Part 3: Chapter 2

   Yumiko ran into her classroom and managed to make it to her seat before the opening bell rang. Soon afterwards professor Ohara entered the classroom and looked over it with a calm face, just as usual. Yumiko had seen her crazy state that night in the CAI room, but even before that, the two had never gotten along. Looking down as if not to make eye contact with anyone, Ohara directed the students to go to the CAI room.
   The CAI room for a classical Japanese lesson? What does she intend to do there?
   From Yumiko's experience, the CAI system in Jusho High was only    used for science, math, and English. Why would they need computers to teach classical Japanese?
   Paying no attention to the dubious Yumiko, her classmates closed their books and stood up, leaving their pens at their desks. Yumiko instinctively looked around to see if Nakajima was in class, but his desk was clean, and it looked like he hadn't arrived at school yet.
   "He's after you. You should stay away for a while." All of a sudden, Yumiko remembered the words from the mysterious telephone conversation the night before. A bead of cold sweat ran down her neck from her temple to chest.
   "Hey, are you OK?" Yumiko's friend Kano Miyuki entered her spaced-out gaze. Yumiko's big black eyes were sparkling mischievously.
   "Hey now Yumiko, no cutting class."
   "No, I really don't feel well...."
   "Come on, let's go." Miyuki was oddly enthusiastic as she grabbed Yumiko's arm and pulled her up out of her seat. Right at that moment, Ohara came close to the two.
   "Ms. Shirasagi, you look a little pale. Do you need to take a rest in the infirmary?" She spoke in a voice that sounded a little bit too kind.
   "It's OK, professor. I'll be with her to make sure she's all right." With a grand gesture, Mikuki patted Yumiko on the shoulder. The other students ignored the exchange as they left the room. But Yumiko sensed that there was something unnatural about the way they moved.
   They're not acting normal!
   A shiver ran down Yumiko's spine, and Miyuki gripped her hand more tightly.
   "I'm OK, Miyuki. I can walk on my own." Despite her confident words, Yumiko's voice was shaking. She was determined to throw off Miyuki's grip and make a break for it as she left the classroom, but the minute she stepped out of the door, a throng of male students surrounded her.
   "Come on, let's go." As he urged Yumiko along, Takai's eyes wandered aimlessly through the air. Before she knew it, Yumiko was in the dead center of the throng of her classmates. Miyuki continued to hold her arm tightly. Her delicate frame belied the incredible strength of her grip.
   "Please, let go of me." As Yumiko opened her mouth to cry out, a handkerchief was thrust into her mouth to gag her. The students walked in file along the corridor, centered around Yumiko as she tried to escape.

   As soon as the class was inside the CAI room, Ohara quickly shut the door.
   Click.
   As if signaled by the sound of the lock, the students stopped moving. Finally released from Miyuki's grasp, Yumiko looked around the classroom and let out a shrill cry.
   It's just like it was that night!
   There were no chairs or tables in the classrom; Nakajima sat in a leather sofa in the middle of the room. There was a twinge of pity and regret in his face as he stared at Yumiko.
   Nakajima, why... Yumiko's lips moved as if pleading for an explanation.
   Looking straight at Yumiko, Nakajima slowly stood up and pointed at the sofa that he had been sitting in.
   "Today, this is your seat." His low murmur pierced Yumiko's soul. The events of that night vividly resurfaced in her mind.
    "No, I won't!" Unable to stand, Yumiko slumped to the floor. The many scratches on the linoleum tiles only too vividly reminded her of that evening. That night, Nakajima said that he offered Ohara to a demon. Was that for real? And now, was she going to be the next offering? Unable to run or get help, Yumiko started sobbing, and her tears trailed off her cheeks to the floor.
    Black vinyl high heels stepped on Yumiko's tears pooled on the ground. Nervously looking up, Yumiko saw Ohara looking down on her with an eerie smile on her face.
    "There's nothing to be afraid of. Come on, stand up." Holding out her hand, Ohara spoke in a soft, coaxing voice.
    "No! No!" Yumiko furiously shook her head, and looked to Nakajima as if seeking rescue.
    "It's too late now. There's no other way." Nakajima spoke as if trying to convince himself, and Yumiko listened in despair. Nakajima's narrow eyes turned to the host computer beyond the plate glass as their magnetic tapes began to spin. As if in time with the tape, the display in front of flashed in brilliant colors.
    "Prepare the sacrifice." There was no hesitation in Nakajima's voice as he gave the order. Yumiko saw several students approach her to bring her to the chair. However, the next instant, a sudden earthquake stopped them.
    "STOP!" A gut-wrenching, solemn voice cried out.
    "Why did you stop them, Loki!?" Losing his calm at the unexpected turn of events, Nakajima gripped the microphone, his hands covered with cold sweat.
    "I don't need your help any more," Loki said.
    "What!?"
    "Don't you get it, Nakajima? I already have the ability to materialize in the Assiah world on my own."
    Nakajima's eyes were filled with shock as right in front of his eyes, the monitor displaying Loki started to ooze a blue haze. Right then and there, a dimensional tear between the demon and human worlds was starting to form. Giving off vibrantly-colored light like an aura, the atmosphere twisted and writed unusually, and a pungent cold air burst forth.
    Yumiko just stood and watched the haze billow forth, her mouth agape. She was probably paralyzed with fear at the unbelievable events unfolding in front of her eyes. The haze gradually thickened, and started to move itself into a vaguely-defined shape, much like a hologram. Slowly, the form solidified. The light dancing amongst the frigid gust changed into flowing black hair, and the outline of a handsome face gained bronze skin, its deep black eyes gazing at the students in the room.
    "Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh." In an ancient language, Loki declared his own divinity. Ohara, who had at some point fallen on her knees in front of him, put her hands together, looked up at him in awe, and spoke the same words as if worshiping an all-powerful god.
    To think that Loki would have affected Ohara this much... Powerless, Nakajima stared at Loki and Ohara.
   I should have considered the possibilty that this could happen. I'd better find a weakness, and soon!
   Nakajima frantically pointed a sensor connected to his computer at the nearly-fully-formed Loki. Calling up the ISG host computer, he sent the data about the demon that the sensor gathered to the Craft AI. Meanwhile, Loki extended his hand toward Yumiko, who was rigid with terror. His bronze, naked body was beautifully symmetrical, almost like the Greek Apollo, and his muscular chest was covered in black scales. His black eyes, from which no one could possibly fathom any emotion, paralyzed her.
   "Come over here." Pointing his taloned finger at Yumiko, Loki ordered her in a low, cold voice. Yumiko looked to Nakajima for help, but he merely glanced at her and continued talking with the AI.
   Nakajima knew he wouldn't have a chance if he tried to fight Loki directly. But Loki could probably not risk doing anything to him so long as he had control of the computer environment. Nakajima urgently knew that he had to find some sort of weakness to Loki while he still had the chance. He also was guessing that Loki would not be able to leave the magnetic field being generated by the computer.
   However, just as Yumiko tried to stagger away and flee, a strange sound emanated from Loki's arms. For a moment they looked like they were beginning to melt, and then all of a sudden changed into a giant, jiggling, pink-colored blobs of protoplasm. From their tips, multiple tentacles lashed out and wrapped around Yumiko's limbs like whips.
   "No, stop!" The tentacles grabbing onto the crying Yumiko's limbs pulled her up into the air, toward the body of the blob. A new pink tentacle sprouted and grabbed onto Yumiko's body, and the liquid emanating from its membrane melted her clothes, grabbed onto her now-exposed skin and started writhing along her slender body.
   >CRAFT, HURRY!
   Plugging his ears so he wouldn't have to hear Yumiko's screams, Nakajima frantically kept hitting the keys. Finally the data transfer LED lit up, and Craft sent a response.
   >ACCORDING TO THE DATA YOU SENT, THE JELLY SUBSTANCE IS 58% WATER AND 17% ECTOPLASM. THE REMAINING MATTER IS NOT NATIVE TO THE PLANET AND CANNOT BE ANALYZED.
   >HAS THERE EVER BEEN A CASE OF SIMILAR MATTER BEING DISCOVERED BEFORE?
   > YES. THIS CENTURY, SIMILAR MATTER WAS DISCOVERED IN A MAYAN TEMPLE AND IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
   > WHAT IS ITS WEAK POINT?
   > I CANNOT MAKE A HYPOTHESIS DUE TO INSUFFICIENT DATA. HOWEVER, THE MATTER DISCOVERED UNDER A RELIEF IN THE MAYAN TEMPLE WAS REPORTED TO HAVE EVAPORATED WHEN IT CAME IN CONTACT WITH MERCURIC SULFIDE-BASED PAINT.
   > MERCURIC SULFIDE? YOU MEAN A MIXTURE OF MERCURY AND SULFUR. BUT I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO FIND SOMETHING LIKE THAT. TELL ME HOW TO DEAL WITH HIM NOW!
   > UNFORTUNATELY I DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT DATA TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER.
   Angry at Craft's request for more data, Nakajima punched the keyboard.

   At that moment, a strange gasping voice broke Nakajima's train of thought. Turning around, he noticed Ohara, who was writhing around at Loki's feet, hugging her breasts with her chest fully exposed. Nakajima did not miss the fact that a fist-size patch of her skin below her breasts was glowing. He immediately reported the situation to Craft and asked what happened.
   > THE MOST LIKELY CONCLUSION IS THAT SHE IS PREGNANT WITH THE DEMON'S CHILD. SIMILAR SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN EUROPE BEFORE.
   "That's impossible! Ohara only had sex with Loki in a virtual world. Could it be..." Thinking of the terrible possibilities, Nakajima shuddered in fear. Could it be that Loki had already materialized several times before, only he never realized it? Meanwhile, as if in tune with Ohara's gasps, Loki's entire body started to change into something bizarre. Aside from his face, all his skin turned pink, and as if its cellular structure changed entirely, started to secrete a viscous substance.
   "Aah..."
   Letting out a cry of joy, Ohara tore off her clothes and grabbed onto Loki's legs. Loki's body started to jiggle like jelly and started to envelop her. Be it the gods on Mount Olympus or the monsters of Hades, many of those from other worlds had their hearts stolen by the beauty and sexual allure of human females. Most likely even for a demon as powerful as Loki, he could not resist becoming aroused by the prospect of having his way with two beautiful women.
   Leaving his handsome face the way it was, he started changing into a cylindrical lump of flesh that sprouted countless small tentacles. The pink protoplasm started to glow and the movement of the tentacle fondling Yumiko's body became faster and rougher.
   Yumiko lost all will to resist, and her head fell to the side limply as she passed out. Loki started to pull her doll-like body into his own. But he did not notice that Ohara was glaring furiously at Yumiko even as she was eveloped within the protoplasm.
   Many women could not resist the allure of demons and fell madly in love with them once they had sex with them once, even if they despised them normally. For Ohara, who had devoted herself body and soul to Loki, watching him have sex with one of her students in front of her eyes was an unbearable humiliation. Once both of Yumiko's slender white legs had sunken into the the protoplasm until she was almost inside Loki up to her chest, Ohara went mad with jealousy, grabbed her head, and started to twist it.
   "Agh!" Yumiko's face twisted into pain, and her body spasmed in agony.
   "Stop! Stop it!" Crying out in anguish, Nakajima ran to her, only to be struck hard in the face by a thick tentacle. Knocked back against the wall, his vision blacked out for an instant, and when he finally managed to pull himself off the floor, Yumiko's body showed no signs of life; her head was twisted to the side unnaturally and her eyes were open and glazed over.
   Sitting atop the pillar of flesh, Loki's face took on a surprised expression, and glared with displeasure at Ohara inside his body. But being closer and more used to her, she was most likely more important than Yumiko. Loki lifted his tentacle and dumped Yumiko's body on the floor.
   Inside, Nakajima went mad with regret.
   Why didn't I warn her more seriously last night? If I hadn't made such a half-assed phone call and instead told her everything, this never would have happened. I killed Shirasagi Yumiko!
   Not only did he never think that Loki would have attained the knowhow to materialize himself, but he also never thought that Ohara might kill Yumiko. But here Loki's sinister body was here in the Assiah world and the innocent Yumiko had been killed.
   And he just looked on, powerless.
   Reflexively biting down in his lip, Nakajima noticed a faint scarlet light in his peripheral vision and jerked up his head. Loki's body had spread out to the entire CAI room, and the classroom looked like a jungle of protoplasm. Pink tentacles pulsated and twisted, grabbing hypnotized students, pulling them inside Loki's body where they were consumed one by one. However, the red light that had caught Nakajima's attention lay beyond the carnage. By the entrance of the room the atmosphere was permeated with red, and shook like an aurora.
   There's a dimensional warp! It can't be--a demon other than Loki....!? But as Nakajima's attention was drawn away, several stentacles wrapped around his legs.
   "Loki, what are you doing to me!?" Nakajima could not believe that Loki would attack him, and was shocked in surprise to his very core.
   "I bet you thought you were safe so long as you were in charge of the computer. But this woman can serve as your replacement easily enough. Now that I can appear in the Assiah world, not only are your abilities no longer useful--they're a liability." As if to back up Loki's statement, Ohara laughed inside his body.
   Nakajima immediately grabbed his handheld computer and entered the command to summon Kerberos. From the liquid crystal display, a white mist wafted into the room.
   "Go, Kerberos!"
    As if in response to Nakajima's cry, the mist rapidly solidified, and as if impatient to fully take form, assaulted Loki.
    "You are a beast of the demon world and yet you side with the human!?"
    Flame-like breath burst forth from the fang-lined maw, and Loki let out a cry that shook the very earth. Deftly dodging an attacking tentacle as it gave forth a slimy sound, the demon beast Kerberos bit down at its base and tore it off of Loki's body. Loki's purple blood gushed out and melted the linoleum tiling on the floor. With the two demons letting out roars like thunder, cracks shot up the plate glass window, and the ceiling and walls started to cruble. Despite fighting fiercely, Loki refused to drop Nakajima.
    "Kerberos, over here!"
    As Kerberos lept through the air in response to Nakajima's cry, he was finally caught by a tentacle that wrapped around his body. However, his tail split into half and became two serpents which raised their heads and tore off the tentacle grabbed onto him. Freed from Loki's grasp, Kerberos leapt at the tentacles restraining Nakajima in an attempt to save him.
    As if to thwart the beast's effort, Loki bent his tentacle and smacked Nakajima's head to the floor. The impact was almost enough to crush his skull, and Nakajima's consciousness wavered as fresh blood poured from the split in his forehead, his field of vision becoming drenched in red. With his vision distorting, the ferociously fighting Kerberos seemed like a far-away illusion.
    So this is the pathetic fate of the magician...
    As his consciousness faded and he prepared to die, memories of those strange illusions from before spontaneously appeared in a corner of Nakajima's mind.
    What were those? The woman from them called that man that looked just like him "Izanagi." Did it have any connection to the story of Izanami and Izanagi from Japanese mythology?
    Even if I knew, what difference does it make now...?
    Muttering to himself, Nakajima closed his eyes as if in acceptance of his fate.

    At that moment, unbeknownst to anyone, the heart of the seemingly dead Yumiko started to beat faintly.
    Yumiko, Yumiko! A kind voice was calling her name.
    Who are you? Is that you, Mom? Yumiko asked instinctively in her mind.
    As if recognizing that she had awakened, the voice cut off briefly, then started to speak again in a kind voice.
    Stand up, Yumiko.
    Yumiko did not hear the roars of the demon beast nor the sound of the classroom being destroyed. In fact, she had no sense of the terrible experience that she had had at all. All she could hear was the voice of the woman. Timidly opening her eyes, Yumiko realized that the voice was coming from the red aurora in the warped area in the air.
    Through the aurora, the mirage of a peacful countryside was visible. Blue rice paddies with not-yet-ripened seeds. Rolling hills covered in summer grass. And groups of giant boulders, simple yet mysterious.
    Yumiko had seen that scenery somewhere before.
    Isn't that the Asuka Ishibutai tomb...? As the thought popped into her mind, the woman's voice spoke again.
    When you were Izanami in a former life, that's what you called it.
    My former life? Izanami...you mean the goddess from Japanese mythology?
    Yumiko was confused by the suddenness of the words. But what the voice said had the sense of an undeniable truth to them.
    Stand, Yumiko. This space in the air is connected to Asuka, where I rest. Take Nakajima--no, your dearest Izanagi--and come to me.
    The instant she stood in obediance to the voice, the angry cries of Loki and the roars of Kerberos filled Yumiko's ears as she was brought back to reality. Overwhelmed with a sudden dizziness, she immediately sat down again. But as blood rushed to her head and she saw the crumpled Nakajima on the floor, she was struck with an overwhelming sense of duty.
    I've got to save him!
    It was a feeling greater than love or friendship, but closer to instinct. It was a powerful emotion, as if the boy named Nakajima Akemi was literally a part of her, and if he was lost there would be no meaning to her continued existence. Without any idea how to save him, she stood up and clenched her teeth, and the voice sounded again.
    For a moment, I am going to enter your body so you can use my power--the power to burn anything you stare at with conviction. I pray that your body can take the strain of it.
   From the dimensional rift, a blinding flash pulsed, and a pure power Yumiko had never felt the likes of before rushed through her body.

   "GYAAH!"
   A bizarre cry snapped Nakajima Akemi back to consciousness.
   Opening his eyes, he saw that Loki's tentacle was spasming over his head, smoking and giving off the stench of cooked meat. Enduring the headsplitting pain, Nakajima sat up. Pillars of flame burst out of various spots on Loki's body, and his charred tentacles flailed through air like waves, all giving off the same smoke with the cooked meat smell.
   Furthermore, Yumiko--who he thought was dead--was facing off against him; gouts of flame shot out of everywhere she stared at. In medieval Europe, when magic use was at its height, the ability was called spontaneous combustion.
   What the heck is going on...? Nakajima stared dumbfoundedly at Yumiko, wielding a power he could never have imagined her controlling. But soon, Nakajima noticed that her face was unusually pale, and that her entire body was shuddering. Just with the force of her will, Yumiko was channeling the immense power of Izanami, and her body was getting close to the limit of what it could stand.
   Meanwhile, under intense attack from the flame, Loki ejected Ohara from inside his body and started to chant a spell in an eerie rythm. The pink protoplasm started to condense, changing back into the form of the bronze-skinned youth that Loki had first appeared as.
   Yumiko desperately channeled her will and attempted to incinerate Loki with the power of Izanami, but the flames simply dispersed harmlessly off of the bronze skin, showing no effect at all. However, Loki did not budge and inch and simply stood still as if waiting for her to expend all her energy. A wave of intense exhaustion swept over Yumiko's body, and her vision started to waver. Right as she felt like she was going to drop to her knees, no longer able to withstand the effort, the voice sounded once more.
   Hurry, get Nakajima and escape!
   Her courage restored by the voice, Yumiko ran over to Nakajima, but slipped and stumbled. However, determined not to show any weakness, she immediately looked up and glared at Loki. Looking at her determined expression, something awoke in Nakajima's despair-filled soul. Ever since he was beaten up over a foolish misunderstanding and made the decision to summon a demon, Nakajima sealed off his emotions, but in that instant they came back, and he felt a kind of love that he had never experienced before.
   For her sake, I can't die!
   Nakajima's dizziness dissipated. He quickly looked around the room. At some point, the still-naked Ohara had gone over to a terminal's keyboard, and was looking up at the screen while typing in commands. She was not as nearly as skilled as Nakajima, but she was clearly used to operating a computer. As Nakajima realized that Ohara was saving the changes in the data that had occured when Loki materialized, he immediately understood his unusual actions.
   The reason that Loki was staying close to the terminal was almost undoubtedly because he was not completely confident in his own materialization. There was a very good chance that his protoplasmic blob-form was a result of a coincidental bug in the transfer of the data. Loki must have been practicing transforming into that form. He probably did not know what would happen if he tried to leave the magnetic field generated by the computer in his true form. It may have very well been that he had gained his freedom by escaping the limitations of existing digitally, but there was still a danger of anhilliating himself entirely. Just in case, Ohara was saving all the data.
   In the instant Nakajima realized this, he decided that he would be able to escape if he tried now. As he quickly used his handheld computer to recall Kerberos, who had been defeated in the battle and was now lying on his side as if he was dead, Loki noticed Nakajima's movement.
   No matter what happened, Loki could not let Nakajima escape; he knew everything about him. Even knowing the danger it would put him in, Loki stepped toward Nakajima, away from the computer.
   "Nakajima, look out!" Yumiko desperately stood up. At that moment everything went red, and Yumiko's lips moved in words that even she was not trying to say.
   "Back, demon!"
   For a moment, Izanami took over Yumiko's body entirely and released all her energy. A gout of flame erupted on the approaching Loki's forehead, at the one spot where his body was still in gelatinous form. Loki let out a cry like an enranged beast, and the Izanami-possessed Yumiko grabbed Nakajima's body and headed for the aurora.
   Overcome with shock and rage, Loki let out a roar and went after them. For an instant, Loki's body wavered like heat haze and his bronze skin became almost translucent. Numbers flowed like mad over the terminal's display, and Ohara powerlessly glared at the screen.
   However, a few instants later, the host computer stopped going haywire and Loki got back his form. Right before the folds of the aurora enveloped Nakajima and Yumiko's bodies, billowing as if being carried by the wind, Loki clawed at the two.
   His long talons gouged deep into Yumiko from the nape of her neck to the middle of her back, and fresh blood poured out from the wound. But as soon as the aurora enveloped the two it immediately started fading. The only thing left behind in space where the aurora was were streaks of Yumiko's blood, and the the room shook with the anguished cry of the now completely summoned Loki .

Part 3: Chapter 1

    When confronted with something too unbelievable, people have a tendency to subconsciously avoid thinking about it. Or else, they will attempt to rationalize what they saw as an attempt to relieve their anxiety.
    Yumiko did the same sort of thing in regards to her experience with the demon summoning in the CAI room.
    That evening, Nakajima had said he summoned a demon using the computer. But when she really thought about it, there was no real hard evidence that what she saw really was a demon. With enough skill manipulating computer graphics, such a scene could easily be staged. As for that demonic beast, Yumiko only saw it for an instant. It would probably be more natural to think that it just been a large dog that Nakajima had used as a guard, and Yumiko's fear and surprise deluded her into seeing it as some sort of horrific monster. Nakajima might be a genius-level computer nut, but the whole ceremony could have been nothing more than something him and his followers had cooked up together. Nakajima had probably just started some sort of occult or magic club.
    As the days passed by uneventfully, this was how Yumiko started to think of the whole experience. Jusho High's "gifted" class was still not a place that she felt entirely comfortable at, but she was still able to make a few friends there that she could banter with like a normal girl her age.
    Still, it was definitely the case that Nakajima seemed to hold some sort of special authority about the school. Lately he had been spending all of his time holed up in the CAI room, and rarely if ever showed his face in class. The only time he would show up was when other classes were using the CAI room, and even then he would ignore class, programming on his handheld computer instead.
    No matter how you looked at it, there was something not right about the situation. But whenever Yumiko tried talking to her friends about Nakajima, they would just clam up and try to change the subject. However, it wasn't as if they disliked him. Their silence was more like a sense of fear and awe, as if they couldn't find the right words to use when talking about such a powerful persona.
    Well, no big deal. Besides, it doesn't really affect me anyway...
    Even though Yumiko could explain the situation away to herself in such a manner, she couldn't keep her heart from racing whenever she pictured his profile in her head.

    It was a morning in July, close to the start of summer vacation.
    Yumiko walked to school along the highway between Kuniritsu Station and Hitobashi University every morning. The branches of the trees stretched out to their limits so that their leaves would absorb the blinding sunlight, and as Yumiko walked beneath the lines of gingko trees with their outstretched, pale green leaves, she rubbed her sleepy eyes and thought of the phone call she had received the night before.
    That call had come while she was cleaning up after dinner. Her mother casually picked up the receiver, then called to her.
    "Yumiko, it's from someone called Yamanaka. Have you got a boyfriend already?"
    "Yamanaka...?" As Yumiko cocked her head, wondering if she had a classmate with that name, then had a flash of insight.
    "I'm sure he's just passing on a message from school," Yumiko lied at once. While thinking of who it might be, she waited a little bit before gently picking up the receiver.
    "Hello, this is Yumiko..."
    "...."
    The sound of faint breathing was all that could be heard from the other side.
    "Hello?"
    "Stay home from school tomorrow." All of a sudden, a hushed voice sounded into Yumiko's ear. For an instant, Yumiko thought the voice sounded like Nakajima's, but she couldn't be sure.
    "Hello, who is this?"
    "He's after you. You should stay away for a while." The tone of the voice became urgent. But that only made it seem more suspicious, and as Yumiko tried to decide how to resopnd, she noticed her mother had stopped cleaning the dishes and was watching her suspiciously.
    "We can talk about this at school tomorrow." Yumiko calmly said.
    There was the sound of a clicking tongue as the phone hung up on the other end.
    "What was that about?" Yumiko's mother asked worriedly.
    "It was nothing. Being really popular is really a pain sometimes." Distracting her mother with an unintelligible response, Yumiko tried to recall what Nakajima's normal speaking voice sounded like.

    College students in blue jeans and T-shirts passed by Yumiko, discussing their plans for summer vacation. One of them who was carrying a guitar case in his left hand bumped into her.
    "Ah, sorry!" As Yumiko looked up suspiciously, the college student smiled shyly at her, but she simply ignored him and looked away.
    That really might have been Nakajima...
    Yumiko wasn't sure at the time, but thinking about it afterwards, she had the sense that the mysterious person that called her talked a lot like Nakajima.
    But if that was the case, what was he trying to tell her? The voice on the phone had been very serious. It was full of desperation, almost like that of someone trying to escape from a pursuer.
    What could have happened to him?
    After the call, Yumiko had tried to prepare for the next day's class, but even when trying to focus on her textbooks, she kept picturing Nakajima's stare while looking at the typeface on the page, and none of the information in the book stuck. Not only could she not study, but kept up wondering about the phone call, Yumiko had barely slept a wink. Her head dizzy with insomnia, the baseball club members, having finished their morning practice, chatted amongst themselves as they walked by.
    Yumiko turned to the left off of University Avenue and through the gates of her school. At that instant, a harsh shiver ran up her spine and her arms broke out in goosebumps. Wondering what happened, she looked around her, and noticed that Ohara was staring at her from the window in the faculty lounge. Her pitch-black eyes had an almost supernatural, sinister look in them, and watched Yumiko's every move. Absorbed in the stare, Yumiko started walked uneasily, and a male student on a bicycle lightly touched her.
    "Hey, careful! Watch where you're going!" The bicycle sped up and the student pedaled away.
    Returning to her senses, Yumiko looked back up at the window to the faculty lounge, but Ohara was no longer there. As waves of students proceeded inside the school so as not to be late, they turned around and gave quizzical looks at Yumiko, who was standing there as still as a post.
    What are you doing? This isn't like you! Admonishing herself, Yumiko ran into the school.

Part 2: Chapter 2

    At roughly this time, Nakajima was in the CAI room of Jusho High, facing the Host Computer which was connected via a modem to the outside, and trying to talk to Loki.
    "So what's the story? Did the movement experiment work?"
    "I suppose it would be best to say that it showed some results--at least to an extent." The low, rumbling voice that came out of the speakers shook Nakajima's very bowels. Nakajima did not know that Loki had already achieved the ability to take form on his own. He thought the "results to an extent" meant that Loki could exist inside another computer as an AI construct.
    "So, I guess you have no choice but to recognize how good my technology is?"
    "If that's what you want to think, go ahead. But let me just say that we're a long way from perfection."
    "Well, that's to be expected. When trying to send that much information in a single burst, there's bound to be some data loss." Sweat glistened off of Nakajima's forehead where his microphone headset gripped his temples. Nakajima continued to talk with a calm and disinterested air, but his entire body, stiff with tension, belied a hint of uneasiness in a corner of his mind.
    What will happen if Loki gains the ability to take form? Nakajima asked himself, ignorant of the true situation.
    No, that's impossible. Just look, Loki is dutifully obeying me in these demon transfer theory tests.
    Demon Transfer Theory.
    Gaining the ability to move freely about the earth had been a dream of demons for aeons, not just Loki. Since ancient times, the areas in which a demon could appear on the earth had been extremely limited. Furthermore, once a demon had actually been summoned, it could only hold form within a radius of a few kilometers from the point it was called to. It could easily be said that this was the reason why Earth had gone for so long without seeing an demon invasion.
    Nakajima had created a technology that turned what was once common knowledge in the demon world upside-down. This technology would digitize a demon and transfer it to other computers over communication lines. If perfected, it would completely remove the physical restrictions on demon movement on Earth.
    Nakajima thought that his experiment had finally succeeded. He was naive in his line of thought. To start with, he was just an ordinary high school student who had never made contact with a demon at all before, yet here he was immediately jumping to deal with an incredibly powerful demon lord like Loki, which could very well lead to tragedy. Still, one could say that he was being prudent and showing forethought by realizing the danger that Loki could pose, should he gain the ability to gain form.
    I may end up having to summon another powerful demon from the Atziluth World that can counteract Loki.
    Unable to suppress his growing uneasiness, Nakajima started pondering walking down an even more dangerous road when a voice suddenly surged out of the speakers.
    "Give me Shirasagi Yumiko."
    "What!?"
    "Give me Shirasagi Yumiko."
    "No. I can't do that." The instant he heard Yumiko's name, Nakajima cried out. Even he was surprised by his own reaction.
    "Child, who do you think you're ordering here!?" Loki's voice displayed an anger he had never shown before. The machine let out a strange whine, and sparks flew from where the cables connected to it.
    "All right, all right, calm down..." Nakajima folded to Loki's threat with no resistance at all. Angry at himself, Nakajima bit down on his lip, almost enough to produce blood, and an image of Yumiko's face hovered in his mind. Once again, he was pulled into an illusion.

    The towering rocky mountains and azure skies were not visible to the youth. His narrow eyes were fixated grimly on the track ahead of him. His parched, earthen-colored lips were encrusted with red-and black dried blood. His feet were swollen and purple, with sharp shards of rock embedded in them. However, the sound of the gasps drawing close behind him made his injured feet speed up his pace even more.
    "Izanagi, why won't you wait? Is it because I've become so hideous? You promised me when I entered Yomi that you would bring me back, no matter what happened to me! Was that a lie? I would never run from you, no matter what happened to you!"
    "Forgive me..." As if trying to flee from his fear and guilt, the youth clenched his teeth and took off. But the woman's tenacity was slowly bridging the gap between them. The woman's tears, falling from eyes with their lids rotted off, dropped to the ground with her hair as she cried out.
    "Izanagi..."
    As she cried out, the hole in her cheek became larger and larger, until her white molars were fully exposed. Soon the path ended, and the youth could see a wide expanse of shadowy wetlands in front of him.
    "I made it back to Toyoashihara..." His lips trembled with relief. Opening his arms wide, the youth took a deep breath of the humid air, pursed his lips forcefully, turned around, and sat down.
    For a while, he stared at the form of the grotesque woman chasing him, then shook his head sadly and closed his eyes.
    The youth started to meditate. When the woman had gotten within reach of a stone's throw, his body seemed to float slightly in midair for a moment, and then there was a huge undulation in the atmosphere. As if a huge invisible power had been released, the earth shook, and the fissure that appeared directly beneath the youth spread to the surrounding moutains, and countless rocks started to fall on the path. As the woman stopped, a giant boulder rolled in front of the path in front of her eyes, sealing it off.
    "Izanagi! I will come to you! Even if it takes hundreds or thousands of years!" The sound of the woman's bitter cries rose from beyond the towering pile of earth.
    "Forgive me, Izanami..." Plugging his ears with his hands, the youth staggered into the wetlands, the tall reeds rising even above his height.

    As Nakajima snapped out of his trance, he left the CAI room in low spirits, and a few minutes later, as if waiting for him to leave a dark shadow slipped through the hallway and into the room. Two hands reached out of the inky blackness, searching for the power switch to a terminal, and soon the light of a display was illuminating fingers on the keyboard.
    They were white, smooth fingers. Soon they stopped moving at the coercing sound of a low voice.
    "OHARA." That was what the voice said.
    "I'm showing you the list for the transport program Nakajima wrote. Can you operate it?"
    "I think I can operate it, but not much more than that."
    "That's fine. There's no more need for any changes to the technology. If I can move and take form on my own, I can conquer the Assiah world singlehandedly."
    "Your will be done." The microphone picked up the excited whisper.