A metal sculptor named K?ji Kijima creates his stylized manhole cover as art, which he tries to sell. His work is rejected by the local art community, however he is able to sell them to city authorities, who use them simply as actual manhole covers. Due to its design the cover becomes a Horror gate, from which a Horror named Dark Hole manifests and possesses a young woman. After visiting an art gallery, where Kaoru is assisting her mentor at his exhibition, Kaoru's mentor recognizes K?ji as an old college friend, however K?ji all but ignores him and leaves. K?ji is later visited by the Horror. Claiming to love his work, yet more intrigued by the strange darkness that emits from it, she convinces him to mass produce the manhole cover as part of her scheme to create more gateways for her kin. Kouga and Reo learn of this during their hunt for Death Hole when K?ji's art colleague almost falls victim to one such cover. Kaoru, recognizing the shaper's design, directs Kouga to look for K?ji while Reo seals all the manhole covers. Kouga discovers the Horror and defeats her swiftly as Garo. After the Horror's death the source to the gates darkness comes for K?ji, revealed as the specter of his wife Mayumi and her grudge over how (after berating her husbands attempts at becoming an artist) being left to die in the sewer by K?ji. Kouga arrives to find him dead and, upon destroying the last gateway, remarks that how or why K?ji died is not really his concern.