HBWnovel Chapter 81, The Incense Chapter: Until We Meet Again
Chapter 81, The Incense Chapter: Until We Meet Again
Shido took a deep breath, then picked up the chalk and carefully wrote the words "Yatogami Tohka" on the slightly tattered blackboard.
Upon seeing the name Shido had given her, the girl was overjoyed, but she calmly walked forward and used [Slaughtering Lord] to write it on the blackboard.
"My name is Tohka, does that sound nice? Shido."
The setting sun shone on Tohka's face, and it was the first time the girl had smiled since she came to the human world. It was so harmonious that there were no guns or swords pointed at her.
In that instant, a sudden change occurred! Kotori, sitting in the commander's chair in Ratatosk, suddenly received an urgent message.
Her expression changed drastically. "Shido, get down right now!"
Almost simultaneously, countless bullets rained down on Tohka like a deluge.
However, Tohka was not afraid of such a fierce attack.
She skillfully raised one hand and actually managed to block all the incoming bullets.
"Captain! It doesn't seem to be working..."
"Don't stop! Keep attacking!"
Ryoko frowned deeply, her eyes fixed on Tohka, and decisively gave the order while replenishing the magazine.
"Run! Shido, if you stay with me, we'll be attacked by our own kind..."
Amidst the smoke and dust, Tohka, her face once again showing signs of fatigue, turned her head, her eyes filled with a faint sense of pity.
Kashido remained unmoved after hearing this, his expression incredibly resolute.
"Shido, what are you doing... Run! You're capable of..."
Before Tohka could finish speaking, Shido seemed to remember something, looked at Mei who was leaning against the wall and quietly watching him, and hesitated.
"I heard from Kotori that you're known as an extremely evil spirit, right? Although I can't completely trust what others say about a villain, my intuition tells me that I can trust you!"
"Oh? You're going to trust someone you've known for less than an hour... Interesting, you've got guts..." Ming praised, and in the next instant, he was in front of Shido.
"So what do you want to do, human?"
Shido raised his head, and his eyes met those of a red sheep beneath the mask. Chaos... the chaos that had already broken down once before was the only emotion Shido saw in those eyes.
"Mr. [Flame Beast], are you very strong?"
"I am very strong, extremely strong. I am the strongest among all the spirits in the present world."
As Ming spoke, Shi Xiang subtly turned her head away, seemingly jealous.
"Can I ask you to help Tohka hold off those people and Origami? I'll definitely make it up to you later."
Shido looked at Ming nervously, remained silent for a moment, and then let out a low laugh.
"Hahaha! Interesting human, daring to negotiate with me." Shido was somewhat disappointed, but then, Ming slowly placed his hands on his chest, gave an elegant bow, and spoke.
"...As you wish."
His entire body was engulfed in flames, disintegrating into countless jet-black flame butterflies that flew out of the classroom. Shido looked at Ming's posture just now, which resembled someone he remembered, but his eyes did not show the same sorrow as this person.
The smoke and dust dissipated
Standing atop the school, the last rays of dusk bathed his black robes, and spiritual energy instantly emanated from him, a dark flame connecting his right hand to the [Black Flame Demon].
"You are all forbidden to proceed from the Zen temple ahead!"
The AST members looked up when they heard the sound and were surprised to see Ming appear. Ming was radiating immense spiritual power, looking down at them like a god.
"Damn it! What's that [Flame Beast] doing here? Wasn't the target the [Princess]? If it's him..."
Liao Zi looked up at Ming, who was already covered in cold sweat. After all, since the extremely vicious [Flame Beast] first appeared in the world twenty-five years ago, the one whose reputation was probably the most damaged was AST.
"Everyone, don't make any sudden movements... wait until we fold the origami!"
Ryoko, who had intended to talk to Ming first, suddenly realized that Origami started acting strangely whenever she saw Ming.
In an instant, she flew out at lightning speed, slashing at Ming with her standard magic lightsaber.
Ming gently sidestepped, easily dodging Origami's attack. "Origami, calm down!" Ryoko shouted.
Origami ignored him, staring coldly at Ming, and continued to launch a fierce attack.
"Was it due to the chaos of my childhood and my not-so-good reputation? Come to think of it, the element of [fire] can only be traced back to me, apart from Kotori who is still sealed away."
Ming looked at the origami at this moment, and black magic circles appeared on both sides at the same time, two huge black skull arms appeared, and a large katana formed of flames appeared.
[Black Flame Style: Susanoo Skeleton Slash - One-Sword Asura]
"Dark and mighty spirit, obey my crimson decree, and behead without mercy!"
Ming waved his cane, and the skeletal arm slowly drew its sword. Then, it struck, and the surrounding air became extremely hot, instantly unleashing a massive, all-encompassing black flame.
(Ming had already taken off his accessories before going upstairs, so he is now in an unrestricted state, only slightly weaker than in his half-beast state. Also, Ming gets stronger every time he dies and is resurrected, but the pain also increases accordingly, though he can endure it.)
As the flames illuminated the sky, Ming activated a spell to maximize his reflexes, arriving behind Origami before she could react, and enveloping her with [Free Domain].
'You are my disciple, and you cannot die. I don't want a black-haired person to bury an white-haired person.' Ming thought to himself.
Origami!!!
Looking at the flames that engulfed the sky, Liao Zi shouted excitedly, while the rest of the team members were already too frightened to move by the astonishing destructive power.
Ratatosk
"This...this kind of spiritual power compressed to the extreme is the highest we've ever seen among elves!"
When Nakatsugawa Munechika, nicknamed "Dimensional Overlord," saw this strike, compared to the past data of other Pokémon, it was almost the best in the present day!
"...Hmph, I think it's all show and no substance. What do you think, Lingyin?"
'Why! Why! We're both fire spirits, yet there's such a huge difference between us. If I were stronger, I could protect my brother. Is that guy with the spirit crystal being biased...?'
This is Kotori's truest thought. Perhaps it's because of the memory fragments of her childhood when she became a spirit that flashed through her mind, but in any case, it's hard for her to have a good feeling towards him.
"In my opinion, he does have the highest spiritual energy content among the elves I have observed so far, and he even has extra spiritual energy to polish the details of those skeletons. But in terms of combat alone, it is not necessarily true that the elf with more spiritual energy will win."
Lingyin remained calm as always, explaining her point of view as if it were a routine.
On the ruins of Laichan High School
The black flames dissipated in an instant, and Origami, covered in burns, crashed heavily to the ground, while Ming stood upright in the air.
But what shocked the ASTs below was that, apart from the building closest to them, the entire site of Laizen High School, along with the mountain behind it, had been vaporized.
Ming looked down at the crowd below like a god, "I'm giving you one last chance. Leave now, choose between life and death."
Just as the origami fell, Ryoko was slightly taken aback, but after only a moment's hesitation, she loudly issued the command:
"All AST members, retreat immediately before the [Flame Beast] attacks again!"
At this command, the team members, who were already feeling suffocated by the oppressive atmosphere, managed to stand up and immediately fled back the way they came without saying a word.
After everyone had evacuated, Ming landed and went into the classroom.
Upon entering the classroom, Ming's gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling on two people not far away—Tohka and Shido.
They were talking face to face, their faces beaming with anticipation and joy.
Tohka wanted to thank him after hearing this, but her body was gradually disappearing.
Then, Tohka's body slowly became transparent; this is called disappearing.
"Tohka!"
Seeing this, Shido hurriedly shouted,
"Don't worry, Shido, I've just returned to the [Neighborhood]. I believe we will meet again. Let's make a promise here!"
Tohka completely transformed into light particles and disappeared into the classroom at sunset.
Then the light particles were absorbed again by the pink ring inside the inscribed glove. Shido noticed this, turned around, and asked with some confusion:
"Mr. [Flame Beast], have you held them off?"
"I got them to leave on their own through conversation, and I was ready to go too, looking forward to seeing them again next time."
After greeting everyone, Ming transformed into countless fiery butterflies and flew out of the classroom, heading towards the sun in the afterglow of the setting sun. (Shido's version)
(In reality) Ming, who was struggling to fly under the setting sun, said: "Damn Ratatosk, that surveillance is still watching me. I'll be exposed if it keeps watching me. Fine! I'll just have all the Flame Butterflies disperse and fly far away. That way I'll be safe."