Chapter 287: The Dread of the Gods (Patreon)

Igarashi Sakuko nodded, only half understanding, but she took the words to heart all the same, committing them to memory with quiet seriousness.

Amamiya Rin's expression gradually turned solemn. "There's one more thing, Igarashi. Everything that happened today — I need you to keep it secret."

"Secret?"

Igarashi Sakuko blinked, repeating the word with a puzzled look, not quite grasping his meaning.

Amamiya Rin said in a low voice, "That's right. You should understand — the true identity of an Ultraman can never be revealed to ordinary humans. It's an important rule."

Igarashi Sakuko's expression sharpened at once, her eyes turning utterly earnest. She straightened her back and said solemnly, "I understand. I will never tell anyone — not even the people closest to me. My lips are sealed."

She'd watched plenty of tokusatsu shows featuring Ultramen, so she understood well enough: once an Ultraman's identity was exposed, he could no longer stay on Earth to protect everyone. It was common knowledge, something everyone knew, and she wasn't about to take it lightly.

After a pause, a hopeful light rose in Igarashi Sakuko's eyes, and she asked eagerly, "Mr. Ultraseven, is there anything I can do to help? I want to do my part in protecting everyone too."

"If you're willing..."

Amamiya Rin casually pulled his phone from his pocket, tapping the screen to light it up with a fingertip.

"Let's exchange contact information."

Igarashi Sakuko possessed a special spirit-vision ability, and someday, that gift would surely prove crucial.

Igarashi Sakuko's face lit up with delight. She eagerly took the phone, quickly typing in her own number, pressing call and then immediately hanging up, afraid of disturbing Amamiya Rin. Then, cupping the phone in both hands, she respectfully handed it back.

"There! That's my number. Mr. Ultraseven can reach me anytime!"

Her eyes sparkled, the corners of her mouth curling upward without restraint, as if she'd been given something precious beyond measure — her heart brimming with joy.

Amamiya Rin took the phone back, glanced over the unfamiliar number displayed on the screen, gave a small nod, and said nothing more.

"Well then, I'll take my leave."

Igarashi Sakuko bowed deeply to Amamiya Rin, then turned and jogged off toward Shibuya Station, her steps light and quick.

After a few steps, she suddenly turned back, waving her arm vigorously at Amamiya Rin, a smile of pure innocence spreading across her face. Then she turned again, squeezing into the surging crowd, her figure quickly swallowed by the bustling flow of people.

Amamiya Rin tucked the phone back into his pocket and turned to glance at the two Tomies standing beside him. "Let's head back too," he said evenly. "Time to go."

Flesh-Mod Tomie let out another soft huff, still wearing her usual pouting, prickly expression, turning her face away so as not to look at him. Mara Tomie, by contrast, gave a soft, melodious laugh, her eyes curving into a gentle smile as she looked at him.

Neither of them said anything more, but without a word between them, they fell into step behind him, one on each side, walking back along the streets of Shibuya.

Just past midnight, a hundred meters beneath an unremarkable gray building.

The conference room door was shut tight, the air thick with the mingled scent of aged paper and disinfectant.

Both sides of the long table were filled with people. The head of the Tokugawa family sat at the head of the table, an aura of quiet authority radiating from him without any need for anger.

The Ampere family, the Aso family, the Sasagawa family, the Matsudaira family, the Yoshida family, the Kujo family... every top power rooted in Tokyo had sent a representative, all present without exception.

Thick stacks of documents lay before each person, fingertips resting lightly atop them. Every face was grave, brows furrowed tight, eyes fixed on the projection screen at the front of the room, expressions solemn, waiting for the crucial information to be revealed.

A single photograph was frozen on the projection screen.

The courtyard of Tsunekiyoshi Jingu, red lantern light falling across bodies strewn across the ground. Luxurious kimono soaked through with blood, dark red pooling in the cracks between the flagstones. At the edge of the photo, a streak of silver-and-crimson light cut across the night sky — the afterimage left behind as Ultraseven flew off.

Tokugawa finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "The Tsuneki family. It's finished."

No one answered.

Ampere picked up the document in front of him and read aloud: "At Tsunekiyoshi Jingu, one hundred and twenty-seven dead. Of those, thirty-two were members of the Tsuneki main family, twenty-five were from cadet branches and collateral lines, and the rest were guests and security personnel. Cause of death across the board — blunt force trauma, a single fatal blow each. The perpetrator..."

He paused before continuing.

"Was Kawakami Tomie."

"Kawakami Tomie, again? Weren't people keeping watch on her? As I recall, she shouldn't have had any connection to the Tsuneki family."

Aso's brow furrowed.

The Takatsukasa representative spoke up at once. "Three hours ago, Kawakami Tomie stole a sports car and left Tokyo. The timing lines up with after the massacre at Tsunekiyoshi Jingu — but before that, Kawakami Tomie hadn't gone anywhere near the shrine."

"Not the sword-wielding Kawakami Tomie." Ampere flipped the document to the next page and slid it forward. "According to the witness description — and the only surviving witness is Tsuneki Hisayuki himself — the perpetrator stood nearly twenty centimeters taller than an average woman, weighed over seventy kilograms, and had abnormally developed muscles. She crushed skulls bare-handed, punched clean through a chest cavity. She has all of Kawakami Tomie's regenerative abilities, but her strength is dozens of times that of a normal person. She's likely another variant of Kawakami Tomie."

"Another one?"

"How is there yet another one?"

"Has she developed a taste for killing now?"

"Come to think of it, the Tsuneki family isn't an ordinary noble house either."

"That's right — they're the fox spirit lineage! The nine-tailed fox spirit that family enshrines is nothing lesser than Tamamo-no-Mae."

"So then — have all the Tomies turned into battle maniacs? Deliberately seeking out powerful enemies to fight?"

...

For a moment, the room buzzed with murmured discussion, heads leaning together, every face shadowed with uncertainty and alarm.

No one had expected that, after Swordmaster Tomie's rampage last time, yet another, even more ferocious variant of Kawakami Tomie would emerge — using the exact same methods, sparing those without the power to resist while wiping out any force that possessed real strength.

If Kawakami Tomie variants kept multiplying like this — endless, undying, and growing ever stronger — the original threat posed by Kawakami Tomie had already been severe enough. If this continued, it might well threaten the very survival of Japan!

"All right, everyone, please settle down."

Ampere raised a hand and tapped the table lightly, his tone steady, signaling for the discussion to stop.

"We can continue investigating the Kawakami Tomie matter later. For now, she isn't the most pressing concern. What truly demands all of our attention and careful handling is Ultraseven."

The moment Ampere finished speaking, the air in the conference room seemed to freeze.

Everyone straightened instinctively, spines going rigid. Eyes met across the table, and in every gaze was the same thing: dread.

Ultraseven!

Just days ago, this name had been nothing but a fictional character from a tokusatsu show — a hero children waited for in front of their televisions on Saturday mornings. No one had taken it seriously; no one had imagined it could ever intersect with their own lives.

But now, this fictional character had torn through the screen and stood upon the soil of the real world, forcefully asserting its own existence.