Chapter 196: Blood Moon Over the Kujō Main Residence!
“Soon… soon…”
In the darkness, a slightly hoarse soul-vibrating sound, like a ripple on a lake, spread outwards.
The emotion within was one of unconcealable, excited joy.
In Kamishiro Naraku’s pure black eyes, it was as if a thick ink was flowing out, and there was an endless greed.
In Kujō Sujin’s body, the black divinity that Kamishiro Naraku controlled…
Was constantly intertwining like a spiderweb, seeping into the divine artifact, Calamity and Fortune, and constantly contaminating it.
And the divine artifact, Calamity and Fortune, was step by step being brought under Kamishiro Naraku’s control.
Until…
———The share he controlled was greater than Kujō Sujin’s!
As if a certain switch had been flipped…
With a “crack,” the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune had become Kamishiro Naraku’s shape.
If the share Kujō Sujin controlled had always been thirty percent of the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune, then Kamishiro Naraku, through his continuous efforts over time…
With Kujō Sujin’s bloodline as a guide, and with the benefit of the Old God’s divinity’s inherent polluting nature…
At this moment, the degree of control he had reached was a full half!!
However, it was also just half.
To take another step, to completely seize the initiative of the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune, he couldn’t advance an inch. It seemed that some force and will was stopping him.
However, for Kamishiro Naraku, this was enough.
Although he couldn’t occupy more than fifty percent, for now, his share of the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune was undoubtedly superior to Kujō Sujin’s.
In this way, there were too many places he could manipulate.
For example…
The divine artifact Calamity and Fortune could absorb the power of the gods.
Kujō Sujin had previously wanted to obtain the power of the Natsuba god.
Then, Kamishiro Naraku could naturally do the same.
And he had no scruples. As long as it was the power of a god, Kamishiro Naraku didn’t care.
So, the power of a god…
In the Kujō family, wasn’t there a ready-made one waiting for him to absorb?
Thinking of this, a strange smile appeared on Kamishiro Naraku’s lips.
He was a parasite through and through.
In the past, he had been sucking blood from the Blissful Truth religion. Now, he was sucking blood from Kujō Sujin.
And soon, his blood-sucking target would be a god.
“The god Ebisu, huh…”
“I’d like to see if you can satisfy me.”
In the darkness…
Kamishiro Naraku used his black divinity and the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune to create a black flesh bud.
The flesh bud grew from the sleeping Kujō Sujin. Kamishiro Naraku had attached his own will to the flesh bud…
It suddenly pierced into the ground.
Following the information given by the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune, Kamishiro Naraku controlled the flesh bud to continuously spread on the ground, reaching the depths.
Then, after reaching a certain deep area…
With the fluctuation of the spatial layers…
The flesh bud, carrying Kamishiro Naraku’s consciousness, came to a space that was inexplicably filled with a bloody aura.
A boundless sea of blood.
And a sea bream, the size of a whale, was swimming in the sea of blood.
And on the sea bream’s head, a little old man in a hunting suit, wearing a tall black hat, was sitting on it, resting with his eyes closed.
On the tall black hat, there was a dense, flowing, filthy aura, swaying indefinitely.
On the little old man’s face, a look of pain appeared from time to time.
And a large amount of red divinity boiled and surged from his body, and overflowed.
Through the small crack in the spatial link, it entered the Kujō main residence.
“Is this the reason why the divinity of the Kujō main residence’s Ebisu is endless?”
“And…”
“Rather than saying that the gods are sleeping at the bottom of the various forces’ main residences, it’s more like they’re in another space underground.”
Kamishiro Naraku observed the various situations and understood in his heart.
That frail-looking, sleeping little old man was clearly the god Ebisu himself.
Although he was sleeping…
But Kamishiro Naraku had no intention of going up and waking him up to have a go.
His personality was always cautious.
Not to mention that the existence before him was a genuine god.
If he were to have a go, and end up being shattered, that would be a joke.
For now, he had no extra means of possession. He had finally found a new hope. He didn’t want to die just like that.
It was almost time to implement the plan.
From a corner of the space, Kamishiro Naraku controlled the flesh bud to emerge.
Suddenly, the flesh bud expanded, and from it, a small red sea bream was spat out. It was the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune.
Then, under the effect of the divine artifact, a strange, blood-red incense spread from Calamity and Fortune, and floated in this space.
From the mouth of the Calamity and Fortune sea bream, a straw-like thing extended.
And it pierced into Ebisu, and slowly began to absorb his power.
Ebisu’s brow immediately furrowed, and his eyelids twitched constantly.
But when Ebisu inhaled the incense, his expression returned to calm.
This made Kamishiro Naraku sigh with relief.
It seemed that the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune could not only absorb power, but also make its target unaware.
No wonder Kujō Sujin had such confidence.
At the same time, Kamishiro Naraku sensed that the powerful power that Calamity and Fortune was absorbing from Ebisu was being incorporated into his own body at a certain ratio.
And the rest was being extracted from Ebisu and then returned to him…
It was simply ridiculous.
However, this was also within the range of understanding.
No matter what, the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune was Ebisu’s divine artifact. Ebisu must have thought that in the future, if the divine artifact Calamity and Fortune was lost, or lent to others…
While letting others benefit, he could also extract a part of the power to benefit himself.
However, he had never expected that it would now be used on himself, leading to such a situation, which was a bit comical.
Of course, because the current Kamishiro Naraku was ultimately parasitizing Kujō Sujin’s body…
Although Kamishiro Naraku had forcibly incorporated ninety-nine percent of its abilities into his own use, there was still a wisp of energy that had overflowed into Kujō Sujin’s body.
But Kamishiro Naraku didn’t care. In that case, it would just be a little slower to obtain power.
It was no big deal.
He could already feel that his body was constantly getting stronger. It wouldn’t be long before he could return to A-rank.
But at the same time, a bold idea arose in his mind.
In the black flesh bud, a pure black eye of Kamishiro Naraku appeared. He stared at Ebisu.
A strange thought flashed in his eyes.
Then, he made up his mind.
The current Ebisu was being stunned by the incense of Calamity and Fortune. This was a good opportunity.
The front end of the black flesh bud transformed into a sharp needle, wrapped in the pure black divinity of the Old God, and it suddenly pierced at Ebisu’s skin!
Swish——————!
In the next moment, the needle pierced in.
Squelch—!
……………………
………………
Kujō Sujin opened his eyes.
He got up from the bed, which was filled with a decaying smell. For some reason, he had slept exceptionally soundly this time.
As if an unknown energy had filled his long-parched body.
His mind slowly turned, and then he murmured to himself,
“Until Kujō Yūsuke didn’t return, there has been no news from the Natsuba conglomerate. It seems…”
“The Natsuba conglomerate has completely torn off all pretense of cordiality.”
“That old fox Natsuba Genryū is really ruthless.”
“But the Kujō family didn’t lose out.”
No matter what, Natsuba Taiga was really dead.
Probably even Natsuba Genryū hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t expected that Natsuba Rinrei would reach A-rank, and that the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain would appear there.
And kill Natsuba Taiga.
This time, the plan against Natsuba Rinrei, rather than saying that the two conglomerates were targeting Summer Harvest Mountain…
It was more like Summer Harvest Mountain had set a trap and was waiting for the two conglomerates to walk into it.
And Natsuba Genryū’s plan was also after Summer Harvest Mountain’s.
According to Kujō Sujin’s speculation, Natsuba Genryū’s real goal was to use the joint attack on Natsuba Rinrei, and then use this opportunity to send a powerful supernatural user from the Chikari branch to annihilate the Kujō family’s living forces.
And the result of the confrontation between Kujō Sujin and Natsuba Taiga against Natsuba Rinrei, Natsuba Genryū didn’t worry at all. He could probably accept any result.
Because at worst, that result would be Natsuba Rinrei’s death.
One A-rank and one peak B-rank, against a peak B-rank Natsuba Rinrei, how could they lose?
When Kujō Sujin discovered that his own family’s descendants had died, the powerhouse of the Chikari branch would also come, and then fight him together. He would be helpless.
This should have been Natsuba Genryū’s original plan.
But there were too many variables.
This led to Natsuba Taiga’s death, and the Natsuba conglomerate’s losses were even more severe than the Kujō family’s. Natsuba Genryū’s intestines were probably in knots.
However, for Kujō Sujin, this was not good news either.
The Natsuba conglomerate’s two heirs were dead.
This meant that even if Natsuba Yosuke was useless, Natsuba Genryū would surely place great importance on him. After all, he was the only male bloodline.
And Natsuba Genryū now wanting to have children…
Was already impossible. Even an A-rank supernatural user, but Natsuba Genryū was now over seventy.
And the Natsuba conglomerate’s emphasis on Natsuba Yosuke also meant that it would be very difficult for Kujō Sujin to obtain him.
The three direct descendants of the Natsuba family now…
Natsuba Rinrei was now an A-rank, and the difficulty of obtaining her was the greatest.
Natsuba Yosuke was protected by Natsuba Genryū, and it was also very difficult.
Natsuba Hanae was the easiest. In two or three days, it would be the day of the marriage. When he got her, he could just sacrifice her, and he could obtain a small part of the Natsuba god’s power.
And let himself completely stabilize at A-rank, and even advance.
But to be stronger, he had to choose between Natsuba Rinrei and Natsuba Yosuke.
Only then could he reach high A-rank or higher.
However, the price of going to the Hero Association and acting against Natsuba Rinrei was far more than this.
The original Kujō family, its hostile relationship with Summer Harvest Mountain was reflected in the indirect hostility of the Natsuba conglomerate.
But that one move was personally made by the Kujō family, by Kujō Sujin himself.
The personal move of the family head had a completely different meaning.
It meant that the Kujō family and Summer Harvest Mountain were now real enemies.
Thinking of this, Kujō Sujin couldn’t help but feel a soreness in his brow. He pinched it and took a deep breath.
“Was this also in your calculations, Natsuba Genryū?”
Summer Harvest Mountain’s strength, just the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain and Natsuba Rinrei, were two A-ranks, and could be considered powerful.
And according to Kamishiro Naraku, the Master of Summer Harvest Mountain possessed a strength above high A-rank.
In other words, even if the Kujō family used its hidden A-rank, it would be no match for a high A-rank.
In the future, the Kujō family’s supernatural users above B-rank, when they went out to act…
They had to be careful of being hunted by the people of Summer Harvest Mountain.
Of course, in the Kujō main residence, there was no need to worry.
No matter what, in the main residence, there was Lord Ebisu guarding it. Even a high A-rank, if they were to harm a Kujō direct descendant…
They would be attacked by Ebisu’s divinity.
Not only that, but in the family, the power of a divine artifact would also be enhanced.
However, the Kujō family had lost its only major ally. On its own, facing Summer Harvest Mountain on the outside was still a bit difficult.
After thinking for a moment, Kujō Sujin thought of Kamishiro Naraku again.
Kamishiro Naraku, as a B-rank with A-rank strength, could be considered a rather powerful ally. But the cooperation between the two before had not been good.
But for a while, the Kujō family couldn’t find an ally with A-rank strength.
So, Kujō Sujin couldn’t fall out with Kamishiro Naraku now.
He could only ease the relationship a little.
Besides, when he had run away from the Hero Association, Kamishiro Naraku had helped him.
Kujō Sujin walked out the door.
He pushed the door open, and a dazzling sunlight shone down from the sky. The clear sky was exceptionally warm, and his cold blood felt comfortable.
He willed it in his heart and said softly,
“Kamishiro Naraku.”
For a moment, Kamishiro Naraku didn’t appear. Kujō Sujin’s brow couldn’t help but furrow, and he seemed to sense something was wrong. He called out again,
“Kamishiro Naraku!!”
However, two minutes passed, and Kamishiro Naraku still hadn’t appeared.
Kujō Sujin immediately mobilized all the blood in his body and prepared to search within himself.
Just then…
Kamishiro Naraku’s voice finally sounded, faint and distant.
“Family Head, what can I do for you?”
“You slept well. I haven’t fully woken up yet. To disturb someone’s sweet dream is very dishonest.”
Hearing Kamishiro Naraku’s voice…
Kujō Sujin finally sighed with relief.
From what he knew of Kamishiro Naraku, when he didn’t speak, it was often when he needed to be vigilant. And when he did speak, even if his words were malicious, it was much better than not speaking.
And he had called him, not for any other reason, but to confirm his existence, and to talk with this currently only partner, to win him over.
And when Kamishiro Naraku really came out, the two didn’t have much in common, and it was a bit awkward.
Kujō Sujin hesitated for a moment, then looked at the bright, sunny weather and said,
“I don’t have anything.”
“I just wanted you to see how nice the weather is today.”
However, just as Kujō Sujin finished speaking…
【!!!————————————————!!!!】
A violent gust of wind swept across the entire sky. In an instant, the space seemed to refract, and thick dark clouds rolled in.
The brilliant sun, which had been radiating, was dyed a crimson color.
A vertical pupil appeared.
And it became extremely violent, looking down on all living things.
Kamishiro Naraku: “…”
