Maohden Vol. 2 (23 page)

“No. But if that is indeed the case, I can’t very well return
her
. A deal is a deal.”

Azusa screamed. The unearthly cry unleashed as her right nipple severed and the drizzle of blood again rained down onto the pavement.

“Move and it’ll be the eyes next. Or maybe even if you don’t. Just watch and don’t raise a fuss.”

“Stop it!” Azusa shouted in a near frenzy.

“Siegfried,” Gento said sharply. “Get to it.”

The giant moved. Toward Azusa. His hands traced a peculiar pattern in the air. Yamada’s Dimensional Blade severed the devil wires. Azusa collapsed to the ground.

“Son of a bitch.”

“Please. I am only doing what
you
want.”

The giant picked up Azusa and placed her on the altar. Setsura observed this unexpected turn of events without comment.

The giant slowly turned around. The wall of muscle, that enormous mass, swept towards him. A body like that imagined by the ancient Greek sculptors, marred by not a single scar.

The destructive power of the Dimensional Blade, that had twice pushed even Gento Roran to the limits, went without saying. This time, facing off against him
and
Gento might actually give Setsura the fight of his life.

But then—a shadow passed across the ground, a dark warp in the moonlight. Forgetting their mutual wager with life and death, they raised their heads and looked into the sky.

From somewhere far away a dog howled.

The moonlight swirled like a whirlpool. From within the outlines of the brilliant white orb arose the shape of a large bird, looming ever larger as it streaked toward the ground.

A pair of radiant red eyes, a hooked beak, the fierce beating of its wings reaching thirty feet across. A
falcon
.

For tonight was the night of the falcon.

And so
Maohden
draws ever closer to the climax.

As things stand now, Gento will go from strength to strength, leaving Setsura in the dust, stuck with his own status quo. Well, we’ll just have to wait for the final volume to find out how he fares.

Meanwhile, the introduction of Magic Town in Takada no Baba lends an increasingly medieval flavor to the tale.

The model here is Prague in the Czech Republic, the center of black magic, occult science and mysticism in the sixteenth century. In fact, an “Alchemists’ Alley” really existed on the grounds of Prague Castle where Rudolf II housed his personal alchemists, astrologers and magicians. There are photographs even, that tell the tale (though probably not taken at the time).

Night and day, smoke of curious color and scents wafting from the old and worn chimneys—human figures moving behind the shaded windows and drawn curtains, carrying out their suspicious experiments—it’s the kind of thing that charges up my imagination as well.

As long as this place remains a figment of the past no tourist can visit; as long as there are junior mad scientists holed up in their basements, suffering the scorn of the modern age while keeping alive these age-old experiments with their crazy-ass theories and techniques; as long as there’s a tabloid press with at least one eye focused on worldly and commercial success—

Or rather, perhaps
because
of all that, I wanted to bring it back to life, its eerie people and its dark arts. The whole eerie town. A place where I could creep through the spooky shadows, past the stone houses lining the worn cobblestone streets, making my way to outskirts that might not even exist, with only moonlight as my guide—

I suspect I’d have more than a few kindred spirits along for the ride.

I’ve mentioned this in previous essays, but including the time I spent at college, I lived for eight years in Harajuku. The shops and venues that stood out in my mind included the Roman confectionery shop; the
Leon
tea house; The
Alex
disco; the
Mademoiselle Non-non
boutique; and the
Kiddyland
toy store. It made for quite the relaxing stroll.

My apartment was ten steps (literally) off Meiji Avenue. When I stepped out onto the sidewalk, a bookstore and cafe were right there. Slip into a side alley, and at the end was a public bath.

All well and good, but my favorites were the Omotesando residential streets heading toward Aoyama Avenue. Especially at night, a casual stroll to the public bath at the top of the hill was a real delight.

Houses like old castles, stone walls wound with ivy; a silhouette sitting at a desk behind French-style bay doors; houses decorated with stained glass windows; an elegant white mansion. Simply imagining the lives being lived there was like venturing into a different world.

My thoughts during those strolls have now suffused
Maohden
.

These days, though, far from going on long walks, I’ve become a couch potato for whom having to stand up is an inconvenience. But as long as I’m able to preserve those feelings on the printed page, there’s hope for me yet.

Maohden
may ultimately be less about Setsura vs. Gento than a story of Shinjuku.

I haven’t returned to those residential streets I once wandered in my youth, but luckily now I hold the magic of the novel in my hands. After this, please resist the urge to dismiss this as a mere exercise in sentimentality. It’s not
that
bad.

And now, a few excerpts from the next volume:

The falcon’s bloodshot eyes reflected its red-hot loathing toward all those squirming life forms on the earth below. This was not the product of hunger. This was an otherworldly madness and malice, devoid of those instinctual senses of self-preservation and indifference.

The witch’s right hand moved without appearing to move at all. A presence rustled through the air around them, something that should not be there was. The witch’s disciple. Mephisto’s eyes began to glow with an unnatural light.

The gust of cool wind revealed itself in a slender slash of light. As soon as it twined around a concrete pillar, or a feral dog’s head, or the torso of a passing pedestrian, its sheer speed left only the clean cut behind as they crumpled to the ground. Wherever this wind blew, it left in its wake a field of unrestrained, undifferentiating slaughter. Now this glittering wind was attempting to pass through the whole of Shinjuku.

The stars of the show: Setsura Aki, Doctor Mephisto, Gento Roran. The supporting actors: Azusa Sasaki, Hyota, Mayumi, Galeen Nuvenberg. The writer, director and producer: Hideyuki Kikuchi.

Maohden
, Volume 3 concludes an entertaining thrill ride that has surprised even its creator. Don’t miss it!

Hideyuki Kikuchi (while watching
Local Hero
)

Late in the night of September 25, 1986