Chapter 160: Kagami God Room
Chapter 160: Kagami God Room
The seventh squad of Bing Platoon encountered a user of an Exorcism Blade of unknown identity. This person killed four from the same platoon, leaving only one survivor.
Even that survivor was badly injured. What was even more alarming…
Nearly all five of their Exorcism Blades were taken.
This abnormal incident naturally drew intense attention within the Agency.
“My workload was already heavy enough. Now this unnecessary trouble adds more.”
Raisu sighed. He crouched down to examine the bodies brought back.
“You’re usually lazy when not deployed. Makes me wish they’d transfer me to the Mobile Operations Room.”
Shiga, the head of the Forensics Group, wore a white lab coat. He handed Raisu a form while munching on a hamburger.
“From left to right: bodies one, two, three, and four. The methods clean and efficient – beheading, throat-slitting, sweeping cutdown… all done in one smooth sequence…”
“It’s definitely Ancient Sword Style. But just from the angles of the cuts, even I can’t tell exactly which style.”
Raisu checked thoroughly several times but could only conclude the opponent’s swordsmanship was outstanding.
He knew Bing Platoon gathered excellent talent. Setting aside firearms expertise, many had competitive Kendo ranks of four or five dan, and also trained in Ancient Sword Styles.
Even with the element of surprise, these weren’t easy targets. They carried both guns and blades. Yet the outcome ended up like this.
“What did Enzan of Bing Seventh say…”
Shiga sat perched on an autopsy table, legs crossed. He lowered his voice. “That ‘Fang Hunter Killer’ he mentioned… what does the top brass think?”
Raisu knew Shiga meant the Executive Department.
The whole Fang Hunter Organization revolved around the “Executive Department.” Starting thirty years ago with major reforms, the organization simplified into “One Department, Two Rooms, Four Groups.” The “One Department” was the Executive Department, which managed operations through various levels of command. To the organization, the Executive Department was its brain, governing and driving the entire Fang Hunter Organization.
“How else? They blew up first, refuted the whole angle and sealed off any news.”
A flicker of dissatisfaction crossed Raisu’s eyes.
“Externally, they declared it a fierce counterattack by Corpse Hounds causing casualties. They’ve warned squad members under the Mobile Operations Room to stay vigilant on missions. But the truth? Absolutely forbidden to speak about.”
“I see…”
Shiga lazily wiped his hands.
“But since they call themselves the ‘Fang Hunter Killer,’ that means they’ll act again, right?”
Raisu held his chin, voice grave. “Can’t rule it out yet.”
“There were traces of Corpse Hounds cut down at the scene too, right? Meaning the attacker had an Exorcism Blade. Maybe start investigating from there.”
Shiga’s tone was suggestive.
“You mean… the Kagami God Room.”
Raisu’s gaze turned thoughtful, landing on his friend.
“Everyone knows only the ‘Kagami God Room’ manufactures Exorcism Blades. Including the Twelve Artifacts – every Exorcism Blade held by every Fang Hunter comes from there. Chasing random clues? Better focus your efforts in this direction…”
Shiga pointed directly at the obvious path.
Still, if the issue truly involved the “Kagami God Room,” things became troublesome.
Raisu really didn’t want to deal with them. He honestly planned to go his entire life without ever stepping foot in the Kagami God Room territory again.
“Otherwise, you need to extract full records of all past Exorcism Blades and Fang Hunter formations from the Executive Department. Check for omissions. But that’ll be endless bureaucratic hell. Think carefully about which path to take.”
Shiga flashed him a grin with a hint of malice.
You jerk!
He found this amusing?
Either option promised heavy headaches. Visiting the Tōshō crafting Exorcism Blades at the Kagami God Room? Or wrangling information from the Executive Department’s self-important, thoroughly rotten and incompetent “higher-ups”? Both were terrible paths.
“No choice. Let this coin decide.”
Raisu sighed gloomily, pulling out a Five-Yen Coin to make the fateful choice. He had a foreboding sense that whichever way he chose, it would only bring him the worst possible luck.
————————
Aah! Screwed up again!
Truthfully, she knew she might mess up.
Yet before she could think things through, or even consciously decide, her body acted or spoke first.
Thanks to this… her task was making zero progress.
Although the townspeople of Hinano Town trusted her… frankly, Myoken-in Ogata fully expected to fail this assignment.
“Your job is to mediate the conflict between Hinano Town residents and the Sunao-gumi, right?”
Her boss called immediately.
“Why did you start by provoking them?! Miss Ogata, you’re not a cop anymore, not some superhero fighting villains. You’re a neutral mediator. Think of a solution both sides can accept – then make it happen. That’s the core! Don’t immediately frame the townspeople as endangered victims with that mindset. You won’t mediate like that!”
Then came a lecture. The newly appointed director showed her no mercy.
“But those Yakuza used such lowly tactics… even killing pets…”
“Hold on! I saw the report too. But from what I know, this doesn’t fit the M.O. of an established group like the Sunao-gumi. Especially with Higashi Yuantai as the boss – that sly, conniving, utterly rotten man. He wouldn’t jeopardize the group’s reputation with pointless cruelty. Besides, if they genuinely wanted trouble for the town, they wouldn’t use such petty, small-time tactics…”
(The director seems deeply biased against that Sunao-gumi boss… Yet that criticism has strange undertones. Was this judgment meant as praise or insult…?)
Myoken-in Ogata endured forty minutes of scolding before the other finally hung up.
“Just let me crawl in a hole and die!”
Utterly crushed.
She looked tough, but inside, she was fragile.
Back at her rented apartment, she kicked off her shoes and flopped face-first onto the sofa like a plank.
No, lyinɡ here would make her fall asleep.
She still needed to rewrite her report for the agency.
Okay, sit up. Take a shower first. Maybe get some cold beer?
(Fridge had leftovers… two beers… thought ice cubes too? Okay, but really, get to work! Otherwise, this month’s performance and salary are doomed!)
Hugging a cushion, she stood up. She poked her toes across the tiled floor searching for her shoes – only found one. The other high-heel had vanished.
Shrugging, she went barefoot. After a quick shower, she came out wrapped in a towel… and heard unexpected sounds from her bedroom.
“A burglar?!”
A bit worried, she grabbed a vase off the TV stand – flowers from her last blind date crammed inside. She ripped them out, tossing them in the trash.
Testing the vase’s weight, it felt solid. She tiptoed cautiously towards the noise… and paused near the door. She heard voices.
“…Too reckless. Even gathering … shouldn’t act so…”
“…No time… stop fussing… besides, I had a plan…”
The voices were extremely low, almost impossible to hear.
But Myoken-in Ogata visibly relaxed. She kicked the door open, frowning as she scanned the room.
Sure enough, the curtain was blowing open. The sliding glass door was unlocked.
“Yagashi! I gave you a key!”
She glared at the boy sitting on her bed. He wore a black coat, carefully cleaning a long sword resting across his lap.
“Stop sneaking up via the balcony. It’s the fourth floor…”
Most importantly, stop making her think there’s a burglar every time!
“Fine. Got it.”
Yagashi was a strange “roommate.”
Unwittingly “found” by her. Or maybe, he’d “found” her.
After drunkly collapsing on a street outside a bar once, this teenager appeared. He seemed to genuinely help her, safely escorting her back home.
Fate? Destiny? Somehow, this odd boy ended up temporarily staying at her apartment.
Myoken-in Ogata didn’t pry. She just sensed profound reasons behind his runaway state.
Fine! Like caring for a neighbor’s stray cat. Besides sleeping in her spare bedroom, Yagashi required almost zero attention.
Three months slipped by living this way without realizing.
“Hey! You didn’t bring a girl, did you?! I heard a woman’s voice earlier…”
Maybe not a “woman,” a younger girl? Or, a girlfriend?
Seriously?! This isn’t some sleazy love hotel!
Not that she was unbearably tidy… But the thought felt… unpleasant. Exactly like finding a stray cat she’d taken in sneaking inside with another female cat’s scent clinging to him. Honestly, that sensation wasn’t pleasant.
“What woman? You heard wrong!”
Yagashi threw her a look. “There’s nobody in this room but me…”
He… had a point. Had work stress caused auditory hallucinations?
Scanning the room carefully, she found absolutely no trace of another person.
“Whatever. Rest well!”
She shut the door and left. But walking away… she definitely caught a hint of perfume – certainly not hers.
——————————
July arrived. Outside the classroom windows, the drone of cicadas grew louder, signaling rising heat.
Sitting in a corner of the classroom, Fang Jing pretended to listen while inwardly focused elsewhere.
“Summer vacation starts around July 20th… And it’s short. Gotta plan wisely—”
Though summer break remained over ten days away, Fang Jing pondered taking out a man first: Susaka, a key broker. Offing him would certainly hassle the Black Devourer Syndicate. This would stall their retaliation attempts against both the Iwamoto Group and Sunao-gumi for the foreseeable future.
The Sunao-gumi was growing rapidly. Higashi Yuantai absorbed almost two-thirds of the Takaha Group territory. His members boomed. His territory expanded. Purely astonishing speed.
The remaining third of the territory landed with the Iwamoto Group.
Separately… Old Man Wakabayashi grew gravely ill lately. Both Fang Jing and Higashi Yuantai visited him when possible.
The old man retained enough strength to exchange chat briefly. But surviving this “critical moment”? Unlikely at his extreme age.
Even his physician made the prognosis grim, advising everyone to brace for the worst.
“Setting that aside… Recently, my Stamina Points refreshed by one. Plus, I picked up several new skills. Time for a trip… Susaka operates bases near Northern Kyushu as I recall. Finding a solid intel source beforehand would be ideal…”
This was national language class. While other students diligently took notes or dozed off… Fang Jing’s mind plotted murder and arson.