nycdaug Chapter 393 Fire (Page 12)
Chapter 393 Fire (Page 12)
The neon lights in Osaka's central business district were distorted and deformed in the downpour, and the various colored halos blended into hazy patches of color on the wet asphalt.
At 8:17 PM, it is the most tiring time for those who work overtime.
Takeru Satoh dragged his heavy steps out of the office building, carrying a bulging briefcase in his left hand—containing a proposal that had been returned three times by the department head—and clutching a discounted plum rice ball from the convenience store in his right hand.
Rainwater streamed down his hair and into his shirt collar, while his already soaked suit jacket clung heavily to his back.
His leather shoes were filled with water, and each step made a 'creak' sound.
The phone screen lit up with the eighth unread message from his wife: "Our daughter has a fever of 39 degrees Celsius. Can you buy some fever reducers?"
...
After buying the medicine, Sato stopped in front of the 711-Eleven convenience store, hesitating whether he should also buy a rice ball for tomorrow's breakfast.
at this time--
"boom!"
A blinding red light suddenly tore through the night sky, illuminating the entire street as if it were stained with blood.
The rice ball in Sato's hand fell into the puddle with a 'plop', and the plum filling spread pink ripples in the rainwater.
All pedestrians on the street seemed to have been put on pause.
Office workers stood frozen in place, high school girls gaped in disbelief, and even stray cats bristled and arched their backs.
Hundreds of transparent umbrellas tilted at the same time, revealing countless astonished faces.
In the red light, a figure draped in a scarlet robe slowly descended.
The most chilling thing was the pure white mask—carved with a half-smile, half-smile, with a sun totem carved on the left eye and a crescent shape on the right.
The rainwater evaporated within three centimeters of his body from an invisible barrier, forming a hazy mist that kept twisting.
“This is…” Sato’s glasses fogged up, and he subconsciously took a half step back, his back hitting the convenience store glass.
The convenience store's automatic door suddenly malfunctioned, opening and closing repeatedly with a piercing "beep beep" sound.
The cashier behind the counter threw down the barcode scanner, staggered out the door, and knelt down.
Further away, an elite man in a suit was frantically tearing at his tie, as if he had suddenly been unable to breathe.
Sato shakily pulled out his phone and found the screen covered in static.
At this time.
"It's the Oracle!"
Suddenly, Nakamura, the bald section chief next to Sato, let out a heart-wrenching scream.
The finance minister, who was usually very particular about his appearance, knelt heavily in the floodwater like a puppet with its strings cut.
The dull thud of his forehead hitting the ground sent a shiver down Sato's spine, and rainwater mixed with oil splashed onto Sato's trouser legs.
“I have finally met the true god!” Nakamura’s voice was distorted and deformed, and he didn’t care that his tie was completely soaked in sewage with cigarette butts floating on it.
He stretched out his hands, trembling, his fingernails filled with black grime from the cracks in the ground.
"Please...please look at me, a humble believer..."
Like dominoes falling, the entire street was instantly engulfed in a frenzied wave of kneeling worship.
A high school girl throws down her backpack in front of a convenience store; the hem of her sailor uniform skirt is soaked in oil stains.
When they clasped their hands together, the rhinestones on their manicures reflected an eerie light under the neon lights.
"Please bless me to get into Waseda University..." The girl in the lead cried, her carefully permed bangs stuck to her forehead.
Three investment banking elites dressed in custom Armani suits were prostrate on the ground, and the dial of one of their Patek Philippe watches cracked like a spider web as he kowtowed.
Like thirsty travelers in the desert, they licked the reflection of the oracle in the puddles with their tongues.
The most chilling thing was the young mother holding the baby.
She mechanically pressed the crying baby's head to the ground, the baby's face pressed against the rough asphalt, emitting suffocating whimpers.
"Accept the blessing... quickly accept the blessing..." the mother repeated hollowly, her nails digging deep into the baby's delicate skin.
A young man with dyed blond hair trembled as he pulled out his phone, pointing the camera at the oracle in the sky.
Suddenly, the phone screen flickered with static, followed by a wisp of smoke.
The old man beside him—the secondhand bookstore owner in a faded kimono—suddenly sprang to life, his withered hand slapping the phone away with astonishing force.
"Blasphemy!" The old man spat out saliva from his toothless mouth. "This is a miracle to be felt with the heart!"
The flying phone landed right in the sewer grate, and several deformed red carp could be vaguely seen swimming in the splashing water.
At this time.
A barely audible cold snort came from beneath the red robe. The sound didn't seem to come from human vocal cords; it was more like the friction of metal mixed with electrical noise.
The oracle slowly raised his left hand, and a pale palm emerged from his sleeve—the palm had only four fingers, each with an unusually long knuckle.
Three inches above the palm, a red ball of light appeared out of thin air.
The surface of the sphere was covered with lava-like patterns, while inside, countless tiny black characters flickered.
As the sphere of light spun, the kneeling crowd suddenly convulsed, their eyes rolling upwards, yet a blissful smile graced their lips.
"what!!"
The entire street erupted in frenzied cheers, and even stray dogs began banging their heads against the ground.
In a dimension unseen by all, wisps of energy were rising from the heads of the worshippers and being drawn into the breathing holes of the oracle's mask.
The crimson sphere of light trembled violently in the oracle's palm, and the energy ripples evaporated the surrounding raindrops into a blood-red mist.
The kneeling crowd held their breath, awaiting the moment when a miracle would occur—
The pupils, like electronic eyes, beneath the mask suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints.
In the blind spot of the surveillance cameras at the corner of the 711-Eleven convenience store, a fleeting glimpse of gold appeared.
Through the rain and the gaps between the fanatics, the red-robed oracle caught a glimpse of two unusual figures:
A blond boy is dragging a little girl in a sailor uniform along as they run.
The moment the boy turned his head, his left eye was a normal amber color, but his right eye shone with a dazzling golden light.
"Discovered [Mysterious Eye]".
A mechanical sound emanated from inside the mask, carrying the electrical noise characteristic of electronic devices.
Before the afterimage of the oracle had faded from his retina, his true form had already broken the sound barrier and appeared on the street corner.
Where the red robe swept past, three fanatics were blown away by the shockwave—one of them had his wig caught on a road sign, revealing his scalp covered in strange runes.
Xiao Jin sensed the killing intent at the critical moment.
--Danger!
Little Gold's pupils shrank suddenly, and a mesmerizing golden light flashed in his eyes.
"go!"
He suddenly grabbed Yurina's wrist, and the two figures vanished into thin air like bubbles just as the red-robed oracle was about to touch them.
The red-robed oracle caught only a wisp of breeze with his fingertips.
"..."
He hovered in place, his brows furrowed slightly beneath the mask.
—Disappeared?
He slowly rose into the air, his scarlet robes like burning flames.
He looked down over the entire block, his eyes scanning every inch like a scanner, but he could no longer find any trace of the two people.
After a moment of silence, he raised his hand to the communicator beside his ear, his voice cold and mechanical:
"We've discovered [Mysterious Eye], and also a human little girl."
From the other end of the communicator, the voice of the yellow-robed oracle came faintly:
"clear."
"Youri Kurozo has been found on the 6th. Go search other places."
"This [mysterious eye] and the little girl..."
"give it to me."
The red-robed oracle did not respond, but simply turned away indifferently, transforming into a streak of red light and disappearing into the distant sky.
...
"Shh-"
The air distorted slightly, and the figures of Xiao Jin and Yurina quietly appeared, as if a crack had been torn open from nothingness.
Yurina's small hands gripped Kogane's sleeve tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
Her breathing was rapid, and her chest heaved violently; she was clearly still reeling from the near-death experience.
"Did we...did we shake him off?" she asked softly, her voice trembling slightly.
Xiao Jin didn't answer immediately, but quickly looked around. His heterochromatic pupils gleamed in the darkness, as alert as a feline.
After confirming that there was nothing unusual around him, he whispered:
"Let's go home first!"
Before he finished speaking, he grabbed Yurina's wrist, and the two figures disappeared like mist again, leaving only a few falling cherry blossoms slowly spinning in place.
-
Meanwhile, in the night sky above Osaka.
"call--"
A golden figure streaked across the sky like a shooting star, its long robe billowing like a burning flame, drawing a sharp trajectory against the backdrop of neon lights and moonlight.
He moved with incredible speed, yet with a lightness that was almost imperceptible. He landed steadily on the top of the city's tallest skyscraper, his toes barely touching the ground, as silent as a falling leaf.
The yellow-robed oracle—"Heart Calamity"—stood with his hands behind his back, his wide sleeves billowing in the night wind, and the ancient runes embroidered with gold thread gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
His face was covered by a bronze mask, its surface engraved with intricate runes, like some kind of forgotten taboo script, which faintly shimmered with a dark golden light in the shadows.
Beneath the mask, his eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a rare hint of hesitation.
"Mitong... how come she's with a human little girl?"
His voice was deep, with a subtle, almost imperceptible fluctuation, like a stone breaking the surface of a calm lake, creating delicate ripples.
As an oracle, he was used to looking down on all living beings, listening to the whispers of all things, and controlling all variables.
But tonight, he saw a thin human girl next to Mi Tong—that always aloof being who had no interest in mortals.
Who is that girl?
Why does Mitong want to protect her?
A night breeze swept by, and his thoughts paused briefly, but soon, that doubt was covered by a deeper chill.
He slowly closed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth under the mask turned up slightly, revealing an almost cruel smile.
"But, never mind."
"I'll find out when I find it..."
The next second—
"Om-"
An invisible wave suddenly spread out from him, silently sweeping across the entire block like ripples on water.
Within a two-kilometer radius, all sounds rushed into his ears like a tidal wave—
—At the street corner, a couple nestled together under a streetlamp. The girl's laughter was light and cheerful, and the boy whispered sweet nothings, his voice trembling with youthful awkwardness.
—Inside a 24-hour convenience store, a young cashier yawned and muttered complaints about the exhaustion of the night shift while looking at his phone screen.
Deep inside the underground drainage pipes, rats scurry about, and the sound of sewage dripping can be clearly heard.
—And in a narrow alley, there were rapid breathing, disordered heartbeats, and… the soft ringing of a bell.
His hearing is like an invisible net, precisely capturing that discordant frequency amidst a myriad of noises.
"I found you..."
The yellow-robed oracle suddenly opened his eyes, his golden pupils burning like stars in the night, cold yet intense.