Miko

"Stop it!"

"You must stop that Earthquake Catfish!"

In the Metropolitan Police Department command room, Director Takeya threw himself onto the console, roaring into the microphone.

Bunkyo Ward.

This district was home to a dense concentration of top-tier universities, as well as private elementary, middle, and high schools for the elite. The students attending them might not all be "wealthy or noble," but they were at least from upper-middle-class families; these families mostly held social influence and were not the sort of commoners who could be easily brushed off.

If he allowed the Earthquake Catfish to wreak havoc in Bunkyo Ward, he might as well prepare to bow, kneel, and resign as the Director of the Metropolitan Police Department!

And this was with the full support of the Prime Minister's Official Residence.

Otherwise, the previous barrage of shelling in Arakawa Ward would have already been enough to force him out of office.

"We can't do it!"

Facing his order, the pilot of an armed helicopter from the Self-Defense Force First Division shouted back in anger.

"That monster can dive underground; how are we supposed to stop it?!"

"Sir, we need tactical guidance!"

In the Island Nation, "tactical guidance" was a euphemism for calling in the American troops.

America had been a nation for nearly 250 years and had been at war for almost the entire time: the Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq...

"The lighthouse flame still shines bright, the United States' carriers take flight; the army of freedom crosses the border, setting foreign lands ablaze" was not just a joke, but a reality built upon piles of corpses.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Takeya."

However, the representative of the suzerain state was right there in the conference room, and Brigadier General Thomas shook his head.

"Although the Yokosuka base has some 'bunker busters,' by the time we rearm and arrive, it will already be..."

It was too late.

Furthermore, Brigadier General Thomas dared not guarantee that these bunker busters could kill the supernatural creature known as the Earthquake Catfish.

These bunker busters were America's sharp weapons for dealing with underground facilities in the Middle East. But the opponent here in Tokyo had not yet been suppressed to the point of needing to hide underground, so they were not equipped with many "Spear Bearer" hypersonic bunker busters.

"Damn it, damn it!!"

He slammed his fist onto the console, causing the nearby staff to flinch.

The flesh and blood of an ordinary man were no match for metal; blood dripped from his split, mangled knuckles, yet Director Takeya seemed not to feel it, staring fixedly at the Earthquake Catfish as it swam through the earth, heading toward Bunkyo Ward.

Supernatural, supernatural.

If he had supernatural power at his disposal, how could he be reduced to such a pathetic state?

"Huh?"

Among the three heading toward Imperial Sakura School, Amame Ei turned her head to look at the street.

High-end black sedans roared past one after another like streaks of black arrows, carving winding trajectories across the road.

Speeding, running red lights, and blaring their horns, these cars acted as if they had gone mad, signaling to other vehicles and pedestrians: Stay away from me!

"What is going on?"

Class Representative Ai Nao also found it inconceivable.

This was Tokyo, and the core "Bunkyo Ward" at that!

Driving like this would result in a 100% license revocation.

There might even be a few years of prison time involved.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Just then, the phones of Akihi Yu and Amame Ei rang simultaneously.

"Little Ichiyo? What?"

"Right, we're not far from the campus. Location? Sure, we'll just wait here?"

Compared to Amame Ei, who was nodding repeatedly while listening to the urgent words on the other end of the line, Akihi Yu had only one response after hearing his sister's words:

"Stay where you are. I'll be there soon."

"Yu-kun, has something happened?"

To the question from Class Representative Ai Nao, Akihi Yu turned his head and tilted his chin toward the west.

"A terrorist attack. It's spreading this way."

?

Screech—

A few minutes later, a speeding black sedan skidded to a halt beside the three of them, leaving charred marks on the pavement.

"Ei, get in!"

The car door opened, and Nagisa Kazuha, usually as aloof as a high-mountain flower, anxiously grabbed Amame Ei's wrist, dragging her into the sedan in a manner that was almost a "forced abduction."

The next second, before the door had even fully closed, the sedan accelerated violently and sped away, leaving the class monitor, Nao, standing there in a daze.

What on earth was going on?

Rumble, rumble.

The Earthquake Catfish, in its "berserk" state, continuously tunneled through the earth, shifting left and then right.

Its movements appeared to follow no pattern whatsoever.

Every time it breached the surface, cars, houses, parks, and bridges—regardless of the structure—collapsed into ruins before its massive bulk, leaving a trail of utter devastation!

"Everyone, do not panic!"

"Do not crowd, do not run aimlessly, follow instructions—"

A large number of police officers had arrived in Bunkyo Ward and were working hard to evacuate the crowd.

Thanks to the frequent natural disasters in the Island Nation, emergency evacuation drills were a staple from kindergarten through high school.

The crowd remained relatively orderly, yet wherever the Earthquake Catfish passed, chaos and terror inevitably followed.

Rumble, rumble~~~

Its massive black body "swam" through the earth.

Cars were nothing more than duckweed before it, and houses were merely slightly larger "pebbles." Wherever it passed, buildings collapsed and structures crumbled. Even though the giant Black Fish didn't care at all about those "ants," every move it made remained a lethal crisis for ordinary people.

"Report, the Earthquake Catfish is approaching Ousakura Girls' High School!"

"What?!"

In the operations room of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Director Takeya staggered backward, as if struck by a heavy blow, his head buzzing with noise.

Ousakura Girls' High School.

It was a quintessential elite girls' school, where the majority of students were the daughters of old-money aristocrats and the newly powerful. Many were even only children. If anything happened to these daughters of noble families, Director Takeya couldn't even imagine if those frantic parents would tear him apart alive!

"At all costs, stop it."

Halfway through his sentence, the Director stopped.

How could they stop it?

Unlike the Self-Defense Force in other regions who just collected a paycheck to pass the time, the First Division was considered the elite of the elite, and their fighting spirit was decent.

But faced with a supernatural creature that could dive into the earth at will, how were they supposed to stop it?

Jump out of a plane, pull out a transformation device, and yank this Earthquake Catfish out of the dirt—

Just like Heracles, lifting the opponent into the sky to strangle it?

Glancing at the footage sent back from the front lines, the Earthquake Catfish crashed through a building, its massive body landing on the street and blocking a group of speeding black sedans. Director Takeya squeezed his eyes shut in agony.

It's over!

"Young Miss, run!"

A giant black monster had crashed through a building and landed on the street, blocking the path forward.

Kicking the door open, the middle-aged driver in a suit and sunglasses jumped out, pulling open the back door while staring at the "supernatural creature" before him.

That's right, he knew this was a supernatural creature!

As the Young Miss's driver and bodyguard, the middle-aged man had already learned from the Master about the emergence of the "supernatural," but he hadn't expected to face a "supernatural creature" so soon, nor had he expected the opponent to be this terrifying.

Boom!

The road was severed by collapsed buildings, and a large number of high-end sedans were trapped.

Faced with danger, the young heiresses lost their composure, screaming as they either fled on foot or were supported—or even dragged—away by their drivers and bodyguards.

"Th-this is..."

Nagisa Kazuha, having stepped out of the car, was stunned by the scene before her, but fortunately:

"Run, little Kazuha!"

Amame Ei, who had just stepped out, saw the monster ahead and, without a moment's hesitation, grabbed Nagisa Kazuha's hand and turned to run.

"Monster, look over here!"

The middle-aged driver pulled out a handgun, disengaged the safety, and aimed at the giant Black Fish.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Such situations were not uncommon; several other drivers also pulled out guns and opened fire.

In the gun-controlled Island Nation, the ability to pull out a handgun on the street was enough to prove the immense influence of the people behind these "drivers."

Yet it was all for nothing.

Swish.

With a sweep of its whiskers, thick as water barrels, the middle-aged driver was sent flying sideways.

His entire body slammed into the glass of a nearby shop, tumbling inside amidst a shower of countless shards.

Immediately after, the Earthquake Catfish continued forward, its massive body crushing the abandoned luxury cars. Amidst the screeching of tortured metal, these multi-million dollar status symbols were reduced to heaps of scrap; if sent to a junkyard, they wouldn't even need to be compressed, as their engines, frames, and glass had been churned together into a single, mangled iron pancake.

The gargantuan Earthquake Catfish seemed to possess no concept of "good" or "evil," simply swimming forward at its own pace, crushing everything in its path and forcing the fleeing young heiresses to let out the most piercing screams of their lives.

That's enough.

Snap.

For some reason, a protrusion suddenly appeared beneath the feet of Nagisa Kazuha, who was being pulled along by Amame Ei.

Instantly losing her balance, the young girl fell heavily to the ground.

"Ah~~"

"Kazuha?"

Amame Ei, who was holding the other girl's wrist firmly, turned around, attempting to pull Nagisa Kazuha back up, but:

Though she had been independent and self-reliant since childhood, dragging a peer along while running was another matter entirely.

"Ei, don't worry about me, run!"

Forcefully shaking off the other girl's hand, Nagisa Kazuha, sprawled on the ground, felt her legs go so weak they no longer felt like her own, but fortunately, she could still speak clearly.

"Go,"

"Run!"

"As long as you can survive—"

"...No."

Trembling all over, Amame Ei did not turn to flee, but instead:

Stepped forward, blocking the path in front of Nagisa Kazuha.

"I am the older sister!"

"If I run today, I will regret it for the rest of my life! Living like that—"

What would be the point?

Swish.

Spreading her arms wide, she stood as a barrier before her fallen sister;

The petite girl bit down on her lower lip, so hard that she even drew blood.

'Grandpa, everyone else has a mom and dad, where are mine?'

'Hahaha, well, about that~~'

The old man, dressed in his shrine robes, scratched his head, attempting to laugh it off and brush the question aside, but faced with the little girl's persistent pestering:

'Ei's father was a big shot,'

'And her mother was a woman of deep devotion, though she was unfortunate in love.'

'...That's how it is. Don't worry, Ei, Grandpa will always be with you.'

Yet, only a few years later, the old man who managed the Small Shrine passed away.

From then on, the little girl would often run to the vicinity of her "father's" home, secretly observing that happy family of three.

Envy, jealousy, resentment, unwillingness.

Until one day:

'Do you want to play together?'

Faced with the hand extended by her "sister," the hesitant little girl ultimately chose to take it.

It was so warm.

"Stop—"

As scenes from the past flashed through her mind and the mountain-like shadow loomed right before her, Amame Ei took a deep breath.

"STOP!!!!!!"

Ripples of sound waves expanded outward, echoing throughout the entire district.

?!

The voice was not particularly loud, yet it resonated in the ears of everyone. Whether it was the fleeing heiresses, the drivers, the bodyguards, the helpless armed helicopter pilots in the sky, or the soldiers and police rushing in from afar.

"Stop--------"

The most terrifying reaction, naturally, occurred in the Metropolitan Police Department command center, where they were monitoring the battlefield through countless surveillance devices.

Countless speakers, large and small, simultaneously broadcasted the same phrase, and the repeatedly echoing sound waves sent the entire command center into chaos, leaving everyone reeling and nearly unconscious.

"What is this?!"

Stumbling to a half-kneel, Director Takeya used every ounce of his strength to lift his head, staring fixedly at the surveillance monitor.

On the screen, the arrogant Earthquake Catfish had stopped!

And standing opposite it:

Swish.

A beam of light descended from the heavens, enveloping Amame Ei.

A white Chihaya drifted down, draping over her body; red Hi-bakama wrapped around her waist, spreading out like a long skirt.

A golden Heavenly Crown settled upon her head, gleaming brilliantly; from both sides of the crown, branches sprouted out of thin air, cherry blossoms blooming upon them and swaying with a delicate fragrance.

Jingle-ling~~

Trailing long ribbons, a Kagura Bell composed of three tiers of bells fell into her hand, causing Amame Ei, who had been preparing for death, to lower her head in bewilderment.

Was she already dead?

She was very familiar with this attire, for ever since her grandfather passed away, she had been the Miko of the shrine.

During the annual festival, this was the "formal wear" she donned.

However:

BOOM.

The mountain-like monster before her moved again, and with no time to think, Amame Ei raised the Kagura Bell in her hand out of pure reflex.

"Evil spirit—begone!"

Swish----

High in the sky, a vermilion Torii flew in from out of nowhere.

Under the stunned gaze of everyone watching, the Torii plummeted from the heavens and thwacked into the back of the giant Black Fish.

"Woooooo~~~"

As the Torii landed, the giant Black Fish's body immediately began to shrink, and shrink, and shrink.

In the end, it transformed into a "pocket-sized" version only half a person's height. No, compared to a normal catfish, it was still a behemoth.

The "pocket-sized" Earthquake Catfish swam to the feet of the "fully-attired" Amame Ei and rubbed against her Hi-bakama like a puppy.

"Huh?"

"Good... good boy?"

Patting the creature on the forehead, Amame Ei's face was filled with confusion as the three philosophical questions surfaced in her mind:

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?