Kami-Ota
Tokyo, western Kanagawa Prefecture.
Deep in the Tanzawa Mountains, on a peninsula in a small village, there was a vast lake.
The lake was crystal-clear and boasted beautiful scenery. Though it could not be seen now, it was usually a popular destination for anglers and hikers, and was quite famous throughout the Kami-Ota region.
This lake was Kannawa Lake.
Around Kannawa Lake stood an ancient shrine deep in the western Tanzawa Mountains, overlooking the reservoir.
It was an unusual shrine whose status as a legitimate religious institution could not even be confirmed.
This shrine was Kami-Ota Shrine.
The shrine was virtually unknown to the outside world, but its history was quite long, and its ties to sorcery were particularly deep.
It was said that the priestess in charge of the shrine had worked tirelessly to suppress large-scale magical disasters on several occasions in the past. She also had close ties to the government's magical agencies. Every year-end and New Year, many guests came to visit her. Together with the local worshippers who came to pray, they kept the shrine maidens busy preparing to receive visitors during the New Year period, filling this otherwise unknown shrine with liveliness it normally lacked.
Yet today, Kami-Ota Shrine was utterly silent.
The lights in the main hall and shrine office had already been extinguished.
Not the slightest sign of human activity could be sensed.
With trees growing thickly all around, the grounds looked exceedingly dark, as if complete blackness had spread throughout the area.
An invisible barrier had been placed around the shrine, informing others that Kami-Ota Shrine was refusing visitors this year.
Only two kinds of people could visit Kami-Ota Shrine under such circumstances.
One kind consisted of fully armed soldiers dressed like military personnel.
They were members of the Self-Defense Forces,