A completely new work in the beloved 2000s light novel series, "Inukkami!" Keita and Yoko continue their chaotic yet cheerful life together, but as spiritual mediums, they have completely become relics of the past and are fading from the world's memory. However, they suddenly find themselves caught up in a battle between a visiting American President and the world's most dangerous spiritualist, who is targeting the President's life. Can Keita, who has become a "person of the past," manage to reg
Shin Inukkami! ~Master of the Highest Edition~ - "At the Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits"
Even after the car started moving, the Director did not say a word. An awkward silence dominated the interior. It was then that Kana Shiro suddenly noticed something off about the driver gripping the steering wheel and furrowed his brow. The driver's seat had been partitioned off, and the driver wore a uniform cap, so it had taken him a while to realize, but—
(He's not human?!)
The texture of the driver's neck and profile was unmistakably wood. And there was something familiar about it, too. Perhaps sensing Kana Shiro's surprise, the Director turned toward him and grinned.
"This is a driver-cum-general-purpose magical doll, custom-made by our Spirit Affairs Bureau's own technical advisor. All part of our cost-cutting measures, you see."
Hearing "technical advisor of the Spirit Affairs Bureau," Kana Shiro's face twisted into an openly displeased expression. He didn't know what change of heart had occurred, but this was the great master of sorcery—someone with deep ties to Kana Shiro himself, who had recently chosen to side with the establishment.
"Goin' straight ahead~"
The magical doll said this cheerfully while putting on the right-turn signal.
"......"
"......"
"...Still seems to need a bit more improvement, doesn't it."
The Director muttered this under his breath, but Kana Shiro said nothing.
The original of this magical doll driving the car (probably a replica) had only ever brought him misery. Shaking his head to dispel those loathsome memories, he turned to the Director and broached the subject.
"Director, regarding the presidential protection detail—"
He bowed his head deeply.
"There is something I must first report and apologize for. Actually—"
But the Director raised a hand to stop him.
"It's about Kawakami Kaoru declining, yes?"
"Ah, you already knew."
Kawakami Kaoru had suddenly declared unequivocal non-participation in this case. Kana Shiro had received a thorough, patient explanation from Kaoru personally and had come to understand, but he had steeled himself for the full course of sarcasm and reprimand from the Director, who was fixated on assembling only the very best personnel.
That was why he had wanted to report early—but for the past several days, the Director himself had been completely unreachable.
The sunset was directly behind the Director, making his expression hard to read, but he seemed to be deep in thought. Kana Shiro, who had been bracing himself for a long lecture, looked up in confusion.
Suddenly the Director spoke.
"That means Kawakami Kaoru is more or less in the clear, doesn't it."
"Huh?"
The Director let out a long, deep sigh.
"Listen carefully, Chiro. I know this is hard to swallow. But I need you to understand. The Spirit Affairs Bureau has decided to reject FEARS's request and withdraw completely from this matter."
After five seconds of silence—
"Huh?"
Kana Shiro let out a foolish sound.
"Hoii-hoi."
The wooden driver called out cheerfully. He didn't understand what was happening.
"Why?"
That was all he could manage.
"Hoi-hoi♪ Hoh-hoi♪"
Shut up.
"Why, suddenly now?"
When Kana Shiro asked again—
"Fuu."
The Director began to speak slowly.
"Further information has arrived from FEARS. The one targeting the President's life this time is apparently the world's worst curse-wielding assassin—the Puppet Master."
Kana Shiro scanned the memory banks of his brain in under a second, located the relevant knowledge, and simultaneously caught his breath.
The Puppet Master.
A terrifying code name lurking in the deepest depths of darkness that no ordinary human could possibly know. From the perspective of a psychic like Kana Shiro who protected order, it was the most fearsome, most abominable name.
"The one who once boasted a one hundred percent success rate?"
The Director nodded.
"Who crossed the globe, carried out over a thousand assassinations, and was never once caught?"
The Director nodded.
Everyone who had tried to capture him—public security officials, civilian psychics, bounty hunters—had been utterly routed, and anyone who came close to his secrets was eliminated along with everyone around them. Vatican exorcists had entire branches annihilated, and witnesses who had seen his face were blown apart along with the passenger planes they were aboard. Over many long years, the Puppet Master had dragged tens of thousands of people into hellish agony.
In the first place, his existence had only come to light twenty years after he began his assassination career. Until then, not only his methods but whether it was even multiple perpetrators—or whether it was the work of a single individual at all—was entirely unknown.
One single psychic had accomplished what no one else could.
Had cornered the most heinous assassin.
"Wait."
Kana Shiro raised his voice.
"The Puppet Master died ten years ago, didn't he?"
That psychic.
He had been defeated by Yoakim Quarterman, known as the "Master of the Highest"—that was what Kana Shiro knew.
Yoakim had once been the most respected psychic in the United States. His spiritual power was immense, and with a Bible in one hand, he manifested the works of God in an extraordinary style—he had been America's absolute spiritual guardian.
When he murmured the Holy Name, a giant bolt of flame-wreathed lightning would strike, and a tornado of locusts would appear to tear his enemies apart.
His fame, despite being a psychic active in the spiritual emerging nation of America, had spread to distant Europe, Japan, and China. It was also Yoakim's achievement to consolidate the several small occult countermeasure divisions within the US government and modernize them into FEARS.
He later became its first commander.
Eventually, the "Master of the Highest" gambled all his abilities, painstakingly uncovered the Puppet Master's deeds while the latter lurked in darkness, unraveled his capabilities, and slowly dragged his existence into the light.
Just like Sherlock Holmes cornering the evil emperor Moriarty.
And in the end, the two confronted each other and fought to a draw.
In exchange for burying the world's worst assassin, America lost its greatest psychic.
At least, that was the truth as Kana Shiro knew it.
The Director smiled slightly and said:
"...That premise must have been wrong, then. The Puppet Master is alive. No—he appears to be alive."
"On what grounds is FEARS making such a claim?"
FEARS had a deep, bitter history with him. They wouldn't readily acknowledge the survival of an enemy they had once sent to hell.
The Director hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"Shiro. Do you know the Puppet Master's ability?"
Kana Shiro answered with a sense of unease.
"Yes. Only from what I've read in the files."
In truth, the Puppet Master himself had almost no power of his own. What was truly terrifying was his ability—"under certain conditions, he can hijack and control the will of absolutely anyone."
The activation conditions remained unknown. It had been confirmed that he could control up to several thousand people simultaneously, exactly like a real puppeteer with his Puppet Master namesake.
To grasp how terrifying this was: an entire town or organization could easily fall entirely into the Puppet Master's hands.
A comrade you trusted until yesterday might kill you today. You might be sniped by a baby in a stroller. Your own bodyguard might suddenly swing a baton at you.
You could trust no one.
The Puppet Master also specialized in turning high-ranking psychics into puppets—in America, he had manipulated FEARS executives and slaughtered all their subordinates. In Europe, he had hijacked the will of the most powerful shaman and caused a great storm that sank an ocean liner.
The Director spoke.
Flatly.
"A rebellion broke out within FEARS—the Number Two and Number Three apparently targeted the commander's life. They managed to suppress it somehow, but the commander himself was badly wounded."
Kana Shiro was speechless.
"Th-that—"
He managed to force out his voice.
"Was it because they were controlled by the Puppet Master?"
"Given the circumstances, there's no other explanation. Currently a young acting commander has taken the position and is barely managing to contain the chaos."
(So that's why communications from FEARS were temporarily cut off.)
Kana Shiro understood with a shudder. At the same time, he began to grasp what the Director had said earlier.
"If the Puppet Master really is alive and can manipulate psychics like in his old signature style—and if he manipulated any of the Japanese psychics participating in this presidential protection plan—"
A colossal psychic with two hundred subordinates.
A diamond-bodied man who could crush a massive building with his bare fist.
A blind genius onmyoji descended from Abe no Seimei.
A monstrous princess said to destroy entire cities when enraged.
They might all turn against us.
There's no way we could defend against that!
Even one of them being controlled by the Puppet Master would be a catastrophe-class disaster. Protecting the President would be the least of our concerns.
"At present, all four excluding Kawakami Kaoru have yet to give a definite answer regarding the presidential protection detail."
"In other words—"
Kana Shiro swallowed hard.
"If any one of them declares participation, it wouldn't be strange if they were the Puppet Master's puppet?"
"This is purely about possibility. I want to believe it's not the case. But it's also a risk we absolutely cannot take."
Kana Shiro nodded deeply, several times, and simultaneously steeled his resolve. This was no longer a situation that could be overlooked.
If the Puppet Master currently existed, there was a far more efficient and effective method than hijacking an active psychic. It was to turn the on-site commander who issued all the orders into a puppet.
For example.
In Japan's Spirit Affairs Bureau, someone in the position of the Director sitting right next to him now.
"Director."
Kana Shiro called out in a stiff voice. Simultaneously, he slipped his hand into his coat and reached for something like brass knuckles.
"By the way, hasn't your manner of speech changed considerably? In this short time."
The creepy baby talk had been this Director's hallmark. Yet from a moment ago, it had all shifted into smooth, polite speech.
The Director suddenly stripped away all expression like a Noh mask. In the sinisterly red sunset, he eventually grinned.
"Well now, my mistake, my mistake."
He scratched his head casually and thrust his face close to Kana Shiro's.
"I completely forgot that little detail existed, ahahahahahahahaha."
Kana Shiro lowered his eyes and murmured quietly.
"Angel Blade."
In his palm appeared a sword shaped exactly like an angel's wing, just as the name suggested.
"Ai-ai-ai~♪"
The wooden driver sang.
Moments later, the entire car erupted in an explosion of sound and light.
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