Chapter 63 63

Daisuke split their group into two after defeating the armored lizardman. The first group would leave the Shima lake area and report the matter to the organization, and the second group would chase after the black-robed person to find his goals.

Setsuka joins the second group and goes with Daisuke to chase the black-robed person. Besides her, the other group members were Kaede, Hijiri, Satoru, and a few second and third-year students.

At first, Akina refused to divide the group and wanted to join Setsuka to chase the black-robed person. Akina intends to use that excuse to go through the forest while looking for Tenku. But since it was an order, Akina reluctantly obeyed and left the Lake Shima area with the other first-year students.

After separating from the group of first-year students, Setsuka and the others walked through the forest in the direction the black-robed person had gone. On their way, they encountered some low-level monsters and were able to deal with them easily.

"Are you sure the black-robed person is flying in this direction, Mr. Okamoto?" Hijiri asked because they still couldn't find anything after walking for quite a while.

"I'm sure. When the black-robed person flew with the wyvern, I had memorized the direction he was headed. I reckon that person should be around here since the sound of the explosion wasn't too far from where we fought before." Daisuke said seriously.

"However, we still haven't found that black-robed person until now. Is he hiding somewhere around this area?" Satoru was impatient for not finding clues about the black-robed person after they walked through the forest. He thought that Daisuke had misjudged the direction the person was going. Daisuke wanted to reply to Satoru's words, but Setsuka's voice came first.

"I found a large cave not far from here. That black-robed person likely entered that place." Setsuka said after returning from inspecting the surrounding area. Daisuke and the others felt happy after listening to Setsuka's words. If that cave was the black-robed person's hiding place, their search had not been in vain.

"Alright. Let's check out the cave. Please lead the way, Miss Fuyushima." Daisuke asked Setsuka to take them to the cave.

Setsuka nodded slightly and walked ahead together with Kaede. After that, Daisuke, Hijiri, and the others followed closely behind. They didn't take long to reach their destination because the cave was not far from where they had been before.

"Huge! Wouldn't a wyvern be able to enter this cave if the entrance was this big?" Satoru muttered in awe.

"I didn't expect to see a place like this in the forest." Hikari added.

"I want you not to act recklessly after entering this cave and follow in my footsteps. I don't know what trap is waiting for us inside. So you have to stay alert to the environment around you. Do you understand?" Daisuke seriously warned Satoru and the others.

"We understand!" The group members answered in unison.

"Then follow me. Please turn on the lights." Daisuke gives instructions to one of the third-year students. After the lighting was turned on, he started walking slowly into the cave, with Hijiri and the others following closely behind.

After walking for quite a while, Daisuke and the others finally arrived at a vast area. They fell silent in horror when they saw the scene before their eyes. They smelled the burn in that place and saw hundreds of thorns-like iron pillars stuck around the cave. Moreover, the large and long scars deeply engraved on the walls looked terrifying.

The scariest thing was the person standing over a pile of hundreds of monster corpses, and that person was none other than Tenku.

Kaede quickly checked her dimension watch when she saw the corpses of two huge monsters she didn't recognize. After reading the data from the two monsters, he was dumbfounded.

"Drake and cactus golem." Kaede muttered in disbelief, and the people around her trembled after hearing her words.

"What!? Is it the corpse of the fourth and fifth-level monsters? How could both of them die? Was it the man who killed them?" Daisuke narrowed his eyes at the person dressed all in black who was standing still amidst the pile of monsters. He became alert because he sensed the danger from that person. On the other hand, Daisuke felt familiar with that figure and was sure he had seen that person somewhere but couldn't remember it.

"Who are you?" Setsuka asked coldly. Then that person turned his gaze to her, and their eyes met. Setsuka's body trembled because those eyes made her both frightened and familiar to her. That feeling she once had when she saw the eyes of a male student at school.

(Is that him!? But how could that be? Isn't his Phantasmal Object in the shape of a gun? Then why is he using a scythe now?)

Setsuka's mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't believe what she saw.

Daisuke quickly recognized the figure of the person dressed in black. But before he could say anything, someone charged toward Tenku at high speed. She is Hijiri, and she thinks that Tenku is a member of the terrorists because of his black outfit.

"Wait! He is dangerous! He is the Reaper!" Daisuke tried to stop Hijiri, but it was too late because she had left him far away.

Daisuke's voice brought Setsuka back to her senses. When she saw Hijiri intending to attack Tenku, she quickly chased after her and wanted to stop her.

"Damn!" Daisuke clicked his tongue and chased them along with the others because he thought Setsuka also wanted to attack Tenku.

Daisuke knows how strong and dangerous Tenku is. He didn't want Setsuka and Hijiri to get hurt because the Fuyushima Temple and the Natsukawa Family would hold him responsible.

"Phantasmal release..."

FLAME DEMON

Hijiri's body was covered with flames, and she swung her sword at Tenku. She intended to kill him with one strike. Hijiri's slash turns into a huge wave of fire and will burn Tenku until he is scorched. But the attack seemed like a candle flame to Tenku, who had fought wyvern and drake.

Tenku casually slashed his scythe, and the wave of fire suddenly disappeared because an invisible force sucked it in

"What!?" Hijiri was shocked when she saw her attack was dealt with so easily. Then she panicked after noticing that Tenku's figure had disappeared from where he was standing. Hijiri felt danger when she saw that, and she was about to retreat from that place, but Tenku suddenly appeared before her. Tenku stretched out his hand and then strangled her.

Setsuka suddenly stopped her steps because she was shocked by the strength of Tenku. She was confused about what to say, and she did at this time.

"Kugh!" Hijiri found it hard to breathe and struggled to get away from Tenku. She swung her sword, but Tenku easily parried it with his scythe. The sword slipped from Hijiri's hand and disappeared into particles of light.

"What do you mean suddenly attacking me with such killing intent? Do you think I dare not kill you just because you are outnumbered?" Tenku said in a hoarse voice, strengthening the grip on Hijiri's neck.

"Ugh!" Hijiri was frightened after feeling the grip on her neck getting stronger. She no longer tried to free herself from Tenku for fear that the other party would suddenly break her neck.

"Please don't kill her! She thinks you are a member of a terrorist organization that has trapped us. I'm sorry for her actions, but she attacked you for not knowing who you are. So please let her go." Daisuke said apologetically because it was Hijiri's fault. He tried to talk nicely to Tenku because he didn't want to anger him and put Hijiri in danger.

"Who are you?" Tenku looked at Daisuke and pretended not to recognize him.

"We meet again. I'm Daisuke Okamoto, and we met in Nikko, Tochigi prefecture. Do you remember it?" Daisuke tries to remind Tenku.

"Do you know him, Mr. Okamoto?" Kaede whispered to Daisuke.

"He is The Reaper, an illegal Realizer who has been actively slaughtering monsters in space collapse that appear around the Kanto area for several years." Daisuke explained.

"He is that person!?" Kaede raised her voice. She had also heard rumors about the Reaper, but this was the first time seeing him in person. Not only Kaede but Setsuka was also surprised after hearing that.

"Ah, it's you. Yes, I remember you. Then what is the meaning of your words? Do you want me to let go of the person who wants to kill me?" Tenku said in a low voice.

"I know her actions were wrong, but it happened because of a misunderstanding. If she died, then the Natsukawa family would be furious." Daisuke mentioned Natsukawa in his sentence and hoped that tenku would let go of Hijiri after hearing that.

"Hoo... now you're threatening me with the Natsukawa family? Did you think I wouldn't dare to kill her after hearing that?" Tenku said coldly and tightened her grip on Hijiri.

"Ughhh!" Hijiri couldn't breathe, and she slowly lost consciousness.

"No! I did not mean it! I don't want to cause unnecessary trouble between us!" Daisuke replied frantically. He did not expect his words to have the opposite effect on Tenku.

"You are right. I don't want that either. I will not kill this girl, but I will still give her punishment." Tenku didn't intend to kill Hijiri in the first place and just wanted to scare her.

"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked in confusion, but then he got a bad feeling from Tenku's words.

"I'll let her go. But before that, I'll ruin her face. Don't worry. It can't be cured even with potions or elixirs." Tenku said indifferently and brought the tip of his scythe closer to Hijiri.

Hijiri's body trembled when she heard Tenku's words, and her consciousness that was about to disappear quickly returned due to her fright at the threat.

"No! Please do anything but don't ruin my face! Aku seharusnya tidak menyerangmu sejak awal! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please stop it!" Hijiri squeezed her voice and struggled to speak. She knew that Tenku's words were serious and not just an empty threat when she saw his eyes.

Even though Hijiri is a battle addict, she still maintains her appearance as a woman and considers her beautiful face very precious. She kept shaking her head vigorously, and her body was shaking uncontrollably. But Tenku didn't listen to her and pressed his scythe against her face.