In the blink of an eye, Senju Kyogawa had no time to think. He immediately drew a kunai from the pouch at his waist to block the sudden attack.
Unexpectedly, the tongue was exceptionally flexible. The moment the kunai struck it, the tongue wrapped around the weapon, and a powerful suction clung to the kunai.
The long tongue was covered in a thick layer of slime that gave off a revolting stench. Even from just an arm's length away, it was enough to make Senju Kyogawa dizzy.
Maybe the foul-smelling slime was meant to knock opponents out, so the tongue could drag them away without a struggle.
The tongue gave a sharp tug, pulling Senju Kyogawa forward.
Should he let go of the kunai and lose his balance, or let the tongue pull him toward the monster? Senju Kyogawa didn't hesitate. He let go. He'd rather fall into a crowd of monsters than let that tongue wrap around him.
Senju Kyogawa thought, If I have to die, I'm going to find a more comfortable way to do it!
The monster's tongue pulled the kunai back, and Senju Kyogawa, off balance, fell downward.
At that moment, Senju Kyogawa's heart was in his throat. His arms and legs had gone numb from sheer terror.
He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting to die after the fall.
Would I hit the ground first, or be turned into a monster? Senju Kyogawa thought at the worst possible time. He was going to die before he'd even had a chance to enjoy his new life.
"Earth Release! Earth-Style Wall!"
At the last possible moment, Senju Chenghe reacted and raised an earthen wall from the ground with Earth Release. It caught Kyogawa at the edge of the roof, leaving him teetering in a position where he had neither fallen nor regained his footing.
Senju Chenghe rushed over to pull Kyogawa up, but Senju Kyogawa's limbs were limp, and his body was weak. He couldn't even stand with help.
So Senju Chenghe carried Kyogawa to a level spot.
After pulling back its tongue, the monster saw that it had wrapped it around a kunai. It tilted its head, puzzled for a few seconds, then flew into a furious rage. The monster let out an enraged roar, its eyeballs bulging from their sockets and bloodshot red.
The earthen wall cut off the monsters in the courtyard, restoring a relatively quiet and safe space for the two of them.
The terrifying events of the night had nearly stopped the hearts of a four-year-old child and a young man of seventeen or eighteen. Everything that had happened was far too frightening for them.
Senju Kyogawa lay quietly for a while, finally recovering enough to swallow and work his parched throat. He turned toward Senju Chenghe and said in a hoarse, weak voice:
"Thanks, Chenghe-nii. If it weren't for you, I'd be one of those disgusting monsters now."
Senju Chenghe was still pale. He wiped the cold sweat that had broken out on his forehead from the tension and shock, his voice trembling slightly.
"It was the least I could do."
"What is going on?! We took a mission, and the whole world changed! What... what are these monsters?" Senju Chenghe muttered. His mind was in a daze.
Senju Kyogawa felt some of his strength slowly returning. Bracing one hand against the roof tiles, he sat up.
He was still shivering. He thought of the pastry that noblewoman had given him yesterday, the strange scent he'd smelled, and the fact that neither he nor Senju Chenghe had eaten any of this family's food that evening.
"Chenghe-nii, what does this family do? They seem quite wealthy for a small town. Are they local landowners?" Senju Kyogawa asked.
Although Senju Chenghe hadn't attended the banquet, his habits as a ninja had led him to make inquiries when he arrived. He'd learned quite a bit. After thinking for a moment, he answered:
"They're wealthy landowners with several large granaries. Last year's harvest wasn't very good, but they owned a lot of land, so they had plenty of grain stored away. This winter, they opened their granaries and gave out a lot of grain to the local people. The people are quite fond of the old master because of it. I heard they're even planning to nominate him to be the town chief."
Senju Kyogawa closed his eyes. Now everything fit together. He said despairingly:
"There may be something wrong with this family's grain. Among the Senju, only you and I didn't eat their food. All the other clan members who ate it changed. That's the problem."
Senju Chenghe looked horrified. If the grain this family had given out was tainted, then almost no one in the entire town would have escaped!
It was winter, just after the New Year. Many men and women of all ages who worked away from home had returned, so the number of people who had changed would be even higher.
Even ninjas were struggling against these monsters, let alone ordinary people.
"It looks like we'll be facing a huge number of monsters. The survivors..." Senju Chenghe trailed off and fell silent.
System, get out here! Don't play dead! That hidden mission suddenly popped up and nearly got me killed! At least tell me what these monsters' weakness is! Senju Kyogawa wanted nothing more than to drag the system out of his head and beat it senseless.
[Since this incident occurred so suddenly and endangered the host's life, the system can provide partial assistance and access. The host is hereby informed: "Evil Demons" fear sunlight and can only be killed by decapitation. Being scratched or bitten by an "Evil Demon" may cause the victim to transform as well.]
They feared sunlight...
That meant they just had to hold out until morning, and they'd be able to catch their breath.
And what about the access? System, at least give me some sort of cheat! Look at how useless I am right now. I can't use "Flames," I don't even know if my healing ability will work against this virus, and my Taijutsu is mediocre. Don't tell me to complete the mission for a reward—I don't even know if I can survive! Senju Kyogawa thought viciously, determined to squeeze some kind of life-saving cheat out of the system.
Maybe it had crashed after receiving so many complaints from Senju Kyogawa all at once. It didn't respond for a long time.
After a while, just as Senju Kyogawa was about to lose patience, the system suddenly replied:
[Since the host currently lacks the ability to protect himself, the system has determined that it will first grant the host part of the reward for completing the hidden mission, to help him complete it.] [If the host successfully completes the hidden mission, the reward will be permanent. Otherwise, the system will take it back.] [Issuing reward...] [Issuing reward...] [Reward: Sun Breathing: First Form: Waltz] [This skill releases energy like that of the sun to kill "Evil Demons." However, the host should note that this skill must be used with a Breathing Technique and a specially made demon-slaying sword.]
Huh???
What's a Breathing Technique? And what's a demon-slaying sword? System, if you're going to give me a cheat, at least give me the whole thing!
Before you continue