Chapter 16: Fight Poison with Poison

Director Hakuba, weary and troubled over the situation with Ryosuke Yamada, felt utterly exhausted.

“Director, urgent news from the Cybersecurity Division: a casualty incident has occurred during a live broadcast. It appears to involve… a malevolent spirit!”

The last two words immediately sharpened Director Hakuba’s focus as he hurried along, pressing for details.

“Are you certain!?”

“Chief Odagiri has already arrived on site with a team. This message came directly from him.”

“Begin live footage immediately.”

The live stream connected through Toshirō Odagiri’s phone. From the background, Director Hakuba could tell they had reached the location.

“What’s the situation?”

“This is the scene,” Toshirō Odagiri said, flipping the camera toward an apartment building ahead.

Director Hakuba’s eyes widened. The building bore the unmistakable aura of the 1980s, its charred marks evidence of a past fire. Decades later, today, it was burning once more.

Flames roared from the windowless apartment, burning eerily within its confines, without spreading to neighboring buildings.

Odagiri’s voice explained, “We tried dousing it with water, but it’s no use. Before I arrived, an officer rushed in to save someone and never came out. According to the Arakawa-born police, this building was once the scene of a pyromaniac killer wielding a chainsaw. We even heard chainsaw sounds during the live stream and earlier just now.”

“And the public response?”

“Cybersecurity has already been tasked with managing public opinion.”

That was the only relief—the government’s guidance made controlling public sentiment straightforward.

Director Hakuba frowned, staring at the burning apartment.

This relic from the ’80s seemed to roar at the world in this way, proclaiming its continued presence.

A malevolent spirit… how to deal with it?

Should they summon onmyoji, esoteric monks, or Shinto priests?

Frowning, troubled, he finally yielded to reality.

“I’ve ordered people to call in the experts. For now, keep the area cordoned off.”

If there was any luck, it was that this district, far from the port area, Chiyoda, and Chuo wards, was mainly home to foreign students, commuters, and young families. Even within Adachi Ward, it was a remote spot—at this hour, no one was around.

Yūya Asakawa, experienced in yokai incidents, was summoned. Understanding the gravity, he hurried to the scene.

---

Soon, several top figures from Tokyo’s “folk religion circle” arrived.

An elderly man wearing a white eboshi cap and a white hunting robe, dressed as a Shinto priest; an elderly monk with prayer beads and a gentle demeanor.

The chief priest of Meiji Shrine, the head priest of Yushima Tenmangu, but no representative from Sensoji Temple—considering it likely suppressed a great yokai like the Tsuchigumo spider, the big players were hesitant to let anyone leave Sensoji.

“What do you all make of this?” Director Hakuba turned, eager to hear the leaders of various faiths.

Faced with the director’s question, the gathered dignitaries remained inscrutable, their expressions calm.

Inwardly, however, they cursed under their breath.

On the way here, Yūya Asakawa had briefly explained the mission. After adjusting their emotions, they had come to the Metropolitan Police Department with anxious hearts and expressionless faces, hoping this was just a false alarm.

Now?

They simply stood and watched.

Having reached the pinnacle of their status, none of them truly believed in gods or Buddhas.

The closer they got, the clearer it became.

To them, the deities recorded in ancient books were simply pioneers who had achieved enlightenment about life’s great truths and set examples through their actions—philosophers, at best.

At least, that’s what they believed until today.

Today, here in the vast Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, under Director Hakuba’s reception, they encountered their first real evil spirit.

Though the spirit never appeared before their eyes, the police footage of four high school students murdered was undeniable, as was the officer who never emerged after entering the building. The relentless flames burning inside the apartment, doused with thick water hoses yet undiminished, were undeniable proof.

Seeing the silence, the chief priest of Meiji Shrine spoke first.

“In my humble opinion, this malevolent spirit is a jikininki—a ground-bound spirit. It won’t leave its territory and repeats actions from its life. Its awakening was caused by these,” he pointed firmly at the four deceased students.

Director Hakuba nodded in agreement but felt troubled.

People had entered this building before without incident, yet this time something went wrong. Could it be, as Master Chikura said, that the world was about to return to the Age of the Gods?

Such complex thoughts gave him a headache, so he brushed them aside.

If the sky fell, there would be others to bear it. At worst, he could clutch the Emperor’s leg for consolation.

“Do you have any methods to exorcise this spirit?”

---

There were none.

“The jikininki is formed by the grudges from its past life. Perhaps we can start there,” said the head priest of Yushima Tenmangu.

“Grudges…” Director Hakuba pondered.

Yūya Asakawa reminded him, “Director, the arsonist and murderer Ken Itō was dismissed after the glory days of the island nation. His jikininki likely formed from resentment toward society.”

Director Hakuba fell silent.

In the 1990s, the island nation was in the bubble era—a time of booming economy where capable employees could afford vacations, beauty treatments, and luxury shopping. The nation even arrogantly proclaimed it could buy the United States.

But when the bubble burst, countless people jumped off rooftops, companies went bankrupt, stable jobs vanished, housewives went to sea, and middle-aged men despaired—creating a ludicrous era.

A headache—this was a real headache.

They had investigated and found the company Itō worked for had collapsed with the bubble burst. There was no bringing it back to life.

“Everyone here inherits a long Shinto tradition. Are there no better ways to exorcise such a spirit?”

Meeting Director Hakuba’s eager gaze, the group fell silent, heads bowed slightly.

He took a deep breath and understood.

Indeed, these people had not received divine insight like Master Chikura.

“Perhaps we should try covering it with artillery fire,” Director Hakuba muttered.

But no—that might unleash the spirit instead of destroying it.

Clearly, they needed Master Chikura after all.

“Send for him…” He raised his hand to summon the master himself when Chief Inspector Tōyama, responsible for tracking Ryosuke Yamada, rushed in.

“We’ve tracked Ryosuke Yamada to Kabukichō in East Shinjuku!”

Director Hakuba’s expression changed. Just as he thought, “Not good,” a sudden inspiration struck him, and he said urgently, “Have someone hold him firmly and tell him the Metropolitan Police Department needs to speak with him.”

Yamada’s abilities seemed linked to the soul—could they fight poison with poison?