Chapter 270: 268
Genichi stood before the laboratory window, gazing at the overcast sky outside.
His fingers tapped lightly against the windowsill in a steady rhythm as he formulated a plan.
The darkness beneath his feet stirred. A shadow separated itself from the surrounding gloom and silently rose before him.
It had no face or features, only the vague outline of a human body, yet it radiated an aura identical to Genichi's.
"Transformation Magic: Cinder Ella."
Genichi issued his command.
"Take the form of one of those intruders."
The shadow's body began to twist and warp as though an invisible hand were kneading it into shape.
A few seconds later, it had transformed into an unfamiliar man dressed in a black combat uniform. His features were completely ordinary, without a single distinguishing trait. He was the kind of man no one would notice in a crowd.
It was the exact appearance of one of the intruders Genichi had captured.
Genichi walked to the workbench and picked up a thick stack of documents containing all his research on Ghost Tamers.
However, he had carefully altered these records. He had removed every crucial element and replaced them with seemingly profound yet ultimately absurd theories and misleading data.
An ordinary person would find them unfathomably advanced. An expert would believe they held enormous potential. But anyone who truly understood the subject would realize the truth.
They were nothing but wastepaper.
"Take these back and make copies."
Genichi handed the documents to the shadow.
"Make the Japanese government believe it successfully stole our research."
The shadow accepted the documents and silently nodded before turning and disappearing into the darkness.
Genichi watched it leave.
He was curious to see what the Japanese government would manage to create.
What would those politicians, bureaucrats, and self-important fools who believed they controlled everything do with the falsified research?
Would they believe it?
Would they become suspicious?
How many resources would they invest?
How many people would they sacrifice?
Perhaps the Japanese government might even provide him with some inspiration.
After all, when it came to treating human lives as worthless, the government never disappointed.
Human experimentation, secret research, and covering up the truth were all things it handled with greater expertise than anyone else.
Genichi returned to the workbench and resumed writing his experimental records.
His pen scratched steadily across the paper, his demeanor focused and indifferent.
Three days later, the shadow returned with a report.
The moment the Japanese government obtained the research data, it immediately began conducting human experiments.
It had not taken the time to verify whether the information was genuine. It had not evaluated the risks of the experiments or considered whether the test subjects would live or die.
Its leaders had seen power, the supernatural, and something capable of reshaping the global balance.
Then they had thrown themselves at it without hesitation.
Genichi sat at the workbench, listening to the shadow's report as the smile on his lips gradually widened.
"They abducted homeless people from the streets, parks, and beneath bridges. They chose people without identities, families, or anyone who cared whether they disappeared. They also removed prisoners from correctional facilities, including death-row inmates, those serving life sentences, and violent offenders."
The shadow continued its report.
"They chose people society had forgotten. There were no contracts to sign, no compensation to pay, and no one likely to demand accountability."
That was the greatest difference between Genichi and the government.
When he conducted experiments, he still needed volunteers. He still needed contracts and had to dispose of the bodies afterward.
The government needed none of those things.
It possessed authority, resources, and an endless supply of people it could sacrifice without consequence.
"The results were unexpected. They actually managed to create something."
"The government's researchers combined the ancient techniques used by Onmyoji to control Shikigami with the Ghost Tamer research data. From that, they created an entirely new system."
"They treat evil spirits as Shikigami. Through contracts and rituals, they compel the spirits to obey human commands."
Genichi frowned slightly.
Onmyoji?
Shikigami?
Of course he knew about them. They appeared throughout Japan's ancient folklore as extraordinary individuals capable of commanding spirits and supernatural beings.
He had always assumed they were nothing more than legends, myths, and stories invented by people in ancient times.
But now it appeared that those legends contained at least some truth.
"What's the price?"
Genichi knew better than anyone that all power came at a cost.
His Ghost Tamers risked being consumed by their vengeful spirits. Their souls could collapse, and every experiment carried the possibility of death.
What price did the government's Shikigami users pay?
The shadow's answer deepened his frown.
"Every time they use a Shikigami, or rather, draw upon an evil spirit's power, a portion of the user's life span is taken away. The more often they use it, the shorter their lives become. Frequent use causes them to age rapidly. Some subjects used their abilities only two or three times and aged by several decades. Their hair turned completely white, their skin shriveled, and their organs began to fail."
Genichi fell silent.
Having one's life span stripped away was an exceptionally cruel price.
It was not simply death or pain. It meant watching oneself grow older, weaker, and closer to death with every passing day.
That fear was crueler than any torture.
"Compared to your Ghost Tamers, the government's Shikigami system has an obvious flaw," the shadow continued. "Your Ghost Tamers may be possessed by their evil spirits, but their life spans are never reduced. In fact, the spirits may actually extend their lives."
"The spirits' power transforms their bodies, making Ghost Tamers healthier, stronger, and longer-lived than ordinary humans."
Genichi nodded.
He had discovered that long ago.
The essence of the Ghost Tamer system was symbiosis between a human and a vengeful spirit. The spirit provided power, while the human provided a vessel.
They depended upon each other and grew stronger together.
The government's Shikigami system, however, was fundamentally based on enslavement. Humans forcibly controlled evil spirits, while the resisting spirits continuously eroded their hosts' life force.
The difference between the two systems was obvious.
"I won't pass judgment on whether the Onmyoji system or the Ghost Tamer system is superior."
Genichi's voice remained calm.
"However, the Onmyoji system has caught my interest."
He rose and walked to the window, looking out into the night.
Moonlight streamed inside, casting his shadow across the floor and stretching it unnaturally long.
His fingers tapped lightly against the windowsill, producing a steady rhythm.
Onmyoji, Shikigami, ancient contracts, and mysterious rituals. These represented an entirely new field to him, a body of unknown knowledge and a potential source of power.
"Continue monitoring the government."
Genichi issued another command.
"I want to know about every move they make, every success, every failure, and every breakthrough."
The shadow nodded and silently melted into the darkness.
Genichi turned around and was about to resume writing his experimental records when his entire body suddenly jolted.
The shadow beneath his feet writhed violently, as though something were surging within the darkness.
It was relaying information to him.
This was no ordinary report. It was urgent, important, and could not wait.
Genichi closed his eyes and received the information.
His expression shifted from calm to surprise, from surprise to excitement, and then from excitement to something deeper and far more complicated.
"Found them."
He murmured the words and opened his eyes.
His shadows had located Kanade Tachibana and Yuri Nakamura in the World of the Dead.
The protagonists. The pivotal figures in the story. The people who might know where the heart of the World of the Dead was located.
At long last, he had found them.
A genuine smile rose to Genichi's lips.
There was no mockery or indifference in it.
Only joy.
It was the joy of discovering a treasure, of finally drawing closer to his goal, of seeing victory within reach.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
A crimson magic circle illuminated the floor beneath him, enveloping his body in red light.
An instant later, he disappeared from the laboratory.
Beneath the gray-white sky of the World of the Dead, Genichi emerged from a flash of crimson light.
He stood amid the ruins, surrounded by shattered walls, collapsed buildings, and scattered rubble.
The stench of death permeated the air. Vengeful spirits wandered in the distance, releasing deep, guttural growls.
But Genichi paid them no attention.
His gaze fell upon the two figures standing at the center of the ruins.
One was a girl with long, silver-white hair and an expressionless face. She wore an unfamiliar school uniform.
Kanade stood motionless in the middle of the ruins like a statue. Her empty eyes remained fixed on the distance, as though she were watching something no one else could see.
The other girl had green eyes and shoulder-length purple hair. She also wore a school uniform, and her expression was resolute. A gun rested in her hands.
Yuri stood beside Kanade, vigilantly surveying their surroundings as though protecting her.
Kanade Tachibana.
Yuri Nakamura.
As Genichi looked at them, a strange feeling welled within him.
In the story, these two were protagonists, favored by destiny and positioned at the heart of the World of the Dead.
Did they know where the core of this world was located?
Did they understand its secrets?
Did they know how someone could become the ruler of this world?
He did not know.
But he knew that they were the key to finding those answers.
Genichi began walking toward them.
His footsteps echoed through the gray-white ruins.
One step.
Then another.
Then a third.
Kanade did not move. She continued staring into the distance.
Yuri, however, abruptly spun around and raised her gun, aiming it at Genichi.
"Don't come any closer!"
Her voice was sharp and guarded.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
Genichi stopped and looked at them.
The corners of his lips curved into a faint smile.
"I came here to find you."
Yuri's frown deepened.
"Find us? Who are you, and how did you know we were here?"
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]