Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 1550

The words flashed through Kyosuke Kosaka's mind, and he was enveloped in an indescribable emotion.

So, there are times when I have no choice.

"The sealing power still has some time left; I can buy some time..."

"No need."

Kyosuke Kosaka smiled at Kagura, and then took the grass knife that Ki had given him, which was on his person, into his hand.

The next moment, he gently made a cut on the huge root.

Just like a hot knife and cream, it shattered all the clamor that still wanted to say something.

The world is now free of noise.

The roots in front of me withered the moment they were severed by the reed knife, along with the vines that were everywhere. They withered at a visible speed, eventually turning into dust...

Despite enduring the pain in his soul, Kousaka Kyosuke felt no sadness.

At the very moment of his strike, he managed to avoid directing too much power at Ji, even though Ji was almost merging with Noshiki...

【pity……】

A voice made Kyosuke Kousaka freeze.

I recalled the day my daughter, Princess Kasano, was born. She blossomed from a field of withered leaves at dawn; she was so beautiful that even I, the gluttonous ruler who devours everything, was partially consumed by her.

I let her taste the most exquisite delicacies in the world, yet they were inferior to the lowly food of mortals... Tsk. I let her experience the most unparalleled malice, the pleasure of rampaging and destroying everything, but in the end, she only inherited my power, not my will. What a pity...

Perhaps her birth was a mistake. But this mistake is one I must atone for with my entire life. I heard her wish that Yanjian Mountain would rise from the abyss, so I made it rise to the surface and adorned it with divine fruit as a gift. I saw her wandering, saddened by the insects that tormented her, so I tore them apart, leaving her with a world filled only with their wailing.

Now, her wish for me is to be a normal mother and daughter in our next life. I can't fulfill that wish, but I will still grant it as before. She also wants some food... Tsk! Does this count as inheriting my will? Ridiculous...

In my final moments, I preserved the divine power and memories of the Four Seasons perfectly. But she no longer possessed the power of gluttony, nor was her divinity bestowed upon her by me. She was no longer anyone's daughter; she only needed to witness everything in the world as herself, whether it be gluttony and indulgence, the Four Seasons… or anything else… amidst the heavy blessings and curses… to live on.

The voice in my mind gradually faded away.

Finally relieved, Kousaka Kyosuke smiled at Kagura beside him and Long Kui, who had emerged from the Demon Sword.

"Ji is fine, she might need to hibernate. Let's go check on her."

"But... weren't they all wiped out?" Longkui looked at the land that seemed to have blended into the mud and sand.

After the Noshiki god was destroyed, apart from a powerful divine core that remained, all the other trees, roots, and vines withered rapidly and eventually crumbled, as if they had undergone years of corrosion.

“She’s at Yanjian Mountain,” Kyosuke Kosaka explained.

He had just thought his strike, which preserved a part of Ki, was perfect, but it was clear that Noshii didn't like it, or perhaps for some other reason, that at the very last moment he used his remaining strength to "revive" Ki back to Mount Tsubame...

To be precise, it was a transformation.

In what sounded like a soliloquy, Noshii said that he had taken away the power of gluttony from Ki, and that his divine status had also changed.

It seems that everything he had done before was laughable to Noshigami, who probably saw him as a clown, almost as if he were showing off his limited skills before an expert.

"Then let's go take a look!"

Sensing that Kousaka Kyosuke didn't want to say more, Longkui didn't press the matter further.

It's not something I absolutely need to know; as long as I know the outcome is good, that's enough.

"Before we leave, let's leave a shikigami here to scout the situation," Kagura suggested. "If some of Noshiki's power remains and is then devoured by other creatures, it will inevitably cause endless trouble."

Kyosuke Kosaka nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right, that kind of caution is necessary."

He had previously mentioned to Kagura various unexpected plot twists in battles.

For example, "talking too much gives the enemy a chance to counterattack," "likes toying with the enemy like a cat and mouse, letting the enemy escape," "the enemy dies but unexpectedly has another way to resurrect"...

In short, Kousaka Kyosuke used all sorts of amazing tricks to talk to Kagura, and even to combatants like Susou, Yoto Hime, and Hakuro.

It won't hurt to believe it, but caution is always the best policy, and prudence is more important than anything else.

This time, I was still too emotional.

Then he thought that if he had another chance to make the same choice, he would do the same thing again, and he felt a deep sense of disappointment and frustration—he couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.

Well, everyone has some flaws that they can't correct.

Kyosuke Kosaka thus found himself an excuse.

After that.

The three of them went to Yanjian Mountain, the place where Ji Zhen's body was originally kept.

At this moment, Ji is reborn in this place.

When the three arrived, Ji Zheng, who was completely unharmed, stared blankly at a large tree on the mountaintop.

As Kyosuke Kosaka hesitated about whether to go over, Ji turned around and smiled at everyone.

"I'm not dead."

Kyosuke Kosaka laughed: "I saw it, it's alive and well."

This should be the best ending.

night.

In front of a newly built house on Yanjian Mountain, on an iron shelf, neatly cut meat and various vegetables were arranged on plates, and several people sitting in front of it were busy working.

"This kind of barbecue is simple to make, and there are plenty of seasonings available here. Even if you don't eat meat later, you can still try grilling potatoes and mushrooms."

Kyosuke Kosaka was busy talking at the same time.

Before leaving, I must bid farewell to Ji, the goddess of the four seasons in this other world.

If we're going back, we'll wait until tomorrow. Besides resting, we also need to investigate the traces of the evil god and even explore the resources of this world—perhaps not just vegetables, but maybe something else worth collecting.

Kyosuke Kousaka, who didn't feel the need to rush back, also thought about bringing back some things from this world that might come in handy.

At the very least, each partner should receive a souvenir, right?

"It might seem strange to go to another world, fight an evil god, and bring back a souvenir, but that should be enough to show how easy I am, right?"

"I always feel guilty about eating..." Ji was a little uneasy.

Kyosuke Kosaka, however, noticed her eagerness to try.

This god may have actually inherited a little bit of gluttony.

They were clearly smitten.

"This is meat from our world, and it's already been processed. If we're not going to eat it, we'll just have to throw it away. Don't you think that's a waste?"

"Yes... it's such a waste to throw it away if you don't eat it."

Following Kousaka Kyosuke's train of thought, Ji immediately became serious.

Food is precious and should not be wasted.

"..."

Longkui was speechless and decided to continue waiting for Kousaka Kyosuke's help.

Originally, barbecuing was something you did yourself.

However, Kyosuke Kosaka is amazingly able to judge how well-done the meat should be and how much seasoning to add for better flavor, so it's more relaxing to just sit and wait.

Soon after, more roasted meat and vegetables were placed in front of Longkui's plate, and she picked up her chopsticks and started eating again.

Kagura, standing to the side, waited patiently, looking obedient, simply listening quietly to the conversation between Kousaka Kyosuke and Ki.

"Kyosuke, your world is in such grave danger..."

"It's alright, we can hold on. Instead of worrying about these things, you should check when the fruits and herbs that have changed in nature due to being out of season will recover."

Kyosuke Kosaka sensed Ki's desire to help and decided to decline from the start.

The world needs seasons more than ever.

Besides, things haven't completely gotten better yet.

"Ah..." Ji swallowed hard after being reminded by Kousaka Kyosuke, temporarily swallowing back what he was about to say. "So, Kyosuke, are you going to continue eliminating the evil gods of the other six paths?"

"We need to rest. This battle has taken a toll on us. We need to get back to our best condition before continuing."

Kyosuke Kosaka revealed his plans.

He certainly intended to speed up the process of eliminating the evil god, but such things cannot be rushed.

In this instance, Kagura, who appeared to have only cast a sealing technique once, was a great help, increasing Kousaka Kyosuke's spellcasting speed by 30-40%.

Needless to say, Longkui did not appear in battle, but that did not mean she did not contribute. She constantly drew upon the power of heaven and earth to power the demon sword in her own way, helping Kousaka Kyosuke to unleash attacks more effortlessly.

Actually, its sharpness alone is impressive.

The divine power was too overpowered, not to mention the Noshiki God, who was a top-tier deity. Then, the demonic sword, which incorporated "nothingness," was modified by the user, and harmonized by Amaterasu, was able to counter and restrain the opponent, which was quite good.

Otherwise, you'll need to put in even more effort to crack the code and tough it out.

"Rest...that's more like it."

"Like this, you can rest more after we leave."

Kyosuke Kosaka said to Ki.