Saitama sighed as he gently laid the schoolgirl on the couch in the break room near the security office. He was already so close to being fired on his first day if his boss found out… Actually, he could say that the girl somehow broke into the museum as an alibi.
However, her looking pale and nearly frothing at the mouth from fright would be challenging to explain.
Yeah, he could wing it. Now, to deal with the nonsense outside.
He walked out the door and frowned at the cowering living, possessed objects that were waiting. The statue had a bump on its head despite it being stone.
"Alright. Does anyone care to tell me what's going on before I decide to punch you all again?" Saitama asked.
Each of the artifacts sported a presence of submission before the security guard. Honestly, they already explained the gist of their circumstances but they lost him on the semantics.
"W-We're just playing around, sir!" The statue rubbed his illogical bump. "We didn't think that they would hire someone like you!"
"Uh-huh…" Saitama nodded while his eyes remained skeptical, "...And I assume this isn't the first time you guys did this shtick? Did you guys also 'play around' with the security guard before me?"
"...No… the previous one died."
Saitama blinked, "You guys killed him?"
The statue Tsukumogami and his fellow youkais vehemently shook their heads, "No! No, no, no! We did no such thing! Let me explain. Not all of us here are… harmless… One thing in this museum will not hesitate to kill humans. It is a type of malicious revenant."
The statue explained.
"..What's the difference? Aren't you ghosts or something?" Saitama tilted his head.
"N-no, we are not. Have you never seen a youkai before, sir?" the statue asked.
"...What's a youkai?"
Saitama's oblivious answer stunned the things before them. If they did not educate him, the man might kill an innocent of the supernatural.
This man was unnaturally strong, most likely an uneducated Sacred Gear wielder.
"L-Listen to us. We are not ghosts. We… are a subspecies of a race called Youkai." The statue explained. "We are a type known as Tsukumogami. In these lands around Ki-rich areas, if anything is soaked in the energies of man or the land for around a hundred years, they can come to life, and transform even! We are not human or human spirits bound within objects!"
Saitama stared at the statue.
"...So… you're just walking talking objects that came to life on your own?"
It was an insulting oversimplification, but they would take it.
"Yes."
"And this ghost is…" Saitama trailed off.
"The spirit is a type of Specter. A special one. It is tied to a Sokushinbutsu."
"..."
"...A mummified Buddhist monk." The statue explained at Saitama's confused look.
"...Okay."
There was static coming from Saitama's phone rang in his pocket, vibrating.
"Oh, one moment." Saitama fished his phone out, "...Huh, I guess I have a signal now?"
Saitama pressed the answer button, "...Hello?"
[Saitama? It's me, Cleria. Can we talk?]
Saitama hummed while glancing at the Tsukumogamis who simply stared at him, "...Sure. What's up?"
[Um, I received a report from some colleagues that… Actually, before I go there, how is your first night on the job? Everything alright?]
"Swell. Didn't tell me that the stuff here is alive, though. What should I do if they get too rowdy? Bonk them?"
The line went silent for a second before Cleria replied.
[...Oh, good. So you've met the tenants there? Did they cause you some inconvenience?]
"Well…" Saitama looked back at the room where Haruka was still unconscious in, "No harm done. Actually, did you know about this?"
[Um… sort of. By the way, did any of them do something… funny?]
"Funny how?"
[Um, funny as in they broke through an important security feature.]
"...No?"
Saitama heard Cleria muttering something at a volume inaudible.
Something about whether the killer ghost did something.
[If there is anything that you need, please let me know as soon as you can. The Tsukumogamis there will do their best to help you until your shift is over.]
"...Yeah, sure."
However, as Saitama looked around, he noticed the hallway was suddenly empty of the youkais that were watching him earlier. He noticed the last of them just slipped into the shadows.
[Anything else, Saitama?]
Cleria noticed the sudden silence from the other end.
"Well, funny; all of those whatchamacallit-gami things just… Gone, like going into hiding."
Then, Cleria's tone shifted.
[Then that is also your cue to return to the office. Lock the doors, and do not come out or make eye-contact with anyone unless it's me calling from this phone.]
"Um… Sure? What's this about?"
[I'll explain later; now I need you to stay safe until I reach you, understand?]
Saitama eventually just shrugged to himself, "...Yeah, I'll see you later, then?"
[Until then.]
Then the line went dead. Saitama stared at his phone for a few seconds before he shrugged again and chose to follow Cleria's instruction for the time being, albeit he still was not sure what was going on.
Upon returning to the monitoring room, Saitama was greeted by the sight of a Tsukumogami - a painting of some historical bigshot which was supposed to be in the gallery, who looked a bit startled at his arrival before calming down.
"O-oh, it's you, o' mighty one. Forgive this one for barging in without permission." the picture on the painting spoke.
"Sure, no biggie." Saitama waved off before taking his own seat, "So… Mind telling me what's making everyone so spooked?"
"...Well, this entity doesn't discriminate on who it kills."
Saitama tilted his head before he decided to get himself a coffee from the thermos he brought from home, "Okay… I think you need to start from where this 'entity' thing came from."
The painting grimaced, "...It all began when the museum received a small shrine containing the head of Sokushinbutsu. One night, when the previous guard was supposed to end his shift… I - we saw him coming inside the room where the shrine was placed. His eyes were vacant, as if he was bewitched to go there. Then… Soon after he entered the room… A terrifying aura suddenly came out. All of us went into hiding, we did not really know what this entity looked like, but our instinct screamed at us that this being was extremely dangerous!"
Saitama sipped on his drink while watching the painting youkai - or more like, the frame shook in fear.
And the guy in the picture shivered with fright.
"We were worried, so after the entity had gone somewhere else, we decided to check on the guard…. When we found him…" the youkai shook again in grief, "He was a corpse! There were no injuries whatsoever on his person, but his face was contorted in terror, as if something literally scared him to death!"
Saitama felt like making a remark, but decided to keep it to himself as the painting carried on.
"...Afterwards, some of our comrades were found dead as well. According to others who witnessed the act…. This entity can instantly kill by looking at its victim's eyes, as if it's scaring them to death. Our witnesses managed to survive since they didn't have a look at the entity's face, although they could only make a shadowy figure."
Saitama hummed as he took in the youkai's story. His eyes glanced at the CCTV monitor who was still displaying the museum.
"...Say, don't you think we should turn these off?" Saitama pointed out.
"O-oh, no. I'm not sure how, but when the investigation was underway, the museum director, along with Lady Belial, watched the footage of the surveillance cameras and the entity's power doesn't seem to have any effect without direct contact. In fact, thanks to this information, Lady Belial managed to coordinate her allies and subordinates to seal this entity… Until tonight, that is."
Saitama quirked an eyebrow, "Sealed it? Why didn't they just kill whatever that thing was?"
"To kill an entity of this nature, a purification ritual is necessary. However, the amount of malice and miasma the Sokushinbutsu possesses is enormous, it would require regular rituals until that source of this entity is completely exorcized." the youkai grimaced, "However… Somehow the seal has been disrupted, allowing the entity to roam free earlier before the next purification ritual."
Saitama then pondered - did it have something to do with him and Haruka trying to get out? If he connected the dots, that might be the case. He felt bad now.
Well, time to clean up his mess.
Saitama glanced at the camera quickly, but the second he returned to pondering, his eyes quickly returned to scan the monitors to see the familiar sight of the girl who was supposed to be asleep in the break room.
Saitama sighed - It was like when he babysat that girl to find her missing cat, but the girl liked to get lost this time.
Gotta get out, gotta get out, gotta get out.
Those were Haruka's thoughts as she looked left and right, jumping from one hiding corner to another.
When she found herself waking up in the break room, she thought what took place and what she saw earlier were nothing but a nasty nightmare, until she saw a small kokeshi doll walking around on the nearby table, begging her to stay put.
There was no way she would stay in a haunted museum.
Fuck this shit, I'm out!
She felt a little bad for Saitama, but something told her that Saitama would be fine on his own; and he seemed to have some kind of bullshit going with him.
Then, when she entered the gallery, she cautiously made her way in while looking around for anything that came out of the shadows, only to find the paintings were looking at her.
She flipped them off before moving.
"Ah! H-Hey!" The three paintings floated towards her.
"Fuck off! I'm out of here!" Haruka shouted.
However, she ran into a living suit of armor.
"Young lady, please wait! We-!"
"FUCK YOU!" Haruka turned a ninety degree angle towards another section of the gallery.
"Your life is in danger, young lady! Please heed our words!"
"No shit! Of course I know my life is in danger as long as I'm stuck in this hell-hole with you freakshows!" Haruka heatedly replied as she ran into another section.
"Please, we know we didn't have the best impression, but for now, please hide until sunrise!"
"You're not catching me alive!"
"No, no, no, we would rather find you very much alive!"
"Go shank someone else, bitch! You ain't getting this ass!" Haruka slapped her fanny while cackling at the sight of the exit.
"So long, bitches! I'm out!" Haruka slammed the door open, only to be greeted by another interior complex of the museum, "Oh, come the fuck on!" She honestly forgot about that one.
"Girl, you should hide! Before it-Oh no, it's here! Do not ever look at its face, young lady, whatever you do!"
Haruka turned around… she was surprised that none of the possessed living relics were in sight.
Though there was a shadow slowly creeping in from the corner of her vision. She quickly booked it without bothering to see what was coming to her. She ran past the door, finding herself in another hallway.
After running for a while, Haruka started to feel exhausted and decided that it might be a good time for her to hide and wait for another opportunity to get herself out of this building. Fortunately for her, she spotted a sizable janitor's closet not far from her position and quickly made herself inside. The closet had a few small holes for the air-circulation, and big enough for her body to crouch despite the broom and bucket occupying it.
Pressing herself to the back of the closet, Haruka sighed in relief for the brief respite, alone in the cramped space with nothing but the sound and feel of her heart pulsing in her chest and her thoughts.
Suddenly, the closet she was hiding in became significantly colder, along with the sound of the door leading to the hallway being opened.
She carefully peeked out and covered her mouth, not sure if covering her breath would help boost her chances.
She sensed something that she swore she could not sense before in all her life. It was like… noticing a small presence like when someone looked at her for too long, but the presence was infinitely larger and overwhelming.
One that instilled a seeping terror that soaked through her clothes and under her skin the closer it moved in. She closed her eyes while wrapping one arm around her cold body.
Did it sense her? Was it coming for her?
Her eyes snapped open when the air grew even colder, her nape hair became stiff; she could tell something was standing right in front of the closet she was in.
Do not look at its face!
The voice of… Whatever was chasing her before suddenly rang in her mind. Her survival instinct forced her to obey the warning as she closed her eyes.
Oh god - she prayed hard. She prayed to whatever religion would listen to a girl like her.
Her eyes snapped open for a split second before she shut them off again when whatever was standing outside suddenly opened the closet. She pressed her back harder against the closet; her eyes remained closed while her skin was covered in a cold sweat as the entity before she inched closer.
She tried to calm herself down, but while doing so, she could hear whoever or whatever standing before her was muttering something.
An ominous voice speaking a deep baritone, chants that reminded her of something religious, but she could feel the dark intent drilling into her ears despite the religious origins.
Haruka's breath hitched when she could feel the entity literally breathing on her face. She grunted when something cold and damp pressed against her breasts. It did not feel like a human hand, but she knew enough that this thing was molesting her. She wanted to open her eyes and push this thing away, but her instinct forced her to stand her ground.
Then, she felt something creeping up her legs - like a horde of insects making their way up her frame. She bit her lower lip, trying to persevere, but her resolve kept shaking when she felt something wet run on her face.
The entity kept pushing with its molesting and goading to have its current prey open her eyes.
Karma really was a bitch, like the Westerners like to say at this point if this was her punishment for the crap she did back in Kyoto and her male marks.
"H-H-Help me…" She wanted to scream. But her throat was already sore from the previous screams, and she was afraid that if she let out her voice at such a volume, it would trigger the thing to do something worse to her.
"Haruka!?"
Then the thing stopped. She heard Saitama's voice outside in the hallway.
"Can you hear me~? I saw you from the security cameras, but now I don't know where you are!"
The thing receded immediately. The horrid presence molesting her was gone, shrinking away from her senses. She was still afraid to open her eyes. Hell, she was too afraid to warn the egghead of what was coming.
She inwardly apologized to whatever deities came to her fear-riddled mind.
And to those that believed in the supernatural, along with a vengeful promise to come prepared the next time another thing decided to molest her.
She flinched when there was a loud shriek, horrendous and terrible, a wailing inhuman siren that cried for disaster upon the common man.
Then something slammed into the wall, or the floor, she was too afraid to go out and check it out. Then she heard footsteps heading her way.
"Haruka? Scream or something if you can hear me."
"S-Saitama?!" Haruka managed to croak out.
Then, more footsteps came her way until she heard Saitama's voice louder.
"Ah, there you are - you okay? You can open your eyes now."
Haruka slowly blinked her eyes open and she was greeted by the sight of a familiar baldy. Never in her life she was so happy to see his face.
She immediately lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his torso, "Y-You… How did you… What the hell was that thing!?"
"You mean the scary ghost thing trying to be spooky?" Saitama asked.
"...Yes!" Haruka looked up with teary eyes.
"Don't worry about it. I got it handled." Saitama replied with a shrug, "...You want to head back?"
Haruka simply nodded to his chest before Saitama slowly pried her off him. However, he had to catch her again when she collapsed.
"Sorry, I… My lower body gave out."
Her legs gave way to her fright. It was the first time this happened to her.
"Yeah…" Saitama nodded before he sniffed something, "...Sorry about not being here sooner. Though you honestly need to stop sneaking out."
Haruka's face burned when she realized she had soiled herself. However, she was too tired and still terrified to get angry and embarrassed.
To his credit - Saitama simply swept her off her feet into another bridal carry again, unbothered with her state of being. As they began to walk back to the office, Haruka could not help but steal glances at the man carrying her.
Who is this guy?
Then, while pondering about Saitama, Haruka's thoughts were interrupted at the familiar statue approaching them.
"Oh, thank goodness you two are alright! Now, come! Follow me, I've secured a route back to your office, we will be safe there until sunrise!"
"Oh, right. Don't worry about that thing. I've taken care of it."
The statue blinked, "I beg your pardon?"
"Yeah, I didn't get a good look, but he just vanished after I slapped it to the wall."
It took a good ten seconds for the Tsukumogami to process Saitama's story before he nodded, "I-I see, you didn't get to look at its face and somehow repelled it, that's good. But I'm afraid the danger has not passed yet. As long as the Sokushinbutsu is not exorcized, it will produce another specter and begin its slaughter again. Quick, we must take shelter before another specter comes out!"
It was a strange conclusion they decided to roll with, Saitama thought.
"...You're saying that we need to stop the mummified head thing from popping out more ghosts?" Saitama asked.
"Exactly! Come on, the room where the Sokushinbutsu is enshrined is not far from here, we must move now!" the Tsukumogami urged.
Saitama hummed before he began to walk towards the youkai, who looked relieved that his charge finally followed him. However, as soon as they walked out of the previous hallway, both the youkai and Haruka blinked when Saitama deposited her on the floor against the wall.
"The room was that way, right?" Saitama stared at the door at the end of the current hallway, "I'll be right back."
"...Wait, where are you going?" The youkai then watched Saitama heading towards the room where the cursed Sokushinbutsu was located, "W-wait, why are you going there?! Have you lost your mind?! Please come back!"
The youkai's pleading was ignored as Saitama closed the door behind him.
Haruka and the statue Tsukumogami could only watch helplessly.
"We… We have to get him back!" Haruka turned to her current companion.
The youkai shook his head, "It's no use, that man decided to walk past the line of death, where he will get in contact with the entity itself. Our end will be our destiny if we cross that door."
"But…" Haruka didn't want someone to die when she could do something about it.
"The best we can do is-"
Clack.
The door opened and Saitama returned, much to the stupefied confusion of the schoolgirl and youkai.
"...He's back." The youkai was very confused. The man in the painting expressed it through his mien.
"Alright, I'm done." Saitama said as he picked the stunned Haruka up in his arms before he trekked back to the break room, with the Tsukumogami dumbfoundedly following behind him.
Once they were in the break room, the Tsukumogami and Haruka watched Saitama pour himself a cup of coffee from the coffee machine as he sipped the hot beverage with profound casualness.
The youkai and human stared at the baldy in silence.
Dots forming above their heads if one looked hard enough, trying their best to follow the man's words. Haruka was so out of it that she blinked in small surprise when Saitama offered her a cup of coffee, which she absent-mindedly accepted without a word.
"Um… Can you drink?" Saitama then asked the Tsukumogami, who blinked as he was snapped out of his reverie.
"I'm… Sorry, sir. I was trying to get my head around recent events. How did you survive your encounter with this… Entity? Did you close your eyes all the time, somehow? Are you some kind of sorcerer, perhaps?"
"I'm not a magician." Saitama sipped.
Haruka and the painting exchanged brief glances, "...Then how-"
Before the latter could have asked more, Saitama's phone rang, prompting him to hold out a finger for his guests to give him a moment to answer the phone.
"Hello?"
[Saitama? Are you safe?]
"...Yeah? Cleria, what's up?"
[Oh, you're safe - thank goodness. I'm coming in to resolve the situation.]
Saitama paused. He gasped upon remembering Haruka.
"Uhhhh, you don't have to, you know? I got everything under control!" Saitama panicked.
He was never that much of a liar.
[...Okay? May I ask how you got everything under control? I heard from Masaomi that you know your way around supernaturals, but honestly, you didn't strike me as someone who is well-versed in mystic arts.]
"I know how to deal with monsters where I come from, you know?" Saitama responded as he glanced at Haruka.
[Hmm… In that case, I guess it all ends well. However, we still have to come over to ensure the bounded field is still in place. I also would like to hear more details of the transpiring events directly from you.]
Saitama began to look panicked, "Err, um…. You don't really have to bother, really. I mean, I can just tell you from here, I'm fine-"
However, there was a beep coming from his phone, prompting Saitama to look at the screen that showed the red lines of his battery running out, before his phone died.
"...Fuck!" Saitama cursed before he quickly turned to Haruka, "Go hide somewhere."
Haruka blinked at the sudden request, "Um, come again?"
"My boss is coming, and I can't be seen with you." Saitama walked to Haruka and grabbed her shoulders.
Then Haruka stared at the baldy as he carried her around. However, unlike the previous princess-carry, he was carrying her more like a potato-sack. Everything went so fast that she could not resist him even if she wanted to, and his grip was firm.
"You - go back to where you came from. And tell them you saw nothing." Saitama told the statue Tsukumogami before he stepped out of the office.
However, just when Saitama was only a few steps away, he quickly returned to pop his head back in the office, "Oh, and make sure the others won't say any word about this! Or else!"
Then he closed the door.
The painting just stared at the exit, unsure and confused by his words.
"Hey, what gives all of a sudden?! Put me down!"
Haruka yelled as she was trapped under Saitama's armpit - the man himself was frantically running around the hallways and rooms while looking left and right, ignoring the confusion of the living inanimate objects.
"Look! Since you're young, I should let you know that blowing your first day on the job is terrible for your resume!" Saitama rasped as he looked furiously for a good hiding spot.
Crap, there was not any place where he could stuff her in.
He saw a vent high on the wall, but it was too small to fit her. He grumbled as he stopped upon seeing a sarcophagus.
Haruka called out upon seeing where his eyes were meeting.
"...Don't you fucking dare think about it!" Haruka shouted.
Saitama walked to the coffin.
"You fucker! No, no! NO! I'll kill you!" Haruka began to trash around within Saitama's hold, but to no avail as his grip remained strong.
Saitama then single-handedly opened the lid on the coffin, revealing a mummified husk with its arms crossed over its chest. He lightly waved his hand before the mummy's face, as well as lightly tapping on his face, to make sure if the mummy was another one of those youkai things by any chance.
Seeing that the contents of the sarcophagus was harmless and very much dead, Saitama nodded and deposited Haruka next to the mummy.
Haruka still struggled as she clung on Saitama's arm - unwilling to let go, "No, no, no, please!" She had grown desperate to the point of her tone changing.
"You're the one that decided to trespass!" Saitama hissed with an egghead scowl.
"And you are the one letting me in the first place!" Haruka returned.
"Didn't you threaten to say stuff about me if I don't let you stay!?" Saitama narrowed his eyes at the schoolgirl.
"Well, look at what you are doing to me now!" Haruka shouted.
"Where do you think I should hide you?!"
"Anywhere but here!" Haruka desperately scooted herself as far away from the mummy despite the confined space of the sarcophagus.
"There's nowhere else! I can't hide you in… here…" Saitama had an idea. "Oh, there's that."
"What? There's what?!" Haruka asked.
OxO
"Hup."
Haruka flew.
Out of the window, right into the garbage dump outside.
Haruka got the sails thrown out of her for a second; but thanks to the bags filled with garbage cushioning her fall, she was not injured. However, her body was more likely to catch the foul smell of the dumpster now, as she removed a peeled banana skin off her crown.
"I'll get you for this, you hear me?!" Haruka yelled, but Saitama had already closed the window and left her to her own device.
She got herself out of the dumpster and patted herself off. Then she looked up to the starry night sky while taking in the outdoor air which she did not realize that she had missed so much. At least she finally got out of that place. Now she needed a shower, and probably, if she were lucky enough, some good-looking hunk - preferably with a thick wallet for her to forget this freaky night…. Then she could focus on taking her revenge on that baldy.
"...What a night, eh?"
However, just when she was about to walk away from the dumpster towards the main road, a voice called her out.
She turned around.
It tilted from behind the dumpster into her sight…
She stared at it. The short, black thing… with comically vestigial arms and legs, a tentacle poking out of its head.
It had a white oval face.
And it had an ugly smile that screamed bad intentions at her.
"...Eh?" Haruka could not help but respond awkwardly.
"Well, you have the first taste of the strange and weird, and I've been having a nice hoot! Honestly, I would laugh even harder if he stuffed you in that coffin, though."
"...So you've been watching? Are you one of those freakshows?" Haruka asked with a guarded tone.
"Not exactly, but I do have history with the baldy that just dumped you earlier." the Dwarf creature chuckled, "Huh… Dumped. Anyway, call me Black. What should I call the fair lady in front of me?"
"Why should I give you- Hey!"
Haruka was about to retort when she suddenly felt something flanking her and snatched her bag. She could only watch an identical creature hopping back to the one she was talking to.
There are two of them?!
The second Black opened her purse and saw her student ID, "Haruka Hyoudou…. Huh, I forgot that humans here have two names in one. So… 'Hyoudou' here is your family name?"
"S-Stop it! Give it back!"
She reached out, but the thing swatted her hand away - the creature had a surprising strength despite its small stature.
"And….. oh? What's this?" It took out a wallet. He fished out the ID card. "...This isn't even yours. Gee, looks like we got ourselves a naughty girl here~"
"That's none of your business! I earned that one! Give it back!"
Haruka lunged, only for the pair of imps to jump away, leading her to crash into another pile of garbage bags.
"Hah, how about no? Why should I? I could, but it wouldn't be just as fun… Hmmm, are you interested in a small side venture? Since you're stuck in the know of this side of the world, that is?"
She glared at the abomination.
"Why should I listen to you?! Wait a minute, what are you even!?" She pointed at the smiling stupid imp.
"Oh, that is of no importance. We won't be here long. So might as well have fun as long as we're here. Well? You interested in the side hustle?"
Seeing that she would not get her belongings back until she humored…. Whatever this was, she inhaled to calm herself down before answering, "...What side hustle?"
"Well…." Black rolled his eyes, "Honestly, nothing much different from what you've been doing, but~" He then smirked deviously, "...Let's say that the stakes and rewards are going to be equally higher. What do you say?"
Haruka narrowed her eyes, "Let's say that I agree; what's in it for you?"
"Oh, nothing you need to know. Besides, you're the first gal to catch my interest. You look like you're strapped for cash, though I am not sure why since you're still in school."
"Again, none of your fucking business." Haruka bit back.
Black shrugged, "Defensive. Let me guess. Family issues judging by your getup?"
Haruka winced at the creature's jab.
"Daddy issues? Did he kick you out or something?"
"Stop it!" Haruka warned. The creature was annoyingly more perceptive than it appeared.
"Wow, struck the mark. Alright, have it your way. Back to the subject. Are you in or not?" he said while dangling Haruka's belongings.
Haruka was about to reply when something came to mind, "...You said you and that baldy got history. What can you tell me about him?"
"Oh, boy. That is another can of worms that has no place for normies like you. Are you sure? Are you sure you want to open that can, little girl? What might come out might kill ya," the creature snickered at her.
Haruka then pursed her lips as she looked down, then she stared at the window where Saitama tossed her from - the window of the very building where her life appeared to take a completely unexpected turn.
Sighing in defeat, Haruka addressed the creature, "...You know what? Fuck it. Black, right? I need a shower now, when and where do you want us to meet to talk about the details about that baldy ass and this side hustle of yours?"
Cleria looked up at the ceiling where the hidden talismans were placed, a row of defensive talismans meant to passively lock anything contained within its borders, spiritual or otherwise.
Each paper talisman was pristine with symbols written in the blood of the omnyoujis and enchanted with Buddhist recitals.
Now, black soot stained the ceilings, the remains of the talismans burned once being destroyed.
"...Did anything happen during your stay here?" The dark-skinned noble lady asked the bald security officer.
"Other than finding out that we have tenants?" Saitama pointed at the group of Tsukumogami huddled together, the living museum pieces awkwardly standing there as an onmyouji, a robed monk was doing a headcount, holding a clipboard and a pen.
Cleria's purpose of sending him here was to see how well Saitama could interact with the supernatural given how he saved Masaomi, and his inhuman companions.
He seemed to adapt to the strange and abnormal very well.
"What… about the Sokushinbutsu?" She asked.
Saitama blinked before his mind recalled what it was, "...Oh. I slapped the thing."
Cleria blinked and narrowed her eyes in slight confusion, "Um, you…. Slapped the thing?"
"What about it?"
Cleria blinked more, ignoring Saitama's crass language, "Wait, wait a moment - are you saying you encountered the revenant of the Sokushinbutsu?"
"Yeah, quite an ugly-looking motherfucker, if I must say so myself." Saitama replied without missing a beat.
She was shocked. How was he still alive? She knew he was stronger than the average human, but that would mean there was something more to him.
She quickly stormed off to the Revenant's room, confusing her servants and omnyojis as they followed her briskly. She entered the territory of the cursed revenant, the ancient shrine mounted on a dais with a plaque describing the history of the shrine.
She opened the wooden doors of the shrine housing the mummy's head.
When it was first founded, the head was cursed, vile, dark energies swirled around the blackened, leathery skin, creased with wrinkles, a perpetual unliving gaze of malice directed at all within its gaze.
Now, its cheeks swelled with red handprints on its cheeks.
The malicious energy was gone. It looked… positive, tranquil even.
"..." Cleria was dumbfounded.
One of the omnyojis gingerly approached the head and pulled out a talisman and placed it on the head.
"...It's… It's purified?" The eastern exorcist was baffled. "No, the spirit is still there… What? A purified spirit still remaining in the physical world is…"
Everyone was confused.
"So are we good here?" Saitama followed them inside.
"...Everything seems to be in order."
Of course not, there were so many questions if the Omnyoji under her pay was baffled.
The senior security guard - an old man in his late sixties, approached Saitama.
"...Young man." The senior elbowed Saitama.
"Yeah?" Saitama whispered.
"Next time, please be more discreet with your… nightly rendezvous." The senior winked.
Saitama stared at him before his eyes widened when the senior pointed at the security footage depicting Haruka and him.
The senior found out… crap. Well, at least he would not blather about it to his boss…. Would he?
The senior sighed, "Ah… Young love - reminds me of early days with my wife."
…Yep, it'll be fine - Saitama nodded in relief.
"See? I got everything under control." Saitama then said, trying to appear as if nothing was wrong to begin with.
"...Saitama, would you mind sitting with me over some tea to recount the details of last night? Particularly about your encounter with the Sokushinbutsu."
"Eh…" Saitama honestly did not feel like it, but Cleria was kind of his employer at the moment.
"...Alright."
This was going to be a long night.
"I'm back…" Saitama yawned as he returned home in the apartment owned by Cleria.
It was bigger than the apartment he had in the Hero Association.
With a lot of fancy furniture, a very comfy luxurious bed with silks, a large kitchen with tools and a fridge large enough to feed a family of five, and a plasma screen TV.
Honestly, renting this place was a steal.
"Is your first day on the job well, Sensei?" Genos asked from the living room, typing on the keyboard of his laptop.
With a wire connected from his nape into the computer.
"Yeah. Whatcha doing, though?" Saitama asked.
"Programming. Working as a freelancer and building a reputation."
"Ah, right. Your plan to get us back home…" Saitama nodded.
"Yes. I have written papers and sent them to well-received universities and institutions on the matter of quantum physics and space time. With enough luck, I should be able to attract attention and work my way long enough to be in a position where I will have access to a functional lab with the equipment I need to construct the portal device. Although we might need your power for this, Sensei." Genos elaborated, which as usual, was mostly toned out by Saitama.
Waddling from the kitchen, Rover panted with a piece of steak between his fangs, wagging his tail as he looked up at Saitama, who sighed before kneeling so he could pat on Rover's head.
"I'm home, boy. Have you been good while I'm away?" Saitama light scratched Rover's favorite spot as the monster chewed and swallowed the food in its maws.
"Yeah, about Rover - I think we should figure something out about his outdoor schedule." Black said while walking out of the kitchen area, sipping on a juice-box.
"What's wrong with it?" Saitama asked as he stood up, prompting Rover to walk away to bug Genos instead - the cyborg simply ignored the dog panting while watching his work.
"For starters, unlike home, people here are a lot more skeptical and easily drawn to our appearances." Black gestured to himself and Rover. "The idea of… Y'know, gaining money by making Rover into some kind of show sounds tempting at first, but on second thought, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth - we're not some kind of circus freaks."
Saitama shrugged, "...Sure, I'm not in the mood to manage a crowd. Don't know how to manage an audience other than knocking them out."
"What about being a freelance monster hunter?" Black suggested.
"Monster hunter?"
"Get paid well for doing dangerous work. You fought motherfucking GOD! And made him crap his pants! This should be easy work!" Black explained while rubbing his hands together.
He planned to be the baldy's manager and reap high rewards during their time here and use the cash to build more lives. He might reach the first Trillion live within two weeks.
"...You do remember that we couldn't find any job that is remotely similar to what you said, right?" Saitama quirked his eyebrow.
"Of course, I do! I mean you should ask that bat-lady who gave us this place and your current job! Surely she can use an extra muscle!"
Bat-lady… Black was talking about Cleria; Saitama mused while recalling when the woman and Masaomi explained about the relationship between the two of them - officially speaking.
From what Saitama could gather - despite his reservation against prolonged history lesson, thanks to Genos' understanding; unlike monsters from his home that were more or less general knowledge to the public alongside the heroes who were paid to deal with them on daily basis, most people in this world believe things like monsters to be not real.
Just as Genos suspected - there were no such things as heroes, monsters or villains; those were something out of fictional works. However, outside of people's awareness - monsters, or to be precise, supernaturals were very much real and have been interacting with mankind since the dawn of time.
Looking at the context between Masaomi and Cleria; there were Three Major Powers that formed the entire Christian religion.
Cleria was a devil, a denizen of the Underworld that was not anything like the one depicted in the books… the books Genos explained to him.
Saitama had no time or patience to read the bible or any of that crap. He just used anime as a reference when he was bored.
"Say…" Saitama looked up absent-mindedly. "Ever wonder if everyone from home will try to find us?"
Genos stopped typing, Black who was now opening the fridge for his daily protein paused.
"...Didn't consider that option…" Black muttered.
"...It will not be easy." Genos grimaced. "Not even Child Emperor, Bofoi or Dr. Kuseno unlocked the secrets of teleportation. Interdimensional travel is a bigger obstacle to overcome, decades of research and resources are needed to even touch that realm with science. Their best option is to rely on Blast and his team. Or cooperate with them. Either way, I hope they're still safe."
A week passed since the battle for the survival of the world had ended.
The Heroes from both the Association and Neo worked together to rebuild the fallen cities as fast as they could with the help of Bofoi's army of machines.
Though the number of his robot army diminished.
Mumen Rider led the C-Class into coordinating rescue efforts of the civilians unlucky enough to be buried yet fortunate enough to remain alive.
Tank Top Master and his Tank Top Army moved collapsed roadways to make a path for the vehicles.
Metal Bat stood on guard atop a half-shattered building in case any of the stray monsters had funny ideas of causing havoc.
Superalloy Darkshine and Puri Puri Prisoner worked together to dig through the areas drowned under the massive tsunamis, searching for underwater victims that might still be alive.
Flashy Flash and Speed of Sound Sonic rested on tree branches, both overlooking the recovery efforts.
"...So… the baldy is gone."
Sonic was the first to speak. Mostly to get rid of this dreadful, lulling silence.
"Indeed."
Flashy Flash confirmed.
The silence between them returned.
"...Shame."
The conversation between them was terse and funnily awkward. With a bit of sadness in the mix.
"I find it a shame that we will never find the chance to thank him for his efforts." Flashy Flash was sad that he would never finish Saitama's training regimen.
All of that power was put to use to full efficiency.
"...Are you gonna do something about it?" Sonic asked.
"What can I do? Even Ninjutsu has limits." Flashy Flash let out a defeated chuckle. "But there are efforts. I heard that the Heroes refused to let this go. GOD is still alive, after all."
"It's gonna be less lively without him." Sonic added with a sigh - leaning his back against the tree bark.
Now Speed O' Sound Sonic had to contemplate whether he could still move forward with his path without defeating Saitama first. Either way, it was a worthwhile journey to pursue… And he doubted the baldy would stay away forever.
Elsewhere, Tatsumaki, Psykos, Fubuki, Bang, those that were with Blast in the battle against GOD.
Blast was in bed, recently undergoing intensive experimental surgery - Courtesy of Dr. Genus and his assistance, Armored Gorilla and Mosquito Girl, combined with Dr. Kuseno's expertise.
"The cloned organs have finished settling with your nervous system. You will be functional by the end of the day." Dr. Genus answered.
"Yes… Thank you, doctor." Blast weakly replied with his body and face still attached to the life-support system.
Tatsumaki, in a rare moment of emotion, nodded to the doctors and the rest of the medical team in her own way of showing gratitude, before she threw a small happy smile at Blast.
"Blast!" A female member of Blast's team called out.
"Everyone…" Blast turned to his team.
"How is the situation?" Blast asked.
Despite his condition, he was still the Number One Hero, guardian of humanity, one of the walls meant to defend the world against GOD.
"...He has escaped." The lion beastman sadly answered.
"We do not know where. The others are tracking him across the cosmos as we speak." The female answered.
"This isn't good. Right now is the best time to end him once and for all."
The situation was the most ideal.
The prisoner of the moon weakened, struggling to claw itself away from the jaws of death.
This was the best time to either destroy him once and for all or imprison him in a stronger prison.
"After GOD banished the baldy to who knows where, he banished the other one."
"Who?" Blast asked.
"The one that accepted the power of GOD before on that day. Who nearly became GOD's avatar."
Blast understood at that moment.
"...Recovering them should be our utmost priority." Blast concluded. "GOD is not in a state where he can recover so easily. We should find them. Besides, any hero that could drive GOD away at his full power deserves a celebration in their honor."
Tatsumaki nodded in response.
"What about the state of the world?" Blue asked.
He was standing on the other side of the bed with the others. He spoke all he needed to speak with his father during his recovery period.
"Ahhhh. Well, restoring the planet would be troublesome. We just need to bring back the landmass thrown to space back."
It sounded like a job specifically for Tatsumaki.
Meanwhile, Fubuki and Psykos were discussing not far from the medical bay.
Psykos' face was constipated, as if she was struggling to make the biggest dump of her life, if Fubuki had to compare.
Her Mind's Eye, an all-seeing ability that could look into the future.
Right now, she was looking for any signs of the baldy, using it as a locator, only for her to release all of the air in her lungs with one, tired breath.
"...Hah… No matter where I look, how hard I try, I still… cannot find him."
Fubuki was unnerved, the right of her eyes twitched.
"Try harder!" Fubuki raged with a face Psykos didn't think Fubuki could make. "How hard can it be to find a shining bald head you can spot from a mile away?!"
Psykos' mentally sighed, Fubuki's logic currently out of commission.
"That baldy is now the backbone of the new Fubuki Group! How can we hold our heads high without him and Genos?!"
Psykos wanted to ask if she cared about Genos as well, but held it down.
"As far as I know, that baldy is relaxing somewhere in the middle of nowhere doing who knows what! Without a care in the world!"
Psykos skewed her lips in response.
"...Look, President Fubuki." Psykos massaged her head as she still could not get rid of the habit of using that particular honorific, "There are times when you must accept things the way they are. In order to better understand the situation and find an alternative solution."
Fubuki bit on her nails in frustration. She knew enough about her former junior's Mind's Eye - how it works and its limits. If Psykos said that her Mind's Eye ran into a wall, then…
"Are you implying that at the very least, Saitama is somewhere out there?" Fubuki gestured towards the sky, or to be precise, the space beyond.
"It is unlikely that he's dead, just… missing… I don't know where GOD banished him to. He could be anywhere in the universe. Any dimension… existing without any harm."
"That is exactly why I am infuriated! The baldy should at least TRY to come back!"
Psykos sighed.
At least Blast is ready to return to the field. She could use his expertise in interdimensional travel for this.
In the waters below, the broken boundary between the infinite nothingness and the realm of Midgard floats most of the debris that fell from the Dimensional Gap.
Unknown matter still continues to fall and batter against the protective seals of all schools of magic, forged Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, magicians, and even divine entities, ramming against the barrier with the force of meteoric bullets.
Holes punched through masterweaved lattices of countless centuries of arcane knowledge only for the wounds to close, mended and stitched back via manipulated formulas and indirect weaves of energy given form;.
The waters were filled with aquatic sentient races, picking the soggy bottom of the alien matter that fell into their world for study.
Most of what fell were deformed, melted and scorched, lingering heat bubbling from the intense friction and radiations it collected from its travel through the Gap, finishing their impossible distance.
However, there was one particular object that retained its shape and form.
One of the aquatic life forms - a humanoid with mixed features of a turtle with fins and gills, was in the middle of scavenging anything valuable when his eyes caught the sight of the object.
Making his way towards the object, his in-born night vision was able to make out the object to be a pitch-black cube. One might dismiss the cube as some random rabble, but the appearance of the cube was too well-off to be a debris.
"What by Izanami...?" The kappa muttered.
This was way too compact and intact to be a malformed piece of dimensional meteorites that fell through the broken window of reality. There must be something special about it, possibly a clue to the origins of the anomaly. He might receive a reward if he presented it to the Shinto Pantheon.
The aquatic swam to the floor as his webbed hands reached towards the cube, once he had secured his hold, however - he frowned. He tugged the object a few times, even exerting his whole strength, yet the cube refused to even budge.
His fingers wrapped around the thing and his feet planted to the soggy sand.
"HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The Kappa lifted with his legs and spine.
"What… Why is this thing… so heavy?!" The Kappa could not believe it.
Not even the legendary artifacts of legends could be this heavy. He believed so at least. This thing reminded him of the legend about Mjolnir - it refused to leave the soggy sand.
"...That's it." The Kappa gave up and rasped.
He needed one of the Gods to lift this thing. Too bad he did not know any magic for this. He jumped and swam to the surface.
Once his head poked out of the waters, he called out.
"Heeey! I found some… thing…"
There was something wrong. Instead of the tear in reality, he saw something staring at it back…
A giant head, an infinitely complex maze of interconnected webs of alien flesh layered over each other, like nerves mixed with chords of muscle.
His heart fell into the abyss of the ocean.
What in the world was he seeing? Where was everyone? He was so overwhelmed he could only stare at the towering entity in the sky.
[You are not like the others.]
The Kappa broke from his reverie.
"W-W-W-What are you? W-where am I?"
[Are you worthy to inherit my blessing, fortuitous one?]
"W-what are you talking about?! Who are you, even!?"
[It shall be decided…]
The Kappa let out a strangled scream when a massive ethereal hand appeared as if wanting to grasp his entire person.
[You shall be my guide to this fresh eden, the shepherd to herald my coming.]
OxO
More Kappa-like people had arrived at the location where they had lost contact with their missing comrade. Last time they heard him calling out before he went eerily silent on them.
Under the waters, several Kappa congregated.
"Hey, have you seen Gangi?" One kappa asked.
"No. I thought he was with you?"
"Gangi should be around here. There's no way he can swim that far away, the spell protecting us from the salt water won't last too long."
Kappa are freshwater Youkai. Saltwater is harmful to them as they are related to amphibians.
Without warning, an ear-piercing shriek rippled through the waters as something emerged from the wet ground.
"What the hell?!"
The other Kappas frantically looked around to find the source of the shriek, until their eyes caught something swimming in the dark waters.
It was ravenous and unfathomably, otherworldly.
That was what its appearance screamed.
It bore the features of a kappa, but larger, more muscular, teeth turned into fangs and eyes pure white as if glowing, the finned spine larger and crackling with electricity.
The monstrous-looking sea creature screeched as it swam towards them with a speed that outclassed all of them.
Otherworldly energy sprung into existence, an alien aura that was not magic or Ki sprung forth in each of the monster's webbed hands as he swung.
All but one was erased as the oceans bubbled. The sole survivor was later found in traumatized and catatonic state, unable to provide any information of what had taken place, as well as the fate of his comrades that night.
To be Continued….
Next, the epilogue of Alfheim arc in NEO then we'll work on Revesal.