Pathway to Japanese Literature
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Human AshesAuthor: Unno Juza
| Original Title | 人間灰 |
|---|---|
| Author | 海野 十三 |
| Genre | Fantasy & Sci-Fi |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | Nestled on a windswept plateau overlooking Lake Rightfoot, Dr. Akazawa’s Air Factory harbors a chilling secret: six employees have vanished without trace over three years, each disappearance heralded by a fierce West Wind. Workers dread these gusts, fleeing to taverns rather than risk the factory’s shadowed halls. When another storm rages, panic erupts anew—this time, Dr. Akazawa’s young wife, Shuko, disappears. A bloodstained stranger is apprehended by a tenacious officer, igniting a frenzied investigation. As police comb the factory’s labyrinthine chambers—filled with cryptic machinery producing liquid air and gases—clues surface: strange soil, phantom boats, and whispers of pulverized remains scattered by balloons into the lake. Tensions mount between the enigmatic Dr. Akazawa, his aloof engineer Aotani, and a dogged journalist determined to expose the truth. Yet darker forces stir—ghostly apparitions, frozen corpses, and a macabre scientific method that turns flesh to ash. With storms as accomplices and shadows as witnesses, the factory’s secrets unravel toward a revelation as brittle and lethal as liquid air itself. Will the West Wind claim another victim, or will justice rise from the ashes? |
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