Chapter 25: The Dawn of Miracles
On the highway…
A silver car sped along.
Natsuba Yosuke, the third son of the Natsuba conglomerate, sat in the passenger seat, idly flipping a lighter in his hand.
He had a silver buzz cut and wore loose, white casual clothes.
His amber eyes were lost in thought.
After a long while, he finally spoke,
“Uncle Taku…”
“Young Master, please address me as Steward when we are not at your residence,” Mikami Taku interrupted, correcting him.
This was to instill proper etiquette in Natsuba Yosuke. Being addressed informally at his own residence was fine, but if others heard it outside…
They would think Natsuba Yosuke was undisciplined and didn’t understand the difference between master and servant.
Especially within the rigidly hierarchical Natsuba conglomerate.
Since Natsuba Yosuke had ambitions to compete for a share of the inheritance, he couldn’t afford to give others any ammunition against him.
Of course, the close relationship between Mikami Taku and Natsuba Yosuke wasn’t without reason.
Mikami Taku had raised Natsuba Yosuke single-handedly.
Yosuke’s mother was the daughter of a mid-sized conglomerate’s head. To secure her position, she used her connections to marry into the Natsuba family.
And as a dowry, she brought Mikami Taku, the only B-rank supernatural user in her family.
The Natsuba head, valuing power and profit, readily accepted, and Yosuke was born from this union.
However, the head of the mid-sized conglomerate was later assassinated.
His rivals, using a substantial amount of supernatural materials, retrieved Yosuke’s mother from the Natsuba family and executed her.
The Natsuba conglomerate, where women held a low status, had no reason to refuse.
That conglomerate even tried to exchange for Natsuba Yosuke.
However, as a direct descendant, Yosuke was naturally untouchable. Using the excuse that the other conglomerate had insulted the Natsuba bloodline, the Natsuba conglomerate eradicated them completely.
Confiscating all the supernatural materials they had accumulated.
A perfect example of self-destruction.
Thus, only Mikami Taku and Natsuba Yosuke remained of their families.
Because of how his mother’s family had been treated by the Natsuba conglomerate, Natsuba Yosuke grew up obsessed with power.
With the Natsuba head aging, he also wanted a share of the pie.
Now, hearing Mikami Taku’s words…
Natsuba Yosuke rephrased his question,
“Steward Mikami, haven’t Nenba Yukawa and Nenba Yusuke returned yet?”
“Why did you bring me here in such a hurry?”
He had sent the Nenba brothers to kill the spider with the baby’s head and retrieve the supernatural materials to bolster his resources.
But just now…
Mikami Taku had driven him here.
“Indeed, Young Master.”
“The Nenba brothers are over an hour past their expected return time and haven’t contacted me.”
“There are only two possibilities.”
“One, they killed the supernatural, took the materials, and ran.”
“Two…”
“They’re dead.”
The Nenba branch had served the Natsuba conglomerate for a long time. Due to their reliance on the main family for their sorcery system, betrayal was highly unlikely.
Therefore, Mikami Taku believed they were dead.
But it was just a Half-Calamity level supernatural. Even if they couldn’t kill it, they should have been able to escape.
Something unexpected must have happened.
He needed to investigate.
“Dead?”
Natsuba Yosuke’s eyes widened, and a flicker of distress appeared within them.
He knew the chances of the Nenba branch betraying them were slim; they were most likely dead.
They were two C-rank Nen users and sorcerers, brothers with excellent coordination, capable of even holding their own against a B-rank supernatural user.
He already had very few powerful subordinates, and now he had lost two of his strongest.
Natsuba Yosuke looked out the window with a grim expression.
He no longer felt like playing with his lighter.
He needed to investigate this matter thoroughly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to face the Nenba branch.
After all, for the current Nenba branch, losing such powerful members was a significant blow. He hadn’t fully won them over yet, and it seemed he would have to offer compensation.
Not only had he not gained the resources from the Half-Calamity level supernatural, but he would also have to pay out. This was a huge loss.
What? His mother’s family, which had already suffered a loss, was gone? Oh well.
Just then…
Natsuba Yosuke suddenly saw something outside the window.
He immediately ordered,
“Steward Mikami, stop the car!”
With a screech of tires, Mikami Taku slammed on the brakes. Before he could ask what was wrong, Natsuba Yosuke had already opened the door and gotten out.
He quickly followed.
Natsuba Yosuke was standing in front of a parked black car.
When Mikami Taku saw the tree symbol on the car, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.
“This is a Natsuba conglomerate official vehicle.”
Indeed, this was the car Chikari Makoto and Natsuba Hanae had driven, using an official car for personal business…
The Nenba brothers hadn’t driven here, but there was a Natsuba conglomerate car. Things were getting complicated.
Conspiracy theories filled Natsuba Yosuke’s mind.
This reeked of internal strife!
He suspected his older brothers, the first and second sons, were trying to prevent him from gaining power, from winning over the Nenba branch and strengthening his claim to the inheritance.
Of course, suspicion was just suspicion.
He needed evidence. If he could prove his brothers were responsible for the deaths of the Nenba members, even as direct descendants, they would lose face in front of their father.
And their father would punish them according to family law.
“Young Master, judging by the car’s position…”
“The people inside must have gone this way.”
Mikami Taku pointed towards the front left.
The tracking devices on the Nenba brothers had stopped working, likely destroyed during the battle, making it impossible to track them directly.
But!
He was an experienced B-rank supernatural user. Although not a sensory-type, he was highly perceptive.
He could determine the direction they had taken using various techniques.
Technique one, the simplest and most effective method, was to follow footprints.
He looked down.
There weren’t any footprints, not even a trace of anyone having walked there. Everything looked untouched.
It seemed he had to use technique two!
—Walk randomly.
Go wherever, one step at a time…
But this method was too unreliable, too unprofessional, relying entirely on luck.
If he could sense any power fluctuations, he could roughly estimate the location.
But…
In this vast, dense forest, there weren’t any power fluctuations, not even the sound of insects. Where could he even begin to search?
Natsuba Yosuke also noticed this.
He said,
“There aren’t any power fluctuations. It seems the battle is long over.”
“We can only acce—”
“——————————————————!!!”
Suddenly!
An invisible, violent wave swept through the area.
A terrifying, deathly aura enveloped the entire forest and the surrounding mountains.
An immense pressure weighed down on Natsuba Yosuke and Mikami Taku’s shoulders, making it difficult to breathe.
They fell to their knees.
Then, the sky turned crimson.
Natsuba Yosuke gritted his teeth, using all his strength to look up.
He saw it.
A terrifying crimson vertical pupil opened in the sky, as large as the sun or moon, its gaze sweeping across the land, radiating an apocalyptic aura of destruction.
Like an indifferent god, looking down upon the mortal world.
Immense waves of power rippled outwards.
It was the center of the universe.
Then, it unleashed divine punishment!
…
…
