Chapter 102: Kazama Ruri: Is Daniel's Identity the Jörmungandr That Represents Lust? (Patreon)

Ginza, the Kabuki-za Theater.

From the outside, the building looked like an ordinary white three-story structure. A purple noren curtain hung over the main entrance and hid everything inside, which made people curious to see what lay beyond. As a performance venue it was perfectly respectable, and spectators streamed in day after day.

But none of them knew that the shows aboveground were only a smokescreen. The building's real purpose lay below. It was the Fierce Ghosts' hidden stronghold in Tokyo.

Plenty of guests had come to see a show today as usual. After the morning performance, however, the Kabuki-za closed its doors and turned all visitors away.

Daniel walked through the disappointed crowd straight toward the entrance. Kazama Ruri, still in his red kimono, followed at his side.

The staff inside had meant to usher the strangers out, but many of them recognized Kazama Ruri and stepped aside respectfully.

Daniel pushed the door open and strode in without slowing down, then asked at just the right moment, "Are all these people Fierce Ghosts?"

"Yes. You can't hire people who don't know the truth for a place like this. Even ordinary staff have to join the Fierce Ghosts and get injected with the drug that turns them into Death Servitors," Kazama Ruri explained, seeming to guess Daniel's purpose.

"Good. That saves me from hurting innocent people."

Daniel's words gave the Fierce Ghosts guarding the entrance a bad feeling. But their own Shadow Emperor was walking right beside him. The second-in-command couldn't have turned traitor and come to take them out, could he?

The thought had barely formed when the handsome blond man in the black trench coat tossed out a casual remark.

"Die."

Daniel's voice wasn't loud, but it landed in their ears with perfect clarity. Before they could react, the heart of every Fierce Ghost in the Kabuki-za who had heard the word burst.

Bang!

The strength drained out of their bodies the instant their hearts exploded. They didn't even have time to demand an explanation or sound a warning. In unison they clutched their ruptured chests and collapsed. The guards at the door fell the same way, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths, and stopped breathing.

"What happened? Is it some kind of disease?"

"I don't know, they look like they're dead!"

"There's a hole in their chests!"

The crowd outside backed away in terror, but nobody called the police or an ambulance. They turned and ran, unwilling to bring trouble on themselves. Whether it was a gang hit or something else, the best move was to stay out of it. Otherwise they might be next.

Daniel heard the chaotic footsteps outside and chuckled. "The people here really do know how to look out for themselves."

Over twenty hybrids wiped out with a single sentence. It was a truly terrifying power.

But this Dragon King's sense of humor was far too twisted. He had just killed so many hybrids and still had the energy to mock ordinary bystanders.

Kazama Ruri rolled his eyes and ignored him.

His geta left two bloody tracks in the blood spreading across the floor as he led Daniel to an elevator hidden backstage.

"The people up here are only a small part of the Fierce Ghosts. Our main base is below, and Osho is down there too."

"Thanks for the heads-up, Brother-in-Law."

"I told you, don't call me Brother-in-Law! I'm Erii's older brother!"

Ruri had figured out on the way why Daniel called him that. This Dragon King had set his sights on Erii, that foolish little sister of his. But Ruri was the older brother, so if the guy had to call him anything, it should be Big Bro-in-Law.

This lecherous dragon wasn't secretly Jormungandr, was he?

"Hai, hai, whatever. If I don't call you that, how am I supposed to tell you apart from Chisei Gen?" Daniel said, not taking it to heart, his tone as light as a joke.

The elevator carried the two of them down.

Ding.

The doors opened onto a huge theater. The seats and the whole layout were blood red.

The stage set was a white well with a blood-red bottom, its walls crawling with all kinds of demons and monsters. The seats were filled with people whose Golden Pupils blazed and whose bodies bore draconic features.

At the sound of the elevator they all turned their heads in unison. Their grotesque appearances made the sight quite intimidating.

Osho still wore the same deathly white kimono and a mask. He sat beside the well, watching Daniel, who strolled in without a care, then shifted his gaze to Kazama Ruri beside him.

"Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

The muffled, hoarse voice came from Osho's mouth, clearly a challenge aimed at Kazama Ruri.

The murderous glint in Kazama Ruri's eyes was no longer hidden. He bared a mocking smile. "Explain my ass. Get ready to die, Osho."

"You have no idea what kind of monster you've provoked. I'll send you down first, you stand-in. It won't be long before your real body joins you!"

He drew the long blade at his waist and pointed it at Osho from across the room.

Osho froze for a moment. The Fierce Ghosts widened their eyes too. Their second-in-command was about to fight the boss, so which side should they take?

"Heh heh heh, how unseemly, Chime."

"You're like a bullied dog that has found its master. Is the man beside you the reason you dare to bare your fangs at me?"

"I think you've forgotten something. I don't know what that man promised you."

"But you were never going to escape my control."

A strange clapper sound rang out from the stage. Kazama Ruri's pupils contracted on instinct, but he quickly realized he was still himself. He hadn't lost consciousness or gone on a rampage as he always had before.

"Heh, out of tricks, huh? Die, you old bastard!"

Realizing he couldn't be controlled, Kazama Ruri exploded into motion. He stepped on the heads of several Fierce Ghosts to vault over the seats and charged at Osho.

"Impossible?! Quick, stop him! And seize that man too!"

Seeing Kazama Ruri come for him uncontrolled, Osho hurriedly barked orders at the Fierce Ghosts below. He needed to know what was going on, and how that man had managed to restore Chime Gen after the brain-bridge surgery.

Every Fierce Ghost rose to their feet on instinct. Some attacked Kazama Ruri without hesitation.

"Speech Spirit: Vampire Kamaitachi!"

"Speech Spirit: Yin Flow!"

"Speech Spirit: Blaze!"

Dense wind blades mixed with metal shards flew at Kazama Ruri, and a beam of light struck his face to rob him of his sight. Quite a few others simply pulled out pistols and opened fire on him.

The Fierce Ghosts who hadn't planned to move on Kazama Ruri went for Daniel instead, hoping to take him down first.

"Honestly, would it kill you to live a little longer? I wanted to see the Signal Axe storyline."

Daniel lifted his eyes slightly and swept a hand back over his hair, slicking it into a pompadour.

The bullets and the Speech Spirits all stopped in midair a short distance in front of him as his hand moved.

"Jaa na."

The dense swarm of bullets flew back in an instant and punched holes through the heads of the people who had fired them.

The so-called Speech Spirits were an even bigger joke. The reflection from his Vector manipulation returned everything, doubled, to the Fierce Ghosts who dared to attack him.

Lightning and fire Speech Spirits detonated among the Fierce Ghosts, and charred corpses piled up on the floor.