Chapter 38: You Need To Take The Mantle...

Kyoto Street was bustling with crowds who were following their regular routine, not having a single idea of what was happening in their city.

Even though it was night, there was no sign of a decrease in crowd activity.

In the sky, many boats were floating in the air and entering the city through the aerial route.

These huge ships, which were floating in the air instead of water, were not normal ships—they were yokai ships.

They were known by the name Kobanbune, which is a vehicle-type yokai.

Their appearance looks like giant boats with several pairs of arms protruding from either side. They create a formation with Takarabune and fly by waving the fans held in each hand.

Takarabune is the Nura Clan's special strategic yōkai sky fortress.

It looks like a giant boat with arms protruding from the sides and has a self-regeneration ability that allows it to repair itself when resting.

The legion of the Continental Hotel was traveling using these yokai, along with the onmyoji elders, and the emoji accompanied them.

Meanwhile, Leo, Nurarihyon, Rikuo, Mavis, and other important members who were participating in this battle were staying on Takarabune.

On Takarabune...

Rikuo was sitting at the edge of the ship, looking at the sky absentmindedly, thinking very deeply.

He was unable to get any rest.

Whenever he closed his eyes to rest, the images of his father's death flashed through his mind.

All this time, he couldn't remove the moment when his father was lying in a pool of blood while a girl, a year older than him, was looking at him with dead eyes and a cruel smile plastered on her face.

The katana in her hand was stained with his father Rihan's blood.

"Can't sleep?"

His eyes opened wide when he heard a voice behind him.

When he looked back, he saw Leo standing there, holding two cups of hot tea, walking towards him.

Sigh~

"Yeah... whenever I close my eyes, the scene when my father died flashes in my mind."

Hearing Leo's question, Rikuo didn't hide it; he nodded his head and admitted with a tired sigh what was bothering him.

"____"

Swish~ swish~

"Don't think too much... you will have the right time to get your revenge on Jizo."

After a few moments of silence, with the wind blowing a little powerfully and swaying their hair, Leo broke the silence with comforting words.

He could understand that Rikuo had witnessed his father's death before his eyes and had been unable to do anything—frozen in shock instead.

"I know... but still..."

Even though Rikuo knew it in his mind, his heart couldn't accept it.

While he was conversing, his eyes landed on his grandpa, Nurarihyon, who was currently trying to give Yura candies he had previously stolen before boarding the ship.

And Yura looked very conflicted, trying to choose one from the handful of candies in Nurarihyon's hands.

Grit~

"This old geezer... how many times do I need to say, don't steal candies from the shops?"

Gritting his teeth in anger, Rikuo cursed, looking at his grandpa, who seemed to not care about anything.

"He might not show it openly... but if you let your guard down, he might steal your prey."

Shaking his head, Leo informed Rikuo, who seemed to think his grandpa was carefree.

Sip~

"You need to become his official successor to lessen his burden. You've made him wait for so long. Now is the time for you to step up."

Taking a sip from his cup of hot tea, Leo advised Rikuo that he needed to step up and take on the mantle of Supreme Commander from his grandfather,

who had been waiting all this time for his grandson to mature and be strong enough to take the mantle from him without collapsing.

"I will do it..."

Hearing Leo's advice, Rikuo, after a few seconds of silence, nodded his head, having made his decision to become Supreme Commander.

"How is my mother?"

Just when Leo was about to move, Rikuo spoke in a low voice, not turning around.

"____"

Chuckle~

"She is fine... just tired from a late-night workout."

With a little chuckle, Leo turned and left the spot where he had been standing, leaving behind his words.

"____"

Swoosh~

A strong wind blew, accompanying Rikuo as he once again started staring at the sky while sipping the tea Leo had passed to him earlier.

Flashback...

After half an hour...

When Leo entered the room allocated to him, he was shocked to see who was present there.

"Wakana! What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay behind at the hotel along with Nene and Shin to take care of the Continental Hotel?"

With a shocked face, Leo exclaimed.

He had previously rejected and clearly instructed Wakana to stay behind when she asked permission to accompany them to Kyoto.

"Leo... please, I want to come..."

With tears threatening to fall from her eyes, Wakana pleaded with him.

Sigh~

Plop~

With a defeated sigh, Leo sat beside her on the bed and started massaging his temples.

"Mavis will arrive in a few minutes. Let's discuss this with her."

He couldn't scold Wakana.

He understood what she was feeling—her son was participating in a large-scale war to kill the one who had manipulated and killed her husband.

While she couldn't help but look around nervously.

"____" 

Seeing her panicked expression and nervous glances as she tried to avoid Leo's eyes, he frowned in suspicion.

"Mavis already knew... she was staying with Kejoro tonight."

In a low voice, Wakana whispered, but loud enough for Leo to hear.

"____"

'Are they playing me here?'

With a raised eyebrow, Leo thought about Mavis, who had promised there was a secret present she had prepared for him, before kissing him on the lips and running into the ship, leaving behind a few lecherous giggles.

"Wakana... are you sure?"

Not immediately jumping into action, Leo controlled his urges and calmly asked Wakana to confirm her decision.

If she hesitated or looked uncomfortable, Leo wouldn't push her boundaries.

He could wait—he had all the time he needed.

He might be scum for wanting to open a huge harem, but he wouldn't force anyone to be his by controlling, brainwashing, blackmailing, etc.

Thud~

Hearing Leo's question, Wakana didn't hesitate. She jumped and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest.

"Leo... I don't know if what I am feeling for you is right or wrong... but I love you... I want to stay by your side... whenever I am with you, I feel happy and comfortable... I love you."

Not waiting for Leo to respond, Wakana confessed to him quickly, without stopping.

"____"

"____"

Seeing he was not replying, Wakana began to panic, thinking Leo didn't love her.

"I..."

Smooch~

Before she could speak, Leo sealed her lips with a kiss.

Initially shocked, with wide eyes, Wakana started to fight back with her tongue but lost to Leo, who kissed her greedily.

Outside the room...

Rikuo, who had arrived to talk with Leo about the upcoming war, heard the entire conversation between his mother and Leo while his body trembled in anger.

His whole face turned red when he started to hear his mother's moaning from inside the room while Leo was exclaiming and enjoying her body.

"____"

Biting his thumb to control his anger, Rikuo walked away from the room and even stood at the entrance of the path that led to the room, preventing anyone from entering.

"Just you wait, Jizo... I will make you experience what hell is."

He converted all the negative feelings into a single motive: to make Jizo pay for it... it's all Jizo's fault.

Flashback ends...

Present...

When the fleet from the Continental Hotel arrived at the location, they saw the guardian pillars being ravaged to the ground by Kyoto Yokai, who were currently trying to break the seal.

They had already destroyed the third guardian pillar and the fourth guardian pillar, releasing two powerful yokai who had been sealed within them.

The yokai released from the third pillar was Sanmoto Gorozaemon, a particularly sinister yokai with the ability to split himself into multiple parts and spread his influence.

His grotesque and malevolent nature made him a dangerous force to reckon with.

Sanmoto Gorozaemon had been sealed in one of the Guardian Pillars to prevent him from using his fragmented form to cause chaos across Kyoto.

His release would spell disaster for the region due to his unpredictable and vile nature.

From the fourth pillar, the yokai released was Gashadokuro.

Gashadokuro is an enormous skeletal yōkai made up of the bones of those who died of starvation.

This yōkai towers over everything, embodying death and destruction.

Gashadokuro had been sealed within one of the Guardian Pillars because of its sheer size and destructive power.

When unleashed, it has the ability to wreak havoc on entire cities, making it a vital yokai to keep sealed.

The Kyoto yokai were currently cooperating with these newly released yokai, aiding them in breaking the first and second seals.

"Hagoromo-sama... a huge fleet of yokai seems to have come from the Continental and has entered our borders through traveling yokai."

One of the yokai, who looked like an old vulture, knelt and informed Hagoromo Gitsune about the large fleet entering Kyoto.

"I knew it... we couldn't trust those yokai from the Continental. Now they are going back on their word."

Jizo, upon hearing this, roared in anger and disgust and requested that Hagoromo Gitsune send a large number of aerial yokai to deal with them.

"They didn't attack us, right? Leave them be."

Dismissing Jizo's suggestion, Hagoromo Gitsune turned back and continued to focus on breaking the seals.

"____"

Jizo didn't know what had happened during the meeting to make Hagoromo Gitsune change her decision. Now, no matter what he tried, he couldn't manipulate or control her emotions.

He felt like Leo, who had come to visit Hagoromo Gitsune earlier, had done something to prevent him from manipulating her.

So, he wanted to keep Leo out of this as much as possible to achieve his goal.

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(Author's POV)

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