Chapter 44: Duel at the Central Gate

“It’s a fishing tactic,” Qiao Qiao explained calmly, noticing Yamashina Arima’s slightly startled expression. “A sniper wounds a target to lure others into a rescue, and then kills the rescuers.”

“No… why would there be a sniper rifle?” Yamashina Arima was clearly out of his depth. He worked at the Onmyo Bureau, and had dealt with incidents involving yokai before. It was common knowledge that yokai possessed bodies far superior to humans in speed, strength, and resilience. Thus, when fighting, they relied on their physical prowess—bear-like strength, leopard-like speed, turtle-like defenses. If they encountered a yokai skilled in combat techniques, it would be a tough fight. But even so, Yamashina Arima had never heard of a yokai wielding a sniper rifle. It was simply beyond the bounds of common sense.

“Yokai have long been influenced by human culture, so it’s only natural they’d learn to use firearms, Master Yamashina,” Qiao Qiao replied without surprise. Ever since he’d heard that these yokai had Miss Suzuka working as a Vtuber to make money, he’d realized they were far more attuned to the times than he’d imagined. That was why he’d hesitated at the gate of the park. Miss Suzuka had escaped a month ago, yet the yokai hadn’t packed up and fled. Instead, they continued their streaming openly and brazenly—they were clearly prepared. If Qiao Qiao had stepped into the park and triggered an anti-personnel directional mine, that would have been disastrous.

“Master Yamashina, contact the association at once and have them make thorough preparations—preferably treating this as a level-two incident,” Qiao Qiao said, then strode out of the café.

“Qiao-san, where are you going?” Yamashina Arima called after him, clearly alarmed.

“I’m going somewhere higher to have a look,” Qiao Qiao replied. Since both masters had been attacked, it meant the yokai were already alert. He needed to keep watch over them, and check on the two masters’ condition. With that thought, he glanced at Suzuka.

“Miss Suzuka, could you help me with something?”

Though flustered, Suzuka followed Qiao Qiao without protest. He explained the situation to the security guard at a ten-story office building outside the park, then headed for the rooftop. From there, the entire tech park was visible.

“Aren’t we too far away?” Suzuka asked. She’d never seen an exorcist at work before, but she could tell Qiao Qiao was quite different from the ones on television.

“Gaining a vantage point is part of the battle,” Qiao Qiao replied, as he pulled several black, rod-like objects from his backpack. He’d just bought these treasures from his boss tonight—he hadn’t expected to use them so soon. Like a child assembling blocks, he put them together. Suzuka watched, wide-eyed, as in under five minutes an enormous firearm appeared before her. Its barrel was long and thick, the scope massive, and the tripod unlike anything she recognized. It seemed less a gun and more a cannon.

“Here—help me keep an eye on the park,” Qiao Qiao said, handing a camouflage-patterned pair of binoculars to the stunned Suzuka. He himself peered through the scope at the park grounds. Soon, Qiao Qiao spotted Katou Takaya and Master Xingming lying on the ground. Both were wounded, but the bleeding wasn’t immediately fatal.

Indeed, this was a delaying tactic. The yokai were surely making a tense retreat. He had Suzuka check their streaming channel—sure enough, the Vtubers had all abruptly gone offline. His window of opportunity was shrinking.

“Miss Suzuka, do you yokai have tricks like teleportation or flying on the wind?”

“?” Suzuka looked utterly baffled. “Qiao-san, you know I’m just a three-year-old fawn…” Her expression said plainly she had no idea about such things.

Oh well. With no other choice, Qiao Qiao fell back on the most basic assumptions. He took out the magazine and infused it with a bit of spiritual energy. This gun’s rounds could bear a significant amount of power, so he charged each bullet with a hundred standard units of spiritual force. It might not be enough to kill a yokai outright, but it should have some effect.

“What are you doing?” Suzuka asked, unable to understand. The magazine radiated danger. “Of course, I’m imbuing the bullets with spiritual energy—ordinary rounds do little harm to yokai,” Qiao Qiao replied.

“?” Suzuka glanced at the gun’s mouth—no, the cannon’s muzzle. Hit by a round of that caliber, yokai or not, no one would walk away unscathed. Even as a mere three-year-old deer, she knew that much.

Oblivious to Suzuka’s thoughts, Qiao Qiao finished loading the gun and aimed the scope at an office building. Next to the building in the parking lot were two black vans—vehicles present at this hour would attract Qiao Qiao’s attention. He took aim and pulled the trigger.

With a whoosh, an enormous round shot from the barrel. From Suzuka’s supernatural yokai vision, it was nothing less than a shell. The high-speed projectile gave her no time to react before it struck one of the black vans.

With a thunderous explosion, fire engulfed the vehicle—and the one beside it.

Suzuka stood by, shivering. Exorcists were terrifying!

…

In the stairwell, the yokai Takabumi heard the blast and a question mark all but appeared above his head. Why did my car just explode? He moved the sniper scope, scanning the two exorcists. Still lying there. “Not those two?” Puzzled, his earpiece crackled with a deep voice.

“Takabumi, what’s going on? Why did the car blow up?” It was Kumakichi, always making a fuss—just like a bear. Well, he was a bear. “There might be another ambusher. I’ll look. You guys get moving,” Takabumi replied coldly, putting his phone aside and beginning his search for the attacker.

“Honestly, I said we should have left long ago—bunch of idiots,” Takabumi grumbled. A month earlier, their top earner Suzuka had escaped. Back then, he’d advised the others—other yokai—that it was time to go. But Kumakichi had disagreed.

“Our mission is still short sixty million yen. Wait a bit longer.” That was the task for the four of them: make money. Infiltrate human society, squeeze as much as possible from the nerds, and funnel the profits into the great revival of yokai. Takabumi feared exorcists. More than that, he feared that one. If they didn’t bring in enough money… He didn’t dare imagine.

So even after Suzuka escaped, they stayed, livestreaming through Golden Week, desperate to earn more. But half an hour ago, Saburou, the most intuitive of the four, sensed danger—specifically, he caught the scent of Suzuka approaching. At this hour, her return could only mean one thing: she’d brought exorcists.

The four quickly decided to retreat. Takabumi, with his keen vision and training, would act as sniper and take out any exorcists investigating. In fact, buying the sniper rifle for self-defense had been that one’s idea. It worked well—humans, whether monks or onmyoji, no matter how powerful, would die with a bullet in the head.

Takabumi checked the destroyed vehicles. Saburou radioed in: he smelled strangers on the east side of the park, on top of a building. Takabumi chambered a round, swung his gun toward that building.

“Good.” With professional training and a sniper’s mindset, he quickly identified the likely location of his opponent. In a contest between snipers, sorry—but he would be the victor.

Takabumi’s scope found the rooftop. Beneath the starlight, something glinted—a scope on the enemy’s rifle. In the same instant, Takabumi pulled the trigger. The bullet spun through the chamber, accelerated, and traced an elegant arc toward its mark. Through his exceptional vision, he saw the glint struck, the bullet passing through it.

“It’s over,” Takabumi exhaled in relief.

Then, the next moment, a shell descended from the sky and struck the room where he hid.

Boom—

The roar of the explosion echoed once again through the silent tech park.