The Holy Infant

May 15, light rain.

Haneda International Airport.

"President, welcome back."

"Mm."

"President, should we head to headquarters first, or—"

"Home."

"Yes, sir."

Seated in the back of the sedan, Nakai Hayato watched the scenery slide by, his eyes full of thought.

He had just turned fifty. At thirty, he had seized his chance and, with his mild-mannered appearance and a few tricks, founded Grace Corporation. From the very beginning, he had a clear target audience: spiritually empty housewives and people suffering from illness, or with gravely ill family members. In the corporation's name, he sold them false hope.

Later, as the company grew and he reassessed his approach, Grace Corporation became the Holy Infant Society. Its mission was that the Holy Infant would descend into this mortal world in the flesh on behalf of the Holy Venerable. When that day came, all members of the society would receive divine healing: the gravely ill would recover without medicine, and children would grow clever and bright.

At the same time, divine punishment would rain down on the world's evils and injustices. Only members of the society could protect themselves and their families from that punishment—and might even gain the chance to claim a share of the world's wealth when it was redistributed.

Unlike other groups, his society didn't emphasize the afterlife or heaven. It focused more on this life and its rewards.

After twenty years of effort, the Holy Infant Society had achieved modest success. He hadn't organized any sacrifices that sounded suspicious on their face. At most, members would gather, hold candles, and circle around muttering nonsense as a team-building activity. So the society had attracted no particular attention.

He also arranged for a few plants to perform the occasional medical miracle, giving the members hope.

But this year, he could no longer rein in his ambition. He'd resolved to spend a huge sum on "further studies" in South Korea.

In those three months, he'd witnessed too many bizarre and uncanny events, and gained a deeper understanding of human nature and its inevitable weaknesses.

No wonder bloody sacrifice was a standard feature of certain groups. It quickly dragged everyone into the same mess, drew out the violence buried deep inside them, and united them against any "heretics" who refused to follow the rules.

But now the question was whether he should put what he'd learned into practice.

Nakai Hayato had been turning the matter over in his mind ever since the trip home.

Perhaps he could start with animals.

The sedan stopped, breaking his train of thought. He glanced out the window and saw that they'd reached the parking lot of the apartment building where he lived.

"Pick me up tomorrow at eight."

After giving the order, he headed straight for the elevator.

A security guard nearby was heading for the elevator too. Nakai Hayato paid him no mind; he was still thinking about how to plan a completely new ritual.

The perfectly ordinary-looking guard stood behind Nakai Hayato without pressing a floor button, simply following him up to the seventeenth floor.

By now, Nakai Hayato had started to notice the guard and feel wary.

The elevator doors opened. The guard glanced at Nakai Hayato and, seeing he wasn't getting out, nodded to him before walking straight to the fire cabinet. He picked up the inspection log and seemed to start writing something.

Nakai Hayato shook his head, thinking he'd been in South Korea too long and had grown jumpy and oversensitive. He stepped out of the elevator and went to his apartment, pressing his finger to the fingerprint lock.

Beep.

Before Nakai Hayato could push the door open, a tremendous force struck him from behind, slamming him and the door inward with a bang!

"You—" Pinned to the floor, Nakai Hayato turned to demand an explanation.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, something unknown was shoved inside. He tried to spit it out on instinct, but his mouth was clamped shut. The thing scraped down his throat, and with a gulp, he swallowed it.

"Cough, cough—ugh! Who are you?! What the hell did you make me swallow?!" The guard released him. Nakai Hayato hurriedly rolled away to put some distance between them, then half rose in terror and dropped to his knees, frantically gagging himself in an attempt to vomit up what he'd just swallowed.

The guard's expression was cold, a perfect embodiment of the words "utterly expressionless."

"The Holy Infant said you've disappointed him."

Not even decades of composure and control over his expressions could shield Nakai Hayato from the shock of those words.

What?!

The Holy Infant?

Wasn't that an entity he'd made up to fool a bunch of fools?

His mind raced, and all sorts of possibilities flashed through it.

Was this a society member who'd gone mad and thought he'd received a revelation from the Holy Infant?

Or was this an assassin sent by that nudist group over what happened last time?

"No, no, it can't be. I'm the president. I haven't received any message from the Holy Infant." Nakai Hayato tried to buy time, one hand already reaching into his pocket.

"Masaki Hospital. Morgue locker 305. The Holy Infant will descend. You have one day to bring out the Holy Infant's vessel. If you fail—" The guard picked up a long wooden staff, making Nakai Hayato raise his hands in a panic. Then, to Nakai Hayato's astonishment, the guard effortlessly twisted the staff into a pretzel and tossed it at his feet.

"What you just swallowed was a Holy Son Pill. It grants you strength and health. But if you disappoint the Holy Infant, even the worst consequence you can imagine won't be one ten-thousandth as bad as the real one." The guard left him with those words and walked away.

Nakai Hayato was left sitting there, stunned.

Only now did he begin to feel strength welling up in his aging body—strength far beyond anything he'd had in his youth.

He hesitantly placed a hand against the corner of the wall and squeezed hard.

The wall crumbled beneath his grip like shoddy construction.

Nakai Hayato's grin was suddenly harder to suppress than an AK's recoil. He staggered to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. A man who looked no older than forty stared back, both nervous and exhilarated.

"Ha. Hahaha—" Ignoring the dust on his hands, he rubbed his face again and again, a chilling laugh rising from his throat.

"It's real. It's really real! Could it be that I received a revelation before?! The Holy Infant exists!" His frenzy lasted for quite a while before he gradually calmed down.

Right, right! Locker 305. Masaki Hospital?

He hurriedly pulled out his phone and made a call.

Six or seven minutes later, back where he'd gotten out of the car, his subordinate stared in astonishment at Nakai Hayato, who looked ten years younger.

Nakai Hayato gave him a radiant smile and patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go."

"Yes, sir."

May 17.

Nakai Hayato sent a summons to all the core members of the Holy Infant Society. Whatever else they had going on, they were to attend a gathering of the inner circle on May 20. There, they would witness a miracle.

May 20.

Seven core members, Nakai Hayato, and his two assistants—ten people in all—gathered at a warehouse.

"I'm glad everyone could make it on time. This meeting is another blessing from the Holy Infant Lord." Nakai Hayato appeared before them, his face glowing.

His sudden youthfulness was impossible not to speculate about.

"I know you're all curious about the purpose of this meeting. I won't keep you in suspense. It's about our ultimate mission—the Holy Infant's descent!" Nakai Hayato spread his arms and shouted with booming confidence.

These core believers had at least ninety percent faith in the Holy Infant Society. Otherwise, they wouldn't have become core members for Nakai Hayato to fleece. So when they heard his announcement, not one of them questioned it. They all dropped to their knees on the spot, showing their loyalty and faith with the utmost reverence.

Among them were a wealthy merchant couple, two elderly people from well-off families who both had cancer, a male company executive, and two well-to-do housewives married to rich men.

Apart from the two housewives, the others had joined for much the same reasons.

The couple had an only son who'd been young and suffering from illness for years. The two elderly members had cancer. The executive had a paralyzed mother.

Nakai Hayato nodded, satisfied with their response, then signaled to his two assistants. They immediately wheeled over a mortuary cabinet that was still plugged in.

"The Holy Infant didn't wish to take over a body that already held another soul, so he chose the body of a child with spiritual potential to descend into," Nakai Hayato explained.

"The Holy Infant is merciful!" someone shouted, and the others joined in.

One assistant opened the cabinet. A wave of cold air rolled out, and the crowd's faith deepened.

The two assistants carefully lifted the body inside. It was a boy of seven or eight, with no visible signs of how he'd died.

Both assistants were so nervous their hearts pounded. They'd witnessed it once already, but it still seemed like complete nonsense no matter how they looked at it! No, maybe the Holy Infant really was a ghost.

Nakai Hayato shouted, "We welcome the Holy Infant's descent!"

The others joined in. "We welcome the Holy Infant's descent!"

In the silence, broken only by breathing and the sound of people swallowing, the boy's corpse slowly opened its eyes.

Even Nakai Hayato, who'd witnessed this once before and had prepared himself, couldn't help feeling a chill inside.

The others were even more terrified.

In that moment, it felt as if even their breathing had stopped.

"Are these all the people you've gathered?" the Holy Infant asked calmly.

Nakai Hayato hurriedly kowtowed. "I have failed in my duties and fallen short of the trust the Holy Infant Lord placed in me. I deserve a thousand deaths!"

The others didn't dare say a word.

After a long while, when Nakai Hayato's body had begun to tremble, the Holy Infant finally spoke. "It doesn't matter."

"Thank you for your forgiveness, Holy Infant Lord!" Nakai Hayato finally let out half a breath.

The Holy Infant turned his gaze to the seven people kneeling before him. His eyes passed over them, and each of them endured the same pressure Nakai Hayato had just faced.

"I can feel your faith." The Holy Infant gave a faint nod, then casually produced two sizable, flesh-colored "pills." "There are two Holy Son Pills. Let Nakai Hayato decide who should receive them."

"We will obey your will!" Nakai Hayato hurriedly crawled over and raised both hands to receive the two Holy Son Pills.

That was simply how people were. If the Holy Infant handed out enough pills for everyone, some might have hesitated and waited to see what happened to whoever took one. But now there were only two, and everyone stared at the pills with burning eyes. They'd already guessed what they could do from the president's transformation.

"You've held fast to your faith. That is commendable," the Holy Infant said slowly. "On June 5, gather everyone for the Spirit Gathering Ritual. I will gather more Holy Son Pills so those with sincere faith needn't suffer from illness anymore."

"The Holy Infant is merciful! You have given us a new life!" Nakai Hayato shouted, practiced as ever. The others were no longer so tense, and joined in.

The Holy Infant said nothing. Nakai Hayato cautiously looked up, only to find that the Holy Infant had closed his eyes at some point.

Meanwhile, far away at home, Shiraishi Wataru opened his eyes.

"Little stones, go scout the way for me."