The Truth of the Matter

In the distance, the first light of dawn appeared, sunlight spilling over the quiet little town and revealing a faint, golden radiance.

This remote town in the Land of Lightning had finally returned to peace and tranquility.

The streets were bustling with activity. Though the pedestrians looked somewhat pale, they could not hide their smiles; they had regained their vitality and were beginning to strive for a new day.

They had forgotten the memories of when they turned into "Evil Demons," as if they had merely woken from a strange dream to continue their daily lives.

To them, the "Evil Demons" who had died were now remembered as people who had passed away unexpectedly from a severe illness. While they sighed at the loss, it brought no further impact to their normal, ordinary lives.

After Senju Kyogawa's system completely reclaimed the virus, those innocent commoners infected with the Evil Demon Virus returned to normal. Of course, this was limited to the innocent folk who had nothing to do with the outbreak and had never harmed anyone else.

Those "Evil Demons" who had retained their consciousness while transformed and maliciously harmed others to increase their own strength had dissipated into the air the moment the virus was reclaimed.

As for those "Evil Demons" who had harmed others while unconscious, although they had returned to being ordinary people, they would still have to atone for their sins in Yellow Springs after death.

Sunlight fell upon the trees, casting dappled spots of light onto the ground through the canopy. Birds chirped and fluttered their wings between the branches, while butterflies danced among the flowers, their graceful forms tracing elegant curves in the air.

It was a scene full of spring, brimming with vitality.

Senju Kyogawa leaned comfortably and leisurely against a large tree at the town entrance. The light spots formed by the sun filtering through the leaves fell upon his fair cheeks, and a gentle breeze kissed the tips of his hair.

Senju Kyogawa was waiting for Senju Chenghe, who had gone to purchase some dry rations in preparation for their return journey. Senju Kyogawa had originally wanted to go with him, but Senju Chenghe had refused, insisting that Senju Kyogawa had been too severely injured yesterday and needed a proper rest.

Yesterday, after Senju Kyogawa was knocked unconscious by the shockwave, Madara had picked him up and carried him away from the danger zone.

Just how powerful was that shockwave?

In truth, the blast had instantly blown through the three isolated tunnels where the trio had been trapped.

The moment the wall was blown open, Senju Chenghe had been sinking into a sand pit, the sand already reaching his nose and mouth. At that time, his limbs were tightly bound by the sand, and the wounds from the hidden weapons were bleeding continuously. The coarse grit rubbed against his bloody gashes, causing a mix of pain and itching, while a numbness spread from his fingertips throughout his entire body.

Senju Chenghe had already prepared himself for death, never expecting the wall to be blown open and the sand to scatter, allowing him to survive.

As for that powerful shockwave, Senju Chenghe had been protected by the sand and remained largely unhurt.

Madara, while not in any immediate danger at the time, had been unable to find a way out. The sudden explosion of the wall had conveniently helped him escape.

The only "injury" Madara suffered was being startled by the sudden blast, nearly causing his eyes to pop out in shock.

After Madara exited through the shattered "Gate," he discovered a child lying on the ground.

Face-down, as if soaked in a pool of blood, the boy was stained crimson. His body was covered in blast wounds, his short white hair was disheveled, his face was smeared with blood, and blood was still trickling from his mouth.

Upon closer inspection, this person who had been blasted into a ragdoll was none other than Senju Kyogawa.

Madara hurriedly pulled Senju Kyogawa from the ruins, only for Senju Kyogawa to call out "Mom" to him.

Although Senju Kyogawa hadn't made a sound at the time, Madara's vision and perception were far superior to others. Furthermore, as he was observing Senju Kyogawa's condition, he saw the boy's lips move. He had expected him to relay some information, never imagining he would call out "Mom."

Thus, suppressing his revulsion, Madara roughly stanched the bleeding from Senju Kyogawa's wounds before reuniting with Senju Chenghe, who had escaped from the tunnel.

At that time, due to the massive impact of the explosion, many of the tunnel walls had collapsed, leaving the entire passage in a precarious state with stones falling from above.

Madara carried Senju Kyogawa and ran upward quickly with Senju Chenghe.

Why was he carrying him? Because the stones were falling too fast and too frequently; Madara was genuinely afraid that Senju Kyogawa might accidentally get crushed and die.

As for why it was twelve-year-old Madara carrying Senju Kyogawa instead of seventeen-year-old Senju Chenghe, it was naturally because Senju Chenghe was also severely injured. While he hadn't lost his mobility, his blood loss was also terrifying.

And so, Madara carried the "dead weight" and led the wounded man to safety.

After emerging, Madara discovered that the "monsters" in the town had turned back into people, his astonishment plain to see. He quickly deduced that it must have been Senju Kyogawa who had done something to save their lives.

As for how Senju Chenghe had held Senju Kyogawa and prayed for his survival after escaping, that is a story for another time.

In any case, the three of them were quite happy to have resolved this strange affair.

After Senju Kyogawa woke up, Madara shared the information he had gathered from the murals in the tunnel.

It turned out that this virus originated from the father of that noblewoman. The old man's wife had died in childbirth, a fact he could not accept. Through a twist of fate, he obtained the "Evil Demon Virus" from a cult.

The cultists told him he needed a five-year-old boy and one thousand people as sacrifices, and the boy had to possess the bloodline of his late wife.

The noblewoman, having been brainwashed by the old man since childhood, was also desperate to resurrect her mother. She went to great lengths to give birth to a boy, feeding him the "Monster Virus" daily to raise him into a suitable sacrifice, intending to offer him up when he turned five.

The boy, Xiao Xi, had gradually become slow-witted and dull due to years of consuming the "Monster Virus."

After hearing the story, Senju Kyogawa could only sigh. A perfectly fine child had become a sacrifice, bled to death.

Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi... his name contained the word "hope," yet why was his life filled with nothing but despair, without a glimmer of hope to be seen?

Senju Kyogawa thought of how Xiao Xi had tried to stop the noblewoman from handing him a pastry while they were on the carriage; he was clearly a kind-hearted child.

Because of the system, Senju Kyogawa knew a bit more.

He knew that the cult had actually been deceived across worlds by a "Demon King" from another dimension. Because that Demon King had been killed until only a piece of flesh remained, he needed a suitable sacrifice to act as an anchor to cross worlds. The requirement for another thousand people was pure nonsense; the Demon King simply wanted more people to be infected with the "Evil Demon Virus" to complete his own conquest.

If the Demon King had truly descended into the Ninja World through Xiao Xi, this place might have turned into another purgatory.

At the thought of this, Senju Kyogawa couldn't help but feel a lingering fear, feeling fortunate that the system had prevented the Demon King from crossing over.

[System, that child named Xiao Xi...] Senju Kyogawa couldn't help but ask.

[Kind souls will always have a good reward...] the system replied in a gentle tone.