Chapter 7 - Tall Grass

The roads were dead quiet as I stepped on the accelerator, racing across the expressway. It was almost 3 am, and the island was asleep. I stayed vigilant, checking my blind spots for a potential ambush or attack by the Kuroi Robu. The tension kept my eyelids up, and I managed to stay sober through the drive.

The journey turned out to be eventless. When I finally reached the destination, I realized it was a long road next to a vast plain of tallgrass. I remembered this place had been underdeveloped and starkly desolate. This probably explained why they decided to bring her over here. Looking at the vast span of wilderness, I worried about Kelly's fate.

After driving for about a hundred metres, I spotted the police vehicle and recognized Visnu’s grey Audi by the familiar number plate SLZ 4000 just ahead of it. He had come personally.

As I parked and alighted, nobody was in sight. I paced towards the vehicle, which was not manned. Where is everyone? The silence was eerie, and I felt I was walking in a vacuum.

I plodded on and realized there was a narrow one-way road to my left. Cautiously, I walked up to explore. At mid-spot, I raised my hands and tried to feel the vibes. Shutting my eyes, I focused and saw fleeting vibes of darkness, which dissipated quickly. I sensed the action of humans in the past hour but could not see anything specific.

“Visnu?” I called out, but there was no response. I treaded carefully, looking at both sides of the road and felt the tall grasses were like unpleasant sentries watching over me.“Where could they be?”I reached into my pocket and decided to call Visnu. However, I realized there were no network signals, much to my dismay.

I realized I had walked over 200 metres from the main road and decided to backtrack to the vehicle. As I began to jog, the grass on my right suddenly stirred. I quickly leaped to the other side of the road, and raised my sword fingers, ready to execute a spell.

A figure emerged, first his head and then the hand and body. I summoned energy from my dantian and formed my sword fingers.

“Dont! Adam, it's me. ”The person turned out to be Visnu, who emerged from the grasses.

He looked spent and wet with perspiration and exhaustion.

“I know what you are thinking. Don’t shoot me,” he said, panting heavily.

“Visnu. What happened? Where did you go?"

Between huffs and pants, he tried to explain, "I...well. I tried...I dont know."Then he stumbled onto the road and sat by the roadside.“Let me help you back to the vehicle.”He was a good 1.8m and probably weighing over 100kg, and it was quite a chore to lift his arm over my shoulder.

When we were back, I grabbed a bottle of water for him. Visnu gulped like he had just come from a desert trek. Up close, I noticed his eyes were hollow with fear, darting about and unable to hold a gaze. This is evidence that one's soul has been affected by supernatural elements, like a formation or a spell.

From his physical behaviour, I suspected he had walked into a mantra trap, and his senses had been impaired. A potent mantra trap or also known as a spell trap, can only be set by a highly skilled spirit master to cause harm and hurt to his targets. Usually, under such circumstances, the victim will lose their ability to think rationally and have problems forming sentences.

“What happened to you? Tell me quickly.”

“I saw something,” he said, and pointed to the grass

“There was…and I…”He was incoherent. “You need to calm down, Visnu.”

"Well..." Then he was silent. "I ..."

I quickly raised my energy and scribbled the word 定 on his palm. As his breathing stabilized, he spoke again

“I arrived and saw one of our uniformed colleagues about to enter the tall grass. He was looking for the other man who had left earlier to investigate some noises but had not returned. I joined him and both us went into the tall grass together.

Visnu paused and drank from his bottle. “ And then something..." he paused again and seemed to be working hard to recollect

“What is that something?” I asked, but he seemed stunned. His memory has been affected

"Visnu!" I raised my voice, and that got his attention.

"Continue, please!"

" Something hit me in the legs and then dragged me into the grass. I could not see anything, but it was giving out an unpleasant groan. It began to send me rolling through the grass. I think I was thrown all over the ground.”

I began to notice there were cuts on his face and limbs, including a deep gash on his right arm.I looked to

the tall grasses again. Something is lurking in there.

“How did you break free?”

He raised his hand and opened his palm

“It was a charm amulet.”

“I am glad you have something,” I said and I noticed a crack on his charm.

“Get a new one after tonight,” I muttered

"Really?" He said and took a look before concurring. "Serious," he whispered to himself

“Let me go and check,” I said

“Should you wait for our colleagues? I have already called for reinforcements. I think they should arrive very soon after my call.”

“It will be too late then.“ I said as I turned to the tall glass, “There is something in there. I need to act before it is too late. Kelly could be in there."

"You need my help?"

I shook my head

"You stay here."

Visnu nodded. “Be careful.”

“I am the spirit master.” I said, " I will be fine."

"Sorry, dont be offended. I am just worried." He said as he looked to the grass, apparently worried about his

men.

“Visnu, you rest here and do not worry. Once reinforcements are here, do not rush in. I will give you a signal.”

After placing Visnu in the safety of his vehicle, I paced back to the spot where he emerged. I took the first step in and shut my eyes. Before I proceed further, I chanted the Kistigarbha mantra on my sword fingers and rubbed them over my eyelids to turn on my Onmyoji sights to read and study the vibes of a place.

I inhaled and summoned my powers and then gradually opened my eyes. I was greeted by a miasma of dark vibes that drifted around me.

“Ken Ito! It must be him.”

I turned to look at the van. “Kelly must be with him.”

I yielded my Sento Brush and scribbled the character 定 in the air, and soon an image of the character formed.

With a gentle push, I delivered it over the grass, forming a green shield.

Then I leaped into the air and landed on the top of the grass. From my perspective, it was so thick that I could not see the ground. There could be many spirits lurking within.

I noticed some movement in the area to my left and glided over. Just when I reached the spot, the movement stopped. There was a long silence which gnawed at my confidence.

Where are you?

Suddenly, I felt movement behind me!