Tokyo: I can enlighten all obsessions

The black utility knife in Kamiki Tetsu's hand suddenly emitted a burst of dark light.

puff! !

The sharp blade encountered no resistance and, with the momentum of its descent, pierced straight through the thick nostrils and deeply penetrated the upper palate of the gaping maw.

These two twisted organs were firmly nailed together.

"Open... for me!!"

Kamiki Tetsu gritted his teeth, gripped the handle tightly with both hands, and put all his weight on the small utility knife.

His arm veins bulged as he slashed sideways with great force.

Sizzle!

It was accompanied by the sensation of the tough outer skin being forcibly cut open.

Large gushes of foul-smelling black blood gushed out from the smooth cut, splattering all over half of Kamiki Tetsu's body.

Almost at the same time.

Ren Saionji's low growl arrived along with a sharp sound that tore through the air.

"Tear me to pieces!!"

Several vacuum wind blades, barely perceptible to the naked eye, precisely pierced into the wound that Kamiki Tetsu had just made.

The already pierced joint was instantly shredded like tofu under the frenzied stirring of these sharp air currents, with large amounts of minced meat and tissue being cut off.

Next up is Kujo Hisana.

"burst!!!"

Three red talismans, trailing long flames, plunged deep into the mangled flesh.

next second.

A blinding red light suddenly shone from inside the two monsters, illuminating their hideous bodies.

boom!!

A dull thud erupted from within, completely tearing apart the two massive, intertwined bodies.

Neither that hard, iron-like bulbous nose nor that greedy, gaping mouth could hold any support at this moment.

They were like two lumps of boneless mud, crashing heavily onto the corridor floor with a nauseating, damp thud.

The black blood spread rapidly.

And just as that giant mouth opened weakly.

"Clang, clang, clang."

Three objects covered in slime and black blood slid down its loose tongue and rolled crisply to Kamiki Tetsu's feet.

Then, pale blue text appeared before Toru Kamiki's eyes.

Strong emotions and obsessions were detected.

Should I offer guidance?

Kamiki Tetsuya silently confirmed it in his mind.

Without even looking at what it was, he bent down as fast as he could, grabbed the three slime-covered objects from the ground, and roughly stuffed them into his pocket.

"Hey! Stop spacing out!"

Kamiki Tetsu suddenly turned around and shouted sharply at the two people behind him who hadn't yet recovered their senses:

"Find an exit quickly! Find a way to leave this area!"

Ren Saionji paused for a moment.

He instinctively turned around and looked at the bottomless darkness behind him, a struggle appearing on his pale face.

"Wait... my colleagues..."

His voice was a little hoarse: "There are other investigators in the port area... they're trapped here too, we can't—"

"..."

Kamiki Tetsu glanced at him coldly, as if he were looking at a talking corpse.

He didn't even have the desire to stop and explain; he simply uttered a cold statement:

"If you want to die, then stay here."

Just a moment ago, [Special Effect: Malicious Eavesdropping] detected an extremely terrifying signal.

Compared to this aura, the malice emanating from that giant mouth was utterly insignificant, like the difference between a firefly and the bright moon.

That thing that's getting closer...

Its malice was so pure and so immense that it was more than a hundred times stronger than the monster from before.

Without a word, out of absolute trust in her teammates, Kujo Hisana immediately began to search the twisted walls around her, looking for any gaps that might be "doors".

"The landlord...is here."

Kamiki Tetsu lowered his voice.

Upon hearing this, the color that had just appeared on Saionji Ren's face faded rapidly, almost unnoticed.

As an elite in the port area, he knew better than anyone what it meant to encounter the "Lord of the Domain" in a treacherous territory that had not yet been cracked.

That wasn't a battle at all; it was a one-sided massacre.

So-called camaraderie crumbles instantly in the face of the instinct for survival.

"……I see."

Saionji Ren decisively abandoned her unnecessary hesitation, turned around, and frantically began searching for an exit from this hell.

Kamiki Tetsu quickly raised both hands.

With the middle and ring fingers bent and the thumb pressing down on the fingertips, the ten fingers interlock at bizarre and complex angles, forming a diamond-shaped hole in front of the eyes.

That was an ancient ritual used to peer into "non-human things" and directly confront the origins of the supernatural.

Spell: [Fox's Window]

「けしやうのものか、ましやうのものか、正体をあらはせ!」

(Is it a creature born of nature, or a demonic entity? Quickly reveal its true form!)

Kamiki Tetsu pressed the diamond-shaped "window" formed by his fingers close to his right eye, peering through the tiny space between his fingers at this distorted area.

As the ancient incantation was uttered, a sensation of heat and itching arose from the depths of my eyes.

It's like countless tiny ants crawling on your retina.

Kamiki Tetsu suppressed the urge to blink.

Within that diamond-shaped field of vision, his originally human-like round pupils seemed to be pulled and altered by some invisible force at this moment.

His originally dark eyes were rapidly becoming narrow and vertical.

that moment.

Between those fingers, a pair of vertical pupils gleaming with a cold, golden light suddenly opened.

Seeing the golden light between Kamiki Tetsu's fingers, and that strange gaze that had clearly transcended the realm of "humanity".

Kujo Hii realized what was happening in an instant.

As a shrine maiden from a prestigious family of Onmyoji, she naturally recognized this gesture.

In this desperate situation where mortal eyes cannot see through illusions, only by relying on the eyes of the "fox" can we find a glimmer of hope.

"Me too!"

Without any hesitation, Kujo Hisana quickly raised her hands, her fingers flying, and skillfully formed the same hand seal.

Meanwhile, Ren Saionji, standing to the side, watched Toru Kamiki's decisive and efficient movements, and her originally tense eyes twitched slightly.

The speed at which he formed hand seals, and the decisiveness with which he instantly assessed the situation...

"That's a really quick reaction...you don't seem like a newbie at all."

Ren Saionji murmured something softly.

Without further hesitation, he clasped his hands together, creating a diamond-shaped viewing window in front of him.

In a short time.

In this narrow corridor, the three of them maintained the same posture, desperately searching for a flaw in the area through the "fox eyes" between their fingers.

The three of them quickly scanned every corner of the fourth floor through their fingers.

But under the gaze of those mutated "beast eyes," everything within sight—whether walls, ceiling, or floor—was tightly bound by those pulsating, blood-like scarlet lines.

"No... the rules for this layer are complete."

Kujou Hisana's voice trembled slightly, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Me too, I can't find any flaws."

Saionji Ren gritted her teeth and said.

There are absolutely no loopholes in the area on the fourth floor.

"Since the fourth floor is intact..."

Ren Saionji looked towards the stairwell: "Let's go upstairs then! The rules might be less restrictive on the rooftop!"

"No, let's go to the first floor!" Kujou Hisana immediately retorted, "The physical exit is definitely down there!"

Neither of them gave up; instead, they were eager to explore other possibilities.

However, they don't have much time left.

Fox's Window

This is not merely a legendary trick, but an enhanced technique developed to see through those higher beings who transcend ordinary "spiritual vision".

When faced with deep spiritual obstacles that even spiritual vision cannot capture, only by borrowing the vision of the "fox" can one tear through that disguise.

Of course, this borrowed power comes at a price.

If one lingers too long in this view, the caster's eyes will eventually be completely replaced by that unseen fox.

Kamiki Tetsu endured the itching in his eyes, maintaining his vision through the gaps between his fingers, his gaze quickly scanning through the dense, scarlet lines.

His brain began to reconstruct the status quo at an astonishing speed.

"Landlord...landlord..."

He murmured the word under his breath.

Why this particular name?

Those two monsters just now used this title to refer to the master of this realm.

This is an old housing complex in the Showa era style.

In this enclosed complex of buildings, the word "landlord" carries a far more complex meaning.

In this old-fashioned apartment complex, if there's any place that can represent the "landlord" in exercising their rights and manage the entire building...

Could it be that...?

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

Kamiki Tetsu suddenly turned around and pointed the diamond-shaped "window" in his hand at the spot where the "management office" should have been located.

The line of sight pierced through layers of obstruction.

really.

Under the gaze of those beastly eyes, all the scarlet lines that blocked all paths of survival stretched downwards frantically, eventually converging at that single point.

That is the source of all rules.

"Found it."

Kamiki Tetsu abruptly dispersed the hand seals, not having time to explain further, and turned to rush towards the stairwell, his voice urgent:

"It's the management office on the first floor! All the rules converge there; it's the only way out!"

"Don't look back, come with me!!"

Without any hesitation, Ren Saionji and Hisana Kujo followed closely behind the boy.

however.

Just as the three of them took their first step...

The already dimly lit corridor suddenly became even darker.

At the corner of the staircase, deep darkness silently spreads over the steps and the handrail, erasing all color along the way.

The air instantly became thick, damp, and cold, and when inhaled, it was filled with a strong, musty smell.

"Well……"

Ren Saionji groaned as the wound, which had stopped bleeding, suddenly began to throb with excruciating pain.

Kujo Hisana couldn't help but shiver. Goosebumps instantly rose on her exposed arms, and her jaw trembled uncontrollably.

Kamiki Tetsu's feelings were the most direct.

The eavesdropping ear in his pocket was trembling wildly, emitting a piercing shriek that only he could hear.

The landlord has arrived.

"Hurry up!"

The three of them frantically sprinted down the narrow spiral staircase, their chaotic and hurried footsteps echoing violently in the deathly silent corridor.

And behind them.

The thick darkness was flowing down the edge of the steps, one step at a time.

It silently overflowed the handrail, swallowed the steps, and filled the space behind it little by little.

The three stumbled into the lobby on the first floor and grabbed the handle of the iron door marked "Management Office".

"Crunch"

The gate was wide open.

A damp, cold night wind, mixed with raindrops, suddenly rushed towards my face.

Before me lay a street flashing red and blue police lights, a noisy rainy night, and the long-lost "reality".

But just a second before crossing that threshold.

The three of them stopped almost instinctively and turned around to look at the desolate corridor behind them.

In that dark depths that swallowed all light.

A figure with long, jet-black hair, dressed in an old-fashioned, plain-colored kimono, walked out silently.

Where a face should have been, there was a pale mask covered up, devoid of any facial features.

In its hands, it casually held two lifeless corpses.

The two corpses, dressed in the same haute couture suits as Ren Saionji, were now limply hanging at his sides, swaying gently with his steps.

The newcomer did not stop the three people who were about to escape.

It stood silently on the boundary between light and shadow, its pale Noh mask slightly raised, staring straight at the direction of Toru Kamiki.

Then.

A voice, indistinguishable between male and female, pierced through the sound of rain and clearly entered everyone's ears.

"You took...my things."

I will find you.