Rain and Flames / Father

Yotsuya Miko was also consciously avoiding her.

"Emotions are such strange things, aren't they, Miko?"

Hua ate her daifuku (a type of steamed bun), wanting to say something, but unable to find the words. She could only do tedious things to mask her silence.

"I am like this, you are like this, and so is Yuria."

"... I know, and I am well aware, that there is no perfect solution in this world."

Yotsuya Miko lowered her head and tore open the daifuku wrapper.

Did she like Yuria? Probably, just not as much as Hua did.

If Hua occupied 80% of her heart, then Yuria only occupied a mere 20%, and she couldn't say whether this could be considered liking. Her feelings for Hua were probably love.

Even if he agreed to Yuria's request against his will, was this feeling truly good?

If you can't even treat someone sincerely, then you might as well not accept it at all.

Yuria is very sensitive and fragile. She has experienced betrayal time and time again, and if someone harbors feelings for Yuria that they themselves don't acknowledge, Yulia will be able to tell. No matter how well it is hidden, one day Yulia will find out.

That day will never be better than the present; it will be a million times worse.

That was a complete betrayal; it was a total reversal of everything he had done to Yuria.

So... she chose to run away.

"Hua, there's no need to say more. Yuria and I will understand sooner or later."

Miko was looking at the girl in front of him, he put the daifuku he had opened back in and gave it to Yurikawa Hana, who had already finished the daifuku in her hand.

Neither of us is in any trouble.

The matter of Divine Gate awaits her, so she can put that aside for now. After Divine Gate, she still has to deal with the shrine's affairs and the mutation within herself. There are many, many things waiting for her to do, and these things are equally important.

"I have other things to take care of, I'm sorry."

As she spoke, she brushed past Hua.

Once again, I chose to escape.

Chapter 241 Rain and Flame

The meeting place proposed by One Iu was a manor on the outskirts of a neighboring city, which was also a property of the Wagen Family, but it was quite secluded.

"Welcome, Ms. Yotsuya."

Sitting in the car, looking at the people who had specially brought her there, Yotsuya Miko closed her eyes to rest, not caring much.

If she used the Falcon Spirit Wind Control Incantation, her speed would be much faster than a car. However, since there was a dedicated vehicle, she didn't need to bother with her speed.

His Spiritual Sense was withdrawn after he had probed the driver.

There was nothing unusual about it from her Spiritual Sense, so it seemed to be a vehicle that had indeed come to pick her up.

The thought of finally reaching that long-awaited agreement with the head of the Wagen Family filled her with a sense of relief. It was one of the few good things that made her feel a little less upset after what happened to Yuria.

The vehicle moved at a steady speed, without any noticeable bumps, yet the speed wasn't particularly slow either.

Several hours later, the black official car slowly drove to the outside of the manor, and as the gates rose, it drove back into the manor and parked in its designated spot.

"We've arrived, Miss Yotsuya."

The car door opened, Yotsuya Miko opened her eyes, which had been dozing, and climbed out of the car.

She glanced at the manor, feeling nothing for its luxuriousness, but subconsciously released her Spiritual Sense.

In about half a breath, her Spiritual Sense swept across the entire manor, every room, every corridor, every...

Huh? What's this?

Her mood soured at that moment, and she withdrew her gaze, only using her Spiritual Sense to continue observing the armed men in every corner of the manor.

These weren't the manor's guards; after all, these guys had their eyes fixed on him.

It's clear they're "welcoming" her.

"It seems you are unaware of the situation."

She spoke calmly, and the instant she finished speaking, a bullet was lodged deep in the skull of the driver, who was bewildered by her words.

Gunfire erupted, and within a short time, other bullets pierced the driver's body, while many more struck Yotsuya Miko.

"You want to kill me with these bullets?"

Unsurprisingly, the bullets turned to dust before they could even reach Yotsuya Miko's body.

Can you do it?

The cultivator at the Core Formation stage didn't look at the insects, but instead gazed at the villa in front of him.

"I... have endured this for so long, I can't take it anymore."

All the pent-up resentment finally erupted at this moment; the repression that had been deepening due to emotional issues and the fear of alienation finally found a way to vent it freely.

Murder? Murder!

"I am—"

Her Spiritual Sense spread out, enveloping the entire manor, the vast land beyond the manor, and everyone around the manor who wanted to kill her.

Then, this Spiritual Sense, which should have been probing, took form. A trembling aura emanated from it. The once clear, cloudless sky gradually gathered thick clouds under the pressure, darkening the sky and drastically reducing visibility. Dust rose from the ground, followed by a relentless gale, and the earth groaned and trembled.

Those armed men had lost their composure, dropping their weapons long ago. They too were suffering from inhuman pressure; a strange power surged into their minds—a terrifying, inescapable void. That powerful, materialized force was Spiritual Sense, yet not entirely Spiritual Sense.

If anyone were to pay attention to the different regions of this country, they would find that it is not just the territory of this small manor or this city. Rather, it is the entire country, the entire landscape, that is being altered by a great force. The sky and earth are darkening, the mountains and rocks are shaking, the winds are howling, and the rain is raging with the thunder.

At this moment, the country seemed to be facing an apocalyptic catastrophe.

"I am, a demonic cultivator!!!"

A bolt of lightning, as thick as an arm, struck the earth with overwhelming force in an instant, carving a gaping hole in the ground. Following this lightning bolt, which seemed poised to cleave the heavens and illuminate all things, came a long, incessant roar. It was an extremely explosive sound, like the furious roar of the creation of the world, or the resentment of mountains collapsing and falling to the ground.

"BOOM--!!!"

Thunder roared, and countless Ghosts vanished from the land. These frail Ghosts couldn't even last a breath before turning into nothingness, their Soul Body ceasing to exist. The world was cleansed, and the people were so frightened that they lost their three souls and seven spirits.

The woman's legs went weak at the sound of thunder, the strong man's face turned pale, the criminal's heart and lungs pounded, the child cried incessantly, and all the birds and beasts in the world scattered in panic.

After the thunder subsided, all sound was lost except for the wind and rain. A few breaths later, the sounds of weeping, cursing, and shouting returned.

The rain fell with the thunder, creating a tremendous roar.

The heavy rain obscured Yotsuya Miko's face, but it meant nothing to her.

She simply stared silently at the manor that had long since vanished before her. Rainwater mixed with blood, forming a sea of crimson, which was quickly washed away by the rain.

"The One Iu."

She murmured a name, gazing at the land beyond the manor.

Firearms couldn't kill her, so they prepared something else, a lot of things.

I hate this.

Despite the rain blurring their vision and rendering their electronic equipment useless, the troops maintained their basic formation and didn't panic too much.

But they soon didn't need to panic about what was happening, because a petite figure shot a small ball of flame in their direction.

Strangely, the eerie purple flames burned fiercely in the heavy rain.

The fire was not extinguished by the rain; instead, it burned even more fiercely in the rain, accompanied by agonizing cries. People and things gradually lost their lives in the fire because of what they were doing.

Yotsuya Miko didn't bother to admire this spectacle; she simply walked on, taking long strides with each step.

She didn't care how many steps she had taken; after a few steps, she stood in front of a middle-aged man.

From that city, we arrived at a villa in Jianping.

"Splash, splash."

The rain was also loud outside the villa, with occasional clap of thunder.

Inside the villa, the middle-aged man opened his mouth silently, but couldn't utter a word.

The black-haired girl didn't say much, only a few eerie purple sparks splashed onto him.

And so, it caught fire.

Chapter 242 Father

Many things had happened before this sudden, inexplicable rain started.

Yotsuya Kyosuke and Yotsuya Touko were walking down the street, heading out to buy something.

The mother and son did not possess any extraordinary abilities like Yotsuya Miko, and therefore were unaware of the guns that were secretly aimed at them.

They were completely unaware of the changes to the streets.

A couple lingering on the street, a middle-aged man slumped drunk in a corner, a group of energetic young women—they are all different. Their disguises are excellent; their attire is completely normal, and even the emotions in their eyes are almost genuine.

Although Yotsuya Kyosuke sensed something was amiss, he couldn't see anything clearly no matter how much he looked around, so he simply dismissed it as his imagination.

"As for pudding, what flavor would you like, Kyosuke?"

The mother, however, was completely unaware of what was happening. She was only thinking about where she was going when she turned to look at her child and asked him some questions.

"I'm thinking of buying some pudding for your sister. She's been in a bad mood lately, I don't know what's wrong with her."

Yotsuya Miko's emotional changes were hard to hide from her mother, Yotsuya Touko, but there were many things her child didn't want to talk about, and as her mother, she didn't feel comfortable asking. She could only try to help her in some ways. Some snacks or a nice piece of clothing were good ideas.

Although it's not very useful, it should still play a little role.

"Pudding? That's what my sister bought last time... Ah, that seems to be a limited edition for a limited season. It's hard to find now, but let's go check. I don't know either. Besides, Mom, you're planning to buy it for my sister, right?"

The boy held his head in his hands, showing little interest in the pudding. He had originally thought his mother wanted to take him out to buy some snacks, toys, or maybe comics.

That's how it started. His mother asked him what he wanted, and he happily listed several things. It wasn't until his mother asked if his older sister liked those things that he finally realized his mother was using him as a reference.

"Y, since it's for my sister, she'll happily accept it no matter what. Thinking too much is a waste of time."

He muttered to himself, his mind preoccupied with how to get back as quickly as possible. He felt he had gained absolutely nothing from this trip, so he figured he might as well stay home and watch TV. He couldn't wait to go back, preferably without buying anything.

He could see the emotions on his older sister's face. But what good did it do? Even their mother was struggling with it, so what could he do? It was better to wait for his sister to handle it herself; that would be more like him as an older sister.

Since her father's death, Yotsuya Miko has rarely felt lost. Even when she encounters difficulties, she always manages to solve them on her own. She doesn't intend to trouble her mother, and even when it comes to meals after starting high school, she doesn't complain about her lunchbox.

This is Yotsuya Miko, his older sister.

Yotsuya Kyosuke couldn't imagine what could possibly break his determined older sister.

"Her troubles will resolve themselves; there's nothing to worry about."

Yotsuya Touko was standing to the side, didn't say anything, but just sighed.

"I know, but... if Masamori were still here, that would be so good."

Yotsuya Miko was precocious and didn't want to cause trouble for her family, so she silently shouldered many burdens on her own. However, even now that she has become an incredible superhuman, she is still only a teenager.

What were other girls doing when they were teenagers? Girls of that age were still enjoying their parents' pampering, telling them about their grievances and sorrows, and indulging in their parents' affection and spoiling.

Thinking about this made Yotsuya Touko feel indescribably sad.

If only my husband hadn't had that accident, my daughter wouldn't be like this now.

Suddenly, longing for her husband welled up in her heart again.

She silently endured all the hardships and pain over the years, and her two children witnessed it all. Yotsuya Miko and Yotsuya Kyosuke were both very understanding and didn't cause her much trouble. However, it was precisely because of their understanding that Yotsuya Touko felt an indescribable heartache.

If only you were still here...

When Yotsuya Miko said she could see "spirits," Yotsuya Touko also thought about many things. She wanted to ask her daughter if that person's "spirit" was still there, but she didn't dare to ask, afraid of receiving a disappointing answer.

An answer she had anticipated, but still found somewhat unacceptable.

If his spirit were still alive, what would I say?

Complex emotions stopped her from asking questions, but they still planted a seed in her heart, increasingly troubling her and causing her more and more torment.

This woman, who has become strong, still has a soft heart and longs for someone to rely on.

However, that support is probably gone now, isn't it?

The assassins, watching their every move, showed no emotion. They simply waited silently for an opportunity, a chance to strike.

The reason for wanting to kill Yotsuya Kyosuke and Yotsuya Touko is simple: because of Yotsuya Miko.

After a silent wait, the signal finally sounded.