Guren was very familiar with this curse technique, and the fusion of Yuichiro and Mika's consciousness seas proceeded very smoothly.
Guren checked it over and, finding no issues, said to Yuichiro.
"Now you and Mika are truly bound in life and death. When you regain consciousness, launch a sneak attack using Mika's power. The Progenitors will definitely be unprepared. My suggestion is to target Rig. Luke's stance is too ambiguous, and the risk of sneaking an attack on the Progenitor far outweighs the reward. But after you seriously injure Rig and take him away, his only target will be the Progenitor. You can try to persuade him."
Guren laid out his analysis, but he would never have imagined that Rig no longer had a single sin key left!
Yuichiro lowered his head in deep thought, then nodded after a moment.
"Then I'll listen to you. Let's target Rig."
Guren smiled.
"Good. I'm heading back now. As soon as you act, Shinya and I will cover you immediately."
Having said that, Guren disappeared from Yuichiro's consciousness sea.
"Mika, onikiri, it might get very dangerous next. Are you both ready?"
Mika took a deep breath and, looking at Yuichiro, said.
"I'll support you no matter what decision you make."
Yuichiro shifted his gaze to onikiri, their eyes meeting.
In the end, under Yuichiro's resolute gaze, onikiri conceded defeat, scratching the back of his head.
"Ah, really, I get it. But if the outcome doesn't satisfy me, I'll confiscate your body."
Yuichiro nodded lightly.
"Do with me as you will."
..."What are you looking at?"
Luke suddenly heard Krul's voice by his ear. Frowning, Luke stared at Shinya Hiragi and said.
"Why do I get the feeling he seems very tense?"
Krul followed Luke's line of sight and saw the composed Shinya Hiragi meditating with his eyes closed. Where was the tension?
"I don't see any problem."
Luke still felt something was very off. Being surrounded by enemies with his companions' fate unknown, Shinya Hiragi's ability to remain so calm was the biggest problem of all!
"Don't mind me. Carry on."
Luke smiled at Krul and walked towards Shinya Hiragi's direction, no longer paying attention to Rig exposing the Progenitor's secrets, as he hadn't revealed anything Luke didn't already know after talking for so long.
"How bizarre."
Krul watched Luke walk away and didn't concern herself further. She did still want to know more about the Progenitor, so she moved a bit closer to him.
"Hey, Shinya Hiragi."
Hearing someone suddenly call his name, Shinya Hiragi stiffened all over, but quickly adjusted his demeanor. An ordinary Vampire might have missed it, but Luke's eyes were sharp, not to mention he had come over already suspicious.
So there really is a problem?
Shinya Hiragi opened his eyes calmly, meeting Luke's smile, which sent a chill down his spine.
"What do you want?"
"What do I want? Why don't you guess, little traitor~"
Upon hearing this, one stone in Shinya Hiragi's heart settled, only for another to be raised.
"What do you intend to do? Kill me?"
Luke raised his right index finger and wagged it side to side.
"No, killing you wouldn't be interesting. Do you want to know about Goshi Norito, Tojo Aki, and the two servants of the Ichinose Family?"
Shinya Hiragi's eyes narrowed, staring intently at Luke's eyes, gritting his teeth as he said.
"If anything happens to them, I will never let you go!"
Luke was stunned.
So reactive? What kind of classic hero-villain dialogue is this? I didn't threaten you with them, so what's with this defiant expression? You must have a performative personality! Should I play along?
*Smack* A hand slapped Shinya Hiragi on the head. Luke wore a look of disdain.
"If it weren't for me, they'd have gotten their 'lunch boxes' long ago! And you're baring your teeth at me!"
Shinya Hiragi's concern had clouded his judgment. Thinking it over carefully, what Luke said might be true, so he asked suspiciously.
"What exactly do you want? Coming to find me at a time like this..."
Luke gave a meaningful glance to the Vampire behind Shinya Hiragi. The Vampire understood and walked away. Luke leaned close to Shinya Hiragi's ear and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Tell me honestly, are you planning something sneaky? Tell me. I'm looking for something interesting to do, like acting as an inside agent to help you escape or something."
Shinya Hiragi couldn't believe that Luke, a member of the Progenitors, would voluntarily say such a thing to him.
Seeing Shinya Hiragi's incredulous expression, Luke continued.
"Your Imperial Demon Army should have some information on me. Think about it, how long have I been a Vampire? Mika is my beloved friend, my sworn brother. I'm definitely on his side."
"You..."
"Shinya, don't believe him!"
Guren happened to emerge from Yuichiro's consciousness sea just then and heard Luke trying to trick Shinya Hiragi, hurriedly interrupting whatever Shinya was about to say next.
Shinya Hiragi hadn't believed Luke's nonsense in the first place and was planning to play along, but Guren didn't let him continue.
"Is that so? What a pity."
Luke had been observing Shinya Hiragi's subtle movements. He stood up, acting as if he'd been rejected, and turned to leave. However, as he left, his gaze imperceptibly swept over Shinya Hiragi's new sword.
"He noticed me."
After Luke left, Guren's voice carried a grave tone. Shinya Hiragi was somewhat confused.
"How could that be? You never revealed your aura in front of him."
"I hope it's just a mistaken impression..."
..."Luke, the aura in that sword belongs to an old acquaintance, someone I've cut down before."
Kyle sent a mental message to Luke.
The corner of Luke's mouth lifted.
"As I suspected? Hahaha, I told you! Guren died, yet Shinya Hiragi didn't take any action. Instead, he stayed under Rig's command for quite some time. There must have been some secret deal I didn't know about in between!"
"Why not expose them?"
Luke shook his head.
"Since Guren is still 'alive,' his goal won't change. The protagonist has also been on standby. They're all bound to have their roles to play next. If I flip the table prematurely, the plot won't progress normally."
"Riddlers should just die!"
Luke said to Kyle with some surprise.
"You've learned that phrase too?!"
"Heh, and who do I have to thank for that? So, what do we do next? Sit back and wait for the show to start?"
After teasing Luke a couple of times, Kyle asked curiously.
Luke shook his head.
"We'll go do some preparatory work next."
...In an unknown, abandoned house somewhere.
"Shinoa, can you feel it?"
Byakuya Akane used the Seraph's power to guide Shinoa Hiragi in breaking through the mental barrier the Progenitor had set up in her heart.
It was somewhat ironic. The mental barrier was usually what Shinoa Hiragi used to resist the Progenitor's control, but now the roles were reversed.
Shinoa Hiragi closed her eyes tightly. After a moment, the corner of her mouth curled up, and she said excitedly.
"Success!"
In Shinoa Hiragi's consciousness sea, she removed the mental barrier blocking her view.
"Yo, Little Four, long time no see. I went through a lot of trouble to see you again. Wow! You look terrible. Seems you've run into some trouble~"
The "Progenitor" lifted his head wearily to look at Shinoa Hiragi and laughed self-deprecatingly.
"What terrible timing, just at a moment like this."
That's right. The Progenitor had split his origin into two. Otherwise, as Shinoa Hiragi's demon, a one-sided separation would cause irreversible damage to both parties. So, he divided his origin into two parts. However, right now, neither part of the origin was in a good situation.
You will get 30 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
patreon.com/AZOFFICIAL1