Chapter 28: I Think My Martial Power is Also Quite Strong
Yomi, an organization whose power spans the East and West and possesses killing licenses in various countries, was plunging into an immense crisis.
The Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution, as the instigators of the incident, felt in this moment that they had vastly underestimated the seriousness of the situation.
The matter was far more severe than they had imagined. At this moment, various branches of Yomi disregarded their status as the highest rank of the Weapon Group; even within the weapon style faction, a large number of people were drawing a clear line of separation from them.
In fact, if the Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution were not nominally the strongest martial artists of the Weapon Group, it would be more than just drawing a line.
A large number of messengers were heading to Italy.
They hoped to gain the protection of Hikigaya Hachiman's kin before he learned of the matter.
But bad news arrived one after another. First, the magical societies that usually liked to show their presence to Yomi were all avoiding them this time.
And the messenger who successfully found the "King's Butler" was subjected to a severe reprimand, stating that this attempt to provoke a war between Demon Kings must cease, otherwise the magical societies of Italy would consider it a declaration of war.
The meaning was clear: the Campione and his affiliated organizations do not accept negotiations, especially not negotiations involving an incident that concerns another Campione.
This certainly wasn't the Sword King's intention, but there was nothing to be done. Unlike the Hand-to-hand Group, the Weapon Group had never been able to directly contact the Sword King.
In truth, Seshin Kouga Sanosuke, the head of the Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution known as the Two Heavens Yama King, felt incredibly wronged.
Mihai Stiilbe's rash action was purely personal behavior and was absolutely not the original intention of the Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution.
When Keitaro Urashima's identity was finally exposed, what Seshin Kouga Sanosuke wanted was to pull him back into Yomi's camp. For this, he was willing to provide all the power available for the Urashima family's revenge.
But Seshin Kouga Sanosuke underestimated the extent of Mihai Stiilbe's lack of regard for the big picture. This guy, who felt way too good about himself, brought the Weapon Group to the brink of destruction.
His second mistake was sending Kagerō Kii to solve the problem immediately.
Heaven knows, he just said "go collect the body" casually—not because he thought Mihai would be beaten to death, but because… he usually said it so casually!
Yet Kagerō Kii, that idiot! He actually killed Mihai, who was originally not dead!
You motherf**ker! What good is Mihai's head to me!?
Seshin Kouga Sanosuke was truly tempted at the time to fork Kagerō Kii into a plate of spaghetti and eat him.
But he couldn't do that. The more people he killed now, the worse the Weapon Group would suffer.
If only Mihai died, he could argue that Kagerō Kii was an idiot, but if he killed Kagerō Kii as well, the charge of covering up a murder would definitely stick.
It was true that Hikigaya came from Yomi, and it was true that he cherished old relationships, but he belonged to the Hand-to-hand Group. The relationship between the Hand-to-hand Group and the Weapon Group was so bad that one could refer to the usual level of interaction between the Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution and the One Shadow, Nine Fists.
Seshin Kouga Sanosuke had once visited Nikko to observe the place where the Campiones had fought. He confirmed with his own eyes that no matter how far human martial arts were cultivated, they could never reach that level. Before such power, whether it was him, the One Shadow, or the Invincible Superman, they were all ants.
He wasn't afraid of death—Yomi martial artists often take lives, but few are incapable of facing death—he was afraid that Hikigaya Hachiman would indiscriminately slaughter the Weapon Group.
What is a Campione with a family? If someone had asked Seshin Kouga Sanosuke before, he would have said it was a weakness, but now…
That was a nuclear missile chain!
There's no doubt that Hikigaya Hachiman would learn of this incident, because the relationship between the One Shadow and the Urashima family was an open secret within Yomi. The Urashima couple's ability to leave Yomi and assume new identities was also due to the overt and covert help of the One Shadow.
Otherwise, how could two Master-level martial artists betray Yomi and suffer no consequences? On the contrary, one magical society suffered heavy losses as a result; rumor has it that the One Shadow and several of the Nine Fists personally took action.
Why did that lunatic, Susanoo Jūnazat, show off in Japan and then run? According to unofficial sources, the One Shadow was furious.
Seshin Kouga Sanosuke even suspected that the One Shadow, Nine Fists already knew the full background of the Hikigaya family. If that was the case...
In any case, he had to prepare for the worst.
This was the most correct decision he made.
Because while Seshin Kouga Sanosuke was racking his brain trying to figure out how to preserve the martial arts heritage of the Weapon Group's various schools, Hikigaya Hachiman had already received the news at Hinata Manor.
After visiting Chiba City, his shop's business seemed to have picked up.
Several predestined people had walked into his general store one after another and bought different items.
This put Hikigaya in a good mood.
Until a person appeared and entered the general store, standing before him.
Lātīn Jihān, a man who could be considered his senior apprentice brother, and who held the title of Crown Prince of a certain country.
However, in Hikigaya's opinion, Lātīn Jihān would probably be Crown Prince for life, as the actual ruler of that country had always been Hikigaya's martial arts mentor, Susanoo Jūnazat.
Lātīn Jihān appeared directly in the general store. When he walked into the shop, his expression was still a little bewildered.
As he entered, Hikigaya was sitting behind the counter flirting with Ena Seishuin, while Moe was cleaning nearby.
The general store recently gained an extra function: those who wished to meet Hikigaya and harbored no malice could always find the Yorozuya (general store).
"Aha, isn't this Senior Apprentice Brother?" Hikigaya was quite happy to see an acquaintance and waved warmly. "My shop is pretty good, right?"
Lātīn Jihān was not so happy.
"Lord Hikigaya," his expression was extremely serious. "Your father…"
"I said, we're all so familiar, can you stop being so stiff? Never mind… continue." Hikigaya asked curiously, "What about my father?"
How strange. Why would Yomi come to him about Keitarō?
"He was attacked by the Eight Brilliant Blades of Divine Retribution the day before yesterday." Lātīn Jihān said he accepted Hikigaya's suggestion, then continued in a very unstiff manner. "However, that person didn't defeat your father and was later retrieved by the Weapon Group."
If Seshin Kouga Sanosuke were here, he would fight with his life to tear Lātīn Jihān apart.
Because Hikigaya Hachiman's current expression was precisely the one he least wanted to see.
"My father? Attacked by the Weapon Group? And someone died?" Hikigaya asked three questions consecutively.
Then he saw Lātīn Jihān nod.
"Today doesn't seem to be April Fool's Day, does it?" Hikigaya asked Ena.
"Hachiman, calm down."
"I am very calm, you see. I just met with an old classmate a few days ago, and today I met my senior apprentice brother. I am very happy now." Hikigaya was smiling, but no one in the room felt there was an ounce of positive energy in that smile.
Because the light in the room was dimming. Light was being absorbed by Hikigaya, and without him saying a word, the temperature in the room was getting colder.
Lātīn Jihān heard the sound of frost forming on the floor, and he felt a coldness creeping up his legs into his body.
He felt his vision blurring.
"I never thought that a buffoon like my father would offend the Weapon Group," he heard Hikigaya seemingly sigh. "That's truly impressive. Killing whoever they want, solving problems with force looks really great."
The next moment, Lātīn Jihān felt his presence return, and his eyes could see things again.
He saw Hikigaya standing in front of him and saying, "It's been a long time since I went back to Yomi to take a look… Senior Apprentice Brother, can you take me back with you? Honestly, I think my martial power is also quite strong."
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