Tokyo Detective Chronicles

"Get in the car."

Looking at the high school boy leaning out of the passenger seat and waving at him, Miyazawa Rin opened his mouth.

……

The car sped out of the alley, its tires screeching against the ground.

She listened to Fushimi's instructions with a blank expression and drove towards the office.

Fushimi rummaged through the car, checking the glove box, storage compartments, behind the sun visor...

found it.

A pack of cigarettes, flat and thin, with only one cigarette left.

It was held in its mouth, and it took several tries to light with the lighter.

He took a drag.

He used to smoke in his past life, but he hasn't smoked in this life for health and other reasons. However, he really wants to have a puff right now.

But after taking a puff, he started coughing uncontrollably.

"Cough cough cough..."

He took the cigarette down, looked at the lit end, and frowned.

"If you're too young to smoke, then don't." Miyazawa Rin seemed to have finally found a chance to speak in the tone of an older sister.

Fushimi ignored her and took another puff.

Still coughing.

Miyazawa Rin couldn't stand it anymore and gripped the steering wheel with both hands: "Light one for me too."

Fushimi glanced at her.

Then he took the cigarette out of his mouth and put it directly into her mouth, his fingertips lightly touching her lips.

"This is the last one."

Miyazawa Rin was stunned.

The cigarette still carried the warmth of his lips; she held the cigarette in her mouth, and her ears suddenly turned red.

"you……"

"Watch where you're going."

Fushimi interrupted her, his gaze fixed ahead.

Miyazawa Rin remained silent.

Urged on by Fushimi, I gripped the steering wheel tightly, and the speedometer needle jumped wildly. Fortunately, there weren't many cars on the road at this point.

60...80...100...

Fushimi gripped the handrail tightly, watching the street scene rushing past the car window.

The night wind howled in through the broken car window, making their hair fly wildly.

Rin Miyazawa felt her stomach churning again.

She had just vomited.

I feel nauseous again now.

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, staring at the road ahead.

Then she secretly turned her head and glanced at Fushimi in the passenger seat.

The boy was covered in dirt, with bloodstains still on his face, and his hair was a mess from the wind. He looked disheveled, but he had saved his own life.

A feeling of relief washed over me, and I inexplicably thought that I wished I were seven or eight years younger...

Lost in thought, she noticed Fushimi's body suddenly tense up...

Miyazawa Rin followed his gaze.

Ahead, about a block away.

The Fushimi family's small residence was lit up in the night.

But the light was blocked by something.

It was a huge, grayish-white figure.

It lay in the courtyard of the Fushimi family, with a thin upper body, a swollen lower body, and a long tail.

The tail was constantly lashing at something, and with each strike, golden streaks of light could be seen flickering in the night.

A kind of curtain was erected around it, isolating that area from reality. Ordinary people passing by would only see a construction site fence, or simply go around it.

But at this moment, the curtain is already teetering on the brink of collapse.

Half of the monster's body had already passed through the barrier and entered the mansion.

The enormous head was bowing, peering towards the direction of the light.

The barrier of the enclosure looked like a flickering candle in the night.

Rin Miyazawa's pupils contracted.

"What is that?"

Her voice trembled. A Level 1 disaster! That's a Level 1 disaster! Where's the field operations department?! Where have those guys gone again?!

Fushimi did not answer.

He simply looked in that direction, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Hit it..."

Rin Miyazawa froze, turning her head in confusion:

"ha?"

I said, "I'll run it over."

Fushimi repeated himself, his voice calm.

Because it is a monster that has completely entered the real world, even a car can damage it.

Miyazawa Rin looked at the enormous thing.

Looking at its body, which was several times larger than a car... looking at its tail, which was over ten meters long...

"..."

Am I going to die too?

Such a thought popped into his head, and then she looked down at the cigarette butt in her mouth that had gone out for some unknown reason. She suddenly lost her senses and, at Fushimi's shout again, slammed on the gas pedal!

"Aa ...

A strong feeling of being pushed back is coming!

Fushimi was pressed down into the chair, leaving him somewhat at a loss. He hadn't expected this woman to agree so readily...

Fushimi had originally planned to let her get out of the car and then drive it himself.

Although he did have a driver's license in his previous life, it was seventeen years ago, and besides, Yingzhou was a right-hand drive vehicle, so he found it difficult to adapt in a short time.

But there's no time to think about it now.

He reached into his robes and hurriedly took out all the remaining talismans from his body.

In his panic, he didn't care about any part of his body.

He grabbed a handful of talismans and slapped them onto Miyazawa Rin's chest, firmly securing her to her body.

When his hand landed on her chest, it bounced back slightly, and he felt the woman's body stiffen abruptly.

"Huh—!"

Miyazawa Rin let out a short gasp, straining to keep her grip on the steering wheel while her ears instantly turned bright red.

The accelerator pedal is already floored!

The car was still accelerating.

Fushimi didn't have time to deal with those things.

He scattered all the remaining talismans into the car.

White pieces of paper fluttered in the back seat, landing on the seats, the floor, and the rear window.

They were getting closer and closer; the monster was almost within reach!

In the dim light, all the talismans began to light up!

A blinding white light... engulfed everything in front of them...

……

In present-day Tokyo, inside the Fushimi Detective Agency

Rina Hoshizaki, supporting her right arm which had been grazed by a flying rock, gritted her teeth.

Huali stood behind her, having exhausted all her strength.

She gave 70% of her power to Fushimi, and now she can barely maintain her physical form, let alone help Hoshizaki strengthen his arrows.

Only one arrow, wrapped with a talisman, remained in the quiver.

Hoshizaki looked up and gazed out the window.

The monster had already squeezed half of its body into the barrier.

Most of the little monsters in the courtyard were killed or injured, and the rest huddled in a corner, trembling with fear.

And the phantom that had been floating behind her since earlier, the silhouette of a woman radiating a hazy halo.

He simply stood there.

Quietly.

There was no action taken.

Throughout the entire process, He never showed any inclination to help Hoshizaki.

Even when Hoshizaki was injured by debris thrown in from outside by the monster, he didn't move an inch.

Karin didn't know who He was or why He was behind Hoshizaki Rina...

But she knew that this guy was definitely not going to be of any help.

The monster seemed to confirm this as well.

So it had no more worries.

It squeezed into the head of the barrier and peered in her direction.

A gigantic, grayish-white ghost face, its mouth wide open, revealing countless tiny, sharp teeth...

The first thing it did after entering the barrier was to devour this human.

During this process, if it weren't for the barrier set up by Fushimi, that monster would have already entered.

But this has exceeded the limit that the barrier can withstand. Rather, it's more accurate to say that being able to withstand a level one disaster monster for this long is already the limit.

Hoshizaki gripped the last arrow tightly.

It's on the string.

Draw the bow.

Aim.

My hands are shaking.

My whole body was shaking.

Tears started flowing without me noticing, and they covered my face.

Fortunately... the only thing to be thankful for is that the candle she had snatched earlier is still burning.

But she was about to give up, and a slightly salty tear rolled down into the girl's mouth...

She watched the monster getting closer and closer, its mouth opening, and its dense array of sharp teeth.

Am I going to die here today?

The thought had barely crossed my mind.

The arrow leaves the bow!

At the same time, a huge roar of engines exploded!

Two blinding headlights illuminated the street from the far end!

The light was too bright, so bright it was blinding, as bright as a falling shooting star.

The blinding white light illuminated the night, lit up the entire street, and lit up Hoshizaki Rina's pupils!

Hoshizaki was stunned.

Then she saw...

That car, a silver-gray sedan, was hurtling toward the monster at breakneck speed!

"Bang--!!!"

The violent impact was deafening!

The car crashed straight into the monster's body, hitting its swollen lower half!

The monster's body was thrown askew, and the immense inertia dragged it forward, sending blood and flesh flying everywhere!

……

A loud crash echoed, and Miyazawa Rin felt a ringing in her ears.

Then... there was blood...

Immediately afterwards, everything went black, and she lost consciousness.

The numerous talismans barely protected the two of them, but the vehicle body, also reinforced by talismans, was far more powerful and destructive than before...

The windshield shattered instantly, the car's exterior was twisted and deformed, all the windows were smashed, and parts flew everywhere!

Now, this vehicle is a projectile enhanced with psionic energy.

The monster's lower body was smashed to pieces by the car, and large chunks of flesh piled up as it charged all the way to the center of the courtyard before finally being stopped by the pile of blood and flesh.

The car door was kicked open.

A figure walked out from inside.

He was still clutching the back of the collar of another woman who had already lost consciousness.

He walked out of the pile of bloodied limbs as if he had fought his way back from the underworld to the human world.

He was covered in blood.

His face, hands, and clothes were covered in black, viscous blood.

He stood there, on a small mountain of flesh and blood.

Then, he looked up.

I looked into the room through the broken glass door, the bloodstains on the floor, and the night wind.

He looked at the girl who was still holding the bow, her face streaked with tears.

Rina Hoshizaki stood there, stunned.

My hands are still shaking.

Tears suddenly welled up. They rolled down my cheeks in big, unruly drops.

She opened her mouth, wanting to call his name.

But it felt like something was stuck in my throat, and I couldn't make a sound.

Only tears kept flowing.

Fushimi merely glanced in her direction.

After confirming that she was alright, I looked away.

Then he threw the unconscious Miyazawa Rin to the side of the road.

Raise your hand.

His palm was facing the monster that had been severely injured by the car but was still struggling.

He poured out the remaining psionic energy from the previous battles and the sealing of the passages, drawing upon all the psionic energy remaining in the mansion.

Finally back on his home turf... Fushimi waved his arm without holding back, his fingertips forming a hand seal.

The air began to vibrate, and the pebbles on the ground bounced.

then……

"boom--!!!"

A huge ice pillar rose from the ground!

It was a huge ice pillar, as thick as three or four people could hug, and more than ten meters high. Its surface shimmered with a faint spiritual light, like a mythical iceberg rising from the ground!

The surrounding temperature suddenly dropped.

The night wind became biting, carrying ice crystals, and even Fushimi's breath condensed into white mist, and a thin layer of frost formed on the surface of the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

He stared intently at the monster.

Until the ice pillar pierced through the monster's body.

Pierce it through its swollen lower body and out through its thin neck, stringing it in mid-air like a specimen.

"Roar! Ro ...

The monster's agonizing screams echoed through the sky.

But its struggles grew weaker and weaker.

Black blood flowed down the icicles and solidified on the surface into a dark red ice shell.

The barrier that isolated ordinary people from its perception finally shattered completely the moment the ice pillar pierced the monster.

……

Half an hour later.

Fushimi Iori sat on the steps of her house, which were so badly damaged that they were almost unrecognizable.

His body was a mixture of various blood types—his own, Miyazawa Rin's, and that monster's. His clothes were also tattered beyond recognition, and his face and hands were covered in wounds.

But at least they're still alive... that's good.

The woman lying next to me had fainted for the second time that night.

Miyazawa Rin lay on her back on the entryway floor, her chest rising and falling slightly, her breathing relatively steady.

His face was still covered in bloodstains that hadn't been wiped off, and his hair was a mess, but the corners of his mouth were twitching slightly, as if he were having some terrible nightmare.

It's probably because I dreamt that I failed to resign.

Fushimi lowered his head and took the half-smoked cigarette that Miyazawa Rin was still holding in her mouth.

After changing hands twice, it finally returned to his mouth.

The cigarette had gone out, leaving only half a cigarette.

He lit it again and took a puff...

Fushimi felt much better this time and didn't cough.

The night wind blew by, carrying the stench of blood from the courtyard.

Footsteps came from behind.

Rina Hoshizaki sat down next to him, holding a first-aid kit in her hand.

She didn't say anything.

I simply opened the first-aid kit and took out alcohol and cotton swabs.

"hand."

Her voice was still a little hoarse, and traces of crying were still visible around her eyes.

Fushimi switched the cigarette to his left hand and extended his right hand.

Hoshizaki lowered his head, dipped a cotton swab in alcohol, and carefully wiped the wound on his arm.

I moved very gently, afraid of hurting him.

But when the alcohol touched the wound, Fushimi still frowned slightly.

Hoshizaki's fingers paused.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little."

"Hold on, you idiot!"

Hoshizaki continued wiping angrily, but his movements became noticeably gentler...

After wiping my arms, I wiped the wounds on my face.

Her face was so close that Fushimi could see the tear stains on her eyelashes that hadn't dried yet, the grime on the tip of her nose, and the tiny cut on the corner of her mouth.

I don't know when it was done.

He stretched out his hand.

My fingertips gently touched the wound.

Hoshizaki's body trembled slightly.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

Hoshizaki was stunned for a second.

Then he turned his face away.

"I don't remember."

The voice was muffled.

Fushimi didn't ask any more questions, he just looked at her.

I looked at her lowered eyelashes, her tightly pursed lips, and the stray hairs on her forehead that were ruffled by the night wind.

After Hoshizaki finished treating the last wound, she straightened up and looked at his face.

It was as if they had finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then tears started falling again.

"Why did it take you so long to get back..."

She spoke softly, her voice muffled and trembling with tears.

"I've been waiting for so long..."

Fushimi looked at her.

Looking at her face, a mess from crying, and watching her desperately wipe away her tears with the back of her hand, only to have them flow even more.

Then he reached out his hand.

He gently ruffled her hair.

He just sat there, smoking, watching her cry, watching the night wind mess up her hair, watching her turn away with a red face after she finished crying, pretending nothing had happened.

Then she rested her head on his shoulder... The two sat there quietly, without saying a word.

Fushimi wanted to say a few more words to Karin, but she finally succumbed to sleep upon seeing him return...

In the distance, the sound of sirens grew closer.

It's not an ordinary police car.

It was a special vehicle belonging to the Special Affairs Division... As usual, these guys arrived late, only after everything had settled down.