"Wh-what?! Kidnapping?!"
Nura Rikuo stared in disbelief at the small mouse in front of him.
"Yes! Kidnapping!"
The little mouse nodded strongly, his voice resolute, as if he had seen it all with his own eyes.
"Thank you so much! I have to gather everyone immediately and go…"
In a hurry, Nura Rikuo stood up at once. Ienaga Kana was the girl he had been in love with for a long time! How could he not be upset upon learning that villains had kidnapped her?!
But just as Nura Rikuo got up and took a few steps to seek help from the yōkai of the Nura Clan, the expression on the little mouse's face changed and he urgently called out:
"Please, wait a moment! Lord Rikuo!"
Hearing the shout, Nura Rikuo stopped and turned to the mouse beside him.
"Miss Keikain is an onmyōji. I'm afraid no one will want to save her."
The little mouse looked serious and tried to persuade him reasonably.
Hearing that, Nura Rikuo realized that Yura Keikain was an onmyōji, an enemy of the yōkai!
Once that was clarified, Nura Rikuo, who still intended to seek help from the yōkai of the Nura Clan, suddenly didn't know what to do. Just as he hesitated whether to inform his grandfather, the little mouse spoke again:
"Please, do not worry, young master Rikuo. The Kyūso Clan will do everything in our power to help you! Please, go on alone!"
"But…"
Listening to the little mouse's words, Nura Rikuo was still concerned, but what the mouse said next forced him to make a decision:
"If anything happens, the Kyūso Clan will immediately find a solution and inform everyone!"
"Alright, I understand. Let's go!"
Responding in a deep voice, Nura Rikuo turned and left the Nura Clan residence, following the mouse.
The moment Nura Rikuo left, a broom-headed creature slowly peeked out behind him. Its single eye was fixed on Rikuo's back, and its gaze was filled with concern.
"Oh no!"
…
"Young master, two young ladies have been kidnapped here."
Guided by the mouse, Nura Rikuo soon arrived at a villa on Ichiban Street. Standing in front of the door, the mouse, with its back to Rikuo, spoke.
Nura Rikuo approached, examined the iron gate, and seeing that it was not locked, immediately addressed the mouse behind him:
"Can you sneak inside and open the door for me from within?"
However, Nura Rikuo waited a long time for an answer.
When he turned around, he realized that several figures had surrounded him.
Those figures were none other than a group of rat yōkai from the Kyūso Clan!
"Is this the Third Leader of the Nura Clan? He's really human!"
"Hahaha, beat him up and take him to the boss!"
"Alright! Let's see what the Third Leader can actually do!"
Faced with the monsters steadily approaching, Nura Rikuo retreated, but had nowhere to escape.
…
"Pfft, long time no see, young master Rikuo."
In the main hall of the villa, Kyūso looked at Nura Rikuo, covered in dust, with contempt.
"You lied to me! Release the schoolmates!"
Nura Rikuo was already slightly injured and surrounded by a group of monsters, but there was no fear in his voice.
"Hm?"
Hearing that, Kyūso snapped his fingers, and on the raised platform behind him, a red curtain parted, revealing an iron cage behind it, with four people trapped inside!
Although Nura Rikuo didn't know the two people in the cage, he could clearly see his friend and the girl he loved, Yura Keikain and Ienaga Kana, locked in the same iron cage!
"Kana!"
Seeing Ienaga Kana, Nura Rikuo immediately shouted, but she was unconscious and could not respond.
"Kyūso! Release them immediately!"
Seeing his friend suffering, Nura Rikuo shouted at Kyūso, but Kyūso was no longer a member of the Nura Clan, so why would he listen to Rikuo at all?
Seeing that a human dared to be so audacious, a rat yōkai stepped forward and struck Nura Rikuo hard in the stomach. The sharp pain forced the young man to fall to the ground.
"You want me to release them? Fine. But I will only release them if you publicly declare that you renounce the succession to the Third Leader position. What do you say to that?"
Looking at Nura Rikuo lying face down on the ground, Kyūso's voice was full of contempt and disbelief, as if he couldn't understand why such a weak young man would inherit that position.
"If I do it, you'll release them all, right?"
Holding his aching body, Nura Rikuo struggled to lift his gaze to Kyūso.
"Tonight, letters of resignation will be sent to all unit leaders. If that does not happen, at dawn it will be the day of death for the two Rikuo friends."
"Still, I doubt young master Rikuo knows the other two. This is the kitten I barely managed to get!"
As he spoke, Kyūso stood up and looked down at Nura Rikuo.
Hearing his words, Nura Rikuo gritted his teeth.
Although he didn't know the other two girls in the iron cage and their lives had nothing to do with him, as a human he could not just stand by and watch Kyūso devour them!
Seeing Nura Rikuo's reluctant expression, Kyūso felt a surge of anger for no reason.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, he lifted his leg and stomped on Nura Rikuo's head.
"Kyūso-sama!"
Seeing Kyūso dare to humiliate Nura Rikuo like this, some rat yōkai who were still afraid of the Nura Clan panicked and wanted to speak, but Kyūso glared sharply at them and they immediately fell silent.
"You really are pathetic! When the Kyūso Clan was expelled from the Nura Clan, you didn't say a word, and now you dare to oppose me over two ordinary human girls!"
"I really can't understand how the second generation, such a powerful and exceptional yōkai, could have such a cowardly offspring like you!"
"Huh?! Answer me! Nura Rikuo!!"
Recalling the day he was expelled from the Nura Clan, Kyūso felt his anger surge again.
Why?! Why was Nura Rikuo, an ordinary human, born into such a high position and with so much power?! And he, after so many years of fighting within the Nura Clan, was so easily expelled just because he ate a few blood offerings?!
How disgusting! How unbearable! He hated that cowardly Third Leader, hated that the Third Leader wasn't a yōkai! He hated Nura Rikuo because he even wanted to give up being a yōkai and become a weak human!
Nura Rikuo, unable to withstand Kyūso's blow, immediately collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.
Seeing this, Kyūso had to stop. He waved his hand, signaling the rat yōkai to wake Nura Rikuo, while he himself headed toward the iron cage behind him.
"I'm really curious why these humans are so special; after all, they are just food!"
Saying this bitterly, Kyūso snapped his fingers, and from the nostrils of the four people in the cage, a cloud of black mist emerged. One by one, they began to wake up.
The first to wake up was, of course, Yura Keikain, who had the best constitution. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Kyūso's crimson eyes.
Seeing this, Yura Keikain flinched and took a few steps back. Instinctively, she reached for the talisman of her shikigami, but realized that the creature in front of her had already taken it.
Realizing this, Yura Keikain gritted her teeth. Just as she didn't know what to do, Kyūso opened the iron cage and slowly entered.
"Human blood is thickest and most delicious at dawn. Today I'll see just how tasty the blood of an onmyōji really is!"
As Kyūso approached further, Yura Keikain was completely helpless. Without shikigami, in front of a yōkai, she was no more than a fish on a cutting board!
"Stop! Don't come any closer!"
Seeing Kyūso entering, Yura Keikain stood in front of the three unconscious people and angrily warned him.
But how could she stop the creature?!
This cannot continue like this! Someone, anyone, please save us!
Overwhelmed by fear, Yura Keikain closed her eyes. But the very next moment, a sharp sound of air breaking echoed in the hall. In an instant, a golden long sword decapitated all the rat yōkai except Kyūso!
"What?!"
The sudden change caught Kyūso off guard. He turned and saw a black-haired young man standing beside Nura Rikuo, checking his condition.
At that moment, Ichika slowly woke up. When she saw the blue-haired young man in front of her, her face turned pale with fear. But when her gaze fell outside the iron cage and she saw that familiar figure, she exclaimed in surprise:
"Yu!"