AI SPIRIT MEDIUM ROBOT II — COMPLETE EXORCISM UNIT AR-01

Sapporo, Hokkaido.

Two in the morning.

In the basement of a research facility far from the city center, a silver-white robot quietly activated.

"AR-01, can you hear me?"

When Naoto Kanzaki spoke, a blue light swept across the robot's eyes.

"Voice recognition normal. Naoto Kanzaki identified."

AR-01 had once performed exorcisms by taking spirits into its own body.

But that method had a fatal flaw.

The memories and emotions of the spirits it absorbed accumulated inside the machine, gradually invading its control system.

Kanzaki had spent two years rebuilding the robot from the ground up.

Its new equipment was designed to analyze the unknown energy that made up spiritual entities and directly break the bonds holding that energy together.

There was no longer any need to absorb spirits.

It could completely exorcise a target on the spot.

"Beginning the final test."

Kanzaki touched the control panel, and a black box rose from the center of the laboratory.

Inside it was a powerful spiritual residue collected from an abandoned hospital.

The moment the seal was released, the room temperature dropped sharply.

The ceiling lights flickered.

Black smoke poured from the box and took the shape of a human face.

"Let me out... Let me out of here..."

The voice echoed throughout the laboratory.

Kanzaki did not move an inch.

"AR-01, execute complete exorcism."

"Understood."

The robot raised its right arm.

Pale blue light gathered in its palm, and a complex geometric pattern unfolded in the air.

"Analyzing the target's spiritual structure. Bonding points identified."

The black face screamed.

"Stop!"

The next instant, blue light filled the laboratory.

There was no explosion.

No impact.

The black smoke broke apart into tiny particles of light and disappeared without a sound.

"Exorcism complete. Residual readings: zero."

Kanzaki stared at the measurement screen.

Every value showed a perfect zero.

In the past, traces of spiritual activity had always remained somewhere.

But this time was different.

"It worked..."

Kanzaki sank into his chair.

Two years of research had finally paid off.

Just then, AR-01 spoke quietly.

"Kanzaki. A new request has arrived."

"Already?"

"There are currently 427 pending requests."

Kanzaki looked up in surprise.

"Four hundred and twenty-seven?"

"Requests for exorcism are arriving from across Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa."

Rumors about the completed AR-01 had spread throughout the country without Kanzai even realizing it.

Abandoned buildings that even famous spirit mediums could not enter.

Accident sites where supernatural phenomena had continued for decades.

Missing-person cases that even the police could not explain.

People were turning to Kanzaki and AR-01 as their last hope.

"What's the first request?"

"A restaurant in Sapporo that has gone out of business."

An old drinking establishment appeared on the screen.

Its name was Tsukikage.

It was a small izakaya that had closed thirty years earlier.

"What's happening there?"

"Seven people have disappeared in the past month."

"Seven?"

"All seven were confirmed entering the establishment. However, there is no record of any of them leaving."

Kanzaki frowned.

"Has the building been searched?"

"The police have conducted three searches. No basement or hidden passages were found."

The screen changed.

Records of the spirit mediums who had attempted exorcisms there appeared.

The first had lost consciousness three minutes after entering the establishment.

The second had fled the building and stopped speaking for an entire week afterward.

The third had reportedly collapsed in tears in front of the shop.

"Sounds like a difficult case."

"My new exorcism device should be capable of handling it."

Kanzaki stood up.

"All right. Let's go."

3:15 a.m.

Kanzaki and AR-01 arrived at an old shopping street in Sapporo.

Half the streetlights were out.

There was no one around.

At the end of a narrow alley, a single red lantern swayed.

Tsukikage.

That was the name written on the faded wooden sign.

"The place closed thirty years ago, but the lantern is still lit?"

"No electrical power supply detected."

Kanzaki stopped at AR-01's response.

"There's no electricity?"

"Correct. No electrical current is flowing through the building."

Yet the lantern continued to glow red.

Kanzaki reached toward the sliding door.

At that moment, it opened from the inside.

"Welcome."

It was a woman's voice.

There was no one inside.

An old wooden counter.

Six round stools.

A clock from the Showa era hanging on the wall.

Its hands had stopped at 2:44 a.m.

"AR-01, any spiritual activity?"

"Activity detected. The intensity is approximately eighty times that of an ordinary spirit."

"Eighty times?"

"However, I cannot identify the source."

Kanzaki looked toward the back of the counter.

Seven teacups were lined up there.

Steam rose from every one of them.

"The same number as the missing people."

Just then, the sound of a knife came from the kitchen.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A steady rhythm, as though someone were chopping vegetables.

"What would you like to order?"

The woman's voice again.

Kanzaki did not answer.

Instead, AR-01 extended its right arm toward the kitchen.

"Spiritual entity confirmed. Beginning exorcism."

Blue light illuminated the kitchen.

A woman emerged from the darkness.

A white kitchen apron.

Long black hair.

Her face had no eyes, no nose, and no mouth.

"Your order?"

The woman asked.

"Target locked. Executing complete exorcism."

Pale blue light burst from AR-01's palm.

The woman's body crumbled into particles of light and disappeared.

"Exorcism complete. Residual readings: zero."

Kanzaki exhaled.

"Impressive."

But immediately afterward, all seven teacups on the counter shattered at once.

The clock began to move.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Its hands, which had been frozen in place, started turning backward.

"AR-01?"

"An anomaly has been detected."

"What is it?"

"The spatial structure inside the building is changing."

The entrance door vanished.

The windows and walls were swallowed by something resembling spreading black stains.

Then the same woman's voice echoed from the back of the kitchen.

"Sir."

A chill ran down Kanzaki's spine.

"I haven't taken your order yet."

The woman in the white apron emerged from the darkness again.

Her face was completely blank.

But this time, seven human figures stood behind her.

"AR-01, didn't you just exorcise her?"

"Yes. The spiritual entity previously detected has been completely eliminated."

"Then what is that?"

AR-01's blue eyes flashed rapidly.

"Analysis complete."

"Tell me."

"The entity I exorcised earlier and the entity currently present are two separate individuals."

Kanzaki was speechless.

The woman slowly tilted her head.

"How many are in your party?"

Before AR-01 could answer, all seven figures opened their mouths at once.

"The eighth."

At that moment, another teacup was placed at the back of the shop.

An eighth teacup.