The First to Go Offline

"Magic?"

"What kind of prank is this?"

Something was clearly wrong here. In a brightly lit building in broad daylight, they had run into 'ghosts.' Whether it was the two lackeys, the executive, or their leader Inoue Sugaya, all of them were filled with uncertainty.

The scene before them was simply too bizarre. On one hand, they had been taught about 'science' since childhood and did not truly believe in Ghost Gods. On the other, the blazing white lights overhead and the fact that there were four of them kept them from screaming on the spot.

As for Tanimura Wataru, the young man who had been brutally beaten, the two lackeys had tossed him by the door.

The 'women' who had flooded in through the leader's office door ignored Tanimura Wataru as he dragged his body and desperately crawled to the side. They simply floated straight toward them.

Tangling hair hanging down like water weeds, tattered and decayed clothing, and that weightless way of moving. The Ring had already reached its fifth installment—how could people from the Island Nation not recognize this classic appearance?

"L-Leader, look at the floor!"

As they kept backing away, one of the Broken Tooth Gang lackeys noticed the ground and shuddered all over.

"No shadows!"

?!

Inoue Sugaya, who had risen from behind his desk, looked over at those words. Sure enough, there were no shadows beneath those things' feet.

Impossible!

Judging from everyone else's reactions, this was definitely not one person's hallucination.

So here was the question: whether it was magic or something else, why did they have no shadows?

Rather than believe that high-tech 'holographic projections' had appeared in his office, Inoue Sugaya would rather believe that these things were Evil Spirits.

"Stop,"

"Don't panic!"

The familiar angry rebuke made the three yakuza members who were constantly retreating stop. Inoue Sugaya pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Are those fire pokers in your arms?"

Right—

After being scolded by their leader, the two lackeys came to their senses.

Swish,

They reached into their jackets.

The two Broken Tooth Gang lackeys drew the weapons hidden in their holsters.

"Take them out."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ghosts, Evil Spirits, Gods—whatever they were, they could have a taste of 'American quick-draw' first.

A continuous barrage of gunfire erupted, echoing through the office and making their eardrums ache! The shrieking metal bullets were enough to pierce any flesh-and-blood body, bring down Fierce Tigers, and make lions bow their heads.

But—

"It didn't work?!"

The bullets passed through the 'Evil Spirits' without obstruction, leaving only hollow ripples across their bodies. They could not even make them pause.

Click, click, click.

As empty trigger pulls rang out, the two Broken Tooth Gang lackeys turned deathly pale.

Most of their courage came from the weapons in their hands.

Once they discovered their guns were useless, the courage they had drawn from bullying the weak with strength quickly drained away.

Thud! Thud!

Before the two lackeys could retreat again, a tremendous force suddenly struck from behind, sending them stumbling forward.

?!

The one who had shoved them out

was their 'big brother,' the Broken Tooth Gang executive responsible for leading them.

"Ahhh—"

"Big Brother, you—"

The two lackeys instinctively turned back, shocked and furious. Before they could say anything else, the 'Evil Spirits' flooding into the office instinctively stretched out their arms toward the two men who had stumbled into them.

Thud, thud!

Entangled by the 'Evil Spirits' with both hands and feet, the two lackeys immediately fell stiffly to the ground.

They wanted to get back up at once or drive the 'Evil Spirits' off their bodies. Yet they discovered in horror that they could not move, as if their bodies no longer belonged to them. They could only watch helplessly as the 'Evil Spirits' wound around them, their twisted limbs crawling across their bodies—their faces, ears, eyeballs!!

They wanted to struggle, but they could not move even a finger.

They wanted to scream, but no sound came from their throats.

It was a waking nightmare!

Moisture began spreading across the two lackeys' pants, accompanied by a foul stench.

"Hongo!"

At Inoue Sugaya's cry of alarm, the remaining executive suddenly drew a short blade from his waist and charged through the gaps between the 'Evil Spirits.'

There was no other choice. This office had only one door. If he wanted to live, he had to fight with everything he had.

I'm going for it!

These 'Evil Spirits' looked terrifying, but they were not particularly fast, and they were not invulnerable. Hongo had seen it clearly: whenever bullets passed through them, holes briefly appeared in their bodies.

Then, as long as he did not get touched—

Swish.

Nimbly slipping between two 'Evil Spirits,' Executive Hongo raised his short blade and viciously slashed at the 'Evil Spirit' blocking his escape route.

Hachiman Great Bodhisattva, God, Allah. Protect me!

A string of prayers flashed through Hongo's mind as the short blade came down.

Rip—

Whether some deity had answered his plea, Hongo's burst of murderous aura had taken effect, or it was simply an 'Evil Spirit's' nature—

The Evil Spirit blocking his path was actually split in two by the short blade!

It worked!

Wild joy flashed through his heart. With the door right before his eyes, Hongo pushed off hard.

Good, I can make it through in one rush.?!

The next second, his entire body stiffened, and charging Hongo lost his balance.

He flew straight forward and crashed headfirst into the wall beside the door with a heavy thud, blood streaming from his head.

His only movable eyeballs turned toward his back. The upper and lower halves of the two writhing 'Evil Spirits' had dragged him down tightly. At the same time, new limbs were continuously growing from their severed surfaces. The 'Evil Spirit' he had cut apart had turned from one into two in the blink of an eye.

Ah, right.

That was how Evil Spirits were supposed to be. It was over.

"Y-You—"

"Stop, don't come closer!"

"I'll give you money. No, you must want offerings, right? I'll give them to you. Anything is fi—"

In the simply decorated yet luxurious office, Inoue Sugaya's pleading came to an abrupt halt. Several 'Evil Spirits' had already surrounded him, instantly robbing him of control over his body.

For a time,

the office of the Broken Tooth Gang's leader sank into eerie silence.

Tap, tap, tap.

The silence did not last long before unhurried footsteps sounded.

The three subordinates lying on the floor and Leader Inoue, standing frozen in place, rolled their eyes toward the door. A figure in wide robes and large sleeves entered through the office entrance.

He—or she—wore an ancient, loose hunting robe, a towering black court cap, magatama ornaments at the waist, and wooden clogs. Without counting the hat, the figure appeared to be only around four feet seven inches tall. A strip of white cloth hanging from the front of the hat covered the face, and only the black character 'San' on the cloth stood out conspicuously.

The newcomer turned their head as if surveying the room, then slightly lifted the stone in their right hand?

!!

Without a sound, the two gang lackeys who had fallen first suddenly began convulsing!

Their features twisted to the extreme, as if they had seen some indescribable terror. Their mouths gaped so wide that a fist could fit inside, while bloodshot veins spread through their bulging eyes.

The next second,

two humanoid phantoms flew out of their bodies.

No abstract painting, no matter how exaggerated, could depict the scene before them. Two phantoms resembling the lackeys on the floor were stretched out by invisible hands. Their slender limbs and terrified features could offer no resistance as they were sucked into the stone in the mysterious figure's hand.

???

Sweat, tears, mucus, urine, feces. Every organ capable of releasing fluid was frantically emptying itself.

If he could, Inoue Sugaya would give everything he had. No, he would be a dog, he would even eat shit on the spot! As long as they did not kill him or take his soul, he was willing to—

But there were no ifs. As the mysterious person slightly 'turned their head,' the 'San' on the cloth curtain rapidly enlarged in Inoue Sugaya's eyes, and countless figures lunged at him from the darkness!

Those figures were all so familiar. They were every person he had caused to die after becoming the Broken Tooth Gang's leader.

Akemi was among them!

"Sp—"

Thud.

Before he could finish his final plea,

Inoue Sugaya pitched forward into the filth, the light in his pupils rapidly fading.

Done.

The mysterious person was naturally Akihi Yu.

Ninjutsu—even D-rank ninjutsu—could easily toy with these yakuza thugs to death.

D-Rank Illusion Technique: Mist Servant Technique

This technique could create phantoms with no offensive power whatsoever, but they would continuously split apart whenever attacked.

That was right. It was the technique the Oboro ninja had used during the Chunin Exams to wear down the three kids of Team 7.

Though it had no killing power, even the three kids of Team 7 had been left scrambling when shadows closed in on them from every direction. How could these yakuza members, who were merely 'ordinary people,' possibly deal with it?

Paired with the Illusion Technique: Gold Binding Technique, it was easy to create a scene of 'Evil Spirit' possession.

As for the ninjutsu used to kill them, it was actually the 'Illusion Technique: Hell Viewing Technique.'

Originally, this Illusion Technique could not kill people, but that was only against supernatural beings capable of disrupting their own energy and dispelling illusions.

For ordinary people without such energy, repeatedly facing the thing they feared most in their hearts was no less potent than being struck by Tsukuyomi. Being scared to death was not hard to understand.

The destruction of the entire Broken Tooth Gang, along with the appearance of the 'supernatural being' he had played, would be enough to keep Tokyo's police busy for a while. When they finally had time to spare, Akihi Yu would not mind finding them 'something else' to do.

Hmm?

"My lord,"

On the other side, Tanimura Wataru, who had escaped disaster due to his severe injuries, struggled to prostrate himself before Akihi Yu in a full dogeza.

"Are you collecting souls?"

"I know where many deeply sinful people are. I can lead you to them."

Even ants clung to life, much less humans.

If his younger sister Akemi had not been deceived, Tanimura Wataru should still have been in college. To avenge his sister, he had tried every possible method and had nearly charged into this building carrying a barrel of gasoline. Though he had fallen into the Broken Tooth Gang's hands, the sudden turn of events before him had allowed him to 'avenge his great hatred.' Naturally, he did not want to have his soul extracted and die.

"Lead me?"

Amid a hoarse, teasing voice, the mysterious person with a white cloth covering their face walked toward Tanimura Wataru.

"I do not need a guide,"

Just as Tanimura Wataru's heart sank, the other party stopped in front of him.

"But your soul is unsuitable nourishment for my lord's resurrection."

"So, lift your head—"

The mysterious person extended their left hand, holding a stone the size of a fingernail between their fingers.

?

The instant Tanimura Wataru raised his head, the other party roughly pressed the stone against his forehead.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

The stone sank deeply into his flesh,

and indescribable agony suddenly exploded in Tanimura Wataru's mind.

The intense pain made Tanimura Wataru instinctively roll across the ground. In the end, he could not help but rise to his feet and howl toward the sky—

"Awooo!"

?

"I..."

Looking down at his arm covered in thick hair and the crescent-shaped nails on his fingers, Tanimura Wataru was horrified as the pain receded.

"I grant you a portion of Demon power,"

the mysterious person, only four feet seven inches tall, said in a hoarse voice.

"Go. Hunt the souls of the most heinous sinners for my lord. Remember, you must absorb one sinner's soul every day, or else—"

"The Sessho-seki will take your soul!"