Five Element Talismans/Protein Synthesis

“Morning,” greeted Yoshi as she entered the office.

“Ah, Tsuyoshi-chan,” greeted Euclid Tsukishiro. “Sorry to have to call you in on your day-off,” he apologized with a kind smile.

“It’s alright,” reassured Yoshi. She walked over to her desk and sat down. Right next to her, her coworker and junior, Hanami Fujiko, was frantically typing on the computer. “Fuji, what are you doing over there?” asked Yoshi.

“Fueh, Tsuyoshi-senpai! I didn’t hear you there! I’m sorry for my inattentiveness and for any disrespect I may have caused you,” apologized Fuji while furiously bowing her head.

“Geez, Fuji, you really need to stop doing that. It makes you an easy target to be taken advantage of,” Yoshi told her sternly.

“Fueh, you’re right! I’m sorry for being an easy target! I’m sorry for being weak!” apologized Fuji.

Yoshi let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fuji-chan, how’s the research going?” asked Euclid from the front desk.

“What are you guys searching for?” asked Yoshi.

“Oh, haven’t you heard, Tsuyoshi-chan? Yesterday, VICE took into custody three men who were found lying unconscious on 83rd Faraday Street. They’re now in custody with the police, but we were also contacted to help with the investigation,” explained Euclid.

“83rd Faraday Street? Isn’t that part of the 23rd Precinct?” noted Yoshi.

“Precisely! That’s why we were given authorization to participate in the investigation,” said Euclid.

“So, the VICE officers that took them in….”

“Yuki-kun and Nami-chan,” confirmed Euclid. “In fact, they’re helping with interrogations at the Neo Tokyo Police Department. Meanwhile, I asked Fuji-chan to search up anything we can about our captives. Things like names, origin, and Philosopher status.”

“Fueh! I can’t find anything at all!” cried Fuji. “There are no pictures of them at all in any of the databanks we have! I even tried accessing databanks of Institutions Centers around the world…but nothing!”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” said Euclid under his breath. “The captives were wearing strange clothing that didn’t seem to be of this world. What could this mean?” He turned to Yoshi with a smile. “Can I ask you to patrol the area today? We don’t know who these people are or what they are after, but in these situations, there are usually more of them. I hope that I’m wrong, but my hunches are usually right.”

“Understood,” accepted Yoshi with a nod of her head.

“Whah! I was so busy running away from my pursuers on my first day here that I never got a chance to really see the world around me!” beamed Kanon.

“Oh yeah, you said before that your pursuers chased you from your world, right?” remembered Chiharu.

“Yep,” confirmed Kanon. “That night when it happened was very scary! Get this, I was almost assassinated in my sleep!” she revealed with widened-eyes.

“Uwah, that is scary,” agreed Chiharu with a face.

“Luckily, I was able to sense a disturbance in the magical force beforehand and escaped from my room before they got a chance to put me to sleep!” cheerfully explained Kanon.

“I don’t think that warranted a joke,” commented Chiharu with a half-smile.

“They chased me through the forest and I remembered seeing a strange portal appearing right where the forest exit was! I was being chased by people who wanted to kill me, so I didn’t think much about it and jumped through! Next thing I knew, I was on the rooftop of some strange building in this world.”

“Strange portal?” wondered Chiharu with a frown.

“It was big and black and scary,” described Kanon.

“And you still went in anyway?” pointed out Chiharu.

“If you were being chased by people wanting to kill you, you’d do it too,” responded Kanon, flailing her arms and pouting like a child.

“Ah, we’re here,” said Chiharu, gesturing to the shop in front of them.

Kanon had never seen a metal building with bright neon block letters before. Through the giant glass windows, there were clothing she had never seen before! She followed Chiharu in. “These clothes are so strange but wonderful!” she beamed as she browsed through the aisles. “Hey, Sir Atago, what do you think about this?” she asked, holding up a very gaudy shirt with an equally gaudy design.

“Uh…I don’t know about that one…,” honestly replied Chiharu.

“Then this?” asked Kanon, holding up another shirt with a picture of a tiny samurai brandishing a katana.

“That seems childish, doesn’t it?” Chiharu told her. He wasn’t familiar with the design, but he was sure that he had seen it before in passing. “We’re getting nowhere like this,” he concluded. He called over an associate and she was more than happy to assist.

With the associate’s assistance, Kanon modeled for Chiharu a selection of great outfits that fit perfectly and blended well with the crowd. They bought enough clothes to last a month, including the one Kanon wore out of the store. “Wow, that was fun!” beamed Kanon.

“Mistress Kaga!” came a voice from above. A stream of fire flew down from the sky straight for Chiharu, who managed to absorb it into his body at the very last moment. The perpetrator revealed himself and landed right in front of Chiharu and Kanon.

“Who—?” asked Chiharu.

“Kotatsu!” shouted Kanon.

“Again, who?” repeated Chiharu.

“Mistress Kaga, I have been looking everywhere for you!” The young man’s voice was filled with enough worry it sounded like he was about to burst into tears.

“Is he a friend of yours?” Chiharu asked Kanon.

“Friend? I am Mistress Kaga’s trusted aide! Mistress Kaga, who is this stranger next to you?” asked the young man.

“Ah, he’s someone who’s helping me,” Kanon told her friend.

“Hello, I’m Atago Chiharu,” introduced Chiharu politely.

“Helping Mistress Kaga?… I see.” The young man bowed his head in greeting and introduced himself. “Greetings. My family name is Li, my given name is Jian, and my courtesy name is Zilong.”

“C-Courtesy name?” asked Chiharu, confused by the concept.

“It’s a Chinese practice,” explained Kanon. “You see, Kotatsu here is from Penglai.”

“Say, why do you call him Kotatsu?” wondered Chiharu.

“Well, his courtesy name is written using the kanji for ‘child’ and ‘dragon’, you see. If you put it together, you pronounce it as kotatsu, right?” revealed Kanon.

“Oh, you’re right,” agreed Chiharu.

“He can also produce heat, just like a real kotatsu!” added Kanon.

“Mistress Kaga!” whined Kotatsu.

“He’s very useful in the winter!” praised Kanon.

“Don’t treat me like I’m the same thing as a real kotatsu!” protested Kotatsu.

Li Jian Zilong/Kotatsu was a young man who appeared to be younger than Chiharu by a good year or so. He had long silky black hair tied in a ponytail with long bangs covering his right eye. His left eye was a brilliant and frosty silver-blue, which one could assume was the same for his right eye. His build was slim and his face was long, but the slight rounded cheeks he possessed reminded Chiharu of a skinny hamster. He was dressed in clothing that looked similar to the ones Kanon wore, but different somehow—it was clear that they weren’t kimono.

“Kotatsu, how did you follow me here?” Kanon asked her friend.

“When you were attacked by intruders that night, I was among the forces sent to assist you,” explained Kotatsu. “The last I saw of you was when you entered that mysterious portal. I tried to chase after you, but by the time I arrived, the portal had already disappeared! Luckily, the day after, I received word of a similar event happening and went to check it out. I saw it was the same kind of portal that you escaped through, so I decided to do the same. That’s how I came to this world.”

‘Like master, like servant,’ thought Chiharu to himself with a face.

“Anyway, Mistress Kaga, we must return back home now! The Unified Church are causing an upheaval! They are trying to get rid of the other powers!” pleaded Kotatsu.

“How are you planning to get back?” Chiharu asked the aide.

“We just need to find the same kind of portals in this world. They will transport us back home, I am sure of it!” replied Kotatsu confidently. “Now come, we must—.”

“Kaga no Kanon,” interrupted a low pitched voice behind them. Chiharu, Kanon, and Kotatsu turned to face their guests. Two mysterious figures clad in black cloaks stood before them. “We are with the Unified Church,” spoke the left figure who was also the one who called to them. “You are to come with us.”

“Why?” came Kanon’s simple question. Her voice was devoid of her usual playfulness and replaced instead with strength and resilience.

“The Kaga Clan is a threat to the Unified Church and our goal,” came the right figure—a woman’s voice.

“What is your goal?” aggressively asked Kotatsu.

“To create a unified world,” answered the left figure.

“Mistress Kaga, let me take care of them,” said Kotatsu, taking out a piece of paper from inside his clothing. “Fire Dragon’s Breath!” he shouted. The piece of paper glowed a bright red color and Kotatsu threw it straight at the two figures. It suddenly transformed into a stream of fire—the same spell that was used against Chiharu moments before. The fire doused the two figures in flames and smoke.

“What just happened?” asked Chiharu.

“Kotatsu is a Sorcerer,” Kanon told him. “His ability is called ‘Five Element Talismans’.”

“Talisman? You mean that piece of paper?”

“As you can see, he can channel the five elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, and Wood, and use them to cast spells through the talismans.”

The smoke cleared and the two figures were unscathed; the man had in his hands a metal cross that protected them from the spell. The man then raised up a hand and a dark circle appeared on the ground in front of him. It glowed a sinister purplish color and the figure of a beast emerged from it. It stood as tall and big as a wild wolf. With a canine snout, a hyena-like body, teeth that would scare sharks and crocodiles, the talons of birds-of-prey, and long spikes running down its back, the ugly creature looked just like something straight out of a horror movie!

“A Beast of Gévaudon,” gasped Kanon.

“An Occultist,” cursed Kotatsu.

“Attack!” ordered the Occultist.

The beast did as it was commanded and leapt forward with its claws prepped to rip Kotatsu to shreds. The latter gritted his teeth and brought out two talismans. “Wood Dragon Scales! Metal Tortoise Shell!” he shouted, powering up the blank pieces of paper with his magic spells. He threw the talismans at the beast. Suddenly, the green glowing paper disappeared and the ground underneath the beast trembled. Green vines shot out of the asphalt and roped up the beast’s legs and body. The white glowing paper floated up above the trapped beast for a while before also disappearing. Giant metal walls shot out of the ground and created a closed cage around the beast.

“Fire Dragon Furnace,” said Kotatsu, bringing out one more talisman. The red glowing talisman stuck itself onto the metal walls. The metal cage quickly became a furiously burning furnace. The burning beast let out vicious howls and then became quiet.

“I can’t say I’m exactly happy about the fact that a creature was killed right in front of me, but thank you, Kotatsu,” said Kanon.

“Don’t get cocky just because you destroyed one,” came the Occultist. He raised up his hand once again, but summoned five dark circles this time. The same kind of beast emerged from each of them.

“Is there anyway we can take them all out? It would be too exhausting if we have to do the exact same thing we did to the last one every single time,” said Chiharu.

“You there!” came a new voice. Chiharu turned around to see a young high school girl. Since she wasn’t wearing her high school uniform, it was hard to tell what school she was from. But she looked strangely familiar to him, though he didn’t know why.

The girl in question was Yamato Tsuyoshi, also known as Yoshi by her close friends and associates. She had medium-length auburn hair in a bob-like style and cat-like aquamarine eyes that gleamed with confidence mixed with a hint of mischief. Her skin was a light tan and her build was on the lean athletic side. Her most notable features, though, were her beautifully long eyelashes and a noticeable fang that stuck out of her top lip. Additionally, she was dressed in very trendy clothes—a true gyaru if Chiharu had ever seen one.

On her top was a gold nameplate with her name and the letters “VICE”. Chiharu knew exactly what it meant. VICE is the volunteer law enforcement association for students. It stood for Virtue, Impartiality, Community, and Emergency—the four pillars that form the basis of their duties. As an extension of law enforcement, the members of VICE possess limited powers to exact justice as they see fit in accordance to the established laws. The organization, consisting of many branches worldwide, can only be found in Institution Centers and their jurisdiction is limited to those cities only.

“I have to bring you guys in for questioning,” Yoshi told Chiharu.

“Wait, but we’re not the bad guys here,” protested Chiharu.

“Disturbing the peace is a crime, you know,” responded Yoshi frankly. She then glanced over at the two mysterious cloaked figures. ‘Could they be who Tsukishiro-senpai was talking about?’ she wondered, remembering her discussion from this morning. “Okay, I guess I’ll have to give you a hand,” she decided. She took out a small container and flicked open the top, tilting it to dispense a small circular pink tablet. She swallowed it and replaced the container.

One of the Beasts of Gévaudon charged forward. Yoshi bent her knees and suddenly leapt straight at it with the leg power of a kangaroo. She raised her hand and punched it straight in the face.

“Super speed and strength?” gasped Chiharu in surprise.

“Bzzt!” responded Yoshi with a wag of her finger. “Does keratin, collagen, actin, myosin, and actinin mean anything to you?”

“Those are all proteins,” noted Chiharu. “Wait…protein synthesis?”

“Correct,” confirmed Yoshi with a smug smile. Yoshi’s ability, ‘Protein Synthesis’, allows her to control the amino acids in her body to synthesize proteins for a variety of functions. As such, she has total control over the proteins in her body, including their transportation and synthesis rate, and can use them to empower her own body and its functions. However, since she, like other humans, cannot naturally synthesize all of the essential amino acids, she must routinely consume a small supplement of amino acids to have everything she needs to use her power. Though she can very well work with what she already has, it has become a habit of hers to do this so that she can be ready to synthesize any and all proteins that she needs for any situation.

The struck beast flew backwards and landed on its back with a loud THUD. Meanwhile, Kotatsu took care of two more. “Not bad, Mister Flash,” sincerely praised Yoshi with a respectful smile. “However, I can’t let you beat me,” she respectfully added. With another leap, she landed right on the fallen beast and struck it with a megaton punch. The beast suddenly disappeared in a cloud of black dust. “Whoa, what the heck?” gasped Yoshi in surprise.

With only one beast left, both Yoshi and Kotatsu initiated a spontaneous combo attack. Before the beast had a chance to lunge forward, Yoshi dashed towards and grabbed it in a headlock. By increasing the levels of myosin and actin in her arms and myosin and collagen in her legs, she was able to hold onto the beast with the strength of an elephant while keeping her legs firmly rooted on the spot as if she was an immovable fortress. With a slight tug, she threw the beast onto the ground. At that exact moment, Kotatsu threw a red talisman at the beast. Yoshi jumped out of the way just as the beast burst into flames as a result of the spell.

“I-Impossible!” cried the Occultist. Yoshi suddenly appeared behind the Occultist and struck him in the back, incapacitating him.

Meanwhile, sometime between the fight between Yoshi and Kotatsu with the Occultist, the female enemy had run away with Kanon and Chiharu chasing after her. As he did, Chiharu remembered seeing Yoshi take down that one beast and thought with a shudder, ‘I would never have thought a pretty girl like her would possess such a boyish ability.’

They came to a densely populated area where the female enemy suddenly disappeared. “Ah, where did she go?” grumbled Kanon, frowning.

“Kaga no Kanon!” came the enemy’s voice from above the crowd. Kanon and Chiharu turned to see the enemy standing atop the fountain in the center of the crowd. She had her hood down to reveal her face: silver-blonde hair with black streaks, wild red eyes with dark circles under them, and an even crazier smile that made her look like a spindly clown. “My name is Adriana Laguna, Silver ranked Occultist of the Roma United Church!” introduced the enemy. “As per the church’s order, I will kill you right here and now! Without you, our greatest deterrent, around, the church will annihilate the other powers and create a unified world!”

“Hey, Sir Atago, did she just call me a deterrent?” asked Kanon angrily, her left eye twitching.

“A little girl like you will pose no threat to someone like me,” continued Adriana. “You may be of a higher rank than me, but I have more experience than you, little girl.”

“You just called me little girl! And twice!” shouted Kanon in protest with a visibly throbbing vein on her forehead. “Alright, the gloves are off now! You’ll regret making an enemy of me!”

“Wait, Kanon, there are people!” Chiharu told her.

Without listening, she clasped her hands together and began to chant: “Om Vajrapani Hum. May the great Bodhisattva of Power, Guardian who vanquishes evil and protects the righteous, weapon and shield of the Awakened One and symbolizing the great Enlightened King’s righteous power, listen to my prayer. Strike my foe with your diamond bolt and subdue their ignorant soul!”

As this was happening, Chiharu rushed ahead to clear the way by shouting for everyone to run to safety. The crowd were confused by the appearance of a stranger suddenly appearing and shouting for them to run away. They thought he was mad and ignored him.

A blue lightning bolt made up of mysterious energy shot forward from Kanon. It struck Adriana and the Occultist fell backwards. By now, the crowd could tell that something dangerous was indeed transpiring and began to clear out of the area. When Chiharu returned to Kanon’s side, she wore a confused expression and said, “That seems almost too easy, doesn’t it?”

“You know, I was really hoping that you’d just cheer like always and say that we won,” sighed Chiharu.

A loud cackle caught their attention. “Did you really think that I would be taken down so easily?” came Adriana’s voice. One of the woman in the crowd walked up and stood in front of them—a middle-aged housewife with curly brown hair wearing a sweater and long skirt. Her eyes were wide and her lips were pulled into the same crazy smile as Adriana’s. “Would you like to try again?” she asked in Adriana’s voice.

“What the hell? What did she do to that woman?” Chiharu asked Kanon.

“Could it be possession?” Kanon asked herself aloud.

“Possession?” repeated Chiharu in surprise. “You mean like that thing associated with ghosts and spirits? That’s impossible! That’s just pure occult!”

Kanon slowly turned to him with a straight face. “We are dealing with an Occultist,” she told him flatly.

“Oh, right,” remembered Chiharu with a sheepish smile.

“Well, we can’t possibly hurt civilians,” said Kanon. “I think I know what to do.” She clasped her hands once again. “Om Sarvanivaranaviskambhi Hum. May the great Bodhisattva of Purification, Remover of obstacles and Patron of mindfulness, peace and breath of the Awakened One and symbolizing the great Enlightened King’s virtuous perfection, listen to my prayer. Purify this wicked soul before me!”

A thread made of mysterious yellow energy shot out from Kanon and immediately wrapped itself around the possessed woman’s neck like a whip. The thread tightened until the energy disappeared right into the woman. The woman let out a howl before her eyes suddenly closed and she fell to her knees. Chiharu quickly ran up to help her. ‘What just happened?’ he wondered, worried about the woman’s condition. “Hey, Kanon, what did you just do?!” he yelled at her angrily. He then felt the woman’s body stir and realized that she was still breathing and fine, just unconscious.

“She’ll recover soon,” Kanon reassured him.

“Ah, that wasn’t fun at all,” cackled Adriana’s voice again. Chiharu and Kanon traced the source of the voice to a little girl holding a stuffed animal in her arms.

“Stop messing around!” Chiharu angrily yelled at the villain.

“Purify this wicked soul before me!” casted Kanon again. The same thing happened to the little girl and she fell unconscious.

“Wanna try again?” mocked Adriana, this time in the body of a salaryman.

“Purify this wicked soul before me!” casted Kanon once more.

“How can we defeat her?” asked Chiharu.

“You can’t!” answered Adriana with a crazy laugh, now possessing the body of a male student. “I’ve mastered the art of severing my soul from my body. Now, no human maladies affect me! I am free from pain, from sickness, from old age, from death! I am free from suffering! I have attained salvation!” Her mad laughter filled the air and made it tremble.

“But it looks like you’re not free from illnesses of the brain,” attacked Kanon with a scoff.

Adriana raised her hand and shot out a fireball. Chiharu reflexively grabbed Kanon and dodged out of the way of the projectile. “Ah, this body possesses power! Perhaps I can use it to destroy you!” cackled the Occultist.

“This is bad. She can use the powers and abilities of the body she possesses,” said Kanon with a  shake of her head.

“How will we stop her?” asked Chiharu.

“She must’ve gained her powers through dark alchemical means. Probably even with the assistance of devils,” Kanon told Chiharu. “The only way to defeat her is to destroy her soul.”

“But that’s the same as killing, isn’t it?” pointed out Chiharu. It was clear from his expression that he was against doing something as recklessly immoral as that.

“Don’t worry, we won’t be doing that,” reassured Kanon with a soft smile. “Remember my creed as part of the Shingori Sect? The only other way is to trap her.”

“How will we do that?”

“By getting her into a body and preventing her from separating from it.”

“Like freezing the body?”

“No. Even with a frozen body, she can still leave the body to possess another,” explained Kanon. “The only way to prevent her from using her ability is to place a barrier spell on the body once she possesses it. The barrier will prevent her from escaping.”

“So the body acts as a prison,” understood Chiharu. “But how are we going to that?” he wondered.

“I don’t want to use the body of civilians. We must do everything we can to avoid that.”

“I understand. Then how—?”

“I have an idea!” interrupted Kanon. “Can you keep her busy? I have to go get Kotatsu!”

“Keep her busy? How?” asked Chiharu. But Kanon had already left by the time he got his question out. Chiharu was at a loss.

“Oh? Has the little girl given up already?” came Adriana’s mocking voice.

“I’ll be your opponent now!” Chiharu quickly said.

“What do you think you’re doing?” spat Adriana condescendingly with a tilt of her head. Her expression had changed into one of disgust and disdain.

“I’m Kanon’s shield! If you want to defeat her, you’ll have to go through me!” Chiharu told her.

“Hah? And what can you do?” asked Adriana with a disdainful snarl.

Chiharu clenched his fist and punched the air in front of him, sending out a huge wave of energy that grazed Adriana’s face. The force of the blast came as a surprise to the Occultist, who, out of protective instinct, jumped out of the male student's body and occupied a middle-school girl a few meters away. ‘Thank goodness that worked,’ thought Chiharu with a sigh of relief. ‘Unfortunately, I can only use it once.’ Chiharu had used all of the stored up energy he received from absorbing Kotatsu’s fire spell in that one blast. He knew that if he didn’t do anything worth warranting the enemy’s attention, he wouldn’t be taken seriously.

“Now that you’ve seen my power, I won’t be holding back now,” he told Adriana, doing well to steel his voice to reinforce his bluff.

“I see. I guess I underestimated you,” granted the Occultist. She then turned around and began to run away.

“Oi, now you’re the one running away!” shouted Chiharu, chasing after her. He followed Adriana away from the crowd and into a slightly quieter street. Now possessing the body of a young middle-school girl, Adriana kept quite a distance away from Chiharu. ‘That’s not fair,’ Chiharu grumbled to himself. He quickly came to a stop just as someone was exiting a store, preventing a collision that would’ve put him even farther behind.

“Haru?”

“Saki!” realized Chiharu. He didn’t recognize Sara at all outside of her school uniform. She wore a black beanie and a sweatshirt with the same katana-wielding samurai character, and a pair of dark jeans. If Chiharu hadn’t realized it was Sara from her voice alone, he would’ve for sure mistaken her for a middle-school boy.

“I bet you’re thinking something offensive, aren’t you,” said Sara with a scary scowl.

“N-N-No! Of course not!” he told her with a not-very-reassuring smile. “Anyway, I have to go now.”

“Where are you go—?” Before Sara could finish her question, Chiharu dashed right past her. Furious with being ignored, she impulsively chased after him.

Chiharu came to an abandoned warehouse and walked in. Footsteps could be heard as someone approached him from within the darkness of the warehouse. Standing before him with a crazy smile that ruined the maidenly face of the possessed girl was Adriana. Chiharu heard footsteps approaching him from behind and was happy to hear Kanon coming back to help him. He turned around and his hopes were dashed—it was not Kanon but Sara. She stood behind him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Haru, explain to me what’s going on,” she demanded.

“Oh, um, er, well, it’s kind of a long story, so, um…,” he replied, finding it difficult to explain what was going on.

“Ah, who is this young woman?” asked Adriana in her usual mocking tone.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” snapped Sara, raising her hand and stripping the electrons of the atoms in front of her to send a chain of lightning at Adriana.

The Occultist raised her hand and sent out a blast of sound waves—the ability of the original owner of the possessed body. “So you’re the type who fights first and asks questions later,” said Adriana as if she just made a very interesting realization.

Sara was now pissed. “I was only going to quiet you with a light shock, but now you’ve pissed me off,” she said with a snarl. She stretched out her hand and focused on the carbon dioxide and water vapor in the air, breaking the molecular bonds between them, and reformed them into methane and oxygen. Then, with a clench of her hand, she made the oxygen react with the methane to oxidize the latter and create combustive explosions around Adriana.

Adriana instinctively split her soul from the body to prevent herself from being harmed before repossessing the body. “My, what a good trick!” she praised Sara mockingly.

“What the—?” exclaimed a bewildered Sara. Adriana sent out another soundwave blast. Sara canceled it by slowing down the electrons of the oxygen molecules in front of her and binding them together to form a wall of solidified oxygen, successfully blocking the attack.

“Ah, Sir Atago!” came Kanon’s voice. She ran up to meet Chiharu and Sara with Kotatsu bringing up the rear.

Kotatsu took out two talismans and brought them close to his forehead. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the talismans a few feet away from Adriana. “Metal Dragon’s Body, Wood Dragon’s Frame!” he casted. Suddenly, the two talismans vanished; replacing them was a magically created metal doll with wooden joints that reminded Chiharu of the small wooden art models used by artists.

Chiharu didn’t need to be told what to do and turned to Sara. “Can you force her to that doll over there?” he asked her.

“Hah? Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but this is—,” began Sara in protest.

Chiharu grabbed Sara by the shoulders. “Please!” he pleaded with a serious look in his eyes.

Sara’s face turned a deep red. “O-O-Okay!” she relented, pushing Chiharu’s face away. “Geez,” she mumbled to herself as she tried to regain her composure.

“Kanon,” Chiharu called over to the Mystic.

She responded with a nod and held out her hand. “Purify this wicked soul before me!” she chanted. The same mysterious thread from before shot out and entangled itself around the possessed body. Due to the effect of the spell, Adriana’s soul was forced out of the body.

Sara aimed her hand at the area right Adriana’s soul was and did the same thing as before: changing the bonds between the elements in the air to form methane and oxygen, and then forcing a redox reaction between them. The combustive explosion frightened Adriana, forcing her to the side to avoid the blast. As this was happening, Chiharu had rushed over to the unconscious body and secured it before the blast occurred. Now, without a body, it was clear that Adriana’s true form was that of a purple glowing ball of mysterious energy.

The Occultist let out a frightening wail. “You little thief!” she cursed at Chiharu. “You keep on getting between me and my mission! Maybe I should just possess you instead and use your body as my own shield!”

“Sorry, but I’m already someone’s shield,” declared Chiharu.

Adriana let out another frightening wail. She dashed straight for Chiharu. Before she could get him in her clutches, however, she was suddenly transported into the metal doll. Kanon immediately raised her hand and chanted: “Om Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvayah. May the great Bodhisattva of Merits, Guide of lost souls and the light that penetrates the darkness, patience and pride of the Awakened One and symbolizing the great Enlightened King’s meritorious virtue, listen to my prayer. Guide this soul on the road to redemption and make them repent!”

A large net of green energy fell on top of the metal doll and disappeared from sight. “Let me out!” screamed Adriana from within the metal doll. She thrashed about and tried to escape, but every time she did, the net would reappear to prevent it.

“She now possesses the metal body, but at least she can’t escape anymore,” said Kanon.

“And in case she gets any ideas…,” added Kotatsu. He threw a talisman on the metal doll and casted, “Fire Dragon’s Judgement! Now, if she tries to use that body to escape or for nefarious purposes, she will catch on fire until she corrects herself.”

“Um, isn’t that a little too much?” asked Chiharu.

“The body is made of metal and wood created using magic, so it won’t burn down anytime soon and she won’t die. But she will feel pain.”

“Anyway, that was a very neat skill you did back there, Sir Atago!” Kanon told Chiharu.

“Neat trick?” He wasn’t sure what Kanon meant at all.

“You know, when you forced the soul into the body! I didn’t know you could do that!”

“That…wasn’t me. I don’t have an ability like that,” he told her honestly.

“You’re lying!” said Kanon in surprise.

“Ha…ru,” came Sara. Chiharu shivered at her voice. “Explain to me what just happened back there!” she demanded.

“Um, well, that was, er, you know…it’s, um, a very, very, very long story,” he told her while backing away with each excuse.

Sara raised a hand and Chiharu found himself caught in an explosion just by himself.

Meanwhile, from above the roof of the building right across from the warehouse, Euclid Tsukishiro watched the playful exchange between youths with a smile on his face. “Tsukishiro-senpai!” called Yoshi, approaching him from behind.

“Ah, Tsuyoshi-chan, good work,” congratulated Euclid.

“You were right! So? Do you want to question them yourself or turn them over to the authorities?” asked Yoshi.

“Good question. Call Yuki-kun and have him bring the authorities with him,” he told her.

“Roger!”

"How’s your ramen?” asked Kanon.

“It’s pretty decent,” answered Kotatsu with a nod.

“Right? The foods here aren’t bad after all,” said Kanon.

“I see…. When are you returning home, Mistress Kaga?!” demanded Kotatsu, rising up from his seat.

The restaurant patrons glanced over at the commotion. Chiharu could feel their eyes on him and ducked down to hide his embarrassment. After defeating Adriana, Chiharu convinced Kanon and Kotatsu to let the authorities handle it, despite their initial protests and misgivings. Per his reasoning, if they were caught up with the authorities and forced to explain their part in it, giving the explanation that they were from a world where magic exists would just needlessly complicate things. That’s why Chiharu, Kanon, and Kotatsu are now taking a respite in a ramen restaurant.

“If I could return home, I would’ve done it long ago!” Kanon told Kotatsu.

“Would you?” asked Kotatsu in an accusing tone.

“Actually, this world isn’t that bad,” answered Kanon honestly with a laugh. “And besides, after being chased by people wanting to kill me, I don’t think I want to return home any time soon.”

“That’s unacceptable, Mistress Kaga!” objected Kotatsu.

“I deserve a break, don’t I? Think of it like a rest period to regain my strength,” posed Kanon with a nonchalant pout.

“You are disregarding your duties as the heir to the Kaga Clan!” rebuked Kotatsu.

“Is there a way for you to go back?” asked Chiharu.

“Tha—um…well…uh….” Kotatsu fell silent and sunk into his seat like a soggy napkin.

“Ah, Kotatsu, you’re stuck here, too,” pointed out Kanon.

“So, there is no way to go back, I take it,” concluded Chiharu.

“I-I-I’m sure there is!” countered Kotatsu. “I know! We just need to find those portals!"

"I've never seen them before in this world," countered Chiharu. 

"Impossible! That's.... Argh! I will find a way to get home!” Kotatsu declared.

“Well, if you need any help, Neo Tokyo is home to some of the world’s brightest minds and most advanced institutions. With the power of science, I’m sure you can find what you’re looking for,” offered Chiharu.

“Science?” questioned Kotatsu.

“As for a place to live—,” continued Chiharu.

“Of course, I must live right by my mistress’ side!” announced Kotatsu.

“Eh?! But she’s currently living as my roommate….”

“One more roommate shouldn’t be a problem, right? I promise to contribute what I can to not be a bother to you,” said Kotatsu with a sincere bow.

“But…I don’t know if I can fit three people…,” muttered Chiharu to himself. “Actually, wait, I have an idea!” Chiharu took out his phone and called up Masaki. After a quick exchange of words, he told Kotatsu about Masaki’s agreement for the latter to be his roommate. “His room is the one directly below mine,” added Chiharu.

“One room below?…” Kotatsu thought about it for a moment before relenting with, “That shall be fine.”

Chiharu was relieved that Masaki accepted without many questions. But he was even more grateful that his dormitory, unlike those of the high school and middle school dorms, allowed for non-students and students to room together. As long they register with the dorm, anyone can stay. That was how he was able to allow Kanon to stay with him without any trouble all this time.

“Now, we just need to get some clothes for Kotatsu,” said Kanon.

“What do you mean?” asked Kotatsu.

“Wearing what you have will only draw unwanted attention,” explained Kanon.

“But hanfu is the pinnacle of Chinese cultural fashion!” protested Kotatsu vehemently.

“Yup, I understand where you’re coming from. I said something like that, too, but now I’m forced to wear this,” said Kanon, referring to her current clothes.

“I…I want to go home!!!”