# 651
Chapter 652 Illusory Pupil
"What exploded?"
"I don't know! Seems to be from the east."
"Did some factory catch fire?"
"Maybe…"
"…"
The pedestrians around pointed and gestured toward the blazing fire in the distance, eyes filled with confusion.
BOOM——!!
The second explosion came, and this time it was even more powerful. Even the earth beneath their feet began to tremble faintly.
Yuzuri Nana grabbed Xiao Jin's hand, staring intently in the direction of the explosions. For some reason, she felt uneasy in her heart.
"Oracle Envoy! The Oracle Envoy is here!!"
From the end of the street, several voices rang out. Xiao Jin's expression instantly changed.
Yuzuri Nana turned to look—just on the other side of the street, a Oracle Envoy draped in a red robe was slowly walking through the center of the road. The pedestrians on both sides, upon seeing him, immediately knelt on the ground and bowed in worship.
"Greetings, Oracle Envoy!"
"Greetings, Oracle Envoy!"
"…"
Wherever he passed, not a single person remained standing. Like a group of trembling ants, they prostrated themselves like a tide.
"Xiao Jin-ge, it's the Oracle Envoy…"
"Run!!"
Without a word, Xiao Jin grabbed Yuzuri Nana's wrist and headed for the corner of the street.
Although they were still far from the red-robed Oracle Envoy, among the tide of kneeling pedestrians, these two figures going against the flow were extremely conspicuous. In the left eye of the red-robed Oracle Envoy walking in the center of the road, a red ring of light appeared, rapidly locking onto the two of them.
DING——!
A coin suddenly fell from the air, landing on the ground with a crisp sound.
At the same time, an imperceptible trace of illusionary light flickered across Xiao Jin's eyes.
The next moment, both he and Yuzuri Nana vanished into thin air.
The red-robed Oracle Envoy, having lost his target, furrowed his brow. He pressed hard against the ground with both feet and shot across the street like lightning, directly rushing to the spot where the two had just disappeared.
In his left eye, the red ring of light swept carefully over the surroundings, yet still found nothing—as if the two people he had just seen were merely an illusion.
But the red-robed Oracle Envoy knew clearly that those two people were definitely not an illusion, because his left eye had clearly recorded the scene from moments before.
"This is Unit 4, suspected sighting of 【Illusory Pupil】. They were accompanied by a young girl. Identity currently unknown, suspected daughter of Yuzuri Kurotetsu." He spoke into his earpiece, addressing the other two Oracle Envoys on the channel.
"Received." Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy's voice came through the earpiece. "Yuzuri Kurotetsu has been found by Unit 6. Continue your search. I'll handle finding the whereabouts of 【Illusory Pupil】 and that little girl."
The red ring of light in the red-robed Oracle Envoy's eye gradually faded. He turned his head one final time to glance at the empty surroundings, then turned around and continued walking down the road.
Once his figure had completely disappeared, the pedestrians who had been kneeling around finally stood up trembling. The snacks in their hands were already covered in dust from the ground. They sighed and quickly made their way home.
No one noticed that just moments ago, not far from the corner where the red-robed Oracle Envoy had been standing, a blonde boy was standing against the wall with a little girl, quietly watching them.
"Xiao Jin-ge, why couldn't they see us just now?" Yuzuri Nana waved at the pedestrians, but no one noticed their existence. She asked, puzzled.
Xiao Jin looked toward where the red-robed Oracle Envoy had departed, letting out a slight sigh of relief, but his expression remained grave.
"It's nothing… Let's hurry back."
…
Osaka.
The rooftop of Abeno Harukas.
At the summit of Japan's tallest building, a figure draped in a yellow robe stood still in the wind, both eyes gazing down at the chaotic, noisy city below. In his left eye, a yellow ring of light glowed faintly.
"Nine Magatsu Blades number six, 【Illusory Pupil】, capable of large-scale hypnosis across all species through visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile and other mediums—it can even deceive electronic machinery. Its only drawback is that it is a non-combat blade; when the hypnotized person feels killing intent, they automatically break free from the hypnosis state…
This blade has already appeared. Who is the little girl beside it?
The location Unit 4 transmitted was somewhere near Jiu Jing Street… I'll have to search through this place one section at a time."
Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy murmured to himself. His form flickered and he leapt off the tall building, heading at lightning speed toward the street the blue-robed Oracle Envoy had just passed!
At the same time, he closed his eyes, as if carefully listening to something.
"The fireworks festival tonight was so beautiful. I want to come back with Nozaki-kun next year…"
"Tomorrow I have to go back to work again, so miserable! That bald, lecherous boss should just die already!"
"Damn it, why hasn't the president confessed to me yet? We've already reached this point—could he be waiting for me? Hmph… I won't confess first. Love is war. The one who confesses first loses!"
"What? They're releasing a new figure for the white-and-blue bra? Gotta buy it!"
"This guy is so wordy, tsk. He's nowhere near as handsome as Asahibiru's Asaba… when can I go drinking with him again? He's so handsome ah ah…"
"…"
Hundreds of voices poured into Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy's ears—these were the inner voices of everyone within a two-kilometer radius of wherever he passed through.
Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy carefully distinguished each voice, directly filtering out the useless content. Gradually, the voices echoing in his ears grew fewer and fewer. Finally, one voice flashed through his mind.
"When we saw the Oracle Envoy just now, why did Xiao Jin-ge run? Does he have special powers too, like Qiye-ge? Is he someone from the outside?"
It was a girl's voice, sounding very young. Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy's eyes lit up. He flew toward the direction from which the inner voice had come!
"Found you…"
…
Dotonbori.
Xiao Jin brought Yuzuri Nana back to the entrance of the Black Paulownia Club.
Yuzuri Nana clutched the cardboard box, walked into the club, and looked around but didn't see Uncle Kyosuke anywhere. She couldn't help but feel confused.
"Where's Uncle Kyosuke?"
Xiao Jin's body trembled slightly. After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, "He'll be back soon. Let's rest here for a bit."
Xiao Jin stepped into the club, a faint illusionary light flickering once more in his eyes. The streetlamp at the entrance of the Black Paulownia Club dimmed slightly before quickly returning to normal, as if nothing had happened at all.
All the doors and windows of the club had been shattered, and the furniture was scattered in disarray. Yuzuri Nana could only pick a small stool to sit on, quietly waiting for Uncle Kyosuke to return.
Xiao Jin walked to the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor and observed his surroundings carefully.
Several minutes later, Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy stood at the entrance of this small alley.
"Around here somewhere…"
He stepped into the alley. There weren't many shops on this road—the place he entered was a closed barbecue stall, followed by an izakaya, and beyond that…
Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy passed beneath the streetlamp. The pale yellow light swept across his eyes. He stood at the end of this small alley, raising his head to look at the final shop.
Nothing?
Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy froze.
The last shop at the end of this alley was actually empty. This street ended at the izakaya; beyond it was just barren empty land, with nothing else there.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, a thought suddenly echoed in his mind.