With Shimamoto finally out of commission, Mochi and Miyu took care of securing the prisoner. They used a thick rope they found in the investigator's workshop, making sure to bind both his arms and legs to avoid any problems if he woke up sooner than expected.
Kotone, true to her nature, kept her distance throughout the entire process. She watched with her arms crossed and an expression of obvious boredom, as if all of this was far beneath her interests.
"I really don't understand why you waste so much time with all these precautions," the girl complained as she brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "He's a pathetic man. Let's just drag him down the mountain. If he dares open an eye, I'll personally make sure he learns his place."
"Oh, right, I almost forgot," Miyu exclaimed, completely ignoring Kotone's comment as she turned toward Mochi. "Mochi-senpai, we found Mari on our way here. She told us everything that happened while you were being held captive."
Mochi finished tightening the last knot before looking up.
"Mari? And where is she now? I don't think you had time to take her down to the village and then come back up for me."
"We sent her back to the village on a... well, on a horse Kotone painted," Miyu explained with a smile.
Mochi blinked several times.
"A horse? Painted? What are you talking about?"
Kotone let out a small laugh.
"As always, you understand things slower than everyone else."
With practiced elegance, she pulled out her brush.
"Watch carefully."
The girl began moving her wrist with surprising precision. The brush left black strokes hanging in the air, but the ink did not fall to the ground. It remained suspended in front of her, as if an invisible sheet of paper existed there.
Stroke after stroke, a figure began to take shape.
Mochi watched in fascination as the black lines connected together, forming a complex silhouette. When Kotone made the final movement, the two-dimensional figure trembled.
Then something impossible happened.
The ink began to expand.
The lines swelled, gaining depth and volume. What had been nothing more than a drawing slowly transformed into a gigantic creature emerging from the ink itself.
A nearly three-meter-tall ink demon appeared before them.
Its muscular body looked as though it had been carved from obsidian. Its eyes glowed with a faint reddish light, and every movement sent ripples across its surface, as if it were made from an ocean of black ink barely contained within a humanoid form.
Kotone placed both hands on her hips and puffed out her chest proudly.
"What do you think?" she asked with a satisfied smile. "Now do you understand why I'm a genius?"
Mochi instinctively took a step back.
Her heart began to race.
It wasn't exactly fear, but rather the natural reaction of someone accustomed to facing dangerous anomalies.
Mochi's instincts screamed a warning.
She could feel the pressure radiating from the giant without even needing to measure it. It was a heavy, overwhelming presence.
A presence comparable to that of a Rank B anomaly.
Mochi swallowed nervously.
For the first time since meeting Kotone, she truly understood the extent of the talent everyone kept talking about.
She wasn't simply a rich, arrogant, or overprotected little girl.
She was a prodigy capable of creating elite combatants with just a few strokes of a brush, and that made it much harder to ignore her constant boasting.
—You! —Kotone ordered, pointing at Shimamoto.—Carry him.
The ink demon obeyed immediately.
Without making a sound, it bent down, grabbed the unconscious investigator with one hand, and lifted him as if he weighed no more than a backpack.
Then it slung him over its shoulder.
—Well... —Mochi murmured as she stared at the enormous being.—I'll admit that's pretty impressive.
Kotone smiled with satisfaction.
—Of course it is. You can keep admiring me if you want. I'm used to it.
—Don't get carried away, brat.
—Brat?
—Here we go again... —Miyu sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.
The ink demon remained motionless beside the group, silently carrying Shimamoto while the three girls continued bickering as though the gigantic ink creature were the most normal thing in the world.
—Look... —Miyu whispered suddenly, pointing toward the horizon.—The sun is rising.
The others followed the direction of her finger.
In the distance, the sun was beginning to emerge slowly from behind the mountains. The first rays of light pierced the night sky, painting it in shades of orange, gold, and purple.
For a few moments, no one spoke.
The dawn light bathed the ruins of the Tengu village, illuminating the collapsed buildings, empty paths, and ancient rooftops worn down by time. The oppressive, ghostly atmosphere that had dominated the mountain throughout the night seemed to fade little by little.
It was as if the world were awakening from a long nightmare.
—The view from up here is incredible —Miyu commented with a faint smile.
Her voice carried a sense of peace that none of the three had felt all night.
Even Mochi remained silent, taking in the scenery.
After everything that had happened, that sunrise felt like a reward.
—But we need to go —Miyu added after a few seconds.—Zeke must be waiting for us.
—For once, I agree —said Kotone, crossing her arms—. Besides, I'm tired. This place is damp, cold, and full of insects.
—Since when are geniuses afraid of insects? —Mochi asked.
—I'm not afraid of them.
—Then stop moving away every time you see one.
—That's enough, you two! —Miyu intervened before the argument could escalate.
The three of them then began their descent down the mountain.
The return journey was far calmer than the climb up. The darkness had vanished, and the trails were much easier to navigate beneath the light of dawn.
Kotone's ink demon continued carrying the unconscious Shimamoto over one shoulder, following behind the group with heavy steps.
It didn't take long for them to find Zeke, Rei, Takahiro, and the others.
Mari was there as well.
The little girl ran toward them as soon as she saw them.
—You're okay!
Before she could get any closer, Zeke stepped forward.
—I'm glad to see you're still alive.
The three girls smiled for a moment.
—But that doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed direct orders.
The smiles disappeared immediately.
Over the next several minutes, they received a lengthy scolding for acting on their own, infiltrating the Tengu village, and ending up involved in a situation far more dangerous than anticipated.
Mochi tried to defend herself several times.
Kotone argued that, technically, their decisions had been correct.
Miyu attempted to mediate.
None of the three succeeded.
Once the lecture was over, the group began the journey back to the village.
As they walked, Zeke took the opportunity to bring them up to date on everything he knew about Shimamoto, information they had obtained by interrogating a Tengu.
—Three years ago —he began explaining—, former OHRA agent Shimamoto Tadashi arrived on this mountain.
Everyone fell silent to listen.
—He managed to pass through the barrier protecting the Tengu village without any trouble and presented himself to them as an ally. He spoke about research he had been conducting for years. He promised them power, a better life, and the possibility of becoming stronger through a ritual he had personally created.
—And the Tengu accepted? —Miyu asked.
Zeke shook his head.
—No. Most of them rejected him.
He walked a few more steps before continuing.
—Everyone opposed his ideas... except for three young Tengu.
Mochi frowned.
—The same ones we found last night?
—Exactly.
—They were dissatisfied with the life they had in the village —Zeke continued—. They weren't happy with the traditions or the rules imposed by the elders. They wanted something more. They wanted power.
—Idiots —Kotone muttered.
—Maybe —Zeke replied—, but they were enough for everything to end in tragedy.
The group continued descending along the trail while he recounted the events.
—With Shimamoto's help, they performed a forbidden ritual. They used the lives of all the other Tengu as sacrifices.
For a few seconds, the only sound was the group's footsteps.
—Thanks to that sacrifice, they obtained an enormous amount of power —Zeke continued—. But it wasn't enough for them. They wanted more.
—It's always the same story —Rei commented tiredly.
—That was when Shimamoto proposed a new solution.
Zeke's expression grew more serious.
—A method he never could have used while he was still a member of OHRA.
Mochi felt a bad premonition.
—What did he do?
—He suggested using people as fuel for future rituals.
The silence became even heavier.
—According to his research, people with large amounts of ether produced better results. And among that group, children were especially valuable.
Anger appeared on Miyu's face.
—That monster...
—That's how the kidnappings began —Zeke continued—. For years, they captured children from the nearby village and used them to fuel their rituals.
—And nobody did anything? —Mochi asked.
—The villagers never had a chance.
—Why?
—Because Shimamoto made sure of that.
Zeke clenched his jaw.
—He used sorcery to alter the villagers' perception. Every time a child disappeared, people simply... stopped caring.
Mochi remembered Yoshida's words.
The disappearances, the villagers' indifference, the authorities' passivity—everything was beginning to make sense.
—That's why no one reacted —Miyu murmured.
—Exactly.
The group continued descending while the sun finished rising over the mountains.
The nightmare of the Kamikakushi had finally come to an end.