Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 191

Chapter 191 - Predetermined Fate

How long had they been there? Were they there the whole time we walked here?

The extra person at the back of the group had dark blue hair, haunting purple eyes, and wore a loose purple kimono that appeared ready to slip off her succubus-like body. She possessed an unusual grace and there was nothing on her that would break her perfect looks, giving her an unnatural level of beauty.

I recognized her. She was known as the Demon in the Mirror and Sei's mother. As a former member of the Seimei Clan, she possessed considerable strength.

Though she was formidable enough to give me trouble if I were alone, I wasn't overly concerned with the others present. Especially since Sei's special ability countered his mother's, making our chances of winning close to 100%.

Noxy, or Sume as she was called in her human identity, could use this encounter to help Sei overcome his trauma and grow...

But my thoughts came to a sudden halt. Sei's mother had two white fox tails, but this woman had nine. This wasn't Noxy mother... This was the Nine-Tailed Fox!

The demon locked eyes with me, causing my body to freeze. I couldn't even open my mouth to yell. Even my Ord refused to respond!

{Perfect Me}

In an instant, the restraining pressure around me vanished as my Ord pushed aside any interference. I deactivated Perfect Me and shouted a warning. "Behind you!"

They turned around and spotted the figure behind them. Sei's hair turned silver, and his eyes filled with rage. "You!"

Unlike his usual calm demeanor, Sei attempted to punch the woman, but his fist struck only a translucent barrier. Tamae No Mae exhaled, sending Sei flying back until he crashed into the wall beside me, creating a massive crater.

Tamae, however, didn't emerge unscathed. Chain tattoos slithered around her arms, and she frowned. "That's the brat I wasn't supposed to harm? Your son? Well, next time, make it clearer. Now release the restriction; I won't kill him. You know our deal."

She was conversing with someone—likely Sei's mother, whom she had possessed. So that was it. Tamae had made some agreement with Noxy. The Demonic Exorcist probably played a significant role in this situation since he had apparently destroyed the Red Tails, which Noxy was a part of. That guy was a real pain!

As the dark chain tattoos on Tamae's arms faded, Agon took his turn to attack. He collided with the barrier, his eyes resembling those of a snake, fierce and untamed. Orochi seemed to be in control now.

The translucent barrier barely held against Agon's now clawed hand, but with each attack, it gained a hint of purple. By the third assault, the barrier shattered.

Tamae appeared unfazed and sighed. "You're just a one-trick phony, always relying on poison. That's why you're so weak when sealed."

A small ball of red energy formed in front of her hand, which she flicked at Agon in a lightning-fast attack. In an instant, Agon went from destroying her barrier to having a massive, gaping hole in his chest.

Agon's body slumped to the ground, and my heart nearly stopped. Was this the end? Had Agon bitten off more than he could chew?

Tamae approached Agon, narrowing her eyes at the closing wound on his chest. "So you possess regeneration as well. However, it's clear you lack your tough scales. Yamata No Orochi, you were born strong but never sought to grow more powerful. Someone as inflexible as you could never match someone like me."

She traced delicate symbols in the air with her finger, and they floated towards Agon. His snake-like eyes and dark nails receded, returning Agon to his normal form.

This was disastrous!

I had hoped Agon would handle this problem, which is why I brought him along. But he couldn't even scratch her! Yamata No Orochi's powers are ill-suited for being sealed.

"Without your raw power, you're nothing compared to me," Tamao snorted, using a powerful telekinetic push to slam Agon next to Sei. They were both unconscious now, and the closest to the ultimate class demon was Anika, who was visibly trembling. As a Blaster, she could sense the difference between us and someone like the Nine-Tailed Fox. Her will to fight was already shattered.

I leaped off the ground and stood beside Anika, pulling her back urgently. The Nine-Tailed Fox observed without uttering a word.

"Anika, we need to be in our best condition for a fight like this!" I shook her shoulder, trying to snap her out of her daze.

"You don't understand. This isn't like any other demon we've encountered. She possesses an extraordinary amount of Ord, more than I've ever sensed before, surpassing even the ultimate demons we faced in the war, combined. Yet her control over her Ord energy is flawless, precise as a scalpel. How many centuries? No, perhaps even a couple of millennia, she focused solely on honing that single aspect. She reached the pinnacle of power but never found satisfaction..." Anika muttered, her own words seeming to frighten her even more.

Tamae watched with a smile on her face and added, "Intelligent girl, that one. I'm almost saddened that I'll have to kill all of you."

As soon as she mentioned killing, a frown creased her face, and she glanced above Anika. "What is that thing doing there?"

I followed her gaze but saw nothing. Nonetheless, a shiver ran down my spine. There was something there that only Tamae could see, and I had a vague idea of what it might be.

"The 'thing' that the Raion Clan was hiding, the guardian of the clan... Well, calling it a guardian was overselling it a bit; a description of cosmic horror would be more accurate.

Tamae's eyes narrowed, and her haunting purple eyes briefly turned rainbow-colored as she frowned. "Huh, and here I thought things like you couldn't get through the barrier. How did you even get here?"

She knew what it was?! It seemed that Tamae No Mae was more powerful than I had assumed. Despite being confined in Noxy's body, her power should have been somewhat weakened. However, due to her wide range of expertise, she could display more of her power than Orochi could.

"The Raion Clan... Heh, they must have made some deals with an entity before the barriers were erected," she mused.

She was spot on. Though Tamae No Mae wasn't known for her divination skills, she had a knack for it. Though if asked, she would claim that her ability to look into the past or future was mediocre at best.

No, I mustn't waste time concentrating on useless things. I needed to get in contact with Carpy; we were close to the sea, and he could blast this pyramid to smithereens.

But before I could finish thinking things through, Tamae had different ideas and sent an invisible shockwave at us. The blast had enough power that even before it reached us, it began causing cracks on the walls and support beams of the tomb, the same tomb that had been made by the magician to be unbreakable.

However, before the blast reached us, darkness engulfed the area. As if someone had turned off the lights, which was impossible since this place was lit up by torches.

Then the lights came on again, and Anika was no longer by my side. Tamae was still there, and she narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Teleportation? Not in range, just out of the tomb," she mused. "It was able to go past the bastard's anti-teleportation seals..."

But she didn't have time to dwell on that for too long, as she looked at her own rotting arm. She sighed and severed it. "Those outside creeps, always too troublesome."

Within seconds, her stump bubbled up, and a new arm sprouted from it. She clenched and tested it, humming in acceptance. Then she looked at me and the unconscious companions behind me. Her silver tails swished behind her. "Sorry, kid, but I need a blood sacrifice to free myself from this curse. I can't kill Sei because of the deal, and I can't kill Agon because that bastard magician was definitely vindictive enough to imbue the seal with something that would kill his son's murderer."

My heart sank at her words. Was I about to die like this? It was a lame death, but no death was glamorous. My brain went into overdrive as I desperately tried to find a way out of this, and that's when I remembered that despite her cruelty, Tamae No Mae didn't want humanity destroyed. "Wait, can you check my fate first? Without me, there will be many troublesome things in the future."

I hoped that whatever future me did, it would be something that would interest her more than being killed here.

She appeared unconvinced, a flicker of something passing through her eyes. Then, she visibly cringed, a glint of amusement dancing in her gaze. "Kid, you've got one messed up destiny awaiting you. Your demise will be agonizing and brutal, and I genuinely feel sorry for you. So, if you willingly offer your blood, I'll spare your life."

Giving my blood willingly? I activated Perfect Me for a moment, recalling countless rituals I had read about. Giving my blood willingly would likely weaken the seal enough for her to seek another blood sacrifice.

However, something else troubled me. My impending death... gruesome and painful? My mind went blank as I absorbed her words. "What… How will I die?"

"Don't fret. Your demise, at least, will yield something formidable," she shrugged casually, almost as an afterthought. "That's why dispatching you here would be bothersome—it would merely speed up a predetermined fate."

My heart trembled; she had no reason to deceive me. She could have ended my life already or violated the contract and sacrificed Sei.

Wait, no, this could still be her scheme! I mustn't let my thoughts wander. Perhaps she was mistaken and saw the original Kon's death. Yeah, that had to be it.

Yet, deep down, I knew someone of her caliber wouldn't make such an error.