Yashakiden Vol. 5

Book excerpt: The vampirization of Demon City Shinjuku is nearly complete. Princess, the legendary evil vampire from ancient China, and her followers Kikiou and Ryuuki have unleashed the plague of vampirism upon the already debauched and depraved city on the edge of the abyss. As more and more of Shinjuku’s citizens turn into creatures of the night, a secret government plan is hatched to annihilate Demon City with a nuclear device. As the clock ticks down, beautiful manhunter Setsura Aki enters Princess’s kingdom to retrieve Princess’s hostage—the Prime Minister of Japan. There he meets a mysterious mask maker from a bygone era and undergoes a transformation. But will it be in time to save Shinjuku? Meanwhile, the Demon Physician—Doctor Mephisto—remains a voluntary prisoner in Princess’s camp. To what end—and whose side is the good doctor truly on? And in Shinjuku’s Magic Town, Tonbeau Nuvenberg and the Doll Girl find the portal to Princess’s kingdom—a box sealed by magic. To open the box, they must do the impossible: access the timeline of the Universe itself—the Akashic Records. The thrilling conclusion to the great vampire series, Yashakiden: The Demon Princess — by the master of Japanese horror fiction — Hideyuki Kikuchi.