"Doo do doo~"
A whimsical hum drifts through the street.
A gentleman in typical Anglonian fashion wanders along the sidewalk, without a care in the world. The shade from the surrounding buildings shields him from the gentle heat of the northern sun.
"Aa~h! What fine day it is!"
Speaking to himself, he steps into the street to express his contentment. Arms opening wide as if welcoming the cold breeze of the urban wind.
In stark contrast to his quiet afternoon, a crowd of pedestrians races in the opposite direction. They pay no attention to his welcoming gesture as they rush past him.
It is no longer just the building blocking the sun. An odd-shaped shadow stretches across the road below. High above, on the side of a thirteen-storey hotel, a beast clings to the structure. Apparently uninterested in using the front door, the beast's claws dig into the rooftop and its hind leg kicks a hole through the floor below, creating a foothold.
"I have a good feeling about today~"
The whimsical man thinks out loud. From beneath the brim of his round black hat, his gaze rises over the rim of his sunglasses and settles on the beast above.
From a different angle of the rampage,
crossing the bridge connecting the city and Hokubu Town, is Daisuke and Mizuki. He leaps dozens of meters in every step, dragging the girl behind him until they land on the roof of a truck, heading in the same direction.
"It seems that-"
Speaking to Mizuki while his eyes lock onto the threat in the distance,
"Nekomori wasn't the only one of its kind."
"What do you mean?"
Mizuki questions
"The Yashin Incident, was not a small incident"
His voice carries over the wind,
"Wherever it occurred, there were lots of wildlife involved"
"We may encounter a different chimaera compared to Nekomori."
He cautions,
"So Mizuki kun, be prepared"
"Umm understood but"
She tilts her head,
"Why do you sound so serious, Daisuke kun?"
"If it's just like Nekomori then we don't have to worry too much, right?"
Confused by his overreaction.
'Not like it'll actually harm anyone' She thoughts.
"Actually about that,"
He turns to her, his eyes withholding something that is about to shake her understanding,
"There's something else I should tell you"
As they arrive at the city entrance, the skyline of Hakuroku City starts to draw near.
"Nekomori isn't scared of dying? What do you mean?"
Mizuki repeats, confirming what she just heard.
"Animals have instincts that drive them. The drive to find safety, to find home, to find food."
Daisuke starts explaining.
"Primal instincts that help them survive in the wild, and as a species."
The girl simply listens patiently, the wrinkles on her brow still spelling out her confusion. But she just nods along, unsure of what he's trying to say.
"While generally every living thing shares these instincts, the extent to which they express or act on them differs from species to species, and even from individual to individual."
"I understand... but..."
Still unsure, she shoots him an inquisitive look.
"How is this related to Nekomori's situation?"
"These animals—"
But before he can answer, the truck swerves violently as a colossal chunk of concrete crashes down in front of it. When the vehicle tips onto its side, Daisuke stabs the asphalt, and with his feet firmly planted on the roof, pushes against the road to keep it from crashing.
"This is too dangerous! We can't let civilians get caught in the fight!"
He exclaims while grabbing Mizuki's shoulder and leaping off the truck. The asphalt catches both of them, already in SP Form (Spiritual Properties).
As Mizuki dusts the dirt off herself, another loud noise reaches her. Several blocks ahead, a building violently shudders, and glass erupts from its windows.
Hakuroku City's distant skyline from earlier now towers above them. Inevitably catching their eye is a moderately sized building in the middle of the city.
Daisuke tugs at Mizuki, dragging her with him as he leaps upward to evade the oncoming rubble.
Each landing lasts barely a moment before he launches himself again, clearing rooftops and narrow streets in great bounds while Mizuki clings tightly to his back.
As they reach the hotel, he stabs the wall with his blade, his trusty Barikkurai. Soon enough, a dark, shadowy blanket swallows the building whole. The entire structure is enveloped in an otherworldly, shadowy texture.
Inside, Mizuki's fingers trace across the wall.
'This is—'
"My own Kyokan. How do you like it?"
Daisuke reveals it.
"Your own... Kyokan?"
She repeats, then recalls their conversation the other day.
'Like what Raiyu-chan did...'
"Once I figured out how she does it, it's not too hard to replicate."
He comments.
She looks around the floor, a banquet hall. Everything in there is dark, but at the same time, almost luminous. Like they're glowing black.
Still in awe, she can't let out a response before he yanks her out of the way again, pulling her behind him.
"No time for sightseeing. It's time to put that Reihado training into use, Mizuki-kun."
"Ehh, but—"
She hesitates, before a chunk of wall comes flying their way and gets shattered by Daisuke.
"I only just learned it the other day. I can't—"
"That's all the more reason to practice it."
He convinces her, half-focused on the threat before them.
A hulking figure stands at the end of the spacious floor, hunched over like a bent old man but covered in scales. Though the upper half of its torso disappears through the ceiling, the posture of its arms and shoulders still suggests a man-like quality.
However, as it lowers its head to investigate them, the actual working lights finally illuminate its face. Only now do they see just how inhuman it looks, like an ape wearing a reptile suit.
Mizuki freezes in response, unable to read its next moves. But the beast simply ignores them and continues destroying the floor.
"Oh, no you don't."
Daisuke mutters, propelling himself towards the beast and evading the falling debris from the ongoing destruction. In a single motion, he dashes between the creature's legs and slashes the insides of both its knees, forcing the giant to fall from its stance and crash through a couple of floors below.
Yet it still manages to drag the concrete beneath Daisuke down with it.
Catching his own fall, Daisuke sticks his landing on a piece of concrete already hanging from its scaffolding.
Analyzing his opponent, he thinks,
'No reaction, huh? Well, that much is expec—'
Before he can finish his thought, a giant set of claws emerges from the cloud of dust, reaching to grab him. He hops away just in time.
Still, the entire building shakes angrily with every movement of the giant lizard-ape.
"Wait a minute, Daisuke-kun."
Mizuki calls out to him from the higher floor.
"Aren't you being too rough?"
"Don't worry, we have Kyokan in place. Besides—"
He gestures to their surroundings.
"The beast already wrecked the place before we arrived."
"That's not what I meant."
Mizuki corrects him.
"It... doesn't look like it wants to fight us."
"That's not the problem."
He counters.
"At that size, even just strolling around would cause destruction everywhere it goes."
"Then, can't we just tame it down?"
She suggests.
"Like we did with Nekomori..."
He keeps his gaze on the creature before him, already recovering from his earlier slashes and standing back up. A few breaths of silence pass before he finally responds.
"Remember what you asked me earlier, Mizuki-kun?"
Daisuke brings the discussion back.
"About how all that stuff relates to Nekomori."
"Y-yeah? You mean, about how each animal expresses their instinct differently?"
She recalls.
"Yeah, that one."
He clarifies.
"No two cats are identical in every way, even when they come from the same species or the same mother."
A tremor roars between their exchange as the beast keeps terraforming the building.
"You mean like, their DNA and stuff?"
She guesses. Struggling to keep her stance.
"I mean, their personality, their quirks, or..."
He corrects her, before pausing, gauging her reaction.
"...you can even call it their soul."
"Wait—do you mean—?"
Her eyes sharpen, measuring his facial reaction.
"Is that also related to Reichitsu?"
Finally, he reveals,
"To put it in simpler terms, that's what souls are."
'Their.. Soul…'
Her gaze draws itself to the busy giant across the room. Still clawing away and digging the wall as they're speaking.
But then it stops, which catches both Daisuke and Mizuki's attention.
'What is it trying now?'
He ponders.
As if answering his question the beast hunches forward and reveals a massive clump of feathers on its back. A pair of wings.
"You've got to be kidding me…" he mutters.
The humongous lizard ape spreads out its wings and takes off.
"It can FLY?!!" Mizuki exclaims, incredulous.
Wasting not another second, Daisuke charges forward and pulls Mizuki with him.
"We can't let it roam!"
He announces, as SP (Spiritual Properties) forms below his feet.
Catching up to the beast, Daisuke makes a giant leap across the building, overtaking the beast and breaking into the next one. Upon entering, he immediately charges his blade full of SP and stabs the ground. Creating another Kyokan that swallows the entire structure from the top down.
A split second later, the beast arrives with a bang. Sending a huge quake over the entire Kyokan-coated building as it lands, breaking a few floors worth of concrete and glass.
"What a close call…"
He sighs in relief. Then shoots a sharp glare towards the culprit.
"You're a troublesome one…"
Though intimidating as he is, the criminal pays no extra second to him and starts getting to work right away. Digging through the building as if searching for something.
"Wh-what do we do, Daisuke kun?"
"Try to stop its movement first. Use Reihado to make up something"
He instructs.
"I'll work something out but I need more time"
"O-okay"
Frantically she responds before running straight towards the giant.
'Since it's not hostile, I should be able to get closer'
Is what she thought, until-
"Above you Mizuki kun!" Daisuke warns.
A slab of concrete floor the size of her house cracks and starts falling on top of her. The amateur ghost hunter holds out her arms upwards in reflex to defend against the debris.
"Don't be reckless!"
Daisuke warns and fires off some Reihado slashes that break the gigantic slab into several fragments. Too small to smash her in but still sizable enough to injure her.
"ARGHH!!"
Mizuki grunts as the sharper fragments manage to scrape her SP form in several places. A grim reminder for her.
'Even if only in Reitai… it still hurts so much'
"Just because it's not coming after you, don't charge in recklessly"
Her saviour cautions.
"Keep a safe distance around it and find a safe angle to approach it."
"Understood!"
Mizuki takes his advice and starts circling the beast at a safe distance. In her arms, an incomplete Reihado.
'I tried making Reihado in reflex back then but-"
She observes her work closely,
"-for some reason it doesn't come out the same as Daisuke kun's"
Another cracking of rocks alarm her, this time she manages to evade in time.
'No time for that, I need to work with what I got'
With the pain from the earlier blunder still fresh in her mind, she carefully makes her way in and out of the beast's range. Avoiding both its giant claw and the environmental destruction nearby it, while carefully concentrating and laying out her Reihado.
Limb by limb she slows down the preoccupied beast, but each time it breaks away from her sticky Reihado and continues digging. Only slightly slowing down now that its entire body is riddled with blobs of Reihado.
"That's good enough, Mizuki kun"
Daisuke calls out.
"Eh-?"
She blinks,
"Ah, yea.."
Not realizing how long she was going at it until his voice brings her back.
"Now come back here and get behind me"
He instructs.
The human hunter keeps both his arms crossed, his blades on opposite sides. His posture lowers, his footing widens. And for a moment, he does not utter a single word, concentrating.
Whilst the air feels heavier and the world feels quiet for a moment, Daisuke stays readied on his stance, not moving a single muscle. Even the busy lizard beast seems to stop digging and check out what's happening.
'W-what is he going to do..?'
Even Mizuki is almost holding her breath in anticipation.
"Here's a good lesson for your Reihado training, Mizuki kun.."
Until he breaks the temporary silence. And right as he's preparing, a smirk surfaces.
"Keep your eyes on me"
Before she can make out what is happening, a supernatural light blinds her vision for a second. Only barely can she see the source, Daisuke extending his arms to their full span. And in front of him, a gigantic wall of light that fills the entire room, no, the entire floor. A giant Reihado extends onward from his slash, destroying everything inside there.
From the outside, it appears like a crescent moon encircling the building, destroying and pushing everything out, even the giant beast, and carrying everything with it as it surges forward on its path. Flying straight toward the horizon, way past the edge of Hakuroku City.
Meanwhile in its wake, the slipstream from that giant Reihado erupts violently like an explosion, rupturing the windows of the entire building and pushing Mizuki away from the center. Even the Kyokan itself collapses under the force, bringing them back into the real world.
'What amazing force!!' Mizuki thinks as she desperately tries to keep her footing.
However,
"Eh?"
After fending off the gust of wind, she feels the ground escape from beneath her. Too distracted by the spectacle, only now does she notice gravity pulling her into free fall, almost a hundred meters down.