“So will you help me?”
“Naw, this is one thing and that is another.”
“So you are angry then,” she said, the forlorn look on her face that of a young woman lost in the depths of despair.
Kyoya hastily added, “No, um, to cut to the chase here—”
“You are our only hope,” said the Master, repeating the same words as Sayaka, albeit in more severe tones. “For Sayaka-san’s father, for the planet. This is not something I could say to any other person. The way I see things developing, Ra’s goal is more than causing a brief spree of chaos. He seeks ruin on a much grander and deeper scale. Put bluntly, to destroy the soul of the world.”
The section chief furrowed his brow. “What the hell does that mean?”
“The demon lodged in the president’s throat—the hand print of the Nidom assassin summoned forth from the Demon Realm—using chiromancy techniques, I traced back Ra’s intentions and designs. In one way or another, it seems he is attempting to call forth from the depths of creation an evil of unmatched dimensions.”
Kyoya’s eyes glittered. Yamashina stammered, “Y-you mean, Satan?”
“I do not know if he will go that far, but should this being appear but once, the world would be steeped in fear and despair. The darkness of the damned would reign instead. Men would be bound together only by hate and murder in a twilight struggle for life. Love and hope and joy lost, civilization as we know it would rot away. This would become another Demon Realm.”
For a long moment, silence filled the room. Then Kyoya said nonchalantly, “I see. He’s supposed to be a ritual sa—”
He cut off the rest of the sentence. In a faint voice, Sayaka finished it for him. “A ritual sacrifice.”
The Master looked at her, compassion showing in his eyes. “Yes. Having paid the necessary tribute in the form of a man of such high virtue, it will appear when the president draws his last breath. Ra’s previous efforts failed because the offering was lacking.”
“You telling me the bastard has tried this before?”
“Yes. And we are now at the scene of the crime.”
“Where? When?”
The Master said softly, “Early in the twenty-first century. In Japan.”
Kyoya searched his memories. Then bolted from the sofa. “Son of a bitch! That’s where you were gonna send me? You’re nothing but a pair of double-dealing con men!”
“Nobody is forcing you to do anything. What is your answer?”
“Hmph.” Kyoya again huffed and turned away. “This stinks to high heaven. But—let me get this straight—in that case, the earthquake was because of it showing up, but this Ra chap couldn’t seal the deal?”
The Master nodded. “As Ra summoned it from deep within the earth, their streams of demonic energy failed to converge, and were redirected instead into the earth’s crust and caused the damage we still see today, all in complete contradiction to the known laws of science.”
Kyoya found himself at a loss for words. Section Chief Yamashina and Sayaka were also rendered speechless, their faces wan. That earthquake?
“I must return shortly,” said the Master’s doppelganger. “I cannot easily perform the incantations for the president and converse with you at the same time. If nothing else, please remember this: Kyoya Izayoi, the peace of the world rests upon your shoulders. The future—and soul—of the world. Won’t you yield and accept this duty?”
The Master’s form faded. Before disappearing entirely, his low but demanding voice said, “A true hero cannot overlook the suffering of others. My disciple was a true hero. I believe the same of his son.”
Caught in the steady gaze of the young woman and the middle-aged man, Kyoya Izayoi averted his eyes.