Rain and Fire

A Fourth-Tier Ascendant had deigned to become an assassin, targeting him alone, and had even tracked his movements...

Even within the alliance, there were not many people like that.

"It was... the Ara... Arakawa Family... They paid..." Hundred-Eyed Oni coughed violently, spitting sharp, blood-colored icicles as he spoke indistinctly.

"Nice joke. Keep going."

Huai Shi's expression grew ever colder, completely unmoved.

Arakawa was a typical Gokudō—narrow-minded, vindictive, reckless, utterly unscrupulous, and eager to repay every slight... Anyone unfamiliar with him would surely think that brute had taken advantage of the chaos to strike at him.

Unfortunately, that was all an act...

Of the former Five Great Lords, Arakawa loved nothing more than playing the unreasonable brute, making a nuisance of himself and taking every advantage without ever suffering a loss. In truth, he kept clearer accounts than anyone.

For him to turn on one of his own at a time like this, to kill a rising star of the Green Sun with Mount Tengu's deep backing—his brain was not that thoroughly broken.

Seeing that his lie had been exposed, Hundred-Eyed Oni fell silent for a moment, then smiled mockingly and looked away from Huai Shi.

Even if he wanted to talk, the Grave of the Unreturning would not permit it.

Both meant death, but dying under the Grave of the Unreturning's punishment would be even more agonizing. Better to die here. The Source Matter backed up in hell still gave him a chance to be reborn from the Spirit Coffin...

Hundred-Eyed Oni closed his eyes.

Kill him if you wanted. Enough fucking nonsense!

"Strange. He found his backbone only when death was at hand."

Huai Shi gave him one last look, then withdrew his gaze. "If you don't want a quick death, then you must want a painful one..."

The