I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 330 When did I lose? The Great Wilderness God - The Face of the Wrathful Prajna, the final opponent of Ge Liuduo!
"Lord Hoshiguma, you have lost."

Uesugi Tetsu smiled and placed the last karuta card beside him, speaking to the unicorn woman in front of him who was staring blankly.

Hoshiguma Doji stared at the few karuta cards in front of him, his hand still hanging in mid-air, momentarily stunned.

How did I lose so inexplicably?
There was no fierce competition, no back-and-forth scheming or maneuvering, but rather a complete lack of resistance, a defeat from which they didn't even know where they went wrong.

It felt like the game had only just begun, the situation seemed very favorable, and the advantage was clearly in my hands…

But when they came to their senses, they realized that they had already fallen into failure.

Hoshiguma silently lowered his hand and looked again at Uesugi Tetsuya and the neatly stacked karuta cards beside him.

The six-tailed fox before them was completely at ease.

Such technology... is simply miraculous.

It has even transcended the realm of "technology".

If we only consider singing as an additional skill, she would temporarily concede defeat.

Hoshiguma licked his lips.

The fact that this man could go to such lengths only made her more interested.

—If you want to conquer him, you can use any means necessary.

Faced with the complex yet intense gaze of Hoshiguma Doji, who had regained his senses, Uesugi Tetsu smiled without saying a word.

After a few seconds of silence, Hoshiguma Doji threw the karuta card in his left hand onto the ground with a crisp "smack".

She gestured towards Uesugi Tetsuya: "I'm a man of my word, Six-Tailed Fox."

"Feel free to make any requests you may have."

Hoshiguma Doji sat up, spread his legs wide, casually picked up a sake bowl from the side, drank it down in a big gulp, and then casually threw it on the ground and smashed it to pieces.

“But I have a small request… Of course, you can refuse if you don’t want to.” Hoshiguma stared at the mountain of karuta cards, which had a stack of about forty cards.

“Lord Hoshiguma, please speak,” said Uesugi Tetsu.

Hoshiguma grinned: "Later, play ten more rounds with me—of course, just simple karuta games."

I refuse to admit defeat.

Does refusing to admit defeat work?

If refusing to admit defeat and skill alone were enough, then what would be the point of having the "unique solution for Kaldo"?
"No problem at all."

Uesugi Tetsu shrugged indifferently: "Since Lord Hoshiguma insists, let's finish all ten matches first. That way, when you bring out the item later, you'll be more convinced."

"I'm convinced? Six-tailed fox... Don't think you can be arrogant just because you beat me once."

Hoshiguma sneered and instructed the fox-masked waiter beside her to rearrange all the karuta cards.

……

Ten songs passed by in a flash.

The win-loss record between Uesugi Tetsuya and Hoshiguma Doji is 10:0.

Hoshiguma Doji, who had not met a karuta opponent for over a century, suffered ten consecutive defeats.

And all of them were crushing defeats.

Hoshiguma was dumbfounded, completely oblivious to the karuta cards scattered all over the floor.

She never expected it to turn out this way.

In each of the ten games, she remembered Uesugi Tetsu's techniques and thinking from the previous game, summarized the patterns and lessons learned, and used dozens or even hundreds of "winning tricks".

Each time, she felt that as long as she could seize the fleeting opportunity in the next round, she would have a great chance of winning.

In the end, they still inexplicably lost this round.

And yet, the loss was still shrouded in mystery.

"Six-tailed fox... how did you do that?"

Hoshiguma clutched her hair, nearly going crazy: "Could it be that she cheated secretly?!"

Uesugi Tetsuya put his index finger to his lips, smiled, and uttered two words.
"secret."

These words, along with that incredibly irritating smile, made Hoshiguma grit her teeth in anger.

If it weren't for the fact that they were in a flower card shop, and if it weren't for the fox-faced waiter standing next to her, she would have already pinned this silent six-tailed fox to the ground and given him a good beating!

He didn't even have time to cry!

Uesugi Tetsuya ignored Hoshiguma's attitude and calmly placed the karuta card aside: "Alright, Lord Hoshiguma, we've finished playing cards."

"Take a look at everything you brought this time."

Hoshiguma didn't say much upon hearing this, but simply took out a tattered old cloth bag from behind her.

Then, Hoshiguma reached in and pulled out a sake jar, a sake jar, a sake jar... and another sake jar.

Dozens, even hundreds, of jars of aged fine wine were piled up haphazardly on the wasteland, almost filling the entire area, leaving Uesugi Tetsuya speechless.

"Stop, stop, stop."

Seeing that Hoshiguma Doji still wanted to bring out more sake, Uesugi Tetsuya had no choice but to stop him quickly: "Besides sake, is there anything else?"

"Besides alcohol..."

Hoshiguma paused for a moment: "Hiss—actually, I didn't bring anything else with me, and I don't have the memory orb that's the currency used in Hanafudabo at all."

She shrugged unhappily.

"After all, I never thought I would lose in a place like this."

Hoshiguma Doji's songs are actually ridiculously high-level, so it's understandable that people would think that way.

Uesugi Tetsu clicked his tongue inwardly.

Wouldn't I be losing out big time...?

Hoshiguma looked around at the large pile of sake jars, thought for a moment, and realized that he should at least not break his promise.

A promise is a promise; what you say, you must do.

So she continued rummaging through the tattered bag in her hand, pouring out wine. After a while, she gritted her teeth and pulled out a mask, placing it on the ground.

A mask that is entirely deep purple, with crimson eyes, and you can even clearly sense the anger and rage surging within it... the Prajna Mask?
【The Face of the Wrathful Prajna】

Such a prompt pops up on the mask.

Uesugi Tetsu examined it and found that although the surface of this Hannya mask also emitted a purple light, it was different from the purple light he had seen on epic-level equipment before.

His intuition told him that this so-called "Mask of the Wrath-Controlling Prajna" was a good thing, an absolutely good thing.

The enhancement this Prajna mask brings to the Red Prajna incarnation may be beyond his imagination!
However, on the surface, Uesugi Tetsu remained calm and asked with a nonchalant expression, "Lord Hoshiguma, what is the meaning of this?"

He raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of displeasure.
"You want me to wear a mask of a demon?"

"Six-tailed fox, let me tell you, don't underestimate this mask."

Hoshiguma Doji stared at the mask on the ground for a moment, then revealed a pained expression: "This [Wrathful Prajna] mask is one of my treasured possessions from many years ago!"

She slammed her hand on the ground.
"If it weren't for the fact that one must keep their word as a ghost, I wouldn't be willing to take it out!"

"Oh, a treasured possession?"

Uesugi Tetsu asked with feigned confusion,

"Could this mask have some significant background?"

"Of course."

After downing a whole jar of sake in one gulp, Hoshiguma let out a long shout: "This is the mask I took from that old Hannya when I was fighting alongside Lord Shuten-dōji to conquer Mount Ōe!"

She gestured at her shoulder.
"I almost got torn in two right here."

Seeing that Uesugi Tetsu still had an indifferent expression that said, "Go on," Hoshiguma Doji scoffed and continued.
"To tell you the truth, Six-Tailed Fox, that old Hannya back then was actually a [Great Wilderness God] who received a portion of the blessings from Mount Ooe!"

The Great Wild God.

This is a new term. Uesugi Tetsu's expression changed slightly.

He asked curiously,

"The Great Wilderness God? What does that mean?"

"You don't even know this?"

Now, it was Hoshiguma Doji's turn to be puzzled.

"Because I've been in seclusion all this time, practicing my singing and refining my skills," Uesugi Tetsu said matter-of-factly. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to defeat you, Lord Hoshiguma, eleven times in a row so easily."

"Six-tailed fox, you bastard..."

Hoshiguma gritted her teeth in anger—Uesugi Tetsu's words made it sound as if she were some kind of lowly shrimp or crab general that could be easily swept away!
But... the fact that he beat me eleven times in a row is still damnable!

"call……"

After a long pause, Hoshiguma, who was about to explode with anger, finally began to explain to Uesugi Tetsuya in a very unpleasant manner.
"Most of the so-called 'wild gods' are beings that were blessed by a certain 'spiritual land' or 'shrine' in the mortal world or the ordinary world, which enabled them to achieve their status..."

Yeah, that's about it.

Ignoring Uesugi Tetsu's skeptical gaze, Hoshiguma Doji continued, "And Mount Oe, even among the many spiritual lands, is considered to be among the most outstanding."

"—Therefore, the power of the Aragami blessed by Mount Ooe far surpasses that of ordinary Aragami, which is why they are called [Great Aragami]."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded thoughtfully.

This is probably true, but judging from Hoshiguma's appearance, she doesn't seem to know much about it either.

So Uesugi Tetsuya asked, "And what about you, Lord Hoshiguma? Are you also a Great God of Ara?"

"I am not like those ordinary Ara-gods."

Hoshiguma immediately shook her head, then proudly patted her bandaged chest.
"I got to where I am today by relying on my own ghost bloodline, which I purified step by step. It has nothing to do with external forces!"

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."

Seeing that Uesugi Tetsu's expression hadn't changed, Hoshiguma waved her hand and pointed again to the purple Hannya mask between the two of them, saying...

"A mask of the Great Wilderness God Prajna. Although the power within it has diminished over the centuries, it still represents the essence of his entire being and proof of his existence. Can it be used to offset the bet?"

Uesugi Tetsu pretended to consider it for a long time before "laboriously" answering.
"Let me touch it first and feel it."

Hoshiguma was very magnanimous: "Hey, feel free to touch and rub."

Uesugi Tetsu grabbed the deep purple Hannya mask from the ground and instantly felt an overwhelming rage emanating from it and entering his consciousness.

Even with his ridiculously high overall willpower, he couldn't help but be momentarily dazed.

It took Uesugi Tetsuya a blink to see the panel enveloped in deep purple flames.

【The Face of the Wrathful Prajna】

[Quality: Super Epic+]

[The world's anger will ultimately be directed at all.]

—An epic item, yet its stats are quite unique.

According to Hoshiguma Doji, this mask is likely a legendary item that has fallen from its original quality.

We made a profit, we really made a profit this time.

That face really made him rich.

Originally, it was likely that even after completely clearing the Karuta Factory, one might only be able to obtain one ultra-epic equipment item.

But before even the final round, he obtained a "near-legendary" level item from Hoshiguma Doji, which was even highly related to the Akahana incarnation.

The power of good looks is terrifying!
As he grasped the mask, Uesugi Tetsu could feel his heart frantically calling for it, wanting to use it immediately and make it one with him.

However, no relevant usage prompts popped up.

Uesugi Tetsuya thought that he couldn't use it now, probably because he was currently in the form of a six-tailed fox. He would be able to find out more when he transformed back into the Red Hannya.

This is amazing, truly amazing!

Although inwardly excited, Uesugi Tetsuya outwardly fiddled with the mask for quite a while before reluctantly sighing.

"Since Lord Hoshiguma has said so, I shall accept this mask."

Uesugi Tetsuya pinched the mask and lightly pressed it against Hoshiguma Doji's face in front of him.

"It's beautiful and beautiful!"

After drinking several jars of aged wine in a short time, Hoshiguma Doji's cheeks flushed, and his eyes became slightly glazed. He chuckled.

"A six-tailed fox suits you perfectly! You truly have a unique charm!"

Uesugi Tetsuya did not reply. He hung the wrathful Hannya mask on his waist, stood up and said, "If Lord Hoshiguma has nothing else, I will take my leave."

"Later, I will be participating in the fifth round of the Karuta Tournament."

As he spoke, Uesugi Tetsu also took away several large jars of wine.

—This wine, though it's easy to get drunk after just a couple of sips, is a treasure that can put you into a state of "communication with the heavens and man".

There are so many of them on the ground... It wouldn't be right not to automatically pick some up while we're at it.

"Hey hey hey! Six-tailed fox, don't go! Why don't you stay tonight? I promise I'll be gentle with you and treat you well. I guarantee you'll want to come back again..."

Hoshiguma Doji wanted to stand up and stop Uesugi Tetsu, but then she saw the fox-masked servant blocking her way.

"Tch, forget it."

She narrowed her eyes and sat down again, looking annoyed.

But looking at Uesugi Tetsu's swaying back and those six adorable tails, Hoshiguma Doji still shouted,
"Six-tailed fox, what's your name? I'll come find you when I have time!"

Upon hearing this, Qing, the sword at Uesugi Tetsuya's waist, became restless, wanting to draw it and kill this ungrateful demon on the spot.

Lord Raikou should have killed Shuten-dōji and all those generals.

"If fate allows, we will meet again."

boom.

Uesugi Tetsu's words came along with the sound of the door closing.

Hoshiguma stared at the tightly shut wooden door, gulping down his sake, muttering irritably, "You six-tailed fox, just wait till I catch you outside..."

"If we run into each other again, you're in for a world of hurt."

……

Outside the door, Uesugi Tetsuya suddenly shivered for some reason.

He turned his head and found the fox-faced woman still standing at the door waiting for him.

Before he could speak, the fox-faced woman bowed deeply, her tone exceptionally respectful.

"Your Excellency, congratulations on winning the fourth round of the tournament."

"Next, please follow me to the venue for the fifth and final round of the World's Greatest Karuta Tournament."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded and followed behind the fox-masked woman, whose pace was neither too fast nor too slow.

During his journey, he counted the rooms and found that, including the one with Hoshiguma Doji that he had just entered, there were a total of thirteen private rooms on the second floor.

The fox-faced woman's footsteps suddenly stopped.

Uesugi Tetsu looked up and found that standing in front of him was a mahogany door that was as tall as three people.

The fox-faced woman stood by the door and respectfully opened it for him.

"My lord, please."

With the smooth turning of the hinges, the massive mahogany door slowly opened to both sides.

Standing inside was a figure that Uesugi Tetsuya knew all too well.

(End of this chapter)