Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

Yuri didn't say it aloud; he had already learned a lot of common sense.

Chapter 89 Situation and Plan

"Are the believers really involved in this matter?" Hojo Reie turned to another question.

"...They may not have been involved in the event, but they certainly knew about it, and it's quite possible they were involved—what are you doing?"

Under Akemi's watchful gaze, Hojo Reie hurriedly reached into her bag and took out her phone.

"What should we do? Of course, we should report it to the police—even if you think we might have wronged them, if they really are them, we should arrest them immediately—if they aren't, it's not a big loss if we arrest them by mistake, and if they are, then the case is solved, isn't it?"

Yuri understood what she meant; simply put, it was to file a false police report.

To be honest, he had essentially already condemned the cult members in his mind. Mingmei believed the cult members might be innocent, while Yuri thought the possibility was extremely small.

But he still disagreed with the reporter's approach because...

"It's no use doing this. The door is already open, and the mastermind behind it can probably maintain its existence on its own. What's worse is that if the mastermind is going to protect its cult servants, then the police who go to arrest them will be facing a powerful, high-level spirit that has appeared in the material world and is extremely hostile to humans."

Mingmei is right, this matter is probably not so easy for the police to handle.

Akemi took a breath and continued, "It's not that I underestimate the Tokyo Police, but if caught off guard, they might not only be unable to complete the mission, but there could also be disastrous consequences."

"What on earth did these guys do with all the taxes we paid!" Despite saying this, Hojo Reie put her phone back in her bag.

You can't blame the police; they didn't expect this either... Yuri actually thought the police might know something about the supernatural, at least some of them might.

But if you talk about it on the street, the reason for this incident also includes the police's failure to stop the supernatural event in time... I estimate that eleven out of ten people would think this is nonsense. We are all modern people now, why talk about gods and ghosts? Those who would believe it are probably other cult members.

Even the reporter in front of her, if she hadn't sensed that she was being chased by a spirit, would most likely not believe such a thing, since it's too unscientific and there's no credible evidence to support it.

"To put it another way, even if the police manage to catch them... it's very likely that it will be too late. Before the police are certain that this is indeed related to a supernatural event, new deaths will occur," Yuri added vaguely.

He hoped reporters would interpret the new deaths as existing patients, but Minmei and he knew that this interpretation could be extremely broadened.

This is really just a possibility; saying it out loud would be alarmist.

"Well, I don't have any new information. You guys do have a way to solve this, right?" Hojo Reie's words carried a certain pressure.

“Yes, no problem. Of course, the two of us can't do it alone, but we do have other help. Could you please continue to keep in touch and gather information?” Akemi answered almost without hesitation.

"No problem, I think I can hold on—but can you really succeed?"

After much persuasion, Yuri and Akemi finally managed to shake off Hojo Reie, who had very little faith in them.

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 reporter had already walked away, and Mingmei changed her posture, remaining silent.

“She had no confidence in us, right up until the very last moment, because it seemed like we were just talking and doing nothing else.” Yuri sat next to her, swaying his body.

Akemi did not respond.

“Guess what, I don’t have confidence in us either, because it seems like all we can do is talk, nothing else,” Yuri continued, sure he saw some reaction from Minmei. “My ingenuity is exhausted. If you have any solutions, please tell me.”

This station is quite important, and it's a weekend afternoon, theoretically a peak time for passenger traffic. The strange coma incident may have had some impact, but not enough; many people are still moving around as if nothing happened.

These people are actually in danger, a danger they are unaware of.

The expressions on their faces could turn into terror and despair at any moment.

If the rats cannot manifest, some of them will suffer, causing panic. And if the rats do manifest… considering that ordinary humans don't seem to be the rats' common predators (some humanists might object?), the odds of an ordinary person winning against a large group of low-level spirits are… extremely slim. Even trained ordinary people would struggle to protect themselves, let alone the chaos that would ensue if something unexpected happened.

In any case, it seems inevitable that things will escalate into a disaster unless someone stops it immediately.

Yuri couldn't think about it anymore; the more he thought about it, the more anxious he became.

He had almost forgotten about them, but now the reporter reminded him... It's not the reporter's fault; even if she hadn't mentioned it, some high school girl would have.

“Her spiritual perception isn’t that strong,” Akemi said, her words completely catching Yuri off guard.

"No, but what does that mean?"

“Even so, she felt dizzy for several minutes. I only felt dizzy for about a minute at home – which is partly because I’m more accustomed to it, but it also shows that she was very close to the core, much closer.”

"...You mean, she happened to be near the gate at the time?" Yuri also thought it was very likely.

"That's right. She was very close, but just outside the direct control of the mastermind. You could say she was quite lucky."

That should be true... No, something seems off, it doesn't quite add up.

Mingmei's reasoning is sound, and the journalist's arguments presented as evidence are also sound (though it's not apparent if they are). So the problem lies with the other previous conclusions.

For example, "the door was opened by cultists."

"She saw the cult members moving in a certain direction, and then the door opened—doesn't that mean the door wasn't opened by the cult members?"

“Basically, I think that’s the way to understand it. I don’t know exactly how the mastermind opened the door. But in my experience, cults usually gather all the people they can when they do something big. If the event requires some degree of secrecy, they won’t leave people who need to be kept in secrecy waiting outside.”

If the cult has not taken on the task of opening the door (whether it is unlikely that they are not part of the same group at all, or more likely that they are not powerful enough), taking drastic measures against them seems unlikely to solve the problem.

After going around in circles, we finally returned to the path of directly confronting the mastermind behind the scenes.

As he previously told reporters: the two of them alone have no chance against the other side; they need to bring in reinforcements.

“If we can further confirm this location, perhaps you can persuade the Spirit Hunters to take decisive action?” Yuri pondered.

"Actually, they've already confirmed the location, haven't they? I'm talking about my... aunt."

That's right, Akemi's relative, Murakami Akisa, has already gone to that place to investigate, and that will be a good source of information... if she's willing to tell.

After waiting for a while, Akemi started calling Murakami Akisa.

Yuri almost asked the stupid question, "What, werewolves can use telephones?"

If he hadn't remembered that a female journalist, whose name had been revealed, had once doubted his ability to use a mobile phone, he probably would have actually asked her.

Clearly, werewolves also adapt to the times.

The call was quickly connected.

Akemi didn't turn on the speakerphone, but instead gestured for Yuri to come closer and listen.

"Akami? Have you arrived at Okumura's place?" Murakami Akisa's voice came through the phone, sounding a little nervous.

“We have left our residence and are now in a place where we can move around at any time. We haven’t gone to Okumura yet—has your investigation yielded any results? Do you need our assistance?”

“Don’t do anything stupid! Mingmei, your friend’s information is correct. This is undoubtedly the core of the problem. The rats here are too dense and difficult to disperse. What’s worse, they are quite organized.” The voice on the phone lowered again. “There’s nothing more you can do, Mingmei. Go to a safe place and don’t come out.”

"You've already tried?" Akemi seemed to sense something. "Are you injured?"

“Minor injuries, almost healed. I didn’t really go all the way. Mingmei, tell me you won’t do something stupid like going in alone. This isn’t something you can handle by yourself, even if you bring your friends along.”

“Of course I won’t, but the question is, how do you plan to resolve this?” Mingmei paused. “I don’t think they’ll just sit here doing nothing. The mastermind behind this definitely has a next move.”

“I plan to launch a counterattack once everyone has arrived. It would be too dangerous to launch an attack now; it could take three to four days. I just hope we still have that time.”

"But this will kill many people. Those whose life essence has been devoured are still weakening further. At this rate, some will probably die in the next day or two. We can wait, but they can't wait three days!"

"...We must wait, Akemi."

As the voice came through the microphone, Akemi's expression turned grim.

“Listen, I’ll ask Mitsui to keep an eye on the patients at Baker Central Hospital near him—I’m sure most of the patients will be sent there—Mitsui will do his best to help them maintain their condition and let as many people as possible hold on until the very end, but there’s nothing else to do.”

The sound from the microphone continued.

“I’m so sorry, Akemi, I didn’t want to see these casualties.”

“I understand that you are powerless to do anything, but… I don’t want to talk about it anymore. You need to give me some time to process this.”

"it is good."

Akemi then hung up the phone.

Yuri wasn't sure how Murakami Akisa viewed the conversation, but thankfully she wasn't there. If she were, she would have realized that Akemi didn't intend to do what she said in the conversation.

"Yuri, I'm planning to go and see what happened there. Are you coming?"

No thunderbolts struck the sky, but Akemi seemed to have made some ominous decision.

There are rumors that the world responds specially when a hero makes a decision. If this is true, then Yuri and Minmei clearly do not meet the criteria for a hero.

This couldn't go on, so Yuri quickly began searching for other solutions.

He actually came up with an idea, which could be described as Yuri jumping over the wall.

“No, Akemi, she’s right about one thing: it’s impossible for the two of us to do anything.”

The high school girl in front of him seemed to want to say something, but Yuri immediately cut her off, "If it's just the two of us, aren't there other powers we can borrow here?"

"What other power?"

Following Yuri's direction, Akemi saw a group of people, and then a train station.

"You mean, the spirit of the train?" Of course, she wouldn't interpret it as mobilizing the masses... In a situation like this, it would probably be useless, and besides, it wouldn't be able to be mobilized. Moreover, the original purpose was to prevent everyone from collapsing, and if it ended up causing everyone to collapse, it would be meaningless. In the end, the process and the purpose, none of them matched up.

“That’s right.” Yuri nodded in confirmation.

Some fragments pieced together in Yuri's mind.

The Train Spirits are no weaker than the Spirit Hunters. Murakami Akisa believes the Spirit Hunters, united, can resolve the situation. The Train Spirits' subordinates believe they are not at a disadvantage in this conflict. The Train Spirits themselves have never explicitly stated they don't want to get involved. The Train Spirits have a strangely friendly attitude towards Yuri and have made some hints (though it's unclear what they are hinting at). The Train Spirits' attitude towards the Spirit Hunters.

"I think it's definitely worth a try. It won't be easy, but at least asking about the conditions is no problem," Yuri concluded. "And what if it actually works?"

“Hmm…then I won’t go. I’ll go check out the situation in the core area instead—I’m not familiar with that train spirit, so going there wouldn’t do anything, and might even have side effects. Don’t worry, I really just want to check things out; I absolutely won’t make any actual contact.” Akemi agreed to Yuri’s plan, but she didn’t seem inclined to go along.

"You're not really going to disappear and never come back, and when I see you again you'll be in the hospital, right?" Yuri didn't doubt that the high school girl in front of him was lying, but even a horse can make a mistake, and even Akemi could fall into a trap.

"Is that even human language? Why don't you say what if the next time I see you, you're covered in train tracks and flattened like paper?" The high school girl glared back angrily.

Chapter Ninety Conditions

Akemi rode away from the scene on her motorcycle.

They didn't waste much time saying goodbye; it only took about ten seconds for them to separate—Aminmi went to get the car, while Yuri didn't follow.

After a moment of mental preparation, Yuri calmed down and walked towards the station entrance.

The same large black and white dog spirit was still guarding the gate. Yuri didn't seem to intend to change to a different entrance; at least this one knew that he had been to the station before.

“I want to see your leader, the spirit of the train here,” Yuri said bluntly. “I have something I want to talk to him about.”

"..." The dog spirit seemed to be choked by Yuri's bluntness, and it took about fifteen seconds to answer, "Did you eat some colorful mushrooms?"

Yuri could see curiosity and shock in the dog's face.

"Of course not. What do you mean? Are you asking me to go in so I can announce my arrival, or something?"

"Are you sure there won't be any problems if you meet? Don't drag me down with you." The dog spirit was shaking its head vigorously.

Note: Bureaucracy is also quite evident in the Spirit King's Court.

“I’m sure, you see, I just saw him a few hours ago, but I’m not sure if I should tell you this.”

"Hmm... then you wait here. I'll ask another spirit to pass on your message. You should be rejected soon." The dog spirit thought for a moment and then called over a bird friend to pass on the message.

Note: It's also possible that this Spirit King's Court is quite irregular, and everyone is just acting according to their own feelings and imagination of what's proper.

"You really have guts, ghost, daring to bother our boss at a time like this." While waiting, the dog spirit spoke with a hint of respect and a lot of sarcasm.

"A ghost... I've never actually asked you. Why do you think I'm a ghost?" After all, the train spirit didn't think so; it seems not every spirit realizes this.

"You look so much like a human, you must be either a ghost or a high-level spirit—do you think you look like a high-level spirit?"

...It was logical, convincing, and it seemed like everyone thought the same thing, but unfortunately it was of no help whatsoever.

Soon, the bird spirit—or more accurately, the parrot spirit—came back.

“I don’t know what happened, but the chief seemed to let him in.”

The dog spirit took two steps back warily. "What kind of evil magic did you use?"

"No, no, no, what evil magic could I possibly have that would work on someone as powerful as your leader?" As soon as he finished speaking, Yuri realized that if the dog spirit reacted quickly enough, it might think that the parrot had been negatively affected.

Giving up on trying to make amends for what he had said, Yuri quickly entered the station before it could react.

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 flow of people was not much different from that at noon before, but the number of spirits had decreased significantly.

The spirits that remained here didn't share any particular characteristics, and Yuri didn't have enough time to observe them, but their atmosphere was clearly quite serious.

If Yuri hadn't been with one of them, he might have already been stopped and questioned, or even attacked.

Yuri followed the parrot to the familiar passage, then stepped over two alarm clocks and tires to enter the platform. This time, they didn't stop him at all, clearly having been instructed beforehand.

The camera spirits, which resemble robots, are not here, but Line 2 is.