Chapter 97

3. The Hakuchō God

"Akitsu, just now..."

"Yeah, it was the Territorial Divine Offenses mentioned in the report."

I felt a chill like cold water trickling down my spine as I recalled it. I had seen that thing somewhere before.

Akitsu stared at the shadow of the utility pole and spoke.

"It might be better not to go to the valley. Mikami's daughter knew about the special investigation division. If information is leaking, an unexpected incident could occur."

"I'm going."

"Why?"

I held the plastic bag filled with persimmons.

"We can run back to Tokyo. But the people who live here can't. I can't just think it's fine as long as I'm safe."

"You're kind, Miyaki, and responsible too. Just like her. That's why I'm worried."

Akitsu muttered as if talking to herself.

"Just like who?"

My question was drowned out by a deafening engine noise.

The old couple's truck stopped in front of us. The old man, with a towel wrapped around his head, peeked out.

"We meet again, huh?"

We nodded vaguely. His wife had also complained about back pain. If both of them were cursed by the Hakuchō God...

I saw the old woman in the passenger seat. I asked, trying to appear calm.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Thanks to you. I'm old, so it can't be helped. I've already put on plasters too."

She lowered the collar of her apron and showed the plasters on her neck and back. Unlike Otome's back, there were no lumps or swelling.

The old man laughed without any hesitation.

"Thanks for worrying. You're still working, right? If you don't mind the truck bed, we can give you a lift."

While I hesitated, Akitsu answered.

"We have to go to the spring valley for the investigation."

"That's pretty far. Sure, hop in."

Akitsu and I climbed into the truck bed, huddling together to avoid the mud pooled in the corner. Water droplets had collected on the folded green tarp, and a spider was sipping from one of them.

The truck started moving, and the body shook violently. The noise and vibrations made it feel like a machine gun was firing right beside us. We clung to the bed and murmured, trying to blend our voices into the noise.

"Akitsu, there's something I want to talk about."

"In this situation?"

"It's fine if you can barely hear. It's about the information leak."

"...Then I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

I talked about the documents Katagishi had shown me while staring at the countryside flying past on both sides. Akitsu nodded firmly from time to time despite the shaking.

We passed through the farm road and reached a steep downhill path where the shaking worsened. Leaves fell from the black trees overhead and landed on my knees. Akitsu brushed them off and said,

"Those years might have really existed."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just an example, but imagine someone being drugged just before falling asleep, carried out of their house, the house being destroyed overnight, and then rebuilt exactly the same, down to the furniture. When they wake up in the same bed, would they notice?"

"...I don't think they would."

"Right. But it's impossible to perfectly recreate the original room, so subtle discrepancies or traces would appear somewhere. I think that's what the records are."

I licked my parched lips. As outlandish as it sounded, it made sense. It felt like confirming something I had known for a long time.

"So, like in your example, something in our world has changed without us knowing? Even history becoming something entirely different...?"

I pressed Akitsu, who didn't answer.

"Is the Territorial Divine Offenses involved? Or is it the divine authority bureau connected to the special investigation division?"

"I can't say any more. I want you to reach the answer yourself, Miyaki. I don't know if it's something you should know."

Akitsu stared at the truck tracks continuing down the muddy road.

I gripped the edge of the truck bed.

"Even if such a god existed, could humans really use it?"

"It's not that difficult. In ancient times, entire mountains were considered divine bodies, and torii gates marked the boundary at the base. Then shrines were built, and gods were confined to small spaces within human living zones. Or maybe we just convinced ourselves they were confined."

The truck tire hit a rock, jolting the bed upward. The shaking stopped. The old man leaned out from the driver's seat.

"We're here. You can get down to the valley from here."

We got off the truck bed and thanked them repeatedly. The couple smiled kindly.

"Be careful, it's dark."

"It must be tough. You came because Mikami told you to, right?"

I froze.

"Why do you think that?"

The couple looked at each other and said,

"Because Mikami owns the rights to this valley."

"Yeah. Long ago, Mikami's family ran a shrine, so they still manage this place."

The truck drove off. The deafening noise was swallowed by the silence of the valley floor.

"Mikami never mentioned anything like that, right?"

"No. And the road here looked like no one had used it in a long time. If there were a custom of abandoning cursed people in the valley, there should be more traces."

Akitsu looked at me as if confirming my resolve.

"Let's go. Let's find out the truth."

We descended the rocky slope. With each step, the light faded. The outlines of rocks in the darkness looked like stacked skulls.

To avoid tripping, I placed my hands on the stones on either side, and something brushed the back of my hand. Like an arthropod scuttling by. I bit my lip and pushed forward, suppressing my fear.

The slope ended, and my toes stepped onto a flat stone.

Looking around, I saw stone pillars worn down by years of wind and rain rising into the darkness above. It was like a culvert.

Somewhere, drops of water fell and struck stone. Mixed with that was a rustling sound, like something being rubbed together. A grating, itchy sound that tickled the eardrum.

My eyes, now used to the dark, caught the source of the sound, and a groan escaped my throat. Countless long white things, about the height of a person, were crawling around, as if they had scratched up the darkness.

"Centipedes..."

"No. You know that, Miyaki."

I nodded. It was the same thing I had seen in Tokyo.

"I've always wondered. Why did the legend say the giant centipede had exactly twenty-four segments?"

Akitsu glared into the darkness.

"You can come out now."

Thin human figures peeked out from behind the stone pillars. One, two, three.

"How did you know..."

Otome stood at the front, with Mikami and her husband behind her.

I shook my head.

"Why..."

"The god said it would overlook it if we brought the people from the special investigation division."

"We investigate the gods and find the cause..."

Mikami's wife shrieked.

"That's not enough! You investigate and leave—what else are you going to do!"

Otome glared at me with eyes full of hostility. Her haggard face looked like her eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets.

"If you really want to help, then take my place."

Akitsu answered in my place.

"We can't. We have to take the records back."

"Liar."

Otome convulsed. Her thin belly bulged grotesquely. From her neck, something pushed out like an insect breaking out of a cocoon.

Why didn't the legend end? Why did the giant centipede demand sacrifices? Why did the cursed have swollen backs? Twenty-four segments—the same as their number.

The divine body of the Hakuchō God is the human spine.

"Otome!"

The couple's screams echoed. The falling droplets ran from my forehead down my cheek. Thicker than water, warm, and black.

In the darkness, I saw Otome's body collapse, and something long and white slither out from her neck.

Akitsu grabbed my hand and started running.

A white insect burst out from a crack in the rocks. I heard the couple's screams and the sound of something soft and hard being shredded.

As Akitsu dragged me along, countless rustling footsteps chased us from behind.

A faint light from the rocks illuminated the blood dripping from my body—Otome's blood. It looked like a red centipede crawling along.

This was the worst outcome. If Akitsu had been alone, maybe she could have handled it better. If Katagishi had been here, would it have been different?

We ran up the twisted path and burst out of the endless rock labyrinth.

It was just as dark as the valley floor. I steadied my breathing and wiped the bloodied face. At some point, one of my pumps had come off, and I was barefoot.

"I'm sorry......"

"It's not your fault, Miyaki."

"It is. I couldn't do anything, and it ended in the worst way... If I hadn't come..."

A bright headlight sliced through the darkness.

We squinted. The truck was parked beyond the animal trail.

The elderly couple got out and raised their voices.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"Oh my, you're injured!"

I hurried to fix my expression.

"Why are you two here?"

The old man smiled and held up a plastic bag.

"You forgot the persimmons in the car."

"Dear, treating her comes first."

The blinding light repainted the night, and I held back the urge to cry, nodding with all my strength.