Chapter 70
Interlude: The Bat God, Part One (Investigators: Katagishi Daigo, Umura Mamoru)
"But the craziest thing lately was that occult magazine. It said so high-ranking governnt officials were possessed by divine ssengers. Totally insane, right? And when I checked what it actually said, it was like, 'We'll sell you glasses to identify them for a hundred thousand yen.' Total scam. I freaked out for nothing. In the end, people are the scariest, don't you think? Don't you agree, Katagishi?"
The endless stream of words from Umura, sitting in the passenger seat, finally ca to a stop, and Katagishi nodded vaguely.
"Yeah..."
"You seem down."
"No, I just try to stay focused while driving... Especially since I've got you with , Umura-san..."
"You don't have to be so uptight. We're partners today. Let's just relax."
"I can't really do that..."
Katagishi wiped the sweat from his hands off the steering wheel with his shirt sleeve and sighed. There were faint droplets on the windshield.
How did it co to this? It all started with the recent investigation into the Unseen God that he conducted with Miyaki.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, the higher-ups had finally decided to launch a large-scale search for the missing persons.
For soone like Misaki, it was a welco developnt, but it was unexpected that the higher-ups would personally join the investigators for on-site fieldwork.
As a result, as a sort of rehearsal, Katagishi ended up accompanying Umura Mamoru, a founding mber of the special investigation division, to check a record of a certain Territorial Divine Offense.
"They really co up with troubleso ideas..."
Katagishi muttered so that the man beside him wouldn't hear. Umura wasn't the arrogant and pompous superior he had imagined. On the contrary, he looked surprisingly youthful for soone in his mid-forties, talkative, and cheerful. Still, being talked to nonstop during the ride by a superior with such a different background and rank was exhausting.
It made him feel nostalgic for the awkward silence he once shared with Rokuhara during an investigation.
Before Umura could open his mouth again, Katagishi spoke.
"So, what's this village's Territorial Divine Offense?"
"Didn't I tell you? It's the Bat God."
"I only heard a little. What kind of god is it, exactly?"
"Ah, it's one that escaped from our place about twenty years ago."
Katagishi's eyes widened.
"Escaped!? What do you an? Wait, we had a Territorial Divine Offense?"
"Ah, I didn't ntion that either? That's bad. Kirima's gonna be pissed later..."
Umura scratched his forehead and spoke haltingly.
"Back in the day, there happened to be a Territorial Divine Offense near what would beco the counterasure headquarters, so we did a little investigating."
"Happened to be? A Territorial Divine Offense in Tokyo?"
"Don't dig too deep. In the end, things went south in all kinds of ways. We don't do that anymore. Kirima decided the special investigation division's policy is 'record only.'"
"So the current policy is based on regrets from the predecessor, huh."
"You said it. Yeah, sothing like that. A lot happened, really."
Katagishi sighed again. He sensed a sudden shadow in Umura's tone and couldn't bring himself to pry further.
"Then just tell what kind of god it is. Does 'bat' an the animal?"
"No, not that. Kids these days probably don't get it, but 'bat' used to an umbrella. It's actually a huge umbrella, just the fra. Probably close to three ters."
"Then why not just call it an umbrella? Why go out of your way?"
"Apparently, that's just what it's been called around here for ages."
"Umura-san, you said it was a god in Tokyo, right?"
"Pretend you didn't hear that. That's an order from your superior."
Umura shrugged.
The droplets on the windshield increased, and when Katagishi wiped them with the wipers, clear trails ran across the glass.
"This is going to be rough..."
Katagishi muttered and tilted the rearview mirror. Umura said,
"If it's an umbrella god, maybe it'll co in handy. Looks like it's going to rain more."
but Katagishi pretended not to hear his laugh.
The road widened, and the houses lining both sides grew sparse.
The pale green of the roadside grass and the dark brown of the wooden houses all looked a shade duller under the shadow of the rain clouds.
When the clouds at the edge of the sky turned pitch black, Umura in the passenger seat raised his voice.
"Ah, isn't that it?"
"What is?"
Katagishi slowed down and glared in the direction Umura pointed. There was an old, weathered stone monunt.
When they stopped the car, it was as dark as night. Though the rain wasn't heavy, the air was chilly. The sound of the wind echoed loudly.
Katagishi got out of the car first and headed toward the stone monunt jutting out from the grass.
The rough surface of the stone was carved with "Bat Pass." On the back, there was a small inscription. It seed to be a prayer for descendants' prosperity and children's longevity, but most of it was worn away and unreadable.
When he turned around, Umura was still in the car.
Katagishi clicked his tongue and shouted loudly.
"Co on already. This might be a clue about the god here."
Umura leaned out of the car window. Even from a distance, Katagishi could see he was breaking into a cold sweat for so reason.
"We might not need any clues..."
"What are you talking about?"
"The real thing's already here."
The pale-faced Umura pointed upward.
Katagishi followed his gaze and gasped.
What looked like a rain cloud was floating above them.
A massive umbrella, about three ters in size, had a skeletal white fra like bones and a thin layer of black fabric stretched across it.
It was a giant umbrella.
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