position. He picked out Fugisawa. Now all he had to do was wait.

Leila stood at the summit of Mt. Fuji, watching the sun set.

Below her was a vast expanse of clouds. It looked as if she were

standing on a rocky island in the middle of a white, billowing sea.

The sun was staining the sky red. She was not alone. There was a

crowd of people at the summit, watching the sun go down, taking

photographs, enjoying snacks, congratulating each other on having

made it to the top. In moments, she thought, they would be very

sorry they had made the climb. She smiled, raised her arms, and

began to chant. People turned to stare at her. At first, some of them

chuckled, some pointed, others took a photograph. And then a wind

started to come up.

Leila raised her voice as she chanted. The climbers shouted

excitedly and pointed as thaumaturgic energy sparked and crackled

from her fingertips, discharging into the air in jagged bolts of magic

lightning. The clouds around the mountain began to roil as the wind

grew in intensity. Her entire body was outlined with an aura of

pulsating thaumaturgic force as she channeled the life energies of

all her victims through the spell. The wind now blew with gale

force, tearing at the people’s clothing and knocking over several of

the concession stands. The hikers screamed and started running

panic-stricken for the trails as the sky grew black and red, lit up

with jagged fire. And from deep beneath the earth, there came a

distant rumbling.

“You have some explaining to do, Fugisawa, ” said Kobayashi,

frowning as he glanced from Fugisawa to the others. His gaze

lingered uncertainly on Modred before it returned to Fugisawa once

again. “You seem to be burning the candle at both ends. ” His gaze

fell on Yohaku and he bowed respectfully. “I am honored, Master

Yohaku, ” he said, “but I am curious as to the reason for your

presence at this meeting. And I should like to know why Inspector

Katayama is here, as well. I had thought that our arrangement was

confidential, Fugisawa. I do not care for surprises. What are you up

to?”

“Please, calm yourself, Don Kobayashi, ” Fugisawa said, stepping

up to him. “There is no reason to feel apprehensive. I—”

A shot suddenly cracked out and a hole appeared in Kobayashi’s