"Who is it?"
The movement from behind,
made the mature female officer, Fuji Seiko, while pointing her gun at the 'flame skull', quickly glance behind her.
This?!
In the fog behind her,
a 'figure' holding an umbrella walked over.
That's right, even though they were only a few meters apart, the mature female officer still couldn't see clearly whether the other person was male or female, or even... whether they were human or not.
Because around this figure, there was a circle of flowing water. This ceaseless water enveloped the newcomer, and through the ripples, only a general human form could be seen.
The other party did not answer the female officer's question, but instead raised a hand and pointed it remotely at the fire hydrant that had been knocked askew by the police car.
A five-fingered grab!
Gak, gak, gak.
With the sound of twisting metal,
the fire hydrant was suddenly forced open by a mysterious huge force from within!
Boom—
The next second, the water flow broke through the damaged fire hydrant, like a giant dragon breaking free from its shackles, and soared into the sky.
"A dragon..."
In the shocked eyes of the female officer Fuji Seiko,
the reflection of a slender body with bared fangs and claws appeared.
The water flowing out of the fire hydrant did not fall and scatter under the force of gravity.
Instead, it condensed into the image of an eastern dragon: its mouth open to reveal its teeth, its whiskers and hair flying, and the water waves outlining its rippling scales. Its sharp claws and dragon fangs were lifelike, and within the majesty of the dragon's head, there was also a broad and gentle quality. It was surrounded by a white mist that condensed and did not disperse.
The wind follows the tiger, the clouds follow the dragon!
"Hiss—"
Facing this 'giant dragon' of water, the lower jaw of the flame skull opened wide.
It let out a hiss of fear that made the female officer's eardrums ache, and raised both its arms:
one by one, 'fireballs' the size of human heads appeared out of thin air!
In the center of these fireballs, 'human faces' appeared, both male and female, old and young, as if they were being mercilessly roasted.
As soon as they appeared, they eagerly rushed towards the figure holding the umbrella.
Go, dragon.
The hand under the umbrella pointed forward, and the giant dragon made of water immediately roared and charged towards these 'human-faced' fireballs.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
In a series of explosions, the water dragon and the flame human faces collided fiercely.
The air waves spread wantonly, and steam billowed out... the aftershocks of their collision made the mature female officer block her face with her hands, and she had to curl up behind the police car.
Before the high-temperature steam had dissipated, the mature female officer looked up. The water dragon was already in tatters, and the flame 'human faces' had almost disappeared.
The two sides seemed to have fought to a... draw?
No!
Water can extinguish fire.
As the water from the fire hydrant continued to gush out, the tattered water dragon was immediately replenished and visibly recovered.
"Roar~~"
With another roar,
the water dragon, after releasing a large number of 'human-faced' fireballs, flew towards the somewhat listless flame skull, and with a circle and a wrap, trapped it.
A quick battle.
Kishida Jun, under the umbrella, mobilized the 'demonic power' in his body, and his five fingers remotely aimed at the 'flame skull' and clenched.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
The water dragon suddenly contracted its body, intending to crush the flame!
The flame skull struggled madly in the water, but it could never break through the water cage. Amidst the billowing high-temperature steam, its body was constantly being melted away.
It's over.
As the flame was completely extinguished, Kishida Jun's eyes sharpened.
A piece of rubble the size of a fingernail floated in the position where the flame skull had been.
With a flick of his finger,
the water flow carried the stone back.
Holding the piece of rubble, feeling the faint but trembling 'demonic aura' that made him shiver all over, as if he had encountered an absolutely high-ranking being, Kishida Jun was not afraid, but his face lit up with joy.
The Killing Stone!
The mission that 'Shiro Mujou' had given him was precisely to collect the 'Killing Stone'.
The reason... without the other party saying it, Kishida Jun could also guess. After all, the 'Killing Stone' was the remains of that great yokai, or rather, his means of resurrection.
Even the underworld, which was in charge of 'life and death', was afraid of that great person who had crossed the sea?
With this thought flashing through his mind, Kishida Jun put away the 'Killing Stone' and prepared to leave.
"Stop!"
A roar came from the side, making Kishida Jun, who was holding an umbrella, turn his head slightly.
"You... no matter who you are, you must stay and assist in the investigation!"
Fuji Seiko shouted the words engraved in her bones, while wanting to give herself a slap.
I'm dead!
With the power the other party had shown, they could kill her with a wave of their hand.
Especially since her pistol was out of bullets.
But... her gaze swept over the ruined houses nearby, her junior lying in a pool of blood, and the police uniform on her body... all of which made her unable to turn a blind eye.
However, the other party did not attack her. No, this 'figure' holding an umbrella didn't even look at her properly. Instead, they stepped out, and the surrounding fog surged over, as if surrounding a warrior's ashigaru, and disappeared in the blink of an eye from this devastated street.
"What on earth am I doing?"
Lowering her arm, the mature female officer Fuji Seiko bit her lip.
"Is anyone there..."
"Someone's injured here!"
?!
In the fog, a pained cry for help came, making the bewildered female officer come back to her senses.
Save people!
"Mai,"
She rushed behind the police car, opened the trunk, and took out the first aid kit.
She rushed to the side of her colleague lying on the ground, and the mature female officer began to give first aid to her junior in the pool of blood.
Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
As the world's largest municipal police unit, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was a behemoth with over forty-six thousand police officers.
It was precisely thanks to this huge police force of nearly fifty thousand that Tokyo's security level was maintained at a relatively passable level. Unfortunately, in the past few days, the authority of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had been severely challenged one after another.
"Hello, this is Arakawa Ward Machiya...?"
"This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department..."
"An earthquake? What, a huge black fish... sir, please calm down, take a deep breath first."
"This is Fuji Seiko, patrol sergeant of the Adachi Ward police station, badge number XXXXXX!"
Amidst the numerous alarm calls, one call directly stated its identity.
"An earthquake disaster has occurred in Arakawa Ward Machiya 6-chome. Please send rescue personnel immediately. Yes, there are more than a dozen injured people at the scene!"
"No, it's not a natural disaster..."
"The disaster was caused by a monster, a yokai..."
"I'm very calm. My body cam is on. Please send rescue personnel immediately, be quick!"
Waaah, waaah, waaah~~~
One by one, police cars, ambulances, and even armored vehicles roared from various districts towards Arakawa Ward.
The flashing police lights on their roofs and their cold metal armor made the vehicles on the road hurry to get out of the way. Whether they were ordinary people or company presidents, they did not dare to say a word in the face of the menacing state violence machinery.
Helicopters also followed one after another in the sky.
This scene made pedestrians and drivers alike wonder what was going on to make the police mobilize on such a large scale.
However, there was something faster than any vehicle.
Earthquake Scene...
Shocking, a fish swimming on land?!
A flame skull? There's a picture to prove it—
A strange thick fog appeared in Arakawa Ward Machiya 6-chome, shrouding the earthquake area
Although the earthquake and the 'battle' were only limited to a few streets near Arakawa Ward Machiya 6-chome, the huge black fish with a 'torii' on its back, crushing one building after another and constantly 'swimming' on the ground, was still witnessed by many, and photographed, and then uploaded to the internet!
In modern people's lives, their phones are almost never away from them.
When they encounter something strange, their first reaction is also to take out their phones:
Then post it on Line, Facebook, YouTube...
However, soon, these messages with pictures quickly disappeared from the internet. Let alone other countries, even the local people in Arakawa Ward did not have time to react.
Then: A sudden earthquake occurred in Arakawa Ward. The government is making every effort to rescue. Please cooperate, citizens. The news quickly occupied all the mobile phones, computers, televisions, and all internet communication methods of the residents of Arakawa Ward.
A large number of armored vehicles sped over, blocking all major thoroughfares!
Ambulances and police cars, with their sirens blaring, rushed towards Arakawa Ward Machiya 6-chome. As for what they were going to do?
Only those elites at the forefront knew.
Supernatural...
It has appeared again!
Adachi Ward, Homitsu High School.
"Eh?"
"Emergency maintenance on the Chiyoda Line train..."
Tennyo Ei, who was walking out of the school gate with her companions, looked at the notification message that popped up on her phone with confusion.
"What's going on? Doesn't this mean we have to take a detour?"
"After all, it's an old antique built fifty years ago. It's perfectly normal for accidents to happen."
Akiyoshi Yuu spoke calmly, without any awareness of being the 'culprit'.
"It's only been fifty years..."
Tennyo Ei retorted, but since the Chiyoda Line was impassable, they could only take a detour.
"Tennyo-san, and Nao, if it's inconvenient for you, you can go back first."
Akiyoshi Yuu was going to Bunkyo Ward to pick up his sister Akiyoshi Kaoru.
But Tennyo Ei... she used to have to go to Bunkyo Ward too, because her older sister Nagisa Kazuha would accompany her to clean the shrine every day after school.
From the looks of her driver yesterday, that young lady probably couldn't go out freely for a short period of time.
As for the class president Nao...
"It's okay, Yuu."
Having finally gotten closer to her childhood friend again, Iai Nao would not give up the opportunity to spend time together. Besides:
"I don't want to go home now, you know that, Yuu."
Ah~~
He touched his chin.
In his memory, Iai Nao's parents... had been in a cold war for over ten years, to the point of 'loathing each other'. They had even almost come to blows a few years ago.
So, Iai Nao had joined the school's swimming club and would only go home after dark every day.
It was to avoid facing her parents as much as possible.
"Then, let's go."
The three of them changed to the Namboku Line to take a detour to the 'Kouou Girls' Academy' in Bunkyo Ward.
"Wow, this is really~~"
When the three of them arrived at this noble girls' high school, what they saw was:
Luxury cars!
All kinds of luxury cars.
Although they didn't recognize the car logos, the styles of these cars, and those drivers in black suits, sunglasses, and gloves, all exuded the air of 'old nobility'.
There were even helicopters constantly taking off and landing on the school's sports field, picking up one young lady after another.
"What's going on?"
Tennyo Ei looked at the unusually busy but silent scene before her, wondering if she had come to the wrong place.
Akiyoshi Yuu, who knew the truth, shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows."
"Maybe these rich people are in a hurry to go home for dinner?"
"Ei."
At the school gate, the flower-on-a-high-peak young lady waiting there: Nagisa Kazuha quickly came over and took the petite girl Tennyo Ei's hand.
"Come with me, to my house."
"Eh."
"Eh?!"
Even the lively and cheerful Tennyo Ei was only left with surprise for a moment.
"The three of you, would you do me the honor of being a guest at my humble abode?"
Noticing Akiyoshi Yuu, Akiyoshi Kaoru, and Iai Nao, the young lady Nagisa Kazuha extended an invitation.
"No, we just..."
"Then I'll—"
Seeing that Akiyoshi Yuu was about to refuse, Tennyo Ei also subconsciously prepared to refuse.
"No!"
The young lady Nagisa Kazuha was clearly anxious.
"Now, over by the Arakawa... anyway, come with me, okay?"
"Eh, why, this..."
Tennyo Ei subconsciously turned to look at Akiyoshi Yuu, and Akiyoshi Yuu, who already understood the reason, thought for a moment.
"Then, excuse us, Nagisa-san."
?