Several black Honda cars were parked beside the road at the foot of the stone steps leading to Higurashi Shrine.
Inside one of the cars, a staff member from Hoshikagi Dormitory was giving a report.
"The disappearance of Higurashi Shrine's clergy is currently estimated to have occurred seventy-two hours ago. A part-time Miko at the shrine discovered that they were missing."
"At first, the part-time Miko noticed nothing unusual. But as time passed, not only were the resident clergy missing, even another part-time Miko became unreachable, so she chose to call the police."
"The authorities in Ito City received the report and, after a preliminary investigation, notified personnel at the local Otonashi Shrine, who reported it to the Onmyoryo in Shizuoka Prefecture."
"Thirty-two hours ago, the Shizuoka Prefecture branch of the Onmyoryo organized an exploration by three Onmyoji. All three are now unreachable."
"Before the three disappeared, their final message over their communication equipment was 'Abyss Descent.'"
"The incident was reported to Onmyoryo Headquarters twenty-four hours ago."
Listening to the staff member's summary, Hoshikagi Shirayuki turned her head to gaze at the shrine above and frowned deeply.
"An Abyss Descent?"
"And one that has lasted over seventy-two hours?"
"That doesn't make sense."
"That's right."
The staff member beside her nodded gravely.
"Normally, Abyss Descents are very brief and rarely occur in the same place."
"The longest known Abyss Descent on record was the Chernobyl loss-of-contact incident in Soviet Russia. That Abyss Descent lasted eleven hours and twenty-three minutes."
"An Abyss Descent lasting seventy-two hours is indeed an abnormal phenomenon."
"The Onmyoryo's many doctors of onmyodo have differing opinions on this. However, current divination suggests that something provisionally designated an 'Abyss Node' has most likely appeared within Higurashi Shrine."
"This 'Abyss Node' can connect to the Abyss. Furthermore, while its total