1:50 AM

“Why did you do that?!” Aya screamed when she saw the unconscious Asagi, felled by the heavy blow of a metal arm. The only answer she received was a contemptuous laugh.

From the settling clouds of dust emerged the massive silhouette of a man with a long yet thin black beard and a mohawk, looking like a bandit straight out of a post-apocalyptic film. It was quite possible that this was exactly what he was. Apart from chunks of metal embedded in his enormous arms and fists, his body was also fitted with pipes running from his shoulders up to his neck, with several more protruding from various points along his back. His eyes were hidden behind black lenses.

The newcomer—who could only be one of the Steel Brothers—surveyed the group. The illusion of the oiran’s rich kimono conjured for Asagi was already fading, though the disguises of the others still held, despite Kaguya’s shaken concentration.

The muscular giant pointed his thumb at himself and said, “Jimmy.”

That seemed to exhaust his interest in conversation. He studied each member of the group carefully, clearly searching for something. His gaze settled on Kaguya—more precisely, on the bag she had been clutching the entire time. He started toward her.

Kaguya reached into her vast reserves of magical powder and flung a whole handful at Jimmy. The powder formed a vortex in the air, from which emerged a long, furry creature resembling a weasel—if weasels were twice as long and had long blades instead of front paws. The yōkai summoned by Kaguya, a kamaitachi, spun several whirlwinds through the air and lunged at the colossal man.

He merely waved his hand, and the magical creature dissolved back into powder as quickly as it had appeared.

“Magic doesn’t work on him! Help me!” Kaguya cried, panic creeping into her voice.

Mr. Harada and Robert tried to shield Kaguya with their sasumata. Jimmy knocked their weapons aside like thin branches and continued trudging toward the girl, who stared at him with wide eyes. In that moment, he differed little from the mighty Ōtakemaru Mr. Harada had faced not long ago. She began to retreat slowly, terrified of the colossal man. His arms were covered in metal implants, clearly designed to enhance his strength. Several thin tubes branched off from his shoulders, plunging back into his body near the neck.

That was precisely the spot struck by Suzuki’s well-aimed crowbar. One of the pipes attached to Jimmy’s right arm tore loose from its socket at the side of his neck, and black fluid began to spill out. With a roar of rage, Jimmy turned toward the taxi driver, whose illusion of a wealthy townsman’s kimono had just begun to fade.

“Nice shot!” Mr. Harada praised Suzuki.

“I always want to be prepared!” explained the taxi driver, explaining his crowbar. “But I have no idea what it accomplished,” Suzuki continued, “other than making him really angry!”

Instead of trying to repair the damage, Jimmy—consumed by fury—ignored the black liquid dripping down his arm and biceps, splattering onto the ground.

Suzuki searched desperately for an escape route. There was none. The colossus might have lumbered slowly, but he was surely capable of a swift pursuit. Suzuki knew that if he tried to run, he would be caught within seconds.

Mr. Harada stepped into Jimmy’s path, blocking him with his sasumata. The giant wrenched the weapon from his hands and snapped it in one grip like a matchstick. The long polearm dissolved into magical powder that quickly faded into the night air. Interestingly, the grains that drifted near the black liquid vanished instantly, while the rest lingered a moment longer, swirling in the air.

Undeterred, Mr. Harada prepared for hand-to-hand combat, his fists still wrapped with ojuzu beads. Jimmy, growing more agitated, lazily swung his left arm and smashed through Mr. Harada’s guard. Bones cracked, and Mr. Harada collapsed to his knees, unable to continue fighting. His forearms were bent at unnatural angles as he writhed in pain, struggling not to scream.

Kaguya knelt beside the puddles of black liquid spreading across the packed earth. She sprinkled a pinch of magical powder onto it; it vanished instantly upon contact. Now she was certain—the fluid circulating through their opponent’s body nullified magic. She had never imagined such a substance could exist. Had someone harnessed science to study magic…?

There was no time to dwell on it. The situation had become critical. The confident colossus was about to reach Suzuki, who stood frozen with fear.

“Robert!” Kaguya shouted. He flinched, jolted from his terror. “Those pipes on his arms—try to tear them off with your sasumata!”

The Dutch tourist, who had already seen more than enough that night, needed no further prompting. He rushed at Jimmy just as the giant was lifting Suzuki by the lapels of his jacket. The taxi driver was paralyzed with fear.

Robert drove his sasumata straight into the socket on the left side of Jimmy’s neck, tearing loose the second pipe. This time, the gushing black liquid finally caught the giant’s attention.

He dropped the taxi driver and tried to reconnect both tubes, but his thick fingers struggled with the thin pipes, and his efforts were futile.

At that moment, Kaguya summoned the kamaitachi once more. The long yōkai materialized from shimmering magical powder and began spinning around Jimmy’s head, distracting him and repeatedly slashing his body with the blades that served as its forelimbs. The cuts were shallow and harmless, but they thoroughly disoriented the massive bandit. The kamaitachi focused especially on striking the sockets at Jimmy’s neck, making it nearly impossible for him to reattach the pipes.

Eventually, Jimmy began swatting at the annoying spirit with both arms. The black fluid, which had previously been pressurized and spraying from the pipes, was now exhausted; its stains formed small puddles on the packed earth of the wide street. Robert decided to complicate things further and tried to interfere with his sasumata—but that proved to be a mistake, as Jimmy finally had something solid to focus on. He grabbed Robert’s weapon and yanked the thin man toward himself, clutching his kimono. This time the cloth did not dissolve, which was the clearest proof that the magic-nullifying effect of the black fluid was no longer active.

Emboldened, Robert swung his hand at Jimmy’s face and managed to knock away the black lenses covering his eyes. At that very moment, the kamaitachi doubled its speed, launching a ferocious assault on the bandit’s eyes. Jimmy dropped the tourist and tried to shield his face. For a moment, he ignored the swirling kamaitachi and bent down to retrieve his black lenses. Instead of putting them back on, he hurled them with full force at Kaguya, striking her squarely on the forehead. It caused no serious injury—just a small cut and a forming bump—but it was enough to make her stagger back and lose concentration. The kamaitachi’s furious attacks ceased, and the creature dissolved into magical powder.

Bleeding from numerous shallow wounds, the bandit glared furiously at the group, searching for the nearest target. It was Robert, who was just struggling back to his feet. Jimmy roared and raised his right leg, attempting to crush him.

At that moment, his left leg buckled beneath him. The giant lost his balance and fell heavily onto his backside.

Asagi—who had just struck him with full force behind the knee—leveled her wooden sword at Jimmy. One of Aya’s healing talismans was now tied to the hilt. Out of the corner of her eye, she checked whether the small shrine maiden had reached the writhing Mr. Harada.

“Get up,” she challenged the giant.