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But in this world, A Yuki-onne hadn't left. She stayed with the Nura Clan.
That, in itself, was one of the subtle changes in this timeline.
"Lord Akio."
When Akio opened the door, Yuki bowed deeply. She couldn't help it—what he had shown that day was terrifying beyond words.
The moment she saw him, her mind flashed back to that scene: Rihan Nura mustering every ounce of strength for a desperate strike, only to have Akio brush it aside like it was nothing.
A monster like that… wasn't someone a lowly youkai like her could ever afford to offend.
So when it came to Akio, Yuki's respect was absolute.
"You're here today because you have good news for me, I assume?"
Yuki nodded. "After yesterday's sweep, the Nura Clan tracked down dozens of man-eating youkai across Tokyo. But we don't know which one is the one Lord Akio is looking for."
"So, our Commander sent me to invite you to come and identify them."
Her voice grew nervous, almost defensive, as if afraid he'd take offense. "At first, we did try to bring them to you. But yesterday, when the Commander's youkai aura flared, it drew the attention of the Onmyoji Bureau. They sent a Twelve Divine General and a Twelve Heavenly General to pay us a visit."
"They're still hanging around our headquarters."
"And in the shadows, others are watching us too."
"So, we couldn't risk moving the captives. Please forgive us, Lord Akio."
Akio gave a soft "Oh," and replied calmly, "No need to panic. I'm not unreasonable. Since the situation calls for it, I'll come with you."
Relief washed over Yuki's face. She bowed again. "Thank you for your understanding, Lord Akio."
Akio shut his door behind him and followed her out of the apartment complex.
Under her lead, they arrived at an abandoned high-rise.
A concrete skeleton, left unfinished mid-construction.
The moment Akio stepped inside, he noticed the lingering chill of yin energy still hanging in the air. No wonder the project had been halted. This place was haunted.
But now, the yin aura had mostly dissipated, replaced instead by a heavy, suffocating wave of youkai energy.
Clearly, more than a handful of monsters had made this place their nest.
They climbed the unfinished stairwell, all the way to the top floor.
A vast, empty hall.
And inside—dozens of youkai, waiting.
Most were Nura Clan members. Akio recognized familiar faces: Kejoro, Karasu-Tengu… even the Headless Rider he had beaten down once before.
The latter unconsciously clutched his chest when he saw Akio. It was the same spot where Akio's single punch had sent him flying and knocked him out cold. Every time he saw him, a phantom ache stirred there. That's how deep the trauma ran.
Apart from them, another group of youkai lay on the floor—bound and gagged with sealing charms. Their mouths sealed shut, they could do nothing but writhe like worms.
Yuki gestured toward them. "These are the man-eaters we captured across Tokyo."
Akio gave a small nod. "Good work."
He walked over to one of the captives, crouched down, and studied him. A cat demon.
Akio lifted his hand, dissolving the seal over the creature's mouth.
"Smile for me. Let me hear it," he said casually.
The cat demon blinked. "???"
Akio continued, "If your laugh sounds good, I'll let you go. Spare your life. How's that sound?"
The demon's eyes lit up. "You… you mean it?"
"I mean it."
Trusting his luck, the cat demon broke into a loud, eager laugh.
Pfft!
In the next instant, Akio flicked his fingers, sending a lance of radiant energy straight through his chest. Holy fire burst from the wound, consuming him in seconds.
Akio frowned. "Awful laugh."
The cat demon wasn't the one he was searching for. But he had eaten humans. That was enough reason for Akio to send him straight to hell.
He moved to the next captive—a sickle weasel.
"Same deal. Give me a laugh. If it's good, I'll let you live." He released the seal on its mouth.
But the weasel had seen what happened to the cat demon. His face drained white, lips trembling. He couldn't bring himself to laugh.
"What's wrong? Don't want to?"
"I… I…"
"Well then, die."
Another flick of light—another corpse.
That single sound from him had already told Akio this wasn't the one either. And once again, the logic was simple: eat a human, be ready to die.
He walked to a third youkai, repeating the same request.
This one was half-crazed with fear. Laugh and die, don't laugh and still die—what kind of twisted game was this?
Still, he forced out a sycophantic giggle, hoping to survive.
One second later, Akio executed him too.
"Please, have mercy—"
"Wrong." Blast.
"Do you even know who I am?!"
"Wrong." Head gone.
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
"Still wrong." Another flash.
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen lay dead at his feet.
Didn't matter if they laughed, stayed silent, begged, or threatened. The result was always the same.
The remaining captives were terrified beyond belief.
"So that's it, huh?" one muttered shakily. "No matter what we do, we're dead."
Who the hell was this guy? What kind of maniac hated youkai this much?
Akio didn't bother explaining himself. Each time he confirmed the captive wasn't the one, he struck them down without hesitation.
Even the Nura Clan's own monsters could only gape. More than a few muttered that he was insane. Some felt a sharp pang of sympathy for the condemned, like foxes mourning fallen rabbits.
A handful even wondered if they were abetting evil by helping him.
But then they remembered his overwhelming power. None dared voice those thoughts.
Better a dozen man-eaters die than members of the clan, after all.
And so, one after another, Akio executed the rest until not a single captive remained alive.
"..."
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