"Bang! Boom! Boom!—"
The roaring grew louder, denser, more frequent.
Yet no matter how hard the Metropolitan Police Department searched, they found nothing.
No intruder.No device.No cause.
It was as if the sealed surveillance rooms were being destroyed from the inside—suffering damage without warning, without logic, without any trace that could be explained by science.
What on earth was that?
What the hell was that thing?!
Kudo Shinichi felt the modern, materialistic worldview he had relied on since childhood begin to crack.
Since there was no flaw from a scientific perspective—
Then…
His gaze shifted.
Granny Takeda.
Her eyes were solemn, fixed on something no one else could see.
Kudo swallowed.
"Granny Takeda… what did you see?"
The question echoed through the monitoring room.
Several people stiffened.
Could it be that…There really was something abnormal?
Could it be that…The upper echelons had been hiding the truth all along?
"Young man," Granny Takeda said calmly, "prepare the altar. Clear the area. I can't promise anything."
She paused.
"This is a curse. I can only do my best."
A curse?
What did that even mean?
Before anyone could respond—
The phone rang.
Megure Juzo hesitated for only a moment before answering the secure line.
From the other end came a single sentence, spoken by Matsumoto Kiyonaga, head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau:
"Give her the altar."
Megure froze.
Such an absurd order—
And yet.
"All units!" he shouted. "Move the altar immediately! Granny Takeda, what else do you need?"
The title changed.
But Granny Takeda didn't seem to hear.
Her gaze remained locked on the screen—on the hideous presence only she could see.
The Metropolitan Police Department moved with astonishing speed.
At her direction, the altar platform was raised higher and higher.
Ritual implements covered a platform dozens of square meters wide.
Oil lamps flickered in the night.
Ancient.Solemn.Completely incompatible with the surrounding steel-and-glass skyline.
Then—
Granny Takeda made a request that sounded like suicide.
"Everyone withdraw. Let the targeted individuals approach me."
No one knew how such a ridiculous order passed approval.
Perhaps the upper management intended to use these people as bait.
At least, Yukinoshita Haruno came to that conclusion.
Just as she regretted not investigating Granny Takeda's background more deeply, Haruno glanced at Kudo Shinichi.
He said nothing.
He couldn't stop it.
This was a decision made above his authority. Even his father would have had to bow his head.
Then—
Granny Takeda stepped forward.
Haruno's eyes widened.
Her thoughts froze.
"Boom—!!!"
The impact was dull. Heavy.
The monitoring room was only watching a projection screen, yet an invisible pressure swept through the space as if something real had arrived.
The lights trembled under an unseen wind.
An old woman in shrine-maiden robes appeared on screen.
A white fox mask covered her face.
A ritual banner rested in her hand.
She walked steadily toward the platform.
Something invisible resisted her.
The ground around Granny Takeda shattered repeatedly—
No.
That wasn't an explosion.
Kudo Shinichi stared, his scalp tingling.
Claw marks.
Whip scars.
In his mind, the outline of a massive beast took shape.
He clutched his hair.
He understood the principle of killing.
But this—
Impossible.
This was impossible!
How could such a thing exist?!
To everyone watching, Granny Takeda looked like a lone figure from a myth—fearless, unwavering.
Something was fighting the curse.
Something else.
A shikigami?A spirit beast?Or something beyond classification?
Kudo's thoughts spiraled wildly into legends and forbidden texts.
Had his father known?
Had he hidden this world from him?
Amid the stunned silence, Granny Takeda stepped onto the altar.
She danced.
She shook the banner.
The calm, deliberate movements—performed while unseen behemoths clashed—sent shivers down every spine watching.
She spoke.
[Thinking again and again, I pray to the god who never sees the sun—]
Her voice was not loud.
Yet it spread everywhere.
The targeted wealthy individuals panicked.
The observers felt goosebumps crawl across their skin.
Calling upon a god?
Gods truly existed?!
[I pray for the Fallen Angels to rule over the ancestors—]
[I thank you for your mercy bestowed from afar!]
[I am afraid… I am truly afraid!]
Something changed.
Something unseen began to warp reality.
Haruno's breath caught.
She smelled heat.
Pressure pressed against her chest like solid matter.
The sounds of battle vanished.
Only the rustling banner remained.
Only the shrine maiden's dance remained.
Until—
[I obey the will of God and return what is His—I accept His grace and bow beneath His protection.]
Clap.
Hands came together.
Behind Granny Takeda, a towering figure appeared in the void.
Its face was indistinct.
Its presence was absolute.
It opened its arms and accepted the prayer.
Overlapping voices—infant, man, woman, elder—resonated as one.
[Domain Expansion — Demon-Suppressing Shrine.]
The world shattered.
The monitoring room vanished.
Blood-red mist filled the sky.
The ground reflected like a mirror.
A colossal figure flashed past.
A shrine loomed in the distance.
A flesh-warped monster lashed with a whip, claws gouging the earth—
Locked in combat with a massive white divine hound.
Megure Juzo staggered backward.
His knees nearly gave out.
His eyes were filled with raw terror.
It was real.
It was all—
Real.
....
.....
.....
Support my patreon
patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter