Tokyo: I can enlighten all obsessions

The streets were bathed in neon colors on a rainy night.

Passersby, holding umbrellas, huddled together like a school of sardines outside the yellow police tape.

They craned their necks and pointed at the black sedans with the eye-catching "sixteen-petaled golden chrysanthemum emblem" printed on their doors within the cordoned-off area.

"Hey, isn't that a car from the Imperial Household Agency?"

"Is a member of the royal family coming to inspect? This is such an extravagant display; even the subway station entrance has been sealed off."

"Who knows? Probably another big shot setting up traffic control for show... Ugh, what a hassle."

The cacophony of complaints mingled with the clicking of camera shutters, and people's faces wore expressions of curiosity about the "extraordinary."

However, on the other side of that cordon, the group of elite investigators from the port area, dressed in high-end custom trench coats and who usually looked down on everyone, now had gloomy faces as if they had just attended a funeral.

Right behind this solemn formation.

With a creaking sound, an old, silver-gray Toyota van drove up, spoiling the view.

The bumper was wrapped with layers of transparent tape, the wipers were making a strange "sizzling" sound, and suspicious black smoke was billowing from the exhaust pipe.

Although the car door, which was clearly dented, was also imprinted with the "sixteen-petaled golden chrysanthemum emblem" representing supreme power.

But compared to the gleaming badges next to it, this mark, with most of the gold paint peeling off, looks like a counterfeit sticker stuck on a cheap street vendor's item.

It stopped shakily beside the pile of armored beasts, like a homeless person in a tattered t-shirt who had wandered into a banquet.

With a muffled "whoosh" sound like air leaking out as the engine shut off, the car shook violently before finally ceasing its heart-pounding panting.

To demonstrate the Shinjuku branch's tough yet impoverished character, Toru Kamiki decided to disembark in a smart and efficient manner.

He reached out, grasped the car door handle wrapped with insulating tape, then focused his energy and pushed it outwards.

"Click".

That's the sound of the door lock opening.

Followed by.

"Clang!!"

A loud bang.

Kamiki Tetsu remained frozen in his seat, still holding the door open.

In front of him, the car door that should have slid open along the rails was now like a discarded piece of scrap metal, lying straight on the rain-soaked asphalt road.

The murky mud splashed half a meter high, directly smearing Section Chief Tianhai's face as he was about to emerge.

Even after the detached car door landed, it stubbornly bounced once, slid down the slope of the water for two meters, and finally crashed into the tire of the valuable port armored vehicle next to it with a "thud".

The rain is still falling.

The cold, icy rain slapped haphazardly against Kamiki Tetsu's face.

At this moment, this dilapidated bread truck, now without its side door, is like a hermit crab stripped of its shell, shamelessly revealing its tattered interior to the group of well-dressed elites around it.

Silence enveloped the entire room.

"what……"

Tenkai, still clutching his seatbelt in the driver's seat, stared at the car door that had abandoned him and let out a mournful cry:

"My year-end bonus..."

Shenmu Tetsu remained unfazed.

He calmly stretched out his foot and stepped directly over the car door lying in the mud, as if it were a welcoming red carpet laid out especially for him.

Then, he grabbed Kujo Hisana, who was blushing so much she wanted to disappear into the ground, and, ignoring the astonished gazes around them, forced his way into the group of well-dressed elites.

Excuse me, excuse me.

While pushing aside the onlookers taking photos with their phones, Kamiki Tetsu showed off his worn-out ID holder, speaking as if he were on a crowded subway during rush hour:

"The Imperial Household Agency has dispatched special investigators on a mission. Please make way."

After forcefully squeezing a path through the wall of people, he led Kujo Hisana and finally stood next to the group of well-dressed port district elites.

Standing at the very front was a middle-aged man wearing frameless glasses and with his hair neatly combed.

Compared to an investigator, his spotless, bespoke suit made him look more like a politician who had just stepped out of a high-class club in Ginza.

At that moment, he was covering his mouth and nose with a clean white handkerchief, as if the musty smell of the slums in the air would soil his lungs.

He was the on-site commander of this operation, Nikaido.

Kamiki Tetsu ignored the disdainful, mocking, and schadenfreude looks around him, as well as the bald section chief who was still crying in the distance, clinging to the car door.

He straightened the collar of his cheap suit, which was soaked by the rain, stepped forward, stood in front of the important man, straightened his back, and gave a rather awkward bow.

"Second-Class Investigator Toru Kamiki, Shinjuku Branch Office, Special Disaster Countermeasures Division, Ministry of the Environment."

He pointed to Kujou Hina beside him, who was practically burying her head in his chest, and reported loudly to the commander without changing his expression:

"Everyone, everyone's here."

Nikaido pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his narrow eyes scanning Kamiki Toru up and down, his brows furrowing slightly as if he were examining an unstable and dangerous object.

"You're the materialization patient that Tenkai recently discovered, right?"

His tone was cold, and he deliberately emphasized the word "patient," his eyes looking at a creature that might lose control at any moment.

He didn't give Kamiki Tetsu a chance to answer at all, as if saying even a single word to such a subordinate would be a waste of his precious saliva.

"The mission intelligence has been transmitted to your tactical terminals."

Nikaido raised his wrist, glanced at the expensive mechanical watch, and then waved to the dark, cordoned-off area behind him:

"Now that the reinforcements have arrived, let's begin the operation."

He turned away, leaving only a cold, distant silhouette.

"You guys will be the first to lead the charge in the Shinjuku branch office."

Faced with this blatant order to be "cannon fodder," Kamiki Tetsu quickly calculated in his mind.

Disobeying orders will result in the cancellation of one's household registration and becoming a wanted criminal, which means complete bankruptcy for the rest of one's life.

Going in to fight is risky, and although the mortality rate is high, at least there is a chance of surviving and getting a stipend and spoils of war.

Between "absolute bankruptcy" and "risking one's life to make money," the answer for a qualified miser is obvious.

"What a heartless company."

He muttered a complaint under his breath, and with a crisp "click," he pulled out the black utility knife that exuded an ominous aura.

"Let's go, Kujo."

Kujo Hisana took a deep breath, gripped the gohei with the white paper pendant tightly in both hands, and followed the boy's steps.

The two of them crossed the yellow warning line, which symbolized the boundary between life and death, one after the other, and entered the old community building shrouded in torrential rain and darkness.

The moment I stepped across the cordon, the air seemed to instantly become thick and sticky.

The feeling was like jumping naked into a pond full of leeches.

A layer of fine goosebumps instantly broke out on Kamiki Tetsu's exposed arms.

It wasn't because the rain was cold.

Rather, it stems from a primal, biological instinct of fear.

It was as if in this lifeless building, behind those densely packed, dark windows like a honeycomb.

Countless unseen eyes, filled with undisguised malice, were fixed on these two reckless intruders.

An omnipresent gaze, an omnipresent sense of oppression.

This is the most basic "welcome ceremony" for the fourth-class, [Calamity Class].

In the silence, Kujo Hisana held the tactical terminal that glowed with an eerie light, her fingers swiping rapidly across the screen, her somewhat hoarse voice breaking the deathly stillness.

"Kamiki-kun, according to the briefing... this place wasn't initially classified as a [Calamity-level]."

She stared at the glaring red text on the screen, speaking rapidly, seemingly trying to suppress her inner doubts with a report of information:

"Three days ago, the patrol team responsible for this area submitted an observation report, claiming that they detected spiritual energy fluctuations that appeared to be those of a third-level [evil spirit] here."

"In order to carry out the purification, headquarters dispatched two teams, a total of four officially employed investigators, to enter the building."

At this point, Kujo Hisana paused, looked up, and stared at the dark, gaping entrance to the stairwell that resembled the throat of a giant beast:

"But... after that, the four of them seemed to vanish into thin air, completely losing contact with each other."

Kamiki Tetsu didn't stop because of the news; he turned his head and gestured for her to continue.

Kujou Hisana stared at the string of glaring "N/A"s on the screen, her voice hoarse:

"Enemy capabilities unknown."

"The rules for killing are unknown."

"Specific lethality is unknown."

She took a deep breath and read the final instruction:

"And our main task this time..."

"It's to recover the high-value magical artifacts left behind at the scene by the four missing investigators."

Upon hearing the words "high value," Kamiki Tetsu's previously lifeless eyes suddenly flashed with an eerie brilliance.

Four official investigators.

In other words, there are at least four pieces of equipment of definitely not low quality scattered in this building.

If we could use the system to transform these four unclaimed magical artifacts for our own use before they were recycled...

"Oh dear, what a pity. Because the battle was so intense, those magical artifacts were unfortunately destroyed by vengeful spirits."

The perfect excuse instantly formed in my mind.

This is a legal "zero-dollar purchase"!

"Kujo."

Kamiki Toru abruptly stopped, turned around to look at the girl behind him, and his tone became more serious and fervent than ever before:

"Search carefully! It's a precious legacy left by our predecessors; we can't let even a single screw fall into the enemy's hands!"

"Eh... Ah, yes!"

Although somewhat confused by Kamiki Tetsu's sudden burst of enthusiasm, Kujo Hisana was clearly swayed by his "righteous" statement.

"I understand! I will definitely bring them back!"

She nodded emphatically, her eyes filled with a firm conviction born of being deeply moved.

And so, one thinking of getting rich, the other thinking of fulfilling his responsibilities, they stepped side by side through that open door.

The moment the two stepped into the dark hallway.

The previously noisy rain behind me seemed to have been forcibly cut off by some force, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

Before they could adjust to the darkness, their vision was swallowed up by the pale light.

Even the group of port district elites who had just stepped through the gate were swept up by this force.

A strong feeling of weightlessness washed over me, as if I had stepped into a non-existent staircase.

……

When the dizziness subsides.

Kamiki Toru suddenly opened his eyes, instinctively holding the utility knife horizontally in front of his chest.

However, the expected cold and damp abandoned corridor was nowhere to be found.

Instead, there was an old-fashioned ceiling light overhead, which was only turned on as a small orange night light to save electricity. Accompanied by the buzzing sound of the aging ballast, it flickered on and off in the dead silence.

The air was filled with a damp, musty smell.

"here it is……"

Kamiki Tetsu quickly glanced around, his eyebrows twitching involuntarily.

Underfoot is a cold cement entryway, only half a square meter in size, and further in is a raised wooden floor.

Before me was a four-and-a-half-tatami room forcibly separated by several yellowed and damaged paper sliding doors, the low ceiling making it feel oppressive and suffocating.

This is a quintessential old-style Showa-era apartment building.

Kamiki Tetsu's gaze swept over the cramped room, which resembled a coffin.

The young lady who held the imperial coin has disappeared.

"Damn it..."

He rubbed his temples, a slight headache on his face, his voice filled with frustration at the disruption to his plans:

"To think that I would get separated from my support at such a crucial moment."