At that moment, having satisfied one client's request, Samael turned his gaze toward the remaining three and spoke leisurely.
"Then what about you?"
"I've muddled through most of my life. I don't want to die as a fool."
Old Man Ryogi, already advanced in years, did not hesitate for long before decisively making his choice.
Because he possessed different personalities within himself, along with an innate urge to kill, he had imprisoned himself in the family dungeon for nearly twenty years to prevent tragedy. He constantly harmed himself, denied himself, and made himself suffer. In the end, he became muddled and confused, like a walking corpse.
Only recently, after obtaining medicine that could suppress his impulses, had he finally been able to leave the dungeon and see daylight again.
Once someone had walked out of a cave and seen the light, they no longer wished to return underground to that cold, damp place and shut themselves away.
At that moment, Nanaya Kouri looked down at the tiny child in his clansman's arms. His cold gaze softened with affection, and he nodded, making the same choice.
In the past, because of his duties as the head of the Nanaya family, his heart had held only his mission. Good and evil, right and wrong, meant nothing to him. The urge to exorcise demons had never seemed like an inconvenience either.
Even getting married and having children had merely been a responsibility he had no choice but to bear.
But when his son Shiki was truly born, and that first "Father" reached his ears, his thoughts gradually began to change.
For that reason, he had repeatedly crossed the line, choosing to cooperate with the mixed-bloods he was supposed to hunt. He hoped to end this endless conflict, so that his child would not