I'm a demon in Tokyo!

eat human?

Uesugi Tetsuya was slightly puzzled.

If eating people can turn ghosts and gods into wild gods, then it would be as easy for demons to become wild gods as eating and drinking.

But a moment later, he noticed that Huo Jin's small face had suddenly become unusually cold, and even deep in those indifferent eyes there was a trace of extremely rare anger and displeasure.

This was an expression that Uesugi Tetsu had never seen Mokujin show before.

Lord Mokujin, are you angry?

Thinking of this, Uesugi Tetsu remained silent and listened to Mokuzu continue speaking—

“Uesugi walks the so-called ‘royal path’ that ordinary ghosts and gods need to spend hundreds or even thousands of years to achieve anything and become an Aragami.”

But many more ghosts and spirits perished along the way, their souls returning to the heavens and earth.

Mokujin said coldly, "Therefore, even though the Aragami formed from this are not subject to any limitations of existence, I have not seen many of them over the years."

"—After the offerings of mortals were divided up by great demons, gods, and shrines, it became even rarer for ghosts and gods to travel alone."

The vast majority of ghosts and spirits have received assistance from various forces to varying degrees.

She paused, then touched the rough ground with her fingers: "In some ways, walking rallies can be considered an additional boost."

Huo Jin explained it very clearly.

Uesugi Tetsuya immediately understood—joining different large families and powerful forces has many benefits, while the life of a lone wolf cultivator is miserable.

"Even if one is worshipped and has a thriving incense offering in their territory, it usually takes at least twenty or thirty years to accumulate enough to become a Wild God, and often it takes about a hundred years."

Huo Jin seemed to have thought of something, and pursed his lips: "And we also have to respond to and fulfill the wishes of mere mortals, which is very troublesome."

Just as Uesugi Tetsu was getting into the story and wanted to hear more about the amusing tales of "how Mokujin fulfills the troublesome wishes of mortals," she suddenly stopped talking.

A few seconds later, Fukujin pointed to the kapala bowl in his hand and said, "But that era, that closed region, was different."

"—As long as one is willing to endure the disgust of eating people, the process of transforming from a demon to an absurd god can be compressed into a dozen years, several years, or even..."

Huo Jin's eyes were deep and unfathomable.
"A few months."

"Regardless of talent, as long as enough people are consumed."

—Can all ghosts and spirits become Aragami within a few months or years?

—Are you kidding me if you don't even look at "talent" which limits the upper limit of most people?
Is this for real...?

Such a thought arose, and after being illuminated by Uesugi Tetsu's sword heart, a subtle sense of dread arose in his heart.

Because my first reaction wasn't "Is it really okay to get promoted by feeding countless people?", but rather "Is it really possible for someone to get promoted so quickly and easily in the world?"

At that moment, Uesugi Tetsu noticed that Mokuzu was staring at him silently.

Then, before he could speak, he said, "At the very beginning, all the ghosts and spirits in that place had similar ideas to yours."

"The difference lies in..."

"They were overjoyed when they learned about it and put it into practice, and then they went to great lengths to eat people," said Huo Jin.

"so."

Uesugi Tetsuya asked, a chill running down his spine, "What exactly does 'cannibalism' mean?"

"Literal meaning."

With a blank expression, Huo Jin opened his mouth and uttered cold words: "Eat up all mortals, from the first moment of their birth to the eternity after their death."

From her long and numerous memories as a deity, she unearthed a rare instance of the practices of that era that deeply troubled even her, and narrated it indifferently.

"From birth, they are forcibly taught to believe in gods, and their willpower is squeezed every moment."

Then, when they reach the appropriate age, those suitable bodies will be selected and tortured in front of those clay sculptures, their organs will be removed, and their five aggregates and emotions will be extracted, causing them to die in endless despair and resentment.

If they are not a good match, they will be forced to be bred like boars, constantly creating more mortals while maintaining a basic level of survival.

Finally, the souls of all the dead will be collected, either burned as firewood or used as fuel for further torment.

"The fate of every mortal is destined to be long and painful from the moment of birth."

As Huo Jin spoke, he tapped the corner of his eyebrow with his finger, and after a long while, he unearthed related memories that had been buried for a long time.

"However, even in the Secret Land, such behavior would not be readily accepted at first."

“But soon,” Huojin snorted, “the non-man-eating demons and gods couldn’t keep up with the speed at which the man-eating demons and gods grew stronger, and naturally they were all eaten as well.”

There was a strange feeling in her tone: "From a time when Buddha's light was everywhere, no one picked up lost items on the road, and demons did not appear... to an era of unprecedented ignorance and darkness, the transition only took a few short decades."

As Uesugi Tetsu listened in silence, Mokuzu revealed the final fate of that era.

"Subsequently, the vast majority of ordinary people became provisions; a small number of people who were lucky enough to be born in temples, or in families or clans related to temples, were able to eat people."

Uesugi Tetsuya remained silent for a moment.

He was just thinking.

In such a powerful era, an era where becoming an Aragami is so easy, surely no one can rival it, and it must be able to devour all of the mortal and ordinary worlds.

But why did it eventually become the "Secret Land of the Underworld"?

He asked Huojin this question.

"Does something that became a god of war through such disgusting and ridiculous means have the right to talk about all living beings and the world?"

Huo Jin's tone was extremely disdainful.

"Torment all living beings, feed on them, and do nothing while the heavens and earth are stained by the Yellow Springs, what does it matter if one becomes a god of the wilderness?"
Wild God, Wild God, merely a wild god of a desolate land.

From birth to death, let them roam freely on that barren land.

"Then, Lord Mokujin, do you hate them and that era?" Uesugi Tetsu asked again.

Mokujin gave a rare "hmm" and nodded directly: "It's annoying."

"Although I am indifferent to all living beings and sometimes dislike them, and may therefore destroy them... I will not go to great lengths to torment insignificant mortals, or even take pleasure in it or use it as sustenance."

The calamity that had brought countless people and gods to their equal destruction crossed its arms and coldly snorted.
"Those wild gods are truly ugly."

Huo Jin clenched his fist tightly: "If those things ever appear before me again, I will surely inflict the most cruel destruction upon them."

Even a traditional evil god like Lord Mokujin couldn't stand it...

Another question popped into Uesugi Tetsu's mind: "Then why didn't you crush those small fish back then, Lord Mokuzu? They were nothing to you, weren't they?"

“Because of the Yellow Springs.” Huo Jin exhaled bitterly: “A small part of the Yellow Springs has blocked the connection between other places and that place, making it an enclave, a secluded place isolated from the world.”

"Only those who are favored by time and walk the path of the ordinary can get involved."

Seeing that Uesugi Tetsu was about to reach for the kapok bowl that she had placed on the ground, Mokuzu picked it up again, put it behind her back, and then said...

“That guy Huijue wants to change this history.”

Mokujin said in a flat tone: "However, unlike Jizo who successfully made Chikage disappear, he failed... At most, he barely succeeded."

"We've buried that piece of land, but we don't know when it will be discovered."

At this point, Mokujin pointed at Uesugi Tetsuya: "Theoretically speaking, the fewer people who know, the better, but now, Uesugi Yukito and your friends have already found out."

There's nothing we can do about it.

Without Lord Mokujin before us, who would know about this remote and dark history that has been deliberately buried?

Uesugi Tetsu then shifted his gaze to the broken, old kapok bowl: "Lord Mokuzu, could you repair this...?"

"No."

Huo Jin shook his finger at him and repeated, "You can't go in now."

"Perhaps there are gifts of wisdom left for those who walk the path, but there may also be traps for those who walk the path."

She held the skull with her five fingers.

"No one except himself knows what the secret place will become after it has been transformed by Wisdom."

Then, staring at Uesugi Tetsuya, he calmly uttered terrifying words.

"If you go in, Uesugi Yukito, you'll be eaten. I'm not kidding."

"But if this is such a cruel era, isn't it perfect for my [Thousand Eyes] and [Shura]?"

Uesugi Tetsu said to Mokuzu with equal seriousness, "You can definitely tell, don't you think so, Lord Mokuzu?"

Putting aside the danger, Mokuzu stared at Uesugi Tetsu for a moment, thinking that it was indeed the case.

There were countless high-quality eyeballs in that era, and the rise and fall of what was originally a long history was compressed into a short period of time. There were so many pure evils and evildoers that even she herself could hardly bear to watch.

but--

Mokujin first put away Huijue's kapala bowl in front of Uesugi Tetsuya, then sat up from the ground, causing the latter to pat his head in astonishment.
"It is my duty to go to Uesugi."

The God of Calamity looked down upon her as she walked, and said thus.

“The master instructed me, so I must protect the last person in the procession.”

"Letting you enter into this now would be irresponsible of me; I would not, and absolutely will not, do such a foolish thing."

Feeling the cool, soft touch on his head, Uesugi Tetsuya's thoughts froze.

Huo Jin touched his head, and it wasn't a punch that smashed it open?
Are you kidding me? This arrogant, aloof, lonely, and sullen persona is about to collapse!

After a while, Uesugi Tetsu finally gathered up these inexplicable thoughts, looked up, and saw a hesitant expression on Mokuzu's small face.

She stood there pondering for a while, then, as if she had made up her mind, spoke to Uesugi Tetsuya.
"When you come to the gathering later, Uesugi Gyoro, you can attack me with all your might."

"When you have gained my approval, then you may enter."

Uesugi Tetsu had originally prepared to give up on entering this dark and cruel secret era, but which at the same time allowed his two demonic avatars to make great progress.

Unexpectedly, things took an unexpected turn for the better in the end... although it may have been quite difficult.

Uesugi Tetsuya immediately nodded.
"Okay, it's settled then."

Huo Jin nodded in satisfaction, revealing an expression that said, "I didn't expect my servant to be so sensible, unlike those disobedient troublemakers."

After settling this matter, listening to the continuous crashing of the ocean waves coming from the dome, Uesugi Tetsuya spoke with some anticipation again.
"Lord Mokujin, could you try to withdraw some of your power from the Walking Gathering now?"

Although it is somewhat reluctant to admit, if a god like Lord Mokujin were to support us during the Second Wave, even one percent or one-thousandth of his power would be enough to easily suppress and shatter the offensive of the Mortal World.

Regardless of which era's overlord he was, given the upper limit of the Second Wave, Lord Mokujin only needed to slightly release his pressure to scare those chickens and dogs into immobility.

If used properly, one can even use Lord Mokujin's reputation to intimidate the entire world and provide ample time for development.

The little bit of trouble that slips through the cracks in someone's fingers can make everyone's future bright.

"No."

Without hesitation, Mokujin resolutely rejected Uesugi Tetsu's suggestion: "I cannot leave the gathering for even a moment."

Uesugi Tetsu waited for a while, but this time Mokuzu didn't say why.

He had no choice but to accept it with some disappointment.

But after only a moment, Mokujin spoke again, pulling out a rather strange-looking token from somewhere and handing it to Uesugi Tetsuya.

"But if there is a character that you really can't deal with, you can throw this token at that enemy, and you can bring that person into the gathering. I will then take care of them."

However, anything directly related to the [Yellow Springs] or the [Eight Sufferings]... must absolutely not be brought in.

Is this... Lord Mokujin's compromise?

For him?
Uesugi Tetsuya felt the token in his palm, which was light yet unusually heavy, and didn't ask any further questions.

He simply took a deep breath and bowed deeply towards the calamity.

"I understand, Lord Mokujin."

"Ah."

Having just finished the inhuman, bizarre bouncing game, been brutally beaten by Uesugi Tetsu, and unearthed many unpleasant secrets from his long-buried memories, Mokujin sat down again, looking slightly tired.

She lay directly on the cold stone slab and waved her hand casually.
"If there's nothing else, you can leave Uesugi Gyoro..."

Before Huo Jin's final words of expulsion had even finished, a surging echo came from the deep sea above the dome.

Boom!

Whoosh!
Rumble rumble rumble!
Separated by an unknown distance, the suddenly enlarged waves rose and fell one after another, countless waves growing larger and larger, stretching endlessly like overlapping mountains.

The repeated loud noises echoed through the procession, causing Uesugi Tetsuya to slowly raise his head.

Under the watchful gaze of a thousand eyes, after countless waves, large and small, a line of deep, dark blue that obscured the sky fell at the edge of the horizon.

No further words are needed; anyone who sees this scene should understand.

The prelude to the second wave has already arrived! (End of Chapter)