Chapter 40: Rumors and Urban Legends (1)

Urban legends were circulating.

Very small, insignificant urban legends.

City tales that would become a topic of conversation for a brief moment and then disappear, like a storm in a teacup.

But stories that kept spreading and were known by everyone.

Someone said that if you didn't spread this story, you'd be cursed.

『 It's said that a kudan (a yokai, human-faced bovine) was born from a cow raised by a rich man. 』

『 The kudan, as soon as it was born, gasped and made a prophecy, saying that a great disaster would soon befall Kagoshima Prefecture. 』

Someone said this story was true.

『 I'm a person living in Kyushu, and we also heard rumors that a kudan was born. It didn't say anything else after being born, only that everyone needs to work together to prevent the disaster. I think it might be a counterpart to the kudan born in Kagoshima Prefecture. 』

Someone said this story was just to cover up a scandal in political circles.

『 These days, scandals keep breaking out in political circles. It's common for them to be caught frequenting cabaret clubs every day and playing with hostesses, and there are even stories about them holding orgies at villas. 』

『 There are also rumors circulating about sexual entertainment involving celebrities. I heard they even call AV actresses to hotels and invite announcers to orgies? 』

『 I also heard that famous ability users gather for social meetings and enjoy wild parties? 』

Someone said strange things seem to be happening these days.

『 When I was young, I went to Fushimi Inari Shrine and saw a fox, which gave me spiritual abilities. Since then, I could occasionally see white foxes. White foxes have white fur that's soft and glossy as if it's been shampooed and conditioned. And they sometimes show themselves and then disappear by turning transparent. They're super cute. 』

『 So even during my tough office life, it was part of my routine to stop by the shrine and see the white foxes. White foxes are cute, and seeing cute things gives you energy, right? 』

『 But lately, the white foxes are different from usual. They seem to be moving as if they're being chased, or moving busily as if they're looking for something. I've tried talking to them because I was worried something might be wrong, but they don't answer and ignore me. Did Inari send them on an urgent errand or something? 』

Someone said.

『 What on earth is about to happen in Japan? 』

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Every country had famous prophets.

In France, a prophet known as Michel de Nostredame, or in Latin, Nostradamus, was famous. It was said that Nostradamus made a contract with some transcendent being not recorded in history to learn the secrets of the world, and obtained some sorcerous tool that allowed him to peek into the future.

In Korea, a prophet called Doseon was famous. This prophet was said to have a talent for reading earth energy and was incredibly good at geomancy, and it was said that he reached a level where he could peek into the future by mastering the principles of the earth. It was said that Doseon gained this power through repeated practice and seeking enlightenment, and this power was so great that he could even prophesy the rise and fall of countries and the existence of kings who would found new nations.

Then who was the most famous prophet in Japan?

Prince Shotoku, famous for his supernatural powers?

Hoichi the Earless, who was said to have hidden prophecies in his songs?

Of course, those two were also famous.

But the truly famous one was a nameless high priest.

It was said that a nameless high priest who lived in the Heian period gained supernatural powers through repeated ascetic practices. This high priest, who became able to read the principles of heaven–the secrets of heaven–through dreams with his supernatural powers, wrote down his dreams in detail and made them into a book. Then, fearing that it would be destroyed for misleading the world and deceiving the people, he hid it in a temple so that it could only be discovered after a long time.

In this book made by the high priest, "Dream Future Vision," various dreams were recorded, and the most famous among them was the sun story.

「 I dreamed on a certain month and day. In the dream, all kinds of lamentations and screams were together, and the world was covered in darkness, and even Jizo Bodhisattva was sighing with compassion, so it was truly a terrible sight. Then a bright light like the sun spread from the sky, illuminating the whole world, and the hot streams of fire that came from that light spread in all directions and were very brilliant. 」

「 In this brilliance, all evil things disappeared, the world was purified, and all people came to smile, so even Jizo was satisfied. The light spread and spread, finally becoming white light and erasing everything, so it truly seemed like an auspicious dream. 」

People who saw the phrase "brilliant auspicious dream" made flags based on it, which later became the Rising Sun Flag symbolizing the Empire of Japan. The people of the Empire of Japan hung this flag and invaded numerous countries, enjoying prosperity, so this monk's prophecy came true.

And at the end, when America brought bombers and dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, creating suns on the ground, this too was in line with the monk's prophecy.

This wasn’t all.

「 I dreamed on a certain month and day. Looking at the dream, a golden wind blew from across the sea and enveloped the world, and that light settled on the entire country, making houses grow tall. It looked like bamboo made of stone, and those that grew as if to pierce the sky in a square shape shone brightly, so their appearance truly looked precious. However, when the wind stopped as they grew, gold scattered like dust and sank to the ground, and people's backs bent and they aged instantly, so I don't know if this is an auspicious dream or an ominous one. 」

It also predicted Japan's bubble economy.

「 I dreamed on a certain month and day. White mirages were floating in the entire sky, and their shapes were so terrible and ominous that I could not forget them. Those things, shaped like hungry ghosts screaming as if wailing, traversed the entire world like flocks of birds flying with the wind, like whitish cotton cloth. The cotton cloth descended to the ground with a streak of lightning and was put on all sorts of things, and when it was put on animals, the animals walked on two legs and went around biting people, and when it was put on objects, they became tsukumogami (yokai, inanimate objects that gain a spirit) and turned into monsters that harmed people. 」

「 It was so terrible and evil that looking at their appearance, it was truly strange how they increased in number, moved in groups, and made noise in the night. Counting their number, it reached one hundred, and when the groups scattered and increased in size, there were three huge monsters. 」

It also predicted the Hyakki Yagyō (night parade of a hundred demons) phenomenon that colored all of Japan with fear. Moreover, it predicted the appearance of three great evil spirits that appeared after the first Hyakki Yagyō, so it couldn't be said to be anything but truly miraculous.

But this miraculousness also came as a curse.

It was the prophecy of destruction.

「 I dreamed on a certain month and day. The dream was so bizarre and shook my mind that I vomited as soon as I woke up due to its atrociousness. 」

「 A large altar was made in the country, and all kinds of offerings were placed on it, smoking. The smoke was like a snake, shining in various colors and wriggling as it flew through the sky, and its appearance was somewhat like a dragon. However, its body was made up of terrible and disgusting creatures gathered together in swarms rather than auspiciousness, and it seemed clear that if it descended, it would surely become a great disaster. 」

「 The flames burning on the altar became the shapes of all kinds of tails and spread throughout the country, seeping into the ground. And they appeared like foxes digging burrows and hiding, like the shape of foxes tearing their tails and driving stakes of calamity into the ground. 」

「 The smoke flew through the sky, pulling out its tails and breaking them into embers, sprinkling them on the world. All people slowly burned with embers attached to their bodies, illuminating the world, and their appearance was truly eerie. 」

「 As darkness settled over the world, the embers people carried were like remaining fires that had not yet gone out. And when my body floated up and up that I could see the world from the perspective of the stars, their appearance was like charcoal left after burning, so this is clearly an ominous dream. 」

A dream prophesying that an altar will be made and terrible things will happen.

If someone else had said it, it could have been dismissed as just a silly dream, but because it was a dream of the nameless high priest who had correctly predicted all sorts of prophecies, it was a harbinger of destruction that couldn't be ignored.

To escape this terrible destruction, Japan's ability users prepared numerous countermeasures.

They received help from transcendent beings, help from contractors, help from all kinds of geniuses.

They invested resources that could destabilize the country, and did not miss the eyes of surveillance.

They built fences, passing down through generations and continuing through the ages.

They built it densely and thoroughly so that cruel wolves could not enter the realm, the territory of Japan.

The huge fence created in this way seemed to be perfect.

Perfect.

Complete in itself, with nothing to add or subtract.

Nothing to add.

Nothing to subtract.

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"This couldn't be better!"

Jinseong smiled as he looked at the two men who had come to him.

The two men had hollow eyes and gaunt faces, but unlike their faces that seemed to have had their vitality completely drained, they had firm muscles that didn't match their age.

"Well, it seems you're pleased with the vigor you've gained instead of the drug effects."

The two were showing extreme reverence to Jinseong, and their appearance was like that of those paying respect to an ancient sorcerer.

Happiness was etched on their faces, and satisfaction was etched on Jinseong's face.

That sight was truly perfect in every way.