Chapter 57: Strike

Aiko's heart was racing. From his tone, it sounded like there was someone outside. She wished she could turn and see, but her body was paralyzed.

"Strange, how exactly did you spot me?" A thick voice asked as a middle-aged man pushed the door open and walked in.

"Who are you, and why are you following me? Are you a cop?" Hisanaga asked, casually moving to stand behind Aiko.

"You could say that, but I'm much higher-ranking than the average police officer. To be straightforward, I'm Chiyama Genjiro, head of the Tokyo division of the Homeland Security Bureau's Paranormal Research Center. Here's my ID." He tossed a yellow card, about the size of an ID, in front of Hisanaga.

Hisanaga barely glanced at it before saying, "I don't care who you are. If you're police, then pardon me." He raised a hand, palm facing the man.

As Aiko watched in confusion, the energy-saving light started flickering violently, as if about to burn out.

After a moment, Hisanaga exclaimed in surprise, "What's happening?"

The man laughed. "As expected of a parasite host, it seems you have the ability to control other people's bodies at close range. In fact, I just happened to notice an unusually high fluctuation in the area, so I knew a paranormal was nearby. Don't worry, I'm not here to arrest you. Paranormals like us are extremely rare. I simply want to bring you to headquarters, which would mean joining our organization. The government treats us paranormals well, as long as we cooperate and complete the tasks they assign us. Beyond that, they turn a blind eye—even to what you plan to do with this girl. And there will be someone to clean up afterward. Not a bad deal, right? If you agree, I'll be waiting outside until you're done."

"Is that true?" Hisanaga seemed tempted.

"I can assure you."

Aiko fell into despair once more. Although she didn't understand everything, she realized this man, whom she thought would save her, was actually bargaining with Hisanaga over her. Tears started streaming down her face again.

"So, you're a paranormal too. No wonder my attack had no effect on you. Care to tell me what your power is?" Hisanaga asked, looking at the man.

"Sorry, I can't tell you anything until you're officially with us. So, have you decided?"

"Alright, I agree…" Just as he said this, Hisanaga raised his hand towards the man again. The light began to flicker wildly.

A moment later, Aiko heard the man scream in pain.

"Why are you doing this?" the man shouted in anger after his scream.

"It's simple—I don't trust a word you say. Die."

A faint gust of wind seemed to pass by Aiko, blowing towards the back of the room, and the dim light suddenly went out completely.

"Fool. Did you really think you could beat me?"

In the darkness, Aiko heard the middle-aged man shout, followed by a pained groan from Hisanaga behind her.

"I told you, you can't defeat me. Your abilities aren't bad, but you're far from my level. Since you won't cooperate, I'll have to take you by force. But don't worry—I won't kill you. Parasite hosts like you are very rare, and I want to take you back for research."

The middle-aged man sounded close to victory. Aiko felt a glimmer of hope. Though this man was no saint, he seemed preferable to falling into Hisanaga's hands.

But just as she thought this, she heard another scream from the man.

She was terrified, completely unable to tell what was happening.

"You… you actually have two parasite hosts?" the man cried out, shocked and furious.

"You guessed it. We're triplets. Sadly, Hisanaga and I died as miscarriages, but luckily, we have our good brother Toyokawa. We're a trinity." A male voice she had never heard before sounded in the darkness.

"Listen, I mean no harm. I genuinely wanted you to join us. Let's forget this happened, and my offer still stands," the man said, realizing the situation had turned against him.

"It's too late. Earlier, we were genuinely interested in your offer, but in the end, we decided it's safer to kill you." Mito stepped toward the man.

"Don't do anything reckless. My team is nearby, and they'll be here any minute. Release me, and I'll let this go." The man broke into a cold sweat as Mito drew closer, hands raised.

"Who are you? Who…" Just as Aiko and the man were losing all hope, a sudden loud thud rang out, followed by Mito's painful groan.

As the other two tried to process what happened, a series of rapid, pounding sounds filled the room.

Unlike the inexperienced Aiko, Chiyama Genjiro quickly realized those sounds were the impacts of blows to Mito's body.

Sure enough, after the sounds died down, Mito's screams echoed through the hall.

While Aiko was bewildered, Chiyama felt a mix of fear and relief. Although he couldn't see the mysterious figure in the dark, he was certain that this person was Mito's enemy. If this figure won, they might escape this nightmare. On the other hand, he was unnerved that neither he nor Mito had detected this fourth person's presence in the hall. If this figure was an enemy, it would be terrifying.

Five minutes later, the pounding finally stopped, and the dark hall fell silent.

Chiyama, sweating nervously, wondered who had won. He got his answer quickly—it was Mito who lost, as his body had regained movement, and so had the girl nearby.

Regaining his abilities, Chiyama felt his confidence return. Though he had nearly died at Mito's hands, it was only because he hadn't known about Mito's second parasite and was caught off guard. Now that he was back in control, he feared no one.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Chiyama asked, looking at the shadowy figure's black silhouette.

The figure ignored him, moving instead toward the light to try to fix it.

"Hey, why won't you answer me?" Chiyama's anger rose. Even the police chief usually showed him respect. How dare this person ignore him?

The figure still ignored him, continuing to fiddle with the light. Chiyama Genjiro's anger only grew.