Why can't humans do it too?

What's going on? Such a domineering declaration?

Is something urgent happening in the higher-level world of monsters that he has not yet reached?

It's both a demon and a god. Does that mean there's conflict even among high-level demons?

But he's been living here for months and hasn't seen any fighting going on.

Everywhere there was a peaceful atmosphere.

“…Ah, um, amazing, amazing,” facing the oppressive gaze of the blonde banshee…Yakumo Yukari, Sue suddenly felt that it was really not good to remain silent after hearing such an excited demon heart’s statement, so she stiffly offered a couple of compliments.

"Wishing you immediate success, immediate success!" It was almost like sending a New Year's greeting to a neighbor. Suer even clasped his hands in a respectful gesture.

If Yakumo Yukari can truly realize everything she said in the future, then her claim that she is currently just a minor demon will truly be just that—currently. Putting everything else aside, just that aura she exuded just now made Suer feel that this demon has quite the style. —By the way, what is a Gap? Never heard of it.

Although it seemed abrupt for Yukari Yakumo to reveal her ambitions and aspirations at their first meeting, Sue could understand why she did it that way.

To unite those around you and guide them toward the same goal, a leader must openly and honestly display their purpose and ambition, without fear of showing it to others or being ashamed to talk about it. Only when such a banner is raised will those with similar aspirations seek them out and gather around the leader.

However, Suer felt that it didn't have much to do with him.

He's a human, not a demon, so why should he get excited about things related to demons?

Moreover, the other meanings implied in Yakumo Yukari's words are also very interesting. Judging from her unreserved self-identification as a youkai, this world may be closer to the original world than he imagined.

Monster?

There is a god?

What kind of deity is it?

Suer's curiosity was also growing stronger.

Chapter Four: Exposing

I don't know how the gods of this world were born, nor what kind of power they possess, but judging from the current peaceful environment, Suer always felt that they should be more docile than the gods of the previous world, or perhaps they are just not powerful enough.

As for monsters, to humans, they represent all sorts of incredible supernatural phenomena, and are strange beings that need to be isolated from and kept away from.

As the saying goes, when the heavens go against the seasons, disaster strikes; when the earth goes against things, monsters appear. This is the essence of monsters: things that do not conform to the laws of nature and go against the laws of nature are monsters.

Suer was still lost in thought, wondering if the monsters in this world were the same as those in his memory.

"Interesting, this is the first time I've seen such a reaction." Even though her domineering statement received a rather awkward response, Yukari Yakumo wasn't angry at all. Instead, she was observing Sull with great interest, watching his every move.

She had said those words to countless other monsters she could communicate with, and the reactions varied. Some were so excited that their eyes lit up, and after a brief exchange and confirmation of her power, they were eager to join her in a big battle. Others mocked her with disdain, not believing she could succeed. Still others simply ignored her.

"Hmm... so you've seen it now," he replied calmly. From the beginning, Suer had shown no fear of this suddenly appearing monster. He simply shook his head and said, "Anyway, it's nice to see you. So, is there something you need that you suddenly appeared in my house?"

"Aside from a little bit of insignificant curiosity, I just wanted to find a like-minded companion," he simply stated his purpose, but Suer didn't believe a word he said.

Although this blonde banshee named Yakumo Yukari only appeared before him for the first time today, Suer had actually felt that something was secretly watching him about half a month ago. At first, he thought it was those dwarves who worshipped what they thought were 'gods', but after he left a secret agent to investigate, he found that it was not.

It was very mysterious, appearing and disappearing, as if it existed and yet it didn't... And now it seems that the one spying on us must be this blonde banshee.

It wasn't by chance that he happened to pass by and discover Suer's existence, and then, after witnessing Suer kill the snake demon, he showed up out of curiosity. Rather, he made this decision after careful observation.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you. I am just an ordinary human with weak strength. I am really not capable of doing such a big thing. Please find someone more capable.” Without hesitation, Su Er rejected Yakumo Yukari’s invitation, shook his head and turned to go back to the house. However, in the instant he closed his eyes and shook his head, he sensed a strange fluctuation. It was not the space around him, but a kind of conceptual ambiguity.

Without a doubt, he immediately raised his vigilance to the highest level to prevent being caught off guard. Suer was not surprised that this self-proclaimed monster would become enraged and kill him after his invitation was rejected. However, when he assumed a fighting stance and searched for Yakumo Yukari again, he found that Yakumo Yukari, who should have been behind him after he turned around, had somehow appeared in front of him.

Even Suer's senses couldn't fully detect the movement.

The blonde banshee, dressed in a long purple dress, leaned back leisurely. But what caught Suer's attention more than Yakumo Yukari's relaxed demeanor was what she was leaning on—it was like a piece of white paper with a tear down the middle, separating the top and bottom parts. The resulting hole was pitch black, devoid of any light, and the sunlight from the outside world could not penetrate it at all; it was completely swallowed up.

Seemingly sensing Suer's gaze, a scarlet light suddenly shone from the enormous, eye-like slit. Without a doubt, these were long, narrow eyes, inorganic in nature, staring back at Suer.

The object, which appeared to be illusory and nonexistent, was casually leaned against by Yukari Yakumo. Sull was certain that this blonde banshee was carefully observing his expression when he saw the gap, or rather, this abrupt scene was something she had deliberately created as a tool to observe Sull.

“…Gap?” With a blank expression, Su Er uttered these two words, immediately recalling what Yakumo Yukari had said during her self-introduction.

They don't know the principles, the characteristics, or the function.

Don't worry, it's just a small trick.

Xin Ke's voice, which rang from the bottom of his heart, soothed Su Er's slight agitation.

"Ah, don't worry."

Silently responding in his heart, Su Er refocused his attention on Yakumo Yukari.

To be honest, Yukari Yakumo was somewhat disappointed by Su Er's overly calm expression. After observing carefully to no avail, she simply stood up from her leaning position, and with her movement, the lightless rift disappeared.

"Ah~, it's just a trick a lowly demon like me uses for self-defense. Compared to a demon like you, it's far inferior~," Yakumo Yukari casually brushed aside the issue of her abilities. Noticing that Sulz was about to retort, she preemptively continued, "Isn't there a need to be so wary? Although I am a weak demon, I have been to many places and have naturally seen many beings called humans. Among those races, there is none as valiant and extraordinary as you, is there?"

? !

people?

Have you seen this monster before?!

Suer's calm expression, which had been maintained since the beginning, finally crumbled a little. Although she quickly regained her composure, unfortunately, Yakumo Yukari still noticed it.

“…People?” Taking a deep breath, now that he had been discovered, Su Er decided to stop pretending and asked in a deep voice, “The people you’re talking about aren’t those little dwarves on the other side of my house, are they?”

"Dwarfs?" Chewing on the term, Yakumo Yukari smiled and continued, "Naturally, they are not those earth spiders, but humans created by the gods and who have multiplied to this day."

Noticing the slight furrowing of Sull's brow, Yakumo Yukari, though unaware of the underlying reasons, didn't keep such crucial information a secret. Instead, she continued, "The Izumo Kingdom, established by the Izumo gods of the Susanoo lineage and occupying the most fertile part of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, and the Yamato Kingdom, established in accordance with the mandate of Amaterasu Omikami and lurking in the west, coveting the lands of Izumo."

"—Perhaps that is the person you are concerned about...."

Chapter Five Demon

good, very good.

The mere mention of Susanoo and Amaterasu Omikami evoked a profound sense of familiarity even in someone like Suer, who had little understanding of the neighboring island nation from his previous life. It was merely his own illusion, yet for a fleeting moment, he felt a sense of closeness to the land beneath his feet.

So this is still in a very distant era?

Su Er found it somewhat amusing. So, if he continued to live like this, even thousands of years into the future, he and Xin Ke could still enjoy the materially abundant and culturally advanced urban life.

Shaking his head, putting aside the distant future that might never even materialize, Su Er lost interest in returning to the house. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and asked Yakumo Yukari, "Tsuchigumo?"

"...Just a barbarian, also known as the Eight-Headed Rapier," Yakumo Yukari said, noticing that Sul was still smiling at her and nodding slightly, as if he were particularly interested in the Tsuchigumo. After a slight pause, she smiled and continued casually, "They can also be called the Mountain Saeki or the Wild Saeki. The so-called Tsuchigumo is because they are short like dwarfs, with long arms and legs, resembling spiders."

"They are good at digging and living in caves. When people come, they hide in the caves and when people leave, they come out again. Although they are not very magical, they are cunning and unpredictable enough... In such a chaotic world, who knows when they might turn into real monsters?" Like two friends who hit it off immediately, Yukari Yakumo also seemed to have developed a great interest in Tsuchigumo and even enthusiastically analyzed the future of this race for Sur.

"Can a barbarian really transform into a monster?" Sur asked curiously.

“Of course, as the saying goes, when things turn out the opposite of their true nature, they become demons; when the heart changes, it becomes a demon; and over time, it becomes a demon… So-called demons are a race that doesn’t need a reason,” Yakumo Yukari explained her race casually. Seemingly engrossed in the conversation, she continued, “A demon like you, so pure and elegant, without a trace of demonic aura, if it weren’t for the fact that the age of gods has ended, I would even think you were a natural deity… unpredictable, an intangible substance, yet a truly existing… concept.”

With each word she spoke, Yakumo Yukari took a step closer to Sue, until she was almost in front of him, able to touch him with a mere outstretched hand. Yakumo Yukari seemed genuinely interested in this, as if she wanted to confirm Sue's existence. But in the next second, the golden-haired banshee suddenly recoiled as if pricked by a needle, jumping back to a greater distance.

With her eyes wide open in surprise, Yukari Yakumo curiously examined her right hand, which she had just tried to raise. There was no injury on either the palm or the back of her hand, but Yukari was certain that the sudden warning and sense of crisis that had arose in her heart and body just now were genuine, even if they were only fleeting and almost non-existent in her memory.

"I'm not a monster, just an ordinary human," Su Er retorted, pretending not to have seen Yakumo Yukari's strange behavior. He knew perfectly well why she was reacting that way.

"Heh~, let's put aside the question of whether you're a youkai for now and just talk about what I just saw," Yukari Yakumo continued, not taking the little incident to heart or paying attention to Suer's insistence. "...There was no youkai power involved. You could crack the earth open with just your will and then close it again, but neither the roots of the plants nor the insects were affected in the slightest. It was as if you were just kneading this land in the palm of your hand. Even if you could do something like that, would you still call yourself an 'ordinary' human?"

She emphasized the two words, and Yakumo Yukari sneered at Su's clumsy attempt to cover up the truth.

In the world of yokai, strength is paramount, and such a style of behavior would indeed be looked down upon by most yokai, not to mention using the weak race of humans as a cover.

Even though the era when the gods in the heavens could freely travel between the land of Reed Plains and the land of the dead has ended, and their afterglow has not yet completely faded, the exceptionally beautiful Milky Way that shines every night is proof of their power, enough to spread their will down, along with their influence.

But in the end, what's past is past. No matter how many curtains are hung up, what has collapsed will never be restored. It is precisely because of this that even the Izumo and Yamato countries, which were established under the name of descendants of gods, could only barely survive under the rampage of demons.

The world today is a realm ruled by demons!

“Of course, they are human,” Sue said calmly and firmly, even though she could hear the undisguised disdain in Yukari Yakumo’s words.

She didn't have the ability to read minds, let alone the mind of such a bizarre youkai whose perception even Sull couldn't detect how she shifted her position. Sull naturally couldn't know the surge of heroic spirit that suddenly rose in Yakumo Yukari's heart. The only thing he was certain of was that the blonde youkai in front of him was a youkai who was planning to do something big.

Well, even if Su Er could read Yakumo Yukari's mind, he probably wouldn't understand. After all, based on his personal experience over the past few months, although there were occasionally simple youkai with amazing fleshy bodies running around, it was just part of the ecosystem. He couldn't see anything about things being on the verge of collapse or the danger of a world dominated by youkai.

If he had to describe it, he would only use four words—peaceful and serene.

There are no giant bombs exploding all day long, no beams of light sweeping across the sky; the world is surprisingly peaceful, and everything else is just a minor dispute.

It's just a matter of changing dynasties.

Just stay calm.

Suer has only been living a peaceful life for a few months, and at least until he gets completely fed up with it, he has no plans to go out and travel.

However, it's still nice to listen to Yukari Yakumo tell stories.

"Could you tell me about Izumo? And Yamato? What are the people like there?" With the intention of rejecting everything the blonde banshee said, Suer simply asked directly.

As long as he refuses quickly and firmly enough, he won't fall into any of the blonde banshee's schemes.

"If you're looking for someone like yourself, you're in for a disappointment," Yukari Yakumo concluded after a brief conversation, having already determined that the youkai before her was somewhat mentally unstable. She skipped over the rest of the conversation and gave Sull a summary.

Chapter Six (False)

"Although the Tsuchigumo race is also called dwarfs, in reality, the people of both Izumo and Yamato are not much taller than them, let alone in appearance," Yukari Yakumo said with a disdainful smile. "Therefore, if you want to find someone similar to yourself, then perhaps the only people you can find are people like you and me...?"

As she finished speaking, Yukari Yakumo tapped her finger back and forth between herself and Sue, a look of anticipation on her beautiful face. She had already imagined what kind of expression the stubborn male demon in front of her would have after she said those words.

"I have other things to do. It was a pleasure chatting with you. Let's chat again next time. Goodbye," Su Er thought to himself with a cold snort, and turned to leave without hesitation.

It wasn't a feigned departure; rather, he strode forward without hesitation, bypassing Yakumo Yukari who was standing in front of him in the blink of an eye. Just as the two were about to brush past each other, Yakumo Yukari, who had maintained a friendly and smiling demeanor since she appeared, suddenly made her move.