Akemi acted quickly. After a short walk outside, she returned with a large amount of materials.
With the vast stream of information now imprinted into her mind, all that remained was to use ritual magic to pinpoint the exact location of the two targets, as well as the one billion yen they had stolen.
The materials needed for the ritual were simple: fresh animal organs, sulfur powder, and parchment.
The chosen time was midnight.
At home, she set up a pentagram magic circle, placing the animal organs in the center, sprinkling the sulfur powder on top, and igniting them at the right moment.
Boom!
Blue flames flared up. Kneeling respectfully to the side, Akemi saw images appear within the flames.
The first scene was of a 24-hour hotel named Anywhere Hotel. A map-like image marked a specific location and the number 606.
The next was a remote, quiet apartment, along with the number 202.
That was the revelation she needed.
When the flame shifted from blue to ordinary orange-yellow, Akemi quickly wrote the details onto the parchment.
"The specific location has been obtained."
The revelation had given her the exact whereabouts of both targets.
The next step was finding the right time to eliminate them.
Before taking action, however, she needed to prepare.
If she relied solely on her own skills, she would need firearms to kill them, but that would bring unnecessary trouble and increase the risk of exposure.
Instead, she would temporarily contract natural spirits to serve as her weapons. The right spirit could save her a great deal of effort.
After dismantling the pentagram from the first ritual, she drew another identical one.
This time, she placed a wind chime to represent wind, a shell for water, charcoal for fire, and rocks for earth within the circle.
Once the preparations were complete, she took out lavender essential oil she had prepared earlier to soothe the natural spirits.
After calming herself, she began to chant:
"A spirit that wanders between illusion and reality.
Your name is engraved in the wind, hidden in the fire, sunk in the water, and rests in the earth."
As she prayed, faint blue text began to appear on each of the four objects in the magic circle. The air in the room grew heavier.
Sensing the change, Akemi slowly opened the bottle of lavender oil and poured it along the edge of the circle, calming the four great spirits.
"By the shackles of the four elements, by the gaze of my Lord—
Come as called upon, reveal your true form!"
An invisible gaze seemed to enter the room. The restless spirits were instantly calmed.
The blue text on the four objects deepened, becoming fixed like brands on metal.
Akemi let out a breath of relief and continued:
"You must respond to my prayers, either by taking my spirit as payment, or by binding me according to the ancient blood pact!"
The ritual drained her spiritual energy, but she could clearly feel the contract with the four great spirits taking hold.
"Thank God!"
She knelt, bowing deeply in gratitude for her deity's aid.
She then collected the four objects from the magic circle. Each now carried the power of its corresponding spirit.
They were not high-ranking spirits, but their assistance would still be significant.
Changing into athletic wear, she prepared to leave. In spring, even after midnight, there were still people out jogging, so her movements would not seem suspicious.
With the two locations confirmed, all she had to do was run there as if it were part of her nightly routine.
The distance between the two was considerable, so she would need to approach them separately.
The first destination was the Hotel, where the stronger target was located. She needed to go there first.
After all, the billion yen was not in the hands of the hired thugs.
With her plan set, Akemi went directly to the hotel.
It was during the shift change, so the night staff had it relatively easy.
Although the sign read "24-hour Hotel," the employees inside were not exactly alert.
When she arrived, it was already 1:12 a.m., a time when most people were struggling to stay awake.
Standing outside on the street, she scanned the surroundings, stretched, and paused as if to rest.
Then she took the wind chime from her pocket, shook it lightly, and whispered:
"Wind Spirit, please help me disable the entrance surveillance."
Huu—
An invisible breeze carried the sound of the chime into the hotel.
Like an unseen blade, it sliced through the surveillance wires, plunging the entrance into darkness.
Once she confirmed this, Akemi entered.
The front desk clerk was slouched in a daze, half-asleep. As long as she moved quietly, no one would notice.
But she had to be quick. Once the monitoring room realized the surveillance was down, they would respond.
The hotel had few cameras—at the entrance, the emergency exit, the elevator, and a handful in the corridors.
The elevator cameras would be harder to bypass, so she took the emergency stairs instead.
The wind spirit had already disabled the entrance surveillance, and she quickly climbed to the sixth floor.
As it turned out, she had overestimated the hotel's security. Not only was the front desk clerk dozing off, but the monitoring staff were as well, so no one noticed the outage.
She disabled the corridor surveillance and stopped at the door to room 606.
Shaking the wind chime again, she sent its sound drifting into the room with the breeze.
The wind's senses allowed her to see inside. The target was resting.
The breeze coiled around his neck like an invisible chain.
"Kill."
The wind instantly became a blade, sharp enough to sever his head in a single stroke.
The thug never even had the chance to resist.
Satisfied, Akemi pocketed the wind chime and retraced her steps.
Once outside, she exhaled in relief.
The first target was eliminated.
(To be continued.)
***
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