Demons, spirits, evocations, occult symbols, blood rituals, Satanism and Lovecraft. Those were the most recent google searches on Hajime's laptop. Whoever may have peeked at it would have most certainly been weirded out, but that was the least of his concerns. He finally had a lead, and from where he stood, it was the only way he could pursue it. While what he discovered was falling in line with the myriad of that week's strange happenings, there was one single fact which frustrated him to no end – Shishima was nowhere to be found among those writings. No piece of demonology, folklore or even literature seemed to have any record of a malevolent spirit under this name. Needless to say, that would not hinder his research one bit, he would dig even deeper down the rabbit hole, as long as he achieved his goal at the end.

The cafeteria's doors opened for a couple of policemen who walked in, handcuffs and weapons readied by their belts, stern eyes scanning the students who were enjoying their lunch break. Hajime found their presence rather peculiar, as there had been no more murders on campus. Had they been sent to prevent a new such incident from occurring? Two of them cornered a student from the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education, a good-looking jock who was fairly popular on campus, and immediately tackled him. Although he tried putting on a fight, the duo immediately overpowered him and he was easily handcuffed. Such was the fate of a few other students, either frat boys or geeky outcasts. Friends, girlfriends and even professors jumped to their defense and protested the arrests with indignation, but their cries went ignored.

"I am sorry, but these youngsters are under arrest over suspicion of murder. Until further evidence is gathered, they will remain jailed," an older officer explained to the angry mob. "Now take them away!"

Hajime narrowed his eyes as he witnessed the revolting scene. Why were they targeting specifically those two groups of students? What did they have in common? The only thing he could think of was... the president of the student council, Shinobu Matsuda! She always knew how to seduce the jocks and trick the nerds into doing her bidding. As a matter of fact, he did not even see her on campus that morning. His mind immediately went to the argument with Jack and Lori he had back in the park and how they insisted on informing the authorities of the cult's existence. Shaking his head in disbelief at the stupidity of their brash actions, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jack's number. It took a few moments until he heard his voice on the other line.

"What do you want now, partner?"

"Jack, I beg of you, tell me you didn't divulge everything to the cops."

"Sorry, Hajime, but I sure did. They know who those freaks are, what they were doing and where. I couldn't go on after what happened last night. Please try to understand, I can't live my life in fear that someone is out to get me."

"Did you tell them that you stabbed an innocent man?"

"Yes, I did. But since I was coerced into doing it, they said I will have to go to some mandatory psychiatric evaluations and therapy sessions."

"Lucky, you narrowly avoided joining them in prison. But do you know what you didn't escape?"

"What are you talking about? I don't get you."

"They didn't arrest Shinobu, she's nowhere to be found, she has not appeared at all on campus today."

Jack was rendered speechless at that revelation. Hajime smiled to himself, satisfied that he could finally get back at him for ruining his lead.

"That's impossible! She's the student council president, she's got responsibilities, she's supposed to be on campus Monday to Friday!" a worried Jack argued.

"Guess what, she mysteriously has shown no sign of life today. What makes you think she did not find out of your little ploy earlier?" Hajime rhetorically asked.

"There's no way she could have, partner! We went straight to the police station after the duel!"

"You forget who we are dealing with. Shishima is a supernatural being, what makes you think he could not inform some of his cultists of your betrayal?"

Jack remained silent once more. Then, when he had the courage, he asked, "How many did the cops arrest?"

"About a dozen."

"Good, that means there's like six or seven of them left. With such low numbers and no hideout, the cult's done for."

"Maybe you're right, but keep in mind – Shishima is still out there, and thanks to your actions he will be harder to find. Nice job, smartass!" Hajime spat and hung up on his friend.

His lunch finished, the internet browsing fruitless, his peers getting too noisy, he chose to leave the cafeteria. Autumn leaves kept falling on the ground, painting the grass into an eerily brownish red. Two lonely sparrows chirped by the fountain in the middle of the yard, their song killing the heavy silence which burdened the campus. Although the sun cast its brilliant light upon them, the subtle wind still persisted, chilling everyone to the bone. Students now walked either in pairs of two or all alone, rarely exchanging even glances. As he wandered around, Hajime could not help but notice just how much the atmosphere had changed since Monday. Tension was floating in the air, mixed with distrust. With just a few murders, that bastard had managed to bring out the worst in everyone. Now everybody was a suspect, and he could not comprehend the very thought that so many of his fellow students were potential cultists.

More so, the fact that the small chance for finding Shishima had been vanquished due to Jack's stupidity, thereby rendering his initial efforts as fruitless, only served to frustrate him even more. If he could not find any information about this demon, he had to come up with a new plan. Maybe he would try to get in touch with the few remaining members of the cult who managed to escape the police. As a last resort, he would perhaps even try joining the cult by himself. But what then? Would he end up torturing an innocent human to death just like Jack, merely to achieve his vengeance? Then he would not be any better than that cold-blooded monster responsible for the nightmare they were all trapped in. And then there was also the possibility of the police catching them while he was infiltrated in the cult. Not being able to endure all of this, Hajime decided to skip his upcoming courses and returned to the mansion.

His cell phone buzzed from inside his laptop's suitcase after he crossed the first street. Upon checking who it was, he was surprised to see his mother's number. With a nervous gulp, he answered the call, "Hi mom, how are you?"

"Hajime, sweetie, we heard about what happened to grandma Tsugumi."

"Did the police inform you?"

"They did. We've canceled all our appointments and we're currently waiting for our flight back to Japan. It should be arriving in less than an hour."

"So soon? But didn't you and dad have more important business to take care of in the States?"

"That can wait. Tonight we'll be back in Tokyo and I promise you that Saturday we'll be coming to take you back home where you'll be safe."

"But mom, I want to stay here and help the police find grandma!"

"Oh, looks like it's our turn to pass the gateway. We'll discuss more when we get there. Until then, Hajime, I beg you, please stay safe. We both love you, bye bye!"

With that said, his mother hung up. As much as he felt relieved that he would be finally escaping the nightmare that plagued Sagakin, the desire for bringing Shishima to justice still burned in him. If he could not avenge Ken, at the very least he wanted to have some closure in knowing that he had tried everything he could. His parents would most likely arrange for him to resume his studies at the University of Tokyo where he would be safe, at least temporarily. But what guarantee did he have that after his departure, the authorities would be able to solve the case, capture the remainder of the Spawns of Shishima and somehow contain the murderous demon they worshiped? More so, what if his parents were putting themselves in danger by coming all the way to Sagakin? The thought of losing them the same way he lost Tsugumi ate at him and filled him with even more despair.

Hajime walked through the mansion's gates and the two guarding policemen gave him friendly nods, a gesture which he reciprocated. The officers seemed to have busied themselves with investigating the yard for clues, so the youth decided not to bother them and went inside. Not wasting any time, he went upstairs, straight into his grandmother's bedroom. Although Tsugumi was a warm welcoming woman in her twilight years, she sometimes had strange moods when she would stare outside the window, lost in thought. In those short moments, the kind expression on her face would change into one which betrayed worry, guilt, and probably fear. Clearly she must have lived the rest of her life in trauma after facing that monster, and as such, there must have been something in her personal belongings that could be of aid to him. Her wardrobes were full with elegant and expensive clothes which were dusted on a daily basis. Inside the drawers he could only find jewels, perfumes and medicine.

Around thirty minutes passed and his search had no success. Tired and disappointed, Hajime let out a heavy sigh and collapsed on the bed. Once his head collided with the pillow, he felt something poking him. Groaning with frustration, he reached underneath it and pulled out a deck case. That was odd, why would his grandmother try to hide such a thing? Opening it, he had the surprise of seeing a variation of Tsugumi's Rosia Miradante deck. Knowing how much money she had, it was obvious that she could afford making multiple decks centered around her favorite strategy. But this one was different, for there was a new card among her preferred spells and Angel Command Dragons. This card was a creature which had both the Metallica and Master Dragon races.

"Kirazeus Savark," Hajime whispered its name.

He also found a small letter inside the deck box, which he quickly unfolded and began to read.

To my dearest grandson Hajime,

If you are reading this, then I am most likely dead. I know that you and your parents are really heartbroken by this, but I beg of you, please be strong in the hard times that are yet to come. I must confess that I have lived the past fifty years of my life with a shadow burdening my soul. This shadow is a culmination of my most heinous sins: pride, arrogance, elitism, and perhaps the most damning of all, betrayal. Although my closest friends kept trying to convince me otherwise, deep down I always knew that I was at least partly guilty for the horrors our city had witnessed way back in my youth. And despite our ultimate triumph over this great evil, somehow I felt that a part of it still lingered somewhere, like a growing tumor, biding its time in the shadows.

Which is why I have built this deck - the apex of my ultimate strategy. Through my research I have found a new card that could fit in, a card belonging to the Metallica race you seem to like so much, and I could not help but add it as well. I wish to pass down this deck to you, Hajime, so that you can use it to protect those you care for most in this world. Please, be brave for them, and most importantly, do not push them aside, be there for them, so that you will not walk down the same lonely path I did.

With eternal love and gratitude,

Tsugumi Shirayama