Getting in was not difficult; the fencing was so old and run-down that they had several choices of gaps to go through. As soon as she stepped across the border, however, Akiko felt the kegare surround her, like worms brushing against her skin, leaving their trails of slime. She shuddered, and looked at Shiraishi.  The priest’s face twisted as she crossed the boundary, and she looked down at her hands.

“Do you feel it?â€ Akiko whispered. Shiraishi nodded.

“Should we do it here?â€ Akiko looked around, the acrid chemical smell of the factory catching at her throat. The kegare was everywhere, but it was thicker towards the centre of the area. Fighting down the urge to cough, she shook her head and pointed.

“Over there, I think.â€

“Those buildings don’t look entirely safe.â€ Shiraishi sounded nervous, and as something moved behind the threads Akiko felt the same way. She switched her vision back, and had to agree.

“No, they don’t. But I think we need to be a bit closer to the centre of the kegare.â€ She switched her vision back to looking at the kegare as she spoke, and caught her breath, falling back a step.

It was almost upon them already, dragging its giant worm-like body along with two insectile limbs, while another pair, sharp as swords, flashed in the air above it. Guts and slime spilled from its crushed tail, things moving within the trail, flopping like beached fish.

Akiko recovered herself and stepped forward, swinging the bells up. The spirit screamed, an ear-splitting sound that filled her head, turning the headache into a band of white agony across her forehead and filling her vision with black explosions. Gritting her teeth, she thrust the bells forward again, and the thing fell back, limbs sawing at the air as it writhed on the ground.

“Quickly!â€ she said, beckoning to the priest, and running round the fallen spirit towards a suitable-looking spot.

She stopped when she felt they were close enough to the main concentrations of kegare, and nodded to Shiraishi. The priest raised the ohnusa and began to chant the norito.

At once, dozens of small forms darted out of the shadows, appearing from between the threads and scuttling over the ground towards them. Akiko swung the kagurasuzu at them, driving them back, but there were too many of them. She turned to see one spring at the priest, and then fall back, shrieking, its dozens of limbs on fire as it landed on the ground, writhing and burning.

The other creatures scattered back into the gloom, and for a moment Akiko thought that they would be left in peace.

The deep groaning noise dispelled that pleasant illusion, a grating sound that shook Akiko to the core of her being, churning her stomach even further. She searched for its source, and saw the kegare spirits swarming over a stack of barrels, chewing at the lower ones. The stack began to rock, as the grating turned into a squeal of metal.

Akiko spun round and ran full speed into Shiraishi, pushing the priest back and out of the path of the falling barrels. A few shattered, spilling a dark, glistening liquid that could have been oil, or could have been something worse. They both scrambled to their feet, just managing to keep ahead of the flowing pollution.

“Hey! Who’s back there?â€ They heard the voice of the security guard and, without needing to say anything, ran back to the fence, ducking out through a convenient hole.

Behind them, Akiko was sure she heard a thousand voices laughing.