The Bitter Fruits of the Strange Fragrance

Senju Kyogawa followed the scent to a room with the door left slightly ajar, stopping at the boundary where the shadows met the sunlight.

Senju Kyogawa looked up and was surprised to find that the eaves of this room were wider than those of the others, shaped like the long, outstretched wings of a bird. Upon closer inspection, a section protruded outward, casting a shadow on the ground that appeared significantly larger than the others in the courtyard.

"Kyogawa-kun, is there something wrong with this room?" Senju Chenghe asked, unable to help himself after seeing Kyogawa suddenly stop at the doorway.

Unlike Senju Kyogawa, Senju Chenghe could not smell this strange fragrance and had no idea why Kyogawa had suddenly paused before that room.

"Chenghe-ge, look, the eaves on this room are strange, and the architecture is different from the other rooms," Senju Kyogawa explained, turning his head toward Senju Chenghe.

Senju Chenghe was a sensory-type ninja, after all, and possessed a certain level of observation and keenness. Even though he hadn't thought much of it initially, Kyogawa's reminder led him to notice the unusual aspects of the building.

In fact, beyond the unique eaves, the very layout of this room differed greatly from the others.

Despite the distinctiveness of the roof, the room appeared remarkably low-key as a whole, as if the eaves were merely decorative—designed to make people dismiss it as a unique stylistic choice while overlooking the true peculiarity of the structure itself.

This was truly strange.

It was very strange indeed.

Senju Chenghe's disciplined ninja training allowed him to immediately grasp that this situation was not simple.

They had previously speculated that the inexplicable outbreak of "monsters" seemed linked to this family. Now, even the slightest disturbance made them incredibly vigilant.

Perhaps by getting to the bottom of this, they could find a way to deal with these monsters?

After coming to this realization, Senju Chenghe walked up to the room and stood side-by-side with Senju Kyogawa.

"So, shall we go in and explore, Kyogawa-kun?" Senju Chenghe took out a candle he carried with him and lit it.

"Naturally. I want to see exactly what secrets this small town holds." Senju Kyogawa agreed without hesitation, ripped off his right glove, and stepped into the shadows first.

Quiet. It was too quiet.

This wasn't right.

Senju Chenghe used the faint flame of the candle to scout the path ahead, but he saw no monsters, nor did he hear a single sound that might suggest their presence.

Excessive silence was the greatest red flag of all!

As for Senju Kyogawa, ever since he stepped into the room, he could smell that strange fragrance becoming more and more pronounced.

The scent grew increasingly intense, piercing into Kyogawa's nasal cavity as irresistibly as a winter gale, then sinking deep into his internal organs and every fiber of his being.

The moment he caught the scent, Kyogawa felt his head swim, and that was only exacerbated by such a concentrated aroma.

Senju Kyogawa felt as though he had been marinated in this fragrance, his entire body exuding this nauseating smell.

He was now absolutely certain that this room concealed a massive secret.

The room was not large—one could even call it tiny—furnished only with a few tables and decorative ornaments, making it look like an ordinary, unremarkable space.

Senju Chenghe could not smell the fragrance, but he had a strong intuition that there was definitely something very wrong with this room.

However...

Nothing could be seen on the surface.

Could there be a hidden chamber? Senju Chenghe wondered. He began by observing the ornaments, putting on his gloves to inspect them carefully, then moved to the walls, searching inch by inch for anything unusual.

Senju Kyogawa probed repeatedly until he finally determined the direction from which the scent was strongest.

He channeled his flame ability, immediately feeling a surge of heat flow from his lungs to the palm of his right hand.

With a "whoosh," Senju Kyogawa's right hand was covered in bright flames, the sudden light illuminating more than half of the room.

The flames were clearly different from the small sparks he had produced just a short time ago.

It seems the breathing technique has also improved my flame ability. Senju Kyogawa thought thoughtfully. After all, when performing Total Concentration: Constant, he felt energy within the air he breathed; it was only natural that this energy would promote his "flame" ability.

However, Kyogawa had no time to dwell on this; the priority was to find the anomaly.

Kyogawa brought the flames close to that section of the wall. It was clean, as if there were nothing there at all.

Senju Kyogawa secretly stowed his left glove into the system space and began to feel along the wall.

Suddenly, the wall recessed—it was the shape of a small child's palm print, fitting Senju Kyogawa's hand almost perfectly!

What?!

What was going on?!

Before he could even think, a thunderous roar echoed through the heavens the very next second.

At the same time, the clear, cloudless sky outside suddenly turned into a vast expanse of dark clouds.

The world plunged into darkness.

Thick, purple-red lightning struck down heavily once more!

"BOOM!"

With the deafening crash of thunder, the small town, which had been trending toward silence, suddenly descended into chaos. The monsters began to roar again, their voices revealing the excitement of regaining their freedom.

Senju Kyogawa felt the wall, which had been hard just a moment ago, suddenly turn soft, followed by a massive suction force.

Kyogawa panicked. He tried to pull his left hand out, but felt an even greater pull dragging him in.

He slammed his right palm, now wreathed in flames, violently against the wall.

The wall suddenly let out a shrill scream; the section in contact with the fire began to fester, then turned charred black.

Before Senju Kyogawa could feel any joy, the suction force on his left hand suddenly intensified.

And then...

Without any warning, the flames on Senju Kyogawa's right hand extinguished!

The wall abruptly tore open a massive gash right where his palm had been pressed; the opening was no longer white, but revealed a vivid, bloody red.

Veins of blood covered the edges of the wound, resembling the maw of some unknown creature.

The opening of the gash happened in a mere heartbeat. Realizing what was happening, Senju Chenghe lunged to pull Kyogawa back, but his fingers only brushed against the hem of Senju Kyogawa's robe.

Senju Kyogawa was swallowed whole by that "bloody maw"!

Senju Chenghe could only stumble forward in a disarrayed mess, throwing himself against the wall, staring helplessly at the surface that had already smoothed over, leaving behind nothing but a scorched mark.

However, Senju Chenghe could not afford to remain lost for long.

Because he was now facing an even more dire situation.

Hungry monsters, and a starving Senju Chenghe.

Purple-red lightning streaked across the pitch-black sky once more, striking the faces of the monsters.

It illuminated the courtyard, which was packed with grinning, hideous beasts...

And, inside the house, the isolated and helpless Senju Chenghe.