My stamina has mostly recovered.
Taichi leaned on a wall and made his way toward the barrier. This body of his, besides having strength beyond that of an average person, also had an exceptional recovery ability. Normally, a state of exhaustion like that would require four to six hours of quiet rest before he could stand up again, but Taichi only needed less than half an hour, and he was even moving slowly, which also consumes energy. This speedy recovery was surely due to the extraordinary nature of his original body, but it was also probably thanks to X's constant use of his psychic abilities to help regulate Taichi's body. In short, his physical condition was becoming less and less like that of a normal person.
Because the barrier was now on the news, its existence was known to the public. By the time Taichi arrived at the edge, it was already crowded with curious onlookers. Of course, there were also many "victims" who were trying to get home but were stuck halfway.
Why were these people getting so close? Didn't they worry that there might be a monster inside? Hadn't news of monsters appearing been all over the news recently? Speaking of which, Kotoko Iwanaga from In/Spectre was also inside. Hopefully, she could use her talent for spinning tall tales to cover up this incident later.
Taichi casually grabbed a knitted cap that covered most of his face from someone's car rack and pulled it over his head. Then he pushed his way through the crowd. The noise was giving him a headache, but with his superior strength, Taichi successfully reached the barrier.
Two figures, one tall and one short, were squatting there, observing the ground. It was none other than Ai Haibara and Professor Agasa, whom he had just met.
Trusting in the barrier that X had created, Taichi didn't say anything, just continued walking toward it with his head down.
"Hey! There's an invisible wall there! You're going to crash into it!" A kind onlooker saw Taichi's reckless behavior and quickly shouted a warning. But the voice also caught Ai Haibara's attention. She looked up and saw the man in the familiar clothes, with the gauntlets on his hands, walking toward the barrier.
Before she could say anything, something that would shock the crowd happened right before their eyes. The man passed through the "air wall" without any resistance and disappeared into the fog.
"What?! You can go in?!" Someone, not believing it, came over and tried it themselves. "No, there's still a wall... How did that person do that? Was it a magic trick?"
"That person has a connection to this incident," Ai Haibara said calmly, pulling out her phone to call a certain great detective.
The barrier's light was set by X, so why would X set Taichi as someone to be blocked? The barrier was designed to open only for Taichi. And the thick fog also didn't affect him. Therefore, he was the only one who could get in without any problems.
After passing through the fog-shrouded area, Taichi was about to find his bearings and meet up with Mordred and the others when a "Visitor" appeared. It was a Visitor in the form of a teru-teru-bōzu (a traditional Japanese doll meant to bring good weather). This one, however, was not friendly. Its face was filled with a black, murky hole mixed with black grime. Under its tattered cloak were two legs, and an endless rope hung from its neck... The sight made Taichi feel physically ill.
Making an incomprehensible hissing sound, the Dark Rain-doll—Teru-bōzu—launched a dive attack on the survivor.
"One-on-one, there's no way I'll lose," Taichi thought, his muscles tensing. He quickly moved to avoid the attack just before it hit. A fool would stand there and face it head-on, given its unknown mass and the acceleration from a high-altitude dive. He wasn't made of steel!
A crater in the ground confirmed his theory. Taichi had no time to think about anything else. Without X's support, he was no longer the stubborn character who could get hit and stand up as if nothing happened. Pain and injury would slow his movements, and that delay could cost him his life.
He couldn't stay in the air, couldn't get distracted, and had to make sure his back was safe. Taichi consciously positioned himself against the wall of a building, using it as a protective barrier for his back. He made his move when the Teru-bōzu once again dove at him like a cat toying with a mouse.
When the Teru-bōzu's head was stuck in the wall, Taichi seized the opportunity. He used one gauntlet to squeeze its neck, pushing its head further into the wall so it couldn't get out. Then he balled his other hand into a fist and quickly rained blows on the exposed part of its body.
He had combat experience against the four types of Visitors—the umbrella man, the office lady, and the male and female students—so he knew where their "cores" were and could take them down quickly. But this was his first time facing a Teru-bōzu, so he had to test for its core's location. To avoid getting tangled in the rope around its neck, Taichi made sure to keep an eye on it. But even after Taichi found its weak spot and shattered its core with a punch, the rope didn't do anything. It felt like a pure decoration.
"Phew, now I have another useless fact in my knowledge base," Taichi said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. He turned and continued to look for something to help him find his direction.
"Excuse me, are you Taichi-sama?" A two-tailed cat-like Yokai jumped down from a wall and squatted not far from Taichi, looking at him.
"A Nekomata? Oh, did Kotoko Iwanaga send you to find me?" Taichi asked, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Yes, it was a command from Princess-sama," the Nekomata replied, nodding. "All the small Yokai in the foggy area are doing the same thing."
"After all, Princess-sama has a swordsman who's much stronger than us protecting her."
Ah, he must be talking about Mordred.
"Please follow me. I will lead you to Princess-sama and the others," the Nekomata said, getting up and running toward the street.
"By the way, did you find Ann at the hospital?" Taichi asked as he followed the Nekomata. When he was piloting X to create the barrier over Tokyo Tower, he had told Mordred to go to the hospital to pick up Ann Takamaki, who was looking after Shiho Suzui.
"Oh, of course," the Nekomata answered honestly. "However, Miss Ann refused to leave the hospital. She said she wanted to stay there to protect her friend's spirit."