*KNOCK-KNOCK*

The front door was knocked a few times. Renko’s attention was drawn to the sound. She was sketching a minor character from a light novel her aunt was working on, but she had only completed the rough outlines. Renko sat in her office chair, in front of her PC, with a tablet under her hand.

She took off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. She tapped her tablet with her electronic pen, saved her work, stood up, and walked to the door.

“Who is it?”

Renko asked, while trying to look through the peephole.

“It’s me, Ichiro, Renko-chan. I’ve got the tasty food!”

Ichiro’s muffled voice echoed through the hallway. Renko inspected Ichiro. He looked normal, with only his aura missing. And that was a red flag for her.

“Are you real Ichiro-kun? I’m not convinced you’re Ichiro-kun. Perhaps... you’re an impostor?”

Ichiro smiled and chuckled.

“What’s funny? I’m very curious if you’re the impostor who is among us. I wonder if I should go to the (Association) police or something.”

Ichiro burst out laughing after hearing that. Renko, at first, didn’t understand why, but after a brief thought, she giggled.

“I’m sorry if I startled you earlier today. I’ll be more careful from now on. But, I am a real Ichiro. Are you sure it’s okay to come in?”

“Yes, it’s fine. You can enter, Ichiro-san.”

She opened the door, and saw wooden cups on Ichiro’s hands, which were sealed tight with wooden lids. There were no markings. They exuded a small spiritual energy. Renko’s eyes widened. Energy-infused food? She’d heard legends about such food from her grandfather, but she had never seen it with her own eyes! Where he got them?

Ichiro opened his mouth while she was thinking.

“Consider this: if I were an impostor, wouldn’t I have killed or assimilated you after you fainted? But that didn’t happen. So, I think there is no need to worry.”

Renko thought for a moment and realized that he was right. Or is it? What if... no, that’s not possible? She shook her head and sighed, but couldn’t shake her curiosity.

“What in those cups? From where did you get them? Is it really safe for me to eat them?”

“Well, it’s nothing special. Just some noodles that I bought at a restaurant nearby. Master (of noodles) gave me permission to give one to you. He told some bullshit about me having some sort of breakthrough, but I feel the same as before. That old man probably read too many Chinese novels. He’s crazy. Anyway, let’s eat! I’m hungry right now!“

“Okay...”

Renko had too many questions inside of her head. Renko had heard some of Ichiro’s ‘bizarre adventures,’ so she wasn’t surprised that he could have done that. He usually dismissed most of the things that happened to him as delusions. She also did not know what was going on, but trusted Ichiro. He seemed genuine. His disappeared aura is probably because of some other reason than he was an impostor.

***

The udon tasted heavenly to both of them. It was spicy, with the perfect balance between sourness, saltiness, sweetness, bitterness, umami and acidity. It was a feast for their taste buds. Every part of the udon was cooked perfectly, so that every ingredient was mixed into perfection.

Renko could feel her soul core spinning, absorbing the spiritual energy it emitted. It was like an elixir. A healing elixir. She felt energized and refreshed, like after waking up after sleeping well. Her mind became sharp like a razor blade. She felt she could not sleep for days straight with that spiritual energy.

But it was less than it was for Ichiro, she could see. If hers was the size of a bucket, his was the size of a small lake. And he didn’t even say anything about it; instead, he sat there smiling at her with his usual calm demeanor. Renko watched him as he ate his portion slowly. He took his time eating the noodles; he made sure that each bite had been chewed thoroughly before swallowing.

They talked about usual, the news in the entertainment industry, manga, and anime, and other things. After they finished their meal, they washed their bowls with a small amount of water and then left the dishes on the table. They both stretched and yawned while doing so. The two went to their respective rooms to prepare for bed. Ichiro said good night and went to his apartment, leaving Renko alone.

She went back to her drawing room, sat on the chair, and thought.

“Who is really Ichiro?”

That question was lingering in her thoughts while she returned to her work. Artwork will not draw itself out, and the deadline is coming closer.

***

Ichiro walked into his apartment. After turning on the lights, he took off his shoes, locked the apartment, and went to his bedroom. He changed into his pajamas, grabbed his phone, and put it in charge next to his bedside lamp. He looked up the new trailer for the upcoming animated film ‘Gojiira VS. Extrememan’ on NueTube, which would be released in about three months. They were both unbeatable in their respective universes, but what would happen if they collided on the third? That was the plot of this movie.

If Renko hadn’t mentioned it while they were talking, Ichiro would have forgotten about it.

The trailer featured some fantastic animation and action scenes. It was almost enough to make him forget about how tired he was. Ichiro turned off the light and fell asleep within seconds.

***

[Somewhere in the middle of Osaka Bay proper, halfway to the Kitan Strait]

Two pillars floated on the water, and rocks were stuck on the bottom of each pillar. They were in complete darkness, created from strange material, covered in strange runes. Six lines emerged from them, each filled with various corpses ranging from small birds to disfigured human bodies. They had all been impaled with something. A black-robed figure stood in the center, near the pillars. He was holding a bloodied tanto in his right hand. No, his entire right hand was drenched in blood. The villainous laughter echoed throughout the area. It was a long, frenzied laugh. The man was a mass murderer.

“I FINALLY DID IT! SOON THE WORLD WILL BE MINE!”

Scratch that, he was a mass murderer AND an insane psychopath. He was not sane at all and was pure evil. He did not differ from a demon.

“All I need to do is cast a chant...”

The frenzied man began muttering incomprehensible syllables that couldn’t possibly be together. They created the words, which then became the chant. Chant evolved into something else that the man who chanted it couldn’t comprehend. When he first heard it some time ago, he thought it was just gibberish, but the chanting continued until he had no choice but to obey the voice. The voice called him, told him of his true power and purpose, his destiny. It told to him to bring a sacrifice to the pillars. Why? He didn’t know. All he knew was that he must obey the voice. He needed to complete the ritual, or his master wouldn’t be pleased with him anymore. He wouldn’t receive the reward that awaited him.

This man chanted for a few minutes before it had any effect. The pillars rumbled, sucking the dead matter and blood from within. The runes were moving, and they glowed purple. They spun faster and faster with each passing second. They eventually came to a stop. The man had also stopped chanting. He stood there, his gaze fixed on the space between the pillars. Nothing happened for a while, and the man wanted to scream that the plan had failed, but he held his tongue.

Pitch-black dimensional rift appeared. It happened instantly, and it was a rift over 40 meters long and 10 meters wide.

It drew the attention of something big. The eye of the being was bigger than a man, and it glowed purple. It looked to the left and right until his gaze was drawn to the robed man. While watching the rift, the man laughed with until his voice became hoarse. He removed his small tear that formed from all of his laughing with his bloodied hand and spoke.

“I DID IT! I’VE BROUGHT YOU HERE! I AM YOUR MASTER! DO YOU SEE THIS CITY FROM AWAY MY MINION? RAZE IT! THIS WILL BE MY FIRST PLACE TO TAKE OVER! THE ENTIRE WORLD WILL TREMBLE UNDER ME. HAHAHAHA”

He shouted out his maniacal voice with an insane grin on his face. He then laughed even harder, thinking about ruling the world, about riches he would have, about his former boss, who had fired him months ago for poor performance, how he will force him to kneel. All he wanted was revenge. Revenge against the world for what it did to him.

But...

*SMASH*

He had died.

.

.

.

Poor soul. Rest in hell, you pathetic piece of shit.

The dimensional rift was all that remained after the rock formation, and the pillars crumbled after the kaiju stepped on it. The man was crushed under the giant foot of the monster.

It emerged from the rift. It was 50 meters long and resembled Gojiira, but with added tentacles. His carapace glowed dimly with purple light, even when submerged halfway in the water. After that, the dimensional rift closed, unable to withstand the crossing of a massive nightmare monster.

*ROAR*

The kaiju screamed as the sound of its roar echoed through the bay. It was hungry. He wanted to devour everything in sight.

Fortunately, it was completely placed in the spiritual realm, like a ghost, so ordinary people couldn’t hear it. The waves created by its scream were real though, and they had spread out in every direction.

It cast a glance toward Osaka. The brightest city in the vicinity. And walked slowly to it. It disregarded the order of the man to destroy the place, as if it didn’t care about the man at all. It was its own master. ¹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RlSgnpLbro

***

[Near the coast of Osaka, fishing ship ‘Yamato’]

Two men sat fishing there. They both possessed the ability to see in the dark and were the Association’s scouting unit for the area. Both had the same job, to report anything suspicious in their line of sight to headquarters. Typically, reporting on migrating ghosts or supernaturals who traveled near them. One was looking through binoculars at the bay, while the other was watching videos on NueTube and occasionally looking at the fishing rods. They were both high on drugs, which made them feel relaxed and trippy. Not that hurt their jobs, though.

“Do you see this, dude?”

The first man handed over binoculars to the second. He grabbed them and looked in the direction shown by the first man. He saw an enormous shadow on the sea, which was growing larger by the moment.

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah, I saw that too, dude.”

“Some sort of glowing giant reptile with tentacles on its back?”

“That’s what I think it is.”

“Should we notify them, dude?”

“Sure, dude. I’m sure they’ll do something about it.”

When the first man reported to them through the phone, the Association descended into complete chaos.

Both of them caught some fish while looking at the fireworks that followed the appearance of the kaiju.

***

‘The Association of Supernatural Entities That Protects Humanity’, or simply ‘The Association’, Japan’s Branch in Tokyo, was in total disarray. The sighting of a genuine ghost of kaiju shocked them.

It wasn’t just one report; there were several, all near the Osaka Bay waters. It was creeping toward Osaka, which was 20 kilometers away.

A muscular man stood on the top floor of their office, his face hidden behind a pure white mask, his body covered with a black suit. He was their leader. He had been named the Director, but his actual title was unknown. Director looked at the city below him that bustled with activity. Even at midnight, Tokyo was bright.

“So you’ve confirmed it, huh?”

“Yes, sir. What shall we do, Director?”

His secretary inquired about the situation in front of him. She wore her hair in a bun and had her glasses slightly askew. Her eyes were blue and sharp, and she always had a serious look about her. Director in the white mask looked at her, and spoke.

“Nothing. We’ll pray. To the Great One. Do not worry about it anymore.”

Director smiled behind his mask, and the woman looked up at him in surprise. He returned his eyes back to the city below.

***

Hidetaka Umezaki, the spiritual defense master, was on the phone in his office near the warehouse. He had a sorrowful expression on his old face.

“... yes. Activate them. ... No! This is the chance to test them. ... Why I would do that? Yeah, in all vicinity of the city. ... I don’t care that it’s would be expensive! Just do it! They would pay somehow!”

Hidetaka cut the call short. He sighed and turned to face the direction of an ocean. He didn’t expect his experimental defenses from a few months ago to be used. They consumed a lot of energy, but they provided the best wall, albeit at a limited height. That was enough to defend ordinary people.

“Just to keep me from worrying. They can use those. The Association is a bunch of idiots that would pay for anything.”

He rubbed his hands together and spoke to himself.

“Let us see how well they work...”

***

When the kaiju traveled another 3 kilometers to Osaka, the Spiritual Branch of JSDF was called in. They used advanced stealth bombers enhanced with the most recent spiritual technology to launch S (spiritual)-bombs towards the kaiju. It was the most effective way they could deploy to fight a creature that existed outside of physical laws, and it worked. The bombs were hurting it, and the kaiju felt. This relentless bomb throwing slowed it down. It was enraged because it lacked the ability to destroy them because they were so far away, but it could still react. It roared and charged forward.

It moved slowly, but it moved. Until...

The angel had arrived.