Occult Clash: Infinite Quest

After receiving Daiki's message, Akira called Hiroshi via video call on his PC to get the necessary information to help him with his task.

Money Man: [Just from the guy's look, I can tell the spirit possessing him is a Gaki. I'm almost sure of it.]

Green Shaolin:[ A Gaki?]

Money Man: [ It's a Buddhist term, you know. In belief systems, a Gaki is like a hungry spirit. They're creatures suffering from insatiable hunger or thirst because they acted poorly in their previous life. They're often depicted with a huge belly but a tiny mouth, which prevents them from eating, leaving them constantly starving.]

Green Shaolin: [Oh.]

Money Man:[To exorcise a Gaki, there are two methods:

1. You could perform a peaceful ritual. Offer food or symbolic items, recite prayers or Buddhist sutras to soothe the Gaki's spirit. The goal is to help it reincarnate and free itself from eternal suffering.]

Green Shaolin: [ Toooooo boring. Let's go with the second method.]

Money Man: [You never change!]

Hiroshi frowned slightly.

Money Man: [ You could destroy a symbolic object linked to the Gaki, like a statue or a sacred artifact. By breaking it, you sever its attachment to its suffering and force the spirit to free itself, breaking its cycle of insatiable hunger. From what I know, Gakis never stray far from their symbolic objects.]

Green Shaolin: [ That's kind of obvious, based on what you're saying.]

Hiroshi, slightly annoyed, asked:

Money Man: [What do you mean, "based on what I'm saying"? Don't you trust me after all these years together?]

Green Shaolin:[ It's precisely because of all these years together that I know you're an idiot. Anyway, the second option seems more appropriate.]

Money Man:[ Fine, brute... Well, I have to get going on my end. I think everything will be sorted by tomorrow.]

Green Shaolin: [What do you mean?]

Money Man:[ Secret business!]

Indeed, Hiroshi, just like his father, is a busy guy.

They ended the call.

The notice sent by HACKMASTER to Akira contained the contact information of the person who submitted the request in the supernatural community. All that was left to do was to call.

Akira dialed the number on his smartphone, even though it was late. He didn't want to waste more time, especially since Hiroshi had apparently finished his preparations and it wouldn't be a big deal for Daiki to wrap up on his end. To avoid falling behind, Akira had to act as quickly as possible.

With a slightly serious expression on his face, Akira calmly dialed the number Daiki had mentioned in the message:

Bzzz... bzzz...

[Hello?]

It was a woman's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Good evening. Sorry for calling so late. I saw your message in the supernatural events community."

[Oh.]

"And I'd like to volunteer to help you."

[What did you just say?] the voice asked, with a hint of surprise.

"I said I'm ready to help you."

[...]

There was a moment of silence, and Akira spoke again.

"Is something wrong, ma'am? Or did I get the wrong person?"

[Hmm... Do you really believe my story?]

"What do you mean?"

[Uh, sorry, it's not that I don't want your help, but everyone I've talked to said my uncle is just crazy, that there's nothing to be done, and that this spirit stuff is nonsense. But I know what I saw.]

Apparently, the possessed person was the caller's uncle.

"I believe you!"

[Huh... Th-thank you.]

"You're welcome. I can give you my TG number, and you can send me the address of where he's located."

TG: A popular messaging app.

[It's... it's really dangerous, sir. I genuinely appreciate your willingness to help, but he's extremely aggressive when anyone gets near him, and he's very strong. That's why even our family has given up on the idea of approaching him.]

Akira had a slight smirk on his face.

Aggressive and very strong?

This is going to be fun!

...Hmm...

I hope he's still watching me.

Akira cast a furtive glance behind him as if checking for something.

Whatever. We'll find out soon enough.

"Don't worry. I've made my decision to help you. Just send me the address where he's located."

---

United States, New York (5:00 AM)

A boy drenched in sweat despite the air conditioning in his room was furiously pounding on the keyboards of his five computers.

"Ha! Those damn bastards! Even NASA, with whom I had a bloody cyber showdown, didn't have a network complex enough to entertain me. So how did they manage to hold out against me all night?"

"Could there be a supernatural skill related to hacking...?"

He paused for a moment and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Well, I've infiltrated 70% of their systems. It's not enough...

Anyway, I'm exhausted. I'll finish Hiroshi's damn task, and then I'll take a break."

"If everything goes smoothly, Hiro and I will probably get called for a test at the academy.

Akira can probably handle himself. If our shaman's theory is right, someone's watching Akira through a spirit.

It's worrisome, but it's also advantageous.

The real problem, though... is the test. We have no information on how it will proceed or what skills are required to pass. If we fail, we'll be in deep trouble.

No.

For some reason, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy.

Failure is not an option.

He put his glasses back on and resumed typing on the keyboard.

That's when it happened.

---

A dark room illuminated by giant screens displaying data streams and red alerts.

The computer engineers, intensely focused, typed on mechanical keyboards surrounded by cables and humming servers. The atmosphere was tense, punctuated by the beeping of surveillance systems and rapid technical chatter. A dim blue light gave the place a futuristic look.

Chaos reigned in this room.

"What the hell is happening?!"

"Deploy the antivirus, deploy the antivirus!"

"This has to be a joke, right?"

"It's insane! How can someone hack 70% of a system created by Doctor X, an S-rank executor?"

These were the victims of HACKMASTER's attack— the IT team of the U.S. branch of the Bureau of Strange Affairs.

"Has it stopped?"

At 5:00 AM, the consecutive cyberattacks suddenly ceased.

An employee clicked his tongue in frustration. This was the first time in decades he'd faced such a case. The others shared the same sense of confusion.

While everyone was feverishly typing on their keyboards, wiping their sweat and groaning under the strain of the attack, a black-bearded man sat silently, his piercing eyes fixed on the screens.

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something. He smiled in resignation and murmured to himself:

"It was QH, huh?" He let out an ironic smile.

Then he stood up, his eyes gleaming, and shouted across the room:

"To the entire team!"

Immediately, all attention turned to him. A five-second silence followed before the black-bearded man spoke again in his deep, raspy voice:

"Find that bastard!"

This man seemed to hold a high position in the room, as the moment the order was given, hundreds of people rushed to their computers to track down the hacker.

"QH, huh! If only... if only it's not an executor... this could be the jackpot."