Tokyo: I can enlighten all obsessions

In the instant their gazes met, Toru Kamiki felt as if a red-hot iron rod had violently stirred deep within his brain.

The world began to twist in a strange way.

What was originally a clear line of thought became viscous and chaotic under the gaze of that vertical pupil.

An indescribable sense of disorientation surged up like a tide.

His brain was issuing the highest level of alarms, and his body's instincts were screaming for him to turn and run, but his consciousness felt as heavy as lead, uncontrollably plummeting into that bottomless red hole.

So-called rationality is being stripped away by this gaze, evaporating at a visible speed.

Just as consciousness was about to completely disconnect.

An uncontrollable, violent rage, like a lit gasoline drum, exploded from the depths of Kamiki Tetsu's already numb chest.

"Are you kidding me...?"

He let out a hysterical roar in his mind.

What is this?! What the hell is this?!

Even though he had just started the job, and this was his first time officially going out on fieldwork!

We haven't even gotten a bite of the pie in the sky that the bald section chief promised, and we haven't even received the "confirmed case subsidy" yet!

Am I really going to be stared to death by an eye that appears out of nowhere in this bizarre place?!

"Oh shit……"

Kamiki Tetsu bit his tongue hard, using the excruciating pain to forcefully pull back a sliver of clarity, and a raging fire reignited in his previously somewhat unfocused eyes.

"I haven't even received my money yet... how can I die in a place like this?!"

It was as if it sensed the overwhelming resentment called "poverty" deep within the master's heart, which transcended fear.

The utility knife in Kamiki Tetsu's hand, which had only emitted a faint blue light, suddenly began to tremble violently.

"Buzz—"

The faint blue light on the blade, which had been somewhat ethereal, suddenly surged and was instantly swallowed by a deep and solid blackness.

It was like a wild beast that had smelled blood, greedily sucking up the anger of a "corporate slave" in Toru Kamiki's heart.

The sharp edge of the blade even had a faint serrated ripple extending outwards.

This weapon, born from the resentment of working people, underwent a small but deadly evolution at this moment.

However, under the gaze of that red vertical pupil, Kamiki Tetsu's consciousness still teetered on the brink of collapse, his body stiff as a plaster statue.

"Kamiki-kun? Hey! Kamiki-kun!!"

From next door came Kujou Hishi's obviously distorted, anxious shouts.

no respond.

The man, who usually had a vicious tongue, was now as silent as a dead man.

"Something really happened...!"

On the other side of the wall, accompanied by a rapid rustling of fabric, Kujo Hisa's originally crisp sound suddenly became rapid and frantic.

"Heavenly Encounter! Earthly Gate! Human Gate! Ghostly Path!!"

The girl's usually soft and sweet voice was now filled with a do-or-die spirit.

She didn't even bother to identify the target; she directly unleashed all the defensive and purification spells she knew at once at that wall!

"Wake up!!"

"bite--!!"

With the final, heavy blow from the gohei.

A surge of spiritual energy, as sharp as a mountain spring, pierced through the physical barrier and struck Kamiki Tetsu precisely on the back of the head.

【Kujou-ryu - Soul Suppressor】.

A calming technique specifically designed to counter mental manipulation and forced hypnosis.

"hiss--!!"

Kamiki Tetsu felt a buzzing sound in his mind, as if a bucket of cold water mixed with ice had been poured over his head in a sauna.

The sticky sensation that was melting my brain in the high temperature instantly subsided.

Reason, which was about to be severed, was forcibly pulled back into the body by that clear and refreshing spiritual power.

The distortion in the field of vision was quickly corrected.

The enormous red vertical pupil continued to stare intently at him, attempting to once again draw his soul into the abyss.

But this time, Kamiki Tetsu didn't give it a chance.

"Have you seen enough...?"

Kamiki Tetsu's arm muscles bulged, and using the momentum from his recent awakening, he plunged the black-stained utility knife in his hand deep into the damned eyeball in the hole in the wall!

puff!

With a warm, moist sensation, the jet-black utility knife easily pierced through the tough cornea, sinking deep into the eyeball until the handle slammed against the wall.

Large spurts of murky, dark red liquid gushed out of the wound like burst water pipes, splashing all over Kamiki Tetsu's face.

"grumble!!"

A scream came from deep within the wall.

The enormous vertical pupil twitched violently, the malice that had been gathering inside instantly dissipating, replaced by pure pain and terror.

It frantically tried to back away, wanting to escape this creature that had suddenly slipped out of its control.

But Kamiki Tetsu didn't give it that chance at all.

"Trying to run away?"

Flip your wrist and stir.

Pull it out. Then insert it again.

"Pfft!"

"They inexplicably dragged people into this..."

"Pfft!"

"There wasn't even a rule notification..."

"Pfft! Pfft!"

"If you cause me to miss out on the COVID-19 relief fund, can you afford to compensate me?!"

Kamiki Tetsu was like a tireless pile driver, his utility knife transforming into a black afterimage as he relentlessly pounded into the already mangled hole.

Even after the eyeball had completely turned into an unrecognizable mass of flesh, and even after nothing dared to peek out of the hole anymore, Kamiki Tetsu still did not stop what he was doing.

Just as he was about to deliver the final blow and completely shatter the thing behind the wall.

A line of light blue, semi-transparent text jumped to the center of his vision, which was already filled with bloodshot veins.

Strong emotions and obsessions were detected.

Should I offer guidance?

"……call."

Kamiki Tetsu wiped the blood off his face and, without any hesitation, silently confirmed it in his mind.

next second.

The spurting, murky black blood seemed to be drawn by some kind of magnetic force, and began to flow backward in a strange way.

Just a few seconds later.

A sphere, as clear as a glass marble but with dark red blood vessels churning inside, slowly took shape amidst the pile of rotten flesh, and fell to the floor with a "clink".

Kamiki Tetsu picked up the eyeball, and a line of malicious text immediately appeared.

【Name: The Voyeur's Eyeball (One of the Sets)】

[Quality: Blue]

[Type: Support Item]

[Note: This is a crystal compressed from countless dark thoughts of "wanting to confirm that others are doing worse than oneself".]

In this crowded and oppressive Tokyo, the walls are as thin as paper, but people's hearts are as thick as walls. The so-called "neighborhood watch" is nothing more than a grand excuse for those eyes that yearn to pry into privacy.

"It seems the man next door has lost his job."

"That family's daughter didn't come home until the early hours of last night again."

In those dark and damp corners, people pricked up their ears and chewed on the misfortunes of others to eat with their rice.

After all, in this indifferent society, only by witnessing the ugliness of others can one soothe one's own already shattered sense of superiority, can't one?

[Special Effects: Absolute Stalking]

You can control this eyeball to float and move freely in the air, and share its real-time field of vision.

When this eyeball is fixed on a certain intelligent being, the target will suffer a powerful cognitive interference called "mental nakedness".

It was the ultimate feeling of shame, as if you were standing naked in the middle of the Shibuya Crossing, with a huge screen behind you playing your browser history on a loop.

Under such intense gaze, the target's mental defenses will crumble significantly, and they will most likely fall into a chaotic state of covering their face and screaming, freezing, or becoming enraged.

(Note: Since we're all hypocrites, why not be honest with each other?)

"...One of the sets?"

Kamiki Tetsu didn't linger long on the grotesque "Mental Naked Run" special effect; instead, his gaze keenly caught the small words at the end of the name.

Since there are "voyeurs"...

"Are there still ears that like to eavesdrop, or mouths that like to spread rumors everywhere?"

Kamiki Tetsu pinched his chin, thoughtfully playing with the eyeball in his hand.

What would happen if you collected the entire set?

Summon a landlady with incredible gossip skills?

Or is he the ultimate keyboard warrior who can drive everyone crazy?

Just as Kamiki Tetsu was staring at the system panel in the void, his thoughts began to wander.

"Thump—!!!"

An even louder explosion than before erupted in the room.

The entire wall was shaking violently, and the yellowed plaster fell off like snowflakes, causing the floor to tremble.

"Kamiki-kun?!"

From next door came Kujo Hisana's hoarse, tearful screams.

"Don't die! Hold on! I'm coming to save you right away!!"

"Thump!!"

Another loud bang.

Around the small hole that Kamiki Tetsu had punctured, spiderweb-like cracks began to appear on the cement wall.

Clearly, because Kamiki Toru had fallen silent again while engrossed in checking the equipment attributes, the girl next to him had completely imagined the tragic scene of her teammate's death.

Since the technique cannot penetrate the wall to confirm the situation, then the wall should be physically removed.

"Thump!!"

"Get away from my teammates!!!!"

Accompanied by a girl's furious roar, Kamiki Toru was horrified to see a foot wearing white tabi socks forcefully kick through the damned cement wall, sending rubble and dust flying straight into his room.

"..."

Kamiki Tetsu's eye twitched slightly.

Compared to that eyeball that only peeks, the shrine maiden next door who can demolish things with her bare hands is obviously more like a monster, isn't she?