Chapter 287
Chapter 287
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 287
Chapter Title: ACT.58 The Regressor (3)
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The situation in Kyoto was incomparable to Osaka's.
The defensive lines that formed the residential area had long since crumbled, and as if yokai and oni weren't enough, all sorts of demonic beasts were now roaming inside.
Yaogami and the other executives of the Yamato Guild were nowhere to be seen.
Only one S-rank player remained in the residential area.
A woman with long, flowing red hair, beautifully overwhelming her enemies.
'Doje?'
No wonder she wasn't in Osaka, despite being tasked with monitoring the regressor. So she was here.
I wondered how the situation had changed during my journey from Osaka to Kyoto for the Yamato Guild executives to be missing.
She would surely know.
"Kikik! There's a human over here too!"
"Catch him! Kill him! No, don't kill him! He won't taste good if you do!"
Having caught my scent, the yokai swarmed in an instant.
There were no yokai strong enough to be wary of.
This must be why they could leave just Doje behind while all the executives moved elsewhere.
*Swish.*
The yokai charging at me all stopped in their tracks.
Then, at the same moment, their heads fell off.
It happened so fast that blood didn't even spurt out; it just flowed naturally to the ground like water.
This was the result of Zeta's movement.
"I'll take it from here."
Zeta vanished into the shadows.
It was a new ability of Zeta's, unlocked when my Mana hit 90.
It had the effect of granting a movement speed buff to nearby allies, so I had kept him summoned the entire way to Kyoto.
I would be fighting a Disaster soon, so it was good to sharpen my senses.
I immediately drew my sword and dove into the midst of the yokai.
*Shwwaaack!*
This was a deliberate performance.
A performance to show Doje that we shared the same goal for now, and that I possessed a certain level of strength.
The moment I forced a path and reached Doje.
Doje spoke as if she recognized me on sight.
"Aha, you're Kim Se-hyeon, right?"
I simply nodded slightly without a word, and Doje smirked and pointed in one direction.
"If you go that way, you'll find everything you're looking for. I was a bit worried about sending just them. This is great. Oh, and while you're at it, please take care of my cute little brother! Don't worry about things here!"
Doje smiled brightly.
At that, the yokai charging at her back were sliced into dozens of pieces, leaving not even a trace of their forms.
With only these low-level yokai, even if thousands gathered, it would be impossible to overcome the wall that was Doje.
I immediately turned in the direction Doje had pointed.
"Grrrr..."
As the yokai's characteristic ominous energy intensified, a note of caution entered Lasty's cry.
They must be close.
'The sound of fighting.'
I increased my speed even more.
The clang of weapons mixed with people's shouts and all sorts of explosions.
On a stage of endlessly stretching stairs were the now-familiar players of the Yamato Guild.
And facing them were four powerful oni.
They were the most representative of Ibaraki-doji's many subordinates, beings known as the Four Heavenly Kings, including Dojiguma.
[You shall not pass. Remain here quietly.]
"Don't be ridiculous...!"
Himura screamed as he pushed forward, but the oni he was fighting hardened its entire body like metal and blocked everything.
It seemed each S-rank was fighting one or two of them, but neither side could easily gain the upper hand.
This was normal.
The general consensus was that to defeat a demonic beast of a certain rank, you needed at least five players of the same rank.
But with four S-rank equivalent oni appearing at once, even the Yamato Guild was bound to struggle.
And that was without even considering the Disaster, Ibaraki-doji.
'The Yamato Guild brought many A and B-rank players, but the oni don't just have the Four Heavenly Kings.'
At least Yaogami was fighting one-on-one and gaining an advantage, but it was slight.
The Yamato Guild's forces alone were not enough to stop Ibaraki-doji.
If Doje were here, it would be a different story, but the yokai attack on the residential area was probably aimed at preventing that.
'Then why isn't Ibaraki-doji showing himself?'
He isn't hiding his energy.
The Four Heavenly Kings have also been acting as gatekeepers, preventing the Yamato Guild from advancing.
If a surprise attack isn't the goal, what is Ibaraki-doji planning?
[Wait silently while our master recovers his strength, you ignorant fools. Do so, and a new era shall dawn.]
"As if we would let that happen!"
The Sword Saint immediately retorted and swung his sword.
I stealthily raised the corners of my mouth.
I see. So that's the situation?
Then this is no time to be dawdling here.
I focused all my mana into my legs and quickly covered the distance.
[Who goes there!?]
The oni fighting Yaogami noticed me immediately, but Yaogami attacked at the right moment, so it couldn't pay me any mind.
For a moment, my eyes met Yaogami's.
*I'm counting on you.*
His eyes were clearly saying that.
[To let a little rat slip by... !]
[It's fine. What can he do alone? By now, our master should have finished the ritual.]
[Still, you never know! I will pursue him, you all... Kugh!]
"Where do you think you're going? Your opponent is me. Don't think for a second you can get past me."
[A mere lackey of the Sun God...!]
"Then try dying to that lackey, oni."
Flames erupted behind the path I had crossed.
The fire of the sun, which would never extinguish until Yaogami himself died.
He didn't seem pleased about having to entrust this to me, but Yaogami was not a man to be swayed by his emotions.
[You should probably speed up.]
Besial, who had been silent for a while, carefully whispered.
"Why? Is the ritual almost over?"
[No. Something... isn't right in Osaka. I saw a lot of demons turning their attention that way, saying it looked interesting. You know what it means when demons find something interesting, right? It's never good for you guys.]
You're one to talk.
"I was planning to finish this quickly and go anyway."
Dammit. Why are there so many stairs?
I'm about to run out of stamina before the fight even begins.
Then again, I suppose that makes it a fitting place for a seal.
I entered a desolate shrine that seemed to have been abandoned for a long time and threw myself into a large, unnaturally placed pit in the middle of the grounds.
The deeper I went, the thicker the demonic energy became, to the point where it was difficult to breathe.
I need to hurry a little more.
"Zeta."
A mass of darkness moved ahead.
And not long after, someone's bewildered voice echoed out.
Looks like he stopped it.
[A soldier made of darkness...?]
A box that looked so old it might have rotted was open, and in a bandaged hand was a white arm covered in talismans.
He didn't manage to snatch the arm, but it seems he stopped the ritual.
Zeta is an assassin.
Normally, he wouldn't reveal himself.
But this time, on my orders, he had deliberately shown himself.
To make him focus all his attention on Zeta.
[What!?]
Because of that, I was able to approach Ibaraki-doji's back with relative ease and snatch the 'sealed arm' in a surprise attack.
I looked at the guy clutching his arm where I'd cut his shoulder and let out a smirk.
"This is what you wanted, right?"
[Where did you come from...!? Human, put that down immediately!]
"I don't think I can do that."
He's classified as a Disaster, but Ibaraki-doji's actual specs don't reach that level.
He's only slightly stronger than the Four Heavenly Kings.
That's because Ibaraki-doji is in a weakened state.
The reason is related to the legend of Ibaraki-doji, which ends with his arm being cut off.
'Depending on the legend, sometimes he gets his arm back, and sometimes he doesn't.'
Thanks to what the oni of the Four Heavenly Kings said, I knew it was the latter.
That this was an Ibaraki-doji who hadn't recovered his arm and thus wasn't at full strength.
Just looking at his face, I could tell all his attention was on this arm.
"You're famous for missing an arm, you know."
The demon's arm.
The moment he gets this back, Ibaraki-doji will regain the power of his prime.
The evil that once threatened the entire Japanese archipelago alone will descend again.
'Therefore.'
*CRACK!*
I focused my mana and blew the arm apart.
If this arm is gone, Ibaraki-doji's power will not return.
Was it the shock of his arm being destroyed?
Ibaraki-doji, who had been stunned for a moment, soon let out a roar.
[You bastard... you dare destroy my arm!? I'll tear you limb from limb!!]
Ibaraki-doji's eyes became bloodshot as he revealed his hostility.
It's no use.
Without recovering the 'demon's arm', Ibaraki-doji isn't strong enough to stop me.
Seeing Ibaraki-doji's mana with Extreme Eye confirmed that thought.
[Even if I'm missing an arm, do you think a mere human can do anything to me!]
His hand, which had transformed into five blades, flew through the air, tearing it apart.
Even with his hand's cutting power, which could slice through a polearm like paper, it couldn't break the Black Moon Sword, made of black steel.
However, as if he had expected it, Ibaraki-doji didn't pull his hand back but instead grabbed the sword.
[I've got you!]
The bandages unraveled, and something invisible moved.
I thought it was strange from the first time I saw it.
Why would he have bandages wrapped around his right arm, where there was clearly nothing?
No, why was it possible for it to move like a real arm and grasp things just by being wrapped in bandages?
The answer was simple.
'A fake arm created using mana.'
When I created a sword aura on the blade of my free left hand and sliced through the formless arm, black flames spread in the empty air.
This was because the Black Moon Sword's mana-blocking effect caused the mana forming Ibaraki-doji's arm to scatter into pieces.
*Pshuk!*
Taking advantage of the opening, Zeta, who had erased his presence, moved and stabbed Ibaraki-doji in the back.
In a narrow, dark space like this, a fighting style utilizing Zeta is optimal.
[You bastard, you bastard, you bastard...!]
He coughed up a mouthful of purple blood.
His completely reddened eyes glared at me as if to kill me.
Zeta's sword should have pierced his heart.
As expected of an oni. His life force is extraordinary.
In fact, the wound was already healing after just a short time.
I can't give black flames to the soldiers summoned by the Army of Darkness.
'...Wait a minute?'
Why didn't I think of this before?
The soldier himself can't use black flames, but there shouldn't be a problem if I hand them over, right?
"Zeta, catch."
I took out Behemoth's Fang, coated it in black flames, and threw it to Zeta.
Zeta caught the sword lightly, his eyes gleaming eerily.
What do you know, it works.
Controlling it from a distance consumes a fair bit of mana, but considering the efficiency, it was well worth it.
[You, and you alone, I will surely chew your raw flesh and wash myself in your blood. I swear it!]
In that brief moment, Ibaraki-doji, having finished healing, instantly released his demonic energy.
[Open, Rashomon! Devour them!]
'Rashomon?'
A classical East Asian gate exuding an ominous aura appeared behind Ibaraki-doji.
It rattled and shook, looking like a dam about to burst from overflowing water.
If this is the Rashomon (羅生門) I know, this isn't a power an oni can simply wield.
[I am the oni most connected to the underworld! It seems you didn't know that I could wield the power of the underworld!]
*Kiiiaaaaaaack!!*
The gate to the underworld opens.
From within, something made of pure resentment surged out like a wave.
Besial immediately gave a warning.
[That's dangerous! The moment it touches you, your life force will be drained! If you're caught, you'll be dragged to the underworld!]
"It certainly looks that way."
If Ibaraki-doji had used Rashomon with the power of his recovered arm, it would have been a finishing move capable of wiping out the entire Yamato Guild, a perfect counter to living beings.
I can only imagine what would have happened if that was used in the middle of the residential area.
That's why it was all the more fortunate that I was the one facing Ibaraki-doji.
"Arise."
Because my army does not possess life.