"Magic?"
"What kind of prank is this?"
In broad daylight... no, in the brightly lit building, 'running into ghosts', whether it was the two underlings, the executive, or even the kumicho Inoue Sugaya, they were all filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
The scene before them was too bizarre, but on one hand, they had been taught 'science' since they were young and didn't believe in ghosts or gods deep down; on the other hand, the stark white light from above, plus the four of them, prevented them from screaming on the spot.
As for the young man Tanimura Wataru, who had been beaten up, he was thrown at the door by the two underlings.
These 'women' pouring in through the kumicho's office door ignored Tanimura Wataru, who was dragging his body and trying to crawl to the side, and just floated straight towards them.
Their disheveled hair hanging down like seaweed, their tattered and decayed clothes, and this light, floating way of moving... The Ring was already on its fifth movie; how could the people of the island nation not recognize this classic look?
"Ku... Kumicho, look at the ground!"
While continuously backing away, one of the 'Zanshi-gumi' underlings noticed the ground and trembled.
"No shadows!"
?!
Inoue Sugaya, who had stood up behind the office desk, looked upon hearing this, and sure enough, he saw no shadows under these figures' feet.
Impossible!
Judging by the reactions of the others, this was definitely not a one-person hallucination.
So the question was, whether it was magic or something else, why were there no shadows?
Instead of believing that 'holographic projection' technology had appeared in his office, Inoue Sugaya was more willing to believe that these things before him were... evil spirits.
"Stop,"
"Don't panic!"
The familiar roar made the three retreating yakuza members stop. Inoue Sugaya pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Are those things in your coats fire pokers?"
That's right—
After being reprimanded by the kumicho, the two underlings came to their senses.
Swish.
Reaching into their coats,
the two Zanshi-gumi underlings pulled out the weapons hidden in their holsters.
"Take them out."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
I don't care if you're an evil spirit or a god, have a taste of 'American iaijutsu' first.
A continuous barrage of gunshots rang out, echoing through the office, making one's eardrums ache! The whistling metal bullets were enough to pierce any flesh and blood, making tigers submit and lions bow.
But—
"No effect?!"
The bullets passed through these 'evil spirits' without any resistance, only leaving behind empty 'ripples' on their bodies, not even enough to make them pause.
Click, click, click.
As the trigger clicked empty, the faces of the two Zanshi-gumi underlings turned pale.
Most of their courage was built on their weapons.
Once they discovered that the guns in their hands were useless, the courage to bully the weak quickly evaporated.
Pow! x2
Before the two underlings could retreat again, a huge force suddenly pushed them from behind, sending them stumbling forward.
?!
The one who had pushed the two out,
was none other than their 'big brother' in charge, the Zanshi-gumi executive.
"Ah~~"
"Big brother, you—"
The two underlings who had subconsciously turned around were both shocked and angry. Before they could say anything more, the 'evil spirits' pouring into the office instinctively reached out their arms to the two who had stumbled towards them.
Thud, thud!
Entangled by the 'evil spirits' using both hands and feet, the two underlings immediately fell down stiffly.
They desperately wanted to get up, or to drive away the 'evil spirits' on them. But to their horror, they found themselves unable to move, as if their bodies no longer belonged to them. They could only watch as these 'evil spirits' wrapped around them, their twisted limbs roaming over their bodies, their faces, ears, eyeballs!!
They wanted to struggle, but couldn't even move a finger.
They wanted to scream, but their throats couldn't make a sound.
It was simply a waking nightmare!
Wetness began to spread on the two underlings' pants, mixed with a foul stench.
"Hongo!"
Amidst Inoue Sugaya's cry of alarm, the remaining executive suddenly pulled out a short sword from his waist and charged into the gap between the 'evil spirits'.
There was no choice; this office only had one door. To live, he had to fight.
I'll risk it!
Although these 'evil spirits' looked terrifying, they weren't particularly fast, and they weren't immune to damage. The executive had seen it clearly: when the bullets passed through these 'evil spirits', their bodies would briefly show empty holes.
Then, as long as I don't get touched...
Swish.
Nimbly passing between two 'evil spirits', the executive Hongo raised the short sword in his hand and slashed fiercely at the 'evil spirit' blocking his escape route.
Hachiman Daibosatsu, God, Allah... bless me!
A series of prayers flashed through his mind as Hongo's short sword fell.
Rip—
It was unknown whether some deity had answered his prayer, or if the 'ferocity' that Hongo had unleashed had an effect, or if it was simply a characteristic of the 'evil spirit'.
The evil spirit blocking his path was actually split in two by the short sword!
It's working!
This ecstatic thought flashed through his mind. Seeing the door right in front of him, Hongo pushed off with his feet.
Good, I'll charge through in one go...?!
The next second, his whole body stiffened, and the charging Hongo lost his balance.
He flew forward stiffly, thudding hard against the wall next to the door, his head bleeding.
His only movable eye looked behind him; the two writhing upper and lower halves of the 'evil spirit' were holding him firmly. At the same time, new 'limbs' were constantly growing from the severed sections. The 'evil spirit' he had cut apart had turned from one into two in the blink of an eye.
Ah, that's right.
This is how evil spirits should be... it's over.
"You... you all..."
"Stop, don't come over!"
"I'll give you money, no, you must want offerings, right? I'll give you, anything—"
In the simply yet luxuriously decorated office, Inoue Sugaya's pleas for mercy came to an abrupt end. Several 'evil spirits' had already surrounded him, instantly robbing him of control over his body.
...
For a moment,
the entire kumicho's office of the Zanshi-gumi fell into a strange, deathly silence.
Tap, tap, tap.
The silence didn't last long. The sound of unhurried footsteps approached.
The three underlings lying on the floor and the motionless Kumicho Inoue turned their eyes to see a figure in a wide-sleeved robe walking in from the office door.
He, or she, wore a simple, wide kariginu, a towering black eboshi, a magatama pendant at their waist, and geta on their feet. Excluding the hat, they looked to be about 1.4 meters tall. A white cloth hanging from the front of the hat covered their face, with only the stark black character for 'Three' on the white cloth being exceptionally conspicuous.
The person turned their head, seeming to 'look around', and slightly lifted the... stone? in their right hand.
!!
Silently, the two organization underlings who had fallen first began to convulse violently!
Their features twisted to the extreme, as if they had seen some unspeakable great horror. Their mouths were agape enough to fit a fist, and blood seeped from their wide-open eye sockets.
The next second,
two humanoid phantoms flew out of their bodies.
Even the most exaggerated abstract painting could hardly describe the scene: two phantoms resembling the underlings on the floor were stretched by an invisible hand, with slender limbs and terrified features... they were helplessly absorbed into the stone in the mysterious person's hand.
???
Sweat, tears, snot, urine, feces... all organs capable of releasing fluids were frantically excreting.
If he could, Inoue Sugaya would give everything he had... no, he would be a dog, he would eat shit on the spot! As long as they didn't kill him, didn't suck out his soul, he was willing to—
However, there were no ifs. As the mysterious person slightly 'turned their head', the 'Three' on the cloth curtain rapidly enlarged in Inoue Sugaya's eyes, and countless figures rushed towards him from the darkness!
These figures were so familiar, all of them people he had caused the deaths of after becoming the kumicho of the Zanshi-gumi.
Among them was... Akemi!
"Spare..."
Thud.
The final plea for mercy was not spoken.
Inoue Sugaya fell forward into the filth, the light in his pupils rapidly fading.
Done.
The mysterious person was, of course, Akiyoshi Yuu.
Ninjutsu, even D-rank, could easily play these yakuza members to death.
D-rank Genjutsu: Haze Clone Jutsu
This jutsu could create illusions that had no killing power, but they would continuously split when attacked.
That's right, it was the jutsu that the Oboro shinobi used to wear down Team 7 in the Chunin Exams.
Although it was not lethal, even the three members of Team 7 were flustered when faced with the black figures closing in from all directions. How could these yakuza members, who were just 'ordinary people', possibly deal with it?
Combined with Genjutsu: Paralysis Jutsu, it was easy to create a scene of 'evil spirit' possession.
As for the ninjutsu used to kill them, it was actually 'Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion - Hell Viewing Jutsu'.
Originally, this genjutsu couldn't kill people, but that was only against superhumans who could use chakra to disrupt themselves and break the illusion.
For ordinary people without chakra, repeatedly facing the most terrifying thing in their hearts was no less powerful than being hit by 'Tsukuyomi'. It wasn't hard to understand that they could be scared to death.
The demise of the entire 'Zanshi-gumi' and the appearance of the 'superhuman' he was playing would be enough to keep the Tokyo police busy for a while. When they were free, Akiyoshi Yuu wouldn't mind 'finding something for them to do' again.
Hmm?
"This... lord,"
On the other side, Tanimura Wataru, who had 'escaped by a hair' due to his serious injuries, struggled to prostrate himself before Akiyoshi Yuu in a full dogeza!
"Are you... collecting souls?"
"I know the whereabouts of many sinful people, I can guide you."
Even ants cling to life, let alone humans.
If his sister Akemi hadn't been deceived, Tanimura Wataru would probably still be in university. To avenge his sister, he had tried every means possible, short of charging into this building with a gasoline can. Although he had fallen into the hands of the Zanshi-gumi, the sudden turn of events could be considered as him having 'gotten his revenge'. Naturally, he didn't want to die by having his soul sucked out.
"Guide me?"
In a hoarse, mocking voice, the mysterious person with their face hidden by a white cloth walked towards Tanimura Wataru.
"I don't need a guide."
Just as Tanimura Wataru's heart sank, the other person stopped in front of him.
"But, your soul is not suitable as nourishment for the lord's revival."
"How about this, raise your head—"
The mysterious person extended their left hand, holding a fingernail-sized stone between their fingers.
?
Just as Tanimura Wataru had raised his head, the other person roughly pressed the stone onto his forehead.
"Ah~~~~!!!"
The stone sank deep into his flesh.
An indescribable pain suddenly exploded in Tanimura Wataru's mind.
The intense pain made Tanimura Wataru instinctively roll on the ground, and finally, he couldn't help but stand up and howl at the sky—
"Awooo!"
?
"What am I..."
Looking down at his long-haired arms and the crescent-shaped nails on his five fingers, the horrified Tanimura Wataru, his pain now subsided, was stunned.
"I bestow upon you a portion of demonic power."
The hoarse voice of the mysterious person, who was only 1.4 meters tall, sounded.
"Go, hunt the souls of the most sinful for my lord. Remember, you must absorb the soul of one sinner every day, otherwise—"
"The Killing Stone will take your soul!"