Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 265

Chapter 265 - Cold Killer

I extended my newly regenerated hand and touched the mist. The blessing around me and the curse clashed, creating a sensation as if my hand was submerged in cold water while being wrapped in a warm towel simultaneously.

Although a Necro Hydra ranked high in the ultimate class hierarchy, dragons still held a superior position. In the end, my blessing nullified the Necro Hydra's curse.

Wait, hadn't Carpy been able to use something similar to protect himself from the petrification curse he fell victim to?

When Carpy sacrificed himself, he gave me everything he had: his body, power, and memories.

He too had made a mistake similar to mine, rushing with tunnel vision focused solely on reviving me. Carpy had neglected to learn how to harness his powers as a dragon and understand why they were widely regarded as the strongest demons on average.

Should I use Perfect Me again? With Carpy, it hadn't yielded significant results with his power. But what if I used Perfect Me? After all, the five-minute limiter was still there, which made my special ability stronger.

{Perfect Me}

As soon as I uttered those words, my consciousness shifted to a third-person perspective.

In an instant, the ghostly mist around me dispersed. This gave me ample time to approach the Raion Clan Leader, who raised his arms in defense. Instead of punching or trying to kill him, I pierced his arm with my finger and drew some blood.

The Raion Clan Leader jumped back, but I no longer gave chase. Instead, I let a drop of blood fall to the ground, causing everything within a one-hundred-meter radius to shine. Withered flowers bloomed, and the land itself seemed to regain life.

In ancient times, people used to pray to dragons for bountiful harvests. What I was doing now was blessing the land, albeit not necessarily for a good harvest, but to thwart a particular demon.

The blessing could have possessed much more power if performed correctly, but Perfect Me understood that I didn't need something that would endure for more than ten minutes.

Afterward, I returned to my body, and Perfect Me was deactivated. "I will admit, it was kind of gutsy of you to think that you could go and do whatever you wanted after thinking I died. Did you also think I wouldn't know what you did? Or maybe you thought that your demon would protect you?"

I circled around him like a shark stalking his prey. I kept an eye out on any of his movements, "It could even be that you assumed my close relationship with Anika would stop me from killing a member of her family."

The Raion Clan Head's gaze wavered, but he clenched his jaw and said, "I won't beg."

"Good, I wouldn't want that to be my last memory of Anika's father either," I raised my arm and pointed toward him.

"My daughter will come and take revenge for me," he suddenly stated as the veil he kept around his emotions started crumbling down.

Was I always this perceptive before, or was it something that came with being a dragon? Whatever it was, it was clear that the Raion Clan Head was more scared than he let on. This meant the clan had likely used more than their twins' sacrifices to keep the Necro Hydra in a contract.

I had a good guess as to why a soon-to-be-dead man like him was worried. "Did your clan make some kind of deal for the demon to have your souls and consciousness after death?"

After all, what other than the afterlife could worry a man like him? It wasn't like he cared much about his children if he was willing to sacrifice one of them to a demon.

He gave me a crooked smile. "Yes."

"That's a pretty bad deal."

"It was something my ancestors did. I was born into it and could do nothing to change it. I have had no control of my fate since I took my first breath."

"But you did have control over whether you decided to attack Queen Wisteria, right?"

It was sad that Anika would lose her father, but despite the man's threats, I was going to make sure she wouldn't know who killed her father. Divination wouldn't work on me either since I could technically control fate. Though it came nowhere near as naturally to me as it came to Carpy, and I would have to use Perfect Me to wield that sort of power.

"Please spare me!" The Raion Clan Head got on his knees, his eyes staring into mine as a tear rolled down his cheek. "I promise-"

Whatever he was about to say didn't matter, as his head went flying.

Now I just had to go and declare that I had come back to life in about a week or two, and comfort one of my friends about her father's death.

"Be glad I didn't decide to massacre your whole clan."

The headless corpse, as blood spewed out of his stump and the blessing around the land weakened as the sound of snakes hissing rang out. But there was no need to worry since a Necro Hydra might be strong, but it wasn't Yamata No Orochi.

How would Anika take the news of her father's death?

I had contemplated massacring the Raion Clan, and I would have done it too. But that would have been unfair to the kids and normal clan members who had no idea about what the clan leaders were doing.

This country no longer needed any great clans or things like that. The barrier that was going to break soon would have demons strong beyond our imagination pouring in, and the last thing I wanted to deal with was internal conflicts.

If anyone didn't fall in line with my ideals, then I would kill them.

I should start planning something to say if Anika discovers I killed her father. Even though I planned to eliminate all the evidence, if Agon was around, the world would operate by Shounen logic. There is a possibility that she could find out.

Should I kill her when that happens?

No, that would be the last option I'd like to consider. Despite how bothersome she might be at times with her advances, she was a good kid. It would be a shame if someone like her were to die, especially considering that, at the end of the day, I also valued her as a friend.

Well, if it came down to it... Honesty would be the best policy.

***

Wisteria reclined in her bedroom, nestled on her plush royal bed, and tuned into an episode of 'Two Piece' on her oversized TV.

However, her thoughts weren't focused on the anime.

A part of her still struggled to accept that Kon was alive. Nevertheless, her happiness knew no bounds, and it wasn't merely because she now had the freedom to indulge in anime without a care in the world, thanks to his presence.

Yet, simultaneously, another part of her carried deep concerns. The recent incident had reminded her that no one was invincible. Even Kon might go out one day and never return.

Abruptly, her bedroom door swung open, and she didn't need to glance to identify the intruder. Only one person entered without knocking.

"I brought you breakfast in bed," Kon's sweet voice resonated in her ears. She turned her gaze towards the balcony, and to her surprise, it was evening.

Wisteria shrugged; she wouldn't refuse a meal served by Kon. She rose as he set up a small table in front of her.

He wore a carefree smile, seemingly unruffled by anything. This brought a soft sigh of relief from Wisteria.

She knew that Kon, no matter the circumstances, wouldn't appear so nonchalant if he'd taken a life. Thus, the meeting with the other exorcist clans seemed to have gone smoothly, and more importantly, Kon appeared uninjured.

Wisteria contemplated the meal, then back at Kon, pondering if this was the right moment to broach the subject.

"We are technically married, aren't we?" She asked while trying one of Kon's waffles doused in honey.

"The proper term would be engaged," Kon replied, shrugging and joining her on the bed, boldly helping himself to some of the snacks he'd brought. "In my view, weddings are just a scheme the wedding industry came up with. But please, continue."

Since when had Kon become so opinionated? Plus, he was rich, so why the concern about weddings being a money-making scheme?

No, she needed to stay on topic.

But regardless of what she said, she knew how slippery Kon could be with words. When it came to verbal battles, he was more slippery than a snake, and she, a chuuni weeb shut-in, realized she wouldn't stand a chance. Shut-ins like her didn't have the best social skills.

So, Wisteria dropped all pretenses and asked, "How about we just get married and have kids? That way, if something were to happen to you-"

Her words faltered as she saw an expression on Kon's face that she had never witnessed before, an emotion she'd believed someone like him would never reveal.

His mouth hung agape, eyes wide and locked onto hers as if his brain had momentarily switched off.

With all that power at his fingertips, it was refreshing to see him act like he was still human and could actually get surprised by things.

She chuckled and poked his cheek, which seemed to snap him back to reality. He smiled and locked eyes with her.

“Wow, you have such good masks, for a second I was almost convinced that you didn’t just get flabbergasted," she tried to tease him. Sadly, Kon had a thick skin.

"Well, when your life depends on the ability to control your emotions. It really makes someone good at getting a quick handle on panic,” he nodded. "Anyway, sure, having a kid sounds nice."

She stood up and walked towards him, her heart racing with anticipation, and placed her hands on his shoulders.  “We’re fucked up people, and I don’t think this is how normal people go about getting into a relationship and getting married.”

“Yeah, if that wasn’t obvious already.”

"Do you find it strange?"

"I find you strange, chuuni weeb princess," he chuckled.

"I'm a queen now," she playfully pushed him onto the bed.