"The target and the member of the Armed Detective Agency, Junichiro Tanizaki, went to Sojiji Temple."
The member of the Special Forces Division, dressed in a suit, stood expressionlessly in front of his superior and reported the information, without a trace of personal emotion in his tone.
"Zongjiji, have you really discovered it? You are really sharp." Taneda Santouhuo took a sip of tea slowly, looking like he had everything under control.
"Should I say that you are worthy of being one of the selected candidates? You have quite an astonishing talent, and you are really willing to give it up." The man narrowed his eyes and sighed in an ambiguous way. Although there was a warm smile on his lips, there was no trace of praise or warmth in his tone.
"Those guys at Shinohara Hachiman Shrine are pretty patient. Never mind. Just keep an eye on them," Taneda Santouki told his subordinates. "There's a problem with the shipment that Sojiji Temple sent to the port mafia. We must not let them deliver it smoothly. If necessary, we can use a raid. We can't take it lightly, but we don't need to be too nervous. After all, they are nameless gods."
"But first of all, of course, we have to ensure the candidate's safety. After all, it's just a small test for him, and the strength of Class B should be just right," Taneda Santouki added. It's unknown what he was thinking, and he slowly revealed an intriguing smile, "He is both doting and cruel. That old man is really contradictory."
"Well, I'm happy to see our opponent weakened moderately, but if we provoke some big guys, it will be bad." The man said to himself in a relaxed tone as he watched his subordinates leave.
*********
Inside the shrine.
A man dressed as a priest sat in a dark room.
Looking at the fortune-telling results in front of him, the priest felt a little uneasy.
"Is it really okay to ignore that matter?"
The priest couldn't help but doubt his own presumption.
"Of course," these words were heard by the older priest who came out from the dark. The no longer young old priest looked at his disciple and said with some emotion, "Everything will be handled by someone else. It's fate."
"Just wait." The old priest looked into the distance, which was where Zongji Temple was located.
At the same time, in an inconspicuous residence on Zhonghua Street, an old man who looked frail walked out slowly.
"Eternal life... hehe, immortality..."
*********
"Please follow me."
The old man dressed as the abbot was leading the way with an agility that did not match his old appearance. Even at this age, he was still articulate and fluent in thought, and he could tell the history of all the buildings in the temple.
Strange behavior aside, he is a very competent and enthusiastic guide.
The time they arrived was not early, and it was noon soon. Perhaps it was because the sun was directly overhead, but even in the meditation room at the back of the quiet Sojiji Temple, there was an unignorable warmth.
"If you are tired, why don't you go to my place to rest for a while? It's very close to here," the old abbot was very observant. Perhaps he saw Alice's dissatisfaction, so the old man took the opportunity to make an invitation, "By the way, you three can also taste our special vegetarian food."
"Special vegetarian meal? It sounds interesting. I want to go, Rintaro!" The blonde girl was immediately attracted by this. She kept flirting with the black-haired man who was holding her, and even ignored the fact that she was complaining about her inconvenient little dress.
"But, we can go back and eat, and we'll have enough time... But since it's the request of the super cute Alice-chan, then of course it's okay, if the abbot doesn't mind."
Upon hearing this, Mori Ogai immediately made an exaggerated gesture of distress. He forced the girl he was teasing to say angrily that she would never talk to him again, and then he pretended to soften his attitude. It was not easy for someone to be so naturally schizophrenic.
After completing his own performance and that of his special abilities, Mori Ogai did not forget to seek Michel Ende's opinion.
"I wonder if you would like to dine here? I believe the environment here must be somewhat different from those restaurants. It might be a very novel experience." The leader of the port mafia suggested to his ally in a good mood.
But the young Wang did not answer him immediately. He just frowned imperceptibly at somewhere behind the man.
In places that cannot be seen outside the forest, the ghost marks that were previously suppressed seem to be stirring again.
The gray smoke seemed much thicker than last time, and it was even mixed with some mottled metallic colors, presenting an unclean dark gold color, clinging to the man's shoulders.
The closer you get inside, the more obvious this abnormality becomes, as if there is some kind of power in Sojiji Temple that makes this phenomenon even more rampant.
Even with the help of the little king's perspective, Haiyin Temple Suyou could still feel that there was a certain power slowly peeling off from the forest gull, blending into the environment through the gray mist, as if it was being digested.
However, this power faded extremely slowly, and it became even more rampant after arriving at Zongji Temple, which made Haiyin Temple Suyou notice it. He was a little unsure whether Sen Ougai knew about this.
When Sen Gu thought that Michel Ende was about to refuse, the boy suddenly spoke. Although his tone was still not very good, he was also miraculously merciful: "The king agreed."
Seeing that they were willing to go with him, the old abbot immediately showed great joy, and his already attentive hospitality became even more enthusiastic, as if he was particularly looking forward to having them stay here for a while longer. He also kept fawning over Mori Ougai, as if he was very respectful of the port mafia.
Not interested in getting involved in the business bragging between two adults, Michel Ende just sat aside and looked out the window casually.
There is something bad going on outside, or rather, this whole place seems to have entered the territory of some ghost or god.
The idle chatter behind him stopped at some point, and the girl chattering beside him also suddenly disappeared.
The sound of a body falling to the ground came from behind, and someone was approaching.
When the old abbot stretched out his hand, intending to use the same method to put the boy to sleep, his hand was suddenly bitten by an extremely huge lion.
It was an extremely huge lion, with its mane almost touching the roof, and its powerful tail slapping the ground, mercilessly beating the antiques placed beside it into a mess, turning them into a pile of useless wooden waste.
But what is most incredible is the ever-changing colors of the lion's thick hair.
It is a feast of countless colors, an ultimate color feast.
Even with the help of the sun, the phosphorus of a butterfly could not reflect such a variety of colors, and the aurora in the northernmost part of the earth could not compare to the bizarre light and shadow of this moment.
That is not a color that can be seen by human vision, nor understood by human perception. It is a breathtakingly beautiful death.
The old abbot's twisted smile, which wanted to avenge the boy's rude words just now, froze on his face in an instant, and blood flowed from between the lion's sharp teeth.
His entire consciousness seemed to be slowly being stripped away from his body, and he could only stare blankly at his hand as it was changing.
That hand was weathering, yes, just like those rugged and bizarre weathered rocks in the desert, gradually being eroded by the wind and sand.
In front of him, starting from the finger bitten by the lion, he was slowly turning into powder, becoming worthless, non-existent blood and flesh residue.
Mixed in the falling flesh-colored gravel were bits of meat and oxidized blood that had not yet turned into sand. It was like a bowl of sticky brown rice paste, or like spoiled cement that had not been stirred or broken up.
The intense pain started from the end where the desertification occurred and quickly spread throughout the body, even the nerve endings became paralyzed by these sudden nerve impulses.
Can't understand, can't interpret, can't feel.
He wanted to scream, but his vocal cords seemed to have turned into reddish-brown sand, spreading a small patch of red on the floor.
It seemed that the only sense left for the old abbot was hearing, and the boy's contemptuous and angry rebuke echoed in his ears.
"Who allowed your dirty hands to touch the king, scum."
I am a thoughtless gravel. This was the old abbot’s last thought before his mental breakdown.
"Open your mouth, Graugramman, and don't eat dirty things." No longer looking at the old abbot who was immersed in hallucinations and rolling on the floor wailing, Michel End said with disgust to the colorful lion that ran out of the pendant.
A human expression appeared on Xiong Shi's face. It was obvious that he was confused about being reprimanded. However, he cooperated well and spit a few times to the side. His expression did not change any more. He shrank himself obediently and finally got the right to get close to the king again.
I touched the doors and windows lightly, and as expected, they were locked by some force. The temperature in the room also rose rapidly at an extremely abnormal speed, as if it was stuffed into a steamer.
"It seems like we are trapped here?" The man's voice came from behind him, but he didn't sound anxious or urgent at all.
Without even turning his head, the little king said sarcastically, "It seems like you are enjoying pretending to be dizzy."
Sen Ouwai naturally knew that the little king had noticed that he had remained sober, so he stopped joking and became serious.
"As expected, the most urgent thing is to get out of here. However, with this strength," the man said distressedly as he watched the little blonde girl push the door, "it looks a bit difficult to break in from the inside."
"Besides, it feels like being in the stomach of some creature." The boss of the Port Mafia nimbly dodged a stream of slime that was sliding down from the ceiling that had turned completely red. The translucent liquid fell to the ground, emitting a pungent smell that was disgusting.
"Do you have any ideas for getting out?" the black-haired man asked with a smile, looking like he was ready to just sit there and do nothing.
The little king let out a loud click, expressing his strong dissatisfaction.
Perhaps it was intentional, or perhaps it was out of arrogance, he did not give any explanation for his next action.
All Moriou saw was the boy speaking something in a mysterious language to the tall lion behind him, and the lion suddenly opened its mouth and swallowed the three people in a flash.