“Ha-ha…ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” He laughed uproariously, filling the alleyway with gales of mirthful delight. It was like he’d gone back to being a kid again. The sight of someone so injured and so elated at the same time creeped Celty out. A different kind of chill ran down her spine. Uh-oh, did he hit his head too hard?! What should I do? I guess I’ll take him to Shinra…or should I send him to get a CT scan…? She panicked on the spot, momentarily forgetting that he was irredeemably wicked. Meanwhile, Shijima seemed to have completely flipped a switch. His eyes were full of joy, and he giggled, chortled, and guffawed. “Ha-ha…ha-ha-ha! Finally! Finally, Headless Rider! Finally it feels like someone has paid attention to me! At long last, I lost in a way that mattered to someone!” “What are you talking about? Are you all right?” “I’m grateful to you, Headless Rider. Because you seriously, truly punched me…not in some divine punishment sense but out of sheer emotional buildup. I feel like I’ve finally gotten back on track after being disconnected from this city!” he exclaimed, holding out his hands. Celty was even more disconcerted by this and began to think in earnest that she needed to take him to a hospital that could give him a brain scan. But Shijima just took Celty’s hand and gave it a vigorous shake. “I’m sure it’s only an illusion, though. I’m not going to stop my vengeance against the town now, and I’m certainly not going to turn virtuous out of nowhere. Rest assured and keep a cautious eye on me like usual. Continue to consider me an enemy.” It was hard to believe he had looked so cold and dispassionate before. Now his eyes were glowing and bubbly, like a child about to open his Christmas presents. To Celty, this just made him far eerier than he had seemed before. “An enemy…? What do you mean?” “Because then I can continue to be me. I won’t get left behind by the city. That’s all I mean. Oh, sorry…just talking to myself. I don’t expect you to understand that—just forget it,” he said cryptically. But it sent a shiver down her spine. Some of the things Shijima was saying about being “left behind by the city” and “disconnected” were phrases that had been rattling around her own head for the last several days. Just as she was resuming her work as a courier, this man appeared, worried about the same thing she was: being disconnected from society. But the sight of someone who had traveled such a different path from her own sent Celty into disarray, even with a hint of jealousy. What the hell is this feeling that allows him to be at ease again out of nowhere? All the while, I’m desperately trying to find a way to shrink my feeling of alienation… But she knew that putting these questions into words and shoving them in his face was the wrong way to react. Instead, she decided to do an about-face and return to her job. “If you’re grateful for that, then give me answers. Where is Yukihiko Natsugawara, and what do you plan to do to Anri Sonohara?” “Rather greedy of you. If you want to know both answers, why not bring Anri Sonohara here and have her slash me with Saika?” “…I feel like possessing you with Saika would be dangerous. Just answer the question.” “You’re right to be wary. It’s not Anri Sonohara I want. It’s the power of Saika. Although I’m not all that fixated; if I never get it—oh well,” said Shijima, his eyes cold again. His voice was sluggish and aloof. But Celty was not going to take that for an answer. “What are you talking about? You broke into the place and even tried to kidnap her.” “Well, I won’t anymore. How’s that?” “If promises were actually binding, there would be no point to having cops.” “Do you want to turn yourself in with me, then? No-Lights Reckless Rider?” Ugh… She had no answer for that taunt, and he smirked, very pleased with himself. “In the end, both you and I are outcasts of society. I’m not saying we should get along. Let’s just struggle and rage on the dark side of town—that’s all.” Shijima turned on his heel and dragged himself, cracked bones and all, away from the spot. As he went, he gave Celty one of the answers she sought. “I’m almost done with Yukihiko Natsugawara. Once that’s finished, I’ll hand him over to you, alive.” Once Shijima was gone, Celty was left to stare at her own hands. A tiny tendril of shadow thinner than a strand of hair stretched from her wrist and connected to the street, where it continued to lengthen endlessly. There we go. I’ve snuck a little piece of shadow onto his shoelace. I don’t know what he plans to do with Yukihiko Natsugawara, but I’m going to find Shijima’s hideout before that happens and rescue the boy. Or…abduct him? Why did Yukihiko Natsugawara choose to cozy up to such a creepy guy anyway…? Saitama Prefecture Foreign gentlemen in black suits covertly filmed the interaction between the Headless Rider and the young man. They shared curious glances. “Who’s that kid?” “What were they talking about? First it looked like the rider punched him, and then they were shaking hands.” “The guy was laughing, it seemed like…and the rider used that shadow power right in the open.” “Yeah… It might have been an empty alley, but still… Unless it’s the nature of their relationship that she can afford to easily show it off?” “Perhaps the punch was some kind of test. He was talking with someone on the phone just beforehand.” Because their assumption was that the Headless Rider’s shadow was the latest technology from the Natsugawara Group, they were only confusing themselves more. They alternated between overthinking and grasping at straws. Despite not realizing that they were on the wrong track, they made plans for their next move. “Just in case, seize everyone who appears to have close ties to the rider. They might serve as hostages. We should try to pry information out of them.” Ikebukuro—parking lot outside Russia Sushi There was a paid parking lot across the street past Russia Sushi. A young hoodlum sat inside a van, watching from a distance. He was reporting in to Yukihiko. “That’s it, Mr. Natsugawara.” “Good. Nice work,” Yukihiko said, confirming that the van they pointed out was the same one that the high schoolers had gotten into earlier. He removed several ten-thousand-yen bills from his wallet and tossed them to the ground at the hoodlum’s feet. “Heh-heh-heh, thanks,” the hoodlum laughed, his cheek twitching. He bent down to pick up the bills. Yukihiko turned away from the man to look at the van. From the oddly decorated sushi restaurant on the corner across the way came a loud, deep but bright voice. “Ohhh! You come again!” Drawn by the voice, he saw the large restaurant employee seeing off a group of several guests. “You all full, boss? Full stomach, full dreams, then your happiness share to the neighbor, ya? You want to take souvenir? We have special price right now. What is price, you say? Don’t be silly—of course it has rice. It comes locked in special treasure chest with no hinge. That is eggshell. You get egg sushi and crab sushi, packed like sardines in cardboard box.” “…Uh…how many tens of thousands of yen does this ‘souvenir’ cost…?” “Thanks for the meal.” “That was really good.” The three teenagers—Kuon, Yahiro and Himeka—left the restaurant with a wave for Simon, the restaurant worker, who was giving them a very hard pitch. Himeka waited until Togusa came out last and said, “Thank you so much, Mr. Togusa.” Togusa shrugged it off with a casual wave. “Nah, don’t even mention it. Paying a single five-hundred-yen coin for an entire dinner, tax included? No sushi place has prices like these.” After leaving Sonohara-dou, Togusa had driven Yahiro to where he was meeting Kuon and Himeka. At that point, Togusa had said, “Well, hell, if you guys are getting dinner, I’ll pay. I still haven’t made good on your help with the car the other day anyway.” Because Russia Sushi was right in the area, they had dinner there. “I had no idea what fish a lot of them were… And what was that Borscht Roll on the menu…?” wondered Kuon, looking a bit queasy. “Well,” Togusa said, going back to Himeka’s gratitude, “from my perspective, I feel so bad for my poor van when she’s driving around the same people all the time! Kadota’s one thing, but Yumasaki and Karisawa keep leaving their stuff…” He thought of the stacks of manga in the back seat and sighed. However, his downcast mood lasted only a moment, replaced by a glint in his eye. “Plus, it’s part of my duty as one of the single-digit members of Ruri’s fan club to explain what makes her so great to the younger generation. A piece or two of sushi is a cheap price to pay for that opportunity.” “Well, I feel like I learned a lot. When I was in elementary school, I always thought that Ruri Hijiribe was just a very mystical person and wanted to know more,” Kuon said. “Exactly, man, you get it!” Togusa replied, happily taking Kuon’s facetious statement at face value. Under his breath, Yahiro asked Himeka, “Was that too much? Sorry to drag you along for all that.” “Oh, I’m fine. I like Ruri Hijiribe, too, you know. I had fun.” “Ah, okay. That’s good to hear,” Yahiro said, relieved that he wasn’t at odds with society on this one. Topics like Ruri Hijiribe that could be shared with a great many people were good to know about. He felt truly envious of her; how incredible one must be, to be beloved by so many people at once. The three high schoolers piled into the back seat, and the sliding door automatically rolled shut behind them. As Togusa started to drive away, Kuon chose to bring up a different subject. “…By the way, you mentioned it briefly earlier, but did I hear that there was an SD card in the shark tooth you got, Yahiro?” “Yeah. This is it…” He pulled the micro SD card out of his pocket. He’d glued the tooth back together, keeping the card separate. “Hmm…same brand as mine,” Kuon muttered. “The same?” Yahiro asked. “Er, yeah… Well, the truth is…there was an SD card in the box I got, too.” “Oh, the one you said you couldn’t put on your blog?” “That’s the one. Did you take a look at the data on the card? What was it?” Yahiro made a face. “Well…the thing is, I don’t have a device that can read it…and it doesn’t work with my smartphone, it seems…” “We can use my tablet to read it. You can stick a micro card right in there, no adapter needed.” Kuon pulled the tablet out of his bag and inserted the card. In his head, he was thinking, It’d probably be bad if Himeka just sees a huge list of porn on it, like with mine…but then again, I’d be curious to see how she reacts to that… Instead, however, the only file shown was a single program. “What is this…? I’ve never seen this program before… Doesn’t seem like it’s a virus, but you never know…,” Kuon muttered. As Kuon tinkered with the file, Yahiro kept his gaze firmly to the rear window of the van. “What’s wrong?” Himeka asked. “I think…someone’s following our car,” Yahiro answered. “Huh?” Togusa and Kuon both stopped what they were doing to listen in. “Earlier today, I couldn’t help but notice that there were a bunch of people around Sonohara-dou who seemed extremely tense… And before we got into the car just now, some people were watching us from afar.” Yahiro hadn’t known that Akabayashi’s men were staking out Sonohara-dou—he merely felt their attention on him, and his cautious instincts told him to be on the lookout for an attack. “Why does it seem like every time you take a ride in my van, you find someone dangerous…? Like that street attacker recently.” Togusa groaned. Yahiro apologetically explained, “Well, this time it doesn’t seem like one person… Oh, maybe there’s an extra car…?” “Wait, you’re talking about cars? Oh…actually, that car has been following me for a little bit…” Togusa grunted. Out of caution, he took an unplanned turn down a side route. Despite being a small alley that would normally not see any traffic, multiple vehicles followed them in. “Shit…what do they want…? Don’t tell me Izumii didn’t learn his lesson last time and is coming around again,” Togusa growled, assuming this was a personal grudge involving him. He started to plan out how he could let the high schoolers escape. “Hang on—I’m gonna head for a police station with a parking lot, where you guys can… Wha—?!” Another car appeared at the corner just ahead, turning in diagonally to block the van inside the narrow alley. “Tch!” He tried to back up in a hurry, but another car was already behind them. They were totally blocked off. Togusa clenched his jaw, reached for the umbrella on the passenger seat to use as a weapon, and made to get out of the car. “Listen up—I’ll keep them busy. You find a way to esc…” But the words caught in his throat when he turned back to look at them. All he saw was Yahiro as Snake Hands, wrapped in black shadow, already in the act of opening the door. “Hey, Yahiro…,” Saburo said in an attempt to stop him. But then he recalled something he’d said to Anri the other day: “Yahiro’s kind of like Celty; he’ll rush off on his own.” It didn’t seem like he was going to get anywhere with the younger boy. “…Aaah, dammit! Hang on—I’ll go with you! Don’t do anything crazy!” “Oh, someone’s comi… What the hell?” Natsugawara clenched his hammer, starting to disembark once he saw the van stop—but he did not expect the man who emerged first. It was utter shadow, as if it had sucked in the surrounding light. The fluttering darkness made it look like a surface that had been ripped straight out of the world, offering a glimpse through to the nothingness behind it, all in the shape of a person. One of the thugs, unable to process the situation, rushed at the shadow in a confused state, deciding to just do what came naturally and swing his bat. But the next moment, the bat was wrenched from his hands, and the end of it was slammed directly under his nose. The ugly sound this produced filled the alley, and the man passed out, bleeding from the nose and mouth. “Wh…wh-wha…?” Natsugawara began to tremble. He had to clench his hammer to summon the courage to keep going. No matter how many times he squeezed it, however, he couldn’t stop the trembling. The hypnosis effect of the supposedly cursed Bannanjin completely evaporated in the presence of what might be called a true demon—and Yukihiko Natsugawara was instantly returned to being a small, petty excuse for a villain. That was when the real monster began to use its snake hands on Yukihiko and the other terrified members of his gang. Near the entrance to the alley, the men in the black car blocking the road watched the chaos unfold. “This is insane… Is he…using the same kind of Shadow Ghost as the magician rider…?” “Is he a part of the Natsugawara Group, too?!” “What do you think? Should we pull out?” “…We can’t have Yukihiko Natsugawara being captured. Help him escape. Do nothing else.” The foreign men belonging to the Natsugawara Group’s rival organization were perturbed by recent developments, but they decided to stick to their previously established plan. Heaven’s Slave members scattered to the wind in the face of overwhelming violence, and the foreign men decided to fire warning shots to stop anyone who would chase after them. In order to intimidate the monster standing next to the van, they pointed their rifle barrel at the rear window, taking aim through the scope. The van that had blocked the rear part of the alley was already gone. Terrified by the strength of the monster that appeared from the van, the driver had left his companions behind and peeled off. Because the hoodlums had run down the side alley, the shot from the larger street, where the shooter sat, was nice and clean. “All right…ready to fire,” said the sniper in the back seat in English. He aimed at a strange sticker on the rear window of the target van and pulled the trigger. He had no idea that the lead bullet he fired would unleash an even greater monster. “Whoa!!” A sharp, shattering sound filled the van; Kuon covered Himeka’s head and hunched over her. “What was that? What happened?!” The door opened, and Yahiro hurriedly checked out the inside. “A gun! The window’s been shot!” “What?!” The rear window had spiderweb cracks all over it, with a small hole gouged in the center of the effect. The bullet had passed through the interior of the van because there was a similar hole near the top of the front windshield, on the passenger side. “H-hey, we don’t wanna deal with guns, Yahiro! C’mon, let’s get outta here! Call Mr. Togusa back! We can reverse and turn down the side alley… Uh…wha…?” Kuon stammered, his panic giving way as he noticed something was wrong. Togusa had returned inside the van through the driver’s side door, but he froze in place in his seat as his eyes locked on to the bullet hole in the rear window glass. His soul had left his body. The teens assumed that it was shock at the damage to his beloved car. Only Yahiro noticed the extra detail. The location of that shot… Around the hole, warped and twisted, was some kind of pattern, and Yahiro recognized what it was: a now-warped sticker of a mascot character based on Ruri Hijiribe. Whether intentional or by accident, the bullet had passed right through the brain of the Ruri Hijiribe illustration. After several seconds of silence, something took possession over Togusa’s soulless body. He reached for the stick, yanked it into reverse, and slammed on the gas pedal. Instantly, everyone else inside the van lurched. “Wh-wh-whoa! What?! What?!” “…!” Kuon tumbled to the floor of the van, cradling his tablet, while Himeka fell sideways onto the seat, with Yahiro huddling over her. It felt like they were on a roller coaster making a sudden shift in speed. While Kuon and Himeka were taken by surprise, only Yahiro understood the situation unfolding. If he were to abbreviate various complex emotional movements and reasonings, the current situation could be summed up in one simple statement. Saburo Togusa had snapped. “Good, the shadow user’s back inside the car.” “The driver’s pulled back, too. Let’s make sure the Heaven’s Slave guys are… Huh?” “What?” The attackers in suits noticed at this point that something was wrong with the van. First, it backed up at an abnormal speed; then it started racing forward again, blazing through the alley at a speed over sixty miles per hour. “That’s crazy…,” the sniper muttered. The next instant, they were forced to flee the spot even faster than Heaven’s Slave had. Ikebukuro There was one more. Saburo Togusa’s road rage caused another power to awaken. This was a very mighty power caused by the complex entanglement of various elements. A guardian of the law, emitting engine exhaust, backed by the power of government authority. A power in the form of a man—but so terrible that the nonhuman Celty Sturluson considered him a monster. “Station to all officers. We have two vehicles in a chase along the Kawagoe Highway toward Saitama. Reports of occasional gunfire from the lead vehicle. Proceed with all haste,” came the message over the radio. It was a virtually unthinkable situation in modern Japanese traffic. The man listening to the message narrowed his eyes, staring through sunglasses, and replied, “Ten-four. I’m on my way.” He straddled his police motorcycle and yanked on the handles. A number of dark shadows burst forth from the black of night. And with his trusty white partner beneath him, the man launched himself out into that blackness. He was prepared to execute the justice he believed in. That reason alone was enough to risk his life. Meanwhile—shopping mall construction site, Saitama Prefecture Here we are. Celty Sturluson gazed up at a massive construction site across the street. It was a major shopping mall that was nearly complete, just waiting for its tenants to enter the premises and open for business. The advertisements were already out in full force on TV, promising a “Brand-new Mega-giga-tera-peta-level Mall!” which sounded like gibberish. When they promised a new movie theater as well, it was tempting enough that Celty wondered, Would I be allowed inside with my helmet on? If it’s blocking the view for the people behind me, I can take it off… She had followed the shadow string she stuck on Shijima to this shopping mall. The string was clearly heading inside the building, indicating that he was here. I don’t know if Yukihiko Natsugawara is being held in here or not, but I should at least find a clue. If needed, maybe I can nick a cell phone or computer… No. There’s a good chance that Yukihiko’s working with Shijima of his own accord. Shijima just happens to think of him as a tool, since he mentioned being done with him or whatever that was, Celty thought, pitying the boy she’d only seen in photographs. She pulled Shooter over to a corner of the parking lot. Work on the mall was paused at the moment due to delays in the interior contracts with tenants and other paperwork, so there wasn’t much reason for anyone to go in or out aside from security. And the security guards simply showed up at a specified time, did a single round, then left. She’d witnessed the security company’s car leaving the lot earlier. Are they simply evading the security patrol, or did they buy them off…? She wondered why Shijima would choose such a place for his hideout, and she found the answer when she noticed that the sign outside the building site said, DEVELOPMENT: SHIJIMA CONSTRUCTION. At the very least, I know someone’s got a rifle with a sound suppressor on it. That’s got to be the biggest danger to watch out for… She kept herself shrouded in a mist of shadow, remaining in darkness even as she approached the building. However, Celty did not yet realize that she had already been under observation since before arriving at this location. “…A shopping mall?” With raised eyebrows, the enemies of the Natsugawara Group received the report that the magician rider had gone into a mall under construction. “It’s not far away.” “And it’s not all that far from the Natsugawara mansion. Maybe the rider’s making contact with someone.” A few minutes later, another report added corroborating evidence. “…! I knew it. My guess was right.” The leader grinned, certain in the accuracy of his foresight, and rose from his seat. “I just received word that someone from the Natsugawara family went inside through a different entrance. Yes, it was Target D, who evaded our trackers outside of school and home. That settles it.” He slapped the table and boomed, “All available field agents, head to this spot at once. But don’t draw any attention before anything happens. Once we’ve taken care of that circus performer, we’ll retrieve the Shadow Ghost and withdraw before the police arrive. And just in case, carry out the abductions of the Sonohara-dou owner and others at once. “If all goes well, we’ll have both a Natsugawara member and their technology… Won’t that be fun?” Several minutes later, Ikebukuro “You know that rider in black, don’t you?” asked a voice in flat, unaffected Japanese, causing Tom and Shizuo to stop in their tracks. They had finished their rounds and were heading back to the office, walking down a quieter street when about ten men, all of them at least six feet tall, suddenly appeared and surrounded the two. “…Who are you guys?” asked Shizuo, narrowing his eyes with displeasure at the menace in their demeanor. Tom could sense the possibility of bad outcomes ahead. He tried to answer without provoking either the men or Shizuo. “Well enough to trade a few words if we run into each other, I’d say. Are you with the media? Because we don’t have any information that hasn’t already been on TV. You’d be better off asking someone else.” “We’ll be the ones to determine the depth of your relationship. Come with us,” said one of the large men dressed in black, pulling out a knife and pressing it to Tom’s stomach at an angle that kept it hidden from any other eyes. “And if you try to raise hell, you know what’ll happe— Gublaaah?!” He was that close to finishing the sentence before he flew a hundred feet down the road. “?!” The blow from the man in the bartender’s vest seemed to overturn everything they knew about physics, and it left the rest of the large men frozen on the spot. If they were professional mercenaries, they might have succeeded at reacting in a calm and rational manner. Unfortunately for them, they were hardly better than hooligans, hired by the Natsugawara Group’s enemies to be disposable foot soldiers. “I ain’t all that smart…but I’ve figured out one thing,” growled Shizuo in a voice from the depths of hell. He stared in a circle around him. “You’re Tom’s enemies, Celty’s enemies, and mine, too.” Anyone else walking the streets in the vicinity understood implicitly that Shizuo Heiwajima was around when they saw the man fly down the street. Some quickly scampered away from the scene, and others gathered to watch from a comfortable distance. Amid the attention, Shizuo clenched his fists and roared at the men, all of whom were rooted to the spot, totally intimidated. “Which means you gotta be prepared to die three times!” Sonohara-dou Jan-Jaka-Jan, who’d been keeping their eyes on the area, were busy capturing the members of Heaven’s Slave who’d still been after Anri. And inside Sonohara-dou, a blond woman, who seemed like nothing but a curious foreign visitor, gazed at the various items on the shelves, which seemed to exist in a strange middle ground between antiques and secondhand items. However, this woman was another disposable foot soldier hired by the Natsugawara Group’s enemies. These people assumed they were elites, not interchangeable pawns; they simply didn’t realize that ever since the helicopter-downing incident two years ago, their parent company had considered them a lost cause. The woman’s mission was to inject the owner of Sonohara-dou with a tranquilizer, then pull her into the group’s car out front the moment she fell unconscious. I feel sorry for this girl, but I’ve got to do this for the sake of payme…for the sake of the mission, she thought, trying to convince herself that this was for a more noble purpose than money. She inched closer to the woman behind the counter. The moment the young woman turned around to take something down from the shelves on the wall behind the counter, the agent silently made her move. “Umm…what is that syringe for…?” “It’s a tranquilizer…Mother…” Less than a minute later, the shop was occupied by only Anri and a faithful child who had fallen victim to the self-defense system of the Saika that made its home in Anri’s body. The woman’s eyes were completely bloodshot, while Anri’s glowed crimson, compelling the attacker to answer truthfully. As for Anri herself, she didn’t understand the situation surrounding her. All she knew was that she’d have to close up the shop early in order to question the woman. Not that it made a big difference. There were no other customers in the building, and Anri had been planning to close up shop once the woman left anyway. Inside a car The black car headed for the mall construction site. In the back seat, the leader of the group was flustered. “…What does that mean?” “What’s the matter?” asked another man. “I’ve lost contact with the men who went to retrieve the guy in the bartender’s vest and the one with the dreads. And Orca, who was supposed to go after Sonohara-dou’s owner, hasn’t been in contact with her transport team. She’s vanished.” “…That’s an ominous sign. What should we do?” another said, suspecting a trap. The leader shook his head. “Either way, if those members have been captured, withdrawing only makes our activities more difficult. If we don’t at least manage to recover a piece of that magician rider’s Shadow Ghost now, while we’ve got everyone together, we really are going to be left out to dry.” Of course, the leader had no idea that the company considered his team to be nothing but disposable pawns to begin with. “The rider’s left the bike outside. At a bare minimum, we can at least take that with us.” Kawagoe Highway “Dammit! What’s up with that van?! We’re at our max speed already!” “That’s not standard speed for a van like that! He’s tuned it up!” All members of the car, from the driver to the sniper, looked pale and nervous as the decorated van roared after them with tremendous speed. “Can’t you shoot the driver?!” “Not at that speed! I—I mean, I’ve been timing it out and trying to hit him, but it feels like the driver’s actually dodging the shots!” “Don’t be stupid! Only a monster could do something like that!” The men were in a panic overall, but the one sitting in the passenger seat still had enough sense to call for backup on his phone. That was when he realized that they’d received their next encoded instructions. “We have orders! The magician rider’s at a shopping mall near the hideout, and all available units are to meet there! We’ll have the numbers to fight back!” Inside the mall I don’t see him, but the shadow string continues in this direction… Celty was on the second floor of the mall, deftly using her shadow to stay hidden, following the string she’d attached to Shijima’s shoe. The interior of the mall wasn’t engulfed in total darkness; there were emergency lights installed already, and a number of night-lights were around for construction or security purposes, too. This wasn’t enough to light up the whole structure, though; more than two-thirds of the mall was still in the dark. If they’re using this place as a hangout, you’d think they would at least have some lights on… Celty was curious about the utter silence around her, but she kept moving regardless. Eventually, she noticed that the string was leading to a store that was almost entirely furnished. That must be it. Careful, Celty, careful… She delicately manipulated her shadow to climb up the wall and then the ceiling like a spider. She used this angle to peer down into the shop—but there was not a single shape moving inside. “Where are they…?” The company agents slipped inside through multiple entrances and spread out through the mall, searching for the magician rider and Target D. Although they were covering a large area with several teams of multiple members, the mall was so large that they couldn’t cover it entirely. After dispersing from the first through third floors, the teams cut off contact and silently proceeded forward. Neither Celty nor the company agents, however, were aware that there was one person within the mall tracking everything both sides were doing. As soon as she realized she was looking at a shoe store, Celty had a bad premonition. Don’t tell me… She steadily followed the thread to a spot next to a sign inside the shop that was modeled to look like a shoe—and atop the display stand, Shijima’s discarded sneaker. He got me! Is it a trap?! Did he know what I was doing?! She grabbed the shoe in a panic, then heard a crumpling sound, realizing that there was a scrap of paper inside it. …? Celty turned on her smartphone light to read the writing on the paper. “Sorry about this. The part about indiscriminately shooting civilians was just a lie. I don’t have any guns.” What? Celty thought, taken aback. Then she realized that the message continued. “I realize it’s not much of an apology, but to make amends, I’ll introduce you to the guys who do have the guns. They’re my enemies and probably your enemies, too. Anyway, good luck.” Pardon? She was having difficulty understanding what he meant by this. “I meant it when I said thanks for punching me…and sorry for using you.” Just as Celty finished reading the message, bright light filled the mall. All the interior lighting turned on at once, clearing away the darkness that had previously cloaked the shop. What’s going on?! She hurried outside, and that was when she encountered the very people mentioned in the note. Celty poked her head over the open railing and met the stares of many men spread out over the first and third floors. Several of them had taken off night vision goggles due to the sudden influx of light—and they were all carrying pistols, assault rifles, submachine guns, and other firearms of the like. …Umm…this is still Japan, right? Celty wondered, losing her grip on reality for just a brief moment. “There she is! It’s her!” “Capture her!” The men roared, and the mall was suddenly full of gunshots and the sound of silenced bullets slicing air. As she retreated back into the shoe store, Celty wailed to herself, But I was watching out for guns after being sniped last night! I was watching out for this…! I just didn’t realize I was dealing with such a huge and heavily armed group! Electrical utility room, mall basement “All right, time to begin the opening sale. Let’s make it a fireworks show to remember.” Shijima was the one who had remotely turned on the mall lights. He leisurely strolled toward the exit. Unfortunately, a gun-toting company agent promptly peered around the corner up ahead. “…” Shijima looked worried about the possibility of trouble, but it was short-lived. The man suddenly lurched forward and toppled to the floor. Jami’s face emerged from the corner just behind him. “Yoo-hoo, Mr. Shijima. That was a close one!” He grinned. Shijima sighed. “You startled me on purpose.” “Yeah!” “Piece of crap…,” he muttered back at Jami. “You know, it’s honestly kind of shocking to me that you called me a piece of crap.” “Shut up.” Around the corner were a number of other armed men, all unconscious. They didn’t seem likely to wake up anytime soon. Certain that this was Jami’s doing, Shijima asked the lackadaisical boy, “Aren’t you scared of the guys with guns?” “Depends on who’s using them. These guys weren’t scary.” “…But you’re scared of Shizuo?” “That’s because he’s not a person. He’s totally out of my league. At least for now…but if I keep working out, I might be able to stand a chance in the future…or not… What do you think?” Jami cackled. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well? What are we doing now, Mr. Shijima?” “Nothing. We’re leaving,” Shijima said, staring coldly at nothing in particular. He continued muttering to himself. “I’ve finished dousing the place in enough gasoline.” Exterior, shopping mall “Hmm…? Did you hear gunshots?” The group of men working on taking away the black motorcycle in the corner of the parking lot were distracted by the sound of percussive gunfire from inside the mall. Most of the guns the company agents were equipped with had suppressors, but some of them were naked. Assuming that someone had panicked and fired, it seemed likely this would only speed up the police’s eventual arrival at the scene. But these men were not the most sensitive ones to gunfire. “C’mon—let’s hurry and take this… Aaaaahh!!” The bike reacted so suddenly that it seemed like it could only have been in reaction to the shots. It dispersed like smoke—but in the next moment, there was a headless horse standing before them. “What…the…? Grlf!!” Before they could even process what they were looking at, the doomed horse thieves were hit with a vicious kick and knocked unconscious. Shooter, now in horse form, rushed off toward its master. Like a declaration that it was said master’s sword and shield, all in one. And at that precise moment, another car raced into the parking lot at ferocious speed. It was the vehicle of the sniper team, on the run from Togusa’s van. “Okay, we made it! That’s one of our cars!” “Hurry up and find them! Dammit…crazy van… I’m gonna shoot that thing up, anime decals and all!” “Yeah! ******!” “****!” Suddenly feeling emboldened, the agents in the car uttered a string of untranslatable English profanity and slang. They did not rejoin their comrades, however. A headless horse suddenly appeared in the driver’s line of sight. “Aaaaaahhh!!” This impossible vision struck fear into the driver’s heart, and he yanked the wheel to the side at full speed. “Aaaaaaahhh!!” The car turned and rolled, tumbling wildly, until it smashed into the parking lot’s light pole. “Rrg…urgh…” The sniper crawled, dazed, out of the upside-down car. A shadow flitted overhead, and then something stomped down on his head. “Gbgh!” “Does that hurt…? You son of a bitch…” It was Saburo Togusa, his voice as cold as a practiced killer’s while his features were twisted with rage. “You killed Ruri, didn’t you?” “Ruri…? Wh-who?” the sniper asked. He couldn’t have killed anyone with the trajectory of his shot. Then his body was dragged out the rest of the way and slammed faceup against the ground. His thoughts reeled with pain and confusion. “Gah!” “Who gave you the right to not know who Ruri is?” The driver straddled the man’s chest and began to punch him in the face so hard his fists might have broken. “What you shot was a part of Ruri’s soul… It was entrusted…to me…and you shattered her soul right before my eyes! You ruined her! Die! I will avenge Ruri!” Saburo shouted, which the sniper would not have understood, even if he weren’t about to fall unconscious. Saburo was furious enough to keep punching the sniper or perhaps even get back into his car and run it over his face. But someone else rushed in and put him in a full nelson, shouting, “Calm down, Saburo!” “Let go, Yahiro! He killed Ruri… He killed Ruriiii!” “Saburo! If you get arrested over Ruri, it’s only going to make her sad! It’d be, like, a scandal…yeah! It’ll be a huge scandal!” “…” The effect of the word scandal was immediate and dramatic. Togusa rose to his feet, tears streaming from his eyes. “…You’re right. Sorry. And it’s not like killing him is going to bring back that piece of Ruri’s soul…” He literally thinks that sticker has her soul inside of it, Yahiro realized, not daring to speak aloud. Instead, he patted Togusa’s shoulder. “…What in the world am I looking at?” wondered Himeka, poking her head out of the car to see Yahiro in Snake Hands form, consoling a distraught Saburo. Meanwhile, Kuon was pale-faced on the floor between seats, desperately trying to hold back the urge to vomit. “I’m never…riding in Mr. Togusa’s van again…” “…You’ve really screwed things up, haven’t you?” said a voice over Saburo’s shoulder, just as he was finally calming down for good. “……!” Saburo realized he recognized the voice and slowly turned around. It was an incredibly menacing traffic officer in sunglasses, riding a white motorcycle. He was accompanied by a number of other officers, who presumably were under his wing. Some of them were even rescuing the men in suits from the overturned car. “I’ve called in an ambulance and a fire truck already… So, Togusa…I always had a feeling you’d end up doing this, and I’ll be damned if you haven’t… You might get more than just a suspended license for this…” “K…K-K-K… Officer Kuzuhara…,” Saburo stammered, tears streaming, now joined by huge beads of sweat on his forehead. Startled by the sudden appearance of the traffic police, Yahiro could only look back and forth between the two without a word. “…Hmm? Who’s this guy?” asked Kuzuhara, noticing Yahiro at last. He gave the boy a careful examination. “That black stuff looks an awful lot like what that monster produces… Maybe we should have a talk…,” he growled.
Chapter 59
35 min read