Chapter 109

1. The God of Nation-Bearing

The black tint stuck to the car window completely blotted out the night sky.

Katagishi, Rokuhara, and I were crammed into the back seat, feeling the vibration of the tires crunching over gravel.

Rokuhara rustled through a plastic bag he had somehow acquired, pulling out rice balls and bottled tea. Katagishi frowned.

"When did you buy that? This isn't a school trip."

"Relax, I got some for you and Miyaki too."

"How does that even answer my question?"

"Eat. You can't make sound decisions on an empty stomach."

Rokuhara lowered his voice.

"From here on, we don't know who we can trust."

"......We never did."

Katagishi accepted the bag gruffly and passed it to me.

"Thank you......"

Before coming here, I heard from my grandfather. Twenty years ago, nearly all the investigators researching Territorial Divine Offenses on Mount Fudaraku vanished. The total number is unknown even now. My father was likely among them.

Whether a tragedy occurred or not—either way, we are headed to that place. It may be the final reckoning. The rice ball I brought to my lips, as if descending into the underworld, tasted like nothing.

The seat jolted briefly as the car came to a stop.

The driver who had gotten out first opened the rear door and urged us out.

Outside was still cloaked in night. The stars and moon were hidden behind a sea of green clouds. A three-story building in sand-colored tones appeared in the forest. A Western-style mansion covered in ivy. Wind crashing into the broken windows played a melody like sobbing. Even when we visited before, it felt ominous. Was it because it was night, or because we now knew what had happened here?

The people in black easily removed the padlock from the iron gate. Katagishi sharpened his gaze.

"Was this their jurisdiction?"

I climbed the stone steps as prompted. At the base of the trees, something buried in fallen leaves peeked out.

A sky-blue down jacket. A burgundy pochette. An orange sweater turned gray with mold. Black and white gingham sneakers. I now understood these were the belongings of the missing.

Behind the building, the torso of a white statue peeked out. I glared up at the giant statue.

From the broken windows of the mansion, hushed voices leaked out, mixed with the wind. It sounded like an argument. We quickened our pace.

We reached the summit and faced a thick wooden door. Rokuhara passed us and pushed it open.

The stained glass reflected a faint light, dyeing our vision in seven colors. The splintered wooden floor and the tile-stripped ceiling shimmered like fish scales.

In the chapel-like space, my grandfather, members of the Ministry of Divine Affairs, Uyuu, Sadahito, and Umemura stood facing each other. The door closed behind us, and a silence cut off from the outside spread.

"Rei......"

Uyuu noticed me and growled low.

"You're dragging your own granddaughter into this?"

It was a tone I'd never heard and an expression I'd never seen. My grandfather shook his head in exasperation.

"You're the one who dragged her in. Rei, come here."

I carefully stepped forward and stood between them. Katagishi matched my pace and stood beside me. Umemura sneered.

"A hostage, huh? Even after twenty years, this organization hasn't changed, has it, Miyaki?"

"It shouldn't have changed. You're the ones who twisted it. You thought you were using the God Who Is There, but you were being used."

"The ones being used by the god are you."

My grandfather returned a cold glare and turned to me.

"Twenty years ago, an internal conflict broke out in the countermeasure headquarters here. Investigator Uyuu and Investigator Umemura purged the opposition to misuse Territorial Divine Offenses and restructured the organization."

"Don't screw with me!"

Uyuu barked.

"They were the ones trying to use the god. That's why we—"

"So you erased them?"

Uyuu bit his lip at my grandfather's question. His silence was answer enough.

The wind echoing through the chapel and the rustling of the trees somehow sounded like a car engine.

My grandfather looked up at the ceiling as if receiving a divine message.

"Why have you returned here again? To erase us, isn't it?"

"......Yeah, that's right."

Uyuu declared sharply. A shock like the darkening of vision ran through me. Katagishi supported my staggering shoulder.

Uyuu continued with a pained expression.

"You're all just puppets of the God of Nation-Bearing. If we leave things be, she'll take over the country. We've got no choice but to erase you."

"You treat life so lightly. Are you not afraid of gods or murder?"

"That's you! You made the God of Nation-Bearing give birth to the Kindling God and had her kill anyone who looked into inconvenient truths. Sumida and Fukagawa were practically killed by you. Esato and Miwasaki are in danger too......"

"Don't listen, Rei. The God of Nation-Bearing does not wish to harm people. They are the root of all evil. The best proof is that they killed Investigator Esato, who was from the same hometown as your father."

Each echoing word sent a pain through my chest like barbed wire tightening. I didn't know what to believe. Neither gods nor humans could be relied upon.

Just then, shouting came from beyond the door.

Someone was scuffling with the black-clad guards outside. Confusion spread through the chapel.

"What the......"

After a sound like a blow, silence fell, and the heavy door swung open.

"Who did you say died?"

Standing under the faint moonlight was Esato, wrapped in bandages.

"Esato!"

Uyuu let out a sigh of relief. My grandfather and the Ministry of Divine Affairs members widened their eyes.

"Why are you here......"

"Washed-up fisherman, remember? I'm used to sunburns."

Esato wore a self-mocking smile. His skin was red and blistered, blood and pus seeping through the bandages. He turned his gaze to me.

"Miyaki, you already know their story's nonsense, don't you?"

I lowered my chin.

My grandfather's throat bobbed.

"Even Investigator Esato was under the influence of the God Who Is There? To think the upper ranks of the special investigation division were all under its control......"

"That's not true."

A flat, mechanical voice rang out.

As everyone gasped, I was sure. The only thing I could trust now was right there.

A shadow that had been hidden behind Esato stepped forward.

With pale hair and skin lit by moonlight, Akitsu entered the chapel.

Katagishi shouted.

"You're alive! Thank goodness......"

"I apologize for the worry."

Akitsu bowed politely.

"Wait. Then whose charred corpse was that?"

"That was me."

"What......?"

Akitsu walked past a bewildered Katagishi and looked down at my grandfather.

"You're thinking, 'I should've killed her,' right? Too bad. As long as Territorial Divine Offenses exist in this world, I won't die."

While my grandfather blinked in disbelief, Uyuu lowered his gaze as if realizing something.

Standing in the center of the chapel, Akitsu looked around at everyone like a missionary preaching doctrine.

"Everything you've heard until now is riddled with errors. First of all, the one trying to dominate humanity is the God of Nation-Bearing. She has been scheming to return the world to an age of gods, dismayed by the decline in faith. None of you noticed, did you? That she had taken over the heart of the nation."

Katagishi asked in a trembling voice.

"Since when......?"

"Right after World War II. When the era of equating the emperor with god ended, and faith in the living god disappeared. That's when she slipped in."

"It's been that long......"

"The God of Nation-Bearing gradually brainwashed humans, increased the dangerous Territorial Divine Offenses, and kept killing anyone who noticed the anomalies. She even created Territorial Divine Offenses in places far from Tokyo, trying to bring all of Japan under her control."

Akitsu continued her speech.

"Two gods tried to oppose her. One was the God Who Is There. That god tried to reshape the world through human wishes and push back the influence of the God of Nation-Bearing. As a result, she became desperate to destroy it."

My grandfather let out a hoarse voice.

"The other god was the one mentioned in Rei's notes?"

I didn't answer. Akitsu nodded in my place.

"Yes. But unlike the God Who Is There, that god couldn't do anything. In terms of power, it was no different from a human."

That's probably why it was called by the name of a forgotten faith after the war. A miraculous god who appears in human form in this world.

"It was you, the special investigation division, who created that god. Faith in recording gave birth to it."

My grandfather widened his eyes, and Uyuu repeated the same words he once said to her.

"...Who are you?"

Akitsu slightly raised the corners of her mouth. Her smile resembled that of her father in her hazy memories.

"A Territorial Divine Offense created to record all Territorial Divine Offenses. The god Akitsu."