The Demon King of Bandit Valley / Mashiro and Shirou Beneath the Full Moon

"Yes!!" The Ox-Head and Horse-Face who had followed dared not stop him any longer and answered loudly. Enma-tei's fair and upright style earned him high prestige in the lower levels of the underworld.

"The underworld has been trying to improve the situation, hoping to give the souls of the dead a better chance to improve themselves and return to the cycle of reincarnation. However, even so, the number of people going to hell has not decreased. Even though Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has been working hard, he cannot persuade all the evil spirits to abandon evil and do good."

"It's not good for such evil spirits to keep piling up in Hell, especially those that cross the border and want to harm the human world. Some of them must be eliminated," said Enma-tei solemnly. She would try her best to teach those who could repent. But she would show no mercy to evil spirits that were beyond redemption.

"Thank you, Enma-tei, for coming to help us. You've been a great help," Shirou said to the little girl again.

Enma-tei shook her head and said, "Please don't say that. I also have my reasons for this. If that Demon King really found a fixed spatial rift, it's very likely that it's very close to the space of the Kamakura world, which is why he was able to break into the world from Hell in such a short time. If that's the case, then that place needs to be sealed off, otherwise it would be troublesome if these demons used it to do evil!"

"We'll come out now. You all guard the city gates and notify the others to send word. I'll be back before the Kings of King of Hell return," Enma-tei instructed his subordinates. He then pointed to the Miss Shinigami, who was cowering to the side, and said, "Little donkey, you come here too. Consider it making amends for your sins."

"Pfft... So that's your name." The Explosion Head Uncle couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the others also laughed and turned their heads away.

"Ugh! Don't call me little donkey! I'm Marie! Red Lord Enma! That's just a nickname! I'm a professional Grim Reaper now!" Miss Shinigami Reaper complained.

"You've officially joined the workforce, but you have absolutely no intention of getting promoted. You've always remained the lowest-ranking patrolling Death God, lazy and unambitious, always the last to return from the human world. When are you going to grow up?" Enma-tei lectured without any politeness.

"I... I'm just being more careful! I also want to maintain good relations with humans," Miss Shinigami explained.

"You don't seem to be lying, but you still need to be more serious about your work." This time, Enma-tei finally let the Miss Shinigami off the hook.

"Yes..." Miss Shinigami replied softly.

'Well, while you weren't lying, it wasn't much better... You were happily eating carrots at the Ushi-gyū Inn, and you even prepared six sets of clothes to change into,' Shirou thought to himself.

With the Enma-tei leading them, the group no longer needed to hide and proceeded smoothly into the passage from the underworld to hell.

"I'm so heartbroken... Do I really have to help my son rescue his woman now?" Minamoto no Raikō, following behind, looked like a heartbroken woman who felt unloved.

"No, Lord Raikou, this is also about exorcising demons. We can't just stand by and watch humans be taken away by evil spirits. Let's consider it an act of kindness!" The loyal young Tsuna, advised from the side.

"But once that girl is rescued, Shirou will definitely leave with that woman," Raikou said sadly.

"Or let me go! Let me marry Shirou! I'll tie him down! That way he won't leave Lord Raikou. Even if he has that child named Mashiro now, it doesn't matter. Whether as a lover or a concubine, I will endure the humiliation! I will definitely keep that man's body."

Tsuna, with unwavering loyalty, clenched her fist and made a difficult decision. Although her feelings for Shirou were somewhat complicated—as a warrior, Shirou was an upright and honorable man, but as someone close to Lord Raikou, he was being distracted, making them somewhat like rivals in love—she felt she had to choose one to marry. However, if she had to pick one, he didn't seem like a very good choice. She didn't seem to be at a disadvantage.

"!!!" Minamoto no Raikō's eyes widened, as if she were seeing the samurai girl beside her for the first time. Watanabe no Tsuna, who had served her since childhood as a retainer, was actually this kind of person?!

Completely oblivious to this, Tsuna continued to explain her plan: she would use her skills in food, housework, and bathing to outshine Mashiro, win over Shirou through his stomach, and then gradually take over the position of his wife!

Chapter 886 The Ghost King of the Mountain Bandit Valley

The samurai girl was mentally composing a grand story of self-sacrifice for her beloved lord when Raikou, unable to bear it any longer, interrupted her daydream.

"Tsuna... you mustn't do that, absolutely! Absolutely! If you do it, I'll kick you out of the family!" Minamoto no Raikō's face darkened completely as he spoke in a low voice.

"Eek?!" The samurai girl Tsuna, cried out in surprise, but she immediately understood. It must be because Lord Raikou cared about her that he didn't want her to sacrifice herself for the enemy. Thinking of this, Tsuna was moved to tears and bowed her head to Raikou, apologizing, "Yes! I'm so sorry! I won't do such a thing again."

"Yes, yes, that's a good girl, so obedient, so obedient." Minamoto no Raikō then regained his usual elegant smile, hugged Tsuna, and patted the girl's head approvingly.

"Lord Raikou ~!" The samurai girl Tsuna was suddenly hugged and collapsed into Raikou's arms, her cheeks flushed, enjoying the caress of her most respected master with a blissful expression.

It's truly a beautiful scene of mutual love between the ruler and his subjects, almost like the Oath of the Peach Garden, with a bond as deep as that of sisters.

"Yay ya yeah~!" The older female monk standing to the side, carrying a gun, shook her head helplessly; she didn't know how to say it either.

"..." Kintoki blushed and turned his head away.

"Be careful, there's movement ahead." At this moment, the woman holding the bow Take, reminded them. As a skilled archer, she was scouting the area ahead for the team.

However, Shirou eyesight was equally outstanding, had already rushed forward.

Shirou charged straight ahead, taking the lead, and any fools who dared to block their path were beheaded by the swords he Projection. Before rescuing Mashiro, he had no time to think about anything else.

Because the Enma-tei explained the matter of the ghost marriage to him, he realized that the situation had reached a critical point.

The Ghost King was getting married. A ghost from hell abducted a human and took her home, wanting to take her as his wife. However, humans and ghosts are different, so they could not be together. The only solution was to transform one of them into the same kind of being. Thus, a ghost marriage ceremony was held. The bride was dressed in her wedding attire and kept in the Ghost King's house for three days. During this time, the two were not allowed to see each other.

However, on the third day, after the wedding ceremony and the rituals are completed, the bride's veil is lifted, and the human is recognized by the rules of the underworld, thus being transformed into the Oni Tribe, with horns growing on their head. From then on, they can never leave underworld and return to the human world.

Time is running out for him!

At this moment, a blue-skinned demon appeared on the road ahead. It was about two meters tall and carried a wooden spiked club with various iron nails hammered into it. It should be above a lesser demon, but still far from being a demon king.

Shirou instantly lunged behind the green-skinned demon, bent down and Projection his leg armor, then swept his leg across the ground, knocking the demon down.

"Aaaaah!" Before the green-skinned demon even saw the enemy, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"Which bastard is it! You just trespassed on my territory, I'll eat you alive!" The green-skinned devil tried to pick up his spiked club, cursing and wanting to retaliate, but then he didn't dare to move.

At this moment, Shirou had already stepped on its hand, Projection a sword with its tip against its neck, cutting a gash from which blood flowed.

"Have you heard the news that the Demon King came to Kamakura and captured people to bring to hell?" Shirou asked with a grim face, standing on the head of a hellish demon, his white sword Kanshou held to the demon's neck.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me! I know! It's Yū Oni King from the Mountain Bandit Valley!" the hellish ghost begged for mercy.

After passing through the gates of the underworld leading to hell, and arriving inside, they finally managed to find out news of Mashiro after walking for several hours.

The green-skinned demon told Shirou and the others the details of the red demon king.

It turns out that the ghost king was a ghost that was banished to hell a thousand years ago. In his previous life, he was born as a mountain bandit king, making a living by plundering the grain grown by the people and kidnapping the wives and daughters of the villagers every year. If they were not satisfied, he would kill and burn down the entire village. The local lords were busy fighting for their own territory and did not send professional armies to suppress the bandits.

Whenever government troops arrived, the bandits would hide deep in the mountains, and the troops couldn't do anything about them. As a result, the Ghost King became a local tyrant in the mountains. When he grew old, he successfully handed over his power to his son and even died a peaceful death.

However, those who committed countless evil deeds and killed numerous people in their lifetimes will be punished in the underworld after death. Only those who repent in suffering can be reincarnated.

But how could the mountain king obey the judge's orders? So he was subdued by Ox-Head and Horse-Face and exiled to the Asura Hell, a place only murderers could enter, to be left to fend for themselves. In this hell, everything is solved through slaughter. To live, one can only kill other ghosts. To fill one's stomach, one can only eat ghosts, relying on killing other ghosts to obtain resentment and evil thoughts as energy to strengthen oneself.

However, once killed, they will be transformed into the energy of hell, never to be reborn.

Even if a mountain king could gather a large number of bandits under his command, he would only have a few hundred men, at most becoming a centurion or a commander of a thousand. In fact, over the past thousand years, that's about all the strength he's had, not much stronger than the Green-skinned Demon.

But for some unknown reason, thirty years ago, his strength suddenly surged, and he became a Ghost King, calling himself 'Yu'. He established his own city and occupied a piece of land in Hell.

"If you ask me, he just got incredibly lucky, probably stumbled upon some rare treasure. Other ghost kings, at the very least, have either led a rebellion or are warlords. What is he anyway!" The green-skinned ghost said disdainfully, clearly looking down on the ghost kings.

"I've known him for a thousand years. Now that he's made it big, he hasn't thought about taking care of his old friend. Instead, he's just carving out his own territory and acting like a tyrant. I heard that the ghosts under his command have been complaining for a long time. If it weren't for his strength, he would have been killed by his men countless times already," the green-skinned ghost said indignantly, trying to distance himself from the Ghost King the whole way.

At this point, with the help of the captured green-skinned demon, Shirou and the others finally found the valley where the Yū Oni King's Castle was located.

"My lords, now that you've shown me the way, will you let me go back? I promise I won't say a word," the green-skinned ghost said obsequiously.

"Yes... thank you for leading the way." The pretty older sister Hikari, who was holding a gun, smiled at the green-skinned ghost, then swung the gun and brought it down hard on his head, knocking him unconscious. She then smiled at the others and said, "Alright, let's go."

Then they crept towards the valley.

Chapter 887 Mashiro and Shirou in the Full Moon

The group arrived at a secluded hilltop. Ahead lay a valley, and the Ghost King's city was built on the highest point in the center of this valley, with the rooftops of the city's highest point faintly visible.

However, getting close to it is not easy. The valley is blocked by high mountains on the left, right, and back, with only one exit in front. The terrain below is rugged and uneven, and the only path into the valley is a long, straight path that can only allow three people to walk side by side at a time. There are dozens of meters high rocks on both sides. If someone rolls a huge rock down from above, the person below will almost certainly die. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

There is a watchtower before entering the valley, blocking the entrance.

"What do we do?" The Explosion Head Uncle looked at the watchtower over there through the camera's long-range function. There were five or six evil spirits guarding that spot, with virtually no blind spots.

Miss Shinigami leaned forward, looked at the camera, and said with difficulty, "Let me see, it seems there's no way to get around it."

"Charge straight ahead!" Shirou said, and then led the charge forward.

"Hey! Wait!" The Explosion Head Uncle tried to stop him, but to no avail.

"Then let's go too!" Minamoto no Raikō said at this moment.

"Yes, Lord Raikou!"

Atop the watchtower, a demon blinked; it seemed to see something rapidly approaching from beneath the night sky.

Then an arrow pierced its head, and with its eyes wide open, it fell from the watchtower.

The demons below were startled and shouted loudly.

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

A ghost sounded the alarm.

However, at this moment, a spiraling arrow flew over the high tower of the stronghold's protective layer, emitted a light above the heads of the evil spirits, and then exploded with a bang!

The evil spirit guarding the gate, along with the entire gate of the mountain stronghold, was blown away by the explosion, and the entire entrance was blasted into a crater.

Yes, Shirou never intended to hide it from the beginning; he wanted to bring Mashiro back as quickly as possible.

"What's wrong! What's wrong!"

"Who's the blind fool!"

Upon hearing the alarm, hundreds of evil spirits surged out of the mountain stronghold. They were all henchmen of the Ghost King, wielding clubs and machetes. They were all over two meters tall, with skin of various colors that resembled that of lizards, and they rushed towards the area with ferocious expressions. They were all wicked people who had committed evil deeds in the human world and were beyond redemption even after death.

In the Asura Hell, there are only two choices: to kill or to be killed. By attaching themselves to the strong, they become stronger and then plunder the weak. Every day they are in danger of losing their lives, so they can commit evil without any bottom line. Their minds have long been broken. This is what evil spirits are.

They are closer to wild beasts than humans. Even if they establish strongholds, it is only for better slaughter. No matter how powerful these evil spirits are, their fate is destined to be the same. Because they survive by killing other ghosts, they will sooner or later be killed by ghosts who want to live.

At this moment, a pack of wolves emerged, starving and drooling as they pounced on Shirou and the others.

"It's Death Gods! Servant! And humans mixed in with them!"

"Hehehe,"

"Then let's catch them and share them! It's been so long since we've eaten a human!"

Shirou showed no mercy, unleashing the magic power restored from forging the sword without regard for the consequences. He Projection the pseudo- Spiral Sword once more, shooting it forward and sending more and more wreckage flying into the sky.

The sword at Shirou's waist, which had never been drawn, was silently absorbing the spiritual power of the demons he had killed, growing stronger little by little.

"I'm leaving this to you! I'm going to save Mashiro!" Shirou shouted to the people behind him, then rushed towards the castle along a straight path blasted open by his Spiral Sword. He ignored the demons around him, leaving them to the people behind him to deal with.

"Oh! That's how a real man should act! Don't keep the girls waiting! Go!" the older woman with the gun said with a smile, charging forward with both hands, sending all the demons that rushed in front of her flying.

"No problem! Leave it to me! Golden Kick! Super Golden Kick!!" Kintoki leaped high into the air and delivered a flying kick, crashing into the ground like a meteor, sending the demon's minions flying.

Raikou and Tsuna drew their swords, the blades gleaming with a purple and an orange light in response to their fighting spirit. They charged into the horde of demons, their blades flashing and their heads flying. With each swing of their arms, they took the lives of one or even several demons. They were the most powerful and mysterious demon-slaying assassins of the Heian period.

The man with the Explosion Head Uncle and Miss Shinigami were behind them, recording the video and cheering them on.

"Damn it! How dare you destroy my city!" A furious shout rang out from below, and then a figure grew larger and larger until it broke through the roof. A huge red-skinned demon king looked down at the crowd below.

"Mashiro! I've come to pick you up!" At this moment, Shirou used his grappling hook to climb the corner of the castle tower, leaping upwards until he reached the roof of the castle tower at the very top. Standing on the tower, dozens of meters high, a strong wind was howling outside, making the boy's clothes rustle loudly. But he was completely unaware of this, only looking into the castle tower and shouting loudly.

The girl in white, who had been sitting alone in a chair inside with listless eyes, suddenly had a glimmer of hope and happiness in her eyes when she heard the sound.

"Shirou... I knew you'd come to pick me up!" Mashiro out, stood on the balcony, and smiled at Shirou below.

"Damn it!!! What do you think you're doing to my consort?!" The Ghost King, having noticed the commotion at the castle tower, roared angrily.

"Mashiro, jump down! I'll catch you!" Shirou said, opening his arms to the girl.

"Hmm!" Mashiro didn't hesitate at all; she'd had enough of this place! So she took two steps back, jumped over the wooden railing of the castle tower's balcony, and leaped towards Shirou, who was standing on the roof.

Shirou opened his arms and caught Mashiro as she jumped down, then, propelled by the impact of his fall, he leaned backward toward the edge of the roof and collapsed.

The Demon King's giant hand grabbed the spot where Shirou had been standing, and missed completely.

In mid-air, Shirou reached out and lifted the veil from Mashiro's head, revealing the girl's beautiful pale golden hair. The two looked like a celestial couple standing in the middle of a full moon, their golden hair radiating crystalline particles.

"Mashiro, I've finally found you!" Shirou said with a smile, cupping the girl's face in his hands.

"Yes, I'm back, Shirou." Mashiro hugged Shirou tightly, wanting to stay in this moment forever, because she never wanted to be apart again.

Chapter 888 The Strength of the Wife-Snatching Ghost King

The moon in hell is enormous. Although it resides in an isolated space deep underground, when viewed from the night sky, it appears closer to the moon than any creature on the surface. This may be a projection from another dimension. Since ancient times, the sun has been regarded as both the grace and wrath of the gods, and revered by all living beings.

The moon's waxing and waning symbolizes magic and mystery.

At this moment, in the center of the full moon, there were the shadows of two people embracing each other. The boy gazed into the girl's eyes and saw himself reflected in them, as did the girl. The world seemed to freeze at this moment, and neither the Servant fighting fiercely underground nor the roaring demon king could affect them in the slightest.

The girl tiptoed in the air, but found it was useless; she was just dangling her toes in mid-air. So she stretched out her hands and climbed towards the boy's face in front of her like a rock climber, trying her best to get closer, and then kissed the boy's lips.

Shirou paused for a moment, then closed his eyes, responding to the girl's request.

The white veil, lifted by the wind, swirled several times in the moonlight before drifting into the distance.

As for Shirou was wearing a black suit, and Mashiro, who was dressed in pure white, they were entangled together.

"Damn it!!!" The Demon King angrily grabbed his golden greatsword and slashed at Shirou and Mashiro in mid-air, as if swatting at a pair of small insects.

Shirou opened one eye and then reacted.

Under the full moon, a white cloak unfurled behind the boy, unfolding like a paraglider. Shirou, holding Mashiro, dodged the Demon King's attack and glided to the ground from high above.

"Damn it!!! The ceremony isn't over yet! The veil can't be lifted! You don't want to be my concubines! Then I'll kill you all! Kill them all!" The Demon King roared furiously, his skin turning even redder, and he swung his sword again at the spot where Shirou and Mashiro had landed.

Shirou, holding Mashiro landed when it was too late to dodge. The falling blade enveloped them in Black Shadow.

"Murder is wrong!"