The Sword Deity in Tokyo

The Great Ancestor? Kimura Kazuki frowned as he looked at Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, who was three floors tall, standing before him.

"Shikigami?" While Kimura Kazuki remained considerably calm, Sei Shigeru seemed quite dumbfounded.

The method to improve one's combative power by becoming a shikigami was only developed 900 years ago. However, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was more than 1,000 years old!

But, how did Sakanoue no Tamuramaro become a shikigami? Even though Sei Shigeru was utterly bewildered, he instantly regained his composure. Before the appearance of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, he was mumbling to himself to summon the shikigami.

Sei Shigeru's shikigami was an assassin who wielded a dagger. Approximately five foot and nine inches in height, he was glowing in a faint green light that quickly disappeared. He also had a sharp glance and gave off a dangerous aura. When he appeared, he instantly frowned at the sight of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, asking, "Is this the target?"

"Yes."

"This is rather challenging," Lotus said, as he made himself invisible. Then, he whispered into Sei Shigeru's ear, "I need someone to help me."

Sei Shigeru said softly, "The teenager standing by my side will assist you."

Lotus, who was invisible, immediately turned his attention toward Kimura Kazuki. Kimura Kazuki seemed to have felt something and looked at the direction where he was concealing himself. Lotus' eyes darkened as he said, "Understood." After that, he simply kept silent.

Kimura Kazuki obviously did not expect Sei Shigeru's shikigami to be an assassin. Nevertheless, before the appearance of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, Sei Shigeru had visited Mount Tobiuo to seek Hiroshi Takeda for assistance. Thus, it was clear that Sei Shigeru's shikigami was not adept at frontal combat.

Kimura Kazuki did not act rashly, stopping himself from striking him immediately. As his glance fell upon Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, he slowly uttered, "As the ancestor of Sakagami Village, everyone here is your descendant. Yet, you side with the enemy and want to help the Majin murder them. Aren't you destroying your own hard work and efforts?"

The present Unto Shrine was established by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. Judging from the current situation, it was apparent that he had become a shikigami and should be the one who inherited the Unto Shrine.

Even after his death, he became a shikigami to protect Unto Shrine and repress the Majin. Sakanoue no Tamuramaro had indeed given his all for it.

Kimura Kazuki believed that something had gone haywire for Sakanoue no Tamuramaro to be so confused and filled with malice. The best option would be to persuade him to leave the Majin's side. If it was successful, they could reconstruct Unto Shrine and it might even provide protection for their village in the future.

As if she had heard a preposterous joke, Otome Sakagami could no longer contain herself as she burst into a gale of hysterical laughter, with her body bent over and her eyes brimming with tears. Then, she taunted. "Don't tell me you're trying to change his mind with your words. It's useless, it's utterly useless! Even if you really succeeded, he would destroy all of you first." 

She seemed to recall something amusing and said mockingly as she wiped her tears, "This Sakagami fellow could've finished me off at that time, but he didn't. Do you know why?"

As everyone looked intently at her, Otome Sakagami announced jeeringly, "This maniac had gone crazy trying to obtain everlasting youth. And I was his only hope."

One thousand years ago, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro could have easily killed her when he caught her. Yet, he yearned to seek the secret behind everlasting youth. Otome Sakagami was a Tsukumogami, and the most special kind at that, as her body was entirely made up of blood. Even she did not know whose blood it belonged to. When she regained consciousness, the bloody jade was already stuck against her body.

After she had fully regained consciousness, she transformed into a wisp of blood red smoke and roamed around the world. Unfortunately, the world was full of villainous people and she was not invincible. When a general met her, he trapped her in a bottle and thus her miserable life in the pitch-black darkness began.

Ultimately, Otome Sakagami had to sign a contract with the general to help him expand his territory. When she met Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, who defeated and killed the general, she thought that she could gain freedom once again. However, during the battle, he discovered her powers and unique existence. Thus, she was captured again and was forced to sign a contract with Sakanoue no Tamuramaro.

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro worked with the famous Onmyoji and shrine maidens at that time to conduct research on her. He was very honest about it and revealed that it was about everlasting youth.

Although Otome Sakagami did not have many abilities at that time, they were all very desirable. She had the power of resurrection, and as long as the body had not lost more than half of its blood, the person could instantly regain consciousness and be revived. Moreover, she could cure any blood-related diseases. Certainly, using her power came with a hefty price to pay. The one to pay would not be Otome Sakagami, but the beneficiary party.

It would cost the person one year of his lifespan.

Furthermore, these were her abilities 1,000 years ago. Now, her power had significantly improved. For instance, she could now control the blood within any living being. Her strongest fatal move was to kill a person instantly by inducing a heart attack. Due to these powerful abilities, she could remain calm and even joke with Kimura Kazuki.

She believed that with her abilities, she could murder anyone she desired in the entire world.

Unfortunately, there was a limit to the ability. Otherwise, she would have made a move the moment she encountered Kimura Kazuki and the others, and not waste her time interacting with them for so long.

Everlasting youth? Kimura Kazuki stared at Sakanoue no Tamuramaro standing before him. He had not made a move ever since he growled ferociously at them. Since he would not attack without Otome Sakagami's orders, it seemed that this shikigami had also become her puppet.

Kimura Kazuki was aware that Otome Sakagami was merely dragging the time by chatting with him.

He looked at the villagers who were still standing within the tactical formation, their faces ghastly pale from excessive bleeding. Besides that, many elderly villagers had passed out, teetering between life and death. The blood was flowing slowly on the ground like a giant serpent. Clearly, the tactical formation was still in progress and Otome Sakagami was buying time for it to be completed.

However, Kimura Kazuki knew that there was no stopping the Human Body Tactical Formation once it had begun.

The simplest way was to drag the villagers from Sakagami Village out of the tactical formation. However, Kimura Kazuki knew that the villagers would instantly die if they were removed from the tactical formation.

This was the cruel aspect of the Human Body Tactical Formation. Even then, the blood of the villagers would still be in Otome Sakagami's complete control.

Luckily, there was a way to break the tactical formation safely. As he was deep in thought, Kimura Kazuki sent a message to Sei Shigeru through their subconscious.