I adopted a child demon from the Gap, and I'm a special agent for the Bureau of Supernatural Ab

Reaching out to hug the girl, Li Cheng was surprised to find that he seemed to be able to sense tide's body. Without relying on sight or physical contact, there seemed to be a strange connection between him and tide, as if they had become one.

What, what's going on here?

He couldn't understand what was going on. The memory of that dreamlike scene from before was now blurry. However, tide, whom he was holding, let out two soft "woof woofs" and opened her eyes to wake up. She raised her slightly swollen eyes and stared blankly at Li Cheng, who was holding her, without making a move for a moment.

"Cheng?"

"What's wrong, tide?"

"Accept?...Accept!"

Suddenly, with a burst of strength, tide reached out her small hands and hugged Li Cheng tightly, bursting into tears without any regard for her image. Already possessing immense strength, she tightened her grip, nearly snapping Li Cheng's neck on the spot. Li Cheng coughed painfully a few times, but tide continued to cry and cling to him, refusing to let go, as if he would disappear if she loosened her grip.

"It's alright, tide, it's all over now."

Holding tide, who was also crying, tightly in his arms, Li Cheng gently comforted her, slowly stood up from the ground, and walked slowly out of the test field.

On the broken glass on the ground, Li Chengrou's face flashed, along with his left eye, which had turned dark purple.

…………

Thank you to reader C Queen's Pizza for the monthly pass.

Thank you to readers Tang Mu-Di Xie, Wu Ye, and C Queen's Pizza for the recommendation votes.

You didn't expect me to update so quickly, did you? I'm a really conscientious author, you know.

This is the third update today. There's still a little bit left in this volume, so I'll try my best to finish it all tonight. I'm working so hard, dear readers, shouldn't you all show your appreciation? (winks)

Section 97, Chapter 32: Dawn Will Eventually Arrive

"Uh, no, no, no..."

Under the effects of the enhancement drug, Konoe Jin, despite being disemboweled, stubbornly survived and struggled to get up from the ground.

There were steady footsteps, slowly approaching him step by step. Accompanied by a loud, metallic scraping sound.

Konoe Jin looked up and saw Emiya Kiritsugu expressionlessly loading a bullet into his old-fashioned pistol. He walked up to Konoe Jin, raised his hand, and aimed at Konoe Jin's head.

"You bunch of bastards—"

"boom!"

The powerful modified pistol pierced through Wei Ren's swollen face, causing him to fall helplessly to the ground. His body twitched involuntarily twice before finally coming to rest.

Sheathing his gun, Kiritsugu Emiya pulled out a crumpled cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. Then, without looking at the lifeless body, he slowly, with a limp, walked outside.

Ryougi Shiki had already woken up, rubbing her neck, and stood at the door, idly playing with the blade in her hand. Seeing Kiritsugu Emiya come out, she merely frowned and casually asked:

"died?"

"died."

Exhaling a puff of smoke, Kiritsugu Emiya calmly replied.

Leaning against the wall, Cheng Yan, who was sitting limply, raised his head in a daze.

His wounds had mostly healed; the powerful protection and his naturally perfect physique gave him healing abilities unimaginable to ordinary people. However, his right hand, which had been cleaved in two by Ryougi Shiki, had inexplicably failed to recover, leaving only an empty, tattered sleeve hanging there.

"Is Ren... dead...?"

With his head down, Cheng Yan repeated himself blankly, unsure of how to react.

What do we do with this guy?

Shiki looked at Cheng Yan, who was sitting motionless, and asked Emiya Kiritsugu, who was standing to the side.

This guy is really difficult to deal with...

Kiritsugu Emiya was also somewhat troubled.

Killing him outright is definitely out of the question. Leaving aside whether their current crippled state could even defeat Cheng Yan, who has mostly recovered his one arm, even if they could, killing him would mean facing the wrath of at least one Transcendent, a blow they can't withstand with their current strength. But letting him go? Who knows what this guy will do to them? Remember, Kiritsugu Emiya just shot and killed one of his closest friends.

"You don't need to worry about this. Although you're a bunch of idiots, you did a pretty good job tonight. I'll make an exception and help you clean up the mess."

An arrogant voice rang out from behind them. Kiritsugu Emiya and Ryougi Shiki turned around and saw Gilgamesh slowly floating in from the location of the broken outer wall.

"King Gilgamesh?!"

Kiritsugu Emiya read it aloud with some surprise.

"You rascal, you weren't spying on me from beginning to end, were you?"

Ryougi Shiki, however, spoke quite bluntly.

"After all, you dare to challenge the strongest A-level team with such a ridiculous lineup. Even I, the king, am very curious to know how you plan to win."

With a rather wicked smile, Gilgamesh replied with a cheerful expression.

"I must say, the result is quite satisfactory to me. It is this kind of burning and indomitable spirit that I truly admire."

"You said you would clean up our mess?"

Pressing down on Ryougi Shiki's shoulder, who was looking irritable, Kiritsugu Emiya asked.

“That’s right, there’s nothing I can’t do with my promises,” Gilgamesh replied with his head held high and his eyes closed. “As a token of my respect for the show I’ve put on, I’ll take care of Cheng Yan and the forces behind him. Now, kneel down and thank me for my grace.”

"cut."

Ryougi Shiki looked disdainful and turned to leave.

Thank you.

Kiritsugu Emiya bowed deeply before turning and leaving.

If our operation ultimately fails, King Gilgamesh will likely offer assistance even at the cost of worsening the international situation. Otherwise, it's inexplicable why he's here, and why he's remained here the entire time.

Slightly, Kiritsugu Emiya developed a slight liking for this arrogant king.

Li Cheng, holding Xi in his arms, had already descended many floors. After crying for a while, tide had quietly fallen asleep in his arms. Li Cheng then carried tide in his arms and slowly walked downstairs step by step.

He stopped and looked outside the stairs at Gui Zheng lying on the ground. After hesitating for a moment, he walked over.

The old man hadn't died yet; he lay on the ground, listless with his eyes closed. Hearing Li Cheng approaching, he opened his eyes and laboriously turned his head.

"Young Master, did we fail...?"

"..."

Li Cheng did not answer, but simply stood there quietly.

“…Ah, I understand,” the old man laughed, letting out a long sigh of relief. “In that case, my mission has finally come to an end. At least I can rest now…”

With his eyes closed, the old man's expression slowly froze, becoming peaceful.

After standing silently for a while, Li Cheng memorized the old man's figure, turned around, and slowly walked down the stairs.

It didn't take Li Cheng long to reach the lobby on the first floor. He could see Tokiomi Tohsaka standing there, scolding a tearful Rin Tohsaka. The latter was covering her head, clearly having been hit several times, and quite hard. Although they weren't close, Li Cheng could probably still hear Tokiomi scolding Rin for messing up. The latter protested, "I clearly completed the mission perfectly this time," but received another sharp rap on the head, almost making her cry.

Smiling, Li Cheng didn't interrupt the interaction between the father and daughter, and continued to carry tide as they walked out of the building.

The mercenaries and security guards on the island had all been wiped out without exception by Natalia's saturation bombardment. Perhaps one or two might have escaped, but Natalia subsequently sent her men to sweep the island clean. Even those still alive would certainly be dealt with swiftly and decisively.

Under the deep night sky, Li Cheng carried tide as they walked on the quiet land. They walked past the bloody crater from his fall, past the shell craters, past the dilapidated dirt road, until they reached a beach and stood before the ocean tide.

A brilliant red light is slowly rising at the edge of the horizon.

tide, nestled in his arms, stirred restlessly, opened her eyes, and sleepily lifted her head.

Li Cheng raised his hand and gently patted tide's head, then gestured for her to look behind him at the warm sun rising from the sea.

"Wow!"

tide, who had never seen such a view before, was immediately captivated.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, tide?” Li Cheng said softly, gently smoothing Xi’s slightly disheveled long hair. “Remember this, tide, this is the sunrise. No matter how painful and agonizing the night may be, a new day will eventually come.”

tide looked at Li Cheng with a half-understanding and tilted her head. However, her attention was quickly drawn back to the rising sun. Turning her face away, she continued to watch the red light that dyed the entire sky crimson, slowly rising higher and higher.

Li Cheng fell silent, watching the sun rise with tide, its light once again obscuring the night. A gentle sea breeze stirred, ruffling Xi's long hair and ruffling Li Cheng's tattered clothes. They watched the dawn break, watching the sunlight gradually bathe them.

…………

Fourth update, complete. This volume is now coming to an end.

There's one more chapter left, the final chapter of the volume. I don't know if I can finish it. I'll take a break for now.

Today is another day of updating with 10,000 words. Where are the votes I want?

Chapter 98, Final Chapter: Shikigami and the Winner

"Shikigami?"

Li Cheng pointed to tide, who was hanging on him, with some surprise, and said in disbelief.

"That's right, this girl is now your shikigami."

Exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, Huo lay on his side on a half-collapsed wooden table and said casually.

This was three days after the raid on Tianyi Pharmaceutical's testing grounds. After the turmoil had subsided through King Gilgamesh's negotiations, Li Cheng pondered the beautiful girl he had seen in his unconscious state who bore an eight-tenths resemblance to Xi, and was utterly perplexed by the change in the color of one of his eyes. After routine medical examinations yielded no results, he suddenly remembered a mysterious place he had visited during his time at the night market.

He didn't know why he had forgotten that place, or why he had remembered it now. But the reclusive, transcendent girl, Kaffa, could surely answer his questions.

but……

"I'm not an Onmyoji, and don't you know that shikigami require a contract or something? I don't recall having any recollection of that."

Li Cheng scratched his head, puzzled.

“Idiot, you don’t know because you were basically dead by then. It would be a miracle if you knew,” Huo put down his pipe and gave an expression as if he were looking at the AI-smart Ai-chan. “Of course you signed a contract, and it was the oldest and most primitive kind of contract, which can be said to be the original shikigami contract.”

Is that so?

Li Cheng didn't understand but felt a sense of awe.

“Yes, in the long past, when yokai were still active in the human world, the shikigami contracts between onmyoji and yokai became popular,” Huo took another deep breath of smoke, lazily lay down, and continued, “The most common of these contracts is to destroy the mind of the yokai and turn them into the most loyal dogs of the onmyoji. It is also the contract that yokai hate the most and causes the yokai to break with the onmyoji.”

As she spoke, she chuckled again.

"But no matter how dissatisfied they are, the fate of the monsters can only be to cower in such a tiny place, pretending it's a so-called paradise, and that's all. Thinking about it this way, humans are really domineering. They want to destroy the consciousness that the monsters have finally developed, and enslave them. When they resist, they gradually and bit by bit exterminate their race. To the elves, to the fantasy species, to the gods and demons, oh right, and recently the Lunarians, you are always so cruel and ruthless, giving each other no way out."