Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 276

Chapter 276 - Shattering Glass

A creepy cracking sound emanated from the sky, resembling the eerie noise of glass cracking underwater. It held a deep, unsettling noise.

I took a deep breath to steady myself; panicking would be useless. Despite knowing that logically, my heart shook.

It also appeared Tamae no Mae might be running late, or perhaps she never intended to fulfill her part of the deal. Regardless, I would make sure she paid for it later.

If she wasn't going to help me with the barrier, she had already outlived her usefulness.

The space on the ledge of the balcony shimmered like a pool of water. Emerging from the shimmer was a silver-haired woman with foxy ears and tails, her purple eyes locking onto mine. She wore a smirk on her face, briefly glancing at the sky before returning her gaze to me. "I hope you weren't thinking anything rude about me."

I returned her smile, saying,  "Oh no, I wouldn't disrespect you even in my thoughts. Though I was thinking of killing you."

Her smile didn't waver for a second, and she nodded. "Poor me, and here I thought we were on the same team."

She reached between her breasts and retrieved a talisman, smirking as she tossed it to me. I caught it and infused it with a bit of Ord, causing it to shimmer. A flood of information about the barrier flooded my mind.

One of the rules for reinforcing the barrier said it could only be established after the other barrier—the one around the world—broke. This heightened the risk but aligned well with Ord, where greater risk meant greater power.

"So you're the wife," Tamae no Mae glanced at Wis, her eyes lingering on the towel wrapped around her body, and the nine-tailed fox licked her lips. "Yes, I can see why he refused to let me have someone like you. You are genuinely unique, and Kon seems to have a preference for surrounding himself with Fate Breakers."

"Fate Breakers?" Wis inquired, still keeping a watchful eye on the crumbling sky.

"Indeed," Tamae no Mae replied with an air of friendliness. "Fate Breakers are those who have defied their destiny. They've typically strayed from their predestined path or survived when they should have died."

"Just to clarify, Wis," I chimed in, pointing at Tamae no Mae, "This woman attempted to manipulate me into killing you so she could take your place. Be careful, she's a scheming bitch."

"I'd second that," interjected a new voice, belonging to a woman clad in sunglasses and a green bikini. She had red skin and appeared to have spent a bit too much time sunbathing. "I'm Ellen D Fork, also known as the Lover Exorcist. At your service."

Ellen went so far as to politely bow toward Tamae no Mae. However, despite our courteous demeanor, it was evident that Ellen was here to demonstrate her support for me in case of any trouble.

"Two dangerous exorcists already have a target on my head? Oh, woe is me. What should I do?" Tamae no Mae chuckled.

"We don't have time for games," I interjected. "The barrier around the world is weakening, and neither of us wants to be unprepared or waste our strength and time in such a precarious situation. So, you are free to leave, Tamae no Mae."

"Well, you certainly have a way with words," Tamae no Mae smiled at me. "You can even make telling me to 'fuck off' sound polite. But then again, it might be your lady friend's influence. I liked you better the last time we met; you were more threatening and ready to kill me at the slightest provocation. You were also more straightforward with your words."

"Is that so? Then I'll be straightforward from now on." I raised my arm and pointed it at her. "Fuck off, or I will kill you. Having someone like you around here gives me the creeps; it feels like you're always scheming something."

There were numerous things that this thousands-of-years-old fox was plotting, and I didn't want to be concerned about it with another calamity looming.

She sighed and shrugged. "You know, getting rejected twice really does a number on a girl's self-esteem."

I narrowed my eyes and gathered the water around us, forming water droplets that resembled rain. I increased the pressure around Tamae no Mae, and she got the message, waving and taking a step back, disappearing in a ripple of space.

"I thought I taught you not to meddle with crazy women," Ellen advised.

Wis caught the implication, and her eyes narrowed on me. I sighed and placed a hand on Wis' shoulder. "You know I wouldn't cheat on you, right?"

"Yeah... probably..." Wis muttered under her breath.

That was another problem I had to deal with now, and I had a sneaking feeling that Tamae no Mae had orchestrated this to add conflict to my marriage. It was unfortunate that, despite how little I trusted the nine-tailed fox demon, I had to rely on her to create the barrier.

There was also no doubt that she had left some loopholes for herself in the barrier.

I glanced down at the talisman and sighed.

Even if she had tampered with the barrier, it didn't matter, as I had expected such behavior from her.

"The people are panicking," Ellen pointed at the streets in the distance. People were running back to their homes; others were panicking and screaming, while most were on the ground, praying to whatever God they believed in. Ellen sighed. "They know nothing about the barrier breaking. Should we have kept them in the dark?"

"What other choice did we have? It's better to have them panicking like this than having them try to make deals with demons from outside just to have a semblance of safety," I explained.

I knew the weaknesses of the barrier we were about to create, and I had to do my best to ensure those weaknesses weren't exploited. I would have liked to warn more people, as it likely felt like the world was falling apart to them. But doing what one likes isn't always the best decision.

The sad thing was that I couldn't even tell the Exorcists about these things. Even though it would have helped if the exorcists knew what was going to happen, that way we could have mounted a defense.

But Exorcists were even worse than normal people because they had theoretical knowledge of making deals with demons. They would just need to adjust the rituals for outside demons.

That's why I only told the Sage what was happening, as she was the only one I could be sure wouldn't be weak-willed enough to form contracts with outside demons. Even if she did, as long as she wasn't within the barriers of Sun Country, I didn't care.

Hopefully, she could handle things better on her end.

But none of that mattered for now. My heart pounded like a drum in my chest as the crack grew wide enough and broke apart so we could see the other side.

What appeared couldn't be explained logically; it was like an endless darkness strong enough to swallow the stars themselves.

Behind that darkness, something shifted, and a large bloodshot eye peeked through.

Even I felt terrified when looking at that thing, and I could only imagine how the everyday person must be feeling.

What the fuck was that? It was far enough away that I couldn't sense how strong it was.

Two thousand years had passed since the barrier had been erected around humanity's last stand. Just how much had the outside world changed during that time?

Pale and sleek fingers slipped through the crack, trying to pull the barrier open as their jagged dark nails dug into it. The cracks continued to spread, and it looked like the barrier was going to shatter any second now.

I kept my talisman in hand, ready to create our own barrier as soon as the previous one broke. "Any second now."

C'mon, I can do this. Just another Sunday stroll for me. It fucking wasn't, but I'm good at lying to myself.

However, that scenario never came to be as the sky suddenly transformed into a fiery red, resembling burning coal. A massive pillar of fire, visible across the entire chasm, erupted in the distance. In the face of this fiery blast, the pale, elongated fingers retreated from the barrier. As the fire surged through the crack, there was no doubt that whatever lurked on the other side felt its scorching heat.

The barrier in the sky began to mend itself, eventually restoring it completely.

It didn't require a genius to deduce the source of that blast.

"It seems the Dragon King isn't going to let this slide," I muttered under my breath, a smile creeping onto my face.

This newfound hope buoyed my spirits. Perhaps the situation wasn't as dire as it seemed. With enough time, I might find a way to maintain the barrier.

But any hopeful thoughts I harbored vanished in an instant.

Dozens, and then hundreds more cracks marred the once-solid barrier, and grotesque creatures peeked through. Tentacles, wooden tails, tongues, hair-like tendrils, and other abominable appendages clung to the cracks, holding them open.

Damn, that's fucking terrifying.