“About the case of the ‘Kamikakushi’, I’ve more or less gotten a grasp on the situation. If I meet someone that looks like a suspect, I will use appropriate measures to catch the person. So you guys can continue with the securing of the region for the Convention preparation phrase for now.”
“……Hmph. Then, remember to use my name when you do the reporting and handing over of the suspect. The military police squads should understand then.”
Izayoi raised a hand as he left to signal his understanding. Somehow feeling that taking the stairs would be too troublesome, Izayoi stretched his leg to step on the window frame.
Just then, something on the roof of the next workroom building caught his attention.
No matter how you look at it, the colorful fumes that were puffing out of that workroom’s chimney seemed to be a suspicious ritual being held. The yellowish green fumes were spreading across the clear skies that had nary a cloud for miles around.
But that wasn’t the point.
The one that Izayoi stared at intently wasーa stranger dressed up in a hooded robe that had the character of “混”sewn on it,
“……Oi, Mandra."
“Why? Could it be that now you want our help after saying all that?”
“Well, yeah, sorry about earlier but that seems to be the caseーPlease surround the area below. The ‘Kamikakushi’ has appeared.”
Saying that, Izayoi leapt out of the window like a bullet shot from its barrel.
Traveling at a speed that left his afterimages behind, Izayoi instantaneously closed the distance between himself and that robed guy with the “混”character. However, just like he were waiting for Izayoi to come close, the “混” character flew into the air at the last moment.
The mysterious figure twisted its body and dodged the sudden attack from Izayoi.
Seeing how his opponent had executed such a fine dodge that seemed like a swallow’s flight in the skies[6], it caused Izayoi to immediately heighten his awareness.
(This guy…… he’s not an ordinary ‘Kamikakushi’?)
Izayoi took on a battle stance on the brick roof.
At the same time, Mandra leaned out from the window frame to shout at him: “Oi, where’s he? Where’s the main suspect for the ‘Kamikakushi’?”
“Hah? What are you saying? The fellow with that“混”character on his robes is standing right in front of meー“
Saying up till that point, he closed his mouth. For he must have noticed the weird look on Mandra’s face as Mandra kept scanning the grounds in search for the person and had not noticed the guy with the “混”character standing before Izayoi.
Seeing that sort of unnatural behavior, Izayoi clicked in tongue in annoyance.
“Could it be that ……he can’t see this guy?”
“Oh, you have quite a good intuition huh? You must be the new guy that everyone’s talking about on the streets?”
The figure of the ‘Kamikakushi’ suddenly spoke up and gave a laugh from under that burlap hood. It would seem that this fellow was a type of Obake(化生)[7] that possessed intellect.
Izayoi was a little anxious as he turned back to look at his opponent and he caught on soon enough.
Although he did not know what kind of Gift it was, but this criminal with the “混”character seemed to be capable of hiding his presence from others. And if there wasn’t a way to counter that, it would be very difficult for others to find the criminal.
Izayoi gave a fearless laugh as he used his forefinger to provoke his opponent with a taunt.
“Well, I know not of what street or alley you are talking about, but if you really care about those kind of rumors, you are more than welcomed to test it for yourself.ー Bring it on, you ‘Kamikakushi’. And watch how I tear apart your lousy and despicable tricks.”
“Heheh, your words are quite big! I must say that I do admire that cockiness, but newbie, I'd be taking you up on the offer then!”
Retrieving a type of scroll from the burlap robe with the“混”character, the person released its string seal to display the characters of “虚度光阴”.
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Is that the truth behind the ‘Kamikakushi’? With just the unrolling of the scroll, the colorful [Kouen City] was gradually turned into a shade of black, white and grey and the colors of the surroundings were just stolen with that move.
The sudden change caused Izayoi to be placed in his highest alert.
(This is……Wiping out the colors from the City?!)
If one were to forcefully give a description of that scene, it would be similar to the spray of ink into the air.
However, the strange sight did not seem to end there. What was taken away from [Kouen City] was more than the loss of the brilliance and colors for even the movements of the residents had also been frozen.
“Heaheheheh! What’s the matter now, newbie?! Don’t just stand there in a daze! I had been a little cautious about you after hearing that you managed to impress that Saurian Demon King but it seems like you are just another small fry! No, actually it’s really lucky for me to find such a nice duck!!”[8]
The “混”character guy held his sides as he laughed loudly. Judging from his words and actions, it would seem that his technique was supposed to freeze Izayoi’s movements. And Izayoi had only played along by holding still to try figure out the technique activation.
(I see. This black and white world is the result of “虚度光阴”……?)
“虚度光阴”is a Chinese idiom that has the meaning of ‘spending time by idling and achieving nothing in the end’. In terms of the meaning, it was much lazier than the Japanese proverb of ‘Time flies like an arrow’.[9] And in Chinese, the “混”character also has a similar meaning.
The “混”character in Japanese is usually used to in conjunction with another character 混合 and it means to mix and combine. But in Chinese, such a phrase can also be used to mean ‘not doing anything and passing days just as it is’.”
Collating all these information, Izayoi deciphered the phenomenon of the black and white landscape before him.
(Considering that he stripped away the colorsーthe phenomenon of taking away part of the light spectrum, we can safely assume that he used some sort of technique to cause time to stop. But from how this scene is playing out, the metaphorical appearance should also be taken into consideration as well.)
Standing quietly while using the time to consider the situation from all perspectives. What’s fortunate was that the enemy was still laughing heartily.
(The proverb of ‘Time flies like an arrow’ is used to express the feeling of time flowing pass them. If ‘stripping away the colors’ were to be the appearance of ‘passing days without doing anything’ー then “虚度光阴” will be the Gift that stops the feeling of time in his enemies? Ha, sounds like a suitable Gift for a ‘Kamikakushi’.)
And since this Gift was that strong, it should come with some additional conditions for it to be usable. If only the condition were to be fulfilled by the kidnapping of children, it would explain the serial ‘Kamikakushi’ incidents.
But, such a strong Gift being used only on small children? That was a conclusion that made Izayoi seethed in anger.
He coldly swept back his hair.
“ーHa. As a ‘Kamikakushi’, I guess you can be said to have quite a good technique……But if I were to describe it, it would surely be the worst type of skill.”
“……Heah….Hah?”
The despicable laugh suddenly stopped in mid-laugh.
The fellow with the “混”character had finally realized that his technique had not worked on Izayoi and his laughter immediately became an exclamation in surprise as he backed away three steps while roaring:
“Wait, give me a moment! Why are you still able to move?! You are able to see me right?! If that’s the case, why didn’t my technique work?!”
“Oh?” Izayoi responded to that unexpected revelation.
Following that, a ferocious smile floated to Izayoi’s face as his eyes started to glint dangerously.
“You have just said some interesting words too.”
“……Uu……!!!”
“Seems to me that the Gift is related to ‘seeing you’ and it then leads to ‘whether your technique becomes effective’…… Hmph. I’ve already guessed your real identity, you third rate Demon Lord!”
“What…… You, you?!”
“Well then, what’s left would be to assess your spiritual power. From the powers of a ‘Kamikakushi’, to be an ape god would be quite good. But oh well, what a waste, calling you that would really be rude to the Gods for no matter how you look at it, you are at most an ape spirit only. If there’s something wrong with my conjectures, I’m all ears, you know? [Demon King of Confusion]-sama.”
In contrast with his arrogant words, Izayoi’s tone had been one filled with his sense of boredom. However, for the figure in long robesーthe one who was called [Demon King of Confusion], that sort of information was equivalent to a fatal blow to him.
“You… You smelly brat……!! Your brains sure work very fast eh?!”