Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Artificial Divine Spirit Project 7k2 (8/46)
The sound of the mansion’s main gate being pushed open.
Awakened from his slumber in the bedroom, Tenganin Zongyue opened his eyes that glowed with a faint red light, the dying rays of the sunset casting a warm glow on his resolute face.
The visitor clearly had no intention of hiding their presence.
And Zongyue had to admit that the other party’s judgment was correct.
Because by the time those uninvited guests stepped into the courtyard, they had already alerted the “monsters” lurking within the mansion.
From the shadows of the room.
Several flashes of crimson ferocity flickered.
A few “wolves” made of shadow emerged from the darkness.
These were the guardians left behind in the mansion.
The shadow wolves, appearing from the darkness, had bodies as ethereal as smoke, their outlines indistinct yet precise, as if the night itself had coalesced into form.
Their fur seemed to be composed of swirling shadows, with edges that constantly changed, like black mist stirred by the wind.
Their claws glimmered faintly, cold and deadly like sharp blades.
While each of these shadow wolves had average combat capabilities, when acting as a group.
Their threat level could at least rival that of a “4” on the “Special Circle SEMA Standard.”
Able to silently hide in the shadows, they excelled in ambushing those who mistakenly believed themselves to be in the darkness.
But this time, the intruders seemed to be entering openly.
Unknowingly, these invaders bypassed the combat strategies of these shadow wolves.
“Go,” Zongyue gently nodded to the monster before him.
The shadow wolves transformed back into shadows, rejoining the darkness to confront the intruders of the mansion.
Zongyue then slowly stood up.
In this bedroom, he was now alone.
Tenganin Tenyu, as the “vessel,” had already been moved to the mansion’s secret basement.
There lay the “altar” for the ritual.
But Zongyue made a mistake.
He assumed that the presence the shadow wolves detected was all the intruders.
Unbeknownst to him, one of the invaders was quietly following him from behind.
Just as Zongyue opened the secret door leading to the basement.
A surge of explosive magical energy rippled behind him, a rock-solid iron fist filled with murderous intent struck at the back of his head.
Deliberately making noise to lure the mansion’s owner to the most vulnerable area.
A very simple but effective tactic.
Old Sang swung a double-edged blade imbued with the meanings of “severing” and “connecting,” successfully “disconnecting” his sensory link with the shadow wolves.
He then seized the moment to launch a fatal strike.
Before using his supernatural power, he had to adjust his magical energy to a different frequency.
Thus, he had to cancel the active supernatural power of the “double-edged” weapon.
This led to his presence being exposed just before the attack.
But at such a short distance, even if the opponent was a powerful supernatural wielder.
Noticing his attack didn’t guarantee a defense.
—It was secured!
But that was only if the opponent was still “human.”
Zongyue’s eyes flashed with a strong red light, as his head was instantly pierced by the fist from behind, transforming into a swirling mass of black shadow that flowed like liquid along the wall.
Finally, it reformed into human shape before the attacker.
However, the red light in Zongyue’s eyes dimmed slightly due to this action.
“—Tsk, truly a troublesome ability.”
Old Sang clicked his tongue and stepped back, distancing himself from the middle-aged man before him who could transform into shadow.
“How rude; is this how you hunters treat your clients?” Zongyue adjusted his collar, maintaining an expression of authority expected from the “Tenganin family head.”
Seemingly, he did not take Old Sang as a threat.
However, he unintentionally moved his body to block the secret door leading to the basement.
Old Sang naturally did not miss this critical information.
As an old hunter, his instincts told him that the key to this incident lay behind the opponent.
This also confirmed that Old Sang’s deductions were not wrong.
The true puppet master behind everything was the “client” before him.
“Actually, I came here to ask for a raise. I’ve helped you hunt so many fantasy monsters in this city; I should be getting paid a bit more, right?” Old Sang said with a greasy smile, attempting to redirect the other’s attention.
“Sure, what do you want?” Surprisingly, Zongyue seemed unfazed by Old Sang’s previous incivility.
Even if Old Sang had just aimed for his life.
It seemed that as long as he could make Old Sang leave, he was genuinely willing to give Old Sang a raise.
“What I want as a raise is—”
As Old Sang began to speak, he abruptly activated the ability contained within the blade in his left hand.
He “cut off” his line of sight with Zongyue.
In the next moment, it was as if he had completely vanished from Zongyue’s view.
Zongyue’s eyes could no longer see his presence.
“—Your life.”
Old Sang slipped behind Zongyue.
With a downward swing, the blade cleaved through Zongyue’s body.
…..
…..
In northern Europe, the abandoned city.
Alice pushed open the door to the Star Church.
What awaited her was the personnel from the “Former Star Society” who had been informed in advance, as well as the current priest of the “Star Church.”
Now, his identity could be considered one of the “contracted” workers of Special Circle SEMA.
As the only member of the former Star Society present who understood “Japanese,” he was responsible for liaising with Alice and the others.
The figure of the priest appeared slightly hunched, as if the weight of time and the cold air had bent his spine.
His platinum hair was thin and coarse, fluttering in the wind, with a few strands sticking to his pale forehead, giving him a particularly haggard appearance.
His face was marred by deep wrinkles eroded by the cold wind, with gray-blue eyes sunken deeply within.
The priest already knew the intentions of Alice and the others.
So he led Alice and her companions to the back room of the church.
There, a warm fireplace provided a more suitable environment for everyone.
“Why is there a fireplace in a church?” a young man from the investigation team could not help but ask curiously.
The plain-looking fireplace was embedded in the stone wall of the church’s back room.
The rough stone brick fireplace seemed out of place with the atmosphere of the ancient church.
Inside the fireplace, dry wood was burning fiercely, the flames dancing around the iron grate, emanating a warm orange glow that flickered against the surrounding stone walls.
The strange presence of the fireplace was irreplaceable, instantly dispelling the chill in the back room.
The flickering light cast vague shadows on the wall, seemingly reflecting the unease felt by Alice and the others at that moment.
“Before discussing faith and the sacred, one must survive,” the priest said lightly, reciting the line he had long prepared.
After everyone settled in the back room, the priest had already prepared a cup of hot tea for each of them.
The young man took the teacup from the priest’s hand and politely thanked him.
As he raised the cup to sip, he noticed that everyone else had not focused their attention on the hot tea.
This made him silently set the cup down.
Seeing this, the priest offered a helpless smile.
He understood that these individuals did not trust him completely.
“Sorry, Mr. Priest… can I call you that?” Alice asked.
The priest nodded.
“Then, time is of the essence, so let me be direct.”
Alice’s intuition told her.
Although the environment here seemed very warm on the surface, danger lurked everywhere.
“About the experiment conducted by the Star Society—what is the reality behind the artificial fantasy monsters?”
Upon hearing this, the priest sighed, adopting an expression that seemed to say, “As expected, this question.”
“That was merely a naïve idea of the former Star Society; all information and data regarding this matter should have already been compiled and submitted to Special Circle SEMA and the academy.”
“But I want to understand the specifics from you, as the ‘involved party’—the priest,” Alice pressed on.
“Alright, if you insist,” the priest shrugged. “So, where do you want to start?”
“The purpose of this experiment.”
The Star Society.
A group that did not believe in fantasy monsters and refused to contract with them.
Yet, lacking supernatural powers themselves, they gathered to form an organization.
They yearned to gain their own extraordinary powers in this supernatural world.
Thus, they turned their attention to the principles of “creation” of fantasy monsters.
And focused their research on this field.
The Star Society aspired to create their own unique fantasy monsters and contract with them to obtain supernatural abilities.
“But that was just a naïve notion.” The priest lifted his head, looking at the ceiling, as if reminiscing:
“Artificially created fantasy monsters lack the most important element—soul.”
“The contract between a person and a fantasy monster is built on the foundation of the ‘soul.’”
“Whereas artificial fantasy monsters merely have a shell and are utterly incapable of signing a contract.”
“So this plan was soon declared a failure; the personnel of the Star Society could only use these fantasy monsters as special ‘weapons,’ like handguns or swords,” the priest gestured.
“Some members of the Star Society who discovered this truth felt deceived, and thus betrayed the organization, uniting with outsiders to burn all the organization’s research, leading to the Star Society’s downfall.”
The priest reiterated the information Alice and the others had learned from the data repository.
In terms of content, it could be said to be word for word.
Alice was not surprised by this.
Her true trump card was not this seemingly perfunctory conversation.
But before that, she could identify more points of concern from the other party’s “standard responses.”
“You mentioned that artificial fantasy monsters are just shells? Do they have their own emotions?” Alice pointed out something that she was very concerned about.
“No, they are merely soulless puppets that obey commands.” The priest shook his head and confessed.
This answer was also recorded in the data regarding the Star Society.
But this was also one of the reasons Alice wanted to investigate further.
The evil spirit Dokidoki-chan, as an artificial fantasy monster.
Has its own emotions and can sign contracts with Kanade.
In other words, it possesses a soul despite being an artificial fantasy monster.
This was completely inconsistent with the information in the data.
Alice had a bold hypothesis: if version 1.0 of the artificial fantasy monster was indeed the “shell” described in the records.
Then the upgraded version, 2.0 of the artificial fantasy monster…..
“….. What about the artificial divine spirit project? Why did the Star Society and the Tenganin family undertake experiments in Kawayano City?”
The moment Alice tentatively asked this question.
The priest’s expression changed slightly.
Though he had controlled it well, Alice keenly detected the subtle change in his expression.
Her right hand, which had been kept in her pocket, tightened around the scepter of “Dusk.”
The domain of Dusk had already been quietly unfolded.
…..
…..
Nanase Island.
Night fell.
In front of the main hall of the Habashira Shrine, only a strange man in a black suit remained.
At this moment, the Habashira Shrine was empty.
The crowd that had gathered in the shrine had already left with the deity, heading to the seaside to conduct a sacrificial ritual.
Standing alone in the shrine, the suited man looked up at the crimson star high in the night sky.
The red light yearned for offerings.
And the body that would be born from it was one of the objects he sought.
The suited man raised his arm.
An arm formed from pure black shadow billowed with thick black smoke, the rising smoke seemed to be absorbed by the blood-red star overhead.
“Is this body no longer viable?” he sighed.
Then the suited man reached into his pocket, pulling out a small glass vial.
The glass vial contained a thick liquid that resembled ink.
“Threat level 6… although it’s a bit weaker than this one, there are no noteworthy supernatural threats on this island…” The suited man casually tossed the glass vial.
As the outer glass shattered upon hitting the hard ground.
The thick liquid swelled like smoke on the surface, rapidly transforming into a new human form.
Outwardly, it looked exactly like the suited man before him.
The only difference was that the new body held no light in its eyes.
The crimson gaze resembled a pool of stagnant water.
The fantasy monsters created by the Star Society.
Were simply shells.
However, if one could inject “soul” into this shell.
The suited man fervently knelt on the ground, under the crimson starlight, reciting the revered names of his master—
“Master of the Starry Sky, Keeper of Souls, Eternal Shadow—”
…..
The light in the suited man’s eyes transformed into shimmering starlight under the witness of the stars, pouring into the new body before him.
A mere shell, as an object to be signed with, was undoubtedly a failed creation.
But it could be used as a “vessel.”
However, this was not the entirety of the Star Society’s research.
Because the container created in this manner would one day dissipate or return to the embrace of the original source, like this.
The research of transforming the human body into a fantasy monster was what the Star Society found to be the most perfect method.
…..
…..
At the Tenganin mansion.
“Are you… really human or a monster…” Old Sang gazed in disbelief at Zongyue.
Zongyue’s form reassembled from a swirl of black shadow back into human shape.
Clearly, his body emitted no magical response, yet he could still use supernatural power.
Even the fatal blow dealt from behind couldn’t injure him in the slightest.
“Tsk.” Old Sang felt some difficulty.
Immediately, he planned to escape toward the basement.
The shadowy Zongyue relentlessly pursued him from behind.
As he dashed down the long staircase, Old Sang turned back and swung his blade in a “cutting” motion.
Attempting to sever the connection between the stairs and the space.
But unfortunately, the blade only produced a faint chime and the supernatural power failed.
It was uncertain whether it was due to the complete destruction of this fantasy spiritual device that made it difficult to exert such a degree of “cutting” power.
Or if the opponent or the place itself had a “status” that rendered the supernatural power ineffective.
Old Sang felt both human and monster-like qualities emanating from Zongyue.
But he was not the only one making Old Sang feel this way.
Having arrived in the basement first, Old Sang glanced around the surroundings.
The air in the basement was cold and oppressive; the walls were covered with marks left by time, and a hint of cold dampness seeped from the gaps between the stone bricks.
In the center of the room, a faint candlelight flickered in the corner, casting a dim glow, enveloping the entire space in a mysterious and oppressive atmosphere.
On the ground was a massive and intricate pattern, lines intertwined to depict the shape of stars.
At the center of the pattern lay a girl with silver-white hair.
Her hair shimmered like starlight, reflecting a cold glimmer in the candlelight.
Her face was serene, as if peacefully asleep, lying quietly atop the mysterious pattern, her silver-white hair spreading out and blending with the starry pattern on the floor.
The dress she wore was pure white, contrasting sharply with the darkness of the basement.
Surrounding the pattern were red stars outlined in blood, the blood glimmered eerily under the candlelight.
It was clear that this place had been utilized as a sacrificial altar.
“You’re insane; do you know what you’re doing?” Old Sang furiously shifted his gaze back to the advancing Zongyue.
From that girl, he sensed a presence similar to that of the man before him.
A hybrid of human and fantasy monster.
“Ah, I certainly know.” Upon entering the basement and seeing Tenganin Tenyu lying on the ground.
Zongyue’s expression softened slightly, revealing a gentle and loving side.
“Everything is to resurrect my one true love…”
Hearing this, Old Sang’s brows tightened, revealing a disdainful expression:
“A person cannot come back to life; even elementary schoolers know this principle.”
“No, as long as I have His power—” Zongyue’s eyes became fervent, accompanying his words.
The star-pattern on the ground began to glow faintly with red starlight, formed by a surge of magical energy and life force.
“—Miyako can return, back to my side.”
Old Sang observed the scene before him and finally understood why the client wanted to gather hunters in this city—
As offerings.
“You—”
In Kawayano City.
The sun had already set below the horizon.
The crimson star hanging high in the night sky was particularly conspicuous.
Its cascading red light.
Enveloped the entire Kawayano City.
Everyone illuminated by this light felt their stamina being drained.
Both their life force and magical energy were being absorbed by this ominous star overhead.
The air of death simultaneously descended upon Kawayano City and Nanase Island.
…..
…..
Time rewound slightly.
As the sun dipped.
The tangerine-colored afterglow spread across the streets of Nanase Island.
Kanade and Nagi walked side by side along the street.
Because Nagi was currently only wearing a swimsuit.
If she were to walk with everyone dressed in uniforms, it would be too conspicuous.
So it was left to Kanade to walk alongside Nagi.
While Manaka and the others lagged behind.
But even so, Nagi’s captivating mature figure and her daringly alluring attire were enough to attract attention.
Especially under the thin outer garment and the narrow bikini straps, her heavy, plentiful fruit shook with her every step.
Even Kanade, walking beside her, found it challenging to divert his gaze.
However, this time Nagi’s thoughts were not focused on the attention.
The scenery of the surrounding streets immersed her in a sense of nostalgia.
Now developed into a tourist attraction, Nanase Island.
For some reason, only the former residential area retained its original appearance.
If it weren’t for Kanade walking next to her, Nagi would have thought she had returned to the past.
Just then.
An idea sprang into Nagi’s mind.
She wanted to “go home” and take a look.
Since the streets still remained the same, and even the residents had not changed, then her previous “home” should still be in that place.
Although she had no “family” left in this world.
But she simply wanted to return and see with her own eyes, whether to mourn or to say goodbye.
“Kanade-kun, I have a place I’d like to see… can you come with me?”
Nagi turned her head, looking at the boy standing beside her in the sunset.
“I can, as long as it’s a place Nagi wants to go…” Kanade began to say, but he hesitantly cleared his throat.
“However, I hope it’ll just be the two of us…” Nagi said as she secretly glanced at Manaka and the others following behind.
“Is that…”
“…not okay?”
“…I understand.” Faced with Nagi’s request, Kanade seemed very conflicted.
But in the end, he agreed.
Then, to shake off Manaka and the others behind, the two actively held hands.
This way, when they started running later, they wouldn’t easily get separated.
“Thank you~ Kanade-kun.” Nagi beamed a brilliant smile.
Then in the next moment, as they rounded the corner at the intersection.
Having made the turn first, Nagi and Kanade, after breaking free from the sight of their companions, began to run wildly.
This was a path Nagi had traversed countless times in her past life.
She was well acquainted with every street and alley along this road.
Kanade was half-dragged along by Nagi until they arrived at a seemingly ordinary house.
However, before the two arrived.
A figure was already standing in front of the entrance of that house, quietly gazing up at it.
It was a tall woman, with shoulder-length dark green hair, a fair and distinguished face, and dressed in a straight OL uniform.
The work ID hanging around her neck vaguely displayed the words and logo of “Special Circle SEMA.”
She looked like a woman just getting off work.
But on this island, Kanade and Manaka had already investigated, and there was no branch of Special Circle SEMA.
The appearance of this woman not only intrigued Kanade but also caused him to overlook Nagi’s reaction beside him.
Nagi’s face stiffened upon seeing this woman.
The name flashed instantaneously in her mind.
Yusa.
One of the supporting characters in “Star Pull 1.”
Also one of her closest friends in her past life.
At nearly forty, she surprisingly still looked like a stunning beauty around thirty.
“Yusa is alive…” Nagi sighed in her heart. “Then is she here to participate in the Sea God Festival?”
This could become a problem; if she summoned Garuda at the Sea God Festival….
Just then.
The woman named Yusa seemed to also take notice of the young couple approaching her.
From the uniform the boy wore, she speculated that they were not local students of Nanase Island.
Probably tourists? Students here on a study trip? Yusa made her judgment.
She thought the two were merely passing by.
But didn’t expect them to actually stop right in front of her.
No, specifically, in front of the house.
This naturally piqued Yusa’s curiosity.
This was the family home of her close friend “Hikou.”
Every year on the day of the Sea God Festival, she would come alone to Nanase Island after work.
To quietly pay tribute to the former savior and her close friend before the festival commenced.
But these two young people, who appeared not to be locals, looked only about fourteen, and seemed unlikely to know Hikou.
This inevitably piqued Yusa’s curiosity.
“Hello… you two are so cute—oh, excuse me.”
Yusa initially intended to greet the young couple.
But upon seeing the face of the girl hiding behind the boy, she couldn’t help but gasp quietly.
What a lovely girl; it had been a long time since Yusa had seen someone so charming.
Though she used to see her often when she was with Hikou.
This caused her to accidentally react thoughtlessly.
Fortunately, however, the adorable young couple did not take Yusa’s rude reaction to heart.
Instead, led by the girl, they began to introduce themselves.
Tsukimi Kanade, Hoshimiya Nagi, students from Kawayano City Star Shadow Middle School.
Yusa silently noted the information about the two.
Then Yusa asked the question she had been wondering—
“Why are you two here?”
When Yusa referred to “here,” she naturally meant this house.
In response, Nagi provided a reasonable answer:
“This is the house of a friend of a friend of mine.”
Nagi did not lie; she had explained it this way to Kanade as well.
Although she did not specify which friend.
Factually speaking, Nagi’s friend was Alice, and Alice knew Hikou, which could roundabout count as a friend.
“By the way, Tsukimi-san, have we met somewhere before?” During the conversation, Yusa suddenly felt an odd familiarity with the black-haired beauty before her, prompting her to ask.
“… I don’t recall~” Nagi felt a bit guilty but managed to control her expression and voice well.
“Maybe you saw a movie starring little Nagi before?” Kanade whispered, lowering his voice next to Nagi’s ear.
Of course, his whisper did not escape Yusa’s keen hearing.
So this girl is an actress? But that’s not surprising since she’s so adorable….
Realizing her previous question was a bit rude, Yusa decided to leave first.
But as she moved.
The doorplate, previously blocked by her, came into Nagi’s view.
This time, Nagi failed to control her astonished expression well.
Fortunately, Yusa did not notice Nagi’s anomaly.
Until Yusa walked away.
Nagi gazed at the surname on the doorplate of “her house” before her.
The words echoing in her mind were those spoken by Shuhen in her dreams—
(“Some guys want to bring the stars back.”)
(“Does Hikou think what they want is me? Or you?”)
Nagi slowly opened her mouth and asked Kanade beside her:
“… Is Tenganin Tenyu coming to the study trip?”
“I heard Tenganin-san took a leave for some reason… Wait, little Nagi, have you regained some memories?” Kanade replied with surprise.
But upon hearing this, Nagi’s face turned pale.
She suddenly lifted her head.
In conscious search, she saw.
The crimson star high in the sky.
And at that moment, Kanade also noticed the surname on the doorplate—
[Tenganin]
