Meanwhile, inside the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department headquarters.
"Captain Akoya, you're..."
Seeing Seishu Akoya clad in full riot squad gear, complete with a riot helmet and shield, and holding a firearm in his other hand, the security officer at the checkpoint was taken aback and hesitated."
"Why... are you wearing operational equipment to enter the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters?"
Seishu Akoya glanced at the officer and replied sternly.
"Do I need to explain myself to you?"
"Well..."
The officer looked uncertain, instinctively feeling that something was amiss.
Typically, as the riot squad's overall commander, Seishu Akoya indeed had no obligation to explain anything to a regular officer.
But who would wear heavy riot gear into the Metropolitan Police Department building?
Considering this, the officer began to speak slowly.
"Sorry, Director Akoya, I must ask you to first lower your firearm... then remove your helmet. After I notify Chief Yagami, we'll await his permission."
Although Seishu Akoya was the overall commander of the mobile unit, he wasn't truly high-ranking in the proper sense. What he possessed was only the authority to command operations on-site - the specific action objectives and when operations would begin weren't his decisions to make.
"Yagami..."
At the mention of this name, Seishu Akoya's previously calm eyes instantly erupted with intense, distorted hatred as he murmured to himself.
"Yes... Yagami."
"Soichiro Yagami... your Metropolitan Police Department's criminal affairs director."
Under the astonished gaze of the police officer, Akoya released the safety on his firearm with a distinct click, speaking in an emotionless tone.
"Soichiro Yagami is the root cause of the Metropolitan Police Department's corruption to this extent!"
Hearing these words, the officer's expression changed dramatically. Watching Akoya raise the gun barrel aimed at him, he immediately dodged behind nearby cover, pressing his walkie-talkie as he urgently spoke.
"Under attack at the first-floor entrance! Repeat, under attack at the first-floor entrance! Attacker is Seishu Akoya! Subject is equipped with heavy firearms, extremely dangerous, requesting suppor..."
Bang!
Before the officer could finish, a tremendous roar sounded in his ears, followed by intense pain erupting in his chest.
He looked down to see a large, palm-like hand wearing the mobile unit's black gloves, already protruding from his chest.
"One."
Akoya withdrew his hand, looking at the cover he had pierced through bare-handed, the officer lying on the ground who had lost his life aura, and the walkie-talkie beside him. He directly raised his foot and crushed it to pieces.
"This twisted, evil Metropolitan Police Department..."
Akoya raised his head, his eyes completely devoid of emotion.
"I shall correct it with my own hands."
...
Meanwhile, Soichiro Yagami upstairs had already received news of the invasion at the Metropolitan Police Department building.
"Seishu Akoya?"
Upon hearing the message on the police communication channel, Soichiro Yagami frowned deeply.
Akoya didn't have the authority to bypass him as head of the Special Operations Group and directly issue commands to the mobile unit.
Even if Akoya had issued commands, storming the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department headquarters building?
The mobile unit members weren't like ancient-raised death warriors - how could they obey such an absurd order?
Alone... storming the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters building?
Had Akoya gone mad?
Even bearing the title of the Metropolitan Police Department's strongest, he was still merely human - just one bullet could take his life...
"No... could it be..."
A terrible speculation surfaced in Soichiro Yagami's mind.
Although Akoya had radical ideas, he wasn't foolish. Would he commit such a suicidal act just to kill one innocent officer at the security checkpoint? This made no logical sense.
The only explanation was...
Akoya was confident that, even alone, he could achieve his objective by storming the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters building. As for whether he could escape unscathed, that probably wasn't something he would consider.
Who could accomplish such a thing...
Soichiro Yagami's expression changed instantly. He immediately picked up the walkie-talkie on his desk and spoke in a grave voice.
"All officers, all officers, do not engage the intruder directly. Monitor their movements via surveillance and evacuate the headquarters building immediately when opportunities arise!"
Hearing Soichiro Yagami's command, the officers who had already armed themselves and prepared for combat couldn't help but pause in confusion. However, since it was an order personally given by Soichiro Yagami, they had no choice but to comply.
"I hope it's as I suspect..."
Soichiro Yagami pulled up the building's surveillance footage on his computer. Watching the several officers killed by Seishu Akoya in the first-floor lobby, his face showed sorrow as he sighed softly. Switching the camera view to the elevator entrance, he found no trace of Seishu Akoya.
"Taking the stairwell then..."
Soichiro Yagami frowned deeply, retrieving his service pistol from the desk drawer. After carefully checking the magazine, he stood up and headed out of his office.
If his suspicions were correct - that Seishu Akoya had awakened that special power similar to Tamura's, combined with his original status as the member with the highest individual combat capability in Japan's Metropolitan Police Department mobile unit - then the officers in this building alone could never stop his advance, only resulting in meaningless sacrifices.
But if he was overthinking it, and Seishu Akoya had simply gone mad, believing he could storm the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters single-handedly... Soichiro Yagami had a plan for that, too.
All these years as a veteran detective hadn't been for nothing.
In close combat, Soichiro Yagami was far inferior to Seishu Akoya, but when it came to marksmanship...
He wouldn't lose.
...
Meanwhile, in the stairwell.
Thud... Thud... Thud...
Each step Seishu Akoya took made the stairs beneath him tremble.
His original weight was 114kg - over 200 pounds - standing over 190cm tall with a burly build. Combined with the Metropolitan Police Department's mobile unit's operational equipment, his total weight exceeded 300 pounds. Even with such a load, Seishu Akoya maintained astonishing speed, which was why he was called the strongest in Japan's Metropolitan Police Department.
Breaking through a wall directly wasn't difficult for Seishu Akoya - he'd even performed such unconventional actions multiple times during operations, possessing truly monstrous physical capabilities.
"This is... spiritual power?"
Just as Soichiro Yagami had guessed, Seishu Akoya's target was clear. Without stopping along the way, he proceeded directly to the sixth floor of the headquarters building - the location of Soichiro Yagami's office.
At this moment, Soichiro Yagami stood about ten meters from the stairwell, at the corner leading to the corridor, holding his firearm with fine beads of sweat already forming on his forehead.
This position was the best spot he could find on this entire floor.
Ten meters distance... would it be enough?
If the opponent were an ordinary person, not just ten meters - even four or five meters - Soichiro Yagami felt confident he could pull the trigger before they reached him, accurately hitting the enemy's vital areas.
But facing a human monster like Seishu Akoya, Soichiro Yagami was already drenched in sweat. A mere ten-meter distance still posed too great a risk.
Yet engaging him in the office would be even more disadvantageous, given so many obstacles blocking the line of sight.
Just as Soichiro Yagami was taking deep breaths, trying to suppress his nervousness, he suddenly felt a touch on his shoulder.
"Hmm?"
Soichiro Yagami's expression shifted.
'It's already after hours,' he thought. 'This floor is reserved for Metropolitan Police Department executives, and they've all left long ago. Aside from me being forced to work overtime to help Mask search for documents, who else could be here?'
He immediately turned around, his index finger already on the trigger, prepared to fire.
But the scene that met his eyes left Soichiro Yagami utterly stunned.
Before his eyes, Onimaru Kunitsuna, which had originally been hanging on the office wall, was now floating in mid-air on its own, even swaying its blade with a distinctly spiritual intelligence. Its meaning was clear: step back and don't get in the way.
"Ah...?"
Soichiro Yagami was utterly dumbfounded, his mind momentarily shutting down.
No way...
Onimaru Kunitsuna... just a sword, moving?
What's going on!?
So this was what Mask meant by leaving Onimaru Kunitsuna behind to protect him? Not the kind of protection he'd imagined—warding off evil spirits—but protection like a human bodyguard!?
While Soichiro Yagami was still stunned, he suddenly heard a loud crash from the stairwell door not far away.
In that instant, the floating Onimaru Kunitsuna vanished.
Seishu Akoya, who had just kicked open the stairwell door, hadn't even had time to clear his vision when a crescent-shaped black blade light was the first thing to enter his sight.
Clang!
Seishu Akoya raised the riot shield in his hand and, with a shower of blinding sparks, blocked the blade light.
"Hmm?"
Onimaru Kunitsuna, now in human form, let out a soft hum.
"Coating the shield's surface with spiritual power... It seems you don't possess the same ability as my master..."
Seishu Akoya's shield was the same one he had used during his previous operations—a specially made riot shield crafted by the Metropolitan Police Department to account for his physique, weight, and strength.
Logically, such an object should have been cleanly sliced in two by Onimaru Kunitsuna's sharp spiritual power.
Seishu Akoya had barely managed to block the sword's strike by enveloping the shield with his own spiritual power, though a deep gash still remained on the shield's surface.
"Master...?"
Seishu Akoya stared directly at Onimaru Kunitsuna, standing before him, his voice cold.
"Your master... is Mask, isn't it... I see."
Seishu Akoya glanced toward Soichiro Yagami, hiding behind the corner, his tone dripping with scorn and disdain.
"No wonder the Metropolitan Police Department has fallen so low. So it's you, Chief Yagami, colluding with criminals."
"Colluding?"
Soichiro Yagami gripped his firearm tightly. Though in his field of vision, there was no one in front of Seishu Akoya, as someone aware of the rules governing spirits, he knew full well that some kind of spirit... no, it must be Onimaru Kunitsuna, was blocking the other's path.
Hearing Seishu Akoya's words, Soichiro took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his sidearm, and replied in a low, firm voice.
"Breaking into the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters, killing your own innocent colleagues—who is the one who has truly fallen? Is it me, or you, a former Metropolitan Police Department member driven to madness by your twisted sense of justice!?"
"I am not the one who is mad."
Seishu Akoya pressed his riot shield against Onimaru Kunitsuna's blade, his towering frame exuding a suffocating pressure as he forced his way forward step by step, pushing against the long sword.
"I... only I can save this twisted city. Only I am absolute justice!"
"Madman."
Soichiro Yagami shook his head, saying no more.
In his many years of experience with criminal cases, he had come to understand one thing.
There's nothing to say to a criminal who has already descended to such extremes.
Even if... the other party is the Metropolitan Police Department's Mobile Unit Commander, he has now become a dangerous individual who must be eliminated.
At this moment, Onimaru Kunitsuna was clenching her teeth tightly, one hand gripping the hilt while the other pressed against the back of the blade, exerting all her strength to block Seishu Akoya's advance. Yet the other party continued moving forward as if completely unhindered.
Although Onimaru Kunitsuna possessed autonomous combat capabilities, she was fundamentally just a weapon. All her abilities existed to be wielded by Ye Xing, not for independent combat.
Seishu Akoya seemed to treat Onimaru Kunitsuna as if she weren't even there. Initially, he advanced while holding up his riot shield, but eventually lowered it, pressing his chest directly against the blade of Onimaru Kunitsuna's sword as he step by step reached the corner position.
He looked down at Soichiro Yagami before him, slowly raising his riot shield.
"The purge of justice begins now."
Soichiro Yagami pulled the trigger without hesitation. Muzzle flashes erupted as he fired four shots within two seconds, aiming at Seishu Akoya's forehead, neck, left chest, and groin.
As an experienced Director of Criminal Investigations, Soichiro naturally knew which areas to target when facing an enemy wearing mobile unit armour.
Although small-calibre bullets might not penetrate the armour's defence, the impact force would still deliver fatal shocks to the human body concealed within.
Especially these four most vulnerable areas.
Since Soichiro lacked the ability to observe, the bullets fired from his gun followed the principle of non-interference, completely ignoring Onimaru Kunitsuna standing between him and Seishu Akoya as they flew toward the four vital points.
"Pathetic."
The moment Soichiro raised his gun, Seishu Akoya retrieved his large riot shield, holding it at a professional, slightly angled position that best dissipated bullet impact in front of himself.
Bang!
The bullet struck the riot shield with a deafening noise.
Seishu Akoya's hand didn't even tremble. He merely shook his head and spoke slowly, like an emotionless machine.
"Accept the judgment of justice."
Just then, Onimaru Kunitsuna, who had been straining to hold her position, suddenly revealed a faint smile.
She raised her head to meet Seishu Akoya's gaze and whispered softly.
"You... are already finished."
As her words faded, Seishu Akoya heard a tremendous noise behind him. Before he could turn around, a single, calm word reached his ears.
"Return."
The instant these words sounded, Onimaru Kunitsuna suddenly dissipated.
Sensing the spiritual power fluctuation behind him, Seishu Akoya reacted swiftly, immediately turning and raising his riot shield.
There was no sound - only the riot shield being sliced apart like fragile paper, and that familiar face Seishu Akoya knew all too well, the one that even appeared in his dreams.
"Mask..."
Bang!
Ye Xing didn't bother to reply, simply punching Seishu Akoya in the abdomen and watching as the massive figure was sent flying backwards, embedding into the wall. He chuckled lightly and spoke.
"Not hurt, are you? Old So."
"I'm fine."
Soichiro Yagami waved his hand, his brow furrowed as he watched the cloud of dust and debris not far away.
"Be careful, this guy... possesses special powers similar to yours."
"Similar to me?"
Ye Xing swung the pitch-black blade of Onimaru Kunitsuna in his hand, shaking his head with a light laugh.
"No one can be similar to me. I am unique, the strongest existence."
"You've really let it go to your head, kid."
At that moment, Rio Futaba and Mai Sakurajima, already changed into their combat attire, approached from nearby and addressed Chief Yagami.
"Chief Yagami, we'll escort you away from here."
"Alright."
Soichiro Yagami nodded without hesitation.
He knew that as an ordinary person, staying here would only be a hindrance, distracting Mask. Rather than that, it was better to fulfil his duties and evacuate the civilians around the headquarters building to prevent any accidental harm.
After Soichiro Yagami had left, Ye Xing looked towards Seishu Akoya, who was half-embedded in the wall, and spoke with a smile.
"You're not dead already, are you? I still have many things I want to ask you properly."
"Mask..."
Seishu Akoya opened his eyes, pulling himself free from the indentation in the wall. The moment his tall frame stepped onto the ground, it seemed to make the entire floor tremble.
"You and Soichiro Yagami are the root of Kyoto's corruption. Eliminating evil like yours is justice!"
Seishu Akoya removed his riot helmet, his sharply defined face suddenly sprouting beast-like fur, while sharp, gleaming fangs extended from his mouth. The body beneath the mobile unit's tactical armour began to swell.
With a surge of spiritual power emanating from him, the now monstrous Seishu Akoya uttered his soul's true name.
"Fuse—Nue."