Crossover Anime: The Bull Demon's Road to Conquest

Page 93

"Yes, those three vampire hunters were just minor characters. If I hadn't been careless, how could I have been defeated? As long as I can get my severed limbs back, I can recover."

The short-haired loli, also known as Shinobu, said that she was recovering, but her expression did not seem to show much expectation or longing, as if she was just simply narrating.

"Alright, let's switch gears and find those vampire hunters next."

Niu Kun nodded, then stood up and said, "Xi Zi, bring the person over."

As soon as Niu Kun's voice fell, Araragi Koyomi, who had been desperately trying to escape, was thrown over by several dark ropes. Then Niu Kun's shadow returned to his feet, and a girl in a black school uniform, carrying a black katana, silently and calmly appeared behind Niu Kun.

It seems... Niu Kun turned around and glanced at Xi Zi, who had a calm and resolute expression. Um, was she cosplaying a cold and beautiful samurai princess?

Seemingly truly immersed in the role, Xi Zi silently nodded slightly in response to Niu Kun's slightly confused gaze, making Niu Kun feel quite uncomfortable.

Araragi Koyomi's legs were weak, but he still tried to stand up. In addition to his fear of Niu Kun and his anxiety, there was also a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Where is that beautiful woman with the missing limb?

"Your name is... Araragi Koyomi, right?"

Regardless of Yuko's immersion in the role, Niu Kun turned around and glanced at Araragi Koyomi again. Niu Kun didn't have any ill feelings towards this somewhat overly kind protagonist. However, if he remembered correctly, Koyomi seemed to have two rather cute younger sisters.

Chapter 196 Heart

"Yes...yes, you...you are..."

Araragi Koyomi paused for a moment, then mustered his courage and nodded in response.

After a moment's thought, Niu Kun forced a slight smile and said in a gentle tone, "As you can see, I am a demon, a kind demon who understands human nature deeply."

"Kindness...demon?"

Araragi Koyomi was somewhat confused. Why would the other person put two completely unrelated words together? Or was he too panicked and frightened to hear correctly?

"Yes, although I look scary, judging people by their appearance is not the right thing to do. I think you should know how to see through the illusion of appearance and feel the true inner beauty."

As if to confirm what Niu Kun said, the evil and terrifying aura he originally exuded also disappeared without a trace, which made Araragi Koyomi's anxious heart breathe a sigh of relief.

"Okay... alright, I... I will try... try to sense your kindness beyond your appearance."

The ahoge (cowlick) fluttering back and forth seemed to express her still uneasy inner feelings, but Araragi Koyomi, not wanting to anger the other party, chose to at least verbally understand.

However, Niu Kun was still quite satisfied. He... had another idea. Since he was a demon, how could he not form a demon worship society and recruit some cult members? As for the good guy Araragi Koyomi, hehe, maybe he could trick him into becoming a cult member himself.

"Talk is not enough; we have to take action. As a demon, I feel very helpless about the misunderstandings people have of me, so I want to organize a campaign to improve the image of demons."

"....ah?!"

Araragi Koyomi, whose mind had gone blank again, couldn't react for a moment, but soon, he realized what was going on.

"You...you mean, let me...let me join...."

"No, you're not joining, you're... my newly chosen agent (scapegoat), and then you'll recruit some other cults, educate them to reform, and work together to improve my reputation as a devil."

Niu Kun's smile at this moment was overly friendly, friendly like a cunning devil.

After a moment of silence, Araragi Koyomi, who had initially wanted to shake his head and refuse, ultimately did not dare to anger Ushikun. Moreover, he did harbor a sliver of naive hope: what if... what if what the other party said was true?

"Okay... alright, it's a good thing if it can restrain and educate those cult members."

Araragi Koyomi said somewhat reluctantly, but his primary motivation was survival; if he could escape the demon's control...

"Don't overthink it. I have connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, so I can easily find your home. If you disappear, I'll go to your house to look for you."

Niu Kun spoke in a gentle tone, yet his words chilled Araragi Koyomi to the bone. It seemed... that this demon wasn't as kind as he claimed to be!

Since it was just an idea for now, Niu Kun told Araragi Koyomi to go back first and that he would send someone to look for him tomorrow. Then, looking lost and dejected, Araragi Koyomi staggered away.

"Well then, let's go find those hunters who cut off your hands and feet first. Hmm? It seems the police have arrived."

Niu Kun tilted his head slightly. He sensed that a group of police officers were gathering around. The brief battle between Ninja and the three vampire hunters had been reported to the police by ordinary bystanders.

The tense police officers first blocked off nearby traffic, then called for backup, but they didn't see any easy encirclement and suppression until they had enough manpower.

However, by the time the police tracked them down to the dimly lit alley, Niu Kun had already left with his men. The police, having come up empty-handed, did not suspect that the report was false, because the signs of a struggle were obvious.

The anomaly detection equipment also detected spiritual pressure feedback, indicating that a battle involving the supernatural had indeed taken place, but both sides had obviously left.

...........

"You are truly remarkable; you actually managed to steal the heart of the King of Monsters."

Kodai Akaya looked at the nonchalant Shinobu Meme in front of him, especially at the heart in the other's hand that contained extremely powerful energy.

"Stop with the flattery. You told those three hunters my information, wasn't your goal this heart?" Shinobu Meme said, a cigarette dangling from her lips, seemingly unsurprised.

After a moment of silence, Gu Daqiye could only nod and say, "You're right, I... Lord Wang Jian does indeed need this heart."

"Wang Jian... is it the former Lord Wang Jian, or the current Lord Wang Jian?"

"Oshino Meme continued to ask."

"...It is...the current Lord Wang Jian."

Gu Da Chiye was not lying or deceiving anyone; he clearly understood the other party's implication.

"The current Lord Wang Jian... it's a pity. I cannot give this heart to the current Lord Wang Jian, as that would probably... disrupt the balance."

Shinobu shook her head, then put her heart away again, not intending to give it to Kodai Akaya. Kodai Akaya hesitated for a moment, but did not stop her or attack her rash action.

"If you fail to complete the mission this time, the next person who comes... will probably not be so polite. This is really troublesome."

Although she kept saying it was troublesome, Shinobu Meme's expression remained calm and lazy. Wearing a flashy beach outfit, she turned around and left gracefully.

Gu Da Chiye watched the other person's back as they left, sighed softly, and then turned to look at the other team members who had appeared.

"The mission failed, and Meme Oshino refused to trade for the heart."

Aside from Yang Ming and Mineva, who were captured and defected to the enemy, the current VENUS consists of four members: Dimitra, Lil, Ariel, and Celia.

"If we can't get that heart, does Lord Wang Jian have no chance of dealing with that demon?"

Celia Otsuka, with her purplish-red hair, was unable to participate in the battle against the demons because she was holding a concert, and as a result, two of her companions were captured, leaving Celia feeling quite guilty. (May the demon be changed to a real woman.)

So, the usually cheerful and optimistic Celia seemed much more subdued at this moment, and was not as lively as usual.

"No, Lord Wang Jian simply doesn't want to be distracted. Otherwise, that demon wouldn't be a match for him, or rather... Lord Wang Jian would be quite happy to see that demon cause trouble."

Gu Da Chiye said very calmly that he... was no longer the naive student who admired Lord Wang Jian in his student days, and similarly, Lord Wang Jian was no longer the same Lord Wang Jian he once was.

"what?"

"this..."

"Then how should we rescue...Mineva and Yang?"

"I'm afraid... we need to have an honest discussion with them."

After pondering for a moment, Kodai Akaya said that he had received news that Nijou Aki and Koji Gen had also been captured by that demon.

Although we don't know what the demon's purpose is, it's clear it's not something good.

However, what worried him even more was that even Yang Ming and Mineva might surrender to that demon.

It seems unlikely that Nijo Aki and Koji Gen will be able to hold on any longer, and they may have to fight against their former classmates again in the future.

Thinking of this, Gu Da Chiye fell even more silent.

Chapter 197 The Snake Curse

As expected, an unusual event occurred, forcing the exhausted officials to continue working overtime, and it was even rumored that the Self-Defense Forces had been deployed into the city.

As a result, more rumors spread, and the panic intensified. Citizens' travel was greatly affected, and many people were asking each other and guessing what had happened.

Some even thought a coup or war had occurred, leading to some small-scale panic buying of food and other supplies. However, official media outlets have been denying these claims, stating only that criminals had injured people and that the police were pursuing them.

While such debunking was not very effective, it did lead people's speculation to violent crimes such as terrorist attacks. Although there were also many supernatural rumors, they were not widely speculated.

The presence of official forces patrolling and controlling the area made it difficult for Niu Kun to find the three vampire hunters. So, Niu Kun simply used telepathy to communicate with Li Ge, Yuriko, Saeko, Huang Quan, and others, asking them to help him find them.

Sengoku Nadeko is not a very brave girl. She is cute and petite, introverted and quiet, obedient and shy, and therefore quite pitiful.

However, Sengoku Nadeko is not smart; in fact, she could be described as a hopeless idiot. She has poor grades and little patience. Apart from her appearance, she seems to be an ordinary girl with no redeeming qualities.

Oh, no, Sengoku Nadeko is also quite good at imitating manga, but she hasn't publicized it to others, perhaps because of her somewhat introverted and withdrawn personality.

Normally, a girl with her personality wouldn't go to a secluded and sparsely populated place so late at night. However, Sengoku Nadeko, who recently realized she was cursed, found a way to remove the curse in a bookstore.

That's why Sengoku Nadeko sneaked out at night, intending to remove the curse according to the exorcism method she read in the book. She planned to go to an abandoned shrine to perform a snake-repelling ritual.

Although traveling alone at night is frightening, Sengoku Nadeko, with her hat brim pulled low, overlooked the potential dangers under the cover of night because of her fear of the curse.

Fortunately, she was quite lucky and did not encounter any criminals or other supernatural disturbances along the way, and successfully arrived at the dilapidated shrine.

The flashlight beam illuminated the dark shrine, and Sengoku Nadeko, her expression uneasy, continued with the method of breaking the curse that she had read about in the book.

She killed the snakes that had been summoned and then divided them into five pieces. This was not the first time Sengoku Nadeko had performed the snake-killing ritual to break the curse, but... the situation did not seem to be improving.

Instead, things worsened. The more the panicked Sengoku Nadeko killed snakes, the faster the snake scales on her skin spread, even from her toes to near her neck, leaving her even more bewildered.

Just as Sengoku Nadeko was working even harder to kill snakes out of panic, the paranormal investigation club led by Tsuchimiya Kagura also arrived at this place known as Kita-Shiro-hei Shrine.

"According to the information I've gathered, some classmates recently discovered some severed and nailed snake corpses in this abandoned shrine. They suspect that someone is performing an evil ritual, but they are afraid of getting into trouble, so they haven't dared to call the police."

Tao Hui, holding a flashlight, flipped through her notes. Because she was too afraid to call the police or tell her parents, she decided to try her luck and went to the Paranormal Investigation Club for help.

The paranormal investigation agency naturally included this in its to-do list. There are quite a few requests for help involving paranormal events, but most of them are just unfounded misunderstandings or rumors.

However, it's not entirely true. Of course, even if it is true, it's mostly low-level paranormal events that a slightly skilled amateur exorcist could easily handle.

In the countermeasures office's view, this is a minor issue that doesn't even qualify as an E-level problem. E-level is the lowest level of paranormal alert set by the countermeasures office, and anything below that... or rather, it's very difficult to be detected by spiritual pressure monitoring.

Usually, these kinds of problems either fade away over time, develop into higher-level paranormal phenomena, or are eliminated by self-taught exorcists.

For example, the paranormal investigation club, which has gradually begun to drift away from the school's boundaries, actually has a name that is too ordinary and commonplace, so Momo and Yu wanted to change it to a more memorable and catchy name.

However, since the club's name was suggested by Niu Kun, Tao Hui and You Yu wanted to change it but didn't dare, so they had to put it on hold for the time being.

After yesterday's ordeal, the girls were still shaken but also brimming with confidence. Kagura, who was appointed as the club president, was not as excited as the other members.

The little girl who had always followed behind Sister Huangquan was suddenly entrusted with the trust and safety of the other six girls, which made the still somewhat inexperienced Kagura feel a lot of pressure.

"It's getting late, and the security is very tight today. We'll have to wait until we've finished investigating this...this..."

"The North White Snake Shrine Snake Killing and Dismemberment Incident".

Seeing that Kagura was getting stuck, Momoe, who was holding notes, gave her a timely reminder.

"Oh right, after we've finished investigating the Kita-Shiro-hei Shrine, we can call it a day and head back."

Kagura tried her best to imitate the speech and behavior of company presidents and leaders she had seen on TV, and tried her best to express her thoughts without showing any fear.

"Oh, are you going back so early?"

Momo and Yu, who have similar and lively personalities, seemed to still have some fun and didn't want to end their investigation so 'early'.

"It's getting late, it's already ten o'clock. By the time we finish investigating, it will probably be close to midnight. You should think about how you're going to go home and explain things."

Kagura couldn't help but roll her eyes. Because she was staying at Yomi's house, both the head of the family, Isayama Naraku, and her older sister, Isayama Yomi, were always busy from early morning to late at night, so she wasn't worried about how to explain it when she got back.

But the other six girls all have parents. It's one thing for them to come home late once or twice, but coming home late every night will definitely arouse their parents' suspicion and investigation.

As soon as Kagura finished speaking, the girls' excitement about the adventure vanished, and their faces stiffened.

“We can use working as an excuse, and we can corroborate each other’s claims.”

At this moment, Chizuru came up with a good idea, which was unanimously approved by the others. It is quite common for Japanese students to work part-time, so it could be used as a workaround.

As the girls discussed what job they could use as an excuse, they walked up the stone steps toward the shrine on the slope. The surrounding trees swayed in the dim, quiet darkness, which was frightening.

Fortunately, the girls had all experienced big events before, so although they were still a little nervous, they weren't too scared.

After they climbed the steps, they were astonished to see, in the beam of light from several flashlights, two illusory, intangible snake shadows entwined around a petite girl.

The girl's limbs were already contorted, her eyes were unfocused, and a few drops of saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth; she looked as if she were about to die.

(Only one update today, I'm too sleepy.)

Chapter 198 The White Snake

"Wow!!"

The girl screamed in surprise.