I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 104 This world needs me to change!!! (4.5k)

2024年4月30日，凌晨5:37分，雨。

Next to the Honganji Cemetery.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the ethereal sound of the tides was faintly echoing in the misty drizzle. From time to time, spiritual power from another world floated down with the raindrops.

Nanjo Ai was holding a black umbrella, her face still expressionless. Raindrops kept dripping from the edge of the umbrella, falling into the mud puddle beside her feet, dirtying her expensive leather shoes.

The funeral was very simple and there were not many people around. Suppressed sobs of sadness could be heard from the front of her, but it did not move Nanjo Aimi's expression.

pat pat pat.

Nanjo Aimi looked back following the sound of footsteps and saw two people walking towards her in school uniforms.

Uesugi Tetsu and Tokugawa Ririko.

The two people seemed to have come in a hurry, so they didn't carry an umbrella. The drizzle wet their hair and thin school uniforms, making them look particularly disheveled.

"coming?"

Nanjo Aimi pointed to the black and white girl in the frame in front of her and said, "Say goodbye to Mafuyu."

Lilizi was at a loss for a moment.

She slowly clenched her fists, lowered her head, closed her eyes tightly, and let the rain flow down her cheeks and drip together with the blood flowing from her palms.

But Uesugi Tetsu was different. He just stared quietly at the cheap photo frame and the faded photo.

No one knows what he is thinking.

"Uh, Nanjo-san," she heard Uesugi Tetsu say, "Didn't Mafuyu-san talk to us yesterday evening?"

She replied calmly, "Yeah, so it's at night."

Then, Kurosaki Akira, wearing a black suit, and a dozen Onmyoji walked in front of Nanjo Aimi and bowed their heads together.

"sorry."

Kurosaki Akira rarely apologizes, but today he really bowed his head, otherwise even he himself would not be able to forgive himself.

He was wondering if he, the young master, and the dozen or so guys behind him were all good-for-nothings and idiots. Why didn't anyone notice that something was wrong in advance? Why didn't anyone notice that Aibieli had walked into the Special Affairs Office headquarters so brazenly?

Nanjo Aimi hummed a light sound and patted Kurosaki Akira's shoulder: "It's not your fault. If I have to say, it's the fault of both Mafuyu and me."

"If only I could have that Ouija board with me or give it to Kondo."

Although she said this, Nanjo Aimi knew that this was impossible.

She gave the key Ouija board to Shizuma Mafuyu before the wave came, hoping to fish Aibieli out from among the millions of people in Arakawa District.

If this Ouija board stayed on himself or Kondo Tomoya, Aibieli would never have appeared.

And Shizuma Mafuyu is the only person Nanjo Aimi can absolutely trust.

She is an ordinary person, and she stays with me almost 24 hours a day. Her personality traits are so passionate and distinct, exactly the same as my previous self.

Even if there is a slight change in Shizuma Manfuyu, Nanjo Aimi can see it.

Nanjo Aimi touched the Ouija board that she now carried with her.

——The only thing Shizuma Manfuyu did wrong was that even after she and Kondo Tomoya left on purpose and the rest of the Special Affairs Office didn't notice Ai Bieli, she still didn't hand over the Ouija board, but instead pressed the alarm regardless.

Between herself and many other people including her sister, Shizuma Mafuyu chose the latter without hesitation.

Just like the choices she had made since she could remember until now, Nanjo Aimi already knew it.

So she died.

Aibieli was discovered by Kurosaki Akira and others. Not only was he seriously injured, but even the Ouija board was not taken away.

"Is it love and separation?"

Nanjo Aimi heard Uesugi Tetsu ask beside her, so she nodded: "It's her."

Uesugi Che nodded calmly: "I understand."

Even through the rain, Nanjo Aimi could smell the surging anger in the hearts of the two high school students beside her, but the one who should be most angry was not them, but herself.

But what about yourself?

Nanjo Aimi couldn't say for sure, maybe she had already become numb. In the five years since she became an Onmyoji, she had seen too many colleagues, juniors, and superiors die without any warning.

Then they, along with their passion, ambitions, and ideals, will be burned together, put into that small box and buried in the soil.

She couldn't remember how many times she had said "Don't die" solemnly, but every time she would say it again not long after.

It's always the case.

Since she was a child, Nanjo Aimi has wanted to live a peaceful life, no different from that of ordinary people.

Eat well, grow up well, live well, and then die well.

So she worked and went to school like any other ordinary person. Naturally, she failed to get into university, and then entered the working world. It took her five years to become a qualified social animal. After resigning, she spent another five years squandering her savings bit by bit.

In the end, he was confusedly pulled over by his high school classmates to become an Onmyoji.

But he is just an ordinary Onmyoji.

Ordinary practice, ordinary contracted Shikigami, ordinary work.

But it was not until Nanjo Aimi came to her senses that she realized that she could no longer die as peacefully as she wished.

Just like when I was a kid.

——Shizuma Mafuyu doesn’t want to be put in a small box and buried in a cheap cemetery. She wants to live a good life with her sister.

——Although Hasegawa said that he would join the Five-member Association within five years, he actually wanted to return to his hometown to be a decent physical education teacher. He said that he was bullied at school for six years since he was a child because of his weak body.

——After Kitamura Ryu brought him in to be an Onmyoji, he said that he would quit once he earned 100 million yen, go back to the countryside, find a virtuous wife, have a pair of children, and enjoy his retirement life.

——Takagi wants to earn enough money for his mother's medical treatment, Shimizu wants to become a great Onmyoji to reform society so orphans like him can live a normal life, Tachibana wants to become a legendary police inspector and fight evil, and Taniguchi says he wants to spend the rest of his life with the two shikigami he contracted with...

Too much too much.

But in the end they all died.

No one will remember these words except Nanjo Aimi.

If she died, then all these things that she remembered word for word, those things that could be called "dreams", would really be buried in the ground and lose their meaning.

Do things within your ability; this is Nanjo Aimi's life creed.

So she tried her best to ensure that she would not die without warning.

Nanjo Aimi thought a little irritably, subconsciously took out a cigarette, put it in her mouth and waited for a while.

But no one was there to help her light it.

She clamped the umbrella handle between her neck and shoulders, and took out the almost used-up grinding wheel lighter from her pocket. Just as she was about to light it, the cigarette fell on the toe of her shoe with a plop, and then she slid into the mud puddle.

Nanjo Aimi squatted down, picked it up, shook it in the air and relit it.

The earthy smell rushed into my nose.

Nanjo Aimi smacked her lips, it was a familiar taste.

She remembered Shizuma Manfuyu's dream and had finished reminiscing about it, so she decided to just get back to work.

After all, people can look back, but they have to move forward and life has to go on.

She walked behind Kurosaki Akira and other Onmyojis, coughed twice, and spoke loudly: "Those who still have work to do should go to work first. The wave is coming. Don't be too lax just because you are well prepared." Everyone was about to respond, but her and Kurosaki Akira's cell phones rang at the same time.

The two looked at each other and answered the phone.
"Young Master Nanjo!"

"Young Master Kurosaki!"

The operator's anxious voice came from the other end of the line: "A large-scale disturbance has suddenly occurred in important areas such as transportation routes, schools, and hospitals throughout Arakawa District. Initial speculation is that the latent 'seed' of love and separation has been detonated."

Most of the people present showed expressions of astonishment, but Nanjo Aimi remained calm: "Kondo Daizu should have already activated Plan A."

The person on the other end of the line paused briefly before continuing, "Uh—yes! Everyone, all the information regarding [Love Separation, Seeds, and Heart Poison], including the detailed mission arrangements, has been uploaded to your phones!"

"Arakawa District has entered a state of complete martial law! This mission is codenamed [Red Tide]. I hope you can contain the red tide in time!"

"I wish you good luck in martial arts!"

After the call ended, the originally sad and silent atmosphere at the cemetery suddenly changed. Kurosaki Akira immediately said seriously, "Take care, Nanjo-kun!"

Nanjo Aimi glanced at her phone and nodded at him: "Well, take care."

After Kurosaki Akira and the other Onmyojis left, Nanjo Aimi called again: "Anything else you want to say?"

But this time, it was Kondo Tomoya's heavy voice that came.
"Nanjo minor species, the number of seeds and the range of influence are rapidly doubling and spreading, the situation is on the verge of collapse and corruption."

Because there were only four people left, Nanjo Aimi used the hands-free mode.

Except for Shizuma Manatsu who was still sobbing, the three of them were stunned.

Nanjo Aishi asked, "Wasn't the Starry Barrier set up a few days ago? Why can't the exact location of the seed be detected?"

"Sakata-kun has been specifically trapped. Without the guidance of the Tianwendao Onmyoji, the barrier won't take effect quickly." Kondo Tomoya's voice rose and fell. "I'm trying to rescue him."

Nanjo Aishi asked, "Where are the foreign players from other regions?"

"--Ai Bieli must have made an agreement with the other Eight Bitternesses and some great demons to start a riot at the same time, so no one is free to take action at the moment."

as expected.

Nanjo Aimi frowned slightly. "What about the Self-Defense Forces and the Armed Police? Doesn't Plan C allow them to use some force to suppress the unrest?"

There was a slight commotion coming from Kondo Tomoya's side, but it soon quieted down along with the sound of swords. "The soldiers and armed police that were arranged in advance didn't show up. Instead, some traffic police and criminal police were spontaneously maintaining order."

"An unexpected monster appeared?"

"No," Kondo Tomoya's voice trembled. "It's because the unrest came too suddenly, startling the government officials who weren't informed in advance."

"—They fled without a single one left when the unrest first began."

Nanjo Aimi's expression froze, unable to hide her astonishment.

Uesugi Tetsu could even hear the crisp sound of the special mobile phone being deformed by her squeezing.

"Everyone escaped? There must be one..."

"They all fled. The military and armed police are leaderless. No one dares to go out and kill the 'seeds' who look just like ordinary people. We don't have the authority to command them."

"Now! Phew—the number of people infected by the red tide is at least thirty or forty thousand. It's more than tenfold!"

Kondo Tomoya's voice was drowned out by the explosion and roar, and was not very clear:
"Young Master Nanjo, I'm asking for your opinion as usual. Should we wait until I rescue Young Master Sakata and then immediately counterattack and annihilate the Red Tide? Or should we try to gather as many civilians as possible and preserve our manpower while we wait for rescue?"

——It would be better to destroy such a world as soon as possible.

The black umbrella had unknowingly fallen to the ground. Nanjo Aimi pulled her hair in frustration, muttering frantically in her heart: "I clearly told them exactly what to do when the time comes... Why did they still run away!"

"Why can't you even do something as simple as this? Why why why why!"

"It's obvious that this problem can be easily solved..."

"What kind of garbage is sitting in the government right now? Normally, corruption is fine, but in this situation, even a sewer rat knows not to run away..."

Nanjo Aimi thought expressionlessly: "What on earth are we doing? Whose interests are we protecting? Does Manfuyu's death really have any meaning?"

"When the Red Tide ends and most of the people in Arakawa District are dead, those scum who escaped will pretend nothing happened and sit back in their seats..."

But everything she had experienced in these twenty-two years, the junior high and high school she attended, the convenience store where she worked, and the company she had worked for would all become ruins.

Her former classmates, teachers, colleagues, friends, superiors, juniors, and even this cemetery... everything will be swallowed up and disappeared by this increasingly severe red tide.

So does she have to forget all this and go to a new place to start a new life?
That's about enough.

"Young Master Nanjo?"

Kondo Tomoya's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Nanjo Aimi suddenly said, "I'll do it."

Kondo Tomoya paused: "What do you mean?"

"literal meaning."

"—Connect all the starry barriers to me. I will locate all the seeds, I will curb the red tide, I will exorcise the separation of love, I will quell this unrest, and I will chop off the heads of those idlers one by one! No matter where they escape to!"

Uesugi Tetsu could see that Nanjo Aimi's expressionless face became more and more angry, but her pupils became colder, like iron.

Nanjo Aimi said word by word: "This world needs to change!"

Twenty-two years of pent-up emotions burst forth, and the corporate life she had painstakingly adapted to was ripped apart. Nanjo Aimi practically roared, unquestionably uttering her final words:

"——If necessary, I will change it!!!"

The special mobile phone, as hard as steel, was crushed into a pile of scrap metal, and fell on the shadow spreading from under Nanjo Aimi's feet with sparks, and was swallowed up.

Nunu and Rihefang came out and stood there blankly. It was the first time they felt their usually calm and easy-going master showing such emotions, so they were frightened and at a loss.

The surging shadow turned into substance, gently embracing Nanjo Aimi from behind, her voice sad and caring: "Aimi, are you going to be a hero again?"

"Fuck heroes!"

Nanjo Aimi grinned and gritted her teeth, "Now I just want to kill the guy who killed Madoka, and then cut every one of those old idiots who are just sitting there doing nothing into pieces!"

"Elections, government, family... these things from the old days should all be swept into the dustbin of history!"

Nanjo Aimi gradually restrained the overflowing and exaggerated emotions on her face and became indifferent and rational again.

The spiritual energy that was far more turbulent than the sea tide rose from the ground and swept away the layers of dark clouds in the sky.

Uesugi Che saw her turn around, and saw the blue sky filling up those iron-colored eyes, with stars falling like rain across them.

He heard her say,
"To rule the new era, we don't need so many people."

"Their dreams will all be realized by me."

At this moment, a new task prompt popped up in front of Uesugi Tetsu's eyes——

[Special limited-time mission, "Red Tide" has begun! ]

The objectives of this mission are as follows:

[Goal 1: Together with Nanjo Aimi, we will curb the spread of the red tide.]

[Goal 2: Together with Nanjo Aimi, exorcise the Eight Sufferings and Love Separation.]

[Rewards for this limited-time mission will be distributed based on your participation and contribution! The higher your overall contribution, the richer the reward!]

He couldn't help but be stunned. This task suddenly appeared because of Nanjo Aimi's decision just now.

In other words, if Nanjo Aimi had not undergone the bizarre change just now, would the Arakawa District have been destroyed by both the love separation and the red tide?
(End of this chapter)