Tokyo Detective Chronicles

She looked down at the candle in her arms; the dark blue flame was still burning.

It did not go out.

"Huff... huff..."

She was panting heavily, her whole body trembling.

Then she looked up.

In the living room, those eight candles...

Apart from the one she was holding, the other seven had all been extinguished, including the one that had already been put out earlier.

Karin looked at her angrily, thinking, "Does she have to go to such lengths? Fushimi has more than one way to escape; this was just a backup plan."

Outside the window, a dark shadow let out a hiss.

The hand that had just reached into the barrier was blown to pieces along with half of its body, clearly indicating that the barrier's effect had not failed.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere, splattering all over the place.

This time, the monster seemed to feel pain; it recovered very slowly, and the flesh and blood at the severed arm's cut surface moved noticeably slower.

Even a monster like this would reach its limit after being damaged by the barrier twice in a row.

For a short time, it will be unable to reach out its hand again.

But it did not leave.

It began grabbing everything around it—bricks, uprooted tree trunks—and smashing them wildly against the barrier.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

With each strike, the golden light patterns vibrated violently, continuously consuming the barrier's energy.

As Huali watched the rippling waves, her expression grew increasingly grim.

How long can the barrier last?

Karin decided to leave with Hoshizaki Rina first.

Ensuring her safety is the top priority, and then the monsters can be evacuated. At this point, there's obviously no time to worry about whether Fushimi's house will be destroyed.

She turned around, ready to pull Hoshizaki into the shadows.

Just then, a timid little monster peeked out from the front yard.

It was a raccoon dog demon, usually hiding in a corner, and pitifully timid. It probably heard the noise and wanted to escape from the front yard.

But its figure had just appeared outside the edge of the barrier in the front yard...

The monster that was originally in the backyard suddenly moved.

That tail, which was over ten meters long, actually ran directly from the backyard to the front yard, wrapping around the entire house...

Then it appeared outside the barrier in the front yard.

"Smack."

The tip of its tail became entangled with the raccoon demon.

The raccoon demon didn't even have time to cry out before it was dragged back.

Screams came from the backyard.

Then it abruptly ended.

Huali's hand froze in mid-air.

She could see the direction of the backyard through the broken glass door.

The monster was lowering its head, tearing and chewing at something... The sound of bones breaking with a "crack" rang out...

This sent chills down Karin's spine; clearly, the monster was far more terrifying than she had imagined.

Can she really leave with Rina Hoshizaki?

If you put the girl into the shadow, she can't breathe. How far can she run away?

But then, Karin suddenly noticed that the monster seemed to be on guard against something, besides the barrier... She turned around and saw a phantom that had appeared behind Hoshizaki Rina at some point.

It was the silhouette of a beautiful woman radiating a hazy glow...

He stood facing the dark figure from afar.

The monster didn't move for a moment. It slowly shrank back, not leaving, but continuing to probe...

After discovering that the deity seemed to have no intention of attacking it... it resumed its attack on the barrier.

"Bang!"

At that moment, Hoshizaki noticed a composite bow that Fushimi had taken out while packing his equipment earlier...

She hurriedly put down the candle she was holding.

They took it and found that there were still many arrows wrapped in talisman paper in the quiver.

She disregarded everything else, drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the massive head of the dark figure...

Although she wasn't quite used to using the compound bow, she quickly mastered the technique after practicing her vision over the past few days.

She adjusted...

Forget the fear, forget the trembling, forget the monster that is approaching.

Facing the monster's third attempt to reach into the barrier.

"call out--!"

Hoshizaki fired an arrow, and his psionic energy unconsciously activated the talisman wrapped around the arrowhead, which lit up the moment it left the bowstring.

That wasn't the composite talisman paper Fushimi usually used; its function was quite simple, which was...

explosion.

"boom--!!!"

……

In present-day Tokyo, in the alley next to the Third General Hospital of Katsushika Ward.

The air next to the trash can distorted for a moment.

Fushimi Iori's figure emerged from nothingness, staggered half a step, and then steadied herself.

Immediately afterwards, a muffled "bang" came from behind him.

Miyazawa Rin fell straight down and landed face down on the ground.

She was on all fours, her face buried in the asphalt, her shoulders heaving violently.

next second.

"vomit……"

The sound of vomiting, which could be described as excruciating, came from the alley.

Snot, tears, and stomach acid gushed out all at once. She vomited violently, her fingers digging into the cracks in the ground, her whole body trembling.

Fushimi glanced down at her.

He didn't say anything.

He returned this time through the Fate Array, so he was not greatly affected.

Before this, he had already renewed his contract with the egret, who is also the river god.

She left all the food and water she was carrying to Hoshino. The girl was very sensible; although she held onto Fushimi's hand reluctantly, she didn't cry or make a fuss.

Fushimi had no choice but to promise to visit her every week.

...until the problem of creating a Buddha in this world is completely resolved.

Little Hoshino nodded and obediently waved to him. Since the river god had returned the ability to speak to the girl, she uttered her first complete sentence since they met:

Goodbye, brother.

……

Just as Fushimi took out his phone to check...

Miyazawa Rin knelt to one side, muttering to herself...

"I...I swear...this is absolutely...the last time in my life..."

"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely impossible to stay in the Special Affairs Division!"

"And don't get involved with Tokoyo anymore..."

"If my spiritual vision is enhanced to the point where it can't be turned off, then I'll gouge out my own eyes!"

It's hard to imagine that someone who's vomiting like that can still say so much in one breath.

Then, another bout of excruciating vomiting ensued.

Fushimi looked down at his phone screen.

The screen displays the time: 00:14.

From the time they entered the mortal world until now, less than three hours have passed in the present world.

But for him, almost a week has passed.

He opened his contacts, found Hoshizaki Rina's name, and dialed it.

busy tone.

ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

No one heard.

He dialed it again.

Still no one answered.

In his perception, of the original eight candles in the Fate Array, only one remained. If it wasn't Rina Hoshizaki extinguishing them for fun, then there was only one possibility.

Something's wrong at home... Something must have escaped from the mortal realm before he and Bailu closed the passage.

Fushimi put away his phone and looked around at the secluded surroundings. Clearly, it was impossible to hail a taxi here.

At the entrance of the alley, a silver-gray sedan was parked.

He stood there, silent for a few seconds.

Then he looked down at Miyazawa Rin, who was still lying on the ground dry heaving.

"Can you drive?"

Miyazawa Rin raised her head.

His face was covered in tears and snot, his hair was a mess, and his eyes were unfocused, like a seriously ill patient who had just escaped from a mental hospital.

"ha……?"

She uttered a meaningless question.

Before she could answer, Fushimi grabbed her elbow and helped her up from the ground.

"Can you drive?"

Miyazawa Rin, being helped along, nodded blankly.

As a field agent for the Special Affairs Division, she naturally possessed basic skills such as driving.

Then she suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Wait... what are you going to do...?"

Fushimi did not answer.

He sighed. An ordinary person always has to lose something along the way...

For example, morality.

Raise your hand.

He slammed his elbow into the passenger-side window.

"Bang!"

The glass shattered, and shards rained down into the car.

Fushimi reached in, opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, removed the panel, and began trying to start the engine.

Soon, the deep roar of the engine began.

Miyazawa Rin just stared blankly at it.

"Isn't this... a bit illegal?"

After all, she was at least half a police officer.