Why can't humans do it too?

Even Yukari Yakumo was shocked and puzzled when she first visited this place.

“People?” Suer asked, gazing at the residents on this floor.

"...That's not accurate," Yukari Yakumo said with a troubled expression, "After all, they're a race that's never appeared before..."

"Human? God? God-human? At least when I infiltrated them, I heard them call themselves 'Oni' (demon)," Yukari Yakumo raised her hand and poked her forehead. "But don't get me wrong, they're not those ever-present souls and ghosts. I think calling them the Oni race would be a better way to distinguish them."

Looking around, all the residents living underground had the same thing on their foreheads, right where Yukari Yakumo was pointing.

horn.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Demons

Single horn, double horn, triangle... even twisted and intertwined spiral horns, or sharp angles as fine as clusters of moss, each different and unique, exist right above the heads of the inhabitants of this land.

The aura emanating from them was undoubtedly what is called demonic energy, yet Yukari Yakumo, as a demon herself, denied their classification as demons... at least for now, she couldn't categorize this unusual race as a demon.

Ghost clan.

Or perhaps they should be called...gods.

Former man of God.

Even the divine aspects of them haven't completely faded away, or perhaps they've combined with their new selves to create something entirely different. This is one of the few pieces of information that Yukari Yakumo can confirm; she doesn't know anything more than that.

Even though she had discovered many secrets by relying on the special and secretive nature of her abilities, in the end, the deeper one goes, the more important the secrets become. Yakumo Yukari was nothing more than a petty thief who was afraid of being discovered by the master of this underground city.

Her awareness of her own power and the ever-present sense of danger prevented her from going any further in the past, until today when she finally had the opportunity to see it.

As she expected, the male demon walked in the direction the group had gone without hesitation. However, apart from Xin Keyi, no one knew that Su Er was also struggling with whether or not to continue exploring.

Ultimately, there's only one question—just how powerful are the gods in this world?

The last time Suer felt such a clear sense of entanglement was when he led a small team out to find herbs for the settlement. He was wary of the orcs who might or might not appear, hesitant, conflicted, and uneasy, unsure whether he should leave immediately, even if he did not achieve his expected goal. It was as if he was standing at a crossroads of fate.

That is the unknown, and the unknown brings terror. No matter how strong he becomes, Suer believes he cannot abandon this awe. Perhaps this is the feeling that the invincible God of War, who has been invincible for too long, hoped to see.

The group of humans continued walking ahead, enduring the covetous gazes cast upon them from both sides of the road and from mid-air. Even though they trembled with fear, they dared not even crawl weakly, for they had seen too many cases where anyone separated from the group and left behind, unable to move, would instantly become a meal for the owners of those terrifying gazes.

Therefore, even if they have to support each other, they have to move forward. This is an instinctive fear that they can never get used to, no matter how many times they try.

"Is the secret of Yamato Kingdom these oni?" Although she felt the same pressure as ordinary humans, Kazami Yuuka showed an eager anticipation. She wanted to test the power of these monsters she had never seen before, to see if they were strong or weak.

"My guess is that the grandson of Amaterasu Omikami also regarded them as his army. Perhaps it is because of their existence that Yamato has never given up its desire for Izumo," Yakumo Yukari said calmly. "There are fewer and fewer humans in Yamato."

"Humans are becoming fewer and fewer, and they are becoming weaker and weaker. The Heavenly Grandchildren will not stop their plans, nor will they suppress their own and their descendants' desires. They will only search more and more for places to satisfy their desires... But you don't think that the secret I'm talking about is just this, do you?" Even as a youkai, she felt disgusted and said listlessly, "Let's keep going forward and just follow that group."

In this heavy and oppressive atmosphere, the group didn't talk much. The secret that Yukari Yakumo had described was soon revealed to them. Behind the open door, there was nothing to hide. Even the well-informed Sur couldn't describe the evil before him.

True evil, evil that is unacceptable to humankind.

Large-scale ironware, far from being present in this era, stood like a barrel, a platform made of steel. Extending from behind the iron gate was a railway suspended in mid-air, ending at the very center of the barrel. Those who had once swaggered on the ground were now helping each other, dragging and moving, crawling little by little to the end of this steel road. A translucent liquid soaked the path they had traversed, but no one could laugh at their actions. Even Suer wanted to admire their courage.

The humans trembled as they raised the vessels they had been holding close to their chests—not just the one Suer had seen, but also the other vessels they had acquired along the way—and lifted them upwards.

It felt as if an invisible hand was pressing down on their heads, almost tearing their spines apart, yet there was no pain, and they dared not lift their heads even slightly.

Until the monster that had been hanging high in the air fell down and sucked the jars from their hands.

Even from this distance, large drops of sweat could be seen streaming down the back of their necks, almost forming streams that completely soaked the area where they were. Yet, the humans seemed oblivious, prostrate on the ground, pounding their foreheads against the earth.

Perhaps deriving enough pleasure from their actions, the suspended monster laughed shrilly, so loudly that it stung the eardrums. Yet, the people crawling on the ground relaxed as if relieved upon hearing this laughter, showing no intention of getting up. They continued to crawl backward until they were near the door, whereupon they finally got up and fled as quickly as possible, supporting each other without looking back.

Naturally, he couldn't see the presence of Suer and his group. Only the faint fishy smell carried by the wind as they passed by made Suer frown, but he didn't mock these people who had completed their mission and were about to escape.

The monster that had received fresh blood was still there, right above their heads.

It resembled a giant beehive, but instead of beeswax, it was made of constantly undulating and writhing flesh, expanding, twisting, and multiplying at the most sinister angles, tightly encircling a huge face that was swollen and pale as if it had been soaked in water.

One after another, faces were inlaid, but when Suer looked closely, he found that without exception, they were pimples growing out of the twisted flesh, like acne protruding from the skin. There were also slender arms hanging down from mid-air like roots, swaying with the sharp laughter even though there was no wind on the ground. They were soft and boneless, and could be long or short, and they moved flexibly like long snakes, intertwining with each other.

Demons—demons!

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Monsters

Each face is inlaid with similar deep black gems, but upon closer inspection, they are merely plastic gems that seem to have been carved from the same mold. They are lifeless and devoid of any vitality, with no whites left in their eyes; the entire eyeball is just a completely black pupil.

Countless chilling pupils mingled among those long, thin limbs, pouring out a unique malice upon everything around them. But the swollen, gigantic face still sneered sharply, laughing at the humans who had just fled in such a sorry state, regarding their fear and ugliness as a delightful appetizer.

Even calling it a demon seems inaccurate; the only word that can describe it is the simple term "monster." Yet this monster is clothed, covered by a cloak woven from feathers over its writhing flesh, just like a person wearing clothes—a truly ironic situation.

Having finally laughed enough, the sounds of bones shattering and flesh tearing came from the deepest part of the monstrous flesh and blood. When even the fragile skin was torn off, the face ripped off the body fell into the abyss, its bottom unseen, just like its empty eyes.

What pierced through the monster's body was a pair of enormous, alien hands. But could they really be called hands? It was as if the Creator had casually mixed other things into it when creating it. It had scales, skin, and hair. Even the very tip of each finger was a trumpet-shaped black hole covered with fine, sharp teeth, like a leech. From the fingers to the palm, it swelled and shrank irregularly, forming irregular rings.

Just as it had sucked the jars from the hands of those humans, those leech-like fingers easily picked up the jar filled with blood that it had just obtained, then crushed it with force. The blood, which had already congealed, burst out in an instant, but then came alive again in the yellowish-white mist exhaled by the monster, turning back into a bright red.

The flesh-and-blood monster contracted its body as if there were a black hole inside it that could shrink infinitely. However, the creaking of bones and the splattering of flesh proved that it was simply compressing itself, howling in pain, cursing and wailing at the non-existent enemy in the void, yet laughing and enjoying the pain, making itself shattered even more completely.

Brown blood, like a waterfall, was gushing from the monster's body, covering the bright red blood that had splashed from the broken jars. However, these solid fluids did not fall endlessly downwards; instead, they were constantly flowing back, intertwining, merging, and separating.

An irresistible stench of blood surged towards Suer and his companions like a tidal wave. The brown waterfall was flowing back at a faster pace than when it had gushed forth, engulfing everything, seeping into the gaps in the fleshy monster's body, writhing, squeezing, crushing, creaking...

A cloak woven from feathers concealed the ravaged mass of flesh that seemed to regard itself as an enemy; it rose and fell until, after a few breaths, it suddenly stopped—dripping.

The blood droplet, about half the size of a palm, was crystal clear and shimmered with a ruby-like brilliance. It was incomparably beautiful, and it was unimaginable that it could have been born from such an ugly and twisted monster. But it did exist here, dripping down like a shooting star, but this time there was no return flow.

They fell into the abyss below, where no one knew what terrifying things were hidden, a bottomless, pitch-black abyss.

This was a monster that even youkai could hardly tolerate. Both Yakumo Yukari and Kazami Yuuka looked rather unpleasant. They weren't quite ready to vomit, but they were incredibly disgusting. Even just being in the same space as this monster made them feel nauseous.

Kazami Yuuka's gaze had already fallen on Suer's face, her eyes asking the same question that might be on their minds at this moment.

“...It’s not a good habit to leave the door open when you go in or out…” After a moment of silence, Su Er muttered to himself, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he seemed to come into contact with the disgusting smell of blood in the air. He felt like gagging but held it back.

Those humans, in their fear, completely forgot to close the door to such an important place when they left, but it doesn't matter, let kind-hearted Sull help them out... and close the door to this disgusting monster's life as well.

With light steps, Suer walked to the heavy iron door. His hand was already on the handrail. Through the small gap, he could hear the noise coming from the city of the ghosts outside. He tried to pull the door, but found that he couldn't move it an inch with his strength.

Just as Su Er was wondering to himself, he suddenly found the source of this anomaly. Five fingers with long, thin, and sharp nails had somehow gotten to the door frame above his head, and a face with spiraling horns on its forehead quietly appeared in the shadows outside the door, looking at him.

"...Please be patient a little longer...it's not the right time yet..."

This is what the unfamiliar face said.

The scene became chaotic for a moment, and everyone instantly assumed a fighting stance. To be honest, if Sull hadn't been stuck in the door crack, Kazami Yuuka probably would have already thrown a punch.

"Shh, please be quiet. Although we're not afraid of being killed, it's always a bit troublesome to be discovered." As if unaware of the tense reaction of Suer and his group, the demon outside the door spoke calmly, even cutely blowing a finger to his lips.

Those sharp nails are hardly cute.

Finally, he emerged from the shadows outside the door. Even though he was wearing an exquisite robe, it couldn't hide his tall and imposing figure. Suer even thought that this ghost with unknown motives was almost twice his height. This was the first time he had experienced having to look up at someone since coming to this world.

"Who are you?", he asked coldly, setting aside the turmoil in Su'er's heart.

"...This is not the place to talk. Please trust me a little longer and follow me." Clearly wary of something, the tall demon looked up and sighed after glancing wistfully at the monster in the feathered cloak high in the sky.

Without even waiting for a clear response from Suer, he released his grip on the door and turned to leave first.

They exchanged glances, and after taking one last look at the fleshy monster, Suer and the others followed.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Origin

A spiral path leading down the right side of the iron gate cleverly utilizes the art of visual illusion. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of this demon leading the way, it would be difficult to discover such a path without using some special means.

He swerved and changed lanes several times in succession, avoiding all the demons that appeared along the way. To be honest, the demon who suddenly appeared was more like an uninvited guest than Suer and his group. However, the magnificent robe he was wearing indicated his extraordinary identity from another perspective... Could it have been stolen?

Suer was letting his mind wander and making random guesses.

The word "steal" was just a guess for fun. Through his constant internal communication with Xin Ke, Xin Ke had become convinced that the ghost's walking posture and behavior displayed a unique sense of etiquette. He was also constantly reminding himself to pay attention to this etiquette. This intangible quality was definitely not something that could be stolen.

Along the way, Suer and his companions also confirmed the differences between this ghost and his own kind—the most prominent of which was its height. It was much taller than the other ghosts, and those ghosts who were about the same height as Suer looked like cripples in front of it.

Of course, this is absolutely not meant to imply that Suer is also a level three disabled person, so don't overthink it.

It seemed they had finally arrived at a place the demons considered safe. After bending down and squeezing through a low iron gate, they found themselves in a large house that even someone as tall as him could stand upright. It clearly showed signs of habitation, and the flowers hanging on the walls even gave it a cozy feel.

The only question is, where did these flowers come from?

Judging from the fact that even a yokai like Kazami Yuuka, who is quite active in the outside world in order to find powerful enemies, does not know about the Oni race, this race is obviously a race that the Heavenly Grandson created to hide its strength and achieve a lightning strike. This can be seen from the fact that they can only live underground and cannot go out. So where did this flower of the Oni race come from?

"Please sit wherever you like, don't be shy," he said politely. However, after noticing that Suer and the others were just standing and not doing anything else, the tall demon sat down cross-legged and said directly, "My name is Huozhao."

"What? You know her?" Su Er asked, turning his head to notice Yakumo Yukari's surprised expression.

"Hmm, if what he said is true, then he is—"

"The eldest son of Ten'er Qizhi, Kuni'er Qizhi, Tianjin Hidaka Hijikata, Nori'er Qizhi, and Mikoto," the black-haired oni said before Yakumo Yukari could finish, laughing mockingly. It wasn't a mockery of others, but a mockery directed at himself.

In his words, Suer did not sense a trace of pride or self-esteem in being the child of Amaterasu Ōmikami; instead, he felt a deep sense of helplessness.

"It's getting more and more like Greek mythology," was Sue's first reaction.

"Shouldn't that be a god?" Xin Ke asked the question she wanted to ask, temporarily hiding inside Su Er's body and using Su Er's mouth as a mouthpiece.

"Since you've come this far, you must be familiar with that curse, right?" said the demon named Huozhao frankly. "At least in my lineage, the gods led by me have already transformed into demons."

"Then let fire shine upon your destiny—"

“Just call me Firelight, no need for honorifics,” the black-haired demon said with a wry smile. “In the end, we’ve completely become demons, and since we’re demons, why bother with all that formalities?”

The "命" (mikoto) added to the end of a name means "honorable" or "respectful," and is simply a title for a deity. "岐" (ki) is a term of respect for a male, and "美" (mi) is a term of respect for a female. The deities Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto, who stabilized Ashihara no Nakatsukuni and enriched this world, are thus honored with such titles.