The Flayed Man (3)

"The Flayed Man," Ruruna declared. "Otherwise known as ANOMALY-EN-5153 under the NACS Database."

"Seriously?" Karen looked at Henry who was staring straight into the dark heart of the meat processing plant. "They're not ready for something like that."

The Flayed Man was a particularly troublesome Cursed Spirit.  

It resembled a shambling dissociated corpse without skin. Sometimes it would wear its own skin or the skin of its victims wrapped loosely around itself, acting as a kind of standard for its personal army of monsters. It had all the hallmarks of a powerful Curse, which included super-enhanced strength and dexterity, an advanced auditory system, and potent psychokinetic ability.

"The very presence of a Flayed Man empowers all Cursed Spirits in the vicinity, increasing their ferocity and deadliness by a significant margin." Ruruna explained. "Even lesser Cursed Spirits like ghouls and shades can become a significant threat, by virtue of the Flayed Man's presence alone."

"It's a Curse that galvanizes other Curses to do its will," Henry added. "Those two could learn something from it, don't you think?"

"You might as well be sending them to their deaths!" Karen scoffed. "The Flayed Man is something more experienced investigators hunt, not greenhorns who can't even see eye to eye. They'll be overrun."

"Look, Karen," he turned. "I know you're upset from what happened with Mari. I am too, but you've seen these two, right? You've read their files? It's going to be a repeat of the Kojima case if we don't force them to cooperate or get used to high-stress situations."

"They'll die," she said starkly.

"I won't let them. Not tonight, at least."

Frankly, he was tired of losing new investigators. Mari had not been a member for long, but she had started to get along nicely with the team before she died. He was partly to blame for it, he would admit. Yet the risks of this particular vocation tended to be unpredictable and volatile. How was he supposed to know the unknowable or predict the unpredictable? All he could do was minimize the risk, and even that wouldn't be enough for every investigation.

"Are you certain of this, Henry?" Ruruna asked solemnly. "It's not too late to dismiss this exam."

"I am," he nodded. "If they can't overcome this together, then they won't survive long in this line of work."

"I pray that you're right," she sighed.

Team 4219 had the worst reputation among all the Bureau teams, and Henry Kirishiki-Williams was determined to change that.