Outside the window, the gray sky was suddenly filled with countless black bats—at least a hundred thousand of them!
These bats flapped their wings through the night sky, splitting into several huge swarms like clusters of dark clouds, almost blotting out the faint stars. The scene was absolutely breathtaking.
What really shocked Shawn Young and Jade Swann was that each swarm of bats was led by a medium-sized bird, pure white with a brownish-red band on its wings, pale gray streaks on its tail and back feathers, and a long, downward-curved beak. Its legs and beak were jet black—the mystical Ivorywing Guide.
"Huh? What kind of bird is that?" Shawn Young couldn't help but mutter in surprise.
Jade Swann squinted at it for a while, then suddenly said, "That's an Ivorywing Guide—a rare species found in Taiwan and Japan. You hardly ever see them, and now they're flying with bats... This is seriously bizarre!"
Shawn Young did a quick count—there were about nine major swarms, all heading in the same direction. He looked closer and realized they were flying northwest, straight toward Tokyo.
"Uh... Are they heading to Tokyo? What are they up to?" Shawn Young wondered aloud, still puzzled.
Jade Swann shook her head. "It's weird. Birds and bats are super sensitive to disasters. Normally, they'd be fleeing, right? Tokyo just had an earthquake and tsunami—it's the last place they'd go to roost. But they're heading straight there. It totally defies common sense..."
Shawn Young found it extremely odd too. This went against all natural laws—a truly bizarre event. According to the Codex of Ascension, every living thing, plant or animal, has spiritual awareness, just like humans, though at different levels. Humans have the highest, which is why we're the leaders of all life. But every creature, even the lowest, has a soul and some degree of thought and intelligence. When spiritual awareness is disturbed, or the soul is out of control, even humans can act in ways that defy logic...
"Hmm... Out of control souls? Could it be... their souls are being controlled by some force?" The thought startled Shawn Young, so he quickly activated his Heavenly Eye Technique to scan the area.
Sure enough, he spotted something unusual: the Ivorywing Guides leading each swarm of bats were emitting a faint, eerie black glow. In the darkness, only Shawn Young’s Heavenly Eye Technique could pick up this bizarre phenomenon.
Shawn Young focused his energy and scrutinized the Ivorywing Guides, finally noticing a red, star-shaped Spell Talisman stuck to the back of each bird’s neck. The talisman radiated a strange power, keeping the birds’ spiritual awareness under control.
What shocked Shawn Young most was that each of the nine Ivorywing Guides kept a barely-there formation, almost like petals—glancing up, it looked like nine blooming flowers in the sky, radiating an overwhelming aura of devotion.
"Hmm... They seem to be forming some kind of ritual array," Jade Swann observed, picking up on the unusual pattern.
"Nine flowers blooming... This isn't a proper Taoist formation—looks more like a soul-stealing, demonic array! But controlling living creatures for soul-capturing rituals is ancient magic, long thought lost. How is it showing up in Japan? Could it be..." Shawn Young muttered, suddenly struck by a realization.
"I get it now! It’s a chrysanthemum shape—this is the Nine Chrysanthemums Society’s magic!" Shawn Young exclaimed.
"The Nine Chrysanthemums Society! You mean this flying array is their spirit-controlling magic? In Japan, only they have such advanced techniques," Jade Swann gasped.
"Exactly. But to control such a massive flock with this kind of spirit array, you’d need tremendous spiritual power. If anything goes wrong, the formation would collapse. Does this mean Daniel Feathercloud, the Society’s grandmaster, has reached that level?" Shawn Young said in amazement.
"So, why do you think the Nine Chrysanthemums Society suddenly unleashed this array? What’s their real motive?" Jade Swann asked Shawn Young.
Shawn Young thought for a moment and said, "Controlling such a massive flock with spirit magic, heading straight for Tokyo... There’s definitely something shady going on!"
"Based on your analysis, why would so many birds suddenly enter Tokyo under these circumstances?" Jade Swann pressed.
"I haven't figured it out yet, but I can check right now. The Nine Chrysanthemums Society wouldn’t pull off something this big without a serious reason..." Shawn Young replied.
"Oh? How are you going to check?" Jade Swann asked quickly.
"Easy. I'll catch a bat and study it." Shawn Young said, forming a sword gesture with his right hand, channeling energy, and pointing at a cluster of bats in the air. He shouted, "Capture!"
A beam of white light shot out and pierced straight into the bat swarm.
"Whoosh... smack!" Instantly, a black bat tumbled out of the air, flapped through the window, and crashed onto the floor.
Before Shawn Young could pick it up, the bat started thrashing wildly on the floor, screeching, "Screee—!" Its tiny eyes suddenly snapped open, glowing with a terrifying dark red light, looking downright freaky.
"Uh... Looks like this thing’s been hit with some kind of evil energy," Jade Swann said, frowning.
Just then, the bat let out a piercing scream, like a person in desperate agony. It kicked its legs, its eyes went dark, and it collapsed on the floor, releasing a horrid stench of rot! After a few spasms, it died right there...
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"Ah! That scream sounded like a human in agony... How could a bat make that sound? And this smell—it's the stench of a rotting corpse!" Jade Swann quickly pinched her nose.
Shawn Young frowned, nudged the bat’s corpse with his shoe, and inspected it closely. There were no visible wounds, but the foul stench was coming straight from its mouth.
"Oh! I get it—this is a Soul-Guiding Spirit!" Shawn Young suddenly exclaimed.
"Soul-Guiding Spirit? What does that mean?" Jade Swann asked, puzzled.
"Birds are light and agile—perfect vessels for spirits. Among flying creatures, cranes are the most spiritual, with the loudest cries. Ancient Taoists used cranes to summon souls during rituals. Bats aren’t birds, but they share bird-like traits and live in cold, dark places, making them ideal for gathering souls. The Nine Chrysanthemums Society uses Ivorywing Guides for a similar purpose—to lead and control the bat swarms, channeling their unique traits to summon wandering spirits!" Shawn Young explained.
"Oh! If they’re using so many bats to summon spirits, the Nine Chrysanthemums Society must be up to something huge!" Jade Swann guessed.
"Of all souls, newly deceased humans have the strongest spiritual energy. Those bats are heading for Tokyo, where the earthquake and tsunami killed countless people—most of them died tragically, full of resentment. If the Society gathers all those souls and their anger, they’ll need a seriously powerful artifact to contain it..." Shawn Young marveled, gazing at the sky.
"So you’re saying the Nine Chrysanthemums Society is using this flying array to collect the souls of Tokyo’s dead—for some secret purpose?" Jade Swann finally understood.
"Exactly. And with so many fresh souls, the resentment would be terrifying. If the Society harnesses all that with their magic, I can’t even imagine what they’ll create..." Shawn Young said, brow furrowed.
Jade Swann watched the bat swarms flapping into the distance and said, "The array isn’t complete yet. We need to hurry to Moonlight Valley in Wakayama—that’s the Society’s headquarters. If we go there, we’ll find out what they’re really up to!"
Shawn Young nodded. "Exactly. We need to get there fast. I’ve got a feeling this flying array is just one part of the Society’s plan. If they finish everything, it won’t end well for us..."
"Then we should get out of here right now!" Jade Swann agreed.
The two of them left the room and headed outside. Since the power was out and the elevator wasn’t working, they had to walk down the stairs. It took about ten minutes before they finally reached the streets of Nagano City.
As soon as they stepped outside, they were stunned by what they saw. The green belts along the street were packed with citizens sitting or lying down. Many held candles or huddled together, but there wasn’t any noise—just a heavy, stifling silence.
Members of the Yamaguchi Syndicate in suits were still helping the police keep order and direct traffic. The streets, which had been jammed, were now flowing better, though cars crawled along because the quake had cracked the roads in places.
"Uh... We need to get a car if we want to reach Wakayama quickly," Shawn Young said.
"Getting a car? Easy... Follow me." Jade Swann grinned, grabbed Shawn Young, and led him through a few winding alleys into a deserted street.
The place was deserted, but there were several cars parked. Jade Swann walked up to a Honda van, pulled a dagger from her waist, and fiddled with the lock for a moment. "Click!" The door popped open.
Jade Swann and Shawn Young hopped in, yanked out some wires, and after a few sparks, started the engine.
"Heh... Who knew we’d turn into car thieves in Japan!" Jade Swann giggled, stepped on the gas, and the van sped off, merging into the main street. They slowly left Nagano City behind, then raced toward Wakayama...
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