Momonosuke's Tragic Fate! The Curtain Falls (Please Keep Reading!)

It didn't work? How could it not work?

Shinobu's mind went blank.

Her ever-reliable ninjutsu had failed?

Naturally, Ian was not surprised in the slightest.

The anime version's Three Egyptian Gods-level resistance, kid.

So you like them young, huh?

A sinful act. I would never condone it.

"Actually,"

Ian grabbed Shinobu's hand and lifted her slightly, saying, "I prefer someone more mature too."

"Is that so?"

Shinobu smiled awkwardly. "Then we can—"

Divine Flame Cannon!

Flames instantly engulfed Shinobu, ruthlessly blasting her away.

Ian naturally showed no mercy toward someone who wanted to turn him into an old man. He might as well make her a little more mature.

Not far ahead of him—

"Run! Momonosuke!"

Shimotsuki Yasuie stood in front of Yamato. He had no weapon, only tightly clenched fists.

Behind him was Momonosuke, who had regained consciousness but still looked bewildered.

"Don't stop! Keep running forward!"

Following them here had indeed been the right choice.

Even if he could not be of much use, at least now he could do everything in his power.

"Run!"

With a thunderous roar, Shimotsuki Yasuie charged at Yamato.

Momonosuke sniffled, turned, and fled in tears.

"This time, I'll crush you for good!"

Yamato transformed into her Werewolf form and swung her iron club to meet him.

At that moment, a golden shadow flashed past the two combatants.

Shimotsuki Yasuie saw Ian streak past and tried to stop him.

But Yamato's iron club left him unable to break away. He could only watch helplessly as Ian caught up to Momonosuke in the blink of an eye.

"Take one more step, and I'll burn you to a crisp."

Ian calmly addressed Momonosuke, whose little legs were still carrying him forward.

Sure enough, Kozuki Momonosuke's body instantly stiffened.

He turned around in terror, his upper and lower teeth clattering nonstop.

Momonosuke—

Shimotsuki Yasuie, locked in fierce battle with Yamato, lamented inwardly.

Why did he stop?

Why?!

"Lord Momonosuke! This is the last thing I can do."

Ian looked toward Momonosuke's feet. By sheer coincidence, Shinobu, whom his breath attack had blasted away earlier, had landed right there.

The woman's body was covered in burns, and none of her former beauty remained. She lay on the ground, unable even to stand, trembling as she raised a hand to grasp Momonosuke's ankle. "I'm sorry, but now, this is the only way."

"Waaah!"

Momonosuke instantly screamed. His body visibly began to grow. In the blink of an eye, he changed from a boy into a teenager, then immediately into an adult, his hair and beard growing wildly.

By the time the transformation stopped, Momonosuke had aged at least twenty years! He now looked completely like a young man.

He himself looked utterly bewildered, completely unaware that he had lost twenty years of his life.

"Run! Lord Momonosuke!"

Shinobu said with difficulty, "You, who inherited Lord Oden's bloodline, must not die here!"

Ian showed no reaction. He merely watched Momonosuke quietly.

Kozuki Oden had also been a born monster. Momonosuke, who inherited his bloodline, was a genuine bloodline freak. In the original story, after Shinobu forcibly aged him up, his physique had become extraordinarily powerful.

But—

Momonosuke looked down at Shinobu, then at the golden, gleaming Ian. Finally—

Clutching his head, he crouched on the ground. "Waaah! I-I won't run anymore! So, so don't burn me to death!"

Shinobu froze.

Ian could not help but chuckle.

This was Kozuki Momonosuke.

He had utterly humiliated himself.

"Lord Momonosuke!"

A roar drew closer from afar.

More fighters?

Ian looked up.

One of the Nine Red Scabbards, Kikunojo of the Lingering Snow—the cross-dressing man—was sprinting toward them.

What the hell, Uncle King, Uncle Queen? Didn't you say no one would be able to get close?

Ian looked into the distance. Both Uncle King and Uncle Queen had been caught in sieges.

Ashura Doji, Nekomamushi, and Inuarashi had surrounded Uncle King. The three of them made no attempt to defend themselves, letting King attack them as they stubbornly held him in place.

Uncle Queen was the same, except he was surrounded by Kanjuro, Kawamatsu, and Denjiro.

That traitor Kanjuro was putting on quite the serious performance. As expected of an actor.

So that was it.

Ian understood. The other six were risking their lives to stall for time while Kikunojo came to save Momonosuke.

The charging Kikunojo yanked Momonosuke off the ground and shouted, "Lord Momonosuke! Run! Hurry!"

"I-I-I-I—"

Momonosuke did not dare run. He could only stare at Ian in terror.

But Ian was merely looking at the hand Kikunojo used to grip Momonosuke's wrist.

Kikunojo's face was covered in blackened veins, and he was breathing with extreme difficulty. As he coughed violently, blood even flowed from his nostrils. Veins covered the back of his pale hand as well, making him look utterly grotesque and terrifying.

How did this guy dare touch Momonosuke directly?

Had Uncle Queen not smugly explained that the Plague Bullet virus could spread through physical contact?

"Was it you? Cough, cough, cough—"

Kikunojo saw who Momonosuke feared. He raised his sword at Ian with a savage expression, though he coughed as if he were about to hack up his lungs. "Were you the one who made Lord Momonosuke like this?"

"Is it possible,"

Ian felt falsely accused and retorted, "that he was always like this?"

"Shut up!"

Kikunojo lunged at Ian.

As long as he defeated this guy, the fear in Lord Momonosuke's heart would vanish.

Ian's expression changed instantly.

Holy shit, no!

Don't touch me!

I don't want to catch the virus!

Without the slightest hesitation, Ian went straight for his ultimate.

Divine Phoenix, activate!

A winged figure of intertwined gold and crimson flames instantly stood in place, the ground beneath his feet melting in an instant.

Yet Kikunojo did not retreat in the slightest. His black blade pierced through Ian's body in the next second.

Then he fell into confusion.

What was going on?

He could not hit him?

"Cough, cough, cough—"

The virus raging through his body made him cough painfully again. He hacked up large clots of blood, his back involuntarily bending over.

Don't blame me for kicking someone while they're down.

Ian raised a hand and aimed it at Kikunojo's head.

"Divine Wrath Flame."

Gold-flecked crimson fire instantly blasted into Kikunojo's slender body.

"Arghhh!!"

With a scream, Kikunojo was blasted away, swept up in the flames like a helpless leaf in a flood.

Momonosuke sat paralyzed on the ground, trembling as he stared blankly at Kiku being sent flying.

Ian quickly returned to his beastman form and looked at his hands.

In Divine Phoenix form, that shouldn't count as making contact, right?

Also, did Uncle Queen's virus count as an attack or an effect? Could he resist it or not?

Ian looked toward Momonosuke. Black veins had begun to emerge across the boy's face as well.

This shouldn't be my fault, right?

In the distance, Kiku crashed heavily to the ground. Her entire body had been charred black. The destructive power of the Divine Wrath Flame had directly ravaged her body, which had already been riddled with holes by the virus, until it was utterly wrecked.

"Lord... Lord Momonosuke—"

She lay on the ground, the blood in her mouth evaporated by the high heat and congealed so badly it nearly blocked her throat. She wanted to stand, but no matter what she did, she could no longer manage it.

"Kiku!!"

Shimotsuki Yasuie cried out in agony.

But it was useless. The incoming iron club sent him flying as well.

"Kiku!"

In the distance, the samurai desperately holding back King and the others were likewise covered in wounds. Seeing Kiku fall, they were overwhelmed with grief and fury. "How could this be? By a brat like that!"

When Ian had released his ability just now, they had clearly seen what he looked like.

He was obviously just a child the same age as Lord Momonosuke!

"Are you looking down on my virus too much?"

Queen laughed smugly. "Still, even without the virus, that brat Ian might not have lost! That kid is a genuine monster!"

The Red Scabbard samurai vomited blood, their bodies swaying more and more unsteadily.

And King had already flown into the sky. "Guardian Fire Dragon Emperor!"

The one person capable of suppressing flames was no longer here, right?

An incomparably massive fire dragon descended, its blaze illuminating the twisted, savage faces of the samurai.

BOOM!

Not far away, on the monsters' battlefield.

"Kin'emon! Denjiro! Raizo! Kanjuro! Kiku! Asura! Kawamatsu! Nekomamushi! Inuarashi!"

Tears suddenly streamed down Kozuki Oden's face.

Within his senses, those auras were rapidly weakening one after another.

And Momonosuke—

"What the hell are you looking around for?!"

The furious roar became a clap of thunder.

Kozuki Oden suddenly snapped awake and looked up, only to see the iron club smashing down at him.

For truly evenly matched experts, a single moment of distraction was enough to decide victory or defeat.

BOOM!

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