"Oh? Officer Jenny is here?" Edward sat in his office, a little surprised as he looked at Zoroark. Just moments ago, Zoroark had come in to inform him that Officer Jenny had arrived leading a team, saying that she wanted to see him. Edward naturally didn't refuse and simply told Zoroark to bring her in. But as for what exactly Jenny wanted this time, Edward truly had no idea.
After all, Edward had countless matters to deal with every single day, and with his identity, he came into contact with all sorts of people. It was impossible for him to know in advance what Officer Jenny might be coming for. Could it perhaps be related to Zinnia?
When he thought of Zinnia, Edward's expression turned a little odd. That woman had been wanting to meet with him again not long ago, but Edward had no intention of going. To him, Zinnia did not hold much importance anymore. Her greatest value was in providing the exact location of Sky Pillar—but Wallace also seemed to know about that, which in turn greatly reduced her usefulness.
Because of that, Edward had never bothered to see Zinnia. Of course, part of it was also that he was truly busy right now. In just a few days, he would have to attend the award ceremony for the film festival, and once that was done, he planned to take the opportunity to finish filming The Truman Show together with Jim.
Only after all of that would he finally have time to deal with the matter concerning Zinnia.
"Mr. Edward." Officer Jenny quickly entered the office. She looked very serious. Edward cast her a curious glance but still gestured for Zoroark to serve tea.
"Mr. Edward, our Jenny task force recently received a request for joint investigation from another league region. According to their report, two people have gone insane. They claim that they were dragged into one of your creations—into the house from The Grudge—where they were tortured." Jenny's expression looked a little awkward as she said this, while Edward froze in place for a moment.
That incident?
It had to be those two "filial children." Just from the description alone, he knew immediately this was Kayako's doing.
Edward truly hadn't expected the cursed doll's effect to be that strong. His original intention when using it was merely to let those two "good children" suffer some torment, but he hadn't thought it would push them into actual madness. If he had known the result would be so effective, Edward would have made it even harsher.
"Mr. Edward, you seem to recognize them?" Jenny caught the subtle change on Edward's face and couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, I know of them. After all, I've seen their videos before." Edward calmly took a sip of tea. He wasn't worried about being considered a suspect. He hadn't personally done anything. And since the cursed doll was a reward given by the system, there was no way Officer Jenny could possibly trace it.
So, Edward felt no pressure at all.
Jenny blinked in surprise and then recalled what she had discovered during the background check. Indeed, those two were well-known online influencers—infamous "filial children" with a big following. If not for their fame, the Jenny Corps wouldn't even have needed to deal with this so seriously.
"They went mad and claimed I was the one who did it? But The Grudge is just a fictional story. Maybe they had a nightmare and mistook it for reality?" Edward chuckled lightly, looking rather amused. Jenny then briefly explained the details of the situation.
After all, it wasn't exactly a secret anymore.
Right now, those two had an immense amount of attention online. Countless other internet personalities were leeching off their popularity to boost their own views. By now, news of their being hospitalized had likely already spread. Edward would hear about it sooner or later anyway, so Jenny didn't consider sharing the details to be leaking case information.
"Well, I wouldn't know about that. You understand, Officer Jenny, I'm an extremely busy man. Every day I have countless matters to handle. I really don't have the time to carry out the kind of so-called prank they're claiming. Of course, I have instructed my company's legal department to prepare a lawsuit against them." Edward said this evenly and then drank another sip of tea.
Jenny didn't press further. They had already investigated the basics themselves. If not for how widespread the attention had become, they wouldn't even have bothered with this much. After all, if someone were to walk into a police station claiming they had met a ghost, been dragged into The Grudge's haunted house, and even faced Kayako herself, the officers would simply think the person was insane.
In fact, that had been the reaction at first when those two made their claim. The Jennys thought they were delusional and simply needed rest. But the two refused to let it go. They insisted that Edward be investigated thoroughly, and if not, they threatened to release videos online to stir up trouble. The sister had already begun posting such videos.
Faced with that situation, the Jenny Corps had no choice. With the two riding high on internet fame, this incident could only push their popularity even higher. And knowing how wild online rumors could get, the police had to at least go through the motions of investigation and officially close the case, otherwise troublemakers would never stop stirring things up.
When Jenny left, Edward cheerfully walked her out. He even courteously gifted each of them a movie ticket for The Grudge. The gesture nearly brought tears to their eyes.
"Captain, um… why don't you take my ticket?" one of the Jennys said miserably.
The captain immediately shook her head. "No way. I'm not watching it. That film is terrifying—several people have already fainted during screenings." She pursed her lips. She truly disliked anything involving spirits and ghosts. And this latest Grudge film had already been hailed as Edward's scariest work yet, his absolute masterpiece of horror, with the track record of making numerous viewers faint. She wasn't going to torture herself.
What baffled people the most was why viewers never fainted during the movie itself, but only afterward—when recalling the scenes in their memory—that they would suddenly collapse from fright. No one could explain it.
The Jenny team rode away on their motorcycles. From the window, Edward watched them leave, stroking his chin.
"Those two poor wretches… looks like they've been tormented badly, huh? But normally, shouldn't Kayako have only made them experience the pain of her crawling over their faces? Why does it seem more intense than that?" Edward muttered curiously. He had never instructed the cursed doll to kill them outright. That would have been too merciful. No—what he wanted was for them to live trapped in endless fear.
"Boss, the 'Hoenn Film Channel' wants to interview you," Zoroark interrupted his thoughts.
Edward quickly adjusted his clothing at the news. The Hoenn Film Channel was a league-backed program, famous within the film industry. Even though he was already a big-name director, he knew better than to get arrogant. If he acted too haughty, it would only ruin his public image.
Reputation was difficult to build, yet easy to destroy. It was, in a way, quite fascinating.
"Alright, I understand," Edward said briskly as he headed out for the interview.
While waiting for the elevator, he recalled Jenny's words. Those two "filial children" were in the hospital now, weren't they? A hospital… now that was a classic setting for horror films. And naturally, Kayako also had some unforgettable appearances in such locations. With the right music and atmosphere, those scenes could be truly terrifying.
Hopefully, for those two unfortunate souls, their luck wouldn't run out too quickly.
…
"What? Impossible! You're saying he didn't do anything at all? That he's only planning to sue us?" Rimi stared in disbelief at the Jenny before her. The officer nodded firmly, while another Jenny recorded the exchange on a body camera.
The captain had instructed strict procedure. If this case wasn't handled properly, it could blow up into a massive storm of public opinion. Otherwise, they wouldn't have even bothered sending an official assistance request to Hoenn—it was too troublesome.
"Yes, Ms. Rimi. Based on our investigation, Director Edward never left his premises. And from our inspection of the area around your residence, there were no stagehands or prop teams entering to set up any scenes that day," Jenny explained, sounding weary. She really didn't want to waste time dealing with these lunatics. And these two, infamous "filial children," were the worst of the lot. Were it not for the uniform she wore, she would've loved to punch them both.
"No way. Absolutely not. I—" Rimi started to protest, but after Jenny repeated herself a third time, the officers simply left. Their time was too valuable to waste here.
"…" Ritchie remained silent, sitting there with his own thoughts. A creeping suspicion gnawed at him: had he and his sister really run into ghosts?
The memory of that night haunted him—the flesh he had bitten into, the mangled leg, the unyielding strength of his opponent. Ritchie shuddered. They had encountered the supernatural. In The Grudge, no one who entered the house ever survived. Everyone died. And they had gone inside too. They hadn't died yet—but how long could they last? Were they to suffer endless torment day after day?
"Why aren't you saying anything? You're usually so cocky. Why so quiet now?!" Rimi snapped, slamming her cup onto the floor. Fortunately, Nurse Joy had long since replaced the cups with plastic ones, sparing them another cleanup. Ritchie only lowered his head, chewing his fingernail, his eyes full of disbelief.
"Sis… don't you think it was really a ghost? That night, I fought that man tooth and nail. I almost bit through his leg. But even so, he kept attacking me, his strength never fading…" Ritchie whispered.
Rimi's expression soured. She had her own memory she hadn't shared.
That night, when her brother was being tortured, she had already wet herself in fear. All she could do was watch in despair as Kayako approached. But strangely, Kayako seemed disgusted by her accident. For some reason, the ghost dragged her into the second-floor closet instead. After that… she remembered nothing. She had fainted from sheer terror.
"This time will be different. I brought my partner along!" Rimi declared proudly, patting the Poké Ball on her desk. Ritchie glanced at it. He knew what it was. Though his sister had mostly released her Pokémon after quitting as a trainer, she had kept a few.
One of them was this one—
A Haunter.
And everyone knew: Ghost-type moves were super effective against Ghost-types.
"Then—" Ritchie was just beginning to breathe a sigh of relief when a chilling "kakaka" laugh echoed through the room.
Ritchie froze stiff. Rimi, who had been smug a moment ago, instantly broke into a cold sweat. She clutched her Poké Ball tightly and slammed her finger down on the emergency call button—
But nothing happened.
"Why… why did it suddenly turn dark again?" Ritchie whispered fearfully. Just moments ago, he had watched the blue sky outside vanish, replaced by black night, just like the moment they first entered that cursed house. His heart was ice.
"It's fine… it's fine… nothing will happen. This time I have… Haunter!" Rimi muttered, almost like self-hypnosis. Taking a deep breath, she summoned her Pokémon. Haunter's presence steadied her a little. Ritchie, ignoring his pain, crawled to her side, clutching his arm, trembling.
Rimi cast her brother a scornful glance.
"I told you to raise a Pokémon before. Now look at you, regretting it?" she sneered. He had always mocked her for wasting money on a "useless creature," but when danger came, wasn't Haunter their only hope?
Ritchie gave a strained smile, saying nothing. His fear of Kayako far outweighed any embarrassment.
"Sis! The door!" Ritchie screamed suddenly.
Rimi looked up. On the other side of the hospital room's door, pressed against the glass, was Kayako's hideous face. The two siblings trembled uncontrollably.
Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.
But before relief could come, Rimi noticed the blanket at the foot of her bed rising, as if something were crawling underneath it…
"Haunter!" she shrieked, yanking the blanket away. Nothing was there. Haunter too looked around, unsettled, sensing something but unable to pinpoint it—
Before it could react, Kayako suddenly crawled in through the window, lurching toward Rimi.
"Haunter!" both siblings screamed in unison.
Haunter darted forward without hesitation—
Only for Toshio to seize its leg. The pale boy grinned, eyes gleaming, and let out a meow like a cat. In the next instant, both Haunter and Toshio vanished from the room.
Rimi and Ritchie collapsed, huddling together in the corner. But it was useless. Kayako was already upon them.
Then, the wall behind them shifted, turning into a doorway. It creaked open.
From within emerged Takeo Saeki, biting his fingers, his eyes full of menace as he glared hungrily at Rimi.
(End of Chapter)