‘This is ridiculous…’ Kizilkoz couldn’t help but utter as the boat rocked back on forth over the lake of Holy Water. The boat shaking made her feel slightly nauseous, but the Oni who were also on the boat were rowing non-stop,

‘I can’t believe she managed to pull this off, using strange disguise and pretending to be the deity they worship…And these Oni were completely convinced, hook, liner, and sinker!’

‘Plan itself sounds like something someone like Ren would come up with…no, it would be a plan he would say he came up with while secretly doing something very complex and ingenious….Snap out of it, me!’

Kizilkoz slapped herself on the face.

Thinking of Ren Karatengu was not good for her mental health.

That demon had too many schemes up his sleeve, so many that just thinking of them made her nauseous.

‘Akjan had all the Tengu clan members help out in order to create an illusion of being a dark fox goddess…but to be fair, it did look rather convincing, it is just the entire premise of the plan is bizarre…’

‘We already know humans are on the other side, so why are we going there? Yet Akjan insisted that Ren is on the other side of the lake, with humans. So why not just leave him there to die?! That is the least he deserves for all he did!’

She ended up hurling into the lake.

It seems like Kizilkoz and boats don’t mix well.

‘Sister, where are you now? Are you alive? Are you safe? Last time you met me, you must have thought I betrayed you, but please, please know, I did not want this to happen….I was fooled, manipulated by that crow…without a doubt, he is pulling the strings everywhere, these Tengu clan members don’t even realize that following him will lead them to their doom, he is just using them as means to an end!’

‘If only had I not fallen for his tricks and made a contract with him, I could have already taken my vengeance. But the power of the contract is absolute. If I even try to go against him or the Tengu clan members, the contract perceives it as an act of disloyalty and forces my body to stop, and if I try to resist it, it will shut me down…’

That was the danger of making a contract.

It binds the soul of the individual by conditions, and if the individual tries to defy the contract, the results will be tragic.

But contracts were a nigh-absolute way of making sure that someone will do exactly what he has promised to do, without the possibility of getting tricked.

‘To think the entire time, he had been fooling everyone into thinking he was a nobody…I heard from the others, at first he pretended to be a mere servant to the Tengu clan before revealing himself as the rightful heir, but only after manipulating events from the shadows….He is a crafty fiend all right.’

‘When I first met him, I thought he was a fool, a careless idiot who happened to stumble upon me by mistake, but it is far more likely that he planned everything from the start…. Attacking the Ras family and then pretending to rescue me…’

She clenched her fist in rage.

‘Then tricking me into trusting him, not knowing he was the real enemy, feeding me false hope, blinding me from truth, and binding me to serve him without the possibility of exacting my vengeance upon him…’

How can one demon think that far ahead?

Kizilkoz couldn’t help but wonder.

‘At the rate this is going, we will all be killed. The base of Pishak Priests is located on the other side, even if we do reach them; they have a home turf advantage, silver weapons, and holy magic. All of the Oni with us are ailing, weakened by constant exposure to Holy Water, and the Tengu clan members are not exactly in their best fighting condition.’

Still, they did not encounter any monsters within the lake, Kizilkoz even overheard Oni saying that the water is unusually peaceful, with no Water Serpent in sight.

‘While I am glad that Pishak Priests most likely captured Ren and are likely to execute him, his clan members are just clueless sheep led astray by his twisted mind… they don’t deserve to die here. As much as I wish to stop them, by my contract, I cannot act disloyal when it comes to Ren….But if he is killed by humans…’

Kizilkoz revealed a sinister smile.

‘Then I will be free of this wretched contract, free to act by my own will and pursue my father’s legacy’

‘As manipulative as he is, there is no way he can take on an entire base of Pishak Priests…Even if he had allies with him, his chances of winning against so many humans is….’

Kizilkoz’s eyes caught sight of the crimson flame radiating with its beautiful luminance.

‘…zero’

Her mouth dropped open as the boat came closer and closer towards the shore.

As her eyes adjusted to the sight before her, Kizilkoz stared speechlessly at what was left of the human settlement.

The entire village was going up in flames.

Charred human corpses and many more burning people, screaming as the flames consumed them, were within the line of sight.

What was supposed to be the base of the arch-enemies of demon-kind was reduced to smoldering embers and coal-black ashes.

Apparently it was not only Kizilkoz who was awed at this sight, all of the Onis were murmuring among themselves, and even the Tengu clan members were clueless about what could have caused this disaster.

“What…What happened here?” Kizilkoz covered her mouth with her hand.

“Lady Shadow Fox was right…it truly was the right time for us Oni to move forward without fear of humans…”

Oni were convinced that this was a sign that they were on the right path to their destiny.

It was as though a natural disaster had swept through the place, turning everything in its wake into nothing.

Then, she heard music synchronized with the flames…No…it was almost like the flames were dancing with the music…

As their boats reached the land, they proceeded to climb on to the land.

Using their magic, they managed to cross through the burning village, seeking the source of the music.

Then, they saw three figures.

One was a beetle demon leaning against an intact building, a feline demon sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, and a strange looking humanoid with stripes that was currently holding his hand over his face.

Tengu clan instantly recognized two of them.

They were the fellow members of the Tengu clan, their comrades.

After a heartfelt reunion, Aijasyl asked.

“Orin, where is Ren?”

All three of them immediately pointed towards the top of the roof the building.

As they looked up, they saw their master, just sitting there, nonchalantly playing a shamisen with his eyes closed.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, and uttered.

“Hey guys! What a surprise! What brings you here?”

Kizilkoz’s expression was that of a complete and utter disbelief.

‘He is still alive?!!!’

‘How can this be happening?! In a human village, outnumbered, surrounded by Holy Water, yet, not even a scratch on him! And to make the matters worse, it is the human village that was destroyed, not the other way around….How did this happen?’

Unlike the other Tengu clan members who were clearly motivated by the sight of their fearless leader, Kizilkoz’s expression seemed to say

‘Please someone just put me out of my misery~’