In a dark, hidden room, a man in a black ninja robe with a Hannya mask was on the ground. His hands quickly and precisely carved strange, unsettling runes, and his mouth chanted a bizarre incantation. From time to time, he would stop to curse the beings who had been a constant nuisance for the past twelve hours. He already knew about the God of Wisdom and had even prepared a few countermeasures specifically for him. However, before he could even use them, they were completely destroyed by two "ancient heroes," who were just ghosts that should have disappeared from history long ago.
And that Ultraman's sealing barrier directly cut off his backup energy plan. He had originally planned to use that energy to "open a gate" at the Tokyo Tower, but now the tower was outside the barrier. These three forces had completely derailed his entire plan, to the point where he had no choice but to use his final resort.
"This is too much! This power shouldn't exist in the human world!" The Hannya-masked man couldn't help but shiver as he remembered Raikou in action. In his limited life, besides monsters and Ultraman, he had never seen anyone with power on par with that "Minamoto no Raikou." Maybe a god could do it, but he had never seen a god.
But it didn't matter. As long as he didn't reveal himself or fight those two ghosts, as long as he could complete his final resort, he would achieve his ultimate victory. After that, he might have to stay hidden for a while, but the sealed area was large enough, and the food and water were not contaminated, so hiding for a while wouldn't affect him too much.
However, the spirits released from their bodies were a different story. Once a certain amount of time passed, those spirits would be permanently untethered from their bodies. The God of Wisdom couldn't possibly not know this. So, not only did he want to break Ultraman's sealing barrier, but the few remaining living people outside also had to find a way to break it so that the spirits could return to their bodies.
"Heh, heh, heh... Ha ha ha..." A strange laugh came from inside the mask, making the candlelit room feel even more sinister.
"It's too far. We can't see anyone from here," Taichi said, sitting on the Ittan-momen's back and looking in the direction Raikou had pointed. He could see a black dot, but he couldn't make out if anyone was standing there.
"Are we being too conspicuous right now?" Ann asked nervously.
"We are," Taichi agreed. "Since the culprit isn't showing up, there's no point in being so flashy anymore."
"Ittan-momen, take us down," Taichi said, patting what he assumed was the top of the Ittan-momen's head.
"Yes!" The Ittan-momen's spirits lifted when it heard it was being freed.
"Hmm?" Raikou's eyebrows suddenly shot up the moment her feet touched the ground.
"What is it? Did you find something?" Taichi asked Raikou after jumping off the Ittan-momen's back.
"The leylines," Raikou said, her face serious. "There are leylines running beneath the highway. I couldn't sense them when we were in the sky, but now that we're on the ground, I can." Raikou took a deep breath, her expression grave. "Someone is activating the leylines. The Visitors, who appear to be dissipating by touching the seal, are actually transferring the energy from their dissipation through the underground leylines to 'a certain place'."
"...I'll have Mordred confirm the situation on their side immediately!" Taichi's face hardened, and he quickly told Mordred to investigate the Visitors gathered to crash against the barrier underground. In any world, anything related to leylines was a big problem.
With Raikou's help, it didn't take long for Mordred to send back a message. Just like on the highway, the Visitors underground were also using the leylines to transfer energy.
"If a Caster was here, they would've likely noticed this sooner and even found the enemy's 'workshop'," Raikou said with a sad sigh. "I'm sorry for not being more useful to my Master."
"Raikou, don't underestimate your contribution," Taichi said, patting her on the shoulder. "Without you, we wouldn't even know the enemy was using the leylines." Mordred's group hadn't sensed anything before Raikou mentioned it. After all, Mordred hadn't learned anything about leylines in her past life. She probably didn't even know what they were. Raikou, on the other hand, was different; her home was right across the street from Abe no Seimei's, and the two were close friends. It was no surprise that she learned some Onmyodo knowledge from him.
With a new lead, everyone gathered around to observe. Of course, it was mainly Raikou who was observing. Taichi, Akane, and Ann couldn't see anything related to leylines. Mordred's side was fine, though. While she didn't recognize leylines herself, Kotoko had Yokai who knew a lot about them, so the two groups could even exchange information. Mordred, as the designated messenger, had a hard time. She stumbled over a lot of the specialized terminology and had to be corrected. The last time she suffered this kind of torment was when she was studying with that woman in her past life.
"Someone is creating a gate," Raikou concluded. "I don't know what the purpose of this gate is, but the person who plans to open it probably hasn't considered how to close it afterward."
"Where does the gate lead?" Taichi asked, his eyebrows furrowed. He was worried that someone was being foolish and trying to open a portal to another world. A portal from which billions of insectoids or terrifying giant space monsters might emerge. Or, of course, a lot of "black sludge" could pour out. Taichi rubbed his scalp, a bit of a headache forming.
"I'm not sure yet. We have to find the location where the gate is being built," Raikou replied. "We'll have to analyze the 'incantation' to figure out where the 'gate' will open."
"So, can't we just follow the leylines to find it?" Taichi asked.
"I'm not good at that," Raikou replied with an innocent blink. Lady Raikou was a general who slayed demons; she didn't know anything about practical spells.
It seems the Hannya-masked figure is enacting a plan to open a gate by using the Visitors to charge the leylines. The group is now faced with a difficult choice: split up to find and stop the ritual or stay together and risk being too slow.