"So what are your names?" The old woman asked with the same cheerful smile on her face.
"I'm Douma and this is Shinobu we're from Tokyo." The shrine leader answered.
"Oh that's wonderful we're the Isamu family. What brings you two all the way here?"
"We're looking for a place called Cryptic Sanctuary. Do you know where it is?" Shinobu asked hoping to get something out of the old couple.
"I'm afraid we've never heard of that place before but I think I know which one you're talking about." Mr Isamu responded. "There's a headquarters not too far from here if you follow the path you'll find it eventually."
The old couple watched as Douma and Shinobu's faces lit up. They were one step closer to finding the culprit and Atashi.
"Thank you so much." They bowed as the old couple nodded and got the food ready. Mrs Isamu got a tray of cups and bowls from the kitchen and sat them down on the table.
"We're having Udon tonight." Mrs Isamu said, pouring guava juice from the jug into each cup.
"Udon? Sweet! I'm starving it's been a long day!"
"Just don't mess up the table Shinobu."
Shinobu gave Douma an angry look. "Excuse me?"
A bowl of noodles with soup and chicken slices appeared on Shinobu's side of the table. On top of the noodles was a nicely placed fishcake with vegetables at the side. Shinobu picked up the chopsticks she couldn't wait to eat.
Douma looked at everyone admiring the food on the table. He wasn't that hungry but the food looked really appetizing. To show his gratitude he'll try to finish everything in his bowl as well as the side dish on his plate.
"Itadakimasu!" Shinobu cheered as everyone started eating.
~~~
After dinner Shinobu and the Isamu couple got ready for bed. It had been a long day for both Douma and Shinobu, the day after was going to be another journey of walking so Shinobu needed to get enough sleep to recharge her energy.
"Not sleeping Douma?" Shinobu asked, Douma was sitting on the couch watching TV. The Isamu couple had already gone into their room leaving just the duo.
"I'm keeping watch those things might come back. Remember what Mrs Isamu said earlier?"
"Oh yeah." Though Douma made a good point, wasn't he tired? Shinobu was aware that Douma probably never feels tired but he needed to take a break at least.
"Goodnight Douma see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight Shinobu."
The living room fell quiet as Shinobu walked to her room and closed the door. Douma glimpsed at the barricaded windows. It won't be long before those things start trying to break in again. The windows weren't stable anymore so the giant bugs would easily tear down the wooden planks.
About an hour and a half passed and nothing serious happened besides a few footsteps and rustling outside. Most of the time it was just the neighbors however at some point Douma started hearing light tapping and knocks on the wooden planks. No human would do that especially at a time like this.
Then he heard it again, instead of tapping Douma heard light scratching on the surface of the wooden planks. Something was trying to bring the barricades down.
"They're here." Douma got his fan out and quietly walked over to the window. There was someone outside, Douma could see the shadow of their figure casted in the dark living room.
As he was about to teleport outside, the creature scurried away. Silence fell again, Douma found it odd that the silverfish would just disappear like that. Normally they would strike first when they sense their target nearby.
Suddenly a loud crash erupted from the kitchen it sounded like plates. Douma immediately ran to the kitchen and saw the familiar outline of the insectoid emerging from the sink.
It can't be that it swam through the pipes. Douma heard splashes and bubbles popping in the sink which meant there was a pool of water in the sink.
"The Isamu couple must've forgotten to clear the remaining dishes. If that's the case, the giant silverfish saw that as an opportunity to go through the water that acts as a portal in its dimension." Douma observed the creature rummaging through the cupboards and cabinets in the kitchen knocking a few pots and pans.
"If it's true the silverfish has been breaking in and damaging property then it's likely that it's been traveling through the nearest waterbodies."
Douma took a few steps back as the giant bug walked out of the kitchen, eyeing him down like prey. Getting his fan ready, Douma leaped up and sliced the creature in half.
Its body fell to the ground soaking the floor with blood. Douma looked at the hallway sheepishly hoping nobody especially the Isamu couple checks what's going on outside. He will have a lot of explaining to do.
A gust of cold wind froze the silverfish's body and broke it into pieces scattered on the floor with the crimson red liquid. Douma quickly grabbed a broom and a garbage bag. He then started brushing the ice pieces towards the bag tying it up.
Glancing at the hallway again, Douma picked up the bag and went through the walls of the house sprinting towards the bin. There shouldn't be anyone wandering around at night so there's nothing to worry about they can't see me walking through the walls anyway it's pretty dark. Back to where he was in the living room, Douma grabbed a mop and cleaned the floor squeaky clean. Quietly he drained the blood-filled bucket and cleared everything in the kitchen including the mess on the floor.
"I should tell the Isamu couple about this." Holding one of the broken plates, Douma placed them on the table away from the sink.
Making one last round of checks, Douma wiped the sweat off his forehead and laid down on the couch. "Finally."
The program currently airing on TV was a documentary about Earth's biggest mysteries. Tonight's topic was about the monsters roaming the planet. Douma was curious about people's opinions on this topic he knew more than them so he expected some interesting perspectives. On the other hand since most people never encountered such things their points will differ from each other so he couldn't wait to have a good laugh too.
"Have you heard about the Kraken? It's a mythological creature believed to have existed since medieval times." The journalist said it seems the crew was having an interview on a boat at sea. Douma wondered if they caught footage of the Kraken during their trip, this was getting interesting he couldn't wait to see the legitimacy of it. Humans were good liars sometimes.
The other men on board looked at the crew in shock. They didn't expect the journalist to be asking such a question at sea. Now the journalist was starting to feel awkward he must be asking such things at the wrong timing. The crew was instructed to stand away from the edge of the boat locals said there were sharks and giant squid roaming the waters.
"Locals say there used to be giant squids bigger than the ones we see today. They're a rare sight now." Another men responded looking at sea.
"The Kraken was spotted by a group of fishermen last year. If you see a giant tentacle coming out of the water return to shore immediately that means the sea monster is hunting for food." A local responded.
"The first ever modern Kraken attack happened in the 1960s. It sunk three ships over the course of five months. That was a terrible time to travel to sea or even go to the beach its tentacles were massive." The journalist and crew explained to the people on board and the audience watching the program.
Douma sat back on the couch. "So the Kraken has been causing trouble huh."
Images of the Kraken flashed on the screen. Modern day depictions of the Kraken were different from the older ones. The sea monster looked more menacing in recent art whereas the older pictures of it resembled regular squids floating below the surface of the ocean.
"If you see whirlpools forming in the water that means the Kraken is surfacing." The crew was now at a village talking with residents about the said creature.
"Witnesses claim to have spotted whirlpools during the third Kraken attack."
"There's bad weather whenever a Kraken attack happens."
"Maybe the sea monster knows how to determine the intensity of the environment so it attacks at the worst time possible."
Everyone sounded really scared right now. Douma understood how they felt a giant sea creature roaming around the waters was disastrous. It was impossible to tell what was swimming beneath your boat.
Back home Reiji was watching the same program. The descriptions of the sea creature reminded the teen of something he saw a decade ago.
During that time in the car, Reiji and his parents saw groups of people gathering at the bridge to see three whirlpools and a frightening storm in the middle of the ocean. There was a beach nearby so the people standing around the entire stretch of the road must have walked all the way just to see what was going on. Reiji and his parents drove past them they could see the strange formation in the car going out wasn't necessary it was risky with the weather acting like that.
It seemed harmless at first until lightning struck the areas close to shore a few times lighting up the ground on fire. People started running for their lives at that very moment.
Soon, the familiar tentacles of the legend appeared from the surface of the water. That's when people started taking pictures of the giant squid. Not long later large waves appearing as a tsunami came and destroyed the beach and the very same road that Reiji and his family just left.
While the program was showing, Reiji had been itching to find out about the aftermath of that devastating attack he saw all those years ago. Surprisingly they didn't mention anything about it for the past few minutes. If they wanted to dive deeper into the mystery of the Kraken they should do a recap on the latest incident.
They're not talking about the whirlpools that appeared at the beach. Reiji was getting a little annoyed he decided to just ignore the chattering and wait for the next segment of the program which would be the investigation.
"Yes the Kraken's appearance at one of Japan's areas made it to the headlines the same day those ships capsized." The other journalist said.
"Now they're talking!" Reiji cheered he couldn't wait to hear what the documentary had to say about the incident that's been ingrained in his memory for so long.
Douma watched the crew exploring a tunnel in the middle of the forest. According to the locals of that area a writer predicted the emergence of the giant locust swarm. It seemed Earth had a lot going on Douma never expected these monsters to appear out of nowhere and wreak havoc as if these current ones were the worst there was a literal sea monster on the loose.
"The giant locust attack happened in 1988. Experts say these insects might have consumed an unknown source located in a cave that was home to prehistoric organisms. Hence they mutated into these deer-sized insects that went around eating crops and attacking humans and animals." The man leading the crew explained.
"There were giant locusts flying around? Wow that must have been a crazy experience, not as intense as the current alien invasion though." Douma looked at the wooden planks on the window and then back at the TV. "That happened three years before I came to Earth. Did they manage to get rid of the locusts?"
Shockingly no. The locusts were eaten from the inside out by the source they consumed. Turns out it was alive and slowly devouring the insects. Unfortunately no one managed to identify the consumable it disappeared not long after the last few locusts succumbed to the parasitic infestation.
"There are a few theories surrounding the disappearance of the prehistoric consumable that the locusts came into contact with." Douma paid close attention since it might answer some questions about the ongoing alien invasion. These events were quite similar to each other in terms of the destruction and unexplained origins.
"The giant locust invasion was all planned and there was a secret organization involved." That was the first theory mentioned. "Or the source did in fact date back to the prehistoric time period, making an appearance in the cave temporarily after millions of years."
Douma nodded upon hearing those two theories it made sense. The one that stood out the most to him was the first theory about the organization. There seemed to be a lot of secret organizations involved in these bio-centric incidents. For all he knows it could be the same organization that both he and Shinobu are looking for.
"The last theory would be an alien or inter-dimensional interference which explains why the source disappeared without a trace. Something from the other side must be watching humanity. Afterall the incident affected the whole world, Easten Europe and many parts of Asia were on lockdown all those months. Whoever was behind it is testing our resilience."
"Testing humanity? Let's see there's no denying that humans aren't alone in this world but to say something is watching humanity is a little too deep in the rabbit hole especially if the case is still left with a huge question mark to this day. Maybe it's best if the speculations fall under usual practical occurrences carried out by people more so than unexplainable instances." Douma waited for what else the people on TV had to say overall.