“—My body.” A voice. Close. Too close. A woman’s face filled Miroku’s vision as he turned around. No. More precisely— A black hole had been bored into the place where her face should have been. “……” Terrifying. Extremely terrifying. Miroku reflexively tried to take a step back. Before he could, the woman’s white hand reached out. Her slender fingertips were just about to touch Miroku’s cheek— When they stopped. “Don’t.” It was Yoshitsune. He had the woman by the wrist. “—…” The white woman looked at Yoshitsune. She had no face. Even so, she seemed surprised. That was understandable. Many inhuman beings had no physical bodies. And the woman before them had, in a sense, already half slipped out of this world altogether. Under normal circumstances, she should not have been something a human hand could grab. And yet— “Don’t touch Miroku.” Yoshitsune was smiling. The same gentle smile that made everyone like him. Only— The eyes that had always been amber were now stained a pale gold. “—Ah.” The woman pulled on her arm. It didn’t move. She tried again. It still didn’t move. Yoshitsune was holding her with one hand. “……” Black mist burst from the woman’s body. The hallway windows trembled. Yoshitsune didn’t budge. “Yoshitsune.” “What?” “Let her go.” “Are you sure?” “Yes.” “Without exorcising her?” “Wait. There’s something strange about her.” “Huh.” Yoshitsune released her hand without hesitation. The woman immediately retreated several steps. She stopped just before passing through the wall, then tilted her head as if watching them warily. “……” Miroku looked at the woman too. A white kimono. Long black hair. A bottomless black hole where her face should have been. A ghost. Judging by appearances alone, that would have been the reasonable conclusion. However— “What do you think?” Yoshitsune muttered. “I don’t know.” “Even you, Miroku?” “That’s why I’m going to investigate.” Miroku shoved a hand into the pocket of his track pants. Yoshitsune glanced sideways at him. “I really don’t think you should come to school dressed like that.” “It’s easy to move in.” “What about your uniform?” “At home.” “Couldn’t you at least take off the jacket?” “No.” “Why not?” “I can’t relax.” “Like an old man?” “Shut up.” His fingertips touched something hard. He pulled out a tiny balance that fit in the palm of his hand. It was an old scale made of tarnished metal, with a slender pillar and two pans. Tiny engravings, too fine to tell whether they were writing or patterns, covered it here and there. Its formal name was the Divine Scales. They were one of the ritual implements passed down through the Kannagi family since ancient times. Miroku, however, had always simply called them the scales. He tossed them lightly from his palm. They didn’t fall. Clink. With a single clear note, the scales stopped in midair. Miroku said nothing. There was no need to issue an order. He turned his gaze toward the white woman. That alone was enough. The pans began to sway slowly. “Those things sure are convenient.” “I’m not giving them to you.” “I never said I wanted them.” “It’s written all over your face.” “What does it say?” ‘Give them to me.’ “It doesn’t say that.” The scales tilted. Right. Then back. Left. Then back again. “……” A crease formed between Miroku’s brows. Right again. Left. Level. They trembled minutely. “Are they broken?” “Don’t say something so rude.” The scales gave a sharp clink. Yoshitsune blinked. “Did they get mad?” “Because you said something weird.” “They have a will of their own?” “No.” “Then what was that?” “How should I know?” Miroku reached toward the scales. He touched the pillar with his fingertip. He picked up what came through. A spirit. No. A yōkai. No. A curse. Not that either. “…That’s strange.” “What is?” “I can’t measure her.” “That can happen?” “Not normally.” The Divine Scales didn’t measure the weight of physical objects. They displayed the “imbalance” possessed by everything that existed in this world—spirits, yōkai, gods, curses—as weight. There shouldn’t be anything they couldn’t measure. At least— Miroku had never seen it before. “Miroku.” The woman called his name. “What?” “Give it back.” “Give what back?” “My body.” “You already said that.” Miroku folded his arms. “Be specific.” “You’re not exactly handling a supernatural anomaly like this, are you?” “If she can talk, it’ll be faster to have her talk.” “Well, sure, but…” “So?” He looked back at the woman. “Do I have your body?” “……” “Where is it?” “……” “Who took it?” “……” “What’s your name?” “……” “How old are you?” “……” “Address?” “Is this turning into an interrogation?” “Shut up.” The woman didn’t answer. She only tilted her faceless head slowly. “Gone.” “What is?” “Gone.” “So what’s gone?” “Gone.” Her voice grew louder. “Gone.” The wall creaked. “Gone.” The windows trembled. “Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone—” “Miroku.” “I know.” They were no longer getting through to her. Black mist began spilling from around the woman. Yoshitsune stepped forward. Miroku grabbed his shoulder. “Wait.” “Still?” “Still.” “She looks like she’s about to go berserk.” “I know.” “Should I break something?” “The school?” “Her.” “You’re awfully violent.” “We’re the ones being attacked here.” “Fair point.” “Can I?” “No.” “Why not?” “She might not be the cause of this herself.” Yoshitsune looked at the white woman. “What’s your basis?” “A hunch.” “That’s pretty flimsy.” “And the scales.” “You should’ve led with that.” Miroku pointed a fingertip at the floating Divine Scales. Clink. With a sharp sound, the scales split into two. Again. Clink. Four. Four tiny balances floated around Miroku. He didn’t even need to wave his hand. He simply directed his awareness toward them. That was enough to send them scattering. East. West. South. North. They stopped in midair, surrounding the white woman. “Huh.” “What?” “No. I was just wondering if you’ve gotten better at handling them than before.” “……” Miroku looked at Yoshitsune. “What?” “Nothing.” Better than he had been two years ago. Of course he had. He had two additional years of experience on his side. Apparently, even though his body had become younger, his control over his techniques hadn’t reverted to the way it had been back then. “Convenient.” “What is?” “Nothing.” Miroku returned his awareness to the four sets of Divine Scales. The pans moved at the same time. East. No abnormalities. West. No abnormalities. South. A faint trace of spiritual pollution. And then— North. —BANG! “……” The pan dropped violently. “Miroku?” “Wait.” Only the Divine Scales to the north were shaking violently. Something was wrong. The woman was in the center of the four sets. If she were the target, all four should have reacted individually. And yet— Only the north one. Miroku looked at the woman. Then he looked north. Beyond the school building wall. Beyond the school grounds. Beyond the city. Farther still. “……” The Imperial Palace was there. “Yoshitsune.” “Yeah.” “Dragon Eye.” That was all it took to get the message across. Yoshitsune’s eyes turned completely gold. The air grew slightly heavier. Miroku’s skin prickled. Those eyes were unpleasant no matter how many times he saw them. Even without Yoshitsune looking directly at him, Miroku felt as if he were peering into his very insides. Yoshitsune looked at the white woman. “…Ah.” “What?” “It’s there.” “What is?” “Not this girl.” Yoshitsune narrowed his eyes. “Farther in.” “Can you see it?” “A little.” “What’s there?” “I don’t know.” “Not very useful.” “Miroku.” “What?” “If even I can’t tell, then by any reasonable standard, it’s seriously strange.” “Conceited.” “It’s a fact, isn’t it?” Miroku didn’t deny it. The Dragon Eye of Yoshitsune Kayō couldn’t see through it. That alone was abnormal. “But it’s connected.” “To what?” “I can’t see that.” “Where?” Yoshitsune looked north. “Over there.” “The Imperial Palace?” “…Probably.” Miroku fell silent. An extremely unwelcome word had come up. “Should we go home?” “Now?” “Yeah.” “In this situation?” “I smell trouble on a national scale.” “That’s your deciding factor?” “I’m planning to become an ordinary civilian.” “You’re not one yet.” “I’m already an ordinary civilian at heart.” “Funny.” Just then— The Divine Scales to the north emitted a shrill sound. Giiiiing— “……” The expression vanished from Miroku’s face. The four sets of Divine Scales. It wasn’t only the one to the north. One. Then another. Every pan began tilting in the same direction. Not toward the white woman. North. Farther away. As if pursuing something. “Miroku.” “She isn’t the whole story.” Miroku looked at the white woman. “She’s connected to something.” The woman’s body jerked. “No.” “What isn’t?” “No.” “Then tell me.” “I…” The woman clutched at her chest. “I—” Rip. Her chest split open. “…Ugh.” Yoshitsune let out a small sound. There was no blood. No flesh. No bones. Beyond the white kimono, where her body should have been, there was only darkness. And then— “…A thread?” A single red thread stretched through the woman’s body. North. Miroku narrowed his eyes. “It’s a bond.” “Can you normally see those?” “No.” “Then why can you see it?” “How should I know?” “You’ve been saying that a lot today.” “If I don’t know, I don’t know.” Miroku reached toward the red thread. Yoshitsune grabbed his wrist. “Don’t touch it.” “……” “You grabbed a supernatural anomaly with your bare hand earlier.” “I’m fine.” “Why?” “Because I’m strong.” “You’re annoying.” “You can compliment me.” “No.” Still, what he was saying was correct. Its identity was unknown. Its destination was unknown. They didn’t even know what it was connected to. They were better off not touching it. Miroku obediently withdrew his hand. “That’s rare.” “What is?” “You listened.” “What do you take me for?” “Someone who, when told something’s dangerous, touches it once just to make sure.” “I don’t do that.” “When you were six—” “Don’t bring up the past.” Yoshitsune laughed. That was when— “Miroku.” The woman called his name. “What?” “Run.” Miroku’s expression froze. “…From what?” The woman’s body began to tremble. “It’s coming.” “What is?” “It’s coming.” The red thread trembled. The four sets of Divine Scales floating around Miroku rang all at once. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. As if warning them. “……” The smile vanished from Yoshitsune’s face. “God.” In that instant— The air collapsed. “—!” The entire hallway groaned loudly. Countless cracks raced across the windowpanes. All four sets of Divine Scales tilted at once. As far as they could go. An immense pressure bore down on Miroku’s body. “So heavy…!” His knees nearly buckled. Yoshitsune caught him by the shoulder. “Miroku.” “I’m fine.” “People who are fine don’t nearly get crushed.” “I haven’t been crushed yet.” The white woman screamed. “No.” The red thread pulled taut. “No.” North. The woman’s body was dragged along. “No, no!” Her claws scraped at the floor. But fingers without a physical body couldn’t get a grip on it. “No.” Little by little. North. “Help me.” “……” He had heard it. Miroku thought from the bottom of his heart: This is the worst. Things like this were really bad. They made it impossible to pretend he hadn’t seen anything. “Yoshitsune.” “Yeah.” “Ten seconds.” “For what?” “Buy me time.” “Can I kill it?” “No.” “Break it?” “No.” “Exorcise it?” “No.” “You’re pretty demanding.” “I’m asking.” That was all Miroku said before turning back to the woman. Yoshitsune let out a small sigh. “Can’t be helped.” He stepped forward. In front of Miroku. At that moment— The air changed. “……” Miroku looked at Yoshitsune for only an instant. Yoshitsune hadn’t done anything. He hadn’t even taken a stance. He was simply standing there. And yet— The red thread that had been dragging the woman along stopped. “—…” Miroku had the feeling that whatever was far away had recognized them for the first time. Yoshitsune’s golden eyes narrowed. “Ten seconds enough?” “Plenty.” “Then hurry.” “Yeah, yeah.” Miroku pulled four talismans from his sleeve. He slipped the first between his fingers. East. The second. West. The third. South. The fourth. North. He released them. The talismans streaked through the air as if they had wills of their own, then stuck to the four sets of Divine Scales. Miroku clasped his hands. “Close the four directions.” A short phrase. That was all it took. Light raced between east, west, south, and north. A square boundary formed. The red thread touched the barrier. —CRACK! Sparks flew. “…!” Pain shot through Miroku’s arm. “Miroku.” “Keep your eyes ahead.” “But—” “This is my job.” “Yeah, yeah.” Yoshitsune turned forward. Miroku looked at the Divine Scales. One set. Two. Three. Level. And then the north. It was tilted. “……” Miroku exhaled. He gathered spiritual power at his fingertips. He fed it into the Divine Scales. They rose a little. Then sank again. “It’s heavy.” That much power. And from so far away. It couldn’t be an ordinary supernatural anomaly. It wasn’t a spirit. It wasn’t a yōkai. It wasn’t a curse, either. Even so, he recognized this pressure. At a sacred rite. In a sacred precinct. In places where people were never supposed to set foot carelessly, it resembled the weight he felt there. The woman had said it. A god. If— If that was really what it was— “What a pain.” “Figure something out?” “I think I’m about to figure out something I don’t want to know.” “What does that mean?” “It might be some kind of god.” Yoshitsune fell silent. Only for an instant. That was enough. They both knew what those words meant. Gods couldn’t be exorcised. No matter how violent they became, no matter how many people they killed— As long as they were gods, Humans couldn’t erase their existence itself. Pacify them. Enshrine them. Or— Seal them. Those were the only options. “…This is the worst.” “How many times have you said that today?” “I haven’t counted.” “I think this is my third.” “Do you have that much free time?” “Call it having room to spare.” Crack. Miroku looked up. The Divine Scales to the north. A tiny crack had appeared in the central pillar. “……” This was bad. “Yoshitsune.” “Yeah.” “Five more seconds.” “You said ten seconds before, didn’t you?” “Plans change.” “That’s a convenient phrase.” Crack. The fissure spread. Three seconds. Two seconds. One second. Miroku reached for his next talisman. At that instant— The Divine Scales to the north shattered.