The soft sound of the geigi's nails plucking the strings of a shamisen drifted from the Crane Room in the Takabayashi Pavillion located in Akasaka. Seated on the tatami floor, several men faced each other: Hamano, Minister of Foreign Affairs and aide to the Liberal Party Chairman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujita, and Chief Secretary Ota. The three men appeared to be smiling and chatting amicably, but the fact that their chopsticks had barely touched the food in front of them belied the tension that was heavy in the air.
With a whiff, the sound of the Shamisen stopped.
"Could you leave us alone?" Looking at Hamano straight on, Ota spoke to the geigi. The moment she left the room, he bowed down and spoke again in a dramatic voice.
"Mr. Hamano, I have a request of you from one man to another. In this autumn's Chair Election, please support my candidacy. Of course, after two years I will turn the reins over to you. I will never ask anything of you again so long as I live; please grant my request."
"Well, this is a shame. I had been informed that the party had been wanting me to be elected Prime Minister this autumn, but without your consent things could get messy." Hamano's reply was cold and hardly accommodating.
"So basically what you're saying is that we'll settle this in the election?" Ota's face clouded with anger.
"Come on, you two, let's not get carried away now..." Fujita interrupted the men.
"Mr. Hamano, Mr. Ota, either of you are perfectly qualified to take power. Well, of course, it is true that my faction would hold a lot of sway as to who gets the chairmanship this autumn..." Trailing off his attempt at appeasing the men, Fujita removed his glasses and slowly rubbed the bridge of his nose. Full of impatience, Ota and Hamano's sharp glares turned to the forehead of the composed Chief Cabinet Secretary.
Putting on his glasses, Fujita looked back and forth, comparing the two men.
"However...the Prime Minister has been thinking that he would feel better if Hamano won this autumn, and then Ota take over the post afterwards. I think it would be better for the party if Ota were to concede for the time being."
Ota's lips started trembling at Fujita's words. At this point, he had thought that Shimazaki had somehow managed to persuade these two heavy-hitter politicians.
"Mr. Ota, don't feel bad. I'm not trying to force you, but the Prime Minister has indicated who he'd like to be his successor directly." As Hamano's mouth continued to spout excuses, he started to get up. His blood boiling with humilitation, Ota stared down at the other man's feet.
Right at that moment, in his peripheral vision he saw a white shape dart across the room.
"Ooh!"
All of a sudden, Hamano cried out and bent over, his face turning purple.
"Mr. Hamano, are you all right!?"
As Fujita ran over to Hamano, Ota clearly saw a small white snake coil around the Chief Cabinet Secretary's leg. Taken aback, Ota turned around and saw that the sliding door to the room was open a crack; in its shadow he noticed Shimazaki's face grinning psychotically, and a chill ran down his spine.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Part 4: Chapter 6
As Officer Nimura tried to crawl away and escape, the foul air around him started whirling around in a circle.
What's that! What's going on...
Still crawling, Nimura put his hand on the pistol holstered on his waist. A strange gurgling sound was audible high above him in the air. Looking up, he was struck speechless and forgot to draw his gun. An enormous serpent, its black scales glittering in the moonlight, had its red maw wide open, the end of its long tongue at the tip of his nose.
What's that! What's going on...
Still crawling, Nimura put his hand on the pistol holstered on his waist. A strange gurgling sound was audible high above him in the air. Looking up, he was struck speechless and forgot to draw his gun. An enormous serpent, its black scales glittering in the moonlight, had its red maw wide open, the end of its long tongue at the tip of his nose.
Part 4: Chapter 5
Isma had realized that the bizarre life form that had torn itself out of Ohara's belly was a temporary body for Set, who had been planning to take form by possessing Loki's child.
According to his theory, summoning a demon via a computer would require creating a magnetic field with which to summon the demon and the processing of the demon's data to be materialized, both of which would have to be done at virtually the same time. If the magnetic field was weak, the point of connection between the demon's world and the Assiah world would narrow, constraining the amount of data that could be processed. On the other hand, no matter how powerful the magnetic field was, unless the digital data could be processed quickly and concisely, the demon would never be able to take form. It was quite possible that even a supercomputer would not be able to handle the massive amount of data that would be needed to materialize a high-ranking demon.
Despite that fact, the high-ranking demon Set was able to to take form in the Assiah world, even if it was only in a makeshift body. Something must have added a great deal of power in setting up the necessary magnetic field for a summoning; this in turn would ease the restraints on the data processing.
Isma was convinced that something was Yumiko. Most likely, the high concentration of biological Magnetite within her body had been a major player in creating the magnetic field for the summoning. The divine constitution that she had inherited from Izanami was nothing but a giant retention of that highly concentrated Magnetite. While meager in comparison to that of Yumiko, ordinary humans also retained some biological Magnetite. If enough of it was collected, it might be able to create a permanent overlap of the Atziluth and Assiah worlds entirely.
Therefore, having already formed a contract with Set, Isma borrowed his power to summon many people and attempt to create a tower of human flesh. And everything was proceeding just according to plan. Even know the heavens split with a terrible thundering, and Set's most powerful servant, the great serpent Typhon, reared its head into the air as if slithering from behind a black curtain, knocking over the Soga Forest's trees as it went.
"Typhon, welcome. Breathe deeply and take in the air of the Assiah world."
Isma looked kindly at the enormous snake. "Take a look, your first victim awaits in the shadow of that tree."
As Isma pointed to the copse where Officer Nimura was, Typhon vanished beyond the trees. Meanwhile, Set had transformed into a gigantic, vile pillar of flesh, his sinister, red glowing eyes at its peak darting all around the area.
Typhon's presence is proof that the demon world Set rules is starting to meld with the Assiah world. Now all that remains is to gather more biological Magnetite and solidify the connection...
Isma's eyes shimmered even brighter with madness.
According to his theory, summoning a demon via a computer would require creating a magnetic field with which to summon the demon and the processing of the demon's data to be materialized, both of which would have to be done at virtually the same time. If the magnetic field was weak, the point of connection between the demon's world and the Assiah world would narrow, constraining the amount of data that could be processed. On the other hand, no matter how powerful the magnetic field was, unless the digital data could be processed quickly and concisely, the demon would never be able to take form. It was quite possible that even a supercomputer would not be able to handle the massive amount of data that would be needed to materialize a high-ranking demon.
Despite that fact, the high-ranking demon Set was able to to take form in the Assiah world, even if it was only in a makeshift body. Something must have added a great deal of power in setting up the necessary magnetic field for a summoning; this in turn would ease the restraints on the data processing.
Isma was convinced that something was Yumiko. Most likely, the high concentration of biological Magnetite within her body had been a major player in creating the magnetic field for the summoning. The divine constitution that she had inherited from Izanami was nothing but a giant retention of that highly concentrated Magnetite. While meager in comparison to that of Yumiko, ordinary humans also retained some biological Magnetite. If enough of it was collected, it might be able to create a permanent overlap of the Atziluth and Assiah worlds entirely.
Therefore, having already formed a contract with Set, Isma borrowed his power to summon many people and attempt to create a tower of human flesh. And everything was proceeding just according to plan. Even know the heavens split with a terrible thundering, and Set's most powerful servant, the great serpent Typhon, reared its head into the air as if slithering from behind a black curtain, knocking over the Soga Forest's trees as it went.
"Typhon, welcome. Breathe deeply and take in the air of the Assiah world."
Isma looked kindly at the enormous snake. "Take a look, your first victim awaits in the shadow of that tree."
As Isma pointed to the copse where Officer Nimura was, Typhon vanished beyond the trees. Meanwhile, Set had transformed into a gigantic, vile pillar of flesh, his sinister, red glowing eyes at its peak darting all around the area.
Typhon's presence is proof that the demon world Set rules is starting to meld with the Assiah world. Now all that remains is to gather more biological Magnetite and solidify the connection...
Isma's eyes shimmered even brighter with madness.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Part 4: Chapter 4
It was 10PM in Miyamaedaira, a residential area in Mitaka near the Soga forest.
I wonder if Akinao is studying about now...
Tanouchi Midori's large eyes shone like the heroine of a girl's comic book, her slender face framed by short-cropped hair. Even though summer vacation was about to end, her skin was still white and smooth. It looked like vacation was going to come to a close without her getting a single chance to get into a bathing suit.
I doubt any other 17-year old out there has had a summer this boring.
Midori looked out the window with glazed eyes. She had been taking her college entrance exams lightly, thinking that even if she blew them off for a little bit, she could still get into a decent private liberal arts school. There should have been at least a little bit of time to go to the pool. The reason that she didn't end up doing so was out of duty to her boyfriend, who was studying to get into Tokyo University's engineering school.
"Maybe I should give him a call."
As she stood up, she thought she heard something.
"Eh?" Reflexively, Midori looked at her stereo. Often she would leave it on accidentally. But the power was off. As she tilted her head in confusion, she heard it again but much clearer--a voice echoing in her head.
Come, come to me...
"Who's there!?" Midori looked all around the room, a stern expression on her face. The voice sounded again in her head.
Come, Midori...
Midori's body naturally turned toward the direction of the voice. An inexplicable sensation of ecstacy, difficult to resist, urged her onward.
"OK." With a glassy-eyed expression on her face, Midori nodded. As she left her room, her family was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. They all had an eerie, lifeless expression on their faces as if they were dreaming. However, this did not seem to trouble Midori in the least.
"Come on, Midori!" Midori's younger brother, who was in the third grade, had his hand on the door as if he couldn't wait any longer.
"Are you going to go in your sandals?" Midori's mother asked.
"Good point." Putting on her favorite heels, Midori left the foyer after her brother.
None of the family knew where they were going. But the voice in their heads told them there was no need for doubt.
At about the same time, a pair of sweat arms grabbed Yukiko's waist in an apartment in Miyamaedaira.
"Come on, not where it's bright!" Crying out in embarrasment, she pushed her boyfriend Tooru away. She had only met him two weeks ago on a trip to Okinawa. Even holding each other all day long, they never tired of it.
I get the sense I could love him forver... thought Yukiko.
She was a 20-year old college student. Tooru was still a high school student and a little irresponsible, but he had a very bright personality and always made her laugh with his jokes. But more than that, Yukiko liked his handsome looks.
"OK, I'll turn out the lights." Bowing to her wishes, Tooru flicked the light switch. Then he immediately grabbed her in a kiss.
As Yukiko murmured "I love you" in her mind, another voice echoed in her head.
Come...
"Did you say something, Tooru?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing!" As the two looked at each other perplexed, the voice sounded again.
Come....
There was something hard to resist in that voice. The two stood up simultaneously.
A huge line of people proceeded from Miyamaedaira toward the Soga Forest, seemingly going on forever. Those in it numbered at nearly two thousand.
At 10:15 PM, Officer Nimura, on dispatch in Miyamae, saw the first member of the group approaching.
What the hell is going on? Looking at the massive crowd approaching, Nimura scratched his head in confusion. Mothers leading their children. Couples walking hand-in-hand. There were even a few salarymen in the line, still in their suits and ties, looking as if they had stopped for a drink on the way home from work. Each one of them was just an ordinary citizen. But there was a strange air about the crowd that gave any onlooker the shivers.
"It doesn't look like they're here for some sort of event..."
Watching the procession, Nimura realized that not a single person in it was speaking. Feeling that there was just something not right about this, Nimura contacted the station and asked them what to do.
But the response he got was less than helpful.
"At this time of year they're probably going to a Bon dance or something. Don't bother the station with trifling matters like this!"
Irritated at the dispatcher, Nimura grabbed the arm of a salaryman at the end of the procession and spoke to him.
"Excuse me! Where is everyone going at this time of night?"
But the man did not respond.
Nimura immediately realized that he was not being deliberately ignored. The man's glazed-over eyes looked forward without focus, and it was as if he did not even notice the police officer next to him.
Nimura spoke to the boy in front of the salaryman, who appeared to be a student. But there was no response from him either. The group simply proceeded to walk forward like a pack of lemmings. After a few moments of indecision, Nimura decided to join the end of the line.
He walked for maybe a little less than an hour. Residences became more and more sparse, and as the street lamps became further and further spaced apart, a deep fog enveloped the unusual procession. The fervor in the mob's eyes grew ever more insane.
"They're heading to the Soga Forest...?"
A bizarre stench assaulted Nimura's nostrils. It was like a musky, sort of rotten smell. Unconsciously Nimura gripped his police baton and stopped walking. Two meters ahead in a fog too thick to see through, the footsteps of the people became ever more distant.
Gradually, Nimura was overtaken by a creeping terror. When he finally started walking again, it might have been less because of his duty as a police officer and more that he did not want to be left all alone in the middle of the fog. Stumbling and tripping, Nimura ran ahead, several times nearly running into huge larch trees.
Soon the fog cleared ever so slightly. And in contrast, the strange smell became stronger. Right as he caught up to the end of the line, Nimura let out a sigh of relief and hid in the shadows of a large tree as he watched the people start to form a large circle. From somewhere in the middle of the circle, he heard the words of an incantation being chanted like a sutra. As the the voice became audibly louder, the crowd of people prostrated themselves on the ground.
When Nimura saw for the first time what was in the center of the ring of people, he had to use all his resolve to suppress a cry. A completely naked girl was tied up on a T-shaped Egyptian-style cross, which glowed with a dull silver light.
Is she a doll?
Her beauty seemed so perfect, that was the first thought that popped into Nimura's head. But her face, which every so often twisted in contortions of pain, gave lie to the fact that she was indeed a real human. The girl was encased in a veil of a clear, jelly-like substance. Nimura observed that the veil occasionally writhed like a living creature.
Is this for real? Are they shooting a movie here or something?
Nimura knew all too well that he was trying to make excuses to try and hold the terror at bay. His entire body was rooted to the spot as if he was frozen. The sound of his breath assaulted his ears, almost sounding deafeningly loud.
What the heck is going on...?
How long had he been waiting there? An hour?
As it looked like the jelly veil rippled around the girl's head, two red lights started flickering in it, almost as if ornamenting her hair. Strapped to the cross, the girl writhed her head around. Nimura realized that she was stuck inside the body of some sort of mysterious creature that could only be described as a gigantic amoeba.
And that otherworldly creature was expanding rapidly. The two red points of light glowed brighter and brighter, before becoming two demonic eyes that darted over the area, glaring. The gelatinous substance had already engulfed the entire cross the girl was tied too, and was still getting bigger.
At that moment, Nimura noticed a man clad in a black robe standing behind the cross. Even from a distance, the lines on his face clearly delineated the features of a foreigner. The strange sutra-like incantation that he had been hearing was coming from this man.
All of a sudden, the incantation stopped. Silently, the man raised his right hand to the heavens. And as if on queue, the innermost ring of people in the circle stood up, tore off their clothes, threw them aside, and started advancing toward the cross in the middle. The amoeba pulsated, and engulfed their naked bodies. At that moment, their expressions were those of pure ecstacy.
The ring started to fall apart. Irritated that disrobing was taking so long, they all jockeyed to be first to be absorbed into this otherworldly creature's veil--young and old, man and woman. The girl tied to the cross had already become completely obscured by the mob. People climbed over one another, and Nimura thought he heard the dull sound of bones breaking. As all the people that had made up the ring appeared to transform into a massive mountain of bodies, lights ran through the membrane of the amoeba.
A low, rumbling roar that sounded as if it sprung from the very depths of the earth sounded, severing the last bare thread of Nimura's sanity. All the strength flowed out of his legs, and he fell to the ground on his backside; not being able to stand even if he tried, Nimura let out an incomprehensible wail as he started desperately crawling along ground, trying with all his might to get away as soon as possible.
I wonder if Akinao is studying about now...
Tanouchi Midori's large eyes shone like the heroine of a girl's comic book, her slender face framed by short-cropped hair. Even though summer vacation was about to end, her skin was still white and smooth. It looked like vacation was going to come to a close without her getting a single chance to get into a bathing suit.
I doubt any other 17-year old out there has had a summer this boring.
Midori looked out the window with glazed eyes. She had been taking her college entrance exams lightly, thinking that even if she blew them off for a little bit, she could still get into a decent private liberal arts school. There should have been at least a little bit of time to go to the pool. The reason that she didn't end up doing so was out of duty to her boyfriend, who was studying to get into Tokyo University's engineering school.
"Maybe I should give him a call."
As she stood up, she thought she heard something.
"Eh?" Reflexively, Midori looked at her stereo. Often she would leave it on accidentally. But the power was off. As she tilted her head in confusion, she heard it again but much clearer--a voice echoing in her head.
Come, come to me...
"Who's there!?" Midori looked all around the room, a stern expression on her face. The voice sounded again in her head.
Come, Midori...
Midori's body naturally turned toward the direction of the voice. An inexplicable sensation of ecstacy, difficult to resist, urged her onward.
"OK." With a glassy-eyed expression on her face, Midori nodded. As she left her room, her family was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. They all had an eerie, lifeless expression on their faces as if they were dreaming. However, this did not seem to trouble Midori in the least.
"Come on, Midori!" Midori's younger brother, who was in the third grade, had his hand on the door as if he couldn't wait any longer.
"Are you going to go in your sandals?" Midori's mother asked.
"Good point." Putting on her favorite heels, Midori left the foyer after her brother.
None of the family knew where they were going. But the voice in their heads told them there was no need for doubt.
At about the same time, a pair of sweat arms grabbed Yukiko's waist in an apartment in Miyamaedaira.
"Come on, not where it's bright!" Crying out in embarrasment, she pushed her boyfriend Tooru away. She had only met him two weeks ago on a trip to Okinawa. Even holding each other all day long, they never tired of it.
I get the sense I could love him forver... thought Yukiko.
She was a 20-year old college student. Tooru was still a high school student and a little irresponsible, but he had a very bright personality and always made her laugh with his jokes. But more than that, Yukiko liked his handsome looks.
"OK, I'll turn out the lights." Bowing to her wishes, Tooru flicked the light switch. Then he immediately grabbed her in a kiss.
As Yukiko murmured "I love you" in her mind, another voice echoed in her head.
Come...
"Did you say something, Tooru?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing!" As the two looked at each other perplexed, the voice sounded again.
Come....
There was something hard to resist in that voice. The two stood up simultaneously.
A huge line of people proceeded from Miyamaedaira toward the Soga Forest, seemingly going on forever. Those in it numbered at nearly two thousand.
At 10:15 PM, Officer Nimura, on dispatch in Miyamae, saw the first member of the group approaching.
What the hell is going on? Looking at the massive crowd approaching, Nimura scratched his head in confusion. Mothers leading their children. Couples walking hand-in-hand. There were even a few salarymen in the line, still in their suits and ties, looking as if they had stopped for a drink on the way home from work. Each one of them was just an ordinary citizen. But there was a strange air about the crowd that gave any onlooker the shivers.
"It doesn't look like they're here for some sort of event..."
Watching the procession, Nimura realized that not a single person in it was speaking. Feeling that there was just something not right about this, Nimura contacted the station and asked them what to do.
But the response he got was less than helpful.
"At this time of year they're probably going to a Bon dance or something. Don't bother the station with trifling matters like this!"
Irritated at the dispatcher, Nimura grabbed the arm of a salaryman at the end of the procession and spoke to him.
"Excuse me! Where is everyone going at this time of night?"
But the man did not respond.
Nimura immediately realized that he was not being deliberately ignored. The man's glazed-over eyes looked forward without focus, and it was as if he did not even notice the police officer next to him.
Nimura spoke to the boy in front of the salaryman, who appeared to be a student. But there was no response from him either. The group simply proceeded to walk forward like a pack of lemmings. After a few moments of indecision, Nimura decided to join the end of the line.
He walked for maybe a little less than an hour. Residences became more and more sparse, and as the street lamps became further and further spaced apart, a deep fog enveloped the unusual procession. The fervor in the mob's eyes grew ever more insane.
"They're heading to the Soga Forest...?"
A bizarre stench assaulted Nimura's nostrils. It was like a musky, sort of rotten smell. Unconsciously Nimura gripped his police baton and stopped walking. Two meters ahead in a fog too thick to see through, the footsteps of the people became ever more distant.
Gradually, Nimura was overtaken by a creeping terror. When he finally started walking again, it might have been less because of his duty as a police officer and more that he did not want to be left all alone in the middle of the fog. Stumbling and tripping, Nimura ran ahead, several times nearly running into huge larch trees.
Soon the fog cleared ever so slightly. And in contrast, the strange smell became stronger. Right as he caught up to the end of the line, Nimura let out a sigh of relief and hid in the shadows of a large tree as he watched the people start to form a large circle. From somewhere in the middle of the circle, he heard the words of an incantation being chanted like a sutra. As the the voice became audibly louder, the crowd of people prostrated themselves on the ground.
When Nimura saw for the first time what was in the center of the ring of people, he had to use all his resolve to suppress a cry. A completely naked girl was tied up on a T-shaped Egyptian-style cross, which glowed with a dull silver light.
Is she a doll?
Her beauty seemed so perfect, that was the first thought that popped into Nimura's head. But her face, which every so often twisted in contortions of pain, gave lie to the fact that she was indeed a real human. The girl was encased in a veil of a clear, jelly-like substance. Nimura observed that the veil occasionally writhed like a living creature.
Is this for real? Are they shooting a movie here or something?
Nimura knew all too well that he was trying to make excuses to try and hold the terror at bay. His entire body was rooted to the spot as if he was frozen. The sound of his breath assaulted his ears, almost sounding deafeningly loud.
What the heck is going on...?
How long had he been waiting there? An hour?
As it looked like the jelly veil rippled around the girl's head, two red lights started flickering in it, almost as if ornamenting her hair. Strapped to the cross, the girl writhed her head around. Nimura realized that she was stuck inside the body of some sort of mysterious creature that could only be described as a gigantic amoeba.
And that otherworldly creature was expanding rapidly. The two red points of light glowed brighter and brighter, before becoming two demonic eyes that darted over the area, glaring. The gelatinous substance had already engulfed the entire cross the girl was tied too, and was still getting bigger.
At that moment, Nimura noticed a man clad in a black robe standing behind the cross. Even from a distance, the lines on his face clearly delineated the features of a foreigner. The strange sutra-like incantation that he had been hearing was coming from this man.
All of a sudden, the incantation stopped. Silently, the man raised his right hand to the heavens. And as if on queue, the innermost ring of people in the circle stood up, tore off their clothes, threw them aside, and started advancing toward the cross in the middle. The amoeba pulsated, and engulfed their naked bodies. At that moment, their expressions were those of pure ecstacy.
The ring started to fall apart. Irritated that disrobing was taking so long, they all jockeyed to be first to be absorbed into this otherworldly creature's veil--young and old, man and woman. The girl tied to the cross had already become completely obscured by the mob. People climbed over one another, and Nimura thought he heard the dull sound of bones breaking. As all the people that had made up the ring appeared to transform into a massive mountain of bodies, lights ran through the membrane of the amoeba.
A low, rumbling roar that sounded as if it sprung from the very depths of the earth sounded, severing the last bare thread of Nimura's sanity. All the strength flowed out of his legs, and he fell to the ground on his backside; not being able to stand even if he tried, Nimura let out an incomprehensible wail as he started desperately crawling along ground, trying with all his might to get away as soon as possible.
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