachuted shadow that was still focused on Akemi.

It reacted at the last moment, trying to twist its body to dodge Yuri's thrust, but it was too late.

At the cost of being stabbed in the back with a dagger, Yuri lit the strips of cloth wrapped around the shadowy figure.

In fact, because of the rapid movement, the dagger did not penetrate deeply into his back. As Yuri spun around again and forced the shadow behind him away, the injury he suffered was not as serious as he had initially thought.

The burning shadowy figure was struggling to shake the strips of cloth off itself, and Mingmei took the opportunity to pick up the torch that had fallen to the ground and beat it on the head.

When the shadowy figure with the short sword arrived, the burning figure had already lost its ability to resist. Although it had not yet dissipated, the flames on its body ensured that it would not live much longer.

Now we can treat it as if there are only three shadows left... We can directly divide them into large, medium and small sizes, which finally gets rid of the situation where we can't tell which one is which.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Reason for the Death-Defying Battle?

In fact, Yuri believed that the current situation was quite clear: the shadowy figure was suffering continuous losses, while on the duo's side, only Yuri had sustained some injuries.

It's now two against three, and the torches don't look like they're going to go out anytime soon. Unless the shadowy figures do something unexpected, they're doomed to lose.

Therefore, based on Yuri's previous predictions, they should have fled.

But the shadowy figure didn't run away; instead, it continued to pounce.

There must be some ulterior motive—but Yuri didn't have time to think about what that ulterior motive was before he was drawn into the battle.

After Minmei joined the battle, Yuri's pressure was greatly reduced. He no longer had to pay attention to one side, and they could also support each other.

Two fists can't beat four hands, but four hands have a much smaller impact on six hands.

At first, the large shadowy figure attempted to slice the torch with the short sword, while the other two shadowy figures tried to coordinate with it and create opportunities. However, the two shadowy figures were too incompetent and, despite their good intentions, were unable to do so, instead giving Yuri and his duo many chances to damage the short sword.

The weapon in the large black shadow's hand was repeatedly damaged, and in the process of repairing the weapon, the consumption of its own body made it no longer as powerful as it was at the beginning.

After a brief exchange, the shadowy figures retreated again... They must have realized they were out of options.

Yuri turned some of his attention to his surroundings but found nothing unusual. So what was the shadowy figure relying on?

Bring your consciousness back to the present and face the approaching shadow once more.

He thrust the torch in his hand into the abdomen of the medium-sized dark figure. The figure tried to dodge but was still poked in the side. Based on previous experience, it should immediately dodge, trying to avoid contact with the flame for too long.

This time was different. Despite the scorching torch, it forced itself to entangle with Yuri, pressing the torch between itself and Yuri, going to such lengths to keep its opponent bound.

Yuri tried to push it away, but it unleashed a powerful force and held on tightly to Yuri.

It can't hold out for long; the flames are continuously damaging it. If this continues, it will only be burned to death first, and then Yuri will be freed.

Yuri noticed that the large, dark figure was lunging at Akemi in almost the same way. Akemi used her torch to block the short sword, and then the large, dark figure released the half-burnt weapon, attempting to entangle Akemi in a similar manner. Akemi didn't let the torch fall on her; she took a half-step back, raised the torch to strike again, but the large, dark figure instantly accelerated, one hand firmly gripping Akemi's arm.

Mingmei twisted her wrist, changing how she held the torch from a forehand to a backhand, turning the torch towards the large, dark figure. However, the opponent merely dodged within a certain range, not breaking free from the current entanglement.

"There's one more!?" Yuri sensed something was wrong.

The small dark figure was rapidly approaching Akemi from behind her two companions.

So that's what they were planning: by entangled in the hand holding the torch, they could avoid being effectively killed and then launch an attack.

It's true that Akemi might be able to handle this on her own, but what if she makes a mistake? Now is not the time to praise the efforts of her opponent.

Yuri struggled to pull his entangled opponent toward the charging black shadow, trying to block its path.

The small black shadow easily bypassed Yuri. Yuri couldn't act quickly unless he dealt with this thing that was entangled with him, and Yuri simply didn't have the ability to quickly eliminate the black shadow.

Seeing the shadowy figure approach, Akemi, who was wrestling with the larger shadowy figure, kicked the smaller shadowy figure away, buying herself a little time, but not enough time for Yuri to reach a position where he could interfere with the smaller shadowy figure's movements.

Then it threw a dagger, and Yuri's heart jumped into his throat as Minmi tried to dodge it.

The dagger flew past Akemi's ear, missing its target. The small black shadow conjured another dagger and charged at Akemi, this time aiming for the arm that the larger black shadow was holding. It had become quite faint; any strike that landed would be enough to kill it—but it simply had no chance to strike.

At the same time, the large dark figure conjured a short sword in its empty hand again. Akemi hurriedly grabbed the hilt and began to struggle for it, leaving her no chance to deal with the small man who was trying to sneak up on her.

This is really persistent! Dragging the cumbersome dark shadow carrying its load, Yuri barely managed to bump into the small dark figure, but couldn't stop it. As Yuri passed by, he bumped into the side of the dagger, but had no chance to grab the weapon.

The small black figure stabbed Akemi's hand with a dagger whose handle was replaced by a spherical object. Then, Akemi struck the figure with the torch she was spinning and the figure vanished.

The moment they made contact, Yuri contorted the dagger's shape, intending to turn it into a sphere, but he only managed to change the tip. Fortunately, that was enough.

Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief at his successful efforts, Yuri turned his offensive and grabbed the dark figure that was entangled with him tightly.

Akemi is wrestling with the shadowy figure—one of the figure's hands is wrapped around Akemi's torch-holding hand, preventing her from waving it, while Akemi's free hand is gripping the hilt of the shadowy figure's short sword, preventing it from launching a close-range attack.

It's 2-2, and Flame is on our side. Now Shadow has absolutely no chance of turning the tide.

Putting aside his worries, Yuri focused all his energy on dealing with the shadowy figure in front of him, holding onto it tightly and making sure it remained in contact with the flames until it completely dissipated.

Then go and help Akemi, who is struggling with sustainability and the shadows.

He brandished the torch to attack the blade of the short sword, then attacked the last shadowy figure from behind—it was cornered and powerless to fight back.

After Yuri swung the torch for the fifth time, the last shadow vanished. As it shattered, Yuri felt a fleeting, pure hatred.

It's over. The shadowy figure fought tenaciously, never intending to retreat until the very end, but ultimately fell short.

They conducted a final inspection of the battlefield.

There were no other shadowy figures, good. Apart from the shadowy dagger that fell to the ground, nothing else suddenly appeared, good. The body was undamaged, good. Neither of them were injured... Actually, Yuri was seriously injured, but the loss was not significant, good.

Big win.

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 assessed the damage he had taken. Overall, the accumulated damage was not far from the danger zone, and if he encountered enemies again, he could easily get into trouble.

However, his spiritual essence was also running out. He hadn't had a chance to hesitate when he changed the dagger, and he had used too much force. Considering the small amount of spiritual essence he had prepared beforehand, he had used up a large portion of it.

I shouldn't heal myself for now, since there shouldn't be any more battles coming up anyway.

Akemi was not actually injured, but she came too close to the flames several times, and there were a few scorch marks on her clothes and hat. The dagger wielded by the shadowy figure did not hit her much, and apart from her sleeve tearing again, she had no other problems.

"The shadowy figure's fighting is a bit strange." Akemi straightened her clothes and began to think.

“What’s strange?” Yuri didn’t find it strange. “They tried very hard, but they weren’t skilled enough and didn’t get a second chance, that’s all. They didn’t have a chance in the first place. We could run away whenever we couldn’t beat them, and they couldn’t catch up.”

He can only boast like this after the battle is over; before that, Yuri felt that something bad was going to happen to them several times during the actual battle.

"Why are they fighting to the death this time?" Mingmei shook her head, indicating that Yuri didn't understand what she was talking about. "They at least have the intelligence to plan tactics and the intelligence to escape when at a disadvantage, but they didn't run away this time. Why?"

This is indeed a bit strange... If they thought they had a chance when there were four open and one dark side at the beginning, they were clearly at a disadvantage when there were only three left. Under such a disadvantage, the shadowy figure chose to fight to the death instead of trying to escape.

"Could it be that they realize we run faster, so they think we can't possibly outrun them?" Yuri pondered for a moment.

“There are three of them and two of us. Even if we split up to chase them, at least one of them will escape. Besides, it’s unlikely that we’ll split up to chase them.” Mingmei thought this reason was unreliable.

That makes sense. Yuri began to offer a second reason: "Is it that they can't bear such a loss and are determined to avenge their comrades?" Yuri didn't know if the shadowy figure possessed such a strong sense of camaraderie, but it was possible.

"In that case, isn't the one on the ceiling incredibly patient? You killed one of your companions, but it didn't come out immediately, waiting for me to deliberately reveal a weakness..." Akemi said with some skepticism, "But it's also possible that way."

“If that’s not it either, then it can only mean that they have some kind of obsession with this body,” Yuri couldn’t think of any other examples. “That’s possible, but haven’t we already confirmed that this body didn’t die at the hands of the shadows?”

"Let's examine the body one more time. I don't think any new shadows will appear now."

Yuri agreed.

There is another question: Yuri did not see the shadows communicating with each other at all, but the shadows still smoothly switched between simple but specific tactics—how exactly did they communicate?

I asked Mingmei, but she didn't know either, and she didn't see the communication process between the shadowy figures.

There was no sound, no movement, no smell, and the shadowy figure had no expression to begin with—if there were any communication, it would either be a metaphorical telepathic connection or a real-world spiritual link.

Let's leave the questions unanswered for now and examine the body first.

Yuri silently muttered "excuse me" to himself, then gently touched the pockets of the body's clothing. He felt nothing hard; perhaps the murderer had taken them during a search, or maybe they were originally in a handbag and the handbag itself had been taken. In any case, it's unlikely that a grown woman in a suit would only have a watch and nothing else—surely she would have a cell phone and a house key?

"Should we turn her over and see if there are any clues on her back?" Yuri asked the high school girl next to him, feeling a little guilty.

"Won't this disturb the scene? Ultimately, this matter should be handed over to the police." Unfortunately, the high school girl seemed equally guilty.

This would undoubtedly damage the scene—but the torches the two had been wildly swinging around while fighting the shadowy figure were also damaging the scene, since the scene wasn't just about the body itself.

When the police arrive, what will they find? That someone lit a fire near the body, attempting to alter its condition through temperature and interfere with the police investigation?

In the end, Yuri decided to turn the body onto its side, deciding to just let it go.

First, look down at the body and remember its position, then slowly lift it up to the side.

The body was very stiff, which facilitated the operation.

There were no wounds on his back, except for a small piece of wood stick protruding from his back.

The tip of the stick was sharp enough to pierce through clothing with enough force, but it didn't.

The passageway was large enough to pass through the body, but not through clothing, which likely means the victim was already lying on the ground dead at the time.

Yuri gently placed the body back in its original position—or at least largely as it was. The body was stiff, so it shouldn't have moved much.

“There’s nothing special about the back, although it seems to prove that the victim was impaled with a wooden stick after death,” Yuri told Akemi.

“Besides calling the police, there’s nothing else I can do,” Mingmei sighed. “I’ve seen a lot of dead animals, but I don’t know much about dead people—for example, I know that the degree of rigor mortis can indicate how long a person has been dead, but I don’t know exactly how long rigor mortis is.”

Mingmei held up her phone, which she had somehow pulled out, and said, "Besides, there's no signal in the sewers, so I can't check right now."

“We still have two things to do,” Yuri said, recalling two things that hadn’t been done yet.

Mingmei listened intently.

“First, I’ll undress the body and see if there’s any further information.” Yuri’s voice trailed off. “For example, well, what if there’s a tattoo or something…”

“No.” Akemi refused outright. “If there’s a specific purpose, that’s another story, but we don’t know what we’re investigating right now. Doing this aimlessly would be too disrespectful to the dead.”

Yuri indeed felt that doing so was a bit excessive.

“Then, secondly, I’ll try to see if I can figure out some things about her just by focusing my attention.” Yuri gestured around his eyes. “This will take a little time, but we should have some time now.”

“I don’t think there’s any problem with just looking,” Akemi readily agreed. “Do we need light? The two torches are almost out.”

"Is there one strip of cloth left? Light another torch and keep an eye on the surroundings. I don't need light to do this kind of observation, but I can't stay alert in this state, so I'll leave the lookout to you."

While Mingmei was trying to extinguish a torch on the ground ahead of time, Yuri began to try to calm himself down.

Based on previous experience with numerous failures, this kind of observation requires two contradictory abilities: first, to concentrate without being distracted by external things, and second, to empty the mind without being distracted by one's own mindset.

It might take dozens more tries to get the hang of it, and based on experience, once you fail to concentrate on the same thing, you can't concentrate on it a second time in a short period of time.

Some have put in the effort.

Don't think, just feel it – this is indeed very difficult when you actually do it.

Chapter Forty Double Image

While Yuri was trying to adjust his state, Akemi had already reset the torch. Under the firelight, Yuri knelt on one knee, looking down at the unseeing profile of the corpse.

This person is already dead, and Yuri wants to find out the circumstances of death of the body before him.

After a period of effort, perhaps because he was working too hard, Yuri began to see double.

Two images appeared before his eyes at the same time, both featuring the same woman lying on the ground.

One appears to be in an office, and the other is in the sewer, right here in the sewer.

Without thinking too much, Yuri cleared his mind and focused on both images, but his attention was instinctively drawn to the more intense one.

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 woman stumbled backward.

Her footsteps pierced the puddles, splashing water everywhere. Her formidable adversary, however, didn't even want to get wet from these unintentional splashes. His figure vanished the moment the water splashed past, only to reappear in the same spot after the water settled.

If she didn't possess a certain level of keen observation skills, she might have thought the other party had never left. However, this perception ability, which she usually took pride in, now only brought her deeper and deeper despair. She was no match for the other party and couldn't see their actions at all.

The vile assassin in front of me, dressed in a black bodysuit, is undoubtedly an enemy, and the kind of enemy who specializes in internal conflicts and has mastered martial arts specifically designed to deal with people like her.

The assassin's longsword sliced ​​through her flesh with every swing—something that should have been impossible, as ordinary weapons should have been ineffective against her. She wasn't a combat specialist, but beings like her, unlike mortals, should naturally possess robust flesh and blood.

The solid flesh posed no obstacle whatsoever. Until today, she had never imagined that one day she would face a martial art supposedly designed specifically for civil war—a technique with no other purpose than to counter creatures like her. The most ridiculous part was that its creators were her own kind, and the vast majority of its practitioners were also her own kind.

"You traitor who focuses on slaughtering your own kind!" she wanted to shout, but that would disrupt her rhythm of dodging. Her opponent was far faster than her, appearing as a blur in her vision. She didn't even have time to dodge, let alone stop and shout.

Although she couldn't hold out much longer even without being reprimanded, the enemy had already gained a complete advantage.

Basic abilities, skills, tactics, preparations—the opponent is completely superior to oneself, just like the legendary version of the Tower Soldiers.

She thought the safe house in the sewers was a place no one would know about, so after the attack, she discarded everything that was in the way and immediately crawled underground, hoping to wait for rescue in the safe house.

The family's influence extends throughout the region, and given just a little time, rescue will arrive—and of course, rescue will arrive in a timely manner.

But the safe house wasn't safe. She didn't know when she had been exposed, only that the enemy quickly found her again. The traps inside the safe house worked, holding off the enemy for a moment, allowing her to escape in a sorry state, barely avoiding being trapped inside.