Chapter 108: Mrs. Yukinoshita's Shock, The Nura Clan's Surprise Attack
The venue fell silent.
This bloody and cruel scene made everyone present frown involuntarily.
Including Haruno, who was also somewhat horrified in her heart.
Although Yoru was equally cruel and ruthless when killing evil spirits and seemed to enjoy the pleasure of torture, those were evil spirits after all.
But killing people...
Wait a minute.
Haruno suddenly recalled the scene at the beginning of this Kengan match when Yoru and Kure Raian fought back and forth, countering each other's moves, seemingly evenly matched.
Judging from the strength Yoru just displayed, he could have defeated Kure Raian directly from the beginning of this match; there was no need to circle around with the opponent at all.
So what was the purpose of this move?
Haruno didn't believe Yoru would do meaningless things just to play with his opponent.
He must have a reason.
Could it be that Yoru deliberately hid his strength to make the opponent use that ability similar to a secret technique?
From Kure Raian's performance after using Removal, anyone could see this ability had side effects.
Kure Raian's mind wasn't quite normal to begin with.
Under the activated Removal state, he turned into a beast acting only on killing instincts.
Could it be that this was Yoru's plan from the beginning?
He deliberately held back to make Kure Raian feel victory was possible, thereby using that secret technique, causing him to lose his reason and attack even after the referee announced the end of the match?
In this way...
Even if Yoru killed Kure Raian, no one would say anything.
After all, Kure Raian broke the rules first.
What Haruno could think of, Kure Erioh naturally could also think of.
However, the current patriarch of the Kure Clan hadn't seen Yoru as an exorcist.
His thought was:
Yoru used full strength at the beginning. Later Kure Raian used Removal, so out of necessity, the opponent also used some secret technique—that incredibly pale and weird right hand was proof.
Although Kure Erioh hadn't heard of any secret technique that could turn a human hand into that appearance.
But the world is vast and full of wonders.
Even as the patriarch of the Kure Clan, he dared not say he knew all martial arts schools in this world.
There is always someone stronger; there is always a higher mountain.
As assassins, if someone from the Kure Clan sacrificed themselves due to mission failure, they would continue to dispatch assassins until the mission was completed and the target eliminated.
But since they chose to participate in the Kengan match and fight as the representative fighter of the Kyoto City Bank, they must comply with the rules.
In front of the Kengan circle formed by multiple companies, the Kure Clan was nothing.
Moreover...
Kure Erioh walked slowly to Yoru, glanced at Kure Raian's corpse, sighed heavily, and spoke slowly.
"Thank you for showing mercy. He broke the rules himself."
To be honest.
Kure Erioh felt the opponent had done his utmost.
In that situation, if Yoru's wrist and knee joints were broken and he lost combat power, would Kure Raian on his side show mercy and signal the referee to end the match?
Don't even need to think about it; absolutely impossible.
So, the opponent had given enough face and was merciful enough.
Kure Raian's death couldn't be blamed on others, only on his own mental instability.
At the same time, Kure Erioh felt his indulgence towards this guy was also one of the reasons leading to today's result.
"Great-grandfather."
Kure Karla, wearing a JK uniform, ran over prettily and mentioned casually as if inadvertently.
"Actually, the person Kure Raian fought last time was this brother."
"Before leaving, he told me to let Kure Raian leave Kyoto as soon as possible. I told you too, Great-grandfather."
Hearing Karla's words, Kure Erioh felt even more ashamed.
Although the boy opposite was very young, he already had the demeanor of a grandmaster.
Last time Kure Raian provoked proactively, the opponent didn't kill him but asked Karla to advise him to let Kure Raian leave Kyoto as soon as possible.
This probably meant he had already seen Kure Raian's mental instability and didn't want to reach the step where he had to kill Kure Raian.
What is this called?
This is a true martial arts expert.
He had given the Kure Clan enough face.
Seeing Kure Erioh's change in expression, Karla hid behind her great-grandfather and made a funny face at Yoru prettily.
At first, Yoru didn't understand.
Kure Raian and Kure Karla should be relatives, right?
He killed her relative; why did Karla still speak for him actively?
But on second thought.
Did Karla and Kure Raian really have any familial affection?
Or rather.
Kure Raian, this guy, wasn't popular even within the Kure Clan, right?
After all, he was a madman completely dominated by killing desire without rational thinking ability.
A madman wasn't the scariest.
The scariest was a madman possessing terrifying strength beyond ordinary people.
Objectively speaking.
Yoru killing Kure Raian could be considered removing a potential scourge for the Kure Clan.
"Sure (Chi Chu)."
Yoru didn't intend to talk much with Kure Erioh. After nodding to Karla, he turned and walked to Haruno.
"Free tonight?"
"Uh..."
A blush appeared on Haruno's pretty face. She didn't know how to answer.
No, you are too direct, right?
If Yoru asked her out, Haruno was certainly willing to go.
The key was...
Her mother was right beside her!
"Um..."
Haruno pointed carefully at Mrs. Yukinoshita beside her.
"My mother is still here."
"Oh, sorry."
Yoru smiled apologetically, looked at Mrs. Yukinoshita, and spoke politely.
"Mom, do you want to join us for a date together?"
Everyone fell silent.
Haruno's pupils quaked.
Several seconds later, she heard her mother reply faintly in that consistent noble and calm tone, but with a slightly trembling voice that felt somewhat tempted.
"I won't go tonight."
Hearing this, Haruno breathed a sigh of relief at first.
Thinking carefully, why does it feel wrong?
What does "won't go tonight" mean?
Change to a free time, you really plan to join in?
"Alright, alright, let's go quickly."
Haruno blushed, held Yoru's hand, dared not stay here any longer, and dragged him directly into a trot, leaving the newly renovated office building of the Yukinoshita Company.
....
After running for hundreds of meters, she stopped panting.
"Sigh, you really are."
After her breathing steadied, Haruno looked at Yoru with a half-smile and sighed helplessly.
She frowned slightly, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, leaned close on tiptoes, and wiped the spots of blood stained on his clothes and face, muttering complaints.
"You guy, how could you say such things, even calling my mother 'Mom'. Really... I don't know what to say."
Haruno was shocked.
She was surprised Yoru would say such outrageous words at the time, but thinking carefully, it indeed fit his personality.
What truly made Haruno unbelievable was that her mother actually agreed to let her go out with Yoru tonight?
This didn't fit her mother's character.
Was she confused by Yoru's abstract sentence and didn't react?
Haruno couldn't understand.
"Tonight..."
After wiping off the blood stains on Yoru's body and clothes, Haruno smiled.
"Still going to the hotel?"
Yoru smiled and replied.
"Actually, I have things to do tonight."
Haruno frowned upon hearing this, looking slightly unhappy.
"Then what did you mean by asking me out in front of so many people? Teasing me deliberately?"
"Hey, look at what you're saying."
Yoru replied seriously.
"I thought you probably didn't want to deal with the group from the Kyoto City Bank, so I rescued you. Why do you bite the hand that feeds you?"
Hearing this, Haruno froze for a moment.
She indeed disliked social occasions, especially hypocritically flattering objects like the Kyoto City Bank, which had a higher status than the Yukinoshita family. She hated it even more.
Being good at something doesn't mean liking it.
Haruno was like this.
She was good at dealing with various social occasions, but the disgust in her heart for such hypocritical flattery was no less than Yukino's.
Because of contacting such occasions more, it was even worse.
Escaping a calamity was indeed nice.
"So the drunken words I said last time..."
Haruno bit her lower lip lightly with her silver teeth. Looking into Yoru's eyes, she was obviously moved and said softly.
"You remembered them all. I thought you didn't listen carefully at all and were just perfunctorily dealing with me."
"So, you have to thank me."
"Thank you, huh..."
A sly look flashed in Haruno's eyes, and she smiled prettily.
"Then dinner together tomorrow night?"
Before Yoru could answer, Haruno blushed slightly, stood on tiptoes close to his ear, and breathed orchid-scented air.
"I bought a very sexy nightgown, and these two days..."
"Are safe days."
Yoru was unmoved, looking very calm, but his words were completely opposite.
"Should have said so earlier. See you tomorrow night."
"You are really a rogue."
"Flattered."
Haruno sneered and patted Yoru's shoulder, then left.
The free time Yoru won for her tonight wasn't completely useless.
The thing Haruno wanted to do most in Kyoto was naturally to see her sister.
These sisters were really awkward enough.
One liked her sister very much but refused to say it even if beaten to death.
The other secretly protected her sister's willful requests but also refused to say it even if beaten to death.
Truly a family entering the same door.
"Hmm... finally can relax."
Yoru stretched lazily and chuckled as if talking to himself.
"It's boring at night; let's wander around casually."
As he spoke, he hailed a taxi on the road.
After the taxi drove away into the distance, several small monsters with wings on their backs and sharp beaks emerged from the shadows.
"See where he goes, then report back to Gyuki-sama quickly."
"Understood."
....
Half an hour later, outskirts of Kyoto.
After paying the taxi driver a large fare that made him feel pained, Yoru arrived at that very familiar dilapidated shrine.
"Raining, huh."
Feeling the drizzling rain dripping on his body, Yoru took out his phone and checked.
"Mmhmm... about an hour and fifteen minutes. To change the weather in the entire city and maintain it for so long, her spiritual power is indeed very strong."
Yoru couldn't estimate Amano Hina's spiritual power intensity well.
According to Rio's theory, spirit mediums could be divided into four tiers.
Tier 1: Himself and Light, who autonomously awakened the ability of "Cognition" and awakened Soul Manifestation without any external interference.
Tier 2: Miko, who had no problem with "Observation" but could only awaken Soul Manifestation ability through proper guidance.
Tier 3: Naturally Rio, who must satisfy the prerequisite of "Observation" through a series of coincidences before awakening the ability.
Tier 4: Godmother, Oda Noto.
These were not much different from ordinary people, just selling bracelets and amulets.
Then here came the problem.
What did Amano Hina count as?
Being able to sign a contract with the God controlling the weather proved she also possessed the aptitude of a spirit medium; there was no doubt about this.
Yoru just wasn't sure.
How much of the ability she displayed was due to her own talent, and how much was due to that God's help?
But one thing could be confirmed.
Amano Hina's contract object was on a completely different level from the Golden Goat Head in this shrine.
That was an ancient deity capable of influencing the weather of the entire Sakura Prefecture and existing for at least hundreds of years according to the original plot description.
Thinking of this, Yoru's drool (tears) almost flowed from the corner of his mouth unworthily.
He walked slowly to the altar of the shrine and saw the merit box he kicked broken still lying quietly on the ground.
"Miserable you."
Yoru looked at the Golden Goat-Headed God not far away and the two fox-faced little girl divine messengers beside it, shook his head, and said earnestly.
"How can this go on? No one cares about you; what's the point of being a god here?"
The Goat-Headed God remained silent.
It still remembered vividly the last time it spoke and got slapped by the opponent for every sentence.
Absolutely cannot fall for it again this time.
Smack!
The Pale Ghost Hand suddenly appeared again and gave the Goat-Headed God a resounding slap.
"Did you leave your f*cking vocal cords at home?"
The Goat-Headed God was slapped dizzy. Its non-human face showed an aggrieved look.
Slapped for speaking, slapped for not speaking.
Where in the world is there such a thing?
The key was, the Goat-Headed God could only maintain a timid appearance, daring not move at all.
It could feel it.
The human opposite became stronger than the last meeting.
Dare to move?
Dare not move, dare not move.
Just then, a middle-aged man's voice sounded behind Yoru.
"The recent incidents in Kyoto were indeed done by you."
Yoru didn't turn around, just clasping his hands together as if praying to the shrine for something.
The Golden Goat-Headed God lay on the side, thinking the main owner (me) was slapped by you, don't know who you are praying to.
Didn't dare to ask either. If asked, the opponent wouldn't understand and it would get slapped again. Better keep silent.
Standing at the entrance of the shrine were three "people" dressed strangely.
A man with a cold appearance, long hair covering the right side of his face, standing at the forefront, obviously the leader (Gyuki).
Behind him was a short creature holding a Zen staff, looking like a Tengu (Karasu Tengu).
And a handsome young man who seemed normal, but upon careful observation, one would find his head was floating in the air (Kubinashi).
All three looked vigilant as if facing a formidable enemy, and were scanning the Goat-Headed God and the two divine messengers beside them with peripheral vision.
Yoru turned around, looked at the three monsters opposite, shook his head with a chuckle.
"Only you three? Nurarihyon didn't come? I am really being looked down upon."
Hearing him call the name of the first generation Supreme Commander of the Nura Clan directly, the cold-faced middle-aged man, the martial faction Gyuki of the Nura Clan, flashed a murderous look in his eyes and spoke in a deep voice.
"We want to invite you to come with us. My Lord has questions to ask you."
"Hehe."
Responding to Gyuki was Yoru's disdainful sneer.
"Have you heard the story of Don Quixote?"
"This Don Quixote wore armor, held a shield and sword, fantasizing himself as a so-called knight, and launched an attack on the giant imagined in his mind, which was the unshakable windmill."
Hearing these words, Gyuki frowned tightly.
"Could it be you want to fight to the death with us? Let me warn you first, we have investigated the people around you and the woman who just separated from you. If you don't want them to get hurt, just obediently follow us..."
"You misunderstood."
Before Gyuki finished speaking, Yoru interrupted with a smile.
Unconcealed hostility flashed in his eyes.
"You are the Don Quixote in the story, and I am the unshakable giant for you."
"Daring to enter Kyoto and actively come to find me is indeed commendable courage."
"However, only this point is worth praising."
Speaking of this, black evil spirit power was already burning on Yoru's body.
The blood stains on his clothes disappeared instantly.
Within less than a breath, he completed the change of outfit. The pure black mask covered his face again.
In the eyes under the mask was a look of killing intent and excitement interwoven.
"Come."
Yoru extended his right hand and pulled out the famous sword Onimaru Kunitsuna hidden in the Pale Ghost Hand again.
The moon in the sky was covered by thick dark clouds, not letting out a single ray of light.
What Gyuki and others could see was only the madness burning like pitch-black flames in Yoru's eyes.
"Let me see how much pleasure you can bring me before being destroyed."