Tokyo Occult Special Operations Division (OSOD)
Rapid, echoing footsteps shattered the silence of the sterile, metallic corridor. A middle-aged man dressed in a sharp business suit was power-walking toward the high-security briefing room at the very end of the hall.
"Chief Nagano!" Two heavily armed guards snapped to attention, saluting the newcomer.
Nagano gave a terse nod. He wiped a thin layer of cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve before shoving the heavy wooden doors open with his right hand.
*Krieeet...*
The conference room welcomed him with a suffocatingly tense atmosphere. A dozen high-ranking officials were seated side-by-side around a long oak table, right beneath the glare of bright overhead lights. At the far end of the table sat an elderly man with thinning gray hair, radiating an immense aura of authority.
"You're late, Chief Nagano." The old man broke the silence, his weathered voice sounding incredibly deep and heavy.
Nagano bowed deeply, letting his sweat drip onto the floor. "My deepest apologies, Minister!"
The old man waved his hand, dismissing the apology without another thought. "Floor is yours. Begin the briefing."
"Yes, Sir!"
Nagano strode over to the head of the table and tapped a button on the interactive control panel. The autopsy photos of the two victims instantly filled the main projector screen.
The faces of every official in the room turned grim. A few female officers quickly covered their mouths, fighting back a sudden wave of nausea.
"Late last night, the Chiba Prefectural Police Headquarters received a report regarding four casualties. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders discovered the corpses of two victims, along with... this creature."
The slide changed. Nagano brought up a high-definition close-up of a grotesque biological anomaly.
The old man leaned forward, his sharp gaze locking onto the jagged, crystalline organ and the grotesquely split head of the second creature. "Are these... the supernatural entities we’re dealing with this time?"
"Correct, Sir. Post-mortem analysis revealed trace amounts of human tissue belonging to one of the victims inside the stomach of the first organism." Nagano took a short breath to steady his voice. "Blood tests also revealed a completely uncharted, highly volatile cell variant. We hypothesize that this specific cell structure triggers an extreme, uncontrollable urge for cannibalism."
The old man pointed directly at the blade-like appendage in the photo—the creature's *Kagune*. "So, these new cells are what caused this mutation?"
"Precisely, Minister."
The old man lowered his head, staring at his interlocked fingers on the table. "To think such terrifying individual combat potential could manifest in someone as ordinary as a taxi driver..."
A younger official interrupted, leaning forward. "What about the other anomaly? What’s its status?"
Nagano switched the screen to a close-up of the second creature's head. "From the neck down, this anomaly is completely indistinguishable from an ordinary human. However, the biological restructuring of its cranium defies all known medical science."
Nagano took a deep breath before continuing his explanation.
"If the previous creature could be classified as a mutated human... then this one can no longer be considered human at all. Our preliminary assessment indicates a parasitic organism that hijacks a human host, completely replacing the brain. Like the Ghoul, this parasite possesses an innate drive to feed on humans. Our ongoing investigation strongly suggests that this specific entity is responsible for the string of bizarre, unsolved serial murders in Chiba recently."
The old man’s brows furrowed deeply. "A parasitic organism?!"
If Ghouls could still be handwaved as rare genetic mutations with limited numbers, parasites were an entirely different nightmare. Parasitic organisms tended to propagate. If these things began infesting the public on a massive scale, it would trigger total societal collapse—and the public's trust in the government would plummet to zero.
Understanding the minister’s unspoken dread, Nagano quickly stepped in to reassure him. "Yes, Sir. But please rest assured, I have already instructed our Chiba branch to enforce strict, classified lockdowns on all water treatment facilities, food processing plants, and major logistical hubs. Furthermore, we are mandating prefecture-wide X-ray screenings under the guise of a routine infectious disease prevention protocol. We will not allow this threat to leak to the public."
"Mm." The old man nodded slowly, leaning back into his chair.
His sharp gaze shifted back to the clean, fatal slashes across the necks of both the decapitated Ghoul and the Parasite. "So, did these two monsters kill each other?"
"Negative, Sir. Judging by the flawless precision of the cuts, both fatal wounds were inflicted by the exact same weapon. Our forensic team strongly suspects it was a high-grade samurai sword." Nagano flipped to the next page of the report in his hands. "Trajectory analysis suggests a third party intervened during a territorial dispute over food between the two anomalies. Both fatal blows were dealt by this wild card."
The old man fell into a heavy silence, tapping his fingers gently against the wooden table. "A third party..."
The fact that two lethal anomalies died by the same hand proved that this mysterious individual had deliberately breached their battlefield and executed them both. Furthermore, the complete absence of a third blood type at the crime scene meant the culprit had likely neutralized both monsters with ease, without shedding a single drop of their own blood.
An individual with that level of combat prowess, operating completely outside official jurisdiction and lurking in the shadows of the metropolitan area—whether this was a blessing or a curse for the nation remained dangerously unclear.
The old man massaged his throbbing temples. "What about the whistleblower who reported the incident? Did they see anything?"
Nagano shook his head. "Unfortunately, the call was routed through a heavily encrypted network. We couldn't trace the number, and the voice was heavily distorted using high-end processing software. To be frank, we suspect the whistleblower and the third party are the same person. Given the sophisticated level of hacking required to bypass our security grid, this individual is likely backed by a highly professional support team."
The old man let out a long, weary sigh. "Flawless swordsmanship, peak superhuman conditioning, and the sheer capability to slaughter two anomalies at once... whoever they are, they are far from ordinary. I suppose we should be grateful that they are human—or rather, that they still choose to view themselves as human..."
***
After the Briefing
Nagano stared sharply at his three subordinates standing at attention in his private office. "Compile all intelligence regarding this third party into a specialized dossier. Secure it in the classified archives under the codename 'X'. Temporary classification: Secret - Level 2."
Nagano handed over an additional stack of files. "Additionally, have the cyber-crimes division track all sales records for traditional samurai swords across both online marketplaces and physical bladesmiths over the past six months. The market for authentic blades is incredibly niche, so it should provide a solid lead."
Nagano paused in front of the window, staring out at the overcast Tokyo sky. "If anyone catches a lead, remember, do not engage. I repeat, do not act rashly or attempt to make contact. Observe and await my direct orders."
The fact that this unknown variable—X—bothered to call the authorities proved they possessed at least some baseline goodwill toward the government. There was a strong possibility for future cooperation, or better yet, absorbing them into the division.
Yet, the clock was ticking. The overarching situation had been deteriorating ever since the first anomaly manifested fifteen years ago.
At first, it was just low-threat anomalies like Slimes. But then came Goblins, followed by highly aggressive Zombies.
In recent years, both the frequency and lethality of these monsters had spiked exponentially. Now, they were dealing with apex predators capable of butchering ordinary humans with ease.
For over a decade, government research into these anomalies had crawled at a snail's pace. Half of these creatures completely defied the laws of biology and physics!
Currently, humanity could still suppress these monsters using conventional firearms. But what about the future?
With this exponential growth rate, it was only a matter of time before the supernatural breached the public eye. What would they do when a monster immune to conventional military hardware inevitably surfaced? Deploy fighter jets, tanks, or tactical missiles in the middle of a densely populated city? Ridiculous.
While a handful of legendary sword grandmasters and martial arts paragons had experienced remarkable, borderline superhuman awakenings in recent years, they were still far from capable of going toe-to-toe with the world-ending threats appearing lately.
The emergence of 'X' represented a massive breakthrough—a glimmer of hope that humanity could systematically harness supernatural power. If the government could somehow establish a connection with X, they might finally unlock the secrets to mastering the extraordinary for the future of mankind.
"I just hope the higher-ups can remain calm and refrain from doing anything foolish. After all, in various fictional stories, supernatural power always goes hand in hand with immortality." Nagano let out a quiet breath, staring at the files on his desk.
The sound of slow footsteps approached. Takayama walked over until he stood right beside Nagano.
"Is there something you need, Minister?"
Takayama didn't reply right away, keeping his eyes on the view outside the window. "If I recall correctly, you have a nephew attending school in Chiba, right?"
"Correct, Sir. His name is Kitahara Akira, and he's currently a first-year student at Chiba Sobu High School."
"A good boy... a general affairs position suits him well." Takayama paused, letting out a heavy sigh. "As for that boy... I bear some responsibility too. I was far too careless and gave the wrong orders back then."
Nagano chose to remain silent, having no intention of interrupting his superior’s lingering regret.
"If you ever need any assistance in the future, just let me know directly." Takayama reached out, tapping Nagano's shoulder a few times. "By the way, it’s been a while since you last visited him, hasn't it?"
Nagano gave a small, quiet nod.
"I will handle all the office matters here and postpone any other meetings for the next few days. Take some time off to go see him. In the near future, your free time to visit him will only become scarcer."
Nagano's lips twitched slightly, forming a faint, forced smile. "Thank you very much, Minister..."