Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

Two groups of people arrived in a short period of time. One group set fires, and the other group cleaned up the ghosts. The possibility that these two groups were unrelated can be considered to be almost zero. To put it bluntly, Yuri believed that it was the same group/guests who did it.

Yuri wasn't sure whether the killer was aware of the need to avoid being tracked or was simply extremely ruthless. However, he believed it was most likely extremely ruthless, given the number of crimes committed in succession...

This scene seems familiar. Didn't someone called "Hunter" do the same thing before? Are all these spirits following the same pattern?

That's not impossible. In the world of spirits, mutual devouring is the norm, so they probably don't care about the consequences. Thinking about it this way, the attackers this time have been quite disciplined, only killing the witness ghosts and not eating the whole way.

It would be easier to find if the attacker directly eats one path.

If the same pattern applies, Yuri should eventually be cornered by the new killer, get brutally beaten, and ultimately escape in a sorry state—if he manages to escape in a sorry state this time.

Yuri banished the unpleasant thought from his mind and decided to change the direction of his investigation.

It wasn't that I was afraid; it was just that I felt that continuing this aimless investigation wouldn't yield any results.

—Let's investigate the cult first.

It was nearly midnight, and the cultists had long since vanished. However, compared to the attackers, whose nature was unknown but certainly dangerous, the cultists moved much slower and acted much more openly. Yuri decided to ask his newly acquainted ghost friends to think carefully about where the cultists had gone.

They were all good people, though some of them were a bit short-tempered. But if Yuri just grabbed them by the neck and shook them for a while, they'd calm down. After all, through his efforts over this period, Yuri had become quite adept at dealing with low-level ghosts. Perhaps, if ghosts were the only opponents, he could be considered a level 2.5.

Unfortunately, combat prowess doesn't equate to detective ability. After shaking off ghosts along the way, questioning them about the cultists' whereabouts, and taking many detours, Yuri finally admitted around 2 a.m. that exploring in this direction was also largely ineffective.

The clues provided by the ghosts were scattered and fragmented. The least significant part was that they didn't pay much attention to their surroundings, so on average, only one in two and a half ghosts had information about cult members.

The bigger problem was yet to come. After following the ghosts' directions for several rounds, Yuri found himself completely confused about the cultists' route. Some ghosts said to go left, some said to go right, there was no certainty—they were unlikely to deceive Yuri, there was absolutely no need for them to.

Yuri considered several possibilities and finally determined the reason: there was more than one group of cultists. After carefully questioning the very few ghosts who had observed the specific characteristics of the cultists (two in total), Yuri discovered that their descriptions of the cultists' physical features did not match up at all, and even the number of people did not match up.

In other words, there are several groups of cultists dressed similarly traveling along different routes, and the ghosts only glance at them occasionally—even two ghosts on the same street may not see the same group of cultists at the same time.

It's impossible to find it! It's not impossible if it helps to track cult members directly during the day, but that would be too inefficient.

If it weren't for a little extra gain, he suspected he would have been so angry that he would have killed the ghost to vent his anger.

According to a ghost, she once saw a thin, suspicious woman dressed simply, with a pale complexion, moving swiftly, carrying a shoulder bag—secretly following the cultists, holding a camera in her hand, and instantly hiding whenever the cultists turned around or stopped.

After Yuri repeatedly confirmed, he determined that the other person was undoubtedly an adult, but smaller than the minor Akemi in every sense. Other clues included a light green, somewhat worn-looking handbag and short hair.

But at least we know that someone else is investigating these cult members, and may have been doing so for a long time.

He doesn't sound like an official... Could he be a colleague?

In any case, about half an hour ago, around 1:30 a.m., the ghost saw the woman again, heading in another direction, not walking very fast. Yuri recalled what happened half an hour ago; there was indeed a figure there, but he hadn't paid much attention because the clothes didn't match. Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed a combination of short hair and a shoulder bag.

Perhaps we can get some information from her. If she's in the same industry, maybe we can cooperate... or pass the buck?

Yuri hurriedly headed in the same direction.

Luck was not on Yuri's side once again. The woman had long since gone far away. Although Yuri found several ghosts with relevant information along the way and followed them, he eventually lost her in a parking lot.

I forgot that other people might also have cars.

However, this at least proves that someone else is also paying attention to those cult members, and that this person is someone who can afford a car—if we continue to follow these cult members tomorrow, we will definitely run into them again.

Yuri comforted himself and set off back to his lodgings.

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.

When Yuri returned to his lodgings, it was nearly the next morning. The sky was still dark, but the number of vehicles and pedestrians on the roads was slowly increasing.

He returned right on time, and Mingmei woke up the moment he entered the house.

Yuri suspected that he had woken her up, but it was indeed close to Akemi's usual wake-up time.

In short, while Akemi was sorting herself out, Yuri gave a report on his failure.

As I spoke, I sorted out my thoughts and thought about it carefully. It can't really be called a failure; it's just that the progress was not fast enough and it wasn't done in one fell swoop.

Mingmei seemed to have anticipated this, stating that she had done some research last night and, combining her memory with existing evidence, had gained a further understanding of the incident. Yuri believed this was likely done through someone else, but pointed that it was pointless.

Specifically, she now knew what the previous distorted and distorted sensation was.

Mingmei calls it the Gate to the Shadow Realm, or the Gate to the Soul.

As is widely known (or not), the material world inhabited by humans and the shadow world inhabited by spirits overlap in a strange way, separated by a layer called thorns.

The strength of the thorns varies in different places; the stronger the thorns, the more difficult they are to pass through. However, even the weakest points are not easily traversed. Although the thorns do not have a specific thickness, using thickness to describe the difficulty of passage is very easy to understand, and many people do so. Of course, another interpretation is that the thorns themselves do not exist; they represent the gap between the material world and the shadow world, the cavity created by the imperfect alignment.

However, the material world and the shadow world are closely connected. This is reflected in the fact that spirits always try to enter the material world, while some humans want to go to the shadow world to find something special... Of course, there are also many humans who try to summon spirits from the shadow world.

Generally speaking, those who intend to cross between two worlds will choose a smaller-scale approach, namely, to rely on themselves or a little help from the other side to get through the obstacle alone in the most dangerous and vulnerable places.

This isn't much easier, but it's definitely simpler than what follows.

At the same time, some people always want more. Some spirits not only want to enter the city themselves, but also want to bring their friends and subordinates in the Shadow Realm with them (not that humans wouldn't do this).

What they need is not inefficient individual travel, but a gate to the shadow world, a rift carved in the thorns, a hole directly connecting the material world and the shadow world, a passage through which any person, any spirit, or any supernatural being can freely travel.

Some advanced portals even function as teleportation gates, allowing travelers to appear in locations other than their normal counterparts. However, in most cases, the creators don't go to such lengths and simply connect the corresponding locations directly.

Sometimes, portals to the shadow world occur naturally, in places where there is an imbalance between the material and shadow worlds. It's like the different pressures on either side piercing through a thorny ridge, causing it to break and forming a natural hole. These portals close quickly once the balance is restored, leaving only a mess behind. Almost all naturally occurring portals directly connect the corresponding parts, without misalignment.

However, those Shadow Gates specially created by humans or spirits usually do not close on their own—nature itself still tends to close the hole, but those who can create Shadow Gates can often prevent this trend—until they have to give up on maintaining them.

In other words, in the middle of the night, the two sensed the opening of a portal to the shadow realm, and the feeling quickly subsided, most likely because the portal closed on its own.

In short, during this brief period of openness, one or more dangerous Shadow Spirits entered the material world from the spirit world. They were unfamiliar with the material world and seemed unwilling to learn, acting directly according to their old methods and becoming creators of chaos.

Yuri had read similar things in books, but those books rarely went into detail about how spirits came into this world—they focused more on what these spirits did in this world. But at least after Minmei mentioned it, he was able to find the corresponding information in his mind.

It is very similar to the Hunter incident, but also different. The Hunter came to the material world from the shadow world many years ago and has been in the material world for a long time. He has more or less some understanding of this world, while this opponent is not so familiar with the local environment.

“Does this mean it’s easy to solve? They’re no stronger than hunters, and they’re not familiar with this place.” Yuri thought for a moment and muttered his thoughts to himself, “Of course, finding the root of their troubles might take some effort… They’ve only just arrived, and there aren’t enough historical records to support our search for the background.”

So how exactly did that person find the source of the hunter's misfortune? By consulting a book?

Just as Yuri was pondering whether it was possible to directly see through the characteristics of a spirit through a wish, Akemi spoke up again, seemingly having another opinion to add.

“If that were all, it would be easier, but the problem lies in the time.” Akemi took a deep breath. “The duration of that Shadow Gate is problematic; it’s too short.”

Too short? How long should it normally be? Yuri quickly checked the records he had previously retrieved from his mind.

After being translated into Yuri's mind, some records indicated that before the large Shadow Gate opens, a smaller version—or rather, the same Shadow Gate—will briefly open. However, when it first opens, the thorns still have enough power to close it for a short time.

"Will there be an even larger force following behind?" Yuri hoped that Minmei would give a negative answer.

"On the bright side, it's not guaranteed, it's just a possibility—maybe it really is a one-time thing? In the best-case scenario, we'll just have a false alarm." Mingmei's expression showed that she didn't really believe that such a good thing would happen. "But if it is, we should prepare in advance."

What are we preparing? What preparations? If that's the case, now even a "small" Shadow Gate can send at least one Level 3 through, so what if a "large" Shadow Gate comes along and we're completely wiped out?

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Cult of the Grassroots - Table

No, we need to get help with something this big.

Yuri immediately found a target that seemed to be the best fit for La.

"What about those spirit hunters? What did they say?"

Mingmei shrugged. "We haven't been able to contact them yet. They've probably gone somewhere with really bad signal."

Are there still places with poor signal in Tokyo? Did they run into the forest and commit mass suicide? Or did their phones suddenly get waterlogged?

“However, according to Uncle Okumura’s information, the opening of the Shadow Gate this time is abnormal and definitely not the result of natural pressure. Whether this means that the person who opened the Shadow Gate has been satisfied or that they are just testing the waters for the first time is still unknown.” Akemi said a piece of news that was both good and bad – the better the situation became, the better.

"It's not natural pressure; someone is sabotaging us?"

“That’s right, although we still don’t know who’s behind this. Uncle Okumura said that the Spirit Hunters have a long history of recording the situation in Tokyo. According to historical records, the possibility of a Shadow Gate appearing naturally at that location at this time is zero.”

Are their records accurate?

"It's more accurate than what we imagine—if it's not accurate, I hope they go home and eat their own food instead of wasting food."

“That’s undoubtedly those cultists—who else could do this?” Yuri instantly found the only name on the suspect list.

“Yes, they are indeed the prime suspects, but we can’t completely rule out the possibility that it was someone else’s doing.” Mingmei nodded. “Yuri, you’ll be busy these next couple of days, keep an eye on those cultists—be careful not to get caught. If they have the ability to open the Shadow Gate, they should be able to see you too—at least some of them should be able to see you.”

“No problem,” Minmei seemed to mean that she didn’t plan to come along, which was good, as it would allow Yuri to move more flexibly.

"Well, I still have classes—I'm good at breaking and entering, but I'm not so good at stalking and stealth, so it's definitely not as convenient as you are—let's meet twice a day, at six in the morning and six in the evening. You tell me the information you've gathered, and I'll see if I can provide some knowledge assistance."

"no problem."

"Also, if you're going to do anything risky, be sure to call me. Think about the problems that would arise if you rushed in alone without any support and got trapped."

“No… problem.” Yuri completely understood.

"Finally, when you go to track down the cult, if you have the chance, also search for two people." This was something Akemi suddenly remembered.

"who?"

"We just need to find out if any of them are named Taro Oi or Kento Kurahashi. Taro Oi isn't particularly distinctive; he had short hair and a buzz cut before he disappeared, and his hair shouldn't have changed much in ten days. Kento Kurahashi, on the other hand, has six fingers on his right hand and recently shaved his head, so his appearance should be quite unique. They're very likely together; finding one of them should mean finding the other."

"Who are they?" This seemed to be the first time Yuri had heard these two names.

"It's about the missing classmates I mentioned before—they haven't shown up for over a week. Although their families have reported it to the police, the search has been slow. Since you're going to investigate this cult, take a look while you're at it."

“Well then, I also have some questions—Aminmei, since you asked me to do this, and it's on my way anyway, there's nothing wrong with me making a special effort to observe them—but why are you going to such lengths for your classmate?” Indeed, Yuri couldn't see any possibility of things going wrong. However, the fact that she specifically looked into the characteristics of these two people meant that Minmei had done her research.

"They must be from another class, so you shouldn't say they're not friends, you should have barely even met them a few times."

"Providing information about missing persons can earn you a reward!" Mingmei said, striking a greedy pose. "Besides, it's also a way to do good for the world."

I see, that makes a lot of sense...

"I'd be a fool to believe you—" Mingmei's lying skills were quite poor, and Yuri could see through the deception at a glance. "What does this have to do with 'you' working so hard?"

"Firstly, I am genuinely concerned about my classmates' situation. Secondly, if things escalate—if the cult further infiltrates the school—I could face serious trouble in the future. I don't want any connection to the cult on my resume, not even a suspicion."

That seemed to make sense, but Yuri still felt that the high school girl in front of him was holding something back. Even if he believed her, he couldn't escape the problem of meddling too much.

In the end, Yuri decided not to delve too deeply into why Akemi thought that way. Since she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't press her for an answer.

It was something I did on a whim anyway.

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.

After Akemi went back to school, Yuri wandered the streets, searching for traces of the cultists.

Exploring cults is easy; just find those suspicious religious groups distributing leaflets and follow them—they can't hide their leaflet distribution.

It seemed like it had been a long time since he had a particularly urgent matter to deal with. Yuri was a little puzzled. What had he been doing all this time? It didn't seem like he had done anything special. How had time passed so quickly? How much time had he wasted on unimportant things?

In this situation, people start to overthink—at least Yuri is starting to overthink.

Yuri found the cultists a street away from where they last met. They seemed very dedicated, starting work early in the morning.

Five men and two women, seven in total. Yuri remembered that there were also seven last time, so it was probably their usual way of grouping people—as for why they chose seven, Yuri didn't know.

Yuri followed them—noticing that none of them had particularly thin hair or six fingers on their right hand.

Their conversations suggest that they weren't particularly enthusiastic about handing out flyers on the street; they were only doing it because senior cult members had asked them to, and they had linked it to their own relief efforts.

Specifically, it involves statements like, "As long as you enable more people to receive the salvation of our religion, you will have done a great service to the salvation of the world, and you will—"

Their conversation revealed a particular "leader" whom they greatly admired. In their words, this leader was omnipotent, possessing boundless power and extraordinary compassion, and was also a prophet. He not only foresaw the future and embarked on the path to save himself and the world, but also shared this achievement with those of them who were unaware of it, allowing them to also be one step ahead.

It is important to understand that although the destruction of the world is inevitable, the end of the world is also a day of judgment. The better you behave in these final days, the more blessings you will receive in the future!

Yuri couldn't quite figure out how many miscellaneous phrases were hidden in this, but they all seemed like familiar slogans... This cult leader seemed to be good at adapting, but didn't seem to be trying to come up with anything new.

During the conversation, they didn't mention much about what kind of magical powers the cult leader possessed, but they all agreed that those powers were real.

As for the cult leader's instruction not to spread the word about his magical powers, they interpreted it as the first test, and that those who believed before the true power appeared before them would have an advantage over others.

In short, everything the cult leader says is correct, reasonable, and a universal truth.

A very typical Christian.

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's pursuit of the cultists led him to a print shop disguised as a residential house.

Or was it originally a residential house that was just temporarily used as a print shop?

The leaflets distributed by the believers were printed from here.

Without much experience, Yuri could tell at a glance that this cult was not legitimate.

The print shop even offered to paint clothes as a side job.

The reason why the believers' clothes have a reflective quality has been found: they've applied a reflective coating to them—good heavens, don't they need to wash them? Or do they just throw them away after one use?

There were a few believers who didn't look very high-ranking doing logistical work here.

They were having a casual chat, the content of which was not very meaningful. Apart from ordinary daily conversations, they were fantasizing about their happy life after the world was destroyed and reborn.

The cultists on the street were like this before, and the cultists working inside the house are the same now—Yuri felt he had to take the initiative and do something in order to obtain new information.