I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 229 The Story of Walking and the Demon King, the End of All Branches and Possibilities!

Kyoto, headquarters of the Yin-Yang Bureau.

Since Tokyo fell three years ago under the simultaneous onslaught of the five sufferings of love, separation, birth, old age, sickness, and death, this place has become the capital and military center of the nation.

The population density outside the headquarters area is frighteningly high, making it seem exceptionally lively. However, as soon as you get close to the Yin-Yang Bureau headquarters, you'll find that there are guards every three steps and sentries every five steps.

The monks, their faces covered in iron and wielding sharp weapons, patrolled silently, while a dozen or so illusory figures occasionally flitted through the shadows.

There was silence.

Amidst this strict patrol, signs symbolizing extremely high status were lowered, and a meeting that could potentially determine the fate of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, was being held.

Before the government envoys, representatives of the three major families, and representatives of the ancient Onmyoji families, the aged man, the Grand Onmyo Master of the Onmyo Bureau and also a great Onmyoji, placed his hands on the table and spoke thus.
“During the period when the eternal world ceases to merge with the present world, he is the greatest threat to Kyoto.”

"The biggest threat?"

Among the Onmyoji families, a young man laughed: "No matter how great the threat, can it be greater than any of the world's existing powers?"

"of course."

Yin Yang Da Yun waved his hand.

The spiritual energy flickered, forming lines of text and clear images in mid-air.

"—For more than three years, he has been using unknown means to travel freely between the mortal world and the real world, launching terrorist attacks in different cities."

For this reason, it not only caused economic losses exceeding tens of billions of yen, but also directly resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands of superhumans, as well as countless indirect casualties.

The young man fell silent.

A deathly silence fell over the makeshift meeting room.

"besides."

An envoy from the government spoke, conveying a message from above: "Nanjo Manami, who once belonged to the Bureau of Yin and Yang, has openly betrayed the present world and chosen to side with the side of the eternal world."

The envoy, mimicking the cold tone of the text, said...

"This is utterly disgraceful!"

"Leaving aside Nanjo Aimi for now, no matter what, she can't cause any big trouble on her own." The representative of the Minamoto family spoke up, tapping the table with his hand. "The key is that person, and that inexplicably appearing country in the Eternal World."

"They appeared out of nowhere, grew stronger out of nowhere, and inexplicably signed non-aggression pacts with those worldly powers."

The Tokugawa representative raised his indifferent eyes.
"Its existence has led many people to have wicked thoughts."

The government envoy asked, "That person, shouldn't they have been a human from this world... So, have you tried to recruit them? Or at least mediate a conflict with them?"

The envoy emphasized that,

"We can offer very generous terms."

Then Yin Yang Da Yun laughed: "We tried this idea more than two years ago."

Since Yin Yang Da Yun has spoken in this way, it means that this idea has undoubtedly failed.

Completely.

“Then send a joint army to wipe them out.” The Tokugawa representative lowered his eyes. “The old patriarch said that you can borrow the Star.”

Yin Yang Da Yun's expression first showed a slight joy, but then he sighed repeatedly: "I thank the old patriarch for his generosity on behalf of the Yin Yang Bureau... but if we could pinpoint the other party's location accurately, we would have done so long ago."

"It's as if the other side has the ability to predict the future—every time we send out a small force, it gets wiped out, but if we send in real experts, they return empty-handed."

Yin Yang Da Yun was quite helpless.

Even the demonic forces of the mortal world have never truly located that person's position relative to his kingdom.

In the corner, the elderly man representing Tsuchimikado put down the bamboo skewer in his hand and spoke solemnly.
“He poses a far greater threat than the factory owners’ combat units right in front of us, and needs to be eliminated as soon as possible.”

Everyone present looked at the blood-red to black bamboo skewer placed on the table, and couldn't help but show solemn expressions.

Even the representatives who were initially drowsy sat up straight and adopted a listening posture.

The government envoy breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. He was about to speak again when he was interrupted by a faint female voice.
"But that person said he was doing the right thing."

The messenger looked in that direction and saw a woman holding a scepter and with her eyes covered by a black cloth.

The sign in front of her seat silenced the messenger.

——【Yin-Yang Power Assistance · Kujo Tsubaki】.

Kujo Tsubaki said softly, "So, perhaps we can give him some more time..."

"Kujo Gonsuke, you are too kind."

The old man coldly interrupted her, slamming his fist heavily on the table: "You need to know, we are the ones in the right, the Onmyoji Bureau and the official authorities are!"

Kujo Tsubaki did not reply.

She simply shut her mouth calmly, no longer doing anything futile.

She never expected the Yin-Yang Bureau to be "correct," but she always strived to be "as correct as possible."

Now it seems that she's almost unable to do even something like that.

At this moment, someone scoffed impatiently, releasing a powerful aura: "After talking for so long... then, Your Excellency, what is that person's name?"

"--walk."

Yin Yang Dayun spoke in a hoarse voice: "He suddenly appeared three years ago, but the deeper we investigate, the more we find that behind many things from five years ago, ten years ago, and even decades or hundreds of years ago, there are traces of his presence."

"Are you kidding?"

The man who had just scoffed froze, his face filled with astonishment.

You know, there aren't many people in the world who are over a hundred years old, let alone someone who was behind some major events back then.

The information also states that the person walking around looks no more than a few decades old.

How old are you?
So what is he? Is he a true god who has survived from nearly two hundred years ago to the present day?
"But the good news is that a reputable and well-informed businessman offered us his position."

Yin Yang Da Yun waved his hand again, and a map of the mortal world appeared before everyone's eyes.

He held up his finger.
"Three days later, Xingzou will appear here alone, supposedly to meet a celestial craftsman... and when Xingzou leaves his kingdom, he will be at his weakest."

Even an ordinary ghost or deity cannot match it.

"Commissioner Haruhiko, you must take this opportunity to kill him."

Tokugawa Haruhiko, a five-star specialist at the Onmyōryō, raised an eyebrow, revealing a rare look of interest.

He grinned and nodded: "Leave it to me."

Even ghosts and gods can do it.

For him, there was no possibility of failure in such a task.

After giving his final instructions, Tokugawa Haruhiko confidently pushed open the conference room door and disappeared into the thick darkness along with the powerful ninjas who had been hiding in the shadows for who knows how long.

……

What brought the dying Tokugawa Haruhiko back to his senses was the relaxed conversation of a man and a woman.

"Nanjo-nee, you must have made this yourself..."

The woman feeding him stuck out her tongue: "Sorry, I was so hungry last night that I couldn't help but eat an extra box."

She glanced at him and said, "Actually... my cooking skills are not bad, right?"

On the wooden chair, the exhausted man struggled to swallow the awful food, and after a few seconds, he reluctantly said...
"Yeah, not bad."

The woman then curled her lips into a smile.

Upon opening his eyes, Tokugawa Haruhiko woke up almost instantly.

His eyes widened in terror, his heart nearly stopping.

He stared intently at the white-haired woman holding the lunchbox and spoon.

Upon seeing her gaze, he couldn't help but shrink back, only to find himself completely bound and unable to move even a finger.

asphyxia.

Tokugawa Haruhiko will never forget that moment.

He and those highly skilled ninjas silently approached the man known as the Walking Man, just as they were about to succeed.

Suddenly, everyone except him fell silent.

In a moment.

It was as if they had drowned in the shadows.

He was left with only the woman with her lowered gaze grabbing his throat, losing all power to resist, and being forcibly pulled out of the shadows like a chick.

After that, Tokugawa Haruhiko felt he couldn't remember anything.

"Look at your eyes, you still don't recognize me? You guys have been chasing me for so long."

Nanjo Manami fed the man another bite of food: "I am Nanjo Manami, you'd better remember me from now on... oh no, it seems you don't have a future anymore."

Nanjo Manami?!
She also came from the Onmyōryō (Yin-Yang Bureau)...

How could it be... so powerful...?

Haruhiko Tokugawa's pupils contracted in shock, and he stammered, his blood-stained lips barely able to speak.

Seeing his expression, Nanjo Manami yawned listlessly: "What, are you going to kill him?"

“If I could, I would have told you to kill me already.” The man struggled to stand up from the chair and sighed helplessly. “Nanjo-nee, don’t say things that will give me a headache.”

"Okay, okay, I'll put the leftover food in a thermal container for you." Nanjo Manami picked up a chair and placed it behind Tokugawa Haruhiko as he walked up to him.

The man with the dusty token hanging from his waist sat down instinctively, lowered his head, and said hoarsely,

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Tokugawa Haruhiko remained silent; he couldn't recall ever seeing Xingzou before.

But when he looked up, he saw a face that still couldn't be considered mature... and a pair of weathered, vicissitudes-filled eyes.

calm.

It was as if nothing could stir a ripple in those eyes anymore.

That's just not the look someone this age should have in their eyes.

Behind him, Nanjo Manami stood silently with an indifferent expression, staring at him with the eyes of someone looking at a dead object.

It seemed that she had returned to her true form because she was out of the man's sight.

The man smiled and said, "Lord Tokugawa, I simply wanted to ask you about the basic situation of the world today."

Just as he said, the man only asked about basic information that anyone could find out in a few months in the real world, and it didn't involve any secrets.

Therefore, Tokugawa Haruhiko answered truthfully.

Ten minutes later, the brief questioning session ended.

The air was suddenly swallowed up by a long silence.

After a long silence, Uesugi Tetsu sighed heavily: "Nanjo-nee is right, let's just kill him."

"This kind of world should just be destroyed."

Under Tokugawa Haruhiko's fearful gaze, Nanjo Manami casually tightened her fingers, then hesitantly asked Uesugi Tetsu, "But, will things get better after this?"

"Who knows?"

Uesugi Tetsu stood up and waved his hand.
"In short, things can't get any worse than they are now."

He turned his head and smiled: "Let future generations think about what they will do."

All they can do now is try to keep the equal walking kingdom alive in the gap between two adjacent "hells".

Nanjo Manami gazed at the slightly hunched back, recalling the time ten years ago when he rescued her after the Arakawa Ward was destroyed by the Red Tide, and when she first met him.

From that moment on, she understood that Uesugi Tetsu was just like her.

At the same time, I inevitably fell in love with him.

It's strange that anyone or anything she likes will leave her one by one for various reasons, just in varying degrees of time.

Mafuyu, Arakawa District, Ririko, Huikaku, Manatsu, Shadow Girl, Koru, Kohiwabo...

Now, she only has Uesugi Tetsuya left.

After losing everything, Nanjo Ai finally saw the true nature of this world—the ugly face of the real world and the Yin-Yang Bureau.

Such a world is better off destroyed.

She thought the same thing.

It was only she who changed, while Uesugi Tetsu remained unchanged from beginning to end.

"Let us embrace our shared ideals and walk together to the end of the world..."

The Demon King spoke thus, and made thus his prayer.

……

But a prayer is ultimately just a prayer.

Like all stories with happy endings, the Demon King is eventually killed by the heroes.

More than a decade later, the walking nation, which had strived to maintain basic "equality," burst like a bubble.

The Grand Master of the Onmyōryō, the head of an ancient family, the owner of a factory in Tokoyomi, Prince Shotoku, a daimyo of the Sengoku period, and even Shuten-dōji, who ruled Mount Ōe...

Countless humans and demons came to attack the Demon Queen, who had become so powerful that she inspired fear, wanting to kill her and this kingdom that had promised equality between humans and demons.

On the vast land of the mortal realm, countless roars and howls rose up, accompanied by waves of spiritual energy that reached the heavens and the earth.

Then it returns to nothingness.

The roar rose again, stopped abruptly again, rose again, and disappeared again.

This was repeated hundreds or thousands of times, and then earth-shaking cheers resounded across the land.

The Demon King was killed by the heroes.

That's the end of the story.

On the desolate, charred ruins, a middle-aged man with a weathered face sat on an old wooden chair.

In the past, in order to be able to move the entire country at any time, Uesugi Tetsu had deeply bound himself to the country. Now that the country he could travel to was no longer there, he had also lost all his power.

Holding the now-dull gray token in his hand, Uesugi Tetsuya chuckled softly.

Even the ability to go back in time and change the future is not omnipotent.

Not to mention the "innovation" that is thousands or even tens of thousands of times more difficult, they can't even do something as simple as "destruction".

After a long, long time, the cheers on the ground finally subsided.

The heroes approached with utmost caution, carefully raising the divine weapons bearing ancient names, and encountered the "mastermind" standing behind the Demon King.

The demon king, whose two horns were severed, walked at the forefront, cautiously asking the penniless ordinary people questions.

"You are the Walker?"

Uesugi Tetsu did not answer.

He just felt it was a pity.

With a sigh, the man smiled and pressed the large red button in his hand.

The hero saved the world.

But is such a world really worth saving?

There was no further reply; endless light and heat engulfed everything.

Branch 27: The End of the Story

……

……

"Kitano-san! Did you watch the new anime series this morning?!"

"Hey, what are you looking at! Log in to your account, can't you see we have a million followers?! Ririko, come check it out too! Don't forget your potato chips!"

Branch 42: As It Should Be

……

"It's time to draw your sword, Ririko Tokugawa."

"I never thought things would come to this."

……

"President of the Demon Guide Association, Uesugi Tetsu, is there anything else you wish to say now?"

……

"The forging hammer is the token of love from the Heavenly Craftsmen, and now it's yours!"

……

"This is the scenery that everyone in the world can see. It's truly magnificent."

"Che, are you willing to share this world with me?"

……

……

Countless possibilities, countless options, and countless branches emerged in an instant, giving rise to hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands... countless Uesugi Tetsuya.

Countless Uesugi Tetsuyas are immersed in a world indistinguishable from reality, experiencing countless lives.

Uesugi Tetsu became the president of the Demon Guide Association, Uesugi Tetsu ruled the world, Uesugi Tetsu lived an ordinary life, Uesugi Tetsu became a shut-in, Uesugi Tetsu won the World Martial Arts Tournament, Uesugi Tetsu had three wives at the same time...

Originally, a mind as clear as a mirror, unpolished, has undergone countless trials in the fleeting time, thus becoming indestructible.

The so-called "hundred refinements" can no longer measure the inner mirror that has not even found a "form" to cast.

Endless branches extend aimlessly through all things, as if trying to touch the end of the world and its possibilities.

Until finally, it came to an abrupt end.

No further extensions or updates.

It was as if it had been forcibly blocked by some external force.

Having traversed an immeasurably long distance, we arrived at the end of all branches and possibilities in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)