Chapter 28: The Battle of Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei

“Wait!!”

Soui Shuryakuma was chasing after Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.

(If someone tells me to wait, like hell I’m stopping!!)

Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei sprinted through the mansion.

(Damn, what the hell is with the inside of this mansion?)

Soui Shuryakuma screamed internally. The interior of the main hall’s mansion was a hollow shell—no rooms, no hallways. All that existed was a long slope leading underground, spiraling downward in a helix. When he descended underground, he found himself in a vast open space.

“…What is this?”

In the underground cavity, there were cocoons made of flesh. The walls were covered entirely in vivid red muscle fibers. Spheres hanging from threads made of muscle fiber looked like bagworms dangling from tree branches.

“This place…”

Soui Shuryakuma looked around. In this stupefying space, a shadow ran toward the back. There was the pathetic figure of Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei running at full speed.

“Hii… hi…”

And then, Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei reached his hand toward a cocoon wrapped in muscle fibers.

“Tsuchikurenai, Hyakurei, hurry, hurry and save me!!”

With a voice resembling a scream, he thrust his hand into the cocoon and pulled out what lay within—a small life. A creature with countless dark red threads hanging from its back. He recognized it as an infant, but the countless wrinkles carved into its flesh made it look like an old man.

“Did you just say… Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei?”

Soui Shuryakuma tilted his head. He had thought the man with the youthful appearance was Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei. But that young man had just called this aged infant “Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.”

“Ah… wake up, me. I need your power!”

Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei shook the aged infant over and over. Then, when the aged infant slowly opened its eyes, it yawned. It looked at Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei with a displeased expression.

“What is it, imaginary me?”

The aged infant said this to Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.

“An enemy has infiltrated the territory. I can’t handle this alone. I can’t deal with it!!”

“What, getting worked up over a mere enemy… And you call yourself me? Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei?”

The conversation between the two left Soui Shuryakuma’s head spinning. And then, someone approached from behind him.

“…Ryakuma.”

A man’s voice. Reacting to it, Soui Shuryakuma turned his gaze backward. Standing there was Karizome Tenhyo.

“Tenhyo!”

An encounter with Karizome Tenhyo. Soui Shuryakuma felt a double shock.

“Ryakuma, back then…”

Karizome Tenhyo tried to apologize for betraying him and fleeing alone, but Soui Shuryakuma shook his head left and right.

“Now’s not the time to be talking about that.”

That was true. Right now, the decisive battle with Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei remained. The two turned their faces toward Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.

And then, the two saw what slept in Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei’s arms.

“Nice to meet you. I am Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.”

The aged infant greeted them thus.

“You must be confused, but both I and this man are Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.”

That was the most incomprehensible point. They had the same name, but what was their relationship? It was unfathomable.

“Strictly speaking, I am the true Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei, and this man is an ordinary person who was implanted with half of the mystical organ I generated—originally just some nobody.”

He explained it this way. The mystical organ—it was the essence of a sorcerer, governing Flow Power, commanding Flow Power, and necessary for using sorcerous principles. They were shocked that he said he had split it in half and given it to Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.

“You may have heard stories, but when a sorcerer’s organ is transplanted, the will dwelling in that organ sometimes takes root in the transplant recipient. Usually, by wielding the sorcerous principles, one’s personality and character become dominated by the sorcerous principles… Using that, I created a body double.”

In other words, the aged infant was the real one, and by transplanting half of the mystical organ into the young man, he had made that consciousness his own.

“The continuation of my sorcerer family means keeping me alive. As long as I alone live, that’s enough for security… In fact, with this method, I’ve been able to continuously maintain barriers and continue my dominating influence.”

The root cause of enslaving so many sorcerers for this purpose. That was this aged infant. As long as they understood that, it was enough. All that remained was to defeat the aged infant—the true Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.

“Let’s end the long talk there… If we defeat you, that’s the end of the Tsuchikurenai family.”

Karizome Tenhyo readied his sword. Soui Shuryakuma similarly readied his fists.

“It doesn’t end—that’s why my history spans over three hundred years. You brats, don’t think you can topple my three hundred years!”

Instantly, the air changed. It felt like an oppressive atmosphere had been released. Soui Shuryakuma and Karizome Tenhyo made eye contact. The burden on their bodies had vanished. That meant the Dengou-class barrier technique deployed within the territory had disappeared.

“I’ll praise you for making it this far, at least… Therefore, I’ve decided to face you two myself.”

He declared this. This aged infant was the very person who had been wielding the Dengou-class barrier technique. If he had released it now, then this aged infant—Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei—apparently intended to face the two seriously.

“Puppet Sorcerous Principles… Curse Thread Master.”

Countless threads erupted from the aged infant. It was thread-type Flow Power, the same as Karizome Tenhyo’s. When they connected to the sphere-like objects wrapped in muscle fiber threads like bagworms, ten cocoons split open, and human bodies emerged from within.

Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei’s puppet sorcerous principles. Kigou-class sorcerous principles, Curse Thread Master. Threads emitted from the sorcerer’s body bundled together, taking on a form like straw dolls. This was an expansion technique that allowed the threads fired from these spirit servants to connect with corpses sleeping in cocoon wombs, enabling automatic control of ten corpse sorcerers.

The corpses were of both men and women. Papers were attached to their heads, with numbers assigned to them.

“Kill them.”

As he spoke those words, the corpse sorcerers approached the two. The corpse sorcerers marked Seven and Six. Seven wielded Flow Power, and flames erupted from his palms.

(Fire-type attack. Then!)

Instantly, Soui Shuryakuma wielded his demon mask sorcerous principles. In front of the two sorcerers, he formed a giant demon mask using Do’in Flow Power. The demon mask opened its mouth toward Seven. Then it closed its mouth as if crushing Seven. Six struck the demon mask with flame Flow Power. The demon mask wasn’t destroyed, but it started burning from the erosion caused by the Kain Flow Power characteristic.

“Tch!”

Seven, who should have been bitten by the demon mask. However, he strengthened his body with Flow Power manipulation and forcibly opened the demon mask’s mouth, destroying the upper and lower jaws with brute strength.

(Not a single scratch on his body!)

Soui Shuryakuma was shocked. Apart from Shiga Inui, very few had taken no damage from the demon mask’s bite.

Soui Shuryakuma, distracted by his shock, felt something like liquid at his feet.

“Hey! Ryakuma!!”

As he shouted, Karizome Tenhyo reached out his hand. He grabbed Soui’s clothes and, using Flow Power, pulled him away from that spot. A body of golden slime. A female sorcerer wearing a mask marked Eight was looking at them in liquid form.

“Against ten people…”

Fighting so many opponents was difficult. Even so, they had to defeat them. They had to defeat them and put an end to this battle. For that purpose, the two were about to struggle.

“Above!”

Soui Shuryakuma shouted and wielded his sorcerous principles. He formed a demon mask directed upward, and objects rained down like precipitation.

“Paper? Currency?”

He saw paper stuck in the ground. They were one-thousand-yen, five-thousand-yen, and ten-thousand-yen bills. Apparently, there was a sorcerer who could manipulate currency.

“Watch out! They’re coming from the front again!!”

Karizome Tenhyo, distracted by the currency. Soui Shuryakuma saw Six and Seven approaching. Seven raised his arm high. Was he about to attack from here? He was storing up Flow Power. And when he blinked, Karizome Tenhyo was where Six had been.

“What!?”

Neither understood what had happened. Next to Soui Shuryakuma was the figure of Six. Next to Karizome Tenhyo was the figure of Seven. Both Six and Seven were in attack postures. The two, caught off guard, circulated Flow Power at high speed and took defensive stances, but they were a moment too late.

“Gah!”
“Aaah!!”

Six’s punch, hard as rock, struck. Soui Shuryakuma was hit in the side and his body lifted off the ground. Seven’s arm, refined with Kin’in Flow Power and transformed into a steel blade, severed Karizome Tenhyo’s body. The attacks landed critical hits on both their bodies.

Karizome Tenhyo appeared to have died. However, that attack couldn’t finish him off.

“Against me… a slashing attack? Are you stupid!?”

Karizome Tenhyo shouted. His torso should have been slashed horizontally. Yet he was speaking. No blood flowed from the severed torso.

He released Flow Power. He let thread-type Flow Power dangle from the cut surface and connected to his lower body. His body was pulled by the threads, reconnecting his torso, and he reached his hand toward Seven’s body.

His suture sorcerous principles were principles that used thread to sew. The essence of these principles wasn’t the thread, but rather the result—the suturing itself. It judged slashing attacks against the target as self-amputation and automatically performed thread-type suturing. During this process, suturing was possible without considering complex structures like blood vessels, nerves, and muscle fibers.

“Sew!”

He wielded the suture sorcerous principles by touching the target. Thread-type activated throughout the body, and the sorcerer marked Seven became patchwork.

“Extract!”

He then pulled out the threads. As the thread-type carved into the body was extracted, it simultaneously sliced and severed the flesh. With threads spread throughout the entire body, the corpse sorcerer marked Seven’s body was carved up by the thread-type.

Simultaneously, Soui Shuryakuma, who had received an attack from the corpse sorcerer wearing the mask marked Six.

(A sorcerous principle that hardens the body.)

Having received the target’s body directly, he realized it wasn’t physical enhancement through Flow Power. The fact that not even a scratch appeared from the demon mask’s attack was a good example.

Soui Shuryakuma, who had deliberately jumped backward to disperse the impact of the punch. The corpse sorcerer wearing the mask marked Six closed in during that opening.

(If it won’t get damaged, then I’ll restrain it!)

From behind, the sorcerer marked Eight transformed her body into golden slime and headed toward Soui Shuryakuma. She seemed about to attack from front and back, sandwiching him.

“Demon Mask Sorcerous Principles… Nameless Faceless!!”

Then he would double his moves. The puppet sorcerous principles’ effect on Soui Shuryakuma was already gone. Therefore, Soui Shuryakuma could use his Flow Power resources fully for combat. A spirit servant by Soui Shuryakuma, a Kigou-class sorcerer.

A small person wearing a demon mask appeared. The small person named Nameless Faceless sank toward the ground as if swimming in water. Then, with only the mask showing above ground, it moved toward the feet of the sorcerer wearing the Six mask.

“Get him!”

As he commanded, a demon’s visage emerged on the ground. When the demon’s face opened its mouth, cracks formed in the mouth area, creating a hole. When the Six corpse sorcerer fell into that hole, the demon’s face closed. At the same time, the hole disappeared, and the Six corpse sorcerer was swallowed.

“Come on!!”

He shouted, and the golden slime targeted Soui Shuryakuma. In response, the demon mask crawling on the ground leaped up and enlarged. When the demon mask opened its mouth wide, it swallowed the golden slime.

“How’s that!”

Soui Shuryakuma shouted while out of breath. Spirit servant sorcerous principles consumed considerable Flow Power. Feeling fatigued, when he turned his gaze toward the other corpse sorcerers…

They had somehow managed to defeat the corpse sorcerers. However, it seemed they had reached their limit first.

“How many… did we take down…”

When Soui Shuryakuma asked, Karizome Tenhyo shouted with frustration.

“Still half… more than half left… Damn it!!”

The sorcerers turned into corpses moved to protect Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei. Unless they defeated them, they couldn’t reach Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei. They thought the road ahead was long, but then…

“Oi, you bastards.”

A shadow entered from the entrance. It was Shiga Inui, and voices stirred at his appearance.

“What, who are you?”

The aged infant asked. Seeing his face, even Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei showed fear.

“Shi… Shiga, Inui!!”

He pointed and called out to Shiga Inui. His presence here meant he had defeated Soui Hinari and Tsuchikurenai Bakuou. Tension ran through them simultaneously. Soui Shuryakuma looked at his face.

“Shiga… Inui.”

Clearing his throat, he fearfully asked about the outcome of the battle with Soui Hinari.

“Mom is…”

His worry ended in vain. Shiga Inui casually recounted the conclusion.

“I had her pass out. As expected, your mom’s seriously strong.”

When he said that, Karizome Tenhyo shouted at Shiga Inui.

“Oi, is this the time for talking? If you’re here too, fight!!”

Many corpse sorcerers were also heading toward Karizome Tenhyo. While continuing to dodge the fierce onslaught, Karizome Tenhyo fought. But Shiga Inui… didn’t join the battle.

“Huh? …Hey, didn’t I tell you? First come, first served.”

He grinned. Then he kicked off the ground and started running. Ignoring Soui Shuryakuma and Karizome Tenhyo, he charged straight toward Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei.

“You bastard!!”

Karizome Tenhyo was enraged by his actions.

“I don’t know who these guys are, but you can fight over second place there. I’m the one who’s gonna take down that damn old bastard!”

He wouldn’t deal with small fry. His aim was singular. To take Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei’s life. That’s what he’d explained from the start. So he didn’t provide support and went for the kill.

“Fuck you, Inui!!”

He shouted at Shiga Inui’s choice. He wanted to chase after him, but the corpse sorcerers blocked his way.

“Tenhyo! They’re coming!!”

Soui Shuryakuma joined in supporting Karizome Tenhyo. He wielded sorcerous principles and resumed combat with the corpse sorcerers.

“Seriously, I’ll absolutely never forgive you!! Once this is over, you’re next, Inui!!”

He spat out those lines. To Shiga Inui, such fury was nothing but a loser’s howl.

“Haha! Try it if you can! It’s a race to see who’s faster—me or you guys.”

And so, Shiga Inui stood before Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei. Two corpse sorcerers entered combat readiness to protect the two of them.

“Now then… Lord Tsuchikurenai, you’ve been doing really shitty things to me all this time, haven’t you?”

He felt irritated. But he didn’t show it outwardly. He maintained a carefree attitude throughout. Shiga Inui looked at his opponent with a smile.

“Hm… threatening me is useless. Right now, there are two Tsuchikurenai Hyakureis.”

Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei calmly spoke while holding the aged infant.

“And I know your sorcerous principles and Flow Power characteristics.”

Shiga Inui heard his words. “I see,” he nodded in agreement. Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei spoke boastfully.

“Depending on the emission state of Flow Power, the activation range of sorcerous principles narrows… Mokuin Flow Power, the nature of absorbing energy from targets through propagation, increasing and recovering—certainly powerful, but its emission state is Flow Power growing like tree branches.”

Mokuin, unlike other flow types, possessed the characteristic of healing the body. That was why he’d made it here without even being out of breath. However, once you knew the trick, there were plenty of countermeasures.

“Then the effective range is only the tree branches. As long as we’re careful of that…”

Shiga Inui generated Flow Power between his fingers. Kin’in Flow Power had properties similar to electricity, refining and training Flow Power.

“…What is that… crackling Flow Power?”

Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei said with a twitching face. At this point, this man’s composure and calm were gradually disappearing.

“Kin’in.”

Shiga Inui explained concisely. “Then,” Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei added information in his head.

“I-I see… Then you possess two Flow Power characteristics. But that will never overturn the current situation…”

Furthermore, Shiga Inui added another Flow Power characteristic.

“And Nichin.”

A beam was released from there. Hastily, a corpse sorcerer nearby stepped forward and generated a light barrier constructed with Flow Power. However, the density of Shiga Inui’s beam was higher than that sorcerous principle, easily puncturing a hole in the barrier and penetrating the corpse sorcerer’s head. It went straight through Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei’s ear.

“Ugah!? Ah… it hurts!”

A hole opened in his ear. Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei felt intense pain. From anxiety, he sweated profusely.

“Why… why Nichin? Normal humans can’t possess more than two!!”

At Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei’s desperate appearance, Shiga Inui exhaled through his mouth. He laughed at the overly desperate figure, feeling a gap.

“Normal… huh? Hey, do you think that word applies to me?”

Shiga Inui was special. Just existing here and now was aberrant. He was different from other sorcerers.

Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei backed away. His miserable state was nothing like the composed figure of a big shot dominating other sorcerers. He reached out his hand, raised his voice, and made a proposal to Shiga Inui.

“W-wait! Is this really okay? Killing me here? Let’s team up!! Let’s split the world between us and become rulers!!”

He said this, but to Shiga Inui, it didn’t sound like attractive words.

“That’s all you ever say in the end.”

He rotated his arm and began preparations. Preparations to defeat Tsuchikurenai Hyakurei, that is.