Chapter 37: Good Day, Family Head
Saigū.
Originally, the term referred to the palace where the Saiō lived, similar to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto.
And the Saiō was the highest rank a miko could achieve, traditionally held by unmarried imperial princesses.
Now, however, the Ryūko Shrine had been designated as a “Saigū.”
The meaning of this was…
—It was equivalent to being established as a state religion.
And a state religion was self-explanatory.
Apart from the die-hard believers of the Blissful Truth religion, most ordinary people would naturally find a state religion more reliable.
Over time, the Ryūko Shrine would only grow stronger.
And once the Blissful Truth religion showed any signs of weakness, being a cult in nature, it would likely be suppressed immediately.
And according to Kamishiro Naraku, the Ryūko Shrine had become a Saigū…
Because of its astonishing healing abilities, and it was said that wishes were granted under certain circumstances if the believer was devout enough.
Moreover, donations were entirely voluntary, and it was protected by a B-rank supernatural user.
In a world plagued by supernatural beings, the Ryūko Shrine was undoubtedly the best place to reassure the common people.
He had heard that property prices around the Ryūko Shrine had been skyrocketing recently.
He had to crush them before they grew stronger.
Otherwise, there would be no room for the Blissful Truth religion to survive in the future. Even if it did survive, it would be a shadow of its former self, completely branded as a cult, forced to hide in the shadows.
This was unacceptable to Kamishiro Naraku.
A decline in the size of the Blissful Truth religion would also mean a slower rate of growth for his own power.
It was directly related to his ability.
His ability was fusion.
In reality, Kamishiro Naraku’s ability wasn’t particularly strong. Among supernatural users, fusion abilities, while not common, were not unheard of.
Most fusion users would temporarily fuse with ordinary weapons to gain their properties and fight.
However, in a life-or-death situation, Kamishiro Naraku had accidentally fused with a supernatural being and survived.
His fusion ability had undergone a slight mutation.
Then, like a madman, he had uncontrollably fused with a large number of supernatural beings.
His ability rank had soared, reaching B-rank.
In this respect, Kujō Sujin and Kamishiro Naraku’s situations were somewhat similar.
However, the number of supernatural beings he had fused with had reached its limit, and his rank was stuck at mid-B-rank, unable to advance further.
To become stronger, he had to fuse with a Nightmare-level supernatural being!
If he did, he could not only reach peak B-rank, but even break through to A-rank in one go.
But Nightmare-level beings could only be handled by A-ranks, creating an almost impossible cycle.
In this helpless situation…
A terrifying thought was born in Kamishiro Naraku’s mind.
If he couldn’t handle a Nightmare-level being, then he would create one himself!
Create one with weak combat power but the raw energy of a Nightmare-level being.
And the birth of a Nightmare-level being required a large amount of flesh and blood as a foundation.
But now, with the Ryūko Shrine being designated as a Saigū, a large amount of flesh and blood had slipped through his fingers.
Therefore, the Ryūko Shrine absolutely could not be allowed to exist.
The Saiō of the Ryūko Shrine was said to be a B-rank, and he was a mid-B-rank.
And she had dozens of miko supernatural users. He had more supernatural users under his command, but not enough to crush them.
And an attack on their shrine had to be swift.
Otherwise, if other supernatural users came to their aid, it would become much more difficult.
So, today, Kamishiro Naraku had come to ask Kujō Sujin for convicts, to control them with supernatural beings and increase the number of his supernatural users.
The Kujō family was a top-tier conglomerate, their influence extending not only to all aspects of life but also to official circles.
It wouldn’t be difficult to reassign a batch of convicts on death row or serving life sentences, give them new identities, and throw them into the Circle of Light.
Thinking of the Circle of Light…
Kamishiro Naraku remembered one of his supernatural beings dying last night.
That supernatural being had been placed in a member of the Circle of Light.
And the power that had killed it, he felt, was very similar in nature to the power of the crimson vertical pupil from last night.
Initially, Kamishiro Naraku had wanted to retaliate.
But after sensing the crimson vertical pupil, he didn’t even dare to entertain the thought.
That A-rank was not like Kujō Sujin, a bloated, over-inflated A-rank.
Moreover, last night, that being had obtained a Rule, increasing their power.
Regarding Rules, Kamishiro Naraku felt that his special ability might also be able to be used…
And Kujō Sujin would likely be very interested in obtaining a Rule.
After all, it might allow him to stabilize his A-rank status without needing supernatural blood.
Thinking of this, Kamishiro Naraku said,
“Lord Kujō, this deal is complete.”
“However, I have another matter to discuss. Last night, the A-rank Master of Summer Harvest Mountain achieved the unprecedented feat of obtaining a Rule.”
“Should we also begin to study this?”
He opened his pitch-black eyes slightly, his gaze fixed on the screen.
As if he could meet Kujō Sujin’s gaze.
“Good.”
A deep voice slowly replied.
…
…
“Humans can also master Rules. If you had told me this yesterday, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“It’s taboo.”
“But last night, that taboo was broken!”
“If a human with a Rule enters an Otherside, what will happen to the Otherside?”
“I wish I had a Rule.”
At the same time, this matter was also being discussed at the Natsuba main residence core meeting.
Natsuba Hanae watched the stewards engaged in a heated discussion.
She looked at the main seat at the front, and the two secondary seats next to it, which were still empty.
Clearly, her two older brothers and father had not yet arrived.
Natsuba Yosuke, however, was already here.
He looked quite pleased with himself. After all, besides her, he was the only one present who knew the most about the crimson vertical pupil incident.
She just hoped he was smart enough not to say anything he shouldn’t.
A glint appeared in Natsuba Hanae’s red, glass-like eyes.
Of course, even if Natsuba Yosuke accidentally let something slip, it wouldn’t affect her plans in the slightest. It would just be a slight inconvenience, and he would die a little sooner.
Just then, the sound of the door sliding open was heard again. Under the sunlight, three shadows were cast on the floor.
The stewards’ discussion abruptly ceased, and they all bowed their heads.
Then, a unified voice echoed,
“Good day, Family Head.”
