Japanese Terrorist: What? I'll fight Hellstar!

Metropolitan Police Department, fifth basement level, Police History Compilation Office.

"Inspector Inudo, what's your opinion? Did the Slit-Mouthed Woman really have a child?"

Unable to determine from mere conversation whether the Slit-Mouthed Woman had a child, Amamiya Rin looked at the more experienced Inudou Ranko.

The answer doesn't matter anymore.

Inudou Ranko turned to the side, her expression less one of indifference and more one of complete acceptance.

"It doesn't matter? Because the Slit-Mouthed Woman has already been eliminated?"

Feng Haichun asked thoughtfully.

Inudou Ranko shook her head and shifted to a more comfortable position.

"Don't you think it's a bit contrived? The school where she wandered around just happened to have a teacher who knew her, the grade that teacher was in charge of just happened to have children who had been attacked by the Slit-Mouthed Woman, and that teacher just happened to be telling her colleague the story of the Slit-Mouthed Woman when she saw her at the door, and then followed her to the teachers' office and saw the student files that the Slit-Mouthed Woman had found. Facing a powerful enemy who could kill her, she didn't run away, but instead said that she had a child, but didn't say what the child's characteristics were... Apart from the teacher Sekiguchi who was used as a hostage, there was no other victim."

As Inudou Ranko meticulously analyzed the situation, Amamiya Rin's expression of surprise and doubt grew stronger.

Last night, he was so focused on concealing his identity and eliminating the Slit-Mouthed Woman that he overlooked the details that Inudou Ranko had mentioned.

"Could it be... that the Slit-Mouthed Woman really doesn't have children, and that she's fabricating rumors about herself?"

Feng Haichun's expression changed as he realized what was happening.

This series of deliberate actions doesn't seem like she's searching for her child; rather, it seems like she's trying to leave everyone with the impression that she has a child.

"Can a ghost story that's already formed really change its own narrative?"

Amamiya Rin couldn't help but whisper, her tone filled with a sense of absurdity.

Based on the cases he had previously encountered, he had roughly deduced the composition of ghost stories.

First, an obsessive will and extreme emotions.

The image of a handsome young man in white can also be used as a reference, along with positive emotions and willpower.

However, most ghost stories are formed by distorted will and negative emotions, and maintaining extreme negative emotions is much easier than maintaining extreme positive emotions.

After all, if positive emotions are too extreme, they are far more terrifying than extreme negative emotions... See the Type-Moon universe for details on human love.

A group of people who hate humanity rack their brains, but they are no match for the brilliant idea of ​​those who love humanity.

Secondly, the collective subconscious.

If it's extreme enough, one is enough. But if you want ghost stories to continue, rather than just be a flash in the pan, there must be many people who genuinely believe in them. The power of people's beliefs will fill the inner world of ghost stories and give them strength.

Just like the beautiful boy in white, he brought hope to people, and those who received hope from him also brought hope to others, thus eliminating the legend of the beautiful boy in black.

For example, on Weeping Woman Slope, people who believe in the first Weeping Woman have been weeping for the dead for generations, helping them to attain Buddhahood. The profession of Weeping Woman has indeed possessed special powers and has been passed down through generations.

Finally, sacrifice yourself.

Whether it's the beautiful young man in white who uses his soul to guide his beliefs after suicide, the slit-mouthed woman who brings fear to people and wanders at night, or the weeping woman who, as a living person, sheds tears for the dead at all times.

They have all given up their normal bodies, resulting in an irreversible transformation.

The Slit-Mouthed Woman's actions completely shattered Amamiya Rin's understanding of the world.

It's already become a ghost story, yet it can still add its own interpretations?

Isn't this just too outrageous?

"The Slit-Mouthed Woman has been missing for 15 years. In that long time, most people have forgotten her. So she found someone who had seen her before and used them to spread new rumors—a new story that is sensational enough, topical enough, and praiseworthy enough—to prolong her life... That's my guess."

Ranko Inudou did not completely confirm the guesses of Rin Amamiya and Junya Kazemi, but she did offer her own opinion.

Is that really the case?

Ranko Inudo can confirm some of it.

The part about the Slit-Mouthed Woman actively creating rumors, even at the risk of being attacked, after realizing she's about to be forgotten.

As for whether the Slit-Mouthed Woman had children or not.

This is actually easy to confirm. Just investigate the sixth-grade students at Kitazawa Elementary School and see if any of them are adopted children...

However, Inudo Ranko would not do that.

Regardless of the conclusion of her investigation, her investigative efforts will contribute to the survival of the Slit-Mouthed Woman.

"I see... Inspector Inudo, if the Slit-Mouthed Woman created even more outrageous rumors, such as that she can fly or teleport, would the Slit-Mouthed Woman who revived from those rumors possess these abilities?"

Amamiya Rin suddenly realized something, and then thought of something deeper, so she asked Inudou Ranko for more information.

Upon hearing this, not only Amamiya Rin and Kazemi Junya, but also Kogure, who was still immersed in grief, couldn't help but look at Inudou Ranko with a look of surprise and uncertainty in her eyes.

Urban legends about people being unable to change themselves are one thing, but they're another.

However, given the example of the Slit-Mouthed Woman creating her own story, no one can say for sure that what Amamiya Rin said won't actually happen.

Ranko Inudou was silent for a few seconds. She picked up the remote control, turned off the TV, rubbed her eyes, and then spoke.

"It's not impossible, but it depends on how many people believe it."

To give an example, why is there a legend that the Slit-Mouthed Woman can run 100 meters in just three seconds, 200 meters in just three seconds, and run faster than a car?

This is largely due to her modus operandi: she operates only in the evening and at night, targeting mostly lone, panicked children or women, whose clothing allows for easy concealment. After committing her crimes, she quickly flees the scene, disappearing into the darkness or alleyways, vanishing without a trace by the time bystanders arrive.

In their terror, witnesses are easily led to the impression that she is as fast as the wind, disappearing in the blink of an eye. These impressions are passed on by word of mouth, constantly exaggerated, until enough people genuinely believe that the Slit-Mouthed Woman possesses inhuman speed. Then, when she reappears, this collective belief may actually make her even faster.

After giving this example, Inudo Ranko continued.

"Urban legends and ghost stories are easy to exaggerate, but the formation of the original ghost story is not so easy to change. It requires most people to truly believe it. No one would believe that a monster that can fly and disappear into the earth exists in the world."

After a pause, Inudou Ranko seemed to give a wry smile.

"Perhaps such things existed in ancient times, but as times have progressed, people have become more aware, and humans have been able to control the wind and rain and do things that are even more exaggerated than those in myths and legends. It is hard for people to believe that there are gods and demons with boundless power in the world. Even the archbishop of the Vatican may not believe that an omniscient, omnipotent, and benevolent God really exists."