Tokyo Exorcism Diary

Liz stared blankly at the figure before her. It was someone she had grown familiar with, yet in this moment, they felt utterly alien.

Her small head swirled with chaotic thoughts, tangled into an inextricable knot.

Did he just kill someone?

Is he here to save me?

He’s so strong… incredibly strong.

To be honest, Liz didn’t dislike Hoshino Gen. If anything, her feelings toward him leaned more toward jealousy.

Liz was born into London’s Isabelle family, the first in line to inherit the family title, as the third and youngest daughter of Léonard Isabelle.

Her parents had longed for a son to secure the succession, so Liz’s birth brought only disappointment.

How much love could a child born into such disappointment receive? Her parents didn’t like her, and her two older sisters resented her for not being a boy—after all, if Liz had been born a boy, it would have pleased their parents, earning them greater favor and raising their own status in the family.

But “if” was just that—a fantasy. Liz was a girl, and that unchangeable fact left her out of her family’s favor. Still, she was not without warmth in her life.

Since she could remember, her cousin Hoshino Rin had been her anchor.

To Liz, Rin wasn’t just a cousin; she was the only one who truly cared for her.

As a child, Liz would cling to Rin’s side, following her wherever she went, mimicking her every action. No matter how clumsy Liz was or how often she messed things up, Rin never scolded her. Instead, she patiently taught her and comforted her.

Even now, Rin remained the most important person in Liz’s heart.

A year ago, when Rin left with her aunt to return to Japan, Liz, who rarely cried, wept for three days. She cried herself to sleep every night before finally accepting the reality that her beloved cousin was leaving.

Fortunately, in the modern world, staying in touch across countries wasn’t difficult. Since then, Liz looked forward to their phone calls, video chats, or messages every day.

Talking about their daily lives and funny incidents helped her imagine that they were still together.

Sometimes, their conversations touched on Hoshino Gen, but those mentions were rare—barely a fraction of their exchanges.

To Liz, her knowledge of Hoshino Gen, a cousin she had never met, was limited to him being “Rin’s brother.” She envied him a little for living with Rin, but that was all.

But recently, Rin began mentioning Hoshino Gen more and more in their chats. Sometimes, she got so engrossed in talking about him that she seemed to forget Liz wanted to change the subject.

This unsettled Liz. So, when her aunt returned to the UK, Liz begged to visit Japan, hoping to see her cousin.

She thought Rin’s changed focus on Hoshino Gen was merely because they had been apart too long. But when she arrived at Rin’s house, the truth struck her like a bolt of lightning.

As they talked face-to-face about Hoshino Gen, Rin’s radiant smile and sparkling heterochromatic eyes told Liz all she needed to know. It felt as though something precious in her heart had shattered.

It was as if her most treasured possession had been taken from her.

Even though she hadn’t met Hoshino Gen yet, jealousy had already taken root deep within Liz. And whenHoshino  Gen walked through the door that afternoon, his heterochromatic eyes so similar to Rin’s—

Bang!

A sudden gunshot shattered Liz’s thoughts. Her eyes darted to the source—a rough-looking man holding a gun.

And the muzzle was aimed—

Liz followed the trajectory, her heart pounding, to see Hoshino Gen standing unharmed. The bullet had pierced the wall behind him, leaving a smoking hole.

Relief barely had time to settle before anxiety took over again. No matter how impressive Hoshino Gen had been earlier, Liz couldn’t imagine a high school boy with a stick standing a chance against a gun-wielding, vicious criminal.

“Close your eyes,” Hoshino Gen said suddenly in English, his tone calm yet commanding.

For half a second, Liz froze, realizing the words were directed at her—she was the only one here who needed English.

But confusion delayed her compliance. Her instincts questioned his command.

In the next moment, Gen flicked a yellow talisman through the air. Like magic, it landed perfectly over Liz’s eyes, forcing her to obey.

As the paper blocked her vision, Liz could sense the atmosphere shift. Something dark and violent seemed to pulse from Hoshino Gen’s presence, spreading through the room.

When Liz cautiously peeked through the gaps in the talisman, she saw it—Hoshino Gen’s left eye glowing with a blood-red light, his face twisted into an unrecognizably manic grin.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kumamoto fired three more shots, but each one struck only after images, missing Hoshino Gen entirely.

“What the hell are you?!” Kumamoto screamed as Hoshino Gen suddenly appeared before him, his crimson gaze boring into him.

Hoshino Gen’s response was a smile—a cruel, bloodthirsty expression. He thrust his wooden stick into the man’s abdomen with precision.

Before the man could register the pain, Hoshino Gen slapped a talisman onto the stick.

Zzzap!

Electricity exploded from the talisman, tearing through the man’s body. His eyes bulged as his body convulsed violently before splitting apart, blood splattering across the room like a crimson mist.

Hoshino Gen’s feral gaze turned toward the couple cowering against the wall, his lips curling into a grin.