East Ying War Zone, Okayama.
"How many people are ready?"
In a dark room filled with mirrors, a woman in a kimono sat cross-legged on the floor and asked coldly to a Third Order Awakener standing before her.
Her hair rose high, like a fan that had been pinned up, hanging behind her head.
He bent down and lay flat on the ground, then got back up.
The Awakener who had been questioned cautiously looked up at the woman before him, whose face was as pale as paper, and spoke:
"Twenty-seven Third Order Hidden Ghosts, Second Order Ghost Seeds—"
"Six hundred people."
The woman nodded after hearing this, but her expression seemed to carry a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Why are there so few Ghost Seeds? Didn't we give the method to the other Safe Zones? There are nearly six hundred thousand Second Order Awakeners altogether. How can there be only this many?"
"Lord Yako."
Hearing the interrogation, the Awakener kneeling before the woman shuddered violently beneath the surrounding chill.
"We didn't use the Second Order Peak Awakeners."
"The remaining Second Order Awakeners are too weak. The success rate is too low."
"Besides, six days ago, one Safe Zone made an operational mistake, causing a Paranormal Entity to lose control. It ate all the Survivors there."
"After seeing that, the other Safe Zones didn't dare continue either. Far fewer Ghost Seeds were planted."
"Cowards!!"
"Why didn't you tell me sooner!?"
Listening to her subordinate's report, Maki Yako's delicate features twisted. As one of the few female Third Order Awakeners in the War Zone, she was furious.
"Did Shinichi tell you to stop?"
Under her successive questions, the young Third Order Awakener trembled all over and lowered his head, not daring to say anything more. The woman's strength wasn't particularly great, but