Chapter 75: Debut! The Ultra-New Monster!

In a room towering three stories high, countless glass cases were arrayed in neat rows. Inside the cases rested a menagerie of monsters, interspersed with a few Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and other heroes from special effects series. Each creature and hero was displayed according to their respective franchises.

“What are all these?” Qiao Qiao swept his gaze over the cases, but found no signs of vengeful spirits. Among the monsters, however, many exuded a gloomy aura.

“These are my collection. Some are discarded suits from filming crews, and others are replicas,” Eiji Onodera said with evident pride. “This is the original Baltan alien suit from the first Ultraman series—a childhood memory for everyone!”

“Unirax, one of the rare monsters defeated by human laser weapons.”

“That’s the lance-form suit from Kamen Rider Den-O. I spent quite a bit to acquire it.”

“This is Moluaya, the monster that required all six Ultra Brothers to defeat—quite a feat to assemble them all.”

“And this, one of my most treasured pieces: the cosmic giant monster Beostan, arguably one of the strongest monsters ever!”

“Freezing monster Maoton—this one was frozen and smashed to pieces by an iron ball before Ultraman could even intervene, probably among the weakest of all monsters.”

Eiji Onodera introduced his collection with great enthusiasm.

“Please wait a moment, Mr. Onodera.” Qiao Qiao interrupted before the conversation devolved entirely into a history lesson on special effects shows. “Are these suit props causing some kind of issue?”

“Well, yes, there have been some problems.” Eiji Onodera stroked his beard, returning to reality from his world of nostalgia. “I maintain these collections every week, and during one of these sessions, I noticed that some of the monster suits had changed positions.”

“For instance, the Herilet alien ended up in Jetton’s spot, and Gatanjea was hugging the Gofeet Collapse Entity,” he said, naming names that meant little to Qiao Qiao.

Qiao Qiao wasn’t well-versed in these shows—he only recognized names like Ultraman and Kamen Rider. Still, Onodera’s meaning was clear: these suits seemed to be moving on their own.

“Hm? Why are there only three suits in this area labeled ‘Cosmic Trash’?” Qiao Qiao asked, noticing three oddly styled suits in a corner. Had these moved as well?

“Ah, this one can only defeat Zao.”

“And this one?”

“He lost to Zao.”

“The last one…”

“That’s Zao himself.”

Qiao Qiao wasn’t sure he understood—perhaps it was some inside joke or special plot point.

“By the way, the actor who wore the monster suit during the previous incident is here too—why don’t we ask him?” Eiji Onodera suggested, as if suddenly recalling something.

They walked through the cavernous room to a nearby lounge. A young man waited there, visibly uneasy. According to the introduction, his surname was Hayata, and he’d specialized in playing monsters in special effects shows for over three years.

“At the time, I was supposed to be defeated by the Super Battle Hero’s Abrams Beam. But suddenly, as if I lost control of my body, I charged at Mr. Nogami and kicked him.”

“I really didn’t mean to—the whole moment was a haze, I had no idea what was happening,” he said earnestly.

“Please believe me!” Hayata pleaded, desperate. If this wasn’t deemed a supernatural occurrence, he could be prosecuted for assault; both his career and future would be ruined. All his hopes now rested on Qiao Qiao.

“Abrams Beam?” Qiao Qiao repeated, immediately thinking of a certain advanced tank model.

“That’s actually named after the tank—it’s one of the signature moves of the Super Battle Hero,” Eiji Onodera explained helpfully. Most of the hero’s finishing moves were named after weapons, setting him apart from the usual hand-to-hand superheroes; he specialized in using all sorts of gadgets and arms. The novel approach was a hit with audiences and a boon for merchandising.

The name did sound familiar, but Qiao Qiao let the detail slide—it wasn’t the focus. He checked Hayata; though there was a residual gloom about him, no vengeful spirit clung to his body.

“What about the monster suit from the incident?” Qiao Qiao asked for more details and soon found the suit in question. He extended his spiritual energy and began the ritual of spirit communion.

He had to admit, this technique was truly addictive—so many problems could be solved with it. Whoever invented spirit communion was a genius.

Images flashed through Qiao Qiao’s mind. Having mastered the art, he skillfully skipped to the relevant time frame.

He saw the actor in the Super Battle Hero costume striking an exaggerated pose. The monster, trembling, was supposed to collapse in defeat. But it didn’t fall; instead, it charged the hero.

Clearly unprepared, the actor in the hero’s suit stood frozen in confusion. The monster leapt up and kicked the hero squarely in the thigh—a textbook kick.

And then Qiao Qiao saw it: clinging to the monster suit was a dark shadow. Its face was ordinary, yet twisted into a hideous snarl. When the hero fell, it let out a peal of laughter, as if it truly were the monster, celebrating its victory.

There was no doubt—a vengeful spirit. And its vessel was the monster suit. Now, the suit retained only a trace of gloom; the spirit itself was gone.

So, it could move between these monster suits at will?

Qiao Qiao ended the communion. Borrowing pen and paper from Eiji Onodera, he began to draw.

Five minutes later, he had a sketch—a rough portrait of the spirit.

Only, his drawing skills left much to be desired.

“Do you recognize this person?” he asked.

Eiji Onodera stared at the childlike sketch, utterly baffled. No one could recognize anyone from such a crude drawing; the features were barely distinguishable.

Yet, Hayata, glancing at the sketch, exclaimed in surprise.

“Isn’t that Hasegawa?”

“You know him?” Qiao Qiao turned to Hayata.

“Yes, he was a monster suit actor here before, but he kept making mistakes and eventually stopped getting roles. He left on his own.” Hayata glanced at Eiji Onodera. “I heard he got addicted to gambling, racked up huge debts, and even loan sharks came to the company.”

Eiji Onodera’s memory was jogged. “Yes, someone brought him in, but after three months he disappeared, taking some things from the company with him.”

“I heard he owed so much he eventually hanged himself,” Hayata added, pulling out his phone to retrieve a chat record from over a month ago.

Qiao Qiao compared the information with the company’s files and death records obtained through the Exorcist Association’s cooperation with the police.

“Yes, the vengeful spirit is Hasegawa,” he confirmed.

Driven by obsession, Hasegawa’s spirit had attached itself to the Tokyo Prototype Films company after death? Since he’d played monsters in life, he now possessed monster suits, sabotaging filming? Did he blame the company for his demise?

Theories and plotlines flashed through Qiao Qiao’s mind, but none seemed particularly important.

“Well, Master, can you exorcise this spirit?” Eiji Onodera asked anxiously.

“It’s quite simple,” Qiao Qiao replied, but soon fell into contemplation.

“What’s wrong, Master? Is there a problem?” Onodera pressed.

“…Actually, I was going to say that if we destroy all the monster suits in the company, we can force the spirit out and eliminate it directly.”

At Qiao Qiao’s words, Eiji Onodera’s face turned ashen. This exorcist, he thought, seemed a bit… unconventional.

“Rest assured, I wouldn’t do anything so unreasonable,” Qiao Qiao smiled, clarifying that was only a last resort. Then he asked, “By the way, Mr. Onodera, are your collectibles insured?”