Part 4: Chapter 3

    In the VIP room of the Akasaka Plaza Hotel, Ota of the Liberal Party was sitting with Shimazaki in conversation. He was in a good mood; as a result of his successful passage of an important bill, he had risen fast to become a star of his party. "I hear Chairman Matoba suffered a bizarre death--a shame, isn't it?" Set's avatars, the Apeps, could possess humans and control them however they desired. However, because of the Apeps' innate poison, those who were possessed would start to rot from within. This was how Matoba had died, though Ota had no way of knowing that.
    "So, Chief Secretary, what's the deal with the New AI Project? Can it be shut down?" Shimazaki eyed Ota with displeasure.
    The AI Project, of course, was the "official" name of the Demon Banishment Project.
    "Right. Well, since Fujita started it up of his own accord, in theory it should be perfectly plausible to cook up some sort of trumped-up reason to shut it down, but it's being backed by the American Aide to the President. We can't just ignore that. Come on, I've already seen to it that you get all the contracts to the Capital Reconstruction Project; don't be so greedy." Watching Shimazaki like a hawk, Ota laughed heartily.
    "So why are you making such a big deal about this AI project anyway? Does it interfere with your business somehow?"
    "I suppose you could say that." Shimazaki lit a cigarette.
    "Fujita's a tough customer. I'd prefer not to go up against him if possible." Ota's face was stern as he spoke.
    "Planning to announce your candidacy for the party chair, then?"
    "Think whatever you want."
    Shimazaki's eyes glinted with cunning. "What do you think your chances would be?"
    Currently within the Liberal Party, Ota was thought to be a strong candidate for party chair, but his faction held only a moderate amount of backing in the Lower House, his supporters there holding seats in the low 60s. In order for Ota to win the election, he'd need either another faction to support him or to crush one of his rivals entirely. Therefore it was only natural for him not to want to face off against Fujita.
    "If only Hamano would support me in the election..." Ota stared at Shimazaki willfully, as if trying to communicate something implicit. And as if he understood entirely, Shimazaki nodded.
    "I am sure things will turn out just as you would like. There's no need to worry."
    "I never asked you to do anything! Still, since when have you been able to wield that much influence?" Ota asked the question in hushed tones.
    "I am sure I will get the chance to tell you some day."
    After all, you'll get to directly experience it for yourself eventually...
    Shimazaki bared his yellow teeth in a grin.

Part 4: Chapter 2

    The next morning, Nakajima and Feed were sitting in the Demon Banishment Project room, waiting for Narukawa's arrival. Lately, the role of the three men in the project had changed. Nakajima was more of a warrior than a programmer at this point. During the day he spent his time training with the sword of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, and at night he went scouting with Kerberos to look for any traces of Yumiko. While Narukawa was working with the police to track down Ohara and Yumiko, he also was totally absorbed in tracking down computers capable of being used for demon summoning. As the operation was top-secret, it was unlikely that there would be any further help joining the project. While leading the team as a whole, Feed was immersed in writing the Demon Banishment Program.
    "Nakajima, are you sure you shouldn't let your father in LA know about your mother?" Feed's reddened eyes did not leave the screen as he asked the question.
    "If I did, my father would probably just come back to Japan. And he might end up as yet another casualty. In retrospect, it was foolish of me not to have thought of Yumiko's family and mine...."
    Nakajima looked at Feed with an expression of conflict the likes of which he had never shown before. To him, the death of his mother was difficult to separate from his own fate; she had died at the hands of demons which he had initially called. It only reminded him all too well that he would never be safe until those demons were defeated.
    Feed sighed and saved his program.
    "Is it finished, Professor?"
    "For the time being, yes. If you had done the programming I bet I would have finished it a lot faster." As if he was relieved regardless, Feed stretched his weary muscles.
    "I think I'll be able to help in the debugging at least."
    "No, that would just be a waste of time for a warrior. Don't forget about Craft; it can help in that regard." Mentioning the AI set up in Massachusetts, Feed set up his modem. He most likely was intending to send the program to Craft and have it perform the finishing touches. As Feed started communicating with Craft, Narukawa burst into the room, apologizing for being late.

    "From analyzing some hair left at the scene, we were able to determine that it was Ohara that slaughtered the Shirasagi family. The police are going nuts. The missing persons incident at Jusho High hasn't even been solved yet, and now one of the missing student's families gets murdered. We currently have 1000 patrolmen searching for Ohara right now." Unable to restrain his emotion, Narukawa gave his report.
    "So, have they found any leads?"
    "Yes. There have been some people who spotted her, but...on the night of the murders, several witnesses reported seeing her both near Kichijoji and Ota Ward, so the search is in total disarray right now."
    "I think the former is more likely. Have a look." Interrupting, Nakajima pointed at the display next to him. On screen was a map of Tokyo with several red lines drawn on it.
    "I've had Kerberos try and track Yumiko's path that night. After coming to my house from her own, she headed off in the direction of Musashino." As if holding back emotion, Nakajima paused a moment.
    "I think that Yumiko was chasing Ohara. And right after that, something must have happened to her..."
    "But doesn't Yumiko possess great psychic power?"
    "I'm sure that Ohara herself wouldn't have been any problem for her. But when you take into account Yumiko's state of mind that evening..."
    Nakajima could say no more. Even though Yumiko had saved his life that night, he still held some uncontrollable resentment toward her for what she did. But considering what she must have felt when she had come to see him that night, he felt an even greater regret and affection for her. In fact, his direct participation in the Demon Banishment Project at this point was solely to find where she had gone.
    "Hmm...I can't understand why anyone would have spotted her in Ota Ward. Of course, if there's some sort of organization behind all of this, I could see how false information could have gotten spread to throw us off the scent...Narukawa, is there any chance the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office could help? I know the Japanese police force is excellent, but I think they're a little out of their league here."
    "Our main job is to collect information from abroad. With less than 1% of the manpower of the CIA, we can't work on collecting domestic information as well." Narukawa's response was not accomodating.
    "Besides, I think it's a little bit rash to say that this is the work of an organization on some level. At the very least, just connecting the dots from what we know, it seems perfectly plausible that this was all done out of Ohara's personal grudge."
    Right at that moment, the sound of a signal arriving from the modem echoed throughout the room.
    "It's from Craft."
    "The Demon Banishment Program is finished then?"
    As if drawn in by the other two that rushed over to the main computer, Narukawa also looked at the display.
    "How much with the Demon Banishment Program help?"
    "If we install this program into a computer's OS, it will destroy any digital devil sent to it. At the moment, it will only work as a self-defense mechanism though."
    "So what you're saying is, no demon could be summoned to a computer with this program in it?" Narukawa nodded as if he wasn't really sure whether he understood or not.

Part 4: Chapter 1

    A week passed. It was 10:00PM in Inogashira Park. Being the latter half of August, the heat during the day was as blistering as ever, but this late it was a lot easier to bear.
    "Cut it out, not here!" A high-pitched nasal, entreating voice blended in with the chirping of the cicadas.
    The voice of a heavily-breathing man responded. "Aw, c'mon, this is the perfect place!"
    Shortly later, the woman realized that the cicadas had stopped their chirping.
    "Hey, is someone watching?"
    "Who cares? Let 'em peek!"
    As the two continued, ignoring whether or not the insects were making any noise, a third, rapidly approaching voice sounded.
    "Kerberos, make sure that Yumiko's trail hasn't split into two different directions somewhere!"
    The woman looked up in surprise, and stifled a scream.
    "What's the big deal all of a sudden!?" The irritated-sounding man looked around, and he too was struck speechless.
    A handsome man with a bizarre, gigantic beast like a tiger was sifting through the underbrush, searching for something. It was like a scene out of a movie. The woman gulped, but after recovering from her initial shock, it was clear that she was not focused on the strange beast, but instead on the young man's good looks. Looking back and forth between him and the man currently fondling her breasts to compare the two, there was an expression of clear disappointment on her face.
    Regardless of whatever happened between the couple thereafter, Nakajima gradually climbed the slope ahead of him, following Kerberos, who was cautiously walking, his muzzle was stuck out in the air as if to take in every particle of scent in the atmosphere.
    "So this is where the trail ends..." Murmuring to himself, Nakajima opened the case of his handheld computer. Shortly thereafter, the demonic beast vanished as if sucked right into the small liquid crystal display.

Part 3: Chapter 9

    Squelch.
    As Ohara quietly drew her last breath in Yumiko's arms, there was a grisly sound of flesh rending. As Yumiko reflexively tossed Ohara's body to the ground and took a few steps backward, lukewarm bodily fluid burst out and flew into her face.
    "Augh!" Feeling a stabbing pain in both her eyes, Yumiko dropped to her knees.
    Hya! Hya!
    A laughing voice that sound like fingers scraping on a chalkboard echoed in her ears. Sensing something inexplicably foreboding in that voice, Yumiko stood up into a ready stance. However, robbed of her sight, Yumiko could scarcely even be sure of her footing, let alone fend off an attacker.
    Moments later, a huge amoeba-like writhing creature crawled out of Ohara's torn-open belly and gradually started floating in midair.
    An almost unbearable stench wafted through the air. Unable to withstand it, Yumiko's knees buckled and she started coughing uncontrollably.
    Hya! Hya!
    Yumiko blindly fired her psychic power in the direction of the voice. But her psychic wave merely passed through the gelatinous blob, engulfing the larch tree behind it in flames.
    The blob gradually floated up right above Yumiko's head, and as if it had melted all of a sudden, poured itself all over her body. Momentarily, the amoeba had Yumiko's body entirely encased in translucent jelly and two points of red light on it, clearly sentient, flickered with satisfaction.

Part 3: Chapter 8

    Right at that moment, in the manor across the swamp, the magnetic tapes of the computer started spinning furiously next to Isma, who had gone without sleep or rest, analyzing data to give Set a body. The computer rejected all the commands he typed on the keyboard, and the screen starte scrolling rapidly, as if a huge amount of data had gone haywire.
    "What's going on!?"
    Isma stood up, and the concrete under his feet tore in cracks with a terrible rending sound. Gouts of flame erupted from the cabling, and the hexagram inscribed on the floor started undulating as if it was alive. The cellar was filled with the murmurs of otherworldly voices.
    "Set!"
    "Set is going to be born!"
    "He's finally going to be born!"
    Ancient Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek...all the voices, regardless of the languages they spoke in, started blending together in a disordered cacaphony.
    Born? What do they mean by born?
    Isma just managed to stumble outside. There, his supernaturally heightened senses detected a demonic power far beyond anything he had ever experienced before gathering on the opposite side of the swamp.

Part 3: Chapter 7

    Ohara had managed to make it back to the Soga Forest after escaping from her close shave with death; she stopped by the shores of the swamp, breathing heavily. Surrounded by dark green reeds, the surface of the water rippled, reflecting parts of the dilapidated old manor here and there. A deep wound as if cut by a scalpel was openly exposed in Ohara's arm where she had been hit by the sword of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. However, mysteriously enough, there was very little blood flowing from it any longer.
    Ohara did not really have any intention of returning to Isma. But there was something in the Soga forest that calmed her demonic soul. Sitting down on the trunk of a fallen larch tree, she whispered to herself.
    "Loki..."
    I meant to get revenge, but in the end I didn't even manage to take out the one who killed Loki...
    Something hot welled up in Ohara's eyes, and her bronze cheeks became moist. Waiting a little while, the night breeze cooled her well-formed face, gently wiping those tears off.
    Right at that moment, the white visage of a girl clearly entered Ohara's field of vision.
    It might have been the fact that only hatred had been keeping Ohara going that caused her to notice that Yumiko had half-unintentionally followed her after running out of Nakajima's house.
    You just killed my mom... Nakajima's voice still echoed in Yumiko's ears. As if trying shake free from it, Yumiko slowly raised her hand, glaring at Ohara with tear-filled eyes. The psychic power bestowed upon her by Izanami would surely finish her off in a single attack.
    But Yumiko faltered.
    Professor Ohara is also a victim here. Nakajima's mother surely was also possessed by a demon. And I...
    "Heh, heh, heh." As if she had read Yumiko's mind, Ohara sniffed her bloody fingers, suppressing a giggle.
    "Foolish sympathy will destroy you. Have a look at my fingers! Some of your family's blood still remains on them!"
    "Stop it!" Crying out, Yumiko closed her eyes and swung her hand.
    As if following the arc of that hand, Ohara's chest was rent open, and a spray of her blood drenched the surrounding area. Yumiko unconsciously ran over and pulled up Ohara's broken body, which looked almost coiled around the larch log. In a brief moment, all traces of scales disappeared from her face, and her ghostly white lips quivered, as if trying to say something.
    But Yumiko could not hear whatever it was she was tring to say. Tears rolled off her cheeks and onto Ohara's face. All of a sudden at that instant, there was a rumbling roar from the shores of the swamp, and the entire area was steeped in a miasma.

Part 3: Chapter 6

    It was past 9:00; certainly not an early time to be returning home for a high school student. As Nakajima hesitantly pressed the intercom button, the door swung open, as if waiting for him.
    "Sorry I'm home so late. Professor Feed was..." Sensing a strange coldness from his mother's stare, Nakajima stopped in mid-sentence.
    This isn't the first time I've been late; why is she so mad?
    However, his mother's expression soon softened into a smile, and she pointed inside.
    "There's a guest here to see you."
    "To see me?" Nakajima pictured Yumiko's face.
    However, the sight of a pair of high-heeled shoes in the foyer soon dispelled his hopes.
    "Who is it?"
    "She says her name is Ohara."
    "WHAT!?" Crying out, Nakajima darted into the living room, without even taking off his shoes.
    The woman sitting on the sofa with her back to him slowly stood up and turned to face him.
    "It's been a while, Nakajima."
    The voice was familiar. The face covered in bronze scales was not.
    Nakajima felt surreal, as if he had been pulled into a nightmare, and he felt the will being sapped out of his body.
    "What...are you here for!?" Nakajima finally managed to open his mouth and speak.
    "I'm here to kill you, of course." Speaking casually, a crazed smile flashed on Ohara's face as she assaulted him.
    With the demonic blood flowing in her veins having transformed her into a powerful demon-human hybrid, Ohara was not an opponent that Nakajima could take on barehanded. Without even showing signs of resistance, Nakjama simply let Ohara hold him down, which caused her to let her guard down slightly.
    "What's wrong, Nakajima? Are you trying to suggest that I'm not worth killing!?" Sneering, Ohara's rank breath assaulted Nakajima's senses. However, he did not falter.
    I'll make you regret not using this opportunity to kill me...
    Nakajima had been picturing two blue spheres in his mind. They were spheres he had been given in Yomi, and were used to summon Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. Knocking the two spheres in his mind together, they gave off a shower of sparks, and a blistering aura surrounded his right hand. All of a sudden, Nakajima was grasping the Sword of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, which glowed with a crimson light.
    Feeling the intense heat, Ohara reflexively jumped backwards. Immediately the crimson blade came crashing down, slicing through her arm. Nakajima charged Ohara, who had been knocked backwards by the force of the blow, stabbing the sword as if to finish her off. But he had not adequately trained with the sword of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, and Ohara escaped its tip by a hair's breadth.
    That moment, Nakajima noticed his mother in his field of vision, watching their battle as if possessed.
    "Mom, hide!"
    Nakajima became worried; he needed to get his mother outside safely before Ohara attacked her.
    "Do you want to be skewered on the sword that defeated Loki too?" Standing between his mother and Ohara, Nakajima threatened his opponent. But that once sentence reignited the dwindling flames of Ohara's desire for revenge.
    "You killed Loki...!?" Holding her wounded arm, Ohara ground her teeth together and took a step back.
    "The minute you let me bring out my sword, you lost. Wake up already!" There appeared to be almost a look of compassion in Nakajima's eyes, reflecting the red glow of his blade.
    However, at that moment, an intense pain shot through his right arm. Of all things, his mother had stabbed him from behind with a fruit knife. Though Nakajima immediately pushed his mother away reflexively, he could not understand what had happened and just stood there confused, and in that moment, Ohara, who had slipped behind him, grabbed him in a headlock.
    "Your mother has been possessed by a demon called an Apep, and is completely under my control. Letting you get killed by your own mother is the least I can do for you. Come on, do it!"
    Resonding to Ohara's orders, Nakajima's mother slowly walked toward her son, brandishing her fruit knife.
    "Mom, please stop!" Trying to break Ohara's grip, Nakajima cried out desperately.

    Right at that time, Yumiko had arrived at Nakajima's apartment building, and was about to press the intercom when she felt a strange presence. Without hesitation, she put her hand on the doorknob and focused all her energies on it. As a noxious smoke filled the area, the expensive, high-security lock system melted, and the doorknob fell to the ground; Yumiko had used a tremondous spontaneous combustion power. Running into Nakajima's house without taking her shoes off, Yumiko ran into the living room to see Ohara holding Nakajima in a headlock, moments before he was about to be stabbed by a silver knife.
    "Nakajima, look out!"
    "Wait!"
    The two cried out at exactly the same.
    Yumiko's eyes flashed with a blinding light for an instant, and the arms of Nakajima's knife-wielding mother burst into flame. In mere moments, the fire spread, engulfing her entire body in crimson flames, burning her to a crisp as she wailed in pain.
    Meanwhile, Ohara had escaped outside via the veranda.
    "Mom..." Not noticing the white snake crawling out of the conflagration before disintegrating into thin air, Nakajima merely stood agape as he watched his mother perish, wreathed in flames.
    "Yumiko..."
    Finally Nakajima turned around, his eyes wandering aimlessly.
    "You just killed my mom..." Nakajima's strained voice tore out Yumiko's heart.
    No, it can't be...
    Covering her face with her hands, Yumiko ran outside.

Part 3: Chapter 5

    The same night, Yumiko returned from Yomi to her house for the first time in ages, only to be greeted by the stench of blood. She stood fixed to the spot, staring at the wet pools of blood in the foyer.
    Why...who did this....
    Dropping to the floor, her hands slipped in the lake of blood below them. The mangled corpses of her mother, father, and younger brother all lay before her. Perhaps she was paralyzed by the overwhelming shock of emotion, but Yumiko strangely did not shed a tear. All of a sudden, the image of a sneering woman's face appeared before her eyes.
    "Ohara!" Yumiko's honed supernatural senses had picked up her mother's faint residual energy and amplified it to a clear picture.
    "It was you, wasn't it, Ohara!" Yumiko's field of vision reddened, her sorrow turning to rage. When she regained her senses, she found herself walking outside.
    "Yumi! When did you get back?" The housewife next door had just just come up the stairs, but as she saw the blood dripping from Yumiko's hands, she dropped her shopping bag in shock.
    But as if she did not even see the woman, Yumiko passed by her, walking down the stairs as if sleepwalking. Soon afterwards, she heard a piercing scream behind her. Most likely the housewife she had just passed had looked into Yumiko's apartment and seen the bloodbath there. To Yumiko, it all seemed like something that happened in a dream or a far-off world.
    Why did I even come to Tokyo? If I had stayed in Sapporo none of this would ever have happened to me... Yumiko saw the roadside trees where she had been living three months earlier in Hokkaido superimposed over the lines of gingkos in front of her.
    Nakajima, if only I had never met you...
    Yumiko pictured Nakajima's handsome features in her mind. Love, malice, irritation. A whirl of uncontrollable emotion surged through her body. Unable to withstand it, Yumiko squatted down along the side of the road. The minute she thought of Nakajima, tears started flowing out of her eyes uncontrollably. A nearby child looked at her suspiciously, then ran away in shock upon seeing the blood on her clothing.
    I've got to find Nakajima.
    With heavy footsteps, Yumiko started walking toward the one connection she had remaining.

Part 3: Chapter 4

    On the evening of the following day, Nakajima's mother was getting irritated at how late her son was returning.
    Even if he is helping with the investigation, I can't imagine they would need his help this much...
    She looked up at the clock; it was already long past eight o'clock. Recently Nakajima had been spending long amounts of time with Feed. This was to be expected; without him, there was no chance of the Demon Banishment Project ever coming to fruition. But Nakajima's mother had no way of knowing the truth behind the situation. MIT's Professor Charles Feed showing up. The Special Forces-like Cabinet Intelligence Office getting involved. All of the signs pointed to her son being embroiled in some sort of grave and important affair. Even though her primary concern was for her son to do well in his college entrance exams coming up the following spring, she was in no position to bother him about such a trifling affair.
    "I'm sure that at MIT, Akemi will be able to do research that will benefit the whole world. Please let me make arrangements for his matriculation." If not for Professor Feed's request, which sounded at least half-serious, right about now there might have been a great rift between her and her son.
    The doorbell rang.
    "He's finally back."
    But the slightly nasal voice from the intercom claimed to be a guidance counselor from Jusho High. Looking at the mirror and fixing her hair slightly, Nakajima's mother opened the door. A graceful, smiling woman stood in front of her.
    Is this really a teacher? I imagine none of her students would dare disobey her...
    Dressed in a colorful colorful one-piece, her supple body certainly didn't seem to be what one would expect of a teacher.
    "There's something I think I should talk to you about Nakajima." Ohara knew just what to say to gain her target's trust. Though slightly confused at her slightly overly-gaudy appearance, Nakajima's mother smiled politely and prepared from slippers.
    "The place is a mess, but please, come in."
    Ohara's expression stiffened for an instant as she watched Nakajima's mother turn around.
    She looks exactly like Nakajima Akemi...
    Trying to control her cascading emotions, Ohara bit down on her lip.
    Facing Nakajima's mother on the sofa, the teacher made an unexpected comment.
    "My name is Ohara. I was lying when I said I was a guidance counselor, so I apologize for that."
    "Eh...?" Nakajima's mother tilted her head in suspicion.
    Ohara's eyes narrowed as she watched the woman across from her.
    "I take it from your expression that you don't know who I am." There was an uneasy tension in the air between them.
    "You really do look a lot like him." Murmuring, Ohara felt the scales on her cheeks hardening beneath her makeup.
    "Have a look at this." Speaking in a restrained voice, Ohara extended her hands out toward Nakajima's mother.
    "What's this...!?"
    Green scales were slowly sliding out of the white skin on her hands.
    "Your beloved Akemi was the one who transformed me into this." Ohara's eyes burned with a silvery flame.
    "What do you mean?" Bewildered, Nakajima's mother spoke shrilly; even if she had wanted to stand up, it was if her body was rooted to the spot and she could not move.
    A tiny white snake stuck its head out of the purse that Ohara had put on the sofa. Its flat head turned and its red eyes fixated on Nakajima's mother.
    Nakajima's mother bolted to her feet. "Ah!! What is this thing? Who are you...?"
    The white snake swiftly slid across the ground to her feet, and deftly began to slither up her slender leg.

Part 3: Chapter 3

    Dressed in a colorful chinese-style one-piece, a woman walked briskly from West Eifuku station on the Inokashira line, following a path that ran along the train tracks. Her dark brown eyes shined with a ghostly light in the darkness, accentuating her beauty. Soon the woman stopped in front of a low-rise building covered in white tiles. The name "Sanzhi Electric Residences" was etched into the plate on the entrance to the building. Though it was a corporate dormitory, it was very well maintained and was on the scale of a high-class apartment building. Warm lights coming from various windows on the three-story building and the soft sound of air conditioner compressors reflected the calm and relaxation of the tenants within.
    The woman glared with malice at a corner of the top floor of the building.
    Shirasagi Yumiko, just you watch. I'm going to slaughter your whole family.
    Ohara's eyes glowed with a green aura, revealing the demonic power within her. She recalled how Yumiko injured her beloved Loki in the CAI room. Though Yumiko was really possessed by Izanami when she had fought Loki, to Ohara it was all the same.
    If something has happened to Loki, it's Yumiko's fault--there's no other way to look at it.
    Ohara's hatred for Yumiko far surpassed that of hers for Nakajima. Though Isma had instructed her to kill Nakajima, Ohara suggested that she it would be best to first draw him out by attacking Yumiko's family instead; though the plan had merit it was Ohara's hatred for Yumiko that was really behind her proposal.
    Trying to calm her emotions, Ohara closed her eyelids. Soon, the grim expression on her face disappeared, to be replaced by a smile. Taking in a deep breath, she started to climb the stairs.
    Right as the doorbell echoed for the second time, the door opened slightly, locked with a chain, bathing the concrete pathway outside with light. A woman looked through the crack with suspicion at this late-night visitor.
    "My name is Harayama, and I'm from Jusho High. About Yumiko..." Ohara could not risk using her real name.
    The door closed for a moment, and then with the sound of the chain being unfastened, it opened wiedly. A plump middle-aged woman stood in front of Ohara, looking up at her with eagerness in her eyes.
    "Thank you for taking the trouble to come out here in the middle of the night...have you learned anything new?" The woman hardly resembled Yumiko; her double-eyelids were about the only feature the two shared. Her barely 150-centimeter height and plump frame made her look jovial and pleasant. For an instant, Ohara's hostility was dulled.
    "Don't just stand out there! Come on in!" The voice seemed to come further in, from the living room, but then a handsome man with silvery-gray hair looked around the corner. The instant Ohara saw the man, she saw the resemblence to Yumiko in his good looks, igniting the flames of hatred within her. She felt the scales under her thick makeup hardening.
    "I'm sorry, I just got over-excited. Please, come in." Motioning for Ohara to come inside, Yumiko's mother locked the door. The man was returning to the living room when he heard a strange sound from the foyer, and turned around.
    The visitor was facing away from him, crouching as if to maybe take off her shoes, and his wive was staring at her with shock in her eyes.
    "Hey, what's wrong?"
    But instead of answering her husband, the woman simply gaped and spurted blood from the deep wound in her throat.
    "Heh, heh, heh."
    The woman facing away from him started chuckling. Yumiko's father watched as his wife, her throat rent in two, slowly collapsed to the floor of the foyer, now a sea of blood, with a look of disbelief on her face.
    "Gah hah hah hah!" The woman's laugh rose to a cackle.
    "Y-You bastard...!" The man gradually realized the seriousness of the situation.
    However, the woman slowly stood up and turned around, and the visage of her face froze Yumiko's father in his tracks. Her bronze face was framed by black hair, her crimson mouth slightly open, her silver eyes glittering with madness, looking him over. Ohara herself was taken aback by the force of her transformation. However, she was partially drunk with the mysterious power she had gained with Loki's blood running through her veins. Her hands, coated in purple scales, grabbed onto the man's throat, and she effortlessly lifted him in the air.
    The man's face started to turn purple. However, his primal survival instinct was not dead, and like a shrimp, his body shook, his legs kicking.
    Murmuring, Ohara squeezed tighter. "That's right, strugle. Struggle as hard and as vainly as you can."
    "Guagh!" With a bizarre voice that could only come from a larynx being clamped shut, the man's body spasmed and went limp.
    At that moment, the doorbell echoed throughout the apartment. Most likely, Yumiko's younger brother had come home. Licking the black blood off her razor-sharp talons, Ohara smiled at the fortuitous timing of the arrival.

Part 3: Chapter 2

    Meanwhile, Yumiko was learning to control her own power from Izanami, the goddess having brought her into Yomi. Though she lived the life of an ordinary girl for seventeen years, Yumiko had inherited the constitution of Izanami. That, along with the adept instruction from the goddess herself, had allowed Yumiko to learn to draw out the bottomless power slumbering deep within her, bit by bit, in a very short time span.
    She was currently in the middle of training to harness the psychic power once held by the ancient gods. With just a space of two meters between them, two rock walls, nearly perpendicular to the ground, faced each other, towering up into the sky. Yumiko was floating in mid-air, as if weaving through that gap. Her white skin began to glow more and more with a purple phosphorescent glow. With a boom like thunder, the glow increased in intensity. Yumiko, enveloped in that mysterious light and surrounded by a golden aura behind her, resembled the smiling visage of the Miroku Buddha. Soon, as if she had transformed into a particle of light herself, the outline of her shape started to blur and become indistinct.
    Silently, Yumiko raised her right hand. The clouds of light surrounding her body started to condense at the tip of her finger. Yumiko brought down her arm forcefully. As she did, the light fired from her finger shot like an arrow through the rock face.
    An immense roar echoed, and a brilliant blue pillar of flame flared into the sky. Yumiko watched the giant rock with an almost drunken expression in her eyes as it slowly crumbled into nothing, as if in a slow-motion video. But as if Yumiko sensed something, suddenly her eyes clouded up, and she started plunging toward the ground some twenty meters below like a bird whose wings had been pulled off.
    "Look out!"
    Mere moments before Yumiko would have struck the ground, an invisible power picked her up and brought her slowly to the ground like a leisurely falling feather.
    "What's the matter with you!?" Izanami, who was kneeling next to Yumiko, spoke harshly.
    "If this is the best you can do, I can't imagine when I'll be able to send you back to the human world..."
    The goddess realized that Yumiko's eyes were trembling as if in terror, and softened her tone.
    "You saw something, didn't you?"
    "Yes. Someone close to me crying out, and the smell of blood..." Yumiko replied in a broken voice, her pale lips trembling, drained of blood.
    "Was it Nakajima's voice?"
    "No....it was my mother's voice."
    Yumiko looked up into the sky anxiously. Other than the sound of the wind blowing through the valley, all was silent. But Yumiko was sure that she had heard her mother scream.
    "Izanami, could something terrible have happened to my mother?" Yumiko's voice was full of emotion.
    Yumiko might have foreseen something in the future. However, there was also the possibility that her desire to return to the human world was unconsciously causing her to hallucinate. Izanami had trouble deciding whether or not she should return her charge to the human world.
    With Izanami's direct instruction, Yumiko had gained mastery of psychic powers well enough to face off against demons on her own. But her mind was still that of a seventeen-year-old schoolgirl. Like what had happened today, if her determination wavered, it could have disastrous consequences. Furthermore, Yumiko was relying too much on her sense of sight when using her powers.
    Still, her immaturity is not a problem that can be solved with just a little bit of short training. This girl's desire to return to Nakajima is clouding her judgement. If she was with him, it might actually help fix her shortcomings instead.
    "Do you want to return to the human world?" Izanami smiled kindly at Yumiko.

Part 3: Chapter 1

    The air conditioners in the basement of the manor hummed at full blast, drawing in the air from the Soga Forest, damp from the previous day's rain, and drenching the room with thick humidity. Focused entirely on his work at the keyboard, Isma heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and turned around in irritation. Shimazaki entered the room, his yellow teeth drawn in a wide grin.
    "The Apeps are working splendidly."
    "Of course they are. But don't forget--any body the Apeps possess won't last ten days."
    Brushing aside Isma's warning, Yamazaki continued speaking. "You know, the Chief Secretary of the Liberal Party says he would like to meet you..."
    "I have no interest in petty Japanese politicians."
    Isma's words left Shimazaki at a loss. He simply smiled ingratiatingly, but not discouraged, walked behind Isma to take a look at the computer display.
    "What are you doing now?"
    "Though I have suceeded in giving form to Set's Apeps, this is just the beginning. Until I can manage to give Set himself a body, it will be impossible to truly conquer the Assiah world."
    "You certainly have set your sights high, Saint. Oh, by the way..." Lowering his voice, Shimazaki pulled a nearby chair up and sit down next to Isma.
    "Nakajima has apparently returned."
    Isma stopped typing on the keyboard.
    "So this means he really did defeat Loki."
    "Most likely. On that note, there's something in the information I got about him that has been bothering me..." Shimazaki moved even closer to Isma.
    "I've heard rumors that a man named Charles Feed has joined with Nakajima and is working with him to develop a plan to fight back against the demons. Who is he?"
    "He's my brother." Speaking in an emotionless voice, Feed started typing again.
    "Oh. Well, that's a strange coincidence..." Shimazaki had found that much out for himself long ago, but pretended that he had not known.
    "In any case, I would like your advice on how to deal with the current situation."
    As Shimazaki spoke, Isma lifted his bony fingers away from the keyboard and slowly looked up.
    "Send Ohara after him."
    "Eh?" Not understanding what Isma meant, Shimazaki stood with a look of puzzlement on his face.
    Isma chuckled and spoke in a cold and ruthless voice. "While it is best to dispose of any liabilities, I would like to get a sense of their abilities first. At the moment, Ohara is showing signs of demonization. She is also very disposable, making her ideal to test their power. Wouldn't you agree?"

Part 2: Chapter 6

    The long-term Committee Chairman Matoba of the Social Democratic Party lived in a manor in a residential area about a ten minute walk away from Ikegami Honmonji. The modern, reinforced concrete building behind the vine-covered gateposts stood in stark contrast to the traditional Japanese-style buildings all around it.
    While Shimazaki was paying a visit to Ota, a tall man carrying what looked like a slim suitcase stepped out of a black Cedric parked near that gatepost. The man was in excellent shape, but his behavior seemed somehow agitated and anxious. Stepping into the alleyway and slipping behind Matoba's manor, he opened the lid of the suitcase.
    Apparently that suitcase was actually a notebook computer.
    Typing on the keyboard with uncertain movements, a droplet-like crystal blurred the liquid-crystal display of the machine. Presently the crystal changed into a milky-white liquid, which spilled to the ground by the man's feet and took on the form of an Apep, the minion of Set. Raising its slender head, the Apep took a quick look around before silently disappearing inside the concrete mansion.

    Right at that moment, Matoba was taking a nap on the sofabed in the study next to his office. The heavy black bags under his eyes belied his exhaustion, most likely from his nonstop efforts to bring his party together and block the National Secrets Protection Act from being passed. Taking advantage of the fact that the world stage was more and more becoming becoming a war of information, the restrictions in the act clearly indicated that the Liberal Party was veering even further and further to the right. As the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, that was hard for Matoba to let slide.
    A quiet breeze blew into the room through the air conditioner that Matoba had left on. Not even disturbing the sound of that breeze, the snake slipped into the room through the slit under the door. It raised up its head, as if fixating on its prey. Its small red eyes looked all over the slightly snoring, sleeping form of Matoba. Squiggling its body rapidly, the white snake slithered across the floor, effortlessly climbing up the sofabed and diving into the V-neck of Matoba's undershirt, clearly exposed by his unfastened tie.
    The next instant, without any hesitation, the pale serpent bit into the exaggeratedly expanding and contracting fat stomach before it. Like a sharp drill, the slender body of the snake tunneled into Matoba's gut. As if he felt no pain whatsoever, Matoba kept sleeping on peacefully.
    A minute or so later, Matoba suddenly twisted up away from the sofabed as if a wave of high-voltage electricity was running through him, and his body started to spasm wildly. However, it appeared that the Apep had gained full control of his nervous system, as he soon started snoring again and fell into a deep sleep. Strangely enough, the wound on his stomach had sealed up as if cured by some sort of magic medicine. Only moments later, the light sound of a Cedric driving away could be heard moving away from the front of Matoba's manor.

    The next morning, Ota, who had been sleeping like a rock in his office in Nagatacho, was shaken awake by a messenger.
    "Is it time for today's plenary session already?" As Ota's sleepy eyes searched for his glasses, the messenger's excited voice interrupted.
    "Chairman Matoba of the Social Democratic Party declared his support for the National Secrets Protection Act in a press conference this morning. Congratulations, Chief Secretary. Now the law is as good as passed."
    "What!?" As if he had not completely awakened from a dream, Ota shook his head furiously.

Part 2: Chapter 5

    On the second floor of the eight-story building next to the official residence of the Nagatacho Council Chairman was the office of one Ota Masaru, Chief Secretary of the Liberal Party. Though it was past one o'clock in the morning, Ota sat on his bed in his private room beyond the office, gripping the receiver of the phone as he had been for over an hour. He had been losing a lot of sleep over whether or not the National Secrets Protection Act was going to pass or not. His bulldog-like jowled face was thick with signs of accumulated fatigue.
    "You yourself advocated the importance of passing the National Secrets Protection Act; it would be a waste for you change your mind about it now!" Ota's voice sounded a little rude.
    "Now that Committee Chairman Matoba is against the act, I can't go along with it. Try and understand the tight position that I'm in right now." The voice on the other end of the phone was also tired. Judging from the fact that he brought up Committee Chairman Matoba, the speaker was probably a member of the Diet from the Social Democratic Party.
    "I've done my best to convince Matoba. If that's not enough, then the only thing left for you to is to try and convince him yourself. I'm sure Matoba is not unflappable, so long as you agree to a power share between the two parties." Saying all he was willing to, the speaker hung up.
    "Damn!" Slamming the receiver back onto the phone, Ota fell backwards onto the bed and rubbed his eyelids. Taking in a deep breath, his bulging stomach expanded like a frog's.
    Right at that moment, there was a knock on the door.
    "It's open." Yawning as he spoke, Ota made no effort to turn toward the door. It made a clicking sound as it opened, and a red face with a clearly ingratiating smile poked in through the door.
    It was Shimazaki Ryunosuke.
    "I don't know what it is you want at this hour, but I'm not exactly in a good mood." Propping himself up on the bed, Ota turned his head toward the man, the bones in his neck popping as he did so.
    "There's something that I would like to tell you." Shimazaki's eyes were lit up.
    "I'd love to hear another one of your schemes to make more money, but this isn't the time. I've got to get this law passed."
    "Trying to score as many points as possible while Chief Secretary so you can be first in line for that juicy Party Chairman position when it next goes vacant, are we?"
    "Hmph!" Ota glared at Shimazaki with displeasure in his bulging eyes. But he didn't show any reaction to the man.
    "You have nothing to worry about. After all, Comittee Chairman Matoba of the Social Democratic Party is going to switch sides and start supporting the National Secrets Protection Act."
    "What did you just say...!?"
    Ota bolted upright, and as if to taunt him, Shimazaki remained silent for a while.
    "I'm saying that if you leave everything to me, I'll get the Social Democratic Party on your side."
    "If this is a joke, it's not very funny. Do you have some sort of plan?" Ota's voice was trembling.

Part 2: Chapter 4

    Sandwiched in between many computers and electronic instruments, a whiteboard covered in complicated looking mathematical formulae dominated a room in the brand new National Electric Research Laboratories (otherwise known as Electric Labs) building behind Shinjuku Park in Tokyo. Surrounding a desk with a terminal around it, a crimson thaumaturgic circle painted on the ground stood out conspicuously. This was the Demon Banishment Project Room, constructed by Professor Feed on direct request to the Chief Cabinet Secretary. Of course, there was no way that they could officially name the project something like "Demon Banishment," and a placard attached to the door read "New AI Project Room," AI short for "Artificial Intelligence."
    A week earlier, late at night, Feed visited Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujita along with Narukawa and the fully-recovered Nakajima. While skirting around Nakajima's own personal culpability in the incident, Feed had explained the details situation to the Secretary--how Nakajima fought with a demon summoned by a computer, and how the incident posed a potential danger for the future.
    However, Secretary Fujita's response had been less than accomodating.
    "Even coming from a brilliant scientist from MIT as yourself, I can't possibly be expected to believe in demons." Behind his glasses, Fujita's eyes displayed an expression of surprise and confusion.
    "Well, at the very least, there are plenty of people in the US government that believe in that possibility." Feed shrugged his shoulders.
    "We're low on help already, and I've already appointed our most elite investigator to help you..." Fujita spoke sardonically, barely concealing his irritation.
    Narukawa, who had remained silent listening until this point in the conversation, suddenly spoke.
    "Nakajima, could you show us Kerberos?"
    "Of course."
    With deft movements, Nakajima pulled out his handheld computer and his fingers started flying across the keyboard. Fujita's feet, which had been tapping impatiently, stopped instantly as a strange mist started billowing forth from the liquid crystal display. Rapidly the mist condensed into the outline of an otherworldly beast. As a gut-wrenching roar shook the office, Fujita found himself staring into two eyes like flame.
    "What is...!?"
    "This is a demon, Secretary Fujita. Though this demon is an obedient one, fiercely loyal to his master Nakajima."
    Shaken by Kerberos' roar, Fujita waved his hand as if trying to say "OK, I get it!"
    The first job of the Demon Banishment Project was to recreate the Demon Summoning Program that had been deleted off of Jusho High's host computer by someone. That itself was easy for Nakajima. Several days later, as Nakajima was going through the nearly complete program line-by-line to check it, Feed called out from behind him.
    "How is it compared to the old version?"
    "Part of the machine-language subroutines might be different, but for the most part, it should be the same." Nakajima's voice was slightly downcast. It might have been that deep down he no longer wanted to have any more association with demons at all.
    "Want to give it a shot?" Stepping into the red thaumaturgic circle painted on the ground with mercuric sulfide-based paint, Feed spoke casually.
    "OK."
    As the computer started up, a musky odor started to fill the room. A low rumbling filled the brand new building, and cracks shot up the white walls.
    "If a demon appears, I'll take care of it." In his right hand, Feed was gripping an ornate cross. Realizing the man's sincerity, Nakajima cast a genuinely friendly smile in his direction for the first time. But the rumbling started to die down, and the musky smell started to thin.
    "Is there some sort of mistake in the program?" Nakajima looked at Feed as if searching for an answer.
    "I don't think so. From what I've just seen, there's no mistake that a magnetic field suitable for summoning a demon was all set up. It may be that the reason no demon appeared was that it might have appeared in the Assiah world via a different magnetic field."
    "There's still some details about the mechanism for demon summoning that I don't really understand yet."
    "Unusual words, coming from the genius that was the first to successfully summon a demon via a computer." Feed grinned broadly, but his expression soon turned grave as he looked directly at Nakajima.
    "The last demon to appear called himself Set, correct?"
    "Yes, that's right."
    "While it's too dangerous to try and conjecture the state of affairs in the demon world based on our own knowledge of this one, my theory is that the demon world is like a colloidal conglomeration of countless mini-universes, each centered around a powerful demon. Most likely, with Loki's death, the mini-universe in contact with Japan or Tokyo vanished, and Set's mini-universe entered to take its place. Demon summoning is just opening a contact point between the two worlds at the same time."
    "So what would happen if two contact points were opened at the same time?"
    "The demon would decide which it wanted to appear at. However, there are some examples in medieval records of demon summonings that report that when the difference in strength of the two magnetic fields was great enough, the demon would be pulled to the stronger field, regardless of which it wanted to go to..."
    A knock on the door interrupted Feed's explanation. Carrying a stack of thick books, Narukawa closed the door behind him as he approached the two.
    "There are about 6,000 computers in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area capable of summoning a demon. Using mass numbers of investigators, this is the number of locations that could be serached out in detail within a month."
    Since the project was officially started, while continuing to try and track down Ohara, Narukawa had been investigating places with mid-size or larger computers installed, with an eye out for hardware that would be capable of summoning demons.
    "I see. Have you made any headway on finding Ohara?"
    "Unfortunately, no. However, there is something I'd like to ask you..." Lowering his voice, Narukawa looked at Feed.
    "What is it?"
    "Professor, do you know a man named Isma Feed?"
    The instant the professor heard the name, Nakajima noticed his expression cloud up.
    "Where did you hear that name?"
    "We've received a communique from the FBI that Isma has snuck into Japan."
    "This is bad. As you know, in the incarnation of a serpent, Set was powerful enough to take on and fight all the Egyptian gods to a standstill single-handedly. If Isma were to join forces with one such as him..."
    Without explaining just who Isma was, Feed turned to the window and gazed outside with unfocused eyes.

Part 2: Chapter 3

    August 1st, midnight.
    The underground storage room seemed somewhat small now, with the huge supercomputer that had now been installed there. Isma had been making large improvements in the demon summoning program that Ohara had stolen. Of course, he also had the skills of the software engineers under Shimazaki's control at his beck and call. Still, materializing the "digital" Set had proved to be more difficult than expected.
    "Saint, how is it going? Has there been any progress?" Shimazaki's voice sounded somewhat impatient.
    "This program is has too many defects in it! Summoning a demon is a two step process; first you need to create a magnetic field in which to call it forth, and then you can help give it a form. However this program completes the process in a confusing and complicated way!"
    "But wasn't the demon called Loki able to take a body using that program?"
    "Set is a lot more powerful than Loki. The amount of data that needs to be processed is gigantic in comparison. Furthermore, if you try to run the program straight-up, low-ranking demons get their data mixed up with Set, making it even more difficult to give him a form. I'm trying to add my own improvements to handle the data more efficiently, but it's not enough to give Set a body yet. Anyhow, to start with, I'm going to try to separate and materialize those low-ranking demons first."
    Sitting in the middle of the Solomon Hexagram, Isma started to type on the keyboard. The magnetic tape started clacking as the reels began to spin, and the display started flashing wildly. Soon, a musky smell filled the room.
    "Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh." As the low voice sounded, a milky white droplet formed on the display.
    "Oh, at last!" Not moving an inch, Isma and Shimazaki gazed at the screen. As the condensation increased until it seemed to cover the screen, it slid off onto the floor. Two tiny white snakes, small enough to fit in the palm of one's hand, started to slither across the ground. As Shimazaki started to bend toward them, an expression of suspicion on his face, Isma yelled at him.
    "Don't get near them! If you value your life, that is!"
    "What are these puny little snakes?" Shimazaki asked, clear dissatisfaction in his voice.
    "They are Apeps, venomous serpents that serve Set."
    "What kind of power could little snakes like these possibly have?"
    "Apeps enter into the bodies of humans, dissolve their spinal cords with their poison and then replace it with their own bodies, becoming the victim's nervous system and controlling them completely."
    "I-is that so...?" Shimazaki gulped and took a step backward.
    "Apeps are like receivers that Set can use to control humans from a long distance. Depending on how one used them, they could be more useful than any kind of raw power, no matter how great..." His eyes mere slits, as if looking at precious jewels, Isma watched the two small squiggling vipers.

    On the second floor of the same manor, Ohara was in a room about 15 square meters with no other furniture but a bed. Opening the curtains of the window, she saw the moon reflected in the water amongst the reeds of the swamp. Facing the moon, Ohara whispered.
    "Loki...."
    Ohara had no home to return to. According to the report from one of Shimazaki's underlings, they were investigating her house in connection with the incident at Jusho high.
    Nobody knows the truth. No, even if someone told them, they'd never believe it.
    As if in response to her call, the embryo inside her moved around.
    Does a fetus less than three months old like this usually kick this much? I might be giving birth to a child with an unfathomable amount of power. Since it's Loki's child, I'm sure it'll be beautiful....
    Closing the curtains and moving away from the window, Ohara sat down on the bed. Sitting alone at night like this always made her thoughts turn to Loki.
    It's hard to believe that just a few months ago I was hoping to get married like a normal person. Loki, where did you go...
    Her intuition told her that the demon she loved was dead. However, she did not want to admit it. She couldn't possibly believe that anyone in the world could replace Loki.
    Nakajima, Shirasagi, if you still live, I'll make you suffer just like I have!
    Ohara bit her lip until it bled. Though she had not noticed when it happened, green scales had started to grow on the back of her hand. At some point, demonic power had started to flow through Ohara's own body.

Part 2: Chapter 2

    After returning to the material world from Izanami's burial chamber, Nakajima had visibly weakened, and under the protection of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, he had been admitted to Kuniritsu-Musashino Hospital, where Charles Feed had questioned him.
    "I think that just about covers all that happened, Dr. Feed." Sitting up in bed, Nakajima spoke in a tired voice before going silent. His face was as handsome as usual, but his gaze seemed somewhat empty.
    Sitting across from Nakajima, Feed got a sense of what was going on. Part of his psyche is refusing to awaken. He probably doesn't want to face the fact that the demon he summoned killed all of his classmates.
    "I don't really know what to say...if only I was in America when you first summoned the demon and contacted Craft, this never would have happened. However, that doesn't change the fact that you have commited a grave crime. Whether or not the law can do anything about it, though..." Feed looked over at Narukawa, who was sitting in a corner of the room, listening intently.
    "It's be tough to establish any proof of instigation of murder. About all he could be charged with is misuse of a computer."
Caught by Feed's gaze as he looked at Nakajima's profile, Narukawa gave a somewhat forced legal interpretation of the situation.
    Something seemed strange about Nakajima; Narukawa felt a strange sense, like as if he had run into a lover or long-lost relative that he had been separated from ages ago. At first he thought that he had just been stricken by the boy's looks, but as time passed, he realized that this was something different, like an bizarrely unnatural feeling of nostalgia.
    I can't put my finger on it, but I'm sure I've met this boy somewhere...
    However, no matter how hard he racked his brains, Narukawa could not think of another moment where had ever seen Nakajima before.
    "I would never have expected a genius capable of summoning demons with a computer would be born here in Japan..." Feed's murmuring broke Narukawa's strange sense of deja-vu.
    "I think it's less a matter of my ability and more that the conditions in the city of Tokyo are good for summoning demons. I'm sure there are many programs written on the same concept overseas, but I've never heard of an example of any of them working." Nakajima's words were cool and collected, as if he was speaking of someone else.
    "On that note, where is the critical demon summoning program now?"
    "It should be on Jusho High's host computer..."
    "What was the filename?"
    "It's DEMON."
    Feed and Narukawa looked at each other. Nakajima understood the meaning of their glance instantly.
    "Someone deleted it, didn't they?"
    "Who besides you would have been able to do that?"
    "Ohara, I bet."
    As Nakajima responded, Narukawa interrupted into the conversation.
    "I will get right on finding Ohara. I'm not saying that I believe everything that Nakajima is saying, but it definitely seems that Ohara holds the key to this puzzle."
    Almost as if switching places with Narukawa as he opened the door to the room, Nakajima's mother looked in.
    "Mr. Feed, it's been longer than an hour. Akemi is still not well. Could I possibly ask you to come back some other time?"
    Feed shook his head and spoke resolutely. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Nakajima, but for your own son's sake, it's important that I finish my conversation with him."
    "Mom, it's OK." With her son's insistence, Nakajima's mother left with an air of disapproval, but even after she left, her silhouette in the frosted glass showed that she was trying to listen in on the conversation.
    Smiling bitterly, Feed spoke in a low voice directly into Nakajima's ear.
    "You'll work together with me, right?"
    "Yes...of course."
    "So, where do you think we should start from?"
    "...Hmm. I think the best thing to do to start would be to rewrite the demon summoning program." As Nakajima whispered, there was a sort of blankness in his expression.

Part 2: Chapter 1

PART 2: QUICKENING

    Situated between Musashino city in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area and Mitaka city is a 6600-square-meter wooded area of mixed tree types called the Soga Forest. Thickly overgrown with ancient larch and beech trees growing in irregular patterns, this forest is a good place for children to play during the day.
    However, the children who play in these woods never go near the swamp filled with dark green reeds and other water plants that is located in a corner of the forest. But this is not only because their parents strictly forbid them from any sort of risky playing in the water. The eerie aura given off by the delapidated old western-style house that was there enveloped the entire swamp itself, scaring off everyone who dared come near.
    The house originally belonged to a former elite-turned-war criminal from the Second World War, and misfortune befell all who owned it thereafter. Since the last family that had lived there had been brutally slaughtered by robbers, it had been left untouched, with nobody daring to move in.
    It was most likely that Isma's heightened sensitivity as a magician had caused him to pick this manor from among the places Shimazaki had proposed as a place to summon the demon.
    The cool concrete walls of the underground storage room were completely exposed. A faint, strange smell wafted from one corner. The fluorescent lamp in the ceiling illuminated the not-yet-dry reddish-black paint of the bizarre symbol painted on the ground. It was mysterious geometric pattern, much like an abstract depiction of a bird's eye. In its center stood a large computer. From the computer extended a five-meter-long cable, connecting to a keyboard and display in the middle of a Solomon Hexagram.
    "The preparations for the summoning of Set are complete..." Isma's frigid voice echoed off the concrete walls as he faced the screen. Shortly earlier, that screen had been displaying pictographs that looked like Egyptian heiroglyphs.
    Shimazaki, who was standing in a corner of the Solomon Hexagram, licked his lips and peered into the display, his eyes full of both expectation and uneasiness at the same time.
    Isma's bony fingers started tapping the keys. The hard disk gave off a whine as it started slowly spinning, and an unintelligible pattern started flashing onscreen. Soon the screen went black, and after an instant of silence, an earthquake rumbled, shaking the very foundations of the manor. Shimazaki's eyes darted about the room in terror, but Isma showed no signs of paying him any heed.
    "He is here!" As Isma cried out, the floor around the computer started to crack and brilliant light shone out of the tiny fissures. A miasma started seeping out of the cracks, but the inside of the Solomon Hexagram was protected from being affected.
    Presently, a writhing, hoarse voice spilled from the speakers.
    "Who calls me?"
    "I am thy romet, Isma Feed."
    "I do not know that name." The voice, sounding as if it echoed from the bowels of Hell, terrified Shimazaki, who dropped to the floor in fear, cowering behind Isma's chair. Cruelly pushing his hands away, Isma stood up, as if in defiance of the display.
    "Know that I plan to join forces with thee, child of Nut, and conquer the Assiah world."
    "..."
    For some time, silence filled the room.
    The hard disk started spinning furiously, indicating that it was handling a huge amount of data. Then the low voice echoed through the room again.
    "What do you offer me?"
    "Anything thou desirest. However, only if thou lendst me thy power."
    "Do you, a mere human, dare to consider yourself my equal?"
    "Indeed I do. There is none other than I that can call thee into the Assiah world."
    "How impudent..."
    As the air around the computer started shimmering as if in a heat haze, a blistering wave assaulted Isma. Before the immense might of that wave of anger, even Isma took a step backwards. The iron girders holding up the ceiling bent like a bow, and the fluorescent tubes of the lights shattered and fell to the floor as dust. Shimazaki fell on his stomach to the floor, his hands over his head as if to protect it. But Isma showed no fear of the computer and simply kept glaring at it.
    "Set, dost thou think that I do not know just how much thy desirest the Assiah world?" At the sound of his soft voice, the fierce wind died down.
    "Thy legends still are known to this day--how thou killed thy elder brother Osiris, how thy turned all the all the other gods led by Horus against thee, and how thy fought them all and survived--all in order to make the Assiah world thy own."
    "So what is it what you want to say...?" There was some hesitation in Set's voice.
    "I have the technology to break the laws that bind thee and thy kind. Joining forces with me would be greatly benificial to thee as well, would it not?"
    "Isma, or whoever it is you are, I vow in the name of Nut to form a contract with you." Set's voice reverberated throughout the room.
    For a demon to vow in the name of one ranking above itself indicated an absolute, unbreakable bond. Isma's face lit up with a victorious smile.
    "Set, tell me what it is thou wishest."
    "Do you vow not to join forces with any demon than I?"
    "Very well. If thou vowest to Nut not to join forces with any human other than I."
    The demon Set and Isma started to go into the details of forming a concrete contract.

Part 1: Chapter 7

    While Feed was at Jusho High, a man from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office calling himself Saga was visiting Nakajima's high-rise apartment building in Suginami Ward. He was impeccably dressed and his speech and mannerisms were those of a gentleman. But Nakajima's mother, who responded to the door, had never even heard of any organization called the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office before. From the man's appearance, it appeared that this organization held a lot more power than just the police. How did these people have any connection with her son, Akemi?
    "Ma'am, we really need your assistance in our investigation. For Akemi's sake, too..."
    Nakajima's mother had not heard anything from her son about what happened to him at Jusho High that day. But since that day when he practically materialized from thin air in their living room, she sensed in a warmth in Nakajima's eyes that was not there before. They were kind eyes, full of a kindness that looked to her for aid and yet was there to protect her as well. He hadn't said anything; instead he just sat there with her after he appeared, deep in thought about something. She had tried hard to suppress her urge to ask him what had happened to him while he had gone missing. For some reason, she got the sense that Akemi would go far away again if she did. Finally, as if he had gotten his thoughts together, Akemi had stood up and shut himself up in his room, falling into a deep sleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. But that was enough for his mother. Her own mother's intuition told her that he had been through something terrible in that short week he was gone.
    I don't know what happened to him. But at the very least, Akemi didn't abandon me. Nakajima's mother felt a new love for her son from the bottom of her heart.
    I won't let anyone threaten Akemi, regardless of who they are!
    Not knowing what to do in the face of this woman's harsh stare, the man calling himself Saga fished in his shirt pocket for a carton of cigarettes.
    "I'm sorry, but could you lend me an ashtray?"
    The moment he opened his mouth, the doorbell rang. Nakajima's mother immediately stood up and picked up the intercom hanging on the wall.
    "....Yes. Your colleague just arrived. Hold on a minute, I'll let you in."
    Pursing her lips together as if coming to a decision, she headed toward the foyer. Smiling bitterly, the man returned his cigarette to its box and followed after her.

Part 1: Chapter 6

    The next day came. The lines of trees of Musashino, bathed in blazing light from the sun, flowed past in a sliding motion outside the Cadillac heading toward Jusho High.
    "This is all the material you have on Nakajima Akemi?" Sitting in the plush back seat of the car, Feed spoke to the unshaven Detective Iwama sitting next to him.
    "Yes. He's just an ordinary high school student, so there's not much more that we could find on him. But Dr. Feed, do you really think that Nakajima is the ringleader behind the whole incident?" Detective Iwama did not approve of this American, clearly some sort of scientist, interfering with his investigation.
    "In a way, I imagine that he's actually a victim. But he certainly played a very large part in the incident."
    "Do you have any evidence to prove that?" Iwama's voice barely concealed his irritation.
    We investigated each one of the students ages ago. It's true that Nakajima Akemi appeared to be an unusual student, but there was no evidence of him having any violent tendicies. The teachers seemed to have a high opinion of him too.
    But Feed was not paying any heed to Iwama's attitude, and instead was busily flipping through the materials in his hands.
    "The records he left in the online database that I manage is the proof. The time that the incident at Jusho high took place was..."
    "In Japanese time, it was July 13th, sometime between 10 and 12 AM," Narukawa, who was driving, interjected in an emotionless voice.
    "At precisely that time, Nakajima was trying to talk to the AI, Craft, located on my servers in Arkham in Massachusetts."
    "What!? If you had such critical information why didn't you tell us before...No, I'm sorry, pardon the outburst. I presume you will be releasing that information to us?"
    "I'm here precisely because that information is not something that can be so easily released." Feed's voice was calm and composed.
    "But this is an investigation..." As Iwama reflexively leaned ahead, the car suddenly slowed down, and he fell forward. The black Cadillac pulled in front of the gate of Jusho High.

    Iwama entered the CAI room accompanied by Narukawa and Feed, grimaced at the heat and stench in the room, and explained the situation when the incident there had occurred.
    "So then, you haven't been able to identify this matter yet?" Gathering some of the sticky substance sticking to some of the rubble into a petri dish with well-practiced movements, Feed questioned the detective.
    "Unfortunately, not yet..." Iwama's face was sullen.
    At that moment, a small sound from a transmitter rang from Narukawa's arm.
    "Looks like I've got a message from HQ. Excuse me for a moment." As usual, Narukawa showed no waste in his movement. The face of the instructor in charge of the CAI room peered out from the machine room.
    "I've readied the Host Computer. Please come this way." The air conditioner turned on, and cool air finally started blowing through the sauna-like room.
    "Your machines are IBMs, I see." Feed started analyzing the contents of the programs on the host computer with the speed of one very familiar with their operation. As his bony fingers tapped the keys, a huge program list filled the screen.
    "'MATHEMATICS 1.' That's not what I want!" A red mark was appended to the program he was analyzing.
    Come to think of it, we probably should have checked the contents of the computer... While looking at Feed, absorbed in his work on the computer, with a sidelong glance, Iwama secretly regretted not having done so earlier.
    "'ENGLISH READER 2.' That's not what I want either!"
    Feed's eyes continued to dart through the program list like a hawk, until he finally lowered his shoulders with a sigh.
    "Maybe the program I want to see isn't here. It may have been tacked onto the OS itself. Could I have a look at this system's operating manual?"
    "If you need the manual, we keep it in the Teacher's Office..." The teacher in charge of the CAI room looked perplexed.
    "Wait. Hold on a minute here..." Apparently discovering something he had overlooked, Feed cast an uneasy glance toward the teacher and Iwama.
    "Nobody has touched this system since the incident, right?" Feed said in a skeptical tone.
    "As a matter of proper police procedure, we have placed this room off-limits..." Not being able to directly answer Feed's question, Iwama looked at the teacher in an accusatory manner.
    Right at that moment, Narukawa, who had come in at some point, handed Feed a memo.
    "Nakajima has returned."
    The moment his eyes read the scrap of paper, Feed's expression lit up.